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by Sedona Allow us to move outside the box for a while. In the space outside the box we may explore any territory we wish to travel. In this realm we can journey where we want without fear of reprisal, for we do it hand in hand with each other, through levels and planes of thought. Imagine a time on Earth before humans existed . . . plants growing and dying with the season, only to start growing again when the sun became warm enough to nurture each plant and warmer rains fell to dampen the soil which is their roots’ home. Insects, reptiles, birds and early mammals flourished in the climes to which they had each adapted. The air and water, pure and unmolested by pollutants, allowed them to be born, grow old and die in their natural manner. The strong and those best adapted to their natural habitat survived longer than their weaker or less adapted neighbors. Where more rains fell, more lush plant life existed upon which the vegetarian species fed and thrived. Due to the abundance of these lives, carnivores also increased in number, keeping the herbivore populations in check so as not to consume all the plant life and eventually starve their own populace. There was a natural order to the Earth – birth and death. Imagine then that a power more mighty than our collective imaginations’ could conceive looked upon the Earth and saw that it was good. What a wonderful world, full of order and beauty . . . but spiritually bereft. So this Power waited and watched until, through evolution and extinction (all within the natural order upon which this planet depended), a creature began to appear that was more adaptable than the others. It had mental abilities above those around it, and it was able to create things other than just a reproduction of itself. The Power, now becoming lonely and looking for other spiritual beings with which to share Her universe, emitted sparks of Her own light and through Her infinite love embedded them within these creatures, hoping to create beings of a spiritual magnitude to equal Her own. Alas, Her light and love were not enough. These creatures were stubborn and willful, filled with self-importance, unable to graciously accept the gift given to them and honor She who bequeathed it. Sadly, She has watched over the course of thousands of years, waiting for those She loves, those to whom She gave of her own light, to realize their true value and thus return to Her. I am reminded of a song I was taught as a child in Sunday School. “This little light of mine, I’m gonna’ make it shine.” Please allow the Light of your Higher Power to shine through you so that others may replenish their Light from yours. As using one candle to light another does not diminish the flame of the first, allow us to bask in each other’s glow and grow strong. Be well, my sisters.
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By Sedona It was storming, a southwestern monsoon. The rain had been coming down in layers not drops since about 4 PM. The streets were mostly rivers. The light show over the Black Mountain was breathtaking. One could not tell where one thrum of thunder ended and the next began. It was a perfectly relaxing night for me. I knew I would sleep well – I always do when there’s an electrical storm. My insomnia would not be bothering me – or so I thought. My brain has a most annoying habit of waking me at 2:28 AM regularly -- no matter what time I fall asleep nor what time I rise in the morning. 2:28 comes, and I’m wide awake nearly every night. I envisioned sleeping through the night without my brain’s clarion call. I lay down that night and let the sound of the rain and thunder lull me to sleep naturally, fully expecting to stay in that state of relaxation and repose. 2:28 AM – eyes wide open. “Oh what the hell,” I thought as I rolled over to my left side to see if a change in position would let me just go right back to sleep. The motion led my eyes directly to the edge of the ceiling where it meets the wall over the window. There was a glow there – one I’d never seen before though I’d slept in that same room for over two years. As I watched, the white, dull, throbbing beams began to take on delineated edges. It took on a nearly human shape. Its hair was long and flowed as if there were a breeze blowing on my ceiling. The face began to take shape also. It was difficult to distinguish whether the features were male or female – too soft and comely for a man, too sinewy for a woman. It was draped in gauzy robes, wings visible over the shoulders and extending to each side at the hips. The robe also wafted in a wind I knew was not there. There was a soft glow undulating around the entire image. I was not able to take my eyes away from the vision. As I stared, the image raised its right hand from within the robes and reached toward me. In that hand was a glowing orb, sending soft rays of white light around my bedroom. Trying to not move too much nor to take my eyes off the figure for too long, I glanced quickly at my digital clock. It clearly showed me in inch and a half tall numerals that it was well after 3 AM. Over half an hour had elapsed, I know not how. My mind told me only a minute or two had gone by, but the clock was proving me wrong. I looked back at the place where the ceiling meets the wall and nothing had changed. There was my pale vision, hand held out to me, ball of white light glowing, hair blowing out behind its benevolent visage, wings folded behind it and robes still billowing in an imaginary draft of air. I kept thinking that there must be a puddle of water outside my window and that light from a streetlamp was reflecting off its surface to illuminate my ceiling in this odd fashion. I watched the image closely, looking for changes. There were no more. I kept trying to determine what else could cause it. I wondered if a neighbor had a light on that normally was dark at this time of night, if someone were in the parking lot with their headlights on, or if there were children playing with a flashlight next door. I went to the window and looked out. There were no lights on anywhere. I went to the switch on my wall and flipped it. Nothing happened. My clock was running on its backup battery. Our power was out thanks to the storm. I went to the bathroom and lit a cigarette and a candle. I sat down on the toilet to think. Before I’d finished my cigarette, I went out on the balcony to have a look around. The power must have been out in several blocks and the moon was hidden behind the storm clouds. It was dead dark. Since the rain had cut back to a light drizzle, I grabbed a light coat and went out and down the outside stairs to have a look around. There was nothing unusual except the lack of light. I went back upstairs, locked the front door and stood in the living room, afraid to go back in the bedroom, afraid that the figure of light that shouldn’t be there remained. The clock! It threw off a green illumination. I threw my coat over the arm of a chair, ran into the bedroom, took the clock off the shelf over my bed and hid it under the covers face down. My friend was still on the ceiling, still presenting me with a radiating sphere. I collapsed on the bed, face down. Hesitantly, I rolled over to contemplate the shape on my ceiling where it meets the wall. I lay there, staring, ‘til dawn. There is nothing more radiant than the sun rising after a strong storm has washed the air clean. However, it was not enough to rid me of my intruder. My alarm went off at 8:30 AM. My work day didn’t start until 11. I went to the kitchen, started a big pot of fresh coffee brewing, knowing that was all I had to depend on to keep me awake for the day, and took a shower. Without boring you with my whole morning routine, I’ll just say that I got dressed while watching the illumination that wouldn’t fade or move. The last thing I did before leaving the house was to say good-bye – might as well be polite. That evening, when I arrived home from work, my new friend was gone. I immediately revved up the computer and searched the internet for information on Angels. Be well, my sisters.
To find out how to channel your Guardian
Angels, please click on
and search for author, Kim O’Neill, especially How to Talk with Your Angles.
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by Sedona
I live in an amazing world. Flowers, trees, bushes, stones, clouds, sun, moon, stars, fish, fowl, dogs, cats, horses, breeze . . . As I relax on the sun-warmed surface of a large flat stone, my toes only six inches from the water in the duck pond, nineteen ducks and seven pigeons are stationed on rocks or floating on the water within five yards of me. They are not afraid of humans – most of the residents of this complex feed them. They are plump with birdseed, stale bread and (unfortunately) old donuts. Some bask in the sun, others preen, yet others stand an informal guard – there are stray cats in the neighborhood. Since the pond is man-made, there is a spot, not quite center that bubbles up as the water from the lowest of the three ponds is re-circulated in order to keep the waterfalls flowing. It creates ripples and small waves and causes the ducks that are resting on the water to bob very gently. The sun is warming my back, my neck and the back of my left ankle, for it is getting closer to winter than summer; and, though it is mid-day, it is low in the southern sky. The breeze rustles the palm fronds and purple plum tree’s leaves, creating a soft, lulling melody, which is in harmony with the water splashing from the fountain in the lowest pond and lapping up against the rocky edge at my feet. The movement of the leaves creates sunshine, shade, sunshine, and shade on the paper as I write; and I can feel the hair on my arms move in that breeze. The stone has begun to feel cold underneath me since it is in my shadow, and the heat was only surface-deep due to the night chill, which now doesn’t really ever go away in the weaker rays of the non-direct sun. Four more pigeons have landed on a larger, flat stone to my left. They don’t seem to notice that I’m here. One just flew over the pond to join his friends on the rock two feet to my right, and two of the remaining three join him within seconds. The last, a pure white one, took his time surveying the rocks around the whole pond before taking short flight to rejoin his group. The ducks remain as they have been except that the preening ones are now resting with heads tucked under wings.
I live in an amazing world – don’t you?
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by Sedona Before we get into the meat of the matter, I want to throw out a few ideas, philosophies if you will, which are relevant to the discussion. The first is: Nothing happens by accident. The second: We are all here for a reason. The third: There is a Higher Power. The fourth: We are meant to interact with each other, working toward a positive outcome. If you agree with these, then we have some common ground. If you do not, please take the following into consideration from your viewpoint and arrive at your own conclusions. One other thing: This is not being told to illicit sympathy, empathy, blame or anger. A baby was born; she was beautiful and apparently perfect – ten fingers, ten toes, all the appropriate gear inside and out. When she was about three months old, she began gasping for air and turning blue. The diagnosis was that she had extreme sinus allergies. This occurred in a small town, back in the 50’s. There were few remedies that were allergy specific, so she was treated with adult strength and dosages of meds that were developed to relieve sinus congestion due to colds or flu. That was all there was. Her mother, fearing for the baby’s life at all times, since she was incapable of breathing unless her head was turned to one side or the other to keep a nasal passage open enough to allow the intake of air, held the baby while she slept – even throughout the night. The mother sat upright in a chair every night holding her child to make sure she could breathe until the child was about three years old, and her nasal passages had grown larger and she had learned to mouth breathe. It is possible that the mother did not need to wait ‘til the child was that old for it to be safe to let her sleep on her own in a bed. However, the fear of losing the child made it impossible for the mother to “experiment” at an earlier age. The basic premise is this: the child was near death many times during her first at least two years of life. The child grew to be a beautiful little girl. She was quite often too sick to go to school. Her mother dutifully went to school to pick up and drop off her schoolwork (she was both home taught and provided the public school experience). Since the child was an excellent student with no disciplinary issues and since the mother took such an active part in her education, the school system was willing to overlook the excessive absences. When she was about seven or eight years old, she contracted chicken pox just past mid-December. Throughout the week before Christmas until a few days after, the girl spent most of her time passing out from the pain in her throat and head, especially when she tried to swallow anything. She has no real memory of any of this herself. However, her mother clearly remembers the entire experience and wondering on several occasions if her child was going to live through the end of the year. Since the child had chicken pox, no doctor or hospital would allow her to appear in person. Her pediatrician made house calls, but there wasn’t much that could be done. Again, adult medications to attempt to relieve the pain and congestion were prescribed. It was nearly impossible for the child to take the medicine since her throat was swollen nearly shut and every time she tried to swallow, she passed out; so, for all intents and purposes, none of the medication was ever ingested. In a perfect world, she’d have been admitted to a hospital. OK – in a humane world, she’d have been hospitalized where she could have had intravenous saline and necessary drugs. The child was dehydrated along with the other issues, but it appears that this was overlooked. (NOTE: We cannot blame the mother. She was not trained in medicine. What we consider to be common knowledge now was not necessarily common knowledge in the late fifties.) Well, the chicken pox went away, as they usually will. The child survived – no one is really sure how. She was small for her age – probably due to the effects of her body fighting off illness so often. One would think that her mother and father would have been radically over-protective under the circumstances, but they were rational people who led a balanced life. When on vacation at a lake resort, she slipped out of an inner tube and spent longer than was healthy under water. Her mother dove several times looking for her in the murky water. Again, she should not have survived, but a few minutes later she was on the beach building sandcastles. The years went by, the child grew, the allergies lessened in intensity to some degree just due to natural physiology. She graduated high school with honors and went to college. She flew back home for Christmas after her first quarter in school. Her parents picked her up at the airport in a community about 75 miles from their home. The fog was of the pea soup variety and they drove in and out of it as they made their way through the hilly countryside. While heading downhill into the next fog pocket, both her mother and she yelled to her father to pull off the road. Neither of them knew why. He, having been well trained by his wife to listen to every word she said and to respond immediately, pulled from the middle lane of the three-lane highway and onto the berm of the road. They had entered the fog pocket by this point and could see what had previously been curtained by the fog bank -- the gasoline tanker that was overturned across all three lanes of the highway as well as with the 18-wheeler that had been behind them in the middle lane. It hit the side of the tanker head on. Had they not pulled off the road, they’d have hit the tanker first and then been rear ended by the Kenworth, sandwiched (or pancaked due to the “flattening” effect) in between with infinitesimal chances for survival. The college she attended was in an area surrounded by ski resorts, so she took skiing as one of her mandatory electives. On the way down a winding, snowy, but well packed, mountain road, the car she was driving hit a ridge of hard-packed snow and became air-borne. The next bend in the road was a right-hand curve. Straight ahead was a cliff. All she could do was look ahead at the treetops. Who