Mentoring Your Spiritual Ascension Toward the Light of Your Healed and Highest Self

Free Reiki on the Full Moon of the Buddha & Wesak

05 11 14

I am spiritually called to offer another one of my Free Distance Reiki Pools for anyone who would like extra healing for themselves, a loved-one (human or animal) or for any life situation that could benefit from a positive dose of light, love and prayer. Feel free to think globally in your requests! (As you read below, you’ll see why.) If you would like to add yourself, someone else or an event that needs healing to my Reiki Pool, please leave a note below in the comment section or contact me privately by clicking HERE. I will be in meditation throughout the next five days, during the festival of Wesak, sending healing globally. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to receive Free Distance Reiki energy and prayer this week. I look forward to hearing from you!

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Wesak (pronounced WE-sock) is an observed holy holiday in Southeast Asia and one of the most important festivals in the Buddhist calendar. This year in the United States, Wesak is this Wednesday on May 14th. This is a celebration of the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death. It is honored around the world by Buddhists during the full moon of May. It’s an honoring that begins two days before the full moon and ends two days after the full moon. An article (I highly recommend you read) by Alice A. Bailey explains Wesak in much more detail and how it astrologically and spiritually relates to us now during the 2014 May full moon in Scorpio with the sun in Taurus. You can find the article by clicking HERE. (A special thanks to my dear friend, Giacinta, who originally shared this article with me.)

Wesak (also spelled Vesak) is a five day period of practicing non-self importance, generosity of spirit, being of service to others, widening perspective and working for the greater good of humanity. It is about globalized spiritual consciousness. It’s a time to hold ourselves, others and the entire world in divine light and unconditional love to raise the individual and collective vibration on Earth.

The following video further explains Wesak. Please know that this video was created last year, in 2013, so the dates of Wesak as posted on the video do not apply to 2014. Wesak is always honored during May’s full moon, so every year the dates of this festival changes. This year, in 2014, Wesak occurs on May 14th, which is this Wednesday!

As stated in the above video and timed at 6:22 of the video, is the following:

What can we do to play our part in the Wesak festival?

For two days prior to the Wesak full moon, the day of the full moon and for the two subsequent days, endeavor to do the following things:

  • Link up with all people of spiritual intention and good will throughout the world.
  • Using the creative imagination, eliminate out of your consciousness all negativity. See yourself clear and on the side of the forces of light.
  • Preserve a spirit of love for all individuals.
  • When meditating and invoking the forces of light, endeavor to forget entirely your own personal difficulties, tragedies and problems.
  • Endeavor at sunrise, at noon, at five o’clock and at sunset plus the exact time of the full moon in your own land to say The Great Invocation (below) with the intent to invoke, precipitate and anchor an art of manifestation the waiting potencies. Do this aloud when possible and in group formation whenever feasible.

The Great Invocation:

“From the point of light from within the light of God, let light stream forth into human minds. Let light descend on Earth. From the point of love within the heart of God, let love stream forth into human hearts. May the coming One return to Earth. From the center where the will of God is known, let purpose guide all human wills- the purpose which the masters know and serve. From the center which we call the human race, let the plan of love and light work out and may it seal the door where evil dwells. Let light and love and power restore the plan on Earth.”  

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If you are interested in honoring Wesak, you can follow the suggestions above in how to play your part. This is helpful for those who thrive with structure and a clear purpose. The Great Invocation is, indeed, a beautiful prayer for the world. For some of you, however, simply spending this week by being more conscious, meditative and altruistic, may feel like a more free-flowing way to celebrate this sacred week.

Some ideas for the week ahead (and please, do whatever resonates and feels good to you):

  • Meditate daily
  • Start a fast (or juice feast)
  • If you’re a healer, send global healing
  • If you pray, pray for others
  • Do something for the greater good of humanity, small or large
  • Be of service
  • Practice unconditional compassion for all Beings everywhere
  • Be mindful
  • Reconnect with your spirituality
  • Do anything that you feel raises your vibration
  • Or simply contact me for Free Distance Reiki 🙂

With pure radiant light and love, have a very blessed and sacred week ahead as we honor Wesak, the Buddha, all spiritual masters, the full moon, Mother Earth and each other.

Peace and Reiki Blessings, Shana        

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Spiritual Living

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Spring into the Season of the Leprechaun 🍀

03 16 14

March is such a beautiful, transformative and magical month. We are in the midst of a very awakened, potent and playful time. Tonight, we are graced with a full moon that brims with new possibilities, growth and forward movement. Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day (one of my personal favorite days of the year, being that I am a green-eyed Irish lass.) And, on the 20th, this Thursday, we welcome in the spring equinox (the autumn equinox for my friends in the southern hemisphere), the first day of spring, and Ostara! There is so much to celebrate this week and lots of fun energy to play with, embrace and harness.

St. Patrick’s Day

I love St. Patrick’s Day, because it is one of those special days in which millions of people around the world not only recognize Leprechauns but they honor them and call to them, in search of  that pot of gold or the elusive yet lucky four leaf clover, in which the Leprechauns seem to be the guardians. In turn, the little people, the Leprechauns love this day too, because they get the recognition and attention they absolutely adore.

With this being said, much of this post will be about honoring the Leprechauns and all of the elementals (faeries, gnomes, trolls, elves, etc). I have been asked to dedicate some writing to the little people, so this is my tribute and my promise made good. 🙂

The plants in my home shimmy and giggle as I write these words, for the plant kingdom and the elementals are deeply connected. It is the elementals, the nature spirits, who energetically nurture and help grow all plant life on our majestic planet Earth. Here’s an example of the fun the plants and elementals have together:

I brought this brilliant pot of shamrocks home at the beginning of the month…

Magical Shamrocks

Magical Shamrocks

It has bloomed in white flowers that smile at me whenever I send my attention its way. This is the one plant in my home that is constantly twitching and wiggling- all by itself, without any draft or any “visible” source for this movement. It seems the fae, the elements, in my home (and I have many here) LOVE the shamrocks. And, who could blame them! They are filled with happy emerald goodness, and they represent the magic of the season we are entering.

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My dad is a big faery lover. When my sister and I where little girls, he would take us hiking in the forested hills of Oakland, CA. There, we would search for faeries and trolls. He truly ignited our imaginations and our little green hearts. I still love the essence of the elementals and all the playfulness and pure joy they bring into my life. Even more so now then I did then, if you can imagine that!

Many years ago he gave me a book called, Summer with the Leprechauns, by Tanis Helliwell. I read it, enjoyed it, then forgot about it. Back then, I read the book before I actually had my own personal experiences with the elementals, so I took it as a lovely story and that was that.

More recently, I rediscovered this book at the Mountain Spirit Co-Op’s spiritual library in Prescott, where I provide Reiki Healings and Intuitive Readings. I took it home and fell in love with this true story all over again, which had far more meaning for me now that I actually experience, see, hear and feel the elementals first hand.

The book, which you can find HERE, is filled with spiritual lessons and mind expanding ideas. I highly recommend it to everyone. Even if you do not believe in the little people, it is a very fun read!

