Category: God and guides

Celebrate the woo-woo

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You may have heard the phrase woo-woo. Certain people use it to dismiss or even belittle spiritual practices that don’t reflect traditional beliefs. Others, like spiritual teachers, might use it when presenting aspects of their work that even their students might find unusual, like past life regressions, energy healings, or sensing the spirits of the forests. I propose that woo-woo is simply a way to describe the diverse ways we can connect to the divine and receive guidance, each practice possessing validity and meaning to those who follow it.

Consider some traditional practices. Believers are encouraged to pray for help and support from those in heaven, whether to God, saints, and so on. Beneath that is a desire to feel watched over and seen. Others might meditate, attend religious services, and go on retreats in hopes of hearing words that enable them to understand who they are and how to live amidst life’s challenges. Still, others bless themselves with water to cleanse themselves or anoint their bodies with sacred oils to connect them with the divine. Some people might consider that woo-woo.

That’s all that woo-woo is. Why is it necessary to narrow the ways people experience the divine? Why is it crazy to believe that all that exists, both seen and unseen, are made of the same stuff and, therefore, feel a profound connection to it? But it’s not rational, some might insist. Does everything really have to make complete sense to our minds, though? Is love rational? Is faith rational? I’m not just talking about faith in a divine being but in another person.

I must admit that some of the woo-woo stuff doesn’t resonate with me. For example, I like crystals and have a few. But I’m still unsure that crystals emit specific types of energies that we can then use to help our lives. That’s OK. Every practice or belief doesn’t have to. We each get to decide what makes sense to us and aligns with how we look at “life, the universe, and everything,” to use a phrase from the book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Our spiritual journey is ours to shape and define.

So, celebrate the woo-woo.

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Living Your Best Self

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Throughout much of my life, I’ve strived to connect with God, angels, and spirit guides in pursuit of living my best self. Sometimes it hasn’t been easy. Perhaps you’ve done the same, seeking their help but heard nothing back and have begun to wonder whether these beings genuinely hear. Or maybe you believe they do, but their guidance is spotty, unclear, or just plain confusing. I certainly have felt that. I can’t count the number of times I’ve called out to them, saying, “If you’re trying to send me a message, you need to send it another way because I’m not getting it.”

Nevertheless, I believe these divine beings are present at every moment and ready to give love, support, and guidance if we ask and listen. Asking is usually easy. Sometimes, it’s the listening that’s difficult. Yet, I don’t believe it’s because we’re not trying. I think it’s simply because we have a lot going on: work, family, household responsibilities, errands to run, and more. All demand our attention throughout the day.

To get around that, I firmly believe such beings employ any means to reach us. Certainly, they try through prayer and meditation, but also everyday things: books, posters, movies, songs, dreams, art, overheard comments or strangers, the sudden appearance of objects, animals, and even social media. If you grew up like me in a particular religious tradition, some may even seem ridiculous, if not sacrilegious. After all, shouldn’t we just rely on holy books, sacred writings, and such? I would challenge any implied belief that revelation only happened in the past.

Regardless of the means, I have felt my divine advisors’ presence, as I call them. Their impact has been most profound, for which I am deeply grateful. Their guidance and support enabled me to tap into my highest self and embrace my calling as a spirit healer.

Three years ago, after traveling along my long and winding path of life–through religious life and priesthood, my years of study in counseling psychology, numerous spiritual workshops and courses, and even 26 years in the computer industry–my divine advisors asked me to give back. I created my website, joemcmonaglehsp.com, and posted monthly blogs about living your highest self. A few weeks ago, however, they prodded me to go further: serve as an additional means through which their messages can be conveyed through what I have termed “life-moment readings.” Go to Life-moment Readings under the Offerings menu to learn more about them.

As you travel your path committed to living your best self, I urge you to open yourself to receiving messages in the most unexpected ways. Believe me, these folks are playful and have a sense of humor. I wrote about that in my Divine Humor blog.

