tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81066273858617561902024-03-05T03:24:13.706-06:00Thoughts UnveiledA Collection of Reflections, Meditations, and Other Musings on Spirituality, Healing, and the Path of Life.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-8069438350892109412015-06-02T15:01:00.000-05:002015-06-02T15:01:13.345-05:00Sometimes I Just Don't Know<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sometimes, I just don't know what I'm supposed to do in a given situation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sometimes I'm just bogged down with all of my spiritual responsibilities - to self, society, and God. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A situation presents itself, and I'm faced with a dilemma. First, I focus inward, centering and grounding myself. I focus on my breathing. I listen for higher guidance. I notice any sensations in my body. I notice my relationship to my surroundings. How am I feeling? Is this an ego reaction? What is Spirit trying to tell me? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then my mind might drift to more existential aspects. I might be thinking what sign the Moon is in, how this is affecting me. Or what essential readings I've been digesting, and what lessons might be coming up for that. Have I recently had bodywork or other healing work done, am I processing and releasing stuff there? Or perhaps other astrological aspects, like how this is exactly a lesson for my South Lunar Node, etc etc. Or some past life stuff coming up. Or is this related to my soul's Goal of Flow, as related to the Michael teachings... or an instance of a blockage in my Solar Plexus chakra giving me an opportunity to release and strengthen here...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We're always processing these things. Sometimes more aware at certain times than others. You might be sitting right across from us and have no idea that all of this is playing on a background track of our minds, all the while trying to regulate our body and energy and breath, and stay completely open and relaxed and present to the conversation we're having with you!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then, I might think, do I share this with you? Or is this for me to sort out for now?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As healers, we are taught discretion in what we tell our clients. Maybe they don't give a damn about angels and spiritual entities surrounding us and guiding the work. Maybe they're not ready. Maybe telling a client some message we received would be detrimental or disturbing, or confusing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's our duty as healing practitioners to practice discretion, and err on the side of 'less is more,' I believe. If something is really pressing or meant to come to light, generally, it will, in one form or another, or louder than before. This is part of the process of learning to trust the healing process and greater powers that be, as well as becoming more attuned to divine timing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then I step out of the default healer role and let myself just lose my shit sometimes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then forgive myself, practice non-judgement for myself, not needing to analyze what's been released, not needing to understand...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then I'm with someone else, and they're in pain. And I know, but I don't know... they're asking for help, but I can see myself in them. I empathize, I feel their pain, but I know this is a lesson they have to learn. And I can't do this for anyone but myself. We all ultimately have our own journey, our own lessons and learning.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sometimes the hardest thing as a healer is knowing we have to stand back and let others do the work. </span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sometimes, I have no idea what to do but provide compassionate presence. A kind ear. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Sometimes, all I know to do is just try my best. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Whatever that 'best' is, in that moment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Straighten my spine, breathe deeper. Am I focused enough in this mediation now? Am I doing this yoga pose the best that I can? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Am I fully present to this person right now? To my body? Is there something more I can do now?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And for all the things that I do not know, God help me, to do the best that I can, for the highest and greatest good of all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Aho.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-49319953443823598592015-04-15T22:06:00.000-05:002015-04-15T22:06:03.081-05:00Grateful<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Illness has an uncanny way to shift paradigm and appreciate the little things we take for granted. <i>Such little things.</i> Like, being able to sit up without feeling nauseous. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These past couple of days with stomach flu, or food poisoning, whatever, leave me grateful...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">... constantly reminded that everything occurs in perfect timing. Like, t</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">he Lemon-Ginger-Echinacea Juice that’s been unopened for months now finally came to its truest, fullest purpose; t</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">he leftover matzo from last year finally came into its own for food plain and easy on the stomach, and was thankfully consumed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is how the stomach flu progressed by levels of gratitude, my inner mantras.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">During the night, I was held at bay. I succumbed to laying on my back, hands over my abdomen, just remembering to breathe. I surrendered to the pain, the aching in my body, tracking it with my mind.<i> Oh, it’s here now. I feel it in my thighs, my legs, my low back. My joints. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What does it look like? <i>Like a hastily-drawn orange-red haze, scribbled with a fat pastel over my legs, my arms, my stomach.</i> Yet my feet, neck and shoulders were cold, so cold. The cold hurt, but I couldn’t move, because moving hurt. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If I slept, I didn’t know it. I was in the in-between state of staying aware to my body, the aching, the cold, the heat, and the ugly pulsing in my abdomen that wouldn’t cease. I was on the brink of nausea and all I could do was breathe and feel it. Feel the waves of intensity, see it in colors, note the sensations as they took over my body. <i>Surrender</i>. Just feel it and let it move through. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">According to the clock, hours went by. My husband called me from hundreds of miles away, his voice cracking in pain. In that instant I knew everything, and it confirmed my own condition. When we hung up, I said to myself, I have to get up to get water. I need water. Several minutes passed. <i>Angels, I need strength to go get water.</i> I still couldn’t move. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hours went by. Somehow I'd slept. Without thinking I stood up. <i>Wow, I can get up. I am so thankful that I can get up and move. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>I am so thankful to be able to drink water</i>. I could drink water, and it was the best thing ever!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">More hours went by. The nausea was much subsided in my stomach, now cramping moved down my intestines. But this meant I could try eating. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I went to the kitchen. <i>I need whole food, something easy to digest, I need sugars</i>. The clementines that have been sitting uneaten didn’t have enough time to glimmer in almighty light – I ate a clementine, and it was the best thing ever. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I slept, more hours went by, and my husband staggered in the door. I ate another clementine. I felt less pain in my joints, less aching. Every time I woke up, I felt slightly better. <i>I am grateful to feel less pain</i> here. Little by little, hour by hour, I followed the sensations, literally in my gut. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After more time, I ate honey. Then Matzo. Every half hour, I could nibble a bit more, and it was the best thing ever. I have never looked so forward to eating a banana. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">White rice! Saltines! Huzzah!! <i>Thank you, thank you, for this food, for this ability to eat this food, to feel this food nourish and heal my body. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Oh, illness, thank you for making me grateful for the little things. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-34880848494877542792015-02-27T23:37:00.001-06:002015-02-28T10:23:41.141-06:00How Tarot Changed My Reality<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When I was 15 years old in Freshman year of high school, I was trying out for the soccer team. It was a few weeks’ ordeal and I was horribly anxious and impatient. Having been newly introduced to a Tarot reader at a New Years party, I was fascinated by the art and decided that this would be a way to know if I would make the soccer team or not. It couldn’t hurt, anyway, and it helped distract me a little. Thanks to a bunch of new websites popping up dedicated to such esoteric arts, I was able to scavenge lots of free “coins” to use for online Tarot readings. You can believe that I was online every night, asking the same question in different ways: “Will I make the soccer team?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Part of me was skeptical of the process, but even more of me was curious and eager for any answers or clues. How could floating my mouse over the “spread” of cards on the screen simulate the real-life experience of picking Tarot cards? Did waving the cursor actually “shuffle” the cards, or was this all nonsense?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I didn’t care. I wanted to have the ultimate answer: Would I make the soccer team??</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Different days would yield slightly different answers, vague enough to be noncommittal and open-ended to possibility, which was both hopeful and maddening. Why couldn’t I just get a simple answer --- yes or no??</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yet the more I asked, the more I began to pay attention to the nuances in the answers, and the interconnected stories that the cards laid out. Depending on different layouts, each position refers to an aspect of the question – background of the situation, my personal intention, outside or unknown influences, etc. The same card in different positions told different stories. Futhermore, the way the cards connected to the others in a given spread gave emphasis to different aspects of myself. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Soon, I became less interested in the overall outcome or answer to my question, and enthralled with the depth of the Tarot cards. Undoubtedly, I wouldn’t have continued shuffling that digital deck over and over if the spreads didn’t speak volumes to me, and seem to reveal deep aspects of myself that my emerging teenage self couldn’t even fully contextualize yet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If I didn’t understand a message or a card right away, I thought about it; I digested the information, I slept on it. I allowed insights to filter in and for life to unfold and confirm what the cards were telling me. I became less interested in asking, “Will I make the soccer team?” and began exploring all aspects of my life: relationships, school, family, my personality. I always kept an open mind, but increasingly heeded the advice given in the cards. It was hard not to notice coincidences increasing in my life and how they corresponded to the Tarot cards. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Soon, I created my own makeshift Tarot deck and bought a guidebook. I started doing spreads for myself and as with anything, gained confidence with more practice. Over time, once I got to know the cards, it was less of an intellectual strain of piecing together the puzzle (although this is still fundamental) and more of a feeling experience. I could see how cards balanced each other out, and I could recognize intuitive “hits.” I learned that the aspects of ourselves and situations are far more important than the outcome; the point is what we learn. By observing how life mirrored the cards, I could then start to affect my own life by seeing ahead. This is why intuitive and oracle arts are so empowering! Mysterious, yes. <b><span style="color: #fff2cc;">But once you begin to see these as another tool, and recognize that perception itself is something to be honed and mastered, then you see how we as individuals create our own reality.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As it turned out, I did make the soccer team that year. But what I gained from studying Tarot shaped me far more than that soccer season, far more than I ever could have imagined. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-35944771164405368242015-01-28T14:35:00.001-06:002015-01-28T23:20:59.083-06:00The Healer's Toolbox: Perceptive Awareness and Trusting the Process<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Often I get the question of, "How do you know where to put your hands in a healing session?" Or, "How can working on one area affect another?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The answer can be understood when we recognize the meta-scientific perspective that we live in a reality of matter, space and vibrating particles that are all connected. Through the power of the mind and setting intention, we guide energy to flow through a medium and reestablish balance in a system in order for optimum functioning to occur. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In other words, I'm opening my awareness to what's already occurring and guiding a process while leaving the final result to higher intelligence beyond me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The body is a highly intricate machine. We eat a meal, the food gets digested and its components are distributed correctly. We don't consciously think, "Protein particles of chickpeas, go rebuild my muscles. Fiber, sweep through my intestines and exit my elimination organs." We don't stare at a flower bud and will it to open its petals in a mathematically beautiful and symmetric spiral. Life happens. Intelligence unfolds. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So it is with energy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A person comes to me with a headache. We set the intention to clear the headache. I lay my hands on the person's forehead and there's enhanced energy flowing through this area. But there's also energy flowing elsewhere. I feel energy in the forehead erratic and buzzing. I sense a stream of energy connected to this down through the Solar Plexus area. I sweep my hands down to this energy, following the pulsating that I feel, centralized as a dense, heavy energy ball. I continue to move my hands and clear this area until the heaviness, the buzzing, eventually relaxes and dissipates. In that moment, even though I'm not even working on their head, the person reports that their head feels so much better! In addition, the sense of nervousness they'd been feeling in the "pit of their stomach," that they didn't even realize they'd been carrying, is gone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So while we set an intention, working on one area of the body or energetic system can clear another area. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We trust that wherever the energy needs to flow for the client's highest good, it does. Could I have cleared the headache directly by working in the head area? Perhaps, yes. But was that the core of the problem? Where did the disturbance originate, their thought process, or in the energetic area of the body connected to our values, sense of self, and sometimes emotions? Or did one affect the other? </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Yet perhaps more importantly, how would I have known?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Part of this is the mystery that requires the flexibility and openness of healing work versus the diagnostic and prescriptive science of traditional medicine. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, as healing practitioners, while we trust the process of healing and energy to go where it's needed, we can more effectively assist the process by using our tools of perception. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I read a quote that went something like, <i>"How do we fill up a swimming pool? Sure, we can turn on the hose in the backyard, and eventually it will fill up the pool. But we can be more effective by putting the hose directly into the swimming pool." </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That is the role of a healing practitioner. Opening to a process unfolding, and with awareness and intent, guiding it along. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ending with a quote from Albert Einstein:</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.</i></span></blockquote>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-36203417357846704582015-01-14T21:25:00.001-06:002015-01-14T21:25:17.315-06:00What You Don’t Know About Your Healer<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, you think all health and holistic practitioners are wishy-washy, carefree spirits twirling in sunshine and rainbows of our own glorious auric fields?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(Well, maybe some are, and to them I say… grrrr!!!!!!!!) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">No, seriously. I think it’s good to share some things that many of us in the healing community go through to dissuade anyone thinking we’re disconnected from the full spectrum of human experience. If any practitioner ever has come off as flighty or down-right ridiculous, maybe there’s a reason for it, or, perhaps if you knew the things that often plague and bewilder us, maybe you’ll forgive us a little. </span><br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dirty Secret #1</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let me let you in on a dirty secret: <span style="color: #ffe599;"><b>health practitioners have hang-ups, too.</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Since we tend to be a lot more sensitive, this can lead to a lot of self-criticism, self-judgment, and insecurity about our self-worth. I can’t tell you how many practitioners I’ve met who have gone through these same growth points on the way to developing their craft: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>recognizing we have certain talents, much of which are intangible, yet nonetheless valuable to human experience (caring, compassion, empathy, listening, nurturing … I’ll hold off of any extra-sensory perceptive skills for now)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>seeing where there is need, and where we are drawn to help: the elderly, veterans, children, spiritual life coaching, cancer community, women’s issues, abuse, trauma, etc</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>feeling worthy to accept payment for our services, period! (a reflection of self-worth and confidence)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>being able to brand and market ourselves, and charge more for our time and credentials</span><br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dirty Secret #2: </span></h2>
<span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>We’re constantly tottering on the line of our heart’s desire and what the rest of society actually wants from us. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We feel spiritually called into our vocation. It is a sense of duty to humanity, the world, divinity, whatever you want to call it. There’s this progression of trepidation to accepting our path, elation when we’ve claimed it, and then frustration when the rest of the world doesn’t seem to understand or want our gifts. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Example: We want to witness miracles of people breaking through limitations and emotional bondage through massage and bodywork and end up over-worked and underpaid in a corporate structure that doesn’t resonate with our ideals. The quality and depth of the work that can be done is unforgivably diluted. Yet we need to pay the bills. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’ll reiterate: <span style="color: #ffe599;">we’re sensitive!</span> It takes <b>SO MUCH STRENGTH</b> to actually claim our identity as healers. After so much inner reflection, refraction, sometimes dissolution and tedious rebuilding of ourselves, to only face rejection can be soulfully crushing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So what do we do?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We keep going. We improvise. We sometimes forcefully push our noses back to the grindstone and make ourselves finish that certification or class or grit our teeth through our daily jobs as a stepping stone to getting where we want to be… which isn’t always clear. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We also come together in community support. Sometimes we just need to know we’re not alone in this journey. Or that we haven’t completely lost our minds. Yet… (see below for #3). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Most of all, we keep searching within for inspiration and answers. It’s a never-ending journey. </span><br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dirty Secret #3</span></h2>
<span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>We crave community and don’t always know how to ask for it. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You’d think the people touting how much we need deeper connection would be able to tack this one on the wall no problem, but not always. This goes back to our sense of self-worth and self-acceptance. Or feeling like we have to shoulder the burdens of the world and therefore do our own healing alone so as not to unload on anyone else. Oddly enough, sometimes it’s our clients that remind us to seek help and support when we need it. </span><br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dirty Secret #4</span></h2>
<span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>We have inner demons, too. We have our shadow side.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We just get more practice with how to release and express these sides of ourselves. We understand the ebb and flow. All things come to pass. There’s always something brighter and sweeter past the painful spots. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And no, unless we attain Buddhahood, I don’ think this ever goes away. Like anything else, the process and pattern just gets more fine-tuned, our responses more precise. </span><br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dirty Secret #5</span></h2>
<span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>We are <i>always</i> driven by something greater than ourselves.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Even if it makes you cringe, inevitably, most health and healing practitioners subscribe to some higher source, authority, or power, even if it’s simply within ourselves, or a sense of universality and connectedness. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It might annoy the crap out of you, you might think we’re hopeless idealists… but it’s what we witness day after day, and it’s what keeps us going. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On that note…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dirty Secret #6</span></h2>
<span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>We like to use the word “God,” but shy away from it publicly. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Unfortunately. Don’t want to offend anyone else out there. So we keep it for private use. We’re okay with it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One more thing. <b><span style="color: #93c47d;">We will never, ever stop trying to be better for ourselves and others</span></b>, no matter how crazy our rituals and appearance and vernacular become. If it betters the whole, then it’s worth it. We’ve done our duty. </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-59918379452525504132014-09-29T14:43:00.004-05:002014-09-29T14:43:54.032-05:00An Adventure in Finding Yourself in the Social Media-Driven Age <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>“Get lost and find yourself.” </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I heard this adage in my earlier awakening-to-self years. Perhaps you’ve heard it too. Every so often it is ignited by my life’s experiences, taking on greater depth and pertinence. My recent trip to San Francisco is no exception. Added to this, just before I left for this trip, I met a fellow spiritual junkie, and as I drove him home and heard his story, I and was reminded that this is more than just a tagline. <b><span style="color: #fff2cc;">The best way to find who we are is to unroot ourselves and transplant to another place for a while</span>.</b> Here, we see who we are, and what core values we take with us, whether for a short travel to clear our mind’s palate and rejuvenate body and soul, or for a more substantial shift.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The difference now in the current age of social media is the way we can find ourselves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FINDING MY WAY via SOCIAL MEDIA</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The days of printing out itineraries from piles of brochures and magazines are … well, alive and well still, I suppose. But for the social media-savvy generation, if you can access and dare to navigate the networks of social media for a little while, what you find can be quite inspiring and intriguing. Rather than reading generic print from a magazine, we can connect and commune with a much more ALIVE thread to a place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As I arrived in San Francisco, I began exploring the hashtags #SanFrancisco, #SanFran, #SF, and through these found even more hashtags to use, like #bayarea, or #bayareaatnight. <b><span style="color: #fff2cc;">It’s one of the quickest ways to get to know the local vibe and vernacular of a place</span></b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The point of Social Media # hashtag exploration is that it can, at its best, be extremely intuitive and user-friendly. What are my interests? What do I like to explore? For me, enter #yoga, or #coffee, plus #SanFran, #SF, into Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Oh, by the way – don’t forget to mark your location on those Instagram snapshots. I always get the most immediate hits from these markers. </span></div>
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<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">SOCIAL MEDIA IS LIVE</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Take my stay in San Francisco. I arrive at my hotel, I tweet @ the hotel name and post a picture. This blasts out to the hotel and they give me a friendly response sometimes within minutes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here is a little conversation I had with @SoulsofSF on Twitter after finding her pictures and profiles of people living in San Francisco. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipkqIPhg3P-SoskCfy31BamEpKpMUt4fiCpPuP5eRNdN5RJtrWAV2bxc-3uqt73F5uh9WXnHpKBCz7HM2fBtag0Aka3Ti2FI9PjrjJgnzFosEOjx49ryW8hS-oQ4ec_yVN2e23lRVVElwH/s1600/2014.08.25+Twitter+SanFran.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipkqIPhg3P-SoskCfy31BamEpKpMUt4fiCpPuP5eRNdN5RJtrWAV2bxc-3uqt73F5uh9WXnHpKBCz7HM2fBtag0Aka3Ti2FI9PjrjJgnzFosEOjx49ryW8hS-oQ4ec_yVN2e23lRVVElwH/s1600/2014.08.25+Twitter+SanFran.JPG" height="515" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As I peruse Instagram, I find a picture of a dancer posing in front of eye-catching Greek or Roman-style stone columns. This leads me to her profile, leading to another picture tagging the location. I explore the hashtag of this a place, a museum, which leads me to more galleries and stunning pictures, and finally, my own visit the next day. #success.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0qHEwrhxuQq0BshoiZiHfDQw4rkSpJNp5wL967dBQltcdQwjde9ZZ79vYwkg8k7bLpBaOW5tXCpYNbBKS7G5xTDA5iVyxYyzenRqpUTTmpESK1X235g0Blchs9K8JPAAcria_Iova0Mmy/s1600/2014.08.26+Palace+of+Fine+Arts+FB+post.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0qHEwrhxuQq0BshoiZiHfDQw4rkSpJNp5wL967dBQltcdQwjde9ZZ79vYwkg8k7bLpBaOW5tXCpYNbBKS7G5xTDA5iVyxYyzenRqpUTTmpESK1X235g0Blchs9K8JPAAcria_Iova0Mmy/s1600/2014.08.26+Palace+of+Fine+Arts+FB+post.JPG" height="322" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">SOME TIPS</span></h4>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Explore the local Facebook groups and pages. See which ones have the most followers and the most recent posts</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Twitter and Instagram are less innocuous than Facebook (if you’re worried about coming off as weird or stalking)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Use whatever search terms are pertinent and intuitive to you</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you need more options, explore more hashtags and see what’s most current. You’ll find things in a way more personal than you could have ever imagined compared to pages of a brochure. </span><br />
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<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED</span></h4>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the universe where everything is connected, Social Media sharing follows this archetype. It’s a practice of little bit of reasoning, intuition, and the Law of Attraction, if you think about it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So while you may roll your eyes at those silly pictures of iced tea with a mint sprig and Mayfair filter, know that those GO somewhere; they do matter!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That’s why I use it. Take a picture. Post it. See who likes it, see who they are, where they’re from, and if this leads you anywhere. It takes seconds of tapping your finger, literally.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Social Media, isolating? Too easily lost in the virtual world? Not in my experience. Use it! See just how you find yourself. </span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhxSje4P0QIspnSqRFoDTozfgv1zv8MzUcUMyk5aMAXXmBKzL5eP5qrEoTDl3WEl2ls6x3wOh1jvTM1R59R1BN8cc5BorqSgtfA1mg-qcuj1pi94DwqaBW0XUa1mcVttXeIPrYA2vDcFdS/s1600/2014.08.27+SanFran+Japanese+tea+garden+FB+post.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhxSje4P0QIspnSqRFoDTozfgv1zv8MzUcUMyk5aMAXXmBKzL5eP5qrEoTDl3WEl2ls6x3wOh1jvTM1R59R1BN8cc5BorqSgtfA1mg-qcuj1pi94DwqaBW0XUa1mcVttXeIPrYA2vDcFdS/s1600/2014.08.27+SanFran+Japanese+tea+garden+FB+post.JPG" height="400" width="385" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To catch glimpse of my trip to San Francisco, see my Instagram and Twitter posts from August 25-27, 2014. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://instagram.com/lalindachka">http://instagram.com/lalindachka</a></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/Lindachka">https://twitter.com/Lindachka</a></div>
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Since this trip, I continue to follow @soulsofsanfrancisco on Instagram, and you should too! Really fascinating pictures and stories. Talk about keeping ties to a place. </div>
