Archive for Practical Spirituality
Make 2012 Simply Beautiful!
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Daisies by Niamh Savani
Make 2012 a simply beautiful year! Balance your “being” and “doing” and become whole. Do things that bring joy, laughter, love, stillness and peace into your heart and life. Be compassionate towards others. Try to create as much beauty as you can.
“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” ~ Ashley Smith
“Beauty” is my word for the year for 2012! I’ve set goals (not resolutions) for the year, but the foundation around which everything will revolve will be “Does this create beauty in my life or the lives of others?”.
Beauty does not need to be complicated – try to keep it simple! Just look at the photo of the daisies to the left – such an ordinary, simple flower - yet perfectly beautiful. Read More→
Prelude Paintings at Mesa Arts Center
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Prelude #1, Acrylic on Canvas, 10" x 10", 2011
Recently I had two paintings in a group show at the Mesa Arts Center. After a summer of adventure, expansion, artistic, and spiritual renewal, I used my experiences and the energy from my travels and poured these into my artwork. During the process of painting a new direction and clarity for my artistic work emerged.
After a hiatus from showing my work, it felt great to see my paintings in the public arena again, especially in such a well respected gallery space as the Mesa Arts Center. It felt like a prelude to a new beginning for my artistic journey.
I followed my soul and studied painting in college but right before graduating with my BFA degree, I realized that Read More→
Undercover Mystic
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Arizona Sunrise by Niamh Savani
John O’Donohue the well known Irish author called his friend an “undercover mystic”. What a beautiful, poetic way to describe an ordinary person who at the very least is serene, wise, and compassionate, and perhaps is enlightened.
Which brings us to the question “what is enlightenment?” (or susbtitute “awakening” etc.) I’m not even attempting to define such a loaded word, so I’ll just quote from others who can express this better than me. Read More→
How to Thrive and Be Happy
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"Thrive" by Niamh Savani
We’ve all had houseplants that we’ve forgotten about for weeks or maybe even months at a time. Yet they seem to survive pretty well without water, food, or any special attention. After a certain amount of time and inattention, the leaves start to wilt or die and the poor plant begins to show signs of distress.
This is when we finally notice the poor plant and give it some much needed attention. We water the plant, maybe give it some plant food, prune the dead leaves, open a few windows to let in some fresh air etc. Often within hours of the much needed attention the plant’s leaves spring back to life, and it seems on the road to recovery again. Read More→
Yes, I’m Alive and Kicking
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Vibrant Woman by Dolgachov, Dreamstime
I know, I know … I’ve been below the blogging radar for a while! However for some very good reasons: disconnecting from the virtual world, grounding myself in the earthly world, living life to the fullest and feeling fully alive!
“Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive – the risk to be alive and express what we really are.” ~ Don Miguel Ruiz
My uncle Frank’s death last April was really a blessing in disguise. When someone close to you dies, it kinda makes you re-evaluate your life and reminds you we have a limited amount of time on this earth (in this lifetime anyway!). It made me re-focus on my passion and purpose in life.
My original plans for the summer were swept aside, and what evolved was a sublime summer focused on adventure, travel, connecting with old friends, self-reflection, encounters with the divine feminine, and lots of art. I will write about some of these adventures in later posts. Read More→
Rise of the Feminine Spirit
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Venus of Willendorf
I haven’t been blogging much recently because I’m still in a state of transition after the death of my uncle. In my last post I wrote “I truly feel that a cycle that began with the passing of my own beloved mother many years ago has been brought to completion by the death of my uncle. I am looking forward to my new beginning – it has already begun!” I wasn’t really sure what I meant when I wrote this, but it felt right at the same time. The truth of this statement is becoming clearer to me day by day.