The following is a short video of the author, Tanis Helliwell, chatting a bit about her experience and insight with the elementals:

With the guidance of her Leprechaun friend, Helliwell has comprised a list of 10 things humans can do to connect with and experience the elementals. The following list was taken straight from her book, Summer with the Leprechauns:

 Ten Ways for Humans to Work with Elementals, by Tanis Helliwell

  1. Believe in elements. Human belief strengthens elementals and gives them energy.
  2. Be happy and enthusiastic. Elementals are not attracted to depressed, sad humans.
  3. Go to healthy places in nature as often as possible. Walk in forests, along the seashore, lie in a meadow, and listen to birds. Align yourself with the right vibration of the Earth and listen to what it wants. Humans raise their frequency if they do these things.
  4. Appreciate the beauty in nature. When humans do this, elementals are attracted to you.
  5. Cooperate and create with nature by planting trees, growing flowers, and feeding the birds.
  6. Send energy to elementals who look after trees, flowers, water, mountains, to keep them healthy. Do this with joy and gratitude.
  7. Teach other humans to appreciate nature. Do it with love and joy and these humans will begin to understand the Earth’s needs.
  8. Do things spontaneously; free yourself from over-planning and organizing.
  9. Take time every day to do nothing. Create a space in both your house and head so magic can occur.
  10. In order to contact an elemental who wants to work with you, sit in a quiet natural place, close your eyes, and call this elemental to you. Listen to this elemental; act on its suggestions, and your long-term relationship will become stronger.

With all this, if you gobble up Helliwell’s Summer with the Leprechaun book and can’t get enough, she has written a sequel, which I also recommend. It is called Pilgrimage with the Leprechauns, A True Story of a Mystical Tour of Ireland. You can find it HERE, and it is also filled with thought-provoking spiritual lessons and wonderment.

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We could not have been blessed by a full moon at a better time, for it is under the light of the moon that it is far easier to see, feel and connect with the elementals. If you want to learn to see nature spirits, practicing using your second sight is far easier in hazy environments like that of a misty forest, at home with candlelight, while taking a steamy bath, at dusk or twilight and, my favorite, during a full moon.

I discovered this little trick by accident. I was sitting in the living room at midnight one evening during a full moon. All the lights in the house were off and the curtains were open so that all the ethereal, mystical, glorious light of the full moon flooded the room. I sat there quietly, writing poetry while bathed in moonlight. Did I mention how much the elementals love it when you create? This includes any art, song, poetry, or dance- anything you do creative at all will attract them.

As I sat there writing, I saw tiny pinpoint lights of red and green flash, flicker and zip by me. I felt little shadows fly around and little white lights wiz by, trailing bits of magic in the air. To me, all this was very playful and whimsical. Needless to say, some wonderful poetry flowed from my imagination and fingertips that evening!

🍀    🍀    🍀

We are deeply blessed to be celebrating the first day of spring this Thursday. Hip hip hooray!! For those of you who have endured a long cold winter, this shift of energy, as we cross the spring equinox, is an intoxicating breath of fresh air. Let us all fill our lungs and our hearts with the promise of warmer times, greener landscapes, blooming flowers, longer languid days and merry nights. Take a moment right now and breathe in all of this splendid goodness. Take it to the core of your Being and relish in all the sensory pleasure this season has to offer.

The spring equinox is also called Ostara, a festival of old that celebrates fertility, renewal, rebirth and growth of the plant and animal kingdoms as symbolized by the egg, the rabbit, spring flowers such as tulips and daffodils as well as soft young colors like lavender, pink, baby blue, light green and yellow. Sound a little bit like Easter? Well, it should. These are the symbols of this magical time of year as embraced by many different religions.

This is also a perfect time to connect to elementals. It has been said that the veil between our dense 3rd dimensional world and that of the fae thins during this time of year, specifically during Ostara on March 20. So, if you would like to follow some of the suggestions on Helliwell’s list of ways to work with the elementals, this Thursday would be an auspicious time to try it out for yourself. It’s also a great time to simply spend some quality meditative time in nature to love and honor Mother Earth and her creatures. Of which you are one! ♥

If you try Helliwell’s list or any of the things I have mentioned above and have some Irish luck experiencing the elementals or if you have already had magical connections with them, I would love to hear about your experiences.  You are joyfully invited to share your stories in the comment section below or share with me privately HERE. I love hearing from my readers and relish in the synchronicity, magic and playfulness the elementals bring to us all.

Thank you for delighting me in this whimsical post, which I am dedicating to the Leprechauns, to all elementals, to Mother Nature herself, to the essence of spring and of new beginnings, to the moon, the sun, to St. Patrick, and to all of YOU. ♥

I wish you many blessings during this awakening time of transformation as we each grow into the fullness of our own true natures.

Happy Full Moon 🍀 Happy St. Patrick’s Day 🍀 Happy Spring Equinox 🍀 Ostara Blessings 🍀 And, cheers to a fulfilling, playful and enlightened new season!

With emerald light and love, Sláinte!

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Spiritual Living

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Celestial Energy Supporting New Life Shifts

02 28 14

Welcome to Friday, 2/28/14, the end of February and the day of the new moon! Today, we teeter on the threshold of March and all the spring magic and new life this coming time has to offer. We are in the midst of wonderful energies for creating life shifts and positive changes, supported by celestial alignments and guided by the angel realms.

This morning, in the wee hours, I awoke to look at the time. It read 5:55am.

Doreen Virtue writes about the meaning of the angelic number sequence 555:

“555 – Buckle your seatbelts. A major life change is upon you. This change should not be viewed as being “positive” or “negative,” since all change is but a natural part of life’s flow. Perhaps this change is an answer to your prayers, so continue seeing and feeling yourself being at peace.”

I am not the only one feeling this energy shift and sensing change. Many of my clients are on the brink of inviting in some exciting new things into their lives or are on the edge of leaving behind the things that are no longer working for them. Whatever the shift is, change is definitely in the air.

This is true even if the shift is subtle. Perhaps this is a time to reach more deeply within your own soul so you may live a life more fully from the heart, or maybe this is a time to discover more depth and meaning within your endeavors and life’s purpose. Sometimes, it is the gentle and refined shifts that can be the most powerful and empowering.

Celestial Support

Mercury has completed its retrograde and redirects today. Pam Younghans from the NorthPoint Astrology Journal, writes:

“The week that Mercury finishes its retrograde phase is actually the preparation stage for moving forward. If we have used the past three weeks wisely, we have been reviewing our projected path and rethinking our plans.

Now that Mercury is ready to go forward, we want to be sure that we are not attached to previous ways of thinking or perceiving our reality. We want to have allowed Mercury retrograde to do its job of altering our perceptions, even if only slightly. It sometimes takes just a small change in current trajectory to manifest the unfolding of a major shift in course.”

New Moon

Another significant and supportive energy is that of the new moon, which is today! Pam Younghans shares the following:

“We also have a New Moon on Friday — a somewhat paradoxical lunation because it is in Pisces. New Moons represent opportunities for new beginnings, but Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac and represents a time of completion, turning inward, and surrender.

