“A true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.”
~Elizabeth Gilbert, from Eat, Pray, Love…
The recent Nepal earthquake is a heavy tragedy that will be affecting many lives more years to come. As a witness to the devastation, it can feel overwhelming. What can we possibly do to help all of our suffering brothers and sisters. By all means, donate to your respected and trusted charity. But please don’t stop there. The people in the region need our prayers and ongoing energetic support. Both those that have passed and those that must live on through the catastrophe can be served with the energy of our love and compassion. Please join me in reciting OM MATRE MUYE SALE DU for the souls who have already and are now transitioning.
Here is a beautiful plea from Chongtul Rinpoche of Bon Shen Ling asking for the recitation of two mantras, including MATRE, that you can start today. There is also a link for monetary donations.
Thank you.
Mirrors have a historical starring role in magic shows. Illusionists use them to create their spellbinding, entertaining deceptions, making things like an elephant disappear or levitate. Of course, all but the more basic of tricks are carefully guarded secrets. What fun is a magic trick if you already know how it is done? Don’t worry. I’m not going to give away much. Mostly because I can’t! Instead, I’ll just share a brief introduction of mirrors in magic.
Mirrors can strategically bounce light in different directions and make one think one is seeing what he or she isn’t. Mirrors can also conceal what is hidden behind them. Add controlled light to the mix, and you have the ability to fool the eye and convince the mind of all kinds of things.
Magicians aren’t the only…um…magicians who use mirrors. Mirrors are used in theatre and film (and increasingly in art) for special effects as well. To get a taste of what they can do, check out this brief video introducing mirror magic.
If you do want to know more about how a couple of traditional mirror tricks were done (and are still done), check out this cool link or this one.
As far as Mirror Spiritus is concerned, it’s all light and mirrors. The world we see around us, the life we live, is the grandest illusion of all.
“Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But you are eternity and you are the mirror.”
Kahlil Gibran
I’d never seen or heard of a Chinese magic mirror, not until investigating the use of mirrors in magic for this site. I didn’t get far in my research, because I became fascinated with this ancient art. When I first read about it, I had a hard time wrapping my head around the concept. Seeing was believing; this video made it quite clear:
The magic mirror dates back to the Han Dynasty of China (that’s about 206 BC to 24 AD). They are made of polished bronze on one side and an intricate design on the other. When one holds up the polished side to a light source, the symbols on the back side are projected mysteriously, as if the whole thing is transparent.
Apparently, some mirrors exist that actually project an entirely different or secret image than the one carved into the back of the mirror. Fascinating! Now I want one!
The French king, Louie the XIV unveiled for us the immensely beautiful Hall of Mirrors (also known as the Galerie des Glaces) in his palace at Versailles in 1684. This hallway was a tribute to light, decorated with 17 grand windows opposite 17 mirrored arches with dazzling chandeliers dripping from the ceiling and gleaming silver furniture. There are actually 578 total mirrors in the room. Can you imagine? Some components of the hall were sold to help finance the war in 1689, but much of it remains intact for lucky visitors today.
The hall was constructed to signify France as a powerful cultural and economic center, but it also served to magnify life in court. Mirrors were a symbol of wealth, and not just because of their great expense. They radiated light. Indeed, Versailles was a symbol of the center of the Universe from which all power emanated outward. It was Louie himself who chose the symbol of the sun to represent him, thus staking claim to his nickname, The Sun King. The hallway was used regularly for family and court functions and as a daily passageway. What would Feng Shui have to say about that!? And could we please all meet for a mirror meditation there?
Interestingly, the Hall of Mirrors is located between the Hall of War and the Hall of Peace, in which the Treaty of Versailles was signed many years later, bringing an end to the first world war in 1918.
To learn more about this lavish and fascinating building and time in French history, visit The Chateau Versailles.
