Message While Running

Yesterday morning the weather seemed to cooperate so that I could go out for my run. The weather had been nice the day before so I was somewhat surprised at the chill in the air. The wind picked up while I was out and seemed to be pushing against me as I made my way through the neighborhood. I tried to do my morning meditations as I normally do while I am running, connecting with my Power Animals and Higher Beings of Love and Light as well. It seemed a little more difficult than usual to connect because my attention kept being drawn away when a wind gust would blow against me, making it difficult to move forward.

I was reminded of my previous run when the weather had been a little warmer and the wind was not so relentless. It had been so easy to connect with Spirit and I felt I could have kept running for hours. This was not that day.

Immediately my message from Spirit was that it was important to keep moving forward no matter what the conditions around me happened to be. Sometimes the wind would be blowing against me, sometimes it would be pushing me along. Some days the moving forward would be easy, sometimes difficult. Sometimes I would be running, sometimes walking, perhaps sometimes crawling, but I was to keep moving. As long as I kept my focus clear, my Helpers would always be there to assist me in my endeavors.

As I ran, I thanked the wind for the resistance it offered, for it would make me a stronger runner. It would make the days of running in not so unfavorable conditions more enjoyable and it would make me appreciate those days more. I thanked the sun for shining so that I could enjoy running outside. I thanked the earth for allowing me to run upon its belly and the sky above me for its limitless abundance. I thanked the grass and the trees for giving me the fragrance of spring to enjoy and the beautiful scenery to savor as I ran past them, with no particular destination except for eventually back home.

Just for today, think about what in your life is offering you the wind resistance I just spoke of. It could be a difficult boss, an illness, a relationship difficulty, or a financial obstacle. Thank the resistant situation for the opportunity to make you stronger. Keep moving forward. Sometimes you will walk, sometimes you will run, but always be forging ahead. That's what life is all about.

Sharing the Earth

Growing up I remember spending a lot of time with my weeping willow tree. I used to sit under it, swing on its branches and press the leaves between the pages of books. No one, including me, understood my relationship with this tree. As a child I was extremely shy and backward around people, but my tree always seemed to understand me. I felt safe in the shade of its long weepy branches. I guess I somehow felt connected to this tree because I often felt weepy myself.

As I grew up I soon forgot my connection with nature as I was taught that man had dominion over the plants and animals and that humans were the superior creation. All of the plants and animals were created for my use and pleasure, I was taught. This negated much of my respect for life with whom I share this planet. This idea is at the core of much of the disrespect for life that we witness on the planet today. In recent years I have been reacquainted with the idea that all of life is sacred and that everything on the earth has a spirit of its own. We are all connected and there is much we can learn by connecting with the spirits of the plants, animals, and even the rocks with whom we share our planet.

I do remember that,many years ago, with the Bible verse in hand that said that we had dominion over all the living creatures on the earth that I used to talk to the ants, spiders and even the mice that occasionally attempted to share my home with me without my permission. I would give them the choice of vacating my home or risking death by means of traps or pesticides. Sometimes I would be surprised when I would find that talking to them worked!

In more recent years I have developed a more healthy respect for the life with whom we share the planet. A couple of years ago when our yard was inhabited by three nests of bees, I resorted to contacting the spirit of the bee and asking it to please make its home in someone else's yard, or at least allow me to sit outside without fear of attack. The following year I noticed that the bees would still come to visit my flowers, for which I was grateful, but the swarms and the nests seemed to have moved. I also beseeched my neighbors the squirrels to please not eat my tulips and I have noticed this year that all my tulips have remained intact.

At this point in my journey through this life, I am finding that even though I may consider my home to be my property, along with my husband, the animal kingdom does not understand ownership. We may ask them politely to respect our space, but it is really up to them if they decide to cooperate or not. Hopefully their spirits will recognize that I mean them no harm and they will reciprocate.

