Category: 2023

Don’t Push the River. It flows by Itself

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I heard this phrase recently, and it really struck me. Apparently, it’s the title of a book written by Barry Stevens in 2005. It basically means to let go and trust the timing of the universe. Sometimes, that’s easier said than done.

Over this last year, as a spirit healer, my divine advisors have reminded me to trust them and believe that everything is happening as needed. One of the main areas this applies to is editing and publishing my first book in my spiritual fantasy series. If you’re not aware, editing takes a long, long time and can be quite tedious. Compounding the tedium is learning about something called “show, not tell,” which means that rather than providing information about a character or a situation, create a scene. It makes sense. But it’s required a good amount of rewriting. Because I started this book at the end of 2021, I’ve found myself impatient to complete it and move on to book 2. The message from my advisors echoed the 2005 book title.

Have you ever been in that situation? It can be challenging to embrace. Sometimes, the feeling of impatience comes with the belief that you must do something. Doesn’t the universe, God, or our higher power require us to do our part? If so, then how much are you supposed to do? Per the river metaphor, aren’t there pebbles or rocks you have to move to help it flow better?

As a recovering workaholic, recognizing when to do something and how much is challenging. It comes down to listening to my intuition and being attentive to my body, which gives me warning signs when I’m pushing. For 2024, my intention is to wait for the opportunities to guide me about when to take action. I’m not letting my advisors off the hook; I’ve asked them to make them obvious.

As we approach the end of 2023 and the start of 2024, I realize that some of you might be scrambling to buy presents or stressing about holiday gatherings. But maybe the metaphor is appropriate. Let the river flow, breathe, and find some time to relax and enjoy.

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Divine Humor

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A central tenet of my belief is that God, angels, and all divine beings are always watching over us. My sense is that’s a common belief for many. This means that they watch us every moment of every day. I’ve been fortunate to sense their presence through a tingling sensation coursing through my body, something I first experienced a couple of years ago.

Two weeks ago, this took a comical turn. How do I say this politely? I felt their presence (that is, the tingling) while urinating. Yeah, I know it sounds gross. Some might think it was nothing more than a physical reaction. I would normally agree. But when I checked with my divine advisors, they confirmed it. Now, I could imagine some calling me blasphemous for saying such. But if you think about it, if God is truly present to us in every moment, then that includes our most mundane activities. It was an important lesson to be reminded of. Think about it.

Now, this might have been the end of the lesson had it not been for the fact that the tingles have continued since then every time I took care of business. When I accused my divine advisors of being weird, they laughed. From that emerged their next lesson: Divine beings don’t limit themselves to solemnity and seriousness. They also have moments of joy, laughter, silliness, and playfulness. Try to imagine what that might be like. Might they be luminous balls of energy careening around the divine realm and having fun? Might my guardian angel go so far as to muss my hair or even poke me?

I must admit that for much of my life, I treated my spiritual journey as a serious business with no room for laughter or silliness. But by doing so I excluded experiences that were light and in fact healing. What about you? Does your own spiritual journey include laughter and playfulness? Like me, it could lead to unexpected moments.

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Turning Doubt into Excitement

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Have you ever had the experience where you knew something good was going to happen but you doubted it because your own feelings of unworthiness overpowered it? I have. Last Monday, I attended a session of Cosmic Community, a program offered by Dougall Fraser. The focus was manifesting your vision. Our homework was to visualize our dream, feel the emotions that you’d feel when it became a reality, and then notice and explore any feelings of unworthiness arise.

For me, the dream is the publishing the first book in my spiritual fantasy series. The thing is that for this my dream, I’ve gotten a constant message from my guides though spiritual readers that my book will take off. Despite that, I’ve struggled with doubt, and questions like, “what real proof do I have that that’s even possible?”

Reflecting on this, I received the following question from my guides: “Why does not knowing the details about how this will happen, result in doubt? Must the unknown equate with doubt? I immediately knew that it didn’t. And with that, I felt a weight lifted. Not knowing the how, when or what of a future blessing, doesn’t mean that you have to doubt that it will occur.