“The people we are in relationship with are always a mirror, reflecting our own beliefs, and simultaneously we are mirrors, reflecting their beliefs… one of the most powerful tools for growth…”
Shakti Gawain
Hello and welcome to what is my first dip back into the pool of book promotion since wandering the globe dazed and confused for the past year as I sorted out an international marriage, ill-timed with the release of my 2nd book. New York Times Notable Novelist, Peggy Payne, author of Sister India, Revelation, and Cobalt Blue, has offered me the perfect excuse to jump back in with an invitation to participate in a blog tour: On Intuitive Understanding. So…
1) What Am I Working On?
At the moment, my sanity! I had a new friend recently comment that if my life was a movie, no one would believe it. I’ve been blogging about it on International Daze, and I rather think it will make a good book one day. But as I am still in the midst of the story, the best I can do is record the important parts as they happen and hope they all come together in a surprising (and dare I hope, effortless?) way down the line.
I’ve also been writing content which is all about my fascination with mirrors. Mirror Meditation is a powerful tool that I’ve been working with for years, and while both of my books introduce teasing elements of that, it is the whole focus of Mirror Spiritus and the evolution of my work.
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I’ve written fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and blogs. I just like words, ya know? I’m a bit of a genre-crosser in that regard. The Unknown Mother, for example, was a hybrid between visionary fiction and nonfiction. Both of my books are not on topics that the general population know anything about, so there isn’t a lot out there for me to claim to be different than.
The Unknown Mother: A Magical Walk with the Goddess of Sound Book
3) How does my writing process work?
Generally, I write intuitively. I can’t command myself to produce. Either the muse takes me or she doesn’t. Although, I have to say, with Mirror Spiritus, I am learning to write on command because much of the initial content has been more fact-based on topics like mirror superstition, mirrors in Feng Shui, and the upcoming Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.
4) Why Do I Write What I Do?
Well, with the first book, the fictional The Unknown Mother, I wrote to share information I’d been given on my path exploring sound healing in an accessible, entertaining way. I wanted to hook people outside the sound healing world with the amazing power of sound because I truly believe (and have experienced that) it has the potential to change lives.
With the nonfiction Your True Voice, it was about application. I wanted to take a more practical and useful approach with the same information to help readers take it further with a practice of their own.
These days, I write whatever I feel like writing. I’ll guest blog here or there, work on my websites, or work on a “tucked away” project. To answer the question another way, I write to understand, I think. I write to process aspects of my own life and everything I’m learning with the hopes it benefits or inspires someone else.
Other fabulous authors on the Intuitive Understanding tour:
Kelley Harrell, author Teen Spirit Guide to Modern Shamanism
Sheri Bessi, author Dear Human~ Letters to Humanity
Maria Salomao Schmidt
Caroline Zani author of Piper, Once and Again
Many of us know that if we break a mirror, it is considered to be 7 years bad luck, but I’ve never met anyone who could tell me why. Fortunately, I’ve never had the misfortune. Have you? Even if you have, I’m pretty sure you can relax and lay to rest the age-old superstition which dates back (at least) to our Roman ancestors. (I say at least because there were many ancient cultures with similar beliefs about the mirror and it’s ability to reveal the soul.) The idea stemmed from a belief they held that A) mirrors did indeed reflect the soul and B) life renewed every seven years. To break a mirror would damage the soul that was reflected in it at the time. Mirror Spiritus suspects our souls are a lot more resilient!
Still, this superstition really got around. Early American slaves were not immune. In their case, they had the perfect antidote. You could wash away those 7 years with 7 hours of soaking the shards in a river heading south.
The superstitions surrounding mirrors involve more than broken pieces however. Some believe death is close by when a mirror falls and breaks by itself. Others are fearful of mirrors in a room where someone has died, lest they catch a glimpse of themselves, as this portends another visit from the angel of death…for the viewer! In Feng Shui, mirrors should be hung at the perfect height to avoid headaches which can occur if the top of one’s head is cut off in the mirror. I have to wonder if that’s superstition or just common sense. And for all you thespians out there, you might be familiar with the belief that looking into a mirror over someone else’s shoulder is likely to bring about some bad luck of your own.
