We have been taught that beauty is frivolous, superficial, a luxury or even a deception or mask for something evil and sinister. In truth beauty is far more central to our purpose here on earth and our destiny than we might have been led to believe. Understanding and following beauty is in fact essential to a spiritual life and living in alignment with divine will and our true bliss.
Check out my newest video to learn more:
Find more videos on Gwydion’s YouTube channel.
Some of you might know that besides being a professional psychic and spiritual teacher I work part-time as a counselor and youth group facilitator at the local LGBTQ center. Nothing like regularly working with kids and young adults who suffer from serious depression, PTSD and dissociation to keep you and your spirituality grounded. It regularly makes me reevaluate what works and what doesn’t in terms of spreading awareness, health and empowerment through my teachings and perspective. It makes me perceive my own privileges better – and challenges me to figure out how to let this understanding inform my spirituality and my work.
See, I’d love to just sign up for ‘positive focus’ as the feel good drug of choice at any time. The problem is that is doesn’t work for most people on earth, because being able to maintain positive focus for even a couple of minutes isn’t as much about commitment and will as it is about privilege. Most people on earth aren’t that privileged.
Privilege means that you are given certain rights and can expect certain benefits and treatment in life which aren’t available to most other people. Especially not for other people who don’t look , love and pray as you do.
In most cases privilege is so commonplace among the members of a privileged group that they don’t even realize the benefits they are granted as special. They simply assume that having these things, being treated that way and finding yourself represented in the media and government is a normal experience for everyone. They don’t perceive a variety of perspectives because their friends, family and social circles are made up of people who look, love and pray at least similarly to them. They don’t really experience the ‘others’.
Like in agriculture this kind of cultural monoculture is not only cost intensive and requires a lot of resources and restrictions to maintain – it actually created ‘pests’.
Isolating a piece of land from the natural diversity surrounding it as is done in conventional agriculture is creating a rift in the Web of Life. Nature always promotes diversity and will be trying to close that rift. Which is why pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, walls, fences and plain force become necessary. They are weapons against nature. Weapons used to defend the rift. Weapons which have been shown again and again to create only more resilient pests. In the end Nature will always get Her way.
Even though we have been brought up to believe in a distinction between the human and the natural world this is just another lie of separation. In truth no such distinction makes sense. Our buildings are build out of wood, stone or metal. Even the chips in our computers require crystals to work. We can built walls and come up with ‘new’ materials in our labs – but we only have this natural world to depend on. We still depend on the resources and abundance of Mother Earth. We still depend on the Sacred Elements of Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Ether/Spirit to survive and thrive. Trying to push them out and reject the laws of nature did never work in the past, isn’t working now and never will. We are part of this fabric no matter what.
Given that we are part of the Web of Life and therefore subject to the laws of nature above everything else the question arises what that could mean for the ways we life, love, pray and built our life. Do we continue to fight the laws of nature? Or will we try to figure out how to respect them better so that we can begin to live in harmony with them and being supported by them as a result?
For this post let us just focus on one law for the moment. The Law of Diversity.
Nature strives for diversity always, because it thrives on it. The more diverse an ecosystem ends up to be the more resilient it gets and the more diversity it can sustain. A meadow always strives to become forest. A true forest is always chaotic and diverse.
Bringing that back to human society we can hopefully see now how trying to maintain a cultural and spiritual monoculture is as futile and as harmful to the earth (and human beings as part of the earth) as an agricultural monoculture. It will be impossible to maintain it without violence. Violence against the ‘others’ on the outside of our walls, fences and neighborhoods. Violence against the ‘others’ in our own midst as well. Violence which in most Western cultures is directed against the feminine, the queer, the transgender, the Black, the brown, the indigenous, the ‘oriental’, the dis_abled, the poor, the Pagan, the Witch. Essentially everyone who looks, loves or prays differently than we do.
It is worth mentioning that the constant threat of violence has caused those of us who find themselves at the receiving end of the lash to build our own walls and castles in self-defense. It is our way to cope with ‘minority stress’ and surrounding danger.
While this is understandable and the establishment of ‘safe spaces’ necessary we need to be careful not to create and nourish the rifts that divide us further in the process. We, too, have to leave our own castles regularly and start to listen to the ‘others’ more. Usually we will find people who have even less privileges than we do. We need to listen to their stories. We have to stop assuming that the stories we keep telling ourselves are more correct and worthy than those of the less privileged. Usually the outsiders are the ones who can take a better look and have deeper insight particularly because of their ‘otherness’.
We need to visit those who have more privileges as well. They need to see us. They need to hear our stories. We need to make our stories heard by them.
