Perfect for: Sifting through your thoughts while in motion
I've been consuming a lot of occult/metaphysical materials lately (books, articles, videos, poems, etc.) and my runs have become the most opportune time to let the information synthesize and consolidate within my mind. I've kind of just let the path form itself. One idea leads me to look for another, a sentence sparks a curiosity, an article points to another reference....and so on and so forth. No rhyme or reason. But it's all connected, that's always been abundantly clear. Sometimes, it makes sense, the pieces fit together nicely. Other times, the edges are jagged and don't fit perfectly. Like I'm missing something. Which leads down another string. And so on and so forth. This song reminds me of that itching obsession I've always had. That interest in the shadowy Otherworld that hangs at the edges of the mundane. In the things that always seemed illogical to everyone except me. Of course, the more I search, the more people I find who share this same sort of "calling." I'm not the only woman my age who has an affinity for Lilith and Eris. Or who thinks there's something more to astrology than society wants us to believe. I find it very comforting. Yes, there's a lot of craziness out there and I take everything with a grain of salt. Research, both for my writing and my own understanding, has been critical in every step I take. I've learned a lot - and there's a lot more to learn - but I've developed some basic understandings that have helped me on my journey. During this period of immense learning, there are some spiritual practices I've adopted that have been beneficial. For example, I've taken up a yoga practice, which I've been doing a lot more in lieu of running while I rest.
My current yoga practice is specifically Kundalini Yoga, which I chose after doing a Yoga Magazine flowchart of all the styles to find out what type would be best for me to try. I like Kundalini Yoga because it combines almost all the elements of yogic teachings - tantric philosophy, mudras (hand poses), pranayama (rhythmic breathing), meditation, chants, kriyas (movement), and shavasana ("corpse pose," commonly used in yoga for relaxation). And, at the end, there's a little song that we sing. It's my favorite part of the set, not because it denotes the end of what is usually a challenging workout, but because I love to sing. I've taken Hatha Yoga classes before, but so far, I like Kundalini better. The actual kriya portion usually isn't very long - only about 20-30 minutes - but it usually kicks my ass, because the poses require more flexibility and the increased movement is more athletic than traditional yoga. During all this, you have to pay attention to the rhythm of the music, sometimes a specific chant (in Sanskrit), and a specific breathing pattern. As a result, my mind is usually pretty clear by the time the meditation section starts. All that was just background. Last Friday, when I did my session, I was still kind of angry from the events of the day. Even so, during the anahata meditation, in between angry rumblings came a vision. And the vision went like this....
There was this field of green - the kind of green I've only seen in pictures of Ireland, so something tells me it was Ireland. There's beautiful woman with black hair wearing a blue dress. There's also a handsome red-haired man wearing armor. He's holding her and they're saying goodbye. They kiss and he gets on a brown horse and rides off to join a stream of similarly armored men. She stands and watches him leave. I have a feeling he never comes back. End.
As I've said before, these "visions" (or flashes of inspiration, as they might be) usually come to me randomly, usually while I'm listening to music. I had a weird feeling that the black-haired woman was me, even though she didn't really look like me. I waver between believing in past lives - sometimes, I feel so old that I feel I must've lived a thousand times before. But then I remember that having a lot of past lives means I'm consistently fucking something up. I mean - I probably am fucking something up but I have no clue what it is. Or it could've just been a random image my brain made up - I'll probably use it in a story somewhere along the way. There's not much to it, so I'll have to think of where it fits in. It seemed like the man was going off to war, so "Awaken" would be a good musical backdrop for that story. I've been working on outlining an idea for a high fantasy novel, so I've been listening to, and looking for, good epic-style music as inspiration while I build it out.
So all you restless
Each night you hear the drums of war
Awaken, awaken
The voice begins to call you while you hunger
A taste of destiny you're searching for
Awaken, awaken
The fight is at your door, take up the cause
Another League of Legends song, this time featuring Valerie Broussard for vocals and Ray Chen for the violin music. Valerie Broussard is quickly becoming one of my favorite artists for both her deep, sultry alto voice and the content of her songs. Most of her songs that I've found deal with esoteric concepts, especially the dark and the dangerous aspects of humanity. As such, her songs have been featured on paranormal shows like "Lucifer" and "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina." Think Lana Del Rey, only more vengeful and prefers to wear all black. Kind of like how Scorpio is just the goth version of Virgo. (Seriously, google this - in astrological mythology, Virgo is the Light/Logical version and Scorpio is the Dark/Emotional version, which is why Libra is between them to maintain the balance.) I say that as a good thing - I like Lana Del Rey, but her songs make me sad, even when they're supposed to be about happy things. Yes, I have a Lana Del Rey rant brewing but I think her songs will fit in better next month.
Book Recommendation Inspired by Today's Rant: "Ascension Magick" by Christopher Penczak
--- As I was starting to get a little lost in the spiritual/occult corner of the Internet, Chris Penczak put out his latest book, which analyzes a lot of the concepts I was finding myself drawn to. Penczak is a noted teacher and author within the witchcraft community. I've read a few of his other books and I trust him to treat the subject matter with better judgement than some of the other "interesting" characters out there on the Internet.
"Awaken" Video
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