Angelic Insights

Free Book for Kindle on Amazon this Weekend

2012-02-11T00:55:00.002-08:00

http://www.amazon.com/MALAIKA-ebook/dp/B004GNFTIKI haven't read it but I downloaded it--MALAIKA's about a man and his relationship with a lioness. It seems very appropriate for the spiritually minded animal lover, so download it while the price is free!

Tiger Tiger

2012-02-09T23:55:00.000-08:00

Another anti-depressant video... this time of a tiger cub.Enjoy.

Cute Kittens

2012-02-02T22:50:00.001-08:00

One of my friends suggested watching comedy DVDs to lift my "winter blues" mood--for me, cute cat videos and "icanhascheezburger" work better for me... Enjoy!

Encouragement

2012-01-29T22:28:00.000-08:00

According to this article, and many like it, either January 17 or January 24th is the most depressing day of the year. I've been feeling some depression myself, so I asked the angels to give words of comfort:

First of all, there are people depressed in July and in October and in April too. We are sure all people who experience depression would love for it to be bad only one day of the year. But the winter does seem to have an effect on peoples' moods. What we would most like to tell you is that you matter. Even if you feel unlovable, or that you're insignificant, we'd like to assure you that you're not. The Creator is all love. It's not a matter of being a God who loves his creations in a separate way--it's a matter of the sun shining and each ray, each emanation, being part of the light that is shining from the sun. You can't separate the rays from the sun because the sun must shine. And the rays are part of the shining.

So it is with your creation, with your coming to earth. You were born to shine your particular light as a ray of the sun you call God. Each ray has the light of God in common; each ray shines from a slightly different position from God and is unique and special.

Part of your pain is in not knowing how significant you really are. Part of your pain is in feeling undeserving and unworthy in some way of God's grace. There are very few humans who have grown up with their self esteem unscathed. Whether it's light levels or biochemistry or life circumstances, it really doesn't matter. What does matter is to know that you ARE loved, you are valuable, that this period of pain WILL pass, and that God, the angels, and many in heaven are loving you and supporting you.

Ask for strength and help--from people as well as from heaven. You can get through this.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

A Small Fox

2012-01-28T23:18:00.001-08:00

I find that watching cute animal videos lifts my spirits, no matter how low they are--at least for a while! Raise your vibes with this:

Celebrating Death

2012-01-22T14:56:00.001-08:00

When do you celebrate death? Do you... celebrate it, do you honor it, and do you see it as the joy, the joy of transition? When the tree dies, does the forest mourn or do the worms go "Yay, meal time"? The forest doesn’t mourn the passing of a tree. It celebrates the beginning of new life.

Death is the transition from the limitation of this lifetime and the defined roles that one has created here and the defined reality, the destiny that they have written in stone for themselves. It is the opportunity for them to create something entirely new. Honor the dying and the passing as you honor the birth, there is no difference, one is the other side of the coin, but it is the same coin, it is the same place in which beauty exists.

If you will honor the dying instead of mourning them, what you will create is the memory, in the person who passes, of their past life happening with ease in their next life so that they can choose how to rewrite what they come to accomplish and they won’t have to struggle to know who they are, they won’t have to fight to have awareness, they won’t have to sift through the gray matter of their brain to know. Honoring death gives awareness to the being and improves the possibility of knowing in each lifetime. That is the gift you give to the spirit when you honor death.

-Gary M. Douglas

This was shared on Facebook and I thought it was profound. I believe in reincarnation, but I still found this insightful and something that had meaning even though I don't believe in a "next life" in the physical with "gray matter."

What if that bright light people who have had near death experiences talk about at the end of a tunnel is the light of another reality and a birth canal to being birthed into non-physical existence? What if we could all focus more on gladness for the person who is on the next grand adventure rather than our own sense of loss? And what if we could feel better and have less lengthy mourning by honoring both our loss and the freedom of someone passing to the next experience?

Food for thought...

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

My Gratitude Alphabet

2012-01-20T20:47:00.001-08:00

A person on an email list I belong to suggested the idea of a gratitude list done alphabetically, So this is what I came up with. Some of the letters were a little more challenging...

A is for angels who remind us of God's love and guide us, for the animals who love us, for "apps".

B is for bees and bats who pollinate so we can eat and enjoy flowers, and for books to enjoy and to learn from

C is for cats, for computers that connect us to information and one another, for consciousness, for coffee and cheese

D is for dogs, and the divine that exists all around us and within us, for dancing--and for Disneyland!

E is for everything I forget to be grateful for, and for my eyes I see the world with

F is for fun, for food on the table, for family, for my friends and for forgiveness

G is for God, for all the goodness in my life

H is for history, for our hearts, for health, for Holy Spirit, for happiness

I is for insights, for intuition, for imagination, for our inner children

J is for Jesus, for jokes and for joy

K is for my Kindle and for kindness

L is for love, for life, for living (and lions and lemurs and lionfish and other cool L animals!)

M is for Mother Mary, for mystery, money, monasticism, music, MP3s, the moon.

N is for the New York TImes, night time.

O is for oatmeal, oracle decks, otters...

P is for poetry, for phones, for playfulness, for peace, for purpleness

Q is for questions

R is for reading, and for Rick

S is for stones, for stillness, for sacred texts, for software, for shamanism

T is for trees, for television, for tea

U is for universes, for understanding

V is for variety

W is for the world, for wisdom, for winter, for writing, for water, for wine

X is for the chromosome we as humanity have in common

Y is for this year, for youth, for YOU

Z is for zebras, for zoos, for zen, for zaniness. for zing

So what are YOU grateful for? Try this exercise--it's actually fun!

Peace Be With You

2012-01-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

One of the things I like about my church is that people don't stiffly say "Peace be with you" to three or four people around them after the priest says "The peace of the Lord be with you" and we reply "and also with you." No, we wander the sanctuary shaking hands or hugging depending upon the person's preference, wishing everyone peace... we probably get to 80% of the other people and the only reason we don't get to everyone is because other people are wandering around too.

Martin Luther King, Jr. not only was a civil rights leader--but he was also a minister. His calling to bring peace to his protests was deeply rooted in faith, in his case Christian faith.

From a different tradition, the Buddhist one, I leave you this incredibly moving video of Thich Nhat Hanh ("Thay") and one of his monks with wishes for peace and the end of suffering in this world--with great images of our beautiful planet and some of its inhabitants. Peace be with you all this Martin Luther King Day.

The Great Bell Chant (The End of Suffering) from R Smittenaar on Vimeo.

The End of Suffering Read by Thich Nhat Hanh

May the sound of this bell penetrate deep into the cosmos
Even in the darkest spots
Living beings are able to hear it clearly
So that all suffering in them cease
Understanding comes to their heart
And they transcend the path of sorrow and death.
The universal dharma door is already open
The sound of the rising tide is heard clearly
The miracle happens
A beautiful child appears in the heart of a lotus flower
One single drop of this compassionate water
Is enough to bring back the refreshing spring to our mountains and rivers.
Listening to the bell
I feel the afflictions in me begin to dissolve
My mind calm
My body relaxed
A smile is born on my lips
Following the sound of the bell
My breath brings me back to the safe island of mindfulness
In the garden of my heart
The flowers of peace bloom beautifully.

Shamanic Journey

2012-01-09T20:02:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share a copy of my certificate for completing my Shamanism for Animals training with Carla Meeske's SpiritHealer(TM) School of Shamanism. I've been studying with Carla for years. I've been practicing shamanism for years.

It's actually been a richly rewarding spiritual journey--in fact, I have shamanism and the "journeying" process to thank for many things. As a profoundly left-brained and somewhat over-analytical person in everyday life, shamanism has enabled me to undergo metaphoric journeys to discover a richly right brained world of insights. As someone who has a little trouble "letting go and letting God" sometimes, it has enabled me to abdicate the driver's seat in healing work and let the divine direct what needs to happen.

And most importantly, it's really provided me with a reconciliation of the religious with the spiritual. Meeting Jesus during my journeys reconciled me to Christ and Christianity after some less than lovely experiences as a child, in a way that just going to church as an adult would not have done. I healed my relationship with Jesus BEFORE seeking out a church. And it enabled me to discover that the liturgical/sacramental style of Christianity suited me best, as the experience of God's presence and an active relationship with the divine, whether it be through a journey or through the sacraments, is really important to me.

If you wish a healing for a situation with your animal, in addition to communication services, I can't guarantee a particular external experience such as a "cure"--but I can definitely guarantee that I've found a way to step aside and let God be in charge in healing work through shamanism, and that I love being of service. Thank you.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Angelic Comfort

2012-01-01T18:24:00.002-08:00

Happy 2012, everyone.This morning at church, we had a guest or "supply" priest, Rev. Karen.The priest shared an interesting thing about her mother-in-law during her sermon. Her mother-in-law is in hospice and has dementia--but she has taken to humming "Oh What a Friend We Have in Jesus..."I loved that her mother-in-law was finding comfort in her faith even as both reason and health had left her, at the end of her physical days.It is my hope in my own ministry as an intuitive and animal communicator that as I share angel messages and even cute animal videos, that I spread some measure of comfort and faith in a different dimension than the physical--so that throughout your lives, you find comfort and friendship in the company of God, Jesus, angels, the saints and whatever other ways in which you perceive the divine. And yes, I do think of this sacred work as a ministry--a way to spread the comfort and joy of connection with the divine, a way to share my faith in ways that help others find a way to bring some sort of faith into their lives, a way to help others connect on a heart level with divine guidance and with their animal companions. Blessings to each of you this new year.

Happy New Year

2011-12-30T23:03:00.001-08:00

From a friend's Facebook page: "My New Year's Resolution is to learn how to be kind to myself."

I think this is probably a good resolution for most of us. With the possible exception of sociopaths, many of us spend a lot of time feeling guilty about what we should have done, or feeling inadequate about not being the person we expected to be by (insert milestone age here) in terms of careers, or having a spouse or children, etc. Or diving into the entire box of cookies because we already blew the diet having three of them...

So how CAN we be kind to ourselves? I have asked the angels for some advice:

First, recognize how unkind you actually are to yourself. Would you actually speak to someone else that is a friend, the way you speak to yourself? You don't tell your friends that they are stupid, or lazy, or worthless, or undeserving... even if they HAVE done something less than wise in the moment...why say that to yourself?

Second, if you catch yourself having an internal harangue about how ___ you are, just stop. Not forever, not trying to stop yourself from thinking these thoughts longterm, but just right in the moment, STOP. Take a breath. Decide you're going to think of something else and think of something or someone you love or like--a person, a pet, even your favorite \piece of furniture or television show. Say "I love __" or "I like ___." Find three things like this and focus on them.

It will interrupt the unkindness. Will you be unkind to yourself again? Undoubtedly. You are living life... you are incarnate. But interrupting unkindness to yourself and taking a break is the first step in actually becoming kinder to yourself. And it's not kind to you to beat yourself up when you find yourself being unkind to yourself.

Remember that God loves you and we angels love you. We hope that you find joy in loving you too.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Cute Kitten

2011-12-28T21:35:00.002-08:00

Hoping everyone had a lovely Christmas if you celebrate.

Just sharing a kitten that's irresistible today!

White Christmas

2011-12-24T00:16:00.002-08:00

We don't get white Christmases in Southern California so I thought I'd share a cute polar bear video! I'll be a little busy with family and church on Christmas Eve and Christmas so I'm wishing everyone much joy now!

Solstice

2011-12-21T20:00:00.000-08:00

Today is the Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere--the longest night and the shortest day of the year--the turning point when the days will gradually start to lighten. We had a kitty named Solstice who passed away--she got her name because she came from the shelter on December 26th and was snow white, a winter's cat.

Last night was the start of the Jewish holiday celebrating light, Hanukkah. And we Christians celebrate the coming of the Christ child on Christmas day this coming Sunday.

I think of the darkness today as a womb of creation. We are turning from darkness to light, from being cocooned in darkness to more activity and more daytime. What can we create in our lives at this holy time astronomically and in the Jewish and Christian traditions?

The angels say:

Much of your life is lived by default. Things happen. You react. Other things happen. You react. You react rather than creating from a neutral space. You're not really planning your days, your weeks, your months. You're letting life happen and just trying to cope.

Don't feel bad. This is especially prevalent during the holidays. But take time and breathe. Consider some longer term goals. Consider what you value. Is what you're doing in life a contribution to these values and goals? If not, what small steps can you take to get back on track?

People tend to do new year resolutions in the new year--and then "break" them. What if, instead of resolving to change something, you just wrote down briefly something you want to accomplish that year and something you value? And then think of different ways toward these things. For example, if you value peace, you could say I will pause at 4 pm each day and take 10 slow deep breaths and evaluate how my day is going and adjust my actions accordingly. If your goal is to eat healthier, maybe you can decide to eat two fruits a day every day in January. Then in February, decide to drink x amount of water.

The solstice isn't about results or harvesting what you want. It's about new ideas, new values, new goals. This is a time of newness, of the turning back toward spring, of the season of light, of the season of celebrating the birth of the divine in human form.

I'd also like to share a wonderful link to Japanese Madonna images...we are so accustomed to western images of Mother Mary and the infant Jesus, that it's fascinating to see the energy of Madonna and child translated into a different race and culture--but still recognizable as such. Please click here to visit the Japanese madonna paintings.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Allowing God In

2011-12-14T21:37:00.000-08:00

On the Concord Pastor's blog, he posted here on why is it so hard to let our God love us? It's a beautiful piece with a beautiful prayer... but I think I know the answer. So many of us got messages growing up that we didn't deserve God's love. That we are sinners, that we deserve to go to hell. I actually think it was traumatic for me as a nine-year-old to watch "Thief In the Night" in fourth grade--I was terrified that Jesus was coming and I was going to be left behind. Because I didn't believe? Oh no--I believed--and I gave my heart to Jesus over and over and over again every night because at the time I believed in the Baptist theology of salvation.

I thought I would be left behind because I didn't think anything I did was good enough. That no matter what, maybe I had some unsuspected flaw or sin I wasn't confessing, that maybe I didn't have enough faith, that maybe I was so irredeemably bad, that God couldn't forgive me after all... Now what a fourth grader could have done that was so horrible, I'm not sure--but I was sure that I was the epitome of evil. I was also much more concerned with a fear of hell and avoiding that than a turning toward Christ. Now if you're Baptist and want to say that's not how your theology actually is supposed to be--that's fine--but I'm sharing my understanding as a child, of what was taught daily in parochial, Baptist elementary school to me. I'm sure there are distortions in my understanding due to my developmental level at the time, just as I learned that the Star Spangled Banner didn't feature the words "donzerly light" when I was past first grade.

Dr. Dain Heer had an awesome question/clearing he asked recently that really resonated with me: "How many of you have been implanted and explanted to believe that you are somehow evil at your core, that if you finally got down through all the layers and dug through all the things you’ve been trying to dig through that what you would find is so evil that it would destroy all the lightness that exists in the world, in all the worlds and in all the universes?"

I had an "Oh wow, that's ME" moment. Even though I had long ago shed the intellectual ideas about being irredeemable and evil and undeserving, and had instead embraced a gentler Christian theology of redemption, I realized that I still had that seed of badness/wrongness inside me from almost 40 years ago. WHOA. That is scary. I think that the answer to Father Fleming's question is that many of us have judged ourselves into feeling undeserving of God's love--or undeserving of love in general.

So I asked the angels for ideas on shedding this feeling of undeservingness. They said:

Where is God not? Where is a God that is supposed to be omnipresent, not? Can you truly be separate from Him? Can the ultimate Source of all Being be into creating things He views with horror and disgust? Do you think you were truly created by a sadistic being to be doomed to an endless and perpetual misery?

You know that cramped feeling you get if you spend too much time sitting in one position? Some of you get tingly legs. Others get a stiff neck or back. Others move about stiffly the first few moments after arising. If God fit into the ideas you have about God, if God were that limited, God would feel like that when getting up out of your ideas... thankfully you cannot limit God. You can only limit your own experience of God.

So please put aside your ideas about God. Put on your willingness to be OPEN to God. Breathe. Relax. Pray. Ask to really know God. Ask to really connect to God's presence. Will it feel like judgment or constriction or something that hates you? Or will it feel like a relief, a washing over and through you of what HOME is... because that's what God is--your Source is your Home.

God is not a frightening thought. God is coming home to the you that you were created as--a being of beauty, inner peace, inner joy... a being of love. A being who is God's beloved. Open up and let that God love you. You might be surprised what you perceive. You will feel lighter, freer and amazing as you allow yourself to receive.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Wrapping a Cat?!

2011-12-11T20:32:00.001-08:00

This is pretty funny...

However, on a more serious note, please don't force your will upon your kitty or other animal. This cat seemed pretty unusually mellow!

Hungry Kittens

2011-12-10T21:53:00.001-08:00

This was unbelievably adorable... enjoy.

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

2011-12-08T21:03:00.001-08:00

I don't really care whether people theologically believe Mary was born with or without original sin--or, if you even believe in original sin... but I do want to point out that Mary is a wonderfully nurturing, very real spiritual presence, and that she is willing to be a comforting, nurturing presence for those who ask.

