All you need to know about Christmas

Who was Saint Nicholas

Who was Sinterklaas

Who was St. Stephen

What is Christmas

Saturnalia and the real roots of Christmas

More about Christmas

NEW MOON IN LEO - WHOOHOO! - Ayesha Grice

On Friday, August 17, 2012, the Sun and Moon will connect to form the New Moon in Leo.  New Moon's are good times to start new habits or to break old habits and to project your goals for the coming months.  We write down our goals on a piece of paper, as writing clarifies our intentions and helps us to focus on our needs and desires.

USAIN ST. LEO BOLT IS GOLDEN

Usain Bolt is the fastest man in the world and he was born under the sign of Leo.  Someone said that Usain loves the spotlight, likes being on stage and that's so typical of Leo personalities.  He won 3 Gold Medals in this Olympics and when interviewed he said he wants to be a legend...wowee!  A man who knows what he wants and has the talents to get it.  Watching Usain run is exciting, because he traditionally starts off slow, then powers up and passes everyone.  Thank you Usain for giving us the example of spiritual principles, it doesn't matter how you start but how you finish the race.  And that's the message for New Moon in Leo. Keep your eyes on the finish line and know that you have enough energy to be successful.  Or, it doesn't matter how you start because if you've put the work in and truly believe in your abilities you'll win the Gold. Usain believe he can win and "sees" himself crossing the finish line before he starts. His unwavering faith in his talents is what helps him to bypass all the criticisms and people who make doom and gloom predictions.

LEARN FROM EXAMPLE

So with the New Moon in Leo, we can all learn from Usain's example.  As you write down your goals, use the power of imagination to see yourself accomplishing them, regardless of the circumstances that might temporarily slow you down.  What other people say or do cannot prevent you from doing what you say you want to do.  Leo says "I Will".  This is a good time to align your will with the greater will of The Most High.
If you're looking for a job, or looking for a loving relationship or trying to overcome an illness...imagine that your prayers have already been answered and tap into the joyful energy that comes when the dream becomes a reality.  Your success will be our success as through example you will show the people around you how it's done.  Usain lifted the people in Jamaica, in the USA, and in the world with his stunning achievements.  His power came from within as his internal desire to win was stronger than any physical circumstance.  Yes he has a strong body, and his stride is bigger than most runners, but what was inside of his was the key to his winning the Gold and becoming the fastest runner in the world.  Thank you Usain for the lift, the joy and helping me to reconnect with the real power.

NOW IT'S TIME TO DO THE WORK

The New Moon in Leo is an excellent time to focus on your goals, and to be willing to do what's necessary to achieve them.  Ernest Holmes, the founder of Science of Mind always said "if your mind can perceive it,
you can achieve it".  Write down your goals and believe in your heart that you'll achieve them.  During this New Moon in Leo period, it's also necessary to think and say what you want, as opposed to complaining about what you don't want.  Create a new habit, break an old one.  Enjoy this time. It's Golden!

http://ayeshagrice.blogspot.com/2012/08/new-moon-in-leo-whoohoo.html

The Seven Deadly Sins: A Convenient Guide to Eternal Damnation

The medieval period and the early Renaissance period inherited an elaborate Christian model of sin.
Over a dozen such models exist. The most popular one lists seven sins and subdivides them into three
"spiritual" sins and four "corporal" (bodily) sins. All seven of the sins were deadly evils (i.e.,
potentially a cause of damnation), but the spiritual sins were generally acknowledged as more
dangerous than sins that arose only from the weakness of the body.

The Seven Deadly Sins

Three Spiritual Sins
1. Pride (spiritual sin)
2. Envy (spiritual sin)
3. Wrath (spiritual sin affected by body)

Four Corporal Sins
4. Accidia or Sloth (corporal sin)
5. Avaricia/Cupiditas or Greed
(corporal sin)
6. Gluttony (corporal sin)
7. Lust (corporal sin)

The Seven Holy Virtues

Three Spiritual (or Theological) Virtues
1. Fides (Faith)
2. Spes (Hope)
3. Caritas (Charity)

The Four Cardinal (or Pagan) Virtues
4. Prudence
5. Temperance
6. Fortitude
7. Justice

The Seven Virtues opposed the Seven Sins. In one scheme, the Seven Virtues are based on the three
spiritual virtues listed by Saint Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13: Faith, Hope and Charity, followed by
the four Cardinal or "Pagan" virtues: Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude, and Justice. (The idea was
that any person, whether he or she was a Christian or not, might possess the four Cardinal Virtues.
Only a Christian in medieval belief would possess faith in God, hope for an afterlife, and caritas--
the type of charity in which one does good deeds out of love for God alone.)

