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How Many Other Things Are We Missing?

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Joshua Bell
There are many things that may be considered as lacking in the world today, and there are many lightworkers, dreamers and activists who make every effort to remind us of these missing elements.

But one aspect that is too seldom addressed is our lack of true appreciation and gratitude.

Spiritual seekers tend to be very keen to beat the drum of abundance  – which is too often merely a thinly disguised obsession with material wealth and earthly comforts.

We simply take too much for granted every day; blessings of Joy, Beauty and Divine Grace are seldom acknowledged in our lives. How spiritually aware can we truly be if we hardly ever stop to smell the roses?

Have you heard the story of the internationally acclaimed violinist who disguised himself as a street busker with a baseball cap, and then proceeded to play Bach undercover at a metro subway station? An email outlining this intriguing story has been circulating since December 2008. There have been claims that it may be a hoax, or an urban myth, but it is indeed a true story. The event was captured on video with a hidden camera.

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To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble,
but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven ~ Johannes A. Gaertner


Washington Post
columnist Gene Weingarten created this interesting social experiment, with the assistance of renowned violinist Joshua Bell. He wanted to find out if people would notice music played by a celebrated artist, compared to that of an ordinary street musician. Would they even bother to stop and listen?

Joshua Bell was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize in 2007 and has sold more than 5 million copies of his first recording, which remained at the top of the classical music chart for over 50 weeks. Surely, a classical instrumentalist of his caliber performing in public would instantly be noticed, or even recognized by many people. But sadly that never happened.

As each day comes to us refreshed and anew, so does my gratitude renew itself daily.  The breaking of
the sun over the horizon is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world ~ Terri Guillemets

Bell played for 45 minutes at L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C. on January 12, 2007. More than a 1000 people passed by in that short period, and they all basically ignored the virtuoso. Only seven people stopped for a moment to listen, and only one recognized him at all. Bell collected a whopping $32.17 from 27 charitable passersby. Just three days prior, he played at the Symphony Hall in Boston, to a sold out audience who paid around $100 per ticket for the relatively good seats!

Gene Weingarten won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 2008 for his article Pearls Before Breakfast, which he wrote about this experiment. Audio and video recordings of the event are available at the Washington Post website.


The email that has been circulating reads as follows:

"A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?”


Sources: Gene Weingarten, The Washington Post ; Barbara and David P. Mikkelson, Snopes.com; David Emery, About.com; Image courtesy of Joshua Bell.com
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Empathy Is Not A Psychic Ability

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psychic empath
__There is the fashionable notion nowadays for individuals to be branded as 'psychics' or 'empaths' if they are emotionally sensitive or display a high level of compassion towards others. It is automatically assumed that people who are emotionally highly intelligent must also have an exceptional capacity for extra-sensory perception.

Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, this myth is serving to confuse and mislead people, and may even cause further emotional damage, by imposing unreasonable expectations on some highly sensitive or even emotionally vulnerable people.

I had many traumatic paranormal experiences during my childhood, and I was constantly overwhelmed by extra-sensory perceptions I did not understand. To find any reliable information on the subject was near impossible. The confusion and frustration I had to endure in my youth - often due to the ignorance of others - made me vow to research, learn and share as much as I could about psychic abilities. If I can spare just one gifted child unnecessary trauma, or inspire just one adult to come out of the ‘clair closet’, the bewilderment I had to endure would all be worth it.

Please know that natural human empathy is not a scarce commodity that needs to be classified as a paranormal phenomenon. It is also not a psychic ability that must be developed or applied at all cost. If empathy really is such a rare trait, then our society is in much greater jeopardy than we may suspect*.

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_Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through
each other's eye for an instant? ~ Henry David Thoreau
_People who do not display empathy are considered by the medical profession to be abnormal, or disordered. A lack of empathy is a common characteristic found in the Cluster B Personality Disorders in the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), especially in those diagnosed with Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Individuals who are unable to express empathy need psychological counseling or psychiatric treatment, not a psychic development course. If empathy really is an inherited talent or innate psychic ability - like clairaudience or mediumship - then everyone who does not have the ‘gift of empathy’ by implication must be some sort of psychopath, sociopath or narcissist. One might as well claim that all people who have the ability to cry are incarnations of archangels, or every person who can laugh carries extraterrestrial DNA.

The erroneous association of natural human empathy with ‘supernatural’ psychic ability stems from the confusion that exists about terminology and a shortage of parapsychology research, as well as plain ignorance. There is already so much confusion and skepticism about psychic abilities that professional psychics and spiritual workers can hardly afford more myth and mockery to be added to the mix. The use of the term 'empathy' to describe an extra-sensory ability is inaccurate and misleading. To unravel the truth behind all this ‘emotional mayhem’, one needs to understand the difference between the following terms and concepts:

Empathy versus Sympathy

Both empathy and sympathy are natural ways to express compassion and caring for others, and both are a normal trait found in most well-adjusted human beings. In fact, both empathy and sympathy are an important aspect of Emotional Intelligence (EI), and both are basic social skills taught to us at a young age by our parents and caregivers.  Experts also believe that there is a genetic or biological basis to empathy and sympathy.

But there is also a distinct difference between empathy and sympathy, which is important to understand, especially for people who work in the helping and service professions.

Sympathy is an expression of concern, regret or sadness about unfortunate events in someone else’s life. In other words, you worry about that person’s distress, or you feel sorry for what has happened to them.

Empathy, on the other hand, is our ability to grasp the feelings of another person on a much deeper level, as well as the ability to convey this understanding to that person, which shows that you really do comprehend how they feel. Empathy is therefore the ability to ‘place yourself in another person’s shoes’ and the knack to truly understand where they are coming from; to see things from their perspective and relate to how it is making them feel.

Empathy and sympathy can be expressed at the same time in certain situations, but they can also be expressed separately.
  • Sympathy  = “I am so sorry for your loss. I feel for you. It must be awful for a parent to lose a child. I cannot even begin to imagine what you must be going through.”
  • Empathy  = “I understand exactly what you are going through. I feel your pain. I lost my own son a few years ago. It is an agony that you cannot even begin to describe to someone else.”
Empathy is therefore appropriate or useful when we need to express our sincere understanding of another person’s feelings and circumstances, whereas the focus of sympathy is more our concern for that person’s well-being in difficult or challenging circumstances, even if we cannot necessarily relate to their circumstances.

Empathy is a normal psychological trait, and it is something all people express to some extent. For example, a study done at Yale University in 2007 found that babies demonstrate a natural tendency towards empathy, while the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology has shown that even when given no incentive, toddlers share with others and act in a helpful manner. Empathetic behavior has also been demonstrated in certain animal species, including mice.

Some people may have a greater aptitude for empathy than others, because they are emotionally more intelligent or have more life experience, but that does not make them psychic. You are not a psychic or an ‘empath’ because you were properly socialized by your parents; or because you are a caring and considerate member of society; or because you are a highly sensitive person; or because you are able to instinctively notice someone else’s feelings through cues you get from their body language, their facial expressions, their tone of voice, or behaviors like crying, or sighing. The more empathetic you are, the more you are able to comprehend and express how others must be feeling. But this is not an extra-sensory ability or a 'clair sense'.
_I told you once that I was searching for the nature of evil. I think I've come close to
defining it: a lack of empathy...A genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow man.
Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy. ~ Gustav M. Gilbert
_Empathetic Versus Empathic

Most language experts will disagree, but a distinction should be made between the terms 'empathetic' and 'empathic'. Such a distinction is useful, due to the popular usage of the term ‘empath’.

The word empathetic describes the normal empathy a person would express towards others, while empathic is more appropriate to describe the extra-sensory or energetic perceptions experienced by an empath. This form of extra-sensory perception is what some refer to as clairempathy, to distinguish it from normal empathy. In other words, when you are being empathetic you are showing empathy, but when you are being empathic you are experiencing clairempathy.
  • Empathetic  = expression of natural empathy
  • Empathic  = expression of ‘supernatural’ clairempathy
You will not find this distinction in dictionaries, as the words 'empathic' and 'empathetic' are generally considered to have the same meaning, i.e. the ‘ability to express empathy’.  But we do not use the term ‘sympathic’ to describe someone who is being sympathetic; therefore it makes sense to only use the term empathetic to describe the expression of empathy.  

If you are someone that shows a healthy empathy for others then you are empathetic, and you would then be very aware of emotional signs and moods in someone else. But that does not make you an empath. It just means you are very well-adjusted, kind and considerate person, or possibly even a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP).

I am an empath, and in my experience an empath is a person who has vivid clairempathic experiences. This means that I have direct, extra-sensory experiences of other people’s emotions, moods and motivations on a daily basis. I can feel what others feel, without knowing anything about them, or having any direct contact or interaction with them. I can experience these feelings and sensations with people on the other side of the world, and they are not only limited to emotions, because I also experience physical sensations and symptoms. 

For example, I would be in line at the supermarket and suddenly begin to feel pain and discomfort in my right arm, and when I turn around there would be someone in line behind me with their right arm in a sling. Not only would I briefly feel their physical pain, but I may also get a clairvoyant flash of what happened to them to injure their arm, for example, or I will feel how frustrated they are having the use of only one arm. I can even feel the anxiety some people feel in the pit of their stomach when they are telling a lie, or feel their heartbeat increase when they are feeling guilty. If the lady in front of me at the supermarket is  getting angry I might feel her 'blood pressure rising' and possibly perceive additional information about her personal life that may cause her to be so impatient and irritable. But that does not mean that I necessarily indentify with he feelings (empathy) or feel sorry for her (sympathy). I simply sense what she feeling and I know why she is feeling that way, even if it makes no sense to me.

In the past, before I understood my empathic nature, I often did not know where some of these feelings and sensations were coming from, or what they meant.  Unconscious empaths often walk around like unsuspecting energy sponges, and can obviously suffer much discomfort and distress as a result. Empaths who are unaware of their clairempathic ability typically absorb all kinds of unwanted emotional and somatic energy wherever they go, without understanding, for example, why they suddenly feel nausea or vertigo; or why they are suddenly overwhelmed with extreme sadness and anxiety, when there is nothing in their environment to be sad or anxious about; or why their positive state of mind has suddenly changed to a really foul mood the moment they walked past someone in the street.

To me this is the most evident difference between empathy and clairempathy. Empathy involves an affective (emotional) and cognitive (thought) process based on observation, logical thinking, perspective-taking, reasoning and an appropriate emotional response. Clairempathy however is an energy perception or claisentient response that often has no rational, logical or emotional origin. It is not something I consider or think about when somebody is limping down the street. I feel that person limping long before they come around the corner and I see them for the first time. It also does not mean I can relate or want to relate emotionally. Reputable psychics and mediums will tell you that they usually do their best readings and predictions when the energy information they translate for their clients make absolutely no sense to them at the time. The less the psychic's ego and personal opinions interfere with the reading process, the better. In fact, a reader who expresses too much sympathy and empathy during a reading is probably not doing a very good job, since sympathy and empathy are both a highly personal perspective or viewpoint. If I share my client's feelings, or feel sorry for them, I am not using my clairempathic ability, because I am applying my personal feelings of empathy and sympathy based on my personal values and life experiences.

By the way, there have been in recent years different people who claim to have coined the term ‘empath’ and 'empathy', but this not true. The English word 'empathy' was coined in 1909 by the Brtitish psychologist Edward B. Titchener, in an attempt to translate the German word einfühlungsvermögen, which a new concept being explored at the end of 19th century mainly by German philosopher Theodor Lipps.The 'empath' concept is also nothing new and actually has its roots in science fiction. It can, for example, be traced back as far as December 6, 1968, to the broadcast of the third season episode of the television series Star Trek: The Original Series. The title of that episode was The Empath and featured a female character by the name of “Gem” who is an empath with a special ability to heal others.
Clairempathy versus Clairsentience

Empathic ability (or clairempathy) is a form of clairsentience. The termsentiencerefers to awareness, or consciousness of a sensation or a feeling.  Sentience does not involve thought, or logic, or reason, as one would find in normal empathy, where you would use reason, logic and your personal memories to consider how the other person must be feeling. The emphasis in clairsentience is on feeling or sensing, instead of rational thinking. 

Clairsentience therefore means ‘clear sensing’ or ‘clear feeling’.  It is the ability to perceive extra-sensory information about people, places or objects, by sensing it energetically. It is energy perception experienced as a tactile, physical sensation or an emotional feeling. Clairsentience is the foundation for all other psychic sensitivities. It is often the first psychic ability to surface in children, and normally it is also the first psychic sense to be experienced by adults who develop their extra-sensory abilities later in life. In fact, I have never heard of a psychic or a medium who does not have some form of clairsentient ability, or who does not somehow use clairsentience in their work.

