Do you have some area of your life where your intuition kicks in regularly, so much that you kind of take it for granted. Knowing where the parking space is, or who is on the other end of the phone, that kind of thing? Many of us do. And because it is such a normal part of our day to day life we tend to discount it, thinking that intuition needs to be something spectacular, not something that actually helps us in small, steady, consistent ways.
One of my most common take-for-granted intuitive moments is at the gym: I always know which locker is free. I go to the gym around 3 times a week, during busy morning hours when empty lockers are hard to find. I walk in, I pause and I know where to go. The only times I am wrong is when I doubt myself or test the answer.
How do I know about the gym locker being free? I never thought about it until today, I just accepted it (and then discounted it, since it only made my life more easy, it didn't contain the voice of God, a burning bush, immediate recognition of tomorrow's winning lottery numbers). Today though, I got curious. As I opened up another empty locker, I asked myself "how did I know that?" I thought back to the moment when I knew to go to that locker and realized that I saw it--there was a brief instance where that particular locker kind of popped out. at me like a figure in a 3D movie. But, very fast, and not too big. It was a subtle visual. That locker just made itself aware to my consciousness.
There are different ways intuitive understanding comes to us. The most common (not in any order of importance) are hearing, seeing, knowing, smelling, feeling it in our body (see how our physical senses support our intuitive sense?).
My challenge to me and to us all is: Can we take these small things that happen and use them to develop our own intuition? It's great to take a class or read a book, but actually we have all the information we need within us as well. If we can stop and examine our own intuitive processes while it's already happening, in an area we feel confident or curious about, maybe we can learn how to access and trust our intuition more readily for the big areas as well.
Last night, I wanted to leave work 15 minutes early, but I had this very quiet sense, maybe it was a low voice, maybe it was just a 'knowing," that I needed to stay because someone was coming in. I decided to listen to this quiet voice so I pulled up a video game on my computer and waited. 10 minutes later the editor of the local New Age magazine walked in to drop off this month's issue. We got to talking and he asked me to write an article for the magazine. If I'd left early, he would have dropped off the magazines and we wouldn't have talked.
Learn to recognize and then analyze this intuitive knowing. Not to try to control it (controlling it, trying to make it mean something, will inevitably lead to replacing our will and ego with our intuitive sense. I'll write more on this later). Just begin to be aware 1)that you do have intuitive moments that are absolutely true and 2)begin to cultivate a gentle awareness of how that knowing happens. Again, don't try to make sense of it. Just be aware of it. Maybe write down examples. Post them here.
Let's help each other develop our own innate gifts.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Reiki and Homework
Last night, my 9 year old son Jack did not want to do his homework. The school has upped the homework level in 4th grade and he was pissed. Actually, he was more than just angry--he threw a temper tantrum the likes of which I haven't seen since he was 5 years old. He cried, he yelled, he complained. He hurled three pencils across the room. I'd like to say that I kept my cool and was smooth, common sense supportive mom, but that would be a lie. I cried, I yelled, I complained. It was one of those parenting nights that aren't in the Norman Rockwell paintings.
After far too much of this, we were both sitting at the dining room table, locked in this homework impasse /power struggle together and not knowing how to get out. He had his back to me, I had my head in my hands. Then, that little voice said, "Abby, you're a Reiki Master." My hands buzzed on and I looked at my son. I asked for guidance. I asked for protection, my standard request that only the highest vibration pass into or out of me (he didn't need to take on any more of my anger, I didn't need to take on his). I also asked that the highest level energy to restore my son to his highest level of balance come through. Note, I didn't ask that he do his homework, or even for him to calm down. I asked him to be restored to his best place of balance.
I put my hands above the back of his heart and the top of his head. Not on them, I didn't want him jerking away, just a few inches above. Reiki began to flow. After about three minutes, he let out a deep sigh. After about another three minutes, without saying a word, he turned to the table and got down to work. I said a prayer of thanks and then put my hands on his back, both as a mother touch and to continue the Reiki on his body. I stayed there for a few more minutes until the buzzing wore down.
Jack finished his homework 10 minutes later.
I've said this before and I'll keep saying it: Reiki is easy to learn and it helps. I don't know how much of Jack's transformation was due to Reiki, but I know it helped him return to his body, get a grip, continue on. Giving him the Reiki also helped me do the same, which I'm sure I passed onto him as well.
Learn Reiki. Learn it through Ananda, learn it somewhere else. It makes your life better.
After far too much of this, we were both sitting at the dining room table, locked in this homework impasse /power struggle together and not knowing how to get out. He had his back to me, I had my head in my hands. Then, that little voice said, "Abby, you're a Reiki Master." My hands buzzed on and I looked at my son. I asked for guidance. I asked for protection, my standard request that only the highest vibration pass into or out of me (he didn't need to take on any more of my anger, I didn't need to take on his). I also asked that the highest level energy to restore my son to his highest level of balance come through. Note, I didn't ask that he do his homework, or even for him to calm down. I asked him to be restored to his best place of balance.
I put my hands above the back of his heart and the top of his head. Not on them, I didn't want him jerking away, just a few inches above. Reiki began to flow. After about three minutes, he let out a deep sigh. After about another three minutes, without saying a word, he turned to the table and got down to work. I said a prayer of thanks and then put my hands on his back, both as a mother touch and to continue the Reiki on his body. I stayed there for a few more minutes until the buzzing wore down.
Jack finished his homework 10 minutes later.
I've said this before and I'll keep saying it: Reiki is easy to learn and it helps. I don't know how much of Jack's transformation was due to Reiki, but I know it helped him return to his body, get a grip, continue on. Giving him the Reiki also helped me do the same, which I'm sure I passed onto him as well.
Learn Reiki. Learn it through Ananda, learn it somewhere else. It makes your life better.
Monday, September 27, 2010
12 ways to bring happiness Into your life right now
In no particular order, these are things I know that bring happiness when it seems far away:
1). Begin and maintain a regular meditation practice. A simple, almost every day practice, is the single best thing I know for achieving long term peace and inner stability. It doesn't have to be boot camp meditation, you don't have to be whacked on the back by a zen master. Simply pick a time and place to do it regularly, and show up, even if it's just for 5 minutes every other day in the beginning. You may want to get a CD or take a class to help you get started.
2) Eat Chocolate. This needs no explanation.
3) Listen to music or re-read a book you love. This isn't about discovering new pleasure--the key here is to revisit something you love to do, that takes you out of your mind and into a place you enjoy. Turn up the music and dance around your house. Close the curtains. Include your family if you have one. Have fun.
4) Hug your kids, your partner, a friend. Pet your dog or cat. Sappy I know, but it's true. Love brings us happiness. Be where you have it in your life, instead of dwelling on where you don't.
5) Go to a Springsteen concert. I know, he's not on tour right now. But when he is, there is no better party on the planet.
6) Stop thinking about the things that make you unhappy or stressed. Easy to say. But if you can do it, it totally works. Someone once told me that whenever I worried about work I should think about going to the gym instead, a topic I'm totally neutral about (I show up when I want, work out as I want, leave and forget about it until the next time). Lately, having just ended a relationship, whenever he pops into my mind I say "thank you for being in my life,"(a statement I really mean, but if that one doesn't work for you, pick something that you can affirm with truth) and then deliberately think about something else. This time it is easy to do because it's an easy break up, but it works for the heartbreak ones as well. You just have to have the discipline to do it. And don't add to your misery by beating yourself up if you can't.
7) Cry. It seems counter-intuitive to happiness I suppose, but when we need to, getting the tears out is the essential first step to easing the pain and heading back into light.
8) Make love with someone you love. If you are lucky enough to be in a loving relationship with another person, act on it. If you're too tired, or can't get in the mood for some other reason, figure out what you need to get the mood back, ask for it or do it, and then make each other happy. It feels great and it's free.
9) Hoola Hoop with a 7 year old. Or play kick ball, or build a fort in the woods or go roller blading. Enter into a kid's world, your own or someone else's. Be fully present with them, on their terms, and watch what happens and how you feel.
10) Make gratitude lists. List what you love about your house, your kids, your relationship, your old relationship, your education, you job, your family. It doesn't matter how awful any of these things are as well, only focus on the positives. Make the effort to build positive appreciation back into your life.