An alternative but equally popular version of the Seven Virtues was the "remedial" or "contrarian"
model, which listed specific virtues as the "cures" or "remedies" that stand in opposition to each of
the seven sins. Prudentius devised this model in 410 AD in his allegorical poem the Psychomachia
("The Battle for the Soul"). His scheme of virtues and vices looked something like this:

Humility cures Pride
Kindness cures Envy
Abstinence cures Gluttony
Chastity cures Lust
Patience cures Wrath
Liberality cures Greed
Diligence cures Sloth

Continuing the numerological mysticism of seven, the medieval church assembled a list of seven
good works in the catechism as cures to the seven deadly sins: these included sheltering strangers,
feeding the hungry, giving drink to those thirsting, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, ministering
to the imprisoned, and burying the dead. All these traditional views, however, were objects of much
intellectual tinkering in the Renaissance when Protestant Christians sought to separate themselves
theologically from the older Catholic teachings, and Catholic theologians sought to distinguish
themselves from the upstart Protestant groups.

http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/Seven_Deadly_Sins.pdf

Communion - Harmony without and within

Man is living as an island, and that's where all misery arises. Down the centuries man has been trying to live independently from existence--that is not possible in the very nature of things. Man can neither be independent nor dependent. Existence is a state of interdependence: everything depends on everything else. There is no hierarchy, nobody is lower and nobody is higher. Existence is a communion, an eternal love affair.

    But the idea that man has to be higher, superior, special, creates trouble. Man has to be nothing--man has to dissolve into the totality of things. And when we drop all the barriers, communion happens and that communion is a benediction. To be one with the whole is all. That is the very core of religiousness.
    Heraclitus says: It would not be better if things happened to men just as they wish. Unless you expect the unexpected you will never find the truth, for it is hard to discover and hard to attain. Nature loves to hide. The lord whose oracle is at Delphi neither speaks nor conceals--but gives signs. 
    Existence has no language... and if you depend on language there can be no communication with existence. Existence is a mystery, you cannot interpret it. If you interpret, you miss. Existence can be lived, but not thought about. It is more like poetry, less like philosophy. It is a sign, it is a door. It shows, but it says nothing. 
    Through mind, there is no approach to existence. If you think about it, you can go on thinking and thinking, about and about, but you will never reach it--because it is precisely thinking that is the barrier. Thinking is a private world, it belongs to you--then you are enclosed, encapsulated, imprisoned within yourself. Nonthinking, you are no more; you are enclosed no more. You open, you become porous, existence flows into you and you flow into existence.
    Learn to listen--listening means you are open, vulnerable, receptive, but you are not in any way thinking. Thinking is a positive action. Listening is passivity: you become like a valley and receive; you become like a womb and you receive. If you can listen, then nature speaks--but it is not a language. Nature doesn't use words. Then what does nature use? Says Heraclitus, it uses signs. A flower is there: what is the sign in it? It is not saying anything--but can you really say it is not saying anything? It is saying much, but it is not using any words--a wordless message.
    To hear the wordless you will have to become wordless, because only the same can hear the same, only the same can relate to the same.

Sitting by a flower, don't be a person, be a flower. Sitting by the tree, don't be a person, be a tree. Taking a bath in a river, don't be a man, be a river. And then millions of signs are given to you. And it is not a communication--it is a communion. Then nature speaks, speaks in thousands of tongues, but not in language.

www.osho.com

Just a reminder

http://thelastresort5.blogspot.com/2012/07/just-reminder.html

Are you prepared for the next 5 months?