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Manifesting – Is it all baloney?

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Manifesting. Have you heard this used to describe our ability to create what we desire? Recently, a friend emailed me a link to an article about this. The author seemed to believe that manifesting was essentially b.s., concluding that the concept implies that the successful and wealthy correctly manifest and the poor or struggling do not. While I disagreed with her conclusion, it led me to reflect on it. Ironically and providentially, I’m enrolled in a workshop centered around manifesting abundance in all forms and degrees.

I define manifesting more broadly, not only about what we manifest but also about the blessings we receive from the divine. It’s important that we hold our desire in the context of it being for the highest good, not only for ourselves but for others. For this blog, I’m focusing on our part.

Say you want a new job, more money, or a spouse. That doesn’t happen magically, in the sense that we don’t have to do anything. If you want to win the lottery, you can’t if you don’t play. If you want more money but spend recklessly, you must show more respect for your income. If you wish a spouse but hide in your home, you’ll have problems manifesting. So, you have to take action. Many who teach about manifesting say you’re telling the universe you’re serious.

But what about people who do act but have no results? Perhaps the desire may not be in keeping with your current life path. I’ve been in that no-results place myself. I remember being unhappy in a job and wanting to find a position that placed people above profits. No job manifested despite creating a resume and posting it to job boards among other things. Rather than concluding I was doing it wrong, I concluded there was something else to learn. Indeed, there was, and you can read about it in my chapter in “Awaken Your Magic: Real Life Manifestation Journey.“

So, part of manifesting is your attitude. It’s important to believe the desire is possible but also be open to the desire taking time or a different form from what you imagined. If we narrow our desire to something too specific, it may prevent us from seeing something right in front of us.

Post a comment and tell me what you think. It might result in another blog.

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Give Your Intuition Space

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A few days ago, I attended the last session of a webinar that Denise and Meadow Linn offered. During it, Denise led us in a fire ceremony with the intention of releasing all that was no longer served and inviting in all that did. Rituals and ceremonies have always been important to me, even before I was a priest. While metaphorical, the symbolism embedded in them often had the intended result. In the case of Denise’s ceremony, the result was unexpected, making space for my intuition. Let me explain.

For years, I’ve worked with feelings of not being good enough, fear of taking risks, being visible, and pushing myself to be perfect. Through therapy, workshops, and personal study, I understood where these came from, including their intention, which was to keep me safe. So, they weren’t bad, but they limited me in the present. Through that work, I also let go of and invited transformative healing into those parts so they’d benefit me. For example, the perfectionist became the part committed to doing my best. Still, even with this, I knew that these lingering parts still chattered when I tried something new.

Going through the ceremony, subconsciously, I identified this chatter as clutter. And the clutter got in the way of me hearing my intuition. Now, I believe that my intuition is the voice of my divine or higher self, whose goal is to help me live my best self and purpose. Following the ceremony, I discovered that the releasing experience removed some of the chatter clutter, giving my intuition room to breathe.

Interestingly, with the space, my intuition no longer had to yell to be heard. Instead, it communicated its message in a calm, quiet, and, dare I say, even grounded way.

Since last Thursday, as I go through my day, I check in with myself to determine what I’m drawn to do. I consider my options, like writing books, exercising, or cleaning. Sometimes, my intuition doesn’t respond. I take that to mean that they are equal. When it did weigh in, and I listened, I felt both contentment and joy during and afterward. Writing this blog is one example of that.

Space. That’s all it was. Give my intuition space. Space to be heard without shouting. Do you find your intuition competes with the chatter of parts of you that no longer serve? Like Denise did in the webinar, have your own fire ceremony, perhaps using a candle to keep things safe. Then, imagine those parts that limit you being released and floating away like the wisps of smoke from a burning candle. Then, invite in what does serve, allowing your intuition space to voice the answer.

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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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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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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.

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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