June is here, and it’s the midpoint in the year. This provides us all with a time to look both back and ahead. What have we accomplished? What have we experienced? What do we hold in our hearts for the future? How can we honor ourselves, and the tension of the past year, while still finding time for peace, ourselves, friends and family?
This year, June (a 1 month) provides a time for transitions, new beginnings and opportunities. This will mean that you may have the chance to start a new project or relationship, or it may seem like one falls into your lap. However, part of the Numerological theme of 2011 is about structure and finding balance between your outer and inner needs. By now, you may recognize the outer pull of daily life (which at times may feel chaotic) and your inner need for fun, calm, balance and connection.
During the first few days of June, you may wish to contemplate on how you might begin to bring greater balance into your life. If you have not already done so, then you may wish to begin a regular gym, journal or meditation routine. Any activity that helps you to connect with your heart and helps you to release and transform pent up worry, frustration and doubt can be beneficial at this time. As having a strong sense of compassion can also be very beneficial, you may also wish to learn about the Buddhist practice of Tonglen.
Disenchantment, whether it is a minor disappointment or a major shock, is the signal that things are moving into transition in our lives. ~ William Throsby Bridges
As May (a 9 month) was a time for change, endings and transitions, you can look back to May to evaluate the areas in your life that need to be revamped or rejuvenated. You may wish utilize any potential feelings of being disenchanted, disconnected or unsatisfied in your life as stepping stones to the life that you desire. Allow your feelings to guide you to choices that help you to better resonate with the call of your heart. Perhaps it is time for a change at home or work. It might also be time to take on new roles or responsibilities.
During the entire year it can be important for you to understand about how you relate to responsibility, discipline and humor. As this year can bring in many Numerological experiences around balance, it can be important for you to know how to apply yourself to your work, but also to be able to set it aside, break away and find time to celebrate life with family and friends.
Good questions to reflect on now might be:
How am I bringing balance into my life?
What is my heart calling for me to act on?
Where do I feel challenged, and how might I get help?
And think not you can direct the course of love,for love if it finds you worthy directs your course ~ Kahlil Gibran
By now, you've probably been fully immersed in news and images from the British royal wedding. Today, the wedding of Prince William and Catherine "Kate" Middleton was streamed and broadcast around the world. Many people fell under its spell and were glued to their tv or computer to watch the ceremony in the early morning hours.
Have you paused to think about what the wedding might symbolically represent? Looking at it in this way can help you to touch on some of the more personal and deeper meaning that the event can have for us. The Royal Wedding can be viewed as a deeply personal story, fairy tale or myth. Viewing it in this way can allow you to better recognize, and be honest about, the feelings and memories that the event stirred within you. You might also connect to where this event fits in your own life story. Treating the wedding as a myth is not saying that it is about a fantasy, but about connecting with something larger than life, with an important story to tell. The story being told is a powerful one, with the potential to show you a glimpse of yourself that you might not otherwise get.
What parts of this story speak to you? You can work with those parts to learn more about your own inner needs or issues. You might recognize that something was stirred within you as you watched the wedding unfold. Did you recognize it? What was it? You might not notice immediately. Perhaps, the wedding reignited long forgotten dreams about your own expectations of a magical wedding. Perhaps, it allowed you to remember your own commitments in your intimate relationships.
Today, a large part of any story comes through in images. Do any images from the proceedings strike a chord within you? Many people were clamoring for the first kiss. For some, especially young woman, the image of Kate and William kissing may help them to connect with their inner bride to be. The part of themselves that wants to be cared for, respected and honored. Of course, there are other aspects of ourselves that need to be felt, nurtured and supported as well. This image speaks deeply about caring and desire.
Perhaps, although to a lessor degree, the image speaks to men about their dignity, pride and courage. It might speak to a man's desire to be honorable and stand up for what must be defended. Again, not all men will be stirred in the same way. But, in general, they can feel the dynamic that calls them to lead and be courageous.
As a man I can't help but compare myself to William. Of course, this is simple human nature. Yet, some men may not admit to doing it, for fear of how they might be perceived. The wedding does touch some small aspect of envy within me. Viewing the wedding as if it were a myth allows me to see this on a larger scale. Of course, I am not a prince and I don't have millions of admirers. But, what if I was? The potential feels intoxicating to me. I do recognize the part of me that wants to be have control and be in a position of power. However, I'm not fully sure of all of the places. where this feeling might play out in my life, but I'm willing to look. To do that, I can work with the images in a variety of ways. One of the simplest might be to simply hang a picture of the couple for a few days. Then I can record the thoughts, feelings and ideas that come up as I happen to look at it.
