Amorous, Amorphous Being
by BlackLion

This journey we find ourselves on is not always easy and clear. We each find ourselves, on occasion, questioning why we are here in the first place. The answer is simple to say, but remembering it and following through with it is the hardest part of living on the physical plane. Love is the answer. Change is the answer.

Both are right in their own way and both are necessary to be a complete being. Loving is the hardest and the easiest thing to do. We have each decided what we Love. Each of us has perhaps chosen Love partners, chosen friends, chosen to create children, chosen a career or vocation, chosen how to spend our free time, and we Love each of these things for our own reasons. The real intention of Loving is finding the things that make us feel happy, and wanting to keep doing those things or spending time with those people.

Love is more than that, though. Love is a way of life, a way to see the world and all it has to offer. The meaning of life is Love and to Love everything. Sure, it sounds all happy and joyous, but really Love can be very difficult to hold onto, because fear and worry and negativity are easier. We can each be afraid of someone for many reasons. Perhaps they are different from us, they have something we desire, they won’t give us what we desire, they try to take things that we believe are ours, and many other ways. Faced with those actions, you can see how hard it is to Love beings that do those things. But really, they are just like you with some minor differences. They have thoughts and feelings and desires and wants and fears and worries and doubts and Love and happiness and sadness and all sorts of emotions. At least recognizing that will aid in Loving everyone.

One step beyond that, if you think about it, is that all things, animate and inanimate, have a sense about them. Many call it anthropomorphism but really it is a sensitivity to the subtleness of existence. Each thing that exists is doing so for a reason of their individual choosing. Each object, whether we consider it sentient or not, has a way about it that expresses itself in this physical plane. Loving each thing is the next step to spiritual growth as a Loving being. Each thing exists to Love and be Loved.

The other part of the answer to life is change. Everything changes, either slowly or quickly, positively or negatively, depending on our perception of it. Everything everywhere is changing into some other thing. Energy is changing from one form into another form. Living cells replicate and grow and die and reform again, slowly aging with each replication. Solar energy turns to heat when absorbed by the skin or the pavement. Change is the key to existence. Being accepting of change is the hard part. I do not want the beings I Love to change and turn to dust or for their cells to stop working, but they will. It is the nature of change. Their cells will be transformed into something else when they die. I will die too one day. That is change and it is the way of things.

The hardest part of our temporary existence on this plane and on our path is to accept change and to become one with change. Our physical manifestations are the choice of our being here and, if we choose, we will reincarnate here in another form, as we desire and as we learn. Learning from change is the greatest skill to have. Learn from mistakes and triumphs, seeing how everything has its day to shine and fade. All the cycles of life manifest everywhere. Life and death are in a continuous balance. The energy of the world is always here and always changing and always returning. It is the nature of the multiverse to change.

The final hardest part of all this is to Love the change and to change how you Love. As we grow and change ourselves, we must continuously change our Love and expressions of Love. Since everything changes relative to who you are and to other beings or things, the Love of each of those must also change. Acceptance of this will allow the Love you have for yourself and all things to manifest itself naturally. You cannot Love something as it was; you cannot Love someone for who they were. You can only Love someone or something for who they are now: the ever-changing being.

Here I will introduce the concept of ING. Each beING or thING has this inherent property of ING. It is a manifestation of the energy of existence and non-existence, the infinite energy and thoughts and ideas of the multiverse. Since all things are processing, they can never be static. Everything is INGing. Loving, living, dying, laughing, crying, walking, talking, singing, drumming, growing, shrinking, spinning, shining, shimmering, killing, eating, sleeping, yawning, sitting, standing, exchanging, sharing, hoarding, collecting, jumping, flying, floating, swimming, breathing, stinging, playing, giggling, hurting, suffering, decaying, being, thinking, dreaming and a list of other INGing that is impossible for me to detail here. I can only give you a small portion of what the multiverse is possibly doING.

The theme of this article is about being an amorous, amorphous being. You must, ultimately, realize that to live is to Love. Really being IS Loving. Also, being IS changing. You are never the same being from moment to moment because you change with each input you receive: every word you read, every sound you hear, every thought you think and every move you make. Please realize that everything you are and everything you do is a continuous process. Change is Love, Love is change, and every possible combination of those.

So please, for your own sake and the sake of every other ING: Love yourself, Love every ING and Love the changes that each ING can bring to you and that you bring to ING. The multiverse is experiencing itself through you and how you interact with each other part of the multiverse experiencing itself. We are all in this together. We are all the Divine ING and we are experiencing ourselves through all of our manifestations. Loving each other is Loving ourselves. Accepting our changing nature is Loving the changes we create within each other and ourselves and every ING we interact with.

May your INGing bring more Love and more change and as many blessings as you wish to manifest! Blessings and bless INGs!

