Category Archives: Contemplation

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Contemplation

I am at a beach house, where I have the luxury to contemplate life in general and my life more specifically. This time of listening to my inner being is precious. Age gives contemplation more texture. All my experience can by poured into a deeper contemplation. Maybe as I near the end, it’s just a simple case of being more grateful for the blessings of life. Youth is much more fickle and easy to upset when things are not right. Now it is easier for me to look from a higher perspective and see the present moment in context of a lifetime of experiences, of which we only remember a fraction.

It is these moments of being quiet that inspire me to live with an active mind, keen awareness of life and it’s various experiences. Both the good and the bad is shaping my inner soul add it absorbs life experiences. All these experiences contribute to developing a purity of heart, and an eagerness to expand my consciousness and sharpen my conscience.

When we do this contemplation without comparing ourselves with others a new freedom opens up to be authentic. We can look at past mistakes with amusement, without embarrassment and see how we allowed those moments to shape our thoughts and feelings. In the awareness of the past we can have an expectation that the future will continue to shape us. Then every breathing moment becomes precious.

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Gratitude

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What do I have to be grateful for?

I have many things to be grateful for.

Wealth:I have a good income with manageable debt levels – enough to sustain myself in the present moment and maybe even to build up a bit of cash buffer to mitigate risks.

Career: I have a good job and a management information manager with a masters degree in Industrial engineering. I am grateful for the colleagues that I work with. The people I interface with is competent and overall supportive of what I am trying to accomplish.  I have a real opportunity to make a difference where I work even though that may take a bit longer. I have a lovely office from where I work that provide me with optimal Feng Shui every day.

Hobbies and interests: I have many interests and the time to pursue them all.  I do almost every day of the work week either Tai Chi or Yoga to keep fit. I do Reiki self healing and/or some meditation every day to maintain my health and ability to remain mentally agail. I enjoy delving into other things like TRE, Reiki and divination. I get the time for creative activities like painting or writing a poem to give expression to my creativity.

Spirituality: I had been a member of the Rosicrucian order, AMORC since 2005 which gave me a good rounded approach to self-mastery. That combined with Stoic philosophy gave me the ability to deal with most challenges that I face in my life and to continue to prosper.

Adventure: I enjoy driving my Jeep and can afford frequent (once a month) 4×4 trips that take me into the country side. I serve on the Jeep club’s committee and see them on a frequent basis and have build some good relationships with fellow jeepers.

Health: My health is in a good conditions and I am able to pursue my dreams and wishes without any impairment.

Family: Two of my children are doing well on university and one will be finishing her degree at the end of the year if all goes well. All my children are lovely people, unique individuals whom I can look to with pride.

Friends: I have a few friends I can truly name as friends. I can really call them and ask for advice if I ever get stuck.

Support structure: I have the support of a family that “adopted” me. I have a place to live, lovely company and a place where I can relax. Home is more than just a roof over my head and includes spaces where I can see beauty and experience harmony. I have enough to eat and drink not just to survive but also to have a diversity of food and drink to enjoy my senses from time to time.

Technology: I have access to the world wide web and the technologies that I need. In modern

Location: I live in Cape Town South Africa which is considered by locals and foreigners alike as one of the most beautiful places on earth. Within an hours drive there is sea, vinyards or mountains to enjoy. Even the city itself have within it beautiful places to hike and anjoy.

Education: I am grateful that I had the resources to study and acquire the qualifications I needed to bring value to the world around me.

So when I say I am grateful, I have a firm ground to stand on. All the most critical spheres of my life is covered and all of them give me a reason to be grateful and appreciate life. Maybe having my Moon in taurus does show when I look at what I have to be grateful for. My life did not just happen to be what it is today, it is crafted or engineered to be what it is today. I can be grateful that my life is balanced on all spheres.

How much is enough for me?

I have pretty much everything I need in life. Once you build your life around Stoic principles, what you have become less important and what you do with what you have becomes more important. Rather have a full life with less than a life with many things but that is wasted. If I can sustain my status quo it will be enough for me. Enough means having enough to sustain your health and still have the opportunity to feed your senses with beauty and harmony from time to time. Enough is to live a life without suffering or lack in basic needs like food, water, safety and stimulation for your creativity and mind. Enough means: being mobile so that you are not dependent on others, having the technology to connect with others and not incurring debt to live. Enough is to maintain your own freedom of being, to be who you are without bending to the needs of others just to survive.