Did you know that mirrors in Feng Shui are believed to absorb the negative energy in a room? That mirrors are used to contact the “other side” and tell the future? And did you know you should cover your mirrors at night lest your soul wander and get trapped on the other side? Did you know that a marriage will be happy if the newlyweds see each other in a mirror? Did you ever hear that burying pieces of a broken mirror could save you the years of bad luck? Or that a girl could catch a glimpse of her future mate by eating an apple and brushing her hair in front of the mirror?
The list of mirror superstitions goes on and on. One can’t help but wonder at the truth that is buried beneath all the fear. Could it be that mirrors really do hold some mystical, other-worldly power over man?
N…yeah, we don’t believe it either. Not because a mirror is an inanimate object with no mystical properties but because the stories and ideas of these properties has been blown so out of proportion with the truth. Take, for example, movies such as Oculus or Poltergeist, which have made mirrors symbols of horror.
We assert that the power remains in the one who uses the mirror as a tool…not within the mirror itself and definitely not with some “other side”. That isn’t to say they can’t help improve an environment or reveal some deeper truth to what they reflect. In fact, mirrors are just as equally symbols of self-knowledge, deep wisdom, and purity in literature and art. At Mirror Spiritus, we lean in this direction and away from fear-based superstitious nonsense. In the end, mirrors may indeed reflect the soul, and that is something to be embraced, not feared…unless you’re a vampire! ; )
“I love mirrors. They let one pass through the surface of things.”
~Claude Chabrol
“He said, ‘I am the Smokey Mirror, because I am looking at myself in all of you, but we don’t recognize each other because of the smoke in-between us. That smoke is the Dream, and the mirror is you, the dreamer.'”
~from a story by Don Miguel Ruiz
In ancient Mexico, mirrors were made out of polished iron pyrites and obsidian. Some say that the ancient people of Mexico used these polished mirrors, known as tezcatl, as tools of black magic. Um…black? Are they being literal? Because while it may have been used for magic, I doubt it was used exclusively for dark purposes. (Oh, the Western mind! Is there any hope for it.) Just because the shamans used mirrors to travel and communicate with other realms hardly qualifies as black magic. These tezcatl were understood to be portals into other realms and likely used for healing, divination, burial ritual, and yes, in the wrong hands, for dark purposes. But put anything into the wrong hands and said humans will find a way to misuse it.
The Mexican god, Tezcatlipoca, or “Smokey Mirror”, is often depicted with an obsidian mirror, sometimes replacing his right foot, sometimes at his head or chest. He is said to be the Lord of Sorcery, King of Rulers, and Lord of the Night, and through his mirror, he could see the true thoughts and motivations of man. For a whole new light on the dark lord of Tezcatlipoca, check out this beautiful story written by author of The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz. In it, Don Miguel weaves of tale of Smokey Mirror‘s awakening from the dream of the planet to discover the oneness of life. Though he attempted to share his new-found revelations with others, it was only to be misunderstood. Everyone else was still caught within the smoke…the dream of the planet that separates us from our truth. He knew he too would fall back into this dream state.
A Mexica (Meh-she-ka) mirror was one of several reflective objects used by 15/16th century astrologer and magician John Dee for divination practices. He had a fascination with mirrors as well as with supernatural and psychic phenomena. With the help of medium, Edward Kelly, Dee would transcribe messages that Kelly perceived “through the looking glass”. This mirror currently resides in the British Museum and is made of volcanic glass (obsidian).
To learn more about obsidian mirrors, check out these links:
The Getty Research Institute: Obsidian Mirror Travels
Mirrors in MesoAmerican Culture (most excellent and fascinating tidbits)
To read more of the myths of Tezcatlipoca:
Tezcatlipoca: Aztec God of Night, the North, and Sorcery
“Poetry is a mirror which makes beautiful that which is distorted.”
