Have you heard of the saying "Be careful what you wish for, it might come true" ?

I am sure you have heard that saying sometime in your life.  I know I sure have, and it is funny that is something my best friend and I were talking about today on the phone.  See, in my believe structure, words have power, and when you say them you put their meaning into action in not only the physical plane of existence but in the spiritual plane as well.  I am a Christian based Wiccan, I teach how both of the religions correlate to one another and how to use the teachings of both to lead not only a fulfilling but also a rewarding life as well.  In the Wiccan religion it is believed that anything you say or do that is of negative consequence will come back on you seven fold.  Now, to understand the law of retribution you might want to think of it in the terms of Karma.  What comes around goes around, as they say.  The law of retribution states that whatever you do to another comes back to you seven times greater than what you did to them.  So you basically have to pay the price seven fold.  This is huge, and people wonder why they have long streaks of bad luck, injury or illness.  It is because of the negative things that we put out into the world.

Eastern philosophy calls this Karma, that the wrongs you do to another, or on the earth or to another creature of the earth come back to you when you least expect it too.  So for example if you were mean to someone in high school, you might not reap the damages you inflicted till years later.  Karma is something that they believe is built up over time and comes back to bite you when it is appropriate.  Well, the law of retribution is very similar, except we believe that whatever you have put out whether good or bad will come back to you, but in different increments.  Negative thoughts and energy comes back seven fold, where positive energy and thoughts come back ten fold.  It can be immediate or gradual in response to whatever you have put out there.

Swami Sivanada sums it up nicely for me "Every wrong action or crime brings its own punishment, in accordance with the law of retribution. The law of causation, the law of action and reaction, the law of compensation and the law of retribution-all these operate together. He who robs another man robs himself. He who hurts another man hurts himself first. He who cheats another cheats himself first. Every wrong action causes punishment first in the inner nature or soul and externally in circumstances in the form of pain, misery, loss, failure, misfortune, disease, etc."  Think of it this way, for every thought or word that you think or utter in anger towards another person is like you are cursing them. You need to take it out of the law of cause and effect, which you can simply do by stating you take it out of the law directly after you speak the words, or think the thoughts.  The best thing to try and do is change the way you think and handle conflict because you never want your own wrath coming back upon yourself. 

Honestly life is too short for you to go around having bad Karma, bad JooJoo or whatever you want to call it.  Because trust me everything comes back on you, and you don't want all of that negativity coming back at you.  Each of us must face the consequences of our actions, decisions, words, and of course what we do to other people.  What I am hoping you will learn is that you can avoid a lot of pain and anguish on yourself if you treat everyone with kindness and love. You might even be pleasantly surprised, that what you get back is going to be much of the same.  See whatever we give out to others, is exactly what we are going to receive back to ourselves.  Keep that in mind the next time you want to loose your temper and swear at someone or tell them that you wish they were dead.  See those exact words have power, and whatever you think and put energy into will become manifest.  In effect you are cursing not only that person but yourself at the same time.  Though you might feel better in the short term, trust and believe that it is going to come back and bite you in the ass sooner or later.  

I have told you many times in the past that if you put forth positive energy you are going to get more positive back, the same goes with love, kindness, generosity and caring.  These are all things that come from the heart and are forms of positive energy. Remember that like attracts like in the spiritual world and what manifest in the spiritual world also manifest in the physical world as well.  In the blog entries I wrote back in April about meditation and creative visualization, I explained a lot of this. I also talked to you about how to ground and center yourself. If you want to protect yourself from other peoples negativity, use visualization.  Visualize yourself being surrounded from head to toe with white light, this will re-enforce the shielding of your body and repel any negativity that is around you.  As the day wears on you might feel that you are being weighed down with negativity and negative energy, when this happens ground yourself.  Which is simply envisioning the suns energy coming down through the top of your head and flowing through your body down to your feet and out into the ground. This will take that negative energy and shunt it to the earth which is our natural ground.

I have even in the past given you examples of how I start my day with a positive mental attitude and how it protects me throughout the day.  It simply a matter of giving thanks for the many blessings that have been bestowed upon me during my life. I do this every morning when I get up and meditate. This sets my mental activity for the day. When you are thinking only about the positive things that have happened to you how can anything negative get in to bug you?  Good question huh?  Another thing that I like to do when some issue or problem is weighing on my heart and mind. I like to write about it. I find it cathartic to write, it takes whatever it is and gets it out of my system.  If it is some kind of issue that I need help and resolution on. I take it with me in prayer at night and I lay those problems at the feet of the Lord.  How I accomplish that is I usually write what has been bothering me or whatever the issue or situation is that I need answered and I take that slip of paper once it is written on, pray about it an then fold that paper and put it in a shoe box and leave it there. That is symbolic to me of leaving it at the feet of Jesus, because once it is on that paper and in that box, I forget about it. I know in my heart that the answer is going to come and I am going to have that prayer answered.

