- How Blissful Are You? Take the Quiz!Continue reading →
How Blissful Are You? Take the Quiz!, by Tess Whitehurst
(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)
Author's note: at the end of this article, you'll find a simple quiz that assesses your holistic happiness and wellbeing with the help of nine essential life keys. But first, let me introduce you to the wisdom behind these nine life keys, which is the guiding force behind my newest (and perhaps most exciting!) book, The Art of Bliss: Finding Your Center, Getting in the Flow, and Creating the Life You Desire.
When I first started practicing metaphysics, I thought of it as a process of adding something, or tacking on something extra. You know, my normal everyday existence, plus a new romance or a new job (or whatever it was that I chose to manifest). In time, however, I began to notice that if I was out of alignment with prosperity consciousness (for example), a prosperity ritual would not merely bring forth riches out of nowhere. Rather, it would help align me with the energy and the feeling of prosperity, so that prosperity would naturally begin to flow into my life experience. And, if there were aspects of my habitual thought/feeling stream that weren't in alignment with prosperity, something would arise that helped these aspects fall away. I might "happen to" discover a book such as Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, or "inadvertently" vocalize a limiting belief (such as, "We always live to the edge of our means"), and someone would notice and point it out, helping me to see that it didn’t always need to be true.
So I began to see that it wasn't about adding. It was about opening up to, and tapping into, the generous flow of prosperity that was already in existence. Like finally beginning to hear, and then dance to, the music of prosperity that was already playing on the radio.
I also noticed that when I worked on manifesting something that really brought joy to my heart, that joy always fueled my success. The more joy, the more success—and the quicker it flowed. So this led me to understand something else: that our truest desires are not something extra, but a part of our true selves. When we remember that we are energetic beings, we see that we are not just a body and a mind, but a unique flow of divine energy—like a pattern, a blossom, or a song.
Consciously manifesting things that bring us joy, then, is a process of opening up to who we really are and aligning with the divine energies that naturally want to flow through our life experience. It's like how water wants to flow through a river in a particular way, or how an acorn wants to become an oak.
What's really fun to me about the wisdom in The Art of Bliss is that it's a framework for helping us clear the way for this flow, and to get in alignment with it, in the most ideal and natural of ways. So it's not just about doing a prosperity ritual or a love spell, but rather about opening up to the already existing flow of prosperity or love, and seeing how this nourishes everything else that's going on in our life. Once we make a habit of interacting with the conditions of our lives in this holistic way, our life experience begins to spiral like a glittering galaxy into greater and greater levels of harmony, wisdom, and joy.
To introduce you to the nine life keys that provide the framework for The Art of Bliss (which are derived from the feng shui floor plan and the wisdom of the I Ching), and to help you quickly assess how each one is currently flowing in your life, I've prepared the quiz below. In your journal or notebook, number 1 through 27. For each quiz item, write a number between 1-5, a five meaning "strongly agree," a three meaning, "sort of agree," and 1 meaning "strongly disagree." After the quiz, you'll find a key.
- Most of the time, no matter what is going on in the outside world, I feel a sense of stillness and calm at the center of my being.
- I exercise regularly, and feel good about my exercise habits.
- I enjoy spending time alone.
- Regardless of my current "job," I feel that I am constantly flowing into deeper and deeper levels of joy and satisfaction when it comes to my overarching career path.
- I regularly follow the path of my passion and spend time on the things that interest me.
- Even though it is beyond words, I feel that I have a strong sense of myself: I know what I want, and I feel grounded in authenticity.
- Everyone always seems to be helpful.
- I often find that I happen to be "in the right place at the right time."
- I feel that I have a lot of support in my life, from both seen and unseen realms.
- I creatively express my uniqueness.
- I often feel playful and imaginative.
- I take good care of my inner child.
- I am comfortable with my body, and enjoy the feeling of being present in my body.
- I am a sensual person: I love slowing down enough to really enjoy things like scents, massages, beautiful landscapes, music, and yummy food.