I'm not Roman Catholic--but I have a relationship with Mary. She is a great example of saying yes to God. She is the mother of Jesus. And just like angels, we can enter into relationship with her without "worship."

There is this wonderful blog post today by Gene Monterastelli on his "Brother Blue" blog of his morning prayer that is absolutely beautiful.

It begins with the Memorare, but goes on. It is both humbling and empowering at the same time. I hope you will click here and read it--and pray it.

Thank you.

Cat Yoga Video

2011-12-06T22:23:00.001-08:00

I love youtube... and cats. This is a terrific video. Enjoy!

Apprehensive Angel

2011-11-30T21:02:00.001-08:00

http://www.guideposts.org/print/angels-earth/apprehensive-angel-brings-christmas-blessing

This is a WONDERFUL and heartwarming story that I recommend reading. As the writer recounts a childhood Christmas pageant story, what her grandmother said (which contributes to the story's denouement) is so true to me:

"You think too much about Santa and not enough about God," Grandma Josie said around the pins in her mouth. "Santa rewards the good. God loves us all. He never turns his back on anyone. If he sees someone in trouble, he sends an angel to help. Santa’s elves don’t do that."

I squirmed under her gaze. "Santa gives presents," I said.

“God’s gifts are greater than Santa’s. They never get old or break. Some of his gifts you don’t even see."

I saw a "coal" stocking hung up in a display at Disneyland in a store window. Santa sees if you've been bad or good... yet don't we all make mistakes? And don't most people deserve a mixture of presents and coal in those stockings--not one or the other alone? Which of us is completely good all the time--or completely bad? Don't we need a God who gives us the grace of love, of understanding, of forgiveness?

I asked the angels for an Advent message in light of this story:

God has been in love with you long before you became a separate human being in the body you have, and will love you long after you leave that body. You are special, you are beloved, you are God's joy. Why? Because you are an emanation of God's creativity... just as an artist loves how his or her works are sold and displayed in homes all over, not limited to the artist's studio, so does God love distributing beings throughout the universe, works of art who themselves live and breathe and create, beings who have the opportunity to bring more beauty to the world through their thoughts, their actions, their expressing who they are.

Jesus said not to hide one's light under a bushel. As you enter the holiday season, remember that spark of light that is within you, and remember the sparks of light within everyone else. You are human and you are necessarily subject to mistakes. So if you fail to see that spark within yourself or within someone else sometimes, if you are meanspirited or angry, if you are somehow not the finest example of thoughts or behaviors at the moment, do not despair. Send a blessing on anyone you thought ill of, spoke ill of, behaved not exactly kindly toward, including yourself.

You can help us angels bring God's message of love and acceptance to the world. You don't need wings--you only need the openness to your inner light to be a human messenger of the divine.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Cyber Monday

2011-11-28T18:53:00.001-08:00

So it's been "Black Friday" and now "Cyber Monday." I just feel like what's next? Gimme MONEY NOW Tuesday? I like shopping as much as anyone. In fact, I've appreciated the opportunity to buy things I actually have wanted for a while, on sale. But the commercialism is a little offputting.For those of us who are Christians, now is the time of Advent, a preparation for the coming of the Christ child. And for those of more ancient earth based traditions, we are approaching the darkest time of year, the Solstice, before the days lengthen again. This is a time of cocooning. This is a time for snuggling in. We are in the womb of the seasons, a time to turn inward toward darkness and quiet and introspection before the Season of Light. Enjoy your prayerful in-times, your meditations, your cups of hot tea and coziness.... it will help you "gird your loins" against the holiday rushes and stressors!

An Appreciation

2011-11-23T20:42:00.001-08:00

I appreciate all who read this blog...I appreciate having enough to eat, a warm bed, cats to make that bed even warmer...I appreciate Rick and my parents and my friends.I appreciate the Virtual Abbey, friends who pray with and for me.I appreciate this life I have been given--at least most of the time.And I appreciate God, Jesus, the angels and all the saints.I give thanks and I wish everyone a blessed Thanksgiving full of appreciation.

Blessing

2011-11-16T20:37:00.000-08:00

In preparation for Thanksgiving, I share a prayer from a favorite blog of mine.... this man's prayers seem to express what my soul is feeling so well.

http://tobendlight.com/2010/06/13/a-moment-of-blessing/

A Moment of Blessing

Every breath and every blink,
Every moment and every heartbeat:
Each one, a blessing.
This is a moment of blessing.
Blessings given. Blessings received.
Every trail and every vista,
Every journey and every homecoming:
Each one, an adventure.
This is a moment of adventure.
Adventures alone. Adventures together.
Every sunrise and every sunset,
Every crash of thunder and every roar of the sea:
Each one, a moment of majesty.
This is a moment of majesty.
Majesty from heaven. Majesty on earth.
Every birth and every death,
Every love and every loss:
Each one, a mystery.
This is a moment of mystery.
Mysteries hidden. Mysteries revealed.
Blessed are you, Adonai our G-d,
G-d of blessings, G-d of adventures,
G-d of majesty and G-d of mystery,
You fill our days with Your glory
And our lives with precious gifts.
Praised are You, Source of love.

© 2010 Alden Solovy and www.tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Cute Cat Video

2011-11-13T20:08:00.001-08:00

Be prepared to say "awww"

Dancing is Sacred

2011-11-10T00:23:00.001-08:00

As you know from my profile picture, I am a ballroom dancer. I took it up in my late 20s socially as it made me feel graceful. I probably wasn't at that stage; but I felt graceful... and the uncoordinated duckling who ran knees in, feet out and was always picked last for games in grade school felt just a wee bit swanlike.

It's been my most longstanding hobby since I have been at it for almost two decades now.

So when I ran across this blog posting by Michelle Chant about dance, it really resonated with me. Granted, her type of dance is more freeform and non-choreographed, but I really liked this from her post:

In dance, you are tuning into cosmological principles. As you dance, the tempo of the rhythm, the emotive frequency of the music and melody are demonstrated through the organic body-mechanics of dance. Dance becomes the art of representing music. You fall into fractal patterning and ‘know’ instinctivelytht when a drum pattern emerges you step and rock into it.

I definitely feel ballroom dancing is a partnership illustrating not opposites but complements. Man leading, woman following, bodies able to stretch in more elegant ways due to the counterbalancing of body contact near our centers of gravity, rhythm and melody and beauty and movement intertwined. It's really about surrendering to a "we" instead of an "I". Hmmm... sounds like us and God. But that's not too surprising, is it?

Please read Michelle's blog posting--it's fascinating.

Kittens Kittens Kittens

2011-11-06T19:13:00.000-08:00

Just sharing a link to an adorable video today...

http://youtu.be/gf__BpKjs8s

If It Seems Too Good To Be True...

2011-11-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you've all heard the saying "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is." Lately, a lot of the self-help folks got really into promoting this product that supposedly purified toxic water, even really toxic pond scummy bacterial water and supposedly was the miracle panacea for anything that ails you to "detox". I didn't even ask whether it was true, I just went "too expensive", "why haven't I heard of this before" and "I can BLESS my water" and even if I bless it, I don't trust that to get rid of giardia...I'd use UV or a purifying tablet.

So when it turns out that this water product is actually imported from the Fukushima area (!) as battery acid (!) and has potentially toxic levels of aluminum and iron (!), I went YIKES.

I'm linking to information on the Adya Clarity scandal. Please, if you are taking this, STOP NOW and read about this. And let's all pray for all the people who thought they were enhancing health that might have done major harm to themselves or their family members. Thank you. The link to the article is here.

And I'd like to encourage people to be skeptical. ME? Ms. talks to angels and feels energy? Yes.

Some very intelligent people whom I respect have been taken in by the Adya Clarity product. Some very intelligent people lost their savings with Bernie Madoff. Skepticism is a good thing. Investigating things is a good thing. Tuning into one's gut feelings is a good thing. God created reasoning for a reason...

Interview with Carla Meeske

2011-10-26T20:21:00.001-07:00

Carla Meeske is a shamanic practitioner who has been my teacher of shamanism for animals for a number of years. You can access the interview with her by Animal Massage Guide here.

I especially like what she had to say about shamanism and religion:

Would you call it a religion?

No, it’s not a religion. Shamanism is a recognition of multiple dimensions of reality and a willingness to introduce yourself to the beings who live in the multiple dimensions of reality, and it is an experience of the realities that are there.

Do you feel that shamanism in any way conflicts with the more commonly practiced religions (Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, etc.)?

Well, it conflicts with any religion that says that their religion is absolutely the only way to connect with spirits. If a religion says “you are following a false god, or “you’re evil” or “of the devil if you don’t do exactly what I do” then it conflicts with that. However, if a religion has a more philosophical way of seeing things, then it does not. And it is really up to the individual, how fundamentalist they are. Fundamentalists frequently do not like anything that is not of their fundamentalist persuasion. The more open-minded people are much more accepting.

I thought it would be interesting to answer these two questions for myself, here.

Would you call it a religion?

No, I would not call shamanism a religion. Shamanism doesn't have a dogma, or a set of orthodox beliefs. It is a highly spiritual way of looking at the world, a way of being that is interconnected with all of life, through time and space and dimensions in ways that we cannot even begin to understand as humans from a mental standpoint. So I would be really surprised if an atheist became a shamanic practitioner because how would one reconcile working with spiritual forces without there being a transpersonal element to existence... that said, I'm sure it's possible somehow--I just haven't met a shamanic practitioner who was an atheist. But I do know shamanic practitioners who are of various religious paths, as well as not particularly religious but people of deep faith that transcends religion.

Do you feel that shamanism in any way conflicts with the more commonly practiced religions (Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, etc.)?

I will preface this by saying that I don't really know that much about Islam. However, I am a Christian who practices shamanism, and I know people who are neopagan who practice shamanism, other Christians who practice shamanism, and people who are philosophically Buddhist who practice shamanism. I really don't see a conflict because I'm not worshipping anyone other than God. I am accessing healing and insights through working with spiritual beings, but I see these beings as being more like one would call upon saints in the Roman Catholic form of Christianity.

We imagine angels as light or human like forms with wings...but we could just as easily imagine that we are protected by guardians in the form of animals, "Power Animals" in shamanic parlance, that we are guided by messages from a tree or a lake as much as we think of angels. Really, the compassionate helpers in shamanism are how I interpret this larger reality in a way that makes sense to me. So I have many Christian figures as teachers, including Jesus and St. Francis of Assisi...although interestingly enough, it was the appearance of the Christian teachers including Jesus that brought me back to Christian practice and belief, not vice versa.

There are some who don't believe that there are external spirits who are helping us, but who believe that they are aspects of themselves. There are many ways to incorporate shamanic practice into one's life no matter what one's beliefs are.

If you're interested in shamanism for animals, I encourage you to check out Carla's website http://www.spirithealer.com/ and if you are interested in a broader experience of shamanism, the Foundation for Shamanic Studies has some excellent classes. Its website is http://www.shamanism.org/ .

Hollow Bones

2011-10-18T23:40:00.001-07:00

In Shamanism, there is a concept of being a "hollow bone" for healing--where one gets oneself out of the way and allows the divine to work through one's hands, or one's voice, or whatever one is using for the healing. In Christianity, Jesus taught in his model prayer, "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven."

Because I follow both paths, shamanism as a way of communing with God, or prayer, as well as a way of healing, and Christian belief and practice, I love to find parallels. And the best prayers seem to be open ended.

As Dr. Larry Dossey says in this fascinating interview:

But then they tested what they call a nondirected prayer strategy, which is completely open ended, and does not attach a goal to the prayer. They have several of these nondirected prayer strategies. The most famous prayer of this type is "Thy will be done." Another one they used is from the Beatles tune, "Let it be." My all-time favorite nondirected prayer strategy is the caption on the back cover of the first Whole Earth Catalog, "You can't put it together. It is together."

"One of the assumptions of this nondirected prayer strategy is that at some level, in some way, at some deep level of reality, things are just fine, perfect as they are. Over a decade, Spindrift has shown, and this is the bottom line, that both methods of prayer work. But working with these prayer pracitioners, they have shown that the nondirected prayer method is two to four times more powerful than the directed.

I was recently introduced to the idea of just ASKING for whatever healing energy is needed to flow... no special "modality" or method, no particular characterization of the energy as "chi" or "universal life force" or whatever people often call healing energy--just asking what contribution can I be to so-and-so and putting one's hands out... or what contribution can I be to the earth and sending healing to our beloved planet.

I just loved this idea. It's really a prayer--please use me to send someone whatever they most need--you know best, Lord... or Please help me be of healing assistance to the earth. But just being open to being a conduit and asking is all that is needed.

What a refreshing form of prayer and healing. Tonight, please ask God, by whatever name you call Him, or the angels, to flow whatever energy is needed by a family member, or the earth, or your animals, and just let the energy flow...Be that holy hollow bone and allow a will greater than your own to direct what is happening.

It's amazing--and something simple enough you can even teach your kids.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Not Alone

2011-10-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

I was reading a Guideposts story about a mysterious chaplain who no one else saw in a couple's time of need. I do believe this chaplain was an angel. But much more often than the times people see an angel that appears in human form to assist, we can be helped or guided without any visual cues. I find these stories of apparently physical appearances comforting. Just think--an angel arriving disguised as a human would be much less intimidating than if someone saw a lightbeing appear when they had a flat tire. A mysterious stranger with a jack who disappears seems more appropriate to the situation.

I believe the angels show up in the way that's most appropriate for each of us. And as I remember that we ALL have angels who oversee us, even those who don't believe in God or the angels, I am told that those angels are even more subtle. They influence friends to say the right things to the person, suggest helpful books. Or they will have the person feel they came up with whatever idea is guidance, themselves.

The angels say:

We are all around you--even within you. We are not just "messengers" of God, but we are also "messages" of God. You separate the messenger and the message in your mind--we can't really explain it well, but we are both. So besides the ones assigned to a certain person, there are angels who ARE safety. These angels may warn someone mentally--or they may show up in human form to ward off danger--or any number of things in between.

There are angels who ARE love... and if you are having difficulties forgiving someone or being loving, you can mentally call upon them. Don't worry about memorizing the names of the archangels or seeking out the name of your guardian angel. You can--and we don't dissuade you... but when you call upon a quality or a need, you are calling upon the angel who IS that... love, peace, joy, abundance, safety, discipline, patience...

Just remember to ask us for help and we will be there--even if we aren't as apparent or dramatic as one of our brethren who appears in physical form for someone.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Rest In Peace Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T23:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Steve Jobs left his physical body. But he left immense PRESENCE in the world. All of us with iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes... any Apple product--and all of us who benefitted from Windows moving from DOS to an interface that emulated the early Macs... the face of the world is different because this man did what he was impassioned to do.

So what is YOUR passion? What is your gift?Please think as you watch this commencement address that Steve Jobs did at Stanford in 2005.

It gave me chills--but the message to live your own life and to listen to your intuition is so powerful and important...It can't be embedded as it's Stanford's video but please visit this link: http://youtu.be/UF8uR6Z6KLc

St. Francis of Assisi

2011-10-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

Today is the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis was someone called by God to embrace all of life, someone who saw the holiness, the great mystery, and the face and presence of God in all things, behind all things, through all things. This was a man who spoke to birds, who embraced lepers, who tamed a wolf. He showed kindness and compassion to all beings.

On this day of remembrance in St. Francis's honor, I ask everyone who reads this to just intend to reach out in prayer and ask to experience the holiness and the aliveness of the world as St. Francis experienced it... There is just an opening to sacredness when you do. A sense of wonder, a sense of connectedness, a sense that really can't be described, only felt--and for most of us, only felt momentarily. But to reach for that consciousness and experience it, even if briefly, enables us to then pray to be empowered to embody compassion as St. Francis did. Again, it might only be momentary, but you will be inspired to do something. Maybe go for a walk, or to hug your dog--to be kind to another.

In my case, I am moved to share a link to this beautiful testament to a remarkable animal sanctuary and a beautiful poem "I Have Learned So Much" by Hafiz here. Enjoy.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Doreen Virtue Interviewed Today

2011-10-04T13:20:00.000-07:00

Dr. Doreen Virtue was interviewed today by Lisa Garr on her "Aware Show" telesummit. You can get the call if you right click here and save it.

There is also a limited time special offer to order Dr. Virtue's angel products in a deeply discounted price here. The package includes the CD version of her book Archangels 101--If you get it (or buy the book or CD set elsewhere), I contributed an account of how I work with Archangel Metatron.

Vacuum Video

2011-09-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

What happens when kittens play on a vacuum cleaner?

Ever wonder? Well...

Archangels and Coffee

2011-09-29T21:33:00.001-07:00

Today is the Feast of the Archangels, originally honoring St. Michael, but later including all three archangels mentioned in the Bible, St. Raphael, St. Michael and St. Gabriel.

It also happens to be National Coffee Day...

What a combination...

I couldn't find a picture of an angel drinking coffee but I did find a great "cheezburger" tribute to cats, other critters and coffee... Enjoy here.