11) Do something you love. Another obvious one, but we can forget to do it, or think that helping other people do what they love is a good enough substitute. It's not. I spent last weekend gardening, ripping out weeds, putting in compost, planting pansies. It was all for me, because I feel better after I've gotten my hands in the earth, and because I knew I'd want to see something cheerful and pretty in my yard come February. You might want to take a walk, go for a swim, go to a movie you want to see, have dinner with friends, go back to pottery class. If taking the kids to soccer is something you really love, by all means count that, but if it's not,
12) Include yourself in your list of important people in your life. And act as if you mean it.
Do you have any suggestions to add?
1). Begin and maintain a regular meditation practice. A simple, almost every day practice, is the single best thing I know for achieving long term peace and inner stability. It doesn't have to be boot camp meditation, you don't have to be whacked on the back by a zen master. Simply pick a time and place to do it regularly, and show up, even if it's just for 5 minutes every other day in the beginning. You may want to get a CD or take a class to help you get started.
2) Eat Chocolate. This needs no explanation.
3) Listen to music or re-read a book you love. This isn't about discovering new pleasure--the key here is to revisit something you love to do, that takes you out of your mind and into a place you enjoy. Turn up the music and dance around your house. Close the curtains. Include your family if you have one. Have fun.
4) Hug your kids, your partner, a friend. Pet your dog or cat. Sappy I know, but it's true. Love brings us happiness. Be where you have it in your life, instead of dwelling on where you don't.
5) Go to a Springsteen concert. I know, he's not on tour right now. But when he is, there is no better party on the planet.
6) Stop thinking about the things that make you unhappy or stressed. Easy to say. But if you can do it, it totally works. Someone once told me that whenever I worried about work I should think about going to the gym instead, a topic I'm totally neutral about (I show up when I want, work out as I want, leave and forget about it until the next time). Lately, having just ended a relationship, whenever he pops into my mind I say "thank you for being in my life,"(a statement I really mean, but if that one doesn't work for you, pick something that you can affirm with truth) and then deliberately think about something else. This time it is easy to do because it's an easy break up, but it works for the heartbreak ones as well. You just have to have the discipline to do it. And don't add to your misery by beating yourself up if you can't.
7) Cry. It seems counter-intuitive to happiness I suppose, but when we need to, getting the tears out is the essential first step to easing the pain and heading back into light.
8) Make love with someone you love. If you are lucky enough to be in a loving relationship with another person, act on it. If you're too tired, or can't get in the mood for some other reason, figure out what you need to get the mood back, ask for it or do it, and then make each other happy. It feels great and it's free.
9) Hoola Hoop with a 7 year old. Or play kick ball, or build a fort in the woods or go roller blading. Enter into a kid's world, your own or someone else's. Be fully present with them, on their terms, and watch what happens and how you feel.
10) Make gratitude lists. List what you love about your house, your kids, your relationship, your old relationship, your education, you job, your family. It doesn't matter how awful any of these things are as well, only focus on the positives. Make the effort to build positive appreciation back into your life.
11) Do something you love. Another obvious one, but we can forget to do it, or think that helping other people do what they love is a good enough substitute. It's not. I spent last weekend gardening, ripping out weeds, putting in compost, planting pansies. It was all for me, because I feel better after I've gotten my hands in the earth, and because I knew I'd want to see something cheerful and pretty in my yard come February. You might want to take a walk, go for a swim, go to a movie you want to see, have dinner with friends, go back to pottery class. If taking the kids to soccer is something you really love, by all means count that, but if it's not,
12) Include yourself in your list of important people in your life. And act as if you mean it.
Do you have any suggestions to add?
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Reiki and Colonoscopy
Another study out showing the benefits of Reiki in reducing anxiety, and ways to use Reiki as a compliment to Western Medical treatments. This one from the October 2010 issue of Massage Magazine.
http://www.massagemag.com/News/massage-news.php?id=9709&catid=reiki-reduces-anxiety-prior-to-colonoscopy&title=
http://www.massagemag.com/News/massage-news.php?id=9709&catid=reiki-reduces-anxiety-prior-to-colonoscopy&title=
People who received reiki prior to a colonoscopy procedure showed statistically significant decreases in heart rate, respirations and self-reported symptoms of anxiety, according to recent research. However, these decreases did not persist beyond the procedure.
The study, "Endoscopic Procedure With a Modified Reiki Intervention: A Pilot Study," involved 21 people with a mean age of 58. Subjects were assigned to the reiki group or control group. The control group received standard care and education for a colonoscopy procedure, while those in the reiki group received the same treatment with
an additional 15 minutes of a modified reiki intervention by a nurse trained in reiki. According to the study's authors, 90 percent of the subjects reported they were extremely satisfied with the reiki intervention, while all intervention participants said they would recommend reiki treatment prior to colonoscopy.
The research, which appears in MASSAGE Magazine's October 2010 issue, was originally published in Gastroenterology Nursing in January/February 2010.
Other research in reiki:
Mick Meditates
Even Mick Jagger meditates. But the part I like best is that he gets a separate hotel room for his luggage. If only I had that many pairs of shoes....
http://www.rttnews.com/Content/EntertainmentNews.aspx?Section=2&Id=1423883&SM=1
(RTTNews) - Mick Jagger took some time far out of the spotlight with a recent trip to Luang Prabang, Laos. According to a new report from Britain's The Sun, the Rolling Stones legend sequestered himself in a hotel for a period of deep meditation.
"Mick booked two rooms in the hotel - one for himself, the other for his luggage," a source close to the singer told The Sun. "His room boasts the best view overlooking the mountains and Phousi Temple. But he then blacked out all the windows, even though the hotel is in a remote location and away from prying eyes. He clearly wanted to be at one with himself."
The source adds: "Mick used the trip to regenerate himself. He spent hours with monks in the temples and chanted with them. He practices Buddhism and meditation every day. He says it's the first thing he does when he gets up in the morning."
In the meantime, rumors continue to circulate that the Stones are planning their farewell tour. In a recent interview with Le Parisien, drummer Charlie Watts says the band will hit the road as soon as Mick and Keith Richards are up for it.
"We will resume playing whenever Mick and Keith get bored. At the moment, they're having a good time," Watts said.
by RTT Staff Writer
http://www.rttnews.com/Content/EntertainmentNews.aspx?Section=2&Id=1423883&SM=1
(RTTNews) - Mick Jagger took some time far out of the spotlight with a recent trip to Luang Prabang, Laos. According to a new report from Britain's The Sun, the Rolling Stones legend sequestered himself in a hotel for a period of deep meditation.
"Mick booked two rooms in the hotel - one for himself, the other for his luggage," a source close to the singer told The Sun. "His room boasts the best view overlooking the mountains and Phousi Temple. But he then blacked out all the windows, even though the hotel is in a remote location and away from prying eyes. He clearly wanted to be at one with himself."
The source adds: "Mick used the trip to regenerate himself. He spent hours with monks in the temples and chanted with them. He practices Buddhism and meditation every day. He says it's the first thing he does when he gets up in the morning."
In the meantime, rumors continue to circulate that the Stones are planning their farewell tour. In a recent interview with Le Parisien, drummer Charlie Watts says the band will hit the road as soon as Mick and Keith Richards are up for it.
"We will resume playing whenever Mick and Keith get bored. At the moment, they're having a good time," Watts said.
by RTT Staff Writer
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Want To Win The Lottery?
I love Abraham, the channeled energy that speaks through Esther Hicks. I think she/it/whoever gives us practical information on how to connect with our Spirit that we are always absolutely connected with all the time. The first part of her advice for a man who asked how he could win $94 million in the lottery: "Make friends with where you are now."
The second part is here. Feel it now.
The thing she really gets here is how easy it is to speak and believe negative thoughts and beliefs, even when we think we are being positive and affirming. So we think we are being positive, but instead we are still operating out of lack, saying "I want to have," rather than claiming "I have it." ("I want to have" means we are manifesting want, or lack of something). These days I'm doing my best to continuously switch from "I want" to "thank you for" those things I desire in my life that haven't shown up quite yet. And really meaning it.
