Category: Blog

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

Joe2 Comments

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

Joe2 Comments

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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Disappointment and Belief

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Yesterday I learned that my book proposal for my spiritual fantasy wasn’t selected to receive a free book contract.

Disappointment. I felt disappointment. Despite being open to any outcome, I was disappointed. I reminded myself to feel that, because I had put a lot of work into the proposal and the book. After receiving support from my husband, I decided to chat with my divine advisors.

They first asked me if I believed in my book’s message. Before I could respond, they asked me that if I do, do I believe in it strong enough to seek another publisher and not let this rejection stop me.

After thinking a moment, I told them yes. Yes, this rejection wouldn’t stop me. My book’s message is important for me to put out there.

They also reminded me, as others have, that there will be people who won’t agree with my message, and may even be threatened by it, just like the main character in my book. They suggested that I use this rejection as a call to strengthen my spiritual base, if I experience future challenges.

Have you ever been in a similar situation? Have you put great effort into something you believed in, a project, goal, or dream, and experienced rejection? It’s disappointing. But, as my divine advisors also reminded me, my passion that fueled my book writing hasn’t gone away. In fact, I am currently looking for another publisher, not to mention working on the outline of my second book.

So, I’d invite you to do a few things. First, reconnect with your passion about your project or dream. Really feel it to the depth of your soul. It hasn’t gone away, has it? Tap in that energy to continue working towards getting your dream out there. My divine advisors reminded me that just the process of writing my book put my message into the world.

This morning, as I started my meditation, using the app Insight Timer, my divine advisors sent me one more message, in the form of a Martin Luther King, Jr. quote:

“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

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Healer Menace and Miracle: Chronicles of a Spirit Healer

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Hi everyone. This isn’t one of my usual blogs. This is actually an announcement about the fact that I recently submitted a book proposal to a publisher. The title above is the working title of my spiritual fantasy. It will be the first book in a series.

Admittedly, this type of writing is a significant departure from my blogs thus far, as they have been discussions about God, purpose, self-improvement, and the like. However, like my blogs, the book does reflect the intent of my website, to inspire people to remember their innate divine self and their unique gifts and calling.

As mentioned in my post last December, the idea for it came unexpectedly after attending a writers workshop at the end of 2021.

This video introduces you to the storyline of the book, and the main character Thom Macirdan.

Announcement: Book proposal submission.

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Strengthening our Connection

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The eve of the day on which many celebrate the birth of God as human, a bringer of light.
The seventh day of Hanukkah, representing the seventh day that the temple lantern remained burning.
The third day following the Winter Solstice, marking the coming of more daylight.

These events call out our connection to the divine. I believe we already have that innately. For like Jesus, we are incarnated essences of the divine, and bearers of that same light.

I’ve been reading James Redfield’s Celestine Prophecy series again. Its characters explore their connection to source, including remembering their life’s purpose, and committing to resolving past hurts that limit their ability to do so. Through their discussions, they identify coincidences and signs from the divine that can support that.

I love reading these types of books, because they resonate with my own journey. In my case, fear has been a limiter. This has surfaced in such ways as fear of trying something new or getting it wrong. To help me heal and move past this, I regularly seek guidance from the divine.

This morning, at 4:30 am, I awoke believing that I had just received such guidance. Now, my understanding is that between the hours of 3 and 5 am, we are especially sensitivity to divine messages. Mine was an invitation to strengthen my connection. That message was preceded, over the last month, by four signs, which alluded to it. The first was the suggestion to read the Redfield series again. The second was an oracle card that acknowledged that although my path has been a meandering one, it serves my life purpose. The last two are signs that some of you might not believe: a flickering overhead kitchen light (one of four) caused by a loose wire, and an occasionally unresponsive wireless mouse, neither of which are resolved yet. This message didn’t point out what I wasn’t doing wrong, but communicated encouragement and hope.

At this time of year, when we light candles or trees, and celebrate connections, what messages or signs have you received? I truly believe that you are provided them. If you haven’t noted any, no worries. You’ll receive more.  Just keep your eyes, ears, and hearts open, and ask your higher power or God to help you recognize them.

May the blessings of this season warm you heart, and make you glow with divine light.

p.s. After I wrote this but before I posted it, I went for a walk. While listening to music, a commercial came on that essentially said that despite the hardships and challenges we face, we’ve got this.

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Lead your Dream; Embody your Vision

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What is your dream or vision? Are you living it? If you are still searching for yours, one way to find it is to consider what you are drawn to. What excites you or arouses your passion?

Two years ago, my passion resulted in the creation of my website, in service of my calling as a spirit healer. Up until now, besides posting blogs, my vision included writing a self-help book. But a year ago, that plan took a surprise direction when I attended a writing workshop and heard a participant explain that she wanted to write a fiction book that introduced children to spirituality. That idea sparked a flame in me that has turned into a blazing fire now, as I near completion of my first book in a spiritual fantasy series, called Healer Menace and Miracle (working title).

I have to say, that from the start, writing about the adventures of my main character, Thom, coming into his spirit healing gift, has been a blast. As I put the words on the paper, I felt daily inspiration writing about Thom’s encounters, from a run in with an unscrupulous merchant who wanted to use him, to Thom healing a dying toddler, to name two. Wave after wave of joy swept over me as I described Thom’s journey as an emerging healer.

Throughout this year, I must admit that I wondered about publishing my book. Three months ago, I signed up for the Celebrate Your Life conference. Unbeknownst to me when I signed up, I learned that one of the sponsors, Hierophant Publishing, was inviting participants to submit a proposal before the end of the year, from which they would select one person to whom they would offer a free contract. For the last month, I’ve worked on my proposal. While it isn’t quite as enjoyable as writing my book, it certainly is key to manifesting this part of my dream. Since I don’t know if I’ll be selected, I am letting go of the outcome, trusting that what happens is for the highest good.

Returning to the blog title: Lead your dream; embody your vision: Through both the workshop participant’s comment and Hierophant Publishing’s offer, God and my spirit guides invited me to embody my vision in an unexpected way. Rather than just following my dream, I felt called to lead it; in other words, I had to put in time and effort to give birth to it.

At the start of this last month of the year, what steps have you taken to embody your vision and lead your dream? Those steps don’t have to be large. They could even be as small as visualizing your dream in a meditation or even creating a Vision Board. As you enjoy spending time with your loved ones, take the time to reflect on where you are and where you want to be. So, that come January, you have a vision in mind and a plan to manifest it.

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