Glow Stick Kittens

2011-09-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

This is somewhat bizarre, but interesting. In order to track which kitties they had successfully treated so they couldn't get Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV--the cat equivalent to HIV), they used a jellyfish glow gene.

Reality is sometimes weirder than science fiction. But the picture was cute and the article interesting!

Here's the article.

Rest in Peace

2011-09-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

Our slug, Samantha has passed into the world of spirit.

I wrote about her here in December 2009.

I was misty eyed last night as I saw her shrinking, slightly curled form... It was so apparent to me that the life, the presence, the calming energy of her beingness were so much more than her body. But then, why should it be any different for a slug than for anyone else? All of us are much more than our bodies.

The traditional "rest in peace" for those who have moved on from the physical reminds me of the Christmas carol "Silent Night"--appropriate for our Christmas tree slug...

Sleep in heavenly peace, Samantha--at least Samantha's body--because I know your essence is continuing on and being expansive as always. Thank you for sharing your life with ours. We have loved you deeply.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Praying

2011-09-13T19:47:00.001-07:00

I am confident that my prayers make a difference. I am also confident that, for whatever reason, some of the people I am praying to be healed of cancers and other life threatening things, will die. Does that mean God doesn't hear my prayers some of the time? No--to me, God sees the world through the lens of seeing souls or spirits--beings that temporarily animate bodies, but who ultimately are beyond birth and death.

Does that mean that God doesn't care? No, God cares deeply--but I believe in a God who is interwoven into the quiet spaces between the synapses of our brains--the God between thoughts. I believe in a God who is in every breath I take, in the inhalation and the exhalation--and in the moment before a baby takes its first breath and in the moment following someone taking their last. God can't help but care--but at the same time, God isn't limited to this human perspective.

So I pray. Not to change God, not to change what is necessarily, but to acknowledge God in the midst of whatever it is that is going on and to ask for what is possible, no matter how improbable, trusting that perhaps a miracle may happen--or a miracle behind the scenes that I don't have the consciousness to perceive at the moment.

As 17th century Japanese poet Mizuta Masahide said, "Barn's burnt down, now I can see the moon."

Sometimes there is great beauty in tragedy. And sometimes there is just pain in the moment and I can't see the beauty yet.

As Pastor Steve Garnaas-Holmes wrote on his blog:

"When God created the world what God was doing was praying. When we touch another’s suffering, we spin the fibers of the universe. When we join our prayers with anyone else, of any tradition, we weave the threads that mend the world."

I don't have a message from the angels today--but I hope you will join me and pray today, in whatever way you feel comfortable.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Baby Cheetah Video

2011-09-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

I found this video on kittentoob.com. Enjoy!

On Compassion and 9/11

2011-09-09T20:04:00.002-07:00

As we approach the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001, I started to contemplate the Buddhist practice of tonglen meditation, where (my apologies to the Buddhists out there as I give my incomplete and oversimplified version) one breathes in others' pain or discomfort, and breathes out a quality such as compassion, or peace on their behalf.

I found a really interesting article called "Receiving and Giving" at http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/research_sites/cwp/pdf/receivingandgiving.pdf

For my fellow Christians, I recommend reading pages 17 and 18 of this pdf, which discuss the Peace Prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, and to use our breath and this prayer with the intention of contributing our intentions of peace and healing for ourselves and the world, as we commemorate the anniversary of 9/11.

Thank you.

Here is the wikipedia entry on tonglen practice, for anyone interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonglen

Happy Birthday, Blessed Mother Mary!

2011-09-08T22:51:00.000-07:00

Today, September 8, is the traditional observance of the Blessed Virgin Mary's birth. Do we actually have any idea of her birthday? No. So today is as good as any other day to honor the woman who said "yes" to God and had Jesus.

Sometimes people ask "was she really a virgin?" Although I don't believe in the 'perpetual virginity' idea (that she never consummated her marriage, EVER--poor Joseph!), I don't believe that anything is impossible for God so I don't see any problem believing that Jesus was literally conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.

On the other hand, I believe that the Holy Spirit could have empowered his conception without being spiritual sperm so to speak... so do we know for sure? No. so I choose to believe in the virgin birth--but I also don't think that it is required for the miracle of who Jesus grew up to be, what he taught, what he did and what he continues to do.

The idea of Mary's virginity being factually "true" or not is beside the point to me. The idea of virginity symbolizing purity, and singleminded devotion to God first before she was part of her new family, means more to me.

So I have asked the angels for a message on Mary:

Mother Mary, the Blessed Virgin, isn't about sex or not sex. Her connection to the divine isn't about whether she was impregnated with sperm or not--her connection is about her tremendous LOVE for God, and love for all of life, the world, humanity, the animals, everyone.

Mary is the embodiment of nurturing, caring, energy. She carried, bore, nursed Jesus... she wept and screamed as he was betrayed and crucified. Wouldn't you say that the sculpture La Pieta is one of the most moving pieces of sacred art you have seen? In it, pain and grief, and yet sublime peace and love, are all melded together. It is a statement about the human condition. Mary was a human thrust into a sacred and holy role.

Yet all of you are called to be holy, to be in relationship with the divine. You are all called to be connected to God and to one another, to your planet, to your families, to your animals...Mother Mary cares and loves each one of you and cares about your connection to the divine.

The traditional Catholic call upon her to "pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death" may seem grim to those not similarly believing, but Mary does intercede for others in prayer. You need only ask in your heart or mind--not necessarily using the ancient words if they do not resonate with you.

Ask for her advice and guidance. Ask for her to pray for you. It's not about the mother of Jesus having any extra "brownie points" for getting her prayers heard--it's about a woman of complete trust and faith in God, who was able to accept an angelic visitation and unhesitatingly say "yes" to carrying Jesus, the power of someone with greater FAITH that has the power to help you.

You can also ask people who have a lot of faith who are still embodied to pray for you. But why choose either? Choose both. Mary cherishes the opportunity to nurture and be of service and in that respect is much like us angels.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Cat and Mouse

2011-09-06T23:47:00.000-07:00

I LOVED this Simon's Cat... I think those of us with cats and computers can certainly relate! Enjoy! A special thank you to a wonderful site where I found this, for cat lovers, "Lovemeow.com"

Priceless

2011-09-04T20:27:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, we went with a group of friends from my church to the Mission at San Juan Capistrano to see the "Treasures" exhibition. There was a fascinating early 20th century chalice in the exhibit which had the complete Last Supper AND the "Pieta" scene (Jesus' body cradled by Mother Mary) in the base of the chalice. Not only was it exceptionally beautiful in its details, but it had a palpable energy to it of the sacrament it had been used for--I felt my heart open when I stood in front of it--in fact, I felt like my sternum was vibrating.

You can see a picture of the chalice here.

A man led his little boy in front of the chalice and when the little boy asked about it, his father told him what it was and that it was "priceless." The little boy then asked "So it's not worth anything?"

I found that fascinating and sad--because the mistake in interpreting the term came from a societal viewpoint that things that cost more money are more valuable, and anything "priceless," rather than being beyond assigning a monetary value to, would be worthless.

I asked the angels for some insights and they said:

This understanding of value isn't baseless. You yourself have experienced inexpensive items falling apart in the washing machine after a few months, or poorer quality in less expensive items. But this type of quality to price association is not applicable to unique and artistic objects, or to services. A $200 lawyer is not necessarily less skilled than a $300 lawyer, nor is a $10,000 painting necessarily "better" than a $1,000 painting.

However, what value a person places on his or her own work tells you something about his or her own opinion of the quality of work, which is one factor to weigh in buying something or hiring someone. But really, the intangible qualities are priceless and beyond setting a price. What price does beauty have? Love? Inner peace?

The child's mistake was a wonderful opportunity for his father to discuss value with him, if he takes the opportunity to do so. Our advice to you is to appreciate the priceless aspects of your life and look for them in all areas of your life.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Prayers Please

2011-09-02T21:55:00.003-07:00

I was sent a link to this couple Nathan and Elisa's blog and it really moved me. I have donated a small amount to their medical fund, and I ask that people pray for healing for them, and for their family as a whole. They are a young (30s) couple with a 2 year old who have stage 3 rectal cancer (him) and stage 4 metastatic breast cancer (her).

Please pray for them, and if you feel so led, donate.

Link to their story

Often, people have interesting worldviews about things like this. Everything from "Life sucks and then you die" to "It's God's will" to "There must be some lessons they're learning" or "It's their karma." Regardless of where you are on the belief spectrum, whether a nonbeliever, someone who is religious or "spiritual" only, if someone has a horrible situation occur in his or her life, my suggestion is to STOP and think before you open your mouth. We all interpret the world through the lens of our beliefs--and others' belief systems often differ from yours, or mine.

So what SHOULD we say?

I asked the angels:

Many times, one's statements sound condescending or judgmental. You did something wrong to bring this upon you in some lifetime or another... that sounds condemning. Or you are needing to learn harshly from life in some sort of cosmic "lesson"...that sounds condescending, like the speaker is superior as he or she hasn't had to go through that to learn.

So say something compassionate. "That must be difficult to have heard that diagnosis." "That must have been quite a shock to lose your spouse/child/parent so suddenly." Then ask questions, depending on how close you are to the person. Is there anything you can do for them that can help? Would they like a ride to the doctor, or would they welcome visitors? Ask what they want.

And even the nonbelievers among you would welcome a "you're in my thoughts," "I'm thinking positive for you" type of statement--and those you know to be people of faith and spirituality would be comforted to know that you will be praying for them.

What should you pray for? Sometimes the best thing is to send love, and ask the Divine to enfold the people concerned in peace and do whatever would be most beneficial to them.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Rikka Zimmerman

2011-08-31T18:53:00.001-07:00

I enjoy listening to and learning from teleseminars, and Rikka Zimmerman was on Darius Barazandeh's You Wealth Revolution and did some wonderful energetic clearings. I have no clue how Access Consciousness works exactly, but the clearings are powerful.

Enjoy! She also has fascinating energy--loving, gentle and open/vulnerable, and also outgoing, funloving and engaging.

If you're interested in purchasing her speaker package from Darius's site after you listen to it, you can purchase it from him here.

Healing Clinic for Animals

2011-08-29T23:39:00.000-07:00

My main shamanism teacher, Carla Meeske, is doing monthly healing circles for animals. I participated tonight as one of the "qualified healers" and it was a powerful and moving experience.

If you are interested in obtaining low cost ($20) healing for one of your animals and to see if shamanic healing is something you'd like to have done for one of your animals, this is a good way to try it out.

The link to the healing circle is here.

And if you would like shamanic healing for yourself or for one of your animals, I offer it as one of my services (you can even combine it with something else--for example, a one hour session of animal communication and shamanic healing.)

Deep Prayer, Deep Listening

2011-08-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

This final line from "Deep Listening" on Kathleen Jacoby's Seasons of the Soul blog today, really struck me: When someone deeply listens to you, your bare feet are on the earth and a beloved land that seemed distant is now at home within you.

How often are we deeply listened to? How often do we deeply listen to others? Unfortunately, the response to both of these questions is for most of us, myself included, not a whole lot. But there is Someone who always deeply listens to us--whether we call that infinite Presence God or something else... But deep listening also requires a depth of what we are communicating--and so often, our prayers do not convey what we are really aching to tell God.

I asked the angels for some advice on praying deeply:

Deep prayers aren't done with the mind or the mouth. Deep prayers are sighs of the innermost being, the holy of holies, the deepest recesses of your heart. Deep prayer is a longing for communion with your Creator. Deep prayer is hard wired into you--and the great irony is that sometimes it is the nonbelievers among you that have the deepest prayers, more than those who are "religious."

How so? you might ask. Other than the die-hard atheists who wall themselves off from any experience beyond explanation, most people who don't have a particular belief system, still have an openness of some degree or another to things that aren't physical, to a transpersonal reality, to something beyond themselves. They don't identify it with a name or a theology, or "believe" in a mental sense, but they have this underlying trust in a coherent universe, a system of beingness that somehow coheres and makes sense.

So this inner longing for them can be translated into something that has them communing with the divine without even knowing it. Take, for example, someone who wants to paint or write or draw. They commune with the divine for inspiration and call upon something beyond themselves, but don't call it a given name. They just ask within themselves for inspiration and it flows.

Ideally, that is how all of you would pray. Without thinking of the "right words" or if you're "good enough" for God to listen to you, or any of the other blocking thoughts that clutter up your connectedness. You would just call out with your inner beingness for communion with your Creator, and ask that God/Source would pour forth its energy into and through you. Some of you would be inspired to create art of some sort. Others would be inspired to start a charity, or to find the right words to comfort a friend. Still others would want to go hiking and feel drawn to God in natural settings.

Communion with God leads to your being yourself. The gifts, the talents, the innate characteristics you brought to this planet in the package called you, these things that are your natural inclinations, these things express your feelings to God and God's energetic replies back to you. You were created as a gift to the world. And it is through this deep prayer, this pure connectedness, that you are somehow activated in your gifts and talents to bring them more and more to the world.

Take a deep breath. Feel that connection within you to God, to your Source of beingness... Now what do you feel like doing? Whatever that is, whatever you feel drawn to do, is the product of God listening deeply to that which is within you--and God saying yes to the essence of who you are. Let the outflowing be your thanksgiving for being heard, for being deeply listened to, for being loved.... and as the world partakes in the unique gifts of many exploring their unique gifts rather than their samenesses, it becomes a richer place for all of us to live.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

777

2011-08-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

I keep seeing the numbers "777" (and no, I am NOT in Las Vegas!)

So I consulted Doreen Virtue's book Angel Numbers 101 and it means: "You are definitely on the right path in every earea of your life. Stay balanced and spiritually aware so that you can continue moving forward on this illuminated path."

I was a little taken aback. I can admit to quite a few places in my life where I am not doing optimally. Then I re-read the message... ahh.. "on the right path." Doesn't mean that I haven't taken detours, or reversed course, or wandered off the trail. And it certainly does not mean I have arrived. But I'm on the path, and I'm moving forward... I guess I should shut off those perfectionist thoughts and allow myself to be on the journey.

How about you? Are you in allowance of where you are on your journey? Are you willing to accept yourself where you are?

[I'm tired and have some physical issues going on right now so no message directly from the angels tonight--but I wanted to share this. I think we're tougher on ourselves than anyone else could be, sometimes!]

Healing from the Heart

2011-08-17T09:00:00.001-07:00

I liked this article so I thought I would share it--and as a profoundly left-brain dominant person with analysis going full tilt most of the time, it's very valuable advice. I asked the angels for a little input on the heart and they said:

Another thing you can do is to breathe deeply as you focus on your heart area, to further deepen the experience the author of the article suggests. Breath further disconnects you from the worry mind or busy mind.

The heart is a source of calm, peace and healing. If you focus on your heart while breathing deeply, and then intend to spread the energy of your heart throughout your body (including the brain), you find yourself more relaxed and also focused. As well as for physical healing, a heart focus is good for any major decisions you need to make.

IS YOUR BRAIN SLOWING DOWN YOUR HEALING? by May Johnstone

If you feel you're trying really hard to heal - let's say your sore back - and you're making little progress, your brain may just be getting in the way.
If you were able to figure out with your mind how to resolve your sore back, wouldn't you have done so by now?

You probably need to access another source of information and awareness - your heart - the place in your body where you feel things, so you can use your feelings to heal more quickly.
For me it's like driving off with my handbrake on - I notice there's a drag on the car, and wonder why I'm going so slowly, until I suddenly remember to release the handbrake, and away I go with speed and ease!

Wouldn't it be good to be able to remove the drag on your healing as easily as releasing your handbrake?

The trick with many energy healing methods is to turn off your brain and drop into your heart, or feeling area. However, because of our left-brain analytical culture, it can be really difficult to switch off your brain, which can chatter its way round and round the problem, with no access to a solution.

You may be surprised that your heart has brain cells, and they were created before your heart was, while you were in your mother's womb. So by moving your awareness to your heart, you can access another type of wisdom.

Two quick ways to disengage your brain

Put your hand on your heart

Simply placing your hand over your heart moves your awareness down from your mind to you to your heart - your feeling area.

Bow your head

Bowing your head also disengages your brain, and moves your focus to your heart - where you feel things.

Whatever energy healing method you're using, try disengaging your brain - at least for part of the time, and experience your healing process speeding up!

The Delicious Nugget: Disengaging your brain helps you tune more readily into your feelings, and speeds up your energy healing.

To comment on this Article, please go to my Blog.

Like to use this Article? Please do! Feel free to use it on your web site, newsletter or blog. Please keep the article intact, and include: © 2011 May Johnstone. May is an Intuitive Distance Healer helping women worldwide to recover their health. Experience May's Mini-healing session Ease Your Pain', and receive free articles to help you feel healthy again at: http://DeliciousHealing.com

J.K. Rowling and Support

2011-08-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it takes people believing in us to help us reach our potential.

Beliefnet article "Confidence of a Friend"

This struck me:

"He was the first person with whom I really discussed my serious ambition to be a writer. He was also the only person who thought I was bound to be a success at it, which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time."