Delving deeper into the story may be another way to develop a deeper personal understanding of it. Writing may be of some here. Writing a new or different ending to the wedding, with you as the main character, might help you to tap deeper into the power of the story. Of course, you would want to write in a way that mythologized the story. You might begin by writing "Once upon a time.." or “They lived happily ever after..” and allowing your story to come to life. When you finish, you might find a few willing and compassionate partners to help you act out your story. Be gentle, as this may welcome feelings and emotions to be felt as you feel the impact of the story within your life.
Those familiar with the Tarot might work with the scenes from the wedding as if you were reading a Tarot spread. The kiss on the balcony might represent the Lovers card, or perhaps some of the qualities of it and some of your own feelings about love that have emerged from this story. Instead of choosing words to tell a mythic story, you might choose to work with some of the Tarot cards that speak to you and use them to continue writing the story by creating new cards of your own. Don't be afraid to let your creativity spill out and fill up poster boards with the images that speak about your emotions and have vibrancy for you.
I wish you luck in however you choose to explore the meaning behind this incredible story.
Some questions to ponder:
What does the royal wedding stir in me?
What do I feel when I see Kate?
What do I feel when I see William?
What memories came to mind as you watched the wedding?
Accepting and admitting that you do possess certain traits, qualities or characteristics is a healthy part of living with consciousness and awareness in the world. How often do you hear phrases like these:
“It’s her fault.”
“I’m not like that.”
“He’s the one who lied.”
“They did it.”
Hearing these phrases, especially when you are the one saying them, can be a sign of deeper issues around fear, blame or ridicule. Psychologically, this is called projection. You’re identifying people “outside” yourself to place blame on. Of course, it may be true that these people are to blame. But, you may also be responsible for the blame in some way. The more “charge” a situation has for you, the more you may covering up your real feelings and projecting your own fear and blame onto others.
Now, next time before you speak words like those above, take some time to think about your true feelings. You may not immediately recognize the what your feeling is connected to. That’s okay. Take some time to breathe and relax. Then, record your thoughts and you can come back to them later. As you gather your thoughts you may realize that they point to a particular issue.
Now, rather than sweeping your feelings and fears under the proverbial rug, you can shine a light on them and begin taking healthy steps to find a remedy for them. This process can be healthy and beneficial, although perhaps difficult at first. But, it can be a part of learning about yourself and coming to terms with your personal challenges, and reclaiming inner strength and vitality!
Don't move a muscle! Well, okay you can breathe. Now that I've got your attention, you can relax. For a few moments today try to find the time to think about the things that you are excited about in your life. What are they? Who are they? How many things can you name? This really isn't about quantity, but the more things that you have excitement and passion for, then the more at ease you can feel with your life.
You may want to record your thoughts with a journal or voice recorder for later reflection. Right now, just spill out whatever it is that you're excited about and don't try to edit your thoughts. Just let your thoughts flow.
You can review your thoughts alone, but you may want to have a friend or partner do this exercise as well. Then, you can review each others reflections. A partner might catch things that you might have missed. Together, you can dialogue about what these things brings into your life and makes it that much more interesting.
"One way to practice mindfulness meditation and pay attention to present-moment experiences is to label your emotions by saying, for example, ‘I’m feeling angry right now’ or ‘I’m feeling a lot of stress right now’ or ‘this is joy’ or whatever the emotion is." ~ David Creswell, UCLA research scientist/Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior
In their anger research, scientists David Creswell and Matthew D. Lieberman have found that we can reduce the reactions that occur within the brain in the amygdala (which creates a fear response) simply by putting our feelings into words. When you put your feelings into words, it seems to slow down or "put the brakes on" for the intense emotional responses that you might normally feel, without labeling and identifying your feelings.