Percy Shelley
There is an art to using Mirrors in Feng Shui and for good reason. They reflect the beauty around you (assuming you are indeed surrounded by beauty), put eyes in the back of your head (I loved my over-the-stove mirror that let me see what was happening behind me in my kitchen), and magnify the light, pushing or pulling chi. They have a reputation of being a cure-all, but as you’ll see from this blog, there are right ways and wrong ways to use mirrors inside your home.
We don’t often pay attention to what the mirrors in our homes are reflecting. Mirrors are typically meant to serve either a functional or simply decorative purpose, perhaps making a small room feel larger. But when we become more conscious of how we are using our mirrors, maybe some of that good-old Feng Shui luck and prosperity can come our way. If we don’t, we may end up with bad Feng Shui and bad luck! I remember looking at an apartment once. As soon as I opened the door, I suffered the shock of someone standing right at the door as I entered. Even if it was only my reflection, it made me jump. Not a good mirror placement and for more than one reason!
Mirrors have fascinating qualities, not just expanding a room, as this blog reveals. They carry water energy and can help us stay in the flow. They can help us awaken and access our creativity, and they can repel the “bad energies” that come at us from all directions. But it isn’t just where the mirror is placed. There is also the consideration of the quality and condition of the mirror to ponder. Is it dirty, cracked, peeling? Such conditions can create or magnify problems for us.
Finally, one should also think about how a mirror is hung. Is it too high? Too low? Google some tips on hanging your mirrors according to “good Feng Shui” and for optimum effect.
Have you found a really cool way to use a mirror in your own home or life?
Images are powerful. They can change our thought patterns and altar our mood instantly. Why not feast your eyes on images you love every day? Mirror Spiritus maintains a Pinterest profile, and we invite you to join us there. Unlike other social media sites, Pinterest has the visual advantage of accessible beauty and inspiration. It’s so full of colorful eye candy, and you can personalize it!
Some of the boards we at Mirror Spiritus feature on Pinterest are:
Mirrors: Well, of course! We’ve collected some amazingly beautiful antique and artsy mirrors of all shapes and sizes. They are seriously breathtaking, and man oh man, would we love to sit in mirror meditation in front of some of these babies or have one as the centerpiece on our mirror altar.
The Great Mystery: In case you hadn’t noticed, Mirror Spiritus is very inspired by light in space. So this board features some striking images from Hubble and other sources that leave one’s mouth agape. The Great Mystery isn’t “out there.” Take a peek at these images and remember not only who you are but where you’re returning.
Shisha Embroidery: Dielle recently wrong a blog about Shisha embroidery which is the art/craft of sewing reflective objects into fabrics. You can see some delightful and colorful samples here.
Chandeliers: Mirror Spiritus is all about bringing more light & beauty into the world. Check out these absolutely gorgeous and extravagant chandeliers that do so quite literally. The lines, the colors, the radiance! YUMMMY!
Stuart Davies Landscapes: We are grateful to our first official blog sponsor, Stuart Davies Art, and enjoy showing off his rich and masterful landscapes. Stuart shares Mirror Spiritus’ love of beauty and light. In fact, he spent much of his life seeking out the perfect light by which to paint. He found it in France. Please visit his website and buy something beautiful for yourself.
The Light Sanctuary: Breathtaking art and other images that heal us through our eyes with the light they exude. This board is like a sanctuary, a retreat from a stress-filled day.
So stop on by and take a look around. If you have a Pinterest profile, follow us there. Thanks!
The ways in which mirrors have been used throughout the centuries are fascinating. Surely, their importance in various world-wide traditions points to something quite archetypal regarding our reflection. Did our ancestors understand something we have forgotten? There are, of course, myriad superstitions regarding mirrors around the globe as well, but I’ll save those up for another post. Here, I focus on a few tidbits of mirrors and traditions.
