Jonathon Earl Bowser – Canadian fantasy artist

Written by Jasmine

(Webmistress The Majickal Garden)

Art has helped to give me a different perspective on women and the *goddess* soul housed inside with respect to the physical body. We come in so many different shapes and sizes. Rivaled by all the variations of personalities, perceptions and ideas the human is capable of producing. Women are depicted in most all genres of advertising, art and other mediums, in the *preferred* wafer thin beauty that a large percentage of the female population could only dream about attaining. I found myself becoming rather indignant at seeing the use of the female body in such a narrow minded view, sending the message that sensuality, sexuality and only a perfect body makes the package complete.

I discovered the artwork of Boris Vallejo (born in 1941 – a Peruvian-born American fantasy artist) and Jonathon Bowser (born in 1962 – A Canadian fantasy artist). Both are well known in the world of Sci- Fi and fantasy art. Their centerpiece of many pieces is the *perfect* body I mentioned earlier. Their work is truly beautiful. In one of those rare moments of deep thought that carry you away from time to time…I realized the spectrum of social thinking about this issue. Society deems the accepted view of what a beautiful woman looks like. It then (society) holds a huge, badly lighted mirror up to the naked, self-conscious woman and thumbs its nose rudely.

Jonathon Earl Bowser – Canadian fantasy artist

Now, as I enjoyed browsing thru these artists’ efforts, appreciating the vivid colors, scenes and yes, I had to admit that the women in these fantasy scenes were beautiful. And ok…yes, I have to admit there was to my surprise a tinge of jealousy creeping up from the dark depths of me. I figure this has to be an effect from having it subliminally implanted in my mind that I am inferior because I don’t fit the perfect mold; or vanity rearing its head in spite of my keeping an eye on the old self-esteem.

The sort of magical, sensual attitude of such artistic work is tapping into the feelings that humans naturally respond with when the senses are stimulated, and then painting the imprint onto a canvas. If this was the case then it would stand to reason magical sensuality lies inside of us all. For many of us, it’s like an overlooked, overgrown garden in need of someone to care enough to tend to it.

The beauty I saw of the women contained a very apparent strength; evoking power and confidence. The artists brought this out from behind the canvas by mixing beauty and nature with an appealing pallet. Just as in real life. Have you ever seen the beauty come from inside someone? At first glance nothing stands out until you’re face to face and connecting. Then with a simple genuine smile the soul’s warm glow can appear and smooth out the wrinkles of age.

I felt the beauty of the artists depictions stir up the warm embers of female pride. There was a feeling of connection evoking the image of the mythological creatures that exuded strength and conviction in their passions…be they dark or light. We as women could be domesticated goddesses in the way of the power we have inside us to evolve and become the person our soul longs to be. Self-accepting confidence in truly accepting the body as the personal vessel, choose to stay up on the upkeep of it…or not…and enjoy life by merging your respect to self-image and then allow your soul to shine.

It’s with a different eye I now look at the presentation of women in art. There is a healthier respect towards the gifts that have been received and what can be done with them. Allow the warm loving guidance of the soul. Beauty is in the lucky eye of the observant beholder and acknowledging it begins well below the surface of the skin.

Jonathon Earl Bowser – Candadian fantasy artist

Love enables you to put your deepest feelings and fears in the palm of your partner’s hand, knowing they will be handled with care.
–Carl S. Avery

Francesco Hayez – Italian Painter

 Written by Jasmine

(Webmistress The Majickal Garden)

Soul mates. It seems it has almost become a buzzword for those actively seeking love in their lives. Many find themselves convinced immediately upon meeting someone, or a short time after, this one *is the one.* Only to have the budding relationship turn out to be the wrong one and they decide they really were not a soul mate after all.

The ease of meeting people on the computer has made this idea even more apparent. The boldest in my mind is dating services offering to pair you up with your own soul mate! Those, in search, brave the two dimensional realm of the internet in the hopes they will discover someone that is just the right one for them. It’s certainly a real possibility, however, the time spent wading thru what and who someone really is and if the chemistry is right, never mind if they are a true soul mate, is mind boggling.

