In recent years, I've embraced a profound concept that unveils the deceptive illusions underlying societal divides, revealing them as mere constructs that confine us. Robin Wall Kimmerer captures this elegantly in Braiding Sweetgrass , particularly in her chapter on asters and goldenrod. She describes her fascination with these two flowers—vibrant purple and yellow—thriving side by side in the same field. Drawing on Goethe's insight that "colors diametrically opposed to each other... are those which reciprocally evoke each other in the eye," Kimmerer portrays them as a "reciprocal pair." At its core, "reciprocal" implies mutual existence: interchangeable, equivalent, and echoing one another. Etymologically, it once evoked a rhythmic back-and-forth motion, like a pendulum swinging between poles. Kimmerer illustrates this through a simple experiment: stare at a yellow object, then shift to a blank white surface, and its afterimage appears purple—a...

I was told a couple of nights ago that I would be asked to testify for the Lord the next day but the next day came and I didn't leave the house. I was completely anti-social that day. But, that night, I had a dream... I won't go into the length and breadth of the dream but I did testify for the Lord in such a random and quirky way that intriguingly tied yams to Popeye to the Almighty. Yep. You read that right.  As I stepped into this backroom of a house, there lay dozens of boxes filled with potatoes and yams (aka sweet potatoes). I asked the women congregated throughout the room if they knew how yams remind us of the Lord. In the old cartoon and movie (with Robin Williams), Popeye declares, quite frequently, "I yam what I yam." Now, anyone with any sense of biblical studies will know that the Lord tells Moses at one point "I am that I am." Some Bible versions may replace that  with who  or what  and that would be because the Hebrew word אֲשֶׁר ('ăšer) m...

  When The Butterfly Effect came out in 2004 with Ashton Kutcher, it was at that time that the theory of the Butterfly Effect was introduced to most of us in the Western Hemisphere, or at least visualized our understanding of the concept. Simply put, it is the idea that the mere flapping of a butterfly's wings can create massive waves of change in future events, like weather patterns. Chaos Theory , or the basis for the Butterfly Effect, states that dramatic events can actually have a wide range of outcomes, depending on the variables introduced within the initial phases of the event. The irony of this theory is based on the idea that chaos is prevalent in events, yet, if we could input every little possibility or fly-by event, patterns would emerge and life, in general, could be absolutely predictive. In recent years, a new theory has emerged that pairs this concept with time travel, that of the Mandela Effect . This theory was first presented when large amounts of the populatio...

Ever attempt the law of attraction but just can't seem to get it right? We have these blocks, insecurities, and doubts that constantly like to rear their ugly little heads. After however many years we have each resided on this earth, we chose to believe in another's devaluation of who our precious souls are and whatever it is they said or did stick in our psyche for all this time. It's crazy how that works, isn't it? Instead of valuing our own beauty and quirks, we chose to allow someone else to give us value - whether or not those memories are actually true. Because of this, we become hampered or blocked in certain areas of our life. Whereas we can find with ease an excellent parking space every single time, we can't quite ever make enough money. Or, our work life is everything we ever hoped for, but our love life is not even in existence. I've read many a book on the subject and listened to hundreds of Youtube videos, as well as audiobooks, but I kept running...

   Airports, stairwells, escalators, elevators, doorways - the places that are meant for coming or going, not being. Liminal space is also a frame of mind in which we are in a period of transition. It is that time when our entire life has been turned upside down by some integral loss that ends up upsetting our perspective on how the world operates. The loss of a loved one, a job, or a marriage can all be causes of placing ourselves into liminal space. At times too, we create it all on our own by questioning our place within the context of our lives - am I meant for something greater/different? It is the period in which we all will reside within many times throughout our lives. That liminal space can last for extremely long periods when we question our own place within the world and seem to be transitioning into someone we are not familiar with. It is customary to be afraid to change, as it is unfamiliar. It is during this time when our sense of self comes into question when ...

  If you're anything like me (ie. human) you've probably gone through intense (or, um... rather boring, long, drawn out, ughness) moments of introspection in which you feel as if you're at some major crossroad in your life but can't quite figure out which way to go. You could take the path that's been traveled extensively, by millions before you. Heck, it's probably something you've already done before - again and again. It's familiar. It's easy. And, it's so ever disappointing, isn't it? We were made for something greater and inherently we know this in the depths of our souls. You know I'm right. These moments of what I like to call "ruminating" are awash with an overwhelming sense of that inherent greatness. Sometimes, they're overlaid with anxiety or a million thoughts and ideas coming into you all at once. Sometimes, they give a feeling of discontentment, or even of deprivation, due to not knowing where to start, which...

  "Don't ask kids what they want to be when they grow up but what problems they want to solve. This changes the conversation from who do I want to work for, to what do I need to learn to do that." -Jaime Casap I love this quote. There is much to be desired in our educational system, and this quote speaks volumes for me. I would bet anyone $1,000 that had I been asked this question as a child I could've explained the precise path that I have placed myself on today. But, like you probably, I was never asked this, only the question "what do I want to be when I grow up?" The only real answer to that question I ever had was "I just want to be me," though I knew that's not what was being asked. In my last post, I wrote about listing all of your skills - any and all that you could possibly think of. Today, we're going to formulate a mission statement. A few years ago, I came across the idea of personal branding - like a company brand, but this ...

  I got skills. And, I bet you have them too. Have you ever sat down and just figured out your skill set, perhaps for that potential job? I've done it at least a hundred times, or so it seems. A year ago, I came across an article about the skill set of an Artist, and it blew my mind. I hadn't thought about being an Artist in such a way. And, I bet, with whatever title you give yourself job-wise, you've never really thought about what you fully do either. Not to mention, what about the things you do in your personal time? Here's what I want you to do: Make a list of all the different tasks you do during the day and feel confident about. When I compiled my list, I was working as an Activity Coordinator alongside my WaterlilyandVine jewelry business. This is the list I compiled: Recognize the unique ways that different groups of people absorb information and ideas   Creative problem solving from idea generation to implementation     Conceptual and informational...

For those of us who have allowed our intuition to develop, even remotely, we probably have one sense developed more than others. Some are: clairaudient (clear hearing): the ability to hear words or sounds others cannot, telepathy, perhaps ringing in the ears clairsentient (clear feeling): clairempathy (clear emotion): sensing the emotional state of another being, sensing the vibe of a room clairtangency (clear touching): psychometry clairsomatica (clear bodily sensing): physical symptoms due to energy sensitivity clairvoyant (clear seeing): mental images and impressions of past, present, and future events claircognizant (clear knowing): just knowing something without being told by an external source clairscent (clear smelling): smelling something that shouldn't be in your physical surroundings clairgustance (clear tasting): tasting something that was not placed in the mouth Most of us will have access and abilities in most of these areas, if not all. My least develop...