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<a href="http://instagram.com/soulsofsanfrancisco">http://instagram.com/soulsofsanfrancisco</a> and connected profile/page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/soulsofsanfrancisco">https://www.facebook.com/soulsofsanfrancisco</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-55422897079951024132014-08-08T19:06:00.000-05:002014-08-08T19:14:02.793-05:00Getting Centered Simply<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Happy Friday, everyone!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was feeling <i>so scattered</i> today! I tend to get lost in email-world and digital world -- like <b>Tron</b> but less visually stimulating. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I literally closed my labtop and said aloud to no one, "I need a break." I stepped away to my healing room and sat in front of my Sri Yantra picture. And I simply focused. Thoughts came in and out, and I let them pass as I focused I the bindu at the center of the image. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The importance in stilling the mind is not if you are absent of thought, but rather the ability and discipline to not follow the string of thoughts that the mind conjures up. </span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I love to use the image of clouds passing by across a clear sky. Thoughts come and go, and still we, our essence, remains. Our awareness remains. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The more I focused and the more still I became, the better I felt. Breathing slowed and deepened. I actually became more energized, too. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Such is the power of concentration or focusing the mind.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are so many centering and meditative practices! <span style="color: #ffe599;">It doesn't always have to be still-mind, eyes-closed meditation</span> in order to become centered and at peace. I think this is a misconception that many people have. That's why there's yoga, breathwork (pranayama), and for example, yantra -- focusing one's gaze at an image to achieve still mind. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It doesn't have to be long. In my case just today, 12 minutes turned into 15, then 20-something minutes. I couldn't tell after a while, and it didn't matter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So very thankful to lose track of time in order to FIND, and not LOSE, myself!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Namaste.</span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-63020213644853758292014-07-04T13:39:00.000-05:002014-07-04T13:39:51.124-05:00What Do I Choose?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Inspired while on a plane to Seattle and after reading a bit of "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight" by Thom Hartmann. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I need to commit to being a more responsible inhabitant of this planet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For those of us who have the capacity for greater thinking, expanded thought process and creativity, we need to come together and collaborate to solve the world's problems while moving forward with living. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There are always many different scenarios. There are endless possibilities and lines of probability. They can be optimistic or dismal. But if left to chance alone, without the willpower of the philanthropists or the willing servers and healers, the balance will be shifted in favor of those who choose short-sightedness and selfishness for over the goodness and long-term proliferation of all. Whether this is due to self-malevolence acting outward at the expense of the unaware, or to ignorance, or a a lack of fulfillment, it does not matter. What matters is that forces of ill will, which we can even for dramatic effect give the names dark forces or evil, exist. These forces that would tip the balance of planetary resources and energy of human potential and collective consciousness towards disorder for selfish and temporary gain will follow fate of entropy unless countered by order and willpower if those that choose altruism or at the very least sustainability. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I believe in universal forces. I believe in greater Intelligent Source that is able to orchestrate a grand scheme and scenario in terms of societal interplay and longevity. I believe that Source would not grant us short-handed of the necessary forces on both sides of the equation in order for life and creation to thrive and perpetuate itself. Any other viewpoint unto the nature of the Creator is absurdly fatalistic. Why would the Creator toss us all into a fishbowl just to see how ugly its demise could be? What is the pleasure in that? What is the payoff to the Creator?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I make this last point because I want to show in more simple, rational terms that the point of our existence is to exist and thrive, not just decay. Therefore there must already be sufficient forces of good and numbers of individuals with willpower and creative capacity to make such an existence unfold. </span></div>
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<b>Then where are we?</b></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">How do we find ourselves?</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> If there is a higher source orchestrating all of this, wouldn't we also be given the awareness to know what role we need to play? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Well, yes. I think we all do have access to this higher plan, both on the grand scale and more individually unique to each of us. We all contain light of awareness and the creative spark. I believe when we awaken to our true selves and our true nature, we can then freely express our uniqueness and from this place of understanding create with awareness. We can engage our willpower and create for ourselves and for the whole. </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When in alignment with our truest selves, we know what our purpose is; who we are, what understandings we have, what our role is in this overall creation. </b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Then whatever vocation we move forward in with awareness is in alignment with the Creator's plan. Then as if by a miracle everything falls into place. Everything flows and moves forward effortlessly. We are in alignment with the universal laws out forth by the Creator. </span></div>
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As a healer, I see myself helping others to remember their inner light, their creative essence, their healing power. I help hold space and set their intentions in motion so that they can more truly know and fulfill their true selves. Not the selfish, egoic, survivalist self that requires more narrow focus in order to survive. Many of us are past this evolutionary stage of development. We need to consolidate and graduate these survival energies and begin using more of our creative energies. Such is the natural unfoldment of the creative process. </div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To illustrate this, I will turn to the simple pattern seen everywhere in nature: birth, life, sex, death. Egg, larvae, caterpillar, cocoon, butterfly. Infancy, adolescence, adulthood, old age/wisdom. Time unfolds this cycle of life everywhere and always. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Life and nature is about patterns, be it on the micro or macrocosm, from simplicity to more complex and once again back to simplicity. This is the creation cycle. If our current universe was born of the Big Bang, first was just all a contraction of light and matter, bursting forth into a giant swirling pool of matter, energy and light, eventually taking on order and collecting into more stable and intricate form, to ... ? </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We need to step up.</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> We need to claim our place in the universe and on this planet. We cannot hide our heads in the sand. What keeps us from lifting our heads and becoming courageous? Fear. Worry. Possibility of discomfort. All human emotions and lack of belief in ourselves and our creative power. </span></div>
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<b>Unless we remember our true nature as creators, or are inspired by our own uniqueness, there will not be any real progress forward or cleaning up of our own mess; </b>we get lost in despair and think this life is all for nothing. And we don't see how fulfilling our individual role can then aid the whole. </div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But, if we CAN see that in knowing ourselves, in becoming aware and having the inner tools of forgiveness and healing, that we DO in fact fulfill our individual plan and thus the Creator's plan, then we can do no wrong! Everything is possible! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And if everything is possible, then what do I choose? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That's the beauty of it. It's for you to decide. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-55774466940423344252014-04-19T15:17:00.001-05:002014-04-19T15:17:44.500-05:00A Return <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In honor of Good Friday (which occurred yesterday), I wanted to write a little bit about the surreal experience I had revisiting my childhood church. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am not religious by any means. But growing up, I attended Roman Catholic church. I think it's quite normal for kids to hate going to church -- for my case and for many, it's boring, quiet, I'm sitting next to strangers who I'm eyeing carefully behind my mother's shoulder for the slightest cough or sniffle they might have, so that during the dreaded "sign of peace" portion of mass, we intermingle extra long in our family unit so that we don't have to shake those peoples' hands. And why on earth does it have to be so early in the morning? I could be sleeping! </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I mumble the prayers and responses because I'm supposed to, but I don't know why.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> It's devoid of meaning, of depth, and yet I'm supposed to act this way, and this makes me holy and loved by God somehow??? </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And on and on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yet as I step into the vastness of the church, I'm overtaken by a sense of awe and great love. As it has become ever since I began on the healer's path, now when I'm in any holy place, I'm sensitive to the vibrations and the energy there. I can't fully see auras yet but I don't need to. Immediately I look to the central altar and the large image of Jesus and it's <i>shimmering</i> with light. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Back in my childhood, we always sat in the back. "To beat the crowd." We always drove in the back way of the parking lot and parked as far away from the entrance as possible for an easy getaway. It always drove me crazy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Now, I walk straight up the center aisle and sit face-to-face with God. I can't help but want to be close, to go up front, and experience as deeply, intimately, as I can.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It was all so surreal. After the initial wave of divine love sweeps down my Crown and spreads throughout my aura and captures me in a glorious, full-body chills sensation, I'm able to inhale deeply and exhale a breath of deep, profound gratitude. Gratitude that more than ever before, more than I ever could have hoped for or imagined in my lifetime, I can feel and experience god within. And not only within; as I pray, aloud or a whisper, or silently, as I bare my heart open I hear messages of response. I remember praying as a child and thinking, hoping, that I would hear an actual voice clearly in my ear or at the very least in my head. That never happened. For me, and again for many, it happens much more quietly as a stirring in the heart, or a sense of love or comfort that's beyond words. It's so quiet that unless we're still enough, we miss the message entirely.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now, I know this. Now, I listen. And now, I hear, I feel, and I know, when I'm answered.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Instantly, constantly, flashes were happening.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> All the memories of going to church, and the experiences and perceptions I had. Of staring up at the ceiling, how I would note the patterns, the curve of the ceiling beams, the colors of the wood and marbling of the stone. The light shining through the stained glass windows. The images of the saints and angels. It seemed important, it seemed profound, and I didn't know. Happening in that present moment, I was staring at these same objects, these surroundings, and simultaneously remembering what I thought/saw in the past and now the present. I could see, and I could change the perceptions at will. I could loop in and out of time. I could superimpose thoughts and perceptions, together, one or the other. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Plus, the emotions I was feeling, of profound gratitude and love from God within and around me and all of the ALIVE love vibrations and reverence offered from everyone having been in that space, ahh!!! Amazing. I couldn't help but smile from the childlike wonder, that I couldn't even feel as a child! Then I smile more from... smiling! From the corner of my mind, my childhood self is looking at me perplexed as if to say, <i>You're crazy</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Then I loop in and out of the feeling and mental inquiry of, <i><span style="color: #ffe599;">why couldn't I feel this as a child?</span></i> Because we're not taught how to <b>feel</b>. We're taught how to act, how to behave, what to say. But how on earth can we foster a sense of wonder, awe, and honor in God unless we cultivate that capacity in ourselves?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It has taken me YEARS to open my Heart. And even after opening a center of awareness (or a chakra), it takes practice to continue operating at that level until it becomes inherent. Even when this is achieved, there's more work to be done, because life is still happening. We have to continue to move forward even when we're healing old wounds or examining old behaviors, while trying to not let our brains get in the way... or the psyche, or socially and culturally imposed behaviors, attitudes and perceptions, on and on the list of possible, probable, and futile blame goes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I digress... the point of all that is,</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">I had to learn what it was to LOVE in the first place, before I could truly understand God's love.</span> And understand that God is within. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then with another exhale, of understanding and of some sadness, I looked up at the beautiful altar before me, in admiration and sadness, thinking: If we put as much effort into developing our inner temples, our inner selves, as we do our outer temples and altars, just imagine how beautiful and brilliant our world would be!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">Memories help trigger these points of awareness and exploration. The desire to change comes from within.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've moved back to my home town, my physical place of infancy, childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. Now I return as an adult; what an amazing evolution I can see spread before me, while still being present. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Wow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I stand up, I bow thank-you and good-bye to the divine beings in my midst. Knowing that the presence never really leaves -- it's just our sense of awareness of them that fades. So these beautiful churches, these temples, these places of worship ... may they remain, may they be an outward manifestation of the devotion we give to our inner selves, our spirit, our divinity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Peace, Blessed Be, Namaste, Sat Nam, Aho, Ashe, Shalom, And so it is. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com0Skokie, IL, USA42.0324025 -87.74162460000002341.938052000000006 -87.902986100000021 42.126753 -87.580263100000025tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-38025365909270674082014-02-07T01:00:00.001-06:002014-02-07T01:00:09.164-06:00Journal Entry, January 2005: Astral Travel <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>I felt compelled to share this experience. It is a really clearly documented experience of astral travel -- one of my first experiences and definitely quite impactful. Edited slightly for clarity. Enjoy!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><u><b>Sunday, January 2, 2005</b></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I astral traveled last night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was about 2 am, I had just finished writing in my journal, and I fell asleep. I wasn’t necessarily even trying to meditate or leave my body.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> I started dreaming. At some point, <b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">I took control of myself in my own dream</span></b>. The weird thing is, whenever I have done this from a dreaming state, it’s almost a scary experience leaving my body. In my dream, I was thinking to myself, “Ha ha, look at me, I can go wherever I want!” while I was moving about. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The surest thing I remember is zipping towards my window, and falling through the face of a screaming (didn't hear sound, though) woman. I fell. And I was out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was looking at myself sleeping. I was looking at my nose and left side of my face from below; then the other side. Then I zoomed upward and turned over, looking at myself. I dipped forward and back, forward and back. While all of this was happening, I was having <i>thoughts --</i> I didn’t know this was possible. I felt like my spirit was in <b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">the form of my body</span></b>. I felt my hands. I had them clenched in fists. I clenched and unclenched them, each time, feeling the energy of them. <b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">It felt like my hands were electrical static</span></b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I also felt pulls. I felt like my hair, or the top part of my head, was being pulled. It actually felt like my head was being stretched. Since all I know is experience in my earthly body, I kept expecting to feel pain. But all I felt was this electrical sensation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I could see. It was as if I had my eyes. <b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Everything was gray and fuzzy-like</span></b>, as I remember from before. <i>(note - I had astral traveled previously)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And there was no heat – as before. It felt cold, but it wasn’t cold. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You don’t really hear anything, either.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I felt electrical surges in my legs. At one point, <b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">I willed myself</span></b> to spin in the air, and I did. All I felt was my astral body <b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">surge with energy</span></b>, up and down, and the slight view of surroundings twisting around. But, again, since in the earthly body you feel wind across your face to know you’re spinning, I wasn’t completely certain if I had done it or not. There’s no wind. <b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Just a feeling of being connected to everything</span></b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And all the while I was having thoughts. <b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">I was a little afraid</span></b>. I kept wondering that maybe I wasn’t in control of my hands – and at the sensation of my head being pulled I wondered if the devil was doing this; If he was keeping my hands hostage and from moving, and if <i>he</i> was pulling me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well, I didn’t want to do this anymore if such was the case. So I thought to myself, "I want to go back to my body." I did. I woke up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was 2:40. It had felt like an eternity – at most I had probably been sleeping for a half hour. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then I lay in bed. And I asked the universe, as always, to watch over me, and help me see the light. I swear, I thought I saw an orb float across the ceiling. I saw circles of light – faint colored light – over me. I knew they were there. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It was hard to fall asleep though. I didn’t know whether to close my eyes or keep them open – I didn’t know what I was going to see.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I keep wondering, <b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">why did it seem so cold, so dark?</span></b> Besides the obvious fact that it was night, why was I not seeing beautiful light in my astral body? Why did it seem so scary – and why did I have dark thoughts beforehand and during while I did it? <i>(note - now I realize I was exploring the lower astral planes)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Maybe it takes a traumatic experience to jolt your astral body from your body. Or at least while dreaming. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The first time I astral traveled – it was freshman year high school – I just laid in my bed, <b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">willed my spirit</span></b> to go to the mountains and elsewhere, and I lifted from my body. That was from a meditative state. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The last couple times, it has happened from a dreaming state. So, this last experience has proved to me that both ways are possible. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’m just not quite used to it yet. <b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">I expect to be transported to a surreal world of color and light and beauty</span></b>. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Then I am reminded of the quote from Peter Kingsley’s book, “In the Dark Places of Wisdom":</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <b>To ascend to the heights of Heaven, </b></span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">you must first descend to the depths of Hell.</b></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Maybe this is all the world is – it’s not just light, or dark. It just is.</span></b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It really is quite a unique feeling. All electrical, all a buzzing-like feeling. I wonder if I was really being pulled toward something. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’d like to astral travel in the daytime. I’m sure I’d see things differently.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The moment I was free, I was just floating. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It truly was an out-of-this-world experience.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-60689867653920659222014-01-21T13:48:00.000-06:002014-01-21T13:48:43.043-06:00Why Do We Wanna Meditate, Again?<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Need a quick reminder why to meditate? </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Give me the bottom line</i>, you say.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> I'll be honest, sometimes I'm impatient and totally ADD. So I'll make it quick.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: cyan;">1. Get clarity</span></b></h3>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Why do we need clarity, you say? Well, it simply makes life easier. Our vision is clear, our goals are set, we have a strong set of principles. Therefore all decisions in life are made much simpler and easier. Less time wasted.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: cyan;">2. Cut the crap</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Get rid of the brain chatter. Clean out the inbox. We don't need all those messages ricocheting around our head from ourselves, from others. There's enough to deal with. Get clear and focus on the stuff that matters. </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: cyan;">3. Be Productive; Manifest!</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What's all the clarity and visioning for unless we make something good of it? It's satisfying, especially when aligned with our values. <i>That</i> is the point. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It comes down to being more efficient and effective. Ultimately less <span style="color: #ffe599;">time</span> and <span style="color: #ffe599;">energy</span> are wasted and so there's more time and space available for other things we love. Yay!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Another cool tidbit... when we use our </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">whole mind</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> to create, we fulfill our destiny as a human being. In case any of these other points aren't enough ;-)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now, go! Meditate, do good, repeat. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-57787672525173898412013-12-29T14:03:00.002-06:002013-12-29T14:03:44.754-06:00Why Body Awareness is Crucial in Expanded Consciousness<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I love to dance. I love to meditate. I do both. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Increasingly, there is much emphasis placed on increasing self-awareness, our relation to others and the world. Yes, we are all connected beyond physical terms, and how beautiful to discover and nurture this ethereal awareness! But the more spiritual I become, the more custodial I am of my body. If we wanted to delve directly into the esoteric realms of the topic, I could introduce discourse on the serpent in the Bible and the Feminine principle. But that's not where I want to go with this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Recently in my meditations, I have seen in my mind's eye swirling energies above the planet. I see this as the collective consciousness of a given corresponding geographic locale in the physical plane. I see that there are new energies being introduced to the planet and the simultaneous need to purge old energies to make way for the new. It's as if these collective energies are cuing up to manifest themselves. However, from what I see, there is serious need to cleanse our thoughts and consciousness for the purest of these to enter our reality. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But how do we know for sure what are the highest vibrations? How do we choose? Or do we even get to choose at all?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I like to utilize the imagery of light refracting through a prism. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQlsCJ0WZ0mUy2nzZvXk3vtqxDQZuAAdcOoSiCfnfUjtad8AJUCEhRIAJdWbsbjiQVeGsUQCz7fcCeO-uzA94VHkALVWB2tGRkoquF5P-M0pJtfJwmldboVQ3-8FXVgxTetHJdVzp8uNgD/s1600/Corbis-42-16273188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQlsCJ0WZ0mUy2nzZvXk3vtqxDQZuAAdcOoSiCfnfUjtad8AJUCEhRIAJdWbsbjiQVeGsUQCz7fcCeO-uzA94VHkALVWB2tGRkoquF5P-M0pJtfJwmldboVQ3-8FXVgxTetHJdVzp8uNgD/s1600/Corbis-42-16273188.jpg" height="145" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So much of our consciousness is fractionated. Whether by our egos, our belief systems, or the external realm of media and news information, quite literally our attention, like a beam of light, becomes refracted through the fog. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When we try to redirect our divided attention back to ourselves -- whatever the question or insight we're seeking -- it's no wonder we can be confused. By going within ourselves, back to our central Self, we can surpass this. We become our own gurus. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, what are some ways to get to know ourselves? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Meditation. Breathing practices. Centering exercises. Energy work. And, yes -- Mindful Movement and Body Awareness.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TkNa0UwqmWQZpVqZ2BTO6WuGr7ycw8rL95gP3gfStLX5FdO5-v9S5P-cQH6FXZSFlzZXD18h64b3lfs6tcFEMcQXqhx4de6mvTIEWp5yZ61IhHYqCn8u8uB8HF8y96uvXj6oX23ruBhx/s1600/kundalini-dance+-+orange+red+background+chakras+lit+figure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TkNa0UwqmWQZpVqZ2BTO6WuGr7ycw8rL95gP3gfStLX5FdO5-v9S5P-cQH6FXZSFlzZXD18h64b3lfs6tcFEMcQXqhx4de6mvTIEWp5yZ61IhHYqCn8u8uB8HF8y96uvXj6oX23ruBhx/s1600/kundalini-dance+-+orange+red+background+chakras+lit+figure.jpg" height="175" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We've heard it again and again, but it's true -- we are a society bombarded by distractions and sensory overload. We almost have to numb ourselves in order to cope. Before we know it, we're caught in an endless cycle of overstimulation and withdrawal, until we don't even know what our vital life force is anymore. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By tapping into the wisdom of the body, we can bypass the mind chatter and unending engrossments. We return to our center, the core of our being and awareness, before any refraction occurs. In this state, there is calm, clarity, and peace. There is a sense of resolve and contentment. And it is <i>easy</i>. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You don't need to think yourself here -- because you simply are. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The beauty of Mindful Movement and Body Awareness is that with focused practice, one can arrive immediately in a state of present moment awareness. Try it -- whether through yoga, tai chi, qigong, or any type of dance. Feel your energy in different areas of the body. Follow the breath. Feel the sensations and simply note what is there -- be it warmth, pain, tension, or flow. See how your awareness is not always in the brain and mental activities, but very much with us in our bodies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I urge you to cultivate true body awareness. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This cannot happen by adding substances to our systems or by numbing ourselves. Even drugs only give a temporary high which fades. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And so, I dance... I meditate... I let one flow into the other, all the while my consciousness riding the waves of movement... one not better than the other, but each a means for awareness. So please, I implore you, explore. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-66201123937979468022013-11-23T12:53:00.000-06:002013-11-23T13:00:07.295-06:00Healing - Beyond Just a Practice<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I think I'm finally getting it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That is, how to explain what I do. It's so funny when I meet people for the first time, or even when catching up with people, and inevitably the question arises, "What do you do for a living?" or, my favorite, "How is it going... whatever it is that you do?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One way to answer is the technical way: With a person laying on a massage table, I use my hands in an intentional, heart-centered way, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">in a series of techniques with hands moving or still, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">with light touch or no touch, to balance someone's energy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While completely accurate, this response is not complete. It leaves out the very nature of the work, which is also the greatest cause of its ambiguity -- that fact that it addresses our existence on spiritual, mental, and emotional levels of being -- and importantly, our <i>experiences </i>within them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the beginning, I used to shy away from answering the question more fully in this way because honestly, it <i>was</i> a bit ambiguous. It's sometimes difficult to describe something that is so experiential and beyond physical, tangible context. While I wanted to explain my experiences, the logical part of my brain was fully aware of the words leaving my mouth and how crazy it all sounded. Because I didn't want to alienate myself, I would put a filter on my experiences and understandings, perhaps lending to vague generalist statements. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But now, I don't filter myself. I speak from the heart and let the words flow, even if it sounds a little crazy. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Or if at times there are no words at all. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The world of healing is a world of poetry and flow. It's not just about getting the techniques right in the sequence of a healing session. It's about dedicating our own lives to continual self-evaluation, deconstruction, and rebuilding. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Committing oneself to the path of a healer is </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">about discovering just how complex and intricate we are -- </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">how we learn and function, and what our principles, beliefs, and perceptions are. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's about being honest with where we need to heal ourselves; what areas are emotionally tender or psychologically frightening. As healing practitioners, we constantly delve into the places most fearful and vulnerable within ourselves. We experience everything viscerally and fully, coming out on the other side of the darkness with greater light, clarity, and awareness. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We do this again and again so that when holding space for others, we can honestly say, "I know what you're going through. I know it's painful. I've been there. And it gets better. I've done it, and you can, too."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I've discovered that the process of healing is about breaking down the barriers we have set up within ourselves. This is what is meant by "dissolving the illusion of separateness." </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, when I am asked, "What do you do for a living?" I answer, "It's not only about what I do, it's who I become." </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-80388466567819444152013-09-23T13:30:00.000-05:002013-09-27T12:20:20.207-05:00My Summer as a Turtle Tracker<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>How fun! Completely forgotten about... I was looking through old files and found this from summer 2006. Yes, I was a turtle tracker for the summer, and yes, it is one of the hardest jobs you can imagine! Beat the crap out of my physically, really, and mentally. Emotionally, too, with the communal living situation, though not touched upon here. </i></span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'm so thankful that I can NOW look fondly upon the experience.</i></div>
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<i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Completely unedited and in its entirety. Enjoy and please ask questions! </i></div>
<div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My Summer as a <i>Herpetological
Field Assistant</i> (Turtle Tracker) in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Lockport</st1:city>,
<st1:state w:st="on">IL</st1:state></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Summer 2006<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Oh, <st1:place w:st="on">Lockport</st1:place>.