Visitor in the Park

On Sunday it was a nice day and my husband and I decided to take a walk in the park. Our park has near it an historical site where there is a garden and lots of trees and bushes. Walking around I was able to connect with many nature spirits there and feel their energy. They were happily enjoying the warm sunny day as I was. However as I walked through a man-made garden I sensed the spirit of a man there walking around. As I have mentioned before I prefer connecting with guides and angels and even nature spirits rather than human spirits but my husband encouraged me to connect with him. He was dressed in blue trousers and a knee length coat. He had grey hair and a beard. I asked him his name and he told me his name was Randolph. I am not sure if Randolph was a first name or a last. He told me that he used to be a train conductor while alive and visited Winchester often although it was not his home. There is an old train stop somewhat nearby so I can see that he may have visited this particular area if there was any delays in his travels with the trains. Then he told me that he had had a mistress in Winchester and often stayed over here. He found the town refreshing and he had many lovely memories here and that is why he had chosen to visit here.

A lot of times we assume that when there are spirits of men or women in a place that they are stuck here or have not crossed over. I do not believe this to be the case. He seemed very friendly and at peace with himself and I think he was just having a fond memory which transported him to this place. This leads me to the thought that perhaps on the other side when we have a fond memory that our thoughts can transport us to a location in another realm and we are able to experience the energy of that place once again. It makes perfect sense to believe that if in this earth plane we can visualize and eventually create the reality we desire here then on the other side that is also possible, only on a more immediate scale. Who knows if perhaps we can think of a place or even a loved one and we are instantly transported there? On occasion someone on this side might sense the energy and be able to connect, even if just for a moment.

There is a verse in the Bible that states that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. It could be that our loved ones and ancestors on the other side can connect with our earth plane and do so often, especially when we are thinking about them or talking about them. Native Americans are very sure of this and it is part of their religious views. On more than one occasion I have been reprimanded by my mother from the other side for retelling a story or two which she may not want retold. Of course there is no way to verify my theory and say that it is fact. It is just my theory, but one that is held by many people.

Thanks to Randolph for the connection. Thanks to mom for continuing to keep me in line and connect with me. Thanks to all the energy, seen and unseen that keeps me company every day and makes life so interesting...

Dreams

It seems that recently Spirit has decided to communicate with many people that I know through dreams. I have myself had some pretty vivid dreams and I have been contacted by several people with dreams for which they were asking guidance. I wanted to cover some common dream scenarios and what they often mean.

One that I heard recently was a nightmare involving a vehicle crash where the dreamer was driving between two tractor trailers which were about to collide with her in the middle. She was able to maneuver herself out of harms way only to return to the scene finding the drivers of the other two vehicles dead. This seems like a bad omen and seems to indicate some sort of tragedy in which she herself survives but by the skin of her teeth. On further examination of her situation at this point in her life, however, it could indicate that she is worried about her path in life. Dreams of cars and situations that happen in the waking world as well usually indicate areas of a person's life involving their path in life. She may be feeling stuck in the middle of two very large situations that seem to be hindering her moving forward on her path in life. The dream indicates that she is resourceful and will be able to maneuver herself out of harms way and get back on her path, but not without casualties. It could also indicate the death of some very large obstacles in her life, which is a good interpretation. Time will tell which interpretation rings true in her life.

Dreams of losing pieces of the dreamers identification, like wallets and keys often indicate a change in the way the person identifies themselves. They may start to see themselves differently or make a significant change in their identity. This also may be a sign in a person's waking life when they lose keys or wallets. Right before my husband moved out of his apartment when we were still dating, he locked himself out of his apartment three times in one week. I told him that Spirit was telling him that he was going to be moving soon. That turned out to be the case. At the beginning of my decision to make public my ability to hear from Spirit, I lost my work keys with my id badge on it several times. I was able to locate it without much difficulty, but it was my sign from the Universe that I was going to be identifying myself in a different way than just a Postal employee. But I digress.