Clairsentience typically manifests in four major ways that are all interlinked and interdependent, and differs from person to person:
  • Clairempathy – extra-sensory perception of emotional energy from the past, present and future.
  • Intuition – ‘gut feeling’, ‘hunch’, instinct, premonition, precognition
  • Somatic energy perception - physical sensations and symptoms, often experienced by mediums and medical intuitives, including pain, nausea, vertigo, fever, congestion, tickling, chills, goose bumps, sensations of being touched, temperature changes, and hair standing on end.
  • Clairtangency (psychometry) – the ability to touch an object and read its energy imprints, which can be emotions of the person who owns the object, or past, present, future information associated with the object’s owner. When a psychic is doing psychometry she is applying her ‘clairtangent ability’ or using clairtangency (clear touch). For example, energy healers and medical intuitives often have the ability to scan a person’s body with their hands to read symptomatic energy. Psychometry is also used by psychic investigators in forensic work, such as murders and kidnappings, by reading crime scenes or objects belonging to victims and suspects.
_Empathy is the only human superpower - it can shrink distance, cut through
social and power hierarchies, transcend differences, and provoke
political and social change ~ Elizabeth Thomas

Highly Sensitive Person versus Empath

The final important distinction that must be made in this context is the difference between the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) and the Empath, which is my main concern when it comes to the misuse of the term ‘empathy’.

A Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) has the innate trait known as ‘high psychological sensitivity’. According to experts the highly sensitive individual processes sensory data much more intensely and thoroughly, due to biological differences in their nervous system. The term Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) was coined by Dr. Elaine N. Aron in 1996, and it has been gaining popularity ever since, mainly because it presents the Highly Sensitive Person in a much more positive light. Sadly, HSPs are now increasingly being coerced to believe that they are psychics, which may be undoing some of the wonderful work people like Dr. Aron have been doing.

Being an HSP is often confused with shyness, introversion, social anxiety or fearfulness. HSPs are therefore often misunderstood by parents, teachers and the community, while this trait is actually quite normal. It is believed that one in every five people are highly sensitive, which means that it is not a disorder. The trait is actually found in many animals too and it is believed to be a survival strategy of being observant before acting. According to Dr. Aron, "the opposite of a Highly Sensitive Person is a person who takes many risks”, in other words someone who “acts without reflecting very much”.

The brain of the HSP has been found to actually work slightly differently, making them more aware than others of subtleties in their environment, and noticing more things when they interact with other people. The HSP is also easily overwhelmed and over stimulated when situations become too intense or confusing. The HSP trait is not a new discovery, but it is still misunderstood. HSPs are often told that they must ‘man up’ or to ‘not be so sensitive’.

It is unfortunate that many HSPs are not aware of their true nature and are not gaining access to accurate self-help information and professional support, because they have been told by well-meaning, but misguided spiritual workers that they are ‘empaths’ or ‘sensitives’ or ‘intuitives’.  Sure, some HSPs just so happen to also be psychic, but this is not as common as some would have us believe.

The popular myth about psychological sensitivity, and its uncritical association with psychic ability, is a tragic state of affairs, because many HSPs continue to misjudge their own personalities and sometimes they really struggle in life, because they do not have an accurate understanding of what makes them tick. Instead of receiving the support, guidance and sense of belonging that will allow them to thrive as HSP, they are being misdirected and taken advantage of by people who sell psychic development books, courses and healing sessions; not to mention the trauma and confusion highly sensitive children experience due to the misinformation being fed to their parents. Imagine having an excited ‘psychic stage mom’ breathing down your neck, pressuring you to act more esoterically and other-worldly, because she read on some website that you are a highly gifted little empath in the making, when in reality you are just a shy, sensitive kid who does not like noisy people and chaotic environments, and you just like to check things out carefully before you take any action.

Don’t just accept someone else’s misguided assumption that you are an empath, or that your sensitive nature is due to your innate psychic ability. It could save you a lot of frustration, confusion and disillusionment, and may prevent you from wasting precious time and resources looking for spiritual or paranormal answers to something that is a perfectly natural trait in about 15 to 20% of the general population. Not every emotionally intuitive or socially sensitive person is required to ‘report for psychic duty’. Don’t miss your true soul purpose and life calling because of the misconstrued ideas others have about extra-sensory perception and psychic ability. If you suspect that you may be a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), start by taking Dr. Aron’s self-test on her website.

* By the way, there may actually be some reason for alarm concerning the declining levels of empathy in our society. According to recent research at the University of Michigan the empathy levels of college students have dropped significantly since the 1980’s, with an especially dramatic decline over the past decade. To make matters worse, during this same period levels of narcissism among college students has reached new heights, according to research at San Diego State University. One possible reason for this decline may be our increased social isolation, and the growing dehumanization of people due to technology. You only have to read some of the really cruel and callous comments some young people post on social networking and video sharing sites to find the necessary evidence. Maybe empathy will one day really become a rare gift in a merciless world devoid of any emotional concern for others.

© 2011 Anthon St Maarten
Image: Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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Jerry Hicks Will Be Missed, But He Won't Be Missing In Action!

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Esther and Jerry Hicks
_Jerry Hicks will be missed, but he will not be missing in action!  Thank you Jerry, Esther and Abraham for the blessing you have been to me and so many of my clients, and will continue to be. You have transformed and saved many, many lives, and will continue to do so for decades to come – when all of us currently on this planet have also completed our joy rides.

Esther our thoughts are with you. But we are not concerned, because we know you are in good company. We will see you soon Esther, and we know you, Jerry and Abraham will have much to share with us. You are loved. All is well. Namaste.

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Make fun of death. We are as dead as it gets, and we are fully aware of this joyous experience.
We are with you every time you allow it. We are in every singing bird and in every joyful child.
We are part of every delicious pulsing in your environment. We are not dead,
and neither will you ever be. You will just get up one day,
and get out of the 'movie' ~ Esther-Abraham Hicks

_A Message From Esther Hicks

Esther has sent out this message today:

"Dear, dear Friends,

Our sweet Jerry made his transition into Nonphysical last Friday. How sweet the Vortex is feeling to him today!

Jerry said to me when we came together over 30 years ago that given the difference in our ages that it was likely “that I will cut out on you early,” to which I replied, “I don’t mind.” His joy of life and continual new discovery of purpose kept his life feeling fresh and we shared such joyous eagerness for life.

Over the years, Abraham has consistently insisted that there is no death. Again and again they have reminded us that there is only life and more life and more life. It has taken me some time to understand this, and I honestly must say I have not yet fully come to terms with it, but I do believe that in what we are calling Jerry’s death he is discovering the next logical step of life that Abraham has always been talking about. And at times I am catching a glimpse of the bigness of what Jerry is feeling and while I am still pretty mad at him for not sticking around longer to surprise and delight me in all the ways he has been doing throughout our 30 years together I accept fully that the next logical step of joyous life for Jerry was to be found in his re-emergence into Nonphysical.
Since 1985 it has been Jerry and Esther and Abraham and I believe with everything that I am that that has not changed. I know that Jerry will continue to be the third powerful point of the triad of Energy that makes up the Abraham experience and I am certain that his new vantage point will be, as it has always been, of advantage to us all.

I know for sure that Jerry will help me, in time, release my own personal resistance to physical death, because I will not be able to maintain that resistance and also play easily with him. And my desire to continue not only my Abraham experience but also my Jerry experience I am certain he will be the catalyst to help me do what Abraham has been trying to help us all do all along.

Once again, Jerry is out there leading the way for me. But the difference this time is that I must find the way. I am not there yet, but it is my absolute promise to myself that I will find the way, because it is the most natural thing in the world to do and because Jerry has provided for me the reason to do it.

I am eager about what is ahead and while I cannot begin to explain or even imagine the details of how it is all going to play out, I am certain that it will be fun.

I am such a fortunate girl, to have been able to play with Jerry and Abraham and all of you for so many wonderful years and I am so eager to continue doing more of the same for many more years to come. I feel certain right now that not only has nothing gone wrong, but things are going especially right. It will be different, for sure, but it will also be very, very good.

I’m feeling such love for you all, and for Abraham and most of all for Jerry. And as I have said to him a thousand or more times through the years, “Well isn’t life just a kick in the pants?”

Love,
Esther

P.S. Our glorious staff has created a web page where you can express your thoughts and appreciation for Jerry, and if I know Jerry (and I do) he’ll read every comment. Click here to visit the page >>
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You Are A Divine Being

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Divine Living Higher Self
You are not who you think you are. You are not that face you see in the mirror every morning. You are not someone’s child, or someone’s parent, or partner or friend. You are not the physical body you admire or criticize when you take a shower, or when you get dressed.

Neither are you the profile description on your social networking page, or your high school diploma, your driver’s license, or your title at work. You are not defined by your career, or the things you own, or the family and friends you love. You are not a name or an address, or a six-figure salary.

You are one thing only. You are a Divine Being. An all-powerful Creator. You are a Deity in jeans and a t-shirt, and within you dwells the infinite wisdom of the ages and the sacred creative force of All that is, will be and ever was.

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We are not human beings having a spiritual experience.
We are spiritual beings having a human experience ~ Teilhard de Chardin
Do you remember how spiritually aligned, connected and aware you were as a young child? Remember how it felt to be so wonderfully conscious, wide-eyed and receptive. The world was a magical place of adventure, discovery and exhilaration. You still had a vague memory at that time that you were created in the image of the Divine. As a recent arrival on the planet, you still had some sense of that ‘other place’ you had come from – that state of pure consciousness, and of celestial power, infinite creative intelligence and everlasting, unconditional love.

In that pure, original state you were eternal peace and perfection personified. You were a crystal-clear, meta-dimensional snapshot of God’s image in high-definition Technicolor. But then you decided to come here on an adventure. You still are that cosmic entity, but you have been incarnated as a human being to have a physical life experience. You chose to have this experience. You volunteered for it, and your original aim was to learn, evolve, expand and most of all…have fun!
Joy is an attitude; it is the presence of love – for self and others. It comes from a feeling
of inner peace, the ability to give and receive, and appreciation of the self and others.
It is a state of gratitude and compassion, a feeling of connection
to your higher self ~ Sanaya Roman
So, come on, go take another look in that mirror and say hello to the physical incarnation of your Divine Self. There you are, the pure expression of Divinity! Now, take a deep look into your own eyes, for they are the windows of the soul. There you will recognize the ‘real you’. Meet your ever-present Higher Self, your True Self, the soul essence of where you come from and the reason why you came here.

This essential you has been around all this time, since before your birth, and for millennia before that. All you needed was someone to remind you of that fact; to awaken you from the unconscious, habituated fog that was your conditioned earthly life until now. So, now you know who you really are. No more daily drudgery. No more merely surviving. No more reality coma. No more feeling sorry for yourself. No more excuses. Consider yourself awakened.

Excerpt from: Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny by Anthon St Maarten
© 2012 Anthon St Maarten
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Spiritual Practice

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Spiritual Practice by Psychic Medium Anthon St Maarten
Awakening, reconnecting and realigning with the Divine Self is no doubt the most important first step in personal spiritual growth, individuation and ultimate transcendence. To rediscover your Higher Self and tap into your Higher Consciousness is usually a very awe-inspiring and life-changing experience. But your new found spiritual awareness and rediscovered Divine origins may soon lose its power to transform your life if you do not adopt a new lifestyle that includes some kind of consistent spiritual practice.

Divine Living and spiritual practice goes hand in hand. A Divine Life is impossible to achieve without some form of regular spiritual practice, in order to increase and maintain your connection and alignment with the Divine Self. What you come to know and believe about your own spiritual origins is meaningless, unless you have a direct and personal daily experience of receiving guidance from your inner Divinity. The only way to achieve this is to practice your new awareness and beliefs on a daily basis.

In our human state we sometimes too easily slide back into old habits, and with the constant onslaught of materialism, misinformation, fear conditioning, scientific skepticism and the distraction of mass entertainment and popular culture, you have a very limited probability of expanding your new found spiritual awareness, unless you engage yourself consciously in some form of habitual and frequent spiritual practice.

