riseabovethephoenix

[riseabovethephoenix]

“Longing for what might have been – if you or I- could have been what we hoped each other would be for one another.” – Jason Silva

#love #agony #dualities #ifonly #jasonsilva #cosmology

[riseabovethephoenix]

Notes of an Alchemist

Crystals grow 

under fantastic pressures in the deep

crevices and confines of the earth,

They grow by fires,

by water trickling slowly in

strange solutions from the walls of caverns.

They form in cubes, rectangles, tetrahedrons, 

They may have their own particular axes

and molecular arrangements but they,

like life,

like men,

are twisted by the places into 

which they come.

I have only to lift my hands

to see the acid scars of old encounters,

in my brain,

as in the brains of all mankind,

distortions riot

and the serene quartz crystal of tomorrow

is most often

marred by black ingredients 

caught blindly up, 

but still no one knows surely 

why specific crystals meet, in a specific order

Therefore, we grasp two things: 

That rarely two slightly different substances

will grow even together 

but the one added ingredient will transfigure

a colorless transparency to midnight blue

or build the rubies’ fire.

Further, we know that

if one grows a crystal it should lie under the spell 

of its own fluid

be kept in a cool cavern 

remote from any violence or intrusion from the dust. 

So we 

our wisemen in their wilderness

have sought to charm to similar translucence

The cloudy crystal of the mind. 

We must then understand 

that order strives against the unmitigated chaos

lurking along the convulsive backbone of the world.

Sometimes I think

that we in varying degrees

are grown like the wild crystal,

now inert,

now flashing red,

but I 

within my surging molecules

by nature cling to that deep sapphire blue

that marks the mind of one long isolate.

Who knows and does reflect

starred space and midnight,

who conceives therefore that

out of order and disorder

perpetually clashing and reclashing come the worlds. 

Thus stands my study from the vials and furnaces of universal earth.

I leave it here

for Heracleitus 

if he comes again in the returnings of the Giant Year. 

(Loren Eiseley, 1972)

[riseabovethephoenix]

#astrology #moontribe #stars #signs #planets #aquariousnation

[riseabovethephoenix]

•✦• Beyond space & time  •✦•

#randomrab #music #sunsofmidnight #travel

[riseabovethephoenix]

McWay Falls in Big Sur (USA) by Julien Boé

#bigsur #nature #ocean #sacred #medicine

[riseabovethephoenix]

» ❥ » Light will someday split you open- even if your life is now a cage. Little by little, You will turn into Stars. Little by little, You will turn into the whole sweet, amorous Universe. Love will surely burst you wide open into an unfettered, booming New Galaxy. -

~Rumi (via astrolocherry)

#rumi #wisdom #love #beauty #raw #galaxy #universe

[riseabovethephoenix]

↠✾ Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread whithin it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ✾↞ •• Chief Seattle •• Happy Earth Day•• 🌍 •• Follow me on Instagram: @likewateronfeathers

#earthday #native #prayer #humankind #love #life #oneness #tribe #wisdom #lifesource #sacred #geometry #medicine #art #beauty #connected

[riseabovethephoenix]

May the Wind always be at your back and the Sun upon your face. And may the wings of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the Stars.

Johnny Depp [Blow]

[riseabovethephoenix]

[riseabovethephoenix]

•❃• "There’s a power that lives in the space ‘between,’ that subtle instant when something ends, and what follows next hasn’t yet begun. From the birth and death of galaxies, to the beginning and ending of careers and relationships, and even the simplicity of breathing in and out, creation is the story of beginnings and endings: Cycles that start and stop, expand and contract, live and die. In the instant of between, all possibilities exist. So wherever you may find yourself, take time to pause, ground your roots into Mamma Earth and access this in between space of pure potentiality. For in the in between space of Earth and Sky, we exist as midpoints between the realms." •❃• Equinox Blessings to all! 

Repost via @mysticmamma

↠ Read full article here

#spring #seasons #wisdom #equinox #sacred #medicine #elements #blessings #dualities #cycles

[riseabovethephoenix]

[Sometimes a Cigar is just a Cigar: Chakras vs. Science.]

I have deep appreciation for both spirituality and science because ‘Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality.’ I can relate and connect profoundly to this article, to these two worlds- and so I found it worth sharing with you all. xo

Elena

“We read and hear a lot about chakras these days.

Chakras are energy centers in the body, according to eastern philosophy and alternative medicine. These energy centers have certain attributes that correspond to our the health and wellbeing—emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually.

The theory is that energy flows through our body along certain pathways and when it is blocked by an unhealthy or unbalanced chakra, we suffer. There are supposedly seven main chakras and, depending on who you believe, up to 77 minor chakras. The seven major chakras are located in:

The groin area (root chakra),

Our abdomen just below the navel (sacral chakra),

Our solar plexus (solar plexus chakra),

Our chest or heart area (heart chakra),

The throat (throat chakra),

Our forehead (third eye chakra) and

On the top of our head (crown chakra).

