Ruby Warrington

SACRED ADORNMENT: THE ART OF DRESSING FOR YOUR SPIRIT

Posted on by Kitty Cavalier

Dressing for your spirit – that’s the art of sacred Adornment, says Kitty Cavalier. Photography: Anna Dabrowska // Illustration: Mara Gonzalez Telman

Sacred Adornment by Kitty Cavalier for The Numinous artwork by Mara Gonzalez Telmo

Adornment and ornamentation of the human body is a practice that goes back to the beginning of time. It is something we humans have used for thousands of years to express how we feel, what we think, and what we choose to honor. When you think about our ancestors showing up to a Full Moon ceremony, what do you envision them wearing? Some mud encrusted, tattered frock that’s been worn for weeks?

Perhaps. But in most cases, our ancient granddaddy’s and grandmama’s would pull out all the stops. Ceremonial beauty rituals included things like bathing for days, massaging oneself with fragranced oil and herbal salves, face painting, and ornamenting the entire body with glittering shells and earth gems. After all, when the Gods themselves are your Friday night date, you better damn well get your glow on.

Creating beauty with the human body has always been and will always be a way of expressing reverence, tribute and prayer. For example, when a person gets married, she or he will think nothing of spending a whole year focused on their appearance. We get dressed up for holidays, birthdays, graduations, job interviews, etc., all as a way of expressing our inner experience of celebration with outer beauty.

With all the pressures of fashion trends and societal beauty norms however, it is easy to fall into the trap of adorning oneself solely to please the voyeur, rather than express the spirit within. But true adornment isn’t about impressing anybody, it is about leaving a unique impression on the world.

Here are five easy, rock-solid ways you can use The Art Of Sacred Adornment to cast your unique spell…

Sacred Adornment by Kitty Cavalier for The Numinous artwork by Mara Gonzalez Telmo

1. Make Your Beauty Routine A Ritual
As you line your eyes or mascara your lashes, remember that you are drawing well deserved attention to the portals of your soul. When you rouge your lips, be aware that you are bringing red, the color of passion and power, to every word you speak. As you paint your fingernails, remember that every stroke of the polish is a prayer of adornment for all the magic your hands create every day.

2. Create A Sensation Based Wardrobe
Stand in the middle of your closet. As you look around, notice what catches your eye and creates the sensation of lust and desire in your body. When you put that garment on, notice how it feels. Does it make you feel delicious, sexy and turned on? Does it make you feel powerful? Does it make you feel good in your own skin? Challenge yourself to assemble your outfit without looking in the mirror once, basing every decision not on how things look, but on how things feel.

3.  Create Your Own Color Psychology
Some schools of thought teach that red is a “power color”. I say, your power color is whatever the f*ck you want it to be. For example, wearing ultramarine blue makes me feel both sexy and slightly androgynous, depending on the item. That makes me feel powerful, sometimes. Other times it is the softness of a cream lace kimono and vintage pink camisole makes me feel powerful. Maybe neon yellow is your power color, or wearing all black makes you feel romantic. However a color feels to you is how it will make you feel to the rest of the world, when you are the one that is authentically wearing it.

4. Go outside your comfort zone
A fabulous way to practice adornment as prayer is to stretch a little bit beyond your comfort zone, every day. This will be different for everyone. It could be something as simple as switching out your regular sneakers for a pair of classic, chic Chuck Taylor’s. Or if you’re a notoriously glamorous dresser, maybe your challenge is a pair of slouchy Levis. As in any area of life, the richest magic always lies just outside our comfort zone.

5. Keep It Simple, Starlet
At the end of the day, practicing adornment doesn’t mean you need to start parading the streets in a gilded carriage. (Unless ya want to – I know I do!) Sacred Adornment can be as simple as caressing every inch of your skin with warm, glistening coconut oil after a shower, or clearing off your nightstand at the end of the day to light a candle. Any time you intentionally honor all the beauty that you are, you become a living, breathing, prayer.

MATERIAL GIRL, MYSTICAL WORLD: LULU BRUD

Posted on by The Numinous

A.k.a. Lady Lu of The Wolves, Pretty Little Liars actress, storyteller, and interior designer Lulu Brud is the most mystical of material girls. Here’s a peek into her world…Portraits: Taren Maroun

Lulu Brud interview on The Numinous

WE’RE STARTING A NEW EVENT SERIES CALLED “STORY MEDICINE.” AS A TELLER OF STORIES YOURSELF, WHAT DO YOU FIND HEALING ABOUT STORYTELLING?
Stories are mirrors, reflectors of humanity that can reveal the great archetypes throughout history. They can awaken a connection to seemingly far away lands, spirits, and forgotten or imagined times. Stories are teachers and invokers. They lend us the words when we have gone silent or inspire empathy where perhaps before there was none.

WHERE DID THE NAME OF YOUR BRAND – “OF THE WOLVES” – COME FROM?
I dated a man a long time ago who gave me this book, Women Who Run With the Wolves. It was as if he had been sent just to give me this important thing, because I never really heard from him again after that! Later that year, for my 25th birthday, my best friend gave me a Wolf Ring that has become a talisman in my life. I joined Instagram the same week I got the ring, and as I was searching for my moniker, the name just sort of came to me. I didn’t go out looking for the wolves, the wolves came looking for me.

AS AN INTERIOR DESIGNER, WHAT MAKES A HOME A SANCTUARY?
We spend a lot of our lives out in the world, sharing space and entangling ourselves with the energy of strangers. It’s important to have a home to return to that feels like a calm and grounded sanctuary of our own making. My personal approach to interior spaces is inspired by natural and warm elements like plants, crystals and wood, different patterns and colors in textiles and tiles, and up-cycled/repurposed pieces. I love bringing inside living, outside, and outside living, inside…in other words, I don’t like such hard defined lines between the inside of one’s home and the wild outdoors.

Lulu Brud interview on The Numinous

WE LOVE THE SOUND OF YOUR “PICNICS OF THE WOLVES” GATHERINGS! WHAT INSPIRED THIS IDEA AND WHAT CAN WE EXPECT?
I love gathering with women (and sometimes men too!) over food, drinks and chats doing crafts and/or at lectures. Working with our hands, healing through laughter and shared stories, that’s what it’s about. I’ve done a few of my own gatherings now, and they are organically growing into something really special. There will be several coming up in 2016 – Lindsay Mack of Wild Soul Healing will be in LA in May for a Tarot focused Picnic, and I’m hoping to get a Cob Oven building workshop on the books too, things like that. The sign-ups will be listed on my website as they become available!

ACTORS ARE EMPATHETIC SOULS BY NATURE – HOW DOES ONE KEEP YOUR ENERGY FIELD CLEAN OPERATING IN A CUT-THROAT ENVIRONMENT LIKE HOLLYWOOD?
To be honest, I struggle with it a lot, but Of the Wolves has saved me in many ways. My days are filled with storytelling in many forms, and I go to bed feeling creatively fulfilled at night. I have had the opportunity to work more this year than I ever have before, with a small arc on Pretty Little Liars and an appearance on Ray Donovan, but for now, it’s all quiet again on the acting front.

The ups can be really exciting and thrilling, the downs can be pretty heavy and dark, and rejection is an everyday occurrence. The trick, for me at least, is staying balanced and grounded through it all, keeping my hands busy, telling good stories, and not pausing for too long to dwell on things that are so out of my control. At the end of the day, it’s just a job. It’s hard not to compare my path with that of those around me, but I just can’t do it…their story isn’t my story and my story isn’t theirs.

:: MATERIAL GIRL :: 

My label // Reformation or vintage finds from old closets.

Bordeaux dress, $278, Reformation
Bordeaux dress, $278, Reformation

My shoes // Black vintage lace up Justin boots (that I’ve had resoled 5 times), PFKaufman Mules, Minnetonka Moccassins.

Mules, $350, PFKaufman
Mules, $350, PFKaufman

My fragrance // Jiva Apoha 1967 Body Oil or if I’m feeling fancy D. S. & Durga Freetrapper.

Body oil, from $53, Jiva Apoha
Body oil, from $53, Jiva Apoha

My jewels // Alkiemie Wolf Ring, Communion by Joy Eye of the Warrior Ring, my wedding ring with a family crest that my husband and I designed together, and Native American vintage turquoise pieces

Eye of the Warrior Ring, $1985, Communion by Joy
Eye of the Warrior Ring, $1985, Communion by Joy

My pampering // A quiet solo night at home with a good playlist, candles, bath time, and a glass of wine.

My home // Rustic + Bohemian + Cabin feels nestled into a hillside on the east-side of LA.

My food // I love cooking any foods with good people and high-vibing ingredients

The Plantpower Way: Whole Food Plant-Based Recipes and Guidance for The Whole Family
The Plantpower Way: Whole Food Plant-Based Recipes and Guidance for The Whole Family

:: MYSTICAL WORLD ::

My awakening // Waking up slowly and cuddling my husband and our eight-year-old tea cup poodle. Then lighting candles in our meditation room, burning Juniper Ridge incense, and sipping coffee until I need to face the music and get the day started.

White Sage Incense, $12, Juniper Ridge
White Sage Incense, $12, Juniper Ridge

My sign // Sun: Scorpio | Rising: Taurus | Moon: Cancer.

My mantra // “I am enough.”

My healer // The colors and the quiet of Momma Earth – deserts, oceans, mountains.

My reading // “Women Who Run with the Wolves” – “The Anthropology of Turquoise” – “Just Kids” – “A Handbook of Native American Herbs”

EkiTMCB50OPQ15FWKCRRwZ0a5j9K7Ivld40r_GW5O9gJust Kids by Patti Smith

My transformation // When I stopped limiting myself to just being a storyteller through acting, and opened myself up to all of the other ways I tell stories – home designing, sharing stories on my blog, making goods, and curating my online shop.

My mission // To awaken and connect people back to one another and their wild sides, and to instill a new paradigm of protectors for the sustainability of this planet.

www.ofthewolves.com

TAROTSCOPES: DECEMBER 2015

Posted on by Louise Androlia

Tarotscopes December 2015 cast by Louise Androlia using The Cosmic Tarot.

Sagittarius :: Sagittarius Rising :: Princess of Wands

I think it’s only right that we should feel a little more super powered around our birthday, and for you there’s no exception. After all, this is your official new year, your solar-powered leap into a new and inviting space. So it may not be strange for you to feel more active than usual over the coming weeks, and I don’t just mean physically. That mind of yours has a lot to think about, which could be adventure enough.