The second part is here. Feel it now.
The thing she really gets here is how easy it is to speak and believe negative thoughts and beliefs, even when we think we are being positive and affirming. So we think we are being positive, but instead we are still operating out of lack, saying "I want to have," rather than claiming "I have it." ("I want to have" means we are manifesting want, or lack of something). These days I'm doing my best to continuously switch from "I want" to "thank you for" those things I desire in my life that haven't shown up quite yet. And really meaning it.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Dream Healing Temples
What is holistic healing? It means treating the mind/body/spirit as one unit, and looking at health, psychology, thinking, lifestyle, nutrition, sexuality and more as intimately, intricately connected. Yet, even those of us who practice ‘holistic’ living or look for holistic treatments such as herbs, acupuncture, reiki, etc., have to do so as separate activities that we pick and choose from much as we pick and choose from vegetables in the grocery store. Using herbs to treat insomnia, for example, isn’t being holistic. It’s using herbs to treat a symptom. Even when we want to be holistic, our healing centers, traditional medicine and alternative, are set up as separate systems. We as individuals have to coordinate our whole self for healing, and that is difficult without a culture to back us up.
Last night Len Worley, Ph.D., gave a talk about the ancient Greek Dream Healing Temples, with pictures and descriptions of his visit to the best preserved of these temples, Epidauros. From what Len discussed, dream healing was widely practiced in the ancient world, in the West most particularly in Egypt, Greece and Rome. It’s foundation is holistic healing: treating the whole person, including the sleep state, in order to heal. Sick people would go to these temples, engage in extensive ritual including bath, massage, theatre, sports and religious ritual, then enter the sleep chamber. If they were lucky, they would receive a healing dream. In Greece it was believed that these healings came from the God Aesclepious, a man turned God according to Greek mythology, and from whom Western Medicine originates.
The healings came in one of three forms: a prescription for a cure, an understanding into the cause, or some other form of advice or healing.
Holistic healing is much talked about these days, yet as Westerners we still think primarily in terms of symptom and cure. We don’t talk as much about healing, and as far as I know have nothing as complicated set up to truly promote and address holistic healing in a central way. These ancient temples provide a model for us to follow, one that shows us how holistic healing could be supported by the medical establishment and firmly rooted in cultural assumptions, allowing people in pain to receive the integration and balance we all need.
Last night Len Worley, Ph.D., gave a talk about the ancient Greek Dream Healing Temples, with pictures and descriptions of his visit to the best preserved of these temples, Epidauros. From what Len discussed, dream healing was widely practiced in the ancient world, in the West most particularly in Egypt, Greece and Rome. It’s foundation is holistic healing: treating the whole person, including the sleep state, in order to heal. Sick people would go to these temples, engage in extensive ritual including bath, massage, theatre, sports and religious ritual, then enter the sleep chamber. If they were lucky, they would receive a healing dream. In Greece it was believed that these healings came from the God Aesclepious, a man turned God according to Greek mythology, and from whom Western Medicine originates.
The healings came in one of three forms: a prescription for a cure, an understanding into the cause, or some other form of advice or healing.
Holistic healing is much talked about these days, yet as Westerners we still think primarily in terms of symptom and cure. We don’t talk as much about healing, and as far as I know have nothing as complicated set up to truly promote and address holistic healing in a central way. These ancient temples provide a model for us to follow, one that shows us how holistic healing could be supported by the medical establishment and firmly rooted in cultural assumptions, allowing people in pain to receive the integration and balance we all need.
Paul The Psychic Octopus
My favorite story lately is that of Paul, the Psychic Octopus. Go ahead and giggle—that was a ridiculous sentence, the kind of thing that gives all this New Age spiritualism the shove in the pants it so often and so frequently deserves. Also, as a business owner who promotes the transformative and healing power of intuitive readings and energy work, a psychic octopus is exactly the kind of farcical, trivializing news story I hope goes away fast.
Now let me tell you why I love it. Paul the Psychic Octopus lives in the Oberhausen Sea Life aquarium in Germany, where, for the past two years, he has predicted soccer results for the German national team with astonishing accuracy. He has been wrong only once in two years. For you non-statisticians out there, let me assure you this is not a statistically insignificant figure. His predictions have become so famous and correct that they are now carried live on German television.
To get his predictions, Paul’s keeper puts two glass cube containers of mussels in his tank. Each container has one of the two competing team’s flags on the front: the German flag on one, the national flag of the opponent in the other. Whichever nation’s mussels gets eaten first is his ‘predicted’ winner. Again, using this method, Paul accurately predicted (well, ate) every game but one for the 2008 UEFA Euro Championship. He has been accurate 100% of the time in the current 2010 World Cup. He received a death threat (I will sauté him with garlic and olive oil!) from an Argentinean chef who was upset that Paul correctly foretold Argentina’s loss to Germany the quarter-finals. More intriguingly, the Huffington Post speculates that if you had placed accumulator bets based on Paul’s predictions at the start of the current World Cup, you would have earned 131 times your money.
Seriously, what are we to make of this? There is the chance that the psychic octopus is just randomly, freakishly statistically right. I mean, he doesn’t ‘know’ that he is making soccer predictions. He’s just chowing down on briny, delicious mussels that his human keeper has correlated to soccer teams. Statistical anomalies do happen and maybe this is one. However, there are some other, intriguing possibilities.
1) Native cultures have used animal totems and animal signals for thousands of years as messengers. Now,
an octopus in a Sea Life Aquarium tank receiving a message from Spirit about a soccer game is nowhere near as romantic or compelling an image as an eagle dropping a feather into your lap after you ask about your life purpose. But how many of us live in a place where Nature in its most exotic forms are easily accessible? If Spirit is using animals to communicate with us, Spirit isn’t going to care what animals it uses or where that animal lives. It is going to use the animals that surround us. For many of us, this most likely means household pets, squirrels, the occasional deer, and all the animals we have access to in zoos and aquariums. (come to Lee Channing’s talk on animal communication at Ananda on August 5 for more on this). Using zoo creatures and National Enquirer-type headlines might upset our preconceived notions of who and what Spirit should use, but this brings me to my second point…
2) Spirit wants us to lighten up. It is important, when dealing with intuitives, predictions, energy healing and the unseen world, to rigorously apply our skepticism and critical thinking to the information we receive. We are vulnerable when we are seeking. At the same time, why in the world shouldn’t we have some fun with this? I certainly hope that the Source of All Life has a sense of humor. Maybe this is a reflection of that, a way to both poke fun at those of us who take the unseen so seriously, and at the same time awaken curiosity in skeptics who can best be reached by a large scale, kind of ridiculous but freaky accurate sports related story that hints at a larger scale to life than we can possibly imagine. This story went global. It’s one of the most widely reported news reports out there right now. And why not—I don’t need a psychic octopus to predict that more of you are reading this piece than the last article I wrote on chakras and auras. This is much more fun.
3) A friend suggested this one, and it’s wonderfully intriguing. Those of us who live with animals know how connected we can become with our pets. Maybe Paul the Psychic Octopus and his keeper have this kind of connection and the accuracy of Paul’s predictions are a reflection of their bond. If the keeper is somehow tapped into a precognitive knowledge of soccer results through his deep caring about the game, then the octopus is simply reflecting the nature of the animal-human bond, and his keeper’s intuitive capabilities that he might not even be aware of.
I don’t have any final conclusions about all this. I love thinking about it. I love that the world is more wonderfully weird than we can possibly comprehend. The only thing I know for sure here is that I deeply, deeply wish I’d put $1000 on that accumulator bet following Paul’s predictions at the start of the World Cup soccer tournament. By the time Spain defeated Germany in the semi-finals, and Paul retired from current World Cup prognostication, I would have earned $131,000.
Now let me tell you why I love it. Paul the Psychic Octopus lives in the Oberhausen Sea Life aquarium in Germany, where, for the past two years, he has predicted soccer results for the German national team with astonishing accuracy. He has been wrong only once in two years. For you non-statisticians out there, let me assure you this is not a statistically insignificant figure. His predictions have become so famous and correct that they are now carried live on German television.
