This is for you…

Posted on August 26, 2015 by AlianaAlani

I’ve had 22shangrila up and running for awhile now. Some of you have been following here since the beginning; others are new, or at least newer. Some click ‘like’ having found something in that moment that speaks to you and then you are gone into the internet mist, never to be heard from again. Some come back. Some choose to hang around.

To all of you, I want to say – THANK YOU!

Thank you for being touched by something in this site, whether that be poetry, an article, or some of the other work I do. Thank you for letting me know. And thank you for choosing to follow to see what else might show up here.

The purpose of 22shangrila has always been to communicate – to speak to the language of the heart in us all, no matter the form or moment – but especially through the power of word, image, and story. And of course to let you know what I’m doing.

I’m not the best at answering, or for that matter at clicking ‘follow’ to your sites when you come to mine. Apologies. The intention is often there. I do take a look at what you’re doing if you click ‘like’ on mine, and I often say to myself, ‘I must make a comment, a thank you, an I-like-your-work-too’. But then the moment goes, the phone rings, the muse calls, and my best intentions fly off into the winds. I’ll try to get better at that.

After all, we are a community of world storytellers, are we not? Mystics in the making, perhaps. Poets abounding. Weaving new visions and thoughts that, yes, could quite possibly change our world for the better. And we all matter.

So here’s to you – all of you – may every day in your life flourish with harmony, balance, and love. May you weave the most scrumptious tales ever, whether they be in word, image, or sound! And may they dance in our world like magic calling us home.

I hope you’ll hang around. If it feels right, send a comment note or an email (I will answer those) and tell me what you’re doing to help this world be a kinder happier place.

And again – THANK YOU!

Aliana

Remembering… ©Aliana Alani 2015

Posted on March 21, 2015 by AlianaAlani

Once, long ago, I sauntered across a desert, red and endless.

You were there, waiting.

Recently, as time flies, I entered a crowd-filled room

Only to find you, once again.

We are ancient, you and I.

Somehow beyond time and space.

Yet every so often we meet,

Star lovers crossing the heavens.

Our hearts mingle for but a brief second –

And we remember.

Then it appears we are no more.

But that is an illusion – isn’t it.

Today, your people call forth.

They cry for understanding, justice –

Perhaps even love?

How can I not hear?

After all, we are one, you and I,

Whether in the heavens or now.

Isn’t that the purpose of remembering?

That, and love.

… for Dale … and for the Australian Aboriginal people, especially those in the remote communities – may your call be heard and answered with love

Posted on January 25, 2015 by AlianaAlani

Warm wishes for a wonderful 2015 coming your way! May all your fondest clearest and most empowered dreams come true, and may they always be filled with love.

We are almost at the end of January (how quickly it goes) and already it’s been a whirlwind of a time in our world. I’m coming to you late in this as are my good wishes to you. New Year’s found me flat out with that flu/cold virus that has swept across North America and so it’s taken awhile to rise up from that bed and catch up with, well just about everything.

So here’s goes … a bit of news on the work and a few thoughts re what’s been going on.

TEMPLATES FROM THE GARDEN – the sacred geometry artwork I’ve been doing. There’s a new one available. It’s called – Awakening Creativity. It’s big, it’s beautiful, it’s powerful. If you feel drawn to see it, to perhaps become a Keeper of its Focus or to buy it as artwork, send me a quick email c/o 22shangrila.com or leave a message here and I’ll get back to you with images and info.

IN THE REALM OF SKY – the small children’s book I wrote and posted here last year – has been available for you to read free-of-charge for awhile now. I want you to know that I’ll be taking it down from this site within the week. So if you want to read it before then, do so now. After that, the book will be available, hopefully late this year, but in print form. Hence you will need to buy it. I’ll update you as that happens.

SESSION WORK – For buckets of time in the not-so-distant, I was available as a spiritual facilitator for private sessions, workshops, retreats, and speaking events. It was a potent time. I ended up taking time out, partly to go to Ireland and follow a yellow-brick road that took longer than one could possibly imagine (okay maybe you could), and partly to focus on writing and exploring our world. Recently I have started being available for session work again. This is often long distant work, so by phone or Skype. And it is always with a focus of coming home to your true essence and to the Garden of Love & Light. You are welcome to email me if you feel this work might be for you. At present I am only available to see a few clients at a time.

There are new projects beginning, new artwork, and hopefully a bit of poetry. I’ll update you on those as they happen. And thanks for taking the time to check it all out!!

THE WHIRLWIND … If the beginning of 2015 is any indication of how this year will be, at least in the world-at-large, then hang onto your hats and get centered because that’s what we’ll need to be to either ride out the storm or shift to a new paradigm. Shifting is definitely in the cards – we have been moving toward it for awhile – as is living in The Garden.