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There isn’t anything except your own life that can be used as ground for your spiritual practice.
Spiritual practice is your life, twenty-four hours a day ~ Pema Chodron
Spiritual practices are actions and activities we undertake on a regular basis for the purpose of cultivating spiritual development. There are a plethora of spiritual practices available, both ancient and modern, that you can apply in your own life to sustain your spiritual awareness and Divine connection. Regular spiritual activity will fine-tune your alignment with the Divine Self, improve the clarity of your inner guidance, and consistently nurture and develop your ability to manifest abundance.

Your spiritual practice of choice may include any of the following:

  •     Astral Travel & Projection
  •     Breathing Exercises
  •     Ceremonies, Rites & Rituals
  •     Channeling
  •     Charity & Acts of Kindness
  •     Cleansing (Fasting, Energy Clearing, Sage burning, Baptism)
  •     Creating Sacred Space
  •     Dancing
  •     Divination (Tarot, Astrology, I Ching, Numerology, Runes)
  •     Dreamwork
  •     Energy Work
  •     Expressing Gratitude
  •     Healing Practices (Acupuncture, Reiki, Shiatsu)
  •     Past Life Regression
  •     Inducing Trance / Altered States of Consciousness
  •     Mandala
  •     Meditation
  •     Music (playing, listening to)
  •     Physical Activity (Yoga, T’ai chi ch’uan, Aikido)
  •     Pilgrimage
  •     Prayer
  •     Readings (Empathic, Psychic, Mediumship, Akasha, Aura)
  •     Shamanic Practice
  •     Singing & Chanting
  •     Study & Contemplation
  •     Religious Worship

When undertaking any spiritual practice it is important to bear in mind that we are all different. We all have our own beliefs, temperaments, personalities, interests and personal preferences. Your beliefs and spiritual practices will depend a lot on your personal spiritual journey, your past life experiences, and your karmic quest. Each of us has a unique Life Plan, Soul Purpose and Life Calling to achieve in this lifetime.

A spiritual practice that is ideal for one person’s soul growth may simply not work at all for another. Therefore it is recommended that you seek intuitive guidance from your Divine Self on which practices will best suit your unique needs in this lifetime. Ultimately, it does not matter which practice or discipline you choose, as long as you incorporate it into your daily living and apply it consistently.

Excerpt from: Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny by Anthon St Maarten
© 2012 Anthon St Maarten
Image courtesy of pixtawan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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Psychic DNA: Nature or Nurture?

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psychic DNA hereditary psychic
It is my belief that psychic ability is an innate talent or gift aimed at a specific Life Calling, while intuition is a highly personal aspect of our inner spiritual guidance system. We all possess our own, natural intuition, whether we are conscious or unconscious of it – but not everyone is psychic.

Natural intuition is highly personal and mostly about taking care of our own personal needs. Psychic ability on the other hand shifts extra sensory perception from the personal sphere into the realm of the impersonal. Intuition is our direct inner guidance from our Divine Self towards achieving our unique Soul Purpose and Life Calling.

Psychic ability on the other hand dwells in the realm of the selfless, prophetic and archetypal. Psychics, mediums and healers are channels, messengers, conduits or surrogates, which means that they do not only receive personal inner guidance from their own Divine Self, but they also have the capacity to receive and translate guidance on behalf of their fellow man. These perceptions or messages may come from the other person’s Higher Self, or courtesy of non-physical entities, or from the Divine Source, God, or Collective Unconscious. Psychics, mediums and healers therefore have the natural ability to allow energy to flow through them to others, and on behalf of others.

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In my experience psychic ability is hereditary. There is however much disagreement on this subject. Some feel there is an undeniable genetic link; others feel that psychic ability is merely developed intuition and that anyone can achieve this level of perception, while others are of the opinion that a combination of nature and nurture is required to produce a talented psychic.

Intuition is neither the ability to engage prophecy nor a means of avoiding financial loss
or painful relationships. It is actually the ability to use energy data to

make decisions in the immediate moment ~ Carolyn Myss
My conviction that there is a genetic connection is based on the fact that I am a hereditary psychic myself. I inherited this ability from my paternal grandmother. Many fellow psychics also report knowing of psychic family members, especially grandparents. For some reason the ability often skips one generation in many families. Many colleagues I have spoken to all report that they had exceptional extra sensory experiences in their childhood, or that they knew from a very young age that they were different from other children. You often also find a strong extra sensory bond between twins and siblings, and in some cases an incredible psychic connection is shared by identical twins, such as the psychic twins Terry and Linda Jamison. This psychic connection often found with twins suggests that there must be an underlying genetic component to psychic ability.

I am often asked why some psychics, if they were born that way, only discover or develop their ability much later in life. In my experience, from psychic development courses I have conducted over the years, some people are born exceptionally gifted and simply don’t know it; or they suppress it initially, when they first discover it. For this reason some people only develop their psychic ability much later in life, often due to significant life events. In many cases it even seems that these life events may in fact happen to force them to become aware, or to accept their calling. For example, people who have had a near-death experience (NDE) sometimes report an increase in their psychic ability after the event. For others their psychic abilities surface during, or after times of severe physical or emotional trauma, such as intense stress, serious illness, major accidents, or exposure to extreme physical danger. There are also known cases of psychics whose paranormal abilities surfaced or intensified due to brain injury. For example, the famous psychic medium Edgar Cayce fell off a fence post on his parents farm around age three and reportedly hit his head on a piece of wood with a nail protruding from it. The nail punctured his skull and caused injury to his brain, but there were no serious consequences, except that he became the most documented psychic in human history.

I do agree that psychic ability is a combination of both nature and nurture, as is the case with any other talents or genetic predispositions we may be born with. What this means is that psychics are born with a latent hereditary or genetic capacity, but their ability is further developed by their upbringing, their childhood environment, education and life experiences.

In my case, however there was very little ‘nurture’, because I grew up in a society and home environment where my psychic abilities were not encouraged. In fact, I got into serious trouble for it in school, during my early teens. Adults were often shocked or annoyed when I blurted out their deepest secrets in front of strangers, and children were fearful, because I sometimes pointed out the presence of spiritual entities or ‘things’ they did not see. I eventually believed that my psychic ability was something to be ashamed of and I suppressed it for many years. I did have a near-death experience in my late 20’s. I also experienced several other major life events that have contributed to the sharpening of my psychic abilities. But none of these experiences were the original source or cause of my extra sensory ability, because I was aware of having paranormal perceptions from a very young age. I have never attended any psychic development courses or mediumship circles.
I am the family face: flesh perishes, I live on, projecting trait and trace through time
to times anon, and leaping from place to place over oblivion ~ Thomas Hardy

It is my view we are all born with varying degrees of intuitive or metaphysical ability, the same way we are all born with an aptitude for playing music, creating art, doing math or participating in sports. We can all learn to develop our innate abilities; it does not necessarily mean we will all excel at it. Most of us can learn to play the piano, or draw pictures, or play basketball and soccer. Some of us will even learn to do these things extremely well, but not all of us have the kind of talent that can be nurtured for us to become the next Ludwig van Beethoven, Pablo Picasso, Luciano Pavarotti, Barbra Streisand, Meryl Streep or Michael Jordan.

I do not, however, support the idea that hereditary psychics, mediums and healers are somehow spiritually superior or highly developed. I do not believe in hierarchy or a chain of command in the spiritual sense. There is no pecking order on ‘the Other Side’, because that would imply that in our original spiritual state some of us were ‘imperfect’ or more ‘flawed’ than others, before we came into this lifetime. It is my conviction that in our original spiritual state we are breathtakingly perfect, completely harmonious and utterly flawless. Some of us are not ‘better’ spiritual beings than others. That kind of thinking smacks of the values of the ‘old think’ Material Ego or False Self. Rank, status, levels, and hierarchy are all man-made concepts often used to oppress, suppress, control and exclude others. In my mind these things are not of Spirit.

So, if psychics are not spiritually more evolved, why are they born with ‘psychic genes’ or into ‘psychic families’? And what does genetics or heredity have to do with spirituality or the paranormal anyway?
Well, it is quite simple, really. To have exceptional psychic ability is a Life Calling and therefore a purpose or mission that the psychic, medium, channeler or healer chose as part of their Life Plan, before they came into this lifetime. As a soul incarnating with the life mission to act as an energetic conduit or surrogate on behalf of others, they will need the right kind of physical instrument or material form for the job, as well as the ideal nurturing environment. They will need a human body that is genetically equipped with the necessary capacity for receiving, processing and transferring significant amounts of metaphysical energy at high frequencies and intensities.

In other words, the soul who plans to enter into the Life Calling of a psychic, medium, channeler or healer chooses before birth a set of parents from certain families with a history of developed psychic talent,  evolved through many generations, who will provide the ideal DNA and environmental influences needed to ultimately fulfill their Soul Purpose and Life Calling. Similarly, Beethoven, Picasso, Pavarotti, Streisand, Streep and Jordan also chose their parents and genetic heritage, which ultimately enabled them to do what they do best.
Excerpt from: Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny by Anthon St Maarten
© 2012 Anthon St Maarten
Image courtesy of Victor Habbick / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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Good Morning, It's Good To Be Alive!

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Mayan calendar 21 December 2012 prophecies and predictions
Good morning fellow seekers and believers. A warm welcome also to ye of little faith. It is indeed a blessing to greet you at the dawn of yet another perfect Solstice day in this miraculous annual progression of human history. It is December 21st, 2012 and it is exactly 11:11 GMT, the official time of the Solstice. Take a deep breath, you are indeed still alive!

If you are one of the more adventurous and spirited among us, you may very well find yourself today on a Mayan galactic alignment cruise or magical pilgrimage to the Chichen Itza in the Mexican state of Yucatan, or at Stonehenge in the United Kingdom, waiting for the first light to break on the horizon. I can only imagine how much fun you must be having!

If you are more pessimistically inclined, you may however be searching for alien evacuation portals on Apocalypse Island in Chile, or you may very well be reading this from the comfort of the 2012 survival bunker you built in your backyard, whilst snacking on the emergency supply of canned food and water you have carefully stocked up since 2010.

Most people are however simply on their way to work this morning – facing yet another hectic day at the office, and later possibly some last minute holiday shopping at a snail’s pace in another traffic jam. Is it not great to be alive! And like our ancestors have done for millennia, and like our children’s grandchildren will do for many more, we are once again today witnessing the shortest, or longest day of the year, depending on the hemisphere in which you find yourself.

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It appears to me 2012 isn’t a spiritual awakening, but instead, a human one.
It is the disillusionment from the nonsense being sold to us from gurus for centuries
and the empowerment of our true selves ~ Steve Maraboli
Today’s Solstice is however, as you surely know by now, also of unique significance to some people around the world. Yes, indeed, today is that official ‘dark doomsday’ we have been hearing about for several years now. It has finally arrived – the time of ‘the shift’, or the ‘end of time’, depending on how you choose to look at things. Yes, it is December, 21st 2012 – the date on which the ancient Mayan calendar is said to come to a grinding halt. And as most of us predicted, the world did not meet a tragic fate in some calamitous catastrophe. Could it be that the Mayans really did just run out of stone to chisel on?

As you may well know, the controversy, fear-mongering and apocalyptic opinions regarding this significant date have been widespread and omnipresent for many years now. In fact, the hysteria reached such a fever-pitch some time ago, that most people seemed to have completely lost interest in the whole affair in recent months. Everyone clearly had had enough of the constant bombardment, and all the doom prophecies therefore lost most of its hot air. Even the Mayan spiritual elders, with all their patience and access to ancient wisdom, were fed up.

Humans just keep picking these false endings to poke at themselves for motivation sake…
This time-space reality has the wherewithal to support you farther than
your mind can comprehend time! ~ Abraham-Hicks

It is no secret that most of the hype around the year 2012 originated from the money-lenders and merchants who continue to ply their trade inside the temple, like wolves in sheep’s clothing. A year or two ago it was impossible to log into any online spiritual forum, or watch any paranormal TV show, without being confronted with some form of 2012 hullabaloo. But what goes up must come down, and in recent months the stacks of 2012 books on store shelves were clearly gathering dust. Today many of the half truths, and much of the fear-mongering, will thankfully come to an end. The feeding frenzy is finally over, for the time being anyway, and Mother Earth continues to spin on her axis as she always has. I just have one concern. What on earth will the publishers and vendors be doing with all those unsold 2012 books? I also shudder at the thought of how many rain forests were destroyed in the process.

