"Experiencing the Holidays"

Something that came to my attention this past week was being aware of how one can become over stimulated with all the activity during this time of year that comes with the holiday season.  As dimensional beings it can be somewhat of a challenge in taking the extra care in processing all that is happening within ourselves and all around us. When moving through our own experiences in the 3D world we often forget that we are processing most of it beyond the five senses. These other senses help us to navigate in making sense of our situations so that we can understand and learn from what we are moving through.

As the holiday season progresses we also find ourselves in positions that we not only experience in the now but which also collide with the past and future at the same time. What I mean by this is that during this time we are honoring and bringing in past traditions as we create new ones in which to hold our celebrations in. It is during this time we also began to weave our ideas of what the future will look like as we fill in the empty spaces of how it will all turn out.

Being part spiritual beings we have the opportunity to offer our own expressions in the world as we blend with each other in coming together in celebration. By adding other people into the mix it can be a rather interesting progression of ideas, feelings and frustration that can sometimes throw us off balance if we are not aware of the other energies that are moving into the mix. These feelings and experiences can be felt by others and be somewhat contagious feeling good when we are in those higher frequencies. The same can also be felt when we are in the lower energies. That is why it is always a good idea to be aware of what signals we are sending out as we affect each other.

 The other part of this is that it can be rewarding and very enriching is observing others in how they experience and express themselves. It is when we truly allow ourselves to not worry that things are not going the way we expect and take that time to relax, it takes a great deal of the edge off the whole event creating somewhat a relief as we find joy in what we see in ourselves and others.  This in itself becomes the magic of the season...

"The Queen Bee"

The archetype that made itself known this week as I became aware of the interaction of energy exchange between the many different people that I was in contact with was the queen bee. Out of all the archetypes I find this one particular fascinating as it is a lot more common than I think people realize. Most often this energy pattern can be over looked as it can at first be very subtle until it rears it's head catching anyone who stands in its way a little off guard. The red queen from Alice in Wonderland seems to come into focus when she wants to take people's heads off.

From standing back and looking in on the outside, the Queen bee is an incredible energy force who has a great deal of charisma and power that she holds over her subjects and the environment she rules. What is interesting is it seems that her subjects are not aware that they are under her hypnotic influence as they follow her while executing her every command. If a subject seems to have awakened from their trance they often try not to let on, so as not to rock the boat. These subjects have a tendency to be very passive aggressive as they may have been reprimanded for being outspoken or thinking outside of the domain of the kingdom at one time.

The queen bee can be in all walks of life. She doesn't just don't show up in the work environment or school as she can be found ruling over different circles of friends and even her own family. She is a strong social energy as long as the direction of the event or environment is geared to going her way.

As this archetype continued to make it self known, I started to become aware of a common thread that lead to creating this archetypal energy pattern. From what I observed, this archetype is not a born trait but more of a learned reaction to a life experience that creates the queen bee syndrome. This experience seems to be related to a break in the father and daughter relationship long before she became an adult. This can be due to some sort of betrayal, neglect, abuse, or even abandonment. When this happens she learns to become aggressive in competing with other females for the attention that was not bestowed on her by her father. This break in the relationship creates a energy betrayal that is in desperate need for that balance of the male and famine energies that create harmony in her life when growing up.

On both the professional and personal side she then develops qualities of being competitive with both the male and female energies. From her past experience she has learned that any loss of power that represents the male energy have rendered her powerless and therefore she continues to control anyone who comes into her energy field. This form or control can be strong enough that it becomes a determent to the people who fall under her or even have to work side by side.

What one must remember is that the queen bee archetype is not really about other people but a smoke screen in appeasing an old wound that has not healed and has begun to fester unless treated by professional counseling. Again the queen bee archetype is a great force to be reckoned with and again can be missed until challenged at any point. If you know anyone or run into this energy pattern then I suggest to proceed with great caution and a deep respect in knowing what is really going on underneath.

"Reflection of the Self"

Last week I had the chance to sit down and really visit with one of my friends and as we were talking she said something that I thought was profound. She made the statement that, "We talk about abundance but we only allow ourselves to have what we think we deserve. It is because of this that we limit ourselves in what we really want in our lives. "Wait a minute!" I thought as the word "Allow" seemed to come into focus. Suddenly I recognized the word and understood it's influence. I already knew that we can attract things in our lives, that was the easy part. What had not come to me was the thought that we allowed ourselves to have things.

That meant that we limited what was attracted not only by choice but unconsciously by what we thought we deserved. The more I pushed this idea around I could see all it's limitations. While I knew it was true that we can hold ourselves back, even when we really asked for something or wanted something in our lives, I hadn't seen that we really stood on the threshold of not allowing ourselves to have it. Then I remembered a pastor at a sermon saying it was in the Bible to "Ask and you shall receive". I thought about this some more and wondered if we did ask but think we didn't deserve it, then we wondered why it never manifested, at least I did.  

Sure we can say that we want something in our lives but when it comes down to it, I wondered what causes many of us to step aside feeling awkward when we get it. Then the thought of when we do get something we really wanted, how many of us think, "It is too good to be true" wondering when it will end missing out on enjoying the real blessing of the experience of what we asked for. So in that thought process I decided to let it rest until I had an experience that I could draw more information in allowing something to happen in my own life.

That was when I made up my mind to test it. I did a self analysis and asked for a few things in my life that I felt limited on. I didn't have to wait long, as the very next day I got an invitation to something that I really wanted to be a part of. When I got off the phone I noticed that I was nervous and even though it was something that I really wanted to participate in, I was worried with some sort of fear attached.