When I left Atlanta in February, I created a box, which I called my prayer box when I got to my father's house. I kept it in the closet.  Every time I had an issue or prayer request or had something that I was worrying about I would write it down and I would put it in that box.  I would leave it there and try never to think about it again. When I moved out of my dad's place, my stepmother and I found the box in my things and we sat down and read through each and every slip of paper I had put in the box.  Guess what, over the 8 months that I had lived with them every single one of those prayers was answered.  Something else that I do and it is just my personal preference, I also put my goals and dreams and desires into that box as well. I pray about them of course and sure enough they too were answered and I was greatly impressed at how God had blessed me and favored me with all those answered prayers in such a short time.

Try it out I think you will find that it will work for you the same way.  Now that I am in my new home I am going to prepare a new box and do the same thing.  But I can tell you that already my prayers are being answered one by one.  My best friend in North Carolina made it home safely and started classes, that was a big prayer and worry that was on my mind and like I said I spoke with him tonight and things are starting to turn around for him.  I also spoke with my friend in Ft. Lauderdale this evening and he told me that he has some furniture for me. I need to find a way to get down there and pick it up, but he has a king size bed and a dresser and a sofa for me.  That is right my prayer from over the weekend has already been answered and I have the beginnings of new furniture and a new home all to myself.  Thanks and Glory be to God for that He is really working in my life and making things happen.

The last thing I want to talk to you about is a state of consciousness or enlightenment called Ka'thulu.  This is a thing that I read about a very long time ago it was in a book called White Magic by Marina Medici.  This state of enlightenment is a level that when reached ever single thing that we say comes to pass.  Jesus was in that state, everything He uttered happened, and each of us has the potential to reach that state as well.  I can tell you I have seen it in my own life and in the lives of some of my friends.  Be careful of the words you speak they have power, they have life and can cause great harm or great good depending on how they are used and uttered.

Keep walking the philosophers path with me and you will come to see what I am talking about.  Also keep in mind that whatever the mind can conceive and believe you will achieve.  It is very important to understand that what you visualize will manifest not only on the spiritual plane, but once that seed is planted there it will manifest in the physical world as well.  Visualization and words of power are very powerful and tricky tools that are given to us to use to benefit the world and mankind.  Be careful not to abuse them, and beware of the dangers of unguarded use. Remember whatever we put out there will come back to us.

As always my hopes and dreams are with you,

Uncle B

Choices Are Us!

Sounds like a chain store doesn't it? Well last night I was writing about settling for less than what we want.  I told you to go for it, damn the consequences and make yourself happy, not to second guess yourself or beat yourself up for buying whatever it is that you wanted or needed.  But as I sat here today thinking about things, it dawned on me that life is nothing more than a multitude of choices that we have to make.  These choices, bring about decisions, and the path that we embark on here in life.

Choices make our day go by and help us feel that we have accomplished something. The problem with choices is that there are always consequences for them. You might remember me saying that "Anything worth doing isn't easy!" Which, believe it or not is the truth.  Believe me every morning you wake up and you have a million choices that you have to make.  There is never a situation that comes up where there isn't a choice that can be made.  You must look at all the options that you have, because sometimes the first choice is not necessarily the best choice for you or your life.  You must look at every situation and evaluate it carefully, think outside of the box and view every possible option and look at it from each and every perspective you can think of.  You know how precious life is and how short it is. You must think, look outside of the box and keep your options open.

What you need to understand is that sometimes we cannot see the consequences that the action takes quite a while to reach fruition, but believe me when I tell you that for every action there is a reaction, so too there must be a consequence for every choice.  Now, with that basic understanding you much also realize that not all consequences are bad, there can also be rewards for your choices. All a reward is the positive consequences of choice that we have made.  I don't want to be long winded about this subject but it is very important that you realize that for each and everything we do we are either going to receive a consequence or a reward depending on whatever decision or choice we have made.