The word adventure does feel fitting though, as it seems as you have your eyes on a prize, something ahead that you’ve been planning for or maybe are waiting for. For some of you this may involve a little future tripping that sees you just trying to wish yourself somewhere else, while for others this could manifest as a physical and very irritating wait. Either way, your power lies in your ability to trust the process and take action only in the present moment. Having goals and making plans is brilliant, but only if it comes without self-imposed restrictions.

So, at the start of this new solar year I want to ask you, what is it that you’re striving for? And how can you make your journey towards it more empowered and less anxiety ridden? Although we often decide not to believe this, we get to choose exactly how high our stress levels are. After all, you have the ability to decided how you react and respond to your every day encounters and thought processes. As you move through the month I want you to bear in mind that any situation that’s fuelled by drama really isn’t worth putting your mind, body and spirit on high alert for. Save your stress reserve for when you really need it, and instead work out how you can better channel your Fire element.

You are ruled by Fire after all, and it’s one of the best elements to learn to master. On a lower level setting it could see you getting angry, frustrated, judgmental and self sabotaging; but at a higher vibration, the same situation could find you creating, dreaming, imagining and in your ultimate manifesting space. Monitoring your mood over the coming weeks if you feel yourself spiraling downwards, consider how you could channel that Fire in a way that will work much more constructively for you. Just imagine what you might encounter in this higher energy.

Questions? Come and chat with me on Instagram about how your month is going @louniverse

 

Capricorn :: Capricorn Rising :: Judgement

And what comes after retreat? Rebirth. This is a big month for you, with your own solar year set to take off in line with the new year itself, I feel you’re going to be big on making PLANS and for once, instead of telling you to slow down I’m going to encourage you to stand up, pay attention and get involved. With your attention fully on your own life, it deserves to be grabbed fully, embraced and absorbed. You have the energy of transformation on your side so it’s certainly the right time to be preparing to make any big changes you’ve been inching towards.

So, what does this mean for you? Change is an interesting energy, whether the changes are subtle or life altering, great or not so, the feelings that come along with any sort of change are always the same – overwhelm, anxiety and feeling ungrounded. The power at your fingertips is to be able to empower the shifts you are going through as they arrive, as you create them. The Tarot teaches us that transformation is a natural part of life, and a constantly occurring process. The cycles of life spin frequently and we always, always have the opportunity to get actively involved.

So this month’s card is very much a WAKE UP CALL. What are you hiding from? What fears are you afraid to address? What do you want to quit? What do you want to call in? Your journey is sooooo on your side right now, and you are truly encouraged to scrape the sleep from the corners of your eyes and get up and get on it! It’s exciting to commit to a new day; it’s thrilling to commit to a new part of your life. We all know that the unknown can be a terrifying concept but, oh, isn’t it just beautiful too?

The sun is in the distance, rainbows surround you, your pains are waning, and your opportunities are arising. An important part of emerging from the shadows will be a sense of standing your ground, learning to really say NO to what doesn’t feel good, and getting rid of any people pleasing tendencies once and for all. Your priority is on valuing your time and being precious about spending it in ways that lift you into your higher powers. The next stage of your life is knocking at the door, go and introduce yourself

Questions? Come and chat with me on Instagram about how your month is going @louniverse

 

Aquarius :: Aquarius Rising :: Prince of Swords

Reclaiming your power is the grand theme for this month, and some idea of what your power is in the first place will go hand-in-hand with this. Empowerment arises out of self-knowledge and self-awareness, hence the reason a strong self-care practice really is the key to everything. I mention “re-claiming” because there is a sense of rising up and connecting to your internal confidence in a new and more embodied way.

Our personal power is always shifting, due to our experiences and the emotions they give rise to. It’s likely that in the recent months you have experienced events or even just a shift in mindset that have caused you to rethink your place in the world and your place within yourself. The first step to embodying this new sense of self is to check back in and see where you’re at in your story, and how authentic you’re feeling. Okay so we get told to be authentic alllllll the time, but what does that really mean? To behave truly authentically we have to meet ourselves where we ARE. If you’re ignoring or rejecting any part of yourself or your story then it’s very difficult to really stand in your highest self, and your present moment shoes.

Part of being an empowered individual is saying, right this is what’s happened, this is how I felt, this is how I feel right now and it’s all okay. You are here, you are alive, and you are powerful, no matter how weird you feel inside! It’s about standing up and recognizing: “this is me, this is where I am today, I am not broken, I am an evolving human being.” Notice the sense of relief that washes over you when you just allow yourself to be where you’re at?

I want you to be considering all this because I feel you may need it during your interactions with others. There are lots of new ideas in the air, and it can be scary to share them with the world, and throw your opinions into the mix but know that when you speak from a place of compassion and self-knowledge, they are usually well received. Your fears are normal, but it really IS time to get yourself “out there.” Gift yourself a renewed sense of confidence by simply reminding yourself ‘I’m here’ – and you will always be exactly where you are supposed to be.

Questions? Come and chat with me on Instagram about how your month is going @louniverse

 

Pisces :: Pisces Rising :: The Hierophant

If you’re feeling stuck, ask for help. If you’re feeling sad, ask for help. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, ask for help. If you’re feeling heartbroken, ask for help. If you’re feeling unwell, ask for help. This month, guidance is abundant; it’s within every encounter, it’s in the body of your books, it’s in that internet black hole, it’s on the walk you take in the park, and it’s available via every wish and prayer you make. Although it’s normal to feel the opposite, the sense that you’re all alone is not true.

Whatever you’re feeling has been felt before, there are people all around you who feel alone too – especially the ones that you think couldn’t possibly! There is always a ‘me too’ whether you’re hearing it right now or not. This is a teaching month, one where you can receive help but also one where you can give aid, because you see, you have wisdom to share too. If you have a story, and we all do, then at some point it will help you to share it. There is, however, no need to feel you have to share it right NOW. You have to do your own healing first, and then you can be of service. Then you can be that ‘me too’ for the person who needs it.

So, what do you need to receive right now? Where are you feeling disconnected – what kind help would be appreciated? The Universe is throwing winks at you big time, so attempt to get yourself into a space where you can receive them. Synchronicities and numinous moments are for everyone, there’s no complicated magic trick to perform, but you do need to be able to see them. You can keep your eyes wide open by practicing a constant state of surrender, which instantly throws you into an expansive space.

Start each day by shouting, or whispering I SURRENDER into the open space around you. Make your intention that you want to see the full 360 degrees of life, the unturned stones and the dark corners. If you aren’t receiving it’s only because you aren’t seeing, and this is a fun exercise to wake yourself up to this simple truth, because we all fall asleep sometimes. Finally, write, write and write some more. You gain great inner voice direction when you put pen to paper and just let it all out.

Questions? Come and chat with me on Instagram about how your month is going @louniverse

 

Aries :: Aries Rising – The Lovers

The past few months have required you to scatter your time and your attention in all directions, but now it’s time for a little more one-on-one. This is a month of reassessing what the idea of true connection means to you within your most personal interactions, and that includes the relationship with yourself. What if a full-blown gigantic love affair was the only option in every area of your life? Imagine if you had to have a big crush on every single thing you do, every place you go, and every person you choose to spend your time with.

With this visual in your mind, what needs to be cleared out? What things in your life don’t seem to have stuck in a good way? What seems frivolous? I want you to be aiming high for your mind, body and spirit and accepting no impostors – including how you handle your own sense of authenticity. For those of you who are in a partnership, don’t feel guilty about closing the door and committing to your relationship with each other. Retreat with each other, because it feels like there’s a deeper level of connection just around the corner – you just have to allow the space for it to occur.

Those of you who are single, think about what you might be wasting your energy on. You don’t have to be seeking a relationship to appreciate the people in your sphere. Who do you find most fascinating? Which individuals can teach you new things and hold your attention? You are a person of high energy and ideas and if your mind isn’t led to discover new things then you will get bored. In all senses though Aries, this is a month for intimacy and depth, rather than throwing yourself into group after group activity. Cherish late night phone calls, and cozy dinner dates.

Meanwhile, the same applies on the work front. Buckle down and focus your attention on the project that makes you swoon, the one that keeps you up at night. While on one hand it may freak you out to explore one thing so deeply, you have got this. There may be a big decision coming your way, and if you commit to following the signs that feel good, then even on the smallest level you’re all set to learn something that contributes massively to your overall transformation. So dive in, don’t play small.

Questions? Come and chat with me on Instagram about how your month is going @louniverse

 

Taurus :: Taurus Rising – Queen of Wands

Is this month going to rise up and match the intensity that you’re infusing it with? Unlikely, but that doesn’t mean you can’t rise up and march on if that is what’s calling you. As the year winds down, instead of feeling like all you want is to camp out on your sofa for days on end, you may find yourself at your most creatively active and abundant. The only annoyance might come trying and get others to meet you in that space, so don’t panic if you’re trying to push to get something off the ground and you’re met with out-of-office after out-of-office response; you can still be as alive as you like!

You see, I feel that a renewed sense of confidence is about to hit you head on, and after a year of ups and downs, as well as some bouts of major uncertainty, you are frankly thrilled to be feeling back in your power. I urge you to reflect on the story you are living; the patches that seem less active are only ever in place to teach you something, even if it was simply to rest before being radically awoken. Everything is in place to gift you something, whether you work it out now or you see it in ten years’ time – the Universe is ever abundant with her messages.

So, with your energy activated, feel free to use it how you please – with only one rule: it has to be for your highest good and from your highest energy. You can be prone to self-sabotage or restricted thinking on the occasions where you aren’t getting what you want and it’s essential to avoid this now, after all, your life purpose is not to hold yourself down, right? So get into adventure mode and into your most creative mindset – make things, brainstorm, invent, and enthuse.

This doesn’t have to be based in one area either; you can be passionate about everything that’s in your life’s container, love harder, be bolder, and think deeper. I love that you have this opportunity to end the calendar year with your fire energy high and abundant, it’s certainly the time where you don’t need to worry about being grounded, be your weirdest, shout your loudest. Have fun, celebrate everything, and don’t withhold your love from anyone. Be wild.