I choose to follow the works of the Children of the Sun Foundation, as I believe we are all Children of the Sun. I share with you now the latest posting from the Children of the Sun Foundation and please feel free to visit their website as well at www.childrenofthesun.org.

The Rites of Passage begin this September    Children of the Sun Foundation is co-creating a Rites of Passage Program for all Planetary Light Servers in which to guide a 12-week group initiation into levels of Christ Consciousness and the genuine perceptual and experiential awareness of the self as God. Leading up to the heralded 12-21-12 dateline, the Foundation's ultimate goal in delivering this pivotal program is to guide people through an expedited process of back-to-back initiations. Our highest priority is to attain the level of purity required to emerge as a Christed Group Harmonic with the authentic power to bless and evolve the mass public.   We are in the Preparation Phase!       To undergo these Rites, it is HIGHLY recommended that you have an advanced level of control and balance over your three lower bodies - the physical body, the emotions and the mind. This entails a demonstration of physical purity, having brought the needs and wants of the body under the dominion of your soul. The astral/emotional body is limpid and calm, demonstrating the ability to maintain a state of harmony and balance in the face of adversity. In achieving control over the mental body, your thoughts are qualified by the Divine Presence within and demonstrate a high level of stillness and inner quietude. Through the 12 week Rites of Passage, our direct demonstration of a Christed group tone will ripple out through the planetary Crystalline Grid catalyzing a dynamic upshift in our level of unity consciousness thereby lifting off big pieces of the human framework and potentially foregoing, for the many, the long and difficult road to self-mastery. Each of these 12 Rites is an initiation, whole initiations within themselves. It is going to be as a Cosmic Christ lightning round in preparation for our grand emergence. This has never been done before in such accelerated fashion.

Upcoming Full Moon Cycle and Continuing...    Embracing Emotional Purity         The next level of our collective preparation for the upcoming Rites of Passage focuses directly upon the purity of the emotional body. This is one of the most challenging initiatory phases for Planetary Light Servers as we are so easily deceived by the illusions of desire and personal emotion. It takes a considerable act of surrender to allow for the appropriate conditions of emotional mastery to emerge from within. In releasing our attachments to the glamour of lower-self emotions and placing our attention upon Divinity, we make room for the manifestation of a peace-commanding presence which is the required environment for God Realization.    Preparation Recommendations:   THE YOGA OF LAUGHTER We all have experienced the positive effects of a warm, sincere smile accompanied with a healthy bout of laughter. These simple acts are outer expressions that allow us to share our inner state of joy and harmony. The light reflected in our eyes while we smile is a sure indicator of the love emanating from our hearts. During this period of intense preparation, we greatly encourage to keep a playful and joyous attitude. Enjoy the healing balm of heart-felt laughter with dear friends and fellow light servers as often as you can. The yoga of laughter will greatly assist in lightening up your spirits, releasing any stagnant emotional debris from your field with grace and ease.    REVIEW OF EMOTIONAL GLAMOUR Glamour can be defined as emotionally driven desire colorizing itself on an illusory screen through the lens of the conditioned human personality. These illusory forms enliven our lives, sometimes with ecstatic sensations, however, are limiting consciousness patterns which outplay in fantasized realities, false values, misleading desires, distorted perceptions and many needless necessities.       Some of the most tenacious glamours are so deeply embedded that they are not even recognized or thought of as hindrances to greater revelations in consciousness.    Article Review:  Lighting Up Emotional Glamour       Glamours of the Spiritual Path The condition of glamour is an inherent component of our make-up stemming from ancient astral patterns and age-long personality desires.       There are an infinite number of ways that emotions can be glamorized. These false formations can always be found where there is any degree of criticism, pride, emotional attachment, behaviors of separatism and a sense of superiority.     Article Review: List of Common Emotional Glamours         Spiritual Glamour and Discernment One of our greatest challenges, and, as we are opening into expanded levels of extra sensory perception is  to distinguish between Divine Wisdom derived from an illumined consciousness versus that of astral psychism.     Astral psychism can simply be defined, in this context, as messaging derived from a false plane of emotional based substance. What we may intuit as divine messaging or a clear vision is oftentimes an astral reflection that is clothed with distortion. This common and quite innocent type of misinterpretation comes as a result of one's polarization swinging more to the emotional nature versus a steady centering in the Soul. The quickening of incoming planetary energies and the resultant opening of our psychic natures has created a plethora of information on the current shifting of times with many interpretations of, so called, "cosmic truth" emerging forth. Our continuous reflection upon many of the new age expressions is absolutely necessary to guard against misleading directions and the creation of emotion based fantasized realities.       Divine Intuition is the Pure Source of Information    It is also an important reminder that the activity associated with channeling outside energies is information that is being received and filtered through the veil of human personality. If there are any existing personality limitations of the receiver, there is most assuredly a degree of distortion to the message. There is really no need anymore to channel external spiritual entities once the ability to divinely receive from one's own illuminated consciousness is developed.                 We are in a process of great self-refinement and the final breaking through of the spells of illusion. May we continue to proceed with constant questioning, in wisdom and with the great light of discernment applied to all information to insure that we are not accepting a message as true just because it is beautifully or intelligently expressed. This is how false mass mind concepts are created and continually energized.        Indeed, the most effective method of discrimination is to develop the powers of pure reason and Divine Intuition through the illumination of one's own developed consciousness. Herein lies the real message of discernment.