There it was in my own thoughts that I had allowed myself to think outside of my own limitations and then wanted to pull back, feeling uncomfortable when offered a new experience that I really wanted to do. This made me aware that I had limited my own choices before becoming aware of the limitations that I had set for myself. I also understood as I explored the emotions and energy around being handed what I wanted, that I could very well feel me trying to block the energy in allowing myself to grant it. When I went inside myself for a deeper understanding I found that it all seemed to stem from a fear of stepping out into something completely new and a fear of not being able to hold the space until it all manifested.

After exploring the energy around these thoughts and emotions, I made the choice to release it all by accepting that I was loved unconditionally. This one action was extremely powerful and as I let myself accept the love, a feeling of total freedom and peace flooded in instantly erasing any feelings of fear or regret.  Then a the feeling of complete acceptance that I was the one who had the power to release myself from holding myself back began to register. It was true, we are given the keys to the universe and yet sometimes we don't even realize we have them.

"The Energy Exchange"

I was invited to lunch by a dear friend the other day and what came up in our conversation was the question about energy exchanging. As energy beings we automatically exchange, share, and move energy without even being conscious of it, as it is as natural to us as breathing.

One of the subjects that seems to come up when talking about energy exchange is the fear of being drained by energy vampires. I do want to point out is that we all have the ability to control what is being given and what is being taken when we are with others. The trick is to be aware of what is going and coming into your energy field. If you feel as if you are invaded or drained, then you can do something about it. The first thing is to do a quick self analysis. Ask yourself if the feelings you are picking up are really yours. If you feel drained allow yourself to become more aware of what is going on around you.

One thing to remember as energy beings is that our energy bodies when depleted of energy often will pick up energy where it can and when it is around others to balance and complete itself. It is kind of like an unconscious craving that it needs to be satisfied. Even our physical bodies respond the same why when we crave something in our diets that it needs. It is the way we all keep in balance as we all swap energy back and forth when we interact with each other.

The only problem is that when a person energy field is weak or has holes in it they are more susceptible to becoming drained or even feel sick when around someone who is also in more need of energy support. On a different scale a person who's energy field is strong and healthy that is well connected to the Source has unlimited energy and will have the ability to share supporting itself and the other field that is weaker. However I do want to make a note that I have also noticed that when we leave our energy centers wide open and walk into a huge room with a lot of people it also affects us if we are not mindful of being connected directly to Source, in that moment. Again it is all about being aware of what is happening and going on around you.

If you find that you are being drained or feeling that you need to stop the energy exchange there are several things you can do. One is to go into a mediation or prayer finding your connection to the Source and reconnecting. If you feel uncomfortable or not in a place to do that then you can block the energy exchange until you have the opportunity to reconnect and work on your aura's energy field. The quickest way to do this is to imagine a ball of golden or blue light that covers your whole body. This light becomes a shield that can be programmed to reflect other's energy influences on you at that time. Later when you have time you can expand the golden light all through your aura field to heal and repair any holes in your energy field. If you are are a Reiki practitioner you can use Reiki to block or reconnect. These are only a few suggestions as there are countless ways to work with this and it is all about what resonates best for you.

As human beings we have the best of both worlds. As we all become more aware of the our own energy fields and all the energies around us, we find that we have to ability to step into our own personal power. We lose the fear of others draining us whether it is conscious or unconscious. Once we understand this we can learn to work in a more balanced and harmonious way with ourselves while helping each other.

"Speaking Ones Inner Truth"

Children are amazing as they say what they feel or want to know about things without thinking twice about what they have said. On one hand this can be refreshing, but on the other hand it can be horrifying as we find ourselves faced with a truth that is not what we wanted to hear. As we all progress into adulthood we learn to curb our tongues and may even go so far as learning not to express our inner truths. So then we are faced with the dilemma of not knowing how to share our true feelings with those around us in our lives. Eventually this can become serious as it can sometimes lead to dysfunction or even illness within the body as we become afraid to speak up.

This was the pattern that came to my attention this week that continued to show itself in all the different relationships in and around my own life. The pattern was about knowing when to honestly speak ones own truth. What surprised me is how common this was in all the different situations that I was in, being able to observe or be apart of. What became apparent was the spur of emotional aggression from the misconceptions of what was not being spoken openly. What I observed while talking to people in different scenarios of relationships within their lives was the fear of being afraid to really let people know what was being felt even when it was not deep within the soul.

As I looked back on many years of conditioning I could see that by not being honest with ourselves and others,we can create situations where we find that we have lost or given away our own personal power. This only progresses into resentfulness or even passive aggressive feelings and behaviors, as the situations escalate perpetuating blame on others for putting us there.

I am not talking about letting others know what we think of them. This is not about judging or telling other people what to do at all but learning to let others know how you feel while staying within your own integrity. What I did find was that most are afraid to hurt someone else by honestly expressing their feelings even when asked to do so. The other thing that made it's self known was rejection or being judged for feeling a certain way causing anxiety.

All this only brought more into focus that if we as human beings hinder our ability to openly speak the passions of the inner soul, we not only create situations of chaos within our own lives but also in others. Again there is always a balance of knowing that there is a time to speak up and speak our inner truth knowing that the people who are in our lives may be affected. This is a lesson that if we don't learn is a lot like the value of money as it deflates through time.  

" Reflections"

One of the lessons this week that really caught my attention was learning how to release cellular patterns within the cells that have trapped past emotional scars. This is important because as we move through our lives our cells download information from our experiences that is transferred to each cell that replaces the one before it. It is like a written diary of our experiences recorded within our own bodies. You may have also heard the term "muscle memory," well the whole body is like that to some extent.

