When I received the report from DNA company 23 & Me that I am 2% Neanderthal, I was a little embarrassed. However, as I stood in El Castillo cave in Northern Spain I couldn’t be prouder. It was discovered that more than 40,000 years ago, Neanderthal drew symbols onto the cave wall, making this Northern Spain location the oldest cave art and use of symbolism in the world.
Ancient symbolism wasn’t just limited to Neanderthal. Shaman, medicine people, mystics, and sages throughout the time have always known that the soul communicates through the use of symbols, metaphors, archetypes, poetry, and mystical imagination. The soul seems to know human language is far too limiting to express the full spectrum of knowledge, insight, and revelation.
A symbol is not just an image; it’s like a door into our inner world through which we can access the energy and meaning that belongs to this sacred dimension of our self. However, a symbol will only reveal its magical nature if we approach it with the right attitude if we have the correct quality of consciousness. Symbolic consciousness is a way of working with symbols that allows their meaning and energy into our consciousness. It is like a key that is needed to unlock the real potential, the energy of a symbol.
The ancient art of feng shui is also the language of symbolism, archetypes, and mystical imagination. Although feng shui is a complex school of thought on how to direct the flow of energy so that it moves freely and organically, feng shui also uses symbolism to balance the yin and yang energy and the chi of any space.
A symbol is a mark, sign, color, word, or object that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by linking otherwise different concepts and experiences and are often used to convey other ideas or beliefs. A symbol becomes significant and represents something beyond its literal meaning when we animate that symbol with our personal beliefs.
Here are some common examples of everyday symbols:
The dove is a symbol of peace.
Elephants represent many things but the elephant with its trunk in an upright position is said to be symbolic for wisdom.
Incense is symbolically based on the scent. For example, rose would be for love and frankincense would be symbolic for money.
According to Irish legends, horseshoes are symbolic of luck especially if they are hung over one’s front door. Finding a horseshoe was considered a good luck symbol due to the value of the iron.
The Tortoise is one of Feng Shui’s four celestial guardians, which makes it an extremely powerful protective symbol. Perfect for the front of any home.
Bamboo is symbolic for many reasons. It represents growth and the number of stalks gives the plant different symbolic meaning.
The color red and the heart are both symbolic for passion, love, and romance.
Examples of Hand of Miriam (Hamsa) in contemporary IsraelThe Hamsa is important to Islamic and Jewish history in culture. It is a symbolic amulet for protection. Also known at the hand of Fatima, the Hamsa is a revered symbol of divine safekeeping, worn to dispel negative energy.
The Cross is a sign of infinite love.
Pigs represent wealth because you had to be wealthy in the Middle Ages to maintain many pigs.
The Lotus Flower is symbolic for an awakening.
Photo by Lerkrat Tangsri from Pexels
Symbolic consciousness has been central to our lives for thousands and thousands of years, dating back to Neanderthal. Consciously and subconsciously we are always striving to make sense of the world and our place in it. Through working with symbols we can have access to the energy and meaning that comes from our inner world while animating the flow of chi in our outer world.
As we round the last corner of this very challenging year, some of you might be thinking about making New Year’s Resolutions. Well, I’m not. We can thank the ancient Babylonians, 4000 years ago for this tradition and I think it’s time to stop the nonsense. How about we don’t give up anything, rather we decide to just be.
Here are 21 suggestions on how you can “be” in 2021.
Be Active. Move your chi every day. Just walk.
Be Adventurous. I can’t wait to trade my first-class luxury for third-class clarity and travel to the acupuncture point on the globe.
Be Compassionate. Find a way to serve something bigger than yourself. It will open your mind and your heart.
Be Creative. Perceive the world in new ways, find hidden patterns, and be innovative.
Be Comfortable with death. We have created societies that satisfy basic needs but eliminate recognizing death as a part of life. Learn your way around death and sadness.
Be Courageous. Everyone has dreams but very few people have the courage to pursue them.
Be Expansive. Don’t hold on too tight to anyone, anything, or any idea.
Be Flexible. If you’re selling water in the desert and it rains, stop selling water and sell umbrellas.
Be Grateful for everything that happens in your life, it’s all apart of the human experience.
Be Grounded. Be the one in the storm that stands strong. Nothing pulls you off your center.
Be Humble. My father used to say people will wish you well, but not too well. Have enough self-esteem to just be humble.
Be Joyful. I feel happiness is an outside job, circumstances can make you happy but joy is cultivated from within. So no matter what you can be joyful.
Be Limitless. Live as if anything is possible because it is.
Be Passionate with whatever you do. Your passion will always point to your purpose.
Be Present. Whatever you are doing, learn to focus completely on doing that one thing.
Be Still. Just stop. This will get your mind to a stage when you stop reacting mindlessly.
Be Truthful mostly with yourself, which will allow you to be truthful to everyone around you.
Be Vulnerable. This will allow you to be open to change.
Be You.
Be Love.
Be One.
Click here to download your free list of 21 ways to “be” in 2021!
We may not be able to gather together physically for New Years’, but we can all collectively gather in spirit. I hope that the light of inspiration finds you and the warmth of love embraces you. Always. Happy New Year!
It’s that time again when most of us haul a tree into our living rooms, decorate it, and then put gifts underneath it. But why do we do this, and when did this tradition start?
An evergreen fir tree has traditionally been used to celebrate winter festivals (pagan and Christian) for thousands of years. Pagans used branches of it to decorate their homes during the winter solstice, as it made them think of the spring to come. The Romans used Fir Trees to decorate their temples at the festival of Saturnalia. Christians use it as a sign of everlasting life with God.
Nobody is really sure when Fir trees were first used as Christmas trees. It probably began about 1000 years ago in Northern Europe. Many early Christmas trees seem to have been hung upside down from the ceiling using chains (hung from chandeliers/lighting hooks).