To get his predictions, Paul’s keeper puts two glass cube containers of mussels in his tank. Each container has one of the two competing team’s flags on the front: the German flag on one, the national flag of the opponent in the other. Whichever nation’s mussels gets eaten first is his ‘predicted’ winner. Again, using this method, Paul accurately predicted (well, ate) every game but one for the 2008 UEFA Euro Championship. He has been accurate 100% of the time in the current 2010 World Cup. He received a death threat (I will sauté him with garlic and olive oil!) from an Argentinean chef who was upset that Paul correctly foretold Argentina’s loss to Germany the quarter-finals. More intriguingly, the Huffington Post speculates that if you had placed accumulator bets based on Paul’s predictions at the start of the current World Cup, you would have earned 131 times your money.
Seriously, what are we to make of this? There is the chance that the psychic octopus is just randomly, freakishly statistically right. I mean, he doesn’t ‘know’ that he is making soccer predictions. He’s just chowing down on briny, delicious mussels that his human keeper has correlated to soccer teams. Statistical anomalies do happen and maybe this is one. However, there are some other, intriguing possibilities.
1) Native cultures have used animal totems and animal signals for thousands of years as messengers. Now,
an octopus in a Sea Life Aquarium tank receiving a message from Spirit about a soccer game is nowhere near as romantic or compelling an image as an eagle dropping a feather into your lap after you ask about your life purpose. But how many of us live in a place where Nature in its most exotic forms are easily accessible? If Spirit is using animals to communicate with us, Spirit isn’t going to care what animals it uses or where that animal lives. It is going to use the animals that surround us. For many of us, this most likely means household pets, squirrels, the occasional deer, and all the animals we have access to in zoos and aquariums. (come to Lee Channing’s talk on animal communication at Ananda on August 5 for more on this). Using zoo creatures and National Enquirer-type headlines might upset our preconceived notions of who and what Spirit should use, but this brings me to my second point…
2) Spirit wants us to lighten up. It is important, when dealing with intuitives, predictions, energy healing and the unseen world, to rigorously apply our skepticism and critical thinking to the information we receive. We are vulnerable when we are seeking. At the same time, why in the world shouldn’t we have some fun with this? I certainly hope that the Source of All Life has a sense of humor. Maybe this is a reflection of that, a way to both poke fun at those of us who take the unseen so seriously, and at the same time awaken curiosity in skeptics who can best be reached by a large scale, kind of ridiculous but freaky accurate sports related story that hints at a larger scale to life than we can possibly imagine. This story went global. It’s one of the most widely reported news reports out there right now. And why not—I don’t need a psychic octopus to predict that more of you are reading this piece than the last article I wrote on chakras and auras. This is much more fun.
3) A friend suggested this one, and it’s wonderfully intriguing. Those of us who live with animals know how connected we can become with our pets. Maybe Paul the Psychic Octopus and his keeper have this kind of connection and the accuracy of Paul’s predictions are a reflection of their bond. If the keeper is somehow tapped into a precognitive knowledge of soccer results through his deep caring about the game, then the octopus is simply reflecting the nature of the animal-human bond, and his keeper’s intuitive capabilities that he might not even be aware of.
I don’t have any final conclusions about all this. I love thinking about it. I love that the world is more wonderfully weird than we can possibly comprehend. The only thing I know for sure here is that I deeply, deeply wish I’d put $1000 on that accumulator bet following Paul’s predictions at the start of the World Cup soccer tournament. By the time Spain defeated Germany in the semi-finals, and Paul retired from current World Cup prognostication, I would have earned $131,000.
What To Expect From an Intuitive Reading
I’ve written the first of a series of e-books, designed to help people navigate the array of options in the conscious living/holistic healing/metaphysical movement. The first one is titled “What To Expect From A Psychic Reading.” It’s 16 pages, filled with general guidelines to what a reading can and can’t do, how to choose and evaluate an intuitive, how to judge future predictions, when to walk out of a reading immediately and more. The second section is an interview with 3 top intuitives, in which they discuss their perceptions of readings and ways clients can best use the session. There’s lots of great information in there, and it is really fascinating to see how the intuitives share the same perspectives and think of things differently, deptending on their own focus. The purpose of the book is to help clients empower themselves during an intuitive reading when the tendency often is to give the intuitive more of the power. If you’re interested, check out this link on go to the Ananda website and click on-line store.
Snow Gratitude
As a single mom who lost power for most of 2 days and nights in the last freaky blizzard, a new business owner, and someone who thinks the best weather months in Charlottesville are July and August, this snow has challenged me on all fronts: physically, emotionally, financially.
As someone who offers to others the idea of choosing happiness no matter what as a spiritual practice, this weather has challenged me to practice what I preach.
In that spirit, I wrote a Snow Gratitude list, acknowledging the many wonderful gifts the snow has brought me. If you want, write your own list and post it as a comment below. I’ll post them anonymously on the website and we’ll collectively send a big “YES” of appreciation out to the Universe.
In no particular order except for the first one:
Spending time hanging out with and enjoying my kids. Nowhere to go, no schedules to keep means more time simply being together.
Heat, Electricity and Running Water.
The Dominion Power Crews who worked hard to restore power in what must have been very cold and uncomfortable circumstances.
Baking Bread, Pie, Cookies and other treats that make us happy and create good kitchen smells.
My neighbor who, without saying anything, started digging away at the snowplow wall of ice blocking my driveway. Another neighbor who I barely know, and her brother with the snowblower. She sent him over twice to help me dig out because she knew I live alone and could use the help.
My friends who had me over to spend the night when my house got cold.
The Wii the kids got for Christmas and my friend who helped me get it. Families spending lots of time indoors need something to do.
Zach, and the Ashtanga Yoga Classes at ACAC, for helping me build muscles and core strength that came in handy digging out snow and ice.
Ibuprofin, because “gym muscles” are slightly different than ones used in physical labor.
Reiki, which helped me relax and reduce my stress.
My cell phone with internet access, so I could stay in touch even without power.
Finding my lost earring because I finally had time to do a thorough house cleaning.
My friend who fixed my fireplace this fall, and the intuitive who suggested during a reading that I really needed to get that done.
Doritos.
My children’s essential good nature and sense of adventure that meant even living in the cold and dark was a playful, fun event.
Lost. I can’t decide if this show is brilliant or ridiculous, but the season premiere gave a nice distraction.
My friends. Good books. Getting extra sleep and rest.
I’m sure there is more, but this a start. Post your list to be anonymously included on my website
As someone who offers to others the idea of choosing happiness no matter what as a spiritual practice, this weather has challenged me to practice what I preach.
In that spirit, I wrote a Snow Gratitude list, acknowledging the many wonderful gifts the snow has brought me. If you want, write your own list and post it as a comment below. I’ll post them anonymously on the website and we’ll collectively send a big “YES” of appreciation out to the Universe.
In no particular order except for the first one:
Spending time hanging out with and enjoying my kids. Nowhere to go, no schedules to keep means more time simply being together.
Heat, Electricity and Running Water.
The Dominion Power Crews who worked hard to restore power in what must have been very cold and uncomfortable circumstances.
Baking Bread, Pie, Cookies and other treats that make us happy and create good kitchen smells.
My neighbor who, without saying anything, started digging away at the snowplow wall of ice blocking my driveway. Another neighbor who I barely know, and her brother with the snowblower. She sent him over twice to help me dig out because she knew I live alone and could use the help.
My friends who had me over to spend the night when my house got cold.
The Wii the kids got for Christmas and my friend who helped me get it. Families spending lots of time indoors need something to do.
Zach, and the Ashtanga Yoga Classes at ACAC, for helping me build muscles and core strength that came in handy digging out snow and ice.
Ibuprofin, because “gym muscles” are slightly different than ones used in physical labor.
Reiki, which helped me relax and reduce my stress.
My cell phone with internet access, so I could stay in touch even without power.
Finding my lost earring because I finally had time to do a thorough house cleaning.
My friend who fixed my fireplace this fall, and the intuitive who suggested during a reading that I really needed to get that done.
Doritos.
My children’s essential good nature and sense of adventure that meant even living in the cold and dark was a playful, fun event.
