I Am

As many of you know, I am about to publish my second book. Although I am really excited, on another, possibly subconscious level, I am a a bit apprehensive.

Why? You ask?

Originally the idea for this book was not mine. Here is an excerpt from the book that tells the story:

Running is my passion. Or at least one of them.

I often find that in the exertion of exercise comes clarity and a connection with Spirit that cannot be matched by sitting cross legged inside on a cushion staring at the backs of my eyeballs.

This morning in particular I was greeted by the "caw caw" of the neighborhood crows. With their greeting usually comes a visitation by Spirit, in some form or another.

It didn't take me long to realize that this time it was Jesus who ran beside me.

Despite our years of estrangement, Jesus and I have a somewhat cordial, sometimes still a tumultuous relationship.

"I want you to tell your story," Jesus was pretty straightforward with His request.

I was not immediately on board.

"Oh no", I protested. " I am not about to dig up those old wounds."
"You don't put a bandaid on a bullet hole," Jesus retorted.
"It is time to dig out that bullet and heal the wound. There are others out there who can relate to your story and it will help them heal as well," He continued.

Writing this book was indeed healing for me, but it is also a raw, sometimes fearful thing, to put everything in your soul out there for all to read. Some don't know this Joy that I have become.

There came a time in the process of finishing up the process that I had to decide exactly who I think I am. How can I title a book and put out there this Joy that I am writing about if I am not completely okay with the Joy the book portrays?

I will ask you the same thing: Who are you?

When you begin to see yourself as the person you aspire to be, the person who lives inside that shell of your body, the person who looks back at you when you gaze into a mirror, then life takes on a different hue.

Who do you think you are, and who do you want to be, and is that the same person?

When you realize that before you can be abundant, you have to realize that you ARE abundance incarnated, that is when abundance shows up.

When you realize that you ARE an overcomer, a giant, an amazing soul, an infinite diamond with sparkling facets of light and color, life just shows up. Abundance just shows up. Love just shows up. Our idea of what those things look like and feel like may change. Abundance may no longer mean lots of money. It may mean an abundance of joy, or peace, or love.

Just for today, look in the mirror and say, "I am.." Really there is no need to finish that sentence, but you can if you want. You can say, "I am infinite. I am amazing. I am love. I am abundance."

Maybe then you won't look on the outside of yourself to get some sort of validation. That validation will come from inside.

My website says that I am a Spiritual Life Coach. I am a wedding officiant. I am a psychic medium. I am a shamanic practitioner. Is that who I really am? Deep inside, I am a soul. Living in a body.

Who are you?

If you need some direction, if you need to get some guidance from Spirit relating to who you are in this world at this particular time, please contact me for a personal session. I can do readings or consultations in person, by phone, skype, or email.

Click here to contact me and we will decide exactly what type of session you need.

Blessings to you as you journey this path called life. I hope our paths cross soon!

Mercury Retrograde is Coming!

I must say that Mercury Retrograde is not my favorite thing to go through. My computer acts up, anything electronic seems to be affected. Sometimes the past comes a calling for resolution.

Apparently Mercury Retrograde came calling early for me. In the wee hours of the morning, I awoke with a dread that my will was not up to date. I didn't want to wake hubby love to go searching through the safe, but I will admit that it was a near impossible task to get back to sleep.

Oh my, you say, is this a premonition that something bad is going to happen? I blame Mercury Retrograde.

Yes I am planning a trip in the very near future, and I will be on an airplane for a few hours. Am I now afraid that the plane will crash, since I had this middle of the night experience? No, not really.

I had become aware that Mercury Retrograde was right around the corner, and I think that pesky Mercury was hinting around to me that there were some important tasks that needed to be completed. Mercury is all about communication, and when it goes retrograde, it calls us to resolve unresolved issues, visit the past and, if need be, have some closure.

When I drew up the will that I have now revised, there were some difficult things happening in my life emotionally. There were some people who I was not in a good place with. Now, ten years later, those issues had long been resolved, but still, there was still the paper evidence that had never been updated.

