It is up to each of us to take care of our earthly existence and help others.

Some people are not more spiritual than others.  Some people simply have more wisdom to gain than others, and that includes me.

I have realised that when I ask from my heart, I receive.  I may not receive when I want it, but I do receive when God is ready to give.  It is as simple as that.

God is the only consistent element in my life.  Everything that I labelled as good and everything that I labelled as bad is part of the illusion that I am creating every day in this existence.

God knew what he was doing when he created me.

“…seeking for the Truth inside of you makes you different and doing that is at least as old as mankind.”

For those who believe, no proof is necessary.  For those who do not believe, no proof will ever be enough.

The Universe is in complete balance.  We need to remind ourselves of that every day. 

Rumi said when you hear something, your character changes, but when you see, there is an inner change.

There is only one life, and death is an illusion, and every time period we spend on earth in a body is a tiny part of the illusion. 

“Blessing assures that positive energy remains constant and consistent.”

My soul is a treasure that I am grateful for every day that I am alive, because my soul keeps my body going.  As for Spirit, my relationship with Spirit is closer every day and every night. 

Perfect faith is a life-long pursuit.  You can cut yourself some slack.

Is God a God of Love? 

https://elsabesmit.com/zonetechnique/  for healing

https://elsabesmit.com/appointments/  for readings and coaching

What is the illusion, and what is the truth?

https://elsabesmit.com/zonetechnique/  for healing

https://elsabesmit.com/appointments/  for readings and coaching

Why are repetitive patterns significant?

Following a spiritual path: Recovering from religion vol 1: https://bit.ly/32zQ6Q8

Following a spiritual path: Recovering from religion vol 2: https://bit.ly/36IbQen

#time

#timer

#timenow

#currenttime

#timezones

#timeis

#whattime

#thetime

#timerightnow

#timebetweendates

#metime

#timeline

#timedifference

#todaytime

#correcttime

#timeperiod

#fromtimetotime

Do you trust numerology?

Following a spiritual path: Recovering from religion vol 1: https://bit.ly/32zQ6Q8

Following a spiritual path: Recovering from religion vol 2: https://bit.ly/36IbQen

#numerology

#numerologyreading

There are 5 things you need to know about after life:

• Life is eternal.  There is no beginning and no end.

• You only have one life, punctuated by journeys on earth and elsewhere in this universe
• Each journey on earth is planned in detail before you enter this world
• In other words, there is no after life - there is just life and incarnations.
• Past lives assume a timeline which is only an earthly experience. 

Following a spiritual path: Recovering from religion vol 1: https://bit.ly/32zQ6Q8

Following a spiritual path: Recovering from religion vol 2: https://bit.ly/36IbQen

#life

#incarnation

#otherlives

#afterlife

#lifeisbeautiful

#allmylife

#lifeasweknowit

#thelifeahead

#lifeinpieces

#thetreeoflife

#backtolife

#lifeitself

#wakinglife

#thelivesofothers

#incarnationmeaning

#youonlyliveonce

#lifestooshort

#reincarnationmeaning

Spirituality is beyond gender. 

Following a spiritual path: Recovering from religion vol 1: https://bit.ly/32zQ6Q8

Following a spiritual path: Recovering from religion vol 2: https://bit.ly/36IbQen

#bias

#gender

#transgender

#bias meaning

#all genders

#gender identity

#sexual orientation meaning

#gender meaning

#different genders

#gender is

#whats bias

#tree of the knowledge

#the tree of the life

#gender examples

#biasness meaning

#sexual identity meaning

#tree of knowledge of good and evil

#gender bias

#sexual identity

#halo effect meaning

Don't blame God for what goes wrong. Find the wisdom in the experience and move on.

Religious people can sometimes redefine their interpretation of God's word to the extent of being absurd. Why not just be good and do good?

Everything happens at the destined time. The time is determined by your soul, and not by your body or the world around you.

The Law of Attraction focuses on your wishes without any judgment. Ensure that you focus on what you want, rather than on what you don't want.

Don't believe everything you read in the Bible. There is much truth hidden behind prejudice and wrong translations.

If you believe in and celebrate Christmas, you may choose not to read the rest of this article, because I respect your choice and wishes and have no desire to change you or your beliefs.