Daily practice has many rewards. I’ve been doing a morning practice, consisting of meditation, a blessing mantra, and a 3-card Tarot spread, for nearly 10 years. It takes me 15 or 20 minutes each day, and it’s now a given part of my morning routine. I find that it keeps me centered and grounded in what’s real. At other times of the day, I can draw on the energy of that practice, either by breathing and re-focusing on how I feel when I’m meditating, or by recalling the cards I drew that morning and using their advice to help move through the challenges of the day. The daily reading has also helped me learn and integrate the meanings of the Tarot cards. And in the big picture, keeping track of which cards I’m drawing most helps me see the rhythms and cycles of the life lessons I’m learning.

It took me a long time, even though I’ve been taking yoga classes off and on for years, to come to a regular home practice of yoga. And even when I’m most focused on it, calling it a daily practice isn’t accurate – it’s more like 5 days a week. It’s very worthwhile, though, on all levels. The exercise helps my physical strength and flexibility. Yoga, I find, also helps keep my mind nimble and my emotions on a more even keel. And spiritually it helps me be more open to the Beauty and Wonder of life.

I find that I need a gentle approach to self-discipline. If I’m too strict with myself, I soon rebel, and there goes the regularity of the practice. Yet, especially while getting into the groove of a new practice (or getting back to one after a lull), I do need to be somewhat firm in reminding myself that, although that new novel does beckon enticingly, and I may have interesting e-mail to reply to, I probably ought to do my practice first.

Ideally, the practice should be one that you’re inspired to do, so that making it a part of your regular routine seems natural. It can also help to have a friend to practice with, or at least to compare notes with. Try it – perhaps by committing yourself to two weeks or a month of your chosen practice – and see how it feels!

A daily practice to me means something that I do that is a positive influence in my life. A way to either center myself or to invigorate myself or to recharge myself. Something I do just for me and for my benefit. Not exclusively alone, because I can do it with someone else, like when writing or playing or doing yoga or jogging or Tarot reading or whatever.

Basically it comes down to self-nurturing and taking care of myself mentally, physically and spiritually. My body is the resting place of my soul on this journey. It is part of my process to care for myself. I think the next stage of becoming more myself is doing the things that nurture and encourage me to take care of my health. Once that is done regularly, I can then be more open and creative and do what I am called to do. I can listen to my higher self easier and more clearly without as much ego getting in the way.

Daily practice feels right to me. I enjoy doing my daily Tarot reading and I have just started daily yoga and daily writing. I think the initial “pain” or “getting into the groove” can be harder to do for some people (like me), but once I got over that it was well worth the initial “buy-in.”

I encourage you all to find what calls to you that is nurturing and encourages your spiritual growing and awakening. Find daily practices that you want to do to take care of yourself. Please take care of your body, mind, and spirit, for your own sake.

It’s not always easy to keep track of one’s progress along the spiritual path. One good way I’ve found to gauge my studies over the years is to keep a journal. There are several types of journals that can be helpful.

I must admit to being somewhat of a journal-holic myself (I’m a Virgo. Say no more?). I keep a Tarot journal, with a brief record of the day’s events beside the record of the 3 cards I picked that morning. A cloth-bound blank book holds my thoughts & feelings, as well as significant events. I write in it once a week, on average, and tend to go through one each year. My dream journal records the most significant or memorable of my dreams. And of course, I have my Book of Shadows which holds information on my magickal pathwork.

The daily Tarot journal, which can be adapted for use with runes or other types of divination, is a good way to see how your year is going. At the end of the year, I do a tally of how many times I drew each card. It’s also interesting to observe how your day’s events match the cards you drew that morning.

My standard journal has served me well in reflecting how I’ve grown and what I’ve learned, especially in my metaphysical studies. I read somewhere that there are two rules of journal keeping: 1. Date every entry. 2. Make no other rules. My long-term memory is also not great, so it is valuable to be able to refer back to my own past-self’s reflections.

Most books on dream work suggest keeping a daily dream journal. Personally, I find that I only record dreams when they are particularly vivid or significant to me. Do what seems right for you. But remember, you are the only person who is truly suited to analyze your dreams. Discovering your own personal system of dream symbols is an interesting process, one with which a written record can help.

I find that my personal Book of Shadows is more like a recipe book than a journal. But even so, I go through it every so often to update it and take out things that I no longer need. It’s all too easy to fill the black ring binder with way too many papers. I find that what I’ve included can provide insight on what my interests and spiritual needs have been in the recent past (“do I really need 12 healing spells?!”).

Whatever types of journals you choose, be sure to take time every so often to go back and read what you’ve written. It can really be an eye-opener, and point out to you how far you’ve come along your chosen path.

Enjoy!
Starcat

Hello everyone,

Just starting out our web presence here and thought I would post a quick hello…

HELLO!!!!! :)

Anyway, Starcat and I would like to welcome you all to the site.

Please take a look around for our articles and fiction and workshops!

Many blessings,

BlackLion and Starcat