Looking at our spiritual communities we need to stop condemning those who pray differently than we do. Especially when their reality has been shaped by violence and structural discrimination beyond the scope of what we are able to perceive and believe yet.
We need to stop judging their practices, emotions and goals from a place of Ego. Instead we need to approach them with genuine curiosity and respect.
Why do they curse? Why don’t they? Why do they kiss the floor? Why do they light candles? Why do they pray to demons and angels? Why are their ethics different from mine and what can that teach me about my own position in the world, my own blindness and my (in-)sight?
We need to come with an open mind and listen. We need to come with the intention to learn in order be able to mend the Web of Life. Only then can we gain understanding and develop true compassion.
If we truly want to live in peace with the earth and each other, then this is the only way I see that happening. Even though we might need to redefine what that ‘peace’ should look like based on our new-found diversity of perspectives.
I originally wrote this post in August 2015 for an old blog project of mine. Given the almost daily news of homophobic, racist and other violence we find ourselves confronted with right now I felt a need to re-share it here with you today. The post itself initially focuses more on the reality of human-made climate change, but the basic advice for spiritual self-care in challenging times remains the same.
May we find meaning. May we find strength. May we continue to co-create what is desired without turning a blind eye on what’s not, but which is still happening.
There comes a time every couple of months or so when I start to wonder how it’s possible to stay sane. Watching the world around us crumble to pieces in what has been called and is expected to become the sixth mass extinction of organic life on this planet is hard. It’s not just worrying, but frightening. How are we supposed to survive that? Can we start taking climate protection seriously for a change? Will our interpersonal conflicts keep us from transitioning into a future worth living for? Is it time to give up? Or are we just in the middle of labor and need to keep pushing just this little while longer?
With all of these questions and the things going on it’s hard to stay sane. It’s hard to not give in to depression and desperation. It’s hard to keep believing in our own power and humanity’s potential for rapid change. It’s hard to believe that there is any God at times.
Well, we can obviously use our spiritual tools to directly engage with the Gods and spirits. That’s part of what they are there for. We can tune in and listen to them. They can give us direction and help us make sense of the external and internal struggles and changes. There is this path. And there are several others.
For people who have trouble trusting in their own psychic abilities or who haven’t developed these abilities to a degree which allows them to get direct counsel and direction from the ‘Otherworldly’, it’s helpful to remember that you don’t need these abilities in order to understand or give your life purpose. All you really need is your mind.
One of the tools which I have found to be highly efficient in certain circumstances is the tool of positive focus. Essentially this tool is all about choosing where you focus your attention most of the time and directing your attention towards the ‘positive’/desired. This doesn’t mean that we should neglect or ignore the ‘negative’ (more on that in a second). It means accepting, though (or at least pretending at first), that not everything is in fact negative. There are not just bad and dying people out there. There is hope. There are beautiful activists. There are amazing landscapes. There is beauty all around us. Permaculture gardens, rewilding approaches and intentional living communities are spreading. Wolves are returning to landscapes who haven’t seen them in decades and longer. There are several examples. Desired change is in fact already happening. The transformation of society which we seek is on it’s way. The media aren’t always telling us so since ‘news’ are usually centered around the negative. It’s a conscious choice for them to tell just this side of the story. We are free to make a different choice. Acknowledging and spreading information about beautiful and inspiring people, places and initiatives is actually helping them. It’s more than just focusing selectively. It’s actually helping to build a better world in tangible as well as intangible ways. Starting with the fact that giving yourself and others hope reduces stress levels and allows us to act more compassionately and loving with each other and ourselves. Just one of several positive side effects we might not think of at first but which are at play regardless. Something worth considering, right?
If everything else fails it helps me to remember how far we have already come in such a short time. Look back at the beginnings of social justice movements, feminism or the environmental movement. Look at what they protested against in the beginning and what has already changed since then. For example a couple of decades ago the term ‘animal rights’ wouldn’t have made any sense to the ‘ordinary person’ on the street. The idea of opening marriage to same-sex couples seemed far fetched at best and completely unrealistic at worst. Look at how far we have come! This doesn’t mean that there are no longer things to work on and improve, but it means that our fighting is worth it. It means that tangible change is actually possible.
That said, it’s alright to be sad, frustrated, angry and depressed about the state of the world as well. Pretending like we already live in paradise doesn’t make it so for at least the majority of beings on this earth. Species are still going extinct. Police violence and structural racism still happen on the streets. People still get molested, raped and abused. Looking away doesn’t help any of them.