-J.K. Rowling

Please ask yourself:

What would it take for all of us to help one another by believing in one another's potential?
What can we do to uplift one another?
What gift can I be to the world and to others today?

Ride for Animals and People with Cancer

2011-08-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

This is for Tracy Ann, a wonderful animal communicator (who has talked to my own animals) who is riding her horse across the country to fund charities for cancer research for people and for animals.

She says:

As you may know I have started my journey across country on horseback in May. It has been a most exciting adventure with its up and downs along the way. A new twist around virtually every corner, with the latest in the form of an opportunity at receiving a grant for $25,0000.00 ! I applied to the Pepsi Refresh Project with the idea of riding across the country, it is now up for voting.

What does this mean? You could fund the Entire ride simply by Voting!!T Hence my absolute shameless Request! The highest vote receiver in their category has the opportunity to receive a grant (my category is communities and 25K). What I am asking from you is your vote and if you are willing to pass this information on to those you know.

Voting is an easy process. You do need to register with refresheverything.com. This entails giving your name and email address. They require this to verify that you are not a robot. Unlike other registrations it is not an automatic registration for their newsletter, coupons, etc. If you do not want them, do absolutely nothing. Once you register you are able to start voting.

The link to my idea is
http://www.refresheverything.com/coast2coastforcancer if you have difficulty finding this link simply put Tracy Delp into the search bar on the pepsi refresh site.

There are three ways you can vote:

1) Text it in. Text 73774 (to Pepsi) the number 107883 (my idea number)

2) Vote Online. Simply click on the button that says Vote for This Idea.

3) Power Vote. This requires a code which is found on the lids and in the boxes of pepsi products. So if you or someone you know drinks pepsi and they purchase the products that say power votes, be sure to check for anything with the code. The power vote gives an extra 5 to 100 votes! And you are allowed to put up to 10 codes in per day.

Also it is possible to get 10 power votes per day if you log in using your facebook page. AND you can get up to threes votes if you use all 3 methods!

Any money above and beyond the cost of the ride will be split evenly between people and cancer and animals and cancer!

Tracy Ann is blogging her trip at www.coast2coastforcancer.webs.com

Discernment and Guidance

2011-08-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

Discerning true guidance from one's personality-self trying to convince you that something is true, is somewhat like trying to figure out nutritional needs from food cravings. I just had an interesting food desire at lunch. In looking over an array of sandwiches, I passed over my usual "white meat" or veggie and cheese options and roast beef on whole wheat bread looked really, really good to me. That's unusual for me--I'm not usually into beef. But nothing else looked good--so I ate the beef.

Interestingly, that was a true preference that made my body feel good. I wasn't looking around for dessert or snacks within the hour--it satisfied my hunger for quite some time--and I only had half a sandwich, probably a quarter cup of cole slaw, and a pickled pepper. Had I wanted several chocolate chip cookies for lunch instead, I would have had to wonder if that was really going to satisfy or if that was my tastebuds and/or brain talking.

Guidance is like that. Are you hearing what you WANT to hear because your personality-mind or ego is saying something? Or is it truly God and the angels giving you the idea, or whispering into your ear?

I asked the angels for guidance and they said:

Be clear about your hidden agendas. What does your ego/personality self WANT to hear as guidance? There have been people throughout the ages who have had what they called guidance, to do all sorts of acts that are probably not what God had in mind. If you are getting guidance that you cringe about getting because it's NOT what you are looking for, odds are that you are truly receiving guidance.

If you are getting guidance that excites your ego self and is exactly what you thought was the solution to what you were asking about, beware. Your prayers are answered with the essence of what you desire, but not necessarily with the specifics or the timing of what your human mind calculates as the best way to get what you want. Look for repetition and consistency in your guidance. Look for something that makes you think "oh, I never thought of it THAT way before..." that has a different point of view than the limited one your ego or personality self has.

Most importantly, your true guidance isn't going to tell you to go against your moral standards, or to create harm and destruction for others. You won't be encouraged to cheat or lie or start shooting people by the voice of Spirit. You will find encouragement, uplifting messages, and positive forms of action to take that don't harm you or others.

Discernment is like a muscle that can be strengthened. Ask for guidance on small issues and pay attention to how you get the messages, what they say, whether your ego agrees, and how things turn out. Eventually, you will better be able to identify the voices of God and the angels, versus messages from your personality self.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

LOLSpeak

2011-08-04T19:53:00.004-07:00

I'm a fan of the cutely captioned "LOLcats" on the icanhascheezburger.com site.

How can one possibly resist THIS?

Today I'm linking to LOLspeak as a Second Language (LKSL-101) in Five Easy Steps for your amusement and edification.

I'm VERY glad that animal communication doesn't really involve cats speaking in LOLspeak. I had enough trouble with pig latin as a child--and forget about my understanding Hawaiian pidgin English--it's almost as bad as my schooldays trying to "get" math! I can just imagine asking a cat what he thinks of the potential of a new kitten sibling and getting something like:

" Bout itteh bitteh kitteh in house, hoomanz laik itteh bitteh 2 much. Needs MAI attenshun too, so MEEEEE no gonna laik any itteh bitteh kittehs, nun, nada, nope, stop thots laik that NOW. I is only, mostest supreme, cat in UNIVERSE, k?"

"Deserving" God

2011-08-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

When I was a young girl, I thought I had to be good to be loved. After all, I got praise and attention whenever I behaved well, or got good grades... Even though my parents' love was not conditioned on my behavior per se, I picked up a message that love was something to be earned and that I needed to do something to deserve it. And at some level, even though I intellectually know that this isn't true, it comes up from my subconscious mind as a self esteem issue or a self sabotaging belief or behavior.

So my question to the angels is, how can I feel more deserving? I'm sure I'm not alone in having grown up with this belief....

We would like to start off by pointing out that you are asking the right question--how to FEEL more deserving. Because if you had asked how to BE more deserving, we would have had to say there is nothing you can do to be more deserving because everyone is infinitely deserving of love. God is love is something that you hear all the time. It's not a platitude. God IS love--and joy and bliss and peace and every other good thing imaginable, as well as the voidness or womb of creation out of which everything that does NOT yet exist, is created...

Do you deserve God? It's not something normally asked. God isn't something you think of deserving. People think about if God exists, or if they believe in God but not in whether God is something deserved. Yet they ask if some of the things that God's energy permeates, are deserved. Do I deserve love/do I deserve abundance/do I deserve a relationship?

God IS. You ARE. By your creation, by your emanation from the Creator as a blessed creation, you deserve. It is not about what you do, it is about who you are. You can allow greater or lesser amounts of what you feel you deserve or don't, that is your choice. But it's all about God being peace and you having God's nature of peace within you... God being love and you having God's love nature within you.

You deserve to be you. Allow yourself to be more of who you truly are. Your acts should be things that express more fully the being who you are. But nothing you can do, could ever earn you a deservingness of what is your birthright as a child of the Creator... nothing you can do, can earn God's love or any other deservingness. It's just there.

So ask to see yourself with the viewpoint of God, or that of us angels. If you could see from God's vantagepoint, you would never suffer from low self esteem again. You would see what a contribution to the world, to life, to everything, that you are--and the possibilities that you have for expressing this even more.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Be You

2011-08-02T22:39:00.001-07:00

There has been a lot of attention paid lately to the unfortunate death of talented singer Amy Winehouse. Interestingly, there is a lot of finger pointing at addiction. Yes, her abuse of drugs and alcohol probably had a lot to do with her death. But blaming someone for an addiction seems odd to me.

Why? No one takes that first puff of a cigarette and intends to become addicted. Sure, people know in their heads that nicotine is addictive--but there are plenty of only-at-party social smokers that people know and they think they won't be the one to get addicted... or the people who take their first drink. If 10 to 15 percent of drinkers become alcoholics, that means one has a vast MAJORITY chance of NOT becoming one, if one doesn't seem to have other factors like a family history. There are plenty of us who drink occasionally and/or moderately.

So I asked the angels about addictions and they said:

In part, people like to blame SOMETHING for unfortunate things. They blame genetics for things although some people carry genes and some people have the gene activated. They blame addictions although one might question instead why someone would become addicted or struggle with this unless there were something else involved.

We would like to go instead to the idea of preventing addictions and healing this for others so they do not become like Amy Winehouse. You see a lot of brilliant, creative people doing things that seem self destructive like smoking or drinking or taking drugs. Why? Because often these people are also very sensitive.

Think of the pain of your being an empath, someone who accidentally absorbs moods and sometimes physical pains from other people. Until you learned that not everything you felt wasn't necessarily your own feelings, you felt a lot of "extra" pain. Imagine the pain of a celebrity who feels all the expectations, the criticisms, the attention and the drama of their "fans" psychically at some level.

And just as you have felt alone or lonely as a young person feeling different because of your intuition, think of the aloneness someone with musical gifts or acting abilities or other talents who is not "just like everyone else" might feel. Might they not want to turn to something to try to fit in? Smoke like everyone else? Drink like everyone else? Or numb pain with something even stronger?

The Bible says "judge not lest ye be judged" for a reason. It's not about God judging you if you judge others. It's about whenever you judge, you project something that shrinks your world. Addiction is bad. Okay, does one worry if one has a second glass of wine? Does one worry about becoming an addict? Debt is bad--worrying about it makes it better?

Your judgments aren't just about whoever you're judging, including yourself. You felt inspired to title this blog post 'be you' for a reason. You thought that the addictions are about feeling different and not feeling safe being open about being the individual you are, openly and unabashedly, and being liked for who you are--and they're also about blunting the absorption of other energies that aren't you.

The Creator created a uniqueness for each of you. Why would you be created in sameness? What would boring sameness be for a creator of so many diverse species of plant and animal life, of minerals and galaxies and star systems?

Those of you who are parents, we encourage you to help your children differentiate between their energy and others' energy, and to be confident in being their unique selves just as they are. Let them shine their brilliance and be centered in themselves so the judgments of others don't create judgments in them--and it is our prayer that addictions become less and less prevalent as people step into their unique and special talents, abilities and energies and are comfortable being themselves.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

St. Ignatius of Loyola

2011-07-31T12:27:00.002-07:00

Today, my fellow Christians within the Roman Catholic Church celebrate the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Who was St. Ignatius? St. Ignatius was the founder of the Society of Jesus--commonly known as the Jesuits.

Why would I mention this here? Because St. Ignatius got into trouble with the Inquisition for a shocking belief back then.... he believed that God directly communicated with us. And through his Spiritual Exercises, one could neutralize the polarities of one's underlying biases and beliefs to hear God from a more neutral, clear place.

The Rev. James Martin, S.J. put it wonderfully in his HuffPo column last year on St. Ignatius:

"As I've mentioned, religion enables people to encounter God in profound ways in their lives. But Ignatius recognized that God could not be confined within the walls of the church. God was larger than the church.

"Today the Ignatian notion of the Creator dealing directly with human beings is less controversial. It's assumed by those on the "spiritual but not religious" journey. The far more controversial aspect is that God would speak to us through religion.

"But Ignatius's insight is as liberating as it was in his time. And it is here that Ignatian spirituality can help even the doubtful find God.

"Some agnostics or atheists await a rational argument or a philosophical proof to demonstrate the existence of God. Some will not believe until someone can show them how suffering can coexist with the belief in God. A few may even hope for an incontrovertible physical "sign" to convince them of God's presence.

"But God often speaks in ways that are beyond our intellect or reason, beyond philosophical proofs. While many are brought to God through the mind, just as many are brought to God through the heart. Here God often speaks more gently, more quietly, as he did during Ignatius's convalescence. In these quiet moments God often speaks the loudest."

God speaks to all of us; this is why I am passionate about sharing angels and their messages with people. Not to "save" anyone, or to convert anyone, but because life is immeasurably more rich, and supportive, with a source of spiritual sustenance, guidance and love, in my opinion and my experience. Before I was willing to reconcile myself with God, or with Jesus, or the institution of Christianity, I found angels something I could deal with. If you're not comfortable talking directly to God, if you were raised as I was with more of a God condemning rather than God loving point of view, then go through the angels to get what God wants you to know.

I do both, dialogue with my angels, and sometimes hear messages from God or Jesus in response to my prayers--but I believe that everyone needs to start somewhere, and I would dearly love for every person on this planet to know exactly how much they are loved by the Divine--and for them to receive the assistance and guidance we are all meant to have. Whether this comes directly from God or through an intermediary such as his angels, or his saints, doesn't really matter as long as we open up our hearts.

So today, I ask that you ask St. Ignatius to help you hear the voice of God--or ask your angels--or ask God, by whatever name you're most comfortable relating to Him--and see what happens. Be open.

I leave you with a profound prayer by St. Ignatius:

Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess You have given me: I surrender it all to You to be disposed of according to Your will. Give me only Your love and Your grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more. Amen.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Donating to an Earth Angel's Dream

2011-07-29T13:00:00.001-07:00

Speaking of grief...

I found out about a nine year old's wish for a charitable donation in lieu of birthday gifts through this blog post here: EveningStar's blog "Blessing Beyond the Grave" Unfortunately, generous-hearted Rachel Beckwith left this world physically in a car accident this past week. But her wish to give clean water for all the children who die before age 5 due to unclean water, has triggered a tsunami of generosity in people touched by her birthday wish and her short life.

Please help soothe her family's grief with your prayers, and your donations. A $9 donation is what it takes to go out to lunch, or a couple of Frappucinos--brown bag it one day or make your own iced coffee... We can all help this girl's desire to help and honor her.

http://mycharitywater.org/p/campaign?campaign_id=16396

Thank you.

Grief Article I Resonated With

2011-07-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

I get Michelle Skaletski-Boyd's newsletter and this article spoke to me. I hope you find it healing. Michelle's website is www.soul-felt.com

Good Grief by Michelle Skaletski-Boyd

What constitutes grief?

Love and Loss.

A loss of something we once loved equates to grief.

Though the loss of a loved one is the most common form of grief, there are many other shapes and sizes that mustn't be overlooked.

Grieving always occurs when we lose something that we once knew and loved: A job, a home, a relationship, a lifestyle, a family member, or a wonderful life we once knew.

When grief hits, it can happen quickly or take its time, shattering us into a million pieces and leaving us wondering if we'll ever be whole again.

Grieving is an entire rebirth of our former Self. It's important to recognize this, remain aware of the cycle, and not rush the process.

Grief usually begins with numbness. It's the point of paralysis and disbelief. Decisions are difficult; we feel stuck and confused. This is a perfectly natural stage -- the foundation of our Self has shifted under our feet.

We feel lost, because we experienced loss.

Along with the shift often comes a surge of emotions... Anger, sadness, bitterness, blame and guilt, to name just a few.

Though we'll want to push past these feelings, we must move 'through' each and every emotion as it appears in order to fully heal.

Cry, yell, scream and shout... These are necessary steps to get it all out! It's essential we allow our Self to feel the emotion, acknowledge it, stay with it, and breathe through it. This way, when depression moves in (and it will), our withdrawal and disconnect from the world will be just a little visit with darkness rather than a long descending fall.

Nurturing of the Self is vitally important. We must use this time to fill our Self with lots of love and light. - Everyone's needs will be different, so spend some time going deep within.

At some point in the grief cycle, it will be natural to want to seek out purpose and meaning for your loss. This is usually the point when any remaining residues emerge. - It's okay to restart the cycle: "Wash, Rinse and Repeat."

Finding meaning behind our suffering is the ultimate path to wholeness and to healing, so journal, meditate, talk honestly with professionals and friends. This is all part of the journey to self-acceptance and spiritual growth.

The goal of grieving is not to become the same person you once were, but to experience a new phase of your spirit and become even more enlightened than you were before!
........

ETE (Enjoy The Experience)

"People are like stained glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within." ~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

World Healing Meditation

2011-07-28T23:27:00.000-07:00

Aine Belton has posted a lovely world healing meditation; I used this after the Japan earthquake/tsunami and it's great for the current Norway situation... she has this lilting Irish voice that is beautiful!

Enjoy and add to the soothing of our world please.

10 minute healing meditation link

As Aine says, "You can use this meditation for yourself personally, for another,
or for a group of people, plight, region or global trauma."

Harry Potter?

2011-07-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

What if you are more like Harry Potter than you know?
-Rikka Zimmerman

This quote intrigued me. As most of you probably know, the last installment of Harry Potter movies is out now (and I haven't seen it yet but plan to.)

Contrary to most of the religiously reactionary people who think that Harry Potter books encourage children to dabble in the "occult" (um, the genre is called FANTASY for a reason and what are you not getting about that?), I believe that Harry Potter has a lot of good lessons to offer children and adults as a role model, regardless of what faith, if any, one practices.

Harry has situations to deal with that he faces with courage. Being orphaned, being stuck with "muggle" relatives who don't understand him and mistreat him, he faces his difficulties. Many of the beings he has to deal with are extremely frightening. And I think that Harry Potter does an admirable job of demonstrating that one can bend the letter of the rules at Hogwarts, but remain dedicated to an underlying morality of fighting evil, of rooting out the dark forces, of being on the side of goodness.