Now everyone at least once in their lifetimes goes through some kind of emotional trauma or heart break. It is just part of our human experience. But what I found so fascinating was that even after we work on confronting these emotional injuries and healing them, some of the trauma may still be left over as it was recorded somewhere deep within our cellular tissues. So often when we think that we have moved passed it all then something totally out of the blue triggers a response from an old wound bringing back emotional attachments to an event or occurrence. It is not until we revisit the emotional incident without being affected by it that we make some progress in healing to have peace in letting go of the trigger.

An example of this would be over eating. There are many reasons why a person over eats but I am only mentioning a few to help demonstrate the process. One example is a person who has not been able to have enough food and when they do they over compensate for not having it. Another example is someone who is emotionally abused who uses food as an emotional crutch. Physical abuse can lead to over eating to gain weight to protect the body. All of these tendencies are usually unconscious leaving the person wondering why they are over eating not really recognizing that there is another reason for it.

Most people have learned the process of bottling up or blocking the emotions somewhere in early childhood. Because of this it can be hard to let go of trauma or old wounds that still reside in the emotional, cellular and spiritual bodies. It is up to each individual to learn from and process the information that is brought up in allowing the energy pattern to flow and move out of these bodies. Emotions are neither good or bad as they are there to help us learn and gather information form an experience. If they become blocked in these bodies they can lead to emotional trauma or turmoil or even illness within the physical body.

A Technique 

 Something that is taught by some spiritual teachers is to take a few moments to go in a quite meditation  finding your center. Then you can scan your body while asking where the block or emotion is coming from. By doing this it will help you track down where it is within the body that is holding on to the block which can be very telling of what is going on with the self. If you are familiar with chakras you may want to work with the body that way and if not, then you can sit with the energy to locate the energy block. These subtle energies may show up as a sound, color, signal, feeling, memory, picture, or it may just tell you. Take whatever shows up without judgement only allowing yourself to recognize and accept what is showing up. After locating the blocked energy in the body it is important to ask that particular part of the body, what memory was trapped within the cells that caused the emotion or physical trauma to stir up. Trust what comes as it will be embedded within the cellular structure of the cells. 

If you have a memory with the emotions attached honor what it is being shown to you. Grant yourself the chance to process the information and let the energy move out of your body and energy fields by finding your sense of center and grounding it in love. Healing may not occur in one session so you may want to revisit continuing to work allowing the energy pattern to move through and out of your system. After all we are energy beings and energy was meant to move not stand still or become stuck. After each session then imagine a big ball of golden light filling your up aura and your body. By doing this it allows the  healing light to enter and heal the cells and any emotional and physical scars. 

As we learn to honor our feelings and allow the energy to flow through us we become balanced, while embracing the higher energy frequencies in and around us. We become more open and in tune with our higher self and with Source. It is this that we remember from where we all came from and which we are a part of. 

"The Rescuer"

Ah... The rescuer, what do we know about the rescuer? A very interesting archetype. There are two kinds of rescuers that tip the scale. One is a rescuer with healthy boundaries who knows when to help and when to let go.  But on the other side is a rescuer who doesn't know when to let go which can lead into a toxic relationship that follows a pattern of codependency.

 The healthy balance for a rescuer is to accompany someone up a mountain rather then to carry them up the mountain. Sometimes this can be the hardest part for the rescuer who has a huge heart for humanity as they watch someone continue to struggle. The real growth emerges as long as a rescuer has healthy boundaries and doesn't fall into the category of enabling which allows the other person to learn from their own mistakes.

 I once had a spiritual teachers share with me that sometimes when we rescue a person we can take away the blessing of a lesson that the person we want to save is in need of learning. Then she told the story of an old man who happened upon the butterfly that was struggling to free itself from its cocoon. With great care he gently began to free the butterfly helping it from the binding of the cocoon. Once it was free he sat there with it in his hands as the butterfly tried desperately to spread its wings only to end up dying. In the end it was the struggle of exiting the cocoon that created the strength in the wings for it to fly and live.

As we walk this earth we have the gifts to love, support and inspire each other on our journeys. The rescuer is a magnified projection of this, but like all things it is the gentle balance that makes the difference.....

For more information I would recommend the YouTube video on the rescuer archetype from Caroline Myss:

The Wedding Pot

A few years ago as I was getting ready for a friend to come over for tea, I decided to pull out my grandmother's old tea cups to make it a little special and honor her. When I looked in our old china cabinet for the cups I found a gift from my wedding 19 years ago.

There it was, displayed in the case for show, but long forgotten. What really struck me as I picked it up was that I was transported back to that time. There I was sitting in my friend's living-room in the past opening a box and pulling out the wedding pot and examining every inch.

One of the traditions that my friend told me as I held it in my hands was that the Pueblo Native Americans where we lived, give a Wedding pot to the newly-weds as a gift. It was a vessel with two separate openings at the top which flowed down into the belly representing the two becoming one joined together, holding life within.

Beautiful story, I remember saying but as I held it I dropped it and it cracked. "Oh No", I said as an overwhelming sadness came over me, but my friend pick it up and said," Ana, "it's OK and I am glad that happened because you need to understand that nothing is perfect. Life is certainly not perfect and marriage is not perfect."

"There are cracks in everything as there are many disappointments in life but the real key is the love and the extra care that glues it back together that becomes the strength of the vessel. "

Then time began to move again from the past to the present as my marriage flashed before me in a collage of pictures and emotions, some bitter and some sweet. Life was such a good teacher and here in my hands was a small reminder of what life was all about.

As I placed the pot back in it's spot I could hear the doorbell ring. It was time for tea.

The Gift of Stones

I have had a lot of people ask how the different types of stones have healing properties, and the best way I know how to explain this is by the atomic make up of the stones.