knows, maybe a gust of wind hit the car head-on, but it stopped moving forward, dropped to the snow-covered surface, and she was able to steer the car around the right-hand curve with minimal difficulty – especially considering how badly her hands were shaking. On another occasion, on another mountain road outside the same community, she and a friend were returning home from a late autumn nature hike that was cut short due to rain and a sudden drop in temperature. Her friend had turned her ankle running back to the car to get out of the rain, so she was driving her friend’s car. They came around a curve and hit an unexpected patch of black ice. The car spun out of control. It made three complete circles and came to a stop on the gravel of a scenic view overlook, missing going over the edge of a cliff by about 10 feet. You might think at this point that she was a lousy driver. In reality, she is a very good driver based on her performance over 35 years of never having been in an actual accident. By the way, she left the small town in the early 70’s and has lived and driven in a large cities ever since. While driving from her home to her parent’s for Christmas, she was sleeping in the passenger seat of the car while her husband drove on the lonely, two-lane highway that wound through southern Utah. For no reason of which she is aware, she reached over, grabbed the steering wheel and jerked the car to the right. As she began to reach full consciousness, she saw the truck that was coming toward them just a moment before pass them on the left. Her husband had fallen asleep at the wheel. Her stepson had awakened in the back seat just in time to see that his new step-mom had saved their lives. While living in an area of the country that experiences torrential downpours, she was driving a van down a two lane road. Running across the road surface was what is termed a “wash”. It is a natural ditch that fills with rain quickly and becomes a rushing river. Since she was dealing with an emergency situation at the time, against her better judgment, she drove through the wash and found that the road surface had already been washed away. The van stopped moving forward and began to move with the water in the wash – sideways. The wheels of the vehicle could find no purchase. She took her foot off the gas, having been used to the rules of driving in snow – slow down and gain traction. As she mentioned to her daughter that they might be in for a bumpy ride, the van was pushed from behind and began to move forward, straight into the head-on, gale force winds. As they came up onto the road surface on the other side of the wash, she looked in the rear-view mirrors. There was nothing there. She looked around and behind the vehicle – nothing there. Both she and her daughter were convinced that another vehicle, larger than theirs, had come up behind them and done them the favor of pushing them out. There was nothing else on the road anywhere. The wind was coming at them from the front, battering the rain against the windshield. It would have been more than unlikely, near impossible, that a gust of wind had pushed them from behind, yet the vehicle moved forward, into the wind, against the sideways force of the flowing water, and moved them back to relative safety – her right foot was still on the floor of the van, not on the gas pedal. It would seem that in none of these cases was it her time to go. She believes that she has purpose. She believes that she is here and has been allowed to stay here because there are things for her yet to learn and to teach. That is what she does. She believes that each of us touches the lives of others, and this should be done with purpose of intent for the greater good of all. She believes that we leave our legacy with each word we say and with each action we take. These are just a few of the experiences that this one person has had. Many others have had experiences of either a similar or even more profound nature. They are documented in magazines, newspapers and books, on TV shows and websites, and in movies. I offer this as additional proof of the theory that there is a divine plan, that we are here for reasons, which it is our responsibility to determine them and to follow through. “Every day create your history. Every path you take you’re leaving your legacy. Every soldier dies in his glory. Every legend tells a conquest in liberty.” ~Michael Jackson – “History” – HiStory Album~
NOTE: This story has been told with full knowledge of the individual described. No names have been used on purpose in order to help depersonalize the situations. Again, this was not told to illicit an emotional response. It was told in an effort to support the theory that there is a reason why each of us is alive, that there is purpose to our lives. Be well, my sister
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and How They Affect Us by Reverend Ann-Marie Goldstein
In today’s modern world, one will often hear people comment on the Full Moon. You may hear things said like, “ Well, you know that people get a little crazy around the Full Moon.” Or, “You know all the crazies come out at the Full Moon.” While these comments are often made in jest, the Moon and Her powers are nothing to be laughed at; and, when used properly with the right timing, The Moon can be of tremendous benefit to your life. There are numerous studies on the cycles of the Moon that have served to demonstrate the uncanny and mystical powers associated with the Moon. Tide watchers used oysters in one particular instance where two sets of live oysters were used, one stayed in one location and the other removed in a sealed box to another completely different time zone. In the first time zone it was noted that the oysters came open when the Moon was Full. In the other container that had been transported across an entire continent, much to the surprise of the scientists, the second set of oysters began a whole new cycle of opening and closing to the cycles of the Moon, an entire time zone away. In 2005 we use what is known as the Gregorian calendar which drops days every month or so, and leaves us with one month a year with “28 days clear and 29 in each leap year”. Society has not always used the Gregorian calendar and in fact, there are many people today who have an entirely different system of ‘keeping time’, as we know it. http://www.13moon.com/index.htm is one such web site, devoted to the ancient Mayan calendar and the 2012 prophecy. This is based on the Mayan theory of keeping time by the cycles of the Moon and Her path through the sky for thousands of years gone by. Using the theory behind the Mayan calendar, we would have 13 months to a calendar year with each month consisting of 28 days. The Moon has a 28-day cycle, very similar to a female’s menstruation cycle. By the calculations of the Mayan Calendar, a person uses this way of keeping time by following this cycle. When done over a prolonged period of time - especially by women - this can have pronounced changes to your physical and spiritual life. The New Moon (which occurs by our calendar around the 5th through the 8th of each month) is an excellent time to begin new things. It is said that when you cut your hair, you should cut it at the new Moon and it will grow faster. This is a time when you want to begin new projects, new relationships, personal and otherwise. From the time of the New Moon we then go to the ‘First’ Moon: when the Moon starts becoming that silvery crescent in the sky. This is a two-week period of incredible spiritual opportunity. Meditation is at its peak then; your mental abilities are strong. Visualization can be very effective at this time and certain candles may be burned to increase your wishes. From that point, we go to the “Full” Moon where the Moon waxes and grows to that beautiful huge orb in the sky, sometimes so bright that no artificial light is needed when you walk outside at night. Feminine energy and the Moon are synonymous with each other; and, ladies, this is the time when those babies start popping out according to popular lore. Indeed, “men are from Mars and women are from Venus” has been replaced with the true energies of The Sun ruling men and The Moon ruling women. Men - often hot tempered; not as emotional as women (that is the energy of the Moon at work) and fiery, hot-blooded like The Sun that burns high above us. Women - emotional, moods and feelings waxing and waning, changing like the Moon as she grows and then dies each month, only to be reborn again the following month. From the point of the Full Moon, she then goes to the “last” moon and then the cycle repeats itself. This is when you want to close doors in your life. Wrap up that work or school project. Put things mentally, physically and emotionally to bed so that you can be fresh and clean for the next Moon cycle.
To
understand how the Moon can affect your life, especially for women, who are the
only mammals on our planet that menstruate, is to understand and come into your
full potential. For those of you who are very familiar with the Moon, you might be wondering why I am not writing about spell work using the Moon. But if you are indeed familiar, you will know why. It would be irresponsible for me to do so. You must learn by degrees and studying the Moon and Her powers is nothing to be learnt overnight. If you have lived by the Gregorian calendar all your life, as most people have, for me to toss someone into the stratosphere of the Mayan calendar would be foolish, for they would not understand a word and it would defeat the purpose. Begin by getting yourself a moon calendar. These are published every year and can be purchased from any bookstore at the same time as the regular calendars or you can buy online at www.llewellyn.com Then you can read all about the Moon, what it means for you as far as your Moon sign (the side of yourself that you don’t show to most people). The calendar will show you when the Moon is new, when it is v/c (void-of-course) and exactly what that term means. You will know when the Moon is going from waxing to Full to waning to last moon. You can familiarize yourself with the cycles, and then it really starts getting interesting. For a woman, you can ease your menstrual cycle, for to get your body in sync with the Moon is to get your mind body and soul as one. Once you have become more familiar with the Moon then you can begin to manifest long term changes in your life. It doesn’t happen all at once, you will need to make a conscious effort to start timing your life by the cycles of the Moon. After about two or three Moon cycles you should start to see a pronounced change in the way things start to seemingly “fall into place” just as the Moon becomes Full. You will notice that you may meet new friends when the Moon is new. This is just the beginning. Over time, you can change whatever you need to change, from friends to family to entire career moves -- anything is possible. And for women, this will open you to a whole New World within yourselves. To allow the Moon her Divine access to you is to allow miracles. And miracles, in the end, are what we all really want. They are possible: all it takes is a little bit of good timing and the willingness to be open to the possibility. Happy learning!
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by Reverend Ann-Marie Goldstein
When one thinks of what it takes to make her or him happy or contented these days one might be inclined to look at what seems “necessary”. This seems only natural. Necessary objects: What is necessary to you may be completely un-necessary to another and vice versa? I put to you the bigger question: What is necessary? Putting a list together of what you deem to be necessary can take five minutes and contain more substance than if you took a half hour to think about it, mull it over and put something together. SO, off the top of your head, I repeat the question: What is necessary . . . TO YOU? I think that perhaps this is a question that each individual can answer only for her or himself. For some it may be a big house. For others it can be a nice, fancy car with all the bells and whistles. Now, a nice, fancy car may be a want and a very good want; but it is not a necessity. You may even have a six pack of children, and you say you need the big car, which would lead me to ask you WHY you had so many children – but we won’t go down that road. We may never come back. For some, necessity can mean status – how others look at them. How others perceive us largely depends on how we carry ourselves. Some may like us, some may not, but again that is not the issue. Do you like yourself? Knowing myself the way I do – one must know oneself very well to even begin this exercise of necessity – I could play tic tack toe with you, but you won’t win, so I will spare us all the roundabouts and share with you my definition of necessary First and foremost, peace of mind is necessary. I’m not talking about just feeling good. I’m talking about being with your self and feeling good. It’s an entirely different thing. To be with your self takes you to another level. When you relate well with your self, you can relate well with others. After peace of mind, a feeling of love is necessary. Not the love to own another; not the love to be the object of love to another; but rather a feeling of all-encompassing love that hits one at random moments: when I may be driving and a favorite song comes on and I spread my hands out to feel like I am flying. In that moment all is right with the world. That is the love I am talking about. It is the greatest love of all because it is love that can be shared without losing anything -- most of all yourself. The third and final necessity is calm. Easy waters that run over troubled times in our lives or in our psyches when they threaten to derail and overwhelm us. Living in calm certainty and living in the knowing of Faith, whatever that particular word may mean to you. Discovering that meaning can bring a love like one has never known; love that is indescribable. I find these things to be absolutely necessary to my well being. Basic physical necessities are available to me; but, unlike many, I have peace of mind, which gives me room to enjoy these things and not take them for granted. That may be the most necessary objective of all.
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Angel Channeling: Messages from The Light.
We want
to talk with you about religion. We are sorry to be so blunt about it, but this
message is too important to come to you lightly. Indeed, it cannot be given
lightly nor taken lightly, for much depends over the next few years on your
Earthly planet on your concept of “religion” and what it has led so many of you
wonderful creatures to do.
There,
we have said it. We know that many do not want this idea to come to light, and
we apologize; but it must be said, it must be seen, and it definitely must be
heard. No longer can we sit by as you cause chaos on the planet that is such an
integral part of the Universe by your judgments and your killings of those who’s
only fault is believing in a different deity than you do.
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Angel Channeling: Messages from The Light.
Dear loves, the message we bring to you today is about the
unconditional love we showed you in our previous message through this messenger.
There are songs that have been sung about the great mysteries of love. “Fairy
tales can come true; it can happen you if you’re young at heart.” “I love you
just the way you are.” These are but two examples. We want to help you know and
understand more about this EARTHLY concept of
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HOW TO ALLOW ACCESS TO THE DIVINE BY REMOVING FEAR FROM YOUR LIFE.
BY REVEREND ANN-MARIE GOLDSTEIN
We all
have our journeys to travel in life, we all have our paths to walk, and we ALL
have our very own - we’d like to think - demons to slay on our paths to
“enlightenment.” Stop to think about this for just one minute. “Fear of the Unknown” has got to be the BIGGEST oxymoron there is out there. How can you fear something if you don’t know what it is? In all my years of counseling different people from every walk of life, I have yet to find someone to answer that question. Divinity rests in trusting the true nature of Spirit. Spirit, in turn, knows no fear. Can you see? Divinity RESTS.
“But
how do I rest,” you cry. “I have bills to pay, a mortgage to make, food to put
on the table! I can’t afford to listen to your talk of Divinity and resting…”
and on and on you go, not realizing that you are blocking the Divine from
entering your life by this very talk, which you are serving up.