Lost. I can’t decide if this show is brilliant or ridiculous, but the season premiere gave a nice distraction.
My friends. Good books. Getting extra sleep and rest.
I’m sure there is more, but this a start. Post your list to be anonymously included on my website
Why Are We Here?
I like this quote:
“Instead of seeing life as a harsh training school for wayward souls or a karmic wheel we might one day eventually escape (if we are lucky enough or good enough, or merely as a statistical accidnet with no inherent meaning or purpose, we instead see life as a wondrous gift. We are not here to be good or perfect. We are not here to prove ourselves worthy. We are not here to serve others (at our own expense) or to save the world. We do not have to earn or deserve love. We do not have to “behave well” or conform to external rules and expectations. In a loving universe we can relax. We are safe. We are worthy. We are loved without condition. We are cosmic voyagers on a magnificent adventure in physical reality and –as creative sparks of the divine–we can have, do or be anything we wish. No limits. No strings attached. We can create our own heaven on Earth. And the key to doing so is unconditional love–for self, others and the world.”
Gill Edwards, “Wild Love Sets Us Free,” in The Mystery of 2012: Predictions, Prophecies and Possibilities.
“Instead of seeing life as a harsh training school for wayward souls or a karmic wheel we might one day eventually escape (if we are lucky enough or good enough, or merely as a statistical accidnet with no inherent meaning or purpose, we instead see life as a wondrous gift. We are not here to be good or perfect. We are not here to prove ourselves worthy. We are not here to serve others (at our own expense) or to save the world. We do not have to earn or deserve love. We do not have to “behave well” or conform to external rules and expectations. In a loving universe we can relax. We are safe. We are worthy. We are loved without condition. We are cosmic voyagers on a magnificent adventure in physical reality and –as creative sparks of the divine–we can have, do or be anything we wish. No limits. No strings attached. We can create our own heaven on Earth. And the key to doing so is unconditional love–for self, others and the world.”
Gill Edwards, “Wild Love Sets Us Free,” in The Mystery of 2012: Predictions, Prophecies and Possibilities.
Reiki miracle
I taught a Reiki 1 and 2 class last night, and as always it was simply amazing. A group of 4 women this time, all curious and excited, and none of them having any unusual healing abilities whatsoever before the class began. Then, not to trivialize what is truly a spiritual experience, but I blew in their head, did a few things with symbols, read a few poems, and they were healers. Their hands began to heat up. They tingled. They began to sense things that they had no comprehension of half an hour before the attunement happened. The Reiki miracle occured again, except it isn’t a miracle, it is natural, and can belong to each of us if we want it.
Each woman in the class had the experience of giving Reiki to someone and knowing at a certain point on someone’s body that there was a problem–one new Reiki practitioner stopped above a woman’s uterine fibers that were acting up. Another stopped above a sore muscle. That kind of thing.
The wonderful varieties in the way Reiki manifests intuition and knowing were all present–One person knew to go back over a particular area because she smelled something different, while another felt her hands tingle harder, another felt cold and the fourth simply couldn’t move her hand. Tummies rumbled when symbols got activated on the third chakra. And the distance healing, which for me is the whole point, it takes Reiki from being interesting and cool to finally understanding the connection to the Divine that it is. When I brought out the teddy bears and said pick someone to heal, but ask permission first–and one person had to change her distance client because she got a clear NO signal, and then they turned their bears into their client and saw that it worked, it is just an amazing moment.
I have no idea how Reiki passes from one person to another. As always when I do an attunement, the rational part of me still says “please let this work this time,” because I can’t quite believe it. And it always happens, this huge gift from Spirit. I don’t know how else to explain it, except that Reiki, the healing energy of it, the mystical nature of it, is real, and when you get or pass an attunement you finally understand it, in a way that simply receiving Reiki, no matter how awesome that is, can’t quite demonstrate.
We are loved and protected by forces far beyond our knowing. We have abilities to heal and bring balance to ourselves and others, and we are meant to develop and use them. Reiki is truly an astounding gift from Spirit.
Each woman in the class had the experience of giving Reiki to someone and knowing at a certain point on someone’s body that there was a problem–one new Reiki practitioner stopped above a woman’s uterine fibers that were acting up. Another stopped above a sore muscle. That kind of thing.
The wonderful varieties in the way Reiki manifests intuition and knowing were all present–One person knew to go back over a particular area because she smelled something different, while another felt her hands tingle harder, another felt cold and the fourth simply couldn’t move her hand. Tummies rumbled when symbols got activated on the third chakra. And the distance healing, which for me is the whole point, it takes Reiki from being interesting and cool to finally understanding the connection to the Divine that it is. When I brought out the teddy bears and said pick someone to heal, but ask permission first–and one person had to change her distance client because she got a clear NO signal, and then they turned their bears into their client and saw that it worked, it is just an amazing moment.
I have no idea how Reiki passes from one person to another. As always when I do an attunement, the rational part of me still says “please let this work this time,” because I can’t quite believe it. And it always happens, this huge gift from Spirit. I don’t know how else to explain it, except that Reiki, the healing energy of it, the mystical nature of it, is real, and when you get or pass an attunement you finally understand it, in a way that simply receiving Reiki, no matter how awesome that is, can’t quite demonstrate.
We are loved and protected by forces far beyond our knowing. We have abilities to heal and bring balance to ourselves and others, and we are meant to develop and use them. Reiki is truly an astounding gift from Spirit.
Intuition
I’ve had 3 occasions this past week when my intuition kicked in very suddenly and unexpectedly, just as I was going about normal life. What was interesting to me about this is not only how accurate I was, but that I immediately, in each instance, either discounted my intuition or tried to ‘figure out’ what it meant.
The most obvious example of this was that last Wed. I made plans to meet a friend for dinner on Saturday night. On Thursday morning I woke up knowing that the dinner wasn’t going to happen but not knowing why. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why–he has a sick relative, maybe that would be it. Maybe I’d be too tired after a long day at work. Maybe he’d have to cancel for some other reason. That is, instead of simply accepting the intuition, or even sitting with it in meditation to see if I received anything else about it, I tried to impose my meaning and structure on it, interpret it according to what I knew. And all my thinking was completely wrong–we didn’t have dinner together because there was a blizzard, not because of any reason my brain created.
The other 2 examples were similar, once when I knew something about someone I just met, then discounted my own knowing, then was later told I was absolutely right in my intuitive hit by someone who knew him. The other was when I was getting dressed one day and I knew I was going to see a particular friend that day. This I discounted because I wanted to see him but had no reason to expect that it would happen, and in fact had good reason to think there was no way I’d see him. And then I did.
None of these moments of intuition were of particularly earth shattering importance. Which actually makes them important–intuition doesn’t develop in the big areas usually, rather in the day to day moments of our life. In none of these situations did the knowledge help me in any dramatic way that I can discern–my world didn’t change, I didn’t win the lottery, nothing bold or even particularly meaningful. What it did do was show me how quickly I disown my own intuition, either by wanting to analyze it, or by discounting it for other reasons. I didn’t believe any of these hits because they didn’t make sense to my logical mind, and it was only afterwards that I was able to see how right I had been.
I think I want intuition to be magical–the lottery numbers, the unerring knowledge not only of the event but also the causes, the structures, etc. And it doesn’t work that way, at least not while we’re developing it. Instead, I think this week showed me how important it is to accept the information, as it is. Confirmation will come, and there is a place for the logical mind to make sense of things. But maybe not as we think it will come. Intuition has its own intelligence. Learning to recognize and trust that is as important as receiving the information itself.
The most obvious example of this was that last Wed. I made plans to meet a friend for dinner on Saturday night. On Thursday morning I woke up knowing that the dinner wasn’t going to happen but not knowing why. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why–he has a sick relative, maybe that would be it. Maybe I’d be too tired after a long day at work. Maybe he’d have to cancel for some other reason. That is, instead of simply accepting the intuition, or even sitting with it in meditation to see if I received anything else about it, I tried to impose my meaning and structure on it, interpret it according to what I knew. And all my thinking was completely wrong–we didn’t have dinner together because there was a blizzard, not because of any reason my brain created.