Yesterday, I was challenged to go a step further, when I learned that my sister planned a surprise trip for her husband’s birthday. For him, the how and where are unknown, but with that comes excitement. So, in place of the doubt we let go, can we embrace excitement as we anticipate our dream manifesting?

To that end, I invite to do the same homework I have, as part of your daily meditation. Sit or lie down somewhere comfortable and do the following:

  1. Visualize your dream or the good that you desire. What does it look like? What are you wearing? Who are you with?
  2. Once you clearly see than image, become aware of the emotions that you experience, for example, happy, fulfilled, grateful, etc. But feel them not just as a future experience but in that very moment; in effect, you are inviting that dream to begin manifesting now.
  3. Finally, notice if any unworthiness, doubt, or fear arise. Acknowledge them with the intention exploring their why later. Then, invite the feelings back that you had of your manifested dream. Then, hold them in your heart throughout the rest of your day.

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Letting go, trust, risk

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In a recent personal oracle card reading, I received that a message that an area of my life that is blocked is abundance. The tool to break through it being still and open. The outcome of doing will be the manifestation of wonderous experiences. An exciting message, huh. My intuition says that this message is not just for me but for anyone seeking to discover opportunities and fully manifest their gifts.

A few weeks ago, I started a Certified Aura Reader course offered by Dougall Fraser and his husband David Harel. The goal is to enable the enrollees to perceive people’s auras and understand what they represent about the person’s self and gifts. As a spirit healer still growing into my identity, I sensed that developing this ability would be important. Not even half way into the course, I discovered three ideas that might be helpful to anyone.

Letting go: While this is not a new idea, for me letting go also meant telling my mind voice to shush. Ever committed to helping me on my spiritual path, it falsely believed that to help me it needed to push harder to figure “it” out, not aware that by doing this it hindered my ability to hear my intuition.

Trust: With a quiet mind, I’m once again reminded to trust. It too is not a new idea. But it calls for trust at a deeper level. For out of the quiet, our intuition has more space to perceive messages and images and to speak. A few weeks ago, during my first practice aura reading, quieting my mind and trusting were challenging. Although, what I sensed was real, it was limited. I had to trust wholeheartedly that into the silence (or at least the space that had less mind chatter) would come what I needed to hear and thus share with the person I was reading.

Risk: It can be scary to try something new, especially if others might consider it hogwash. In my case, risk called me to not edit or doubt, speaking whatever I heard through my intuitive sense, in a stream-of-consciousness kind of way. Now, before doing so, it necessitated that I go neutral, that is, set aside my mood so I could tap into the other’s energy. Risking from this place came a great sense of satisfaction.

Letting go, trust, and risk. Simple ideas but having profound outcomes if we are open to embracing them.

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Make Your Own Kind of Music

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This song, by the Mamas & the Papas, popped into my head this morning. The complete chorus lyrics are: “Make your own kind of music. Sing your own special song. Make your own kind of music, even if nobody else sings along.”

This struck me this morning after pulling two cards for an Oracle deck the night before. The first card was Archangel Jeremiel, whose focus is forgiveness. The second card was Self-Acceptance. The combination of the song and the cards reminded me of a few divine messages.

As we travel along our path towards wholeness, endeavoring to live a good life and our purpose, we’re not going to do it perfectly. We’re simply need to do the best we can, and use any mistakes or struggles as learning opportunities. Archangel Jeremiel’s invitation to self-forgiveness is to fully accept ourselves as we are in the moment, letting go of any goal that implies that we would be more effectively living our purpose when we achieve X or exhibit Y.

Coming off that, the song lyrics calls us to make our own kind of music, as we are now, with all our messiness and frustrations, as well as blessings and successes.

That’s in fact the beauty of our incarnation on earth. Each of us are unique individuals. We bring into our life our experiences, gifts, struggles, passions, fears, and even quirks. Together they make their own melody that others may not understand or even agree with. Certainly, having the support of others is helpful. But we are encouraged to raise our voice in song now, as loud as we can. Granted, some of the music may clash. But I believe that giving it time, prayer, and blessings, the music will harmonize, creating an amazing chorus that transforms and heals.