It is always a good idea to have your affairs in order, whether you get a middle of the night wake up call or not. These are the kind of things that may happen during a Mercury Retrograde. Things from the past may come back to your attention, calling to you to address them once and for all. Since this particular Mercury Retrograde begins in Cancer, a water sign, the issues may be emotionally charged.

They say to avoid signing contracts in a Mercury Retrograde if at all possible, but my feeling is that as long as everyone is on the same page, just make sure all your i's are dotted and your t's are crossed. Pay attention to detail. Be up front with all your communications.

It might be wise to send lots of love to your electronic devices.

Make sure all of your communications are laced with love. If you do run into a miscommunication, take a breath, let go of any anger or fear, and send the situation and the people involved lots of thoughts and prayers of love before you jump in and try to remedy or address the situation. Remember that love is the balm that heals all, and peace comes right up behind love. When you are at peace, then it is harder for the energy of miscommunication, anger, or fear to get in.

If you do run into any arguments or misunderstandings in the next three weeks while Mercury is retrograde, try this. Imagine the person with whom you are at odds standing in front of you. Imagine your heart and all the love you can imagine within your heart. Now imagine a stream of love going from your heart to theirs. Now, in this stream of love, communicate with this person your side of the issue. Pour out your heart to them. Imagine that this person is listening to you. Now imagine them responding. ( you can leave this part out if you can't imagine a positive outcome.)

Now comes the hard part. Let it go. Surrender any intentions of a particular outcome. That is right. Detachment is the key. Allow Spirit to do its work. You are detaching yourself from what you think is the right outcome. Remember that everything always works out okay in the end. You might even say that to yourself .. several times a day if necessary....

Everything always turns out okay in the end.

And if it doesn't, it is not the end.

I don't think Mercury Retrogrades are out there to make our lives miserable. I think that sometimes we need a little push to revisit issues that we have swept under the rug or forgotten about. If we are always on top of every issue in our lives and we have not left any stones unturned in our lives then there is no need to revisit the past. But how many of us can say that?

Use the next few weeks to really focus on resolving unfinished business. Thank the Mercury Retrograde for bringing things to our attention. Be gentle with yourself and others. Love your electronic devices. Send everyone lots of love.

Mercury goes direct July 2nd so you have plenty of time to resolve those issues that come up for attention. Remember if you keep putting it off, those issues will keep coming back to haunt you.

Blessings to you as you navigate your way on your path. If you are in need of some personal sessions, you can contact me through my website, www.WhisperofJoy.net. I would love to help you move forward in a positive direction.

Do something nice for someone today. And remember to enjoy your journey.

It's Okay to Break the Rules Sometimes.. Lessons Learned from Officiating Weddings

This blog breaks a little from my normal tradition of writing blogs based upon messages that I receive from time to time from the Spirit world. If you have visited my website or followed me on Social Network sites, you know that I also don the hat of wedding officiant, in addition to my gift of delivering messages from Spirit and teaching spiritual classes.

I like to think that for every hat that I wear, whether it be Post Office clerk, wedding officiant, or messenger for Spirit, that I always allow Spirit to be there in charge, lighting my way and guiding my words and actions, but sometimes I will admit that for weddings in particular, I am always very attentive to making sure I am doing every little thing right, and saying the script word for word. When I teach classes, I normally don't even look at my notes, but not so for weddings.

Recently, however, Spirit urged me to lighten up a bit. I always try to make sure every little detail is covered and that the ceremony goes off like clockwork, but, if you have ever attended a wedding, this sometimes does not happen.

Take, for example, a recent outdoor wedding where a neighborhood cat decided to come up and begin to sharpen its claws on the trellis while the couple were saying their vows.

