More About Signs

I was driving to work the other morning, my usual route, when one of my Guides said to me, "what if you were driving in Japan and couldn't read the signs because they were all in Japanese?" What a thought! Sometimes my Guides do that. They just throw something out there to me and let me chew on it awhile...And these are the thoughts I had........

We have universal road signs with pictures that mean the same in every language. It is the same with the signs that come from our Guides and Angels. There are universal signs that pretty much mean the same thing to everyone, but then there are signs that may mean something different to me than they would to you. I have read at least ten different interpretations of the significance of the lunar eclipse a few days ago, and everyone has a different way of looking at the significance of Christmas. So who is right? All of us!! We are all living together on this planet but we are each having an individual experience. Our reasons for incarnating might be different as well as the lessons we are learning from this Earth school. Some say we are not here to learn lessons. We are just here to experience what we cannot experience on the other side. Hmmm. Maybe that is true for some. And some are here to learn lessons. Some may be here to help others learn their lessons. So our Guides are here to sometimes throw a sign out there to lead us in the right direction. Do you think your Guide will send you a sign you cannot read? Do you think he will send you a sign written in Japanese if you can only speak English? I don't think so. In the same way our Guides know when something is significant enough to deserve a sign, then we will be able to read the sign and understand it.

Sometimes we have to do a little investigating to find out what messages our Guides are sending us. I am sure they send us plenty of signs that we miss. So they send them again. And again. That is why sometimes we find the same things keep happening to us over and over.

Then there are people who can help us interpret our signs. The best person to interpret a sign is always yourself, but if you are stumped, there is help. What is significant to me may mean something totally different to you. I was connecting with the loved ones of a client the other day and happened to mention that I could see him driving around in a red convertible on the Other Side. I thought it meant he was happy and having fun. The mother's eyes got huge and remarked that he had a red convertible while in this life. I think it was a sign to show his mom that he really was communicating with us and that he had indeed made it to the Other Side and was okay.

I think my Guides were just telling me that I needed to let people know that they will always send signs that they understand. Sometimes we may feel that our signs are written in Japanese but if that is the case then our Guides will send us an interpreter. Trust in the signs you receive and trust yourself that you will get the message.

What's in Your Closet?

I am of the belief that our outer life reflects our inner life. Very often I can read a person just by the way they live their lives and the things going on with them. Certain pains in certain areas of our bodies symbolize issues we may be struggling with in our emotions or in our relationships. Even the way we keep house or the condition of our car says something about us.

Last week a friend called and asked me to send her healing energy because she was having severe pain in her left breast. I asked her if she was having any problems with her daughter or another female. Our left side is our female side and our breasts represent the nurturing part of ourselves. She said no but after a little while she later told me that after we got off the phone her daughter called and they got into a huge argument. Hmmmm...

My husband loves to drive his car with little or no gas in it. Of course he doesn't see this as symbolic but it reminds me of the fact that he is always running, always busy busy busy and frequently seems exhausted, with good reason. Running low on gas could represent the fact that he is not taking enough time to fill himself back up. He could use some "me" time.

One of his pet peeves about me is that I frequently leave closet doors open and lights on. When I really want to annoy him, I will go through the house and open all the doors and turn on all the lights. The other day he was complaining about this and I told him that it was a good thing. There are no secrets hidden in my closets, I am an open book. The lights always being on represent to me that there is always light around me, my Higher Guidance system, in the form of Angels, Guides, etc. Our house is always full.

Yes the closet doors are frequently left open but they are all very full. I imagine that there are things I could let go of that are no longer useful to me. The other day I began to clean out a closet and ended up throwing away three bags of old outdated food articles. I am sure some of the other closets could use a cleaning as well. At this point in time I am sending the message out into the Universe that I am ready to release all those things that are outdated and no longer useful to my journey.

With the recent full moon, winter solstice, and lunar eclipse all happening on the same day, I believe the Universe is giving us a chance to magnify our intentions and start in a new direction. It could be as simple as losing five pounds, or quitting smoking, or it could be selling a house or leaving a toxic relationship. Let us contemplate the symbolism being offered to us by the shadow of the earth crossing the moon. The earth (our souls) are casting a shadow on the moon (in astrology the moon represents our shadow self). In other words there are things our soul needs to release. It is not too late to set an intention.

Are there things that keep popping up in your life that may be a message from the Universe? Ask your Guides what the messages mean. You may be surprised at what things are waiting for your attention.

Spread Some Joy

This blog is for those of us who are having a bad day, or a bad week. This morning I woke to find that my thumb is twice its normal size and quite infected. I have to miss an hour or so of work to probably have it cut open and drained. Then I went to the kitchen to fix myself some chai and I used my last tea bag which promptly burst and all the little tea leaves dispersed into my cup. Due to lack of sleep revolving around my throbbing thumb, I have not made it to the gym in several days. Previously I had attempted to do my weight routine at home and inadvertently dropped a fifteen pound weight on my head. No I don't seem to be any smarter.

So this morning I got an email from a friend with a cute little story of Santa's bad day. All his reindeer ran away, his elves got sick, they hid his secret stash of cider, and on and on. Then a little Angel appeared at the door bringing him a Christmas tree. I replied to my friend.. thanks for being my Angel.

I guess my point for this little story is that we don't know what our friends or family or even a stranger on the street is going through. Perhaps they stubbed their toe this morning, woke up late, lost their keys, their coffee was cold, or their car would not start. We can be that little Angel that brightens their day. Just a smile, a friendly word, or even just holding the door open for someone with their hands full could chase away the disaster fairies.

Do you ever feel like chaos accumulates? One bad thing sets your day off wrong and the rest of the day seems like a snowball of monstrous events? Perhaps it is our thoughts starting off in a bad direction and it is hard to break away from the direction of those thought processes. But then an Angel appears and does something nice for us and it breaks the cycle. We realize that it is not such a bad day after all and there are people in the world who love us and at least I still have a thumb. There are people who don't.

Thanks to all my wonderful friends who send me sweet emails and tell me how much they love me when I am feeling out of sorts. Thanks to my daughter who cleaned out the driveway of snow accumulation last evening when I came home from work. Thanks to my hubby who picked up my grandson from school when it closed and my daughter and I did not have to leave work to get him.

Today think about being the Angel for someone having a bad day. At this time of year there are many who are stretched thin from the stress of the holidays, work, money worries, or maybe someone who they loved has passed, or maybe they have recently been diagnosed with an illness. We don't know what is going on in the lives of those around us. Let's spread some love and joy to our fellow man.

The Christmas Story

It’s Christmastime and this time of year there is a lot of emphasis on the birth of Jesus. Now we really don’t know if Jesus was born in December but centuries ago someone decided to celebrate his birth in conjunction with the celebration of the winter solstice. If you investigate the major religions you will find a lot of similarities in their stories and it really doesn’t matter whether Jesus was actually born in December or not. I think the point is that at some point several centuries ago there was a child born who was destined to change the course of history. Over the years my interpretation of the event has changed in conjunction to my viewpoint of the whole premise surrounding the life of Jesus and the birth of Christianity due to his life and death. During my childhood and early adulthood, I was surrounded by the belief in a Saviour of mankind and of my own soul and spent a great deal of time in the pursuit of salvation.

At some point I had the profound revelation that Jesus was not going to show up and solve all my problems. I prayed and prayed and yet I was miserable and bad things continued to happen. One day I realized that Jesus did not come to solve all my problems. His message was one of love and empowerment. He wanted me to grow up and solve my own problems. For awhile I was mad at Jesus and Christianity because I thought that Jesus had let me down. I eventually got myself out of the mess I had created for myself and I thought that I had thought of all the solutions to my problems on my own. I had immersed myself in self help books and tapes and had learned that my thinking is what creates my reality. It is not the job of Jesus or any other Diety to override our decisions and come and rescue us from ourselves.

At this point in my journey of enlightenment, it is my belief that our lives are our own creation. There is an abundance of Help from the Unseen Realms available to us if we will ask, but none of the Higher Powers are going to make our problems go away with no involvement on our part. I think the story of the birth of Jesus is a parable we can all learn from. There is a Benevolent Force who loves us enough to send us the opportunity to birth a new life in the midst of a life of struggle. In the story Mary receives a message from an Angel that she will bring forth a Son who will bring salvation to many. I believe that within us all is the potential to bring hope and life and salvation to someone else and also to ourselves. We may have a message of hope and life to bring to someone else. In the story we may be the shepherds who also received the message of new life and hope and brought the message to others. We may be the wise men who brought gifts from far away. We may be the inn keeper who gave the birth a place to happen, even though it was not where most births happened.

I have found that even though my belief system has changed somewhat and I do not believe that Jesus came to save me from my sins, I have found in the story of the birth of Jesus a lesson I can take to heart. At some point in our lives we all are walking around in a dark place and all of a sudden, we receive an inspiration that there is hope. The birth of a child represents the beginning of new life. There is a hope that new life is available and all we have to do is birth it into our lives. That seed of hope is planted and while that seed grows within us we begin to notice that our perspective has changed. If we believe that we contain within the womb of our selves the potential for a new life, then circumstances begin to change. Wise men start coming to visit us with gifts. Shepherds start coming to visit and spread the news of cheer and good will to all. The only thing that has changed is our belief that within us is the seed for our salvation.