As most of you know from science classes in school everything is made up of atoms. Everything has its own way of being put together with the atoms so that it is created. With this simple idea you can then see that a piece of jade has a different atomic structure than a diamond.

Now, think of the ways the atoms move within each stone. You can't see them with your eyes but you know they are there. Also, know that your energy field can pick up the movement because your energy field is also made out of the atoms that are constantly moving.

So now you have a person who's energy field is weak because of something they are going through. Remember to that emotions are energy, so that means their energy is not vibrating as high as it would if they were happy or excited.

For example....emotional trauma which like to settle in the heart area. Ever have a heartache? A stone like green diopside resonates a healing vibration of atoms that helps sooth the heart as it fills in the gaps. Almost like a cup of herbal tea only you don't drink it. "Smile"

It is like a guitar in a music store where you can pluck a string and the other guitars will resonate on the same string even though you never touched them. They are in tune with the vibration of that note. You are no different than a fine tuned instrument that can get out of balance or tuned. And the things that are around you are also inline with your energies as you live on this earth.

Don't forget that color also has a vibrational energy that can be measured and will also help with healing for the same reasons. They can play a big part of why you reach for certain colors in stones as you need to be in sync or need that healing property in your energy field.

No magic here, just science. A natural process of living...

ArtiniArt.com

The Sacred Dance of the Masculine and the Feminine

I had the opportunity to watch the movie Moonstruck with Cher and Nicolas Cage the other day. The one phrase that I never have understood in that movie that always catches my attention is the one the mom says which is "The reason men chase women is that they are afraid of death." This one phrase sparked me into exploring what that was all about. As I started to turn the questions over in my mind I remembered the story my father had told me about he Great Spirit who dropped his creation and when it broke it wanted to return to it's original form. The other part of the story is that it had separated into pieces but one of the pieces separated into the male and the other into the female.

Now as I took it a step further not just on the physical level but on the energetic levels of masculine and feminine energy I could see that we as individuals are trying to find that balance within ourselves. But to do this we are using the simulation of the different relationships in our lives that are outside of ourselves to learn about the process. So with that thought in mind I started to look at all my relationships and others around me with the connection of being created out of one form. If that is the case then as individuals we each carry different varying degrees of masculine and feminine traits that are unique within each of us from our own soul's journey. That means that each person would want to find the combination for another half that matches their energy pattern to complete themselves, to create an equal balance of both, to have a healthy relationship with another individual.

To better look at a pattern lets take for example an individual who carries a very strong masculine energy pattern, which could be either male or female who finds the opposite of themselves in a relationship with someone who is extremely feminine. This relationship would balance out the missing energy pattern in both individuals and compliment the relationship as a whole. This is because each male and female aspects of the relationship finds comfort and usefulness in the relationship of the other. But lets say in another example that we took the same individual who is very masculine who is now in a relationship with someone who carries a feminine energy pattern with more masculine energy than feminine which then throws the match off balance. The masculine energy might become needy in the relationship wanting more nurturing then the smaller amount of feminine energy can offer. Now the masculine energy starts to look for other ways of satisfying that need. These are only two scenarios as there can be countless examples depending on what is within a person's energy field to balance out the two energy patterns.

As I followed the trail of this thought process I remembered that this is not a new story as the ancients used the yin and the yang to explain the energies of balancing both the masculine and feminine. What was exciting was that when I became aware of this I started to see energy patterns in relationships that followed this process. To some degree this would explain why there are divorces and infidelity in some relationships and not in others.

Then the masculine and feminine energies went in another direction as there is always change in the universe. What came was the reminder that people change and their energy patterns change through life experiences scrambling everything up as people release or become stuck in old patterns. A once healthy balance may become unhealthy for the individuals as one or the other in the couple changes or not, creating an imbalance within the energy pattern of the relationship. If the couple can not bring balance back into the relationship then it creates friction that may cause them to split. This also works the other way around to, bringing a couple together that was not likely to get together only now are very compatible.

If you get a chance to watch Moonstruck you may want to examine the relationships in the movie. By using the feminine and masculine energy patterns you can see how those relationships balance out. Then you may want to look at your own relationships and those around you. Going back to why men and women chase the opposite sex or energy pattern, I want to add women to make it even is that we are looking for that balance within ourselves to complete ourselves as we are all looking to find the connection as a whole.

"The Language of Energy"

My daughter and I were driving the other day doing some errands when someone honked at us. It made me think about how different it was when I was in India visiting some friends and the drivers there honked all the time. They are even encouraged to honk. Here in the States it is not as accepted and some people may even be a little offended by being honked at. This line of thinking then made me think about the thoughts that we send out that could be triggered by a single action. I also became aware about how we respond in our different cultures to something as simple as a horn honking at us.  

With this in mind I remembered what my grandfather used to tell me how powerful our thoughts can be. If we really think about how much we change and create the world around us just by how we shape our thoughts it is almost mind boggling. A single thought can lead to an action that is behind an intention which creates the energy to bring it into existence. My grandfather used to always remind me to have positive thoughts. At that time I didn't understand what he really meant. Now as I am older I understand more what he was trying to teach me.

As multi-dimensional beings we have the ability to send energy to and around those we think about whether we are conscious of it or not. With this knowledge as conscious beings we can now be more responsible for what we think and the energy that we send out into the world and our own lives. The power of our thoughts is it's own energy language and has so many benefits that are right there within our finger tips. How do we use it some may ask? Well, to answer that you are already using it. The idea now is to be aware of how you can use it.