The cat offered some laughter of which I was glad, because I was stressing about another detail of which I did not know how to remedy. The bride and groom were standing on tiles placed on the ground so that everyone would know where to stand and also so that the bride and bridesmaids in their high heel shoes would be more comfortable than having their heels stuck in the ground. It seemed to me that someone placed the tiles for the bride and groom too far apart, and both of them seemed afraid to step off of their tiles, and I did not want to interrupt the ceremony to ask them to get a little closer. Looking back, I wished I had spoken up. After the ceremony I went home and beat myself up over and over again about how I wished I had noticed the tiles sooner and moved them closer together. Or I wished I had encouraged the bride and groom to move off of their tiles and get a little closer.

Sometimes I get messages from Spirit while doing the most mundane tasks, and it seems that even preparing for a wedding is no exception. One afternoon I was dressing for a wedding and I had in my mind decided what I was going to wear, right down to which pair of shoes I would don. At the last minute, after putting on the shoes I had already chosen, I decided that they were not comfortable that day and decided on another pair. I heard Spirit say to me in my heart that sometimes it is okay to change our minds, even if we have already put the wheels in motion for certain decisions. This was a personal message for me, and the message from Spirit had nothing to do with which shoes I had chosen to wear. This was a message of surrender, that my plans can change, and even if I feel I have been led by Spirit to go down a certain path, that I have to be willing to surrender my plans and allow things to change, even if I have already put certain things in motion.

It seems that Spirit knows when I am going to need the messages that come to me. The next day, a wedding did not go at all as planned and I was forced to ad lib a bit of the ceremony! What!! AD LIB?  Me, a Capricorn, a stickler for staying within the lines, doing everything completely according to plan? AD LIB? Because I had decided to lighten up and go with the flow, I did not flip out or beat myself up over and over afterward as I did the day before about the tiles that were too far apart.

I am thinking to myself that most people are better at going with the flow than others and may be laughing at the silly things I stress out about.

I have a really good one. One day last fall I had booked two weddings on the same day. I had not allowed any time to eat, so I was driving to the first wedding eating some peanut butter to take the edge off. Unbeknownst to me, I had dropped a dollop of peanut butter right smack in the middle of my dress, and I didn't notice it until after the wedding was over. Now, if you didn't know that peanut butter was peanut butter, can you think of something else it might resemble?  I was horrified. I am sure all in the wedding party had a good laugh at my expense.

 I used to use my Kindle to read the wedding ceremonies. I liked it because I did not have to flip pages. Once my Kindle froze up right smack in the middle of the ceremony. Needless to say I no longer use  my Kindle for wedding ceremonies. And I no longer eat peanut butter on the way to a wedding.

Whether you are planning your wedding or just a vacation to Disney World, it is really helpful to allow for things not going as planned. If you have given your life over to serve Spirit, the same is true. Sometimes classes are not attended. Sometimes people cancel at the last minute. Sometimes people don't like you!! What???

I guess, with it being the day before the dark moon, this blog can have this for a theme: SURRENDER. The dark moon is all about releasing what is no longer working. Or releasing whatever. For me, it is releasing the need to have everything go perfectly ever single time.

Make your plans. Do your work. Be prepared. But, in the end, surrender all  that to Spirit. Sometimes the things you have planned will go like clock work. And then sometimes they won't. If there are tiles placed on the ground, so to speak, and you are expected to stand on them, and in your heart you know that they are too far apart, don't be afraid to step off the tile.

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!

On Meditations and Moon Rituals

Feeling a little out of sorts today? Yes, today is a full moon. Not just any full moon, mind you. Today's full moon is in the sign of Scorpio, a very powerful sign to say the least. Scorpio is all about intensity. Death, secrets, and intensity. Today might be a day when every emotion you have been stuffing under the surface comes out to bare its head. It might be the day when those little irritations that normally are just annoyances really grab your attention. It might be the day when things that you have been hiding come out into the realm of reality to be examined and embraced, for good or for bad.

It's not all bad. Full moons are perfect times to really put some intensity into your intentions. Today is a perfect day to reexamine your goals, your path, your career, your relationships, your life. Yes, I know. A full moon comes around monthly. Do we have to reinvent ourselves every month? No, each moon brings with it its own theme. This one just happens to be very intense.