I put
it to you that “enlightenment” RESTS in every second. Each moment that we draw
breath on this Blessed earth is just that, a sacred moment not to be confused
with what we want to make it into, which is a Scared moment. To live your life
coming from fear of this, fear of that and fear of the other is to tell yourself
that you actually do not believe good things can happen to you. that a contented
and happy life is not your natural right. That is so far wrong it isn’t even
funny.
“What
about my boss?” You say. “What if he or she is in a bad mood. If I go in all
happy it’s just going to aggravate them!” What if, what if. If I had a dollar
for every “what if” question I got, I’d be a rich woman by now. You are
responsible for no-one else’s state of “be-ing” other than your own. (Of course,
if you have young children, let me be clear, you are responsible for them too.
They didn’t ask to be here.)
First:
while trying to put SALVE on someone’s wounds, be they personal, physical or
otherwise, avoid becoming their SLAVE. There it is again: one word, same
letters, completely different meaning. Be your own best friend. You are there
with you when you go to bed, when you take a shower, when you are driving in the
car on the way to work. You are there with you during the best of times and the
worst of times. Don’t you owe it to yourself to be loving and kind toward you as
much as you can? We walk around hoping for most of our lives, if not all, for
someone to come along and “love” us, as if this “love” is going to make things
in our lives magically better somehow. The most important person in this life
that you can ever love is you. All love comes from this space. All things that
are SACRED come from this space.
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By Rev. Ann-Marie Goldstein
Too often, we walk through our lives asking ourselves what our “purpose” is. Why are we here, what are we meant to do; and, if we even get that far into the equation, the next question comes: well, how do I get to there from here? Purpose’s purpose is very simple, really. We were born to be the best US that we can be. What that means to each individual is strictly an individual thing. It goes back to being content in our own skin. That is a trick easier said than done, even for the most “highly evolved” and “spiritual” people. In fact, it can be harder because for those who walk the path close to the Spirit -- the way is not an easy one. There is one aspect of purpose that remains true regardless of who you are, however. One must never use purpose for their own purposes. Read that again slowly so that you can really understand what it means. It is important that you do. Motive. Why do you do what you do? Why do you think you need what you need? The truth is most people look to others for their self-worth; they look to others to validate their existence. If the woman or man next to you is looking to you for you to tell him or her who they are, and you are looking to them to answer that same question, how can you ever truly figure out why you are here and what your purpose is? Going about it by seeking the validation of others is useless and literally serves no purpose. No pun intended. If you really stop to look at it, life that is, we are either going too fast or too slowly all at the same time. Consequently, we really never get anywhere. The only time you can get anywhere, ironically enough, is when you stop. Stop to smell the roses. Stop to think about where you are really going. Stop to think about what you really want. Just take a moment and stop. Purpose can catch up to you only when you stop. If you are constantly trying to prove one thing or another to this or that person, Purpose can never truly get hold of you, and thus you will spend half your life wondering why you are not happy or, more importantly, why you are not contented. Pleasing everyone else all the time is an exhausting job; and, no, somebody does not have to do it. Really the motivation behind it defeats the purpose anyway so why bother? The questions that I pose to you are not always easy ones. I know, I have had to live through every experience to be able to write about them and will no doubt continue to do so as I work through my life's purpose. But it is my life's purpose, and it is what it is. Do you know what your purpose is? If you do, I'd love to hear about it. Once you put your purpose out there into the open, out into the Universe, there is no escaping it. Much like the young lady a few months ago who had been reading The Purpose Filled Life, little did she realize what her purpose was to be when that young man on the run from the law came to her home. She stopped to take the time to want to discover her purpose, and purpose came right to her door. Perhaps not how she thought it would be, but one thing is for sure: it was what it was. And that is something that will always be.
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TRUTHS OF THE ASTROLOGICAL CHART Make it a point at least once in your life (preferably three
times realistically) to have your chart done and analyzed by a reputable
astrologer. The reason I say three is because we have certain ‘rites of passage’
during our life span where great changes occur. A chart, when well read and
explained to you in a concise manner, can be of great benefit during these times
where you may not know what exactly is making you
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August Message
You are all such beautiful creatures, made in the very essence and heart of creation:
why do you refuse to speak from your heart that is yours?
Don’t draw back, don’t shy away from us. We are angels, and you want us to Love you from the Heart,
and protect you from our hearts; yet you refuse steadfastly to do the same for us.
We all suffer hurts and agonies in this world.
Many is the heart that gets broken; many is the voice that gets silenced and pushed aside.
Just because others try to do it to you is no reason for you to do it to others.
Don’t you recall, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?”
Forgiveness is such a complicated issue, or so your species seems to think.
What forgiveness does for you and your peace of mind is almost more important than
what the forgiveness does for the one whom you are forgiving.
When you forgive someone, a great weight gets lifted from you.
A horrible darkness that has clouded your every waking moment goes away,
to be replaced with luminous light that encompasses all areas of your life and your being.
It is very hard to be - yourself or anything else - when you are being pulled down by anger.
We must stop here for a moment and look at this anger because the
sad thing is that far too many humans
are not only carrying anger at themselves, anger towards others,
but a lot of you are carrying around anger towards the Divine Spirit.
That is only wasted energy and a poisonous one as well.
How many walk around mad, cursing God (actually their own small minded perceptions of
God that really only serve their own purposes) and selfishly closing off their hearts
to any type of love, caring and chance for forgiveness for all the
perceived wrongs that have been done to them?
We see too many to count; many spread across continent after continent
and all are living in a state of misery caused by their own consciousness.
Yes, you may ask why the Creator chooses to allow many to starve.
So you may see them, is the answer, and come out of your own skin to help them.
Why is the man begging on the street worth any less than the man driving the
luxury automobile, the man who extends his hand to give the beggar the money?
They are one and the same.
There but for the Grace of God go you. That is our message and our theme
for this month’s message from us. Live with Grace, come from the Heart in all that you do. Beginning to live from the inside out this
way ensures that you will leave loneliness as you know it behind.
It ensures that you will start to glow from within, infused with love,
covered with compassion. Such a sight that will be to see! The Heavens
will glow all the more for you once you begin to create your own version of
Heaven right here on this Earth.
THE ANGELS
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Angel channeling -Messages from the Light- By now we realize you have probably wondered once or twice what God is up to, raining down all this destruction upon the planet -- earthquakes, fire, hurricanes and all manner of pestilence. Truly, truly, we say unto you that the bigger picture here is all about LOVE. We told you before, and we will say it again, your God will continue to break down barriers, levies and anything else to get your attention, to show that all we really need is love, compassion, caring, no judgments. We do get tired of it, and we know that you can scarcely understand the method behind the madness. Suffice to say that humanity has let their essential “human-ness” go by the wayside, gone, washed away by greed and selfishness. It is only right and fair and just that selfishness must therefore pay the price. We love you. We don't want to see anything bad happen to you, our most precious ones; but we cannot sit by while you squander what are your most precious resources. And we don't mean oil either. Loved ones, YOUR MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCES ARE EACH OTHER. Surely by now you see that feast or famine can hit young and old alike. Destruction knows no race! It knows no religion and it definitely knows no country. Look to your neighbor next to you and reach out in understanding. What has affected them today could very well affect you tomorrow. If you have not extended a hand to them, do you think they will be bigger and extend a hand to you in your time of need? Let your pride go by the wayside voluntarily, or you can be sure that the Creator will remove it from you by powers that wash over you more strongly than any tidal wave or hurricane could ever be. Possessions mean nothing buried under the rubble of pride. Take care of each other in these trying times. Just open your heart and look at life a little differently each day. Before you know it, you will start to see each moment in a different light as well; and then you can begin to experience true joy. Never be afraid to reach out for help. Are you so proud that you don't need anyone? Such is a grave mistake. Rid yourselves of the need to not need anyone. You will be surprised at the wonderful changes that can manifest in your life should you choose to live fully and openly, from your heart, in each precious moment you have been given to live. "Live fully, love well, laugh often." Such is a recipe for the stuff of which dreams are made.
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Angel channeling Holiday Message -Messages from the Light- As your New Year approaches and the celebrations become joyous and lighthearted, We, the Angels, bring good tidings and warmth to your hearts. Spanning the globe this past calendar year there has been much destruction. After destruction, however, comes rebuilding; and it is this of which we wish to speak. Lives that were built on shallow ground may now be rebuilt on something more substantial. The outpouring of love that has gone around your world makes for great fertilizer for your Mother Earth. It is She who has needed food, She who has needed sustenance. Never forget where it is that you live. Honor your home and your surroundings as you do yourselves, if not better, since we have seen what you can do to yourselves! The fact that you are being given room to rebuild is a wonderful Blessing, which should not be taken lightly. It is not often this happens. Lift your hearts and your heads toward the sky, toward the Heavens and Father Sky. Rejoice upon your Mother Earth while you look around you at endless possibilities. Open those hearts and breathe in. This coming time on your planet, on your Mother Earth, can be a period of strife or a period of calm. It is up to you. We would think that you have had enough strife; we would imagine that love would be your primary objection at this juncture. Expand your minds, and who you are. Release any need to be right. Be happy instead. Allow the balance that has been so long and hard in coming to you to soothe you. Once you have that, it doesn’t matter how high the next wave might be. You’ll have the skills to ride out the toughest of storms. It is when you think you have been left all alone that you are with Us. Everyone has to learn to walk before he/she can ride. Rev. AMG
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Everything you might wish for, dear
ones, is to be found within your own hearts.
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Angel Message
My dear friends, we love you so very much.
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Angel Message My dear friends, we love you so very much.
As you continue your year of manifestation, remember that there is a
timing inherent in all creations. The blooming of a flower occurs when
the temperatures are just right by day and by night. The seasons change
in their due course. Your creations, dear ones will come to you in
proper timing. Last week we asked you to contemplate whether or not you
are ready to receive your dreams should they be handed to you tomorrow?
If you are, and the dream has not yet arrived, do not assume you are
doing something wrong. The universe is working to bring you your dreams
in the best way possible - in a way that benefits not only you but
everyone else involved. God can direct a very beautiful orchestration of
your lives as you allow Him to do so.
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Angel Message
My dear friends, we love you so very much.
Do not be afraid of your power to create; because your true power, dear
ones, is love - nothing less. True power is not the ability to control
or manipulate others or the world around you. That is a false and
temporary power that belies an inherent insecurity and lack of faith in
God's love.
Celebrate, give thanks, say to yourself, "This is my new normal," and
accept the gifts that come your way. Expand your capacity to receive,
and you will expand your capacity to give. Know that the vibration you
have created within is indeed simply and beautifully being reflected in
your outer world. Give yourself true permission for life to be a
glorious reflection of your soul.
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Angel Message
My dear friends, we love you so very much. As you proceed in manifesting your dreams understand that at times, there are things which must shift inside of you to create room for what you want. While you think you are ready to receive something ask yourself, if it were to arrive tomorrow, would you be ready, truly ready, for the changes that would occur in your life? Would your heart really be ready to receive the blessings that God wants to shower upon you? Can you truly let go of controlling how this must look and make room for possibilities you cannot even imagine? If the relationship of your dreams were to arrive would you have the self-worth to accept the unconditional love of another or would you still feel as if you had to do something to earn that love. If you were to win a huge sum of money would you be ready to dedicate the time, energy, and discernment necessary to manage it wisely? If you were to create a new job which honored your spirit could you leave your old one in peace, and refrain from taking old habits with you? Remember that you take yourself with you into any new situation anything that has been created in this. The current situation of your life will simply be recreated in different forms until you are ready to change from the inside out. If you want to receive unconditional love in your life, stop trying to earn it by proving yourself to others, trying to fix yourself or them; because, dear ones, this is simply a statement to the universe that you are not yet feeling worthy of the love you seek. If you want a partner that comes to you and fits your life, stop trying to seek out partners and make them fit you. Stop trying to change yourself to fit others. Trust GOD to bring you the perfect person and get on with your own life in the meantime. If you want abundance, stop complaining about your lack and give thanks for what you do have. Start experiencing the abundance you already have by taking time to enjoy the people and the things that ARE in your life. Create an attitude of gratitude and watch the rest flow to you as if by magic. If you want to create right livelihood, stop trying to find a new job and ask yourself, "What is it I love doing?" Start doing the things you love, dear ones, and trust God to lead you to a career based on this love. Patience is required, dear ones, to truly manifest in the flow of divine grace. You must be willing to give up the very human tendencies to want to manipulate and control life, to force the river, to make yourself fit situations that are not a natural fit, and to try to make others fit your image of them. Instead you must be willing to trust, to surrender to life and to your own hearts. Then and only then, dear ones, do you get out of God's way and step fully and completely into the light of your own soul. When you live out your days with grace and gratitude for what you are currently given; embrace the lessons; pray for clarity, patience, and courage when you need them; and honor your heart, dear ones, then you can be assured that God is working behind the scenes ever diligently in your life to bring you more than you would ever ask for in ways that will surprise and delight you. God bless you. We love you so very much. -- The Angels
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Angel Message
My
dear friends, we love you so very much.
