My new favorite book on the Ancient Secrets of the Cards...

As a 15 year enthusiast of the Science of the cards and purchaser of every book on the subject, I am always pleased to find the next new book on this ancient subject. I discovered the author, Sharon Jeffers a few years back and her first book, "Cards of Destiny; A Birthday Book and Daily Divination Guide." Ms. Jeffers This book helps one learn about why you are the way you are. Once you begin to see how the Birth cards work, you gain insight about your gifts and your challenges. Now, just in time for my Christmas--her second book has been published; "Love and Destiny; Discover the Secret Language of Relationships." My Amazon pre-order appeared magically on my doorstep yesterday.
Thankfully, I had difficulty sleeping last night and whiled away the wee hours with applying Sharon's techniques for analyzing relationships. Four simple cards determine different aspects of the relationship between two people and Sharon Jeffers' descriptions of the relationship cards offer brilliant insights into human character and experiences. After analyzing my relationship to my partner, my childrens' relationships to their significant others and my parents relationship, I was satisfied with the accuracy of the determinations. And was able to get to sleep.... ..

Unexpected Beauty

Unexpected Beauty

Uplifts
Blesses
Inspires
Reminds me
of what is good,
what is pure.
Reminds me;
I am,
surrounded by
Divine support.
Reminds me of the Beauty
Within.

Take the judgement challenge...

Years ago, I had the phenomenal opportunity to study with Rosalyn Bruyere and to learn at the feet of a wonderful, wise human being. As with most of my life's teachers; sometimes she and I got along and sometimes we didn't. Each seminar I received from her, we brought out different aspects of one another. Now, I am sure I was just 'one more student' to her in the sea of students she has shared teachings with. However, for me, there is only one of her and she has been the gift that keeps on giving; these ten years later. I am finally beginning to understand why I still hear what she taught us, replaying in my head. What Rosalyn (Rose--not Roz) shared with us were Universal teachings or truths and when you are in the presence of Universal Truths, your body, mind and spirit are nourished by these teachings and they are forever a part of you. Little did I realize then what a Mystery school was, even though it was discussed at length in the classes. The beauty of being part of a Mystery school is that it is never-ending; whether you are actively participating or not.

Through my Reiki studies, I have learned the Japanese term for Mystery teachings; Shinpiden, which means "there is always another mystery" and this really describes what the basis of a Mystery school is. Taken from the dictionary; Mystery--any truth that is unknowable except by divine revelation.

As I reflect upon all the Rosalyn nuggets I find myself repeating to anyone who will listen; I am pleased once again to be reminded of a new one that I hadn't explored lately. In honor of the recent fire which took out a 200 yr old building being refurbished by Nora Roberts and her husband, I am reading my FIRST romance novel. What, you may gasp--is this possible? Is nothing sacred? I respect Ms. Roberts' goal to repair the burned out building and to start once again creating her dream B&B. I know it will be great for the little town and I have decided to contribute to her cause via her books. What I am surprised to find is that as a result I am now able to let go of judgment in one more area of my life. I recall Rosalyn suggesting we try to read all types of books, so that we can understand them or until we understand them. Who knows, I might have to read political books next! Not sure I am ever going to be that evolved....

Love thy neighbor or just send light!

In a session with my last client of the day, I was pleasantly reminded tonight about a choice I made a few years back. I send light to folks that irritate me. Not to change them, just to send light instead of what I had been sending; unpleasant thoughts, judgments, criticisms, etc. I had learned the hard way; when I yelled at high school soccer games at the coaching, the next day, I would have a sore throat. When I used to get sore throats, they were horrible and painful and I was not a pleasant person. I was motivated to avoid these at all costs and to heal whatever predisposed me to sore throats.

Surprisingly, there seemed to be an effect from all that light I sent to the soccer coaches; or at least their coaching didn't upset me as much anymore. This inspired me to send light to more folks. The more light I sent, the more accepting I became of ways different than mine and the more tolerant I felt of others. Gradually, this led to compassion, for myself and for others.

Tonight, I finally put all the puzzle pieces together; I know when I send light, it is the light of the Divine, which is Divine Love. So, I send you God's Love, Divine Light. When you send light, you are filled with light, when you love your neighbor, you are filled with love. Hence, Love your neighbor as yourself. Bible quote for Lent--But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (Matthew 5:43) The choice is yours; light-fare or internal war-fare.

Tapping into that lunar eclipse energy...

The Lunar eclipse energy is a special time for anyone who chooses to view it that way. It is a time where hidden things can be revealed, it is a time where hidden things can be healed.

