Stories About Dad, Death, and Surrender

I have never really been good at giving messages to myself. Evidently this is a common problem for those who receive messages from Spirit. My very first mentor while I was still hearing messages while in the church was married four times before I met her and she told me once that she never got any warnings from (the Holy)Spirit about any of her choices. I read the same thing in one of Sylvia Brown's books.

In my early days of honing my gift of receiving messages, I heard this saying, "he who prophesies over himself prophesies to a fool." That makes sense. I always get more accurate messages for strangers than people close to me.

There is one exception. The tarot.

When I learned the tarot I was rather excited because I could finally get a message for myself. The cards don't lie.

I don't do readings for myself that often but for a couple of months I had been feeling like there was a huge change on the horizon. The cards agreed with my hunch when I got this card. Yes, you guessed it. The death card.

Now don't worry. As far as I know I am not going to die. Most of the time the death card represents a shift of some sort. It indicates that one's old way of thinking or doing things is about to change. A chapter is ending in order for another one to begin.

According to numerology, we all go through huge shifts at the age of around 28 and then again around the age of 52. As I am about to turn 52, I knew my energy was about to change. So receiving the death card was no huge surprise.

With yesterday's solstice and dark moon indicating an ending to a season in nature, I took some time to connect with Spirit and consciously release any ideas of how I thought my life should play out. For several years now I had a plan. I had been working my plan, and it was all going pretty well.

Then Spirit shook things up a bit. My plans have gotten shifted a bit, and I received a message on how my original plan was completely wiped out and how things were going to change over the next couple of months. At first I was a little disappointed. I liked my original plan. But one thing Spirit told me years ago is that we have to be willing to let go of how we think our lives are going to work out and be open to Spirit changing things. Surrender. Not easy. But if we are to be used by Spirit for the highest and best plan, then we have to be willing to surrender our plans to the plans of Spirit.

I had not felt the need to share until today. I received an email from one of my clients who has become a friend. She found a dead hawk in her barn and wondered if it was significant.

HUGE.

Hawks represent higher thinking and connecting with Spirit in a higher way. They are always present when connecting with Spirit in a higher way is indicated. The fact that it was dead symbolized my original message that it is time to allow our ideas of how our lives and our purpose are going to unfold to die so that Spirit can bring about the highest and best.

As I meditated today Spirit reminded me of a story that I meant to share but never did about something that occurred when my dad passed back in August.

I was sitting by his bedside. He drifted in and out of consciousness for about two weeks or so before he crossed. He couldn't talk and the doctors were not sure if he even knew who we were. I sat faithfully by his bedside, retelling him some of his favorite stories. He loved to talk, and frequently told stories, some of them over and over.

One of the stories he loved to tell was how God had given him my mother as his bride. He said that when he went to God and asked for a wife, God had spoken to him and said to him that he was not to come to Him with any particular person in mind, but instead, he was to come to God empty, and God would fill his desire with the best choice. As I retold the story to my dad, I received the message that we were not to come to God asking for God to heal my dad, for that was coming to Him with a particular outcome in mind. So I had told Dad that I was coming to God empty, and asking for whatever was best for Dad to bring that to pass.

Today the story was brought back to my mind as I meditated and Spirit (God, Goddess whatever your name for the Highest Power will do fine here) reminded me of this story. We have to be willing to let die whatever plans we have in mind for our lives. We have to be willing to lay down the gifts of Spirit and agree to only use them if they are required. We have to be willing to lay down and surrender any ideas of a particular outcome. We have to come to Spirit empty and allow our emptiness to be filled with whatever is for the highest good of everyone concerned.

Have you had a dream or a goal which has yet to manifest? Have you been traveling in a particular direction and for some reason, encountered a detour? Perhaps Spirit is telling you that it is time to surrender your plans to the plans of Spirit. Be okay with whatever the answer is.

Today is a perfect day to surrender your plans to Spirit. Light a candle, say a prayer, whatever has meaning for you. This time of year the story of the Christ Child comes to mind. The soul that was Jesus had to lay down whatever he was doing up in the Other World and come to earth for a higher purpose. Even if you thought that what you  were doing was for a Higher plan, be willing to lay it all down. Be willing to surrender your plans to the plans of Spirit.

Know that everything is going to be all right in the end. If it is not all right, it is not the end. ( I stole that from someone I don't know who.)

Blessings to you as you celebrate this sacred season of death and rebirth. Remember that death of one chapter usually occurs before a new chapter can begin.

