Welcome!

Spirituality

 I was really quite nervous when I was asked to write for Eclectic Magick. A spiritual magazine? I don’t follow a particular practice, so what could I possibly have to offer? Ah, but I had to remember that spirituality, in it’s basic form, should it have one, is as free flowing as energy. It is not bound by rules and comformities. Spirituality is all encompassing and is as individualistic as the being who practices it. I often forget that. It is, rather, a hard concept to grasp. We are so used to having rules and limitations.  

Merriam-Webster goes so far as to define spirituality as ‘Something that is ecclesiastical law belonging to the church or a clerical as such’, Or ‘sensitivity or attachment to religious values’ and even ‘the quality or state of being spiritual’. We have been conditioned to see things as black or white, right or wrong, good or bad, but spirituality is none of those things and yet all of those things. 

I can’t explain or define spirituality any better than Merriam-Webster, or religious scholars and gurus. I can only try and convey what spirituality means to me.

For me spirituality is about listening to that inner calling, whatever that may be. Those whispers that align and speak to my physical, my mental and my emotional being. Listening to my spirit. It's a curiosity and wonder that looks to see how all my states of being work together. It’s a wondrous journey of exploration. What is the meaning of life and is there a meaning of life? 

I have never liked being bound or labelled by anything. Labels, I have found, are limiting. It adds a floor and a ceiling to the openness of life. I have, and continue to look at a host of various teachings. Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shamanism, Mystisism, the study of crystals, philosophy, Astrology, the list goes on. With each curiosity I found another piece that would speak to me, and another way to expand my view of the world and my place in it. I can’t say that I have stumbled across any definite answers. Each exestential drop of wisdom has provided me with more questions than anything. I don’t, however, find it frustrating. No. I am a contemplator, an observer. I have discovered that I truly am not looking for answers. I seek inspiration and endless wonder. That’s what brings me joy. Well, maybe it's the Joy that I seek? Perhaps there rests my answers? 

LOL!! See!? Spirituality, for me, is seeking and contemplating! It's a connection. Connection to other people, to the Earth, to the world around me, to the heavens. A way of seeing how everything is interconnected. Knowing that though I may feel like I am but a drop in this vast ocean, I serve a purpose that I am likely not to know in the here and now. 

So what can I offer when it comes to spirituality? The only answer is that of the individual.

In my book, One Minds Book of Incomplete Thoughts, I said that ‘spirituality doesn't define my life so much as it's shown me the greatness of my life and of all life.’ In many ways, perhaps that's what spirituality is and what I can offer.

What does it mean to you?

As published in Eclectic Magick Magazine

Intentions

It is a practice among many to use the word 'Intention' somewhat like a prayer or a hope. We 'Intend' many things in life and when it doesn't pan out we would say 'well I tried'. I could never figure out why I didn't care much for the word, or at least our use of it, until recently. I was approaching it like many do prayer. The kind of prayer most know and do. Praying For something, instead of Praying It. My Intentions were placed in a context of what I wanted to be (future), rather than Intending as it is already (present). In other words I saw it as hoping for what may happen or be down the road, keeping that desire just out of arms reach.
I also noticed that my intentions were often surface. My Intentions were for What I wanted for myself or others, but had little thought about the Why I Intended to manifest certain things. Basically, I often would be unclear and unconscious about it.
For example, a few years ago, I found myself singing again. I had spent over 20 years keeping my voice to myself. My own family had no idea that I could sing, or rather that I could do it well. When I was younger I had visions of myself on stage, but the opportunities never arose and like most young dreams, it faded into a distant fantasy.

Now there is the whole divine timing bit, but there also is intention. I didn't have an intention. It wasn't until I got the ole' universal kick in the pants to join in the opportunity that was in front of me, that I really began to look at intention beyond the ego. So, the question Why, came into view. 

Intentions are not about the What I want, but about the Why I want it. So Why do I want it?
I discovered that it is more about the emotions and frequency that singing awakens within me than just singing to hear my own voice or for attention. It feels like home, whether the song is joy filled, uplifting, love igniting, or sentimental. When I came from this place, I began to witness the effect my voice had, not only on myself, but on others. It was a light bulb moment on so many levels. I realized it wasn't really about me, or how others would receive me on an egoic level. No, this was more universal. This was another way, another tool, I had been given, to raise the collective vibration and connect others. When I came at it from that place, the Why became clear.