My mother died in 1990, and my uncle just passed away in March of this year. I recently realized that is a time span of 21 years. In many traditions 21 is considered a sacred number and many people go on retreats for 21 days because it represents a complete energy cycle. The founder of Reiki discovered the symbols and system of Reiki after 21 days on the sacred Mount Kurama. I trust my feminine intuition that a cycle that started 21 years ago with my mother’s death has completed, and the circle is closing with the death of my uncle. When one circle or door closes, another opens, and I can feel deep in my bones a change in myself and know that it will begin to reflect in my outer world circumstances. Read More→
New Beginning
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Seedling by Dreamstime
Today is May 1st or May day, also known as Beltaine in the Celtic world. In ancient Celtic society, the year was divided into two halves: Samhain (November 1st) represented the beginning of winter, the darker half of the year, and a time for introspection and reflection. Beltaine (May 1st) represented the beginning of spring/summer, the season of light, new beginnings, expansion, and growth
“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” ~ Seneca
I’ve haven’t been blogging for the past month because to be honest it went by like a blur! I’ve been in a state of transition due to the passing of my beloved uncle Frank. I’ve been on a journey – both a literal physical journey to California for the funeral, as well as an unplanned emotional/spiritual journey. Death has a way of making you reassess your life, re-evaluate certain situations, and in my case brought complete clarity and closure to some issues that I didn’t even realize were unresolved.
“If I had to reduce the meaning of initiation into just two words, they would be death and rebirth. Those are the essential tasks in any initiation, and especially they are the tasks of women who undergo initiation into feminist spiritual experience.” ~ Sue Monk Kid, The Dance of the Dissident Daughter
I can honestly say that my uncle’s death has brought me many unexpected blessings (after I got over the original shock). I truly feel like I have been reborn and have complete clarity about my life. I have received so many signs over the past few weeks, and there have been so many synchronistic events, that I’m not even going to try to begin to describe them. My uncle is really guiding me and looking out for me.
Even before I received the news about my uncle, approximately a week before, out of the blue I dreamt that I was swallowed by a whale, was trapped in the stomach, and then was released. According to Ted Andrews, author of Animal Speak “Whales at one time were also symbols of containment, concealment, and even resurrection. The Biblical story of Jonah and the whale is the prime example. For three days, Jonah lived within the belly of the whale before he came forth. He was given a second birth.” This dream was an omen that great changes that were afoot.
The other night I dreamt that I symbolically “died” and then was reborn. If I was in any way unsure about all the events that have been taking place over the past few weeks, this was just total confirmation that I am guided and on the right path.
“Let every day be the first day of the rest of your life, but especially let today be a new beginning.” ~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Whether we realize it or every day is a new beginning! I have found such a sense of completion and wholeness within myself over the last month and totally trust my feminine intuition. I truly feel that a cycle that began with the passing of my own beloved mother many years ago has been brought to completion by the death of my uncle. I am looking forward to my new beginning – it has already begun!
May peace prevail in your hearts, homes, communities, and the world!
Transitions
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Dandelion by dreamstime
We are born to die. This is the only thing we know for sure that will happen in our life. After we are born we may become rich, live in poverty, get an education, travel the world, have children, not have children, write a book … the possibilities are endless. But whatever happens in our lives, we all meet the same fate at the end of our lives.
My beloved uncle Frank recently passed away. He was a wonderful, loving, kind,and generous person. He acted as a second father to me when I arrived in the United States and helped me settled in my new country. While I know he has just passed to a different realm, and there is life after life, it is still strange to think that I will never hear his voice or see his face in physical form again. Especially since the last time I talked to him a few weeks ago, he sounded vibrant and healthy once again. However, over the last few days, I have been getting many signs from my uncle that he is still alive in some other dimension. Read More→
- New England Flowers
Today is the first day of spring! I love this time of year – the days are getting longer, flowers are blooming, and there is a sense of hope and joy in the air after the long, dark winter. There is the feeling of a new beginning and we feel like clearing out the cobwebs from our lives.
Many people feel like spring cleaning their homes and starting new projects. This is great but it has certain limitations. We all know that change must start from the inside out. So instead of just focusing on the physical space and spring cleaning your home (which is a good start), why not pay attention to your entire being - body, mind, and spirit too? Read More→
Jade Buddha Promotes Peace
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Jade Buddha for Universal Peace by Niamh Savani
Who wouldn’t want more peace in their mind, body, and spirit? We all want to be happy, but at the core of happiness is peace – being able to accept whatever changes and events occur in our lives – no matter what! We all know that the only constant is change, but we so often fight against unexpected or even predictable changes and don’t accept the lessons they bring. We lose our sense of peace, and therefore suffer and are not happy.
“The point of Buddhism is to just see. That’s all.” ~ Steve Hagen
There are many ways to try to bring more peace into your life, but perhaps one of the easiest is just being in the presence and looking at sacred objects. This will allow you to imbibe the powerful energies of the sacred art and can increase your state of awareness.
Recently the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace tour arrived in Mesa, Arizona. I visited Read More→
