Monday, April 29, 2013

Dream Interpretations

Last night I had two dreams that stood out to me as important. I was not sure at first of the significance, but given some events that occurred when I woke up this morning, I am apt to think that I was being protected in some way.

In the first dream I was in danger of being attacked. I was not really aware of the danger, but I saw my Power Animal the black panther running toward me in the dream and he jumped up on me to block whatever was coming at me to attack me. Then I woke up. Short dream.

In the second dream I was getting into my car. I was in some sort of area where construction was going on. My mother was with me, although I didn't really see her, I just knew she was there ( my mother has passed.) As I got into my car, a disheveled man jumped into my car and pointed a gun at my head and demanded that I drive him somewhere in town. My mother got in and said she would drive, so I was kind of sitting in the middle between this man and my mother (who I still didn't really see).  I became aware that I needed to send love and light to this man and to the gun pointed now in my  mouth. I closed my eyes as we drove and sent love and light and the man began to cry. He put the gun down and I was able to talk to him. I must have gained his trust. I really don't remember the conversation but it appeared he had some wounds under his shirt because at one point he flinched when I patted him on the side after he had put the gun down. We stopped the car and he got out. And then I woke up.

I am one to always spiritualize everything. I was thinking...hmmm.... my car represents my path in life and my mom was there and it seemed to be somewhere that I had been sometime in the past.. etc.. etc.. then I went to work.

When I got to work my supervisor called me aside and said that since I came to work early in the morning I might want to take extra care noticing my surroundings because there had been a string of robberies on the street where I work. He began to give me instructions for what to do if I noticed anyone walking toward me as I entered my work place.

It occurs to me that I possibly averted some harm coming to me just by the mere fact that in my first dream my Power Animal was protecting me and in my second dream I sent love and light to the perpetrator. Who is to say that when we send love and light to those who wish us harm that we do not touch some place deep inside of them that needs healing? Healing is out there not only for people who are loving and kind, but also to those who are less than honorable citizens.

I don't know that if I was being held at gun point that I would necessarily think to send love and light at that moment. However in my dreams obviously I did think of it. Now for those of you skeptics out there: no I did not watch a cops and robbers show on television last night. Even if I did, it never hurts to send love and light.

Thanks to my protective guardians, who know when I need some protection, even when I don't. Perhaps I did send some loving healing energy to that person who has been robbing stores the past few days. I hope he finds some peace and healing.

Friday, April 26, 2013

The Lady of the Lake

My husband and I arrived here in Lake George New York yesterday for the Glory Hounts  Paranormal event. The tourist season has not yet begun so it was very quiet. My custom when I go to an area, especially when I may be doing some sort of spiritual work, is to call upon the Spirit of the land where I am and request permission first. The weather was cool but not unbearable so I decided to attempt to connect out by a tree by the lake.
Immediately upon entering the non physical realm my power animal the Dragon showed up. He appeared to rise out of the ground and was extremely large so I thought at first that he was the Spirit of the land. However he made himself known to me and let me know that the Spirit of the land actually lived in the center of the lake. I was taken by Spirit into the center of the lake and was warmly greeted by a friendly female presence. I call her the lady of the lake because she did not tell me her name.
She asked me why I had contacted her and I told her that it was my custom to request permission before doing any spiritual work in a location. She thanked me and offered her blessings.
I don't know if there will be opportunity to offer to be of service to Spirit, but I suggest that others who serve Spirit might take up this custom. There are what we in shamanism know are Spirits of the Land who are in charge of geographical locations. We can be of greater service if we have the blessings of those who are in charge. And it is not us.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

And What About Money?

In my last two blogs I have written a little bit about who I am and how I came to walk this path. This is repetitious to some of you, but I did mention that I am starting to connect with some new people who are not familiar with my particular style or belief system, so I have felt led of Spirit to give a little bit of background information as well as explain the meaning of some terms that maybe some of you are not familiar with.

In this blog I am going to talk about the hush hush subject of money. Why do healers charge for their services? And should we?

