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Soul-filled Sounds and Conscious Conversation
Blog
The Art of Alchemy
| Posted on November 28, 2012 at 10:14 PM |
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On October 16, 2012, Tara L. Robinson opened the show with an inspirational explanation about the process of alchemy as it relates to personal transformation. She only scratched the surface of this important topic before it was time for the interview with artist Pic Michel to begin. The thoughts she shared with our listeners that day are below, as well as additional thoughts she didn’t have time to share. The Art of Alchemy The art of alchemy has historically been shrouded in mystery. This ancient art is often believed to be the process of magically turning base metals, such as lead, into gold. Webster’s defines alchemy as 1: a medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy aiming to achieve the transmutation of the base metals into gold, the discovery of a universal cure for disease, and the discovery of a means of indefinitely prolonging life 2: a power or process of transforming something common into something special and 3: an inexplicable or mysterious transmuting. I have my own definition of alchemy…the art of personal transformation. Personal alchemy is most certainly about turning lead into gold, but in this case, we’re referring to emotional lead which is transformed. Through time we become burdened by the lead that accumulates in our system. It can begin even before we’re born depending on the karma with which we come into this life. And then of course there’s all the trauma we face during childhood, because no parents are perfect, and we haven’t even hit adolescence yet. During the tumultuous teen years and beyond life continues to challenge us. Until we begin to awaken from our spiritual slumber, we manage these challenges by taking them on as a part of our very being. Slowly, slowly, our backpack of lead becomes heavier and heavier. We try with all our might to prove we are strong enough to carry it all. All the sadness, disappointment, shame and heartache eventually weigh down our psyche until it is difficult to separate ourselves from our emotions. We become one with our thoughts, feelings and memories and it requires a chemical shift to begin to strip away that which we are not in order to uncover who we really are. In chemistry, the primary element used to create transmutation in a substance’s chemical composition is fire, i.e. heat. Fire has long been valued for its power to purify; it is the ultimate cleansing agent. Since its discovery, fire has been used for two primary purposes, to destroy and to illuminate. Fire is also the element used in personal transformation alchemy. Transforming our psychic lead into gold can be extremely uncomfortable. As the pressures of life heat up, we experience what we commonly call a “meltdown.” Our emotional lead literally melts down due to the intensity of the heat in order that it should be transformed into gold. So the question becomes, when we find ourselves going through an alchemical change and feel ourselves smack dab in the middle of the burning heat and pressure required for the process, will we allow the fire to consume and us, or will we allow it to illuminate? The ultimate cleansing is by fire. Surviving the fire of purification can be our greatest challenge, however, it also holds the key to our greatest awakening. Even in the midst of the hottest heat, insights and understandings begin to emerge. As much as we’d like to believe we are victims of circumstance, a deeper part of us knows better and seeks the illumination the fire promises. It’s beautiful how the alchemical process puts teachers on our path. It’s in the fire when we are sure to find inspiration for hope through people we meet, books we read, seminars we hear, etc. Because our spirit believes in hope. Our spirit knows there is something more than suffering so it automatically gravitates toward evidence of such. Our spirit knows it can not be destroyed. Wait, doesn’t that sound a little bit like a key to eternal life? Oh yes, another alchemical metaphor. Remember, Webster’s says alchemy is “discovery of a means of indefinitely prolonging life.” The process of personal transformation inevitably brings us to a place where we realize our full spiritual potential. And with that realization comes the sure knowing that we are more than this body. Who we really are can never be