The other 2 examples were similar, once when I knew something about someone I just met, then discounted my own knowing, then was later told I was absolutely right in my intuitive hit by someone who knew him. The other was when I was getting dressed one day and I knew I was going to see a particular friend that day. This I discounted because I wanted to see him but had no reason to expect that it would happen, and in fact had good reason to think there was no way I’d see him. And then I did.
None of these moments of intuition were of particularly earth shattering importance. Which actually makes them important–intuition doesn’t develop in the big areas usually, rather in the day to day moments of our life. In none of these situations did the knowledge help me in any dramatic way that I can discern–my world didn’t change, I didn’t win the lottery, nothing bold or even particularly meaningful. What it did do was show me how quickly I disown my own intuition, either by wanting to analyze it, or by discounting it for other reasons. I didn’t believe any of these hits because they didn’t make sense to my logical mind, and it was only afterwards that I was able to see how right I had been.
I think I want intuition to be magical–the lottery numbers, the unerring knowledge not only of the event but also the causes, the structures, etc. And it doesn’t work that way, at least not while we’re developing it. Instead, I think this week showed me how important it is to accept the information, as it is. Confirmation will come, and there is a place for the logical mind to make sense of things. But maybe not as we think it will come. Intuition has its own intelligence. Learning to recognize and trust that is as important as receiving the information itself.
Intention and Desire
I’ve been thinking and working with manifestation and intention a lot lately. How to create and focus on what I want to achieve, when what passes for reality in my world is in a different place and my emotions are heavily fear centered. Like many of us, for me this manifests most acutely these days with money. And the absence of it.
Two books have been particularly helpful with this. Ask and It is Given by Esther Hicks talks about our emotional guidance system as the primary clue to determining why we have what we have in our life. Basically, our emotions tell us if we are focusing on what we want or what we don’t have. If our emotions are heavy, fear based, worry, blaming, etc. then we are asking the universe to give us more of what we actually don’t want. It doesn’t matter if we do meditation, affirmations, etc that focus on the desired outcome–if we then drop back into blame, worry, fear, we are not believeing in (they say ‘allowing’) what we want to manifest. “my father and I have a great relationship’ may be a perfectly fine affirmation, but if, when the affirmation part of your day is over, you are pissed, irritated and upset with him, that’s what you are creating more of. By paying attention to our actual feelings we can most accurately and helpfully shift ourselves into the results we truly want. The book gives lots of excercises to lift our emotions from these and into the ones that create/allow the desired experience to come through. Feel it before you get it seems to be the operating idea here.
The other book is The Intention Experiment by Lynne McTaggart. I love this book because she applies science to the law of intention and manifestation, citing numerous examples of scientific experimence showing the power of applied consciousness. She then lists what has been learned from these experiments, how we can best use focused intention in our lives. My favorite tip: meditate for 20 minutes before beginning any intention. This has been proven to dramatically increase the efficacy of any visualization/intention processes. Also, be as specific as possible.
Two books have been particularly helpful with this. Ask and It is Given by Esther Hicks talks about our emotional guidance system as the primary clue to determining why we have what we have in our life. Basically, our emotions tell us if we are focusing on what we want or what we don’t have. If our emotions are heavy, fear based, worry, blaming, etc. then we are asking the universe to give us more of what we actually don’t want. It doesn’t matter if we do meditation, affirmations, etc that focus on the desired outcome–if we then drop back into blame, worry, fear, we are not believeing in (they say ‘allowing’) what we want to manifest. “my father and I have a great relationship’ may be a perfectly fine affirmation, but if, when the affirmation part of your day is over, you are pissed, irritated and upset with him, that’s what you are creating more of. By paying attention to our actual feelings we can most accurately and helpfully shift ourselves into the results we truly want. The book gives lots of excercises to lift our emotions from these and into the ones that create/allow the desired experience to come through. Feel it before you get it seems to be the operating idea here.
The other book is The Intention Experiment by Lynne McTaggart. I love this book because she applies science to the law of intention and manifestation, citing numerous examples of scientific experimence showing the power of applied consciousness. She then lists what has been learned from these experiments, how we can best use focused intention in our lives. My favorite tip: meditate for 20 minutes before beginning any intention. This has been proven to dramatically increase the efficacy of any visualization/intention processes. Also, be as specific as possible.
Intuitive Readings
My experience with most psychics over the past 25 years is that they haven’t been worth the time or money–well meaning people, with some vague intuition, but too generalized to create real meaning or lasting change. This has changed: The intuitives I’ve worked with recently have been a different category altogether. They are the real deal, directly hooked into a powerful spiritual source of knowledge. Michele , Paul another local woman. They are tapped into Source and you can feel the difference in what they say and how you respond.
Michele came to Ananda yesterday to do discounted readings to benefit the store. It was a powerful day–it always is when she does readings, but the energy was even more profound yesterday. She read for her clients, she read for people who walked in to shop, she read for my friends, and everyone received something valuable and healing. She gifted us, and I think the Universe gifted her back.
Michele came to Ananda yesterday to do discounted readings to benefit the store. It was a powerful day–it always is when she does readings, but the energy was even more profound yesterday. She read for her clients, she read for people who walked in to shop, she read for my friends, and everyone received something valuable and healing. She gifted us, and I think the Universe gifted her back.
Soul Mates
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s spectacular public meltdown has gotten me thinking about this whole concept of soul mates. Basically, there are two schools of thoughts here. One, the High Romance version, loosely bastardized from Plato, says that for each of us there is one perfect person, the romance that, in the words of (fictional) Jerry Maguire will “complete me.” Our romantic life is a search for this person and, once we find him or her, bliss will ensue.
I don’t buy this. For one reason, the practical: what if we don’t meet this person? What if we do, and then he or she dies? What if s/he is married to someone else? Is it at all logical to think that in a world of 6,706,993,152 (July 2008 est.) population, only one of them is our romantic fit? I hope not.
A Course In Miracles is particularly harsh on this train of thought, calling it the “illusion of the special relationship,” which is no more than the “ego’s chief weapon for keeping you from Heaven” (341) because of the value you place on this relationship, and your Self in it, to the exculsion of ultimate Reality. I’m not a Course in Miracles teacher, expert or even more than a curious reader, so if this intrigues you, turn to other teachers such as Marianne Williamson or Gary Renard for more explication.
The other definition of a soul mate that I’ve come across is that the Soul Mate is a person who indeed carries part of your Soul Group and because of this, you remind each other of the places in your lives where you are disconnected from your highest self and your destiny and tasks in this human lifetime. That is, a soul mate enters your life, completely disrupts it, usually through heartbreak, in the course of which you are set you back on the path you need to be on. Then the soul mate leaves your life. It’s not pretty, frequently deeply painful and rarely results in lifelong bliss and contentment. However, when you are able to surrender to the experience (that is, among other things, not fight to keep it going once its time has ended), you will come out of it a more authentic person, more likely to find happiness and love with a different partner.
Under this definition, Mark Sanford most definitely met his Soul Mate in his Argentinian Maria. Look at how his cool professional demeanor utterly cracked as he wept at his press conference. His marriage is probably ending: His complulsion to continually deconstruct this relationship in public, while perfectly familiar to us high obsessive types, is not a move that will endear him to the wife (Relationship tip: if you want to reconcile with someone, best not to announce to the Associated Press that your lover was your soul mate but you are going to “try” to learn to love your wife again). His career as he had projected it is almost certainly over.
He is becoming a much more interesting, and, I imagine, authentic person. His pain is forcing him to a level of grief, self-examination and public humiliation that is fascinating to watch. Where he goes with this is up to him, but at the moment, his naked humanity is utterly revealing. He’s a mess. We’ve all been there.
Here’s the thing: we never really know why someone enters our life and why that person leaves. Romantic love is a shapshifter, sometimes granting us our deepest longings, sometimes showing us illusions we need to give up.
I don’t buy this. For one reason, the practical: what if we don’t meet this person? What if we do, and then he or she dies? What if s/he is married to someone else? Is it at all logical to think that in a world of 6,706,993,152 (July 2008 est.) population, only one of them is our romantic fit? I hope not.