We all know that the moon carries with it an air of mystery. We usually only see the moon at night, and a full moon is the one that shines the most light into the dark places. The full moon has long been associated with bringing in a harvest, manifesting a dream, celebrating victories! The moon is shining its brightest into our dark places and with it comes the power to manifest our deepest desires!

Remember that the light we receive from the moon is really just a reflection of the light of the sun. The sun represents Spirit, it is the Source of our life and the ability for us to exist in the earth realm. The moon, then, represents what we should be, in our life on the earth. Each of us should reflect the light of our Source, and be a light to all those living in darkness. Most of us can attest to the fact that we are not always "full" of light. Sometimes our lights are shining more brightly than other times. The moon's message,then, is that it is okay to not always be "full". We have times when we are shining brightly, and times when we are not so bright. But even the smallest light is light for someone in darkness. Tonight's full moon encourages us to see ourselves in the fullness of the light we are reflecting. What is it that we need to shine the light on?

 What things have been hiding out in the dark, waiting to be revealed?

We all have dreams, aspirations, goals, intentions, and wishes. Sometimes the fantasies within our heart never come out of the closet. Tonight is a perfect night to dust off those dreams and bring them out into the open!! The difference between a person who daydreams and a person who puts feet on their dreams and goes after them is just movement!

Here are a few suggestions for making the best use of the power of the full moon.

1. Fill a bowl with water. Send your intentions through the power of thought into the bowl of water. Then drink the water! As you drink the water, say, "I now receive within myself the power to bring my intentions to pass." You can always request the help of a Higher Power, of course.

2. Write a goal or a dream onto a piece of paper. Put on some happy tunes and dance around, carrying the piece of paper with you as you dance! If you really want to intensify your intention, dance around in a circle clockwise nine times! Nine in Numerology is the number of completion, and is the sum of three times three. Three is the number of manifestation. (Don't be embarrassed!! You have a right to celebrate in any way that makes you happy and feeds your soul!)

3. Do you need more money? Do the aforementioned ritual, only take your wallet or your checkbook and dance around it! Do you need a soul mate? Draw a heart on a piece of paper, or find something that is symbolic to you of love, and dance around it, calling love into your life. Whatever it is that you would like to bring into your life, find something that is symbolic of that, put it in the middle of the floor, or the ground, wherever you are, and dance around it! Say out loud or shout or sing.." I  now welcome...... into my life! It is complete!"

4. Take a symbol of what you would like to manifest, or take the piece of paper with your intention, and plant it in a pot of dirt with a flower or plant of some kind. Every time you water the plant, say, I now send love and Spirit  into my intention and as the plant grows, so grows my dream. Make sure you do not forget to water the plant and make sure it is getting plenty of light. And thank the plant for assisting you in manifesting an intention. If you are familiar with the ancient art of feng shui, put the plant in the section of your home or property which represents the area of your life you want to grow!

There are many ways to ask for the power of Spirit and the full moon to aid you in manifesting your dreams! If you are happy with your life and really can't think of anything you would like more of, then you are truly blessed! Use the time of the full moon to be grateful for all your blessings! (those of us who are still manifesting dreams would do well to do this as well!) Remember that gratitude is the water that nourishes our dreams as they grow! Being grateful for all the blessings in our lives is one of the ways we raise our own personal energy field so that our souls are receptive to even more blessings! What we focus on grows!

Remember to send love and gratitude to everyone and everything that touches your life! Even the challenges come with blessings in their pockets! Look for the reasons to celebrate and you will find more and more of them hiding in your closet, waiting to come out to the fullness of your life!

Happy May!

At the beginning of this year, when I was contemplating my theme for the year and looking at my tarot card for the year, I knew this was going to be a crazy ride. And so far, my expectations have come true.

Universally we are in a year of the chariot.

(I attribute this image to wikipedia.)