When I was of service in the church that I belonged to, I always gave messages free of charge. When I first started on this path without the covering of the church, I continued in this practice. Although I was paying money to attend workshops and receive training in improving my natural abilities, I always felt like I was given a gift and how could I think to charge people to receive messages or channel healing energy to them? In the beginnings of my path to healing, I had a wonderful inner healer who never charged me for her services, and the first mentor I had also chose not to charge me for her mentoring. How could I charge for my services when I had received some of my healing free of charge? And if I did charge,  did this mean that people who could not afford my services would never get to receive a message or healing energy from the Higher Powers?

This is what I began to notice. I would give a person a session, free of charge. Sometimes they would experience a healing, and sometimes I never got feedback as to the benefit. However, sometime down the line, I would hear that the same person ended up going to someone who did the same exact thing that I did, only they paid that person a fee for the service. For some reason the person who charged, for the mere fact that they charged, seemed to have more credibility than I did. At some point the "client", if you want to call them that, although they did not pay, would tell me about some revelation that they had received from this other person, and it would be almost word for word for what I had told them, but for some reason, the other person was legit. Maybe they had a degree or a paper on the wall, or perhaps just a website. One person was a pet psychic. The information was different, but it got the person to keep calling back.

Another example. Have you, as parents, noticed that when you give something to your children which costs them nothing, they do not appreciate it as much as something they earn, or work for, or pay for? This is called by some energy exchange. The theory is that if something costs you nothing, it has no lasting value for you. We can look at welfare and some of the benefits of the poor and notice that at some point people almost feel entitled to be given to. I will  not get into a debate into politics but the simple fact is that we value most things that cost us something. I noticed when I was a renter I was not nearly as fond of my living space and not so inclined to nurse it and take good care of it as I was when I bought my first house.

So at some point I decided to begin to charge for my services. I have never charged as much as my counterparts because I want to be affordable for all, and because I have my income from the Post Office, my other job, to pay my bills. Sometimes I will decide, on an individual basis, to offer my services for free or a reduced charge, but this is entirely led by Spirit. I had heard of a local wedding officiant who did not charge for her services, but this I feel is a bad beginning to a marriage. If a couple cannot afford to pay an officiant, then maybe they should wait before they get married. They want their wedding and their marriage to mean something, and if they have not had to pay to get married, how likely are they to fight for their marriage when things get tough? I guarantee a divorce is going to cost them something, and much more than what they paid to get married. For this reason I do charge a minimal fee, especially in relation to others who do the same things I do.  This does not mean I am in this for the money. I want to be a blessing to all, and for this reason I have been posting messages from Spirit now for three years on my blog, which is free to all and accessible to all.

So to the charge that those who charge for healing or messages from Spirit are prostituting their gifts, this is my response. Go to a medical doctor and see what you get for free. Look within yourself and see if the things you have gotten for free have had value to you. No the best things in life are not free.  All of the valuable things I have learned in my lifetime have been the things that have cost me something. I will always offer my services to those who cannot afford, by my own discretion, of course, at a free or reduced charge. But the laws of the Universe state that nothing is ever free. At some point in your life, you will pay for everything. It may or may not be money, but everything costs you something.

So if you are trying to get something for nothing, remember that what you are after will not have lasting value to you.  This is why many who win the lottery are not able to hold on to their winnings. This principle has not sunk into their consciousness.

If you have been the recipient of the generosity of others, please pay it forward. Appreciate those things you have received and learned at the expense of someone else. Freely you have received, freely give. And remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Shamanic Terms and Explanations

As promised, here is part two of .. getting to know me. I have recently come into contact with some new acquaintances and I am posting in my blog some frequently asked questions, and maybe some that you have thought of but have not asked.

I will start with some basic terms in shamanism.I mentioned in my  last blog that I call myself a shamanic practitioner but I would like to add that I am not really fond of labels. It is similar to calling yourself Baptist or Catholic or Hindu or Buddhist. There are many different beliefs within a particular label and sometimes those beliefs can be interchangeable. I believe that whatever belief system you feel most comfortable associating with, as long as it fulfills you and does not hurt people or animals, then it is what is right for you. In this blog I will talk about some common terms within the shamanic practice, how they are similar to other terms we are more familiar with, and how I use them in my practice.