A Course In Miracles is particularly harsh on this train of thought, calling it the “illusion of the special relationship,” which is no more than the “ego’s chief weapon for keeping you from Heaven” (341) because of the value you place on this relationship, and your Self in it, to the exculsion of ultimate Reality. I’m not a Course in Miracles teacher, expert or even more than a curious reader, so if this intrigues you, turn to other teachers such as Marianne Williamson or Gary Renard for more explication.
The other definition of a soul mate that I’ve come across is that the Soul Mate is a person who indeed carries part of your Soul Group and because of this, you remind each other of the places in your lives where you are disconnected from your highest self and your destiny and tasks in this human lifetime. That is, a soul mate enters your life, completely disrupts it, usually through heartbreak, in the course of which you are set you back on the path you need to be on. Then the soul mate leaves your life. It’s not pretty, frequently deeply painful and rarely results in lifelong bliss and contentment. However, when you are able to surrender to the experience (that is, among other things, not fight to keep it going once its time has ended), you will come out of it a more authentic person, more likely to find happiness and love with a different partner.
Under this definition, Mark Sanford most definitely met his Soul Mate in his Argentinian Maria. Look at how his cool professional demeanor utterly cracked as he wept at his press conference. His marriage is probably ending: His complulsion to continually deconstruct this relationship in public, while perfectly familiar to us high obsessive types, is not a move that will endear him to the wife (Relationship tip: if you want to reconcile with someone, best not to announce to the Associated Press that your lover was your soul mate but you are going to “try” to learn to love your wife again). His career as he had projected it is almost certainly over.
He is becoming a much more interesting, and, I imagine, authentic person. His pain is forcing him to a level of grief, self-examination and public humiliation that is fascinating to watch. Where he goes with this is up to him, but at the moment, his naked humanity is utterly revealing. He’s a mess. We’ve all been there.
Here’s the thing: we never really know why someone enters our life and why that person leaves. Romantic love is a shapshifter, sometimes granting us our deepest longings, sometimes showing us illusions we need to give up.
Believing and Knowing
I gave a Reiki session today. As always, 2 distinct forces playing out in my awareness. The first force, utter knowing about the power of Reiki, actually began earlier this aftenoon, long before the client showed up, when I was looking through a Reiki book for other information and saw a symbol that I hadn’t used for awhile. I knew that I needed to use this on the client and I kept drawing it on myself and in the Treatment room all day. Something–the energy, the guides, the client’s own self–called me before the session began to make sure that the right tools were available. Then, when the session started, it was absolutely clear to me that not only was Reiki going through me, but that the client’s guides and angels were in the room with us, directing and managing the flow of energy. It was utterly clear and profound that we were surrounded by Divine Energies and all I had to do was get out of the way and let the energy work, hold my hands and make the movements they guided me to. Their presence was as real to me as the massage table the client lay on.
The other part of me was in the room thinking, ‘this is insane. This person is paying me to wave my hands around her body and I’ve hypnotized myself into thinking something is happening.” That same questioning voice also doubted me,’who are you Abby to think you can do this; other people can do Reiki, not you.” And so on. I had to quite consciously remind myself of other feedback I’ve gotten, other times when I’ve known the energy to be on. I was so distrustful, dis-believing of the entire experience.
It showed me, again, the difference between knowing and believng. There is a part of me that knows Reiki works, that knows when guides and angels are present, that knows that what is happening in a Reiki treatment is far more than me waving my hands in the air, that it is an act of healing.
Then there is the part of me that believes in Reiki. That belief can be shaken, manipulated, put at the mercy of my Critic or into the service of my ego. It quite frequently thinks that Reiki is magic. I have learned not to pay any attention to my beliefs about Reiki, to let the voices talk and ignore them. Belief is too often no more than an act of will, how we hypnotize ourselves into thinking the world is what we see. How many times have you, or me, or someone we know said, “I do (or don’t) believe in that,” as if their (our) beliefs on anything–suntanning, Christianity, capitalism, psychic readings, taking vitamins–are what make those things true or false, as if they only come into or out of existence through our attention and the quality of our certainty.
One of the reasons I love Reiki is because it does allow me to sidestep my beliefs, my ego self that has decided that the things of the world have certain meanings, some true, others false. With Reiki, when I’m practicing it, I get to put down my control freak nature and let Spirit work through me. I get to actively–and yet passively–participate in mystery.
And, I get to know, with utter clarity, that angels and guides are present in our lives. Maybe one day I’ll even start believing it.
It did help that the client loved the session, felt the energy moving immediately, and scheduled a follow up appointment for next Monday. Belief loves worldly reinforcement.
The other part of me was in the room thinking, ‘this is insane. This person is paying me to wave my hands around her body and I’ve hypnotized myself into thinking something is happening.” That same questioning voice also doubted me,’who are you Abby to think you can do this; other people can do Reiki, not you.” And so on. I had to quite consciously remind myself of other feedback I’ve gotten, other times when I’ve known the energy to be on. I was so distrustful, dis-believing of the entire experience.
It showed me, again, the difference between knowing and believng. There is a part of me that knows Reiki works, that knows when guides and angels are present, that knows that what is happening in a Reiki treatment is far more than me waving my hands in the air, that it is an act of healing.
Then there is the part of me that believes in Reiki. That belief can be shaken, manipulated, put at the mercy of my Critic or into the service of my ego. It quite frequently thinks that Reiki is magic. I have learned not to pay any attention to my beliefs about Reiki, to let the voices talk and ignore them. Belief is too often no more than an act of will, how we hypnotize ourselves into thinking the world is what we see. How many times have you, or me, or someone we know said, “I do (or don’t) believe in that,” as if their (our) beliefs on anything–suntanning, Christianity, capitalism, psychic readings, taking vitamins–are what make those things true or false, as if they only come into or out of existence through our attention and the quality of our certainty.
One of the reasons I love Reiki is because it does allow me to sidestep my beliefs, my ego self that has decided that the things of the world have certain meanings, some true, others false. With Reiki, when I’m practicing it, I get to put down my control freak nature and let Spirit work through me. I get to actively–and yet passively–participate in mystery.
And, I get to know, with utter clarity, that angels and guides are present in our lives. Maybe one day I’ll even start believing it.
It did help that the client loved the session, felt the energy moving immediately, and scheduled a follow up appointment for next Monday. Belief loves worldly reinforcement.
Difficulty
I’m reading Elizabeth Lesser’s wonderful book Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow. Lesser is one of the co-founders of Omega Institute, the model for the place I want Ananda to become, on a smaller scale.
Here’s what she has to say about the choice we all must make, repeatedly, in our lives:
To be human is to be lost in the woods. None of us arrives here with clear directions on how to get from point A to point B without stumbling into the forest of confusion or catastrophe or wrongdoing. Although they are dark and dangerous, it is in the woods that we discover our strengths. We all know people who say their cancer or divorce or bankruptcy was the greatest gift of a lifetime…But we also know people who did not turn their misfortune into insight, or their grief into joy. Instead, they became more bitter, more reactive, more cynical. They shut down. They went back to sleep…I am fascinated by what it takes to stay awake in difficult times.
And she quotes lines from Rumi:
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.
I love this. I also think about the challenge in thinking you are responding to difficulty by growing, but in reality you are deluding yourself, the ways we convince ourselves we are right and what we are doing is the best thing, when what we’re really doing is running away and shutting down. And the courage it takes to really face yourself so you know the difference.
Here’s what she has to say about the choice we all must make, repeatedly, in our lives:
To be human is to be lost in the woods. None of us arrives here with clear directions on how to get from point A to point B without stumbling into the forest of confusion or catastrophe or wrongdoing. Although they are dark and dangerous, it is in the woods that we discover our strengths. We all know people who say their cancer or divorce or bankruptcy was the greatest gift of a lifetime…But we also know people who did not turn their misfortune into insight, or their grief into joy. Instead, they became more bitter, more reactive, more cynical. They shut down. They went back to sleep…I am fascinated by what it takes to stay awake in difficult times.
And she quotes lines from Rumi:
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.
I love this. I also think about the challenge in thinking you are responding to difficulty by growing, but in reality you are deluding yourself, the ways we convince ourselves we are right and what we are doing is the best thing, when what we’re really doing is running away and shutting down. And the courage it takes to really face yourself so you know the difference.
