Sacred Landmarks, Special People

We are constantly under the influence of energy fields.

Have you ever felt positive and uplifted after being in the presence of certain people or being in a certain place?

Everyone radiates their own pattern of energy field (see my aura photo in a previous post). When your energy pattern resonates on the same wavelength as someone else's, being in each other's presence makes you both feel good. Energy fields of soulmates are known to merge into one harmoniously. I can easily name quite a few of my friends who could alter my moods for the better - and I bet they didn't even know they are doing it! Unfortunately, the same holds true for negative energy, there are certain people and places that would made me feel depleted of life. Doreen Virtue, the pioneer in Angeltherapy (http://www.angeltherapy.com/), recommends shielding your energy field from these negative effects. Just like those happy people, these depressed individuals probably had no idea what they are doing to your moods, they are also known as 'Emotional Vampires'.

Happy times with my spiritual sister - Suni :)

There are so-called energy vortexes around the world. Sedona, Arizona in the US is one, Glastonbury in the UK too. During my time in Japan, my friend Miwa took me to one of these energy vortexes in Nagano prefecture. On my hike down to the energy spot, I met a local carrying several empty plastic containers, she was on her way to collecting her daily ration of the 'energised' water at the bottom of the slope.

Feeling the mystical energy and collecting my own sample of energised water

My friend Miwa also told me that Mount Fuji is another mystical place. I felt fortunate enough to be able to live near it for 3 years. Miwa once told me that her intuitive powers would increase when she's near me and especially when she was visiting me in Yamanashi. Sounds like energy fields at play here:)

Capturing the spiritual energy emitting from Mt. Fuji

The Benefits of an Astrological Consultation

Some people are afraid of seeing an astrologer for fear of hearing bad news.

Modern astrology incorporates many psychological factors. Essentially, there isn't a 'bad' chart. It's all to do with understanding the different levels of energy dancing within a birthchart. Each zodiac sign has both positive and negative expressions, so through an astrological consultation, strengths can be further enhanced, and weaknesses can be worked on. By becoming aware of your innate energy pattern, your inner potentials can be utilised more effectively.

What I have personally found important (as an astrologer and also a client in the past) is that a consultation is a two-way process. Merely allowing the astrologer to impress you with his/her 'predictions' isn't productive at all. The key is to interact with the astrologer. It has been found that issues which could take up to 6 months to uncover under psychotherapy would only take a quarter of an hour within an astrological consultation (Noel Tyl's 'The Creative Astrologer'). Of course, if the client isn't willing to disclose, this wouldn't be possible. However, childhood wounds can be unleashed via a birthchart, an astrologer's job is to gently question the client about it. I feel that if the client is proactive in seeking the help of an astrologer, s/he is ready. To be on the safe side though, I would normally ask if there were any burning questions. This helps me to distinguish between clients who are merely curious (in which case I wouldn't openly explore possible past hurts) and clients who are suffering a reoccurring problem, e.g. a string of failed relationships, problems at work etc.

Yesterday, I met up with a dear friend of mine who was ready for an in-depth analysis. Here's her feedback:

Crystal Healing

I love crystals.

Every time I go to a crystal shop, I would take the pleasure of looking at every single item there, for every piece is unique - just like snowflakes. Being a perfectionist though, I used to demand purchasing flawless crystals only - no cracks, no chippings. However, one day, I noticed a 'rainbow' embedded in a piece of quartz crystal. Rainbows are created by the cracks splitting the light. Without these cracks, i.e. imperfections, we wouldn't be able to see the beautiful array of colours. So these so-called imperfections can produce asthetically pleasing results. This revelation has taught me to be more tolerant of 'imperfections' when purchasing crystals.

It's just like people, no one is perfect - surface imperfections can have internal beauty. Don't you think?

Energy Centres

Ever since my Reiki level 1 initiation in 2003, I have always been taking an active interest in the state of my chakras (or energy centres) and my aura. That's why last autumn, I grabbed the chance to have my aura photo taken at a Mind, Body and Spirit Exhibition in London.

The lady who analysed my aura basically reinforced what's been on my mind. She also recommended me a fantastic book called 'Feel the fear and do it anyway!' by Susan Jeffers. There are many self-help books on the market, but this one is to-the-point and left a lasting impression on my mind. For those of you who are unsure of your life purpose or are currently contemplating on a new venture, ask yourself this - if you were on your death bed now, what would you wish you had done or tried to achieve during your lifetime?

Here's a list of the meanings of your aura colour(s):

(This came with my aura photo)

The Miracle of Water

Yesterday, I finished reading a book called 'The Miracle of Water' by a renowned Japanese researcher Masaru Emoto. Emoto found that by exposing samples of water to positive and negative words, different water crystals can be obtained. Words such as 'happiness', 'affection' and 'peace' would produce beautifully formed water crystals. On the contrary, words such as 'dislike', 'ugly' and 'hate' would produce deformed-looking water crystals. Emoto found that 'Love and gratitude' produced the most beautiful crystals. Since 70% of the human body is water, Emoto postulated that our thinking would affect the quality of the water molecules in our body.

Although his research method was criticised by the scientific community, the chairperson at the Spiritual Dimensions of Science and Consciousness Subcommittee of the United Nations was so inspired by Emoto's work that he invited Emoto to share his spiritual findings at a UN seminar in 2005.

The power of positive thinking............

