This is a guest post by Andrew Cort.

In more primitive cultures, a sacred ‘presence’ was part of one’s normal experience. The gods of Homer’s Greece, for example, were part of everyone’s daily life. The sharp difference that we ascribe to secular matters and sacred matters would make no sense to a Shaman. In the Garden of Eden, God walked about and spoke to the inhabitants. He spoke with Abraham and Moses. He sent His messenger to speak to Mary, and then sent His own son into the world. In these times and cultures, people were immersed in the sacred, and felt a direct participation with higher levels of existence. “During the last three or four centuries, however,” notes Douglas Sloan, “this participatory awareness of a meaningful world has dimmed almost to the point of extinction.”

At the same time, something very positive has emerged in its place: the modern development and strengthening of individual selfhood. We experience the self’s relationship to the world in a very different way than did our ancestors. We have a far greater sense of personal identity, separate from others and detached from nature. We demand and expect personal freedom and full opportunity for personal achievement.

But modern individuals in a scientific and technological world are no longer sustained by a living and sacred world. We find ourselves grounded instead in the ‘onlooker’ viewpoint of science, in which we analyze nature and find ways to make her do our bidding. And we endure the psychological consequences of holding to this position — alienation, fragmentation, loss of meaning.

Must this be the inevitable outcome of the modern experiment in individualization? Is the apex of this endeavor merely the bleak realization that the individual is alone in a senseless, violent and absurd universe? Or is it possible to remain a free and rational ‘self’, and still be connected to a living web of mutuality and authentic spiritual meaning?

What do you think? Can we unite material life with spiritual life, in such a way that neither domain overwhelms or erodes the other?

Andrew Cort is an author, teacher, attorney, and doctor of chiropractic. His writings encompass Spirituality, Interfaith Religion, Science, Mythology, Education, Healing, and how these all fit together with contemporary culture. His most recent book is SYMBOLS, MEANING, AND THE SACRED QUEST: Spiritual Awakening in Jewish, Christian and Islamic Stories . Visit Andrew and contact him at www.Spirituality-and-Religion.com.

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Nature is amazing. One thing I have learned is that we can always go to Nature for answers and guidance. Being still and present in Nature allows inspiration to flow. Nature is healing. This is the basis of ecopsychology.

This summer I was told, “You just don’t get it.” The conversation was left at that. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out how this statement fit in with what we were talking about. But it stuck to me like an unpleasant thorn.

I wanted an answer, “What was “IT” that I didn’t get?”

While pruning a beautiful, lime green gold thread cypress into a ball shape at one of my landscaping jobs, I got my answer. I stood back and looked at this pruned shrub and realized I tamed it, forced it to “fit in”. Its beauty and spirit where changed.

“As soon as we attempt to label or define (change or control) something, we take away from the beauty and mystery that first attracted us.”

I received a text back… “You got it!!!”

This message can apply to all facets of our lives, especially to relationships and friendships. What about just appreciating the moment? Letting life be as it is. Enjoying the unfolding.

I find that many “messages” we receive from the Universe are something we already know but just need a reminder on. Or something we “know” but we haven’t experienced consciously, it isn’t our personal truth yet.

Can you recall something you “knew” but it didn’t really become ingrained in you as a personal truth until an experience made it real?

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The Art of Mindful Listening

“The first duty of love is to listen.” ~Paul Tillich

“Deep listening is miraculous for both listener and speaker. When someone receives us with open-hearted, non-judging, intensely interested listening, our spirits expand.” ~Sue Patton Thoele

Active listening is a vital skill that should be developed through practice. Most of us do not give our full attention when we are listening but are planning on what to say next or we are judging or evaluating what is being said. It is easy to be pulled into our own thoughts and lose our connection with what is actually being said or conveyed by the person speaking.

Due to all the developments in technology (internet, email, text, cell phones, media, etc.), our minds have become overstimulated. Boredom comes very easily and quickly. Our minds are have become programmed to multitask, leaving us without the ability to give full attention to anything we do. Because of human nature, we also try to control our experiences instead of just letting them flow.