Is there really someone for everyone? How will I know for sure? These are common questions. Lust, passion, physical attraction, love, shared interests; does not make someone a soul mate. Of course these are ingredients in part needed for a good relationship but it’s not a guarantee the presence of them alone makes it so. Neither does the hope that someone is, does not make it so.

I do believe there is a soul mate for everyone. There is more than one. I also believe if someone has not progressed along their path in seeking enlightenment and growth for themselves, the window of opportunity for meeting could be missed. Put simply, someone could meet their soul mate and might not be evolved enough for it to be the right time or for it to work out. I have faith if it’s truly a soul mate situation and both are mutually patient as well as spiritually and emotionally healthy, another chance could come around again in this lifetime if not the next.

What is a soul mate? I understand there is much written on the subject. I have read a fair amount myself. It’s not a science but a spiritual thing. As with any subject in the metaphysical nature…I absorb what is being explained to me and filter it thru my inner self and listen to the guidance from the light to understand with my *knowing.*A soul mate is one we have contracted with before our souls entered our earthly body. The outline worked out and left for us to find our own way there, using tools for growth and lessons learned in order to prepare us for meeting at a particular point in our life. Something that needs to be accomplished together in this lifetime but did not find an end in a past life. A mutual agreement to come back and give it another go.

The past relationship could have been in another form. It could have been a mother/daughter, friends, brother/sister, etc. The plan to come together in a romantic situation this time around could be beneficial to evolving in this lifetime.

As our futures are not cast in stone, because we have free will of choice, things can change  because of options chosen to alter the outline we came to this life with and agreed to with our *soul mate*.

The tricky part of a general plan mapped out before arriving in this life is the free will part. Let me use the example of a need for a new pair of shoes. Your decision to work it into your day comes from the experience you have learned to work a schedule. What you may or may not have learned will decide how hectic this will be to accomplish this. You need tools to take you there. Some sort of transportation and a route to arrive at your chosen destination. An idea of what it is you are looking for based on how well you have learned your own needs and desires. There are many things in this scenario that can affect the outcome.

Time can be altered by some unforeseen obstacles. Your route can be changed by a mere quick decision to go left instead of right. Your arriving at a chosen destination based on how dependable your choice of transportation (a tool) turned out to be in the end.

Should you finally arrive comfortably inside the scheduled time, there is the challenge of actually finding what it is you set out to get..let’s not even get into the difficulty we can get into shopping for something particular we have in mind! Victory is surely possible..But it could not be done without a pile of lifelong learning to make it come true. Yes…this is a very simplistic way of explaining what I am trying to convey. Utilizing free will, your own choice of spiritual growth and the *tools* you might choose to accomplish this is a life altering choice in many ways.

If the Soul were pictured in the mind as a garden with the understanding that it needs nourishment to flourish then the desire to tend it would naturally include adding the life giving additives of sun, water and fertilizer in order to make it happen. By adding meditation, prayer, reading from spiritually enhancing material, and discovering ways to become the best one can be and living it, there is an acknowledgement to the higher powers of true intention. That would be the time to ask for the desire to find your soul mate.

Spiritual health and growth is a life time process that can begin anytime you choose. The soul vibration becomes stronger with reaching out to the universe for guidance and help. In spiritual enlightenment…this means making it easier for your soul mate to find you, as their soul reaches out for the other.

So..how does one know if they are looking into the eyes of a soul mate? If one believes the eyes are the window to the soul, it might be a starting point. It’s looking beyond the pretty baby blues or the bewitching browns to see deep inside. It is said that the eyes are the window to the soul. On that level there should be a feeling of recognition. There is a knowing of comfort and rightness that you belong there and it’s mutually shared. Sure, you might have the giddy, heady romantic feelings going on inside but what I am referring to is a *soul recognition.* As important as sex can be in a relationship, in a soul mate relationship it is not the most important thing. A couple can have a fantastic time in the bedroom but that does not make them soul mates.