If you don’t believe in Christmas or you have not made up your mind yet, read on.  I may have some interesting information for you.

I am not convinced that a person called Jesus ever lived.  I have read widely on the subject and can put forward a convincing argument that Jesus did exist, that he spent a fair number of years travelling the world (including countries as far away as India and the current United States), that he eventually was crucified and survived that experience, and then got married to Mary Magdalene.  Apparently, they had three children and then got divorced, and Jesus was last heard of when he was still alive and well into his seventies.

On the other hand, I can also put forward a convincing argument that Jesus was a resurrection of the myth of a virgin birth, where the ruling tyrant wanted the baby dead.  The baby became an adult, was worshipped as a savior and put to death on a cross between two thieves. He then rose from the dead and ascended to heaven.  Other mythical characters that had the same history include Bacchus, Narcissus, Zoroaster, Cadmus of Greece and a list that is too long to repeat here.

It also makes no sense to me that a monotheistic religion such as Christianity then breaks down their one God into three gods which includes this figure, Jesus.

I was impressed at how flexible and adaptable religion is, and how big an impact the Christian Jesus has even had on other religions, when I discovered what the Hindus did with Christmas, which is not a traditional Hindu holiday. In 1985 a five-day festival named Pancha Ganapati was created by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami along with elders of various Hindu groups.

During the festival of Pancha Ganapti Hindus create and decorate a shrine in the main living room of the home.  The focus if the shrine is a statue of Lord Ganesha.  Every day the children of the home dress the statue in a different color.  On 23rd and 24th December, the third and fourth day of this five-day festival, presents are handed out.  Now the Hindu children can also receive presents and not feel left out when the rest of the world goes mad on tinsel and sanctimonious songs.

Apparently, the tradition of having a Christmas tree is rejected as a heathen practice in Jeremiah 10:2-6: “Thus saith the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen ... For the customs of the people are vain; for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.”  I know many Christians who ignore this part of their Good Book but insist that the rest is true.

Why does Santa Claus always dress in red and white?  Because he works very hard on Christmas Eve delivering gifts to children all around the world, and when he gets thirsty, he stops and drinks Coca Cola out of a red and white can.  Yes, that company decided that Christmas was really about the spirit of Santa Claus, and they decided to dress him in company colors.

And to think all of this started with a Public Relations job that was commissioned by the Christian church 2 000 years ago! I wonder if they would be willing to take on the PR for my new book?

I love travelling.  I enjoy the butterflies and anticipation of getting on a plane.  I get excited about the idea of arriving and having to find my way, especially when I do not understand the language and where the country is different.

But I also enjoy discovering beauty and interesting history near my house.  England is one of those countries where even the mundane probably has a history of one or more centuries.  And like other European countries, they are proud of their history and happy to display their knowledge to anyone who wants to listen.

But what has all this to do with a spiritual journey, you might ask?  Everything.

A spiritual journey is much more than packing your bags to visit a holy place.  There are people who go to a graveyard regularly to talk to those that are buried.   Other people visit a spa and get pampered from head to toe.  Others simply sit in a garden and regain their balance.  Then there are people who survive trauma such as bereavement, divorce, rape, torture, redundancy, and so on, and become an inspiration to others.  And others go shopping to release their stress.

How do these journeys qualify as spiritual journeys?

The tarot major arcana describes our journey through life.  We enter life as innocent fools, and have various experiences that cover every aspect of life.  We choose to have a particular slant, such as emotions, intellect, money, or faith.  We also choose a life theme, such as Love, Justice, Judgement, Temperance or any combination of the major arcana.

People like to think of themselves as unique, because we are all unique.  Each one of us chooses a different combination of aspects that we want to explore in our lives.  Then we get born.

Our spiritual journey on earth commence when we choose to inhabit a body and those cells start to multiply and divide after conception.  From that moment, we are destined to have a spiritual journey on earth.  When we also choose the experience of a journey such as a pilgrimage or hajj or any other form, the journey is more intense during that time, because of our focus.

Does this mean a still-born or aborted baby does not have a spiritual journey?  No.  They have their own journey which coincides with the mother’s journey, and with the journeys of everyone that are affected by them.  When the medical doctor or nurse or chaplain or social worker deals with the consequences of death at any stage, they do so because they chose to explore matters such as life and death as part of their own lives.  They cannot do so unless other souls are willing to participate in these journeys.