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Angel Message
My dear
friends, we love you so
very much.
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I had the most unusual experience this morning, and I was so moved by it that I had to share it with you. Someone -- driving on the road no less -- stopped and showed me a random act of kindness. I was driving around on a Saturday morning doing errands, running to different animal stores to get the prescription food for my baby girl Precious; and I was in the process of leaving one of these places when an unknown stranger showed me that there are still people in this world who will do a kind turn for absolutely no reason at all; and, bigger yet, without expecting anything in return. What did this stalwart embodiment of human strength do for me that it would move me to tears? I had to pull into a grocery store parking lot so moved was I by a simple gesture. For no good reason other than to be kind, a gentleman driving stopped his car in the middle of the road when he could have just kept going, and he allowed me to pull out into the other lane. Does it seem simple to you? It did to me. I had to look twice to make sure he meant me. There was no reason for him to stop, there was no traffic before or after him, and I was expecting him to keep going so that I could pull out behind him to get onto the road. But he stopped to let me in. I hadn’t pulled out, pushing my way in. Nothing remotely like that at all. I was simply waiting to pull out onto Eastern Avenue, out of the PetSmart, on a Saturday morning. I didn’t realize at first that this driver, for no reason, stopped to let me pull out. I really had to look twice and he looked at me kind of funny. I then had an even more unusual reaction, if such a thing were possible. I burst into tears. There I was, pulled all the way over into the turning lane, and this man was in the lane beside me going straight. I couldn’t see him, but I did it deliberately. I didn’t pull up close to the car in front of me; and, when I did pull closer, I looked across to the lane behind me. The kindest face I have seen in a while was looking back at me. That was when the floodwaters really started to go, and I had to pull into the Albertson’s parking lot because I was so overwhelmed. I sat and cried for a good five minutes -- and I’m not even PMS’ing! Sitting in the parking lot with tears streaming down my face, as I tried to make sure nobody saw me, I realized how much my heart has been broken over the years and put back together but perhaps never truly healed. I realized, too, how much I distrusted the efforts of most people, because it is so rare to find someone who will be kind to you without expecting anything in return -- someone who will just be kind for kindness’ sake. I used to be that way, and I was terribly afraid I had lost that gift as I have grown older and more jaded because of the actions of some people whom I have known and, perhaps, I really never knew at all. As Keith Urban began to sing on the radio, “Take your records, take your freedom, take your memories, I don’t need them,” I cried even harder for all the should have been’s and could have been’s. As I sat thinking of painful memories, and my disappointment in human nature, which has threatened to overwhelm me into dark places where I feared I would never again see the light of a new day, Keith began to sing the closing lines of the song. “Maybe the only blessing I have left to my name is not knowing what we could have been or should have been,” so -- I realized that he was right, that not all men want to hurt women. There are some who do, yes; but there are many others who don’t. There are men who will stop to let a woman through traffic just because they wish to honor the fact that she is a woman and not punish her because of her birthright. I’ll bet that man who let me into the lane I needed is one of the latter group. He is probably a great husband and father, or perhaps a really thoughtful boyfriend. Either way I’ll bet he doesn’t always make the female in his life pay just for being born a woman. He couldn’t have been so thoughtful for no reason at all. Then again, perhaps the fact that he obviously was a gentleman and that I was a lady was reason enough for him. I send out a huge thank you to this man. His small action brought to a head emotions long buried, a heart long broken and patched up to look like it was before all the heartache and disappointments and pain. In that five-minute to ten-minute timeframe, I think I was able to heal more of myself than I have in months, maybe years. By his remembering whom he is in spirit, I was made to recall my own essence; and, although I may never see him again (unless I park near that store and wait for him to come down Eastern headed North), I will always be thankful and grateful to a face with no name who made me remember my own name. My name is Woman.
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By Bobbi Bartsch Curtis Creating a women’s spiritual center had never entered my mind until I lost someone very important to me. I’ll be turning fifty soon, and I’d decided to tie up some loose ends . . . those rather nasty little bits of your life that have a way of haunting you over and over again. The particular bit of business that had come back to me over the years surrounded a relationship from high school days --- a boy I’d dated, fallen in love with, and who disappeared from my life without explanation. I left my hometown at 18 and have not been back. I’ve kept in touch with no one there. I never knew what had happened in this boy’s life. One evening I went to an online site where people can look up folks from their pasts, and his name nearly jumped off the monitor at me. To make a short story even shorter, we got in touch with each other, which took some effort on his part, started speaking regularly on the phone, and made plans for him to visit – he had moved to Texas, and I now live in Las Vegas, Nevada. During our phone conversations, he made it clear that he wanted to have an on-going relationship, inviting me to visit with his family in yet another state, motorcycle trips that his club took and other large hints were dropped that he was interested in something long-term. After his visit, which ended up including his cousin and a sister whom I hadn’t planned on, but whom I took care of royally, we spoke about three more times on the phone, and suddenly all communication ceased -- the second time for no reason known to me. Since I’d never fallen out of love with him during those 32 years, I took it a little hard. The outcome of the evening I spent being miserable over this was Sacred Choices. I emailed a friend a thank you note for being helpful and understanding while I vented and the thank you note took a turn I couldn’t have predicted. I told her we needed a spiritually enlightened place where women could get together and share, where resources were made available to help increase our abilities and improve our lives, where we could find emotional shelter. The birth of this online magazine and the future plans for a center in Las Vegas began with that email, born of a loss for which I still do not know the reason – TWICE. As necessity is the mother of invention and as birth and growth require a certain amount of pain and as change requires adaptability, we begin to see that in the natural order of things, even the male of the species, for as much as they would like to take the credit for many advances in the human condition, the language chosen to describe these advances is maternal. We even have good old Mother Earth who sustains us by providing food and materials for shelter. We have Mother Nature who provides beauty and rain. Who does the young male athlete always say hi to on TV – Mom. We are the providers of love, sustenance, faith, comfort and knowledge to our families. We would do anything humanly possible for our children – until we realize that they have to do for themselves. But how often do we share these nurturing qualities with each other? Oh, we have the best of intentions to get together with our best girlfriend for lunch, but we get so busy that we haven’t even called her in four or five months (or years). Ladies, honestly, are there not evenings when you get home from a rough day when it would be just wonderful to have the loving companionship and understanding of one of your friends instead of what you really come home to? Has it occurred to you that having a wife is really what you need? Someone who cooks, cleans and is supportive when you need a good listener? I realized that a few years ago when my parents came to visit me after another state-to-state move. I was a single mom, taking care of three kids. The first day Mom and Daddy were there I got up to a home cooked breakfast on the table. When I came home that evening, dinner was ready, the kids and house were clean and the homework was already done. I looked at my father and told him how stupid I was. All those years I’d been looking for a good husband when what I really needed was a wife. In Jurassic Park (by Michael Crichton) Dr. Malcolm (played by Jeff Goldblum) says, “God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God.” Dr. Satlor’s (Laura Durn’s) reply, “ Dinosaur eats man. Woman inherits the Earth.” Keeping in mind Dr. Malcolm’s theory that “Life will find a way,” and that all the dinosaurs in the park are female and shouldn’t, but do, reproduce; are we sure we need men? We do their laundry, cook their meals, give birth to their children, help them solve problems at their places of employment. We fix the things they break – vases, shirt buttons, TV remotes, homes and lives (both ours and our children’s). We clean up their messes – in the kitchen, in the living room, in the bathroom, in our homes and lives (us and the kids again). I repeat – are we sure we need men? Now I’m not advocating that every woman on earth should run out become a lesbian. (If you are, some of us just have to think that you are very, very lucky!) What I am saying is that it’s time for us to begin working together to make our lives, the lives of our children and families, the lives of our neighbors and friends and the earth in general more fruitful. It’s time we evolved. We need to take steps to help each other, support each other and work as a community, a sisterhood, to improve the quality of our lives as a whole. I don’t mean to man-bash either. A wise person once told me: Yes, women of the world have forgotten the sacredness of their positions here on the All Mother. We are the carriers of the sacred blood and the bearers of the next generations. There is a lot on our shoulders, especially when we try to work in the male world. I am not saying that all men are stupid and weak and have made the women in their lives hurt, but why is it that when a man comes into a relationship with a woman, whether it be long term or short, that he reverts to the foolishness of his forefathers and thinks he is the ‘stronger’ of the two; thus he has to be the one who decides, brings in the cash, or whatever? They forget that they are the active force in the world. They are the quick action, not the passive strength that needs to be maintained. It is like comparing a sprinter to a long distance runner or a hiker. They forget after said action is done that things go on and have to be maintained during that time. Just like sex . . . wham bam thank you ma’am . . it’s over for them, but afterward, if there is a seed planted, a child must be cared for. So I chose her as my business partner and Sacred Choices – Practicing Evolution was conceived. As plans were forming and logos were being designed and a Business Plan was being written and formats were being discussed and on and on, I took a break to do some light reading: The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice (Ballantine Books, New York, 1992). She introduces a character, a nurse, a nun, who takes care of our “hero” and nurses him back to health. She tells the “hero” of the tale, “ . . . it is the larger scheme which means nothing. It is the small act which means all. . . But what’s important is that I have done all I can. . . God may or may not exist. Bur misery is real. It is absolutely real, and utterly undeniable . . . [and at the hour of my death, if there is no God] So be it. I will know that I did what I could.” (pp.247-48) Can many of us die with that knowledge? Can we continue on doing just as we have been, with no real affect on ourselves or others? Can we afford to? I was in junior and senior high school from ’65 to ’72 – the time of enlightenment, the Age of Aquarius. I also lived in a small, provincial community. Although my mother was between 5 and 10 years older than most of my peers’ parents, she was the person responsible for teaching me to open my mind and heart to new ideas. We practiced yoga, she read Tarot cards, studied handwriting analysis and investigated horoscopes. It’s partially out of gratitude to her for the extended education she gave me that this site exists, for it is she who opened my mind, jammed in (sometimes much against my will) concepts not generally acceptable to her own generation, and taught me to find my way in the light of the Higher Power. She encouraged me to think for myself, investigate all the avenues I could find, and make up my own mind. What a lady! The paths I’ve taken have often been “the one less traveled by.” I offer a special thank you to Mr. Robert Frost for his poem “The Road Not Taken.” Often times as I’ve been traveling down the path that “was grassy and wanted wear,” wondering how I’d come to be there and how to get back on the more traditional, conservative, mainstream highway, I’d pull out my slightly tattered and smudged New Enlarged Anthology of Robert Frost’s Poems (copyright 1971) and turn to page 223 and re-read and remember that choosing paths that are not as worn down is reason enough to choose them. I would not be the me I am without them. How about you? You may have noticed that some of my source materials are not exactly found in the Reference Section of your local library. I’ve been pulling information and quotes from novels and fiction-based movies since I was a teenager. I have a book of quotes that I collected from books varying from Paradise Lost to Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle to Stranger in a Strange Land. I’ve run across it each time I’ve moved to a new home or relocated to a new state. Each time I’ve stopped packing for a half hour or so, poured a cup of coffee or tea and relaxed for a refresher of those quotes. Each time they were still meaningful and still moved me. I began to realize that universal truths do not change. (I don’t remember being that deep when I was in high school, but something in my brain was definitely functioning on a higher level than I realized.) They can also be found in places where you’d least expect them. Then I remembered something about the talents our Higher Power gives us and went to the Bible to look that one up. I found it in Romans 12:6-8 “The gifts we possess differ as they are allotted to us by God’s grace, and must be exercised accordingly: the gift of inspired utterance, for example, in proportion to a man’s faith; or the gift of administration, in administration. A teacher should employ his gift in teaching, and one who has the gift of stirring speech should use it to stir his hearers. If you give to charity, give with all your heart; if you are a leader, exert yourself to lead; if you are helping others in distress, do it cheerfully.” (NEB) Since that was a little more complex than I had remembered it, I most cheerfully referred to Harper’s Bible Commentary which very succinctly put it, “He (Paul) calls on all of us, his fellow Christians, to dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to God, and to remember that each of us has a definite part to play in the work of the church, whatever our particular gift may be.” This passage was explained by a pastor from the Congregational Church in Salt Lake City, Utah, in this way: If your gift is song, then sing. If your gift is speaking, then speak. If your gift is writing, then write. AND THE LIGHT CAME ON. Every person has a message inside her. Some express themselves one on one, some in front of crowds, some on paper, some in music, some on film. Who cares how we get the message as long as we get it. Goddess bless the sender and the receiver.