GETTING AND STAYING GROUNDED   Many aspirants on the Path of Initiation are prone to placing their full attention upon the higher centers and associated spiritual matters. This lofty 'one-track-mind' focus often leads to an energetic sense of instability and of being ungrounded. If we are ungrounded, it is so easy to slip into the state of 'fight or flight' response when confronted with challenging situations. As we come to experience heightened levels of emotional control/stability, we can gracefully respond to any need or situation from a state of equanimity, love and compassion. Listed below are a few methods in which to assist grounding and stabilizing your energy bodies: Affirmations: I AM grounded in my body and upon the Earth, here and NOW.          Ensuring you are properly nourished by toxin free foods and liquids (ie: pure water, organic foods, proteins and minerals)          Less time in electrical energy fields, more time in nature and natural environments         Visualizations: grounding cords, flowers between the toes, feet becoming roots, etc.          Loving touch (massage, hugging, holding hands)     As we experience more pronounced degrees of stability and emotional grounding, we become a living forcefield of illumined peace. Excess energy is properly channeled and qualified through our multi-body system and surrounding environment. In order to achieve this, we must enter into a place of inner stillness with our emotional bodies as limpid pools, completely stabilized and free of personal emotion, utterly open to receiving the influx of love, tranquility and wisdom streaming forth from the Divine. It is vital to FEEL and KNOW that God is within for it is this grounded connection to the Divine that allows us to operate free of all fear, in a state of absolute confidence sharpened by unconditional warmth. Calm and stable = strong and able.

Chantelle Meyburgh to visit Namibia

My good Friend and Mentor, Chantelle Meyburgh will be in Namibia next month for her 10th Anniversary Visit to Namibia. She has been coming here for the past ten years seeing clients and facilitating workshops as well as the Desert Soul Festival.


Here is Chantelle's programme while she is in Namibia. Please contact Jutta or Zelda to make your appointments.



Chantelle Meyburgh
in Namibia


Windhoek : 9th – 22nd August
contact Jutta on dobler@iway.na
(Jutta is currently in Germany but you can email her your booking, alternatively please contact Zelda)


Swakopmund : 23rd August – 3rd September
contact Zelda on evolve@iway.na or 081 124 6081


Hello Namibia!


As always, I am so happy to be visiting again soon – it’s my 10th anniversary this year!


As usual I will be facilitating 1:1 sessions for adults and kids as well as running workshops. I know I said I would be facilitating Source Practitioner and SunKidz Facilitator Training this time, but unfortunately I haven’t quite gotten my act together as far as that is concerned yet! Since my return from India I have been busy setting up my yoga classes here and also been bringing a very exciting project to its fruition, which I look forward to sharing with you all very soon!


I will be facilitating “BECOMING THE LOTUS” and “TOOLS FOR TRANSFORMATION” again, so if you haven’t done these workshops yet and would like to do them, there is still this opportunity. In order to do the facilitator training in future, you need to have completed these two, as well as the Animal Communication, workshops.