We are called, every year when the New Moon occurs in Pisces, to re-energize our inner journey, in whatever form that may take for us personally. It may be that we call that journey spiritual, or view it as a creative unfolding, or perceive it as a deepening understanding of the workings of our subconscious.”

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In support of everyone today and of the energies that surround us, I sat in meditation this morning. I sent Reiki energy to the world, to the celestial energies and to anyone and any life situation that is in most need of energetic healing support and guidance. I then pulled two cards from my Archangel Oracle Cards by Doreen Virture.

We are each being divinely and angelically guided to take leaps of faith and to walk our true soul’s path. Have courage to be everything you dream of, to embrace all the blessings that are coming into your life and to shed the things that no longer support your highest good, well-being and positive forward movement.

It’s a time to spread your wings and fly. The timing is perfect for you to soar!

I’ll leave you with two wonderful and inspiring quotes:

“To change one’s life, start immediately, do it flamboyantly, no exceptions.” ~William James

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~Mark Twain

♥

And finally, as my dear friend and sister-in-love, Kathy Chism, recently said to me, “Let’s not think of this as the calm before the storm, but rather the calm before the shift. Better yet, the calm before the calm shift.” 🙂

♥ Please know, if you need energetic, healing, guiding and intuitive support during this time, you are welcome to CONTACT ME  for a Reiki session and reading. I am always here for you with compassion, love and healing light.

May your shifts and changes flow smoothly with grace and ease. Many blessings! ♥

Category:

Intuitive Readings, Life Purpose, Reiki Healing, Spiritual Living

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The Art of Being in the Flow

02 22 14

A few days ago, I was in Sedona. I love coming here to rejuvenate and recharge. The energy is so powerful and invigorating. I went to the Bell Rock Vortex, one of my favorite spots in the red rocks, to soak up the healing energy, to meditate and to reflect.

View from Bell Rock in Sedona

View from Bell Rock in Sedona

After filling myself to the brim with what the magnificent red rocks had to offer, I decided to head home. As I was leaving, I swung by a natural food store, New Frontiers, to pick up a few things. While there, standing in the check-out line, I found the latest edition of Sage Woman on the magazine rack. With its beautiful cover art and with the theme being herbalism, I couldn’t pass it up.

As I was checking out, the woman at the register, noticing the magazine I was purchasing, said, “Wow, what a gorgeous cover! I would love to frame that.” Hummm what a lovely idea, I thought to myself…

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Fast forward to today. I wanted to spend a lazy sunny morning reading my angel book, Messengers of Light. But, I simply could not find it anywhere. I wandered around the house searching in all the nooks and cubbies, but alas, no book.

Knowing that when things don’t flow easily, it is best to give it a rest or change direction. It is never a good idea to force anything, ever. So, I let go and released the desire to read my angel book.

There are wonderful, unimaginable gifts in letting go.

As soon as I made this shift (which happened in an instant), the idea to read the Sage Woman magazine suddenly popped in my mind. I gathered up the beautiful magazine and went to a sunny room to snuggle in and read.

As I walked into the room, I looked down at the vibrant cover art in my hand and remembered what the woman at New Frontiers had said to me. I appreciate creative, out-of-the box thinking. I wouldn’t have thought to frame a magazine cover, but it resonated, feeling very playful. The art itself made me feel bright and happy, so I flowed with it.

I looked around the room for a frame and found the perfect one, hanging on the wall above a tall window-side oak table. It already had art in it (a black and white pen drawing), but the time felt right to change out the art and bring in more color. I love change.

I plucked the frame off the wall, removed the old art, cleaned the glass and fiddled with the frame and new art until the magazine cover page looked just right in its new home.

The Cover of Sage Woman Magazinr

The framed Sage Woman cover art, Winter into Spring 2014 issue

Guess what happened next?

Just as I hung the newly framed artwork on my wall, I looked down and noticed the angel book I had been looking for was resting right there, on top of the tall window-side oak table that the art was now hanging above!

A smile stretched across my face like sunshine stretching across a field of flowers in the spring. I grabbed the book, held it to my heart, stepped back, looked at the festive new image on my wall and felt immense happiness and gratitude.

I now had my angel book in hand and a delightful art piece on my wall. A true gift from the angels and from the guiding energies above and all around.

There are gifts in the losses, gifts in being redirected. There are angelic blessings that you cannot begin to imagine. There is a beautiful rhythm to the natural flow and divine magic of life. All you need to do is quiet what the mind thinks it wants and allow your body and your spirit to go with the flow.

We are all being divinely guided; we just need to listen to the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) energies that nudge us into perfect alignment.

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From the artist as printed on the inside cover of Sage Woman magazine: “The Herbal Goddess sits in splendor amidst her Earthly Garden. Atop her head is a halo of flowering herbs and berries, about her throat, a bee necklace celebrating pollination… Beside her, a teapot for brewing herbal teas, rosemary vinegar, a trowel and terra cotta pots for work in the garden. Cradled in the Goddesses’ arms are many of our most beloved herbs! She is a feast for the eyes!” ~Holly Sierra

You can purchase this beautiful piece as a print and other magical works of art from Holly Sierra’s website HERE.  I love her work! ♥

♥ Have a very blessed day. ♥ Let go and flow so magic can happen in your life. ♥ You are supported and guided, for you are deeply loved. ♥ ♥ ♥

Category:

My Life, Spiritual Living

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Valentine & Healing Heart Reiki ♥

02 07 14

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February is a month of love. This doesn’t necessarily mean only romantic love, though this is what consumerism would like us all to buy into. Personally, I like to embrace this time as a month to nurture the heart, to HEAL the HEART, to become more unconditionally compassionate, and to follow the heart.

Amplifying the heart-centered energies of the coming holiday, Valentine’s Day just happens to auspiciously coincide with February’s full moon! (2014 has been filled with blessed cosmic alignments thus far!) To honor the essence of the heart and to harness the empowering celestial energy of the full moon, I am offering a Healing Heart Reiki and Reading Special. Read below to learn more…

But first, what is Valentine’s Day really all about? Do you know the historical roots of this love-centered day?

Saint Valentine ♥

February 14th is a Christian holiday, celebrating Saint Valentine of Rome. Saint Valentine was a healer, a minister and a compassionate soul. Legend has it that he was imprisoned for ministering to Christians who had been prosecuted under the Roman Empire. He also performed weddings for couples who were forbidden to wed. His love, guidance and care for the disenfranchised and faulted members of society is the foundation of this love-filled holiday.

But, there is another layer here. According to legend, while Saint Valentine was imprisoned, he healed the daughter of his own captor and jailer. It is also said, that before his execution, he wrote a farewell letter to her, signing it, “Your Valentine.”

Whether this legend is fact or fiction, does this act not exemplify the very essence of unconditional compassion to heal the relative of your own enemy? If we learn any lessons from the story of Saint Valentine, honoring Valentine’s Day should be about celebrating and exercising our own compassion and love for all.

This legend also tells of Saint Valentine as a healer. This little tidbit of information is significant. I have always felt that Valentine’s Day should be about healing the heart and living from the heart. This is what Saint Valentine embraced in life and this is his legacy.