We welcome all women, from every known faith, as well as non-believers. SCPE’s staff opens their hearts to you and hopes that everyone will share her knowledge with the rest of us. That is, after all, why we are here – to learn, to grow, to evolve. This cannot be accomplished alone or in a vacuum. All opinions are accepted and encouraged. We do not judge, we merely love. To purchase the books or movies listed visit Amazon.com
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By Bobbi Bartsch Curtis I was having a hard time deciding what to talk to you about this month. I had a list of possible topics, but nothing got me excited. I then ran across some old notes concerning a woman with whom I’m only mildly acquainted. Most people who work with her are usually left with a bad taste in their mouths when she leaves the room. She has a position of some responsibility for a rather large company. Although we do not work together, I happened to be present as unpleasant comments were being made behind her back, and all I could think was the old cliché about not judging someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. I set those notes aside as something to dig into a little further. The next day my mother and I went to get our nails done; and, as is usual, we ended up in a conversation with our nail guy. He’s in his early 30’s, born in South Viet Nam and came to the United States when he was in high school. A presidential campaign ad came on the TV that was on in the background, which prompted a political twist in the conversation. This part of the exchange was not important, but it sparked a heart-rending speech from our nail guy. My mother mentioned that Iraq was turning into another Viet Nam. With grace and passion, our nail tech (who shall remain nameless here) began to explain the lay of the land in that area of Asia, how Viet Nam contained essential trade routes to many areas of 3 other countries, and how that war (call it a conflict if you will, but guys running around shooting each other and bombing each other is a war) was a fight between oppression and freedom. It became apparent that he – although he was born during that war – feels extreme gratitude toward the United States and its people for the sacrifices we made to try to keep his people free from Communism. I freely admit that I never believed that we had any business fighting there. I think that, after all these years, he changed my mind by taking me for a walk in his shoes. Back to our friend from the first paragraph. It seems I have one of those faces that people just can’t help telling their troubles to. Although I hardly know the woman, I found myself hearing her story. I had already given her the benefit of the doubt because she has a traditionally male position in a company chock full of good-ole-boys. That’s enough to make any woman worth her salt aggravated all day long. There are extenuating circumstances in her life that increased my respect for her step by step as I heard them. She’s a single mom with four kids, all teenagers at the same time. The oldest has been a problem for several years – drugs, drop-out, pregnant. Not long ago, a relative of hers was in some financial difficulty. This woman took out a second mortgage on her home to take care of the money issue and the relative moved in with her; the rent payments would cover the second mortgage payment she’d acquired by helping. A few weeks after moving in and before the first payment on the second became due, our friend goes home after a long day at work to find that this relative had sold all the furniture in our friend’s house and had disappeared. I don’t know about you, but I don’t ever want to wear shoes like those. They sound worse than the Cruel Shoes in Steve Martin’s book of that name. I used to work with a really quiet man who seemed a little extra sensitive and who kept to himself. His antisocial behavior had won him a few titles among his co-workers as well as some intriguing stories about what his private life must be. He was ostracized by all his co-workers because he didn’t join in, didn’t go out for a drink or two and never attended any company functions. He was aware of what was being said about him, but he ignored it all and went on about his own business day after day. To our surprise, he called in to take three days off for a family emergency. A day or two later, someone saw the obituary in the paper. His mother had died after many years of battling cancer. His father was still alive, but also losing the battle with cancer. There were no other family members. This quiet, gentle soul worked his forty hours a week and then went home to nurse BOTH his parents at night and on the weekends. He never bothered anyone or had an unkind word to say. All he ever received from the people who worked with him for more than seven years was disrespect. Those shoes must give a person a lot more than just blisters. My daughter went to college with a beautiful, intelligent, kind young woman. She never dated and kept pretty much to herself. She didn’t seem shy, but she steered clear of people. She had so much going for her. It was difficult to understand why she was such a recluse. Since my daughter is the person she is, she invited this young lady to share dinner with us one evening, and her story came out. She was an only child, born to hard-working parents in a small town. When she was 14 she dated a boy a couple of years older than she who, as boys that age will do, constantly bombarded her with demands for sex. She refused him every time. After a short time, she decided not to see him anymore. Over the course of the next few months, her friends, one by one, quit associating with her. It took about a year for the reason to surface. Since the house she lived in was in a rather remote setting and since her father worked nights, she and her mother were alone at home a lot. The story circulated by the boy with whom she’d refused to have sex was that she and her mother ran a whorehouse out of their home when her father was at work. Those shoes didn’t fit this young woman at all and were hideous as well. It is not ours to judge. We never have all the facts. Even if we know the story, there is always more that we do not know. We are here to love and help each other. We are here to do our best to understand, learn and grow.
To purchase the books or movies listed visit Amazon.com
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By Bobbi Bartsch Curtis According to Webster a grudge is “a feeling of ill-will.” It is an on-going animosity toward another. Why do we harbor grudges? Usually it is because we feel that someone has wronged us. Another person did something that hurt us in some way . . . physically, emotionally or mentally. That person made us miserable. They lied, they cheated, they stole, they took away our dignity, they made us feel small and unimportant, they took our promotion, they stabbed us in the back. We hate them. BUT According to Judeo-Christian teaching, “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord. (Lev. 19:18) In Toltec teaching (according to Don Miguel Ruiz) the Second Agreement is to “not take anything personally.” The Judge within us has sent down another decision; however, the Judge is one of the Parasites with whom we are at war (or should be). The inner Judge causes each of us to determine how someone else should be punished for harming us. The grudge we hold is part of that punishment. In conjunction, the Third Agreement in The Four Agreements is “don’t make assumptions.” We can never really know why someone else has acted poorly toward us. Zen Buddhists practice “Entrance by Conduct” which consists of four acts, the first of which is “to know how to requite hatred.” In Hinduism the law of Karma steps in. Every negative must be paid. Thus every grudge held onto will cause a consequence to the holder. The Qur’an says, “The ultimate judgment belongs to God alone, not to man (3:73). The Babylonians believed that Belit-Sheri, the scribe of the underworld, kept the records of human activities so that she could advise the Queen of the Dead, Ereshkigal, on what each individuals judgment should be – the judgment that the Ereshkigal would mandate. The Syro-Mesopotamian Goddess, Isara, was their Queen of Judgment. Osiris (Egyptian) ruled Amenthes, the abode of the spirits of the deceased, where He passed their final judgment. The teaching of Wicca (witchcraft) instructs the followers to do as they see fit, BUT they are not to harm anyone including themselves. I guess I could go on and on; but, no matter, the final outcome is that nowhere could I find a religious reference that stated that we are to EVER judge each other. My guess is that we humans have enough to do to just keep our individual selves under control. I wonder how any of us (those of us this a conscience) would feel if we knew how much we’d hurt others without any intention, especially if it were someone undeserving who got hurt. What if you got home one evening, popped open a soda, poured it over ice, threw your shoes in a corner and slumped down in your favorite chair as you hit the power button on the TV remote to watch the news and as the picture fades in you see a 50 car pile-up on the major arterial on which you just drove home. The whole road is closed due to the accident that caused five deaths and over 55 major injuries. How could this be? You just drove home, and it was a little slow-and-go, but nothing was unusual except for that jerk in the big, white Escalade who kept cutting you off. You know, the one that you called every name in book? The one on which you finally took out your vengeance? The one you cut off well and good at mile marker 47? The one you now see on your TV screen, swung sideways at the head of the pile up at mile marker 47 that caused death, injury, destruction and delays for all those other people who were just trying to get home to their families after a hard day’s work . . . just like you did. Imagine the path of devastation you may have lying behind you. To purchase the books or movies listed visit Amazon.com
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By Bobbi Bartsch Curtis We all know that doing our best should be a regular practice. We have our lazy days, though, when we feel that we can slide by with a little less than 100%. We come up with all sorts of excuses for not doing our best. We blame everybody else . . . the kids kept me up late; the dog barked all morning and then puked on the carpet right before I had to leave the house; I’m having a bad hair day. We decide that 99% will do. I’m going to get squarely to the point (I guess that would be a pyramid). There are over 7 million surgeries performed each year in the U.S. alone. 70,000 of them would be lawyers’ delights if surgeons went by the “99% Is OK” rule. Over 2.6 million head of cattle are inspected each year before they go to slaughter and end up on your dinner table. That means 28 million pounds of beef that are not fit for dog food would be sold for human consumption each year if the inspectors all decided that “We Can Get by with That”. If 10 million computers are built and sold annually, then 100,000 non-functional computers would be in stores and on-line for us to purchase. If pharmacists lived by the “That’s Good Enough” philosophy, then 30 million of the 3 billion prescriptions filled in the past year would be incorrect. Over 50 million cars came off assembly lines in the last 12 months. The 99% rule says that 500,000 would be defective. Imagine the poor slob who sits down for a glorious T-bone, which is more difficult than usual to cut and chew, becoming violently ill a few hours later from the tainted meat. He turns on his computer to see if there is any news concerning bad beef in his community, but the jacked up piece of crap gives him nothing but a black screen. He then jumps in his new car, puking all the way, turns the key and . . . pop, splat, fizzle; it dies halfway down the driveway. His neighbor kindly takes him to the ER where, instead of pumping his stomach, they cut off his left foot. When he comes to, instead of the nurse giving him the pain pill that the doctor ordered, the pharmacist put a blood thinner in the little, white paper cup. He swallows it and an hour later his brand new stump is bleeding like a fountain. I was going to quote religious philosophy from Christianity to Zen Buddhism and give references to several motivational speakers, but I decided it really wasn’t necessary. You tell me – is Good Enough Good Enough? By the way, according to the article called “Prescription Errors Rising” at ConsumerAffairs.com, the number of prescription drug errors annually is 5%, not just 1%; and those errors are the cause of about 7,000 deaths each year. Click here for more information.
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Looking Younger from the Inside Out By Bobbi Bartsch Curtis There are numerous skin care treatments on the market -- some good, most bad, and a few (less than one would think) that really work. When you consider the amount of time and money invested in research in the beauty market, it becomes more and more amazing, as we look at the people who wander around out there, that we are a world full of ugly. I’m not referring to poor bone structure and misshapen features, poorly applied and over-applied makeup, bad color choices of hair, cosmetics and clothing, and lists and lists of fashion don’ts. I’m talking about skin texture, color, and tone. That old cliché that we are what we eat just starts running around my brain every time I look at a person in their early thirties, and their skin looks like an aged piece of parchment – dry, brittle and wrinkled. It always makes my 50-year-old behind run to the next mirror and check to make sure that the Earth wasn't shot with some mass deterioration ray, and I’m not turning to dust. One of the secrets to good skin is moisturize, moisturize, moisturize – using the correct kinds of moisturizers – but this is not the point of this article. That was just a reminder. The point is that your skin can be only as healthy as your diet makes it and that there are supplements as well which can not only keep your skin looking better longer, but also can reverse the abuse that we heap upon it every single day. There are three layers to our skin that are, from the outside in, the epidermis, the dermis and the subcutaneous. As the upper layer dies and sloughs off, the under layers take its place. When the under layers are healthy and well nourished, they will form a healthy, well-nourished epidermal layer. The first, most important step to keeping your skin in good condition is drinking plenty of water every day. This supplies needed moisture from the inside and helps to cleanse cells. I’ve had very good luck with a regimen of primrose oil; vitamins A, B complex and E; aloe vera juice; and garlic. I also take red clover with chaparral capsules. Go to our Choices and Resources page to find sites to purchase these supplements and more. Avoiding fatty foods, fried foods, carbonated beverages, sugars, chocolate and junk foods decreases damage to your skin. I regularly use an aloe vera based skin care system as well for some extra help from the outside. For more information on this skin care system, please email Cara Sathrum. Always wear sunscreen. The sun causes more harm than most of us would like to know. Most people guess my age at about 10 years less than reality. That was not the case when I was in my mid-thirties, before I started the regimen listed above. I originally pieced this information together from two good herbal books, loads of magazine articles and several skin care seminars – one of which cost me over $250 to attend. Then, a few years back, a friend told me about a great book – Prescription for Nutritional Healing by James F. Balch, M.D. and Phyllis A. Balch, C.N.C. Most of the information compiled here is contained in its Skin Problems section, in particular the recommended amounts of supplements listed above. It has more skin care remedies and help for different skin types and problems. Had I owned this book when I was looking for a good way to improve the look of my skin, my search would have been much simpler, involved less experimentation, consumed less time and been much less expensive. My family and I have found answers and natural solutions to many health problems within its pages. Our copies are well worn and much appreciated. I would like to thank the authors for all the help they’ve given us. It can be purchased at Amazon.com.