So this quote intrigued me. What if we were all created to be something greater than we know? What if we are called to champion good in this world? What if we have inner strength and courage like Harry Potter to face our fears and be powerful anyway? What if we are all caring and responsible and of benefit to the world we live in--and at the same time, funloving, a little mischievous and able to balance giving and receiving?

I asked the angels about being like Harry Potter and this is what they said:

Harry Potter didn't ask to be powerful, or the person who is supposed to champion good, or anything else that is the gift that he is. Harry Potter just happened to be touched by, and not killed by, an evildoer's wand. Harry probably would much have rather had his parent alive and by his side to raise him.

But life is what it is, and he does an admirable job of living life, of enjoying life despite the things about it that he doesn't like, of surviving various crises and threats and emerging stronger and wiser after them. Harry Potter is not utterly selfless and not utterly selfish. He is a balance between what he wants as Harry, and a greater responsibility and destiny.

Harry Potter's magic isn't in fake Latin "spells" or in a special wand, or in the mark on his forehead. Harry Potter's magic has a lot to do with his convictions, and his dedication and faith in the good in the world.

You were not created to live a small, constricted existence. You were created to be a unique gift on this planet, through your presence, through your talents, through your interactions with others. You have preferences for what small y "you" wants... and then there is that greater "You" with a capital Y that somehow knows the gift, the potential, the magnificence God created you to be. Live with courage. Live with zest.

Harry Potter is a great role model for what someone can do given difficult circumstances and making the best of them. For that matter, the author of the books, J.K. Rowling, is herself an example of the gift that she is, as creator and imaginer of these books, which were written when she was in poverty. If she were comfortably well off and still married to her first husband, would we have these books? It's hard to say.

So follow Harry and Ms. Rowling's examples, and be the greater You and be open to possibilities. Sometimes what looks unfortunate, isn't.

***

A Prayer for Norway

2011-07-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

Creator,

It is incomprehensible to many of us that so much violence could be unleashed upon the young, the innocent, and the unsuspecting in Norway. Those of us who are sensitive can feel chills and a sorrow in us as the shock, the sorrow, the anger, the hurt of the Norwegian people reverberates through the world. Please comfort and support those who are grieving right now. Please help restore a sense of safety in the world to those in Norway, and all those affected by the news. Please bring healing and love to this country, and to the world so that attacks such as this become a thing of the past... I reach out in my heart and join with all the people praying across this planet, joining in spirit and energetically to seek peace and healing for all... Thank you God for bringing angels of love and peace and healing to those in need. Thank you God for fulfilling the needs of all who are affected, in ways you know best. In the name of Love, through the energy of Christ and the Holy Spirit and all that You are, Amen...

Chihuahua and Raccoon Video

2011-07-23T19:55:00.002-07:00

My online friend Raven shared this cute video of someone's pet raccoon and chihuahua playing tug of war with a sock... it's very cute. I thought I'd share it to give equal opportunity for cute animal videos to non-cats!

What Do You Care About?

2011-07-22T23:01:00.000-07:00

Because I subscribe to various e-newsletters, I also get pitches to buy the peoples' products or their "affiliate links" to others' products. Over time, I've figured something out. I have no interest in investing $27 or $47 or $77 to learn to do something I don't want to do. (For some strange reason, the internet marketers like to use the number 7 like the television infomercials like to use $19.95 as their magic number...)

I don't want to become certified at a bargain in someone's life coaching program for $27 when it normally costs $197. Ooo, internet life coaching certification--reminds me of the blog I saw where the person's cat had a master's degree.

As much as writing is a love of mine and part of my life's work, I don't want to pay to learn to do copywriting. Or to write movie scripts when I am not really into movies. Or to sell x, y and z.

I am actually glad of all these ads, though. It's made me realize that I don't want to earn money for the sake of having money. Now of course, I do want to earn money. But I want the things I do to earn money to be meaningful, to access my talents and to use my uniqueness to benefit others in exchange for money.

I'm actually decent at my day job, which involves verbal and written communication. I also enjoy using analysis in my day to day life (yes, a left brained intuitive!) I really enjoy animal communication and talking to peoples' angels, and feel that I was gifted by God in these areas as well. I can't imagine doing something "just" for the money.

So I have asked the angels about this:

Think about the words "earning a living" that people use frequently. You don't need to earn your life. You deserve your life as a creation of the divine. What you earn through employment or entrepreneurship is a means of exchange for things that enhance your life--which you call money.

But really, how much money do you actually see? Don't you use online bill paying services and checks and direct deposit and credit cards? Isn't most of the money you have a number in pixels on your screen? And even if you do have paper money, is it backed by gold anymore? No.

But it's a convenient measure of what people exchange their time for. But it's not really "a living." Living is about being authentic, and feeling some gratefulness for something when you end your day. Living is about your experiences and joy, and contributing through relationships to others' experiences and joy. Some of the most beautiful experiences you have, like a sunset or a walk in nature, are not things you exchange money for.

So you are not earning a living. You are earning money. You are earning something that facilitates the exchange of what you do, for the products and services that you value. But it's not earning a living.

Now if your life is about doing something that you feel is meaningful that brings you joy, then working 40 or more hours a week doing something just for money that you don't feel is a contribution, is not something you would want to do longterm. Find something you care about and do that. You will be so much more joyful and sharing in your work that way.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Clearing Energy

2011-07-18T21:47:00.000-07:00

We often pick up other peoples' energies. I'm sure everyone who is reading this, whether you consider yourself psychic or not, has found a shift in mood when walking into a room where someone is in a bad mood or has just argued.

I'm probably an even more extreme case--I've picked up aches and pains from people without knowing they weren't me. This phenomenon really bothered me before I knew that this type of thing could happen. Although I've been intuitive all my life, and always felt different as a child, I never knew why I knew what I knew, or why I felt what I felt, until I was an adult.

I was recently sent a link to some techniques for clearing away energy that isn't yours. I had seen shower visualizations from various people but really like the idea of the cheesecloth lifting away extraneous energies.

So please enjoy this link to "clearing the decks/cleaning up your energy field: shower and cheese cloth exercise" Posted by Krystyne & Deb Moore on the ContactTalkRadio blog.

I hope you find these exercises of value. I find that I'm much more energetic when I'm not scattered with others' energies sticking to me.

Beautiful Healing Music

2011-07-06T21:55:00.001-07:00

Frederic Delarue has written some beautiful music inspired by a friend's son's death which you can download for free here.

It's supposed to be good for healing cancer--I'm not sure if it is, but I do believe that any de-stressing music is very healing... and it is very soothing.

M. Delarue says on his site that he believes that words or anything else over the top of the music will negate its healing effects. Please respect his work, so generously gifted and do not use it for meditations that are not silent. I had to uncreate and destroy a little judgment I had about someone who is otherwise a lovely spiritual person who recorded a meditation over the top of this directly contrary to the composer's wishes...

Thanks.

Being a Candle

2011-07-06T19:19:00.002-07:00

Fireworks are scattered. A million sparks in a thousand directions. Candles burn with a single flame. Be thoughtful about how we spend your time, affection and resources.

-Holley Gerth, Heart to Heart with Holley "How to Be a Candle Not a Firework"

I love Holley Gerth's blog, and her Christian devotionals. This is a woman who lives and shares a knowingness that God is love, that we are deeply loved despite our imperfections--and according to the Julian of Norwich point of view... "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well" which is one of the most comforting prayers I love on the Anglican rosary.

I was thinking about her post about being a candle--and I fully recognize my tendency to be more of a firework. Not in the sense of thrill or flash, but in scatteredness and an ADD like mind that jumps around.

So I asked the angels for a little advice on being that candle:

Focus. There is a bigger picture than all the little tasks you flit to from moment to moment during the day. Yes, you need to do smaller tasks. But what is important? What makes your heart sing? What feeds your soul?

If you prioritize your day, you will accomplish the largest pieces of what you want. No, it doesn't have to look like a day planner. But if you prioritize peace, you will feel uneasy if you leave major parts of your obligations unfulfilled. If you prioritize peace, you'll make time to breathe and take some time away from stressful activities.

Who are you at your spiritual core? What do you value? What do you want? What can we help you with? Center in your priorities, and remember to ask for help, from both angels and humans, as needed!

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Stuff Happens

2011-07-05T21:33:00.013-07:00

I'm using the word "stuff" in the title instead of the usual s-beginning synonym for excrement that goes in that phrase. What is this post about? I've been noticing some snippy comments online about some spiritual teachers who have experienced certain things people consider negative, and people say they're frauds. Some of the comments aren't snippy--they're mean.

WE ALL GO THROUGH CRAP. And apocryphal stories aside about optimistic children being excited about manure meaning there has to be a pony somewhere, spiritual living isn't about never having things happen--it's the Divine helping us get through whatever we're going through--right or wrong, good or bad...

So God bless the spiritual teachers who are experiencing cancer. And if they choose to use chemotherapy in addition to focusing on the positive, I'm all for it. And if they choose to use herbs or something "natural" in addition to prayer and focusing positive intentions, or ONLY use thought or prayer--that's their prerogative. But I would never judge someone for using anything in addition to spiritual methods--or only using spiritual methods.

I have asked the angels for some input:

It's all about what someone prefers. Some people don't want the side effects of conventional medicine and choose to forego that. Some people don't want to commit to the high degree of focus necessary to heal by using only spiritual means so they use allopathic medicine.

God doesn't mandate that medicine is good or bad, or that spiritual methods are good or bad. Ideally, you can find things that work for you that work together. For example, if you find yourself having headaches in front of the computer, you might want to examine your posture and body position. You may want to add some meditation or progressive muscle relaxation to your daily routine--or a hot bath. And you may want to pop an ibuprofen in the moment for instant relief.

Usually it IS good to look for a cause and treat yourself holistically rather than only looking at the result, the symptom. But that doesn't preclude using conventional symptom relief as well.

It is not at all unspiritual for those who are teaching about spiritual topics and mind-body medicine to have physical ailments. Through their example of various ways of dealing with their physical conditions, they can serve as positive models for health and healing and turning around a condition--or as positive models for graceful exits from physical life, whichever way the condition unfolds.

Death and illness are not failures. No one has lived forever physically due to optimism alone. These things are parts of human life--almost everyone will have some sort of illness, and someday you will die.

You can pray for guidance to the best modalities of treatment and the best professionals to help you. You can, of course, call upon God and the angels for healing as well. But you are not unspiritual to go through whatever you are going through. God is beside you every step of the way.

A Postscript: A beautiful piece on Guideposts on how even a painful illness and death can be filled with blessings: http://www.guideposts.org/blogs/glimpses-heaven/helping-friend-final-steps-eternity

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Book Review on the Virtual Abbey

2011-07-03T12:08:00.002-07:00

I posted a book review of a beautiful spiritual book called "Dance of the Dolphin" on the Virtual Abbey's blog. If you're interested, please check it out here.

Does One of Us Have to Be Wrong

2011-06-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

This morning at church, the emphasis was on the Lord's table being open to all... and I thought of a blog post I recently read by someone who basically said that if people liked taking their self development classes, they were welcome. And if they wanted to stop/leave, they were welcome to... but to please NOT make the GROUP wrong for who they are/what they do if it's YOU who wants to leave. I think he was right--too often people leave a group and they have to say it was oppressive or cultlike or unenlightened--instead of saying that it no longer fit them.

That got me thinking. As we grow and move forward in life, different things appeal to us. Our understandings of life evolve. Our likes and dislikes evolve. I really can't stand white zinfandel now but I don't know that I would have appreciated sophisticated wines when I was in my early 20s. So it is with spiritual beliefs, self help techniques and a host of other things in life. We change and what we're into changes. In fact, it always amazes me when I meet people happily married to their high school sweethearts. WOW--you both changed in similar ways over many years--how wonderful is that? is my reaction.

Does that make what we used to be into wrong? Does that make what someone else is into that's right for them right now, wrong? If we are on a journey through life, is where we are at an intermediate point something that can be judged as good or bad? Or is it just where we are?

I'm not talking about right and wrong as in stealing or killing or anything that harms another. I'm talking about beliefs or lifestyles and choices in the moment. I know people who are happily married to someone who was married before--was the earlier marriage a "mistake" or something that contributed an experience to the success of what is now? Is a prior experience in a cult, or in a really controlling negative church, something entirely "bad" or something that could contribute later on to a spiritual opening?

I really hope people don't join a drink Kool Aid and die Jim Jones type organization, but short of that, can I really judge anyone else's beliefs? Didn't I have to evolve through my beliefs and experiences to get to the point where I am spiritually? Isn't it possible that I may want to be part of a different church or denomination 10 or 20 years from now? I don't know that from my viewpoint now.

So this is just thinking out loud--just me, not my angels... asking people to think about who they are, who they were, what they did and what they are doing now and to ask themselves--does what is mean that it will always be like this?

Maybe if we look at what is as less permanent, we can judge ourselves and others less. And life can unfold in its own unique, lovely way.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

So Why Talk to Animals?

2011-06-20T07:29:00.007-07:00

Everything on this Earth has consciousness. Everything. If you start to function with the consciousness of things, they will tell you what they would like and how to function with them. This is especially true of animals. If you acknowledge the consciousness of animals, they will start to behave with you differently than they do with other people. Animals can help us learn to function with the Earth. They can teach us how to be stewards of our planet instead of its destroyers. That’s the value of being able to talk to them.

- Gary M. Douglas

What is the value of talking with animals? Sometimes it's not a thought conversation--sometimes it's just a feeling. Now, people hire me to have thought conversations with their animals--I'm good at getting explanations of WHY your dog thinks inside the house is a good bathroom or that your cat is angry about x. That said, I will freely admit that I have cats who don't always use the litterboxes 100% of the time and all the talking in the world won't necessarily change behavior. Or, as the author Gary Douglas quoted above says, "Animals are like people in this respect. You can ask them to change their decisions, but you can’t make them change their decisions."

But I firmly believe that EVERYONE who has animals, can and SHOULD learn how to have the "feeling" conversation... and that all of us can benefit from communicating with all of life, as it just makes everything richer. What is the feeling conversation? It's being able to tune into the presence of a being.

Most of us do this subconsciously. Haven't you ever met someone and said "WHOA--I get nervous just standing next to him!" and you later figure out that you met someone who is very highly strung without an ounce of caffeine. Or sometimes a cat or dog will just have PRESENCE and you feel calm and a sense of well being with them. (And if you're looking to adopt an animal and you find that in a shelter or adoption room at a store, RUN, don't walk, toward the adoption forms--if an animal exudes calm in the midst of chaos, imagine what an oasis of calm your home can be!)

I will admit that telepathy may take a lot of practice and some classes as far as thoughts go. I spoke to over a hundred animals before I had the confidence to hang out the figurative shingle and say "I am an animal communicator" and charge money. HOWEVER, just tuning in to the feelings/personality/"vibe" throughout the day will help you know when your animals are feeling off or ill... or if your spouse is in a bad mood even if they don't know yet... or if there is tension building in your office that you may want to escape with a walk!

So just turn on those perceptions throughout your day and see how much more alive your life becomes as you are more in tune with everything. (And as an aside, you will find out just how contagious "vibes" like tension and worry are. It's pretty scary--but the good news is that if you're aware, you can shake others' vibes off!)

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

A Prayer for Dads

2011-06-19T18:36:00.001-07:00

Happy Father's Day!

I am fortunate to still have my father in physical form, albeit with certain health challenges (he's in his late 80s.) I offer condolences to those who have lost their fathers through death--or through estrangement.... and to those dads who have lost children.

Beloved Creator,
May you remind us today, as well as every day, of the love and the strength and the enduring bond that can be had with fathers. Please bless those who mourn their fathers with the spiritual solace of being their father in spirit... and please bless those who mourn the loss of their children with comfort and peace.

I give thanks for my own father, who was a true Daddy to me when I was growing up, and I ask for the adoration and discipline of a Daddy for children being brought into the world and being raised today--and the guidance of an uncle figure for those who have the misfortune not to have this...

I ask for healing and wellbeing for my own dad, and for all dads who have health issues right now.

Thank you, dear God. Amen.

Another's Take on Eclipse Energies

2011-06-16T12:14:00.001-07:00

This resonated with me. I have posted it with the hope that it may help others understand how they feel too. I didn't sleep that well last night...

How Three Eclipses in Five Weeks May Be Affecting You
By Amanda Moxley

Three eclipses in five weeks. How may this be affecting your life? A month ago, I called my Psychic Intuitive friend Trish Withus (www.thereisonlylove.com) because I was feeling a bit off. She clued me into whats happening astrologically and how to stay in the light during this time on earth.

When an eclipse occurs, it manifests a shadow on the earth. The first eclipse occurred June 1, the second full lunar eclipse was last night June 15, and the third eclipse is July 1, 2011. You may feel your shadow coming up in the form of drama, anxiety, fear, tension, worry, doubt, lack, craziness, etc. Whatever your shadow is, it is likely showing up in some form or another in your life this summer.

If you've been freaking out wondering what's wrong with you, don't worry! You are not alone!