Last night I dreamed that I received a package in the mail addressed to myself and my sister. When I opened the package there were multiple bottles of vitamins inside and I kept reaching my hand back into the package and every time I did there was something else in the bag. There were new articles of clothing and more vitamins. My sister lives in another state so in the dream it did not indicate why the article was addressed to the both of us but at face value it seems to indicate that good stuff is coming our way, things that will nourish us as well as clothe us. The clothing articles were mostly sweaters and my sister lives in Florida so I am not sure she could use the sweaters but it could indicate that we would be wrapped in warmth. It could have been a message from Mom telling us that she is sending us thoughts of warmth and nourishment.

When interpreting dreams, the dreamer is the most proficient in interpreting any particular dream scenario. Dreams of water could be comforting for some but horrifying for others. One person might love dogs so a dream of a dog could be a dream of a constant companion or an unconditional friend, but someone else may have been attacked by dogs so a dream of dogs could be a dream of being attacked or violated.

I was reading recently that the best way to counteract a bad dream is to recreate it in your conscious mind, allow yourself to feel the emotions it brings up and then release it into the Universe. Maybe this will interfere with the dream scenario occurring in your waking life. If you experience the event and allow yourself to work through the emotions that it brings forth, then the Universe will be satisfied that you have experienced the event and the actual event will be laid to rest as if it had occurred. Something to think about.

It is a good idea to record your dreams and refer back to them at some point in the future. Sometimes we are surprised to find that our dreams tell us many things that we don't understand at the time but may be significant later. At one point in my life every time someone died that I was somewhat close to I dreamed of a baby falling in a pool or a lake. Usually within a week someone died. If I had not paid attention to my dreams I would not have made the association. Luckily I haven't had that dream in awhile.

Many times our dreams help us work on issues we seem to be having trouble with in our waking lives. Many times I wake up exhausted, because in my waking life I am constantly going going going. I seem to continue that in my sleep. Pay attention to any recurring patterns in your dreams. Pay attention to what the reoccurring issues are. These are probably issues you need to work on in your waking life.

Remember our dreams often teach us lessons about ourselves. As we learn our lessons, our dreams will change themes. We are constantly on a learning curve.

Happy dreaming!!

Encounter at Work

On Saturday mornings I can usually be found at the Post Office where I work, mindlessly weighing parcels and sorting mail for our business customers. This past Saturday morning was no exception. It was early and normally I am alone in the area of the Post Office where I am steadily at work. However, at a particular moment in time, I felt a presence in my work area that made himself known to me by that familiar "change" in the atmosphere and the signals that I have become aware of in my body to let me know I am not alone. My heart rate increased and the "veil" that normally separates me from the other realms seemed to be lifted.

I was made aware that my Spirit Guide who makes himself known to me as my Shaman Guide was "standing" beside me. Sometimes he appears to me in full "Shaman" apparel, with feathers and a type of walking stick which I am sure has some significant name but of which I am unaware. Sometimes he appears to me as one of my power animals. At this moment he was wearing his feather headdress that maybe he wears just so that I will recognize him. He indicated to me that I was being initiated into a different realm. It felt like to me that I had been walking in one type of climate and then I walked through this invisible curtain and then immediately I was walking in a completely different climate. It felt like one moment I was in Winchester, Virginia and then the next moment I was somewhere else completely, although I am unaware of where that location was. My body was still standing inside the Post Office weighing parcels but my soul entered into this "other" place.

The message that I got was that sometimes we may come into contact with an idea or a revelation that is not in harmony with where our soul is at that particular moment in time. We may discount this idea as hogwash or we may not understand it or we may just "forget" it. What is happening is that our souls are vibrating at a particular frequency that is not in range with this "idea". It is like a dog hearing a dog whistle that is completely out of range for human ears. Over the course of time as our soul grows we may come into contact with this "idea" again. This time our soul "jumps" because our soul has changed frequency and now resonates with this new level of revelation. It is almost like when we hear ideas at a particular time in our lives we almost don't even hear them until our soul has grown enough to hold the frequency of the new ideas.