Questions? Come and chat with me on Instagram about how your month is going @louniverse

 

Gemini :: Gemini Rising – Five of Swords

Time to step into a major time of recalibration, especially if you really did end up in massive Gemini communication mode over the last weeks. You may feel overwhelmed and exhausted, downtrodden and energy sapped – and it’s okay! These moments are always a call for us to get back into our body and shift the focus to self-care. When we feel scattered, it’s usually because we’ve been pouring out more energy than we’ve been accepting in. The balance is off and – ta da – we feel sapped and irritated.

This can happen because of the people we spend our time with, the work we do, and the environments and situations we enter or observe – and especially if we don’t have the energetic tools to manage. So, I want you to begin a daily energy protection practice. Yes daily, non negotiable! Every morning, leave your home with a visual of yourself surrounded by an unbreakable bubble. Every evening, take long deep breaths whilst visualizing yourself underneath a powerful waterfall. With every outbreath, imagine dust and dirt draining out of your feet and into the earth.

Meanwhile, when you feel scattered rub the palms of your hands together and say to yourself: “I am exactly where I am supposed to be.” Visualize roots growing out of your feet and securing in the ground beneath you. Modern life is designed to throw you out of your body, and that it’s your responsibility to get back in. I also want you to consider anywhere that you are feeling restricted or penned in right now, and how much energy you are contributing to this situation. Where are you retreating when you could be rising up?

You are the only one responsible for your feelings, even when it seems to be the opposite, so show yourself some compassionate and give yourself the nurture you need. The end of the year is the perfect time to practice taking pressure off yourself, and off other people. Give yourself a break, you deserve it, you always deserve it. These times of retreat are always aligned to shift us back into an empowered space, and so the more connected you are to your mind, body and spirit, the more prepared you are the embrace your future adventures at their fullest.

Questions? Come and chat with me on Instagram about how your month is going @louniverse

 

Cancer :: Cancer Rising – Queen of Pentacles

I feel like the energy you’ve been just dying to receive is finally coming in – you know, something a little more solid and grounded, a little slower and less frantic. This month feels like a nice, long, deep breath, and with this a huge release of mind-based tension. This is the Earth element, and I also feel a theme of deep and nurturing mothering energy present for you. It’s not to say that you need looking after but you have needed support, and whilst you’ve been managing to pool it together from around and about, this time it’s coming from within. It’s like your legs are the roots of the tree now, and you feel way more confident in saying “I can do this” and “I’ve got this.”

In order to really ride the bliss of this idea of course, you also have to accept it by stepping away from any of your current self-sabotaging brainwaves. It’s very easy to down play yourself and it’s even easier to compare yourself to others. But why? What’s the point? You have to accept your unique brilliance to be able to live within its power, and now is a rather nice time to do so.

So, yes, you have talents and you can create stability. Whether you feel it right now or not, there is potential for that sense of feeling rooted within the world. Remember that empowerment and connection don’t come from external sources or from ticking goals off your life to-do list. You can be rich and successful and still feel disembodied and alone. You know it, so remember it.

As the year draws to a close I feel as though you are also going to be more needed, in every capacity of the word, and after feeling like the needy one for quite a while it will be thrilling to really be a guide to others for a while. Ask those who you think might need you if they require help and donate your time to causes and people that you believe in. This theme covers all your skills and abilities, and even though you might be hiding some of yourself in the shadows it feels like someone around you is going to be not so gently nudging you in the ribs saying, “it’s time, do that thing, it’s okay, you can do it.” Accept the proposal and be the ruler of your world.

Questions? Come and chat with me on Instagram about how your month is going @louniverse

 

Leo :: Leo Rising – Four of Swords

There’s not such a huge shift in energy for you as the year draws to a close, I still feel a huge sense of stillness. With a double dose of this message however, it’s likely that next year is going to be quite active, so I encourage you to really marinate in this down time and keep practicing what it feels like to just be.
The other thing that’s really important when life has served up a pit stop is really check in with where you’re at.

Seek out any area of life that looks like it needs your attention, and then give it. For many of you I feel it will be close to home, especially in the self-care realm. This is also very important if you feel you’ve recently been recently tripped up. If something halts you in your tracks, it’s not for no reason; we are very often called to question the ground we’re walking on. This is a gift from the Universe in itself, as when we’re zooming along at 100mph we often forget to check in with where we’re even going, veering away from or true needs and our intuition.

So, grab a cup of tea and get out your life map – where are you headed and where are you on your journey? Scan all areas of your life, including your inner soul system, and check if the signposts are pointing in the right way. Are there any places where you’re trying to scrabble backwards? Any spots where the weather feels a little misty? Have you got enough fuel, water, and supplies? What needs your attention and how are you going to give it?

This energy also supports planning of course, especially in line with the new calendar year approaching, and I want you to try and keep yourself in a passionate heart space rather than a “what if” head space. It’s normal to get anxieties around the unknown, but nothing is more powerful than the dreams you want to realize. Allow your will to be stronger than your won’t and plan for success and adventure rather than fear and failure. All experiences are lining up waiting for you, and your job is to partake and receive, opposed to predict and dismiss. Timing is stretchy and if something doesn’t appear to be manifesting right now, then “now” isn’t on it’s to do list. Surrender forever.

Questions? Come and chat with me on Instagram about how your month is going @louniverse

 

Virgo :: Virgo Rising – Three of Cups

I always love being able to tell you to let loose and shake it out, and this month is no exception. In fact, over the coming weeks you are the sign most able to live in their surrendered energy. You’ve paid your dues for this year, you’ve worked hard, maybe even too hard, but most of all, you’ve survived. You did it! You are here, you made it, and if you look back I feel you’ll see quite the story unfolding. Isn’t it exciting?

Even if it’s also a little terrifying. But now is the time to allow yourself to celebrate, “allow” being the operative word because it’s not always easy to step 100 per cent into relaxation mode, is it? There’s always a little bit of guilt or a “but I should”, but seriously – that’s bullshit. You need down time and here is it, so go and embrace it. Trying to please anyone else will give you a zero on the fulfillment scale. So what do you really need? And how can you gift that to yourself?

I feel like your emotions are overflowing and so you must allow yourself to step fully into “feeling feelings” mode, even if it makes you uncomfortable. Especially if it makes you uncomfortable. To some of you, the idea of vulnerability really makes you cringe, the idea of someone really seeing you, ugh shudder. But it’s not that terrible really, is it? To receive love and to act from love does not make you weak, it makes you super powered and…a human being!

Celebration is your theme for the month, which may show up obviously or may be more subtle. You may have to invite it in or be the lighthouse itself, but whatever you do, don’t hide from any chance to be uplifted, even if your nerves take a hit. I love this energy because it’s silly and creative, just like natural child energy, reflecting that time in our lives when we hadn’t learned so much about fear and we played abundantly. What would it feel like to wake up and commit to a day (or a week, or a month) of NO rules – except what feels good? No self-pressure, no people pleasing. Game on.

Questions? Come and chat with me on Instagram about how your month is going @louniverse

 

Libra :: Libra Rising – Nine of Cups

Do you have a pair of rose tinted spectacles? If so, I want you to put them on. This month is littered with synchronicities, unexpected opportunities and hidden lessons. What are you currently wishing for and how are you approaching the process? Begging for things from the Universe never seems to work does it? Or making threats – you know, those moments where you feel in crisis and you bring out the bargaining bag.

To manifest successfully we have to believe that we will receive everything we NEED, even if it’s not everything we WANT. A tough pill to swallow, but it does come with a bonus, because often what we get is much more suited to us than expected. Our opportunities to be humbled by our journey come thick, fast and never-ending, which is why showing up and joining the ride is always the most exciting option. So, back to your manifesting. Over the next few weeks I encourage you to pull back from throwing yourself into the future, to retreat from the goals you’ve set, and to allow yourself to see what’s right in front of your nose.

I guarantee that even in your deepest challenge, there’s something within the situation to love and be grateful for. The smallest things can always affect you in the deepest way, and often they are also the most familiar. What do you see or experience every day that has a positive impact on you? It may be a person or a feeling, something that shifts you up a level. It’s there, but can you see it? You are also given a free pass to start the holidays early, to slide into relaxation mode sooner than you’d normally allow yourself. Tone down the doing everything for everyone vibe you’ve been throwing down recently – it is not your job to fix them all.

But it is possible to be there without wearing yourself out. Step back and see how the world still spins but you feel more grounded. With the holidays approaching, I also want you to be generous with your love. Don’t hold back from appreciating those who are important to you, this is an instant energy lifter for you and it’s important, especially because there are people around you eager to return the favor. You deserve your cup to be full.

Questions? Come and chat with me on Instagram about how your month is going @louniverse

 

Scorpio :: Scorpio Rising – Four of Cups

You are not unaware of feelings of apathy, or, as I like to say, coming down with a case of ennui, but you’re more than equipped now to know what to do within these moments. This month, you may find yourself erring on the foot-stomping child version of yourself more than once, mainly in that kind of “I want this thing RIGHT NOW” type of vibe. Yeah, sure you want it right now, but can you accept it at a later date, or in a different format?

You know more than anyone that the whole point of transformation is not knowing what things will look like around the corner, and that you aren’t supposed to. The future is none of your business and you’re just going to have to deal with it, a.k.a get up and outta that bad mood! Okay lecture over, but really, if you’ve placed a pile of restrictions on yourself then reality will never match up to your dreams, because fear and ego don’t reserve any space feeling good – they just keep on telling you that you need more. And the thing is, you have everything you need. In fact, you have more than you need. It’s a classic case of WAKE UP and look around you – oh yeah look at that wonderful thing!

Look at all the talents you have literally bursting out of you. You have to be your own cheerleader now, especially since you’re enough of a spirit leader for everyone else already. It’s time for that energy to be reflected back to you, so lift yourself up and meet yourself in your true energy space, which is luminous, magical, and oh so bright. See it?

Okay, so now we have that covered, it’s just a case of patience and embracing all that the present is bringing you. Your journey isn’t stalled, it’s just taking some downtime. All your plans and the things you’ve been manifesting are unfolding at their own perfect pace, nothing has been averted (unless it really wasn’t for your highest good – trust that) and there are so many sunrises ahead. You clearly need to be where you are right now to receive the bounty of the present moment, so try and not think yourself elsewhere. Unfold your arms and repeat to yourself “I’m ready” – invite in transformation and movement and you’ll see it arise in the most perfect sequence of events. Prepare to be wowed.