When you're on the path to radiant health and living, you want to feel awesome all of the time. You want to feel and stay in balance with the tides of life. Getting caught up in drama and your shadow stuff can take you off your path and headed in the wrong direction and leave you feeling sad and stuck.

So, what is your shadow?

For me, my shadow manifests itself as occasional feelings of doubt, fear and not trusting the process of life. Where do you go when the going gets tough?

To stay focused on your heart's desires, health and happiness, you have to be able to identify your shadow for it to diminish. Remember when you were a kid and were scared of the monster in the closet? And then your mom turned on the light to reveal that there was nothing to be afraid of. To eliminate your shadow, you need to shed light on it and face it head on.

When your shadow shows up in your life, courageously look it in the eyes. See it, feel it, talk to it and breathe with it. What is the worst thing that could happen? Rise above your fears and limitations!

Be strong and bold and stand in your power and truth. Love, listen and accept your shadow for being an integral piece of you. However, tell it that you are focused on the light and that the fears and limitations it imposes on you are not what you want. Tell it what it is you really want in your life.

Get outside in nature and connect to the expanding Universe. Take time now to think about what you really want out of your life. Feel it, see it and let it happen.

© 2011 Amanda Moxley

WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEBSITE?

You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Amanda Moxley, Body and Soul Coach, publishes the energizing and inspiring "Breath of Fresh Air E-Zine" every other Thursday for healthy people everywhere. If you are ready to discover your perfect body in a way you've never learned how to before, get your FREE articles, tips, tools and recipes at: www.AmandaMoxley.com

Eclipse

2011-06-15T19:51:00.000-07:00

"Jesus came to reunite, to heal, to form bonds, to reconcile."

-Henri J. M. Nouwen

If you look at the history of the Christian Church, whether it be the Crusades, or murdering the Cathar "heretics" in the middle ages, the Inquisition, widespread sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, rigid and hateful ideas, speech and behaviors from evangelical leaders--you don't exactly see reuniting, healing and reconciling. My own denomination has had its schism over the ordination of noncelibate gay clergy and their elevation to the episcopate.

Yet I don't leave the church as an institution, and my friends who are part of other troubled denominations remain faithful to being part of a church as well.

But we all have friends who have left Christianity and the institutional church precisely because of the troubled, seemingly hypocritical way in which the human institution does not serve what I think Father Nouwen captured above as Jesus's mission statement.

At the same time, as a human being, I too am imperfect. I am not always perfectly honest with others or myself...Sometimes I don't feel all that fond of God or spiritual. And sometimes I hurt other people. It's life. It's messy. It's what we church folks call "sin" which has become such a loaded word but which really means in archery terms, "missing the mark." So I'm human--and I eff up. Regularly... Why would any of our human institutions be different? Hospitals sinning with malpractice? Churches sinning with intolerance or greed or abuse?

Today is a significant astronomical event--it's a full moon with a full lunar eclipse. Unfortunately, I couldn't see it from where I live--but it was visible in much of the world (and there will be one December 10th of this year that I WILL be able to see.)

As darkness obscures the moon's face and the earth passes between the sun as light source and the moon, the moon darkens and changes color and appears to disappear. But the moon is still there. There is just less light shining on it during the peak of the eclipse. I think that's how we are, and our institutions are, when we allow darkness to take over. We err and that reflection of the divine nature God created us with, is dimmed. But that doesn't mean it's not there.

Today is a good idea for all of us, to release that which obscures the divine. Whether we've gotten "too busy" to pray and meditate, or we've felt distant from God for whatever reason, we can release what gets in the way of our relationship with God/Spirit/the divine and reunite, heal, form bonds with, and reconcile... I have asked the angels for an appropriate prayer:

Beloved Creator, We call upon your holy presence on this day of darkness and light, of fullness about to cycle back toward newness in the waning cycle of the moon... and we shed our burdens. We give you a renewed intention to be the beings we were created to be. How can we be more loving, compassionate and peaceful beings? How can we help heal the planet and ourselves? How can we feel and know your guidance? What more is possible for us? Let our open hearts and our questions bring your answers--not our answers, but your answers...Open our hearts, dear God, to a deep release and renewal of our spirits. We give thanks to you that this is so. Through Christ and love and the infinite power you are, Amen.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Kitten Plays Imaginary Harp

2011-06-14T21:53:00.000-07:00

I've caught a cold so I haven't the energy to post something I write myself or that the angels do, so I'm sharing a wonderful youtube video of a kitten. Nothing like a kitten to cheer anyone up!

Humility

2011-06-03T21:21:00.002-07:00

There are all of those usual spiritual sayings about us being who we ARE not what we do, and our worth being based on our spiritual nature and blah blah blah… Yes yes yes. But intellectually one can understand something without knowing it.

Today is three weeks now, since I just thwacked myself walking into a wall. It’s been a journey of humility. I realized how much I identified with what I do. I realized how much I identified with the idea of “productivity” and of “earning.” Not that I don’t believe that we should give good value to our employers—but I felt less valuable somehow being able to do less.

I also discovered that I have a lot of judgment. So I was slurring my speech at first—how many times do I assume someone has been drinking who might have a medical issue? And how frustrated do I get with people who seem less than bright when they might be unable to focus for a medical reason? I’m not sure this will make me permanently patient, but I sure had some insights about what I’m learning when I was having a mad-at-God prayer session. You see, I was at first mad at myself for walking into the wall—and then I was mad at God because I’ve been praying and it’s VERY FRUSTRATING not being able to sleep well or get to sleep or stay asleep—and having headaches daily for three weeks gets old…

So I have asked the angels for some insights:

Sometimes you get answers to prayers in ways you don’t think of. This isn’t to say you should be paranoid about praying.

But despite your discomfort and frustration, you have for a long time been focused upon becoming more spiritually attuned to God, more open to practicing prayer more regularly, and how better to become very relational with God than to have a lot of pain and to feel the need and the reminder to pray a lot?

You have also realized that you stress easily and need to relax. This has forced you to be, not exactly relaxed—we can FEEL your tension!—but to cut back and to be more patient with yourself and your current limitations.

This will pass. And the more you resist, the worse your pain as you’re creating some extra muscle tension. This is a lesson in letting go, and an answered prayer. So bless where you are to move to a better feeling state. Bless and accept where you are, and things will shift. Maybe not instantly, and certainly not as quickly as you’d like, but they will shift.

PS I welcome prayers. Thank you in advance if you choose to!

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog, please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

On Wolves

2011-06-02T20:15:00.004-07:00

It troubles me that protections have been taken away for US wolves and they are being slaughtered. As someone who closely allies herself with St. Francis of Assisi, it's heartbreaking. Whenever I call upon St. Francis, there is always Wolf as his guardian with him--after all, it was St. Francis who tamed the famous wolf of Gubbio so that it stopped terrorizing a village and would just eat what was given to it.

The picture below is of Leigh Meriweather's wolf display when she offered a prayer for the wolves and the humans to live in harmony. She has also graciously given me permission to post her prayer here. Please add your prayers to the cause of human and wolves living harmoniously, with whatever words and feelings you most feel comfortable. Thank you.

Leigh indicates that she found the wolf picture at this site, if you would like to print out a picture for focus for prayers and healing yourself. Leigh's website is aptly named Pet Honoring and she facilitates the ceremonial honoring of our beloved companion animals after they transition.

Leigh's lovely prayer:

Wolf Honoring, Loving and Protection Prayer

Loving wolves, we honor your spirit and send you great love.
Thank you for being here and sharing your wisdom and strength.
Thank you for your love of Mother Earth and all her creatures.

We ask Divine protection to be with you,
and for you to feel our love and appreciation.

We honor your presence here on Earth.

We ask for light and love to surround you
and to be in the hearts of all humans.
Please help ease the anger,
and for all to feel the grace of love and compassion.

Help us all to feel your love.
Help us to know our own divinity and for us to shine bright.

Bless the wolves, and bless the humans.
Bless our life in harmony with all.
We ask for love, comfort and protection for all in need.

-L. Leigh Meriweather

(Prayer and photo copyright 2011, L. Leigh Meriweather.)

Everyday Angels

2011-06-01T20:39:00.003-07:00

In the book on prayer (see past post here) I recently reviewed on the Abbey's blog, there was a reference to "abiding." "Abiding" is one of those Christian-specific words, but it's basically about having a relationship with God. Not just turning to God when I want something, or when I'm scared, or in pain--but turning toward God all the time.

So I got to thinking about so-called "parking angels." People often are divided about whether there are "parking angels", whether it's appropriate to ask angels for parking spaces, just as in a larger sense people debate whether it's okay to pray for self serving things or to be in full surrender.

One of my friends is VERY adamant that it would be a demeaning thing for there to be parking angels. Why on earth would angels ONLY be there for parking spaces? I have a more pragmatic viewpoint--it's only been in recent history that there has been a need for parking spaces--if you just tied up your horse or camel in front of where you were going, it was a lot simpler. On the other hand, I don't think it would be demeaning to be a parking angel. One of the kindest, most radiant, spiritual people I know used to be the cleaning lady in the evenings where I work. Even when she was pregnant "way out there", she stooped to pick up the wastebaskets with a smile, and always saw the divine in everyone. What you do is not who you are. And I kind of like the idea of there being angels around for such mundane things--angels involved in our lives, like "abiding" with God prayerfully--we can also abide with His messengers.

That said, I asked the angels "Are there parking angels?" This is what they said:

Yes, there are parking angels--and no, there aren't parking angels. Yes, you can call upon angels to ask for parking spaces. And you'll notice that sometimes you get them and sometimes you don't. This isn't a lack of faith on your part, or anything to do with the so called "parking angels." You WILL notice that when you ask when you have something heavy, or you ask when you're not feeling well, or you're in a not-so-safe neighborhood, that close, well lit parking spaces open up for you. We angels can't always move other peoples' cars to accommodate you if you ask when you're getting there--it's easier if you ask 20 minutes from your destination, for one. WHAT? Limitations?

We laugh. Yes you can ask us for parking spaces but please don't think of us as parking angels--think of us as your angel friends--those angels who walk with you on a more everyday basis, the Everyday Angels. People call us guardian angels sometimes but we really like the idea of everyday angels--angels who are there for you every day, for you to talk to and to provide comfort, and love and support. Angels who are assigned to help you out if you ask us. Angels who will help you know more clearly what God's guidance is for your life. Angels who can help you resist temptations, or to help clear your energy when you're confused or muddled. We're the ones who conveniently orchestrate the "cledon" overheard conversations or meaningful songs on the radio. We're the ones who give you the funny feeling to call the babysitter when something is up with your child and she wasn't able to reach you. We're the ones who help with reassuring you, with having more faith when it seems your prayers aren't heard, with having the right change for the parking meter.

Everyday angels are here for you. Everyday angels are here with you. Everyday angels serve God by helping your day flow more expediently so you have the time, the energy and the consciousness to focus upon spiritual matters, upon God. We're not your servants--we're God's servants. But we serve by helping you.

Sometimes it means getting that parking spot. Sometimes it means not getting the parking spot and learning to be a little more patient--or that you could use a little exercise.

But we love you. We want to help you. And we thank you for thinking of us throughout your day, not just when you need a parking spot!

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog,please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Cat Video

2011-05-31T23:10:00.000-07:00

REALLY--a cat on video that wasn't purposely on video--but it's so much more entertaining than the intended subject of the video! Enjoy... I LOVE YouTube!

Life is What Happens

2011-05-29T20:47:00.005-07:00

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.

-John Ono Lennon, from the song "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)

	BBC - Humpback whale song .mp3

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Today, we were supposed to go dolphin and whale-watching. We were most of the way to the location when we found out the captain had cancelled the outing due to winds coming up and making the waters too choppy.

Interestingly, we weren't too disappointed. We have rescheduled for a few weeks from now. But more importantly, we don't know why we couldn't go today, but I trust that it's for the best.

I'm pretty sure that I'll feel better physically then, as I'm still recovering from a physical injury. I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have enjoyed rough waters as I have a tendency toward motion sickness.

Then there are the factors I don't know about.

What if there will be more whales present in a couple weeks?
What if it will be even more beautiful that day?
What if? What if... in good ways.

I find it interesting that I feel this way because most of us DON'T feel this way when "bad" things happen. I had an interesting insight... The REASON I don't have any of that is because the reason had nothing to do with me. I didn't have to second guess how well I saved or spent money, or planned for a disaster, or did a job, or participated in a relationship. It was weather.

So I got to feeling how much freer would we all feel if we didn't blame ourselves for things? If we LEARNED from things without self recrimination... what would life be like?

I asked the angels for something tonight and they offered me a prayer:

Beloved and eternal Creator,

We call upon you to help us view ourselves with the compassion with which you view us. Help us to learn things so we don't repeat experiences we would rather not, without the burden of self-recrimination, self blame and toxic guilt. Help us to love ourselves, love others and love you more and more each day. Thank you, dear God. Amen.

Otter Video

2011-05-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

I love youtube...

This is a video of a little boy and an otter playing "tag." Now who is watching whom at the zoos and aquariums? I think the animals watch us as much as we watch them--after all, there is more variety in people passing by than in the animals.

Prayer

2011-05-26T20:27:00.001-07:00

I just reviewed a book on Christian prayer called A Praying Life on the Virtual Abbey's blog.

In it, the author talks about becoming like a little child and having a conversation with God, about asking, about petitioning God.

On the other hand, there is a whole school of thought that prayer shouldn't be a bunch of beseeching and asking, but should be positive/affirmative. So which approach to prayer is right?

I really don't think there's a right way to pray. Or a wrong way to pray. JUST PRAY. I believe it's really important to commune with our Creator. I also find that it's easier to be eloquent and pray beautifully when I'm praying for others. It's easier to affirm that God is in the midst of someone else's crisis rather than one's own! I have read somewhere that the most common prayers are "Help" and "Thank you" and I believe that.

So here is my prayer, and then a message from the angels:

Beloved Creator, I give thanks for your help. I give thanks that you are always available to us, that you see, hear, understand the cries of our hearts. That your love surrounds us at all times even if we don't necessarily feel you. Please help us to remember to pray. Please help us to have faith and to have a relationship with you. I give thanks for your guidance, for your love, and for your peace, and for the angels who walk with us through our days. Thank you, God. Amen.

So here is the angels' take on affirmative versus petitionary prayer:

God loves you. That is always our message. God is always accessible to you. That is also always our message. If you want to vent your emotions, to wail and cry and scream and moan so called "negative" emotions, God will accept those. If you want to ecstatically praise and thank God, God will accept that as well. The main thing is to not be afraid to pray "wrong"--just pray.

Yes, praying in an affirmative style will automatically focus you on what you want and what you're asking God to provide. And yes, focusing on what you want rather than what you don't want is a more uplifting, more productive focus of energy. Yet God KNOWS all, IS all. Don't you think your creator can figure out from your rant on what you fear, what you're angry about, what you are stuck about, what it is that needs to shift? Even if you don't know what you want, God will at least know what you want to shift OUT of.

So pray however you can best pray at the time. Sometimes you will use words. Sometimes it will just be a "please help." The most meaningful prayers are just wanting to be in relationship with God. Sometimes those prayers are quiet, thank you God for this morning--please help me to remember to breathe and stay calm during this day. Sometimes they are a heart felt plea for something. The most important thing is to think of God and consider God accessible--every day, all day. (or night.)

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog,please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

The Lord is My Shepherd

2011-05-22T19:10:00.001-07:00

I have always loved the 23rd Psalm, since I was a little girl, and the "Unvirtuous Abbey" on twitter mentioned this version by Bobby McFerrin. The pronouns are changed to the feminine, as it's dedicated to his mother.

Interestingly, although I prefer to refer to God the Father with a male pronoun and really think of God as the first aspect of the trinity as being without/beyond gender, the feminine energy actually FITS this Psalm. The shepherd nurtures and protects us, like a good mom would...

So I welcome you to listen to this and enjoy.

	Bobby McFerrin - The 23rd Psalm (Dedicated to My Mother) .mp3

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

May 21st and the Rapture

2011-05-18T23:40:00.001-07:00

I loved this icanhascheezburger.com photo...

Harold Camping has been predicting that the Rapture, or the taking up of Christian believers bodily at the beginning of the 'end times', will occur May 21, 2011. The problem is, that people have been predicting this for a VERY LONG TIME. In every age, in every generation, people are convinced that this is a corrupt time and the end of the world is near.

I'm not saying that there isn't depravity and negativity in this world. There unfortunately is. But I would also venture that the Biblical prophets weren't into saying "this is going to happen on x date." They would say things like repent, amend your ways or this will happen. Or they would predict things that later matched Christ's coming. However, prophecy was never about exact times.

You see, God is eternal and exists outside our human experience of time--why would he announce a date for anything? It's part of why I've never been drawn to doing predictive "psychic" work--but instead prefer to bring through guidance about creating a life God and the angels would encourage, guidance about the next step to take--but not necessarily about meeting someone on April 14th or the rapture happening on May 21st.