“This is such an exciting study because it brings together the Buddha’s teachings — more than 2,500 years ago, he talked about the benefits of labeling your experience — with modern neuroscience. Now, for the first time since those teachings, we have shown there is actually a neurological reason for doing mindfulness meditation. Our findings are consistent with what mindfulness meditation teachers have taught for thousands of years.” ~ David Creswell
Karin Violino, at ezinearticles, has an excellent post about the vitalness of recording our nightly dreams. I've discussed journaling your dreams before, but she eloquently helps you to understand the personal importance of keeping your dreams logged. By keeping logs, you'll be able to revisit particular dreams at a later time for deeper exploration.
All of your dreams have something to say about you, your life and the changes that you can make for growth and fulfillment. Karen, also explains that even our nightmares hold value for us, if we are open and willing to explore them.
She says, "The key to dreams is to take them as they are." And, that is wonderful and powerful advice. Be open to the possibility that the dream has meaning. Once you accept that a dream can have meaning, you'll be drawn into a personal dream exploration practice.
The loss of trust is probably one of the biggest impacts of betrayal. In a relationship, when one person betrays the other, the shared trust evaporates and may never be recovered. Only with time, patience forgiveness and compassion may the deep wounds of betrayal be healed. Over time, you may become more willing to let go of past grievances, even though you may as yet be unwilling to allow the betrayer back into your life.
Spiritually, you may wish to look to techniques like meditation and journaling to help you heal the grief and pain caused by a betrayal. With time, these techniques can help you to address emotional wounds and help to prepare you to be ready to release them. Buddhism offers the practice of tonglen which may be a good tool to lean on. This method will allow you to work with your own suffering and the suffering of others as well. During the meditation you can visualize the transformation of what is cloying, dark and painful as healing and changing.
Within Numerology, I can help, or work with you, to take an in depth look at your current Personal year and the current potential obstacles and challenges in your life. This may help you to become more aware of your own strengths and weaknesses, and how you can use them to lead a more compassionate and successful life. We can also look at your Core Numbers to see how they might help you to be more conscious in your relationships.
We’ve begun to discuss issues around healing from painful, difficult or even traumatic events such as the devastation that took place on September 11th. In fact, studies show that the attacks continue to affect the way we think, remember and react to stress. Now, many of us may have processed our grief over time. Yet, the studies illustrate that some of us may still be processing the stress, grief and pain around the traumatic events that unfolded. For some, their grief may be debilitating. For others, their grief may prevent them from more fully enjoying their lives. And, many of us may be holding onto grief and upset from other events. Journaling may be one way to help you to begin to deal with your grief, uncover your feelings, and begin to let go of your dark emotions that may be holding you back from making desired and meaningful advancements in your life.
Meditation may be another way to begin to deal with and handle the emotions and grief that you may be dealing with. This is especially important to be able to face the reality of the world we live within. Rather than turning away from the nightly news, beginning to accept that there are dangers in the world. But, also knowing that you to don’t have to live in an isolated way to be free of the danger. Meditation can help you to begin to find calm places within.
Stephen Levine offers an excellent guided meditation in his book “Guided Meditations, Explorations and Healings”. You may wish to record the meditations and play them back, or have someone read them to you. The meditations can help you to process your grief and begin to make space in your life for something new. Stephen Levine also offers many other fine books on the grief process.
Meditation can help you to find an inner calm, but part of the goal should be to bring this new found calm out into your life. You may find that simply by having a practice that involves periods of silence, will help you to develop further calm and may help to tame many of your inner voices. For some people the silence is a deeply moving religious experience. For others being silent is a way to deepen their sense of spirituality. You might find that silence can help to expand your meditation practice, or simply to solve problems. But, you don’t need to have a reason for silence and you can come to silence with an open mind.
Time spent in silence can very powerful. There are no fixed rules, but when you are silent you should be “unplugged”. This means no television, computer, radio, music, books or using the phone. The fewer inputs you have to your brain the better. This is a time of emptying, slowing down, and patience. You may have to make agreements with your family in order to do this successfully. But, they might be able to share in the process.
Find a rhythm and pace with your meditation practice that works for you. As you gain experience, you may wish to try other forms of meditation, but try to spend enough time with one of the above processes so that you can actually feel that it is working. That may mean that you somehow feel like you have a “spring” in your step. It may mean that you are smiling and more engaged. When you notice a difference, you know that you’ve helped yourself to make some powerful changes!
“We must welcome the future, remembering that soon it will be the past; and we must respect the past, remembering that it was once all that was humanly possible” ~ George Santayana
As we remember the tragic events of September 11, 2001 many of us are filled with anger or grief. It does not matter if you lost someone close to you or not. The grief is there. It is real. It cannot be ignored. Whether you are carrying grief from this event, or others events in your life, it is important to find a way to address your pain.