Questions? Come and chat with me on Instagram about how your month is going @louniverse

THE MAGIC INGREDIENT: HAVE A HIGH-VIBE THANKSGIVING

Posted on by Raquel Griffin

Blindside your folks with these tasty vegan, gluten-free dishes, for a totally high-vibe Thanksgiving y’all! Recipes by Raquel Griffin. Photos: Oliver English

high-vibe thanksgiving Gluten Free Vegan Chia Corn Bread by Raquel Griffin for The Numinous

:: CHIA CORNBREAD WITH CARROT MAPLE MISO “BUTTER” ::
This is the perfect crowd pleasing vegan, gluten free Thanksgiving comfort food that even your SAD (Standard American Diet) loving relatives will enjoy. And it’s also easy-peasy to make. Vegan, Gluten Free Chia Cornbread with Carrot Maple Miso “Butter”. It’s a recipe. Make this.

Vegan Gluten Free Chia Cornbread
Makes 16 servings
1 – 20 oz. package gluten Ffee cornbread mix (like Bob’s Red Mill)
1 ½ cups fresh almond milk
2 tablespoons chia seeds soaked in 6 tablespoons water
½ cup coconut oil

DIRECTIONS
Have all the ingredients at room temperature. Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously grease a 9 x 9-inch pan. Place cornbread mix in large bowl. Add milk, chia and water mixture, and oil. Mix until blended, then mix vigorously for 30 seconds more.Pour into prepared baking pan. Bake until golden-brown, about 25 minutes.

high-vibe thanksgiving Carrot Maple Miso Butter by Raquel Griffin for The Numinous

Carrot Maple Miso Butter
Makes 1⅓ Cups
2 cups carrots, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces (about 6 medium sized carrots)
2 tablespoons chickpea miso (like South River Organic Chickpea Miso)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

DIRECTIONS
Place the carrots into a pot of simmering, salted water. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the carrots are very easily pierced with a fork. Drain the carrots. Place all of the ingredients into a high-powered blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add water as needed to get a light, spreadable texture. Store the butter in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for up to five days. Serve with cornbread.

(Butter recipe adapted from The Full Helping)

:: COZY GREEN SOUP WITH SPICED PUMPKIN SEEDS AND HORSERADISH CREAM ::
This is the perfect winter soup when it’s cold and blustery outside and all you’re looking to do is cozy up under the covers. It also helps that this recipe is pretty flexible and can be whipped up with virtually whatever green items you’ve got on hand – that wilted kale, failing broccoli and any other sad sack green veggies taking up residence in the back of your fridge. Cozy Green Soup with Spiced Pumpkin Seeds & Vegan Horseradish Cream. It’s a recipe. Make this.

Makes 6-8 servings
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1/3 cup chopped leeks (or onions if you haven’t got leeks)
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups fresh almond milk (or store bought…if you must)
5-6 cups of whatever green veggies you’ve got on hand, roughly chopped
(Escarole, Spinach, kale, purslane, celery, broccoli, even cauliflower will do.)
2.5-3 cups cooked quinoa
1 avocado
2-3 tablespoons Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons each of sage, basil & rosemary
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For the fresh almond milk
6-8 tablespoons of raw almonds (soaked overnight)
6 cups of filtered water

For the spiced pumpkin seeds
1 cup raw green pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or any nut except peanuts
2-3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon smoked salt (garlic salt will also work)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander

For the vegan horseradish cream (optional)
½ cup plain Almond Milk Yogurt (like So Delicious Plain Almond Milk Yogurt)
3-4 tablespoons Vegenaise (or any non-dairy style “mayonnaise”)
1 tablespoon horseradish
Sea salt & fresh black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
To make the cozy green soup: Begin by sautéing the leeks and garlic in a pot until the leeks are translucent. Then add all the chopped vegetables along with the fresh almond milk, basil, sage and rosemary and simmer for 8-10 minute or until veggies are soft. From there, transfer the contents of the pot into your blender or food processor, then add the avocado, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, nutritional yeast and quinoa and blend until mostly smooth (about 2-3 minutes on high). Serve topped with a dollop of horseradish cream and a sprinkling of spiced pumpkin seeds.

To make the fresh almond milk: Combine soaked almonds and water in any high-powered blender and blend on high until the consistency is smooth, frothy and light about 2-3 minutes.

To make the pumpkin seeds: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Toss the seeds with coconut oil and spices. Spread onto a sheet pan and bake until toasted, about 10 minutes. Cooled pumpkin seeds can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks.

To make the horseradish cream: Combine almond milk yogurt, Vegenaise, horseradish, salt and pepper in bowl. Whisk ingredients together until smooth.

 

What’s your favorite high-vibe Thanksgiving dish? Please (really, please) share in the comments below, or show us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

A NEW ADVENTURE: READING FOR THE FULL MOON IN GEMINI

Posted on by Hannah Ariel

The Full Moon in Gemini is an invitation to re-shape our reality and reorientate on our journey, says Hannah Ariel. PLUS Three essential questions to help each sign navigate the vibes

reading for the Full Moon in Gemini by Hannah Ariel for The Numinous

“You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember all I’m offering is the truth. Nothing more.” – The Matrix

If there were ever a week to take the red pill, it’s this one. It’s high time to engage these days like a Gemini, restless in a your infinite search for more knowledge, more truth. Wanting to hear and see everything, life through Gemini eyes is like experiencing an endless discovery channel.

Gemini is MUTABLE energy. It can’t help but change course with every turn of a thought. Nothing thrills this sign more than to follow a new lead, comprehend yet another fact, connect another dot. At the Full Moon in Gemini on Wednesday November 25th we’re beginning to realize we may have to take a few twists and turns to get to where we need to be going next.

In aspect to Neptune, this may not be at all where we thought to dream before. This Full Moon in Gemini illuminates how our lives are meant to change and mutate, to the point where they are unrecognizable at times, in order for us to explore a fresh vision. Cosmically, it’s a time where life can be stranger than fiction.

The Sun has just entered Sagittarius. We have survived the depths of Scorpio, and there is an unmistakable optimism in the air. And while Gemini is busy turning corners, Sagittarius always trusts there’s going to be a good time around the bend. Although these signs oppose one another in the sky, they actually make for lively partners in crime; Gemini points the way, and Sag has the good faith to follow the signs.

It’s a divine recipe for unlimited exploration, plain and simple. However, Mercury and Saturn have also joined the Sun in Sagittarius, creating a not so simple trifecta of nature. This Gemini moon is we don’t really have a reliable map. We can’t know which way we’re pointing without also investigating what we’re looking for, in good faith of course.

Thoughts and beliefs born of our experiences are our only reality right now. We can’t simply believe what we would prefer to anymore. Saturn in Sagittarius sees to this, as our beliefs will materialize opportunities in time and space faster than you can say Abracadabra. If you aren’t excited by the opportunities being presented to you in your life currently, check in with your third eye and ask: what do I envision for myself?

Reality is fundamentally mutable as this Full Moon in Gemini directly activates the first of three Saturn in Sagittarius/Neptune in Pisces squares – the first one on Thanksgiving Day, November 26th. When two slow moving outer planets square off it triggers shifts in consciousness that don’t come around very often. These heavy-hitters want to improve our circumstances, dissolving one boundary to re-create the next. We’re breaking through illusions we were unwittingly supporting while totally re-identifying with a new ride. Expect whatever vision you channel now to form and expand your reality.

When we look around we may be mistaken into thinking nothing makes sense right now; relationships are dissolving, re-locations are taking place, responsibilities are shape shifting, our identities and professions are being re-invented. With Neptune in the mix: surrender. Surrender to this Full Moon in Gemini. If what you thought was going to happen doesn’t, don’t flip out! Reweave the story. See to it that something else unfolds in its place.

As long as we keep the energy moving, the right situation will manifest at the right time, bringing treasures we did not know we were looking for. There’s so much we can’t possibly understand completely right now – the least we can do is open up to the journey. Surrender and feel free to experience a radiant sense of adventure in searching for where you’re headed. And above all, know you are not alone.

This Full Moon in Gemini will also reflect a particular paradigm-shift, based on your individual chart. Here are three essential questions to ask yourself, based on your Sun or Rising sign, to guide you through this Saturn/Neptune square – especially if at this Full Moon in Gemini you are struggling to make sense of what’s happening:

Aries :: Aries rising
Where is your community? How do you connect? Is there a spiritual purpose at work?

Taurus :: Taurus rising
Who are you really? What do you want more of? How can you expand your influence?

Gemini :: Gemini
How are you feeling? How are you healing? Who are you exploring with?

Cancer :: Cancer rising
Where do you fear? How do you experience peace of mind? When does it feel good to be in your body?

Leo :: Leo rising
Who do you inspire? How do you show love? What can you let go of?

Virgo :: Virgo rising
How many roles are you playing? Where are your roots? How can you see yourself more clearly?

Libra :: Libra rising
Do you see a big picture coming together? Which ideas fire you up? How can you put them into practice?

Scorpio :: Scorpio rising
Are you open to what is possible? How good does it feel to be you? Where do you experience love in your heart?

Sagittarius :: Sagittarius rising
What relationships are you attracting? Do you believe in yourself? How can you feel more at home wherever you go?

Capricorn :: Capricorn rising
What projects are you working on? Do you feel spirit supporting you? Which conversations inspire you?

Aquarius :: Aquarius rising
Are you having fun? Do you have an audience? What are you holding on to?

Pisces :: Pisces rising
What is privately coming to life for you? Where do you experience recognition? Do you feel your affect on others?

For a private reading with Hannah Ariel contact: [email protected]

MY MYSTICAL LIFE: A DOSE OF STORY MEDICINE

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

The story behind our new event series – Story Medicine…

Ruby Warrington shot by Francis Catania for The Numinous

A couple of months back, Aly Derby and I hosted a Meditation for Peace at Maha Rose in Greenpoint, as part of a global synchronized meditation for the International Day of Peace. It began with Aly leading a guided meditation to tap us into the oneness energy of the event, and afterwards we both shared some stories around what had come up for us. And then so did everybody else in the group, and the conversation flowed, and the stories became more personal. We all left feeling connected and uplifted, and with the glow of having been heard.