Many healers contend that if we clear or balance our chakras then we will experience better health, wealth and happiness. Due to the fact that there is absolutely no scientific evidence that these chakras exist, or that any of the healing modalities for the chakras are anything other than placebos, the question arises why should we pay attention to these energy centers.

I expect that yoga, which is becoming more and more popular in our country, is at the center of this movement of focusing on healing and aligning our chakras.

As with most alternative healing theories, I am skeptical of the existence of these “energy centers” and believe that there is something else at work here.

In ancient times, human beings did not have the extensive knowledge of anatomy that we have now. Many ancient cultures attempted to explain the unknown as best they could and came up with theories or beliefs about things they could not see or understand. I believe that the whole system of chakra health is exactly that, an attempt to explain how our body works in spiritual (and unscientific) terms.

Yoga teaches that chakras are located at nerve junctions. That is incorrect. There are nerves that run through the body which have profound effect on our health and well being, the Vagus nerve being one. However, there are no major nerve centers which correspond to the classic location of the seven chakras. So if the chakras don’t correspond to our nervous system, I started looking for other explanations for this ancient concept of our bodies.

The true correspondence between this theoretical “energy system” and our physical bodies is our endocrine system.

In fact, if you overlay a chart of our endocrine system over a chart of the chakra system, they are almost an exact match. In the same order listed above, the correspondence is as follows:

Root chakra—testicles and ovaries,

Sacral chakra—adrenal glands,

Solar plexus chakra—pancreas,

Heart chakra—thymus,

Throat chakra—thyroid,

Third eye—pineal gland,

Crown chakra—pituitary gland.

If you look at the theories and concepts of chakras, they also correspond with the functions of these glands. The root chakra is about reproduction, survival and how we relate to the world. Our sexual glands obviously play a major role in our reproduction and without them we would not survive as a species. The urge to procreate is similar to our survival instincts.

The sacral chakra governs our relationships to each other, our concepts of beauty and attractiveness. Our adrenal glands secrete hundreds of hormones and chemical compounds which control our metabolism and bodily functions down to a cellular level. The adrenals secrete adrenaline and cortisol which have everything to do with our appearance and liveliness.

The solar plexus chakra controls our willpower and confidence and how we relate to ourselves. It supposedly controls much of our negative emotions such as shame, guilt and resentment. Our pancreas on the other hand controls our digestive system, secreting insulin and digestive enzymes. These compounds determine how we digest food which directly affects how we feel about ourselves and our lives.

The heart chakra is all about love and acceptance. It is the middle chakra, three above and three below. It supposedly bridges the gap between the outside world and the inner world, as well as controlling our circulation. The thymus gland regulates our immune system. It creates “T” cells and various white blood cells that help with resisting disease.

The throat chakra controls our speech (communication), integrity and honesty. It affects how we feel about ourselves and whether we are empowered or disempowered. The thyroid gland regulates our metabolism and the functions of various organs in the body. It affects the production of testosterone and estrogen two of the most important hormones in our body. It controls our weight, our sense of wellbeing and sexual function.

The third eye chakra controls our intuition, our connection to our higher self, our imagination and how we relate to our divine self. The pineal gland is located behind our eyes in the middle of the brain approximately three inches behind the space between our eyes. The pineal gland secretes melatonin which creates a sense of well being and controls our sleep patterns.

The crown chakra controls our connection with God and divine will. This chakra controls the flow of divine energy into and through our body. The pituitary gland is our master gland and controls all of the other glands, in effect the “God gland.”It secretes eight hormones that control the functions of all of the other glands. In combination with the hypothalamus, this gland controls how we respond to external stimulus and improper functioning of other glands.

You may be asking yourself at this point, which is more important, the chakra system or the endocrine system?

On a physical level, our glands control how we experience life and our health. Perhaps on an emotional or mental level it is useful to know about chakras but many attributes of chakra theories are simply unscientific explanations of how our bodies work through our endocrine system.

A case in point, I noticed several years ago that I was more fatigued and experiencing occasional erectile dysfunction. I was experiencing depression on a much more chronic level than the situational depression I had experienced in the past.

The classical holistic interpretation of my symptoms was that my root and sacral chakras were blocked. So I set about healing those bad boys through meditation, energy healing, charka clearing and balancing. To be honest, that was all a complete waste of time and money.

The symptoms persisted.

Luckily I started consulting an internal medicine doctor who is more naturopath than traditional medical physician. He did some blood work and discovered that my thyroid was converting testosterone into estrogen (maybe as a result of my getting in touch with my feminine side, who knows?) and prescribed medication to stop that. When my testosterone levels rose, so did my libido and spirits. It was simply a function of growing older and living a wild and crazy life.