This journey through life is filled with detours and changes of direction. We have to be open to releasing our ideas and plans and allowing life to unfold the way it is meant to unfold. 

It is okay to grieve the loss or death for a season, but realize that Spirit always has our best interests at heart. Eventually we will see the higher plan.

If you are at a cross roads and need a message from Spirit, I am always at your service. You can contact me at www.WhispersofJoy.net. There are many options available for you to connect with me.

Blessings to you as you navigate this path called life. Don't worry. All who wander are not lost. Maybe the path is just taking you in a different direction than you originally anticipated.

Dark Moon and New Moon Rituals

Until recently I thought that the dark moon and the new moon were the same thing. It was confusing to me.. which moon do I manifest and which moon do I release? I understood that after the full moon and while it was waning was the time to release but the things I had found on the subject were sometimes contradictory. It is easy to see the in between.. you are manifesting while it is waxing and releasing while it is waning, but on the actual days that the moon is dark or the moon is full, what should you be doing?

When I have taught ritual I have always taught that the full moon is all about harvest, or manifesting, and the new moon about releasing.. ah but I was almost right, but not quite.

I have been spending some time just sitting with the moon and getting my answers directly from Her instead of relying on the things I read or was taught.

And then it came to me. The new moon and the dark moon are not the same.

The dark moon is that period of time when there is no visible moon. That is when a ceremony releasing what is no longer helpful to you is most powerful. Write down a list of things you want to release from your life and do ceremony to let them go. You might light a fire and burn the paper upon which your list is written. You might tear up the paper and release it into the wind. You might let the paper go into a body of water. You might even bury the paper in the ground, thus releasing your intentions into the Earth Mother. Which ritual to choose? This is personal to you. You might correspond  your ritual with your astrological sign. What is the element associated with your sign? You might find out what sign is associated with the current phase of the moon. Here is a link to the sight where I found that information. It changes every couple of days, so make sure you find the sign for the day you are doing ritual. I have found it is very powerful if you do your ritual three times, so I am posting this blog a couple of days before the actual dark moon on Wednesday. Intention is everything, so make your ritual personal to you. Call in the Higher Powers that speak to you.

Ah, so if the dark moon is Wednesday, when there is no visible moon, then when do you think the new moon occurs? Yes, you are right! The new moon is that first sign of a new moon! That little crescent moon that comes a day or two after the dark moon! That is when  you can begin to think about what things you want to draw into your life! What do you want to grow? What do you want to manifest? This is the time for planting seeds that you want to blossom and bloom in your life!

If you plan on doing a new moon ritual three times, then the first time will be that first little crescent moon you see in the sky. That would be Thursday or even Friday. You are planting seeds that are going to grow. Write down the things you want to manifest. Do ritual to invite in the Higher Powers to aid you in your prayers and intentions. In this case, you do not want to burn them, bury them, or in any way destroy the paper they are written on. I like the idea of planting them. Take the paper and plant it somewhere. In the bottom of a flower pot or even outside in the earth. Water it frequently.

You can use a proxy instead of writing your intentions on paper. Have a piece of fruit or even a piece of chocolate and send the intentions into the proxy and either gift the piece of fruit to the Earth Mother or eat it.

Here is a ritual I like. Fill a sacred bowl with water. Hold the bowl in your hands and send your intentions into the bowl. Then drink the water. You can do this alone or in a group. If you do this in a group then the intentions of everyone in the group become planted in the bowl and each of you become a partner in one another's intentions. You can do a similar ritual with fire. Light a candle or some sort of fire and send your intentions into the fire. Ask that the fire and the smoke receive your intentions and send them out into the Universe to be manifest in the highest and best way that is good for everyone concerned.

I always like to add that rider at the end. We only want to manifest or release things that are in the highest and best interests of everyone involved. We never cross free will.

Moon rituals don't have to be complicated. Use your imagination and do things that are meaningful to you. Drum, rattle, put music on and dance, light a fire, ring bells, sing, do whatever makes you joyful. Remember that the emotions you put into your intentions are like gasoline on a fire! Make sure your emotions are happy and full of love!

Use this week to connect with the energy of the Moon and its wonderful powerful energies!

If you are interested in contacting me for a private session, or finding out more about personal sessions or classes, you can contact me via my website, www.WhispersofJoy.net. Now get out there and enjoy yourself!

