World’s roads

“All the worlds’ roads lead to the heart of the warrior; he plunges unhesitatingly into the rivers of passion always flowing through his life.  The warrior knows he is free to choose his desires and he does so with courage, detachment - and –sometimes with just a touch of madness. He embraces his passions and enjoys them intensely. He knows there is no need to renounce the pleasures of conquest; they are part of life and bring joy to all those who participate in them. But he never loses sight of those things that last or of the strong bonds that are forged over time. A warrior can distinguish between the transient and the enduring”    The manual of the warrior of light by Paulo Coehlo

I have heard stories of people who said things on social media, musicians who wrote music that foretold their demise. As I lay down in pain I wondered do people know when they are near death. Is there a feeling, a premonition that warns you of approaching end of this life time? Last time I posted here about empathy I shared how I experience different pains in the body. Turns out according to the orthopedic I have rheumatism. I am of a different opinion but am not a doctor.  This is a general term used to describe an array of immunity disorders. When the body produces antibodies that are meant to fight diseases but end up attacking healthy cells and tissues. Diseases such as lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis result from this. Most of these diseases cause chronic pain and are incurable. The health practitioners give you meds to manage the symptoms.

The thing about physical pain is it grounds you. Hard as you try you cannot be anywhere else but here with your body. The pain is inescapable hence you experience it one hundred percent. Rheumatoid arthritis or fibro myalgia pain is worse because it affects many parts of the body at the same time.

Back to the topic do people know they are about to leave this world. Despite the fact that some religions promises a heaven which our eyes have never seen, things not heard of nor could we ever imagine. Even followers of such religions seem to look at death like the worst thing that could happen to them. I find this contradictory, if heaven is such a place of beauty unimaginable, place of rest and a promise of eternal rest with no pain nor strive I would think death then would be a welcome relief from this temporary life. If the whole point of being good and leading holy life is to end up in heaven I would think then it should be a place to yearn for and look forward to and death then should not be seen as an end but more like a beginning of eternity. Eternal peace and rest as popularly taught. However being well and healthy with no pain limits our human imagination. Being in pain or having a painful incurable disease changes that.

Chronic illness may reduce your life expectancy .If you are a mother you may be in pain but you fight because you want to see your children grow up. Having a chronic illness makes you have a whole way of experiencing life. If you did not know already, health becomes the number one priority, or rather the most important thing in life. Then watching what you eat, exercising becomes important not because someone said so, but you consciously start making choices that are important to your health. No body chooses ill health, diseases crop up unexpected some are inherited. However, prevention is better than cure and one cannot deny the prevalence of lifestyle diseases at this day and age.

Do you commune with your body? Do you listen to your body? Do you talk to your body?  Some may not understand this because they view themselves as the sum total of their body. Growing up I hated my body, it was shapeless and too thin … I complained to myself. Beauty to me was all about the curves.  That has since changed, one thing I understand is the body is the vehicle to life on this dimension. For me to experience life on this dimension then I need this precious vehicle called my body. It houses the spirit, or consciousness, that which I am in this dimension cannot be without the body. That is a key factor of this life hence I must take good care of it.No matter how alive we are inside if the body fails then life in this dimension, in this planet cannot be. I am more than this body but it is an important part of being human. I cannot deny the body and its biological mechanism. I must take great care of it, I must do my part.

The spirit

The body is the house, or temple if you may. It is part of why we are here now. What are we? Who are you? The spirit, some people call it the soul. The word spirit comes from Latin word spiritus ‘breath’’. Webster defines it as a force within a human being thought to give the body life, energy, power. Some simply alternate between soul and spirit. It is the unifying factor in all life, by life I mean every living thing. Some school of thought believe everything has a soul even rocks, no wonder some people believe crystals have some magical healing powers. Do you think a river has a soul? What of the mountain, craters, lakes, oceans, deserts, forests? Do any of these have a soul? What of insects? There is an old spiritual adage that says when you connect with your soul, you also connect with the soul of the universe. Hence when you want something deep down your heart, the whole universe conspires to help you get it.

When I was growing up, I admired my uncle he got a degree and all I wanted was to get a degree. I also wanted to work for a multinational company and back then I only knew two, unilever and cocacola.I in particular liked coca cola and always wanted to work there. Note these were things I wanted when I was in high school and primary school. I  did get a degree and my second job ,which I like to think as my first professional job was with cocacola.I have had other things I wanted come true, even unwanted things. When you want something so bad you think about it a lot. This is where the secret law of attraction is birthed. I wanted to go to university, not just any but Nairobi Uni. I did not just think about it, I worked my ass off, I thought of myself as one of those smart ass who make it there. I never thought of exactly what I will do when I get there, I just wanted to be there. I behaved like one of those smart kids, weird bookworm. What happens is that all these sets a vibration frequency. I attracted people thinking like me because that is the vibe am sending out.  I did not go to Nairobi University but I did get a sponsor and went to a private university. I did not fail but neither did I make the government cut line, and I worked as a merchandiser with coca cola. Even bad things happen in the same manner we think about it constantly and we set a vibration that attracts bad things.