How do I describe thee?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Taking this job, I had absolutely no idea what I was in for.
Lacking any field work or research experience, I counted myself fortunate to
land this opportunity. Staying at the field house in <st1:city w:st="on">Lockport</st1:city>, I was part of a team of other
turtle trackers, as well as some snake people. The premise of the turtle
activity was a Masters project for tracking the spatial movements of turtles in
various habitats. The focus of concern was on Blandings turtles, which are
state endangered. There were 3 sites: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve, consisting of mostly
dolomite prairie, cattail marsh, and some ponds, right off of the <st1:place w:st="on">Des Plaines River</st1:place>. There were about 75 turtles total
radio-tagged – Blandings turtles, Spotted, Snapping, Painted, and Musk turtles.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Keepataw Black Partridge Forest Preserve, right where the
wonderful I-355 extension is being built. That’s right, straight through the
marsh. There’s a lovely electrical buzz and crackling from the huge powerlines,
as well, that cut through here. We had only a few turtles here (Blandings) for the
numerous traps we had set, but there was much drama with turtles in the
construction zone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Goose Lake Prairie State Wildlife Area, temporarily, because
this area of wet unfragmented prairie turned out to be a huge game of hide and
seek with what few turtles (Blandings) we had. The turtles would stay put in
their pond for a little while, randomly take off, and leave us blindly
searching for them. They were laughing all the way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Daily, there would be a team for Lockport Prairie, and for
Goose Lake Prairie and Keepataw. At Lockport Prairie, you would be given a few
areas (West Marsh, Railroad Marsh, East Pond, etc.) to track turtles in. Each
turtle has a small transmitter attached to their shell, and each is a different
radio frequency. Your job was, with radio antenna in one hand, receiver in the
other (in which you typed the radio frequency), and with your “turtle bag”
flung over a shoulder, was to track your given number of turtles, anywhere from
10-15, through all of the habitat and weather conditions that nature can throw
at you. Once you find a turtle, as indicated by the increasing “beep, beep” sound
of the receiver, you take down all of the data in that location on your handy
little clipboard: GPS coordinates, temp, humidity, vegetation type and height,
water depth and temp, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And daily, hoop traps would be checked to see if we could
catch any more Blandings turtles to put transmitters on. Often, we caught
Painted turtles. Whatever turtles we caught, we would haul back to the truck,
measure, mark (make notches in their shell), and release. Your day was
guaranteed a bit more interesting if you caught a gigantic Snapper in the trap.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The same process would occur at Goose Lake Prairie and
Keepataw, except for the fact that we tracked fewer turtles in these areas, and
that at GLP, it was not uncommon to lose turtles for a few days, and then by some
miracle, track them to some obscure pond or marsh a half mile away that we
would’ve never known existed. But by God, or sheer insanity, or both, we
tracked through the brambles of raspberry, clumps of sedge that are put on this
Earth in order to break your ankles, through swarms of painful, blood-sucking
horseflies (mosquitoes are playful compared to them), f%*#@ing Wild Parsnip
(forget Poison Ivy!), the death mud, and above all, the Death March to Oak
Pond, assuredly one of the vortexes of Hell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I regret not saving the job description, but may this be a
lesson for all future field workers: exposure to <i>harsh field conditions</i> is no understatement, and is a warning flag.
Such a job is not for the weak! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I honestly don’t know how I survived. The first month, I was
plagued with blisters on my heels that would not heal, because I was wet
everyday, and only 2 days off in-between for the wounds to dry out was not
enough. Ugh, it was so, so painful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Not to mention, everyday getting scratched by vegetation – namely
cattails, which grew to 10 feet late in the summer. But river rushes were the
worst, because they catch your skin as you drag it across the leaves. I thought
my scars would have faded by now, but they haven’t. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I could go on and on. About having to rescue traps
underwater when after a heavy rain the canal waters were released, flooding the
<st1:place w:st="on">Des Plaines</st1:place> and
all connected water bodies (a.k.a. Lockport Prairie and Keepataw). About losing
signals in the cattails, and water up to your waist, trying not to drop
equipment in the water, feet stuck in mud, slipping on rocks, evil bugs (Carl
always won the imbedded tick game), 90 degree weather . . . it’s all there. I
wore out the soles of my gym shoes. And it’s amazing how as much as you wash,
the marsh smell never leaves your clothes (and the dirt never leaves the
toenails until a couple weeks later). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Such an experience as <st1:city w:st="on">Lockport</st1:city>
deserves this long narration. I absolutely loved working with the turtles –
without that, I would not have stayed long. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But I thankfully leave this story to the winds of the
prairie, whom I am no match for. Utmost respect to this harsh and beautiful
landscape.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdeT5SQLm5ZzrXEQAZbj31QFAu-msvrxb9ngmq-XZZ-dCOAjiV-CuRtEl8gye29df3xzJlF2jKGap0UKOV61DlkD9zmAkf7PkZyrMbBltYyCmoSZThOHqf8ZmRRhQGzVOQIRCXdztGZPii/s1600/backyard+laundry.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdeT5SQLm5ZzrXEQAZbj31QFAu-msvrxb9ngmq-XZZ-dCOAjiV-CuRtEl8gye29df3xzJlF2jKGap0UKOV61DlkD9zmAkf7PkZyrMbBltYyCmoSZThOHqf8ZmRRhQGzVOQIRCXdztGZPii/s1600/backyard+laundry.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is how we did laundry</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8OtEnhU4u0j4HN4aNdAr5hwl-d_4pbFVkhnGyjk7mmeNuif03yoKpo-wrZh79M-j3yDoQ4Ag5EXLPLJrtrSTLEeviT-EcNwgWVWCoGKGegdGU_W1fIxDusCw88XBWjxg6nUvjzs6RHfQ/s1600/measuring+equipment.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8OtEnhU4u0j4HN4aNdAr5hwl-d_4pbFVkhnGyjk7mmeNuif03yoKpo-wrZh79M-j3yDoQ4Ag5EXLPLJrtrSTLEeviT-EcNwgWVWCoGKGegdGU_W1fIxDusCw88XBWjxg6nUvjzs6RHfQ/s1600/measuring+equipment.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Taking data</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdI1nuxjUz9tvgtEj8vSSE1ghjY47ix9DO9Q1UVG5l-4BL6QXV2sDk4j4Dses0gEdi2Sf3kQ_NFiyCpRrv1kwN4RQAoQy9Zn4Qxo-o_WLmYlU6hwNdGHhRjy0hP4ifqzh2FjbBSJol0Rnr/s1600/fresh+scars.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdI1nuxjUz9tvgtEj8vSSE1ghjY47ix9DO9Q1UVG5l-4BL6QXV2sDk4j4Dses0gEdi2Sf3kQ_NFiyCpRrv1kwN4RQAoQy9Zn4Qxo-o_WLmYlU6hwNdGHhRjy0hP4ifqzh2FjbBSJol0Rnr/s1600/fresh+scars.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fresh scars</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYKRRAuYw0sLlixuf3emBn2NLkFhF-HrjlNGDlIJ8_DPWypc0UugtWmyYA0adNGct96xO1my18j7q6Qf9UfOp01wK-T43sU9Jtb9d1c0j2G2pI0s9gddnuseAhtxSyapyVodEpDfxYiPH/s1600/shoes+by+the+end.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYKRRAuYw0sLlixuf3emBn2NLkFhF-HrjlNGDlIJ8_DPWypc0UugtWmyYA0adNGct96xO1my18j7q6Qf9UfOp01wK-T43sU9Jtb9d1c0j2G2pI0s9gddnuseAhtxSyapyVodEpDfxYiPH/s1600/shoes+by+the+end.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Shoes worn to the end</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5GE3_96q3_atrlPvYKDK017zYk88aMeWxBk_3JiWQH4ex9Pogbz_QDWi4kcBDnSw4oVNULjCYVqhLobixUr4YYN7HzjJLq7QZjzg8GPH1Nhm3xp1BzezrUxGn18xGOYTWHvGxCGoPczm8/s1600/turtle+catch+of+the+day+Keepataw.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5GE3_96q3_atrlPvYKDK017zYk88aMeWxBk_3JiWQH4ex9Pogbz_QDWi4kcBDnSw4oVNULjCYVqhLobixUr4YYN7HzjJLq7QZjzg8GPH1Nhm3xp1BzezrUxGn18xGOYTWHvGxCGoPczm8/s1600/turtle+catch+of+the+day+Keepataw.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Catch of the day</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAsYCgPORaBpBBd64nJIrO24TCjwCUL4vv3xEBXhmj8QKe2CbO7AyehueeXvkk6nPPjprv3h00PRhepUnuy_AbUb8jeI6tRZ9b1qPF6ThDBC4QPSUkjO5TjxLI0QsYkI0Fqhx6M8Ldwd-a/s1600/big+snapper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAsYCgPORaBpBBd64nJIrO24TCjwCUL4vv3xEBXhmj8QKe2CbO7AyehueeXvkk6nPPjprv3h00PRhepUnuy_AbUb8jeI6tRZ9b1qPF6ThDBC4QPSUkjO5TjxLI0QsYkI0Fqhx6M8Ldwd-a/s1600/big+snapper.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some people still don't believe me when I mention turtles this big... here's proof</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWhCjspMHtD1_6Z_fD7MyXa_0KFNQrPKgINRGe44WTYO9gaqiDkwr2lVsDdolpK3sBrm5N5VbTa5biOeWVNrJkCeFk71aHE0D57BScI7T_pQ1BP0h6CW8BU8QBK7_4nlaxCkSEDQHsaey/s1600/giant+powerlines+Keepataw+.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWhCjspMHtD1_6Z_fD7MyXa_0KFNQrPKgINRGe44WTYO9gaqiDkwr2lVsDdolpK3sBrm5N5VbTa5biOeWVNrJkCeFk71aHE0D57BScI7T_pQ1BP0h6CW8BU8QBK7_4nlaxCkSEDQHsaey/s1600/giant+powerlines+Keepataw+.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Giant powerlines through Keepataw, and home to many turtles</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnBdFuSz77E-KmPEbBc0iNAvFyR14_Yjf4u85ChiOfPkNo6iR4_HXsr2uIUK59gTEiFVU9MDjJdkApXoAwRup0ma1saguy0T27MzaLIst9bAxHXiixHPQNncZdJXYFUSOXEet0YAxrL3c/s1600/me+tracking.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnBdFuSz77E-KmPEbBc0iNAvFyR14_Yjf4u85ChiOfPkNo6iR4_HXsr2uIUK59gTEiFVU9MDjJdkApXoAwRup0ma1saguy0T27MzaLIst9bAxHXiixHPQNncZdJXYFUSOXEet0YAxrL3c/s1600/me+tracking.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Myself with tracking gear </span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-V7qA-_VZ-Q-0BIx87yVSpyN4ok37hiYx4zvzBl4IfN1IA9w6dAnzOI2WfYfvyqfUWGdBEqYhLsDnI3E0TgCvHbIXYFpZfKMWHxPbHIncdXLOWX_ruLwWExPMz3BjeWTw_EgBZOLDMxQ/s1600/Blandings+turtle+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-V7qA-_VZ-Q-0BIx87yVSpyN4ok37hiYx4zvzBl4IfN1IA9w6dAnzOI2WfYfvyqfUWGdBEqYhLsDnI3E0TgCvHbIXYFpZfKMWHxPbHIncdXLOWX_ruLwWExPMz3BjeWTw_EgBZOLDMxQ/s1600/Blandings+turtle+2.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Blanding's turtle</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hoop traps for catching turtles</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I-355 construction through the marsh</span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-3677097077058407832013-09-12T16:12:00.001-05:002013-09-12T16:12:20.209-05:00My Story: Career Change <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>This I wrote a couple of weeks ago on the 2-year anniversary of leaving my job and career in the science field. It's a reflection and chronicle of a one of the biggest turning points so far in my lifetime. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Two years ago I made the decision to leave my job and vocation in the sciences -- what I like to call my previous life. I remember feeling such freedom in going on a bike ride in the morning and starting the day with a meditation, coming to this very spot at the Skokie Lagoons where I sit right now. I meditated on the movement of energy across the Chicagoland area. I was overcome by such a strong surge from my soul, wanting to burst forth in joy from the freedom I'd been waiting so long for, and had finally granted myself! To now be at liberty to dedicate my energies freely to the endeavor of a healer and spiritual warrior.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was not easy to come to this decision. I had a battle within myself and it did manifest with others. I realized about a month and a half prior that I had been seeking outside approval to make this career move. I had confided with some dear coworkers and mentors, and they each supported me. None of us were happy where we were at our workplace, and the situation seemed to worsen daily. The difference between them and I was that I was in my mid-20s, without kids, with a supportive partner with steady income. I had the freedom and advantage of youth to change jobs, careers, even. So what was holding me back?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rationality, heh. We all have it supposedly. The life vision for ourselves: go to school, college perhaps, begin our trade, build experience and relationships so that we get a better job, make more money, so that we have enough for a car, house, savings, all of our material possessions, travel... yes. All important. All the time spent in school and our jobs is a huge investment, a dedication of ourselves ultimately into building ourselves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well... What happens when everything you've built doesn't seem to be working out like you wanted? </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You move on. Usually. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The problem is... It's not just about the job. It's not just about the coworkers, the bosses, the company structure, the commute, the PTO, the benefits. It's not even about your accomplishments or how much money you make. It's how you FEEL. Are you fulfilled? Energized by life? Feeling like you're moving and growing as a human being, as a soul? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And maybe that's not at the front of your mind... But it certainly was on mine. And perhaps because I was meditating nearly every day, because I was in the School of Metaphysics and was encouraged (nay, demanded!) to follow my true inner motivation and soul's urge to express itself, it was impossible for me to NOT contemplate constantly my purpose and choices, and to NOT become increasingly miserable as I realized that what I was dedicating most of my waking time and attention to simply was... not... what I wanted anymore. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And because I was thinking from a holistic perspective, I knew that if I wasn't proactive in making life changes, my stress would continue to increase and wear me down mentally, emotionally, and ultimately physically. I knew this. It happened in the beginning of my career. It was how I got introduced to Healing Touch as a client, in fact. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had always wanted to support something - an organization, company, structure - that was more holistic, contributing positively to the environment and society. Now I found this desire evolved to include supporting the individual expression; MY true expression. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And perhaps if I practiced more assertiveness at the time, I would have moved on more quickly. In the end, of course, it didn't matter... because there's another facet to why we do what we do. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's the belief that life is about learning lessons. Until I completed whatever lessons I needed to learn at this job, they would follow me wherever I went. It might be different coworkers, bosses, and projects... but all the same problems, wearing different masks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So then the struggle was figuring out: What <i>were</i> my lessons? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you're familiar with The Law of Attraction, you know that "like attracts like." You need look no further than your coworkers. It becomes quite evident what our lessons are -- when we all complain together over lunch, what we say in hushed voices when the bosses aren't around. Look at the bosses or subordinates you attract and what conflicts arise.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Why do some people just aggravate us for seemingly no reason at all? What situations do we avoid? </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">IT IS NEVER ABOUT ANY OTHER PERSON OR SITUATION. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It is always something to do with ourselves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In my studies of metaphysics and spirituality, I learned that anything and anyone outside of myself that triggered a reaction, be it an emotion or negative thought, was merely a reflection of something </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">inside</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">of me </i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">that needed to be addressed and understood, until when faced with the same circumstances, I could be in a state of mind to </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">choose</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> my response, rather than react.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> This is how we become empowered by our thoughts and feelings. We become neutral, centered, more calm - even amidst absolute craziness! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For me, my lessons were on embracing my inner authority and standing up for myself; finding my voice. To be unable to truly express myself, even something as simple as pointing out a mistake (especially when it was my boss!) was debilitating. Being respectful of authority and fearful of authority are two <i>totally</i> different things. In my case, it turned into passivity and avoidance. When there was confrontation, I shut down, only to later fume at my inability to stand up for myself. Swinging between the extremes was tiring and frustrating. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As time went on, I spent a lot more time crying. First at home. Then during lunch. Then during the workday. Taking work home with you? Dumping it on spouse and family? Something is unbalanced and seriously wrong. It is NOT normal - or at least, it's not how it should be. Then, why? Why do we choose this suffering?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fear of the unknown. Or failure. Lack of Self-worth or Self-confidence to change, which leads to passivity and martyrdom. Yay, for the human condition! Our very own tragedy to complain and commiserate with others about. But we can only do this for so long before others get sick of hearing the same old story. They've got their own shit to deal with. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My lesson was learning to assert my desires, ALOUD. I cared too much about what others thought. I'm sensitive to other peoples' thoughts, opinions, and what I didn't realize at the time, their energy. I recognize this NOW - but before I knew this, I simply took on other peoples' thoughts and emotions, or molded myself to their desires - because that's what they wanted, right? No wonder I was unhappy. Without asserting myself, how could anything possibly change? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Only through prayer, meditation, and trusting in a higher guiding power did I uncover my inner desires and dare to face my fears. Getting encouragement from others was pivotal. And finally, practicing being different, again and again. Even when it was super uncomfortable. Practice, practice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I probably could have continued at that job. But when the epiphanies and signs came pouring in, I knew it was time to act. And, where </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">the rational mind is unable to justify an action, faith and trust enter in. At least in my case -- </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I have no doubts, this is one of the best decisions I've ever made.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It seems to be working out so far. :-)</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-20525301693277458352013-08-14T17:36:00.000-05:002013-08-14T17:36:19.756-05:00Blessed!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I almost feel like another Hello and Welcome is needed! It's been quite a while since my last post. Why? you may ask... or not... anyway. I've been so BLESSED and busy doing healing sessions, working towards completing requirements for Level 5 Healing Touch and certification. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Really, I feel like I am the luckiest person in the world when I'm working with other people during healing sessions. It is a <i>huge</i> bond of trust established between healer and recipient. Even more than traditional massage, energywork truly delves deep into the energetic layers of a person, revealing the stories written in their aura. I can feel energetic flow throughout the chakras and energetic bodies, sensing where spaces are stronger and weaker, how this translates into the way a person processes every day experiences, emotions, stresses, and how connected a person is to themself and sense of divinity. Every person is different, every session is different, and to be allowed into one's energetic space is such a sacred act. I am so grateful each and every time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As an energy worker, I can raise my vibrational level in order to channel energy for healing. Just as one can experience gentle, soothing strokes in massage versus intense pressure in deep tissue massage, energy work can function the same way, I find. Sometimes gentle releasing held for a longer period of time is needed. Sometimes an intense burst of energy is needed to open a blockage or to seal a weak area. Many times a problem area manifested in the physical body cannot be worked on until another area is released or cleared. The ideal from any session is to clear tension, congestion, or heaviness in order to produce flow and movement. Sometimes all that's needed is for me to hold space while a person's energy does all the work. Even then, to be witness to this healing is amazing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To hear afterwards, "I feel so relaxed!" and accounts of never being able to slow down the thinking until having a session, and a sense of being more centered, grounded, connected... it's so gratifying. And all that's needed is an opening, willing heart to serve. And trust me, this giving builds and multiplies, spilling forth so that you want to give more and more. </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I can't possibly contain all this love for myself!!! </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Everyone needs to do this! At least, everyone needs to give, to serve, in some way or another for someone else's well-being. Even if it's as simple as putting aside everything and giving your undivided attention listening to a loved one speak for a few minutes, or volunteering time and effort towards a cause. It's the most beautiful thing we can offer to others. So in whatever way you can, please serve! Give of yourself purely to others and feel blessed. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-37598490653902148822013-07-21T11:25:00.001-05:002013-07-21T11:25:41.305-05:00Trust Yourself! <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One of the biggest leaps for me in deepening understanding of myself and spirituality which every so often I'm reminded of is trusting myself. Trust the process. And for anyone who questions themselves on, how do I know this is real? or, how do I know this or that is true? the best I can offer is, have faith and practice. Nothing you do is wrong as long as you have the best intentions in mind (coupled, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">of course, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">with wisdom). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For me, my experiences in meditation, healing, and spiritual practices are the basis of my core beliefs and understandings about myself and the world around me. Even if I read and take in outside information, I always reflect on it and meditate on it, and eventually have experiences in day-to-day life that validate or refine the information. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I first started exploring meditation in my adolescence. For a person naturally quiet and more inward, this was easy for me. I explored lots of books on psychics and delved into stories and worlds that seemed so fantastical and yet so full of magic, wonder, and beauty, that I was willing to put aside any rational-mind chatter and disbelief to entertain the possibility of angels, spirit guides, the Other Side, and a beautiful, benevolent world. I also became fascinated with Tarot and began to explore it. I became frustrated with myself for not knowing the answers; I wanted to know so badly which were the best choices to make! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of the biggest things stopping me at this time, though, was trusting myself. How did all of these psychics and spiritual gurus <i>know</i> that the information and guidance they were receiving was really <i>real</i>, and not their imagination? How did they seem to move forward so confidently in life and their decisions? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Somehow, I accepted the false belief that because I wasn't born psychic or with outstanding extrasensory abilities that I was automatically limited in connecting to this other realm filled with light, spirit beings, unconditional love and guidance, and all-knowing. I thought that because psychics could see the future and know things instantly that this made them masters of a sort. And I was not among them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This all changed one summer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The summer after my Freshman year of high school, my mom, brother and I took a road trip out west to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. While I've always had a strong connection to nature, and while my understandings of the inner landscape already were becoming stronger gradually with maturity, there was something especially powerful with this trip. I'm pretty sure I've had past lives as a Native American, and I felt a strong connection while travelling throughout this landscape (every time I travel here, I've felt this way). Yet even without this aspect, something was different and changing significantly within me. The nature surrounding me definitely aided this change. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Everywhere we went, I felt like spirits were communicating with me. I did not know if they were higher spirit beings like guides, or nature spirits, or if I was just interpreting vibrations and making them into separate entities in my imagination -- but I didn't care. I let it happen. I let the experiences unfold and rest in my consciousness. I felt my spirit expand and felt immense peace wherever we went. Hour after hour of driving through pristine landscape, I let my mind wander and go quiet. While hiking trails, I would connect to the earth with each step, and lose myself in the beauty of nature. I began to ask questions in my mind. I would let thoughts, prayers, requests, float away ... and then I started to receive answers. I would see signs and experience coincidences -- far too many to occur by chance alone. What's more, I began to sense within me different levels of understanding, or knowing of truth, by what I felt inside. To me, it is a vibration; it either feels good, smooth, harmonious, high frequency, or not. If you play an instrument, you know the varying degrees of being out of tune. It's exactly the same. It's an experience of resonance or dissonance. And when you hit a note exactly right, without any extra effort, that note rings louder and clearer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is how I began to differentiate between imagination and true inner knowledge and guidance. It takes practice, but this is where it began. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are so many details I could go into ... but I won't here. I have a longer narrative piece describing this vacation further that I will share. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After this summer vacation, I had no doubts. I always trusted in my experience and knew that I was always guided and protected. I came to know God as within myself and everything around me. I finally understood what had been written in all of those psychic and spiritual books; if you know, you know! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And for whatever you <i>don't</i> know, it's okay! It's okay to say you don't know. Work within your skill set and understandings to the best of your ability, with the best intentions. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is the whole point. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ask for help and guidance and be open to receive. Trust the process, trust in the universe, and trust in yourself. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You will receive what you are seeking to the extent that you trust. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-71424829831104378232013-07-17T22:35:00.001-05:002013-07-17T22:35:47.436-05:00Meditation - Expression and Truth <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've been thinking a lot about expression lately. Recently I was privileged to see Dixon's Violin perform a few days ago at the Green Tavern in Chicago. I love soaking in experiences like this, where I'm in the presence of those expressing their soul so purely and beautifully. I'm endlessly fascinated -- especially as someone who has not always felt able to express themself so easily. I always take opportunities to observe and understand how others express themselves -- through music, art, speaking. These are the manifested forms from the Throat chakra. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Energetically, expression is connected to the Throat chakra (no big surprise there). Related symbols and ideas are the color blue, the sword, and Truth. This is beyond just the everyday true or false concept. In the highest spiritual sense, Truth is that which is everlasting and universal. It is an expression of universal law that guides energy cycling throughout our existence. It's hard to fathom this concept with the logical brain, so bear with me, as the following insights are from my meditation last Saturday. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The highest form of expression is Truth. At the opposite point if the Throat chakra is the medulla oblongata. This is the point in the human body where universal energy flows in, giving life. This is our will to live. Hence intimately and inherently linked to the Throat, and Truth, is Will. The will to speak the truth is the highest and most developed form of the Throat chakra energy, as the sword of Truth cuts through the duality of existence, presenting a universal reality beyond duality (the pair of opposites -- white and black, good and bad, right and wrong). Ultimately what's left of any discourse where there's Truth (as it manifests as a reality in a plane of existence) is not only non-duality and neutrality, but the tool used in the process, the will. The will exists even beyond Truth after duality has been neutralized. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I find this to be a very beautiful thing -- the everlasting nature of the will and its powerful role in crafting reality. Tying the will from the Throat chakra to the Solar Plexus chakra is where more physical manifestation happens. This is what I've been understanding and experiencing more frequently in my day-to-day life -- my appreciation of the strength of will in all the forms it takes. I have the utmost respect for those who exhibit such mastery of expression and I aspire to reach their level!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-45774999131701516752013-07-09T23:36:00.000-05:002013-07-09T23:36:33.047-05:00Theory on Beautiful Sound - This Is What It Feels Like <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is inspired by a song getting in my head today. Has that ever happened to you? You wake up with a song playing in your head, it continues all day... and sometimes, if you're lucky (if of course it's one you WANT to hear), you end up hearing it on the radio. This happened to me today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The song: This is What It Feels Like, by Armin van Buuren. The version that happened to come on was by W and W, and which happens to be my favorite mix. It has a loud and pumping drop -- I can feel the energy of what it sounds like live. Amazing!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've seen Armin van Buuren live a number of times; recently at EDC (Electric Daisy Carnival) Chicago, at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, and at Vision Nightclub in Chicago when it existed. I've listened to him for years and charted many life events with his songs as my soundtrack. I always feel his sound connect directly to my soul. Ever since I started on the energy healing path, I've become quite addicted to the energy of electronic dance music, and especially more positive vibes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Especially this latest time of listening to a number of DJs live at EDC, I've come to greater realization about what makes some DJs more popular than others. There's a reason why Armin has been voted the world's #1 DJ 5 times. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The nature of the universe is connectedness. The universe is moving increasingly towards a state of unification. And while not everyone may agree, I believe electronic dance music is one of the most beloved musical genres because it follows this idea. Armin van Buuren exemplifies this ideal to unify and uplift through music. What a gift! He is a master of sound. I'm sure he has lots of past life understandings built on how to connect to collective consciousness. His life's purpose seems to be to unify and uplift the masses through one of the most beautiful mediums -- music, sound, the harmonious blend of vibrations that can be healing, energizing. Sound has the ability to literally put us into a state of trance, from a psychological perspective and a physiological one. If you're curious about this, research drumming, shamanic trance music, how repetitive sounds alter brainwave patterns, and how rhythmic sounds alter bodily functions like heartbeat. Pretty cool stuff. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Universal Law of Tenfold Return basically states that any energy given freely that benefits another soul's growth returns to the giver ten times over. This is because the energy given is multiplicative, moving parts of creation towards a higher vibration and unification, which is closer to Source. This principle is in place to ensure that this return of energy can be used again and again towards higher purposes, reinforcing the positive intentional giving of energy towards the highest purposes and ideals. In short, for the greatest good of all. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hence, why Armin's music never fails to uplift millions of people again and again, and why one always feels empowered during and after hearing his sets. You'll know if music is beneficial and healing to you if you experience this full-body effect. Many thanks to all who possess this gift and who share it with the world!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-70984307074771251632013-07-04T14:10:00.000-05:002013-07-04T14:24:47.742-05:00A Lesson in Karma, Compassion, and Justice <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I am so graced with a better understanding of mercy, compassion and forgiveness, that I can't wait to share. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Back in May I rear-ended someone's car. After the initial panic, the sickening heart-dropping sense in my gut, and shame, I emerged (rather quickly) invigorated with a newly strengthened respect for outer and inner authority. This was huge for me -- up until this point, I'd spent much of my life in fear of authority figures, for seemingly no reason. The level of apprehension varied between types of authority, but there was always an element of fear. There was a healthy dose of fear and respect for teachers, for instance, while with bosses it was nearly debilitating, especially when they were "coming down" on me, correcting me, or worse yet, angry with me. Interaction with them could render me speechless and to the point of paralysis. I remember a few instances standing up for myself while visibly trembling before them. It had been this way all my life and I pretty much believed that I would have to struggle with this for the rest of my life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">A huge breakthrough occurred only a week or two prior to this car incident. With the help of a trusted healer and therapist, I'd identified an initial instance in my childhood when this part of myself that feared authority was incepted into my being, from a brain-patterning perspective, a psychological-identity-forming perspective, to an energetic perspective. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Without going into full details of the memory for now, suffice to say that during this session, I was able to replay, slow down, and fast-forward as an observer to this memory. However, since I am so energetically sensitive and sensory in my experiences, I can literally feel exactly how I felt; I can experience the same emotions, sensations in my body, and to an extent recall the thoughts that were present. Depending on how long ago the memory is, this might require some imagination. However, no one else can live your experience for you. Since it is yourself and your memory, you'll likely surprise yourself with how easy it is to do this exercise. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Reliving this memory revealed that the sense of outer authority had been strongly imprinted on me. It was so strong that even when I wanted to be self-led and initiate activity, I held myself back, waiting for permission from some outer authority. This registered as an intense pressure to the left-top of my head, above my Crown. It then filtered down through my Throat, Heart and ultimately Solar Plexus, stopping forward movement -- like an invisible hand pressed against me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I always felt like I was being watched, even when no one else was around. This influenced my proclivity towards being quiet, elusive, secretive. I never felt like I could fully be myself or act on my inner desires. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">As children we are impacted enormously by our surroundings and everything within them, including our primary caregivers. Our brains are at a high degree of plasticity as we soak in new information from our initial experiences. This is how we learn about the world, our place within it, our relation to it, and begin to formulate our identity. The experiences we have up until age 7-8 determine to a great extent the neural pathways in our brain and our belief systems. The greater these are reinforced, the stronger the conditioning -- for better or worse.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">As I felt deeply into this experience, I asked for healing. Strong, warming, laser-like sensations began in my Crown and spread throughout this space around my head. I held onto this feeling for a long time, as it crept down the sides of my skull and neck, through my Throat, and ultimately my Heart. I allowed the feeling to spread and stabilize, as if filling a void. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">From this experience forward, my apprehension towards authority had seemingly vanished. It sounds incredible and it is! But believe me, I knew there would be experiences to test this new brain patterning and belief system. The biggest one, by far, had arrived. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">As the various police arrived and began their questioning, normally I would have trembled. I would have been on the verge of tears. Afterward, I would have returned home, guilty and sulking, curling up figuratively (and sometimes literally) into a ball of self-pity and shame. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">None of that happened.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">After I gathered myself, I was surprised at how confident I felt. Still uncomfortable, but fully functional and present. This was completely different -- and I liked it! The more I felt into this new found feeling and state of being, the more accomplished and validated I felt for the inner work I'd done. I emerged with greater understanding and self-empowerment. It would still take time and practice to set this new pattern, but it didn't matter! There were no more doubts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Just like that, my attitude towards authority transformed. It's noticeable even with simple occurrences, like seeing a cop car while driving and no longer getting apprehensive. Similar changes occurred in my dreams. Instead of having cops stop me or follow me in dreams, I notice them and simply continue on my way, and they continue on theirs. This is a sign of change towards outer authority as well as my sense of inner autonomy. In that one specific memory, I discovered that I had displaced my inner authority (or self-authoritative sense) outside of myself. I think we all do this as children, and it makes sense. But unless we are raised to cultivate a strong sense of Self, overcoming this initial patterning, an unhealthy view towards outer authority can show itself in rebelliousness, bitterness, passivity, or fear towards authority figures throughout the life. I can attest to this. It's a reflection of our sense of inner authority. Are we strong in our beliefs and expressing them? Are we confident and comfortable with ourselves, especially in the face of conflict or debate? Are we rigid with our way of thinking? Accepting of new ideas and points of view?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">There would be a follow-up lesson in authority; I had a court date scheduled for 6 weeks later. Every day till then, I prayed for and visualized a benevolent outcome. I saw myself in court, calm and relaxed, standing tall, speaking my truth, asking for a clean slate. I wanted to learn and experience forgiveness with my full being. During the following weeks, this was definitely the theme of my experiences and meditations. I made a mistake, I was sorry, and I made no excuses. The most anyone can be is honest with themselves, examine the intent of their actions, and move forward, doing good in the world -- again, slightly different from what I would have done in the past, when fear and shame would have stagnated me and closed me off. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">When the Summer Solstice came, a series of new transmissions from the Ascended Masters arrived (ask me more about this if you're interested). One of the transmissions came from Lord Alpha. In it, He offers a prayer that invokes His presence and protection against negative vibrations and energies for 24 hours. The first time I said the prayer, chills filtered down through my Crown and body. The vibration and sense of protection was palpable, unlike any other time I've said a prayer like this. I would use it again before the court date.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Following my curiosity, I came across more reading on the Ascended Masters. For the first time, I was introduced to Lady Portia. She is believed to be the twin flame of St. Germain. I will quote a description from one website: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">"She holds the balance of mercy and judgement. She helps those who want to balance heart and head. She will also help those who judge and criticise others from the lower mind to raise their energy to their heart centre and be loving towards themselves and others. You may apply in meditation to the Lords of Karma for release of personal or collective karma ... Lady Portia is one who frequently offers grace. One can call to Her for assistance in legal action."</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Lady Portia is the Goddess of Justice, representing compassion and mercy. She can be symbolized by the scales of justice, embodying the archetype of Libra. One phrase really struck me: "Justice is at the balance point of thought and feeling." Head and heart, thought and feeling, justice, karma ... it all seemed connected in my consciousness. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The morning of my court date, I said Lord Alpha's prayer, a prayer to the Lords of Karma, and some poignant prayers to Lady Portia that I had found (I will share this separately). I meditated on the image of the scales, the concept of justice, and that one sentence: "justice is at the balance point of thought and feeling." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I realized that since the fender-bender, throughout my prayers and visualizations, I'd been seeking the influence of Lady Portia; I'd been asking for mercy. I had always understood that from the physical existence standpoint, there were laws and insurance regulations to be dealt with. From a karmic perspective ... I could only pray, meditate, and hope for full understanding of the soul lessons. From the very beginning, I knew this incident was a sign that I needed to serve others more, and to move forward with long-standing plans -- but I needed some finishing touches (hence why I was literally halted from moving forward). I actively increased daily awareness from the Heart perspective -- benevolence, forgiveness -- I became more proactive with healing energy, and began expressing my inner authority. My new awareness and attitude towards authority was the final piece I needed to move forward with full zest and drive and inspiration of myself!