In my blog entry entitled "A change of scenery might be what you need..." I explained that if you are in a pattern of behavior or a rut, you may just need to change your scenery or venue.  Meaning in order to make a clean break from what you are trying to escape you might need to move to a new place, change your friends or do whatever you need to do to make your situation better. You made a choice that got you into the present situation and the choice you are making now to get out of whatever it is will have greater and far reaching affects than you can imagine.  Now, no one said that any decision you make is going to be easy, that there aren't going to be obstacles in your way, or people trying to keep you held back.  What I am trying to tell you is that the benefits of your choice will outweigh the costs that you are facing. You may not see them or recognize them right away, but believe me they will come.

No matter what you are facing, if you let your emotions, depression or guilt cloud your judgement, you won't be able to address the situation correctly, and you might miss some choices that aren't readily foreseen.  As I have told you, for every choice that we are presented with in our life, there are a million different choices.  There is no single solution that outweighs any other, just the consequences and the rewards that we will have to face.  Therefore, if there are considerations that need to be made you need to tackle them objectively, and truthfully look for all possible solutions and directions at which to come at the problem from. Abstract thinking and thinking outside of the box require you to use rational thought, you have to be free from distractions and emotions.

Divorcing ourselves from emotions is a very important step in the process of determining which course of action we should take.  Because only if we keep our mind free of distractions can we truly focus on the problem or choice that we have to make.  In my blog entry "There is no right or wrong way to deal with a problem"  I go into some detail explaining that you have to review your choices before you make a decision, and that the key to finding all the choices that you have open to you is by keeping your emotions detached from the selection process.  Now this is a hard thing to learn, you have to understand that you have use the analytical  part of your brain.  You must come at the problem from every possible angle you can think of.  If you don't the situation becomes muddle and confused with anxiety, depression and sometimes guilt.

It is okay to feel those things and we all do.  The secret is how you deal with those feelings, and how you push them back so that you can think clearly and rationally about the problem at hand and the choice that you have to make. In other words, every decision, has several choices, and each choice can lead to several more decisions that have to be made.  Our brain is such a miraculous thing that it can analyze and compute all the decisions, choices, and all the variables associated with them in a blink of an eye.  When we really put our brain power to focus on one of these choices or decision we take conscious control away from the brain and we analyze it in detail.  This is the process that I am talking about, the split second decisions, the ones that need a response immediately sometimes cannot be process through with rational or analytic thought at all because they happen so quickly.  But other things like paying a bill and what pair of shoes to wear, are all things we can analyze and make a conscious decision about.

The only thing that I would like you to take away from this blog entry is this: that every day we face problems, and decision points that we need to evaluate and find the appropriate solution for.  In order to see all the choices before you, you really want to see all of them because you don't want to make the situation worse by making a bad decision.  That for each choice and decision we have to make there are a myriad of solutions in which we can act upon to remedy the situation. Therefore, with detaching our emotions and keeping an open mind you might find a workable solution to the dilemma or problem.

We have free choice of our own actions, and we can extricate ourselves out of the situations we have put ourselves in or allowed ourselves to be in.  It is just a matter of looking at the situation from every possible angle and making a logical and rational decision on how to handle and deal with the situation.

As Always my hopes and dreams are with you.

Uncle B.

What is Creative Visualization and how can it help you?

I am about to embark on a series of posts that should be helpful and enlightening and if you have faith and an open mind will help you in achieving your goals, desires. Allowing you to receive blessings and start you on a greater spiritual path toward knowing and understanding God, Nature, the human body, meditation and prayer, as well as different planes or levels of existence. So lend me an ear, open your mind and enjoy the read.

This first entry is a very simplistic overview of Creative Visualization, each entry after this will build upon this first one and by the end you should have a firm understanding of Visualization, meditation, grounding, manifesting and all the parts in between. As always your feedback and comments are appreciated and solicited.  Feel free to ask any questions and remember I am here for you.  I can be reached directly through the blog page, or via email at bryanzepp@gmail.com or on Facebook www.facebook.com/bryan_zepp2.

Let us get started with the overview.  Salt-n-Pepa sang a song called the "I Am the Body Beautiful" which was featured in the movie "To Wong Fu - Thanks for everything Julie Newmar", this song is where we are going to start our series.  They sang "whatever the mind can conceive and believe you will achieve" and it is absolutely true.

You may be wondering how this can be manifested in your own daily life, which is where our entry here will attempt to explain and as we go forward teach you how to make it an automatic and a constant experience that will enrich and enhance your life. I need to explain that the human body has 3 distinct aspects that act and operate on different levels of consciousness.