Last night I had the honor to lead a small group through a guided healing session. Each person chose to explore their own internal layers of self and to trust the process as it unfolded. I am so grateful for the modern world with all its wonderful technology, that allows us to create unique healing opportunities in new ways. Who knew we could efficiently acknowledge a weakness within ourselves, breathe through it, call light into and transform it to a completely new state? And who knew we could do this simultaneously with other people, while maintaining our own private process, without getting involved in anyone else's?

I give you the teleconference healing session, called
INVOCATIONS OF GRACE.

I give you an invitation to join us on the next call; March 5, 2008 at 9 pm (EST).

As I have informed other clients in the past; "the only way you will know if remote healing sessions work for you, is to try them."
At a very affordable price, I might add.

OOPS!!! The Universe caught me again!

What I am about to report may not be palatable to everyone, so if you are easily frightened...you may want to skip this submission. Last night I was hurrying to knock off one more thing on my to-do list and I was literally transported to another Universe. At this point, I know I just lost half my audience. For those of you that are more intrigued than disgusted, hold onto your seats. As I was busily creating yet another mass email to announce yet another golden opportunity for growth and transformation; the strangest of strange occurrences kept happening and I kept trying to will it away; so I could get my work done, of course.

Picture this; I am busily typing away at my PC (sorry Macs) and my thoughts are literally being invaded by some other being. How do I know this, you might ask? At this point, I would like to tell you that you wouldn't believe it if I told you, but I acquiesce and I will spill. As I am typing into the keyboard and watching the screen, I begin to see extra words being inserted into my page; words that I have not typed personally. I try to shrug this off and casually delete the aberrant words, only to find that they reappear again at the edge of my cursor. It is simple words that are being inserted into my page; in him, the, in the, with....you get the idea.

I am seriously wrestling with this unexplained phenomenon and absolutely determined that it will not deter me from getting my current mission accomplished. However, the other less manic part of me is beginning to freak out and beginning to resign myself to the presence of an evil spirit in the room. Is this being trying to tell me something? I had heard of automatic writing, where one connects to the spirits and lets them write through them; I just had never experienced it personally. Then I remember from past seminars I've attended, that if there is an entity or disembodied spirit in the room, all you have to do is to ask it to leave; literally tell it to "get out!" Fortunately for me, my home office is in one corner of the house and no one is around while I am battling this unknown.

So I give it the college try and speak with authority to the air in my room, "get out! Leave me alone now!" Then I dutifully go back to typing and try to pretend that everything is taken care of. Wouldn't you know it, I have a very determined spirit in the room, who it appears doesn't follow the rules of the Universe and is currently non-compliant with my heartfelt request. Words keep appearing on my screen, I am deleting them 'en mass' and as I type more, more deviants appear. I haven't felt exasperated in years, but I am inching towards that state.

Clearly, it is going to be almost impossible to complete my email announcement and in my agitated state, I can find no logical explanation for this problem. Sometimes keyboards go screwy if they've been spilled upon and this must be what is happening; even though the likelihood of the spill is pretty remote.

I also know that today is the last day for the planet Mercury to be in retrograde; which it has been in for the past three weeks. When Mercury is retro, it appears to be moving backwards in the heavens as compared to the other planets. The logical explanation for this is based on the varying elliptical orbits of the planets and how they overlap one another in the cosmos. However, there are real effects that we all feel when Mercury is retro; we miss, cancel and rearrange appointments, we lose things, we find things, old friends contact us out the blue, we miscommunicate and electrical things break down--cars, computers, cell phones, etc. If you look back at your past three weeks; you will see numerous confirmations of the affects of mercury retro. Mercury rules communication, electronics, quick trips and the mind, to name a few. Anyway, these crazy, randomly appearing words would be a typical way for Mercury retro to show up. Obviously, something has gone haywire with my PC.

I surrender to the unknown, it has won the battle and I retreat. I save my feeble attempts at a profound email and close out the program. I hear my inner voice saying, just in case it is an entity; "you better be gone when I get back!" Walking out of the room, I see my husband coming into the kitchen and I try to explain to him the oddities I have just endured. Insulting as it is, once again, he knew exactly how to fix the problem. He suggested a simple maneuver, which I immediately employed and then I sat down and laughed hysterically at myself for about 15 minutes.

Beware, beware, beware of all recently installed programs for which you may not have tested out of yet to be qualified to run. You know, that moment when you have made every mistake possible and NOW you KNOW how to run the program. Enter--wait for it--a certain voice recognition software.....which types what ever you speak! Who turned the microphone on? Oh is that what that little icon is for....

What if.....or what could possibly happen? Notes from a recovering skeptic.