To fully connect with someone, it is important to also observe their body language and to feel the emotions behind the words. If we become distracted by our own thoughts during a conversation, we are missing the subtle signs that convey the true meaning of what is being said. Be present to just listen. Don’t analyze or judge what is being said in order to offer advice but instead listen deeply and indicate that you heard. Or ask questions to take it to an even deeper level.

Following these 3 steps will help you become a more mindful listener and deepen your experiences with others:

1. Pause and take a breath before starting a conversation to create space for inner attention and promote a more relaxed state.
2. Deepen your attention.
3. Listen. Be with the experience. When we listen deeply, we become connected.

As I heard on a Zencast podcast, allow yourself to be a sacred presence.

“To listen fully means to pay close attention to what is being said beneath the words. You listen not only to the ‘music,’ but to the essence of the person speaking. You listen not only for what someone knows, but for what he or she is. Ears operate at the speed of sound, which is far slower than the speed of light the eyes take in. Generative listening is the art of developing deeper silences in yourself, so you can slow our mind’s hearing to your ears’ natural speed, and hear beneath the words to their meaning.” ~Peter Senge

Active listening is healing for the person speaking. It provides a space to openly share their inner self. Spoken words create ownership of thoughts or feelings, a validation.

Wouldn’t you like to know that when you are speaking, you are being felt on a deeper level? Take the time to concentrate and focus. Go deep, feel what is being said between the words. Be available to life.

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Once upon a time there lived a little girl, a princess actually, named Alexandrea, or Alex as who she was known as. Alex was a free spirit, not wild, just herself. Her mother and father, the Queen and King, were very busy people. Attentive, kind of, but preoccupied. Affection and love didn’t seem to flow easily. The King, not really demanding, more expecting, expected a lot from Alex. “Daddy’s little girl.”

Well Alex, being free spirited, had trouble conforming to others expectations of her, even the King’s. She would wander off to the edges of the forest surrounding the castle and lose herself in the natural world, her own magical world. Hearing and knowing. And losing all concept of time. Harsh penalties had to be paid; a more dutiful lady servant to watch over her and see to it that Alex grew up a princess. For not doing anything wrong. She never understood the punishment for being true to herself. The Queen didn’t seem to play much of a big part, more an attitude of “we’ll let the King handle this.” But Alex loved her magical world, lost in nature. Trapped inside, her spirit weakened.

And time passed. Alex grew older. Strong dreams developed. The King and Queen were quick to shut them down, they had other plans for her. The princess was headstrong and rebelled when her strongest dream was denied, so she married the enemy.

Alex fell under the spell of the other world, the dark side. Lost in the whirlwind, she lost touch with herself. Powerless. Controlled. Again. This time by outside forces. Her connection with the magical, lost. Dragons appeared in all forms. Dark spirits. Lost in the turmoil for years. Until the day she broke free.

The princess reconnected with her magical world. The place that always provided peace and knowledge. One day while sitting with Nature, Merlin approached and offered his assistance. “Stay true to yourself and I will provide everything you need in life.” The beautiful princess realized she didn’t need validation from anyone else, that she really was proud of who she was, that she was not only loveable but love itself. Merlin’s energy guided her and she felt safe and secure knowing that she would always be provided for as long as she stayed true to herself. Merlin taught her to co-create with the energy, to surrender. And she played in the energy for some time, becoming whole again, regaining all of herself that she had given away. She let love flow through her and everything she touched. She learned that she is love and that love connects us all. She recognized the sacredness and unity of all. She glowed with love. And that’s when he saw her.

And they lived happily ever after, and more so.

The End.