The gift of the story of Christmas is that new life is available to us all. When the light turns on inside of us and we realize that salvation comes to the inside of us, not the outside, then the message Jesus was trying to tell us is heard. Even some of Jesus disciples thought that Jesus had come to overthrow the government, and Jesus said no… salvation comes from the inside out. When we have peace and love within our hearts then we have heard the message.

Some Quick Thoughts........

Previously I wrote about how we can ask forgiveness from those who we may have harmed in previous lives or in this life and how also we can forgive those who may have hurt us in this life or a previous life and how it releases us from the wounds we have suffered. I wanted to point out that we don't have to remember those events or even know who may have harmed us.

About a week ago I was up early getting ready for work when I felt a stabbing pain in my back. Twice. I have had instances in the past when I have suffered from back issues that put me in the bed for a week or more and each time I have asked the Universe to reveal to me the emotional cause for my pain. Sometimes I have felt like the Universe had to put me out of motion to get my attention and give me messages. I tend to overextend myself at times. This time it felt like an actual knife would feel going into my back. Immediately the thought came to me that I was being stabbed in the back. Refusing to give into the pain, I went off to work. I told my back that I was not going to stay home this time because I was scheduled for a book signing that day and I was not canceling it. However, remembering my previous blog, I spoke out into the Universe that if someone was trying to stab me in the back, I forgave them and released them from the guilt of it, whether it was this life or a previous life. I did not need to know the details. I did not have time to delve into my psyche and discover who was doing the stabbing. I just released them. Within an hour my back felt better.

Just a couple of days ago I was doing my exercise routine with a fifteen pound dumbbell. While I had the weight over my head it slipped out of my hand and hit me on the head. OUCH! I almost passed out. This has never happened in all the years I have worked out with weights. Of course I asked for the message. The wound was somewhat self inflicted although it obviously was an accident. Nothing. My husband says, Joy, sometimes there is no message. Sometimes things just happen. This is not really in my field of thought. To me everything is a message. I will keep you posted if I get a message from it. I just said that perhaps the Universe is having trouble getting through to me and felt I needed some sense knocked into me. Nevertheless I am reorganizing to try to have some more time to spend getting in tune and writing down my messages. I have been getting a lot of messages lately but have had no time to write them down. By the time I sit at the computer or even sit quietly with pen and paper, there is nothing. I can't remember all those great messages. Maybe the Universe is saying... JOY.... stop running yourself so ragged and sit down with ME.......

Forgiveness for our Ancestors

Yesterday I was with a client and I was doing a non physical journey for him. His intention for the journey was that he wanted to break a pattern of feeling taken advantage of. He felt that his value was not appreciated and he always gave more than what he received back in relationships. Almost immediatedly after entering the non physical realm I journeyed back to a time in a previous life when this young man was a prince in his tribe in Africa. He was well valued, and he had the heart of a lion, bold and unafraid. Then, without warning, he was abducted into slavery by slave traders and brought to America. I found his soul on a slave ship crossing the ocean, broken and disheartened. He lost his fearlessness, his sense of purpose, and instead, shackled and wounded, his heart had lost the will to go on. I sensed that his soul had preordained for this to happen, so that he would learn that although his body was taken into slavery, his soul could never be bound. However, his soul had forgotten its purpose for creating this event, and instead, a portion of himself was still on that slave ship, feeling taken advantage of and abandoned. Upon relating this revelation to this young man, at first he failed to see the significance of a past life event on the present. I reminded him that all events in our lives, present and past, are ingrained into our soul memory, and continue to haunt us until they are resolved. I encouraged him to release the souls of his perpetrators for the wrongs they had done, because forgiving them would release his soul from bondage. And also in this life, those who had taken advantage of him needed to be released from the judgements he held against them, so that his soul could be freed.

This experience revealed an even more amazing truth. We can release the perpetrators of past events from the responsibility for wrongs done to our ancestors, releasing us as well from the bondage of the events. I realized that I could stand in for my ancestors, apologizing for the wrongs done, and releasing those who have done wrongs to them as well. This breaks the hold that judgements carry on past events and releases both the perpetrator and the victim of the event. I know it is commonplace in our culture to demand justice for wrongdoing, and yes, I believe that criminals should be found and punished, but the weight that the families of victims carry with them through unforgiveness could be eliminated through forgiveness and the release of the hold that the wrong doing has had on the family.

I remember when one of the Popes went to a country where in centuries past the Catholic church had rampaged and killed many, and he apologized for the sins of the Church in centuries past. In the nonphysical realm there was great rejoicing and a shift occurred in the heavens. We can also bring about shifts and raise the energy of our planet by releasing the sins of the past. There is no way we can repay the victims of the horrific sins of the holocaust or the centuries of pain bestowed upon minorities but we can raise our energy and the energy around us by releasing those who are responsible from our judgements of them. This does not mean that they get away with their sins. There is always Divine justice. It releases us from the position of judge and allows the Divine to bestow justice or mercy according to the Divine plan.

Forgiveness releases us. The wrongdoers still have their own work to do on their own issues. Whether they come to terms with their sins is not our responsibility. In the big scheme of things there is always justice. We may not see it. But releasing the anger and the bitterness releases us from the prisons we have made for ourselves. In the case of my young client, he does not remember in his conscious mind being abducted and sold into slavery. But in his day to day experience in this lifetime he is experiencing the feeling of being taken advantage of. As he releases those who abducted him in centuries past, and takes responsibility for himself and regains his personal power, he will realize that his soul can never be enslaved unless he allows it. Yes, on occasion he may be treated unfairly, as we all experience from time to time. But if our souls are free, these events do not occur as frequently, or if they do, we may not even notice.

After this journey into the non physical realm, I have decided to go into the Spirit realm and apologize for any wrong doings that happened as a result of the actions of my ancestors. To all the victims of crimes that I am not aware of, I am sorry. I also release any judgements carried over from my ancestors as a result of crimes of which they were the victims.

I remember once years ago I felt it necessary to apologize to the land upon which I discerned there had been great bloodshed as a result of war. In this instance it was the result of wars before the white man even came into this country. I felt the blood of Native Americans crying out to me from the land. In the present there is a church and before I apologized to the land it seemed that the church had suffered many splits where a group of the members of the church would leave and some would stay. I felt that this was a result of the energy of the land which carried with it the bloodstains of fighting. I am not sure whether my apologies to the land resulted in any peace within the walls of the church, but I imagine that if the land is at peace, whatever is placed upon it would also be at peace.

Today I encourage you to look at life in a new way. Release any judgements you may hold for crimes of the past. Remember that we are all victims and we are all perpetrators in some way.

Don't Look Back

Last night I dreamed that an acquaintance of mine had died. It wasn't a person I normally associate with on a daily basis, just someone I know. When I awoke I heard the words of a song repeating themselves over and over in my head... don't look back... don't look back..

Years ago I read a book about dream interpretation and I learned a few different ways of interpreting dreams. One way is to imagine the characters in the dream after you awake and ask them what they are trying to tell you. Most of the time dreams are given to us to teach us something about ourselves. I don't think this dream was telling me that someone was about to die, although it is possible.

The message I got from the person in the dream is that every morning when I wake up make sure I appreciate all the people in my life and enjoy every moment as if it is my last. I have a tendency to always be planning ahead so much that I forget to enjoy the moment. Moments pass so quickly, and it is so important to appreciate and enjoy all of them.

The words of the song.. don't look back.. don't look back.... it is not a normal tendency of mine to rehash the past. I am thinking perhaps something is getting ready to change and the dream is telling me not to look back, to keep moving forward. Dreams about death don't always mean something bad, sometimes it can mean that the old is passing away and something new is about to arrive on the scene.

I am looking forward to whatever is in store and I am enjoying every moment as if it is my last. I am going to enjoy every person I wait on at the Post Office, I am going to enjoy all the time I spend with my loved ones, I am going to appreciate each person I meet as if it is the last time I will see them. Yes the old is passing away and the new is on its way!

What's in Store for Me?

I like reading those messages that various people channel from the Higher Realms and they tell us what to expect in the coming month or maybe the coming year. Some tell us what planets are lined up and what each planet means based on its position. Sometimes it's nice to know that the reason my appliances are acting up is maybe because of a particular planet that is wrecking havoc with electrical appliances or maybe it is because my vibration is changing and I need to realign my energy with the energy in my house. I know that when my Angels and Guides are around my washing machine likes to announce their presence with continual beeping.

So today I was talking to my Guides and I asked them to give me one of those kind of messages that could tell people who read my blog what to expect in the coming weeks or months. This is the answer that I got....I wrote it down exactly as it was coming to me so I refer to myself as the recipient of the message.

Joy, you know that every individual walking on the planet has a slightly different vibration. All of the things that make each person unique also makes their experience unique. Yes, sometimes the planets and other factors may make circumstances favorable for certain events to affect a large amount of people, but this does not necessarily have to be the case. Just because Venus is in retrograde doesn't mean that every individual is going to experience problems with their relationships. The potential is there, but each person's vibration and each person's focus play a role in what they experience. If all a person thinks about is how much they love and appreciate all their primary relationships, it is doubtful that they will experience much in the area of relationship problems, whether Venus is in retrograde or not. Remember that what you focus on grows.