 

What other blogger say about gratitude:

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A sense of lack

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In my journey through the book “Your Zodiac soul ” I have entered the sign of Taurus which seems to be much about the things that has crystalised in one’s life. The enthusiasm of Aries needs to manifest in something tangible in the sign of Taurus. So the contemplation is turning to my relationship with money and things. The question for today’s blog is: “In which areas of my life do I experience a sense of lack?”

The purpose of today’s blog is to look at what I feel is lacking in my life. So the tone of this blog might be slightly more negative than what it usually is. As a Stoic philosopher I accept life as it is and focus more on being than having. I foucs on cultivating virtues rather than increasing what I have. This approach has led me to have a liberal minimalistic approach to life. It means I am not really a full minmalist but I also do not try to crowed my life with things and possessions.

What we have is outside of our control and it can be taken away in a blink of an eye. I do not attach value to material things. As a rune master I understand that when I detach from material things, material things will attach itself to me. We never really possess anything, we borrow things and have it for a while. Thinking about lack is not one of my favourite things to do… I am an optimist that prefer to focus on what I have rather than what I lack. I always had enough to satisfy my most pressing needs and that is sufficient.

The first thought that came to mind is a lack of personal space where I can fully be myself. To be yourself and find yourself each person needs a physical space that envelops their identity. Stragnegely enough my office at work is probably the closest I can get to having such a dedicated space where everything had got meaning and purpose. I did not decide over the chairs and the desk that is in there but for the rest everything is designed and placed using my limited knowledge of Feng Shui. I like to add meaning to everything and that way fill my life with meaning. But the space is also dedicated to work and not self development. I would love to have a room dedicated to spirtitual practice and well being, a space where I can meditate, do yoga or Tai Chi. I do have my litte sanctum area but it is not the space I would like. It must be a space where I can do TRE and Reiki treatments. So my lack that I experience is that peaceful place that is designed by me for me and for service of others, a place with a calm and serene energy that invites one to experience harmony and beauty on every level. This is an ideal I try to embody in my every space but I do not have my ideal and if I have to think of what I lack then it is that space dedicated to spiritual, mental and physical health and well being.

The second is a lack of friends that share my brought base of interests. I know many people but my own path of development was a very individual path of pursuing various interests. Some of them very far removed from what is of general interest to society. I do not regret having walked the path less frequently travelled because the rewards were tremendous. Most people tend to have a narrow field of interest and I would have liked to have friends with a broader range of interests. For some reason it does not seem as if I am moving in circles where such people can be find. I had to be content to slot friends in spheres of interests, talking to specific people on specific topics. I have Toastmasters, Tai Chi people, Yoga people, TRE people, Jeep people etc. In each category there are elements of friendship, sharing and comonality. But if I can express a lack it would be a lack in friends with broad interests, intellectual approaches and philsophically mature.

Thirdly would be a lack of encouragement in my work space. Even though I am mostly self motivated and believe that our locus of control should be internal I thrive on some level of acknowledgement, especially where something of value had really been achieved. I do not need a bonus payout or shares in a company a simple handshake of acknowledgement can take me far. I work in an environment where many forces work against progress due to different priorities and scarcity in funding. Despite circumstances I had my victories and I am not dependent on encouragement but if I have to say what do I lack in life then it is people who tell you that they believe in you and what you are doing. I think I lack people sharing my vision for what can be accomplished.

So in a quick analysis shows a lack in:

  • Personal space
  • Broad minded friendships
  • Encouragement in my work environment.

I do not really need things in my life, I have what I need. I need circumstances that supports my being and provides a space for growth and development.

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Money matters

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In my Zodiac journey I am traveling away from Aries with its boost of enthusiasm and enters the field of Taurus. I am a moon Taurus in my natal chart and have a specific interest in Taurus as a sign. So The next set of contem plations seem to revolve around money matters.

What are my anxieties and fears around money?

I am lucky to have a fairly good earning relative to the other people in my environment and always managed to live fairly comfortably. I had my measure of financial troubles and dilemmas to deal with in my life time. I know what it fea

l like to take back a car I have bought because I knew I can no longer afford the payments.  I do not see myself however as being good when it comes to financial management. I tend to get into debt by the strangest means and events.  With the car for example, it was in a time when the interests rates escalated sharply and was probably the worst escalation in my history. As another example is the losses I made in my business when a business partner and a client did not come to the party as agreed.  Before I knew it I was in unplanned debt.

