- 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: He’s Led to Diary, but Can’t Find Its AuthorContinue reading →
My name is Stefan, and I was born June 27, 1970, in Bulgaria. In early January, 2004, I was in Bari, Italy. While I was passing by a beautiful fountain in the center of town, something in me told me that in the water of that fountain I would find something I was supposed to find. I stopped near the fountain and began to look in the water, and in it, I found the diary of a young Italian woman! I thought, "I have a sign from the universe, and I have to find this woman." I checked all the phone numbers, all the email addresses, and all the postal addresses I found in the diary, but none of my efforts have helped me find this woman. I stayed in Bari for 10 months, and I experienced many strange situations connected with this diary, but I haven't found its author. In November of 2004, I finally left Italy. Do you think I am supposed to find the author of this diary? If so, should I go back to Bari and start over? If not, then why did I have this experience?
Dreamchaser:
You found this diary for a number of reasons that you yourself actually created. The first reason is so you would have a fantastic story to tell. You went to Italy looking for adventure and romance, and in fact, you found both in this diary. You have become very fond of this woman and you would LOVE to meet her. This all makes for a really great story.
Why this DID happen is so that maybe you would finally start to listen to your gut instincts. You "knew" something was going to happen there. You "knew" to go up to the fountain. THAT is the part that the Universe wants you to see. The fact that you just knew that something was there and you went up to the fountain, looked in, and pulled out this diary is very validating in and of itself.
You have always been incredibly "psychic." Actually, you have just about all the "clair" abilities. (Youíre clairvoyant, clairaudient, etc.) You just never really believe in yourself.
When you were really young, you were willing to follow your gut, but as you grew, people instructed in you other ways of being. You kind of buried the "Old Ways" down inside of you, and they have been trying to come out. A part of you was really drawn to Italy to be around strangers, as you felt that maybe there, you would be able to be more true to yourself.
I keep seeing the same pattern over and over in the world. If we have not already opened up to our true selves by the time we are around 33 years of age, then that is when it happens. Now some people are a few years younger, and some are a few years older, but usually, a massive soul-awakening happens in people around that age.
If you notice, you were just around the age of 33 when you went to Italy. I often think of Jesus Christ being put to death at the age of 33, and I wonder if the age at which this happened is meaningful.
Do you not find it a little odd that no one you contacted from her diary had any idea what woman you were talking about? These people were important enough to put into her diary, but not important enough in her life to know who you were asking about. That seems pretty odd to me.
I am SURE that Spirit is blocking you somehow. If you have not been able to find this woman by contacting all the people you found in the diary, I think that for now anyway, you are NOT supposed to meet her.
I do think that at some point, she is going to show up and get such a huge kick out of getting her diary back. There is actually quite an interesting story behind how it came to be in that fountain, but I will save that for her to tell you one day.
I wish you complete and total integration of your mind and your soul.
*****
Astrea:
My husband never passes by a piece of paper with any writing on it without picking it up. As he takes a long walk and run every morning, he's accumulated quite a few scraps.
One in particular stands out in my mind. It was a letter from a young man to his father, who at the time was in prison. It asked the father to meet the son, and invited Dad to live with him when he got out of jail. It didn't have any identifying addresses or last names, so we were never able to send it on to "Dad."
In the letter, the son forgives his father for leaving his mother, and welcomes him into his life. It was several pages filled with love and longing. We still have that letter, and we searched for its author and recipient for months to try to reunite them.
I often wonder if those two ever got back together. It is so sad to me that the father was never able to read the pages of love that his son wrote to him in that letter. I could feel from reading that letter that it took that boy long weeks of writing to get it just right. I hope that what we found was just a draft, and that the final copy did make it to its recipient, but I can't believe that in my heart.
You found that young girl's diary because you had a feeling you should look for something. She had thrown it away. She must have been desperately unhappy to discard her own personal history in that way. While I understand why you want to find her, perhaps finding the diary was for YOU, not for her.
Was it "meant to be?" You had a feeling, you followed it, and it happened.
I'm a firm believer that when you "have a feeling" that you should DO something; following that instinct is VERY important! I am NOT, however, a big believer in "meant to be." I think that we have choices, and one of those is to follow our intuition.
You did, and you found something VERY interesting! I'm so sorry your search didn't turn up the young woman you sought. Sometimes the consequences of our choices aren't what we want or expect. You've discovered this with that diary. My feeling is that you can't find her because she never wants to relive the memories recorded in that diary.
You, however, have gained more from reading it than she ever did from writing it. It's made you think more about how other people feel and perceive things, and I'm sure you've grown a lot from having it in your possession. If you were MEANT to find it, it has done for you what it was meant to do.
Seeing things through a young girl's eyes must be quite different for you! It's a whole experience you might never have had without finding that diary. Please use the knowledge youíve been given with kindness.
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.