 My Intention to sing has always been in fruition, but not knowing the Why has always left me feeling like an incomplete picture. A story without substance, because stories, Life, is about sharing. When I became clear on Why, then the motion of connection became real. Intentions are all inclusive. It's part of the code in saying that your Intentions need to be pure and true. It is the ripple effect, the spiral of life. When I intend to do something, and my intention has a positive effect on myself, then that ripples outward to others. This reciprocates back to me and so the vibrations go. It is the only way an Intention has any lasting power. When I make the intention for me, the Why for others, It reciprocates back to me, keeping the momentum going.
Another way is;
I sing, because it opens, connects and lifts me up and my intention is to use that to lift others up. This spirals back to me to continue on a deeper level, opening even more. This radiates out and ultimately continues the spiral. A starting point that continues around reaching further. 

I have found, that Intention for me, comes down to the purity of What it ignites within myself and others. The Why being so much more that a personal want but a divine purpose to enhance the community and world around me. So, perhaps the answer has always been in the word. INtention. Place the purity of it INwards and the Why then sets forth outwards. The What is the thought, the dream. The Why becomes the wings. The purity of inner emotion lifts Intention to fruition.

"Life is a series of ripples set forth by the frequencies we throw, and it begins with the vibrations we radiate inward. We hold, within ourselves, a community of universal proportions. Every cell within us has come to us, by us. Each one our own solar system brought together to make the universe that is Us. The multiverse that is We."

 

Ruby Koevort

One Mind's Book of Incomplete Thoughts

WE THE PEOPLE

I am completely in awe at how compliant a species we are. I live in country that boast equality and quality for all, but the fact of the matter is that it's really for a select few. A country where our rights and liberties were hard fought for by our predecessors, is now a country struggling to maintain some freedom of choice.

WE THE PEOPLE, in this country, pay an exorbitant amount of taxes to our 'government'. We the people pay income tax, provincial tax, goods and services tax, property tax, accommodation tax, liquor tax, fuel tax, let us not forget the money grab of carbon tax, and tax on tax, just to name a few. We are told it is to have the rights to access, but not limited to, medical care, education, justice, liberties and so much more, but what they really mean is privilege. They tell us which one of us is worthy, a priority, and deserving. They've manipulated our health care, our education, our media, our justice system, our businesses, and now, right down to our personal freedoms.

NO MORE.
It is time to remember and remind them that;

WE THE PEOPLE have the right, regardless of race, social or political stance, age, education, gender, religion, beliefs, height, stature, food habits, good habits, bad habits, basically the fact that we live and breathe anywhere on this planet, yes, we have the right to choose.
WE THE PEOPLE have the right to choose who comes into our own homes, whether we live in a single dwelling house, a mansion, apartment, trailer, condo, igloo or mud hut. Even if you live in Long term health facility, old age home, basement suite, camper, or any other place you're paying to live, WE THE PEOPLE have that right.
WE THE PEOPLE have the right to see our loved ones regardless of where they are. Our loved ones have the RIGHT to choose who they let in.
WE THE PEOPLE have the right to choose whether we hug or don't.
WE THE PEOPLE have the right to choose whether we shake hands or not.
WE THE PEOPLE have the right to decide whether or not we leave our dwellings.
WE THE PEOPLE have the right to decide what is right for our own individual selves.
WE THE PEOPLE have the right to decide what we want for our own personal bodies. Physically, mentally, spiritually or emotionally.

And in wake of a virus that has less impact on our actual well being than the social implications that we have been manipulated into,
WE THE PEOPLE have the right to stand up and know that 99.8% of us are NOT ill with the virus. That the less than 0.2% of us that have gotten it, 99.8% of those will recover.
WE THE PEOPLE have the right to not view or be viewed as a plague that needs to be quarantined and eradicated, because 99.8% do not have it.
WE THE PEOPLE have the right to respect each other and to BE respected.

For me that means, I respect the choice of another to wear a mask, stay in their homes, close their businesses, limit their contact with the outside world, should that be what they need to do to feel safe. I respect those that do not feel they need to do any of those to feel safe and all those in between.
Treat people how you would like to be treated.
Sure, if you don't mind a select few telling you as a business owner, employee, man, woman or child whether or not you or what you do is considered relevant, necessary or a priority, fine. I, however have an issue with someone else deciding if I am.

My opinion? Well yes, there are those that will argue that this line of thinking is adolescent in nature, but that's coming from a group that fear change. A group that still would rather believe that their government has their best interests in mind, rather than see that government has only ever had their own interests at play. In every time in history, those that presented a different view in any form that was not in congruence to the will of whatever party deemed themselves righteous enough and in charge, were considered heretics. That is my own opinion, yes the lowest form of knowledge, I know.
But this isn't an opinion. 99.8% of people do not have it!