                                 1. The Mind
                                 2. The Body
                                 3. The Soul

Together these components make up the Spiritual Body. Each part of the spiritual body then acts on different levels or planes of existence.  These planes of existence are:

                                1.  The Etheric or Astral Plane ( also known as the Divine or Holy Plane)
                                2.   The Physical Plane
                                3.   The Elemental Plane

Let me digress here for a minute to give you a little brief overview of these planes and attempt to explain how they work.  First I want to talk about the etheric plane or astral plane, it is also known as the place of dreams the ethereal realm, and in metaphysical terms the place where Heaven and the Angels reside.  It is also the plane of existence that our unconscious mind travels when we are deep in sleep or when in a meditative state.  The physical plane is what we know and count as reality.  This plane is governed by the physical laws of nature and science and of course life.  This is also the plane where creative visualization manifests its results. (More on that later in the series)  The elemental plane is the plane where the elements reside, it is also where the life energy resides that flows.  This energy actually transcends all planes and if found in every living thing on Earth.  It is commonly referred to as the "Godhead" or "Spark of Life", and it is where the energy of the Divine instills in us the gift of life and provides the power for our bodies.  It is also the enduring force that Albert Einstein describes in his theory of Relativity.  The theory states energy cannot be destroyed, it can only be manipulated, converted and changed and is represented by the formula E=MC Squared.

As we get further in the series more information will be discussed in greater detail and explain different aspects of them and how they correlate to the 3 different aspects of the spiritual body.  But for right now I want to delve into the tenant of  "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, you will achieve." Is true and how you can accomplish some amazing things in your daily life. There are some factors that need to be reached before you can achieve your hearts desire.

In order to achieving or manifesting a desire or reach a goal, a few things must first take place.  Probably first and foremost is that the union of the aspects of the spiritual body must be aligned, balanced and in harmony with each other. This is a critical understanding point in order to achieve and receive the end result or desired outcome of any situation the mind, body and spirit must be in total harmony and balance. When I talk about alignment and harmony I am speaking that these aspects must work together and be perfectly blended or united.

But how do you harmonize or align your mind? This is where we are going to start because I think this may possibly be the hardest aspect to align and focus.  Now when I use the words align and focus, what am I actually talking about?  The idea is this we need to free our minds of any and all distractions and we must remove all doubt, any emotions need to be focused and grounded (grounding is a technique for eliminating negative energy and focusing of our will and thoughts, more will be discussed in the next entry about grounding).  When we are grounded and focused our minds are free from doubt, distraction, positively energized, and focused toward a single purpose.  At this point all I am wanting you to understand is that when your mind is focused to a singularity of purpose it can align with the body your desire or goal or dream is imprinted or planted on the astral or ethreal plane, because this is where the mind operates and influences.

The Body which dwells and operates on the physical plane and reality harmonizes with the mind and aligns through strong emotion or desire which strengthens the imprint  and starts the manifestation process.  Which incorporating the Spirit through mediation and focus provides the rest of the power needed to manifest your desire or goal from the etheric plane to the physical plane thus bring about the desired end goal or achievement.   Remember that this is a very simplistic overview of the process.

I do want to take another moment here now that I am at the end of the overview to state that different cultures and beliefs reach unity or harmony in many different ways, spiritualists use grounding and mediation, christian's use singing and prayer, where Buddists and Hindu's utilize chanting and prayer with the lighting of incense to direct their inner focus.  However, the end result is the same turning and inner concept, idea, desire, vision or goal and bringing from within to without by manifestation and visualization...all of which is accomplished by the total aligning of the 3 aspects of the spiritual body: The Mind, Body and Soul.  Reaching a state of singularity of purpose and total harmony, fueled by desire or strong emotion and infused and powered by divine energy that comes from the spirit.  Always remember that whatever your mind can conceive and believe, you will achieve! Further when you set your mind to something you will get it.  Even the Bible states that "whatsoever you ask shall be given unto you".  However, I must caution you at this point that another adage also holds true "Be careful what you wish for you just might get it."

Be safe and like I told you earlier write to me let me know what you think and if this has helped you in any way.   If nothing else maybe my own personal quote will help some of you "Anything is possible in this world, if we only strive for perfection one day at a time."  Do me a favor and take sometime to smell the roses, appreciate nature and those around you.  And as we get even closer to Mother's Day please take time to acknowledge your mother or another special woman in your life and tell them how much you appreciate them and love them.

All my hopes and dreams are with you,

Uncle B