Category: Articles Page 2 of 5

In The Masque of the Red Death: Embracing the Shadow and Discovering Divinity, Articles

On 2025-01-14

…the Red Death is not a destroyer but a liberator, tearing down the walls of denial and exposing the truth that lies within.

Prince Prospero’s fortress, with its iron gates, opulent halls, and extravagant masquerade, is a striking metaphor for our attempts to deny the inevitable. It represents the walls we build to protect ourselves from discomfort, fear, and the truths we do not want to face. Yet, as Edgar Allan Poe so poignantly demonstrates, no wall is high enough, no gate strong enough, to keep out what we refuse to confront within ourselves.

“To Live, You Only Have to Die”: A Reflection on Transformation

On 2025-01-07

As Yeshua said, “Whoever loses their life will find it”(Matthew 10:39).

Life is full of paradoxes, but perhaps none is as profound as the statement, “To live, you only have to die.” At first glance, this idea may seem dark or unsettling. Yet, within its simplicity lies a powerful truth—one that has been echoed through spiritual teachings, poetry, and philosophy for centuries. To truly live, something within us must die. But this death is not necessarily physical; it is symbolic, spiritual, and deeply transformative.

Conscious Breathing: Supporting Your Awakening and Realization

Conscious breathing is the simple yet profound act of breathing with awareness.

As awakening unfolds and realization begins to take root, one of the most profound tools you can embrace is conscious breathing. Far more than a simple relaxation technique, conscious breathing invites you into deeper presence, allowing you to navigate the changes and challenges of awakening with grace and ease. In this third and final part of the series, we explore how the breath serves as a bridge between your human and divine essence, supporting both awakening and realization.

Signs of Awakening: A Guide to Recognizing Your Journey

It’s important to remember that these signs are not a checklist or a measure of progress—they are simply reflections of the changes happening within you as you reconnect with your soul and true essence.

As awakening unfolds, it often brings with it subtle or profound changes that ripple through every aspect of your life. These shifts are unique to each individual, yet there are common signs that can help you recognize and honor this transformative process. It’s important to remember that these signs are not a checklist or a measure of progress—they are simply reflections of the changes happening within you as you reconnect with your soul and true essence.

Awakening: Your Unique Path to Realization

At its core, awakening is an invitation to go beyond the mind, beyond what you’ve been taught to believe about yourself and life.

Awakening is one of the most profound experiences a human can have. It is not something the mind can fully grasp or intellectualize, yet it shifts the very foundation of how we perceive ourselves, the world, and existence itself. Awakening is deeply personal, uniquely unfolding for each individual in its own timing and manner. In this first part of the series, we explore the nature of awakening, its individuality, and the understanding that it is a gift from the soul—a remembering of who you truly are.

Awakening and the Conscious Breath: A Three-Part Series

Awakening is not something the mind can fully understand. It is a shift, a remembering, and an unfolding of your true essence.

This series explores the profound and personal journey of awakening and realization. Divided into three parts, it invites you to reflect on your unique path, recognize the signs of awakening, and discover how conscious breathing can serve as a gentle yet powerful companion on this journey.

Leaving the Table: A Master’s Farewell

On 2024-12-31

In Leonard Cohen Series, Articles

I don’t need a pardon, no, no, no, no, no
There’s no one left to blame
I’m leaving the table
I’m out of the game

“I’m Out of the Game”

I remember the moment I realized I was done. Not in a dramatic, storm-out-the-door way, but in the quiet, knowing way that fills every corner of your being with peace. I didn’t need to fight anymore, didn’t need to prove anything, didn’t need to win or lose. I was simply done. Leonard Cohen’s “Leaving the Table” puts words to that feeling, that moment of clarity when you step back from the game and know you’ll never sit at that table again.

For years—maybe lifetimes—I’ve played the game. I’ve sought love, validation, meaning, and resolution outside myself, believing that the answers were out there somewhere, in someone, or something. But they weren’t. And at some point, the seeking itself became exhausting. It’s not that I gave up—it’s that I realized I didn’t need to keep playing. The treasure I had been chasing was already within me.

Everybody Knows: A Spiritual Anthem for Awakening

On 2024-12-31

In Leonard Cohen Series, Articles

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied

Leonard Cohen’s Everybody Knows strikes a hauntingly familiar chord. It’s a song that carries the weight of truth, unveiling the fractures in our shared reality. Yet beneath its raw honesty lies something even more potent: a call to awaken, to see clearly, and to embrace the profound alchemy of truth and transformation.

From the very first line, “Everybody knows the dice are loaded,” Cohen invites us to step into radical clarity. This isn’t just a lament for the broken systems we live in; it’s a challenge to recognize them for what they are. Awakening begins with seeing—not with rosy optimism or denial, but with an unflinching gaze at the way things truly are. And in that moment of seeing, there is power. When we stop pretending that the dice aren’t loaded, we reclaim our ability to choose a different way forward.

Discovering Leonard Cohen: A Reflection on “Hallelujah” and the Questions Beyond Faith