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Beauty, Gratitude, and Responsibility

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I’ve been driving cross-country on vacation. My husband and I had always wanted to see the sites of the U.S.A. We finally had the opportunity. Throughout the drive, we were struck by the unique beauty of each state, from prairies to rolling hills, from mountains to valley, not to mention animals like deer, cows, goats, horses, and so on. Our first stop today was in Badlands, South Dakota.

The Badland rocks formed over millions of years, and as a result of wind and water eroded to create amazing formations. An example is shown to the left.

Their beauty was awe inspiring, reminding me of the beauty of nature is and our planet.

I can only offer gratitude to Mother Earth and God for sculpting the land as it is.

With this appreciation of course, comes a call to responsibility.

In a recent podcast that I heard, the speaker stated that he did not like the phrase climate change or global warming because they did not convey the urgency of our need to heal our planet. He preferred the phrase global crisis or climate crisis, because it highlighted the state we are in.

We continue to hear about record-breaking temperatures , floods from unexpected deluges, tornados that pop up unexpectedly, and fires in Canada and elsewhere that destroy people’s homes, lives, and our forests. We’ve got to do something to improve our care of the planet. Many of us are already recycling and composting. Many are moving away from fossil fuels to solar energy and electric or hybrid cars. But, I believe we need to do so much more, given all that we are experiencing. If we don’t do more, especially moving away from anything that emits CO2, the lifetime of our planet is in doubt, if not in our lifetimes, certainly our grandchildren or theirs.

We are called to be caretakers of our planet, showing it as much love as we show our friends and family. I’ll get off my soap box now. Here’s another photo of the Badlands.

Fear and Intuition

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Have you ever considered the relationship between fear and intuition? And by fear, I’m not talking about the feeling you get when you are actually in danger. I’m talking about the fear that arises from anticipating danger or worst-case scenarios. It’s the kind that is rooted in childhood traumas or abuse that trained you to always be on alert, not take risks, and stay invisible.

For much of my life, I struggled with this. When it comes up, physically, my heart starts pounding. Mentally, my mind goes into overdrive analyzing the situation, figuring out a multiplicity of ways to avoid, respond, or hide from the imagined danger. It’s exhausting, and takes up so much space in life, not to mention energy. What’s been so frustrating is that I’ve worked on this issue for many years through therapy, workshops, and self-care.

Recently that changed, when I recognized the relationship between fear and intuition. Intuition is the knowledge and wisdom that comes from our divine spirit or soul, which is part of God. When I let this fear drive the bus, as it were, it essentially cuts me off from my intuition and thus God. As a further consequence, it impacts my empathy, my ability to be fully present to people, much less myself.

Coming to this realization, for the last month, I’ve been trying another approach. The moment that this imagined fear arises, and my mind starts a-working, I quiet it. Knowing that my mind is trying to keep me safe, I thank it for its intention, and ask it to let go and be at ease. The result is that I can more easily hear my intuition. A further consequence is that there’s more space and energy in life, which allows possibilities and miracles to occur.

Admittedly, doing so, takes trust and faith. It requires trust that an answer or solution will arise. And behind that trust is the belief that intuition is connected to the divine.

One final note. Be assured that I’m not telling people to dismiss or swallow this fear. It’s important that you acknowledge it, and understand its roots and even comfort it in a way. The trauma or danger that gave birth to it was very real.

I encourage you to give this approach a shot. Every time you move past your imagined fear, your intuition is strengthened.

Blessing to you.

The Rhythm is going to get you

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Rediscover your rhythm,
and move to it.

My blog title is a variation on Gloria Estefan’s song, The Rhythm is gonna get you. Every time I hear the song, my body starts moving and dancing. It’s odd that this song popped into my head today, because my energy is low due to a recent dental procedure. In contrast to the song, my body’s rhythm is calling me to more of a lullaby, and rest. As problematic as the procedure and the recovery have been, it’s truly providential.

In the Cosmic Community group I’m part of, the challenge for April is to rediscover our body’s sense of time and rhythm. In a world heavily influenced by the manufacturing world where schedules, planning, a rapid pace rule, it’s not always easy to find. Requirements of work, family, and others need to be attended to. But, in all of this, do we sometimes forget to listen to our body and our spirit’s musical rhythm? I must admit that I do.