Image Source: Flickr Photo by: dakinewavamon
THE CELTS
The Celts were an artistic people with a love of metalwork and incidently, mirrors made of bronze, iron, or a combination of the two. Theses mirrors were decorated with the motifs of Celtic art frequently reproduced today and have often been recovered from graves begging the question, “What was their significance?” They are generally regarded as “status symbols” among wealthy women, but was there perhaps a more mystical purpose? Very few Celtic mirrors survive intact, and this wonderful website created by Stephen Markoff, has a collection of fascinating resources and pictures for you to peruse.
JEWISH CULTURE
In the Jewish religion, when a loved one passes, the mirrors of the home are covered while the family sits in mourning for a seven-day period in order to facilitate the transition of the departed from this world to the next. If the mirrors were not covered, it is believed the soul could become entrapped in this realm unable to transition to the “afterlife”. Of course, the more popular version of the meaning is that the bereaved should not be at all concerned with their appearance during mourning but should rather reflect inward. You can read more about the touching customs of Shiva here.
SERBO-CROATIAN CULTURE
Yet another culture that buries their dead with mirrors. Perhaps this Serbo-Croation tradition gives us insight into the significance of burial mirrors in the Celtic tradition. The purpose was two-fold: one) it was thought to prevent one’s spirit from wandering and two) it kept evil spirits from rising up, perhaps by providing them with a means of self-fascination in the grave.
MESOAMERICAN CULTURE
Status symbols of the elite and instruments of sorcerers, ancient mirrors have also been excavated from Maya tombs. Typically fashioned of iron or obsidian (volcanic glass), such mirrors have been found placed near the body (specifically the head, the chest, lower back, groin or feet) or at some distance from the body. Interestingly, the Mexican god, Tezcatlipoca, is often depicted with an obsidian mirror at his head, chest, or foot. What was the significance of these burial mirrors? Were they merely prized possessions for their beauty or reflective qualities or were they viewed as portals into other realms?
Do you know of any interesting cultural uses of mirrors?
“A mind now clouded by the illusions of the innate darkness of life is like a tarnished mirror, but when polished, it is sure to become like a clear mirror, reflecting the essential nature of phenomena and the true aspect of reality.”
~Nichiren Daishonin
WARNING: Do not read if you are easily offended.
I had a rather interesting encounter on Facebook today. A friend had posted about the situation in France sharing his views that declaring war against anything is unlikely to help interracial and religious tensions. I “liked”, not realizing the hostile and heated debate I was getting into.
Some of his other friends just had to express their opinions as well. Nevermind that they had a choice to simply respect his opinion and move on to post on their own walls! No. They had to be heard, damn it! After all, didn’t the rest of the world deserve to be enlightened by their wisdom?
Why can’t we just let someone say what they want to say without going all ape-shit? It is ironic. I wrote two books about the power of the voice and living a fully-expressed and authentic life. I’m beginning to wish I hadn’t. In the wrong hands, that shit is deadly!
It was insanity. One woman was typing totally brainwashed gibberish vacant of fact in an obviously over-the-edge manner (posting and commenting to her own comments) and another man was pointing fingers that were reminiscent of ancient wars fought long ago. There was some serious disrespect being levied. Seriously, it was enough to turn my stomach. My poor battle-weary friend! How on earth are humans ever supposed to communicate if we continually think we’re right and everyone else is wrong? What hope do we have when words are turned against us and the crazy mind justifies the most insane of beliefs? Isn’t that what defines fanaticism? Maybe even terrorism?
I’ve said it before, and I’m not afraid to say it again. We are all terrorists! We are terrorists with our words, in our minds, sometimes in our action whether against ourselves or others, and yes, even in our hearts. I’m sorry. But until we learn to stop pointing fingers, blaming sides, and hating each other, we will continue to kill each other. The mind will not stop the bloodshed. It’s having too much fun being right.
The only way out of this ridiculous pickle as I see it is something very few people will want to do, let alone be capable of doing. That is: to admit we’re all fucking crazy! Not “he’s crazy”. Not “she’s crazy”. Not “they’re crazy.” But I’m crazy. And you’re crazy. I think this is my message for 2015. It’s what I’ve been dealing with myself…the recognition that I’m totally nuts. Maybe I don’t go around killing people or shooting down planes, but I think. And sometimes, that is just as criminal.