Thoughts About the Holidays, Snow, and What's Ahead

You may or may not know that I am in the process of writing my second book so I have not been posting blogs as often while I am in this book writing frenzy. I have completely lost focus on everything else as I attempt to tell the story of my journey from mainstream Christianity to the path I now follow. As I have journeyed through my life so far, I have noticed that the same issues I have been through are a common thread throughout the lives of many others.

That being said, I have taken some time to connect with Spirit along the way, and I am noticing a theme.

It seems that there is a huge shift in our Universal Consciousness on the way.

We can choose to go along with our lives with the attitude of "business as usual" or we can choose to take a ride on this new energetic shift and get ready for the ride of our lives!!

Many of us have experienced many challenges in 2013 and I feel that it is really important as we approach the coming year to take some time to go within and find the gift in each of those challenges.

It seems, at least in our part of the country, that the weather is offering us the opportunity to take advantage of some time of inner contemplation.


Winter in itself is symbolic of going within. Snow, in particular, puts our lives on a bit of a hold pattern, as we are forced to either stay home or go out into the elements and shovel our way out.
Either way, whether you decide to hibernate or go out and face the weather, you are offered some time to contemplate. This morning as I began the process of shoveling the little bit of snow that had already accumulated, in a preemptive measure to keep on top of things, I felt such a wonderful connection to the elements and to the quietness of the snowfall. It seems when snow falls, there is almost an element of awe and reverence in the atmosphere that I can feel falling from the heavens.




In the news I am seeing that snow is falling in areas of the earth that has not seen snow in over a hundred years. This to me is significant. The Universe is calling upon us to take some time to contemplate, go within, and find the beauty in our lives.

Just like snow is beautiful to behold but sometimes can be a challenge, so it is with life. Our lives are filled with events and possibilities that offer us a life of awe and beauty, but also one of challenges to overcome. One seems to come only hand in hand with the other sometimes.

This season of Christmas is when people come together to have communion, possibly exchange gifts, and think about the story of new beginnings. In the quiet of a manger, a child was born which changed the direction of the world. Some of the change was good, and some not so good, as I am sure the intention of Jesus was to offer the opportunity for acceptance, forgiveness, and love, but we humans took some of the ideas to extremes and used him as a means of separation and judgement.

We can choose to look at the gift of the Christ Child as a blessing or a curse. Many died over the centuries as supposed followers of Christ killed those who did not adhere to the beliefs they were propagating, but I am sure that was not Christ's intention.

It is all about what we choose to focus on. Should we focus on the atrocities that have been displayed over the centuries or the hope that  there was the offering of a new beginning from the old ways that Christ attempted to uproot? Should we focus on the challenges related to how snowfall keeps us from going on about our business or should we use the opportunity to go within and appreciate the beauty and awe that snowfall affords us?

Should we look back on the past year with regrets, bitterness, or grief, or should we thank our challenges for the gifts of strength and fortitude which only a challenge offers us?

It is all about intention.

May I offer you the challenge to look back on this year with gratitude for the gifts it offered us. Let go of any hurts, griefs, or setbacks, so that your soul can be ready for a new beginning in 2014!!!

Just for today, thank every event in the past year that offered you the opportunity for growth. Let go of anything that you may be holding on to that may hinder you from moving forward!! Look forward to time with family and friends, and look at gift giving, not as an obligation, but an opportunity to bless others!! Many in our past have given us gifts that have brought us to the place where we find ourselves today. Thank them!!

Now excuse me while I go connect with the elements and become one with the snow!!

Tuesday's New Moon

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you will recognize that I do not subscribe to any particular belief system. Yesterday's blog was based upon a sermon I read on the website of a popular television evangelist. I frequently post blogs based upon the cards of the tarot. I am a shamanic practitioner, but I like to label myself as a student of all religions, but a subscriber to none.

I love to base my rituals on the phases of the moon and I frequently read blogs based on the principles of astrology. No, I am not an expert in astrology and the only education I have is the blogs that I read and the one book I own on the subject. But I have studied enough to know that full moons are symbolic of manifesting and new moons are a good time to release whatever is no longer serving you. That being said, we are about to experience a new moon on Tuesday. I wanted to share a blog by Sue Kearney on her insights about the new moon and some possible ways to connect with Spirit and do ritual to release aspects of yourself or your life you are ready to let go of.