At the beginning of this month, my intention was to rediscover that rhythm. As usual, my mind, in an interest in wanting to help, endeavored to figure it out. “OK, body, what’s my rhythm,” it asked several times. Sometimes it suggested it was the beat of my heart. Other times it wondered if it was my walking pace, that’s part of my health regime. Neither felt quite true.

The answer came at a recent one-hour webinar. I asked the presenter how to more fully live out my calling as a spirit healer. Her response was simple, live your passion, which translated to me findinig my rhythm through my passion. The dental procedure also made me realize that the cadence and tone can change. While it can be quick and bouncy when I work on my fantasy novel, it can also be Other times slow, easy, and full of rests, like when I mediate or even sleep more, as I am healing from the surgery.

What’s your body saying? What’s your passion and what is the rhythm that it’s inviting you to? As you do so, be attentive to and responsive to its changing cadence. Right now, my body is again calling me to rest (and not edit this blog a third time). But, before I do, one final thing. By opening yourself to discover your passion and its rhythim, you create your music. And truly, as Gloria sang, “the rhythm is gonna get you.”

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Embody the Fool

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Today, April 1, is All Fools’ Day. On this day, many engage in pranks. I found myself thinking about this day from another perspective. Normally, people don’t want to be thought of as a fool. But I wonder if there are situations when acting like the fool is a good thing?

Embody the Fool

Over the last months, storms of all kinds have taken their toll. Despite that, many still insist there is no global warming. To them, those who challenge their mindset are fools. Are we not encouraged look foolish on our world’s behalf?

In the corporate world, standard business practice for laying off people is to use the phrase, we’ve eliminated your position, rather than honestly calling it what it is. Ironically, some of the same businesses talk about the importance of their employees. Yet they demand long work hours for insufficient pay. In both cases, might we be called to play the fool and call them on it?

Let’s look at this from an even more personal perspective. For those whose childhood was marked with trauma and abuse, it was critical to be invisible in order to stay safe. Taking risks or trying something new would be foolish. Such a person might conclude that it’s better to stay in a job that you hate or a relationship that is unhealthy. And some would consider it foolish to dig into the trauma, even if it might bring healing. Yet might this foolishness lead to peace and possibilities?

This week, many in the world celebrate Holy Week. It starts with Palm/Passion Sunday, which marks the day that Jesus enters Jerusalem, a place in which he ultimately dies. Some would consider traveling there foolish. Religious leaders of the time would consider him foolish and dangerous for what he taught. Yet, he willingly embodied the fool to follow his calling.

During the month of April, what if we embody the fool? What if we take risks that reflect our purpose, even if they might be scary or difficult. What if we to stand up to care for all people and our universe? What if we demand honesty from corporations?

 What do you say? Are you with me?

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Grounding into the Present

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Have you ever been doing a task and found yourself thinking, “If I get this done in W minutes, then I can get X done by Y, and then I can start Z.” I certainly have. Sometimes life is so crazy that you can’t avoid it. But it also prevents you from being present. Most recently, this happened for me while washing the dishes. Unfortunately, the result was that some of them weren’t clean.

A few weeks ago, when talking to my divine advisors about this, they told me to ground myself. While I agreed to do so, I wasn’t sure how it would help. Since grounding is the first part of my meditation practice, I simply meditated. Some minutes later, I realized that my mind had mostly quieted.

Now, you may not be surprised, but a short time later, while doing another task, my mind resumed its forward thinking. When I became aware of it, I stopped, grounded through my feet, and returned to the present.

A most blessed outcome, that also resulted from this, was that I became more strongly connected with my intuition and the divine presence. This was especially apparent in some recent conversations where I was asked for input or to obtain information. My usual approach had been to prepare for the conversations beforehand by trying figure out the right words, based on possible scenarios. Sadly, this prevented me from being fully present.

Regularly grounding encouraged me to change my approach. It gave my intuition space for ideas, suggestions, and questions to arise, seemingly from out of the blue, and that were spot on. Each time that happened, I would say to myself, “where did that come from?” The answer was simple, from me, my intuition, my divine self.

Who knew that I didn’t have to figure everything out first? Who knew that simply grounding would help me be more present.

Food for thought.

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