Posted on Wednesday, February 25, 2009 by Lily Wong in Spiritual Practice
There are many tools, techniques and practices available to assist you in your spiritual or inner work. How do we know which ones are right for us? We won’t know, until we try them.
I like the idea of 30-day trials as suggested by Steve Pavlina. If you try something for 30 days and it works for you, then carry on. If not, then move on to the next one. Life is an exploration of many things, so don’t be afraid to give things that catch your eye (and heart) a test run.
There is no mathematical format on how to choose the right kind of spiritual tools other than gauging your own experience of that particular practice. A good rule of thumb that a certain technique is working for you is to check whether you experience joy while doing it.
Here is a simple guideline to help you gauge how much you experience joy when you are using a new spiritual tool or practice.
# 1 Do you feel more uplifted, happier and lighter?
This is the number one clue to tell how compatible you are with your chosen tool/practice. If 20 out of 30 days of using a certain technique makes you feel depressed, blue, apathetic and just downright unwell, STOP. If it gives you a sickening feeling of dread and terror in the stomach, listen to your gut feeling and STOP. If it takes away the joy of living life because you are always feeling out of sorts, STOP.
“No pain, no gain” is merely a belief system. Yes, some tools and practices may evoke healing crises, but if a big chunk of your experience is mostly doom and gloom, it is time to pause and reflect.
In this case ask yourself: Does doing this give me more joy or take away my joy of everyday life? Remember that spiritual growth, enlightenment and self realization is never a goal, it is a journey. So the quest here is to keep elevating the quality of your experience of everything you do for that reason. There is no finish line, where you need to cry, go crazy and have your heads in the darkest clouds to reach it – unless of course, you choose to experience your spiritual journey this way.
# 2 Do you find meaning in it?
For instance, are you doing those yoga poses without knowing why? Do you know what benefits that downward facing dog would give you? And are those things aligned with your spiritual growth? Or let’s say you are doing a meditation course where you are not clear about the real philosophy behind it. This is also a time to stop and reevaluate your choice of tools and techniques.
It is important to be clear about the things you do because knowing why you are doing something helps you to align the practice to your spiritual intentions. It also ensures you can keep to the practice. If you find yourself always ‘missing’ your meditation classes either intentionally or unintentionally, this may be why. You are not clear about your intentions.
That said, finding meaning also relates to your intentions or motives. Why are you taking on this practice? Is it because all your peers are doing it? Or is it truly for the self? You need to be honest with your motives when it comes to spiritual practices so that the fruits of your practice feed what your soul needs. Remember with every effect, there is a cause; and the cause is your intention. Good intentions give birth to beautiful creations (the effect). To create good intentions, is to be authentic about what you truly want and enjoy.
# 3 Do you do it very naturally?
If you need to force yourself to do something, chances are it is not really for you. When force is used, it is the Ego that wants it, not the spiritual self. When something fits you, you will flow with it. Trust me, if something is really right for you, you simply move with it as if it has always been part of your rhythm. In some cases, you don’t even need to ‘break’ into it using the 21-day rule. There wouldn’t be push-pull with it.
Of course there are exceptions – like a block within you that creates resistance to a certain practice. So how can you tell? For this, you need to go back to number 1 (above) to see if you are always happy doing it. Then check number 2, do you find meaning in it and are your true intentions aligned with what you want for yourself spiritually? If yes, then ask for clarity to find out what is blocking you.
The above is merely a list of questions to help you find the truth of what gives you joy. It is definitely not a measuring stick. This is because our spiritual practices will evolve as we evolve. The tools and techniques that are perfect for you today will stop being enjoyable when you have grown out of it. So work with things with a sense of detachment, and enjoy every bit that you can NOW.
Also know that everyone may have different responses to different techniques. For instance MeditationXYZ may give your peers complete bliss and peace. But it left you feeling awful 90% of the time. Perhaps it’s time to move on to a practice that suits you better. It is not that MeditationXYZ is ‘wrong’ – there is no right or wrong. It simply means that something else would benefit you more. The awfulness you feel is merely a message to usher you along into the right direction.