The past week or so I began my journey into my past as I am writing a book about my adventures through Christianity and eventually expanding to include other ways of thinking and believing. I am so grateful for all of the experiences as they have made me who I am. In doing this, I have revived a lot of forgotten memories, and I have been able to see how Spirit was in charge all along, and how the rituals I partook of in Christianity are not completely unlike the rituals that I enjoy today. I completely love and applaud all seekers of spirituality, no matter with which group you associate yourself, and I find that we are all alike, and all different.

This is my suggestion. One day this week, take a moment and examine a belief system that is unlike your own, and instead of finding fault or heralding your own beliefs as superior to that of another, embrace your similarities and forgive your differences. We are all on a spiritual quest. We all want world peace and inner peace. We are all in the business of healing the planet and ourselves. Our techniques and rituals may be different, but our goal is the same. Let us put down our swords and instead embrace one another.

My new moon ritual is going to be an adventure into releasing our collective prejudices toward one another. However they may manifest, we have all experienced religious prejudice either toward us or from us to another, and possibly both. My goal is to pull down those walls that separate us and instead build a bridge to join us together in achieving a common goal.

I would love for you to join me in my quest to rid myself and my world of religious prejudice. In whatever ways that it manifests, whether it is an expensive license to regulate Spiritual activity, or prayers directed at another religious belief or practice, or just a simple belief that my God is better than your God. I ask you to look within yourself and see if you have any beliefs against another faith that you need to release.

Whatever Spirit is leading you to release, Tuesday would be a good day to do it! Find a ritual that speaks to you, get into your spiritual happy place, however you find to do that, and let it go! Let us all let go of what no longer serves us, so that we may move forward in our quest for enlightenment.

New Moon and Solar Eclipse Sunday!

I don't usually post on weekends. Statistics say that readers are offline on weekends, and I say.. yay you! Everyone needs time to enjoy their lives. Go outside, if weather permits. Take a walk. Spend time with family and friends. Read a book.

However, today is the new moon and also another solar eclipse. Apparently we have been having a lot of activity in the skies lately.. eclipses, solar flares, not to mention the Mercury Retrograde,  all of which are contributing to our personal state of affairs.

I am not at all educated in the reading of the stars. I get my information from my many experts in the fields. All I know is that I have been feeling the effects of all of the solar activity. Aches and pains. Tiredness. A need for sleep.

I believe in symbolism. Spirit uses symbols to communicate with us and give us encouragement and hints about our lives. I am always open to symbols and hidden messages, so when I think of the new moon, I think about a time when the moon is not visible in the sky. That doesn't mean it isn't there. The moon is symbolic of all those things in our lives that are not readily visible, our shadow self, some call it. It is also symbolic of the Sacred Feminine. When there is a new moon, it has been waning for some time. This is symbolic of things that are passing out of our lives. What is it in your life that you want to get rid of? Anxiety? Anger? Troubled relationships? Perceived offenses? Maybe financial difficulties or sickness?Why don't you see those things passing out of your life right now? Why don't you go within to find your true light, the light that shines out from within you?

A solar eclipse is also symbolic of something being hidden behind something else. In the case of the new moon, we cannot see the moon because the dark side of the moon is the side that is facing the earth. In a solar eclipse, the light is hidden behind the shadow of the moon. So symbolically, shadows are hiding the light. Shadows are really nothing. They are just what is cast when the sun is shining on the other side of something.  So really, what may come up for you today is that the light is shining, but you can't see it. The shadow of something hidden from view is blocking your light.

Don't allow yourself to be offended today. It is just a shadow. It has no power over you. Let go of grudges and offenses. Be kind. Whatever does come up for you today, know that it will pass. On the east coast of the US, the solar eclipse was only visible for about two minutes. This is symbolic of the shadows of the events in our lives being very transitory.

Allow what is passing out of your life to pass. Thank it for its valuable lessons. Be ready for the light of the sun and the moon to come back. After the darkness has past, new things can begin to birth in your life. New and better things. There is a saying that nothing can be born without there first being a death of sorts. There has to be some sort of release before new things can come into our experience.

Welcome all the things that come and go in and out of your life. Know that it is all good. Learn from your mistakes and grievances. Forgive others and yourself.

I close with a quote from Rev. Irma Kaye Sawyer..

Happy New Moon and Solar Eclipse friends! May what is no longer serving your highest and best be gently eclipsed out of your life, to reveal the shining, crystal clarity within. May healing magic be in your every step.

Blue Moon

Last evening was a blue moon, which occurs when there are two full moons within the same zodiac sign, or within thirty days. From my reading from my favorite astrologers (no that is not my forte), whatever was the issue you may have been avoiding at the last full moon has come back to bite you in this one.  It was also suggested by this blog that issues from the past, undealt with, would be screaming for resolution this week, for the energies of the full moon usually last a few days.