What is "journeying?"

Journeying is a term in shamanism for the ritual of going into an altered state of consciousness and taking travels into the world of spirit. It is not unlike my experiences in my former belief system of Christianity in which I would have extended periods of prayer in which I would receive guidance and messages from the Holy Spirit. In Christianity I would reach this level of consciousness through the use of worship music and in the sect I was in, through movement and dance (yes, I guess you could say I was a holy roller..) , and in shamanism we achieve this state through drumming. It is also not unlike the experience of meditation, in which this state of consciousness is reached through meditation music. As I have stated before, the means by which we achieve this state is different, the terms or labels are different, the end result is basically the same. We achieve connection with our Higher Source through whatever means we are comfortable and familiar with.

What is a "soul retrieval?"

During our lifetimes, we leave behind pieces of our "energy" or "soul" in time periods and places where there was a high degree of emotion attached to an event or place. Many times when there is a traumatic event, we experience a rush of emotion and a piece of our "soul" or " life force" or "energy" gets stuck. A shaman or, as I call myself, a shamanic practitioner, will go into a "journey" for their client and go into the past or into the place where the pieces of their client's energy has gotten stuck and retrieve those pieces and bring them back to their client. While in the altered state of consciousness, the shamanic practitioner will receive images or indications of where the pieces of the clients soul have been lost and, with the help of their Spirit Guides, bring those pieces back to the client.

What about good and evil? Are you ever worried that you will run into an evil spirit or that you are connecting with Spirits that are not of the light?

In my former belief system, I was taught that whatever was not in line with the belief in Jesus was from the devil and that we could only access God through Jesus. This has not been my experience since I left that belief system. I will say that whatever is from "God" or our Higher Source will make us feel better, and whatever is not in our best interests will make us feel bad.  I have experienced nothing but joy from being released from the bondage of thinking that everyone else was wrong except for me and my particular beliefs. My current belief is that if I feel good, my emotional guidance system is telling me that I am connected with God or the Higher Source or Higher Power. Being connected with our Highest Power will always make us feel good. I still connect with Jesus and He still gives me messages. He is not mad at me for accessing other Dieties. Sometimes when I connect to Him He is in the company of some of these other Dieties. He has come to me while in a shamanic journey and while meditating. Belief systems do not have to be exclusive. Yes I believe that there is evil in the world. However my life has only improved since releasing myself from the belief that every other belief system was wrong or evil. And I have never once come into contact with a demon or the devil since I have started on this path.

Let me say that if your belief system makes you happy and fulfilled and serves to help you be a better person, then by all means, continue on your current path. I stayed on one path for the first thirty five years of my life, until it ceased to fulfill me. When I began to be discontented and depressed, then I knew it was time to find out why and correct my path. Always use your internal guidance system as your compass to help you find your way through this life. If you are happy and fulfilled, then there is no reason to change course. When you cease to be happy, then it is time to make a course correction.

So, what do I do?

I connect with Spirit and give messages, individually and sometimes, via my blog, to whomever is out there reading. Yes, I can use cards, such as tarot and other divination tools. Sometimes I am able to access information through numerology and other tools. Sometimes I may connect with loved one who have passed. I also convey healing energy via the practice of Reiki. I teach spiritual principles in monthly classes at my home in Winchester, Virginia. Recently I have begun joining couples in marriage. You do not have to be any particular religion or belief system for me to officiate your wedding.

Those who have been following my blog for years may already know most of this information, but for the new arrivals to my blog, this is who I am. This is what I do. I hope for future connections. Blessings to you on your individual path.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

All About Shamanism and Other Terms


I am realizing that recently I have had opportunity to work with some who have not previously been familiar with me or my work. I thought I would take this opportunity to explain a few terms that some might be unfamiliar with.

What is shamanism and how did I become involved in it?