Pagan Roots to Valentine’s Day ♥

In ancient times, February 14th was a day of love lotteries in pagan Rome. Young girls would write their names on little pieces of paper and place them into jars to be picked anonymously by boys and partnered for the festival. This holiday was a time to honor the Goddess of fertility, childbirth and marriage.

As Christianity entered the landscape of our religious history, Christian holidays were placed near pagan festivals to encourage the pagans to convert more willingly to Christianity. Valentine’s Day is no different. February 14th was assigned as the day to honor the Christian Saint Valentine.

Chaucer and Romantic Courtship ♥

Valentine’s Day was re-introduced as a day of courtship and romantic love by Geoffrey Chaucer during the high middle ages.

Chaucer, known as the father of English literature, lived from circa 1343 to 1400. He was considered the greatest English poet of his time. One of his most popular written works known today is The Canterbury Tales. 

Though best known as an author, he was also a philosopher, an alchemist and an astronomer. He associated Valentine’s Day as a day of romance during a time when courtly love was flourishing in England’s high society. From this point on, and in post-modern times, this day has been associated with hearts, gifts, flowers, chocolates, poetry and romantic courtship.

I am a descendant of Chaucer on my father’s side and have a long recorded family tree that takes me back to the middle ages. It is no wonder I am a poet at heart, a writer and a lover of deep philosophy, alchemy and astronomy.  These interests run in my blood.

To honor my own ancestral roots to Valentine’s Day and to honor the compassionate healing efforts of Saint Valentine himself, I am offering a Healing Heart Reiki & Reading Special.

This February 14th is also a significant and powerful time astrologically, because it happens to land right on (or more accurately, under) the full moon! I suspect Chaucer would be delighted with this celestial alignment on this day of love. This is the stuff poetry is made of.

♥ ♥ ♥ Full Moon, Healing Heart Reiki & Readings ♥ ♥ ♥

From NOW until the full moon, at midnight of February 14th, I am offering a Healing Heart Reiki & Reading Special for only $75. This combo session is performed by distance and enjoyed in the comfort of your own home. Click HERE  to learn more about my distance healings. I will give you an hour of heart-centered Reiki healing, which will be followed by a reading that I will send to you via email at the conclusion of the session.

The reading entails the information I pick up on your behalf during the healing. I become an open channel during each of my Reiki healings and receive messages from totem animals, angels, crystals, spirit guides and more. I will detail what I “see,” what I healed, balanced and harmonized for you, what blocks I identified and cleared, and I will give you any messages I receive for your furthered healing and spiritual forward movement.

I am acutely aware that there is a great need for heart healing. I notice this with the clients I work with on a day-to-day basis. Energetically, I feel there is a need for heart healing around the world. Just because romance is the theme of February, I like to extend healing to those who are in need of divine love, who would like to learn how to embrace Self-love, and who would like to heal old (or new) wounds. This month should be about the healing powers of the heart and of love in all its forms. And, I am honoring it as such.

My Healing Heart Reiki is good for you if you are in need of any or all of the following areas:

♥ To help you fully and completely love your Self

♥ Heal a wounded heart

♥ Allow you to open your heart to love

♥ Learn to trust love and trust your Self

♥ Help you heal from the loss of a loved-one

♥ Grief recovery

♥ Give you courage to compassionately leave an unhealthy relationship

♥ Learn how to be more unconditionally loving and patient to others

♥ Encourage you to do loving, nurturing things for your Self and others

♥ To support a harmonious romantic partnership

♥ Guide you to communicate and speak from the heart

♥ Help you to live a life from the heart

♥ Move you into your heart space

♥ To extend unconditional compassion to all sentient Beings

♥ Teach you to follow your heart with courage and grace

♥ Connect your 3rd eye (intuition) to your heart chakra

♥ Clear energy blocks and open your heart chakra

♥ Heal the physical heart and cardiovascular system

♥ Harmonize your throat chakra (the self-expression center) with your heart chakra for compassionate communication

♥ Help you forgive yourself and others

♥ Heal the past

♥ Recover and move on from a relationship that has ended

♥ Promote love-centered forward movement

♥ Awaken romance and sensuality

♥ Allow you to connect with your divine feminine aspects

♥ Inspire poetry and artistry

♥ Call in a new romantic relationship into your life

♥ Heal misunderstandings, resentments, guilt, misgivings and negative energy

♥ Learn to embrace love fully and to extend it to the world

♥ To live from a place of unconditional compassion and unconditional love for all including your Self

To sign up for my Healing Heart Reiki & Reading Special, contact me HERE.

You can get one or as many of these sessions as you wish for your Self or for a loved one, a friend or a partner. This is a beautiful gift of love and healing. You can buy now and use any time in 2014, however, the last chance to buy this special is February 14th at midnight. Please don’t hesitate in contacting me if this Healing Heart offer resonates with you or would be helpful for someone you love.

With unconditional love and pink healing light ♥ Shana

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“When I stand before thee at the day’s end, thou shalt see my scars and know that I had my wounds and also my healing.” ~Rabindranath Tagore

 ♥  ♥  ♥

“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.” ~Morrie Schwartz

                                                                       

Category:

Intuitive Readings, Reiki Healing

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Spring is in the Earth: Celebration & Meditation

02 01 14

What a powerful and enchanting week we are in the mists of! The celestial energies started and ramped everything up with the super new moon aligning in Aquarius a few days ago on Thursday, January 30th. Yesterday was the start of the New Chinese Year, welcoming in the year of the Green Wood Horse, honoring the element of wood and its child element, fire, to kindle new possibilities and success. Sunday, February 2nd, we honor the Pagan Celtic festival of Imbolc, the mid-point between winter and spring as marked on the Wheel of the Year. Imbolc is often celebrated tonight on the eve of this festival as well as tomorrow on the day of.

There is so much magic and new vitality swirling around us from above and below. As the ancient Hermetic texts state, “As above, so below.” -above with the supportive lunar cycle and the Chinese astrological shift and below as each seedling stirs in the womb of our Mother Earth during Imbolc.

A quick note: Mercury goes into retrograde for three weeks beginning February 6th. It will remain in retrograde until the 28th. For those of you who are effected by the squirrely, meddling, techno-challenging energies of mercury, you’ll want to mark these dates and be gentle with yourself and with others during this time. This is a perfect time to send out extra positive energy to encourage harmonious fluidity, healthy agreements, and compassionate grace in all dealings. ♥

So, what does the new waxing moon, the Chinese New Year and Imbolc all have in common? They each represent newness, cleansing, staring fresh and bringing in light and life in all its glorious and goddess blessed fullness.

This is a very auspicious time to cleanse, renew and redirect efforts, intentions and your health. It is a time to clear our spaces, spirits, psyches and bodies. If you’ve been meaning to organize a closet, file away a pile of paperwork, redecorate the living room or do anything to spatially shift an area of your home or work environment, go for it. Think of this as the pre-spring cleaning and a magical way to stir up the energies of the coming spring and to call in new fresh life.