- I am happy with my current romantic situation.
- I love being seen and appreciated.
- I regularly shine my light and share my talents with the world.
- I am well known and well respected in the ways I would most like to be.
- Everything I need is always provided for me.
- It feels natural for me to receive an ample supply of money and resources.
- At least somewhat regularly, I let myself enjoy the things I really like to enjoy: going out to eat, taking vacations, etc.
- Even if I’ve endured hardships in the past, I’ve healed from them, or I am currently moving toward healing from them.
- I have a positive relationship with, and feel supported by my family, or a family-like group of friends.
- I feel connected to, and inspired by, my genealogical and/or spiritual heritage.
- I feel grounded and centered, at least most of the time.
- I feel like my life is—generally speaking—in a healthy balance.
- I feel like there is a healthy connection between the various aspects of my life experience. For example, my partner gets along with my family and my job is in alignment with my passion.
Key
Numbers 1-3: Serenity. This is the key that has to do with exercise, study, meditation, self-improvement, and that sense of stillness that allows everything else to flow more smoothly and enjoyably.Numbers 4-6: Life Path. This key is related to your sense of authenticity, and your alignment with your truest inner self. It often manifests as an overarching career path, and it infuses everything with a sense of purpose and joy.
Numbers 7-9: Synchronicity. This key has to do with things flowing smoothly, easily, effortlessly, and auspiciously. Things like finding parking spaces, procuring employment, and catching your plane fall into this key, and it also has to do with your connection to all your helpers in both seen and unseen worlds (i.e. angels, friends, and people you don’t even know).
Numbers 10-12: Creativity. The Creativity Key governs your relationship with everything you create, whether it's children, cookie recipes, or paintings. It is the most playful key, and is related to laughter, spontaneity, and the wellbeing of your inner child.
Numbers 13-15: Romance. This key has to do with your love relationship and your ability to appreciate your body and sensual pleasures. When this key is activated, you're more receptive to all the gifts of this life experience.
Numbers 16-18: Radiance. The Radiance Key is all about the way you are seen and known in the world. In many ways, it's about the full realization of the Life Path key—the generous, outward expression of your deepest inner joy.
Numbers 19-21: Prosperity. This key has to do with resources, blessings, and gifts of all sorts. In our culture and in this present time in history, it is closely related with money and finances.
Numbers 22-24: Resilience. My favorite key, this key is aligned with our ability to weather the storms of life and to reap the blessings that they bring. It also has to do with our physical health and family relationships.
Numbers 25-27: Synergy. The key that falls into the center of all the other keys (imagine a tic tac toe board), The Synergy Key is about balance and flow, and about the way all the other keys interact with, and nourish, each other.
Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2012. All rights reserved.
- Double Vision: Was this Dream Creature Real?Continue reading →
My 12-year-old daughter has been having "dreams" that I think may be actual encounters with some sort of astral entity. In the dreams, she says that a "freaky looking" creature that resembles a fat baby with big black holes for eyes is harassing her. It doesn't "walk" - it zooms around and can travel through walls. For the most part, it just pokes at her and seems to get a kick out of getting a reaction out of her. In the first dream, after it poked her she poked it back, and it started laughing, like it was playing a game with her. She says it's like an evil little toddler. When she runs away, it chases her and moves through walls to poke her again. She wakes up panicked and really freaked out. I told her that whatever it is, it seems to want to provoke a reaction, so to get rid of it, she should try to ignore it. She said she can't control what she does in dreams, so she doesn't know how THAT will help. I am wondering if maybe this creature is something real in the astral. Any thoughts?
- Robyn
Dreamchaser:
Not everything in this world or on the Otherside is beautiful or even pleasant to look at. In fact, some things are just downright ugly. That includes spirit guides, ghosts, entities of all kinds (like this little blob thing) and even some angels.
Just like some humans are not attractive, some Otherworldly beings can be downright hideous. Just because something is ugly or scary looking does not automatically make it evil. We should have learned that lesson from the story of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I believe it is human nature to equate ugly with evil, and frightening in appearance with negativity.