I believe the best relationships have a strong friend ship at its base. Who would not want to call their mate their best friend? A soul mate will see the best in you and encourage its development unencumbered by indifference at your successes. They support your interests even if it’s not their cup of tea. With a mutual base like this and the kind of love that is given freely and unconditional, it will naturally need to be returned in kind. A sense that you want to be together that progresses and deepens with time. Not a need to be together. There is a big difference. Love in its purest form. It’s a kind of love that is not jealous or unkind.

Soul Mate relationships need not be perfect taking into consideration the Mars and Venus theory on men and woman! In fact, it could be quite challenging. But if 2 people are seeking enlightenment and growth together, the rough spots found on the path can be tackled together. It’s about fulfilling a spiritual agreement as a couple.

In doing the things suggested for yourself, you are realizing your spiritual path of enlightenment and growth. Your letting the universe know that you are ready for what they might have in store for you. At the very least, you will be bettering and discovering wonderful things about yourself and the universe that you never thought possible.

At best..one day when you least expect it, you might find yourself staring into the eyes of your soul mate…and you will be ready.

We’ve got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it’s going to get on by itself. You’ve got to keep watering it. You’ve got to really look after it and nurture it.
–John Lennon

When we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness – and call it love – true love
–Robert Fulghum

Sir Frank Dicksee – British Artist
Romeo and Juliet

You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly.
–Sam Keen

When we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness – and call it love – true love

–Robert Fulghum

Francesco Hayez – Italian Painter

Written by Jasmine

(Webmistress The Majickal Garden)

In order to be able to recognize if someone is your soul mate, you need to *know thyself*. A relationship on this level is a true partnership that requires both sides to be aware of the responsibility for a healthy heart, mind and soul.

In a soul mate marriage, there is a sense of balance and a strong, positive attitude. Intimidation, manipulating ways or abuse is not part of the relationship. There is a mutual feeling of safeness. A feeling like it was meant to be with a natural fit is part of it with a shared honesty and support. With a sense of familiarity and a feeling of the spouse as a mirror is part of a soul mate relationship. This kind of marriage is not hard to maintain ( at the same time not without challenges)  and are healthy, passionate and harmonious. By working together they find plenty can be achieved.

Where couples are active soul mates, there is a mutual joy in watching the growth of the other. They will accept who you are and bring out the best in you by challenging you to do your best. They are a best friend. A soul mate will not ask nor need you to change from who you are. The commitment to the marriage is cherished and small moments together are some of the best.

This basic outline of a soul mate relationship is based on an understanding that both have attained such a level of growth on a soul and human level as to be compatible and ready to share the very special chemistry *magic* that occurs with soul mates sharing lives together.

O.K. If we understand what a soul mate is…how do we convert that to the reality of our lives and the partners we have chosen? The last thing I would advocate is ending a marriage because it does not fit the blue print of an outline of a soul mate. However, there are things, in understanding what a soul mate is, that can be of help in the current relationship.

There is a very good chance that the mate you have chosen is in your soul group. There is a reason, as a spirit in lesson, for your getting together. Elements such as where the spiritual and intellectual growth stands for each side enters in to how you relate with each other. Also how one another has dealt with past issues from childhood thru adulthood. If this is understood, how past issues can affect your relationship and how you relate to one another, a desire to begin to clear them up could change things that might be somewhat undesirable in the marriage.

The more time a couple has racked up together, the easier it is for the reasons that attracted you in the first place can begin to pale. Reach back to the days when things were still fresh and focus on these traits when they shined the brightest. By making an effort to look at one another thru those eyes you can begin to see the other in a different light. Your positive response could actually bring these qualities out in the other if done with love and respect. Sometimes the best of us can forget what we were like so long ago before the focus of every day dealings of life shifted priorities.

In looking at what can be done to begin a change in the tide of a marriage with serious problems where there is a definite gulf in relating to one another…the worst thing that one could do is put the blame on the other and wait for them to *get it together*. The more rational thinking is to begin to look inside with a fresh eye as to where you can begin with yourself. Its sometimes not an easy feat for a start, however, if your being honest with yourself, you will begin to see where your own responsibility in the relationship lies and seek a place to start. When the other begins to see the changes brought about by efforts taken on your own initiative, your mate might naturally seek changes in themselves.