I refuse to view my fellow humans with the manufactured glasses of fear. I do what feels right, not what others insist is right. I view life with as much heart as I do with logic. It wasn't that long ago that the earth was the centre of our solar system, women were not considered people and slavery was legal. With that, I leave you this:

 ‘Humanity has the ability to adapt, change and evolve. Much of humanity is in that place of change as we speak. There will always be those, however, that will cling, much as ego does to the mind, to the old, misplaced ideals of divide and conquer. Governments, corporations and individuals claiming ‘advocacy’, are fiercely struggling to hang on to these misconceptions that are both, outdated and unattainable. Child like in it’s inception, child like in it’s confusion. The time of the over stimulated blind masculine ‘all for one’ is coming to an end. The time of community in compassionate balance is on the horizon. Ideals will become more unbearable. It will not last. For to finally reach a level of comforting peace we must ride the storm of the hurricane. As in all things, change requires nurturing, compassion and unity of the SELF first, then our neighbours.’ Ruby Koevort

For I Awoke

 I awoke this morning to Me.

First a cloaked Me.
Meticulously crafted.
Stitched together by the expressions of time and perception
and branded with holes, long burned through, of curiosity and wonder.
Each worn patch, smoothed with a thousand smiles clad in silver.

This cloak, devised by experience, once heavy with expectations,
is but a house to shelter the treasures that await within.

This Me, knows how to alchemize joy from tragedy.
This Me, knows the silver lining.
Shadows are friends that need a hand,
and perceptions are but a wave willing to bend and change.

This Me, carries a facade.
Strong, grounded.
Hems of patience grow.
Deeply embroidered are the flowers of morality and responsibility.
Interwoven throughout, are the swords placed down from battles long past.
Though they may be dulled by the softening of time,
 always they are posed at the ready.

For this is a warrior's cloak.
Not tattered and abused.
No.
Nurtured and cared for by the host it wraps.
The Protector of it's faithful wearer, it forges on.

Each button, a trophy.
Sewn by respect, for each was presented within a box of darkness.
Each was polished to a shine, and yet....
a simple clad of fabric hides their significance.

This Me, this Cloak fuses with its host.
The glow of joy peeks out every tethered stitch,
like a beacon to pry inside.
It's the vulnerability that it hides.
Conditioning this Cloak like well worn leather.
Sturdy and pliable.

The boxes that lay inside?
Their gifts placed out in perfectly familiar wrappings.
They continue to work through like moths to a flame.
They dim, but for a moment when opened.
Each presenting a sword of fire, then ice.
Each melted into love then laid down to the field of embroidery.

This Cloak presented as Me is fading.
Hem lines falter to stay together, while the thread stretches thin.
The pattern, procured as needed,
has been forged by distant memories of lessons relearned.
Tangible and logical.

The Me in waiting holds secrets.
Within the joyous flurry awaits a box not so wonderfully wrapped.
Dark and worn the lock hangs open.
Obvious it has been gently pried open before.

This box, unlike the others, contains no perceivable memory or path.
Reeking of vulnerability and fear,
this Cloak of a Me wants to keep it buried.
This Cloak begs to remain the ultimate shield,
but the Me it hides, has no desire for it.

There it waits.
Placed outside and left ajar, this box, unassuming in nature, awaits to be examined.
If there was memory of this gift, it was lost long ago.
Another journey, placed directionless, promises possibility.

This Cloak knows courage,
for it can intuitively guide through lessons of remembering and foreseeing.
This medal, however, requires surrendering to the unknown.
What should this look like?
Where is the first step?
How will this feel?

And there it lays.

This Cloaked Me knows the medals of tragedy.
Knows the rewards of battles fought with determination, love, joy.
Responsibility and compassion, anger and frustration.
Resilience and poise, logic and heart.
Most of these won with a reliance of self that has chosen to battle demons in silence.
To heartbreak and mend in the shadows.
Stand and lick wounds quietly.
Self reliance is a well worn path.
The light shines when the battle is done.

This Me, it would seem, is unsure how to receive.
This Me knows to need and self fulfill,
but to want and receive is of another language.
How does one lean on a tree that is faltering?
How does one receive help from those whose hands are full?
When you don't need saving,
how do you want it from a world that is blinded for it.