I have asked the angels about the May 21st prediction:

The rapture could indeed happen on May 21st. But then, it's more likely that it won't. If it were to happen then, it would not be because this man predicted and publicized it. It would be an act of the divine, of God.

Have you noticed that there is intense publicity about this man and his prediction? Where is God in all of this? If he were really intent upon getting people to turn toward God, he would focus more on God and less on dates and publicizing his own predictions.

Do not let others' fears influence you. The particular reading of the Bible that people are using to predict particular dates is all about fear. Fear of the future and wanting to know when this rapture will happen. Fear of facing the present, and hoping that Christ will just take them away from all of their problems.

Pray for the world, do your best to do things to help this planet and those on it, and be at peace. Things like earthquakes and tsunamis are out of your control. Things like the rapture are out of your control. So live life. Love life. Love God. That is what we wish to emphasize, not fear.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog,please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Exercise and Health

2011-05-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

I love icanhascheezburger.com images!

In fact, there’s only one practice that’s been proven, without question, to preserve your memory: exercise. "Aerobic activities tend to show larger effects than non-aerobic activities," University of Pittsburgh psychologist Kirk Erickson tells Yahoo.

Link to article

So why am I referencing an article on exercise and memory on a blog dealing with angels, animals and spirituality? Because for the duration of our life times, we are spirit inhabiting a human form... a body. I recently finished reading the book Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen , and I found the passages about the elderly Jacob shuffling along or worrying about his memory, every bit as poignant as the rest of the plotline about his younger self was mesmerizing. I started to think about life, specifically our physical lives. Most of us don't want to live a really long time oblivious to life--that's not much of a life--we want to be mentally and physically able to have some enjoyment if we are going to live a long time.

So I decided to ask the angels for some insights on exercise:

We think the word "duh" is a very versatile and wonderful word sometimes. In fact, we like it very much. Duh is our reaction to these studies on memory and walking. Not that we think it's useless to quantify the types and amounts of exercise that might be helpful to help retain cognitive ability as one ages--unfortunately, people seem to need facts and figures like that in order to practice what should be a normal, natural part of life. Do you really need to be encouraged to eat three vegetable servings and two fruit servings at a minimum per day? Do you really need to know what a "serving" is of them? Unfortunately, the answer is yes--otherwise there wouldn't be so many people who eat less than that.

So a daily 15 minute brisk walk, or a longer slightly slower walk, would help memory. How much of your day is that? Now we know that there are some people who are not physically able to walk long or far due to injuries or illness, etc. and we recognize this. But how many people who are otherwise perfectly capable of getting up and walking around, don't?

You have bodies. You have feet and legs. Most of you can walk. Why do you need a study to tell you to do so? God didn't intend for you to walk to prevent dementia. God didn't intend for you to eat vegetables to prevent cancer or disease. It's not supposed to be a chore. Walking, or dancing, or surfing, or whatever brings you joy in moving your body around, is a part of being a physical being. Biting into a juicy apple or eating blueberries shouldn't be about chemicals but about energy and enjoyment. Wine should be about taste and pleasure, not arteries.

We encourage you to be healthy. But it should be FUN to be healthy. Otherwise, why are you prolonging this life? What is the point? Think about that.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog,please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Some Cat Humor

2011-05-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank my friend Meredith for pointing out this slideshow on Slate.com about "Cats of War."

I like this type of humor, which takes creativity... and of course, has to do with cats.

I asked the angels for some insights on humor and this is what they said:

Humor is a wonderful way to uplift your spirits and bring your thoughts and feelings more into alignment with the lightness of the divine. Yes, the lightness of the divine. Without worry, without fear, without anger, without hatred, we angels are focused upon what you would call the "positive." We are optimists in the extreme, knowing that God is truly unlimited and that there is so much possibility in the world. And as you have yourself encountered in your interactions with Jesus, he has a wicked sense of humor--pun intended of course.

Yet you must be selective in your humor. We have no problems with comedians who use four letter words, or who poke fun at events or personalities that are in the current news. However, you can feel the "vibe" of the comedian and know whether the humor is truly something fun and uplifting, or if there is a darker undercurrent to it, and we suggest you avoid the darker undercurrent type humor. How do you tell? Well, if someone seems to be attacking a particular race, or gender, or orientation, and you feel somewhat uncomfortable about listening and it's more hostile than funny--that's not humor--that's prejudice masquerading as humor. Would you be uncomfortable laughing at the humor in the presence of the person of the race or orientation or gender that's the subject of the humor? If you would be, maybe that's not the best type of humor.

Truly humorous comedians either poke fun at everyone and it's clear that nothing is personal--for example Robin Williams--or there is silliness mixed into the wit--for example, Monty Python. Use your heart and your feelings--if you feel uncomfortable, find something else that is amusing and uplifting, as the idea is to lift your thoughts and feelings and make yourself feel more joy, to release tension and feel more at ease.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog,please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Endings and Learnings

2011-05-04T19:52:00.001-07:00

Those of us whose hearts still skip a beat when we see a low-flying plane -- we are a little quiet. That he is gone yields a grim satisfaction, but it is something other than joy. A certain symmetry has been achieved, but not a single one of the 3,000 innocent will come back to us because Osama has died.

The ending of a sad chapter is not necessarily happy. Sometimes it's just the ending.

-The Rev. Barbara Crafton, 05/03/11 "Almost Daily eMo from geraniumfarm.org: End of Chapter"

Please click here to read the entire piece by Mother Crafton.

I'm not sad that Osama Bin Laden is dead. But I'm not glad either. He was not the last terrorist. Hatred and war and terror still exist in our world. But I don't worry too much about terrorism affecting me directly. It's possible, very possible. But I found the experience of the Japanese with the earthquake and tsunami much more palpably possible, probably because I live in Southern California. I would probably be less concerned with earthquakes and tsunamis if I lived elsewhere--but where are we safe? Devastating tornadoes have torn through the South recently.

Honestly, I face more risk from someone with road rage or who is texting while driving, than I do from terrorism. However, there is something about what happened on 9/11, and about terrorism and Al Quaeda that fascinates and horrifies all of us. I tried to pinpoint it, and for me, it comes down to two things--we don't think that hatred and murder should be part of the agenda of someone who claims to be a religious leader... and we all feel unsafe because of the seeming randomness of who survived and who died in 9/11. Who made it out of the building? Who were the people trapped by the collapse of the buildings? Why did some people somehow avoid being at work that morning at the World Trade Center? It seems random and unfair somehow.

So I asked the angels for some guidance about Osama bin Laden's death, about terrorism and about feeling safe:

So long as you identify with your individuality, your body, your physicality, you will feel vulnerable. It is your physical body that is vulnerable to pain. It is your physical body that is vulnerable to death. Yet we realize that while you are in physical form, there really is no way to divorce yourself from this concern. So we would like to assure you that as pure spirit having a human incarnation that the very essence of your nature, your spirit, is perfectly safe at all times, that it always has been and always will be--but we also acknowledge that there is no way to guarantee that something won't happen to your physical body. On the other hand, you will all die somehow, some day. Worrying about the exact mechanism of that death, other than being prudent about things like eating vegetables or avoiding uncalled for risky activities, is not going to be fruitful.

So everyone wants to know what happens to someone like Osama bin Laden after death. Or for that matter, Hitler or Stalin or Lenin. And we say to you, the same thing that happens to all people after their physical death. Their spirit departs their body and they become more aware. Aware of the impact of their actions upon others, good and bad. Aware of the impact others' actions had on their personality, their choices, their actions.

And whether one is what most of you would term a "monster" who has destroyed and tortured thousands of lives, or someone who has lived a fairly uneventful life, all people have done things that were hateful, said things out of anger, hurt others' feelings, been hurt... This does not excuse in any way the magnitude of destruction of a bin Laden or a Hitler.

But we focus on the realization that all have right after they pass into eternity. Religious texts may talk about oneness, and occasionally one will have a mystical experience, usually joyful, of oneness. In this learning--and that's what it is, a learning--not a judgment, not what the new age people call a "life review", people experience in spirit a terrible sort of oneness. They experience the woundedness they experienced and all the woundedness they generated themselves. They see that anger begets anger. They see a seamless whole of positive words and actions and kindnesses spreading, and a seamless whole of cruelty spreading, and realize that everything they have ever done in life, they were doing to themselves. They are one with the terror and suffering they created--as well as the joy and love they created.

The difference between people like this and people like you who read this, is a matter of degree. You will certainly have much to regret--being human involves the ego and anger and fear and lashing out at either self or others or both, to greater or lesser degrees. But the degree of what these people have created, is tremendously traumatic.

Osama bin Laden will be spending some time looking at the spreading ripples of the stones he has tossed into the pond of life.

You too will weep over things you didn't realize you did, things you didn't think affected others. But you will have a shorter experience--and more positive things to review as well.

Remember that the human lives a life that is a mixture of light and dark. Remember that Osama bin Laden did have some family members who he would have brought joy to. That he was once a baby and a child who brought joy to his parents. That he was a human being who did some kind things in life too... it is only that you see the terrorism.

He will see his own balance as will you. Don't worry about what has happened to him. Instead, do your part to be peace and spread peace in your world so that you have the best possible learning when it is time for yours after you leave this life.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog,please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Bridget's Button Book

2011-04-29T22:45:00.000-07:00

Bridget Pilloud, a gifted intuitive, has produced a fun new electronic product for instant download. You can get her "Buttons Book" which has buttons and some short essays about them, at her blog here.

Please check them out. I loved it and made this button!

Thoughts on Living and Dying

2011-04-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a blessed Easter who also celebrates Easter. We went to a powerful Easter Vigil service Saturday evening--and it was powerful renewing my baptismal vows in that service in light of my recent confirmation in January.

I heard that Hindu holy man Sathya Sai Baba made his transition on Easter Sunday. Somehow that felt appropriate to me, that someone who spent his life loving and giving, would leave his physicality behind when Christians celebrated the resurrection of Christ. I read somewhere that when famed Christian apologist C.S. Lewis, who used to be an atheist, changed his mind he was considering two religions: Hinduism and Christianity.

Although I personally do not resonate with being a Hindu myself, I can definitely see parallels between the trinity being one God in three forms, and the Hindu pantheon of many gods or divinities being forms of a single God. I wish all those mourning in India and elsewhere, grace and peace and ask the angels to surround and comfort all of them.

I asked the angels for a message:

Sai Baba hasn't really gone anywhere. The same love that was connected to the divine is still connected. The same love that was connected to people that gave them blessings was not connected to a body on a ventilator--that love was present with his followers.

Just as Jesus never left even after he ascended, but has remained present with everyone who loves him, embodied or not in the "communion of saints" who believe, Baba is with those who revere him. Is he divine? Not in the same sense that people speak of Jesus in, as an aspect of God in the trinity... Yet in the same way that all of creation is divine because God created it, and in the way that he was intimately connected to that and recognized it in himself and others, yes he was and is divine.

What about differences in religion? We angels do not really participate in human made religions. The Buddha was raised Hindu and Christ was raised Jewish. Yet more than anything, they were aware, they were connected. They knew about the divine, about God and about their connectedness.... This is holiness.

Most of the people who are most plugged into the divine are not into those distinctions. They are into the experience of loving God and loving others. The Dalai Lama does not want to convert you to Buddhism--but he wants you to be kind. Sai Baba is still plugged into loving God and loving others even as he is no longer in his body.

Let God sort out the religions and the beliefs and the awakenings and salvation paradigms. Focus on the love of God and on being loving. That's what counts and is common amongst different faiths.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog,please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Answered Prayer

2011-04-22T09:00:00.001-07:00

Last night, we went to church in the wee hours of the morning to do a "Gethsemane vigil"--a time of prayer in the footsteps of the disciples (although hopefully, one remains awake!) I actually have always taken great comfort in the fact that the disciples fell asleep, or that Peter denies knowing Jesus three times in the passion story. Even the great saints and followers of Christ long ago had moments of weakness.

I was looking at the reserved sacrament sitting on a little table for contemplation at first. I didn't have the remarkable mystical encounter I did last year, but I did have a sense of immense sadness. I felt how Jesus must have felt so abandoned, so alone, as his disciples fell asleep and as he prayed

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. (Luke 22:42-43, NIV translation.)

His cup was NOT taken from him. But in this version in the gospel of Luke, an angel came to comfort and strengthen him. The angel is not mentioned in the version in Matthew chapter 26.

So I started to contemplate during my vigil, the question of whether and how prayers are answered. Do we really know if God says "no"? What if God never says "no" but sometimes the specifics of our requests are denied but we are given peace or strength or something else that we need to get through something we are trying to avoid?

We can't really prevent our loved ones from dying. Even after Jesus raised Lazarus of Bethany from the tomb, he later had to die a natural physical death. And as people who have read my blog for a while know, I believe that while our beliefs and thoughts do affect our experience, we do not "create our lives" in a vacuum and sometimes there are intervening factors. Just think about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the nuclear issue at the Fukushima plant, or the situation of the Gulf oil spill of a year ago. For that matter, most of us grieve the loss of those we love and we don't really have the ultimate say over whether someone chooses to fight a cancer diagnosis or when someone else dies. For that matter, few of us have conscious control of that for ourselves. Many beings, some human and some not, are affected by all sorts of events--but they did not necessarily think or believe their way into this situation.

So when we pray for a healing for ourselves or others, or for employment, or for some other result, it might not appear the way we want it to appear. Plenty of people have died who were prayed for. Plenty of people have received jobs many months after they asked for one. Many people have lost homes who prayed to keep them.

Is this God saying "no"? Or are there sometimes just consequences that occur in life that are the result of past decisions, beliefs--and yes, unexpected situations such as natural disasters or economic downturns or other peoples' lives and decisions. This is what I wrestled with last night in my Gethsemane vigil.

Then I thought about the angel who comforted Jesus and I left my vigil feeling peaceful. I felt there is grace and answered prayer even if it's not answered in the way we expect, or perceive. You see, I have a pretty severe issue with shooting pains and numbness from my neck, shoulder, elbow and wrist from my horseback riding incident a week ago. Yet I spent an hour and a half in vigil, meditating on Christ and praying without pain. I actually FORGOT about the pain during the vigil because God graced me with relief for a while.

Today I asked the angels for a message about answered prayer:

Prayer is always heard and always answered. We angels are not "slackers." Not only do we give you messages of guidance and encouragement from our Creator, or serve as protective guardians, but there are many, many angels who act to answer prayers. These aren't necessarily orchestrating exactly what is asked for in a literal way.... but they are always healing, harmonizing and loving responses from the God who loves all of creation so very much.

The answer to all prayers is compassion. ALL prayers. Sometimes the request is easy to accomplish in a physical way. Sometimes the request is being blocked by conflicting beliefs in the person asking, and the healing comes in pointing that out somehow or in getting the person counseling or other ways to become more congruent with what he or she says is desired. Sometimes the request involves others' free will and we provide comfort and love.

But all prayers of the heart are answered in some way, even if you can't perceive it. In fact, a great prayer is to ask for guidance about how you are preventing what you're asking for. Are you afraid? Are you conflicted? The other great prayer is to give thanks.

Please know that God hears all of your prayers--and we angels help with those prayers, as well as with requests for help from us directly. Please note one difference in what is appropriate for prayers to God as opposed to angels. God only is to be worshipped. You can ask angels for help, you can say please and thank you, and we will help. But we are the sun's rays, not the sun--emanations and messengers of Creator, not the infinite Spirit himself--so please give all glory, praise and worship only to God.

Regardless of your personal religious faith, we angels wish you a weekend full of the recognition of life and of the spirit, whether it be through Christian Easter observances or through appreciating the symbols of bunnies and eggs and the beauties of springtime and the earth renewing herself during this season. Remember that you are loved. That is the greatest message that God wants you all to hear.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog,please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

The Mandate

2011-04-21T08:00:00.001-07:00

Today is Maundy Thursday, the beginning of the Triduum, three days leading up to Easter for those of us who follow the Christian faith. Maundy stands for "mandate" and as we commemorate Jesus's final Passover Seder meal with his disciples, we also focus upon his mandate to love one another.

Christ's washing the feet of his disciples and asking them to care for one another is a challenging mandate for most of us. Many of us have grown up in dysfunctional homes and face the situation where we need to love those with whom it's unhealthy to remain in contact--or alternatively, to love those whom we just don't like that much. And we all have people we like and dislike--but we're supposed to love and care for "all."

Fortunately, even Christ doesn't expect us to be perfect. After all, as he said in the garden of Gethsemane, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak--and his disciples fell asleep even after he asked them to remain in prayer with him. So what's the best way to observe this mandate?

I asked the angels for a message on loving and they said this:

God does not ever mean for you to sacrifice your wellbeing, your safety, your health. Jesus may have been the ultimate sacrifice, but you are not expected to sacrifice yourself. So loving others NEVER involves endangering yourself, or submitting to continued abuse of any sort. Loving others never involves failing to love yourself.

Sometimes you have to say no. Sometimes you have to turn away from a relationship that is unhealthy. But you CAN love others from a spiritually healthy space, where you see the inner light at a person's core rather than dysfunctional or addictive or abusive behaviors and acknowledge God within them. You can do this from a safe distance and not engage with them in a current relationship if that is not safe. You can pray for them. You can ask God and the angels to help them and then let them go.