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by Bobbi Bartsch Curtis I have had only a mild interest in politics and government for the last 35 years, but this year is entirely different. We are in the midst of a Watergate-esque, muck raking, crap slinging, campaign -- but from one side only. There are issues here that are so blatant, so stupid and so immature, that I firmly believe that the American public has overlooked them because they are so obvious. These are arranged in no certain order, since I can't figure out which one deserves the position of upper-most garbage. Why are Theresa Heinz Kerry's tax returns being requested? She is not running for President. Neither are her sons. Are we setting new presidents for bullshit this year? Do you know why Mr. Bush started putting the "I approve this message." tag lines in his ads? Think 12 years old. How about a set up, early in the campaign, for the future ads that his campaign would run, that would slander his opponent, that he would then not have to take any responsibility for because he didn't "approve" them. That was his way out. I believe that this was part of his campaign plan from the beginning. We have been lied to by this "regime" in order to enter a war because Baby Bush had to retaliate against the big bully that made his daddy look stupid. I hope I'm still alive when the real story comes out that shows that the Trade Center went down because Baby Bush needed something big about which this country could get up in arms so that it would support his sociopathic need to amass a huge fortune, at the risk of anyone who makes barely enough money to survive, from a forced increase in oil prices, etc. and then a bogus war. Also, historically, war has helped a slumping economy. It's good for business, and you can put your rich friends in positions where they can also make oodles of dollars by ripping off the federal tills and making everyone under a certain income level in this country pay for it for years to come. Does anyone wonder why Bin Laden was blamed for the Towers, but we attacked Iraq? There's no connection. None. Never was. Suddenly we find ourselves in the midst of an election campaign and Bin Laden is no longer an issue, but he supposedly choreographed an attack on this country. Aren't we mad about that anymore? Or has he been swept under a carpet because he was on Bush, Sr.'s payroll during his presidency and was on his payroll again when that disaster was set up by Baby Bush, and part of the deal was that he would never be found so he could "pay for his crimes against this country"? We were certainly quick to identify the perpetrator of the crime, but we can't seem to locate him -- things that make you go hmmmmmmmm. The United States Constitution clearly limits the amount of time that federal officials can hold office: two years in the House, 6 years in the Senate with 3 Classes which shall be held for 2 years each, and a President who holds office for 4 years. Remember that the men who drafted and put into effect this document were creating a new form of government, one that would avoid the detrimental effects of monarchies. Every word, every thought, that was included in that document was agonized over, hashed over, beaten up and spit back out. Could we reasonably assume that the limitations that were originally entered in The Constitution of the United States were considered of more than some importance by the men who wrote and signed it, and that the reason for this was to assure that people would not be career politicians who may end up with too much power? Then there's his buddy, Halliburton, who has stolen countless amounts of money from our government (remember how that money is generated -- our tax dollars). What's happening with that thief who needs to return the money and then go to jail? There was a recent increase in the Security Alert level for this country. It was put into effect based on intelligence information that was three years old. 9-11-2001 mean anything to anyone? That was less than 3 years ago. Could this be the same information that should have given us the advanced warning signals prior to 9-11 which might have been enough to avoid the incident had it not been swept under yet another carpet by our federal government? The Constitution delineates two specific reasons for impeachment – treason or bribery. Although it goes on to add “other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” there is no question as to the clarity of the first two. Have I dropped enough of a hint concerning those lumpy carpets in the White House? Have we forgotten that our "democratic, of the people, by the people, for the people" government has enacted a law that takes away our freedom of speech -- something that has been protected since the inception of this country as a world entity? It was pushed through by a president because of his personal vendetta against one radio personality. It is an attempt to undermine the fabric upon which this country was founded. It has also fallen out of the news. I have to wonder how much this man and his cronies will take away from us for their own gain. Looks to me as though they're after all of it -- everything -- money, freedom, constitutional rights and human rights. Are our newscasters now afraid to report the truth? Ken Mehlman, Bush’s Campaign Chairperson, had the nerve to go on television and say that Bush was running a clean campaign -- can we say "Bullshit" really loudly boys and girls! I've gotta' say that if Baby Bush had perpetrated only one or two of these heinous crimes against this country, it would a little easier to swallow his possible re-election. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. We have no clue what else he's up to. We can't afford to be lazy, uninformed, blind, gullible or apathetic. We can't afford to be diverted from the real issues. The Republicans gave a stab at impeaching Clinton for his immoral personal habits which are not an impeachable offense. Why are we currently ignoring the impeachable offenses pulled off by our current president? Why is he up for re-election? Instead of looking for crap from someone's past, let's look at their record in the office of President of the United States for the past 3+ years. How about we require that the leaders of this land be administered a battery of psychological profiles, like the ones given to our police and military? One might find that the man holding the office right now should removed from contact with the general public for the safety of the public. At least Hitler was honest. He screamed his distorted visions from every possible podium. He ranted, he raved, he didn't hide his intensions. The Watergate break-in was big news. It prompted the enactment of The Freedom of Information Act. It destroyed the careers of several politicians. Have we forgotten that all they wanted was information concerning how the other side was running their campaign? Nixon was castigated for years, along with several of his cronies. Impeachment was imminent. People went to jail. Nixon resigned. Look back over the last couple of years. We've made enemies of all of our friends and allies. We're allowing this (euphemisms run wild) jerk to run for office again when it becomes clearer every day that he should be impeached and tried for treason! What the hell are we doing, folks? What does it take? This is my opinion, it is only an opinion; however, for more information see: The Constitution of the United States Worse than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush by John W. Dean
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by Bobbi Bartsch Curtis There’s a lovely Christmas carol that extols the virtues of making every day “just like Christmas”. Some of us think immediately of the expense involved, not only the money but also the time and planning. Others of us have nightmares about the cooking and baking, the traffic, the long lines in the stores, the agony of the decisions. Some of us have problems spending holidays with certain of our family members and develop a hard-core twitch at just the thought of having to spend every day of the year with Aunt Sybil who has diarrhea at both ends, and the smell of her breath gives testament to the fact. We all, of course, understand the true sentiment of the song: keeping the spirit of giving alive all year, being loving and accepting of others and our differences, remembering and showing reverence for a baby, born in a humble stable, who grew up to set a large part of the world on its ear for nearly the last 2000 years. Are there other ways to spread the Christmas spirit on a regular basis? Each of us was born with special gifts and abilities. Is it possible that sharing our talents with those around us is a gift that no one else can give? Do we appreciate those special talents in our family, our loved ones, our co-workers, our associates and our friends, or do we roll our eyes in mild to moderate disgust each time our spouse opens his/her mouth? We each accumulate knowledge differently, not only at different speeds and from different styles and sources; and two people hearing the same sentence can interpret it in two different ways. Those same two people can hear that same sentence under a different set of circumstances and interpret it in two more ways. In our hurried and hassled lives, do we find time to communicate with those with whom we interact often? Do we share information, thoughts and feelings? Do we discuss what we learned? Do we toss around ideas and their repercussions looking for the best possible outcomes before we make decisions? Do we share ourselves with others? About twenty years ago, I was having a conversation with a dear friend about my spiritual journey; and how I felt that I was at a dead end. I had questions that my church could not answer. I knew that if I took my half black half white child to the church I’d gone to for several years but hadn’t been to for awhile, we’d be ostracized. I knew that judging people by the color of their skin was wrong and against Christ’s teachings, but a congregation is only as loving and accepting as the least of their parishioners. With all the sensitivity that I expected from someone who knew me well (which wasn’t much), she agreed with me and told me I should read books by Ruth Montgomery. She had had some of the same types of feelings at one point and was lead by a friend to some answers through Ms. Montgomery’s books. Thanks to her open, honest and loving exchange with me, I found some answers and was then able to continue my search on my own. She shared her gift of knowledge in a very simple and straightforward way. It took only a few seconds, and it helped to change my life and open a new world of possibilities. I am eternally grateful to Rainy for her time and input on that particular day (and a few others). Think back to the last time you had a day from hell. Everything went wrong -- you woke up late. The zipper on your pants broke so you had to iron another pair before you could finish getting dressed. Your hair insisted on doing a weird Donald Trumpp thing no matter what you did. You got to the office late, and your boss was standing at your desk looking at her watch because you were expected at a meeting an hour ago (you forgot that you were supposed to be in early for that meeting). You spilled coffee on the reports you needed to hand out at the now-late meeting with the representatives from overseas, and it just got worse from there. On your way to your car that night, after putting in a 13 hour day because of all the things that you touched turning into garbage, you see a friend who works in another department. You haven’t seen her in several months though you’ve kept promising yourself that you’d call her to go to lunch. From 15 car-lengths away, she gave you a big, toothy grin and waved. You smiled and waved back, and it’s as if those smiles broke your streak of bad luck. You drove home with the smile lingering on your lips, singing along with the radio. A kind, friendly smile can make a difference or work a miracle. A number of years ago I worked in a high-profile position, meeting and greeting the public throughout most of my workday. On one particularly uneventful morning (at least for me), on my way to work, I stopped to get gas at the convenience store that was next to my office. When I went to pay the attendant inside, I stepped up on the curb and looked up directly into the face of a woman in her 30’s who looked like she’d been ridden hard and put away wet everyday of her life. I have a habit of smiling when I look someone in the face, so my automatic smile kicked in, we said, “Excuse me.” to each other, and went about our business. About six months later, the company I worked for was hiring. Part of my job was to interview prospective recruits. I had an appointment to meet a lady who, though she did not have any background in our type of business, she appeared to have other attributes that would be useful to the company. The applicant arrived early and was announced to me. Her interview went very well, and we hired her a few days later. The following Christmas we exchanged gifts and cards within our small office. Her envelope had a note written on it asking me to read her card after I got home. I honored her request; and after dinner that night I opened it. There was a three page letter enclosed. It told the story of an abused wife – my assistant whom I’d hired a few months ago. She enlightened me concerning an incident at a convenience store, a lady who’d smiled at her, making her feel valuable. Over the course of the ensuing months, she dumped the abusive husband, got her young children away from him and started their lives over. She told me how grateful she was that, not only was she happier and starting to feel good about herself; but she had the chance to thank the person who, with just a smile, had made her feel worthwhile one day when she needed to so desperately. She said that she’d recognized me immediately on the day that she’d interviewed and that she’d spent the next couple of days agonizing over whether she’d get a chance to work with the person who’d already changed her life for the better once by making her feel like a person of value. A smile from a stranger had made her realize that she was not worthless, and she started changing her life. And all I’d done was feel stupid for a moment for not looking where I was going and almost knocking her over.
What’s the gift that keeps on giving, every day of the year? Why, it could be YOU!