That is why; I emphasize this again: if something does not bring you joy, let it go. I find that this not only applies to spiritual practices and tools – it applies to everything in life as well.
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Posted on Saturday, February 8, 2009 by Lily Wong in Personal Energy
Soulstudio (SS): What is energy hygiene?
Victor Lu (VL) : Energy hygiene is about clearing and maintaining your own energy field/aura. It is very similar to how you would maintain hygiene of your body, teeth and even your food – and ideally it should be part of our daily life routines. Just like how we would groom ourselves and put on something nice to wear before we go out, we should also clean our own energy and “dress” it up with higher vibration; ie. a beautiful light protective shield; before we go out into the world.
SS: Why is it important?
VL: Energy hygiene is important in that it helps us to maintain a healthy boundary between ourselves and others, or the outer environment. In this way we will not be easily affected by others, hence giving you a clear mind. Clarity is important because it is only through a clear mind that we make higher and more conscious choices in life.
SS: What are the signs that our energy body needs to be 'cleansed'? For example, is depression a sign? How so?
VL: A good indication that the energy body needs to be cleansed is we when feel tired all of a sudden. For instance, feeling drained after you have spoken with certain people. Or if you feel blue out of blue. So yes, depression for no apparent reasons could indicate that you may have taken on other people’s energies, causing dis-resonance within your energy body – which means it is high time you clear yourself of these discordant energies! Losing focus is also another good sign.
SS: In brief, how do we practice good energy hygiene?
VL: Awareness is the essential key to successful energy hygiene practice. Firstly, you have to be aware of yourself. You don’t need to be a “Sensitive” to do so – everyone can cultivate awareness in daily life. When you are in a state of consistent awareness, you will then be able to choose the things that you want and don't want in your life. And this includes what sort of energies that you choose to be in your system and what other vibrations that you would prefer to do without because they do not serve your highest good. All this requires good mastery of awareness.
I do agree, that for many people, cultivating awareness may take discipline. However I would like to emphasize that commitment to building awareness in your daily life, especially consistently being aware of your body and moods is really the greatest gifts that anyone could have!
SS: Why is cords-cutting such an important practice?
VL: Cords are energy streams that look like tubes connecting a person to another. When you engage in any relationships with people, places, objects or situation, you create cords. The reason cords are created is to ensure you get enough understanding about a certain situation with another person – as this facilitates spiritual lessons.
I’ll give you another broader view about cords. When you were in your mother’s womb an umblilical cord connected you to her so that you will receive sustenance from her. However when you are borned and were fully mature to obtain sustenance for yourself, the cord is then cut. Energy cords are somewhat like that – they are meant to be there for purpose, and when that purpose is served, it should be removed. But most of the time, instead of learning those lessons and let go, we still hold on to them.
Everything is related, but sometimes we take things too personally – we have a tendency to take things deep into our heart and mind. When this happens, we lose our conscious minds and our inner center, forgetting the truth. We then blame others for creating our reality and experiences, forgetting that we are responsible for everything that happens to us. We forget that we are the ones who keep ourselves hooked onto others and certain unpleasant situations. This hooking, this sense of striving to tear down the opposite, the sense of wanting the other person or situation to conform to your values, the sense of being stagnated in non-action etc are all examples of energy cording.
However, once you are aware of such cords, and you begin to acknowledge and understand them, you can easily release these cords. When cords are released, it is when you get back your personal power, centeredness and clarity. In this frame of mind you can now choose what kind of experiences you want in your daily life.
SS: Please talk a little about psychic attacks and how it relates to energy hygiene.
VL: There are many forms of psychic attacks. For this topic, however, I won’t be talking the supernatural or “woo-woo” kind. I will instead talk about the type of psychic attacks that most people claim are being induced upon them, but are actually self-created.
Yes, the number one most common psychic attack is always self-created! I don't call this psychic attack, because it is actually self-cricticism and the tendency to blame – all attributes of not being self-responsible. This type of psychic attack is about continuing to condemn yourself, criticize yourself, harboring guilt and struggling to stand your ground.