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">As I further contemplated justice and karma, another awareness crept into me. I never viewed law and justice as compassionate. Thinking of the Justice and Judgement cards from the Tarot deck, this part of existence always seemed cold, rigid, and harsh to me. Most people view karma as bad. Up until recently, we all know my view on authority was not positive. Yet all of the descriptions of Lady Portia said otherwise. I kept this in the back of my mind after coming across Lady Portia, and now brought it forward in my meditation. The realization was astounding. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Karma is in place to ensure that we fully learn the lessons placed before us. Without fulfillment of the Law, how could we ever hope to move forward in our soul's evolution? Or collectively? We need to be responsible for ourselves first, and the universe keeps tabs on us through karma, even when we're not fully aware ourselves. Thank goodness!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Through this karmic process, we are held accountable to become our best, because we are loved. This is the compassion of karma. We are held accountable because we are loved. And so here is the balance, the scales, of love for the soul simply in its existence, and the need to learn the lessons -- heart and head. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Finally, I understood. I saw the connection of karma, law, evolution, and compassion. Our carnal fear of punishment is probably imprinted on us from centuries of incarnations being subjected to man-made laws that are imperfect. In the higher planes of existence, justice is truly fair and impartial and aligned with Truth. This is why karma is not to be feared but embraced. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Regardless of the outcome that would come from court later that morning, or from the insurance company later, I would move forward and stand tall with this new understanding of justice. I would feel and emit the presence of Lady Portia to anyone willing to perceive it. And I would share this experience. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">In the end, the citation was dismissed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I am grateful! Now whenever I pray, I ask to be relieved of any karma. I want a clean slate. I want to move forward unhindered and in the fullness of my being. I do believe this is the greatest gift and aspiration we can have for ourselves. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-9016225707067567952013-06-26T14:31:00.000-05:002013-06-26T14:31:05.443-05:00Meditation: On Love<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Just finished meditating. I am overwhelmed with this sense of Divine Love. I feel so peaceful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I began like always with a prayer. Further into the meditation I visualized a lotus blooming in my Heart. And it grew, and grew ... warmth spreading through my Heart, extending out through the Crown of my head. I held my focus and felt I was in the presence of an embodiment of the Mother. Such pure, nurturing love radiating, pulsating in my Heart, spreading to my Third Eye, Solar Plexus, pooling and bursting through my Crown. Holding this sweet fire, as it seemed to dissolve any blockages in the Heart chakra. Then spreading tingling to my hands and fingers, I love this sweet feeling. Even now I feel pressure in my Third Eye and Crown; my Throat and ears on fire. (Sorry, I'm not really clairaudient yet!) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Messages of love came to mind. I will share a passage I wrote in February of 2012 as part of an assignment given while I was a student in the School of Metaphysics:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"Love is acceptance of wholeness that is intrinsically ours, of which we are a part of, and the recognition of this connectedness with all of creation. Love is the embodiment of this awareness.</span></h4>
<h4>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Love is what is experienced when we feel connected with all of Creation. Love is expansive, inclusive, and beyond judgement. It transcends perceived separation, taking the forms of forgiveness, acceptance, and thankfulness. It is complete acceptance of ourselves for who we are -- and for that matter, <i>anyone</i>, for exactly who they are. Love is openness and awareness to the giving and receiving of energy with another aspect of ourselves -- since we are all connected -- and experiencing the life-generating fields from this movement of energy."</div>
</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In this age of consciousness, especially following the completion of the Venus transit in 2012 (initiated in 2004), energies of love are much more readily abundant and available to us. It is important to connect to love -- love of ourselves, and the feeling love resonating when we connect with fellow souls. </span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am grateful. I strive to rest in the Heart. Whenever I experience any fears, doubts or worries, by focusing my awareness on the Heart center and trusting fully in this awareness, anything else vanishes. It is remarkable and the more I practice, the easier it becomes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today's meditation was a blessing, a validation and reminder to continue this and to share this message. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-936581212813632632013-06-24T10:37:00.000-05:002013-06-24T10:37:55.868-05:00Living From the Hara<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Summer Solstice occurred last Friday. As the sun set on the
shortest night of the year, I reflected on what I’ve been experiencing. Gratefully,
it is fulfillment and manifestation -- this blog being one example. And not to
talk too much about dreams, but in fact the night before the Solstice, I
dreamed about being in my backyard tending three separate fires. Fire represents
expansion. How fitting to be dreaming of fire also as the sun’s light was the longest of the year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Manifesting means expanding beyond any fears, limitations or
preconceived notions about what we believe is possible. It means utilizing
qualities we have built in ourselves, igniting these with the creativity of our
minds, and pushing outward with our will and personal power – our Hara. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I recently had my first Zen Shiatsu experience (also on the Solstice). The session begins and ends with assessing the Hara. In martial arts and Japanese healing arts like Zen Shiatsu, the Hara refers to the area of our lower belly and more. (More specifically, the tan tien or tan den is a point in the Hara and on the Haric Line resting below the navel.) All of the meridians of the body flow through here. It is our power center. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In Healing Touch, we learn that when one is aligned with their Hara Line, they are grounded and strong in the intention of their soul's purpose. From Barbara Ann Brennan's book <i>Light Emerging</i> it states, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“When
our personal wants and desires are aligned with our spiritual longing or higher
desires, our purposes are aligned and the creative principle in the universe
can function unhindered” (288).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yes! </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is it, this is what I want -- to live from intentionality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> "... to </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">align the
aspects of thinking, feeling, and willing. When thought, feeling and will to
action are in harmony, they hold a synchronistic vibration (or harmonic
resonance) that creates the possibility for a powerful and significant shift in
health and wholeness” (Healing Touch Level 3 Workbook, 46). When aligned with
the Hara, we bring the energy of intentionality into physical manifestation. It
is quite possibly our most potent creative power.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">At the apex of this year's light, I hope you too are manifesting your desires. Pour your light into your creations and relish their fulfillment. This is your power. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-21786333744941658752013-06-19T12:29:00.001-05:002013-06-19T12:29:59.802-05:00My First Memory is a Dream<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was 2 or 3 years
old. The dream goes, I was in my bedroom, in my crib. I had woken up during the
night and was standing up in my crib, looking out of the open window across the
bedroom. It was very quiet. I had a sense of being self-aware.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then the scene
flashed, and I was in my mother's arms, and she was talking to me, soothingly,
while looking out the window with me and explaining what was going on. Looking
down onto our backyard, there were emergency vehicles - a fire truck,
ambulance, police cars - and their lights were flashing silently, the sound of
sirens became muted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This only lasted a
few seconds. Then the scene flashed again to me asleep in the crib. I remember
hearing a chord, like the ending sound you hear to a movie's closing, as if to
end this episode in my dreamtime. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The thing is, I
seemed to be observing these scenes as they happened, while also experiencing
them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One can interpret
the dream and say, I was piecing together elements from my recent experiences
in daily life. Maybe I sat in a fire truck recently with my mom or saw some
police cars with their lights flashing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another
interpretation is me using my mind to see things outside of myself - outer
circumstances which are drawing my attention. I'm doing this with the help of
my highest Self, my highest guidance. And then finally coming back to a state
of rest. The interesting thing is, there's an element of being Self-aware by experiencing
and feeling the observer perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I view this
dream as me becoming aware of my own exploration of the world.
Recognizing parts as outside of myself, rather than all-inclusive. It's fitting
as my first memory because it’s surreal, quite literally a different world; definitely
not a fixed reality, and surely the beginnings of my observer mind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What are your first memories or dreams? Let’s explore. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106627385861756190.post-20022796350861295802013-06-17T23:11:00.000-05:002013-06-17T23:11:08.459-05:00Hello and Welcome<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I’m a Scorpio (Sun in Scorpio). While this might be a
generalization, it’s a good place to start. Scorpios are intense, passionate,
mysterious – and equally curious to explore all such things. What is hidden and
obscure to many is the Scorpio’s dream. All things written here are always
topics of meditation, exploration, and scrutiny in my everyday life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On my journey as a healer, a spiritual entity and a human
being, I can’t help but continually search for greater understanding about
myself and the world each day. This is my inner mantra, my heartbeat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I can’t help it – it’s simply what I do. This goes on
whether written or not… so why not share
my insights and explorations along the way? Maybe they can spark something in
you, too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’m a Chicagoland native. I’m married and have a dog (best Puggle in the
world!), 3 turtles, a tortoise, and a lizard (the snake and toad passed away a
couple years ago, unfortunately). I am studying and practicing in energy
medicine to become a healer. My previous career was in Life Sciences –
trajectories in life ranging from veterinary to ecological sciences, settling
in research and development of eco-friendly commercial plant products for a
time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I thirst for knowledge and wisdom. I explore topics related to metaphysics,
astrology, energy work, healing arts, science, and even philosophy. Connecting
ideas and fields of thought within cultural and narrative contexts, these
topics are sometimes covered more distinctly and objectively, while other times
more fluid and interwoven in personal experience. Throughout are the
underpinning that we are individual beings of light, endowed with free will,
intelligence and a purpose to be creators. We are first and foremost spirit,
encapsulated in a soul, harnessing universal energy and substance into energy bodies
and finally physical matter. We are meant to live our soul’s purpose, gaining
wisdom and understanding each lifetime to become whole and complete as a
spiritual being – and in fulfilling our individual paths, we also elevate the
collective.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My love of nature is profound and integral to who I am. I
have a daily spiritual practice that hinges upon meditation, mindfulness and
energetic practices. My ways to express these are through Kundalini Yoga,
Middle Eastern Dance (bellydance), and Shamanic Dreaming. I have studied
formally and informally many modes of spirituality, including Metaphysics and
Shamanism. Many of my practices lead back to honoring the Divine Feminine,
embodied in the Earth Mother – hence my love of nature.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All in all, my spiritual practices are geared to expand
mindfulness and elevate consciousness, and integrate spirituality into physical
life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Oh. And I’m still human. I love electronic dance music (even
before this term was coined), dancing, working out, biking, and working with
plants and animals (especially reptiles). I love all kinds of food and being healthy,
invigorating activities, comedy, and driving fast … shhh…. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This blog is for me as much as it is for you. If you find
something that startles you or disturbs your preconceived notions about the
world, good! Please help me do the same. Otherwise, how else will I continue to
learn and grow?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There is no one path. There is only the beauty of the
individual journey and how it finds its way. Here is mine.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086647514885039520noreply@blogger.com6