To follow is a short explanation on each of the therapies and workshops offered. If you have any queries on anything, please feel free to contact me. Look forward to seeing u again!


Namasté
Chanti


The Process (1:1 sessions)
R480 - 90min, R450 for follow-ups
R350 – 60mins, children under 13yrs old


We all have internal conflicts that can cause major challenges in our lives – we cannot move forward until we have faced that which is buried within us and holding us back. These sessions are the catalyst to restoring and activating dormant DNA within the cells of the body which brings in a much greater sense of peace, knowing, understanding and clarity.


Please wear comfortable clothing and you will be asked to remove your shoes. Tibetan Singing Bowls are incorporated into the healing sessions.
I recommend 2 sessions, although that is certainly not a pre-requisite. During the first session we will usually shift energies and perceptions through discussion, and the 2nd session would be integration through energy and sound healing.




Womb Regression
R600 - 2hr Session


The Womb Regression is a powerful tool used to access your core. Chantelle regresses you back into the womb where you consciously re-connect with your Higher Self. This powerful and moving connection enables you to gain a much greater understanding of the choices you have made in this life and awakens clarity and purpose; this knowledge is then re-integrated into your body at cellular level and the “new” journey begins! Your perceptions change on a conscious level as a much deeper level of understanding emerges.
At least 2 Processes are required before having the Womb Regression


Tools for Transformation Workshop
Windhoek : Sunday, 12th August, 10am-5pm


Please bring along lunch, refreshments will be provided
R600 (10% family discount for more than one member of the family attending)
Refresher Workshop : R450 (if you have attended the workshop before, but would like to attend again)


This powerful workshop introduces you to ‘energy’ and how it works, specifically the law of attraction. By understanding some basics, which many of us still overlook, we can change our lives significantly.  This workshop is the catalyst for change, therefore giving you the understanding on how to create and change anything in your life. It includes healing with crystals and the healing power of sound, using Tibetan Singing Bowls and related sound instruments.


Becoming the Lotus Workshop
Windhoek : Monday, 13th – Thursday, 16th Aug @ 6.30pm-8.30pm


R850 (10% family discount for more than one member of the family attending)
Refresher : R600 (if you have attended the workshop before, but would like to attend again)


Becoming the Lotus  is a 7-part transformational experience using meditation and symbols as our tools for transformation, which will run over 4 evenings.  It is necessary to know your body well, so using the 7 main chakras as our compass we delve into the emotions stored in the body and see how our thoughts and feelings affect the various parts of the body. Every aspect of the body holds a deeper meaning and any dis-ease in the body is a reflection that something unseen needs to be addressed. Your body is the most precious gem you will ever possess and it is only through your body that you can transform your emotions.


Animal Communication Workshop
Windhoek : 18th & 19th August : 10am – 5pm both days
Swakop : 25th & 26th August :10am – 5pm both days


Please bring along lunch, refreshments will be provided
R1050 (10% family discount for more than one member of the family attending)
Refresher : R750 (if you have attended the workshop before, but would like to attend again)


2-day animal communication workshop, open to adults and teens, celebrating the animals! These 2 days will be spent connecting and practicing with live animals, reading photographs, meditations and exercises designed to ignite your psychic abilities. Participants are guided to “pick up” images, emotions, thoughts, sensations and sometimes words from the animals. We will also delve into medical gestaldt where we locate aches and pains inside their bodies, and fine-tune our focus in order to better understand the animals' wants and needs.


SunKidz Workshop
Windhoek : Saturday, 11th August @ 10h00 – 12h30
Swakop :  Saturday, 1st September @ 10hoo – 12h30
R100 per child, R90 for siblings




Join us for another SunKidz workshop where we will explore the LANGUAGE OF THE FEET (Reflexology), MASSAGE and the powerful and healing vibrations of CRYSTALS and SOUND. It’s fun, interactive and inspirational, so if you are somewhere between 5 and 12 years old and keen to discover more magic within you, then join us for this workshop!








Please visit Chantelle's website to read more about this remarkable Being and what she does.
 http://aquariusrising.co.za/