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The Butterfly

by Nikos Kazantzakis

I remember one morning when I discovered a cocoon in the back of a tree just as a butterfly was making a hole in its case and preparing to come out. I waited awhile, but it was too long appearing and I was impatient. I bent over it and breathed on it to warm it. I warmed it as quickly as I could and the miracle began to happen before my eyes, faster than life. The case opened; the butterfly started slowly crawling out, and I shall never forget my horror when I saw how its wings were folded back and crumpled; the wretched butterfly tried with its whole trembling body to unfold them. Bending over it, I tried to help it with my breath, in vain.

It needed to be hatched out patiently and the unfolding of the wings should be a gradual process in the sun. Now it was too late. My breath had forced the butterfly to appear all crumpled, before its time. It struggled desperately and, a few seconds later, died in the palm of my hand.

That little body is, I do believe, the greatest weight I have on my conscience. For I realize today that it is a mortal sin to violate the great laws of nature. We should not hurry, we should not be impatient, but we should confidently obey the eternal rhythm.

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I’ve been spending time redesigning the Whole Living Today blog making easier to navigate. In doing so, posts from the early days have been unearthed.

Here are a few of the more popular older posts:

• The Seesaw
• An Island of Feelings
• Signposts Along the Path of Spiritual Growth
• The Voice of Solitude
• The Trusting Bud
• Be a Nut
• Wading Through Murky Waters
• Making a Choice to Tune Out Negativity
• Cultivating Joy

If you like what you see and don’t want to miss out on future posts, please subscribe to Whole Living Today’s RSS feed. Also sharing individual posts or this blog is greatly appreciated.

These are transformative moments. Something shifts deep within. Inspiration stirs. Some are synchronistic; just what was needed right then. A remembering. Typically they are what we already know but we just need to hear it again in just the right way. There is almost a feeling of intimacy between the reader and author. A validation that someone else feels the same way as us or has lived a similar experience.

I came across one of those just the other day: How To Calibrate Your Energy to the Luminous Frequency of Light by Satya Colombo on Fierce Wisdom. I experienced this exact feeling while just being in nature and connecting last fall for my ecopsychology class but I sure couldn’t put it into words like Satya has.This is an incredible meditation that I encourage everyone to try.

Another empowering and enlightening meditation is to breathe with the plants. Plants exhale oxygen that our bodies require and use the carbon dioxide that we exhale. Consciously being aware of this cycle during meditation is another beautiful way to experience our interconnectedness with all of life. And don’t forget to be grateful for these connections.

Breathe and let your light shine.

A Seeker’s Prayer

Give me the eyes to see the truth,

Give me the heart to feel the truth,

And the courage to follow its light.

Let my search for truth and knowledge

Lead to the wisdom of love,

The desire to be helpful to others.

Back in March I posted a guest post, 20 iPhone Apps for Personal Growth and Spiritual Development, it has turned out to be one of my most popular posts. Because of that popularity, this post offers additional spiritual apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

• Healing with the Angels Oracle Cards – Doreen Virtue, Ph.D.
  Healing with the Angels Oracle Cards by Doreen Virtue, Ph.D. is now available on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Use Oracle Cards to help you communicate with your angels to overcome life’s challenges.This beautiful app includes 44 oracle cards — each with a unique Victorian-style or Old Master-style angel picture. There are no negative or frightening cards in this deck. Detailed text explains the full meaning of each card, and includes angel messages about healing from various life challenges. Learn how to give “angel readings” with the cards, and have fun with your friends and family!

  With this Oracle Cards app you can:
  - Give “angel readings” anywhere, anytime on your iPhone or iPod Touch
  - Choose between 1-card, 3-card, 5-card and 12-card readings
  - Save and load your “angel readings” for review at any time
  - E-mail “angel readings” to friends
  - Flip cards over to read the full meaning of each card and angel messages
  - Review the entire deck of cards in Browse mode