The pain that you are experiencing can be physical, mental and emotional. Some people try to avoid going through the grief, by working, staying busy or simply trying to ignore it. Some people in grief may turn to drugs or alcohol in order to numb their pain. Some may try to tune out the world around them, and move through life deadened to both joy and pain. Not finding a way to heal your grief can bring about even more traumatic problems than experiencing the grief itself. Avoiding the pain of grief has the potential to lead to deeper symptoms and is connected to physical problems as well.
Remember to allow yourself to have feelings. And, know that having feelings of pain and upset is actually a normal, and healthy part of the grieving and healing process. For some events, such as the death of a loved one, or powerful events like September 11th, it may take years to fully heal. If you have lost someone close to you, your memories of them may fade over time, but the memories are likely to remain with you over the course of your life.
In order to heal, you may wish to turn to the arts to find a way to more fully express how you are feeling. There may be a deeper meaning that your grief is connected to, which you cannot yet see. Journaling, art, dance, or movement may help to give your grief, and the message that it may carry, a voice. You may wish to look to the work of someone like Dr. Ira Progoff.
Dr Progoff pioneered the use of writing as a tool for healing and personal development. He work involves finding the message in your illness. He stated, “Because of their intimate relation to us, however, our bodies are organs of experience by which meaning can enter our lives. When our bodies become ill or are injured, they need to he healed. To achieve this healing, or fixing, of the body there are many techniques that are available to the healing arts. Some of these techniques have a vitalistic source. Others, especially those that are more widely used in the modern era, are derived from materialist medical practice. The essence of healing however does not lie in the efficiency with which the body and its parts can be restored to strength. It lies in the meaning that is added to the life of the person who suffers the illness or the injury.”
Dr Progoff deeply believed that you can find meaning in your life by invoking the process of journaling. And, that was a major focus of his work. Through his early research and work in the 1960’s, Dr. Progoff discovered that those particular clients who took the time to journal were able to more quickly work through personal issues, such a working through the turmoil and pain of grief. By finding meaning in your life, you can find a reason to live life more fully and let go of the downward pull of grief. Hopefully, your own journaling process will help you to step away from grief and pain and into life.
What first flashes in your mind when you hear the words “personal strength”? For me, courage, power and determination immediately pop into my consciousness. I am sure that something similar comes to mind for you. Having personal strength includes many aspects of self-awareness and self-realization. It’s important to feel and accept that we are all have strength. It’s about really believing in yourself. Interestingly, this is what many of the newer spiritual books and movies are trying to convey.
I’d like to focus on the fact that self-knowledge, along with determination, can help you to be better able to avoid many of the destructive behaviors, which can hold you in unwanted repetitive patterns. That is why developing personal strength is so vital and important! Ideally, your learning and growth can help you to break through any inner struggles, especially those associated with guilt, anger and resentment.
Within Numerology we’ve talked about many ways in which you can get to know yourself better, so that you can come to terms with your own innate talents, strengths and characteristics. You are probably well aware that you can utilize shadow work with shadow material, especially your personal projections. Within Psychology, projection is used as a kind of defense mechanism. You “project” your “shadow”, which is your own unwanted or unaccepted, both good and bad, characteristics and attributes onto other people.
Quite often, many of us today, especially those jaded by psychological insights, might say that you can get stuck in a pattern of narcissistic inward/internal insight. People on the other extreme, might say that “everything is projection”. You’ll have to find the balance for yourself. But, if you try to use your experiences for personal growth you may find yourself on the right track. Of course, understanding this process is not necessarily easy to do. Coming to terms with your repressed or rejected material is not necessarily easy work. But, accepting and acknowledging both the "good" and "bad" parts of yourself will allow you to develop compassion and become more tolerant of yourself and others.
That is why developing your personal strength is so important. Working with your shadow can indeed be a very difficult and serious undertaking. Guidance can come from many sources, including television, books and movies. Movies like "Pleasantville" show us that there we can channel our shadow material into creative and life changing endeavors. Other movies portray the negative side of the shadow through characters like Jason, Freddie or Jigsaw. Obviously these movies and characters are extreme examples, but consider the fact that you may be unconsciously living your life while allowing unconscious actions and decisions to sabotage you. The purpose of shadow work is to help you side step these self-destructive patterns.