Decide for yourself the validity of Emoto's work:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masaru_Emoto

My Encounter with EFT

Besides astrology, I'm open-minded to many other forms of New Age teachings. Last year, I discovered, serendipitously, a book on EFT - Emotional Freedom Technique. It's basically tapping a series of pressure points on your head and body in a particular sequence to release any blocked energy flow. It can be used to treat a myriad of physical and mental illnesses, from aches and pains to anxiety and depression, even stress, procrastination and addictions come under the list!

I decided to put it to the test.

Anger is something I sometimes have problems with managing. Under the instruction of the book, I recalled an incident when I was feeling angry and rated it on a scale of 10. I then began to tap - I have to admit, it's quite a long process but it did work - I didn't feel as angry after a few rounds of tapping, but the sequence was too inconvenient, involving some strange actions in addition to the tapping, e.g. humming to yourself and circling your eyeballs! It's not something that you can openly perform in public!

Then, a few months later, I attended a local Reiki group which also has EFT shares. There, I met Sejual, a calm and gifted Energy Medicine Practitioner. The tapping sequence that she uses is slightly different from the one I had encountered in the book. I guess it's like the different branches of yoga, reiki, tai chi etc, it's essentially from the same source but human beings like to add their own touch to it.

With this new tapping sequence, I decided to give EFT another chance. Since the age of 10, I had been allergic to prawns. It started with an itchy eyelid, then escalated to a full-blown facial rash, with red streaks on my body. The first time it happened was at school. I remember one girl came up to me before morning registration and asked, 'Maxine, have you changed your moisturiser?' No was the reply followed by a rush to the mirror. Staring back at me was someone who looked as if she had slept in a room full of bees and mosquitoes! On the way to the medical room, the headmistress caught sight of me and I saw her recoiled slightly at my grotesque appearance. I want to thank my best friend, who stayed with me the whole time and helped me wet paper towels and tissues to dab on my face. Miraculously, it disappeared an hour later. I went to see my GP to get an allergy test but he didn't even bother, he just said 'Stay away from prawns'. And I did - I never really liked prawns much but when I found out I couldn't eat them anymore, I began to crave for them! However, all I needed to do was recall the discomfort of my rash and I would be thoroughly put off!

The skin rash from eating prawns is the overt symptom. I have to discover the cause behind it and then tap the points to release this energy block. I was fine before the age of 10 so something must have happened to make my subconscious think it's not safe to eat prawns. It took me a while to uncover an incident when my grandma was peeling prawns, she said prawns need to be gutted and showed me the intestine (yuk!). I thought it might have been this that I thought it's unsafe to eat prawns - because if it's not gutted, you're eating its excrement as well! Now, I'm sure you'd be relatively healthy if you do consume it but a part of me must have felt repulsed by it and sent a signal to my head - eating prawns is gross - hence my gross appearance! So, I began to tap on that incident. I can't remember how long I was doing that for before I had the courage to put it to the test - perhaps it was a few weeks. But one day, I took the plunge and had prawns. I waited.... one hour passed, and then another - nothing! Wow, I thought, I'm cured! Or am I? Being Miss Cautious, I tried eating prawns another day but still no rash came.

I am pleased to say that I can now eat prawns without worries of looking scary! I have been deprived of it for the past 18 years, if it weren't for EFT, I'd still not have the pleasure of consuming them. I don't care what people say - that EFT is not scientific. Traditional medicine gave up on me but EFT didn't. So there!

Astrology: My Passion

Born to highly practical parents, I became interested in astrology when my teenage cousins, who were reading their horoscopes in a teeny magazine, asked for my birthday and worked out that I was a Pisces. Of course, the forecast made no sense to me because I was only about 7 at the time. Despite the irrelevance, the idea of using the stars to understand what is happening on Earth fascinated me. I used to consider astrology to be pure entertainment, but all that changed when I first laid eyes on a birthchart. I honestly cannot remember when that was, perhaps in my late teens. The birthchart, showing a map of the heavens at the time of my birth, looked magical to me. I couldn't wait to find out what each symbol and line meant!

This discovery answered one basic question as to why most people think astrology doesn't work. The horoscopes you see in newspapers and magazines merely take the Sun Sign into account. Astrology is more than that, just like the complexity of your personality. You may act differently in front of different people and in various situations. A birthchart doesn't just look at your Sun Sign but also your Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn etc., each representing a different aspect of yourself, thus building up a more comprehensive profile of your personality.

In his insightful book 'Astrology, Karma and Transformation: Inner Dimensions of the Birth Chart', Stephen Arroyo, a psychological astrologer, taught me that challenges in life (represented by 'stressful' angles in your chart) can be blessings in disguise, because they urge you to utilise untapped potential in your personal make-up. The so-called good/smooth aspects, representing natural talents and opportunities, could mean laziness and complacency if they are not put to good use. I have also learnt that astrology can show you the lessons you may encounter in your lifetime. These lessons will happen time and time again, but once you have mastered what it is that you have to learn, the 'problem' will no longer be a bother to you.

Astrology is a valuable tool to unleashing your innate gifts and challenges. With the help of an astrologer, you are made aware of your strengths, which could then be put to good use (if not already!). Having an awareness of your weaknesses is the first step to self-improvement. Let's face it, no one is perfect! I have personally found that true happiness can only follow with self-acceptance - good or bad, you are who you are!

Image courtesy of sattva / FreeDigitalPhotos.net