The first person to bring a Christmas tree into a house, in the way we know it today, may have been the 16th-century German preacher Martin Luther. A story is told that one night before Christmas, he was walking through the forest and looked up to see the stars shining through the tree branches. It was so beautiful, that he went home and told his children that it reminded him of Jesus, who left the stars of heaven to come to earth at Christmas.
I think there are a couple of things we can learn from Christmas trees: be the light in the darkness, sparkle as much as possible, and it’s ok to be a little tilted. I feel Charlie Brown summed up my feelings about Christmas trees perfectly, “It’s not what’s under your tree, but who’s around it.” Indeed.
When my great-great-grandfather came from Ireland, he like other Irish immigrants brought with them the custom of jack-o’-lanterns. Their origin comes from an Irish myth about Stingy Jack, who tricked the Devil for his own monetary gain. When Jack died, God didn’t allow him into heaven, and the Devil didn’t let him into hell, so Jack was sentenced to roam the earth for eternity.
In Ireland, people started to carve demonic faces out of turnips to frighten away Jack’s wandering soul. When Irish immigrants moved to the U.S., they began carving jack-o’-lanterns from pumpkins, as these were native to the region.
Halloween is based on the Celtic festival Samhain, a celebration in ancient Ireland that marked the end of summer and the beginning of the new year on November 1. It was believed that during Samhain the souls of those who had died that year traveled to the otherworld and that other souls would return to visit their homes. Traditions from Samhain remain, such as wearing disguises to hide yourself from the souls wandering around your home.
Just another reason why October is my favorite month of the year!
“At first I was afraid, I was petrified,” sings Gloria Gaynor in her huge hit “I Will Survive.” This is the song I was listening to when I received the phone call from my doctor. I don’t remember much of what he said, all I remember were those three devastating words, “You have cancer.” The opening line summed up my exact feeling. Petrified.
After I hung up the phone I made a choice. I knew the opposite of fear is courage and I realized to get through this adventure I would need to surround myself with family and friends who would not only support and encourage me but would help me stay in my joy.
The deep sorrow of any illness carves a hole into our being, but the hole leaves space for joy. Sorrow and joy are a package deal. When one in your kitchen the other is asleep on the couch.
I learned that joy is everyday magic. It grounds me. It lifts me. It expands my mind and spirit. And I learned that a daily affirmation helped me to stay in my joy. I would look in the mirror at the scars on my face that six surgeries and 64 stitches left and I would say out loud: “My scars are only skin deep. Cancer cannot break my heart, it cannot rob my spirit, and it cannot touch my soul. Today I choose to stay in my joy.”
Today I joyfully celebrate my four-year cancer-free anniversary. I was told I most likely wouldn’t be here on this day. And here I am! I know how impossible it can be to beat the odds, but healing is always tethered to the mystery of the impossible, which, in every instance, requires the animation of the spirit, the capacity to let go and allow the impossible to take flight — giving form and vision to endless possibilities.
I will forever be grateful for my reconstruction plastic surgeon Dr. David Hecht, in Scottsdale. He not only saved my life by doing a biopsy on my “freckle” when THREE doctors said it was nothing, he used his talent and artistic genius to put my face back together after I had five procedures to cut out the cancer. As my scars continue to fade my admiration, respect, and gratitude for Dr. Hecht never will.
Surviving cancer didn’t give me a fresh start on life; it gave me a chance to understand what it means to live. It isn’t a challenge to be dealt with, conquered, or overcome. I realized a complex view of myself was required to work through my fears and having cancer has provided me a level of maturity I have never before experienced. I am now weathered, solid, shaped by my sorrow and pain as well as by my success and joys. Cancer is a process that allowed me to open doorways and turn the lights on to the inner rooms of my soul. The gratitude I feel will be burned into my consciousness forever. I will never forget because I will never be the same.
And now the darkness is over. And in its place is the illumination of a bright new path that lights the way for the rest of my life and for the joy that surrounds me. Always.
As we round the last corner of this very challenging year, some of you might be thinking about making New Year’s Resolutions. Well, I’m not. We can thank the ancient Babylonians, 4000 years ago for this tradition and I think it’s time to stop the nonsense. How about we don’t give up anything, rather we decide to just be.
It’s that time again when most of us haul a tree into our living rooms, decorate it, and then put gifts underneath it. But why do we do this, and when did this tradition start?
I think there are a couple of things we can learn from Christmas trees: be the light in the darkness, sparkle as much as possible, and it’s ok to be a little tilted. I feel Charlie Brown summed up my feelings about Christmas trees perfectly, “It’s not what’s under your tree, but who’s around it.” Indeed.
When my great-great-grandfather came from Ireland, he like other Irish immigrants brought with them the custom of jack-o’-lanterns. Their origin comes from an Irish myth about Stingy Jack, who tricked the Devil for his own monetary gain. When Jack died, God didn’t allow him into heaven, and the Devil didn’t let him into hell, so Jack was sentenced to roam the earth for eternity.
“At first I was afraid, I was petrified,” sings Gloria Gaynor in her huge hit “I Will Survive.” This is the song I was listening to when I received the phone call from my doctor. I don’t remember much of what he said, all I remember were those three devastating words, “You have cancer.” The opening line summed up my exact feeling. Petrified.
I will forever be grateful for my reconstruction plastic surgeon Dr. David Hecht, in Scottsdale. He not only saved my life by doing a biopsy on my “freckle” when THREE doctors said it was nothing, he used his talent and artistic genius to put my face back together after I had five procedures to cut out the cancer. As my scars continue to fade my admiration, respect, and gratitude for Dr. Hecht never will.