destroyed. So there is no need to fear the fire any longer. It’s a simple change agent, that’s all. We can begin to walk through the toughest challenges with our eyes wide open, bearing a spirit of “Bring it on!” because we can’t wait to receive the enlightenment waiting on the other side. Webster’s also says alchemy is “the discovery of a universal cure for disease” and that is absolutely correct. As we begin to embrace more and more our spirits as being our true nature, life becomes an exciting adventure, with cool twists and turns around every corner. But, since we no longer fear being destroyed, our souls are at ease. We are permanently cured of a sense of dis-ease, or a feeling of not being at ease with oneself. What could possibly be better than that? Alchemy, or personal transformation, doesn’t always feel like fire. Intense joy or gratitude can also transform us, as well as an infinite number of other possibilities. In his book The Way of the Wizard, Deepak Chopra says, “You know little or nothing about this art, yet you have practiced it every day since you were born. Every baby is born an alchemist, then loses the art, only to gain it again. Each of you mortals come into the world to seek the Grail. Everyone is created to reach freedom and fulfillment.” |
The Sound of Music
| Posted on October 28, 2012 at 2:31 PM |
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Music moves me. These vibrations of sound, moving at
different speeds and harmonics, can make me feel like dancing, give me chills,
bring me to tears or relax me into a meditative state. I even used music to
give natural child birth. Jonathan Goldman’s “Dolphin Dreams” was the perfect
piece to bring the calm needed for both my child and myself. Music, being
sounds waves, moves the energy in and around me. Through music, my own
vibration is transformed. Many have heard of the experiments done in 1973 by a woman
named Dorothy Retallack, who played different styles of music to plants
contained in chambers. She found that music made an astonishing difference for
the plants, even though all of the other conditions were the same. The plants
in the chambers with soothing pieces flourished, while those exposed to edgy,
harsh sounds died. She published a book on the subject called The Sound of Music and Plants. Dr.
Masaru Emoto, in his book, The Hidden
Messages in Water, also wrote that water crystals form different shapes,
depending on what music was played. Music played with bright, clear, soothing
tones formed more beautiful, elegant, unified crystals than the water crystals
exposed to violent, heavy metal music, which ended up with fragmented and
malformed shapes. This may lead us to the question, how could this happen? Everything in life has a vibrational frequency of energy.
We, as well as everything around us, are vibrating to some rhythmic degree. We
are connected to everything through this symphony of harmonics. We can become
aware of our own personal vibration and how to maintain our frequency. We can
do this by first “tuning in” to the body and acknowledging its transmission. In
this space we can observe our feelings. These can be anxiety in the pits of our
stomachs, lumps in our throats, or the joyous energy that gives us fuel. Once
these transmissions are acknowledged, they can either be transformed or
nurtured depending on the state of our feelings. When we become conscious of
our bodies’ “feeling messages,” instead of our “mental messages,” we then have
a tool for connecting to these vibrational frequencies. We learn to move toward
the energies that fuel us rather than deplete us. Our bodies are healthier when
vibrating at higher frequencies, as the above authors have explored with the
plants and water. We are now in a position to choose the vibrations of energy
that bring us balanced states of harmony for wholeness. Choosing, with these
ideas in mind, what we put in our homes, bodies, hearts and minds will keep us
in higher vibrations where our connections to Divine Wisdom are more readily
available. The difference between living in everyday life and living in magic
comes from our abilities to connect with the source. When we use and understand
the vibrations of our feelings to guide us, we have inner compasses that point
us toward wholeness. Music provides sound vibrations with different harmonic
frequencies. Listening to pleasant, soulful music can center and align us and
like plants and water crystals give us opportunities to grow in health and well-being.