A technique to help access positive thought patterns can be through fond memories which are a wonderful resource of stored emotional energy that is not only recorded in our brains but also in our cellular structure of the things that we have experienced at one time or another in our lives. All we have to do is to tap into some of our happy memories that hold emotions for us such as love, compassion, acceptance, peace, gratitude, harmony, forgiveness, etc...  as we relive the memory or the emotion that we want to bring up we can bring those feelings into our bodies which will help to change the energy around us. Even thinking about someone we love can bring up emotions of love and joy. Upcoming events that we are excited about can also be used to activate the the emotional energy within us. 

Once the positive memory is triggered then it is a matter of focusing our attention on those chakras or different parts of the body that are in need of the energy. This is when we can then draw in that feeling that we remember letting it fill our hearts moving into the mind, body and soul aligning with this beautiful energy. With the intention in place the body's energy field begins to fill up with the positive energy moving through the physical body and throughout the aura. It does take some practice of holding on to the energy within oneself but after awhile you will began to train the energy field to hold on to those positive emotions for longer times. Then it becomes a habit which can be called upon with just a single thought or even trigger that can now replace a negative one.

 As energy beings not only in the physical realm but also the spiritual realm we can become more aware that we are able to change our own thought patterns and have the ability to step into our personal power. We are conscious beings, are we not? We have the choice to change our thoughts and release into ourselves and the world the positive language of energy that helps us all in creating more harmony within ourselves and each other. 

"Forgiveness"

Forgiveness is huge when growing not only spiritually but on all levels. If the biggest lesson in our lives is to learn to love unconditional then how can we even began to achieve that if we can not continue to work on forgiveness? I find forgiveness is something that likes to come back up in many different forms. Just when you think you have mastered it, there is always another situation or person that needs to be forgiven.

When you mention the word forgiveness thoughts of forgiving others tend to pop up but the first step in forgiving others is really about forgiving yourself. If we can't learn to forgive ourselves then there is hardly any hope to know how it is to forgive others. Forgiveness is learning that there are things in our lives that we have said, or done, or even done without realizing we were doing it that have hurt others, and ourselves. These are the lessons in our lives that if we can take the experience and really learn form, we can forgive to move on to higher ground.

It may sound easy but when you are in the middle of a situation it is sometimes hard to see in all directions. This is when you have to not only allow yourself to feel but to experience the humanity and compassion within the individual or the self. Learning to master ourselves sets us apart as human beings as we are able to chip away consciously at the inner diamond in the rough within ourselves to produce a brilliant gem.

Mark Twain once said "The worst loneliness is not being comfortable with yourself." Being comfortable with one's self is knowing one's self, forgiving one's self and loving one's self. It all works hand in hand and how we forgive to live
together.

"A Gift from the Heart"

One of the highest and most cherished acts that someone can do for another is to give something to someone with their whole heart. Lately it has come to my attention of wondering if we as individuals often give from our entire heart. What I mean by this is that there seems to be in no shape or form, any expectation of an outcome or idea of the other person's response. It is just what it is, a gift.

This made me think, so I began to talk to others as I wanted to know what their take on the subject was. When I did this some interesting conversations began to surface on the whole thought. As I began to visit with others I found a pattern that ran in between the lines that that was often expressed in all the conversations. Everyone that I talked to was in agreement that it is always good to give from the heart but an underlying question that came out was that, were we responsible for the outcome of the gift?

Now I know that question seems to be silly when you first hear it but when you break it all down there seems to be a pattern that runs with this line of thinking. For instance what if we gave money to someone who lived on the street, were we responsible for them going to buy liqueur instead of food? Were we by trying to help actually contributing to their addiction or habit?

The other part of this line of thinking that was brought up was that there were people who didn't seem to recognize the actual sacrifice of a gift and often discarded it without really understanding what was given to them. I think the word in this case was appreciation. An example that was brought up was someone taking the extra time to be there for someone else who was going through a rough time and the other person seemed only to feel that they were entitled. As I continued to explore the conversation about giving I was surprised at all the pit falls that I found in the discussions about not giving or even being afraid to give. This made me wonder if we as a society had really come to that place where we no longer gave without any expectation because of fear?

As I searched last week I came upon a passage in a book that I just happen to be reading called The Magus of Strovolos, by Kyriacos C Markides. In it the famous healer Daskalos talks about giving from the entire heart and that a gift that is given this way, in no way has any expectations on the outcome of the gift or the person receiving the gift. It is given out of pure love and only pure love. In that we are not responsible for the other person and any of their actions. We are only responsible for giving something from the heart with the intention of it being unconditional, that is what makes the gift really valuable.
   

"Unconditional Love"

I noticed that when I mentioned  unconditional love to others everyone seems to have the same basic knowledge and understanding of what it really means. That is the easy part but it seems to be harder to move into the unconditional energy as I have found that we all tend to add our own twist or spin to it. Unconditional is just what it means unconditional but when you place it with love then there are always some kind of standards or fears that can hold each of us back.

Now think about it. How easy it to love your enemy? Were we not instructed to do so? How easy is it to love someone unconditionally if they believe something that makes them different or uncomfortable to be around? What if what they are doing is intolerable and needs be punished. What if someone hurts someone that we love?  Does that then change unconditional into now a judgement? Okay then what does unconditional really mean?

I am not saying that it is easy as surely I find myself in the same boat asking my own questions. But what I wanted to point out is that the energy of unconditional love is something that does pull on our own personal fears and judgments when it is challenged. Standing back to get another perspective we can see that sometimes when we are going through something big in our lives the only control we have is how we handle the situation or react to what is going on around us or happening to us. In those moments we draw in strength or lose our power in what we decide and how it will affect us.

When we move into the higher realms that are more connected to the divine and who we really are, we step into an energy field that only supports unconditional love. It is then when we are in that field we let go of all of our fears, standards and judgments as it does not exist in those realms. That is when true miracles happen not only in our own lives but with those that we are connected to on this plane of existence.