When we think of chariots we think of speeding ahead, travel, and maybe some challenges to overcome. Things seem to happen quickly in a chariot year. In my case, my personal years are the same as the universal year, so I guess I get a double dose of this card.

If you follow the stars, lately there has been a lot of crazy activity in the heavens as well. Although skeptics will say that the heavens have nothing to do with our lives on the earth, I find that everything is connected. We all can attest to the fact that when the moon is full people seem to act a little crazier than normal. More babies are born on full moons than any other time of year.

In April, on the night before the full moon, I found it necessary to take my dad to the hospital. While we were waiting to be seen, there was a man sitting by his computer, (I don't know what his job really was), and he commented to me that he always knew when it was a full moon, due to the increased activity in the ER.

I believe that yes, the placement of the stars and the phase of the moon have a lot to do with our lives.

Have you noticed that April was a bit of a crazy month energetically? Were you happy, as I was, when the calendar turned over to the month of May?

I am not an astrologist, but when I connect with Spirit, I am told that indeed, things are changing. For me, I notice that time is moving faster. It may be my connection with the chariot card, but this year I am finding that I can barely keep up!

How can we sail smoothly through these fast moving days of change?

Obviously, the biggest thing we need to do is have some down time! I had to be reminded of this when I contracted a month long bout with illness that went away only when I took a holiday to Florida, making sure I did no work that week, sitting by the ocean, walking up and down the beach and renewing myself, sitting with the sun, and the moon, and myself. We have to schedule in "me" time!

The second thing we need to do to make it through these energetic changes is spend much time in quiet contemplation. Whether you call it prayer, meditation, sitting with the moon, or just relaxation, make sure you schedule a bit of time every day to do nothing! This may sound similar to the first thing I mentioned about down time, however, when you feel like you have to schedule in time to meditate, sometimes it becomes another thing to do, so I don't count meditation as down time, although it can be, if our mental attitude about it is one of anticipation and excitement and not.. oh no, another thing to put on my list of things to do!  It doesn't have to be a large amount of time. I try to take several mini breaks a day, maybe just five or ten minutes at a time, sitting in my favorite meditation pose, or even just focusing on my breath as I go about my daily routine.

Just as you have to charge up your cell phone frequently or the battery goes dead and your phone becomes useless until you plug it in, you have to allow yourself some time to recharge your battery. Plug into Source and get your power back.

I believe that everything has consciousness and that we are all connected. Plugging into Source can be as simple as going outside and breathing some fresh air once in awhile. Or, my personal favorite, find a water source. (I have a small pond in my backyard where I like to recharge). Drink some water, and pay attention to how the water feels as it travels down your throat and into your belly. Imagine the water cleaning out the "gook". Give thanks to the water as it refreshes your spirit.

The last thing I think we need to do to get through these changing times is surrender. Surrender to Spirit all your plans, your schedule, your life, your expectations, even  your money. Sometimes I have to do this frequently. I surrender and then I take it back. When I begin to worry or try to figure out how everything is going to work, then I have taken it back. When I think I know how something is going to play out, then I have taken it back. My favorite prayer, or affirmation is this: I ask that the highest good be done in this situation for everyone concerned. I don't pretend to know what that best and highest solution is.

I hope when you feel like you are a bit overwhelmed or that life is happening to you too fast, that you will come back and reread some of these suggestions. If you need someone to listen, or want to hear what Spirit has to say about your situation, you can contact me HERE. I do phone, email and skype consultations, as well as in person if you live near me.

Together we can weather all that life throws our way. Yes, life may be a chariot rushing full speed ahead, but we are allowed to take a break and recharge!

Not the End of the Story

Last weekend I had the privilege of attending the Unicorn Writers Conference in Portland, Connecticut with my good friend Hali.

 I recently finished writing my second book, (or at least I thought I was done writing it) and was looking for my step in the process. The conference was held at San Clements Castle, a magnificent estate, filled with all kinds of picturesque views and fun statues.