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by Bobbi Bartsch Curtis So, here we are in a new year, and those pesky resolutions are rearing their ugly heads. We yack about losing weight, stopping smoking, getting organized, etc. It’s in the news on TV, the internet, the radio, magazines and the papers. Each year we set ourselves up to fail, in January, no less. Can’t even give ourselves ‘til March to determine that, again, we have no will-power. What if we take a bit of a different approach? How about we look at the start of the new year as a time to reflect on where we’ve been, where we want to go and, in particular, how we plan on getting there. In some circles this is called goal tracking, evaluation and planning. So let’s drop the Resolution jargon and do some serious planning instead. There are many ways to go about the task. Most require a few basics: paper, a writing instrument, a calendar (for this new year and for the next five years helps), about an hour or so of concentrated effort, you, your brain and some initiative and determination. START WITH THE END IN MIND Jot yourself a couple of notes concerning where you were three years ago, two years ago, one year ago and today. This is not an exercise in beating yourself up. There is no judging. This is an analysis and a preparation to make change and improvement. Now consider where you want to go from here – personally, professionally, mentally, spiritually, physically, etc. In one year, what would you like to be able to look back on as an accomplishment? In two years, three, four and five years? Put this all in writing. There is a marvelous book -- Write It Down, Make It Happen by Henriette Anne Klauser, Ph.D. It gives many reasons and applications for the practice of putting your intentions in writing. One section talks about listing and its benefits. Listing makes things more real, more tangible and keeps you focused. It allows you to review your progress and pat yourself on the back for your results. You are listing when you begin to determine and write down where you want to be five years from now. USE POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS One of our biggest mistakes (being the humans that we are) is to set ourselves up to fail. Using a bunch of negative words enforces in our own minds that what we are about to do is bad, impossible and/or torturous. This stems from our internal judge who developed during our young years and was reinforced by the negativity around us: those lovely adults who kept telling us “no” or telling us we were bad. [For additional reading on this subject see Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements.] Instead, use positive affirmations like: “I am an organized person.” “I am loving and understanding with my children.” “I eat only enough to sustain and nourish my body.” Write them down, keeping each one short and to the point, covering only one issue in each short sentence. Read them aloud daily – at the start of the day is best so you will go through your day with these positive messages fresh in your conscious and sub-conscious. Carry them with you in your wallet, your purse, your day-planner – another good reason to keep them short – or use them as the screen saver on your computer. Review them when you have spare moments during the day. Eventually you will reach the place where you have them memorized in order. As you accomplish some of your affirmations, replace them with new hopes, dreams, goals, plans – whatever you decide to call them. [For more information on affirmations see Write It Down, Make It Happen by Hentiette Anne Klauser, Ph.D.] Marshall Sylver talks about “chunking” things down (pp. 202-03) in his book (and tape series) Passion Profit & Power . This is the process of taking your goal of, say, building your own log cabin, and making sub-lists of exactly what needs to be done in order to end up with a log cabin. First, a plot of land upon which to build the structure is a necessity. How would you go about getting the land? Then you would need the necessary cement for the foundation, wood, electrical wiring, plumbing supplies, etc. Without going into horrendous detail since this is only an example, I think you can see the process. Since most of us are not looking to build a summer home in the mountains (and if you are – more power to you) our lists and sub-lists may not be as extensive or time-consuming. The idea is that you take your possibly overwhelming goal and whittle it down into more palatable, easy to handle, pieces. For instance, there’s a wall in your house that is in need of paint. You’ll need paint, brushes, pans, plastic sheeting, edging equipment or tape and a ladder. You’ll need to set aside some time to move furniture, paint the wall and put the furniture back. If you’re planning a big birthday party soon, you might want to make sure that these plans do not interfere with each other. If you need to budget to come up with the money for the supplies, list that as a necessity and determine how many more paychecks you’ll need before you are able to do the shopping for the project. Mr. Sylver also states: “A dream becomes a goal the moment you write it down. A goal becomes a plan the moment you break it down into doable steps. A plan becomes reality only when you take action.” (p. 198) FranklinCovey offers books, tapes, CD’s and seminars on goal setting and life planning as well as simple to elaborate planning tools. Ever since Stephen Covey’s (famous for The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) principles were been integrated into the Franklin planning system, their organizational tools have taken on a caring human aspect, one that considers who we are, how we treat others and how we feel about ourselves and others instead of the more typical clinical approach to planning our time. Their collaboration created a blessed synergy. Mr. Covey begins “Habit 3 Put First Things First” with a quote: “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” Goethe. What matters most to you? This would be a good place to start when you’re working on those affirmations – spending more worthwhile time with those you love and who love you, for instance. Creating More Time for Yourself and Your Loved Ones Simplify, simplify, simplify. How? Since the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, I’ll get right from point A to point B. Read Simplify Your Life by Elaine St. James. If there’s anyone who can show you how to find time, Ms. St. James can. In this small book, she drives right to the point on each subject including suggestions like: #33. If you Don’t Like the Holidays, Bow Out, #21. Sell the Damn Boat, #22. Build a Simple Wardrobe, #53. Turn Your Hobby into Your Job, #14. (one of my personal favorites since I live in the desert for a reason) Get Rid of Your Lawn, #4. Cut Your Grocery Shopping Time in Half. The layout of the book is a lesson in and of itself. There are 100 lessons. Each lesson takes up the space of less than one sheet of regular typing paper (8 ˝” x 11”). The book itself fits in most purses with ease. Can’t get much simpler than that. It seems that Elaine doesn’t waste time or words. More Aids to Reaching Your Ideals It has been said many times by many experts that telling someone else what you plan to do (if they are supportive of you and your plan) will help you to achieve your result. The act of repeating your intensions helps to instill them in your mind. Your supportive friend can serve as a reminder or can help you along the way if they happen across something that is related to what you’re doing. Those of us who incorporate prayer and/or meditation in our lives can include our positive affirmations in our prayers / meditations. There are many prayer circles offered by local churches, religious radio and TV shows, and online. Notifying them of your new list of intentions for improvement would add that many more prayers to your own. Those of us who use crystals in meditation and healing can use a nice piece of Rose Quartz and enhance our affirmations during meditation, or choose some stones that have attributes and vibrations that enhance each individual affirmation. A good source for further information on which crystals are helpful in particular areas is The Crystal Bible by Judith Hall, or a consultation with a crystal expert can be of immeasurable assistance. Those of us who follow the Wiccan path can include these affirmations in our prayers, rituals and spells. Natural Magick by Sally Dubats includes information on increasing the viability of prayers, rituals and spells by integrating the use of colors, plants, stones, astrology, planets, timing, the elements and direction.
I would wish you luck at this point, but I don’t think you’ll need luck once you seriously put the right energies in motion. Just remember that most worthwhile improvements do not happen in short periods of time, and that one can not change another person, she can change only herself. As we change, those around us either run to catch up or get left behind – it is their choice, not ours, to make. Now go out there and “ . . .help creation to expand and grow.” as Deepak Chopra guides us to do in The Book of Secrets. Oh, gee, that’s also the premise of this web-site – Practice Evolution!
All the reading materials mentioned in this article are available at Amazon. Just click on the book titles above.
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Spring Cleaning - It's Not What You May Think by Bobbi Bartsch Curtis There’s a different fragrance in the air, one of freshness and spring flora. The melting snows or the rains, depending on where you live, have washed a lot of the crud away. Hyacinths (my personal favorite) daffodils, daisies, tulips and other early bloomers are poking their heads up to catch the sun’s rays. The grass, oh the green of the grass, is making its presence known once again; the trees in all their glorious splendor are budding with green also; and the other vivacious colors of spring creep back to predominance after a winter’s worth of white snow, gray skies and seemingly unfruitful brown earth. It’s a time to revitalize, as the plant world shows us, following the sleepy, silent calm of winter. Rebirth is resplendent! As humans, born of this planet, we are bound to follow part of nature’s lead and feel that rebirth. It’s the time to remake ourselves and our surroundings. Spring cleaning, not necessarily the happiest thought on earth, is a ritual practiced by many. We open our windows to blow out the old, stale air. We clean out closets and drawers and attics and garages and cupboards and have garage sales or donate to charity – getting rid of the old to make room for the new. We are so conscientious about making our living spaces more presentable. We plant gardens, prune the trees and bushes, and pot flowering plants. We may even seriously start on a diet and exercise plan, the one we promised ourselves we’d start in January, because bathing suit season is just ahead. The occasional diligent will pick up the self-help book or tape series they started on last November and had to set aside due to the extra demands of the holidays. But, there appears to be something missing. What about the muck we’ve been harboring internally, probably for years? Could it be time to clean that out too? There are many methods of release from the resentments, guilt and shame that we collect and allow to fester over our years of living. Every form includes some exercise in clearing, throwing it out. One simple practice is to determine what is being harbored, being specific as to the emotion that this event causes to surface within you, and visualize it being placed in a trashcan liner. The next step is to take yourself for a drive on a lightly traveled highway, especially one where the speed limit is 55 or more and where there are no stoplights or signs to impede your progress. As you drive along, envision yourself heaving the trash bags out the car window and quickly leaving them behind, disintegrating along the roadside. Some religions use methods of confession to allow their practitioners to be released from guilt, which would, if internalized constantly, cause much emotional, psychological and spiritual damage. The seeking of forgiveness in these cases can create useful catharsis. At this time of year, though, as nature is cleansing itself, another, much older method comes to mind. Based on an ancient Hopi Rite of Passage, the first step is to take an honest inventory of what you consider to be the liabilities that are holding you back from living a life filled with love, joy and fulfillment. How are you hurting yourself and others? What are the causes of your addictions (to alcohol, cigarettes, food, sex, laziness, gossip, co-dependence, abusive behavior, self-destructive behavior, etc.)? How’s your self-esteem? Are you living the life you had planned to live? Is the life you’re living filling you with loving satisfaction and overwhelming happiness? What is holding you back from living the life that would? What are the fears that are stopping you from evolving into the person you want to be? List these liabilities. Now, realize that blame and guilt (self-blame) are the root of all those liabilities. In order to move past and delete them from you life, it is necessary to truly forgive all those who helped create the blame and guilt that hold you back. Supplies: paper pen small twigs about 4 to 6 inches long shovel or trowel matches candles (optional) incense (optional, can be used in place of the twigs) 3 small stones for each letter that you will write 3 larger stones box of tissues
Your mission at this point is to write letters to those who’ve helped you accumulate the baggage that is holding you back. According to Brian Tracy there are three prime suspects: your parents, yourself and everyone else. For this exercise, you can trim it down to these three, or you are free to choose particular individuals: ex-spouses, bosses, former business partners, estranged friends, old neighbors, anyone (living or dead) who has caused you anguish or pain or loss in your life. Anyone who has hurt you can be included. Decide what muck you want rid of and from whence it came. Dig up the resentments and get ready to dump them. Your letters should be heartfelt and honest. You are the only person who will ever read them. Begin your letter with the incident or incidents that cause you pain. Explain how you were hurt, how you felt and still feel. Be specific. Then forgive that person, whole-heartedly, in writing. Tell them clearly and directly that you are not going to harbor any more ill will toward them, that you are letting go of all the bad feelings. You do not need to profess love if you do not feel it, but you do need to let go of all the blame or guilt that you’ve been gunny-sacking for however long. Take as much or as little time as you require letting out what needs cleansed. Remember that this is not an exercise in blame and degradation. It is a way to take responsibility for your feelings and your life. Next is the fun part. Do you have a favorite spot, somewhere away from everything, somewhere you like to go to be alone, somewhere that you find beautiful, almost heavenly? Is there a nature spot not too far (an hour or two) away from home that you’ve wanted to visit? (HINT: It needs to be a place where you will not be disturbed and that has dirt.) Well, pack up your supplies, liability list and letters and head on out to your spot. You are now ready to come to Mother (Mother Earth, that is) and seek forgiveness. Find the spot that calls to you and settle in. First, sit, meditate and/or pray, become close to Mother. Breathe her in. Feel her beneath you. Light your candles or incense or both as you see fit. Take out your letters and read them aloud to Mother Earth Spirit. Reflect and let go. Now, dig one hole, about three inches deep, for each letter. Prepare your burial pits in a semi-circle. Mark each hole with a twig or stick of incense, placing three small stones around the base of each twig or stick. Place one letter in each hole. Set them on fire, each in their turn, and watch them burn, allowing all the resentments you have rat-holed for years to go up with the smoke. When there is nothing left but ashes, fill the holes back over with dirt, burying the ashes. Now dig another hole in the center of the semi-circle. Meditate on your list of liabilities, and burn it in the central hole. Fill it in with dirt after the list has turned to ashes. Mark this last grave with a twig or incense stick surrounded by the three larger stones. (This formation symbolizes the Eye of Horus.) When your meditation is finished, show respect to Mother Earth and thank her for providing the sepulchers you needed. Make sure that nothing is left burning and collect your supplies, leaving the twigs and stones to mark the graves. Go in peace. SCPE invites you, no matter where you live, to join our staff in this rite of forgiveness on April 23, 2005, at 7 PM PST. We will be heading to Red Rock to the west of Las Vegas for our local pilgrimage. If you are in Las Vegas and would like to join us, please email me at bobbi@scpeinc.org for more details. Suggested reading: Clearing for the Millennium by Albert Clayton Gaulden
Live in the Light.