So balance, kindness, and compassion are key now, as is that ever constant – love – which ultimately allows us to prosper in the best of ways.

It has always been my sense that to truly live in The Garden of Love, one must surrender attachments; to old ways of being, old stories, perceptions and judgements. One is often called to forgive what was in order to love what can be. The term ‘wiping the slate clean’ comes to mind.

Non-judgement (& no one said this one was going to be easy) also requires a tolerance of being; to look beyond the histories and stories (ours or another’s) to the Spirit that lives within (whether you call it Spirit, the Divine, God, or the Eternal); remembering that the essence of all Spirit is the same – that when I look at you, I am indeed looking at Spirit. When I allow that, I am able to recognize that we are all truly one.

At the level of Spirit, freedom is a way of being. It is meant to be that way in our world as well, just as we are meant to be the conscious expression of Spirit in our world.

With that in mind, freedom becomes a right, not a privilege. So when we in this world attempt to inhibit freedom – whether that be freedom of speech, freedom of expression, or any of the other freedoms we should be holding dear, we are in fact inhibiting a path to the conscious manifestation of the essence of our own being here on earth.

So here’s the thing – It is easy to allow freedom when it’s all going according to your own take on things; when what you say or believe matches what I think. It is when you speak, write, or parody in a way that seems to counter what I have chosen to believe, that the challenge arises. Will I still recognize your right to freedom of expression or will I damn it?

Voltaire, a French philosopher, writer & historian has been quoted as saying, “I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” From time to time, I remind myself of this gem of wisdom, especially in moments like those in Paris recently.

I am as well a storyteller. Stories come in many forms, one of which happens to be satire. Satire has been around for longer than you and I can remember. It has always been a way to poke fun at or shine a light on that which is out of balance in the world. Just as art in its myriad of forms has also been a way for us to rise above the mundane, to dare to dream, to live beyond the expected, to change, to laugh, to cry, and again, to shine a light on that which is or is not working.

It is through story that, consciously or not, we end up creating new worlds. How sad if the world we ended up with would be but a tiny crafted box only big enough for infinitesimally small experiences and even smaller expressions of being; a box with no freedom and very little light.

Which for some reason brings me to William Butler Yeats who wrote in a now famous poem – “I have spread my dreams under your feet. Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”

So in this year of 2015, let us dare to dream a world of harmony and love into being, beyond the hatred and fear. Let us reach beyond those boxes to the skies and dare to live with passion. And most importantly, let us dare to love.

Blessings and love to you all.

A Friendly Universe…

Posted on October 23, 2014 by AlianaAlani

AMONG OTHER GEMS OF WISDOM, Einstein has been quoted as saying, ‘that the most important decision we can make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or a hostile universe’. I’m guessing he was also saying that whichever one we believe in is where we will focus not only our attention but our resources. In other words if I believe the universe is hostile, then I must create measures to protect myself (think: guns, walls, armor). If I believe the universe is friendly, then I must come to the table of life with an open heart, perhaps even an outstretched hand.

Personally I vote for the friendly universe. I can’t picture any other reason for hanging around: The hostile universe having been done a zillion times over and truly (if one were being cosmically honest), boring beyond belief (an interesting turn of words, I realize).

But here’s the trick. And it’s especially true if the choice is new. Just because I choose to view the universe as friendly does not mean that the buggy-boos of the hostile one won’t come to my door to taunt me. To see how serious I am about the world of friendly. To even say, ‘hello hello, won’t you come and play my game – after all, it’s the only one in town’. Well it’s not.

And yes, I have walked through the world that is hostile. I’ve experienced its fear. I know what it feels like. I’ve been challenged by it. And I know how hard, when in its midst, it can be to see and feel anything else. When it feels like your heart is being torn apart and everything you hold dear is being cast to the wind.

But it is precisely then that we must turn our attention to a universe of love, if that is what we truly want and believe in. We must be courageous in our knowing, daring in our awareness, and constant in our vision of a world, and yes a universe, that is in harmony and balance with itself and with all else. We must turn to the harmony within and let its light cast a glow of love within ourselves and then outward into the world – our world – until the mist and the buggy-boos of the hostile dissolve. And they will – no matter how real they appear to be – if we hold to the love long enough to strength its chords and allow its music to ring forth.

So if you vote for a friendly universe (and this by the way is a good time to make a choice if you haven’t already) – think harmony – think love – think balance – think peace – think it NOW – see it everywhere (yes, even through and beyond that hostile mist) and then feel it as though it were the most delicious wondrous experience of your life, until lo and behold you discover it has become your life, and your world.

AND REMEMBER, ultimately we are all stardust dancing in the winds of the Eternal – the Heart of Love. Everything else is an illusion.

Stay strong and friendly Canada. It’s who you are.