This event was the inspiration for Story Medicine, the monthly gathering Aly and I will be hosting at Hub 17, a beautiful and expansive community space below the new lululemon flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. As Aly wrote beautifully in the blurb for the event:

“When we come together we create community; and when communities share our stories with each other we weave unity. In every experience we share, there is a valuable lesson for someone. And listening in itself is a gift – it’s when our stories are heard that we become healed. In this simple yet profound exchange we find ourselves uplifted, connected and more inspired by our own lives than ever before.”

As a “reserved” Brit, when I first started attending Moon rituals, and healing workshops and events I used to silently dread the “sharing” segment – when we’d go around the circle, and participants would be asked to talk a little about where they were at, and their intentions. Not least because I would often get so emotional! But if I’ve learned anything on my numinous journey, it’s that often when I cry is when I know it’s working. The healing that is.

So with Story Medicine we’re making the sharing the main event. Each month will have a different theme, and as with the Meditation for Peace we’ll kick off with a guided meditation from Aly. Then, each person in the circle will be invited to share a story related to our theme – which could be a story from your own life, a story you heard which has inspired you, or even just the story of what happened to you today.

Our first Story Medicine event will take place December 3, and you can get more details and sign up here. Since it’s right after Thanksgiving, we’ve chosen GRATITUDE as our theme. So, what does being thankful really mean for you?

CONTRUBUTING TO THE SITE: NUMINOUS SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

We are constantly overwhelmed with gratitude for the article submissions we receive at The Numinous on a weekly basis. This platform benefits immeasurably from featuring multiple voices and viewpoints, so please keep them coming!

To give your ideas the best chance of being seen by our editors and featured on the site, please follow the below Numinous submission guidelines. We will endeavor to reply within one week.

Send all submissions to: [email protected]

:: ARTICLE GUIDELINES ::
If you are submitting a story you’ve already written

EMAIL SUBJECT: Article Submission + Headline
HEADLINE: Please give your article a title
SELL: Please add 1-2 lines to sell the story
LENGTH: Keep submissions to between 750 and 1250 words
AUTHOR BIO: (see bottom of this page)

:: IDEA GUIDELINES ::
If you are sending ideas for articles you’d like to write

EMAIL SUBJECT: Article Submission + Headline
HEADLINE: Please give your idea a title
SELL: Please write 1-2 short paragraphs to give us an overview of your idea
QUANTITY: Please only send up to three (3) ideas at a time

:: ARTWORK GUIDELINES ::
We would also love to see any original artwork you would like to see featured on the site

Please be aware that any artwork submitted will be paired with the article / word of our editors’ choosing. All artwork will be credited to the artist with a link back to your site, so please provide a web URL when submitting.

:: AUTHOR BIO ::
Please supply the following along with your submission

PHOTO: Headshot sized 300 x 300 pxls
BIO: A short bio – up to 150w
WEBSITE: Your website URL (if relevant)
PROFILE: Please also provide answers to the below –

MY MANTRA
MY STYLE
MY GURU
MY SIGN
MY SPIRIT ANIMAL
MY HEALING

COMING OUT OF THE SPIRITUAL CLOSET

Posted on by Sushma Sagar

Sushma Sagar pursued a high powered career in fashion, but always practiced reiki on the side. She shares how she finally found herself coming out of the spiritual closet at work.

Coming out of the spiritual closet by Sushma Sagar for The Numinous

 

“I’m a closet hippie” I used to jest to my close friends. “She’s doing her witchy stuff again” they would say, all tongue in cheek, making a silly joke. It was no joke.

I’ve been practicing reiki healing on the sly for around 16 years, and only now do I feel like I can admit it freely. It’s not the middle ages, I’m not going to get burned at the stake, so why has it taken so long to come out?

Of course you must always look back to look forward. As a kid, I played with the other children and got along just okay, but was always a bit on the outside. A little misfit who would hang around with other misfits to fit in. Fitting in, being what you thought others wanted, was what you did. A child of Indian doctor immigrants, with success and achievement drilled into us from an early age, assimilation was the most important thing.

Childhood passions were quashed one by one – dance, theatre, art, textiles- and I grew up to find myself working in marketing for well-known fashion brands like Diesel, Ted Baker and Ben Sherman. It was fiercely competitive, and as for fitting in…well that goes without saying. I was so desperate to prove myself and to get along, shape shifting became natural.

But quietly, outside of work, I was developing other interests. The catalyst of heartbreak saw me visit a healer who used acupuncture and reiki to calm my heart and make me smile, when I believed I could not. Astonished and intrigued, before I knew it I had done a course and had been initiated into this, then secret, world.

And as anyone who’s experienced their reiki initiation will know, once on the path, it slowly changes you; your trajectory shifts and, whether you want to or not, you move towards your personal truth. As did I…but on the weekends only!

So my double life continued. By day, corporate world, shallow dreams, and fickle desires. On evenings and weekends, I was back to my private world, filled with magic, loving energy, and heart opening activities. As far as I was concerned these worlds were mutually exclusive, and I felt more comfortable keeping them that way too.

But then holistic therapies began to gain interest; LA’s healthy living and New Age thinking was becoming popular in London. Celebrities and their holistic entourage were being reported in the press, spa and yoga retreats were all the rage. I ploughed on, reading and practicing until I finally completed my master reiki training. Simultaneously, my corporate life was also going from strength to strength.

coming out of the spiritual closet by Sushma Sagar for The Numinous

And all around me, I could feel attitudes changing, judgments becoming less harsh, and ideas about “alternative” healing finally entering the mainstream. By now I had also joined a wonderful fashion brand, that celebrated interesting women. And yet still I didn’t let on to anyone about my “interesting” side.

But then, heartbreak yet again, and some serious healing was needed. I called in the big guns and found a shamanic practitioner in London. Together we journeyed back in time, healed some karmic contracts and made my soul whole again. Delighted, I trained with him to learn these skills for myself. As a result, I now felt so fully and completely me, that hiding “myself” seemed impossible.

Life was improving fast now on every level. My heart was healing after all I’d come through romantically, and I felt whole, settled and happy in my skin. I got promoted at work, felt inspired again, and began working on all the creative side projects I’d been afraid of starting.

The last piece of the puzzle was to find a way to bring my two separate worlds together. To cause a synthesis of my spiritual self and my life in the fashion world – something I’d never felt a need to do until now.

Then, when I was invited to give reiki taster sessions to professional women on a retreat hosted by a friend, the fact I understood their life turned out to be an empathetic advantage. I realized you can have one foot in the material and one in the spiritual!

Monday morning at the office following the retreat, the conversation began as usual: “so what did you do last night?” asked my boss. Me: “OH, I did a healing exchange, I gave a friend some reiki and he did some energy work on my knee.” “You do reiki?” she cried, “That’s amazing, you never said.” Me: “Didn’t I? I’ve been doing it for years, I must have mentioned it. Anyway about that budget…”

And just like that, I came out the spiritual closet. I haven’t looked back.

To book a shamanic reiki session with Sushma contact [email protected]

How did you come out of the spiritual closet? Share in the comments below!

DEAR DIARY: A CONVERSATION WITH THE DIVINE

Posted on by The Numinous

As Neptune goes direct and the Sun moves into Sagittarius, it’s the perfect time to instigate a conversation with the divine. And your journal is the place to start, says Katie Simpson.

Almost 18 years ago, I bought my first journal. It was a small back hardbound book covered in pictures of Mickey Mouse designs. I’ve since journaled for self-care, self-expression, and so much more.

In the past year, my journal has provided a surprising new benefit: it’s become the space where I have dialogues with the Divine. This began on more intense days, such as in the build up to a New or Full Moon ritual. But now I can have these conversations during lunch breaks, late nights, or days when I am sick.

To be clear, these conversations don’t require any mind-altering substances. The most I have in my system may be a cigarette or a glass or two of wine. And my most profound conversations with the divine occur when I’m completely sober.

Journaling and talking to God both happen in my journal but look very different. When I’m journaling, I write my thoughts down as they come. With the Divine, it’s a written conversation. It sounds and looks like two different people having a discussion. I will write something, and then She responds. The best way to explain it is like the old written notes we used to pass in class. Only I am both one of the writers and the messenger.

These dialogues are a gift, but not one that’s unique to me. I believe that with a little time and effort, you can have these kinds of conversations as well. Here are a few practices that have helped me commune with the Divine through the written word.

:: The faces of God ::
As a religious studies major in college, I learned a lot about the different faces of God. For example, in Hinduism, you could see Kali, Goddess of destruction, and Sarasvati, Goddess of wisdom, as two separate entities. Or they could represent two different aspects of the same Divine Feminine.

So often in the Judaea-Christian West, we focus on God as a judge, ruler, or father figure. But for many women, it’s difficult to connect with this. Personally, I connect best with Jewish idea of the Shechina. She is the feminine, the maternal presence, that I see when I reach out to God. And as such, she is the one who communicates with me on the page.

To begin a dialogue with anybody, you need to feel a connection with them. It’s the same with the Divine. Perhaps you need God to be a fierce warrior. Or perhaps you prefer the idea of God as Sophia, or wisdom.
There’s no wrong answer. So think back to which icons, saints or experiences really made the divine manifest for you. Is there a pattern? What images and ideas do you gravitate towards now? Exploring this is a great start to feeling a connection with the Divine.

conversation with the divine

:: The inner God block ::
For me, God has never just picked up the pen on her own and started writing: she writes through me. Which means that before the Divine can show up on the page, I have to make space for her – space beyond the doubt, the criticism and the disbelief around God, that so many of us have developed.

To give her space, a free-writing practice is critical. Each morning, I sit down and write three pages, either typed on my computer, or in a hardbound journal. No editing, no second guessing, just writing. Have I perfected this practice? No, but showing up helps me be honest on the page. This way, when the Divine does decide it’s time for a chat, I don’t fight it. I just keep writing.

This practice does take time: I’ve been doing it for over two years now. A couple glasses of wine could be a faster way to muting the inner critic. However, drugs are only a quick fix. Taking the time to show up and write will prepare you to have a dialogue with God, whether it’s 8am or 8pm.

:: Just ask ::
My dialogues with the Divine don’t start off in a complicated way. In fact, they usually begin with a vulnerable honesty.

“I’m so scared of telling him, what will happen?”

“I’m feeling so tired today, I just want to rest in your arms.”