Repetive Relationship Energy Patterns

I have noticed as I have been working on myself that there seem to be energy patterns that show up during the week. This week what showed up was more about being stuck in a relationship energy pattern that repeats itself throughout one's lifetime. I found that to be something that showed up not only in my own life but in others when I was visiting with them. Some of the people that I talked to knew about the patterns existing and others had no clue or awareness that it was happening to them.

The frustration when in a situation like this is like having a song stuck in your head and no matter what you do you can't seem to get it to stop playing over and over. It is in those instances that you are either aware that it is there making itself visible for a special reason as the song has found a niche in your brain or you wait it out.

In the case of stuck energy patterns there is always a lesson and the way you handle the lesson allows one to explore it until mastered or it will continue to repeat itself later on in your lifetime. I had an interesting conversation with someone who was very aware of a repeating behavioral energy pattern that kept showing up in their relationships. They could trace the energy pattern from childhood through their personal relationships and on into their life now. The pattern seemed to repeat itself when they entered into a new relationship and each time they had a chance to figure it out trying different ways to approach it. As they described the different situations with the repeated pattern I found myself thinking of that old movie with Bill Murray called Groundhog Day.

If you are not familiar with Groundhog Day it is a movie where Bill Murray plays the part of a weatherman who is not a very nice fellow and is really unhappy with his life. In the movie he gets an assignment to report on an annual event called Groundhog day that is celebrated in a small town in Pennsylvania. There he gets stuck in a time loop that repeats the same day over and over giving him the opportunity to reexamine his life trying out different scenarios until he finds his meaning in life. I find that this movie even though it a comedy is really very close to what we as human beings experiences in our own lives.

Other people that I came in contact with were also trying to figure out repetitive relationship patterns that continue in their lives. As people talked about their relationships they all had different experiences but the same energy pattern would surface in various ways in those relationships even though all the players changed. This was not only noticeable in one person but could be traced back in whole families.

What seemed to make a huge difference was not just knowing that there was a break in the relationship energy pattern but taking the initiative to really step into one's own personal power. That meant recognizing, owning, and making choices that were very different to what the individual was used to. Stepping into one's own fears to dissolve the energy pattern seemed to be the hard but with higher results of helping to create balance in their lives. For example if one is afraid to be alone then it is time to learn how to live with oneself and be comfortable with that energy before finding a companion. Another example would be the fear of needing to be needed and learning how to take care of one's self before taking care of everyone else.  The fear of trust was also a big one learning that one must find that peace and trust within one's self before trying to find it in others. The same with love. If one can't find it within themselves to love and accept themselves then how can one really know how to love and accept others.  

The biggest obstacles that one faces from these experiences seem to be fear, denial, trust, love, and forgiveness.  The change comes from within as we learn to re-examine what has held us back from ourselves and our relationships with others. What we learn from this is that we as human beings have that power to make choices that can change the way that we learn to see ourselves and others in relationships. When this lesson is finished then there will be other lessons to learn but the greatest  satisfaction is knowing that we mastered the energy pattern learning how to escape through the maze.

Past, Present, & Future

I had a very inserting conversation with my husband at breakfast this morning regarding what I was going to write about on the Artini blog. I told him that the theme that kept popping up this week was about the past, present and future. I explained that what came to me as I was moving through my own experiences in my life events during the week was how lucky we were as human beings to be able to experience all three and that we were not always bound to one or the other. I had also been thinking a lot about the norm of teaching in the last ten years which has really been focusing on the here and now. What I find in my own understanding is the blessings of all three directions.

The question that popped up in our conversation was that if we had a turbulent past it might be best to be grounded in the now to be able to move into the past without experiencing all the emotional trauma knowing that we were now in a safe place. What came out of that question was that when we are going back into the past where things in our lives have hurt us deeply we often bottle up the emotions and the event up within our cellar and our emotional bodies. This in turn tends to builds up a nest of emotional pain that is often destined to explode once triggered when we least expect it. Yes, it is important to ground in the safe place but what if the now is not experienced as safe then how do we move into actual healing?

On the other hand if we look at the past and it drums up some very lovely and happy memories this allows those emotions to come forward when we find ourselves in a situation that we need to move through. This is when you hear the phrase, "Find your happy place." In those cases we enjoy the energy that is stored in those past memories. Feelings of happiness or things that make us laugh also create a higher energy in our physical bodies and energy fields that bring balance back into our whole being.

As a visionary if we look at hope it is an emotion that projects into the future a positive energy that allows us to create opportunities that might change the current or past situation. Looking at the future and things that can shift events in our lives help us to set a course to move in a direction that may find a way out of a maze that may be unhealthy for us at the time. One example of this may be the loss of a job or even in a job that is unsuited to the skills that we have to offer.

What is interesting to see when looking at the big picture is that we as human beings have the ability to navigate through our experiences in our own past, present and future when we need to find a possibility to move in a different direction. That means locating where we need to ground whether it is in the past, present, or future to move through a tough experience in our lives or even to heal ourselves. The true gift is choosing what works best for us and the situations that lead us into our own successes in our personal experience of healing. The one thing that I see is that if we only stay in one timeframe then we limit ourselves from moving in a direction or where we need to go...

"Sleepwalking while Awake"

My father used to tell me when I was very young that I was asleep. I didn't understand it at the time as I thought I knew what being fully awake was all about in the daylight hours. I realize know that I had no clue at that time in my life of what he was talking about. It was much later that I discovered what he really meant by saying that most people in the world are sleepwalking while they are awake.