This is also a wonderful time to do a little (or a big) dietary cleanse. Juicing is an excellent way to clean our bodies and revitalize our minds. I am a huge lover of juicing fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. I find a 3 day juice feast is the most delicious and invigorating way to recalibrate the physical system, encouraging healthier food choices and promoting self-love. The following juice recipe is one of my favorites for the wintry months (or any time!). It is bright in color and flavor, reminding me of pure sunshine and of the sweetness of summer days. This truly is sunshine in a glass and will surely put a blissful spring in your step, hop or skip.

In honor of Imbolc, let’s call in the sun to warm these last 6 weeks of winter in our hearts and in our spirits. This juice should do the magical trick…

Carrot, Pineapple, Ginger Juice

Carrot, Pineapple, Ginger Juice

Sunshine in a Glass:

Carrots

Pineapple

Fresh ginger

Juice all the ingredients together in your favorite juicer and drink immediately or at least within the same day it was made. Enjoy!

I have intentionally not included measurements, because I want you to create this juice to your taste. For myself, I like A LOT of juice, so I will juice an entire 5lb bag of organic carrots along with a whole pineapple, skin and top removed. I also like to add about ½ to 1 inch nob of fresh ginger for a little extra zing. This gives me a quart or two of sunshiny juice that I can drink throughout the day.

Imbolc and Goddess Brigid

The word Imbolc comes from the old Irish word, imbolg, meaning “in the belly.” Wildlife and Mother Earth are all pregnant with new life. The energy here is of new beginnings and to invite the light in and to sprout new possibilities and to create new openings. This is a festival, marking the cyclical Goddess transformation from Crone (winter) to Maiden (spring). It is also a time to honor Goddess Brigid.

Irish blood runs through my heart. I am a lover of mythology and folklore, so naturally, I am enchanted by ancient customs and ideology especially that of the Celts. In Irish mythology, Brigid is an Irish Goddess of healing, magic and crafts, a patroness of poets and the sister of the fae (faeries). She embodies the season of birthing energies. (I wish I knew who the artist was who created the above image. I would love to give credit, and I would love to give thanks for bringing beauty and art into our lives!)

Whether you are interested in ancient Celtic traditions or not, the pregnant energy of Mother Earth swirls around us. Honoring the festering energy of this season was the way of our ancestors, and it’s an undercurrent of our shared collective human consciousness. A wonderful way to harness the essence of this time of year and that of Imbolc is to create anything, write poetry or stories, paint, sculpt, make music, or do things like redecorate to invite in spring and vibrant color. Bring in a bouquet (or better yet a living potted plant) of daffodils or tulips or any spring flowers you love. Decorate your space with colored candles or burn a floral essential oil to awaken your senses to that of the coming spring. Creating, crafting and beautifying anything your heart desires, supports you in living a more spiritual life. It awakens your connection to your Higher Self and to that of the Divine, God, Goddess.

Candlemas

Imbolc is also referred to as Candlemas, a Christian holiday of old. Many Christians see the flowers of spring as a symbol of Christ and of new hope. Candles are lit during Candlemas to symbolize Christ Consciousness as the light of the world. With both Candlemas and Imbolc, this is a celebration of fire to light up our lives with love and sunshine. A wonderful way to honor this time is with a small candle ceremony and meditation.

Candle Meditation

Light a candle (or several) and meditate on what you would like to grow and nurture in your life. What seeds are you planting? What dreams and goals would you like to see bloom with the energy of the vibrant, youthful, lush, sunny spring season? Sit quietly and meditate on all of this. Breathe deeply and feel your heart open. Slowly fill your heart space with pure divine love and the energy of everything you wish for and everything you aspire to become. Infuse this energy with universal love and unconditional compassion for the entire world and everything and everyone in it. You can do this with your eyes closed in deep meditation or while gazing upon the lit candle(s). If you choose to watch the flame dance on the candle’s wick, visualize your love and your dreams as the fire that lights your inner flame and, therefore, lights the world around you. Breathe and give thanks for this sacred moment. Chant aloud, “Thank you. I love you.”

A magical note: As I type this, a giant black raven (about the size of my 14lb cat, Mitts) just landed on our porch only a few feet away from me. This is a significant event, for this has only happened once before. It seems Raven, my Spiritual Totem, is in great support of what I am writing and of the deeply sacred and loving energy I embrace as I share with you. I received Raven’s message with open eyes, joy and excitement. The message is not only for me but for us all: Share your magic, your light and your pure heart with the world! It always seems the more magic I invite into my life, the more supported I am by the natural world around me. The same is true for YOU, of course. By noticing the seasons, honoring our ancestors and elders, by caring for Mother Earth, becoming more natural and spiritual, the more magical your life will become. Try it, you’ll see.  : )

Raven Messenger

Raven Messenger

 

Sprout Ritual

If you are into health foods, as I am, this is a great and meaningful time to grow some indoor sprouts like that of alfalfa. Not only are these little greenlings packed with nutrition, they are also full of symbolism. Imagine as they grow and green, so do your dreams, positive intentions and wishes. And, as you sprinkle them on your soups and salads, you are physically taking in the spirit of new growth and bountiful possibilities.

Sprouts are easy to grow in jars any time of the year. Just soak a few tablespoons in a jar of water for 6-8 hours. Drain and let sit to gestate. Rinse a few times a day to keep moist and fresh. In just a few days they will grow tails and sprouts. I like to keep them covered with a cloth during this process, so they can do their magic in the dark as they would naturally in the earth’s belly. Once they have matured, place them in the light- a windowsill is a great place for this- and allow the sprouts to soak up all the chlorophyll and to green. Once fully developed, store them in the fridge.

Organic Alfalfa Seeds

Organic Alfalfa Seeds

Above are the alfalfa seeds that I set out yesterday to soak. I soaked them over night and drained them this morning. After just a half a day’s time, this is what they look like now…

Sprouting Alfalfa Seeds

Sprouting Alfalfa Seeds

These seeds already have tails and are in full sprout mode. It won’t be long before they will grow bigger and green, and I can add them to my favorite recipes. This is the magical essence of the coming spring!

***********************

I just snapped the photo below a few moments ago. This is our sky today- a vibrant blue gift after a cleansing and much needed rain yesterday, an auspicious sign for the Chinese New Year. If you look into this photo, you will notice today’s clouds have formed into what looks like a rabbit- another magical sign of the energies that are afoot. Seems we are being carried right into the energy of spring, which is very much symbolized by the rabbit.

Blue skies with Rabbit Magic

Blue skies with Rabbit Magic

For us here in the high desert, the Pussy Willows around the lakes are blossoming and awakening from their winter slumber. Our beloved pear tree in the front of our home is filled with flower buds just waiting to open. The birds are fluttering, and the sun is sparkling with new promise of warmer days to come.

I am juicing; I have my sprouts growing, and I’ll be freshening up my sacred spaces around the home with flowers, essential oils and new color. Tonight, I’ll light a candle and meditate, drawing in the energies of new life and renewal along with that of the waxing new moon. I will light a candle for YOU, for Mother Earth and for the entire animal and plant kingdom in love, peace and for beautiful new creations.