In other words, if you want to experience love, then eat and drink and think about love. Don't think about how much you want it or think you need it or especially not about how much you aren't experiencing it. Instead, focus on the things in life there is to love. Love the toaster. Love your breath. Love the cat. Love all the things that touch your life. And love is what you will experience.

The same thing works for money, or a new house or a new car. Non physical things even work better, like peace, happiness, or comfort. See yourself enjoying those things that you want.

So this was my message from the Universe, decide what you want, and then create it. And what if there is something you don't want? Release it. Are you experiencing chaos or turmoil of some kind? Speak out of your mouth that you walk in peace. See all your relationships as peaceful. See your work environment as peaceful.

Do you need money or a job? Find a quarter, or a dollar bill. Carry it around in your pocket. Many times during the day, hold the coin in your hand and love it. Feel the energy of love go into the coin and say either out loud or silently that you love that money. Imagine yourself jumping around in a pile of hundred dollar bills. Imagine yourself working at a job that appreciates you, that you enjoy and that pays you well.

Create the life you want. And enjoy the one you have. After you have made a list of the things you want to create and you have visualized them and you have said how much you love those things, then make a plan. Put feet to your prayers. Don't just sit back and wait for diamonds to drop out of the sky.

I guess my Angels aren't the ones that like to float around on the clouds. They are the ones creating the clouds that others sit on.

Soup

This week I had the opportunity to be in a lot of different social situations. I had been paying attention to my emotions lately due to the previous messages I had received from the Angels dealing with emotions. I was allowing myself to feel the emotions that came up in different situations and then releasing them. In some cases the emotions did not flow out of my experience without some work on my part. I realized that I had some emotions that had evidently been hiding out for awhile and had been waiting for the right opportunity to present themselves. Being somewhat empathic did not help matters because sometimes I wonder if the emotions I am feeling are mine or someone else's. At times I pick up on different emotions that others are feeling and I mistake them for my own. Most of the time I am able to discern if they are mine or someone eles's simply by noticing if my feelings suddenly change when I am around a particular person or location and if they dissipate once I change locations or get distance from the person I am picking up on.

So this evening I was driving home from an event that I had enjoyed and it just so happened that one of the attendees had fixed for everyone this amazing soup. Upon asking my Angels to give me some wisdom concerning the differences in the emotions surrounding the different events I had attended, the Angels gave me the analogy of soup. This evening I had left this particular event feeling good. I remembered the soup and the Angels told me that the energy of everyone in the room of the event I had attended were like ingredients in a soup. Each had their own particular flavor, and each added a different taste to the soup that our energies had created. In the previous events that I had attended during the week, each person in attendance was also an ingredient in that particular soup that made up the event. The Angels made sure I understood that no particular soup is better than another kind. It is just different. It is like comparing chili to chicken vegetable soup. They are both good, but they taste completely different. Now some people may love chili but hate chicken vegetable and some may prefer corn chowder. If someone who loves being an ingredient in chili suddenly finds themselves part of a corn chowder, they may feel a bit out of sorts. How do you make conversation with an ingredient in corn chowder when you have only been exposed to chili?

I think it is good to expose yourself to all different kinds of soup. How do you know if you love only chili if you have never had chicken vegetable? Yes it may feel a bit uncomfortable at first. But maybe you are the very ingredient the chicken vegetable has been missing. Each ingredient in the soup has its own flavor and its own part in the unique combination of flavors. Imagine yourself as maybe the onion that flavors both the vegetable and the chili soup. Imagine either soup without the onion. The energies that each of us bring to the social situations we find ourselves in make the particular flavors that make up the unique combinations that eventually combine into a flavorful soup. One ingredient more or less will make a difference in the taste of the soup.

Sometimes we will go home from a social occasion and it will take some time for the combinations of ingredients we have interacted with to wear off so that we feel like ourselves again. That's okay. We will find that our energies will come back to us and we will once again remember who we are. And that person is always changing. Maybe we will one day find that even though for years we loved chili, one day we will wake up and find that we have a taste for chicken vegetable. And chili just doesn't taste like it used to. That means that we are growing, we are changing, and that is good.

To all my chili friends and to all my chicken vegetable friends, I love you all........

Balloons

Previously I mentioned how I like to play a game with my Angels. I will look at something in the room that I am in or I will think of something arbitrary and ask the Angels for a message relating to the object I have observed or thought about. The Angels are really good at this game and they like to play.

Recently the word that came to my mind was balloons. I saw a hot air balloon rising up into the sky and the fire that makes it rise. Immediately I had a message from the Angels about balloons. I am no expert in science but I know that hot air rises. I imagine this is because warm air is lighter than cool air. Lighter air will rise higher and heavier, cooler air will remain low. The message to my soul was that if I wanted to connect with the higher realms, I had to raise my vibration to a lighter, warmer energy level. The closer I am to this earth experience the denser and cooler my frequency will be.

How do you feel when you are in love, or when you are happy? You feel warm, you feel light. You feel like you are dancing on air. And, adversely, when you are depressed or sad you feel heavy, the weight of the world is on your shoulders. Now I know that I wrote previously about allowing yourself permission to feel all your emotions, not just the "good" ones. But the key is to consciously feel those emotions, and then let them flow out of your experience. It is when you deny those feelings or stuff them down that they become toxic. However, what if you can't seem to get past an emotion, when it hangs on and greets you in the morning when you wake up and is still there when you lay your head on your pillow at night, then it is time to take some drastic measures. Breathe into the emotion. Consciously put all your attention on how it feels, and then imagine love surrounding that emotion. Imagine love placing that emotion in a hot air balloon and the fire of love heating the atmosphere around it until it begins to float higher and higher. Before long, that heavy, sad, fearful or angry emotion is floating away from your experience and is replaced with the feelings of love and joy. Imagine love filling your heart and surrounding your cells. You will find that when you imagine your cells filling up with love and light that your vibration will soon rise to a higher level. The veil between you and the world of the Higher Beings of Love and Light will become very thin.

The Angels once told me that the language of the Angels is laughter. When we laugh we are talking their language. We are raising our vibration. We are connecting to the higher realms.

Imagine that hot air balloon as your self and that fire that lifts the balloon off the ground is your soul. Imagine flying high into the sky and connecting with the Angels. Imagine that the veil between your world and the world of the Angels becoming thin, so that you can see into the other realm. You see the Higher Beings of Love and Light and they are dancing around and laughing and singing. Then they see you. They invite you in to play. You might see a favorite pet who has passed or maybe a relative who loves you and just wants to say hi. After connecting for awhile, you say goodbye and slowly see your energy becoming a little heavier again. You slowly descend back into the earth realm. Upon your arrival back into your earthly experience, you notice that everything looks just a little brighter. The grass is greener, the sky is bluer. The chaos is less chaotic. The drama is less dramatic. You have been forever changed.

Last night I had the opportunity to help a soul who had not crossed over yet feel the emotion of anger which had kept him stuck. He was about seventeen and was stomping around holding a baseball bat. I helped him to feel those emotions and then release them. I felt the energy in the room lift as he faced those difficult emotions and then felt him surrounded by the Angels. I lost the connection before I was able to tell whether or not he had crossed over but I felt that he did. When we release difficult emotions our spirits are able to rise up like a balloon above our circumstances and raise us up to a new level in our earth experience.

If you are having a hard time releasing difficult emotions, imagine them surrounded by the fire of your soul and placed in a hot air balloon Imagine those emotions rising up high into the sky where they are transformed. Imagine them floating out of your experience and love and joy replacing the anger, or fear, or sadness. Life is meant to be enjoyed. Like a ride in a hot air balloon!!

Healing Strong Emotions

This week I was driving home from work one evening and I saw a huge cloud that looked to me like one of those gigantic waves that occasionally come along when I am at the beach. I am not a great swimmer so I am not really fond of those waves. But my husband taught me that when I see one of those waves coming, to just swim into the wave and not let it come crashing against me. My Angels seem to tell me that it was the same way with my life. When a giant wave presents itself, just swim into it. I was curious about the message since everything seemed to be going well. I wondered what the wave could mean.

In a couple of days I had my answer. Circumstances around me caused me to have to face some difficult emotions and I realized that my Angels did not want me to resist these emotions. Whether the emotion is a good feeling, like joy or one that makes us feel bad, like fear or anger, every emotion comes to us as a life experience. I have always been one to resist those "bad" emotions, stuffing them down and replacing them with the "good" emotions, but I think what the Angels were trying to get me to understand is that every emotion deserves our conscious attention. When an emotion like anger, or fear or grief comes to us like a wave, it is important to allow that emotion to run its course, give ourselves full permission to feel that emotion and thank it for its gift to us. Swim right into it.

The important part is that when we allow the emotion to happen and we breathe into it and feel it to its full extent, that emotion will run its course and then, like a wave, it will flow on by and eventually flow away from us. When we resist that emotion out of guilt or fear then it goes somewhere deep inside and eventually will come back at a later time. If we keep that emotion stuffed down inside then we will never heal.