Psychological work and your personal shadow, combined with Numerology, can help you to develop a deeper sense for the meaning within your personal numbers. Once you develop this deeper sense your Numerology reading can guide you toward developing greater empathy and compassion for yourself and others, and you may be better able to understand other people's plight.
Now, instead of discussing any particular number, I’d like to offer something a little different. I think that you might be able to better connect the dots between your personal numbers and your own unique traits by answering some key questions. The answers can tie directly with personal information from your numbers that you probably already know! But, these questions may help you to make the material feel more alive. This might be a powerful way to take a step back and gain some deeper personal insights. These questions, along with suggestions for the Numerological numbers that may be of best use in helping to answer them, are below. Write down your answers and try to find a way to discuss the list with others.
What are some of your favorite hobbies and interests? (Your Soul number and Outer number may be of help with this question.)
How do you see yourself right now? How has this personal image changed over the last 5, 10 and 15 years? (Your Soul number and Life Path number may be of help with this question.)
How do others see you right now? How has this outer image changed over that last 5, 10 and 15 years? (Your Outer number, Life Path number and Maturity number all can help with this question.)
What non-fiction books or movies have impacted your life in the last few years? (Your Soul number can help with this question.)
Do you have any important people that you draw inspiration from? (You Life Path number can help with this question.)
Why do you do the work that you do? (You Life Path number can help with this question.)
How organized / disorganized are you? (Your Soul number can help with this question.)
How creative are you? (Your Soul number and Life Path number may be of help with this question.)
How structured are you? (Your Soul number, Outer number and Life Path number may be of help with this question.)
How responsible are you? (Your Maturity number and Outer number may be of help with this question.)
The answers to these questions may help you to develop a greater sense of where your strengths are. You may be surprised that you gain confidence, courage and strength from activities that you have come to disparage, or simply have no time for. Perhaps you feel recharged after listening to music, yet never find the time to sit and listen. Perhaps painting soothes you, yet your inner critic prevents you from ever actually picking up a brush.
For me, I’ve been looking at the books that I enjoy reading. I’ve found that although I tend to read a wide array of topics, it boils down to reading a lot about creative people. I find it fascinating to explore the way different people think and write. This inspires me to think differently and have the drive, stamina and courage to find outlets for my own creativity, even if I am only going to draw a picture for myself.
When you are ready to dig deeper, you can compare your answers with the knowledge that your personal numbers can provide. However, you might be amazed at the information that is brought up just by answering the questions. I also think that a deeper analysis should come in conjunction with conversations with supportive people in your life.
Although we think we might ‘know’ the answer to a question, it’s a different story to see the answer on paper. All too often we lose sight of our own potential due to issues around time, crisis, or events and circumstances that we think are outside of our control. In life, these circumstances may cause us to let go of our true potential. This can definitely contribute to the growth and development of inner turmoil. Writing down everything, and shining a light on your image of yourself and your inner desires and dreams can be a way to begin to work with any internal confusion and hopefully find ways to dissolve it.
Just remember that Life is an ongoing learning experience. It’s also important to keep in mind that we all have strengths and weaknesses. We are all unique. As you go through life, it is vitally important that you’re able to, and allow yourself to continue to grow and learn about who you really are! As you do this you can better develop your personal strengths. Hopefully, you also be more aware of your weaknesses, and be better equipped to prevent them from getting in your way.
Accepting and admitting that you do possess certain traits, qualities or characteristics, rather than sweeping them under the proverbial rug, is a healthy and beneficial, although perhaps difficult, part of learning about yourself and coming to terms with your own Personal Strength!
June is here, and it’s the midpoint in the year. This provides us all with a time to look both back and ahead. What have we accomplished? What have we experienced? What do we hold in our hearts for the future? How can we honor ourselves, and the tension of the past year, while still finding time for peace, ourselves, friends and family?
What first flashes in your mind when you hear the words “personal strength”? For me, courage, power and determination immediately pop into my consciousness. I am sure that something similar comes to mind for you. Having personal strength includes many aspects of self-awareness and self-realization. It’s important to feel and accept that we are all have strength. It’s about really believing in yourself. Interestingly, this is what many of the newer spiritual books and movies are trying to convey.