I don’t believe there’s one right way to start chatting with God. For me, it’s about being simple and direct. My dialogues began by me being honest about where I was and what I needed – while the maternal Shechinah simply listened, and held me.

It’s very rare that God reaches out to me or begins the dialogue. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have had any dialogues with God if I hadn’t started the conversations. Why? I wouldn’t have even known I was hearing the Divine.

And what YOU need when chatting with God could look and sound completely different. However, it is up to you to show up. It’s up to you to say you want the conversation, and in fact it’s critical that you ASK for it. The Divine is all around us, waiting. It’s up to us to show we’re ready for a deeper connection.

:: Say Thanks ::
I’ve seen it time and again in human relationships. Want to mess something up? Take a person for granted. Believe that your employee will simply continue producing great work and never leave – and just watch that relationship ferment into a bitter and moldy fruit.

The Divine doesn’t need gratitude. However, simply assuming that you can continue to have dialogues with God won’t do, since becoming proud and assuming of this connection is a surefire way to destroy the dialogue.

Being in the presence of the Divine should always feel like a gift. As such, showing good manners and saying even a quick thank you after the fact can help. There are other ways to show your appreciation: donate money to your favorite charity; give a loved one a call and tell them you love them; pick up some trash from your park.

Divine dialogue has become a gift that helps me be the best version of myself, for others and for myself. Whether you find God on the blank page or in the woods, know that it is your birth right to have time and space directly with her. But taking time to discover what aspects of the Divine resonate with you, and then actually asking for that relationship, are fundamental to creating and sustaining this connection for the long haul.

PROTECT YOURSELF: IS MY LOVER A PSYCHIC VAMPIRE?

Posted on by Alexandra Roxo

Be Here Nowish creators Natalia Leite and Alexandra Roxo share their experience fending off Vampire Lovers, PLUS 5 ways to protect yourself from a psychic vampire from Cat Cabral. Images: Pa-kwan Promsri via Behance.net

 

PIC2

“Vampire Lovers” is our term for lovers that come flying into your world, suck out your life force. You have no idea what’s happened, but next thing you know you feel like a fucking zombie and your friends are calling for an intervention. But these vampires are not really blood drinking creatures (although sometimes they might want to do that too). They are more like psychic suckers, energy drawers, seductive manipulators who can milk your energy, mess with your psyche, throw you off balance, and take away your power.

The people are also sometimes called “energy vampires” or “emotional vampires.” It’s an archetype we all can embody unconsciously at times, it’s just that some of us have learned to master it, using it as a form of manipulation and self-preservation.

Okay, so in theory we all know we should stay away from people that make us feel helpless or weak. But can also be SO SO sexy to allow ourselves to be completely overtaken by someone. We romanticize it, imagining Brad Pitt biting our neck and kinda wishing we were Kristen Stewart in Twilight, even if we’re aware of the dangers of completely losing ourselves in that person. We each had our fair share of experience dealing with people like this in our love lives and found ways to cope with it, which we will share in this post.

At the bottom, CAT CABRAL, a New York based alchemist and tarot reader who’s been peddling the tools of the witchcraft trade for over a decade, has shared tips on how to identify and protect yourself from Vampire Lovers.

Protect yourself from Vampire Lovers feature on the numinous

 

Natalia: Why don’t we start by talking about meeting vampires on Tinder. You know, like one night stands, and the implications of that spiritually.
Alexandra: You mean the wild post-breakup Tinder phase that I like to call my “Slutty Spring?”

N: Exactly.
A: It was super fun, but you also have to really work on protecting your psyche because you’re exchanging energy with people so fast in those situations. And then you’re like “Wait, what? I’m tied up in a stranger’s bed again?!”

N: Right. Because the minute that you open up and surrender sexually to them, your energies are melding and exchanging whether you like it or not.
A: If they’re holding a lot of darkness you might get in a bad mood the next day and be super grumpy, wondering “Why do I feel so depressed?” or “Why do I feel so anxious?” – psychic gunk you maybe picked up up from the random person you just had sex with.

N: So how did you personally protect yourself and create that boundary?
A: Well, I had a date with this guy and we had really good conversation at dinner and then I went back to his house. I was getting bored and wondering where things were going but I kept thinking “In theory this guy’s great. He’s a lawyer, he’s attractive and also weird in a good way.” When we were kissing he was like; “I could totally see myself with a girl like you, you’re totally the type of girl I would fall in love with,” and that started weirding me out. And then his penis wouldn’t work so he just wanted to go down on me forever and that felt a little too intimate for a first date, so I said no. I did not want some stranger that I had literally known for two hours to just go down on me. Like actual penetrative sex would be less intimate because there’s a barrier of rubber.

protect yourself from vampire lovers feature on the numinous

N: That’s really sad!
A: Depends how you look at it. Anyway, so then I lost my phone, slipped on the rug, and hit my neck on a shelf, and at that point I was like, energetically, “THIS IS WRONG.” My intuition was like “Get out! Leave!” Not because I thought he was going to be a psycho killer,it was just an energetic thing. He texted me the next day, but the energy, all the way from the initial hook up to me hurting myself was just saying “no.” It took me a minute to shrug off that icky energy. And he ended up texting me like 100 times over a period of three months and I had to block him. So I guess he was a crazy.

N: I guess it’s not so relevant to Tinder hook-ups, but I learned a few things to do after a bad relationship to release that person’s grip. I had one ex who was a total vampire – her energy was so intense. After we broke up, I would just like go to the bathroom and every time I took a shit I would think about her leaving my body, like in my poop. And it really worked! I also associated her with “shit” and so that became suddenly funny and meaningless. It quickly released the emotional grip she had on me.
A: That’s amazing!

N: When I was like having a lot of one night stands, I would sort of protect myself by being the one who was in control of the situation. But there were several times I would just like leave feeling a little icky because of that person’s energy.
A: What we’re talking about now is people that seem like amazing beings, but underneath they just want to suck out the good vibes. We both dated people who did that.

N: So what do you think it the first sign of a vampire?
A: They divulge too much too soon! They tell you their sob story straight off the bat.

N: Yes! On our first date my ex is already telling me how she doesn’t get along with her family and whatever health condition she’s got.
A: Health conditions, financial burdens…

N: They think that playing a victim will make you feel sorry for them.
A: But actually, it’s trying to force intimacy too quickly. The next thing that they do is tell you “YOU’RE THE ONE.” Really quickly. I dated someone like that. We were walking down the street and she looked at me and said: “What if you’re the one?” But I actually have proof she says that to many, many girls.

protect yourself from vampire lovers feature on the numinous

N: Yeah. At what stage?
A: We had maybe been on three dates. And I fell for it. My heart was beating fast.

N: This girl I dated was immediately doing things to me that I had found out that she had done in multiple relationships in the past. And telling me that she had never felt like this before and how she was going to marry me. I was really freaked out at first and didn’t buy it. To which she’d be like: “Why are you not trusting love?” She would make it seem like there was something wrong with me because I wasn’t open to receiving this “deep everlasting love.” She eventually convinced me to give in and surrender to her. Then finally when I’m like, “Okay, I’m going to give you my heart. Here’s my heart.” That’s when she bit me.
A: That’s the dark manipulation side of the vampire lover. It’s the hook and bait. They like pull you in by telling you that you’re the one, and then they start fucking with you. It’s so crazy. It’s a formula. The worst part is…I don’t think they even know they are doing it!

N: They just want your heart, and they’re unaware that they’re manipulating you to get it.
A: I think that those are the people you have to try to watch out for the most because energetically you may fall apart after them. It took me a while to get my “vampire lover ex” out of my life. She would call me in the middle of the night. Then she would text and say “Let’s be friends.” And then when we tried that, out of nowhere she would text “I want to have a family with you.” It got creepy. I just had to block her completely. But two years later I saw her, and she was kind. People change and time does heal.

N: Yeah, after mine ended but it really took me a second to find myself and feel strong again. Taking some time out to be alone, or changing your scenery can be helpful. For a while I was scared of bumping into her, thinking she could tip me over just by looking at me, and not because I loved her or wanted to be with her, just because she had that power and I knew it worked on me for a period of time.
A: So alright, now we’ve shared, let’s hear how we can avoid falling into unhealthy patterns with lovers…

5 Tips On How to Protect Yourself from Vampire Lovers (and vampire energy in general) by Cat Cabral

protect yourself from vampire lovers feature on the numinous

1) Have a Daily Spiritual Practice: Be it daily meditation, chants, or prayer, some form of daily spiritual practice will not only ground and focus your own energy, but it will open your levels of awareness, sharpening your own intuitive skills. With deeper awareness, it’s harder for vampires to enter your space and it’s easier to spot their unbalanced and often charming yet ultimately harmful nature.

2) Sea Salt Baths On the Full Moon: An old and soothing tradition that will help cleanse your ethereal body. Once the Moon is full, she begins to wane, an excellent time for cleansing and removing negative energies, known and unknown. Fill your bathtub with sea salt and lunar herbs such as lavender and wormwood. Imagine all negative energies, people or situations being absorbed by the water and then going down the drain. If you only have a shower, you can pour the salt and herbs into a bowl, wash as usual, and then pour the mixture over your body following the same ritual/visualization.

3) Glinda’s Crystal Ball of Protection: Remember in The Wizard of Oz, how Glinda sails away in her pink protective ball of light? Before you leave your house, imagine at the top of your head a small globe of white light illuminating at first your third eye, then your throat chakra, moving down towards the heart center, solar plexus, lighting up your reproductive zone and continuing down to your feet, so that you are completely engulfed in healthy protective white light. Imagine this light expanding into an invisible sphere that nothing negative can penetrate.

4) Symbols of Protection: Every culture has unique and powerful symbols to ward off negativity such as the pentagram, crosses, hexagram, ankh, Hand of Fatima, Runes, the list goes on! Find one that has a special meaning to you and either wear it or carry it daily.

5) Banishing Rituals: Letting go is often hard when you’ve been under the spell of a particularly seductive vampire. Create a circle with salt around you and set up an altar for your ritual. Take a white figure or plain candle to represent the person and carve their name into the candle. Dress the candle with oil for banishing (olive oil can also be used). As you light the candle, watch as the wax drips down and imagine the person disappearing from your sphere of influence. Write a letter saying everything you’ve been thinking, saying goodbye, never wishing them ill will, but clearly stating that they hold no emotional/spiritual/physical power over you, that your paths are clear and will never cross again. When the candle is almost finished, burn the letter and then discard of the ashes and wax somewhere far from your house or bury it in the ground. Burn sage, cedarwood or frankincense to cleanse the space and move on with confidence.