Around the same time I got this message I was asked to contact the soul of someone who had fallen into a coma after a relatively minor medical procedure. When I contacted his soul I realized that he was feeling some very strong emotions which he had not allowed himself to feel. His soul was hiding out in this coma and was in a happy place, not wanting to return to conscious life, but I encouraged him to allow his emotions to surface and feel them to the fullest. Breathe into those emotions and welcome them. Then, as he welcomed them, he could allow them to pass. Upon relating my experience to my contact person, I was told that he had indeed awakened for a period of time close to the time of my contact with him. In any healing work, we have to realize that we cannot cross the will of any soul, and even though we had dealt with some very strong emotions during our visit together, it was ultimately his decision whether to live or die.

Also during this time period I contacted a soul who was still in the womb and was soon to go back to the other side. The soul was very angry that she was not going to be born but I felt the anger was deeper than that. She was trying so hard to make it to birth, however this birth was not to be. I felt that in a previous life this soul had perhaps lost or aborted a child and now was feeling the other side of those emotions from the standpoint of a soul who was not going to make it to birth. After contacting her twice, the second time her anger had subsided a great deal, as she had possibly dealt with her emotions surrounding the crisis.

Strong emotions that remain unresolved always come back until they are completely felt and allowed to surface. Only when they are acknowledged can the person feeling the strong emotions heal and move on. Let us thank our souls for the experience of life and the emotions tied to the events in our lives. If we have events that present themselves over and over it is a good sign that we have not dealt with the emotions surrounding those recurring events. It is important to breathe into those emotions and pay attention to how those emotions feel. Totally acknowledge the feelings surrounding major events in our lives and feel the emotions tied to those events. Only then can we begin to resolve issues that seem to keep resurfacing.

When our hearts are ready to heal, events will transpire to bring to the surface long forgotten emotions. Acknowledge the feelings surrounding those happenings, feel those emotions to the fullest, breathe into your soul the fullness of the emotions, and then release the emotions like a wave flowing away from your experience. As those emotions are released, you will experience a new level of joy you have never known. Healing can then begin.

Sometimes releasing strong emotions requires support from others. Don't hesitate to involve friends, family, or perhaps a professional in your healing process. It is worth the effort.

The House Plant with a Dream

I have this little game I like to play with the Angels. I will breathe in and out a little, and then focus on something that comes into my field of vision. And then I will ask the Angels for a message pertaining to whatever has jumped out at me or presented itself to me. One time I wrote an entire blog about the pen that was sitting on my desk. The Angels can give me a message about anything, and it's always something relevant.

So last week I was doing a different job at the Post Office where I work. I had a couple of occasions when I was in between tasks and so I took a minute and played this game. I ended up with three separate blogs just on small messages from the Angels relating to something I looked at or something that came to my mind. This is the first one I have had time to write about.

This particular message from the Angels came to me when I happened to look at the plant that was sitting on the desk in front of me. There are several small plants done up in an arrangement and my focus happened to land on this plant. It seems to be flourishing and enjoying its environment. There is a window for light and also those fluorescent lights that grace most businesses. They say plants love them. And it gets water once a week or so. All of its needs are taken care of. The first thing I wondered was whether it sensed the energy of the different postal patrons that happen in and out of the office. Some are getting passports as they plan for trips overseas, some are ordering keys for apartments they have just moved into. Some are complaining. The energy of each customer is unique. I am wondering if the plants can sense the urgency of the needs of these customers. I am also wondering if the life in the plant helps to soothe the energy when it gets tense.

The next question that comes to mind is that I wonder whether the plant ever looks outside and dreams of a life free from the confines of its container. In the pot that is its home, all its needs are met. However, it is a bit snug in its small container. I wonder if it ever dreams of a life in, perhaps a rain forest, free from containment, free from the boundaries of a pot, experiencing real rain and real sunshine.

However, in a rain forest, there would be new challenges. There would be the danger of being eaten by animals. There would be the danger of bugs, or worms, or drought. Perhaps a team of large heavy equipment could one day show up and level its home. But it would be free. It would experience the exhilaration of real live sunshine and real live rain. I remember my house plant that has lived its entire life from inside a store window until I placed it in front of my window, where it lived for several years, until this year when the weather got warm, I decided to place it outside for the summer. And for the first time in the five or six years of owning this plant, it bloomed these wonderful purple flowers. I believe it was the plant's way of thanking me for the experience of real life.

I guess in a way sometimes I feel like a plant in a pot. I go to work every day at the Post Office, and I dream of someday being able to make a living doing what I love to do, writing, or doing journeys or teaching others the things I have learned about the unseen world. But that would come with its own challenges. I guess my lesson for today from the Angels is that just like the plant graces the Post Office with its presence and perhaps lifts the energy there as it transmutes the energy from the variety of customers there, I too have my job there. Maybe one day I will find myself transplanted into a different environment, but until then I will bloom where I am planted. I will thank the Angels for providing me with a way to finance my life and I will write and journey and teach others the things I have learned and perhaps one day I will find myself transplanted into a different environment. Either way it is all good.

Unconditional Love

Recently I have been thinking about unconditional love and what it really is. A friend of mine received a message from a psychic last year that this year she would come to know unconditional love. She was hoping it would mean that she would finally meet the man of her dreams and find the love she has been searching for. Recently she told me that there were only a few months left in the year and she was still waiting for that to occur.

I began to contemplate what unconditional love really is and if, in fact, it could mean romantic love. Unconditional love means a love that loves you no matter what. It loves you if you are fat, skinny, mean, kind, pretty, ugly, poor, rich, or any other of the multitude of qualities I could think of mentioning. That is a good idea, but I am not so sure it is a good idea for a romantic partner. What if the person you love is a serial killer? Unconditional love means you love them anyway? What if the person beat you up or cheated on you or robbed banks or embezzled funds from the company he worked for? Or what if he just sat in front of the TV all day and did not ever get up and go to work or clean himself up or help around the house? What if he just yelled all the time or what if he was nice sometimes but other times he treated you bad? When do you say, okay, unconditional love draws the line here?

I think unconditional love happens between a person and their Source, their idea of who or what God is. I think God loves us unconditionally. I also think our pets love us unconditionally, but then again, if we neglect them, don't feed them, beat them, do they still love us? Unconditional love says they do. I am not so sure. I think unconditional love can happen between a parent and a child, but not necessarily. Sometimes there are issues there as well. Behavior then, is a key factor. But how about unconditional love for oneself?

Do we love ourselves even when we make mistakes? Even when we are not young enough, or pretty enough, or thin enough, or smart enough, or funny enough? I think in order to find a love between myself and another person, I have to love myself enough to believe it is possible. I have to love myself to believe that I deserve love, that I am valuable enough that someone could love me. And that I love myself enough to realize that if a person is not treating me with enough respect or kindness, then it is okay to end that relationship. And I have to love myself enough to be okay with or without another person to validate me, to make me feel like I am okay.

We all have within ourselves all the unconditional love we could possibly need. That is because all we need we really do have within ourselves. We just have to access that part of ourselves and tap into that part of us that is inside that is love. And when we have accessed that part of ourselves and we really love ourselves enough to be okay with or without that special someone, then we will draw to ourselves like a magnet that love from another person. In other words, if you want love in your life, then be love. Love others, love yourself. Love the trees and the grass and the birds and the flowers. Love those extra five pounds you just can't get rid of. Love that old couch in the living room that is past its prime. Love the pillows that cushion your head as you sleep. Send love to everything around you. Pretty soon you will feel so much love in your life that you can't help but attract it. And if you do, you will recognize that true feeling of love when it comes. And you will recognize when it is not love.

Even my computer works better when I send it loving energy. The people around me respond to me much better when I come from a place of love within my heart. The sun shines brighter, the grass is greener. I don't notice so much when there are things that are less than loving going on around me. That is unconditional love. And it only comes from that place inside of us that is connected to that place where love originates.

And to my friend who is looking for love, you don't have to look far. It is within you.

Honestly!!

The other day I wrote a blog about masks, and I was relating what the Angels seemed to be telling me about being real. I always thought I was real, but I was made aware of the fact that sometimes I do hide certain aspects of myself from others, and maybe even from myself. I have been working on letting people know who or what I am about, even if I may be ridiculed or ostracized.

In a way being myself has something to do with telling the truth, to myself, and others. I have never been very good at lying, even to the point of telling people about surprise parties and stuff like that. I am just no good at it. So it was no surprise when I received a message from the Angels that one of my missions in life was honesty. The message however, was a little more specific. The message said that I would be coming in contact with someone who was having difficulty with telling the truth about something, and I was to encourage them to be honest.

The message came to me on Sunday, and as I was driving home that evening from the gathering in which I received the message, a possum crossed the road in front of me. How perfect. Possums are known for their habit of playing dead when confronted with danger. "Playing Possum" has always meant pretending to be something other than what you are. In other words, being dishonest. So the message was confirmed. Okay. My first thought was, is someone lying to me? Am I going to discover that someone is hiding something from me? A couple of situations with acquaintances came to mind. However, as it has turned out, the Angels must have gotten the message out to everyone else's Angels whose charges were having trouble with honesty or having secrets that I was available for service. The very next day I was approached three different times with three different situations in which I was given the opportunity to tell acquaintances that it is best to be honest.