This dream being is a real entity on the Otherside, and it is simply playing with your daughter. When she poked it, it laughed, and now they play a game together - or so the being thinks. Just like lots of other annoying young creatures, sometimes it does not know when to stop, or when enough is enough.
Your daughter can simply say STOP in her dream to this being, and the being will stop. Your daughter thinks she is powerless on the Otherside, but she is not. She can implant the thought or command to say STOP in her own mind while she is awake, and then she will "remember" it while she is asleep.
Another thing that you may want to tell her is that she has guides, angels, and all kinds of beings on the Otherside who are there to help her. They will hop to her every command (providing she is not asking them to harm or hurt someone).
So before she goes to bed at night, she can ask for the spiritual beings around her to please help her with this troublesome little blob that she encounters. They will help her while she is sleeping.
Anything we experience while sleeping occurs on the astral plane. Everything that is there is VERY real. We may think we are having these fantastic dreams with all these amazing imaginary creatures, but they are real adventures.
To some people, it may really come as a shock that what we dream is REAL in the astral. Granted, things look different there than they do on this plane, but it's just like life on earth: if we travel to distant lands, we will see people who look different, encounter foods that look and smell different, buildings that look different, etc.
Being on the astral plane is just like traveling to a distant land and experiencing new things. Just because there are no beings on this planet that fit the description of your daughter's newfound playmate, that doesn't mean he's not real on some other plane.
Help your daughter learn how to summon the helpful beings around her, for they won't jump to our aid without being asked first. That is a very powerful lesson for us all.
I wish your daughter peace-full dreams.
*****
Astrea:
All kinds of strange things happen to sensitive people during puberty. We're psychically more open then than we are at any other time in our lives. Anyone with any kind of psychic ability will start to experience things that are extremely hard to understand.
Since your daughter has some natural psychic talent (she probably gets that from you!) this is the time to ENCOURAGE it. This is the MOST PSYCHIC your daughter will ever be naturally, without having to work at it. She's coming into her ability, and if it isn't squelched, she'll always have it.
Remaining open is so difficult, and these creatures make it even harder. That's their JOB! They like to discourage those of us who can see them, whether we're awake or sleeping.
Sometimes as we awaken psychically, unpleasant entities hang around us. As our bodies change and our minds expand, lots of "things" such as she's described will enter into our dreamscape. Given her age, I believe sheís dealing with a real astral entity, for this sort of thing is common during puberty. Since her hormones are probably going wild, these entities are drawn to her unsettled energy.
Whether this one is demonic or angelic, it seems to be really annoying, so it's time to get RID OF IT once and for all. Fortunately, there are many things you two can do to rid her of this pesky experience.
I have lots of recipes for getting rid of nightmarish creatures. The best way for people your daughter's age is to put the shoes she's worn that day under her bed facing opposite directions, one facing north, one facing south. If she's worn several pair (as teenagers often do) do this with EVERY pair she's had on that day.
This will keep unwelcome astral entities at bay, because with her shoes facing opposite directions, they won't be able to figure out which way to go to enter her dreams.
Also, put a little lavender pillow next to her bed pillow. The scent of lavender will drive away evil entities because it smells too NICE. It will also cover up the aroma of her hormonal changes, further confusing this creature.
Since she is open to "visits," she may experience some Angelic Presence in her dreams, but it's doubtful she'll remember it. Angels come and go, but usually don't want to be "seen" or remembered. As she gets older, these impish creatures will move on to other teenagers, but it's scary at the time it's happening.
Dreams fade so quickly. If she's willing, have her record her dreams in a dream journal, so she'll have them to remember when she's older and perhaps her OWN daughter is going through something similar. Her children will probably inherit her abilities, so it may be very helpful to have a record of her experiences to refer to.
Astrea:
Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.
Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!
While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!
I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!
As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.
I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.
You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!
Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.
A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.
You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.