Of course, in 2013 ye shall also hear of more gloom and rumors of doom, but see that ye be not troubled dear friend. And please keep your wallet or your purse tightly zipped. We live in an abundant Universe where well-being is plentiful, and freely available, and balance and harmony always somehow abounds. For most of us today is just a wonderfully ordinary day, with good weather in some places and a few bad patches in other, just as it always has been, and always will be.

If you are one of the lucky people sitting in a traffic jam, or an office cubicle, or especially if you are on vacation, do yourself a favor and take a look outside your window right now. Look up at the wide, open sky and remind yourself that all is well in your world. Well-being and prosperity surrounds you all day, every day. You are truly blessed.

If I went to some Mayan-speaking communities and asked people what is going to happen in 2012,
they wouldn’t have any idea. That the world is going to end? They wouldn’t believe you.
We have real concerns these days, like rain ~ Jose Huchim
Do you not feel the yearning in your heart for hope and inner peace; do you not long to have faith in better days ahead? Do not drift unconsciously and without reflection through the labyrinth of a disconnected, cynical life. Do not fear the natural world. And most of all do not forfeit your Divine right to a life free from struggle, anxiety and suffering. Also, do not surrender your inner Divine guidance to the paranoid opinions, greed and morbid false beliefs of others.

Find your truth within. Embrace your bliss. Jump feet first into a life of joy and fulfillment. Live in harmony with yourself, your fellow man and the wonderful planet we inhabit. Make today the first day of the rest of your earthly existence. Simply choose today to flow with the miracles of life, and become more in tune with the gentle wisdom and powerful pulse that is our conscious Universe. Your life is singular, unique and wonderful. A Divine life of abundance, well-being, peace and prosperity is your sacred birthright. You simply need to embrace it. Claim it. The Universe shall provide for you always.

© 2012 Anthon St Maarten
Image courtesy of Victor Habbick / FreeDigitalPhotos
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Magical Thinking

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Magical thinking metaphysics spiritual
Magical thinking is a common trait found among all children all over the world, between the ages of approximately two until seven years of age. This time frame is also known as the ‘pre-operational stage’ of child development and it is the period in our early life when we increasingly explore our environment, and gradually learn to distinguish between ‘fantasy’ and ‘reality’.

Children at this age initially have all kinds of imaginative ideas and magical interpretations of the world, in order to make sense of their external and internal reality. At this age we still believe that we can grow wings and learn to fly; or that animals can talk and sing; or that our shadow is a magical person following us around; or that the Sun goes to sleep in the ocean; that there is a man living in the Moon; or that the wind, the clouds and the trees notice us and obey our instructions. We often also have ‘imaginary friends’ at this age.

The process of exploring the actual limitations of our time-space reality lasts several years. Most ‘magical thinking’ typically disappears around the time when a child finally accepts that there is no such thing as the Tooth Fairy, or Santa Clause. As our understanding and knowledge of Earth reality increases, we lose our imaginative sense of the magical and metaphysical.

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Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry Potter, but why on earth
should that mean that it is not real?  ~ J.K. Rowling



It appears that the only reason magical thinking must fade into the background of our consciousness as we grow up is because it can become inappropriate or dangerous from a survival perspective. To live safely in our physical body on this planet in primitive times we had to recognize certain patterns in our environment, for example we had to know that certain berries or plants are poisonous when we eat them, or that we may die should we fall off a cliff, or that wild animals can cause us physical harm. Confronted with the independent forces of nature it is obviously not a good idea for frail young humans to believe that they can fly or give instructions to wild animals.

However, we never fully lose the tendency to see the magical or mysterious in the ordinary. Findings in cognitive science suggest that magical thinking is an inherent, human trait that persists into adulthood and this appears to be prevalent in all societies and cultures. It is also a phenomenon that is found in all civilizations. Throughout recorded human history we find clear evidence that mankind has always believed that some things are sacred; that things can be cursed; that the human mind can control matter; that rituals bring prosperity or good fortune; that there is power in words and the names assigned to things; that there is justice and moral order in the Universe (such as karma or God’s judgment); and finally that the Universe is ‘alive’ or has a conscious awareness of its own existence.

The fact that these fundamental beliefs are widespread and common in all cultures is no coincidence or accident. If we accept that we are spiritual beings having a physical, human experience, our tendency towards ‘magical thinking’ and metaphysical belief makes all the sense in the world!

There was no need for a term like ‘magical thinking’ in the Golden Age of Man…
there was only genuine everyday magic and mysticism. Children were not mocked or scolded
in those days for singing to the rain or talking to the wind ~ Anthon St. Maarten



However, many scientists attach absolutely no metaphysical or spiritual significance to these phenomena. For example, researcher Dr Eugene Subbotsky refers to it as ‘magical ideation’ and suggests that we retain our preference for magical thinking because “it’s much more comfortable to think that your fate is written down in a constellation of stars than that you’re one of a certain group of intelligent animals who are lost in frozen space forever”. Neuropsychologist Peter Brugger, takes a more positive approach, which goes beyond the mere ‘survival’ theory. He states that it is not healthy for us humans to be entirely stripped of all our magical thinking. His data seems to show that a lack of magical thinking leads to ‘anhedonia’, which is the inability to experience pleasure.

We were never really meant to feel like ‘animals’ lost in space. It is clear that we have an innate urge or intuitive desire to find meaning and purpose in our lives, and that we derive a lot of pleasure and joy from the so-called ‘magical ideations’ we attach to random patterns and coincidences.  I propose that although it is necessary for us to initially put our ‘magical thinking’ into its proper earthly perspective, while we grow up, we should not be encouraged or pressured to relinquish it entirely, for it is an expression of our original spiritual nature. It is also my experience that a true spiritual awakening is always accompanied by the return of so-called ‘magical thinking’ to our consciousness in some way, shape or form. Without ‘magical ideation’ true spiritual awareness seems impossible.

Yes, we did come here for a physical human experience and therefore we have to make do with little or no awareness of our ‘superpowers’ for a large portion of our life. It is part of the deal. One cannot expect to have a truly physical life experience bound by time and space, while retaining your full spiritual capacity. The two states of being are mutually exclusive.

We should be cautiously open to the spiritual and non-rational, and skeptical
of the more invisible magical thinking - what we might call ‘magical reason’-
pervading secular thought and experience in modern society.
Science and technology are for most people a new religion, and their
orthodoxies are believed with the same fervor ~ David Watson



In this lifetime we are like Superman who must remain disguised as the nerdy newspaper journalist Clark Kent, or Harry Potter and his friends who are not allowed to do magic while they are on holiday, away from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

We don’t mind this compulsory precondition for our current physical incarnation, because being more physical than spiritual is essential to the authentic human experience. It is after all what we originally signed up for! However, we were not meant to completely abandon our metaphysical nature and enter this time-space reality entirely ‘unarmed’ and powerless. Even Harry Potter and Clark Kent get to tap into their ‘special powers’ once in a while, especially when the going gets tough.

Excerpt from: Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny
© 2012 Anthon St Maarten
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Free Your Mind, Find Your Bliss

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avoid mass media and toxic relationships, fear, pessimism and negative false beliefs to have spiritual lifestyle, happiness and joy
What we think, and what we believe, is what we become. We create our own reality. Constantly exposing yourself to popular culture and the mass media will ultimately shape your reality tunnel in ways that are not necessarily conducive to achieving your Soul Purpose and Life Calling. Modern society has generally ‘lost the plot’. Slavishly following its false gods and idols makes no sense in a spiritually aware life. The same holds true for toxic relationships, and people in your life who consistently indulge in negativity, cynicism, prejudice, fear-mongering, pessimism, and hatred. But have no illusions – the opposite extreme is just as noxious. Be equally cautious of those who deem themselves spiritually superior or ‘holier-than-thou’. Be wary of the well-meaning souls who profess themselves to be paragons of unconditional love and light, or who claim they have attained perfect insight into all the mysteries of the Universe.

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It is no longer enough to simply read and write. Students must also become literate in the understanding
of visual images. Our children must learn how to spot a stereotype, isolate a social cliché and distinguish
facts from propaganda, analysis from banter, important news from coverage ~ Ernest Boyer

It may seem very “unspiritual” of me to advise you to avoid certain people, but it is often for the best to completely eliminate all the ‘trolls’ from your life if you can, for truth be told, you can be of no real service to any of them if you allow them to impede and obstruct your well-being and spiritual growth. Sure, as your fellow seekers these people do need your love and support, but you can only provide them with the help they need by staying in alignment with your own Soul Purpose and Life Calling. Only by striving towards the accomplishment of your own spiritual mission in this lifetime do you become truly empowered to be of service to others.

If you really want to help all the lost souls who have been poisoning your mind with their skepticism, negative attitudes, false beliefs, sacred snobbery, or delusions of grandeur, then get away from them as soon as possible, and first seek your own truth and personal bliss. The people who truly need your help will gravitate to you in time. Don’t try to heal the whole world all at once.

Personally, I had to cut loose several acquaintances, colleagues, ‘friends’ and family members over the years in order to fully come into my own, and as a consequence I have been a source of guidance and support to hundreds of wonderful people all over the world. I used to be a lost soul myself and therefore I did not always keep the most positive or uplifting company. Had I continued to indulge and tolerate some of those toxic people in my aura on a daily basis, I would have been of little or no use to the many amazing clients and students who I now daily assist in transforming their lives. I would certainly not have managed to write this book had I allowed all the ‘naysayers’ and ‘doom prophets’ to stick around.

Unceasingly we are bombarded with pseudo-realities manufactured by very sophisticated people
using very sophisticated electronic mechanisms. I do not distrust their motives; I distrust their power.
They have a lot of it. And it is an astonishing power: that of creating whole universes,
universes of the mind ~ Philip K. Dick

Practicing social censorship in our daily life presents a real dilemma for some people. We have been so conditioned to believe that we must ‘be nice’ to get ahead in the rat race, and that we need to stay abreast of the mainstream news at all cost, just like we have come to believe that we must be on top of the latest fashions, technologies and lifestyle trends.

I am often asked how I manage to stay informed about what goes on in the world, since I no longer watch, read or listen to the news. My answer often surprises people. I typically have no idea, or any real interest in what the global media chooses to report on from day to day. Most of it is drivel, hype, lies and disinformation anyway. Yet, despite the fact that I do not follow the news, I always know just enough about the really important events happening in the world. I remain reasonably well-informed of the most vital international and local developments. This does not happen by accident or coincidence. It is my firm belief that should there is something in the news that I need to know, the most essential information will find its way to me.

It is further my conscious intention that the news I need to hear will reach me in a form that will not disturb, or upset me. And this is exactly how it manifests in my life. Whatever I need to now, I always attract into my conscious awareness. I trust in the wisdom and guidance I receive from my Divine Self, and I trust in the power of my own intention as a co-creator of our shared reality, to draw to me all that I need to live a happy, safe and fulfilling life. The things I need to hear, or see always come to me in the right way and at the right time.

Books are better than television, the internet, or the computer for educating and maintaining freedom.
Books matter because they state ideas and then attempt to thoroughly prove them. They have an advantage
precisely because they slow down the process, allowing the reader to internalize, respond,
react and transform ~ Oliver DeMille

Why do we have this obsession with “staying informed” about absolutely everything in the world, anyway? How much of what you watch on television, or read in your newspaper, truly affects your daily life directly, and how much of it can you change without some kind of Divine intervention? In my mind the only reason why any spiritually aware soul would want to follow the mainstream news would be to use the information gained to make the world a better place. To follow the news out of fear and uncertainty only breeds further fear and uncertainty.

It is my view that the only people who should be following the mainstream news consistently, should be people who actually need the relevant information to fulfill their Life Calling. Yet, even in those instances modern technology provides us with so many options these days to filter the information that ultimately reaches us. For example, I have set several Google Alerts on my email account that focus on specific news topics that are of particular importance in my professional work. I find it to be more than sufficient.

We cannot be everything to everyone. I cannot possibly do my life’s work as a psychic medium, while at the same time attempting to solve local crime, world hunger, social injustice and political corruption. There are others who have a Life Calling to address those matters. To each his own. If you are searching for inner peace and spiritual truth, take my advice and turn off your television set.

Excerpt from: Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny
© 2012 Anthon St Maarten
Image courtesy of Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos
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The Myth of Spiritual Life Lessons

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Spiritual Life Lessons by Anthon St Maarten Psychic Medium
It is not true that we must live a challenging, tormented life to learn certain spiritual “lessons”. Believing that we are here to “learn” is merely a justification that some folks offer to make sense of the bad things that sometimes happen to good people.