Tomorrow, I am grateful to be offering in-person Reiki and readings at the Mountain Spirit Co-Op in downtown Prescott. I have the opportunity to fill an already magical day with energy healings and spiritual guidance for anyone who wishes to partake. I’ll keep an eye out for the ravens, the rabbits, for Goddess Brigid and for that little groundhog that will pop its head out tomorrow to hopefully find a shadow cast by the sun.

Blessings to all in light, love, abundance and new fresh beginnings! ♥

Category:

Spiritual Living, Vegan & Raw Foods

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Free Full Moon Reiki

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Full Moon Reiki Healings

Full Moon Reiki Healings

I am offering a collective healing and prayer service this Wednesday during the full moon. Please leave any healing requests in the comment section below.

Every so often I like to offer collective Reiki energy for anyone who feels they would benefit from some extra healing and prayer in their lives. This is a free service that I am called to provide to everyone at special times of the year or when it just feels intuitively right to do so. This is one of those times.

I have been sensing that there is a great deal of healing, shifting and lightening that needs to take place right now. My Reiki is not only good for healing and easing physical issues from events like sickness, injury or surgery, but it also works for life situations like job searches, weight loss or relationships. It is effective for setting positive intensions, to release unwanted habits or for anything else you can possibly image. There are no limits! Anything at all you would like healing light around, I would be honored to provide this.

I refer to this mass, collective healing and prayer service as my Reiki Pool.

All you have to do to be a part of this Pool is to let me know you wish to be added. You can add your own name to the Pool, that of a loved-one, and even a beloved pet. Any request you have for me, I will send prayer and positive Reiki energy.

Already added to my Reiki Pool is the planet Earth as a loving, healing, awakening collective Being. Included with this is the entire situation around Fukushima. If you wish to add any other global event that touches your heart to the healing Pool, I will happily accept your compassionate requests.

I will send out Reiki and prayers this Wednesday evening on 1/15/2014, which is a very special time. It is the first full moon of 2014! I will draw on the abundant power of the beautiful full moon and infuse it with my Reiki for extra light, angelic blessings, deep healings, positive shifts and magical goodness.

I am collecting names from now until Wednesday afternoon. Please do not delay in contacting me if you wish to be a part of this Pool. Again, to make a healing and prayer request, simply leave a note for me in the comments section below. If you choose to remain anonymous, you can contact me privately via email by clicking HERE.

With unconditional compassion, pure love and healing light,

♥ Shana

Category:

Reiki Healing

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Moved by Spiritual Callings

01 11 14

Have you ever had a spiritual calling? Have you ever wondered what life would be like to follow these inner callings? Where would it take you? What would you become?

It wasn’t until I moved from my life-long home of Northern California that I can say that, yes, I know what it is like to walk away from EVERYTHING- stuff, family, friends, familiarity and comfort to follow a higher calling. Stephen and I moved to Western Washington merely based on intuition and a spiritual whim. From here, amazing worlds were explored and an unexpected journey was launched.

We were living in Santa Rosa, CA, in Sonoma County. We had taken a road trip out to Northern Arizona, thinking this area may be a good place to relocate. Immediately upon arriving, I had an adverse reaction to the area, in fact I felt energetically repelled by it. We spent a day in Prescott, a day in Sedona and then drove up to the Grand Canyon (…which I loved. More on the magic of the Grand Canyon in future posts). I loved seeing all these areas. I was intrigued. I was enchanted. And, I fell in love with the strong Native American spirit, but I was not called to stay and live.

One morning, Stephen and I were having breakfast together in a small town just outside of Sedona called Cottonwood. It was here I asked Stephen for one of his famous psychic readings. (I was too emotionally attached to the outcome to read for myself.) I asked him to give me a reading about what the best living environment would be for me at the time. I still have this reading, which I jotted down on a napkin.

He said I would be surrounded by trees, water and lush, rich earth that would grow anything. There would be vegetable gardens and fruit trees, wild life and open wilderness. It was during this reading over breakfast in a small desert town that Stephen and I decided to move to Bellingham, WA, sight unseen.

Bellingham, WA

Bellingham, WA

This was a rash decision based solely on intuition, prompted by a simple and playful reading, but everything about this decision felt right. It was a tremendous spiritual calling, though I didn’t realize it at the time.

By the very next month, our belongings were packed and we were driving into Bellingham, WA, which is located just a half hour south of the Canadian border and British Columbia.

Ever wonder if you are headed in the right direction? Doors will open. These doors didn’t just open for us there, they swung WIDE open.

When we entered Bellingham, we had one week to find a home. It was the very second placed we viewed to rent that we found one of the most beautiful homes I had ever lived in. We rented it on the spot.

Our home in Bellingham, WA

Our home in Bellingham, WA

This was our home- a gorgeous old, single family, Victorian house that had been converted into 5 charming apartments. It had a vegetable garden and incredible bayside, sunset views. We rented the largest of the apartments on the main floor, which allotted me my own healing space for my Reiki practice and a private meditation room. This home called us to it for many reasons. We were supposed to live here.

The backyard bayside vegetable garden

The backyard bayside vegetable garden

 

Sunset view from our living room

Sunset view from our living room

It was here that more magic came into my life than I could possibly explain. It was here I experienced so many spiritual shifts and growths, darkness yet brilliance, and dove into higher realms, experiencing firsthand the world of the elementals. Yes, we had resident Beings, nature spirits, who shared space with us in the garden and in our home. I could see them, and they did all kinds of tricky and fun things around the house. (More on this in future blog posts and articles) Stephen and I taught Reiki classes together, and I gave energy healings out of this home. We only lived here for a year and a half, but the mind-bending things that occurred and the spiritual leaps were life changing to say the least.

Being energy workers, both Stephen and I are intensely aware of subtle energies. The energy of the house, of the city of Bellingham, and of our neighbors shifted. The time to leave was near. We felt it. This was a gentle shift, but the universe was easing us into other opportunities. When the day came that our landlord informed me that he wanted to move his family into our space, I was already expecting this change. And, I was grateful for it.

At the time, we considered moving to Arizona. After a year and a half of darkness, I ached for sunnier landscapes. We also considered moving back to California, but I intuitively knew it was not yet time to return, though I was homesick. Instead, we decided to move an hour and a half south to Seattle. I had friends, raw potlucks, raw vegan restaurants a-plenty, and lots of things to do there. I missed being in a bigger, more metropolitan and cultural city that offered a plethora of activities to choose from.

We left magical Bellingham and our quiet yet grand South Hill neighborhood. We left the bay and the wild, green gardens, the spectacular sunsets and moved to the city. I had never lived directly in a city, and I wanted the full big city experience. (Be careful what you ask for!)

We moved to Lower Queen Anne just 2 blocks away from the Seattle Space Needle, smack dab in the heart of the city. Our apartment was built at the turn of the century. It was an old brick, four story building. It had no elevator but it did have a couple of resident ghosts, one of which lived in our unit. We were, of course, on the top floor and the laundry room was, of course, in the basement. Parking was a space we rented a block away. Needless to say, there was a lot of schlepping going on, schlepping laundry and groceries up and down streets and endless flights of stairs. This was quintessential city living.