All of the issues had to do with keeping secrets. What I have learned from these three separate scenarios is this. Honesty is best, if it is in the best interests of everyone involved. I think that if what you do in secret can't be shouted from the housetops without someone being hurt, then you probably shouldn't be doing it. I think that the cardinal rule of the Universe is love. Is what you are doing or saying the loving thing to do for everyone involved? I think God is pretty much okay with our choices, no matter what they are, as long as no one has the potential for getting hurt. I know that I have made difficult decisions in my life which did hurt others, and I regret causing hurt to others to make changes in my life. However, in the short term the hurt feelings were small compared to the damage that would have been done if no changes had been made. I always try to proclaim to the Universe that any decisions I make are the best ones for everyone involved, even if it is not apparent at the moment. I can't say that I have always made the right choices, but in hindsight we often see how our choices affected others when we had no real idea at the moment.

In some cases, telling the truth is only hurtful and is best kept a secret. I remember one of the most hurtful things that happened to me as a teenager was an incident in which I was in youth group at church and our leader wanted us to go around to each other and confess to each other if we had any malice in our heart toward each other or any secrets. One of the boys in the group came up to me and told me that he resented me because his parents were always trying to get him to date me. He held this grudge that I had no idea about. Looking back I think I would have been okay not to have known that he held a grudge against me for something I had no idea about. Always think about the other person and how telling the truth is going to affect them. Make the decision to be real and to be truthful and honest from here on out, but you have a secret that may cause more harm than good to be revealed, then for goodness sake, keep it to yourself.

There is a verse in the Bible that says.. everything whispered in secret will eventually be shouted from the housetops. This is an encouragement to be real. Never let your actions hurt someone else. If there needs to be a change that may cause hurt to the other person, be honest and talk about it. Sometimes staying in a relationship because you don't want to hurt the other person is more hurtful than being honest and saying the truth. I would not want to be in relationship with someone who stayed in it just because he or she was afraid of hurting me. However, things can be said in such a way to lessen the pain.

Let's all learn to be real with each other, and as long as being honest is not going to hurt someone unnecessarily,then be honest. Let all we do be done in love.

Seeing Through A Foggy Windshield

I was talking to a friend about a reading she had received over a year ago by a trusted friend of mine. In the reading, she was told that in the coming year she would come to know unconditional love. She told me that there were only four months left in this year and she was still waiting.

This brought up some points I thought worth mentioning. Yes, I, too, sometimes give people messages and I understand that sometimes what I say may not happen exactly the way I thought or the recipient thought. Sometimes I could be wrong. Sometimes others that give messages could be wrong. Sometimes maybe what I say and what the recipient hears could be two different things. Maybe I will get a message through a picture of some sort and I may think it means one thing but it really means something else. Interpretation of the messages we get is sometimes the problem. I was watching "Medium" a couple of nights ago and the woman in the TV show had a dream which is how she normally gets her messages and she thought it meant one thing but it really meant something else. In the end one of her friends almost died. However, there was resolution in the end. Sometimes maybe Spirit wants us to get it wrong so we can experience certain things or that certain things can transpire to teach us something or lead us in a direction we had not considered. Yesterday I received the message that sometimes my vision gets cloudy like a windshield when it is raining. I was told by my guide that I could call upon the Spiritual Windshield Wiper Guide to clear things up for me when I was having trouble seeing clearly. Sounds funny doesn't it? My Guides just talk to me in parables that I will understand. They told me a long time ago they didn't really care what names I called them.

I think the important thing to remember when you get a message from Spirit having to do with your life is that you are the deciding factor. It is your life. Those of us who hear from Spirit are actually connecting with your Guides who are with you all the time and have your best interests at heart. However, your Guides never cross your free will. You may choose to go in a different direction than your Guide anticipated and it changes the whole scenario. In the end you are the creator of your life story. I remember getting a reading before my husband and I got married and she told me that he was not the one. However, she also told me that my soul mate was close to me in my aura and I would be meeting him soon. Well at the time my husband and I were broken up. We eventually got back together and we have been happily married for seven years now. Did the woman get it wrong? I think she saw him in my aura. She just got the names wrong. What if I had listened to her and not taken my husband back? I would have missed out on some very happy years.

We have to realize that getting messages from Spirit through the many channels available is for guidance and inspiration. We can receive some much needed support and direction. I received the idea to write blogs and books from a clairvoyant medium. But it was my choice whether or not to follow the advice and exactly how to move forward with the direction she gave me. I just thought it worth mentioning that we are always in charge of our own lives. We can choose to go in one direction or another. Sometimes things happen that aren't exactly the way we expected.

In the case of my friend, I have another blog about what unconditional love really is and how it could not possibly be the love she was expecting.

Masks

With it being the month of October, and Halloween coming up, my thoughts are turned to masks. My guides seemed to be hinting around about masks the other day when I forgot to put on my makeup and didn't realize it until I got to work. Normally I do not leave the house without a little bit of help from manufactured beauty, but for some reason I must have gotten in a hurry and my face slipped my mind. When I got to work I remembered and unfortunately it was too late to go back home. I was mortified. Immediately my guides said to me, it is time to stop covering up who you are. I was a little stunned because I thought I was pretty bold for writing a book and letting the world know that I hear voices and I write down what they tell me. Ah yes, they seemed to say, but not to everybody. It is time to be yourself no matter who is around. Okay.

So there is one group of people to whom I do not tell my stories. I don't even tell them I have written a book, although I guess it is only a matter of time until they found out. But, you have to understand. I used to get messages. And then I spoke up and gave the messages. And then my world turned upside down. And some of these people are still my friends. And when I am around them I am friendly. And we talk about the weather, our husbands, our yards, our children. I try to stay away from anything controversial. Am I wearing a mask?

So later on in the day I see one of these friends. And we talk a little. She asks me what I have been up to. Hmmm... I am remembering what my guides told me this morning. So I tell her I have written a book and that I blog a couple of times a week. And she asks what the subject is. And I say, oh, well, I write about my perspective on things that I experience. And messages. Messages from whom? What should I say?

To tell you the truth, I really don't remember exactly what I said. At this point I think that I can be myself and that we can have different views that we don't necessarily have to talk about. The problem was with me. I have been afraid to be myself around those who may not share my viewpoint. Why? I think it is not because I am afraid of having to defend my viewpoint. I don't really see the value in that. I believe each of us has our own viewpoint, and if it is different, I am completely okay with that. I believe that as long as our motivation is love, what does it matter what gets us to that place?

I believe that our Guides are always around to inspire us if we are open to their messages. They don't really care what names we call them. I get messages now that come from the same place as I got them all those many years ago. The key is to remember that they will always make us feel good. They will always inspire us to raise up to a higher vibration, and never a lower one. The fear I have of exposing my new belief system to my old friends is just a mask I wear. I am not sure what I am afraid of.

I am sure I will be writing more about masks because I am not completely sure I have taken my mask off completely yet. There are still things I don't know about myself. But I am sure of this. I am okay with who I am.

Just for today, pay attention to the masks you wear. Are you one person with one group of people and someone else depending who is around? Who is the person inside of your skin?

10-10-10

I've been hearing and reading a lot about the energy of today, October 10,2010. I am not an expert in numerology, but I know the basic energy of the numbers. One is a number of beginnings. I believe that symbols only have meaning that we attach to them, as I have written about before. To one person the number one could mean that they are alone, while someone else may feel that it is a number encouraging them to try something new. In thinking about new beginnings, we have to consider that in order for there to be a beginning, there also has to be an ending of some kind. This morning while I was outside enjoying my morning run, I contemplated what I wanted today to hold for me, or what my Guides and Angels wanted me to focus on.

Yesterday on my run I noticed a couple of crows, which often follow me while I am outside running, only this time when I approached they both took off in flight away from me. I immediately got the message that the crows were no longer going to be my Spirit Guides. I was very sad but bid them farewell. They assured me that they would stop in periodically, but I would soon be introduced to a new power animal. There was my ending. So this morning I thought while I was running that I would contact the Other Side and try to connect with my new animal guide. Nothing. Then my Shaman Guide came to me and reminded me that yes, today is 10-10-10, but there are as many zeros in that combination of numbers as there are ones. Zero is a number of emptiness, of nothing. It is also a number of wholeness, since it has no beginning and no end. My Shaman Guide let me know that I had to experience nothingness before I could start something new. He also told me that my Spirit Animal had to choose me, that I could not choose it.

Now I know that not everyone who reads my blog connects with their Spirit Animals, so what does this mean for you? The message that I got this morning that the energy that many of us are experiencing now is the energy of newness. Many times we try to fill our lives with new things before ridding ourselves of the old. There has to be a period of time where we experience the nothingness of the in between the old and the new. It is only an empty cup that can be filled up with something new. If our cups are already full, our Guides can't fill us up with new stuff. I was talking to a friend who had recently went through a divorce and she said her friends were encouraging her to consider marrying again, and she said that she was just enjoying finding out who she was, without any input from someone else telling her who she was and what she liked. One day she realized she didn't even know what kind of shoes she liked because she had always just worn hand me downs. That is what I am talking about. There is a place of nothingness, where your soul has been emptied of all things that are no longer valid in your current experience, and the new has not happened yet. It is that place between the in breath and the out breath. That is the energy of today. It may last for a moment, like when you breathe out, and just for a moment there is nothing, and then the in breath fills you back up again. Or it may last a little more than a moment. But it is the necessary pause between what is past and what is coming.