Some relationship experts argue we attract people in our lives depending on the vibe we are sending out into the world..If you are needy and insecure it is almost natural that you attract a needy person. They argue if you want a good relationship first work on your own self love and deal with your own insecurities. There is truth in this kind of advice. Some take it farther and say if you grew up in violent environment  then you are likely to attract a violent partner. 
You store up energy from the violent environment and you end up sending out vibes from that stored energy. Others grow up thinking its normal for a man to beat his wife. So we end up attracting partners who abuse them.

Do you think of someone out of the blues and they call you or text or you meet with them accidentally. Do coincidences happen which just seem like lucky coincidences? Do you ever experience synchronicity of events? Mostly these things happen when we are tuned to the soul. We are in alignment, things are falling into place just like they should. Sometimes we are not even aware that things are falling into place. At times we are so taken by present moment emotions and situations we cannot even have a glimpse of the depth of things. Some of us live life at the periphery of life. Life becomes all about the life situations we find ourselves in. They cannot imagine or perceive a higher order of things. Something could happen at the present moment that completely takes over our thoughts and hence emotions. Since most of us have no idea how to go deeper beyond the life situation it takes over our lives, rules our lives, the story of our life literally becomes our daily living story. In my opinion this is how people commit suicide (which is open for discussion). What happens now could just set our life in motion for things to come. The present moment is the only moment in life we have any power over, it is all that actually matters. What we do here and now is actually all that counts.

That is why motivational speakers who speak of affirmation, talk of repeating some mantra to yourself in front of the mirror. Others speak of fake it till you make it. Others will tell you if you want to be a big business executive start behaving as if you are already that at this point in time. They are all correct methods, the reason is so as to attune yourself with that vibration. Everything has a vibration .When I read spiritual material, or listen to spiritual teachers though all of them seem to have different styles and some similarities I have noticed they are all addressing the same thing using different styles. Many paths towards the same point. 

I believe there is only one source of life for all living things. We all are born from this, when we die life,  consciousness or that which makes us be, leaves and goes back to this source. Call it heaven or what you wish to call. What happens when we go back to the source I cannot tell hence will leave it for your imagination. When we are tuned to ourselves deep within hence connected to our souls, we are also connected to the source and hence the soul of the universe. The practice of getting connected or trying to connect to the source is what I define as spiritual practice. Being connected is what I define as spirituality. One who feels connected or practices rituals to get connected or stay connected is who I call a spiritual person.

Religion is a set of beliefs and practices with a purpose of getting connected to God. One who practices religion is said to be religious. I believe every living thing comes from one source. Life has only one creator, call it God, or Allah, I simply call it the source. How you choose to get connected to this source of life is just that a matter of choice. I also believe no one practice is superior to the others. What works for me may not work for you. For instance I find being close to nature and tuning to the vibration of nature to work for me than most other things. Also meditation, mindfulness, creativity, dancing, prayer,even connecting with other people works for me. For some people prayer and practicing some rituals works for them. Others want to practice religion. That which works for you may not work for me.

 Spiritual experiences are very personal and intimate. I have had experiences I cannot put into words. Sometimes we have experiences that when we share people think we are making things up or are nuts. Hence sometimes one may choose to keep these amazing experiences to themselves for fear of ridicule. I have done that, in fact these days I choose to keep these experiences to myself. What people do not understand they judge as imagined or crazy? Some will assume because I do not ascribe to any particular religion then I cannot have real spiritual experiences. Everyone should feel free to practice what works for them. How you connect to the divine and experience divinity is personal. The path you choose to follow should be one inspired by love and freedom. Why do you follow the path you are on? If there is fear, fear of burning in eternal hell, fear inspired by religion then maybe it’s time to rethink.

 The journey is as important as the destination, none is above the other. During the journey the warrior of light becomes all that he is, his true color’s surfaces. As a spiritual seeker I reached a point and it dawned on me that I arrive so many times during the journey. It occurred to me that the destination I had in mind was made of many more arrivals which were all important. For example I find myself in a situation where it dawns on me that I have a lot of pride and it is interfering with my being truly who I am. At that point in time when  the realization that my pride is an issue hits me, I have what some people call an ‘aha’ moment.An eye opener, I  arrive to another discovery of my true self.It is like the peeling of the onion to get to the core. I am aware of this shadow quality in myself. Some call it self realization. The universe may put me in a situation where then I have to humble myself and have a lot of humility. That is what I mean by the phrase we alive many times.

A true path allows you to be true to yourself without denying parts of yourself. There are paths that deny the body and treat it like an abomination. Others treat the needs of the body like an abomination. They suppress them .What we resist becomes stronger. A true path I believe allows us to be honest, and very real. Choose a  spiritual path that allows you to discover your light and your darkness too.All of us has the shadow self and light. The road that leads to life is narrow.