Read more from Cat Cabral here and check out Natalia Leite and Alexandra Roxo’s hit web series Be Here Nowish.

How have you learned to protect yourself from a psychic vampire? Share your tips in the comments below!

AN AUSPICIOUS DAY: MASTERING THE MAGIC OF 11/11

Posted on by Felicia Bender

11/11 brings a super-charged portal of opportunity. Practical numerologist Felicia Bender has a lesson in working with the energies at play

Angel number 11/11 by Felicia Bender for The Numinous

 

 

Numerologicially speaking,  11/11 can be a significant date for us – if we’re aware and participating with the opportunities it brings our way.

I’m often asked about repeating numbers, particularly the repeating pattern 11:11. Whenever we see repeating numbers in our lives, it signifies a code that’s attempting to communicate with us on a different level than the rational, logical way we receive communication on a daily basis.

It’s kind of like the Universe is sending us a text.

In Numerology, the 11 is a Master Number – like all repeated numbers (11, 22, 33, and so on) – and Master Numbers contain a higher spiritual vibration or frequency, for lack of a better term. If a Master Number is one of the core numbers in our Numerology chart, for example, it indicates a higher level of potential, and also more challenges. So while working with Master Numbers might feel oh-so lofty, it can be a really tough obstacle course. It comes with added intensity. The Master Numbers demand that we master our life in particular ways.

That said, what about the 11 specifically?

First of all, the number 1 is all about new beginnings, independence, initiative, achievement, individuation, self-confidence, and innovative creativity. So when we see this repeating number, it’s beneficial to remind ourselves to focus on what we want in our lives opposed to what we don’t. Because the energy of the number 1 expands what we focus on, like a magnifying glass.

When we see this repeating number, a window of opportunity is being flung open – with this energy in our court, we’ll begin to manifest our thoughts and desires with turbo-speed. It requires that we’re disciplined and mindful about how we focus our thoughts and what we allow to play in our minds. If there’s any time to dive into our positive affirmation file, this is it. Don’t waste this valuable and high-powered energy on trivial or negative things.

The 11 is also the higher level 2 energy (1 + 1 = 2). The number 2 is all about harmony, balance, cooperation, diplomacy, and love. Add the Master Number and up the ante – and the 11 is the “wounded healer” and spiritual messenger.  The 11 is highly intuitive, extremely sensitive, out-of-this-world creative, and an inspired healing agent. The 11 lives mostly in the ethers and part of the struggle with the 11 energy is to bring it down to Earth in a way that’s useful and constructive.

Those with 11s in their chart will undoubtedly encounter experiences and situations that are harrowing, difficult, and extreme. This is because experience isn’t the best teacher, it’s the only teacher. The person mastering the 11 energy will come through the fire as an inspired healer and wise counselor.  Yet it takes walking the walk and talking the talk to reach the point of mastery.

As for the date 11/11 as a doorway, if we look at the numbers, we can see this is even represented visually – each 11 looks like a door. The two doors can be seen as an intersection between the physical and the spiritual world. Since the 11 is all about spiritual enlightenment, we can also use the energy of this date for understanding and manifesting our higher purpose, whatever that might be at this given moment.

In this sense, 11 is our cosmic cheerleader – here to remind us of our ever-transitioning evolution, and to assure us that we’re moving in the right direction. The day 11/11 is giving all of us a cosmic shove off the ledge, a super-charged window of opportunity. So today, let’s be sure to focus our thoughts, think big, and look for the opportunities opening up.

It’s the day to plant the seeds we’ve been wanting to plant, and to plant them mindfully, with care, and with a commitment to follow through with the actions needed to successfully cultivate these new beginnings as we enter the next phase in our lives.

MY MYSTICAL WEEK: IN SEARCH OF THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

In which I get prescribed a 30-day “self-pleasure diet”…

My Mystical Life Ruby Warrington on the pleasure principle for The Numinous

Confession. There has been a sad lack of the above (laughter) in my life lately, and this is a shout out, please, for some inspiration when it comes to the pleasure principle. Don’t get me wrong, life is pretty freaking amazing right now. I have somehow made manifest a career that reflects all the things I care about, and allows me total creative expression on a daily basis. I’m writing a book. I just launched the most incredible project with an iconic London department store, and moved into a super-cool new apartment in NYC. I’m in a loving relationship, I have a beautiful new nephew (okay thank you for indulging me in a much-needed gratitude list).

But still, and it’s written into very the DNA of entrepreneurship, life has been feeling very much all-work-and-no-play lately (I haven’t, actually, taken a day off this year I don’t think). And as was discussed with my friend Lucy in London last week, co-creator of spirituality un-conference Higher Selfie, what’s the point of dedicating yourself to your passion and your purpose, if your passion and your purpose then turns around and tries to make you its bitch?

The subject came up when I went to see Sandra Lanshin Chiu for acupuncture last night. She said she could tell from the way my tissue was “clinging” to my bones how hard I’ve been working, and how little room for pleasure, laughter, and FUN, this had left. “You’re all in your masculine energy, and that’s great for getting stuff done. But you’re a woman and you have a yin body, you need to create some space for flow,” she explained (kind of nailing it). Okay so her prescription? “A 30-day self-pleasure diet.”

As in, exactly what you think! Whether or not I decide to take up the challenge and schedule a 20-minute masturbation break into my daily routine isn’t something I’m gonna discuss here, but I will say this is by no means the first time the conversation has come up lately. According to Sandra, “self-pleasure is one of the jewels in a woman’s self-care toolbox.” Another friend in London is writing a book on the topic, while a self-administered orgasm had been suggested to somebody else I spoke to recently as a “grounding” practice.

But yeah, any other suggestions for bringing the joy balance back into my life would also be very welcome. In the meantime, you will mainly find me trying to carve out some good old fashion vacay days and keeping busy with my gratitude practice.

Or maybe the answer is meditation? This week I’m also giving a shout out to Numinous contributor Ellie Burrows, who opened her dedicated meditation studio, MNDFL, in Manhattan last night. Okay, wow, we first chatted about this project in the spring (I remember cos it was the first day she’d worn open-toe shoes this year), and six short months later, enter a beautiful, chic and cosy space in the Village offering a “space to breathe” seven days a week. (Although how much space to breathe this project will allow Ellie while it gets up and running remains to be seen – see above! And enter my acupuncturist’s other suggestion – “a slow-entrepreneurship movement.”)

Most classes are 30-45 minutes, with a few juicy two-hour workshops thrown in (like the one on Love & Justice next Thursday) – and are categorized along the themes in the image below. Read the MNDFL manifesto and check out the full class schedule here. Ellie Burrows, we love you!

MNDFL Meditation studio by Ellie Burrows on The Numinous

 

UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA: INSIDE THE MIND OF THAT SPIRITUAL DUDE

Posted on by Gabriela Herstik

Because we never feature enough Numi dudes! Gabriela Herstik gets Unknown Mortal Orchestra front man Ruban Neilson’s take on love, the Universe, and everything. Image: Dusdin Condren

Ruben Neilson of Unknown Mortal Orchestra shot by dusdin Condren on The Numinous

Best known for being the third eye of psychedelic pop rock band Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Ruban Nielson has more to offer the world than just some groovy tunes. Ruban’s experience grounding his soulful nature in day-to-day life has shaped many things, including his relationships – UMO’s latest full length, “Multi-Love,” is a synthy trip about his experiments with polyamory. We talked to the man himself about his constant commitment to channelling something beyond himself – and how it helps make some good dancin’ music.

On Spirituality
“I don’t really worry about whether I’m spiritual or not because it’s a mysterious part of life and categories mess it up for me. Music is my concrete connection to forces outside myself, whether this means community, history, spirit, the subconscious, or some concept of God – that isn’t my place to define. But through music I know there’s more than my ‘self’ because I get gifts from that place in the form of songs, or the ability to perform beyond what I thought I could.”

On Astrology
“I’m a Pisces, but the first day so I’m a cusper with Aquarius. I’m also a Cancer Moon. I feel like a pretty typical Pisces. Astrology is fun. I like talking about it with people and trying to find patterns. But I take it with a grain of salt like most things.”

On Love
“Being in love is so important to me. I spend most of my time thinking about love, although I’ll never know anything about it. I’m always just drowning and I prefer it that way.”

On Culture
“I have my own personal ideas about being Hawaiian. Most people don’t know what a Polynesian is and that’s both frustrating and useful. I think my genetics shape my music quite a bit. I think my music puts my heart on display, and Hawaiians are known to be very hot-headed and deeply emotional.”

On Yurts
“The shape of a yurt is beautiful and living in a yurt was cool. It was a certain time in my life. I miss it sometimes but my life doesn’t fit in a yurt any more, haha.”

On The Unknown
“Aliens of all kinds definitely exist. You can ask any mathematician. Magick is real too. It’s all around us in the form of branding; symbols and suggestions used to manipulate reality. It’s a pity it’s come to that. As for spirit guides and ghosts, I’m not going to try to categorize things that no-one really understands. There are a lot of levels to reality though, I’m certain of that.”

On Wearing Mala Beads
“I guess I do.”

Ruban Nielson featured on The Numinous
Rockin’ some Mala beads 12 weeks ago on Instagram

On Mantras
“I do work with mantras. They change a lot.”

On Inner Peace and Zen
“I play music. I’m always looking to be possessed by this very happy and invincible version of myself.”

On Living Your Truth
“I’m really lucky. These days I’m really able to pursue my music and live the way I want to live. I don’t sleep much but I get to be the person I dreamed I could be and I get to be moving and creating all the time. That’s the way I want to be.”

Get tour dates and more for Unknown Mortal Orchestra at Unknownmortalorchestra.com

MY MYSTICAL WEEK: MATERIAL GIRL, MAGICAL WORLD OF THE SELFRIDGES ASTROLOUNGE

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

Why the Selfridges Astrolounge is the perfect balance of the mystical and the material…

Ruby Warrington My Mystical Life Selfridges Astrolounge

 

It’s been so much fun spending time back at Selfridges department store for the launch of my Astrolounge project with them. If you’ve missed this, a) where have you been, and b) The Numinous has basically helped the team at Selfridges create a mystical Christmas grotto. Full of gifts themed around magic and astrology, it’s essentially this site come to life! A total dream project – not least because it’s meant going back to the source of my long-time love affair with luxury. Y-u-m.