• What if all you had to do to feel better about life was to breathe out the stress and to imagine yourself filled with healing light?
  
• What if you couldn't possibly realize it was really that simple, until you actually tried it once?
  
• What if that part of you that doubts everything were set aside for an hour, so that you could experience a new possibility?
  
• What if you tried this new healing process and you were amazed and transformed as a result?
  
• And what if that whole process of healing the layers of stuff you've accumulated in your life could be done in the privacy of your own home, in your own comfortable chair?

We all have our own personal internal skeptic, that part of us that learned a long time ago not to get our hopes up--or you will surely be disappointed. I invite you to embrace your skeptic, acknowledge your skeptic and then let your inner skeptic come out and play. Do your own experiment; your results will be your proof. Join me for an Invocations of Grace session and see for your self.

A skeptic is a person who doubts and questions information, in order to discover what is true. From the ancient Greek schools, the skeptikos is the one who reflects, looks and views. In the truest sense, the skeptic is a scientist; one who needs proof that something is true. I love skeptics, I am your biggest fan. I, too, am one who questions everything and I am one who now knows what truth feels like.

Unfortunately, most of us use a very limited tool to determine if something is true; our intellect. Most of us have forgotten how to use the most important discerning tool we have; our body. Our body responds instantly to every stimulus we are subjected to; we will have a gut instinct, a warm feeling, a tightness, an expansion; to name a few. Our body knows what is right for us before our intellect kicks in and starts analyzing. "Trust your Vibes" by Sonia Choquette is one of my favorite books out on the shelves right now that reminds us to listen to the body.

We spend most of our life analyzing our life experiences and as a result most of these experiences are still waiting to be processed for resolution or completion. Our intellect is ill equipped to completely process our experiences; as this is ignoring the bulk of the information, which is feelings. We end up with a back log of data that our body is forced to wade through daily. The fuller our internal closets get, the more difficult it gets to move around. Our internal flow is compromised by our outdated junk; and this creates stress.

There are ways to relieve stress; exercise, proper foods, meditation and tai chi to name a few. Then there are ways to eliminate stress; by cleaning out the backlog of obsolete data and by breathing out unresolved emotions and outdated beliefs. It is a thing which must be experienced to fully understand its potential.

Simple, uncomplicated healing, which doesn't require re-living the past; just healing it. I invite you to appreciate yourself fully, accepting who you are in the moment and being open to unlimited amounts of joy and love in your life. Everything is possible, we just forgot this truth. I look forward to sharing Invocations of Grace with you on our next call.

Why does Reiki energy feel stronger from one person than from another?

One of my Reiki friends asked me this question recently and I in turn asked my Reiki guides for insight on this question.

The flow of Reiki energy through a practitioner’s body is dependent on many different factors; such as openness, clarity, integrity, grounding, intention, frequency of use and your relationship with your Reiki guides.

• Being open to all possibilities, without limitations, without expectations and being in a neutral place to allow the Reiki to work through you; that is openness. If I don't think Reiki can heal my fractured tail bone, then that belief is going to impact the results I receive. If I think Reiki can heal my bones now and any trauma held in them from the past; then that also will influence what I receive.

• Clarity speaks to how clear we are on all levels; physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. If I have an old break in my arm, that may actually slow down the flow of energy through that arm. I view the body as being full of hundreds of little tiny garden hoses; each hose has some kinks, some crud inside them and some have boulders smashing them closed. The Reiki flow is similar to turning on the water spigot and allowing the water to flow. As the water rushes into the hoses, the kinks are popped open, the crud is moved through and the boulders are pushed off the hoses. Similarly, the Reiki increases the flow of energy throughout the body and like the water, helps to clear out the flows the more one uses or receives Reiki. This energy, this Light of the Divine, helps to clear out all levels; physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

• Integrity is about being in alignment with your truth, knowing what your truth is and experiencing life from within your truth. The old adage comes up once again; “physician heal thyself.” This involves spending some time getting to know who you are. You are buried beneath layers of responses which you created to protect the real you. Many of us function on ‘auto-pilot;’ which is a standard set of responses and reactions to everyone and everything around us. The true self isn’t given a chance to come out and play; we are too busy reacting. As we release old unresolved emotions from the past; the backlog of stuff that continually spilled into the present is released. We then experience freedom in each moment to pause, feel and respond from our integrity. As we develop more integrity within us, the easier the flow of Reiki is through us.
  