Daily Practice
In my current state of all Elizabeth Gilbert, all the time, I tracked down the web version of her initial Oprah visit after the book came out. Besides checking out the picture of her and Felipe on their wedding day–he’s so cute!–I was most struck with what she described as her useful daily practice (and no, it’s not meditation).
1) Every morning, write down what you really, really, really want for the day (she was most insistent on the 3 reallys).
2) Every night write down what made you happy that day, in a special happiness journal.
3)”Refine your mantra.” To paraphrase–we all have a mantra we chant continuously. Occasionally it might be Om Shanti, but for most of us it’s more like “I’m so fat,” “I wish I had more money,” “Why won’t she love me,” etc. Gilbert suggests becoming attuned to the mantra we recite, and, if it’s not working for us, if it’s not what we want in our lives, change it.
These are the basic principles of manifestation, by the way. Visualize it clearly, be grateful and appreciative, take control of your thoughts. The last one is tricky–we might think that ‘I wish I had more money” sends out the manifestation of getting money, but actually it sends out more manifesting of the lack of money. Same with “I wish X loved me” doesn’t attract love to us, it attracts the absence of X, etc. Instead, to reframe these things that feel like lack, you might say “I am prosperous in all I do,” “I have abundance and joy in my life,” “I am loved”, or something similar.
And for those of you who are resistant to the whole idea of affirmations, like I was for so much of my life, my favorite affirmation of all, taken from Frederic Lehrman’s Prosperity Consciousness CD (track it down, it rocks): Affirmations work for me whether I believe they do or not.
Affirmations aren’t the beginning or the end of manifestation and living a happier life, they aren’t a quick fix, they are definitely not magic. But what they are very helpful for is helping us regain mastery over our compulsive thoughts, the ones we think without being aware of what we’re doing. The background noise/soundrack to our day. Changing these debilitating, compulsive thoughts are essential to living a happier life.
1) Every morning, write down what you really, really, really want for the day (she was most insistent on the 3 reallys).
2) Every night write down what made you happy that day, in a special happiness journal.
3)”Refine your mantra.” To paraphrase–we all have a mantra we chant continuously. Occasionally it might be Om Shanti, but for most of us it’s more like “I’m so fat,” “I wish I had more money,” “Why won’t she love me,” etc. Gilbert suggests becoming attuned to the mantra we recite, and, if it’s not working for us, if it’s not what we want in our lives, change it.
These are the basic principles of manifestation, by the way. Visualize it clearly, be grateful and appreciative, take control of your thoughts. The last one is tricky–we might think that ‘I wish I had more money” sends out the manifestation of getting money, but actually it sends out more manifesting of the lack of money. Same with “I wish X loved me” doesn’t attract love to us, it attracts the absence of X, etc. Instead, to reframe these things that feel like lack, you might say “I am prosperous in all I do,” “I have abundance and joy in my life,” “I am loved”, or something similar.
And for those of you who are resistant to the whole idea of affirmations, like I was for so much of my life, my favorite affirmation of all, taken from Frederic Lehrman’s Prosperity Consciousness CD (track it down, it rocks): Affirmations work for me whether I believe they do or not.
Affirmations aren’t the beginning or the end of manifestation and living a happier life, they aren’t a quick fix, they are definitely not magic. But what they are very helpful for is helping us regain mastery over our compulsive thoughts, the ones we think without being aware of what we’re doing. The background noise/soundrack to our day. Changing these debilitating, compulsive thoughts are essential to living a happier life.
Happiness
We recieved a new shipment of books, and while I was putting them on the shelf I got distracted by Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love, one of my favorite books ever, which I hadn’t read since Jeanne and I went to Kelea Surf spa for women in Costa Rica (one of my best vacations ever). Read this quote from page 260, which I loved so much I have to post:“People tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you’re fortunate enough. But that’s not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don’t, you will leak away your innate contentment. It’s easy enough to pray when you’re in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments.”
Know What You Want
This morning I cast the I-Ching, asking for guidance in next step for bringing prosperity to Ananda. Usually when I do the I-Ching I get an answer something like “the horse carries a basket, it is favorable to cross the river,” and not being an I-Ching master I muddle through with a metaphorical interpretation the best I can. Occasionally, however, it is crystal clear and today was one of those days. Here is part of the interpretation:
Know What You Want
Know What Makes You Feel Good About Yourself
Know What Brings You In Harmony With Other People
Anything else is an obstacle that needs to be removed cleanly, by biting through and tossing it aside.
Such good advice I thought I would post it.
Know What You Want
Know What Makes You Feel Good About Yourself
Know What Brings You In Harmony With Other People
Anything else is an obstacle that needs to be removed cleanly, by biting through and tossing it aside.
Such good advice I thought I would post it.
Gratitudes
I’m opening Ananda in a few hours and before I do I want to pause to be grateful and recognize all the people and things that brought me here: Starting at the top: God, the Angels and the Ascended Masters who have made it unrelentingly clear to me that they are in my life, helping and supporting me, no matter how much I talk back, resist, complain and whine. My friends, who support me in this in every possible way, even though some of them think this stuff is crazy and I might be losing my mind, starting a business in this economy. In particular: John, Michele, Jeanne, Shelley, Robert, Karen, Chris and Marnie. My sister Mary. The wonderful guys at Sage Carpentry who came into my life through synchronicity I didn’t know I needed. My children, for their Selves, for their unrestrained enthusiasm for Ananda–Jack in particular loves the gongs and Morgan loves the barcode scanner–and for the convenient fact that they both think spaghetti with butter, and apple slices is a perfect dinner, and who needs clean clothes anyway. Their father, for taking more time with them and driving a load of boxes to the recycling center. Bodos Bagels, for feeding me this month. My suppliers, in particular Sounds True, Alison Blair Studio, Jane Inc and Northern Lights, for making such great products. My colleagues at U.Va who have been so supportive. Reiki. Diane Shewmaker. Martha Grimes mystery novels. Springtime. Bruce Springsteen, for everything in general and playing a concert in Charlottesville on the night of my opening in particular.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Susan Boyle
Like everyone else, the Susan Boyle video made me cry. If we could each just internalize that moment when she stops being what we think she looks like, and starts to sing who she is–if we could each know with utter certainty that her voice is who I am–well, we’d have no need of therapy or religion, we’d be directly connected to the source of God within us and healed in a flash. And know that everyone else is as well, and this is the only real thing in all the world.
Everyone keeps talking about what she looks like–but don’t we all feel like we look like that, even when we don’t? I certainly do. Don’t we all feel judged by Simon and sense the withering scorn of teenagers and that we’ve never, really, been kissed? And of course we judge the same thing about others. I sometimes feel like there’s a panel of judges who watch and record my every move. Their derision make Simon look seem like a sweet teddy bear of comfort and delight, and of course I’m always failing, always about to be laughed off the show and belted with rotten tomatoes, exposed for the fraud I am. It’s one of the near constant soundtracks playing in the back of my mind. I’m not good enough. Ever.–actually, lately, I’ll move that up to rarely. Rarely good enough. Which is an improvement I’m seriously, sincerely grateful about.
But the only real thing is the voice of God inside. Knowing we are each that voice inside, every single one of us. All the time.
Thank you Susan Boyle and youtube for reminding me of that.
Everyone keeps talking about what she looks like–but don’t we all feel like we look like that, even when we don’t? I certainly do. Don’t we all feel judged by Simon and sense the withering scorn of teenagers and that we’ve never, really, been kissed? And of course we judge the same thing about others. I sometimes feel like there’s a panel of judges who watch and record my every move. Their derision make Simon look seem like a sweet teddy bear of comfort and delight, and of course I’m always failing, always about to be laughed off the show and belted with rotten tomatoes, exposed for the fraud I am. It’s one of the near constant soundtracks playing in the back of my mind. I’m not good enough. Ever.–actually, lately, I’ll move that up to rarely. Rarely good enough. Which is an improvement I’m seriously, sincerely grateful about.
But the only real thing is the voice of God inside. Knowing we are each that voice inside, every single one of us. All the time.
Thank you Susan Boyle and youtube for reminding me of that.
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