Come pay day, Selfridges was always my first port of call in my old fashion magazine life – where “gifting” myself with a new pair of shoes felt like the ultimate act of self-love. I got properly high on the buzz of being surrounded by beautiful things, and the fact I could even afford to shop there it felt like a massive achievement.

And maybe it’s because I’ve got Jupiter, planet of enthusiasm and expansion, in Taurus, the sign governing material possessions – but no matter how far my numinous journey takes me into the spiritual realm, and the understanding that ALL LIFE becomes beautiful when you begin to pay attention and tend lovingly to your inner world, I’ll always be a sucker for a perfectly executed piece of designer life-candy.

Still, it’s been eye-opening to watch the new, numinous me back in that environment. Meaning the new me who rarely spends money on catwalk clothes, because I no longer work in an environment where labels mean anything. Or the new me who prefers to invest in things I’ve found to have a longer-lasting impact on my overall happiness – workshops, retreats, and other healing experiences.

And eye-opening because, having taken a step back from the lure of luxury, I have found myself extremely present to the spell we are placed under in its presence! Because check it out yo, after a week of soaking up the Selfridges vibe, pretty much all I can think about is this intergalactic sweater by Bella Freud (OMG). In the faerie realms they call it the “glamour” – the magic that can turn ashes and dead leaves into enticing fruit and sparkling wine.

All of which is SO not to suggest that I’m somehow a “better” person because I’ve found new ways to experience self-love, or that there’s no deeper value in beautiful objects. Marie Kondo writes brilliantly about material things and their place in the context of our spiritual experience in The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, summed up in the quote below. The real beauty for me is in the material / mystical balance, which is everything the Selfridges Astrolounge encompasses so effortlessly.

Marie Kondo quote I am extremely grateful to be surrounded by what I love on The Numinous

Check out an edit of the products on offer in the Selfridges Astrolounge, plus details of our Magic Mondays workshops happening in the space, at Selfridges.com/astrolounge

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON INTERVIEW: RECLAIMING THE POWER OF THE FEMININE

Posted on by Jo Becker

“Women ourselves have bought into this idea of ‘feminine’ as meaning ‘weaker’…” Jo Becker‘s Marianne Williamson interview speaks to what it means to be woman and a spiritual activist.

marianne williamson interview for The Numinous

 

Marianne Williamson is a powerhouse. The fierce voice of modern spirituality shares her love-driven ideas on how to heal America far and wide: she’s written four New York Times #1 bestsellers, chats with Oprah on the regular, and even ran for Congress in 2013. To me, she embodies the future of feminine leadership and spiritual activism.

I’m inspired by her eloquent commitment to heart-centered change. Years before I read her books, I heard her life-changing statement from A Return to Love, the quotation she is now famous for:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

I caught up with her at an Institute of Noetic Sciences conference. Astronaut Edgar Mitchell founded IONS back in 1973 after experiencing samadhi during the flight back to earth. Since then, IONS has been devoted to bringing together science and spirituality. I see Marianne Williamson as similarly groundbreaking in her work: she joyfully and relentlessly marries political activism with spiritual awareness.

The Dalai Lama said, “The world does not need more successful people. The world desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of all kinds.” Personally, I think the world needs successful peacemakers, healers, and lovers; and numinous women like Marianne Williamson are shining examples.

A lot of people think that “spiritual activism” is a contradiction. What would you say to them?
Spiritual activism is a change in thinking: from a mental filter of fear to a mental filter of love. Given that thought is the causal level of all experience, active thought and change of thought is the most powerful force in the Universe.

Earlier today, a scientist was talking about how information, as in data, is only 10% of what causes people to actually change their behavior. And we have the data. We know what climate change is doing, we know how dangerous nuclear power is. We have the data on what violence on television and video games is doing to young people’s brains, we have the data on the carcinogens that are in the air…So why is it that “knowing the data” isn’t enough to make us change?

What makes us change comes from a deeper place, and that’s what spiritual activism is. It’s when something of the spirit, of the heart, becomes active in our thinking, and our thinking gets lit up. Because the mind itself can be used for purposes of love or purposes of fear, so spiritual activism is when we seek to do whatever it is we do from a place of love and with the intention of love.

And I’m talking about the love with which the mother lion protects her cubs. The love with which the adult female [and some males] of any species that survives and thrives exhibits fierce behavior when she senses that her cubs are threatened. So the marginalization of spirituality, the minimization of love as force, is just part of the ego mind’s propaganda.

Do you resonate with what the Dalai Lama said: “the Western woman will save the world?”
Of course I resonate with it, but with all due respect to the Dalai Lama, I don’t think we need any man’s verification. I have a bit of a problem with the fact that we’re quoting a man to affirm our own power. I have the same great respect and reverence for His Holiness as anyone, but come on girls! I think what’s most important is that you say it. And I say it. Because we are affirming what we are doing: that this world is changing because we say so. Because we say so.

Marianne Williamson interview the aphrodite training on The Numinous

You’re doing a lot of work right now with balancing masculine and feminine energies in women. Why is this important to you?
It’s such a significant issue. I am a product of the 1970’s wave of feminism—obviously the women’s movement is a wonderful thing, obviously I consider myself a feminist. But there is what I think of as a flawed strain of feminism, through which we actually suppressed the feminine in the name of feminism. And we embodied in many cases the archetype of Athena. She goes out there, she goes into the world, she manifests, she makes things happen.

But we get to embody as many energies, i.e. goddesses, as we choose, and Aphrodite is important as well. She embodies romance and beauty and pleasure, and I think many women, myself included have had a lot of psychic scars from buying into the belief that cultivating the masculine side of ourselves was actually more important than cultivating the feminine side.

I also think a lot of women have come to a very confusing point in their lives, realizing ‘I made this happen’ or ‘I made that happen.’ ‘I had these professional goals—some of which I’ve manifested, some of which I haven’t.’ But when are the other areas of my life, which are just as important to me, going to occur? Old wise women don’t get pregnant.

I’ve seen a lot of young women particularly deeply saddened, even traumatized, by the fact that while they feel they’re on some track professionally, their relationships, and child-bearing and deeper issues of cultivation of the family and romance have become…it’s like women are standing there saying, ‘How did I become clueless in this area?’ And then not only ‘How did I become clueless?’ but ‘What are the clues?’ They’ve become lost.

Inviting in the Aphrodite energy of love, pleasure, beauty – what does that look like in a woman?
The integration of the Aphrodite and the Athena in my own life has been so important. I think obviously we’re all masculine, we’re all feminine, but women are here to major in feminine. It’s part of honoring our incarnation not to sideline something so fundamental to our being. And women ourselves have bought into this idea of ‘feminine’ as meaning ‘weaker’ without knowing it. Not women as weaker, but feminine attributes as weaker. I think many of us are seeking to reclaim lost pieces of ourselves, scattered pieces of ourselves.

What advice do you have for young women?
I think my biggest advice to young women would be, ‘enjoy it while you got it.’

And not try to be the ‘wise woman’ before your time?
The decades of life are like different rooms in the house. I have a daughter, early childhood, junior high, tween, high school college, now she’s a woman on her own. None of those phases is more or less magnificent than any other. And being in your 20s is fantastic, so be in your 20s when you’re in your 20s. Being in your 50s is fantastic; being in your 60s is fantastic. With every phase you lose something and you gain something. Be where you are when you’re there.

Having said that, I think something good is happening among American women. We’re starting to catch up, and we need to. We’ve not been the most mature group compared to women in other societies. And we’ve acted like we’re clueless regarding the suffering of women around the world, particularly at the hands of our own government in too many cases. We decry the policies towards women of a place like Saudi Arabia and for good reason, but when we invade countries that didn’t do anything to hurt us, a lot of the people who are dying in such invasion are women and their children.

So this is not a time for women of any age to be ditzy. This is a time to be deep. But I see many women of all ages seeking greater depth and it’s inspiring.

 

How do you think we can start to wake up to the suffering of others without dismissing it as ‘other people’s karma’?
Oh please! What a brilliant ego device that is. It might be that person’s karma to be starving, but it is my karma to give them food. Their karmic challenge might be that challenge; my karmic challenge is to help those who suffer that way. The ego is brilliant at coming up with excuses for not helping. There is no serious spiritual path, and there never has been, that gives any of us a pass at addressing the suffering of other sentient beings.

Now, get sucked in by it? Absolutely not. But there’s a difference between denial and transcendence. If you don’t even look at it, you’re not in transcendence. You’re in denial. But if you look at it and practice positive denial, which is: I deny the power of this phenomenon to continue. Why? Because I said so. Because I’m gonna do something about it. Because I know other people are gonna do something about it and we’re gonna make sure this ends. That’s positive denial.

Do you have a daily spiritual practice?
I am a student of A Course in Miracles. The course is 365 days of lessons; mine today is, ‘I will be still an instant and go home.’ Yesterday was, ‘I trust my brothers who are one with me.’ It’s a specific curriculum for dismantling a thought system based on fear, and accepting instead a thought system based on love. So spiritual exercise becomes like physical exercise. You are rebuilding your body, but with spiritual exercise you are honing your attitudinal musculature, just like in yoga. You want the correct position in your attitude, just like in your body. With physical exercise, you are developing your physical muscles so you can be strong and run. In spiritual exercise you are developing your capacity to be still. Your capacity for impulse control.

What practical applications does this have? It means there is a greatly diminished probability that you will send the frickin’ text that you will regret for six months. It diminishes the possibility you will say or do something or push the send button that will so sabotage a relationship or work situation or whatever. It diminishes the possibility that you will be so distracted by the meaningless chaos of the world that you will not be able to show up fully as a fully actualized human. We wake up in the morning and we take a shower because we want yesterday’s dirt to be cleansed off our bodies, but if you don’t meditate or pray, you might not be cleaning yesterday’s dirt from your mind. So internal purification is as important as external purification.

Marianne Williamson’s The Aphrodite Training began October 23 2015 and will continue to be available via live stream through October 25 2015. Get all the details and sign up here.

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