What happens when our soul changes frequency is that things in our lives change. We are living our lives in a completely different frequency now and we are viewing our lives from this new point of view. All the stuff that was in our lives that vibrated at the old frequency may not like this new frequency. We may have the urge to change something. Maybe we may move our furniture around in the house or get rid of stuff we used to like or maybe change our style of dressing. We may buy some new stuff and get rid of old stuff. Our relationships may change.

This change in frequency may happen without our conscious knowledge. One day we may wake up and feel different but may not understand why. It is almost like that old movie "Back to the Future." Something changed and all of a sudden it changed our reality as we understand it.

The message was to embrace the change. Flow with it and don't fight it. It is a good change. I will not have to work hard to implement the change.

If you find yourself all of a sudden wanting to change the way you dress or the food you eat or the furniture in your house, if all of a sudden you don't like the same kind of activities, don't fret. You are just going through a change in your frequency. It is all okay. Embrace the change.

Connections

We are all connected. We human beings are connected to the Source of All that Is, we are connected to the Higher Beings of Love and Light, some call Angels, we are connected to our ancestors who have gone before us. Science teaches us that energy cannot be destroyed, only transformed. The grass beneath our feet is also energy, as are the rocks and the earth and the sea. All the creatures with whom we share the planet also share a deep connection with the human race. We are connected to the planets that circle with us around the sun and with the sun itself. This is why we are affected when the moon is full or the planets are aligned in a particular way.

We can go through life ignoring the connection with all the other forms of energy that are not human, or we can tap into their wisdom and connect with them, finding peace and comfort in their embrace. Who has not felt the comfort of sitting beneath a great tree, or relaxing by a peaceful stream or lake? Many have found the companionship of animals to be as important as their relationships with other humans.

There is a belief among more earth based belief systems that we have companion spirits that follow us through this lifetime who have the energy of the animal kingdom, called our Power Animals. Whether we believe in this phenomenon or not, it is believed that we are watched over by the animal kingdom in spirit form. Most of us can remember as children being fascinated by a particular animal of some kind. That fascination was probably initiated by that animal in spirit form, which had chosen to watch over us for a period of time. Usually the qualities of the animal are qualities with which we were familiar, or with which we felt some sort of connection, although the connection may have been hidden to us at the time.

When I was a child I remember being attracted to swans. I would draw them,make clay models of them, read about them, imagine spending time with them. I think my fascination probably occurred at different time periods, but none the less they were my childhood Power Animals. As an adult I can see the connection. The story of the ugly duckling comes to mind when I think of the swan. As a child I always felt like I didn't belong, much like the baby swan that somehow got raised by a family of ducks. I think my Power Animal the Swan was there to remind me that swans were beautiful animals in their own right, even if they were completely different from all the ducks around them.

Another animal I found interesting as a child was the octopus. I had forgotten this connection until one day I saw a documentary on television about the octopus and I remembered my fascination with them. The documentary listed the octopus as one of the most intelligent creatures of the sea, but one of the most socially inept. That was me as a child. I completely understand the connection. I spent most of my time reading and studying, but had very few friends and had no social life to speak of at all.

As we mature and grow our spirit animals change as we do. We will not keep a power animal from birth until death. We may find a connection with a particular animal, but its influence in our lives will change. Our power animals are there in spirit to protect us and be with us through the changes in our lives. They are there to teach us lessons about ourselves and give us wisdom.

Just for today, contemplate your connections to non human energy that is there to be your companion through this lifetime. It may be a spirit animal, it may be a particular tree or flower. It may be a Saint or a particular Angel. We are surrounded by loving Energy that wishes to connect with us and guide us and protect us. Let us break down the walls of our own limited thinking and open ourselves up to guidance of all kinds from all sources. Remember, we are all connected.