All posts filed under: Heal

Thoughts Become Things

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Well that sounds easy enough. I’ll just think about all the things I want in my life and they’ll manifest NOW! Haha if only it was that simple. Well, it could be if we were in a place of complete allowing. Our intentions would be pure, our focus razor-sharp, and in an instant our desires would be fulfilled. But like everything in our perfect universe, this principle is based on that of duality, and on the opposite end of the spectrum we have resistance. allowing <<<  >>>  resistance Resistance is what ultimately stops us from fulfilling our desires. It keeps us stuck in the lack of it (the job/healthy body/relationship/money, etc.) and draws that which is like itself towards us. Haven’t you noticed when you don’t have resistance to something, how easily it comes into your life? It’s like the more you want something from a place of need, the more resistance is created, and the harder it is to get it. “If you are resisting anything, you are focused upon it, pushing against it, and activating the vibration of …

Be Like A Butterfly

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A wise friend once gave me some great relationship advice. He said, “Sam, you need a man who can see you are like a butterfly. Someone that allows you to flitter and flatter out into the world, do your thing, and then have a safe home to return to.” Looking back I’d say he was spot on. On my morning hike today, I was lucky enough to see some beautiful butterflies about, every kind of colour and size you can imagine. Moving effortlessly from flower to flower, dancing about, completely absorbed in the beauty of the moment, and then the next, and the next… We can learn a lot from our dear little winged friends. They embody a feeling of playfulness, a lightness of being, joy, beauty and of course transformation. Symbolically they represent the world of the soul and remind us “not to take things too seriously and to get up and move”. Mostly I think they remind us to be present, feel the beauty of the NOW and love every moment of it. Find out more symbolically about these …

Take Me To The Mountains (or ocean, or forrest)

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I went for a hike up beautiful Shoushan this morning, or as us foreigners like to call it, Monkey Mountain. It reminded me to feel lucky; lucky enough to live in a country where I can easily access the beauty around me. I think back to when I lived in South Africa. I really had it all, but didn’t quite know it. I lived on the beach. That’s right, literally the beach was across the road from my house. And I enjoyed hearing the waves crashing when I fell asleep and the cool sea breeze. I often even walked on the beach. But what I forgot to do, was get in the ocean. I spent years and years denying myself the joy of swimming. Too scared to venture in, not because of great whites, but because I didn’t want to be seen. Living in Taiwan has taught me to get in. I hike, I swim, I explore the beauty around me. I get excited about stuff. I stopped doing that back home, and I’ve realised it’s essential for …

Where’s Home?

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They say ‘home is where your heart is’, but what does that mean anyway? That ‘home’ is with the person or place you love the most? I’ve had many physical homes on the path that I’ve chosen, enjoying the newness of setting up house in foreign lands. Of course, South Africa will always be my ‘home’, the place where I was born and where my family and friends reside. But as I travel longer and longer on this path, I’m learning to find my home in my heart. Because ultimately isn’t that where all the love in the entire universe resides? Right here, inside my tiny little heart. And the further I seem to travel, the closer I get to myself. Layers unfold, judgements melt, realisations occur, here, now. Sometimes all I really want to do is squeeze someone I love, and I can’t, and that reminds me of my aloneness. But then I remember that life is transient, people come, people go, change occurs whether we like it or not. And all we really have is …

A Time To Let Loose

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This Friday’s upcoming full moon in fun-loving Sagittarius should be called the party moon, and not the strawberry moon as it’s known in the U.S. In contrast to New Moons which represent rebirth and new beginnings, Full Moons embody clarity and obtainment of desire. Basically, every month we get a chance to hone in on our desires, figure out what we really want, and then plant them like seeds into the universe on the eve of New Moon. Then we wait patiently for our intentions to blossom, and on Full Moon simultaneously release what no longer serves us. Aren’t we lucky folk? The moon & me The moon cycles have always been a part of our lives and we can see her effects throughout nature and within ourselves. As Selacia describes on her blog, “The moon governs the natural world as well as our emotions, instincts, intuition, and unconscious. It is related to water, the element often described as being furthest from the rational realm.” We are of course made of 70% water, how can we not …