Several years ago I was basically running away from Spirit. I had been raised in a religious environment which worked for me until about the age of thirty five. At that time I was regularly in contact with my Guides, but in that particular religious belief system I called the voice I was hearing the gift of prophecy, described in the Bible. The more I connected with Spirit, the more the messages I was hearing began to get me into "trouble" with my belief system. I eventually left the belief system, and assumed that I was now on the Holy Spirit's "black list."

Fast forward several years later. I had gone through a divorce and a remarriage. My new husband began to become interested in the paranormal, and we went to a "circle" facilitated by a very talented medium. She gave a message that someone in our family was in need of a "soul retrieival" which could be performed by a shaman. I had no idea what shamanism was, so I began to research and read books. While reading these books, I began to realize that it felt familiar to me, as if I had done it before, at some time, which in this lifetime could not have been possible. In the area where I live, I could not find a shaman or anyone to teach me, so I just taught myself to "journey" and began to practice on friends and family. Eventually I did find a wonderful teacher who not only taught me things that cannot be learned from a book, but also helped me to realize that this was indeed something that came naturally to me. My former upbringing in Christianity which had introduced me to hearing messages from Spirit actually helped me in this new belief system, and I found that the messages were coming from the same place inside, and the Guidance felt familiar to me. I learned that my Guides had always been with me, teaching me directly, and weren't so concerned as we humans are with labels, such as this belief system or that one. Shamanism is a belief system related to indigenous cultures, who were very connected with the earth, but they also had a working knowledge of the Higher Power, which Christianity calls God, and other religions call by various names. As I continued to connect with Spirit, I was told that I had in previous lifetimes been in many different religious belief systems, and in this lifetime I would begin to bring various belief systems together, and help us all to realize that there is no distinction in the Spirit world, but only in our own minds. I use the term shamanic practitioner, but my individual style is to connect with Spirit and just wait and see who shows up. Sometimes I will connect with an Egyptian Goddess, or sometimes a Hindu God (my favorite being the Ganesha). I also really enjoy connecting with the Buddha.  Sometimes in my meditations they will all be sitting in a semicircle together, and I will be sitting in front of them, feeling their individual energies but knowing that they are all loving and kind Masters, whose purpose is to bring us all closer to a Higher way of being.

When I work with individual clients, I usually like to get connected and then just wait to see who shows up. The practice of shamanism has enhanced my Spiritual path immensely, allowing me to easily travel between the worlds, and while on my travels into the nonphysical realms, I very often come into contact with Guides, Angels, Gods and Goddesses with whom I must have had previous lifetime connections with, since they feel so familiar to me and communication with them comes to me so naturally. No I don't call myself a shaman, since I am not connected with any particular tribe and I have not spent years training with an elder. My connections with Spirit are in the form of shamanism, but could easily also be termed something completely different. Shamanism to me is just a term just like some may call themselves Baptist or Catholic or Hindu or Buddhist. But we are all connected to the same source and the inspiration comes from the same place inside of us, the place where we are connected.

Am I  a medium? Just what is a medium anyway?

Yes, sometimes I can connect with your child or parent or loved one who has passed. I did not start out to go in this direction, but it kind of came with the territory, and it seemed to be what people wanted. The first time someone came to me for a reading but what they really wanted for me to do was connect with their dead son, I was a little intimidated, but the son did come through and let his mom know that he was okay. I am still developing my skill in this area. I have found while on spirit investigations with my husband, that I have connected with souls that for some reason are connected with locations. Some I was able to help find resolution to whatever issues had them connected (some say "stuck") to a location.

I have since learned that a medium is not just someone who connects with humans that have passed. A medium is someone who receives direct communication from those who are not in human form. This could be your passed loved one, but it also includes Angels and Guides, which I have had a lot more experience connecting with. In this particular definition of medium, yes, I could call myself that.

In my next blog I will explore what is a "soul retrieval," what is a "shamanic journey", how to know if something is "good" or "bad", and what can you expect from an individual session?

I hope this has served to explain a few things with which you may have been unfamiliar. Knowledge is our best teacher.