Looking back I now see that we as human beings can be caught up in our own experience without the full awareness of all that is going around us. Not only do we miss other human and animal experience that make us a bit uncomfortable we often deny ourselves any emotional attachment to be involved. Part of our own awakening is to not only becoming aware of what is going on around us but to choose how to become active participants in the world in which we live in.

I know that many will say, "Hold on there I participate in many organizations". That of course is good but it is when we open our eyes and see those around us in need that we understand that it is more than just attending a meeting or working with an organization. It is really dipping our feet into the muddy water and walking across the creek. It may even be getting into the mud and out of our own comfort zone becoming a little uncomfortable to help those in need around us. How many times have we stood by when knew intuitively that there was something for us to do?

Each one of us carries a special purpose that is held in our own hearts. So many of us have lost what it is that is our own mission in life or forgotten what it is that we are supposed to do. We spend hours even days trying to fill our lives with some kind of purpose and meaning only to find that we can't fill that empty space that grows inside of us. This is when we discover that whatever we have been doing is not something that we would look back on in our last hours of life knowing that we have done a job well done. Feelings of guilt and regret of things in life that were offered that were missed opportunities to really experience and participate in life can way heavy on one's soul in the last hours of departing from this world.

What makes us human is that we have that opportunity to be consciously aware of every act and word that we say that helps change the negative and positive energy in the world. We don't have to choose to switch off our brain and go into auto pilot. We have a choice to allow ourselves to be conscious in that moment as we move through an experience to learn what it is that makes us uniquely us. We have that ability to discover when we are involved with others not only people but the animals and plants that populate the earth that we have a purpose in our lives. We have the power to step into our own lives and change our circumstance and help make a difference in the circumstance of others instead of living in a world of sleepwalkers.

Instead of turning a blind eye to what we see is ugly in the world we can make a difference even if it is very small. A small act of kindness by one can turn into a mountain if we take that step to reach out to others and not be afraid of being inconvenienced. In the very large scheme of things that is what it is really all about.

     

"The Illusion of Separation"

When I was growing up my father who was unique in his own way and some would call a cosmic cowboy would often like to tell stories around the campfire in his tepee. One of the stories that he liked to tell was handed down to him from one of his good friends who was a medicine man who practiced among his people in New Mexico.

The story as I recall was a creation story which started with the Great Spirit or the Creator who was creating everything and anything with a single thought. One word in the mind of the Great Spirit and it would come into being. When my father told the story as he was a great story teller and would go to great lengths into the details of the whole narrative. What I remember now since it has been a long number of years was that when the Great Spirit was creating the universe as we know it he spent a great deal of love and compassion forming the idea of what his creation would be like. In that moment it became formed in the physical dimension. It was when the Creator of all things was examining it and tenderly enjoying his work that his hand slipped and he dropped it. It was when he dropped his exquisite creation that it cracked and then shattered into many pieces.

At first the Great Spirit was sad that his beautiful creation had broken but when he picked up the pieces he discovered that the pieces wanted to fit back together again to become whole. One of the pieces was a being that broke into two creating male and female. To the Creator's delight he had created something different and brought into light the desire to be united as one and to the Great Spirit himself. It was with that single thought he saw that his masterpiece had an intelligence and was good so he left it for the pieces to reunite with each other to become one again.

The reason I bring up this little story of creation was that I was reminded last week that often we forget weather we are conscious of it or not that there is still deep within us written in our subconscious and our DNA a feeling of wanting to be united as a whole not only to each other but to the Great Spirit of all. What I see is a world with the illusion that separates us from each other. We as humans and our thought process we wonder about with amnesia wondering why we exist and how we are supposed to be connected. We find in what we create or often what we see and experience is the separation with a longing need to be united. We want world peace yet we choose sides and place our energy with one or the other. We separate ourselves by race, religion, ideas, politics, economics etc...

What I find so powerful is if we as a whole on a conscious level come to the conclusion that we are far from being separated and recognize that we have swallowed the illusion of separation. If we were to awaken to the understanding that on a higher level of consciousness that we are created out of the same matter by the same thought of our Creator then there wouldn't be anything we couldn't accomplish. We as a whole could raise the bar to creating a space to open up for compassion and acceptance of each other, ourselves, the animals, plants and the earth it's self. What a paradise that would be... 

"Stepping into One's Truth"

Sometimes when you are in the middle of the storm it is hard to see your way out. It can be easy when in the middle of an emotional conflict to go with the emotions forgetting about all reasoning. The truth is that there are tools for us to use in learning how to deal with conflict without creating wounds for ourselves and others.

Often enough weather it was our parents who forgot to teach us or ourselves that didn't get the memo on stepping into our truths and personal power that seems to trip us up. What I mean by this is that we have to look at the whole situation and determine what is a lie or a truth in our own life to decided how to handle a confused situation. The only problem is that the ego will often get in the way making the territory murky when we are trying to navigate in finding our real truths. This is often hard when you are in the middle of a blow up with someone you are in a relationship with.

So lets look at a situation that cause this kind of reaction finding the tangled end that leads to unraveling of the truth. Again it is determining what is the real truth or a lie in one's personal life. The example that I want to use is when someone offers a suggestion to help someone they care about but the other person takes it as a power play in trying to control their decisions. This creates a sense of persecution in the person trying to help and bruises the ego. Now the ego is hurt wanting to inflict a wound or bring up a wall as it responds out of pain. This only makes more chaos out of an already confused situation. Then the other person's ego gets into it and the two egos go to bat with each other.

Okay taking a step back.  The real question for the person who offered the advice needs to find their own truth in why they offered it. Was it because they really wanted to help or that they were in fear wanting to have some control over the other person? Let's say in this case it was genuinely wanting to help the other person. This is the truth so now after looking at one's true motives the feeling of being persecuted is also genuine. The real lie is the idea of trying to control someone else and therefor is not real. That is where the power lies in finding the the real truth. This one questions allows a person to step into their own power owning up to their personal truth. Also this can swing the other way if the person wants to control the other person it allows them to recognize where they are coming from and to exam the fear.