The irony is that those who choose to believe this myth will most likely have to face one trial and tribulation after the other, just as they expected. If someone’s life is awash with “weeping and gnashing of teeth” it is often because they choose it to be so. The hardship and suffering we see in this world is mostly man-made. Misery is something we inflict on ourselves, and each other. It is not of Spirit, Source or God.

Someone once asked spiritual teacher Abraham-Hicks “why do dogs risk getting bugs in their eyes when they stick their heads out of car windows”. Abraham’s response was telling and most profound:  “Because the contrast of the bugs in the eye is a small price to pay for the exhilaration of that ride, and it is exactly the same way you felt when you made the decision to come into this physical existence. It is exactly the way you felt when you knew there would be contrast and you said, 'the ride is going to be worth it!” Read more >>

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The only thing suffering teaches us is that we are capable of suffering ~ Melvin Jules Bukiet

If there is any spiritual "lesson" that must learned in this lifetime then it is that we are the creators of our own reality, and the designers of our own life journey. Your  experiences in this lifetime is what you choose it to be. You are the architect of your own destiny. If you consciously choose to sign up for some sort of “metaphysical boot camp” or “hell on earth” then that is undoubtedly the life experience you will have. If not, there is much that you can do to bring to an end all the self-inflicted misery you choose to expose yourself to. And if the torment is inflicted upon you by others, the solution is equally simple: nobody has the power to imprison your mind, dictate your emotions, or enslave your soul… unless you let them.

Planet Earth is not a cosmic classroom, it is a playground. Your life path is not a ‘test of character’ or some kind of ‘metaphysical curriculum’. It is simply an incredible adventure. You did not come into this physical dimension to suffer all manner of hardship, adversity and pain, to make you a “stronger person” or a “more spiritual being”. You are not going to receive some kind of divine medal, or an academic achievement star next to your name when you finally kick the bucket one day. You cannot become more spiritual, because you already are all of that completely. You are born of Spirit and you are a powerful creator of your own life experience. You are a divine being, a deity in jeans and a t-shirt.

Your journey along the path of life is all about the perspective you choose. Some of us prefer to learn lessons, while others choose to explore and enjoy all that life has to offer. Do we all make "mistakes" along the way. Sure, we do! But some of us prefer to make discoveries, instead of mistakes. Coming to a new-found awareness through exploration of all that life has to offer is very different from "learning the hard way" by making mistakes. Discovery exudes a quest for abundance, prosperity, gratitude and well-being, while making errors smacks of a lack consciousness, victim-hood and a scarcity mentality. Believing that we are here to "learn through our mistakes" is an insult to our true spiritual heritage. It supports the assumption that Spirit, Source or God is somehow incompetent or made a mistake with us! We are created in the image of the Divine; we are an expression and a celebration of the Divine. We are not flawed, or sub-standard, or weak or "dumb". We may be temporarily disconnected, misguided or confused, but at our core we are not defective or second-rate. Your soul knows its true mission. We are not here to make mistakes. We are here to make discoveries, to become aware, to unveil, to observe and to celebrate.

There is no beauty in sadness. No honor in suffering. No growth in fear. No relief in hate.
It’s just a waste of perfectly good happiness ~ Katerina Stoykova Klemer


You may not like to hear this in the midst of your earthly agony and anguish, but you are a flawless, crystal clear, meta-dimensional snapshot of God’s image in high-definition Technicolor.  There is nothing we are supposed to learn, there is no exam to pass. In our original form we were perfection personified. We come from a faultless state of Pure Consciousness and Celestial Power; we are the product of Infinite Creative Intelligence and Everlasting Unconditional Love. And we still are that original cosmic entity, but we chose this human life to enjoy an amazing physical experience, combined with a profound spiritual adventure!

Instead of coming into this time-space reality to ‘graduate’, we are here to achieve two simple goals: to have a spiritual escapade, and to fulfill a meaningful human mission. Spiritually you are here to evolve and expand your already perfect spiritual beingness. Yes, indeed, you are such an awesome metaphysical marvel that the Universe wants even more of you! And your ultimate soul purpose is not achieved through suffering or lack, but through enthusiastic exploration and thrilling life experiences. Combined with your spiritual quest, your human mission in this lifetime is to create or do something meaningful that will make the world a better place.  Your true life calling is to one day leave behind some sort of legacy that will ensure an even more exhilarating and fulfilling Earth experience for future generations. And if you believe in reincarnation, those future generations are very likely to include you.

We are all cosmic shareholders in this amazing adventure camp called Planet Earth. It is a spiritual playground with timeshare, and each and every one of us has a duty towards its continued upkeep, improvement and expansion. But you don’t have to become rich and famous, or highly spiritual to achieve this, neither do you have to be Newton, Ghandi, Picasso, or the Pope to complete your human mission successfully. To each his own. Each person’s life purpose is unique and equally meaningful. Mother Teresa was once asked what ordinary people can do to promote world peace. Her answer was uncomplicated: "Go home and love your family”.

© 2013 Anthon St Maarten

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Living A Life Of Increase

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manifesting a new reality and a life of abundance
To become more, to expand, and to seek more complete expression is inherent in our human condition, because it is an innate quality we possess due to our original spiritual nature. ‘Increasing’ or ‘becoming’ is what drives the expansion of the entire Conscious Universe. We are each of us a mirror reflection of the Universal Source; we are created in the image of the Divine. We are a perfect imprint of the magnificent Holographic Web of Consciousness.

And because we are spiritual beings who reflect the Divine in physical form, we also possess the innate qualities of Divinity. We are self-aware and conscious; we have the capacity for reason, sentience, imagination and creative thought; we command creative freedom and the metaphysical power to manifest; and we have the capacity for complete self-actualization, individuation and transcendence. All these qualities are the expression of our inner Divinity, a direct reflection and extension of the Higher Self. To live a truly awakened and abundant Divine Life, that will ultimately culminate in the achievement of your Soul Purpose and your Life Calling, you must honor these Divine qualities within. Read more >>

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As you think, you feel. As you feel, you radiate, And All-That-Is, is affected
by your offering. That is your power of influence ~ Abraham-Hicks

To achieve your Soul Purpose you must strive to become more conscious, continuously reaching for a higher state of being and higher level of awareness, and for unconditional love, peace and harmony. This is the process of transcendence, the process of achieving a superior state of being, or an enlightened existence, above and beyond the limits of our material experience.

To accomplish your Life Calling you must figure out who you really are and begin to differentiate that which makes you truly unique from the rest of the Conscious Universe. For while we are all made in the image of the Divine Source, and we are all reflective fragments of the Universal Hologram, we are each of us also unique in our individual make-up and in how we are meant to contribute to the expansion of our Universe.

And in so far as your business consists in dealing with other men, whether personally
or by letter, the key thought of all your efforts must be to convey to their minds
the impression of increase ~ Wallace D Wattles

It is vital that we identify who we are, what our unique talents and interests are, and what we can offer in service to the greater good. It is our duty to figure out what makes us special. For without the process of individuation we are of no use to our fellow man and the planet. Without individuation we fail to achieve our mission to planet Earth.

It is our mission and our duty in this lifetime to create more, attract more, manifest more, become more. It is our task to create new things, and to reshape and redesign the world as we know it for the better. It is our assignment to increase, expand and improve what is, was and ever will be. In the words of Wallace D Wattles, “You are a creative center, from which increase is given off to all.”

© 2013 Anthon St Maarten

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The Powerful Magic Of Being Authentic

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The personal power being authentic and vulnerable
If anyone were to ask me what the highlight of my life has been thus far, I would not even need a nanosecond to think about it. It is the easiest question I could ever answer. The most profound moment for me simply was the day I discovered the true power of authenticity. It was the day I discovered me.

Since that day, the quest for authenticity has completely altered my life. Like a Columbus of the heart, mind and soul I have hurled myself off the shores of my own fears and limiting beliefs, to venture far out into the uncharted territories of my inner truth in search of what it means to be genuine and at peace with who I really am. I have been abandoning the masquerade  of living up to the expectations of others and have been exploring the new horizons of what it means to be truly and completely me, in all my amazing imperfection and most splendid insecurity. It all began when I finally surrendered my shame to accept my psychic abilities as a blessing and not a curse. New doors swung wide open in my life when I discovered that being an empath is not a weakness and that being a psychic medium is not a sinful embarrassment. To be sensitive, vulnerable and emotional are taboos in our world, especially for men. Combine that with being a new age weirdo who hears the voices of dead people… and you have the perfect breeding ground for shame, self-hatred and imagined public humiliation. Read more >>>

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We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange
that self may prove to be ~ May Sarton


I remember when the debilitating shame began. Growing up in Apartheid South Africa our school environment was shaped by a government policy known at the time as Christelike Nasionale Opvoeding (Christian National Education). This restrictive policy was geared towards social engineering and allowed very little religious or ideological freedom. Even the Catholic faith was considered suspicious. We were encouraged to embrace the Calvinistic and highly chauvinistic values that were forced upon us.  We were programmed not to question authority, and to comply with the prescribed cultural expectations of our community. In this environment I was obviously soon misunderstood, excluded and bullied, to the extent that I began to view my psychic heritage as a shameful secret, as some kind of personal disability.

I soon realized I had to start wearing masks and pretend to be what I am not, for fear of rejection and ridicule. I fervently began to resist my extra sensory experiences. My fascination with all things metaphysical became my ‘dirty little secret’.  I no longer told the other children about the metaphysical beings I spoke to, or the paranormal phenomena I saw and heard. I also no longer blurted out the secrets of unsuspecting adults, which often caused many red faces and awkward silences around tea tables and barbeque fires.

I was disregarded by teachers, and rejected and tortured by many of my peers. The name-calling and physical abuse started very early, in my second year at school. I remember finding myself one day surrounded by a group of hyperactive eight-year olds. They were pointing fingers, laughing, and calling me cruel names. Today the scene reminds me of the witch hunters of old. Ironically, I realize now that some of their fathers were most likely firing teargas at rioting youths in one of the black townships at that very moment, while their children were hurling stones at me for daring to be different from the norm.

Those bullies had no idea why they felt the need to terrorize me; they just sensed intuitively that I was somehow unusual, a threat. Within me there was a silent, latent force that made them very uncomfortable. They were taught since birth to despise that which was different from them in race, creed, language, culture and faith. They feared what they did not understand. Being different, or standing out from the crowd in any way, was seen as anti-Christian, non-Afrikaans and unpatriotic. I remember the dread in their eyes when they used to push me around and hurl insults in my direction. It is disturbing to know that many of them still uphold some of those prejudices views and bigoted values to this very day. I know their current beliefs and attitudes, because these days many of them want to be my friends on Facebook.

We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves
to be deeply seen and known, and when we honor the spiritual connection that grows
from that offering with trust, respect, kindness and affection ~ Brené Brown.

People often say that love is the key to conscious living; they say love is the essence of joy and happiness and spiritual enlightenment. I beg to differ. For without authenticity there will never be complete unconditional love. True love and connection with ourselves, others and the planet is impossible without being fully authentic. First we must express and embrace our own authentic self, before we will be able to love anyone else unconditionally.

The lack of authenticity is a modern epidemic. We live in a perpetual hall of mirrors where very few of us are what we appear, or claim to be. We have created a counterfeit, pretentious society where we all seek sincere love and true connection from behind the towering walls of our falsehood. We yearn to reach out to one another from our fortresses of deception and our facades of self-protection. All the world is our stage and every day we dance around each other craving to connect with the real people behind the masks of fear and shame we all wear. Is it any wonder there are so many lonely people on this planet? Is it any surprise that relationships have become so complex and near impossible to navigate?

There is only one true key to lasting personal fulfillment and true intimacy with others – to be authentic. For when we are authentic we release our fears and step into being bona fide, and utterly vulnerable. We cannot experience true love and connection without also risking heartbreak and disillusionment. We must allow ourselves to be vulnerable, because when we shield ourselves from loss, rejection and disappointment, when we hide from sadness and despair, we also shut out opportunities for love, happiness, joy, acceptance and fulfillment. To be authentic is to be vulnerable, and to be vulnerable is to embrace the very essence of all that human life has to offer.

How does one become more authentic? To be authentic is to strip away the layers of pretense we have adopted to please others. To be authentic is to abandon the senseless roles we play to meet the imagined expectations of society. To be authentic is to break free from the oppressive chains of guilt and shame that keep our awkward masks in place, that keep our glasses half empty and not half full. To be authentic is to be stripped bare of all our pretenses and stand proud in the bareness of who we really are. Once we rip off the disguise we assumed for others, the real person is revealed. There is no more putting on a show for the sake of others… and we are finally free!