And what is coming? You decide.

Messages from Nature

In my previous blog I talked about getting messages from our Guides and Angels through the avenue of numbers. Today I want to talk about how we can pay attention to our surroundings and get guidance for our lives.

I live in a house in a neighborhood but I am blessed with having an amazing back yard. I have eleven trees and and a small pond which I built myself. It is my little piece of heaven. My favorite thing to do is to sit outside on my patio by my pond and just pay attention to nature. I have received so much good advice from my Guides and Angels just through observation of nature. When I am worried or upset, I often sit at the base of one of my huge trees and just place my back up against its trunk. I imagine that my energy and the energy of the tree are one. I imagine all the "stuff" that this tree has observed and all the energy it has absorbed. I imagine any unhealthy energy from my emotions or that I have unknowingly taken upon myself to be energetically transferred to the tree and that the tree uses that energy and sends it into the ground as fertilizer. I am not worried that I am transferring to the tree energy that is unhealthy for the tree. It is only unhealthy for me. The energy of the tree is different from mine. It uses the energy that I discard for its own benefit. It is strong and solid and is the home for many species of wildlife. I imagine that my tree finds much satisfaction in housing and mothering so many forms of life. I feel the love from the energy of the tree transferring into my energy field. I am always rejuvenated after spending time at the base of one of my trees.

But what about messages? Often I will observe what is happening in my backyard and find many lessons that teach me about my life at that particular time. If there are lots of birds building nests or looking for worms then I will know that it is time to spruce up the house, do some cleaning, get my home ready. If there are squirrels that are playing around with each other, I will take the lesson that perhaps I need to socialize more. If they seem to be fighting with each other, then I will watch my attitudes towards others and perhaps keep an eye out for disagreements. Recently I noticed that my fish were not feeding much on the algae that had built up a little in the pond so I realized I needed to feed them less fish food so that they would be forced to eat some of the algae. This related to my tendency to perhaps rescue others who actually need to fend for themselves a little. Whenever I hear a crow calling out to me I know that there are messages coming to me. Sometimes the number of crows or the number of times they cawk is also significant. Once I was out for a run and I noticed a crow calling out to me from a particular house. I felt impressed to send healing energy to the people who lived in that house. I seemed to see energetically a woman in the house who was ill.

With the change of the seasons upon us, I have been noticing that the activity in my backyard has changed as well. The squirrel activity has increased, and I am thinking that perhaps it is time to store a little away for the future. Today I noticed that there was absolutely no activity at all. No birds, no squirrels, unnaturally quiet. I took this as a sign that maybe I needed a little quiet time.

The key to getting messages from nature is not to observe only what is happening. Something is always happening. The key is to notice what you notice is happening. Your observation of what is happening is what the Angels are showing you to give you a message. There may be birds and squirrels all over the place and you may not pay attention to them at all but when you do, notice what you notice about what they are doing. I love to watch the squirrels play but my neighbor is always shooing them away. The squirrels seem to get on her porch and knock over her knickknacks or leave nuts on her furniture. She is noticing the disarray and the fact that her world has been interfered with. This may be a sign that she has some irritations around her, be it people or maybe something within herself. The squirrels have never messed with my stuff that I have outside. They may occasionally plant a nut in my hanging basket, knocking the dirt out of the pot and onto the ground, but this is not an irritation to me. To someone else it might be. Notice the feeling you get from things you observe. This may be a key in receiving a message from nature.

Last year the bees were an irritation to me. They had built nests all over my yard, and I found it difficult to pull weeds or do basic yard work due to the fact that they had intruded on my territory. This year I have had no such experiences. What was the lesson the bees had for me? They gave me quite a few lessons which I covered in blogs and chapters in my book, but I think I was learning about the blessing of just "being", not doing so much all the time. They prevented me from "doing" all the stuff I thought I needed to do, and I had to accept the fact that we all have to live on the earth together in harmony. This year I have learned to live in peace with the bees, and they with me.

We can make life on earth a chore or an adventure. We can find messages in all the little nooks and crannies of our day to day lives or we can miss all the great lessons that are out there, just waiting to be discovered. Let's open our eyes and find miracles awaiting our observation.

Numbers

A lot of people want to know how to hear the voice of their Angels and Guides or how to receive guidance or direction in their every day lives. It is a lot simpler than you may think. There are many tools available for learning how to receive a message from the Higher Realms. However, many times all we have to do is look around us.

Today I am going to touch on how numbers can be a sign from our Angels. In future blogs, I will give examples of many other signs and symbols that are messages from our Guides or even from our loved ones who may have crossed over and are sending us comfort or guidance from the other side.

Everyone will have symbols or signs that are meaningful to them. I love the number 8. Before I studied numerology I used to see the number 8 and to me it was a number of new beginnings. In my mind there were seven days in a week and the number 8 represented to me the beginning of a new week. When I would see an 8 I would know it was a message that a new week was just over the horizon. Now that I have studied a little bit of numerology I have learned that 8 is the number of money and harvest and prosperity. That is good too. But my Angels like to send me signs that they are around and that all is well by sending me that particular number. I will see it repeatedly in a short period of time and I will know that all is well. They seem to send it to me during times when I am questioning whether I have done the right thing or not. Just recently I was questioning my decision to publish my book due to the fact that I had seen no sales in a couple of weeks and wondering if it was worth the expense and within a day or two I began to see the number 8 everywhere. I was reassured that I was fulfilling part of my purpose and that it would all be okay. As you can see, what may say one thing to me may say something completely different to someone else. What if someone had a loved one who died on the 8th day of the month? Maybe to them when they see an 8 they will think of that person. Maybe to them seeing an 8 is a sign that the person who they love is okay on the other side. On another note, my husband once had a particular serious health issue that manifested on the 8th day of April, and then he questioned my love for the number 8. He said, see not everything that happens on the 8th of the month is good. To which my reply would be, I still have you. The fact that it happened on an 8 day assured me that you would be okay.

Recently I began to wake up in the middle of the night and when I would look at the clock, it would say 3:33. Then I would wake up again and the clock would say 5:55. Then I started seeing the same numbers during the day. Maybe on the clock or the odometer on my car, or the page number of a book I was reading, or the number of words on a particular blog I was writing. I learned from doing some research that 333 was the number of the Ascended Masters and 555 was the number of a gigantic change. So the message to me was that even though tremendous change was on the horizon, the Ascended Masters are with me. Other circles say that 3 is the number for creativity, fun, and manifesting your dreams. Either answer is a good one. Lately I have been writing a lot and my book was just published two months ago which is a manifestation of a dream, but I also like the thought that the Ascended Masters are with me. I think if we find numerous opinions on the symbolism of a particular number or sign, then we have to take the one that resonates inside of us.

This week, pay attention to which numbers you see repeatedly. Ask your Guides what the number means to you. Just because numerology says it means one thing does not mean that it means the same thing for you. You may find an answer to a question you have been asking yourself. You may find reassurance that a loved one is near. The key is that you have to decide what it means to you. Know that your Angels and Guides are near and they know you very well. They will only give you signs that you understand. Just knowing this is a big help...

So What is In Store for Us?

With the start of the new month of October I have been reading what others have been predicting for the month. I read about the Venus retrograde, which starts on October 8th and goes through much of the month of October and November. I am not an astrologist but they say that this will highlight relationships for the most part. Then I was reading what some of those who "channel" messages from the Higher Realms are saying and some say that this month is another extension of September which seemed to be very difficult for a lot of people for one reason or another. Then some said that we are in for a change and that things would be much better. It seemed to me that everyone was saying something different this time. Who to believe?

For anyone who studies numerology October is a 1 month, which means that it is a month of new beginnings. However, in conjunction with all the other numbers that surround it, such as the year and the day and other factors, it could vibrate completely differently for some than others.

I was meditating on what October holds for me personally, and which one of the articles to believe, and I guess what my Guides seem to be telling me is that no matter what the planets do or the numbers do, every day is my decision. Yes there are energies and vibrations out there that make some days easier than others. Studying the numbers and the planets are beneficial in discovering things that maybe I need to confront. Knowing that the Angels are out there and that the Higher Realms are "upgrading" our systems is helpful when I am feeling a little out of sorts. When I am not sleeping it is encouraging to know that maybe the Higher Powers are just working on my transmitters. I know that there are a lot of things I can't see. The Bible even says that we "see through a glass darkly." I think that means that we only see things partially the way they really are. We see things from our own perspective, and each of us has a different perspective. I remember from my church days a preacher saying one time if he hears someone preaching about the Lord is coming soon, I mean really soon, he often would observe that person died soon after. This would indicate that sometimes we hear messages that are personally for ourselves and those of us who often hear from the Higher Realms might mistake this for a universal message and not just a personal one.

So what am I trying to say? I am saying that I although I am the first one to read all the predictions for this month, I think that we all need to hear for ourselves. Yes, Venus might be in retrograde and maybe that might make things a little more difficult, but what am I going to decide to do to make my days better? What do I hear the Angels saying and is what I am hearing the same or different than what I am reading from others?