The second form of psychic attack is actually side effects from life transitions; and whatever discomfort you feel is not an attack eventhough some misinformed clairvoyants/psychics will tell that you are psychically attacked. This kind of misinformation happens simply because when you are going through many spiritual shifts and life crises, you can easily fall into negative moods and negative thoughtforms which may create all sorts of illusive judgments – all of which may be misinterpreted as a psychic attack. In truth this has nothing to do with a person or outside force attacking them.
The third type has to do with what other people are saying about you, for example back bitting, jealousy and anger directed at you. If you do not own your power and maintain healthy boundaries, you will indeed be less immune to these lower energies – hence, being ‘attacked’. This can cause you to be off-centered or have trouble deciding things for yourself.
Everyone, even those who is diligent in taking care of their physical, emotional, mental and energy level and hygiene, will experience these circumstances from time to time. But for those with good energy hygiene practice, you have an advantage because you can now use your practice as a tool to clear these disharmonious vibrations and re-establish your boundaries consciously. Through persistency and consistency, you will able to maintain a clear and strong healthy energy body that will support you, leaving no room for any psychic attack to occur be it from self or from others. And all the above can be done by choosing to take good care of your four body systems through maintaining healthy energetic hygiene.
SS: Please explain a little about your work with Archangel Michael, and how he can help us in centering our energies.
VL: Archangel Michael is known as the Archangel of Protection, Courage, Direction, Faith and Determination. This wonderful angelic being has the ability to help us feel safe, centered and clear within our own energies.
Call upon him now from your heart with sincerity:
Archangel Michael, I call upon you now to center and protect my energy field. Thank you and it is done.
Take a deep breath and be aware of your heart center...and feel the shift and sense of strength within you.
My connection with Archangel Michael is to assist people to feel safe enough to reclaim their own power and come to a point of understanding by refining their consciousness, claiming personal power and integrating love into everyday life.
SS: Finally, what advice do you have for readers who are sensitive to energies?
VL: Honor your sensitivity! Pushing or denying it is not the way. Honor it by acknowledging it. You can affirm this daily: Yes, I am sensitive towards energies and I now choose to master and direct my own energies. I choose to be free from all energies that is not of me and not of Love to be returned back to its original Source with love.
Another good technique is to constantly bathe with sea salt and to visualize the color green showering on you. The sea salt will break old energies and the green light will revitalize your energies.
Also, learn how to say NO with assertiveness and most importantly with love. This will give you tremendous strength and help you build stronger healthy boundaries.
Victor Lu will be holding a workshop called Personal Alchemy with Archangel Michael on Saturday, February 21 09 at Angel House. This workshop will touch on the subject of energy hygiene and how we can work with Archangel Michael to maintain a clear and healthy energy body. Click here for more information. Victor Lu is an intuitive counselor, energy healer and teacher, certified as Angel Intuitive™ Adv practitioner by renowed Angel Therapist® - Doreen Virtue Ph D. Based on years of experiences, Victor now made his focus on giving angel reading/healing, crystal therapy, flower essences and teach people how to attune and work with the angels. He is the founder and owner of Angel House in Subang Jaya Malaysia, a holistic center offering healing services, intuitive readings, and a wide array of organic and new age products.
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Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 by Lily Wong in Personal Power
But is there really a right or wrong choice when it comes to making open-ended decisions like these? How do we decide then? On what foundation do we base our decision-making?
This is where personal responsibility is required. Many people would rather have another tell them what to choose because they mistakenly think that would take the responsibility of that choice off their shoulders. It is disempowering because you would create a sense of victimhood within you.
Whether it is right or wrong, is a matter of how you yourself accept that choice. Self-acceptance is the key. When it is a personal choice, it rarely works to choose according to what others deem is good or bad. All choices should be based on your own values, your own feelings and your own preferences.
When a choice is made based on what others want for you or what would please others, the chances of it being ‘wrong’ for you is higher. Sometimes we unknowingly make choices like these, because most of us are programmed to always make others happy first. We won’t know this until resentment or a sense of feeling trapped begins to surface. Eventually the built-up of these emotions would cause us to quit that choice in a push-pull manner. Push-pull because on one part we know it is not working out for us, but on another we cannot let it go because we fear disappointing someone. When we do give up on that choice, usually a lot of guilt and self-loathing arises; inducing a sense of failure. At times you begin to even question if you fear success itself. When this happens too often, we begin to doubt our ability to make good choices for ourselves. This causes us to be trapped in a vicious cycle of victimhood and fear of failure.