And you know what? It’s liberating. When I remember to just embrace and accept that I’m crackers, I no longer have to justify what I believe (let alone believe it). I no longer have to jump in and debate others. I no longer have to prove anything. After all, I’m a lunatic. And so are “they”. And so are you, my friend. Congratulations! Let the healing begin, because the very realization is what gives us hope. The realization begins the reversal.
I’m telling you…the only hope for humanity is accepting that we are all completely bonkers. It doesn’t matter what side you’re on. It doesn’t matter what race you are. It doesn’t matter what religion you are. The unifier here is WE’RE ALL NUTS!!! There are no degrees of crazy until you wake up and admit you are. Then at least, you are finally a little less crazy…but make no mistake, still crazy.
I’m not saying my friend shouldn’t have posted his opinion. Of course he had every right. It was the grenade shower that followed that was completely unnecessary. For God’s sake people, use every last ounce of your will to shut your own trap and stop inflaming what is already so far out of control the only escape is “out of this world”. Blithering is only making things worse. It destroys the spirit and is the clearest form of evil I’ve ever known.
Just because we all have the right to free speech doesn’t mean we need to exercise it. Rights come with responsibilities and hopefully, a certain level of maturity that allows us to respect and empathize with others. So shut up! Stop having to prove your point! Stop spewing political nonsense you overheard and now embrace as fact when it came from someone else’s screwed-up imagination. Stop declaring you are right. Stop letting fear have free reign over every form of intelligence in your being. And start declaring you are an insane piece of work with no clue of the truth and in dire need of divine grace to see clearly again.
Deep breath in. And out.
Right now in France, people are gathered in large numbers to stand against terror, and that’s good, but I doubt they realize that the depth of this terror is rooted within…until it is rooted out. Still, it is a start. If we really want to bring an end to all of this, let’s do so with dignity, refrain, resolve, and unity. Let’s stand as one body, silent, reverent. That is the way.
Aw, what do I know? I’m nuts.
Full Spectrum Intelligence
by Chris Thomson
Full Spectrum Intelligence: A Practical Course on Behaving Wisely and Well
I actually reviewed this book for Amazon a couple of months back, but I really wanted to bring it to Mirror Spiritus to encourage people to read it. Every so often, one reads a book that blows the mind with “good stuff”. It is very rough-going for authors to get the attention they deserve if they aren’t already famous or carried by the giant publishers. So I’d like to do my part for this book.
Thomson illuminates the various realms of intelligence available to humans. He writes about that which we are most familiar because it is the most valued…mental intelligence or brain smarts. Perhaps a growing number of us are familiar with these other types of intelligence: emotional intelligence, or being able to manage our feelings or social intelligence, the ability to “play well with others.” He goes on to explain that intuition is also an intelligence, something more and more of us are realizing but not something valued much in our patriarchal society. He also gives credence to spiritual intelligence or the ability to go beyond normal awareness, understanding, and behavior, and finally, to physical intelligence which goes beyond the concept of an athlete’s skills to the finer use of all of our senses.
So, what’s the Mirror Spiritus tie-in? It’s the full-spectrum, baby! Mirror Spiritus is about light and what better way to embody light than to fully develop our innate intelligence to its full potentials. But there’s more. I see this work as a reflection of human potential. Thomson does a beautiful job of opening our minds to all that remains untapped within us.
My Amazon review went as follows:
This book deserves a 10 star rating, but since that isn’t an option, I’ll settle for five. Chris Thomson has written a fascinating book I wish EVERYBODY would read…like NOW! It is clearly written and easy to read but full of incredibly inspiring and insightful information about “behaving wisely and well”. He explores the various intelligences–physical, emotional, mental, intuitive, social and spiritual–in a completely accessible way and offers simple practices to become more aware of and to build your intelligence in every area. It’s really a timely book while the whole world seems to be going mad; it reminds us to exercise humility and to pay attention to the whole self. It’s a prescription for what ails us if we are willing to get past our outdated concepts of intelligence (and indeed past our own arrogance) and heal the wounding around not being smart enough. I hope it gets translated into every known human language.