What I hear from my Angels and Guides is that every day is my decision. No matter whether I am having a good day or a bad one, my attitude and my perspective is the most important thing. Maybe I am going through some changes that are difficult,or maybe things are wonderful, but how I choose to react to those things that are happening to me is what will make my life flow smoothly or not. I can choose my attitude. I can choose to go with the flow or against it.

I was watching the news about all of the lawsuits and complaints in conjunction with the oil spill in the gulf, and although I sympathize with those who have lost their livelihoods, living in the idea that something or someone else is responsible for whether my life is working or not is a fallacy. I am always responsible for my own life and making it work. If the Post Office closes tomorrow, then I will go look for another job. I will not sue the Post Office for changing my lifestyle. I will wake up smiling and I will expect the best. I will live in anticipation of the next adventure. The saying goes, when one door closes, another one opens, but often we spend so much time crying over the closed door, that we miss the one that has opened up for us. What are we focusing on? The closed door or the open one? The Venus retrograde or the opportunity to improve our relationships? The loss of one job or the opportunity for the next adventure?

I guess the key is our decision to take responsibility for our own lives or the easy way out, to blame our problems on something or someone else. I spent the early part of my life blaming all my problems on the Devil, then I see now that I walk in different circles that some like to blame the planets or the numbers or the oil companies or the President. There is always someone to blame. Or there is the best way, to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps and move forward. That is what I have decided. I am moving forward. And I am going to enjoy the journey.

Aunt Mabel

Last night I dreamed my Aunt Mabel called and wanted me to come up for a visit. I was checking my schedule and trying to find a weekend when I could take off and go visit. The dream was a little more involved but after waking up I remember that Aunt Mabel just passed a couple of months ago. I wondered if she was trying to contact me.

So this morning I got on my treadmill and put on my drumming cd and tried to contact Aunt Mabel. She came through right away. I am always surprised when my family members come through, because they're all Pentecostals and don't really believe in this sort of thing. Mom has contacted me many times and she says her perspective changed after she crossed over and she saw things a little differently. I guess maybe after they cross over they don't all think I am as crazy as they thought when they were alive.

Anyway, back to Aunt Mabel. She said she was happy on the other side, but she missed her family. Family was everything to her. She was relatively happy with her life, but her family was most important. She sees her family from time to time from where she is, and always wants the best for them.

She said that she admits that a lot of the family questioned my choices. They all thought I was a bit off my rocker, but now that she has a different perspective from the other side, she is proud of me. She and mom were both cheering me on, and sometime if I wanted to tackle cumpa ( a Norwegian dish mom and her were famous for ) they would help me. Not that they wouldn't have a little disagreement about technique.

When I looked up into the spirit realm and saw her and mom standing there looking in on me, I could see a number of my Guides and Angels also standing around giving bits and pieces of advice as well. Aunt Mabel said, yes, there were a lot of Guides there with me, and that I should not worry so much. Let things come to me. She also told me that as a sign that it was really her, she was letting me know that a family member would be contacting me soon. Hmmm.....since it is unlikely that any of my family members on that side read my blog, we will see. The perspective of time is a bit different on the other side, so it could be awhile before I get a visit, but she says someone is going to run across my book at some point. (no I did not send a copy to any family member except my dad and my sister and my daughter).

Thanks for the visit, Aunt Mabel. It was nice talking to you.....

Shopping Carts and Turtles

The other day I was on my way to work driving down the street in the neighborhood behind my house when I came upon a turtle attempting to cross the road. Always the rescuer, I stopped my car, got out, and rescued the turtle, picking him up and delivering him safely to the side of the road in the soft, comfy grass.

Then yesterday I was driving down the aisles in the parking lot of Costco when a runaway shopping cart darted out in front of me. Stopping my car, I jumped out and rescued the cart and the parked car in its path, replacing it where it belonged, with walking onlookers applauding me on.

I am a rescuer. I always go the extra mile when someone needs assistance or advice. If I see something that needs to be done, I am right on it. I assist many customers at the Post Office with their packages, mailing problems, personal problems sometimes too. I have always felt it was my mission on earth to make life a little easier for someone in distress. Now for my dilemma. When is enough enough? When do I stop doing for others? When do I stop feeling guilty when I just have nothing left? At some point there comes a time when doing for others means they do not have the opportunity to do for themselves, and that is not healthy for me or them.

The thought came to me after I rescued the turtle, what if he really wanted to be on the opposite side of the road I placed him on? Will he just wait for me to drive off, then turn right around and go back out into the road? At some point I have to realize that I cannot be God for everyone. I cannot stand guard at my pond twenty four hours a day protecting my fish from predators. I cannot wait to see if the turtle stays out of the road.

So today I decided that I am going to take off that invisible neon sign that says "Joy to the rescue." And I spent the rest of the evening feeling guilty. And then I realized the answer to the question, If God is really God, then why does he allow.. such and such. Because God knows we need to learn our own lessons. We need to experience the consequences of our choices.

I heard once that if a bird is hatching out of its shell and someone cracks the shell and lets him out, he will die. He needs the experience of cracking the shell himself. It makes him strong and able to survive. I am the person cracking the shell because I feel sorry for the poor bird who is pecking furiously at the shell. Today I stopped cracking the shell. And I feel really bad. And I will probably have to be reminded tomorrow not to crack the shell. And the next day. And the next.

When shopping carts stop darting out in front of my car then I will know I have finally learned my lesson. Should I have let the shopping cart crash into the unsuspecting car? No, silly, it was just my Angels again, teaching me a lesson.

The Intruder

A few nights ago my husband was out of town and I was home alone. I was a bit under the weather so I had chosen to stay home to rest. I fell asleep on the couch early and I dreamed that I had forgotten to lock the doors, which was probably true because I have always felt safe in my home and often forget to lock the doors. In the dream I got up off the couch and went into the kitchen to lock the side door when I noticed someone was attempting to break in. I crouched down out of his view and quickly locked the kitchen door before he noticed the door had been unlocked. Then I realized that I should hurry to lock the other doors. The front door was already locked and I creeped into the dining room before he could reach the back door, which was fully open with only the screen door closed. I rushed over to close the door but before I could he reached in through the screen door and grabbed my arm. I panicked and tried to slam the storm door shut on his hand. The sheer panic caused me to wake up. Of course the first thing I did was get up and check all the doors to make sure they were locked. The back door was standing wide open just like in my dream but there was no one there. I closed and locked the door but the panic did not immediately go away. I wondered if the dream was a warning. I am hardly ever afraid to be alone in my home but that night I heard every little noise.

The first thing I did was to take an inner inventory. In the dream the front door remained locked and the side door was able to be locked without incident so the back door was the significant door that was vulnerable to attack. I related the back door to the door to my subconscious. This is the door that I often used to enter into shamanic journeying. I often go through this door when doing work for clients or friends to help with subconscious issues so apparently, even though I thought I was protecting myself, the dream was telling me I needed to do more to protect my home, my soul, from attack. I called upon my Angels and Higher Beings of Love and Light to protect my soul and my home from unwanted intruders. I also called upon my Power Animals to keep watch outside. After awhile I was able to feel comfortable enough to go back to sleep.

After I had called upon the Angels to protect my home, I went back to sleep and had another dream. I dreamed that my home was so full of Angels and Protective Beings of Love and Light that there was no space between them to even walk or move around. My entire house was full of Protective Angels. I felt entirely safe and almost a little guilty for calling on so many of them and possibly taking them away from more important tasks. However, I am sure that there are so many Angels we never need fear that we are abusing our rights to call upon them for help. Eventually I heard my husband come in the door and I was almost surprised he was able to get in for all the Angels standing around.

I think it is so important to realize that our Angels are always there, just waiting for us to call upon them. They do not interfere unless we ask, but I think the first dream may have been a warning to get up and lock the door. There are natural things we can and should do to protect ourselves, but the Angels are always there to guard and protect.

The Merry Go Round

Recently I was on a shamanic journey into the nonphysical realm. I found myself with my client on a merry go round. She was a child and was going round and round and up and down. At first I thought I had found her there because of her love of horses, but after a couple of minutes I realized that she did not really want to be there. She was looking at the other rides at the carnival and wanted to be on the roller coaster or even the farris wheel, but found herself unable to get off the merry go round. Any time she would attempt to stop the merry go round and get off, there would be a stern voice behind her, urging her to stay on, that this is where she belonged. So in order to compensate for her distaste for the merry go round, she would tune in to the feelings of the children on the other rides. She could almost feel how they felt riding the other rides, and by doing so, found herself in a small way able to enjoy the other rides as well.

My client, when I had related this story to her, admitted that she had spent a lot of time daydreaming, while in school and other necessary activities. The adults in her life were always bringing her back to reality. As children it is quite normal to daydream, and probably even healthy. When we are children we are closer to our higher selves than when we become adults. Children are very in tune with themselves and their surroundings, and when something is unpleasant or maybe just not fun, are quite able to "check out", in a way, go to a place that is in a different reality.
I remember as a child I did this quite frequently myself.