The point I am making here is that, as Sigmund Freud used to say, “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

If you look at the whole chakra narrative as an attempt to explain in emotional and spiritual terms what is going on with our physical body it makes a lot more sense.

I attribute most of the stories I hear about chakra healing to the placebo effect or our mind’s ability to heal our bodies. The mind’s power to heal the body is extremely powerful. There is nothing wrong with going for the placebo effect.

If you suffer from anxiety and chronic depression, it may be that your chakras are blocked, but I strongly suggest you go have your blood chemistry checked. It may actually be your endocrine system which is malfunctioning.

Our mind and body systems are interrelated and complicated. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water by attributing symptoms to your chakras and ignoring your endocrine system.

Read full article here:

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2016/03/sometimes-a-cigar-is-just-a-cigar-chakras-vs-science/

#chakras #science #human #anatomy #knowledge #wisdom #heart #mind #body #soul #spiritual #emotional #wellbeing

[riseabovethephoenix]

[riseabovethephoenix]

You think he’s what makes the sun shine, but darling, he’s not. He’s what makes your eyes tear and your cuts bleed. He’s the thoughts in your head that rip you apart and, my god, I know you love him but he’s killing you.

#love #beauty #heartbreak #letdown #heart #dualities #art #quotes

[riseabovethephoenix]

“Can the purpose of a relationship be to trigger our wounds? In a way, yes, because that is how healing happens; darkness must be exposed before it can be transformed. The purpose of an intimate relationship is not that it be a place where we can hide from our weaknesses, but rather where we can safely let them go. It takes strength of character to truly delve into the mystery of an intimate relationship, because it takes the strength to endure a kind of psychic surgery, an emotional and psychological and even spiritual initiation into the higher Self. Only then can we know an enchantment that lasts.”

- Marianne Williamson

[riseabovethephoenix]

Don't explain your philosophy. Embody it.

Epictetus

#philosophy #life #beauty #wisdom #words

[riseabovethephoenix]

[You Belong Here: Full Moon in Virgo]

‘There is nothing to fix. Each one of us is made to fit our lives. Precisely. The measurements are exact. The tailoring is to a tee. The height. The width. The depth. It’s perfect. We need not ever struggle to fit into the fabric of ourselves.

We are all complex, paradoxical, flawed. As we fumble, topple and blunder our way out of the messy cocoon of unconsciousness (an ever-evolving, never-ceasing emergence), we do so perfectly also.

But we worry that we are wrong.

We fear we are ill-shaped. We fret that we were a mistake. We wake in night sweats, covered in panic’s perspiration. We question the meaning that makes us. We second guess our nature. We refuse our resplendency. We want to be another. We are taught to be other. We want to be in accordance with life, but we tend to attack our own.

Not fitting is excruciating. It’s excruciating as long as we try to fit. Or fix. Or make different our distinct markings. If we added up the hours spent counting the things”wrong” with us, we would be buried under a heap of lost time. What could we do with the energy otherwise? What life can we steal back from what the internal naysayers took? What will we do when we discover that we are as we were meant to be.

Knowing that we are of this earth, born from the wise order of the universe, is enough to know that nature doesn’t make anything without a purpose. If we are here, nature has called us here for a reason. That reason is our responsibility to discover but we can have faith that the reason fits like a crown of glory around our soul.

You are the perfect you. Don’t break yourself to fit in.

This full moon sits in the same sign as Jupiter. Though the two are not close by degree, this is still important to note. The nature of a full moon is to illuminate a place in our chart and this full moon will not only highlight the part of our chart that contains Virgo, but will also illuminate the work that Jupiter has accomplished (or gotten us to) here as well.

The nature of a full moon is to incorporate opposites, to find balance and to remember that one extreme always has an opposite and equal extreme. To stand at the center of these polarities, to be in balance with criticality and faith, to practice precision and embody unity, and to see the micro and the macro is what this full moon is asking of us.

We can know all of the things we must work on, all the ways in which we can do better, all of the things we must grow into and still feel appreciation for the day, for the skin that we are in and for ourselves. We can hold one another accountable while still holding one another with a compassionate heart. We can look at the world, in all its pain, sorrow and injustice and still know it’s worth fighting for, still know that there is love here, still believe that justice will, in the end, win. We can know that even in the most intense struggles to become ourselves and to find our way, we are still, and will always be, a perfect fit for our own lives.’

-- Chani --

Read full article here: 

http://chaninicholas.com/2016/02/you-belong-here-full-moon-in-virgo-2/#sthash.g8Wp15Km.dpuf

#chani #fullmoon #virgo #astrology #jupiter #planets #self #reflection #compassion #love #beauty #spiritual #being

[riseabovethephoenix]

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#Instagram #desert #gypsy #wildandfree #elenarequena #Mohave #lightworker #spiritual #sacred #medicine #nature #sand #dunes