When your authentic self miraculously awakens and becomes stronger than your ego,
then you will truly begin to make a difference in this world. You will literally enter into
a partnership with the creative principle ~ Andrew Cohen


Carl Jung said, “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” To stand vulnerable before the world in all your brokenness and imperfection is the most powerful place you can ever be. Being vulnerable is not weakness, it is strength. Being authentic and vulnerable yields a phenomenal power that can move mountains. It is the magic of being alive. Holding yourself in a place of false pretense and self-protection only serves to block out all potential for true well-being and joy. When we shutdown and sedate all negative feeling, we also shutdown and sedate all the good stuff. When we anesthetize our sadness and despair with alcohol, drugs or food we also shut out all feelings of happiness, joy and ultimate bliss. We cannot feel selectively. We cannot feel only some things, and not others. We feel, or we don’t feel. So, start feeling!

I sometimes tell my clients that “pity parties” are good to indulge in. But if you are going to throw one, do it properly! Throw yourself the best self-pity extravaganza anyone has ever had. Call forth the violins, bring out the long black garments, decorate the room with all those sad memories of humiliation, betrayal and abuse. Go ahead and cover your head in ash, and flood the floor with your tears. Revel in your misfortune. Get it all out of your system to make space in your heart for love, joy and happiness. And when that clock strikes midnight, declare the party over! Pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and use the rest of that dark night to sweep the whole miserable mess out the backdoor. Then open the front door to welcome in the sunlight, fling open the windows to let in a fresh breeze of hope and faith. Run outside to embrace the dawning of a bright new day!

Don’t be afraid to love with every fiber in your being. Put your heart on the line each and every time, even when there are no guarantees. Know that you are worthy of love and belonging. Understand that you are imperfect, we all are. We are all defenseless, at risk and flawed in so many ways. Celebrate yourself. Accept that you are enough. Show the real you to the world , for you are special and unique… warts and all. Embrace every opportunity to love and connect with others. Social researcher Brené Brown says, “When we work from a place that says, ‘I am enough’ we stop screaming and start listening. We are kinder and gentler to the people around us, and we are kinder and gentler to our ourselves.”

If you put shame in a Petri dish, it needs three things to grow exponentially:
secrecy, silence and judgment ~ Brené Brown


The truly authentic are blessed. They are the warriors of the soul, the champions of love. Let your authentic self be seen by the rest of the world. You may fear rejection and ridicule, but what you will gain is your freedom and personal power. What you will find is true love and acceptance. We fear the judgment of others, but when we strip away the veils of pretense we discover that there is really only one nasty critic in our lives. There is only one malicious judge who raises eyebrows and wags a disapproving finger at us all the time. That judge is us – you and me. We are our own worst critics. While the rest of the world goes about their business and could care less about our imagined imperfections, we spend hours in our personal hall of mirrors: judging, shaming and blaming ourselves beyond all recognition.

Don’t be afraid to be who you are, but be smart about it. Being authentic is not about exposing yourself like an open book. You need not share your most personal thoughts and deepest personal secrets with the world. You need not wear your heart on your sleeve. Brené Brown sums it up perfectly when she states that one should only share your "shame story" with those who have earned the right to hear your story. Perfect strangers need not know every little intimate fact or detail about your life. Frankly, most people are not all that interested to know it all anyway. But what people are interested in is to engage with other people who are sincere and vulnerable, people who are able to ask for help and affection, people who can admit their own mistakes and imperfections, and people who are always true to themselves and stand up for what they believe in. They are interested in real people who are just like them. So, just be you for change. It will transform your life forever.

© 2013 Anthon St Maarten
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Journey Born Under A Divine Star

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In the coming weeks I will be posting a series of articles from my travel blog, which I wrote during my recent trip to Europe. The blogs are a collection of spiritual adventures, pilgrimages to sacred places and accounts of my personal odyssey into self-realization. Let me be your guide to sacred sites like Stone Henge in the United Kingdom and the Oracle of Delphi at Temple of Apollo in Greece.
spiritual travel psychic medium
I was very excited that my journey began under one of the most rare and powerful aspects in astrology, namely the Grand Sextile, or Star of David. The ancients associated this unique alignment of six planets with the birth and anointing of a king. This rare alignment of the planets occurred on July 29th, 2013. Seven of the ten planets were involved to create six sextiles, three oppositions and two Grand Trines!

The six planets involved are all in the Water and Earth signs, which is believed to present a rare opportunity for planetary healing and harmonizing of the physical world with the spiritual realm. Some believe this to have been a moment of global soul alignment. In Kaballah the Star of David embodies the synchronization of Earth and Water, feminine and masculine, as well as humanity and the Divine. Read more >>

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According to kabbalastrology.wordpress.com it represents “the balance between our efforts in prayer, reaching up to the divine realms, and intuition and embodiment, receiving the information we need to step into the divine plan.”

My astrological chart for the month of my trip also talked of turning outward, new adventures, travel for personal fulfillment, leaps of faith, philosophical expansion, higher consciousness and even the possibility of prophetic visions. So, fasten your seatbelts… it will be an interesting ride!

© 2013 Anthon St Maarten
Image courtesy of arztsamui / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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In The Powerful Presence Of The Maiden Goddess

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Many centuries have come and gone since the Athenians ascended the Acropolis to seek the guidance and protection of Athena, the maiden goddess of wisdom, war and divine intelligence. Her status as the favorite daughter of Zeus, and powerful patron deity of the city of Athens, remains evident to this day. Expecting to be mostly drawn to the Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus, when I visited the Acropolis of Athens in Greece*, I was instead keenly aware of the omnipresence of Athena’s legacy.
Anthon St Maarten Psychic Medium
My undergraduate education in literature and drama afforded me a reasonably good understanding of the role of the god Dionysus in ancient Greek culture. I knew about the festivals and plays, and as a student I often imagined visiting the remains of those historic open-air auditoriums.

But when my friend Sandra and I reached the Theatre of Dionysus, I did not hear the echoes of the choruses of long-forgotten Greek tragedies, or the murmur of the 17,000 spectators who came to see them lament. Instead I heard the resounding, reassuring voice of Athena only – a goddess I never paid much attention to before. She called to me very clearly, inviting me higher up to her sanctuary.

Pagan tradition has it that places and objects are charged with magical, transformative energy through focused ritual, belief, thought and prayer.

Share
A sacred landscape is not simply a backdrop for action, but rather a place filled with
names, associations and memories that link together everything present there.
Humans become linked to the rocks, trees, animals, rivers, mountains and
these bonds guide future human interaction with that place ~ Christopher Tilley

This ancient sacred energy bestowed upon Athena by so many devotees is vividly palpable on the Acropolis. This sacred historical site remains imbued with her electric strength, her infinite wisdom and her feminine charm. The prayers and offerings of every man, woman and child who over the centuries reached out to her for guidance and protection are still whispered by the winds around the marble columns. Her name is perceptibly hummed by the birds in the olive trees on the way up the steep slope.

Millions of feet have made this trek up to the architectural marvels awaiting on top of the Acropolis. One can feel its power underfoot. Expecting to encounter Athena at her most famous and impressive temple, the Parthenon, I was once again surprised to hear her voice coming from the more humble Erechtheion. This temple on the northern side of the Acropolis was dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon, the god of the ocean, earth-quakes and horses.

When ancient Greeks had a thought, it occurred to them as a god or goddess giving an order.
Apollo was telling them to be brave. Athena was telling them to fall in love.
Now people hear a commercial for sour cream potato chips and rush out to buy,
but now they call this free will. At least the ancient Greeks
were being honest ~ Chuck Palahniuk

Poseidon competed in a contest with Athena for the position as patron and protector of the city of Athens below. But the people chose Athena, because she created the first olive tree as a gift to the Athenians. Poseidon gave them a spring, but it ran salt water and it was of no use to them. According to an archeologist we spoke to at the Acropolis Museum, there are various myths about what exactly happened at that contest. One version has it that Poseidon neglected to bring a witness to his miracle of bringing forth water from the mountain, so nobody believed he was responsible. Another version has it that the people were asked to vote. All the women then voted for Athena, and since there were more women than men… Athena won by a landslide!

A visit to the new Acropolis Museum is highly recommended when you visit Athens and the Acropolis. Athena’s presence is also very much dominant here and I especially appreciated the close-up view of the original Koira (maidens) from the Erechtheion. Statues of Athena are everywhere in the museum in various shapes and sizes. Many of them reminded me of the Virgin Mary. One cannot help but notice the similarities in her depiction, right down to her headdress resembling a halo.

© 2013 Anthon St Maarten
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A Sign From Apollo At The Delphic Oracle

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Would you not do the same if you were going to visit the remains of the legendary sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, Greece? Well, I did! I humbly requested a simple sign or personal omen from the god of light, truth and prophecy, while I was planning my recent European tour*. I knew for several months before I undertook this odyssey that Apollo would not disappoint, but ultimately I received much more than I had anticipated.
Anthon St Maarten Psychic Medium consults the Oracle of Dephi at the Temple of Apollo, Greece
The renowned oracle who communicated Apollo’s messages to the people, and the priests who interpreted them, no longer ply their trade at this once glorious place, but Apollo has certainly not abandoned his remarkable temple. He still answers the call of mortals here, despite the fact that most of us now live in a world devoid of the mystical and the miraculous. Yes, he certainly does. I have proof.

At first I was somewhat disenchanted with this sacred site, but I nevertheless paid my respects to Apollo at the foot of his altar. I also paused for a while at the remains of the grand entrance to the temple, reminding him that the two of us had a date here with destiny. But nothing came to me.

I even snooped around the entrance to Pythia’s chamber, in the hope that this famous oracle woman would appear from the depths below to step out onto the Rock of Sybil in an altered state of consciousness. In that trance state, induced by the hallucigenic gasses from below the temple foundation, she would utter mysterious, prophetic messages from Apollo himself. It is rumored that she predicted the fall of Troy, surely she could manage a simple little sign from Apollo for me? Yet, the temple ruins remained as silent as the grave. Read more >>

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May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun; and find your shoulder to light on;
to bring you luck, happiness and riches…today, tomorrow and beyond ~ Irish Blessing

Maybe the Christians, who later turned a part of the site into a church, were successful in driving out the last remnants of the Old Religion with their Grecian crosses? They posted these crucifixes at the entrance to the sanctuary, possibly to dispel the evil and heresy of the site’s pagan past? They no longer had any need for the protection of the colossal Naxian sphinx who used to guard this place from high up on top of a marble column.

Unlike the clear call of Athena that I heard on the Acropolis in Athens, just a few days earlier, the sacred site of Apollo at Delphi remained shrouded in a mysterious, yet reassuring silence. But then Apollo surprised me with proof that the sacred force of Delphi remains. His presence here reaches as far back as many centuries BC; as far back as the time when he is believed to have dug the foundations of the first temple at Delphi himself.

Delphi did not shape the fate and direct the destiny of so many nations, kings and warriors by accident. This place is after all where Zeus, with the assistance of his two eagles, determined where the center of the world must be. The energy here has gathered over millennia, there is much magical power in these ruins, despite me being so slow on the uptake. The distractions caused by the unusual European summer heat, jet lag, and the chatter of babbling tour guides were all interfering with the radar of my sixth sense.

Eventually, I was going further up the slopes of Mount Parnassus, when I had a sudden intuitive urge to pause, and not take a picture as I normally might, but record a short video of myself with the temple behind me. This is unusual, since it is common knowledge that I am not at all fond of posing for photos, much less appearing on video or television. But Apollo insisted, so I obliged and stopped by trek up the incline.

I had never before used the video capture facility on my smart phone, so it took me a while to figure it out. The heat was becoming unbearable. At last I managed to record a brief video of me just saying a few words about the temple at Delphi behind me. Then I walked on. I still did not realize what had actually occurred, or what the significance was of this seemingly mundane incident.

And then I discovered it: my own little miracle message courtesy of Apollo’s oracle. While waiting at the Delphi Museum for the small tour group I had abandoned earlier, I had made an amazing discovery. I was scanning through the photos I took at the temple earlier, and came upon the video I recorded. I had already forgotten about it by then. I cringed for a moment at the prospect of seeing myself on the screen, but curiosity got the better of me, and I pressed play.