Metallic Seattle Space Needle and City Center

Metallic Seattle Space Needle and City Center

The romance of this lifestyle withered away very quickly for me. I didn’t mind the physical requirements of it, but I did mind the grey. Seattle is a grey place with eight months of rainfall. Our apartment faced east, so gone were our glorious sunsets and the glowing, crimson sweetness that cracked the cloudy horizon at the end of each day. My world in the city became drab. The surrounding buildings, asphalt, skies, and concrete- everything around me was one note. I desperately missed living in the forest and among my faery-luscious, GREEN trees. There were wonderful mossy, forested parks in Seattle, which I loved to hike and meditate in, but my actual city living environment and view… as my crime-writing sister would call it… it was all gun-metal grey.

Six months into our city living, we had the opportunity to shorten our lease, which gave me a new lease on life and new possibilities.

I would like to add that Seattle is a very magical place, and I do not wish to down-play this. I did have some very amazing experiences there. I still love to visit and a part of my heart and spirit will always be in Western Washington along with some family and many great friends. But, one lesson I definitely learned during my time there is that I need to live in more natural, wild settings. I thrive in nature!

One of my favorite places to visit, the Faery Bridge of Carkeek Park in Seattle

One of my favorite places to visit, the Faery Bridge of Carkeek Park in Seattle

It was time to move. In retrospect, I feel we placed ourselves in this environment, all of it from the city to the old apartment, so we would be more inclined to leave Washington. You see, I was in love with the magic of the forests, the waters and the islands around this area. However, I had spiritually learned what I needed and it was time to go. If my living environment wasn’t a struggle, it would have been easy to remain complacent and stay longer than I should have. This was an important lesson. It was a lesson about seeing the gifts in the challenges, about non-attachment, about letting go, about embracing forward movement and about taking giant leaps of faith.

Signs are everywhere. Subtle energies are always at work around you. The question is, do you stop to listen? Do you scream out, “Why Me?” in the face of hardship or do you take a look at the bigger perspective, the bigger picture? We are each exactly where we need to be. If you are in an undesirable place, your pain and discomfort are signs to reevaluate life direction and will influence change, especially if you have the gumption to listen and to follow your heart, your gut and the messages around you.

It was time to go. To where, we did not exactly know. California? Arizona?

One morning, the energy to move and shift was strong. It was palpable. I pulled out one of my decks of Tarot called Earth Magic Oracle Cards. I love these cards partly because my Reiki practice is called Earth Spirit but also because I have an innate and very spiritual connection to earth. Earth is magical in every way. So there I was with my Earth Magic Oracle deck. With the question in mind, “Where do we move next?” I meditated, I sent Reiki to the situation, and then I pulled one card…

From the Earth Magic Oracle Deck

From the Earth Magic Oracle Deck

Um, Universe, could you please be more specific, gee-wilikers!

It was decided that morning that we were going to Arizona. Upon making this decision, I remember looking out the window and saw 12 crows perched on a bare-branched, winter tree. Being that Crow is my main Animal Spirit Totem, this very much felt like an acknowledgement and blessing of our new direction. 12 is also the number of perfect, harmonious completion.

A tree of crows

A tree of crows

We were lucky enough to have an opportunity open for us to stay in Prescott, AZ, for 2 months. Another sign we were on the right path, everything immediately opened right up for us. Within one day, we not only decided to leave Washington but we secured our next location out of state and gave our landlord notice. The day started with an oracle card reading and ended with plans to start packing.

Both Stephen and I work from home with his life coaching practice and my distance healing work, so we can be very mobile and live anywhere. We started to pack, but the month it took us to organize the move was a very topsy-turvy time. Despite the oracle card reading, I decided that I wanted to move to California. I went as far as to tell all my friends and family I was returning. I researched storage units and ordered the moving truck. The plan was to drive to California, place all our things in storage, then drive on to Arizona to stay in the home that was available for 2 months. We would have our vision quests and anything else that may open for us. After the 2 months, we would then return to California to live. This was the plan… or so I thought.

There’s a little saying that goes something like this: There are plans, but then there is life. And my life path had another direction and purpose.

While packing our apartment, I was in the bathroom. The overhead cupboard door was open. I was bent down, filling boxes. Can you guess what happened? I swung my head up as I stood and cracked my forehead on the corner of the solid wood cupboard door. This was a severe injury that left an indent on my forehead as a purple lump immediately formed. I had a concussion.

Head injuries are interesting things both physically and spiritually. The concussion affected my eyesight, my ability to focus and my ability to continue packing. I sat down for several days to rest, forcing me to pause and evaluate our movements.

I take nothing for granite. I know injuries and sicknesses are significant signs, often depicting that one is moving in the wrong direction. It was during this introspective time, sitting in a torn-apart apartment, surrounded by boxes and chaos that Stephen and I decided to take a leap of faith, cancel our California storage, redirect the moving truck destination, and move directly to Arizona instead of California. This was the correct and intended path. Both Stephen and I collectively felt a very strong calling. We were each spiritually drawn to Arizona for more than just a 2 month stay.

We originally thought we would move to Sedona, especially with the spiritual, metaphysical and healing work that we do. With this in mind, we stored our things in that little town just outside of Sedona, Cottonwood (and so we came full circle, returning to Cottonwood). We stayed in Prescott for those 2 months, allowing us to catch our breath after the move and to enjoy our new surroundings.

Eagle Blessings over Lake Watson in Prescott, AZ

Eagle Blessings over Lake Watson in Prescott, AZ

It was here that I read, meditated, hiked, photographed, sun-soaked and visited Sedona. The distance from Prescott to Sedona is similar to the distance from where I lived in Sonoma County, CA, to San Francisco. It is a little over an hour away. This is an easy drive from one magical place to another. I love Sedona like no other place, but a very surprising thing happened; I fell in love with Prescott. So, we stayed and found a permanent home for ourselves.

We are here now in Prescott. There is so much I could share about the powerful lands around us and our time here, but I’ll save this all for future blog posts. Just know the magic and spiritual nudges continue… in my life and with my healing practice.

Timing really is everything. Years ago when we first visited Prescott to consider living, we were energetically pushed away. The timing wasn’t then right. We needed to be in Western Washington, both of us, for the time that we were. And, we left Washington at the absolute perfect time. Stephen accomplished exactly what he needed to, and I experienced one of the most cathartic spiritual experiences of my life while there. It was like a spiritual schooling of sorts. It was something that couldn’t have taken place in any other location. I needed the separation, the darkness, the rain, the forests and the magic to support my spiritual shift and growth. Plus, life-long friendships were found.

Thank you Western Washington for your darkness, beauty and woodland magic. Thank you Stephen for your flexibility, spontaneity, out-of-the-box thinking, your gypsy spirit and for your unyielding, compassionate support. And, thank you Northern Arizona for being exactly where I am supposed to be right now.