If you have anger, resentment, bitterness toward people, you can ask God and us angels for help in releasing these feelings. You can ask for help in loving the soul instead of the personality self. Archangel Raphael, the healing archangel, can pour a healing balm into your heart to dissolve resentments and discord if you ask for this.

Ask to see people through spiritual eyes, the way God sees. A soul is a brilliant melding of light and sound and color. It is beauty, illuminated. It is a song that you cannot hear on earth. It is beyond all the experience you have of this being here on earth burdened with hurt and anger. The soul has none of this--it has a purity to it, and like a nonstick surface, all that is not like God falls away from it.

We would also like to ask people to find like-minded spiritual people to associate with for love and support and healing. Whether it's a church or a facebook community, having other spiritually minded friends really helps. This is why it's powerful to attend church and collectively worship. This is why you find it powerful to attend workshops or circles and practice shamanism collectively, so that your spiritual connection enhances that of others and vice versa.

Some people avoid churches and spiritual community because of bad past experiences and insist that God is everywhere and not in a building. This is true--God is not in a building. Yet having the spiritual support of community enables you to tap into that energy more easily. Think of microwave ovens--when you have an oven of increased wattage, your food heats up more quickly. That's how community works--the spiritual wattage of a group of people helps lift everyone into more faith and just automatically places people in the mind and heartspace of prayer and seeking God's presence.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog,please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Pray First

2011-04-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

Jesus said to pray without ceasing. I know I'm not successful at that, but it IS valuable to pray before doing things. I was on vacation and went horseback riding. This is a once a year thing for me and I am definitely not very experienced on horseback.

So I prayed to be able to ride with "ease and grace." Good thing--my horse decided it had an itchy back (I suppose), knelt down and started to roll sideways. I launched myself sideways and rolled clear. Other than a pulled side muscle and a major bruise, I escaped unscathed, and all my horsey friends say I could have broken something...

So pray first when you start anything! I am profoundly grateful to be okay and that I was even fairly calm getting back on afterward.

Arthur the Cat and Dolphins Video

2011-04-12T23:17:00.002-07:00

This video is from 1997 at a marine park in Florida in 1997. To me, it really shows how love is love no matter what the species. Enjoy!

The Wisdom of Animals

2011-04-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have been doing animal communication sessions professionally for the past six and a half years, and it always strikes me what a privilege it is to interact with animals. Inevitably, we humans learn something from the animals.

Things I've learned lately:

Kittens live in joy, in the moment. They are full of energy and exuberance. And their message to us is to enjoy. Remember the joy in life.

From one of my own cats, Pippin--ask for what you want. I frequently do the "Pippin Wriggle" in the kitchen, where I wriggle my behind in order to detach claws from my rear end. But when I am less immediately occupied with whatever I'm cooking, Pippin either gets picked up and cuddled, or petted while he enthusiastically squirms on the floor.

And I would swear the mysterious glamorous movie stars of years past, the grande dames of film, have come back as cats. I have spoken to more than one older, female cat, who thought she was the most brilliant, the most beautiful, the most [fill in the blank] feline, that she required Acknowledgement and Adulation with capital As, and that their needs required meeting. First. Foremost. Above any human need...

Is that a spiritual lesson? Well, I think everything is. And for me, it was a lesson that things that would be intensely annoying about the egocentricity of a fellow human being, can not only be tolerated, but embraced, in feline form. So it's our perception that makes things annoying, not the behavior itself. Hmmm...

Wishing everyone a great weekend!

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog,please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Tapping Welcoming Prayer

2011-04-07T21:08:00.000-07:00

I use an “energy psychology” technique to calm and de-stress called Emotional Freedom Techniques, also known as energy tapping or meridian tapping techniques. By tapping on end points of the Traditional Chinese meridian system, one can reduce and often eliminate emotional distress. It can also zap things like tension headaches or muscle tension that often have emotional causes. It is by focusing on one’s distress while saying reminder phrases, and then tapping on the points, that one clears the issues.

I also use a type of prayer called “Welcoming Prayer” that was developed by Father Thomas Keating as a way to remind oneself of God’s presence from moment to moment, not in a formal prayer practice. So one could welcome God’s presence in the midst of being angry in traffic, or in the midst of feeling discomfort in the neck, or any other physical or emotional distress. By centering in the moment, the prayer invites one to detach from mental baggage that judges and labels experience. By just observing feelings and repeating the prayer, one invites God in to be present.

Instructions for Welcoming Prayer can be found at Contemplative Outreach pdf

Instructions for Energy Tapping can be found at Thriving Now quick start

I was inspired to combine the two practices one morning in the shower (the Holy Spirit has a way of inspiring me in the shower—there’s a reason baptism occurs with water!) Here is the result. Please look at this chart (courtesy of thrivingnow.com) and follow along.

The feeling can be a sense of bodily tension, pain, or an emotional discomfort of some sort. And if you do not share my Christian beliefs, please feel free to substitute your own favorite term for the Divine Indwelling for the Holy Spirit: Spirit, Source, etc.

Except for the Karate Chop point where you tap continuously, around 7-10 taps per point is typical. Alternatively to the Karate Chop point, you can use the "sore spot" on either side of the upper chest and massage that point--see the chart for where that is.

Additionally, some people like to start with the top of the head before the eyebrow, and others like to end with it after the under arm point. Experiment to see what works best for you.

Tapping Continuously on Karate Chop (KC):
Even though I have this feeling, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though I have this feeling, I choose to breathe and observe this feeling.
Even though I have this feeling, I choose to allow the sacred presence of the Holy Spirit to move through me and my experience.

TH: Welcome, Feeling.
EB: Welcome, Feeling.
SE: Welcome, Feeling.
UE: Welcome, Feeling
UN: Welcome, Feeling.
CH: Welcome, Feeling.
CB: Welcome, Feeling.
UA: Welcome, Feeling.

Take a deep breath.

TH: I let go of the desire to change this feeling.
EB: I let go of the desire to change this feeling.
SE: I let go of the desire to change this feeling.
UE: I let go of the desire to change this feeling.
UN: I let go of the desire to change this feeling.
CH: I let go of the desire to change this feeling.
CB: I let go of the desire to change this feeling.
UA: I let go of the desire to change this feeling.

Take another deep breath.

TH: I let go of the desire for security, affection, control.
EB: I let go of the desire for security, affection, control.
SE: I let go of the desire for security, affection, control.
UE: I let go of the desire for security, affection, control.
UN: I let go of the desire for security, affection, control.
CH: I let go of the desire for security, affection, control.
CB: I let go of the desire for security, affection, control.
UA: I let go of the desire for security, affection, control.

Take a deep breath in and out. Notice how you feel.

Tap on your Karate Chop point again and say:

Thank you, Holy Spirit, for your sacred presence.
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for my body, mind and spirit.
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for bringing this awareness of God’s presence within me.

Take another deep breath.

I hope you found this prayer something valuable you can incorporate into your day.

Neptune in Pisces-Say What???

2011-04-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this with the following: I have never been a believer in astrology and actually didn't like the idea of some "chart" of what the planets looked like at my birth determining anything in my life (the exception being that I always like the Chinese zodiac, probably because it was more general--a whole year!--and I love animals...) In later life, I realized that there are plenty of things I didn't have entire control over that have influenced my life (can you tell ~~I have~~ I've had "control freak" tendencies?) But still I will preface this posting with the fact that I am not into astrology, don't really feel drawn toward studying it although I no longer view it as a horrible thief of my free will like I did in younger days. (But then, I didn't want to believe in God at a certain point in my life too, because I didn't want to give up free will to God either.)

I do pay attention to when it's "mercury retrograde." I don't actually give power to the appearance that mercury is travelling backward in the sky. I do pay attention because there are so many people who believe that it's going to muck up communications, that it usually does! So I do pay attention and check to make sure important emails have gone through, etc. And I do know we're in one such period right now.

So on to today... I just found this out. Neptune entered Pisces for the first time since the mid-1800's today. If you ask me specifically what that means, I have NO CLUE. I do know that there is a planet named Neptune and that if you divide the sky and a "chart" into sections, that it entered the part that's allocated to Pisces. But I do have to say, that since this is an unprecedented celestial event, it has been warned that it may make people more spacey and ungrounded. I actually feel a little lightheaded (and I ate a solid breakfast.) Since this is something that I have to guard against as an intuitive person and I assume others reading this are also energy sensitive, please make sure to ground and drink extra water today.

I asked the angels for some insights and they said:

Really, planets interfering with your free will? We are pretty amused! Actually, we do realize that you are not drawn to astrology and probably are not well suited for it as the analytical precision would take you right out of your intuitive zone. However, since you do have readers who might find astrology useful, we would give another vantage point. Astrology is a tool for understanding energy flows. Just as you look at the weather report to anticipate what you will wear over the next few days, and just as your moods and body rhythms are affected by the moon and the seasons such that there are many people with "light boxes" to prevent or ameliorate winter depression, you can look at where the planets are to see how energy is moving. It's just a way to see things. It doesn't magically determine what's about to happen in your future, and it's not something to give power to. It's a tool for seeing energy in your life just like weather reports predict a different type of energy.

Neptune in Pisces doesn't resonate with you. But if we say instead, that the energy on the planet right now is a little different from how it's been during your lifetime and even your parents' lifetimes, and it might take a bit of adjusting, that seems like a more normal thing to think about and contemplate doesn't it. Astrologers just see it in terms of planetary alignments. You can just say you feel different, and that you have some tingling and lightheadedness and it's not because you need to go back to the chiropractor.

Our advice is to be gentle with yourself. Be aware that something is different. Make sure you get some sleep tonight, that you try to be good to yourself today. Today is also a good day to remember to pray and focus on the inner spiritual life.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog,please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Prayers for Japan

2011-03-29T22:26:00.001-07:00

Dr. Masaru Emoto, who did the wonderfully inspiring photos of ice crystals from water that has been prayed over, or had positive or negative words pasted on the bottles, has organized a prayer vigil for Japan on March 31, 2011 on whatever time zone you are in, at noon.

Words Love and Gratitude were taped to this water.

Name of ceremony:
“Let’s send our thoughts of love and gratitude to all water in the nuclear plants in Fukushima”

Day and Time:
March 31st, 2011 (Thursday)
12:00 noon in each time zone

To All People Around the World
Please send your prayers of love and gratitude to water at the nuclear plants in Fukushima, Japan!

By the massive earthquakes of Magnitude 9 and surreal massive tsunamis, more than 10,000 people are still missing…even now… It has been 16 days already since the disaster happened. What makes it worse is that water at the reactors of Fukushima Nuclear Plants started to leak, and it’s contaminating the ocean, air and water molecule of surrounding areas.

Human wisdom has not been able to do much to solve the problem, but we are only trying to cool down the anger of radioactive materials in the reactors by discharging water to them.

Is there really nothing else to do?

I think there is. During over twenty year research of hado measuring and water crystal photographic technology, I have been witnessing that water can turn positive when it receives pure vibration of human prayer no matter how far away it is.

Energy formula of Albert Einstein, E=MC2 really means that Energy = number of people and the square of people’s consciousness.

Now is the time to understand the true meaning. Let us all join the prayer ceremony as fellow citizens of the planet earth. I would like to ask all people, not just in Japan, but all around the world to please help us to find a way out the crisis of this planet!!

The prayer procedure is as follows.

Name of ceremony:
“Let’s send our thoughts of love and gratitude to all water in the nuclear plants in Fukushima”

Day and Time:
March 31st, 2011 (Thursday)
12:00 noon in each time zone

Please say the following phrase:

“The water of Fukushima Nuclear Plant, we are sorry to make you suffer. Please forgive us. We thank you, and we love you.”

Please say it aloud or in your mind. Repeat it three times as you put your hands together in a prayer position.

Please offer your sincere prayer.

Thank you very much from my heart.

With love and gratitude,
Masaru Emoto
Messenger of Water

In Service

2011-03-28T19:29:00.000-07:00

Service rests on the basic premise that the nature of life is sacred, that life is a holy mystery which has an unknown purpose.

Rachel Naomi Remen from "In the Service of Life"

I believe that my work as an animal communicator, and as an Angel Therapist® is sacred work. I loved this quote (and encourage you to read the full article.) I am connected with the divine, but so are you. I am communicating with the divine, or with your animal, but so are you... I am bringing forth messages that help you know in your heart that you are hearing guidance, or that you know what your animal is saying or feeling. My work is to confirm what you already know in your heart. My work is to be a witness to the sacred dance between you and the divine, whether it be the relationship you have with an animal, or with God and the angels. My work is NOT about the two other attitudes she mentions in her article, about "fixing" people or "helping" people. I am in service to God and in service to my clients--and that service to my clients is part of my service to the divine.

I have asked the angels for a message for you:

You don't need a fortuneteller to tell you your future, or to toss a coin. You have an exquisitely tuned sense of connection with God or the divine, that is within your heart. You feel truth. Everyone does. You can know what your next step is on a new career path, or whether that person you just met is a potential life mate.

You can know this, but most people choose not to. Fear blocks you. The primary fear is that of getting guidance that is the opposite of what your personality self wants to be the guidance. The next most common one is feeling unworthy somehow so how dare you receive guidance. And the next after that is, what if I'm wrong?

Fears can paralyze you. On the other hand, fear is useful when it preserves life--that stranger giving you a "creepy" feeling or bad feeling about getting on a plane has saved lives.

We encourage you to avoid taking huge risks based on guidance, so that you can allay these fears. Be prudent. Don't quit your job immediately because you feel that you should be doing something else. But you could start to investigate the new field. Don't marry that stranger because you feel guidance he could be "the one"--but it's okay to follow that guidance and have a cup of coffee or go out to lunch with him.

True guidance will be consistent, positive and reliable. And you may not see images or visions, or hear voices necessarily. But everyone can hear the voice of God within their heart. It is subtle, but it is there.

You don't need someone else to tell you what God is telling you. You might want to engage the services of someone else to confirm for you that you are indeed listening with your heart and receiving guidance. But that is not necessary. Only opening your heart and trusting is necessary.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog,please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Prayer of St. Augustine

2011-03-23T20:38:00.002-07:00

God of our life,
There are days when the burdens we carry
chafe our shoulders and weigh us down;
When the road seems dreary and endless,
the skies gray and threatening;
When our lives have no music in them,
and our hearts are lonely, and our souls have lost their courage.
Flood the path with light,
turn our eyes to where the skies are full of promise;
Tune our hearts to brave music; give us the sense
of comradeship with heroes and saints of every age;
And so quicken our spirits that we may be able
to encourage the souls of all who journey with us
on the road of life, to your honor and glory.

A friend of mine is having a rough spot in her life lately and I synchronistically found this prayer on a little card in my drawer--right when she could use it. For that matter, so could I. So I'm sharing it here.

I asked the angels for a message for those going through challenges in life:

Don't despair.

Most of what you worry about is the future. A week from now, not being able to pay rent or a bill. A month from now, not having enough of your paycheck left. Tomorrow, your boyfriend taking off and leaving you because he said something you didn't understand tonight.

But these are still possibilities. They aren't reality. And yes, there are some fearful possibilities out there. Seeing the tsunami and earthquake damage in Japan or earthquake damage in Christchurch, or even the Haiti and Hurricane Katrina damage, can make you aware that life is precious and there are no guarantees. This is absolutely true. And this is NOT to make you afraid, but to make you appreciate life.

Just as there are possibilities that frighten, there are still possibilities that things can work out. You may not be able to make a complete payment but you can call and make arrangements for a smaller one. You may be able to get some money from an unexpected source. Your boyfriend may be worried about something else and his vague statement was because he was preoccupied....

The point is, YOU DON'T KNOW. The present is the moment that's happening now. And in this moment, you can look for potential solutions to what might happen that you fear--but if you catastrophize, you will NOT be able to PERCEIVE solutions.

So take a deep breath. Take another. And focus on now. Focus on what you have, what you appreciate, what you like about NOW. Turn to friends or something relaxing like a bath. Do a puzzle or a sudoku. Take your mind off worries.... Give yourself a break. And remember to pray and you can also ask us angels directly for help too.

Things pass. Good OR bad, as you would judge them.... You WILL get through what you have to get through. One now, one moment, one possibility at a time.

***

To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog,please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!

Paws for Japan: Art Auction

2011-03-17T14:08:00.001-07:00

To help the cause of animal aid in Japan, a number of Twitter "anipals" have decided to auction original pieces of artwork.

Today is the kick off piece by Cheshire Kitten's human Robin which can be found at http://cheshireloveskarma.wordpress.com/

Or if you prefer to donate directly, here is another link to the Chip In for animals in Japan:

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the infinite peace to you.
(traditional Gaelic blessing)

My Fortress
The Sacred Three
My fortress be
Encircling me
Come and be round
My hearth and my home.
(Celtic prayer--in honor of St. Patrick who supposedly visually explained the trinity to the Irish by using a shamrock)