Soul mates do not agree on everything. There is no *ideal* mate and no one will think exactly the way you do. There will still be difficult times in a marriage, even as soul mates. No one has all the answers but with a commitment to take the responsibility to be the best you can be…it can definitely affect those around you. If we truly are spirits in lesson on this earth, it is our responsibility to discover the answers that work for ourselves individually. In a marriage where oaths were taken, from that day forward, in becoming a couple lies the responsibility to actively uphold that oath. How much time and effort put into the commitment of the marriage is a choice for both sides.

Love, respect and support to the other is a firm base that should prevail with any dealings with the mate you have chosen.

For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of our tasks; the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation.

–Rainer Maria Rilke

This is the miracle that happens every time to those who really love; the more they give, the more they possess.
–Rainer Maria Rilke

Written by Jasmine

(Webmistress The Majickal Garden)

Before we entered into service as humans in lesson on this earth plane, we had our soul circles in spirit. Spirits we know well and recognize outside of the curtain that separates us from the spirit world, before we became who we are in body. With lessons to learn and knowledge to share between us to aid our purpose in this life; agreements were made for key times in our lives, when we have achieved readiness for our advancement.

Have you ever had someone come into your life that immediately you took to, with a familiarity that could only be if you had known them before? Perhaps in another lifetime? They might have been another sex and played a totally different part in the past, but the feeling would remain. The meeting might last for a brief short time or could have turned into a permanent part of your life and in-between. Regardless of the length of time you spend together, there would be enrichment in your life for having known them.

When you meet someone from your soul circle, there is a feeling of an unconditional, mutual, relationship, depending on the situation. Someone that has something to teach you, and/or you have something to give in return. There is a lack of judgment on the part of your character. They have a desire to see you in the best side that you can be and will naturally try to help you achieve that in your life. At the same time they can be objective enough to see the other side of you that might be difficult to see from your own perspective. There will be no jealousy in seeing you accomplish your goals.

These relationships are not limited to romantic by any means. I am blessed with a couple of very dear friends that remain a constant in my life. Girl friends that I consider my rocks of support. No matter what I do, or where I go, they are always there. They never judge me or my choices but I know I can count on them for their input when I need it. They are able to see sides of me, that perhaps I am unwilling at the time, to put the spotlight on and with the *unconditional love* of one from the same soul circle, will offer their insight….knowing what I choose to do with it is up to me. Because of the nature in which the insight was offered, I don’t feel defensive or offended. There is also a feeling of sheer comfort when we are together…no matter how long the span of time has been between our being together.

I have also met people for a very brief time that left me feeling full and warm. Perhaps it was only meant to be for that short time, but I feel we both left heading down our individual paths better for having met. These could also have been from my own soul circle and what was to be accomplished was done in the time we spent together.

Of course, soul relationships come with a responsibility on our parts as well. We need to be able to respond with the same unconditional love and caring that the relationship is offered in. The mutual base lies in the desire to find soul enlightenment along whatever path is chosen and finding oneself blessed to have someone in their life that shares the same. It does not mean you always have to agree on everything but mutual respect for the individuals is shared.

Living your life in mindfulness of the moment can help you recognize when these opportunities cross your path. When you first meet someone new, look for possible signs of why you have met. *Listening with mindfulness* is a key for all situations in your life. Develop this and it can serve you well. It means truly listening to what is being said, as opposed to for example, busying your mind with what you’re going to say next instead of *hearing* what is going on at the moment.

Sometimes after meeting someone in your soul group, after the fact, things said can sometimes spark new thought on the part of yourself. This is where really hearing what was transferred between you will be a plus. It can also be so, that, you were meant to share something from yourself with someone else. They might leave the meeting with thoughts of what was said, and how it applied to them, and choose to apply it to their own life.

It’s a comfort to me, on this path of my life, knowing I am a spirit in body, to know I am not in this alone. If one chooses to truly open the eyes wide, what the universe has provided for us is vast and wide. To understand, as your own soul understands, what a soul circle is, and find them scattered along your path. You too can recognize those spirits in body, from your own *family*.

Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.

–Margery Williams The Velveteen Rabbit