Shana in Sedona, AZ

Shana in Sedona, AZ

Category:

Life Purpose, My Life

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Cleansing for Hidden Treasures

12 03 11

Do you have at least one box, bag, or drawer of old miscellaneous things that need to be sorted or discarded? I certainly did. I had been living with a big box like this for years. This box lingered with me as it sat, collecting dust, harboring piles of who-knows-what.  It was that nagging sense I had, realizing my life may not be as together as I would like to believe. I have file cabinets, yes, shelving, yes, coordinated stacks of necessities, yes, neatly placed pieces of papers, yes, but this one old, overstuffed, dust-collecting box somehow eluded me. It had taken on a life on its own. I felt that I might as well befriend it, name it even, since it had lived with me for years. It had even moved with me across two states. However, something inside me realized this codependent relationship must end.

Fueled on a super food smoothie, streaming melodies of Deva Premal, and a huge dose of SUNSHINE, I pulled it from the depths of the closet and reverently cracked it open- like an ancient Egyptian tomb – exposing its poor, forgotten, little soul to the light of day.

I have now breathed fresh life into the contents, which are now in their appropriate places.  (And, yes, a garbage can is an excellent place.) Items have been stored and paperwork has been filed. The box itself received its proper burial, ceremoniously folded and gently place in the recycle bin with a grin and a relieved sigh.  I feel, in doing this, I have now breathed fresh air into my life and myself. I am finally free.

I truly believe people take on the energy of stuff, and stuff influence the energy of people. What stuff are you consciously or unconsciously, intentionally or unintentionally keeping in your life? Are you aware of its influence over you?

If you still have that lingering “thing” that needs tending to, organizing, or tinkering with, I encourage you to tackle it. The time it takes to release it from your life is minimal compared to the subtle constant pressure it has applied on your subconscious over the weeks, months, years.  And… you never know… you may just find a treasure…

Category:

Musings

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Celebrating Spiritual Transformation

07 10 11

I lost my dearly loved uncle last week to lung cancer. After the long battle, he quietly slipped up into the ethers, trailing love and peace in his departure. Though, I expected to hear the news of his death at any point, there is little on earth that can prepare a surviving loved one for the moment of passing. The nanosecond I heard the news, my breath was swiped away and my hands instinctively cupped my face as I watered them in tears.

Why did I weep? Yes, he will be deeply missed. Yes, he played a significant role in the lives of many. But, what was the true source of my tears? Isn’t it a blessing that his suffering finally ended? Isn’t he now in a happier more blissful place?

Society molds us into the people we are, influencing us to think and behave the way we do. Society teaches us that death is bad, scary, unknown and final, but is it any of those things? Since I was raised to believe this, of course I would immediately be shocked into tears of loss and pain. I question- is this necessary? And, I ask a more provoking question- is this even the truth or reality?

The moment my uncle died, I learned that others felt ecstatic energy in the room with him. Visiting family interpreted that his spirit was filled with this very energy; or rather that he WAS this very energy after dying. I italicize the word dying here, because this process doesn’t feel to me like a death at all. It feels more like a birth but on the other end of life. The body dies but our essence, our soul, our Being (whatever you feel comfortable naming it) continues, shifting into another state of consciousness and energetic form. That evening after he shifted, I was told, “He is ecstatic!” It is now clear to me that he has done anything but die. Instead, he has spiritually transformed.

The night I heard the news Stephen sat down and did with me what he does best. He lovingly coached and nurtured me through the process of death, the emotional attachment to life, the bigger picture of it all, and together we explored the spiritual possibilities of my uncle’s transformation. (I should mention that Stephen is a deeply spiritual and compassionate Being with lots of coaching experience and natural psychic gifts.) He is such a blessing to me.

I learned that I needed to cry it all out and grieve. I should not hold on to any of it. I should allow my emotions to flow through, and allow them to do just that- flow THROUGH. Don’t hang on to any of it. Death should be celebrated. (In some cultures it actually is celebrated.) After all, my uncle himself is now totally ecstatic and free of pain and limits. How could I not celebrate this? I must cry for my and the family’s loss, but then I should celebrate his spiritual progression.

I also wanted to connect with my uncle one last time after his death. I wanted to see him, feel his presence or dream about him. A selfish desire maybe, but I wanted this all the same.  I learned that this would be difficult to experience until I released some of my grief. I am not saying that one cannot experience a visitation while still in the throes of grief, because I know this has happened for many, but for me it was far easier after my intense emotions had dissolved.

The next day after he died, I felt much lighter. I was still in a faint daze of loss, but my thinking had shifted. (Much thanks to Stephen) I knew that my uncle was in an ecstatic state. I knew that this alone sincerely and lovingly deserved celebrating. This knowing guided me through my grief. I also intuitively knew that with my spiritual-emotional shift, I would connect with him. Or rather, I would make a portal, a spiritual window in divine multidimensional space, available for him to connect with me. And, that is exactly what happened.

I did not see his vision, dream of an encounter nor did I hear his voice in my head. It was nothing quite as grand or obvious. I simply felt different, VERY different. I was straightening up the house that afternoon, a routine activity, when he entered my thoughts. I suddenly felt intense celebratory energy emanating from my heart. At that moment, I truly undoubtedly knew exactly what it meant to CELEBRATE his death, his spiritual evolution. This felt like pure divine love streaming through my heart and into my entire Being. It seemed to fill the whole room I was in. I felt deeply happy, pure bliss and a peaceful joy. I felt my uncle’s ecstatic energy. He was there with me then. These feelings lasted for some time. Any remaining grief I had was completely dissolved and replaced by this experience.

I no longer agree that death is bad, scary, or final. Nothing about his transformation feels negative in any way or final in the least. If anything, he is now divine, ever expansive and continuous.

♥   ♥   ♥

I share this story not to broadcast my family’s personal loss, but to shed some light on my own experience. I lovingly intend that this may offer a shift in thinking, solace, hope, insight and ecstatic peace and joy to anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one.  Peace and Love to ALL.

♥   ♥   ♥

I wrote the following poem for my uncle the evening I heard he passed away from lung cancer.  Each word flowed from me alongside tears mixed with loss and joy. Surprisingly, I created this short piece in a matter of seconds. I am either deeply inspired by intense emotion or I simply cracked opened during my emotional release and streamed his divine energy. Perhaps a little of both are the truth.

♥ I dedicate this to you, Bruce. You are dearly loved and I celebrate you…

As the sun spills across the horizon, you shed your physical form. You run along the sun kissed oceans, laughing in delight.

Expand deeply and lovingly into ecstatic peace. You are now the very breath of life.

Fly free, my spirit brother. Fill your light body with divine energy and ecstatic joy. Fill your lungs deeply with BLISS, my spirit brother. Dance. Play. Rejoice. Love with divine freedom and joyful abandon.

You are now purely LOVE itself. ♥

Body of Divine Light

Body of Divine Light

♥ I dedicate this poem from The Prophet to all Beings who are transitioning into spiritual, ethereal bodies of light, peace and pure love…

“If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life. For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one. In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond; And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring. Trust the dreams for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun? And what is it to cease breathing but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then you shall truly dance.”
~Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

Category:

My Life, Spiritual Living

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