When you make a choice authentically for yourself, and it doesn’t work out, usually you would just get a neutral sense to move on. There is no guilt, no push-pull games; because that choice was made by you for you. The only person you need to answer to is yourself. Of course there are times you would doubt whether you are making the right choice to move on. Remember there is no right or wrong, just how much you accept that choice. For instance the whole world thinks it is a mistake not to marry your childhood sweetheart. If you feel strong about your decision, stick with it. Keep asking yourself, is this decision mine, or theirs?
At this stage most of us will get into a state of creating ‘reasons’ to leave something. For example, you begin coming up with a list of negative things why your childhood sweetheart is not suitable for you, to justify your choice. You don’t need to do that. You don’t need to create ‘cons’ about a decision to not choose it. Similarly you don’t need to create ‘pros’ about a decision to choose it. This is call finding fault or excuses.
But shouldn’t logic be included in making good choices? Definitely. But there’s a fine line between practical whys and finding faults. Practical whys are always geared towards the highest possible goal for you – it would answer the questions: “how does this add value into my life and others?” “Which one would help me raise my vibrations the best?” Finding fault is the ego’s way of creating drama within you about another: ie. he is too fat for me, he is too poor for me, etc – all of which degrades the other choice.
When a choice makes you feel good, go for it. Have courage to just choose it. It is ok to make a mistake, because you can always choose again. No one here or up there is going to punish you. Mistakes only need corrections not punishment.
When we can understand that there is no right or wrong choices, there won’t be failures in our lives, because every experience that we choose for ourselves is all about growth. And when there’s growth, there’s success. How do we go wrong with that? We simply can’t. This goes to show that judging things good or bad, right and wrong is merely an illusion. Upon this awareness, you would truly create the life you desire; and even if there are mistakes along the way, you know that it is all part of your growth process.
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Vanessa, the Angel of Inner Courage drops by to inspire inner strength and authentic courage to everyone who are going through life transitions.
"Yes, Dear Ones, it takes true courage to walk the path towards your true passion. To be willing to listen to your heart when it calls to you to your bliss and joy takes inner strength. This is because going towards joy takes you off the path that you have been so comfortable in. Remember that the ultimate path for every Soul, is one of evolution. We are always seeking to expand and evolve and eventually to be one with the Divine. All paths that holds the energy of your True Passion leads to this. That is why courage is needed because to evolve is to change; and to change is to challenge all your comfort zones.
Call on me for this inner power, for this surge of strength in the midst of your transitions, when all your beliefs are challenged. I will help ease the shock that rocks the boat of your Ego. I will assist you in accelerating the temporary jitters that commonly arise when the Ego gets a spiritual shock. I will be there to clear your mind and heart so eventhough it is stormy with thunder and lightning in your environment you can still hear your true guidance.
I am always with you and will always love you, my Dear Ones. I am Vanessa, the Angel of Inner Courage."
Posted on Wednesday, January 7, 2009 by Lily Wong in Personal Power
Is it possible to make “passion” happen? Or is passion an effect of cultivating certain attitudes?
Passion is also an expression of love. Within it, lies authentic appreciation, genuine interest and unquestionable dedication, which makes up for some of the attitudes from where passion may be generated. Passion can definitely be cultivated when we do certain things, but whether or not passion blossoms from our cultivation is yet another story.
Yes, we can ‘fake’ passion; we can even convince ourselves about being passionate about certain things. But passion strictly belongs to the heart, and the heart never lies. Sure, we can keep on affirming, “I am passionate about…” to key in the belief; and it may get glued in your mind, but the heart will reveal the truth sooner or later.
When we are out of alignment with our heart’s calling, it would waste no time to send you messages through your emotions. These messages can come in the form of anxiety, frustration, and even resentment if you continue to deceive yourself what your True Passion is. It is not because your Higher Self or whoever is trying to make you suffer. It is just the natural flow of the heart. The heart is always conscious of your Soul’s purpose and your Divine lifework – and it always follows this direction. So when you are out of alignment, your emotions move out of the flow as well.