We have conflict in our lives and it gets resolved.  We have troublesome relationships and grow from them.  We doubt ourselves and find our confidence.  We have traumatic experiences and recover from them.  We feel the intense joy of being loved and we have our senses stimulated by nature.  All of these happen for a reason.

Every single experience we have in life is planned as part of our spiritual journeys.

Do we have to be spiritually aware to gain from these experiences?  No.  Where a person claims to be an atheist, they are still able to love and be loved.  You can be very religious and still experience intense gratitude or have out-of-body experiences.

You may not want to put a label of spirituality on any experience you have, or you may shy away from describing anything in your life as spiritual, but that does not make anyone less spiritual.

On the other hand, going on a pilgrimage of any kind does not make you more spiritual either.  You may raise your awareness by doing a consciously spiritual journey, but when you started out in life you were on a spiritual journey, just like the person who chose not to do a pilgrimage.

And when we leave this world, we will continue our spiritual journey, because it is an eternal journey regardless of what you believe about any life after this.

If you have already packed for your journey, take my advice.  Leave half of your stuff behind, so that you can make space for new discoveries.  If you insist on travelling with a full suitcase, expect your body to protest.  Expect physical illness and exhaustion.  If you are afraid of your physical journey, your body will protest, but that is only the symptom of your fear of a spiritual journey.  And there is nothing you can do to avoid your spiritual journey – you cannot even die, because the journey continues after your death.

If you only pack half your stuff, expect to bring back not only gratitude and joy, but also new challenges – that is proof that you are alive and still on your journey.

If I were to get a new pendant, which design will say most about me?

Of course, I can wear a cross, but which version?

There is the simple +, a symbol of the distant planet Nibiru, which crosses the orbits of many of the planets in our solar system as it approaches the sun every 3 600 years. The design may be significant, but a bit boring, I think.

Then there is the T or Tau, which was used as a symbol of divinity on the sculptures of Isis and Osiris.  This is also the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, signifying the last word of God. The Tau cross is also a symbol of immortality - but do I want to be immortal and outlive my granddaughter?

I could choose the ‘Jesus cross’, ✝.  This had nothing to do with Jesus until long after Christianity came along.  This cross was a symbol of consecration of holy objects, but around 1 700 years ago, it became the symbol of the crucifixion of Jesus.    Did you know that the Mormons (a version of the Christian faith) do not even allow this type of cross in their churches?  Do I want to wear something that represents pain and suffering?  I suppose it is in the eye of the beholder.

But how about the ankh, ☥, known as the "knot of eternity", which has been used by both the ancient Egyptians and the Koi San for healing purposes?   Many of the Nguni-speaking people such as the Zulu, Xhosa and Swazi believe that the ankh represents their sun god.   I was told that the ankh also represents the Nile river with its seven deltas. Either way, it looks beautiful as a piece of jewelry.

I also like the visual image of the extra twist in the swastika, which is an ancient Hindu and Buddhist symbol of peace and completion of four principles working together.  The Chinese use the swastika as a symbol of good luck - tempting!  However, the swastika was taken over and abused by Hitler and his cronies - a real pity, because they turned a beautiful symbol of sacred fire into a symbol of evil.  I like to think that I make up my own mind about things, but would I want to be a target of other people's ignorance?  Sad.

Maybe I should consider a pentacle. . .

I have come across this illustration of the pentacle, explaining its Wiccan meaning.

 (Acknowledgement to Wiccan Parents on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=499565270130956&set=a.350988751655276.87248.350985608322257&type=1&relevant_count=1)

OK, so it is not quite a cross, but I like what it symbolizes.  Did you notice the five vowels (a, e, i, o, u)? Some Wiccans also believe that the circle around the star represents unity and wholeness, or mankind surrounded by Divinity (I like that).

 I am undecided between a pentacle and an ankh … 

If you preach religious tolerance, then you must practice it, even when you are challenged.

Are people allowed to pray for others without their permission?

Whose faith is the strongest?  Whose spiritual guidance is the purest?  Does it matter?