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The Power Within and Around you Cleansing, Activating, Balancing and Aligning Your Chakras by Bobbi Bartsch Curtis We are all aware that our nervous systems run by electrical impulses. We also know that an electrical impulse creates a field of energy. The obvious then must stand true that we live within our own fields of this energy. According to quantum physics, everything is energy – all matter (of which we are made up) is energy. So, let’s agree that our bodies are bodies of energy. We should be able to assume that since the brain, being the largest concentration of nerve tissue in our bodies, would be an energy center, and that our spinal columns, having another large concentration of nerve tissue, would have, along its route through the vertebrae, other energy centers. The rest of the body, to one degree or another, would also have energy centers of some degree or another, depending on the concentration of energy at each point. Since we radiate this energy (the electrical energy field we talked about in the second sentence), we should again be able to assume that there are others of these energy centers within some close proximity to our physical bodies. These energy centers are known as Chakras. Traditionally, the major Chakras are seven in number: Base, Sacral, Solar Plexus, Heart, Throat, Brow and Crown. There are three other important Chakras: Earth, Higher Heart and Higher Crown. We now have 10 in all. According to many sources, there are also a myriad of other minor Chakras throughout the body, but we will be dealing with only the 10 mentioned here. Disharmony is the result of either blocked or overactive Chakras. There are numerous methods to realign and balance the Chakras, creating positive, healthy energy for a well-rounded life. Most methods include purposeful breathing techniques, visualization, sound vibrations, color vibrations, purposeful intent and meditation, fragrance relationships and healing crystal vibrations, which are connected to the color vibrations. A deep, relaxing breathing technique, such as Central Column Breathing, is useful to begin your cleansing and balancing exercise. (This is also an excellent technique to use prior to meditation, to relax before going to sleep, and to revitalize at the start of the day – among other things.) Briefly, this involves being seated comfortably, legs uncrossed if in a chair, finding your breathing pattern while breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth, opened slightly. Then, begin to breathe in as if the influx of air were coming in from the top of your head, filling your body as it goes down. At a natural point, begin to exhale as though the air were exiting down through the body and out the soles of the feet. Repeat this exercise five times. Next, change to breathing up from the earth beneath, up through the body and exhaling through the top of your head. Repeat five times. Remain relaxed and unstrained. Now, breathe in from the top of your head on the first breath sequence and then in from the earth on the second breath sequence, alternating each sequence for five minutes. This exercise clears the central column of your body and prepares it for meditation and healing. The next step in a rather uncomplicated method of balancing and aligning the Chakras is to lie flat, placing appropriate crystals below, above and on your body positioned at the Chakra centers for approximately 20 minutes and relaxing into a meditative state with the intention of balancing and aligning. The chart below shows both the position and some suggested stones to use for optimal healing. Have the stones pre-selected and nearby when you begin the breathing technique so that you are able to go straight from the breathing position into the meditative position, not losing the benefits of the breathing technique before the stone placement. (Stones should be cleared, charged and programmed with the proper intent prior to usage.) (see Table to the Right)
SCPE has designed sets of Chakra Mats that are cleared, charged and ready for you to program (since we believe that programming should be done by the individual who will use them). These are easy to use and manipulate and are comfortable for Chakra layouts with placement either on top of or under the body. I have purposely (for the sake of space and your time) kept this discussion as short and to the point as I possibly could. There are numerous books that go into extensive detail and offer many methods, exercises and in depth descriptions of means by which to cleans, balance, heal, sedate, activate, align, etc. the Chakras. Ruth White’s Using Your Chakras is one very helpful example. The Complete Crystal Guidebook by Uma Silbey contains several sections with exercises, meditations and tips on Chakra good health. Wishing you the best of health in body, mind and spirit.
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by Bobbi Bartsch Curtis
We all lead such busy, hectic lives. There’s the family to care for and assist. Many have jobs or careers that take up well over 50 hours a week. We like to learn and grow, and so attempt to squeeze in some time to read, take classes, or do some research. There are groceries to buy, the kids shopping to do, maintenance on the car and the house to schedule and handle, doctor’s and dentist’s appointments, laundry; and, oh my, the To Do List is overpowering. We’re lucky to get maybe 20% of it completed during a good week. We don’t take time to be kind to ourselves. Think how much kinder we might be to others if we did. We’ve all, at some time or another, heard or read that we need to schedule time for ourselves. OK, we’ll all agree to schedule some time for ourselves. That’s nice – for ourselves to do what? Are there some sorts of priorities involved in this? We say that we need to take some time to relax – maybe a good, long soak in a hot, bubbly bath. Then what? Maybe we treat ourselves to a massage at a spa; or a facial, manicure and pedicure; or a “girl’s day out” and have lunch with a friend or two. The actual effects of this last how long? Again, are there some sorts of priorities involved? Are we masking the true need? Are we using superficial cover-ups to put a bandage on the very real, very deep need to regroup? Is the true meaning of taking “time for ourselves” getting lost somewhere in the physical? I think the answer is an ear-splitting, resounding, “YES!” Our need to “get it together” is not fulfilled by steam, nail polish and food. The surface, in most cases, is not where the problem lies. Let’s take a look within. Have you said hello to your Higher Self lately? Do you know what your Higher Self is and how you relate with each other? Did you know you had a Higher Self? We’re going to explore some of the inner you, some of what you may be missing about yourself, some qualities you may not have known you had. Nestled within you is a spiritual space. It lies above your conscious mind. It lives within your aura; and, if you listen, it can offer guidance and reassurance. It is the Higher Self, the Higher You, the spark of the Deity within, your Spirit. Every major religion speaks of the light from the Deity (whichever one or ones upon which that religion was based) being present in humankind in one manner or another; the light that shines from within each human; the part of the Holy Spirit that inhabits each person; the part of you that is eternal; the part that will return to Heaven; the part that reincarnates; the part that will return to its creator; the part that makes you more than just protoplasm; the part that makes you holy; the part that was constructed in God’s image. In Deepak Chopra’s book The Book of Secrets, he states, “Centuries ago the doctrine of one reality occupied center stage in spiritual life. Religions and peoples and traditions varied wildly, but there was universal agreement that the world is a seamless creation imbued with one intelligence, one creative design. Monotheism called the one reality God; India called it Brahman; China called it the Tao. By any name, every person existed within this infinite intelligence, and whatever we did on our own was part of creation’s grand design . . . The creator permeated each particle of creation equally, and the same divine spark animated life in all its forms.” (page 22) The Higher Self is the spark of which he speaks – “the infinite intelligence” to which we are all connected.
In ancient Rome it was called Juno (feminine). Juno was the Divine part of female individuals, while Genius was the Divine in males. It was expected that, since the Higher Self is capable of only good (it cannot conceive of doing ill), everyone would do their level best to be in touch with their Higher Selves, seek guidance from It, and thus move at one with the Universe. Offerings were made and ceremonies performed to honor the Higher Self in order to enforce the bond to it. There was a time in history when the people of certain tribes, clans or societies made offerings to the Higher Selves of their leaders. The intent was to help their leaders create a closer bond with their own Higher Selves so that they would act in harmony with that Divine guidance and, consequently, rule well and treat their people fairly and justly since the Higher Self is incapable of doing otherwise. Unfortunately, there was much misinterpretation of this sort of ceremony by other religious sects. It was thought that those societies were deifying their rulers. Much blood has been shed due to this “misunderstanding.” There are numerous ways to get in touch with one’s Higher Self. Prayer and meditation are two ways. One must actively seek the Divine within. As with anything else, this requires regular practice, peace, privacy and contemplation. I can’t help but wonder if this is part of the reason why Jesus Christ taught, “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into they closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” (Matthew 6:5-6, King James Version) The daily use of affirmations (positive statements of one’s intentions) along with prayer and quiet contemplation can assist in opening the door to more open communication between the Higher Self and the conscious mind. An example would be: “I draw myself closer to my Higher Self each day and move in harmony with it. I ask my Higher Self to help me with my life’s lessons, learning them with ease and joy. I receive Your guidance with an open mind and an open heart.” You may, during prayer and meditation, ask for specific guidance on certain issues or where a decision needs to be made. Allow yourself time to then sit quietly and listen for the still, small voice. With practice, you will begin to sense, feel, hear answers and receive the guidance you seek. Let us refer again to Dr. Chopra’s statement about the “infinite intelligence” which surrounds us. What do you think the possibilities would be if access to that intelligence were wide open to you? Its spark is with you everyday, all day. Of what could you be capable if you set that spark into action? The intelligence of which he speaks is Divine. It is incapable of wrong-doing. Is it possible that opening yourself to that knowledge might solve strife in relationships, issues with children, conflicts at work, struggles within yourself? I have to ask you at this point, “What are you waiting for?” This has to be something valuable enough to schedule for yourself – five to ten minutes a day when you arise or just before going to bed at night. Answers lie within each of you. The spark is waiting for a little fuel in order to burn brighter. Open yourselves to the part of you that remains hidden, until you set it free in each of your lives . . . or apply another coat of nail polish if you think that will improve your life. It takes about ten minutes to dry. Live in the Light NOTE: The Light of which I speak is that Divine Spark that lives within us all. If your Light is a little dim, find someone whose Light is bright and bask in its glow, recharging your Light. If your Light is burning brightly, share its brilliance with all whose paths cross yours.
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by Bobbi Bartsch Curtis If you’ve read any kind of self-help books or listened to self-improvement tapes or gone to any motivational training seminars, you’ve been instructed to, in some way, accentuate the positive – in your life, on the job, in yourself, within your family. I am challenging every reader to begin to banish the negative, not only within themselves, but also in their communities. I don’t think I need to take up your time in lengthy explanations of the benefits of this action. We are all well aware of the consequences of negative behavior and negative energies – just read the newspaper or turn on the news on the TV or radio or drive down the street in a bad section of town. We’re in the Dog Days of summer, so named for the Dog Star, Sirius, which typically rises at sunrise at this time of the year. Considered to be the unhealthiest time of year due to the heat and the humidity (in the Northern Hemisphere), giving germs, molds and bacteria extra-fertile breeding grounds, it seemed a good starting point. As with any project, whether it’s getting the daily chores accomplished or building a starship to cruise the galaxies (sorry, I was raised on Star Trek), the first thing you need is a plan. We’ve previously discussed that our bodies are made up of and surrounded by energy. (Chakras and Discovering Your Juno) Quantum physics makes it clear that everything is made of energy, so I’m not going to belabor the point. If you’ve ever walked into a room and suddenly felt a tingling sensation or a draft or a stuffy feeling that made you uncomfortable and found out later that you had interrupted an argument, then you’ve experienced a flow of negative energy from other people. There are ways to transmute the negative and return positive energy. Here’s one of them and this is the challenge: 1) Find a quiet spot in your home, garden, the mountains – wherever you go to feel at peace – and begin a meditation. Your meditation will be unique to you. Feel yourself shedding all negative feelings. Some visualize their bodies in a stream of pure, clear water, washing the negative energy away, starting at the head and allowing it to flow out of their feet. Others visualize the wind blowing the negativity away. Some use the white light of a Higher Power to shine down through them and release the negativity through their feet. You can develop your own style of releasing the energy that you do not want within you. (Always remember to ground yourself both before and after the meditation.) If you are already proficient at this sort of exercise and are trained in energy healing, this challenge is simple and now built into your nature. 2 a.) For those not trained in energy healing or other related fields, your job is rather simple. Do your meditation daily. As you go through your day, when you feel negative energy around you, think quickly back to your meditation and allow that snapshot visualization to take you back to your positive state. If you can, pull some of the negative energy within which you find yourself into the snapshot and release it along with the negativity you’re re-releasing by visualizing your meditation. 2 b.) For those trained in energy healing or other related fields, the world needs your help. I live in Las Vegas and drive past several strip clubs to get to the parking lot at the casino that houses my job site. There are also a couple of overpasses with homeless seeking shade on my trip. I don’t want to put Vegas down as a vacation spot, but there are some really seedy areas to the city. Vegas is not alone. Nearly every city has it’s “bad side” where exploitation of women is rampant, where the poor can’t seem to break the cycle of poverty, where the homeless congregate, where things happen to human beings that many of us could not even conceive. As I write this, tears are pouring from my eyes. I feel the pain of children who are hungry, mothers who have been made to feel helpless, men who are beaten down . . . and then a rapist with a knife shows up. I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine the fear. I can feel some of it, but something in my head stops it a point far before it would drive me mad. The Challenge: as you drive to work, to the grocery store, to a doctor’s appointment, to drop off your children at school; as you walk the dog, take out the garbage, pick up the mail, stop for a second. Pull on your positive energy source. Begin to funnel negative energy through you and push it into the Earth. The Earth cleanses negative energy, transmuting it into positive energy. If your training has taught you another method, please use it regularly, daily, moment by moment, using conscious effort to consistently throughout your day rid wherever you are from negative energy. I am aware that some who have training in fields related to energy healing could take a different stance on my challenge. There are several training methods that teach the protective bubble or the mirror technique to keep negativity away from the person practicing the procedure. I am not condemning these methods, but I strongly urge those who use this type of process to rethink the philosophy. Throwing negativity back out to circulate may not be beneficial to those around you. Walking around in a protective bubble doesn’t do much for your surroundings. All I see is a bunch of human bumper cars slamming together to be thrown back apart by the impact. I’m asking all readers to step outside their protective bubbles (since we all have them in one way or another) and begin a strategy to eliminate the negative. May we start today?
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