My message to this person was that it is okay to get off the merry go round and experience different realities. I guess the message that I get is that so many times our lives unfold in a particular way. We are taught that this way is the right way and that all other ways are wrong. I remember being taught in Sunday School that the way of Christianity was the straight and narrow path that led to life and that the way to destruction was to follow the wide path, the path that most of the world followed. Only by following Jesus could we be assured of salvation. I believed that for many years, and never wondered what the other religions taught or believed, for they must all surely be wrong. But one day it occurred to me, what if I am wrong? How would I know who is really right if I have no idea what the other religions believe? Now my belief system has evolved even more than that. What if everyone is right? What if everyone is wrong?

This parable of the merry go round can reach even farther than our chosen belief system. What if it has to do with our chosen lifestyle. Just because we have grown up on the merry go round doesn't mean that those who have chosen the farris wheel are wrong. They have just chosen to experience life in a different way.

At this point in my life, I have to believe that love prevails. If someone believes that the tree in his backyard is God, and that someone loves that tree, and decides to go about the world saving all the trees, then that person is right. Love is the deciding factor. I think that what we believe about God or life is not as important as what we do about it. If no harm comes from someone's belief system, then it is okay. I think God is okay with that too. The deciding factor is "do no harm." Let all you do be done in love. I have found messages from God in all sorts of places. At a certain point I had to get off the merry go round of my belief system that told me that God only speaks to certain people and in certain ways. This opened me up to a whole world of messages that come to me in a myriad of ways. I have heard messages from God come to me as I am sitting out in my garden and watching the squirrels play and the way in which they play gives me a message about how my day is going to unfold.

What does the merry go round represent to you? Have you been feeling like you are going around the same circle you have been going around for years, unable to get off and experience the other rides in the carnival of life? I am here to tell you, it is okay to get off the merry go round. Try something different. See the world through someone else's eyes. Look at life through a different viewpoint. You may decide you like the merry go round and decide to get back on. But at least you will know.

Secrets

As many of you know who follow my blog, I receive messages from Angels and Guides which I, in turn, write down and post them in my blogs. I recently compiled months of blogs into a book which I published. I wanted to share some recent experiences that I have had and some personal messages to give an idea of the kind of things that I receive when I have tuned into Spirit.

Recently I was with a girl who is very in tune with Spirit. She receives many impressions of past events from antiques that she has touched or places that she visits. She also has dreams of past events in familiar locations which she visits. I was spending some time with her and we were horseback riding in a rural location near Winchester where we live. She would take me to spots where she has felt strong emotions and asked me if I felt anything. In one location where we stopped I felt some Native American connection with the land but, as I had mentioned in a previous blog, many times events layer themselves one upon another. Our land has existed for thousands of years and sometimes we may pick up an event on a particular location that is layered upon something that happened in that exact spot many years before. I felt when we were in a particular rural location that a baby had been born there, maybe not only once but twice. The one time I picked up on was perhaps a Native American birth, which would probably been a normal event in this location, because Native Americans were very connected to the land they inhabited and giving birth in a wooded area might have been a frequent event. However, I also picked up on another birth, probably more recent and not as happy or normal an event as the first impression. I picked up on a young girl, probably a teenager, in the more recent past, perhaps the 1940's or so, when teenagers giving birth out of wedlock was not an acceptable practice. She had come to this rural area to give birth. I was not able to pick up on whether mother or child survived the event, but I did feel that it was a very traumatic event for both. The Spirits of the land that I had sensed let me know that they cradled both mother and child during the time of their tragic event at that particular location. Of course there is no way to validate the events that I sensed there, but the friend that I was with had sensed a sadness in the same area.

We traveled a little farther and we stopped at another location where my young friend had sensed some strong emotions and even had a dream of the particular location. She asked me if I had sensed anything there and after spending a moment tuning into the energy there I sensed four or five Confederate soldiers, with one or perhaps more of them wounded. I sensed them sitting around a campfire, nursing their wounds. I didn't know how they had gotten separated from their company, if by choice or by chance. My friend told me after I related my impressions that she had had a dream of the same location, with four or five Confederate soldiers, at least one of them wounded, with a Bible covered with blood. Once again there is no way to document or validate the impressions we had gotten, except for the coincidence of having the same impressions of the location. Curiously, the horse my friend was riding, after we had stopped to chat, absolutely refused to venture forward on the path after our conversation. We had to turn around and go a different way. Animals tend to be very spiritually sensitive, and I mused that probably as we conversed we had drawn an audience, perhaps the very soldiers we were talking about. It seems that we humans, whether living or dead, love to hear what people are saying about us.

Another friend was relating to me that, although she had lived in her "new" house almost two years, that she had not had any desire to unpack or even to hang pictures on the wall or decorate in any way. Now, after two years, she had decided to go through all the things she had left packed in boxes, and decide whether or not to keep them or to discard them. I was able to help her to see that her new home represented her soul. She was going through a change in how she viewed herself, just as she had gone through a change in her living arrangements. She had left her walls in her new home empty until she discovered who she really was. Her soul had been empty for a time, just as the walls in her new home had remained bare. Now that she was discovering who she was as a person, she would begin to discover what items from her past still spoke to her and which ones she really loved, and which items to discard. Just as she would be discarding many items that had decorated her old home and finding new things that she loved to decorate her new home, in the same way she would be discarding things from her past and keeping some things she really loved, and that the empty places in her heart would soon be filled with what she really loved.

The most important thing to remember is that all of life is a metaphor. We can find messages in our every day lives to give us clues as to what lessons our soul is ready to teach us. In the first two examples we can learn that imprints in physical locations give us clues to events that have occurred in those locations. We can assist the spirits that have gotten stuck there to move on, or we can learn that every event of our lives never really goes away.

In the story of the friend and her new house, we can learn that the things we experience in our daily life is a parable of the lessons we are meant to learn at this stage in our journey. All we have to do is tune in to what Spirit is trying to tell us.

In the story of the young girl giving birth in the woods, we learn that we are never alone. We can never hide and there is always Someone watching. Someone will feel our pain and someone will find out our secrets.

My hope is that in some way someone reading will realize that they are not alone. Maybe someone who has a secret will realize that they don't really have a secret. Someone is going to find out. Someone is going to feel your pain. Even the walls in your house have a story to tell. All we have to do is listen.

Call for Help

This week has been a challenging week. It started off really well with the holiday weekend but as soon as the work week started back, it seemed like I was standing against one of those big industrial size fans like they have at work. Everything that could go wrong at work went wrong. It was the week for me to be overly emotional anyway. I couldn't sleep. Three nights in a row I was awake for an hour or more in the middle of the night.

The third night of not sleeping I was in that state of mind when I was aware of what was going on but not quite fully awake when I suddenly became aware of a presence in our bedroom. She walked right in as if it were her bedroom. She was a woman of about my age, maybe a little younger, but she had a short blond haircut and was wearing army fatigues. She came into the bedroom, laid down a bag of some kind and came walking toward the bed where my husband Clay and I lay sleeping, or in my case, not sleeping. I tried to speak but no words would come out of my mouth. I was unable to move my arms. She came over to Clay's side of the bed and looked at him. I was worried about what she was going to do. I tried to get my arms loose from whatever was holding them but they would not budge. She seemed unaware that I was there but she was very aware of Clay. As she got closer I realized that her skin was transparent. I could see right through her. She reached down inside of Clay's chest cavity with her transparent hand and seemed to pull something out, but I couldn't tell what she had taken. I looked over at Clay and at that exact moment he took a deep breath and changed positions as he slept. I was worried she had taken something important, but I was unable to do or say anything. As soon as she pulled her hand out of his chest, she disappeared. Immediately I could move my arms. My heart began to race as I wondered what had happened. I wanted to wake him up and make sure he was okay but I worried he would get upset for me waking him up and a part of me wasn't sure what just happened.

Clay assured me that it was just a dream. He said that no one could take his heart for it belonged to me. However, after relating the incident to one of my mentors, she encouraged me to protect myself and my home from psychic attack. This I hadn't done lately. I had come to believe that if I focus on the good stuff, then the bad stuff will just stay away due to lack of attention. However, the following night I called upon the Angels and Highest Beings of Love and Light to guard my home and my bedroom and to watch over myself and Clay as we slept. I proclaimed that only love could dwell in my home and that all unhealthy connections were to be broken.

That night I had a dream. I dreamed I was going to see a friend and I had my grandson with me. He was a baby so I wasn't sure if it was my current grandson who is four or a future one. On the way to see the friend I came upon an old acquaintance whose name was Hyatt (I don't know anyone by this name in my physical life). He accompanied me to see the friend and we gave her a gift. I was quite happy to be in the company of this acquaintance and he helped me find my way back home and even kept trying to give me large amounts of money which I would not accept, except for a small amount to buy something for my grandson. Upon awakening I realized that I had made acquaintance with one of my Angels. Apparently he has been with me for a long time but I had forgotten to call upon him for assistance. I immediately knew that he was always there to assist me, and wished to shower me with blessings, but most of the time I would not accept the help. I thanked him for showing himself to me in the dream and apologized for not accepting his help until now.

I think it is important to remember that our Angels and Guides are always around to assist us and help us find our way back home but we have to ask for assistance. Before I went to sleep that night I had asked for assistance and this dream was my Angels way of telling me that They had heard my cry for help and were there for me to accompany me on my journey but also to assist me when I need help.

I wanted to relate the two different experiences to show that no matter what we go through we do have a Support System that is Higher than we are. We are not alone in the world.