Don’t misunderstand this concept. We can certainly do many,many things without a dash of passion, and be OK about it – as long as they keep your energy flowing in some ways. For example, you definitely don’t need to be passionate about cleaning the house. But you must make sure that this activity is aligned with the flow. To be aligned with the flow is to be conscious of the ‘contributive’ purpose of what you are doing. You clean the house because it contributes to adding value to your environment. Knowing that keeps you in the flow, because it comes from love for your living spaces. If you clean the house with the purpose of pleasing your in-laws, and in truth you don’t really care about the environment because it is not your house and you are moving out soon; you’d feel a lot of resentment and frustration doing it. It all lies in your intention.
Also, among the many OK things, make sure that you also do at least one thing that makes you go YAY! and makes your day. Passion is derived from the energy of love energy which serves as a booster – it propels and drives a person forward. It charges one with enthusiasm and aliveness. It is also part of your divine flow.
During these times where the new earth emerging, passion will become the next bread and butter for many. We can no longer survive just on activities that do not fuel the heart. With the new vibrations coming in which is faster and stronger, perfunctory activities that do not charge a person up would feel extremely uncomfortable, because it vibrates at a lower level.
This does not mean that you drop your tasks and chores right away. We must still chop our wood and carry our water because that is what keeps your life going. Mundane as your everyday tasks are, they are the foundational energy that shapes your life, and they must be running at all times. So they are there for good reasons. But for the rest of the mundane things that you do that do not serve you in any ways or drain your energy, release those things. We only have 24 hours a day and it is best to use time for things that fuel us. Passion is what fuels us, and if there’s anything you should invest your time in, it is discovering your passion and devoting time to that.
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Posted on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 by Lily Wong in Personal Power
When we make choices, it is true that we should based our decisions on either Love or Fear. But this is not to be mistaken that in order to choose something new, you need to ‘hate’ (an expression of fear) your current situation to do so.
Here’s an example. Let’s say you are in Job A and Job B comes along; and you would like to move on to Job B because Job B feels right. But in truth, you love Job A, and you still do; it’s just that Job B gives you more opportunities to express yourself. That puts you into a dilemma, and the way the ego handles dilemma is to put both into what I call a “Duality Drill” – making decisions by weighing the good and the bad.
Because you want to move on to Job B without fearing that you are making the wrong choice, you begin doing the whole pros and cons thing. But usually the dice is loaded, because you have already decided to move on; or else you wouldn’t even look at Job B in the first place.
With the inner bias already at work, you began fishing out the cons of Job A. Why? So that you have reason to not love it, making it ‘logical’ for you to move on to Job B. This is usually more of a rationalizing process rather than a decision making process.
The disadvantage is, by finding ‘what’s wrong’ with Job A, you generate a lot of negative energy within and without you. These ‘wrongs’ may also breed resentment and clouds up your current experience; which could also lead to blocking your next better option B to you!
Consider this. B comes into the picture because of your response to A. Your Love for A has expanded your vibrations and that’s how you attracted B into your life (whether it is already a form or a mere thought). That said, it definitely does not serve anyone to now develop ‘dislike’ for your current situation A so it is easier for your Ego to move on to B. This situation also clearly shows that to like and to dislike is also a choice that you can make.
What we really fear when we are faced with dilemmas when we are making choices is really the loss of what is giving you the experience of love and joy. That’s the thing. We cannot ‘keep’ joy in a little jar and hope it will be there forever. In the above example, the job is the jar. We think by keeping the job, we can keep the love and joy. That is what makes moving on or making new choices difficult. So we mistakenly believe that we now have to ‘transfer’ that experience to the next jar. And the best way to do it? Do the opposite – hate it.
It does not have to be this way. Just remember that it is Love for A that brings you B, and so to maintain B as your next best thing, you need to keep the energies of A bubbling with Love so you can transition smoothly into B.
When you can stay in the flow of Love Energy at all times, there will be many occasions where your heart sings and makes its callings when it meets with the next experience that would fit the higher You. When you can trust your heart and follow where it leads, there would be no right or wrong choices to make, just experiences to step into.