• Grounding supports your ability to be a clear channel of Reiki; as you connect your body to the Earth, you allow the flow of the Reiki energy to move throughout your entire body. Imagining the Reiki light coming into your body and moving through it enhances the actual flow of this energy. Practicing various grounding techniques daily helps you stay in your body and helps one notice how energy flows through the body.
  

• Intentions set parameters for the healing and strengthen the results received during the Reiki session. Begin by asking for the highest help and ask to be connected to the Spirit of Reiki, to the Reiki guides and ask for the highest level of healing for the highest good to occur. The more we involve the Divine and our Spirit helpers, the more effective the Reiki session. Releasing any beliefs we may have that we have to do this all on our own is essential to allowing the Divine to work through you.

• How often we use Reiki on ourselves, on others and how often we receive Reiki greatly influences how Reiki flows through us. It stands to reason, that if our energy flows are full of years of life experience and congestion; it will become clearer the more often Reiki energy runs through us. If we only receive and give Reiki once a month, our body will not be used to running Reiki through us. If we Reiki ourselves for five minutes a day, the body develops a very conducive relationship to the Reiki energy. One easy way to do this is to go to sleep giving yourself Reiki and when you wake up, give yourself five minutes of Reiki as you gradually wake up; it’s much easier to get out of bed after that. It is important to trade receiving Reiki on a regular basis; weekly if possible. The benefits of regular receiving will astound you.

• Your relationship with your Reiki guides can be very informative and helpful; almost like graduate school training. Listening to your intuition as you do Reiki and noticing what suggestions come to guide the healing experience may become part of every Reiki session. Your Reiki healing guides can guide you where to place your hands on the body and you may also see images that inform the healing work.

In general, the more one uses the Reiki, the more flow you will develop through your hands and body and the more effective the results in all your sessions.

How does one get started in the Healing Arts?

For me, it began with the desire to end suffering and discomfort; firstly, in myself, secondly, in my family and thirdly, in my friends. Years ago, I was inspired by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann's statement from one of his Homeopathy books;
' the best physicians were the ones who had suffered the most ailments.' I connect this to another old adage; 'physician, heal thyself.' As the physician heals herself; she gains knowledge, experience, compassion, humility and understanding. It's impossible to understand the suffering of others if you have not suffered.

Thankfully, the human experience is full of suffering, until you choose not to suffer, that is. Choosing suffering is like ' to be or not to be, that is the question.' Even in the midst of extreme suffering, we have a choice how to be and there are many examples of this in our present and past world experiences. I recently overheard a friend thanking another friend, who happened to be her audiologist; 'thank you for telling me 10 years ago that I needed to befriend my tinnitus; it was such a helpful idea.' Her tinnitus as a result is much easier to live with. She chose not to suffer.

Each person drawn to the healing arts is usually motivated by a deep desire to heal themselves. From that place, we are then able to show the way for others to do the same. Personal experience and observation of others on a similar journey have confirmed for me that there are certain opportunities we all face on this healing arts journey.

The most common first lesson is about boundaries; how to develop them, how to create them and how to stay within your bounds. Most of us learn what works in this department by first learning what doesn't. I will share some of my own history and my impression that most of us pass through these lessons.

My first high in the healing arts was through homeopathic medicines and witnessing the miraculous effect they had on my baby's teething pain. Soon, I was using homeopathic medicines for every ailment our young family suffered from and usually with great results. I bought books on the subject, took classes, enlisted the help of medical practitioners and then as I knew more; taught classes and led homeopathic study groups. I wanted everyone I knew to use homeopathy and I put much personal time and energy into trying to help my friends with all their families' ailments. I became very attached to the results and too invested in other people's lives and I felt responsible for their well-being.

Huge opportunity for boundary lessons abounded; and I eventually passed the course. Eventually, I realized that in order for healing of any sort to work, the person needing it needs to ask for the help. That is the first step toward healing anything; asking for help. Pushing help onto someone usually backfires...trust me on this one. Using homeopathy is a brilliant opportunity to step into your responsibility for your own health. It is so easy to learn from the books that are out there and there so few risks compared to numerous side effects of modern medicine.

Lesson number two goes a little deeper; when I feel sorry for someone, want to rescue them from their pain and view them as helpless; there are now two victims in the room--me and them (it's true, it does take one to know one.) This is a co-dependent perspective and one that is limiting for both parties. My personal golden rule now that I strive to maintain, is to envision limitless possibilities for others instead of narrow definitions. I choose to empower others, know that they are capable of making good choices and I will be happy to assist them; if they ask. I practice healthy detachment with good intentions.