What I propose instead is that we make a commitment to watch and listen. Not in spite of, but fully embracing all the emotions that this might bring up for us. We need to let our anger burn us to ashes before we can rise from the flames like a phoenix. We need to let our sorrow and pain consume us. Our tears will cleanse our eyes and hearts. However we might feel, it is OK. Our emotions are there for a reason. Accepting them will keep us sane. Once we stop running away from the way we feel we can begin to look Apocalypse in the face and still remain sane and able to act.
I agree, this is the work of a Warrior and it takes practice, but I believe it’s where we need to go next in order to deal with what is. I believe in our ability to do it in self-loving ways.
Remember to laugh. Drink enough fluids. Eat healthy food. Spend time in the sun and outdoors. Exercise a little. Meditate. Seek out beauty. Fundamental self-care will bring you a long way with this.
Much love to you during our shared journey! May we keep each other sane.
Within today’s spiritual communities there is this growing influence of half-digested truths. It is true that our focus and thoughts direct energy and create reality. It is true that focusing obsessively on the negative is co-creating it. At the same time it is often ignored that ignorance is almost equally harmful.
There is the whole Law of Attraction community which seems to be obsessed with being positive all the time or just noticing the negative if they feel strong enough to deal with it. Only if they can spin it into something positive within a couple of minutes are they willing to look at horror. As a result many are ignoring the other demons and shadows lurking in the dark catacombs of their soul and the collective drama which is playing out on the stages of the world. It is too much to bear. Too ugly. Not pretty enough. Not easily enough deflected by spiritual half-truth and teachings put out of context to soothe the mind.
It is in the shadows which are so dark that you can’t see your own hand in front of your face that the demons lure. It is there that they hide. Guarding not only the treasured of your soul, but themselves from you. It’s not them who are evil. It’s the tyrant within which needs to be exorcised.
The tyrant within is the very same part of us which I regularly call the self-hater. It’s an Ego structure gone rogue.
In my last post I already explained a little that the root of all evil can be found in the lies of separation. It’s an Ego gone rogue which keeps telling these lies. I actually made a whole video about he spiritual purpose of the Ego to go deeper into that dynamic. My video about judgment vs. comparison should serve to be quite illuminating about the subject as well.
Whether you choose to watch these videos or not I hope that I can get this basic truth across to you:
Separation is the false idea that we are somehow isolated and exist not only in a state of exclusive agency, but superiority (in some cases inferiority) in comparison with the rest of creation. This kind of comparison equals the judgment of the unintegrated Ego. It’s an Ego like that which likes to divide the world into white/black, us/them, men/women, gay/straight, good/bad, etc. for the sake of simplicity. We want to understand the world and in our naive trust we have adopted the beliefs of our parents that this can be achieved by simple divisions.
In reality these very same division obscure our perception of reality and lead us down a spiral of self-hate and self-rejection, because we can’t maintain the lies of separation without beginning to divide ourselves. We then start to lash out against the world around us in judgment, because we seek validation for our beliefs and feel threatened by the people, cultures and religions which represent a different truth to us. Especially by those who mirror the suppressed parts of our Self.
Is is in this division, in clear-cut separation, that we plant and nourish all the seeds of racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, xenophobia etc. which have been spread across the world.
We can never hope to uproot these seeds by creating more separation. That would be like fighting fire with fire instead of water.
Ignorance and avoidance are just different names for separation.
When we ignore something we don’t want to deal with it. We don’t want to accept the reality of it. We don’t want to be touched and moved by it. As a result we withdraw our focus, energy and attention. We pretend the undesired emotion, state or problem no longer exists. We walk away.
Do you see how this action is creating more separation between you and the thing, issue or people that you try to ignore and avoid?
Now let’s keep in mind that usually when we don’t want to face something there is a hell of a lot of resistance within us. We are resisting the painful truth. We are resisting our own complicity in its maintenance. We resist the fact that we are powerful co-creators.
Another thing we resist is the universal truth that there is no separation. You can pretend for as long as you want that the shot black kid, the attacked lesbian girl, the starving child and the abused animal aren’t a part of you. You will still feel their pain beneath all the pretense because we are all one and the same thing. No death happens without a part of us dying. No birth or change without a part of us being transformed and born again.
How would our actions change if we lived from a place of understanding our interconnectedness? How would we treat the people, animals, plants and other beings around us if we recognized them as other parts of Self?
Also: How would we approach the Divine, our Goddesses, Gods and Spirits if we fully knew them to be just another part of Self? Us being as divine as them? Them being as complex, unique, willful and compassionate as us?