• My Spiritual Reading Cards – Sylvia Browne
  Use these Oracle Cards to attain the peace and wisdom that occurs when you realize your own spiritual center.The 74 cards in this deck can be used individually for meditation, or a group of them can be utilized for spiritual insight into your own life. Regardless of how you use them, I know that they’ll give you a greater understanding of your true self and help you see that you were created for a purpose by God, who loves you deeply. Always remember that spirituality isn’t measured by fame or acclaim, but by the large and small deeds that sometimes only you and God know about.“These cards will not give you spirituality . . . that you must find for yourself—but they will give you more insight into the Universal Truths that God has always made available to anyone who searches for them. People tend to get caught up in the hectic affairs of life on Earth, so these cards are designed to help you attain the peace and wisdom that occurs when you realize your own spiritual center.”
• Dream Dictionary
  Dream Dictionary is the leading professional level dictionary of symbols which may appear in dreams as well as the potential meanings behind these symbols. With a database of thousands of definitions it maintains the most comprehensive collection available right at your fingertips.
• I Ching Divination
  Revered for millennia as a source of Eastern spiritual wisdom, the I Ching oracle is actually based on an ancient text known as the “Book of Changes.” Because the book is arcane and difficult to decipher we have translated all of its predictions into modern American English- you will find the readings we generate are easy to understand.
• Inspiration Perpetual Calendar – Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
  The Inspiration Perpetual Calendar by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, based on the New York Times Best-selling book, is now available for your iPhone or iPod Touch. This interactive calendar is filled with specifics for living an inspired life. From a very personal viewpoint, Wayne Dyer offers a blueprint through the world of spirit to inspiration – your ultimate calling.Dr. Wayne W. Dyer has put together this perpetual calendar because he knows without any doubt that inspiration can be cultivated and can be a driving force throughout life, rather than showing up every now and then and just as mysteriously disappearing, seeming independent of our desires. Inspiration is for everyone! It isn’t reserved for high-profile creative geniuses in the arts and sciences – it’s inherent in our Divine birthright.

  As you read each of the entries in this calendar, you’ll find specific suggestions for living in-spirit. Start each day on a positive note. Send the inspirational message to a friend on their birthday. Enjoy!

  With the Inspirational Calendar app you can:
  - Experience 365 daily entries with inspirational messages and images
  - Browse through the entire calendar by swiping
  - Access any date with a few touches
  - Enlarge text for easier readability
  - E-mail Wayne’s inspirational messages to friends
  - Save a page to your Photo Library and make it your wallpaper

• The Wisdom of Avalon Oracle Cards – Colette Baron-Reid
  This beautiful app includes 52 oracle cards — each with beautiful full-color illustrations. Based on the rich mythology of ancient Britain’s Isle of Avalon and the wisdom teachings of its priestesses, these cards will help you find a valuable and powerful insights in all aspects of life as you chart your path and manifest your destiny with clarity and purpose.Their use will shed light on what has been, what needs illumination in the present, and what will weave patterns into the future. The deck will help you discover the potential of your own intuition as you follow the omens and symbols of the Goddess, the Kingdom of the Faeries, Merlin, and the Priestess of magical Avalon. See into the future…and discover that you are more than you know!
• Miracle Cards – Marianne Williamson
  Miracle Cards by Marianne Williamson is a deck of 50 beautifully realized cards, now available on your iPhone or iPod Touch.Marianne Williamson, the acclaimed lecturer and bestselling author, has gained international prominence through her spiritual reflections on modern life. Here, she brings you cards that reflect the miracles inherent in our everyday lives. On subjects ranging from relationships to the future of the planet, Williamson applies universal truths to issues that confront all of us on our daily journey.
• Zen Timer – Meditation Timer
  Perfect for mindful activities such as meditation, Reiki and yoga, this simple yet powerful timer plays the beautiful sounds of the Tibetan singing bowl.
• Sand Garden™ for the iPad
  • Sand Garden was selected by eweek.com (Nathan Eddy) as one of the 10 must have apps for every new iPad owner! Sand Garden™ is a virtual Japanese Zen garden.
• Osho Zen Tarot – OSHO International Foundation
  When life seems to be full of doubt and uncertainty we tend to look for a source of inspiration: what will happen in the future? What about my health, the children? What will happen if I make this decision and not that one? This is how the traditional tarot is often used, to satisfy a longing to know about the past and future. This Osho Zen Tarot focuses instead on gaining an understanding of the here and now. It is a system based on the wisdom of Zen, a wisdom that says events in the outer world simply reflect our own thoughts and feelings, even though we ourselves might be unclear about what those thoughts and feelings are. So it helps us to turn our attention away from outside events so we can find a new clarity of understanding in our innermost hearts. The conditions and states of mind portrayed by the contemporary images on the cards are all shown as being essentially transitional and transformative. The text in the accompanying cards helps to interpret and understand the images in the simple, straightforward and down to earth language of Zen.
• Beautiful Tarot HD – Jonathan Miller
  Behold a truly beautiful Tarot. Three different decks in the palm of your hand, nine spreads, ten card looks and a hundred other customizations to suit your whim. Touch the cards—slide, flip, and arrange them as you wish.