So the healing journey actually heals the journeyer, go figure. I am grateful for the journey and the continued healing growth. There is always another mystery, it's what keeps life interesting.
A final thought on healing; I am a mentor in the healing arts and I invite you to heal yourself, with Divine help, Divine guidance, Divine intervention and of course, Divine miracles.

Historical Restoration

Re-alignment is my current middle name. I am in the process of historical restoration of my own mansion; my body.

Who knew how damaging it would be to break a tailbone at five years old, a collarbone at six, one wrist at seven and the other wrist at eight? Who knew the pain I would suffer in my forties and now my fifties as a result of all the old injuries? Who knew that the twenty years of bodywork were actually essential to undo the damage and to prevent worse pain?

It is a beautiful thing to watch the body find its way back to wholeness. I am in awe of it every day. I have learned to trust the process and have seen where I fall victim to my own state. When I don’t give up, when I listen to my inner voice suggesting healing treatments, then I am once again reminded how supported I am and to trust.

In my morning walk today these words came out of my mouth and the whole walk became a sacred prayer of thanksgiving.

I give gratitude and I receive Love.
I give gratitude and I receive Love.

Now, I am unraveling the pain, following the trail back through time and releasing what was absorbed and restoring what was lost.

I am restoring my virtue, I am restoring my virtue
I am restoring my purity, I am restoring my purity
I am restoring my alignment, I am restoring my alignment.

I am forgetting how to feel helpless, how to feel powerless,
how to give up and how to give in.

I am remembering how if feels to be whole and the glimpses of this new / old reality are rich and peaceful.

I am restoring my God given right to be a vessel of Light.
I am restoring my God given right to be a vessel of Light.

I am Light.

Four-Way Stop Savvy?

For those of you who may have missed our local paper's recent guest column from yours truly;

Are You Four-Way Stop Savvy?

Its dark out and you are approaching the dreaded, most congested part of your little town. You know the long wait that lies ahead of you. You also know you are completely dependent on that little understood quality that only few of us possess; “four-way stop savvy.”

This is not a quality that many of us are born with; it is a recent mutation in the genetic code that’s only showing up in a “naturally selected” few. It has been noted to show up in human clusters in random areas of the planet and our little hamlet seems to be one of these blessed locations. If you are one of the many who have not yet mutated this genetic characteristic into your code, you probably find yourself continuously nonplussed as you approach the harrowing four-way stop.

It’s amazing to think that road rage could even occur in our little burg; however, this is unfortunately commonplace at least twice a day in one section of our mini-opolous. Here at the four corners, much is at stake and much will be decided in a short amount of time. The bad news is, is that it is all out of your control. The good news is, is that it is all out of your control. It is a prime opportunity to practice all those self-help techniques; “I am at peace in the now and I have all the time I need.” Ahh, feel the tension melting out of your body as you exhale deeply. Or, if you are still on page 2 of the self-help manual, you might be unable to appreciate the beauty all around you as you sit in a line of twenty cars waiting for someone to master the four way stop.

Can’t you find that well of empathy that lies within you that has compassion for each and every driver as they navigate their way through the upcoming treachery? The quandary we each must address; “am I a failure or a success?” “Did I do it right or wrong?” “Did I make a fool of myself or how many people did I ____ off this time?” And my personal favorite, “how come everyone else seems to know when to go?” These are just some of the split-second angst we endure each time we enter the “crossroads of comradery.”

That’s right, every time you enter this “crossroads of comradery,” it is a good time to make new friends. Show some human interest in your fellow man and make…wait for it; eye contact. Eye contact is the great communicator; it says, “I know you exist and are you going to let me go first?” All in one quick connection, the pecking order is established. Which is it going to be? I can be nicer than you or I don’t have time for this and I am just going to go. This works great in the day time and when there are no clear answers for who really is on your right.

So where does the savvy gene come in, one might ask? There are moments at the four-way stop that seem almost choreographed and if we piped music into the intersection…. It doesn’t happen that often, but occasionally four people with this savvy gene will show up at the four-way stop at the exact same moment. What you are about to witness is the highest level of savvy and is not to be attempted by the neophyte. Four right turns at the same time? Is this really possible? It’s a wondrous event that only lasts a second. On a more regular basis, you might find two naturally selected experts arriving across from one another. Amazingly, they are able to go straight through the intersection at the same time or even take left turns simultaneously, regardless of who was there first. The savvy individual is able to appraise the scene quickly and shorten the wait time for all the less savvy behind them. Hooray for natural selection.

Here’s a general rule of thumb for the four-way; if each driver went through one at a time, there were no genetically enhanced folks in that batch and don’t feel like a failure. I’ve been told that those without the savvy gene can actually learn how it’s done through observation and practice, practice, practice.