Below is a list of signs that a choice is within your heart’s calling:
- Your heart expands and radiates warmth when you think about your new choices.
- You feel as if energy is released within you.
- You feel lighter and feel as if your world has expanded
In some cases, the old choice would sometimes feel constricted (even though you may still love it) and there is a nagging feeling coming up, or a consistent whisper that says “it’s time to move on.” If you ignore it, or brush it away, the energy get stuffed in and there is always anxiety. This anxiety is due to your fear of losing the Love you are experiencing. So just relax and listen to your inner voices. Don’t discount them. If it’s something that is not for your higher good, remember that your Love is always stronger than fear. So love them, whether it is your higher voice or you ego voice.
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Posted on Monday, January 05, 2009 by Lily Wong in Managing Emotions
We cannot really help others to ‘take away’ their unpleasant emotions. And practically, we shouldn’t. When we understand emotions are messages from our inner selves, it is a little nosy of us to want to take that away from someone. It is like opening someone’s mail before they even know they’ve got mail, and then throwing it away.
And the truth is, even if we want to take away someone else’s emotional energy, we cannot. What we usually do is make a carbon copy of the emotional energy and leave it within us, mistakenly thinking, that we have now absorb the polluted energy from someone and now they are clear of it.
While you may have taken on some of that energy, you can never clear it because the root cause of it within the other person is still producing the same kind of energy consistently. Until they clear themselves off of the root cause, it would still produce the same kind of emotions again and again.
Usually it is challenging to know when you have taken on someone’s emotions, or if it’s your own. It takes skills and years of innerwork to be able to differentiate between your stuff and the others’. But it is not all that impossible. Here are some common signs that the emotional energy is not yours. When you tune in,
All that said, you don’t have to go all resentful for having taken on other people’s emotions that are not yours; or be all defensive and paranoid. It’s because no matter how well we protect ourselves, we can never be clear of “non-me” energies 100%. Everything is connected, and like air, we share the same energy flow. To understand this and to accept and manage emotional energies with grace is an act of divine love; as well as a step closer to embracing oneness. So, just relax. No energies are harmful or harmless – they are as useful or as dangerous as you define them.
Of course, do the best you can to take preventive measures like shielding yourself (out of love and not fear). And if you find that you have taken on some unpleasant emotions, accept it and release them with love.
Another way to help you to be more forgiving is to see how other’s emotions can be helpful to assist you in pinpointing your own issues that you are not aware of – in this case, your blind spots.
Know that you cannot pick up the similar kind of emotion, if that vibration is not already within you. Although it may be from different root causes, you too have a root that is causing that similar emotion. So when that particular emotion arrives within you, it begins to trigger some of your habitual reactions. See this as information to help you see what you have buried within you. Examine these reactions, tracing them back to the root cause.
For instance, you picked up anger from another. Your habitual response to anger is shutting off and feeling sorry for yourself. Ask: why do I shut off and feel like a victim each time I feel angry? Perhaps it is because you were always punished for being angry when you were little, causing you to develop the belief system that says “It is wrong to be angry. And because I cannot control anger, I am victimized and punished for it.” 99% of your emotions come from dysfunctional beliefs like these.
Remember also that no interaction with another person is an accident. So whatever you picked up from that person is no accident either. At some point you would have manifested that interaction so that you can pick up that particular emotion because your Higher Self or your Soul is helping you to release what no longer serves you. Thank every emotion that comes your way and every person that you meet.
The plus point with all this taking-on-other-emotions is that by being aware of this ‘non-me’ energy within you, you have also subconsciously highlighted to the other person this particular energy – because now they can see it in you. As we are all mirrors to each other, by accepting it and then taking responsibility for it – that is responding to it in higher ways, we are helping the other to find ways to deal with it too. All this usually happens on an energetic level, not so much on the conscious level. So eventhough no word has been exchanged, you are indirectly helping the other person deal with that particular emotion, by responding to it with love. This, in all its authenticity, is the highest way we NATURALLY help someone with their emotional issues. All they need is to see it through the eyes of love – through you – so they can ‘take it away’ themselves, root, stalk and all.
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