Wisdom from a Tree

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I got chased out my apartment this morning by very loud drilling resonating from downstairs. There was just no way I could meditate at home, so I got dressed and headed out to the park. Even though I love meditating in the park, I was slightly annoyed. So off I trotted and found a spot of shade under a big, beautiful tree that I often meditate near. As I was about to begin, I couldn’t help but be disturbed by the obvious traffic noise beside me. I considered moving deeper into the park but it was already very sunny and hot and not much shade available. Then I thought maybe I should stick with this. I looked up at this big, sturdy tree in front of me and wondered how he manages to stay so calm amidst all the chaos. So strong, so serene, so steady. The complete opposite of me. I wanted some of that. And then it hit me. There’s always that quiet, peaceful place within us. I know people often say that, but have you ever …

The Lies We Tell Ourselves

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I woke up yesterday morning feeling like I’d been on a nostalgic road trip with my ex. This was no regular ex, but the love of my life, my ex-fiance. my best buddy. He was the closest I’d come to unconditional love, with him I felt truly loved, but of course I didn’t appreciate it at the time, I was young and stupid. Now this was a very surreal feeling. Firstly, I found it strange that he was in my consciousness at all as I hadn’t thought or spoken about him in a long while and hadn’t seen him on Facebook. But when I woke up it felt as real as it did 6 years ago and tears trickled from my eyes. It got me writing – writing about my guilt and regret, my feelings, my resentment, anger and love. I also wrote in gratitude for all the beauty we shared. This sense of sadness stayed with me throughout the day and I wallowed in it a little, I played some Snow Patrol – that always reminds me of him and makes me …

Put Me In Your Suitcase…

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Let me help you pack ‘Cause you’re never coming backNo, you’re never coming backCook me in your breakfastAnd put me on your plate‘Cause you know I taste greatYeah, you know I taste great Devendra Banhart “At the Hop” The first time I heard this song was on a mix tape that my friend made me. I was leaving Johannesburg and moving back to my hometown Durban. Paul was the Creative Director at the company I worked for – I always remember making fun of him. He was this 40-something, glasses-wearing, non-drinking, vegetarian that lived in hip Melville and listened to strange folk music. I always thought he was cool in an odd way and loved hanging with him, as friends. At the time I was in my early twenties – young, a little self-obsessed, partying and definitely still eating meat. Put me in your dry dreamOr put me in your wetIf you haven’t yetNo, if you haven’t yetLight me with your candleAnd watch the flames grow highNo, it doesn’t have to tryIt doesn’t have to try I never …

Taste Totally

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I’ve been thinking a lot about balance lately… mostly how I can get more of it in my life. The thing is, it seems balance can’t be forced. After all, it’s a natural law of the universe. I love this story from “The Book of Understanding” by OSHO: “In paradise one afternoon, in its most famous cafe, Lao Tzu, Confucius, and Buddha are sitting and chatting. The waiter comes with a tray that holds three glasses of the juice called “Life,” and offers them. Buddha immediately closes his eyes and refuses; he says, “Life is misery.” Confucius closes his eyes halfway – he is a middlist, and asks the waiter to give him the glass. He would like to have a sip – but just a sip, because without tasting how can one say whether life is misery or not? Confucius had a scientific mind; he was not much of a mystic, he had a very pragmatic, earthbound mind. He takes a sip and he says, “Buddha is right – life is misery.” Lao Tzu takes …

(Ha) + (Tha)

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People often confuse yoga for some sort of religion. They couldn’t be more wrong. It is in fact, as Yogi Bikram Choudhury states, “the science of living life correctly so that we can get to that point , our ultimate destination.” So why does Mr Bikram refer to it as the science of life? “Science helps us understand the physical world. Yoga helps us understand not just the physical body but also the mind and the Spirit. Yoga helps us understand nature; and nature helps us understand the voice of our spirit, or God.” The Symmetry of Hatha Hatha Yoga refers to the practice of yoga asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing exercises) and relaxation. In Sanskrit, Ha means ‘Sun’ and Tha means ‘Moon’. Isn’t that just perfection in itself? I’ve known this truth for a long time, but I love the way Bikram expresses it so simply and aptly in his book, Bikram Yoga. Let me share it with you… “In nature there is a strong symbiotic movement between the Sun and the Moon, a balance between …