So, yes, it was my experience that this was indeed the case. My issues had to do with whether or not my spiritual work had value or was appreciated by others. At one point I remarked to myself that it sure would be easier just to go back to full time at the Post Office and just keep  my mouth shut about anything else.  More than once I had said to myself, "I am just going to stop talking."

So in the previous aforementioned blog, Sarah Varcas had said that now was the time to deal with repressed memories. I had been trying to figure out which memories were repressed, and how they had to do with perhaps money and the perceived notion that when I let someone know who I am, I get myself in trouble, or the notion that when I am found out for who I am, it will cost me something.

So my emotions in a funk for two days, I ended up with a bit of a sore throat and sinus infection. Throat issues of course have to do with speaking.. which was obviously my issue, and sinus infections have to do with people who you are close to getting on your nerves. I have found these correlations to be true most of the time, but not always, but I am always self analyzing. So I had done some meditating on releasing resentment towards myself and others. I had thought about the whole issue I had with speaking and allowing people to know who I am, and I had thought about how, as a child, I was excruciatingly shy and would very seldom speak to anyone. I had an inkling this may have been some residue from a past life issue, but no links were directly being revealed.

So at this point my thought was that the best I could do for my full moon ritual yesterday, amidst my illness and desire for sleep, was to do a vow releasing exercise. Sometimes we make vows that carry over for a long time, even lifetimes. I was convinced that for some reason, I had made a vow in a previous lifetime having to do with speaking and allowing people to know who I am, and as a result I was having issues at this particular moment in time, as a catalyst to encourage me to deal with this vow and get rid of it.

I didn't know at this point what the vow was, but just to be sure I took care of it, I spoke out loud this vow releasing statement:

"I now release any vows of silence I may have made in this lifetime or in a previous lifetime, whether it was made by means of a religious practice or as a result of a traumatic experience. If this vow was repeated over multiple lifetimes, then I release any vows from any number of lifetimes having to do with speaking and how my speaking affected my life."

The reason I relate this experience is that if you are experiencing any issues this week, it may be something you may want to improvise to fit your particular scenario. Based on the information contained within Sarah's blog, this week is a great time to revisit some issues that have been haunting you. So whatever you have been dealing with this week, do a similar releasing statement out loud to the Universe, stating whatever it is that has been haunting you this week in particular. You don't have to remember making a vow or experiencing a perceived or real trauma. Just do it!

As a result, my illness is much improved, and I am in better spirits. My perceived issue which instigated the whole self analysis has resolved itself, and my guides, just this morning, allowed me to read another blog which spelled out for me in so many letters exactly what my issue was. You can check out the second blog here. The particular sentence which screamed at me from this second blog was this:

 For those of you having difficulties realizing this is the next logical step in your transition process, realize that being less than, not allowing others to see your growth and new skill level is to give credence to the Old Age philosophy of, “I must hide who I am so I will not be punished for being a god or goddess.”

Here is my "aha" moment.

I am always hiding who I am based upon who I am with. My husband for  years did not know I could give messages from Spirit. I have some friends and family members from my former life as a born again Christian who still do not know what I do (at least I don't think they do.) I was around a group of people over the weekend who, for reasons unknown to me, had not paid me, and my perception was that because I had revealed to them a little about myself, I had devalued myself in their eyes. (this was not the case, just my perception.) There is that old adage: Familiarity breeds contempt.

My purpose for telling you the whole story of my awakening process is this. Maybe you can relate! Maybe there is some old, unresolved belief about yourself that came up this week during this blue moon that is screaming at you to be dealt with!

Do you have issues with allowing people to know the real you?  Maybe you were punished at some time, either this life or a previous one, for revealing too much about yourself. You may want to use my vow releasing statement to let it go, once and for all.

Maybe it was another issue but you can use my ritual to release whatever issues jumped out at you this week! My aim is to help you move forward in your journey through this lifetime.

If you would like help with whatever faced you head on during this particularly powerful full moon, you can contact me through my website. We can decide what is most helpful for you at this time, and schedule a session that will meet your needs.

Once in a blue moon, we have one of those weeks that completely change us. Let this blue moon be the one!

P.S. Here is another link to a wonderful blog about the blue moon, how it relates to our mission in life, not completely unlike my experience with it this week, and how to allow laughter to aid us in our quest.