What is this partnership of roads that run in all directions?

So, I awoke this morning to a Me.
Half cloaked and vulnerable to rawness.
Naked to the knowing that receivership is tied to giving.

Malnourished, I awoke this morning to Me.
Me, who watered and tended the grounds for the fruit, yet is unsure of how to harvest.
The Me who has led others in to pick from the garden.
Children careless of their footing, drunk with the loving support they ingest.
Children lost in their own beautiful world, have no awareness of the caretaker.
The Me.
The Me who will remain to rebuild what they have discarded.

I awoke to the Me,
standing at the edge of the garden,
an old worn box for a basket and a familiar Cloak over its shoulder.

A Me unable to find the gate.

Joyous Me

Joyous Me

Uncovering your inner compass is truly a gift. We all have an inner compass. For some, it's Love, for others it's Compassion, or Unity, even Peace. Mine is Joy. I can find the Joy in pretty much anything. From celebration to heartbreak, anger, and especially the unknown. I Love Life and all it has to offer. Though I don't run through life with rose colored glasses, I am often seen as such. I am in a world where I have been battered into believing that seriousness equates intelligence, wisdom, empathy and compassion. If I am not succumbing to the ravages of fear, sorrow, judgement, anger and conformity, then there must be something missing or even wrong with me.  I have been told I am too rebellious, unfeeling, even cold hearted. I lack compassion, reason and sensibility.  I have been told I am in denial and unaware of the importance or significance of things. Seen as naive and blind, I am seen as merely comic relief for the uncertainty of everyday life, because I am obviously in an optimistic shadow of bliss. In all fairness, I let people believe what they want.  Though I outwardly will shrug it off, it has played on my subconscious to the point, that I too, have thought there is something wrong with me.

As a child I was raised to respect my elders, my peers, those who were essentially more educated. Do as you are told, do what is expected by the fore mentioned educated elders and peers, conform and know that they will always know more, and anonymity will lend a peaceful life. Even within the spiritual community there is always the push for following and conformity. You are told to follow your heart, but what people want is for you to fall within the constructs of whichever healing art or teachings you have chosen.

So, I should ignore the self to adhere to some proposed idea of right for my self? How the heck is that a peaceful existence?

When your inner compass is Joy, and you have a propensity for logic and intellect, an incredibly loud soul, genuinely curious, and have an intuitive insight that challenges the norm, following doesn't lend well. Trying to succumb to those beliefs has been like stuffing myself into a pair of pleather pants, 2 sizes too small. It's a ton of work, a lot of powdering and in the end the seams will give out with an angry sound of release!LOL Let's just say I tried, but I ended up with more welts and chaffing than Joy!

To see life with Joy, for me, means having gratitude for the infinite possibilities that life has to offer. To see, that though life may not seem fair, there is always a balance. Even amidst chaos and tragedy there is a beauty that lies there, and always there will be a light that will shine and rise to the occasion.  It is both frustrating and liberating to be able to see beyond and around the single snowflake that alights upon my hand or the flurry of snow hiding my view of the outside. An observer and contemplative by nature, I see, hear, and feel what most do not take the time or effort to. Contrary to the logical way I will often come across as, I am incredibly empathic, but I have learned that empathy doesn't equate becoming an emotional sponge. I have chosen to radiate my inner compass instead. At the same time I am able to feel what I need to feel for connection. It's probably why I don't see empathy as a curse but rather a gift. It never ceases to amaze me when I am able to meet someone beyond the cloaks that they wear.

So why is any of this important? Again people see what they want to see, and their opinion of me is none of my business. More often than not, I willingly conform to the general consensus and play the role of jester and cold logic. I guess maybe, that there is a part of me that hasn't yet fully accepted my own broader views. I am still a physical being and there is a small part of me that yearns for validity and connection. I suppose the connection I seek is one philosophical in nature. By that I mean to have someone to have and understand those conversations of wonder. Longing to connect with someone that too, sees more than the view of one's own senses. For someone to meet me where I am at. Though the keyboard and screen offers some reprieve and release, I willingly admit that the expanse of my mind and intuitive processes can be a lonely place. If not for the knowing of my compass, my center, I'd likely have relinquished my self to darker chasms. So, Joy, it would seem, will keep me curious with wonder and compassion. Joy to continually rediscover and redefine my Self. Joy in knowing that somewhere someone may feel the same way, and loneliness is only a construct of my own limitations. Limitations that I, as a creator, can easily dispel. 

Whatever the path you happen to