At one point in the day, I decided to take a break from the back to back workshops and go outside (it was relatively pleasant that day) to take a breather and connect with the energy of the castle. The message that I received was a great message and I thought that others might benefit from the words of wisdom from my guides.

Let me preface the message with a little background of my life of late.

I get up at 5am Monday through Friday and go to work at the Post Office. After work, I see clients, I write weddings, sometimes (not as much lately with the increase of clients and classes) I post a blog. As you know I have been working on my second book. I have been teaching several classes at two different locations. Oh yes. And I join couples in marriage. The weekend before this past one I went to the beach to participate in a full moon ceremony.

This past weekend it was a weekend writers conference.

So I sat down on one of the concrete walls to breathe and look around at the beauty of the castle. The air was brisk, but invigorating. The sun warmed my face as I took a deep breath and felt the energy of the castle.

"You know,Joy,"  my Guide began, "this castle was not created to be an event location. Even though it is functioning very well in its current capacity, this was not the original intention of the first owners of this land."

Well, yes, I imagine this is true.

"Sometimes, our original intentions do not turn out to be the end result."

This reminds me of one of the philosophies I learned in  my study of shamanism. Don't be attached to having your plans turn out only one way. If you think that the things you are manifesting can only be realized in one way, then you will find yourself stuck.

 Be willing to surrender your plans to Spirit and allow your vision to be manifested in the best possible way for the good of all concerned.

In my thoughts about the castle, I thought about the original owners of the castle and what visions they must have seen for it when they first decided to build it. I wonder if they realized those visions in their lifetime. Over the years, I wonder how many different things the castle might have been used for. I really didn't do my homework and so didn't know much about the history of the castle: how old it was, who were the original owners, how many times it had changed hands, what different events may have occurred here. But I felt that the Spirit of the castle was content with its present duties as an event location. Many weddings occur here. I am sure there are a multitude of various events that the walls of the castle are privy to. My feeling was that the castle was happy with its present state of affairs. (yes, you skeptics, a castle can be happy.)

Since I began writing my second book, a memoir of my spiritual path and how I got from my "previous" life as a born again Christian to my current life as an intuitive, medium, shamanic practitioner, and sometime animal communicator, the message that life does not turn out exactly the way we plan really hits home. No this was not my original intention. My thoughts or expectations of my weekend at the conference did not pan out exactly as I had envisioned.  But I  have to say that Spirit always knows best. Our best laid out plans cannot hold a candle to all the wonderful things that Spirit and perhaps even our own Highest Self envisions for us.

The other "sub" message that Spirit told me was that it was okay to take breaks. I have a tendency to "make hay while the sun is shining." In other words, work work work as long as the opportunity is there. However, at this moment, as I had ditched a workshop to sit out in the sun in this very captivating courtyard, I knew that we all need times when we just breathe.

 We all need to get away from the hustle and bustle of our lives and sit and look at a water fountain, whether any water is coming out of it or not, or perhaps just sit and gaze at a candle, watch a sunset, or sit with the moon. Spirit said to me as I recited aforementioned saying,

"What, do you think the sun is going to stop shining?"

That's very true! If we have the attitude, "make hay while the sun is shining," then subconsciously we are afraid the sun is going to stop shining. The opportunities are going to mysteriously stop coming our way, Spirit is going to go on vacation and leave us hanging, so we better have some sort of back up plan.

Just for today, think about your goals or your visions of your life. Is your life turning out exactly the way you planned or have there been some detours? Has there been some rerouting? I like another saying that goes something like this,

 "life is what happens while we are busy making other plans."

As we head into the new moon on Sunday, let us think about surrendering all of our best laid out plans to Spirit and to our Highest Self. Let us lay aside any expectations that our life or our plans have to turn out in any specific way. Let us be open to surprises. Let us be open to detours. Let us be open to the notion that the there may just be a surprise ending to our story.

Remember this.

Everything always turns out okay in the end. And if isn't okay, it isn't the end.