It is truly time that we let the lie of separation go. It is truly time that we begin to tell ourselves and others stories of our interconnectedness and interdependency. If we want to make Utopia happen, the revolution needs to take place within our Self and through our actions, words and prayers in the world(s). It needs to be a revolution of love – and love never looks away.
In light of recent events in Orlando I wasn’t sure what to write in today’s blog. I wanted to write something inspiring which gives you a better picture of who I am and what I am about. At the same time I wanted to write something respectful that doesn’t pretend like there isn’t still a lot of pain and suffering in our LGBTQ family going on in the wake of the shooting. I certainly am not ‘over it’ and I don’t expect others to be ‘over it’ either. In my mind that would be cruel and uncalled for – and I experienced enough of that during the last week myself when I dared to express my sadness and my anger.
I’m not much into pretense. I don’t see a point in calling for positive focus while my leg is bleeding. I don’t want us to ignore our emotions or suppress them. Quite on the contrary.
It is my firm believe that everything about the human being is true, correct and beautiful. This includes all of our emotions, our wounds, our minds and our souls. It’s when we start denying and disowning parts of ourselves that we actually get into trouble. Evil enters into the chasm of separation – inside and outside of us. Which is why I’m spending so much time teaching about how to become whole again and how to learn to live with true compassion. It’s because love truly is the glue of the universe. It’s the only thing actually able to overcome hate, violence and the evils of this world. You essentially can’t shoot or consciously hurt someone who you consider to be part of yourself. The same goes for a tree, the ocean and all life on earth. If we truly start to get that all the separation we see is just created in our minds by an insecure and dominant Ego that wants to run the show, we can start not only to heal ourselves, but all the worlds. We can even begin to love our Ego back into wholeness. Like the rest of our parts it serves a valuable purpose if aligned with the rest of our being.
At the same time we shouldn’t pretend either that a gunshot wound can heal just fine as long as the bullet is still inside. Likewise we have to suck the poison out of our wounds sometimes before the real healing can begin. Love is the ultimate cure. And sometimes we need to create a space for love first by removing the poison. That’s the alchemy of transforming lead into gold. Inside of us that’s sometimes called shadow integration. Outside of us it can mean everything from compassionate listening and political activism to the complete arsenal of self-defense. Given the circumstance different tools serve best.
While sitting at the local river today I was reminded of another truth, too. Between all the trash that had been washed on the shore there were still beautiful wild flowers and proud plants with their branches held high. The trash is a concern to the Fey, the nature spirits watching that place. At the same time, though, they remember, too, that nothing that’s true can ever die. Life is unbeatable.
In our Western society it’s easy to get lost in the thought that death is final and a threat to life. That given the state of our world everything is going to end up in some horrible kind of apocalypse and that’s that. Given all the stories that we have been told for the last couple of hundred years it makes perfect sense to feel that way.
At the same time I think we should start to understand that all of these stories and thoughts were born from place of separation themselves. That there is another truth which is revealed in connection.
When we take a look at nature and let go of our cultural conditioning we will see that nothing truly ends there. Everything lasts forever. Matter and energy can’t really be destroyed. They can only be transformed into something else. That’s all what death and decay really do. They are the flipside of birth and growth.
Another thing we can observe is that nature fills the void. Nature itself doesn’t really accept separation. Cross-pollination is more like it. Turning an empty lot first into a meadow and then into a forest is more like it. The more diverse an ecosystem ends up to be, the stronger and more resilient it gets. That’s why nature always advocates diversity.
Likewise the powers of life Themselves will always be on the side of interconnectedness, interdependency and creative self-expression. They will always work towards closing the gaps. They will always be on the side of love in diversity.
It is a tragedy that 49 of our sisters, brothers and siblings lost their life as the result of (self-)hate. They became dispensable to the attacker because in his mind what they represented was evil. Something that he needed to see as something separate from himself and therefore dispensable. Evil flourished in his attempt to widen the chasm of separation he was told and believed was necessary.
In a way that’s all homophobia, sexism, heteronormativity, transphobia, xenophobia etc. are about: The idea that separation is necessary. The idea that what is different from us needs to be worse than us and therefore can’t be a part of us, because we need to be ‘good’.
From a spiritual perspective nothing can be further from the truth, because we contain everything. We contain the same-sex attraction. We contain the desire for genderqueer expression. We contain the homophobia and xenophobia, too.
So my advise would be to take a really deep look at ourselves and face the ways in which we still define ourselves as better or fundamentally different from “those people”. We have to face the reality of who we are. Only then can we begin to heal the wounds. Only then can we really begin to integrate our shadows and love our wholeness into being.