Lonely Isn’t a Dirty Word

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It’s simply a momentary state of being. It’s not the unspeakable demon that we sometimes prescribe it to be. It doesn’t need to be suffocated or suppressed. Perhaps it just needs to be recognised and nurtured. Maybe it just needs a little love. Not the kind of love that’s found in externals, but rather that deep, deep wholeness that we all feel oh so deep within. You know what I’m talking about. You know that you really are loved. You really are beautiful. You really are perfect, just as you are. Maybe you’ve convinced yourself otherwise, but deep down you know. “Your task is not to seek for Love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”  ~ Rumi I know that sometimes it can feel like you really are alone and infinitesimal in this big, colossal world. But don’t forget that every day, every step, every thought you think and feeling you feel, Mother Earth is there supporting you. Enveloping you in her sturdy grounds …

I See You

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“You know… they say an elephant never forgets.  What they don’t tell you is, you never forget an elephant.” – Bill Murray , ‘Larger Than Life’ I got to play with elephants today thanks to my Mom (very, very happy face mom :) and wow what an experience. We spent the afternoon at The Elephant Sanctuary  in Hazyview, Mpumalanga and learnt everything there is to know about ellies. Did you know they have unique footprints like us; they move surprisingly quietly due to a shock-absorber type tissue on the soles of their feet; and they can communicate via seismic vibrations felt in the ground!?! I can’t usually handle seeing animals in captivity, it’s just not right and the animals don’t ever seem happy. You can see it in their eyes. It made me feel a bit better though that the ellies here, Casper (27 yrs) and Gitzo (14 yrs), were originally up for auction as part of a culling project, and if they weren’t saved they would’ve ended up in the zoo or circus. There’s something extremely captivating about …

Into The Wild

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“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” ― Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

Aaah Nostalgia…

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nos·tal·gia:  A sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.   I am busy preparing for my move to Taiwan, and part of that preparation is a major decluttering. I’ve had some boxes and bags stored at my parent’s farm for a few years now and it’s finally time to let them go. Sometimes I feel like life is a beautiful act of learning to let go. Releasing our attachment to physical forms that weigh us down and make us heavy, releasing our attachment to people, outcomes, feelings and experiences; freeing us up for the new that life has to offer. I’ll never forget the lightness I felt when I left South Africa to live in Japan a few years back, leaving with nothing but my backpack and a small carry bag. It was liberating! And now as I venture out into the world again, this time I plan to be gone for a lot longer so I want to free myself up  just a little more. Whilst decluttering, …

A Sign From The Universe?

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It’s been said that everything on the physical plane is a manifestation of something on the metaphysical level. I believe that nothing is a ‘coincidence’ and that physical issues lead me to inquire more about myself and my surroundings on a deeper level. Two days ago I was leaving my apartment when I suddenly fell heavily down my concrete staircase. I hit my coccyx head on and it sent shooting pain right up my spine and down my legs. I think my coccyx is just bruised, not fractured, but it’s incredibly sore! Louise Hay (renowned leader in the self-help movement & author of Heal Your Body) relates lower back pain to fear of money and lack of financial support. Yes, that sounds about right. A year ago I injured my lower back whilst snowboarding so I’ve been dealing with lower back issues on and off since then. In my case, my back pain tends to show up when I’m feeling the most insecure in my life either with money issues or physical security. A Wake Up Call? This recent fall was however so sudden …

Are You Ready?

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“When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back.    A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.” ― Paulo Coelho, The Devil and Miss Prym

Everything Starts With Love

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I have never been so indecisive in my life. Seriously, I am confused as hell and change my mind every week about what I’m going to do with my life. I feel like I’m living in a confused state of limbo. And these are not simple decisions like if I should have the green tea or chai, it’s life changing stuff and perhaps that’s why I’m fluttering so much. I’ve even considered asking my Homeopath for a decisiveness remedy…. Wayne is that even possible?!? I’ve been trying to apply the Abraham principle of observing your emotions and following what feels good. But wow it seems my emotional state is still so dependent on external factors and that this is leading me down the wrong road, hence the constant mind-changing. I was reminded today about how important it is to live in the present and enjoy the now for what it is. And my present really is spectacular. I was also reminded that love is the basis of everything. My dilemma is should I leave South …