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.”  ~William Wordsworth

If you are reading this blog, chances are you have embarked upon a spiritual path seeking to discover your authentic self and purpose in life. One powerful tool to help along the way is a spiritual journal. This post describes my definition of a spiritual journal; it is not the only way. Some keep a spiritual journal to record thoughts and inspirations as they read through religious scriptures.

“The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium.  ~Norbet Platt”

Why Keep a Spiritual Journal?

Keeping a spiritual journal allows you to see where you have been, where you are heading and also acts as a GPS of sorts. It is also a sacred place to recognize who you are. This type of journal also becomes the fertile soil where seeds of inspiration and intention are able to grow and manifest. Your journal is also a way to let the Universe know that you are paying attention to all the messages sent your way, it keeps the channel of communication open and flowing.

“Write down the thoughts of the moment.  Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable.”  ~Francis Bacon

How to Keep a Spiritual Journal.

A spiritual journal is very easy and fun to write in. For starters, you will want to find a blank journal or notebook, one that “feels right” and special to you. Some come with lined pages and some blank, the choice is yours. You might want to consider a journal with blank pages if you have an artistic streak waiting to show itself and wish to add drawings. Also find a writing instrument that you like, keeping in mind that pencil tends to fade after time.

Although your journal does not have to be written in every day, the more it is used, the more empowered it becomes. Your spiritual journal is not to be used as a place to “vent” emotions; it is vital to keep your entries positive and uplifting. If you wish to, keep a separate journal to record day-to-day feelings but do not read back what you have written in it. You do not want to add energy back into emotions that you have released.

“Journal writing is a voyage to the interior”~ Christina Baldwin

Make your time with your journal special. Consider setting aside a little time each evening before bed to write. Create sacred space; light a candle, allow yourself to be undisturbed and relax. Maybe keep a little notebook with you throughout the day to jot down ideas that you wish to enter into your journal; it’s easy to forget your thoughts during the day. A Moleskine notebook is perfect for this; they are study yet flexible to feel comfortable in a pocket.

What to Write in Your Spiritual Journal

You want to record anything that happens to cause you skin to get the goosebumps or those “Ah ha” moments. Anything that stands out from the ordinary and has meaning to you. Some suggestions are as follows:

• inspirational and spiritual quotes
• passages from books
• dreams
• synchronicities
• intuitive messages
• meditations
• oracle or tarot card messages
• intentions and goals
• gratitude

A Valuable Tool

As you work with your journal, it becomes a road map to your life. Read it over periodically. Where have you been? What messages keep repeating themselves? Are you listening to your messages? What is manifesting from your intentions and goals?

If you encounter periods when there doesn’t appear to be much to write, are you being true to your authentic self? Have you stepped off your path? When we are in sync with the Universe and our heart’s desires, synchronicities and messages flow freely.

Other related posts:

• Touched by the Energy of Enthusiasm
• Top Ten Ways to Connect with Your Expanded Self
• Destiny
• Signposts Along the Path of Spiritual Growth

You might also be interested in visiting my friend Elaine’s sketchbook journal blog: Illuminara