A few seconds into the video my jaw dropped. I was amazed and quite surprised. There I was, mumbling a brief introduction about the temple and the oracle, while from nowhere a large butterfly descended from above and came to rest on my shoulder! It remained there until the end of my short, unplanned monologue. Long after the video ended I remained staring at the screen in bewilderment.

The lord whose is the oracle at Delphi neither utters nor hides his meaning, but shows it
by a sign. The Sibyl, with raving lips uttering things mirthless, unbedizened,
and unperfumed, reaches over a thousand years with her voice,
thanks to the god in her ~ Heraclitus

After I posted the video on Facebook, a friend pointed out to me that apart from the butterfly a second amazing thing happened at the end of the video. I never noticed it the first time around! The moment the butterfly leaves a man walks into view in the background… and proceeds to embrace a tree growing near the temple.

Not only did Apollo answer my prayer for a sign, but he also made sure the moment would be captured for posterity. He made sure nobody would doubt the story of my encounter with him up on that mountain.  Some may see it merely as a lucky accident or coincidence, but I see only the blessing of Apollo in this magical, synchronistic occurrence.

In Celtic folklore the butterfly represents growth, personal expansion, transformation and rebirth. In Native American mysticism the butterfly was believed to be a messenger that would carry secret prayers and wishes to the Great Spirit.  In ancient Rome, butterflies were found on coins, next to Juno, the goddess of weddings and marriage. And in Greek mythology Psyche, the Greek goddess of the soul, is represented by a butterfly. Apollo knew that I was not only embarking on a physical journey, but that I had also entered a period of significant personal change in recent months. He reminded me that I had all the support and courage to continue breaking out of the cocoon of the past. I was on the cusp of a new way of life, and under the watchful eyes of the gods I was preparing to embrace a new chapter in my exhilarating human journey, wrapping my arms around the ever-expanding tree of life.

© 2013 Anthon St Maarten
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In The Powerful Presence Of The Maiden Goddess

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0
Many centuries have come and gone since the Athenians ascended the Acropolis to seek the guidance and protection of Athena, the maiden goddess of wisdom, war and divine intelligence. Her status as the favorite daughter of Zeus, and powerful patron deity of the city of Athens, remains evident to this day. Expecting to be mostly drawn to the Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus, when I visited the Acropolis of Athens in Greece*, I was instead keenly aware of the omnipresence of Athena’s legacy.
Anthon St Maarten Psychic Medium
My undergraduate education in literature and drama afforded me a reasonably good understanding of the role of the god Dionysus in ancient Greek culture. I knew about the festivals and plays, and as a student I often imagined visiting the remains of those historic open-air auditoriums.

But when my friend Sandra and I reached the Theatre of Dionysus, I did not hear the echoes of the choruses of long-forgotten Greek tragedies, or the murmur of the 17,000 spectators who came to see them lament. Instead I heard the resounding, reassuring voice of Athena only – a goddess I never paid much attention to before. She called to me very clearly, inviting me higher up to her sanctuary.

Pagan tradition has it that places and objects are charged with magical, transformative energy through focused ritual, belief, thought and prayer.

Share
A sacred landscape is not simply a backdrop for action, but rather a place filled with
names, associations and memories that link together everything present there.
Humans become linked to the rocks, trees, animals, rivers, mountains and
these bonds guide future human interaction with that place ~ Christopher Tilley

This ancient sacred energy bestowed upon Athena by so many devotees is vividly palpable on the Acropolis. This sacred historical site remains imbued with her electric strength, her infinite wisdom and her feminine charm. The prayers and offerings of every man, woman and child who over the centuries reached out to her for guidance and protection are still whispered by the winds around the marble columns. Her name is perceptibly hummed by the birds in the olive trees on the way up the steep slope.

Millions of feet have made this trek up to the architectural marvels awaiting on top of the Acropolis. One can feel its power underfoot. Expecting to encounter Athena at her most famous and impressive temple, the Parthenon, I was once again surprised to hear her voice coming from the more humble Erechtheion. This temple on the northern side of the Acropolis was dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon, the god of the ocean, earth-quakes and horses.

When ancient Greeks had a thought, it occurred to them as a god or goddess giving an order.
Apollo was telling them to be brave. Athena was telling them to fall in love.
Now people hear a commercial for sour cream potato chips and rush out to buy,
but now they call this free will. At least the ancient Greeks
were being honest ~ Chuck Palahniuk

Poseidon competed in a contest with Athena for the position as patron and protector of the city of Athens below. But the people chose Athena, because she created the first olive tree as a gift to the Athenians. Poseidon gave them a spring, but it ran salt water and it was of no use to them. According to an archeologist we spoke to at the Acropolis Museum, there are various myths about what exactly happened at that contest. One version has it that Poseidon neglected to bring a witness to his miracle of bringing forth water from the mountain, so nobody believed he was responsible. Another version has it that the people were asked to vote. All the women then voted for Athena, and since there were more women than men… Athena won by a landslide!

A visit to the new Acropolis Museum is highly recommended when you visit Athens and the Acropolis. Athena’s presence is also very much dominant here and I especially appreciated the close-up view of the original Koira (maidens) from the Erechtheion. Statues of Athena are everywhere in the museum in various shapes and sizes. Many of them reminded me of the Virgin Mary. One cannot help but notice the similarities in her depiction, right down to her headdress resembling a halo.

© 2013 Anthon St Maarten
Share

A Sign From Apollo At The Delphic Oracle

0
0
Would you not do the same if you were going to visit the remains of the legendary sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, Greece? Well, I did! I humbly requested a simple sign or personal omen from the god of light, truth and prophecy, while I was planning my recent European tour*. I knew for several months before I undertook this odyssey that Apollo would not disappoint, but ultimately I received much more than I had anticipated.
Anthon St Maarten Psychic Medium consults the Oracle of Dephi at the Temple of Apollo, Greece
The renowned oracle who communicated Apollo’s messages to the people, and the priests who interpreted them, no longer ply their trade at this once glorious place, but Apollo has certainly not abandoned his remarkable temple. He still answers the call of mortals here, despite the fact that most of us now live in a world devoid of the mystical and the miraculous. Yes, he certainly does. I have proof.

At first I was somewhat disenchanted with this sacred site, but I nevertheless paid my respects to Apollo at the foot of his altar. I also paused for a while at the remains of the grand entrance to the temple, reminding him that the two of us had a date here with destiny. But nothing came to me.

I even snooped around the entrance to Pythia’s chamber, in the hope that this famous oracle woman would appear from the depths below to step out onto the Rock of Sybil in an altered state of consciousness. In that trance state, induced by the hallucigenic gasses from below the temple foundation, she would utter mysterious, prophetic messages from Apollo himself. It is rumored that she predicted the fall of Troy, surely she could manage a simple little sign from Apollo for me? Yet, the temple ruins remained as silent as the grave. Read more >>

Share
May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun; and find your shoulder to light on;
to bring you luck, happiness and riches…today, tomorrow and beyond ~ Irish Blessing

Maybe the Christians, who later turned a part of the site into a church, were successful in driving out the last remnants of the Old Religion with their Grecian crosses? They posted these crucifixes at the entrance to the sanctuary, possibly to dispel the evil and heresy of the site’s pagan past? They no longer had any need for the protection of the colossal Naxian sphinx who used to guard this place from high up on top of a marble column.

Unlike the clear call of Athena that I heard on the Acropolis in Athens, just a few days earlier, the sacred site of Apollo at Delphi remained shrouded in a mysterious, yet reassuring silence. But then Apollo surprised me with proof that the sacred force of Delphi remains. His presence here reaches as far back as many centuries BC; as far back as the time when he is believed to have dug the foundations of the first temple at Delphi himself.

Delphi did not shape the fate and direct the destiny of so many nations, kings and warriors by accident. This place is after all where Zeus, with the assistance of his two eagles, determined where the center of the world must be. The energy here has gathered over millennia, there is much magical power in these ruins, despite me being so slow on the uptake. The distractions caused by the unusual European summer heat, jet lag, and the chatter of babbling tour guides were all interfering with the radar of my sixth sense.

Eventually, I was going further up the slopes of Mount Parnassus, when I had a sudden intuitive urge to pause, and not take a picture as I normally might, but record a short video of myself with the temple behind me. This is unusual, since it is common knowledge that I am not at all fond of posing for photos, much less appearing on video or television. But Apollo insisted, so I obliged and stopped by trek up the incline.

I had never before used the video capture facility on my smart phone, so it took me a while to figure it out. The heat was becoming unbearable. At last I managed to record a brief video of me just saying a few words about the temple at Delphi behind me. Then I walked on. I still did not realize what had actually occurred, or what the significance was of this seemingly mundane incident.

And then I discovered it: my own little miracle message courtesy of Apollo’s oracle. While waiting at the Delphi Museum for the small tour group I had abandoned earlier, I had made an amazing discovery. I was scanning through the photos I took at the temple earlier, and came upon the video I recorded. I had already forgotten about it by then. I cringed for a moment at the prospect of seeing myself on the screen, but curiosity got the better of me, and I pressed play.

A few seconds into the video my jaw dropped. I was amazed and quite surprised. There I was, mumbling a brief introduction about the temple and the oracle, while from nowhere a large butterfly descended from above and came to rest on my shoulder! It remained there until the end of my short, unplanned monologue. Long after the video ended I remained staring at the screen in bewilderment.

The lord whose is the oracle at Delphi neither utters nor hides his meaning, but shows it
by a sign. The Sibyl, with raving lips uttering things mirthless, unbedizened,
and unperfumed, reaches over a thousand years with her voice,
thanks to the god in her ~ Heraclitus

After I posted the video on Facebook, a friend pointed out to me that apart from the butterfly a second amazing thing happened at the end of the video. I never noticed it the first time around! The moment the butterfly leaves a man walks into view in the background… and proceeds to embrace a tree growing near the temple.

Not only did Apollo answer my prayer for a sign, but he also made sure the moment would be captured for posterity. He made sure nobody would doubt the story of my encounter with him up on that mountain.  Some may see it merely as a lucky accident or coincidence, but I see only the blessing of Apollo in this magical, synchronistic occurrence.

In Celtic folklore the butterfly represents growth, personal expansion, transformation and rebirth. In Native American mysticism the butterfly was believed to be a messenger that would carry secret prayers and wishes to the Great Spirit.  In ancient Rome, butterflies were found on coins, next to Juno, the goddess of weddings and marriage. And in Greek mythology Psyche, the Greek goddess of the soul, is represented by a butterfly. Apollo knew that I was not only embarking on a physical journey, but that I had also entered a period of significant personal change in recent months. He reminded me that I had all the support and courage to continue breaking out of the cocoon of the past. I was on the cusp of a new way of life, and under the watchful eyes of the gods I was preparing to embrace a new chapter in my exhilarating human journey, wrapping my arms around the ever-expanding tree of life.

© 2013 Anthon St Maarten
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The Shaman’s Schmetterling In Gottsdorf

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In my previous blog I shared the story of the sign I received from the ancient oracle during my visit to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Well, the magical presence of the butterfly totem did not end with my visit to Greece. In all of the other countries I was to visit on this particular European tour, I would encounter butterflies at every sacred site, and during special moments I shared with significant others.
Butterfly miracle totem sign
The miracle continued when I arrived at a country inn in Gottsdorf, outside Berlin, Germany. This was to be the venue for a four day meditation seminar I was attending. The event was set to take place in a cozy Yoga studio attached to the small hotel.

The moment I entered this room, I noticed a small altar the seminar organizer had set up in this space. The display was charming and colorful, but that was not what drew my attention. No, what struck me instantaneously was the large, vibrant butterfly hanging on the brick wall behind the altar.

Yes, indeed. I had received yet another mystical route marker along this personal odyssey into self-realization. This time the butterfly was not black and white, like the one who came to whisper in my ear at Delphi. Instead a brightly colored paper butterfly waved hello to me from above! It was like a psychedelic kaleidoscope reminiscent of the shapes one sometimes sees in sacred geometry art… or tie-died T-shirts from the 60s.

Another butterfly sign? Wat was it doing up there? Was this moment the next step in my transformation; did this butterfly signal the next phase of my personal rebirth into a new era in my life? Mr. Butterfly flashed me an affirmative smile.

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I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly,
or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man ~ Chuang Tzu
Two days later I had the opportunity to discuss my experience at Delphi with the seminar facilitator. I was curious as to why he brought the butterfly along, because he was not using it any way during the seminar. But to my disappointed he revealed that he was not the one responsible for the butterfly on the wall. I then turned to the owner of the venue for answers. I had to know who put up the butterfly, and why? After my experience in Greece, I knew there was more to the presence of that unusual item of decor, and to discover the answers I had to find out how it got there in the first place.