As Thomson writes, developing our intelligences is a means to become fully human. To be unconscious in any of the intelligences is to be less than we can be…indeed were born to be. And ignorance perpetuates insanity. Let’s face it. Some crazy-ass shit (pardon my language) has been going down in the world lately. Just this week, Paris endured terrorism the likes of which it has never known. I’m not saying this book can change the world and end the hate, but I am saying that this book can change your world if you let it. And isn’t that how we change the rest of the world?
Full Spectrum Intelligence: A Practical Course on Behaving Wisely and Well
Did you know? Shisha embroidery is the craft of sewing tiny mirroring objects to fabric. It originated in 17th century India (supposedly with the wife of Shah Jehan who built the Taj Mahal in her honor) eventually spreading throughout Asia and the Middle East. Interestingly, Native Americans are also known to have used mirrors to decorate their dress supposedly seeing them as symbols of wealth and prestige (though Mirror Spiritus has a much more spiritual theory on their usage by tribal cultures). Whether sewn on clothing or into domestic fabrics such as tablecloths and hangings, shisha is used in some cultures to throw off the “evil eye”, whether this was believed to happen because it reflected the evil away or because it dazzled and distracted, one cannot say. Mirror Spiritus finds shisha a delightful means of bringing more light into our world. (And the “evil eye” protection can’t hurt!)
The mirrors most often represent the center of flowers or the eyes of animals. In wall hangings, they sometimes represent the ears of the Sun God or the breasts of Radha, so they aren’t random decoration traditionally. The video above demonstrates (in a rather meditative fashion) how the mirrors are affixed to fabric.
For those of you who have never had the privilege of seeing the Native American “Jingle Dance” live, take a look at this video. Though it is not related to Shisha in an obvious way, Mirror Spiritus would speculate that the numerous rows of shiny metal bells perform a similar function…to bring in more light and cast out darkness. What do you think?
When we look into the mirror during mirror meditation, what do we see?
Spiritual teacher, Mooji, has an awesome youtube meditation in which he has you visualize yourself standing on a scale removing everything that is not natural to you. In other words, you remove your clothes, your dental fillings, and your nail polish, and once that is through, you remove the memories and thoughts which did not exist for you when you were born. In other words, it is a stripping away of all that is unnatural to our being. When we practice this, we get a sense of just how light our actual being is. Osho, another spiritual teacher, defines meditation as “the art of cleaning your mirror from all the dust that the society, the religion, the educational system has poured on you, to take away everything that has not been born with you, to bring you to your absolute innocence as you were born as a child”.
When Osho was asked why during mirror meditation, one meditator felt like he wasn’t looking at or seeing himself, Osho explained that this is absolutely correct! The reflection we see isn’t us. We are what is perceiving the reflection. He says, “if you think you are mirrored in the mirror, that is a lie…” It just happens to be one we all agree upon, and therefore it seems logical and real. He goes on to say, “Your consciousness cannot be reflected by the mirror,” unless, he says, that mirror is love.
Osho’s teaching on this is so profoundly beautiful. He explains how lovers can sometimes mirror each other through their deep intimacy. The personalities disappear and only love remains. The experience is akin to two mirrors reflecting one another thus reflecting infinity. That’s what two clear mirrors do when they face each other. They create infinity. This is one of the reasons why practicing mirror meditation with someone you love (being one another’s mirror) can be so profound.
When you are practicing mirror meditation alone, do the practice, whatever the focus, and engage with yourself, but always try to keep in the back of your mind that what you see is NOT you. Always bring any mirror meditation session to a close by being still and empty, practicing the recognition that you are the pure consciousness aware of the reflection and not what is being reflected.
Source: God’s Got a Thing About You, Chapter 17 – Osho