I seldom make debt deliberately by buying things on debt. I have no clothing accounts or something similar and I honour the payment of services I utilise. I actually have an active aversion to make debt and would rather leave something than buy it by increasing my debt. I will encounter debt only when there is some crises like my car breaking down and I do not have the cash to repair it but need it to ge mobile again. My general philosophy is that debt is expensive and I am not rich enough to afford it. Actually I do not think anybody is rich enough to afford debt.

The pain of paying back debt is far bigger than the pleasure gained when you loan money to spend. I have not managed to build up a proper set of assets for my old age. Again it seems that there is always something that prevented me from building up the required assets.  I had the knowledge of what is needed but for some reason I seemed incapable of implementing an effective strategy. When my acumen for money management is evaluated in terms of provisioning for old age or building up assets I will not score very high. If I am evaluated in terms of living comfortably for the larger part of my life and spending my wealth well then that will rate high.

As long as I can keep up my earning, all is good. I think I have an underlying fear for the day I will be forced to retire by being incapable physically or mentally. I fear not being able to earn money in some way. I do not think I have the means to really look after myself for long.

Since there is very little I can do about it I have followed a rather stoic approach of simple acceptance that the day will come and that I will probably have to deal with it at that time in a continued virtuous manner. As a result I have reduced my view on longevity because I think once one can no longer earn an income the risk of death will increas sharply. I will be able to say I lived my life fully for I have lived life within my means optimally.  I work at developing my skills and maintain my health so that I have the ability to earn some income for as long as possible. I do not harbour the desire for the typical retirement scenario where you stop working. I want to be of service for as long as possible. I might want to change the way I earn money in the future and might need less but I do not have the dream of doing nothing. Retirement sounds to me like a last resort scenario where one is given over to boredom.

If I look honesty at myself, despite my stoic philosophy, my anxiety regarding money is to limit debt, prevent it from escalating and on the other side about not having security for my old age. Maintaining my ability to sustain an income is one of the underlying forces that influence my day to day behaviour.

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Intention of a soul journey

What is your intention for the journey ahead?
Intention is a purposeful resolve to accomplish something. Intention binds will with passion. Intention = will x passion. If wil is not there or passion is leaving then there is no or little left of intention.
At the moment my life lacks intention in terms of specifics. But ever as a Rosicrucian student and Stoic philosopher my intent is self-mastery directed towards the service of humanity. My intent with the zodiac journey is growth and wholeness, communion with my own soul. I hope to take the contents of the zodiac journey and take it beyond mere mental contemplation into the sphere of having intimate communion with my soul. The zodiac tries to explain a complete view of full soul expression. By studying the zodiac of provides a means for alchemy to progress towards a marriage between sun and moon and a deeper understanding of being a spiritual being.
The student that endeavors to commune frequently with the soul will deepen his or her spiritual acumen, any topic may suffice but some topics are more effective than others. The zodiac offers lots for mental contemplation but also a firm basis for soul communion. So the intent is to be in dialog with the soul and learn to listen to the Master within… And living a beautiful life fully.
What could you actively do now to commit to that intention ?
Commitment is the firm resolve not to give up until something is achieved. A pact is created with self to persist. Commitment is will combined with persistence and determination. I can actively commit time every day for a set period of time to commune with my soul. Maybe a time to focus on each sign’s mantra and allowing it to develop its own pattern to come into existence. In a sense that step has already been taken. I can commit myself to finish the journey, to do all the exercises and to contemplate my progress on this journey.
What are you willing to risk in service of this quest?
Is there a price to big to pay to listen to the Master within? It is not worth a life, for life is needed for the pursuit. I am willing to risk time and commit time to this pursuit. I am willing to accept the risk that I might spend the time and find no real return. I accept that this is a solitary road and that I will not have anybody to share the experience with. I accept the risk that it can divorce me from other people. I am willing to sacrifice my own self perspective and to soften my view of who I think I am and allow myself to see me as I am with more honesty. I will take the risk of acting and behaving differently than what is my norm even if it might shock or confuse others.