“Aaah, der schmetterling,” the German inn-keeper sighed, “It does not belong to me either.” She then explained that just prior to our arrival, there was a shamanic workshop conducted at the same venue. The shaman who conducted the classes is originally from Peru and he was in a hurry to leave on the last day. He had asked her to keep the butterfly safe for him, and bring it with her later, when she went to Berlin for shopping.
The sacred cycle of transformation begins by cultivating life experiences
and embracing the evolving human spirit. Meaning, purpose and joy are our birthright
and by dancing our sacred dream we create a richly woven tapestry
of spiritual thought and action ~ Micheal Teal
"Such a coincidence,” added the inn lady, “He contacted me just yesterday to ask how his schmetterling was doing!” I just smiled at her and said, “when you speak to the shaman again, please thank him for the butterfly medicine he brought into my life.”

The butterfly featured as symbol of transformation in Aztec, Inca and Mayan culture. In Peru over 90 varieties of butterfly are found, where they are considered a symbol of transition and celebration. The enchanting Morpho didius, or Blue Morpho is the most famous in South America and considered a national symbol of Peru. ‘Morpho’ means changed or modified. This shimmering butterfly is also an epithet of Aphrodite and Venus, the goddesses of love, beauty, pleasure, and prosperity.

© 2013 Anthon St Maarten
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Empath Unplugged At Bath Spa

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The host at Burghope Manor country inn in Bradford-on-Avon, England, is a very wise man. He has seen many travelers come and go over the years, and obviously knows what is best for each of them. When I told him I had downloaded an audio tour on my iPod, from the local tourism website, and was going to do a “Jane Austen walk” through the historic town of Bath, he gave me a skeptical look like only the British can and said, “You might want to stop by the Roman Baths first. It is a must-see, but go there early in the morning, before the tour groups arrive from London.”
Empath Anthon St Maarten at Bath Spa, UK
Well, who am I to argue with such a determined a messenger of the Universe?

Arriving at the Roman Baths Museum, I was planning to have a quick 30 minute browse around and then go off in pursuit of the famous Ms Austen’s favorite haunts. Well, what is usually a 90 minute visit for most to the baths, if you use the museum’s audio guide, became for me a four hour metaphysical adventure.

I soon discovered that I was back in the presence of the goddess Athena, who I had encountered at the beginning of this trip in all her magnificence at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Yes indeed, it appears I have unknowingly been stalking her throughout Europe. Or has she lured me here under false pretenses? Read more >>

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This place was truly the highest and the lowest of all worlds – the most beautiful senses,
the most exquisite emotions.. the most malevolent desires, the darkest deeds.
Perhaps it was meant to be so. Perhaps without the lows,
the highs could not be reached ~ Stephenie Meyer

The Roman Baths existed long before the Romans arrived in Bath. The Celts knew for thousands of years that the waters, bubbling up from this one of a kind hot spring in Britain, had special healing powers. This is the sacred place where they came to worship and seek relief for their ailments from Sulis, their goddess of healing.

When the Roman’s arrived here they were enchanted with the place and soon made it their own. Thus the Roman Baths. The Celtic goddess Sulis reminded them of their own goddess Minerva, for whom they built a temple here. And so the temple at the sacred waters of Sulis Minerva came to be. Many interesting offerings to the goddess were thrown into the sacred spring, including thousands of Roman coins which is to date the largest collection ever found in Britain.
People came from far and wide to seek healing… and revenge here. Yes, indeed. Heaps of rolled up lead and pewter sheets with inscriptions (defixiones) were also found at the bottom of the sacred spring. But they do not contain prayers for healing. The inscribed messages were in fact curses thrown into the spring where the spirit of Sulis Minerva dwelt; they were etched with requests for vengeance from the gods – mostly about very mundane trivialities: stolen coins and clothing, cheating husbands and unrequited love.

The punishments and misfortunes wished upon the perpetrators were all extreme considering the offense, and quite surprising to the modern observer. Had the gods responded to these prayers as requested, stealing a couple of coins from someone could easily see you hacked to pieces, eaten by birds of prey and burning in the eternal hell fires of the underworld! Revenge may seem disturbingly out of place in this soothing place of healing, but is releasing anger and letting go of resentment, in order to find forgiveness and inner peace, not one of the most powerful forms of healing?
Docilianus…to the most holy goddess Sulis. I curse him who has stolen my
hooded cloak, whether man or woman, whether slave or free, that... the goddess Sulis
inflict death upon…and not allow him sleep or children now and in the future,
until he has brought my hooded cloak to the temple of her divinity.
~ Tabellae Sulis inscription found at Bath

My personal experience at the temple of Sulis Minerva was profound. As an empath I am a conduit for energy and predisposed to healing others spontaneously. I have as a result spent a significant part of my life being subjected to people infringing on my personal space. They often follow me around in public places, without knowing why, or stand as close to me as possible, in order to heal or somehow exchange energy. I guess you can say people like me are like ‘filtering docks’ or ‘recycling bins’ for the rest of humanity. It’s a tough job, but I guess someone has to do it.

But at the Roman Baths something truly amazing happened.

For the first time in my life I had nobody trampling over my feet, crawling underneath my armpits or breathing down my neck. I was stunned. It was high season in Bath and the museum was extremely crowded, yet I could breathe freely and move around with ease. People kept a decent distance and nobody insisted on getting in my face. I remember thinking that this must be how ‘normal’ folks feel when they are out in public. I spent several hours inside that museum, surrounded by a mass of tourists, yet I felt calm and miraculously energized!
Compassion hurts. When you feel connected to everything, you also feel
responsible for everything. And you cannot turn away. Your destiny is bound
with the destinies of others. You must either learn to carry the Universe or be crushed by it.
You must grow strong enough to love the world, yet empty enough to sit down at
the same table with its worst horrors ~ Andrew Boyd
But how could this be? What was it about this place that gave a highly strung clairempath like myself a sense of perfect peace and liberty? Energy, of course! The Roman Baths is a powerful hub of healing energy. It oozes from the stones and bubbles up from the sacred spring, seeping into every pore, nook and cranny. The other museum visitors had no need for a feeble little docking bay like myself – they were broadband downloading from the very place itself! I guess you can say that, in metaphysical terms, I am like a slow dial-up line, while the Roman Baths is like logging into a powerful WiFi signal, while standing directly under the British Telecoms Tower in London.

Above the entrance to the former temple of Sulis Minerva the facade used to featured the mesmerizing head of the Gorgon. His magical face and what is left of the original facade is now on display inside the museum. I sat staring at him for ages. The Gorgon’s eyes look straight into your soul; they follow you around like the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. But the gorgon is not smiling. His laser beam eyes used to turn his victims into stone, like Medusa in Greek mythology, until he was slain and given as a gift to Minerva. She wore him on her chest as part of her armor, to serve as her shield. I could not resist and bought a Gorgon keyring and pendant at the souvenir shop. The Gorgon was going with me everywhere I go from now on… as a psychic shield to keep out the bad vibes, and freeze those ‘heebie jeebies’ in their tracks when next I visit my local supermarket.

And the goddess Athena? What did she have to do with all of this? Well, that is just it … Minerva is the Roman version of the goddess Athena. This place of healing and energy exchange is home to Athena, in the guise of Sulis and Minerva.

© 2013 Anthon St Maarten
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Magical Thinking

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Magical thinking is a common trait found among all children all over the world, between the ages of approximately two until seven years of age. This time frame is also known as the ‘pre-operational stage’ of child development and it is the period in our early life when we increasingly explore our environment, and gradually learn to distinguish between ‘fantasy’ and ‘reality’.
Magical thinking metaphysics spiritual
Children at this age initially have all kinds of imaginative ideas and magical interpretations of the world, in order to make sense of their external and internal reality. At this age we still believe that we can grow wings and learn to fly; or that animals can talk and sing; or that our shadow is a magical person following us around; or that the Sun goes to sleep in the ocean; that there is a man living in the Moon; or that the wind, the clouds and the trees notice us and obey our instructions. We often also have ‘imaginary friends’ at this age.

The process of exploring the actual limitations of our time-space reality lasts several years. Most ‘magical thinking’ typically disappears around the time when a child finally accepts that there is no such thing as the Tooth Fairy, or Santa Clause. As our understanding and knowledge of Earth reality increases, we lose our imaginative sense of the magical and metaphysical.

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Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry Potter, but why on earth
should that mean that it is not real?  ~ J.K. Rowling



It appears that the only reason magical thinking must fade into the background of our consciousness as we grow up is because it can become inappropriate or dangerous from a survival perspective. To live safely in our physical body on this planet in primitive times we had to recognize certain patterns in our environment, for example we had to know that certain berries or plants are poisonous when we eat them, or that we may die should we fall off a cliff, or that wild animals can cause us physical harm. Confronted with the independent forces of nature it is obviously not a good idea for frail young humans to believe that they can fly or give instructions to wild animals.

However, we never fully lose the tendency to see the magical or mysterious in the ordinary. Findings in cognitive science suggest that magical thinking is an inherent, human trait that persists into adulthood and this appears to be prevalent in all societies and cultures. It is also a phenomenon that is found in all civilizations. Throughout recorded human history we find clear evidence that mankind has always believed that some things are sacred; that things can be cursed; that the human mind can control matter; that rituals bring prosperity or good fortune; that there is power in words and the names assigned to things; that there is justice and moral order in the Universe (such as karma or God’s judgment); and finally that the Universe is ‘alive’ or has a conscious awareness of its own existence.

The fact that these fundamental beliefs are widespread and common in all cultures is no coincidence or accident. If we accept that we are spiritual beings having a physical, human experience, our tendency towards ‘magical thinking’ and metaphysical belief makes all the sense in the world!

There was no need for a term like ‘magical thinking’ in the Golden Age of Man…
there was only genuine everyday magic and mysticism. Children were not mocked or scolded
in those days for singing to the rain or talking to the wind ~ Anthon St. Maarten



However, many scientists attach absolutely no metaphysical or spiritual significance to these phenomena. For example, researcher Dr Eugene Subbotsky refers to it as ‘magical ideation’ and suggests that we retain our preference for magical thinking because “it’s much more comfortable to think that your fate is written down in a constellation of stars than that you’re one of a certain group of intelligent animals who are lost in frozen space forever”. Neuropsychologist Peter Brugger, takes a more positive approach, which goes beyond the mere ‘survival’ theory. He states that it is not healthy for us humans to be entirely stripped of all our magical thinking. His data seems to show that a lack of magical thinking leads to ‘anhedonia’, which is the inability to experience pleasure.

We were never really meant to feel like ‘animals’ lost in space. It is clear that we have an innate urge or intuitive desire to find meaning and purpose in our lives, and that we derive a lot of pleasure and joy from the so-called ‘magical ideations’ we attach to random patterns and coincidences.  I propose that although it is necessary for us to initially put our ‘magical thinking’ into its proper earthly perspective, while we grow up, we should not be encouraged or pressured to relinquish it entirely, for it is an expression of our original spiritual nature. It is also my experience that a true spiritual awakening is always accompanied by the return of so-called ‘magical thinking’ to our consciousness in some way, shape or form. Without ‘magical ideation’ true spiritual awareness seems impossible.

Yes, we did come here for a physical human experience and therefore we have to make do with little or no awareness of our ‘superpowers’ for a large portion of our life. It is part of the deal. One cannot expect to have a truly physical life experience bound by time and space, while retaining your full spiritual capacity. The two states of being are mutually exclusive.

We should be cautiously open to the spiritual and non-rational, and skeptical
of the more invisible magical thinking - what we might call ‘magical reason’-
pervading secular thought and experience in modern society.
Science and technology are for most people a new religion, and their
orthodoxies are believed with the same fervor ~ David Watson



In this lifetime we are like Superman who must remain disguised as the nerdy newspaper journalist Clark Kent, or Harry Potter and his friends who are not allowed to do magic while they are on holiday, away from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

We don’t mind this compulsory precondition for our current physical incarnation, because being more physical than spiritual is essential to the authentic human experience. It is after all what we originally signed up for! However, we were not meant to completely abandon our metaphysical nature and enter this time-space reality entirely ‘unarmed’ and powerless. Even Harry Potter and Clark Kent get to tap into their ‘special powers’ once in a while, especially when the going gets tough.

Excerpt from: Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny
© 2012 Anthon St Maarten
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