One of my desires, as a host on Waves, is to offer music that brings our bodies, hearts, and minds
into alignment with our source. I am very interested in your suggestions and
would love to know your favorite soul-filled sounds. Tune in to Waves of the New Age / WAIF 88.3 FM as I
share my favorite musical selections to help you tune down and tune up. Check
out the Program Guide on our website for playlists and the dates of my shows. “Music in the Soul can be heard by the universe.” Lao Tzu |
Living Backward in Time
| Posted on October 23, 2012 at 1:51 PM |
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Deepak Chopra presents the concept of “living backward in
time” through a conversation with Merlin and young Arthur in his book The Way of the Wizard. Merlin explains
to Arthur that wizards live backward in time by allowing the future to create the
present. Instead of allowing fear and the burden of the past to influence their
choices, wizards use their visions of a realized future as a magnetic force to
pull them in the right direction. They live backward in time. I love this idea because life has proven to work this way to
me. It is essential for me to have a clear vision of where I want to go in
order to recognize the signs and open doors leading the way to that future. Until
I began living purposefully, I felt like a victim of circumstance, instead of a
co-creator of my life. I wasn’t sure what the future held and, therefore, lived
in fear of all the undesirable possibilities. Once I realized my purpose, I
began to take notice of synchronicities intended to assist me on the next step
in my journey. This happened in a big way when the doors opened to assuming
a leadership role with Whole Living
Journal. The entire process was magical, and almost unimaginable, with one
important difference, I had imagined
it. And since I had imagined it, I was prepared to say “yes” when the
opportunity presented itself. I recognized it as belonging to me and a part of
my future. Another piece to my journey recently fell into place in a
manner reminiscent of my experience of acquiring WLJ. It too began with a
vision of my future. As part of my New Year’s resolutions, one of my goals for
WLJ was to offer podcasts through our website. I envisioned the podcasts
resembling Oprah’s Soul Series radio program where she has kicked-back, relaxed
conversations with guests on various topics relating to spirituality and the
search for something more. This seemed like a good next step and I became
passionate about it. At first all the doors opened effortlessly and I thought
my plan would be off the ground in no time. Then I hit a wall. I only needed one more piece to complete the project, but
that one piece wouldn’t budge. By the beginning of May I was frustrated that
this vision I had been holding since January had not yet manifested. I resolved
to become more focused in my intention and trusted I would receive an
answer to the issue blocking the process if I opened my mind to the possibility
of a creative solution. I had a conversation with myself that went
something like this, “You never know how these things will work out. Maybe
there is a way to overcome this hurdle which you’re not even considering. Stop
thinking in such limited terms and expand your ideas of how this can come into
being. You can feel it is meant to be and that is all you need to know. The rest
will take care of itself.” Sometimes Spirit is ready to give us more than that for
which we are asking. Within one week of this conversion in my thinking, I
received a call I wasn’t expecting and it flipped my plans upside down. Judy
Peace explained there was no need to run the ad for Waves of a New Age in the
next issue of WLJ because, after 23 years of hosting the radio program on
Tuesdays from 3-5pm on WAIF 88.3 FM, she needed to give her attention to her
new grandson and said the following week would be the last week of the show. I
immediately recognized this as a potential creative solution and asked if there
was any way Whole Living Journal
could help with hosting the show. The doors opened like magic from there. The next thing I knew I was behind the mic and Judy was my
guest on my first day as host of Waves of a New Age. If I needed any
confirmation that I was headed the right direction, I certainly received it
that day. As part of our on-air conversation, Judy was telling the story of how
the show began and explained that she had felt it was important to submit the
application for the show on her mother’s birthday, November 11, 1987. That
would make the date 11-11 and it seemed significant, as if she would have her
mother’s blessing and that her mother would watch over the show in spirit. I sat across from Judy with my mouth hanging open in
complete astonishment as I listened to a story which was synchronistic beyond
words. As she finished talking I told her and the listeners that what she had
just said was amazing because I had submitted the legal paperwork to
incorporate my business, Life Dynamics, LLC, exactly 20 years later to the day
on 11-11-2007. It was as if this plan had been in motion for 23 years
and we were just learning together the details in the next chapter of a story written
long ago. I feel enthusiastic about this next part of my journey and I
feel excited about the new ways this opportunity will allow WLJ to connect the
community. Now with a multi-media platform, WLJ can bring the wonderful gifts
of each issue to radio as well as print. Please be sure to tune in every Tuesday from 3-5pm on WAIF
88.3FM to listen to soul-filled sounds and conscious conversation on Waves of a
New Age. We welcome listeners to join the conversation by calling the studio
during the show at 513-961-8900. In light
and love, Tara |