Back to the person with the higher intentions. Once they own their own truth and step into their power they can then afford to give the other person grace as they can see if the other person is speaking out of old wounds or out of fear. The ego can now be released as compassion for the other person steps in. This is a huge game changer lessening the tension and creating a healing space for the other person to feel safe.  Through the changes in the thinking and reasoning it changes the energy of the relationship and things begin to shift in a more positive way of communicating.

Just something else to think about... Sometimes we send mixed signals. What I mean is that we may have been raised in a household that has conflicting energy in making decisions. A good example of this is someone who tells you they don't like hamburgers and would never eat one on any occasion only to ask for one later saying that it is their favorite food. This is confusing and highly dysfunctional and if someone is raised in that kind of environment they will not have the right tools to find their own truth. Also this creates doubt and mistrust within someone with this background making it hard to even trust themselves. In this case it is important to identify to learn how to find the true motives of looking at things in deciding what is real or is a lie.  This is basics in trusting in oneself and in others. It is also very important to learn so that one can step into one's personal power.

Cancer

Several years ago I had what I have called my cancer scare. It was my second one in my lifetime. The first one happened when I was in my early thirties and at the time I was very much in tune with my body so when the Doctors thought they had found something I knew that they didn't. After three weeks of dealing with tests they discovered that I didn't have cancer at all.

Two years ago they again found something suspicious on a routine test and wanted to investigate for cancer. It was the full treatment of tests at the cancer center. At that time dealing with empty nest I was not in a position to know what was up with my body as I was dealing with my own grief so I immediately went into fear. After all I was sent to the cancer center and signed in as one of the patients. It wasn't until a month into it all after dealing with myself in preparing for the illness and possibly dying that I found some peace to go into my body's energy field and do an assessment. What I found when I did was that I didn't have cancer. There was no trace of it anywhere. The only problem was I felt pulled apart with the Doctors doing the tests telling me that they saw something and my own assessment telling me that it was all a huge mistake.This made me split into two as one side was believing the Doctors and the other side believing what I knew also to be true.

Even with all the big equipment that the Doctors had they still couldn't assess what they were seeing and it continued on for another month. Long story short I didn't have cancer at all. I can't tell you what a relief it was but on the other hand it was a huge let down in myself for not completely trusting what I got intuitively. Later in the year I was at a funeral and met a women who was in remission with cancer. When we talked energetically I had no constraints of feeling into her fear as she shared with me about her ordeal of dealing with her cancer. I knew some of the fear that she felt as it was still very familiar to me of what I had experienced to some degree. The connection I had with the women was huge with great compassion for what she had and was going through which caught me up in what she shared.

Now when I look back my thought is that when we say the word cancer it brings up intense negative images that we all have within us either by our own experience or by what other people have experienced. On one hand we as a whole on a mass conscious level have this huge fear that is attached to it with an expected outcome to what we see as cancer. On the other hand on an energetic level we see changes in the outcome of many illness within the physical body that can reprogram cellar patterns within our cells. I find to that even with this knowledge I see my own reactions to cancer within myself.

The thought that haunts me is that if we as a mass community on a conscious level were able to change our fear on the outcome of cancer, how would it affect cancer on an energetic level. Would it disarm it? Again energy is changed through thought and is lead by intention. How powerful would that be in moving the atoms and molecules in our physical world if we went into a state of awareness on a mass consciousness level? Just a thought...

The Effect of the Spiritual Bodies

I think one of the hardest things to learn in life is how not to get caught up in our own emotions. As human beings emotions are really meant to be a blessing in our lives. They were created to be used as tools to gauge where we need to clear our spiritual and physical bodies. What ends up happening in most cases is that we get caught up in the human drama leaving a wound or scar that likes to replay itself over and over either in our mind or in our cells. When this happens it is hard to remember that our emotions were created to help us to release those energies that are creating the imbalances.

When an emotional energy is stuck it will linger in the spiritual bodies before working its way into the physical body. As we continue to hold on to our raw emotions allowing them to build up or even ignoring them they began to manifest themselves into a physical illness making themselves at home in our physical bodies.

Last week while I was out doing an errand I visited with a women who was at one of the stores that I was at. For some reason our chat led to the subject of illness where she shared a story about how susceptible she was to pneumonia. Now I know that pneumonia is something that affects the lungs which is often where the emotion of grief likes to hide in the physical body. When she finished I asked her if she was grieving. She answered, "No" and went on to explain that she wasn't feeling sad at all. Confused by her answer I let the subject drop.

As she continued she began to share more of her life which was very sad. I found myself feeling deep compassion for this women that I had just met and her plight in life. When we parted ways I pursued my mission of finishing my errand not thinking much more about my encounter until I was almost home. It was then that I made the connection realizing that she really was carrying a lot of grief from everything that had and was still happening in her life. It was in those times when she couldn't handle the grief that the illness would flair up. She was unaware of the grief that was being pushed aside but it all came out in her stories about her life.

When I was studying Qigong my master teacher taught us where the emotions can get stuck in the physical body when they are not cleared from the spiritual and emotional bodies. Grief as I have mentioned is found in the lungs while fear is more comfortable hiding in the kidneys and bladder.  The emotion of anger likes to hid in the liver and affects the eyes. Worry is found in the spleen or stomach area making it more susceptible to ulcers. Then there is stress which likes to hid in the heart and brain organs.

As we learn about ourselves we find again how connected we are even when we are unaware of what is happening right in front of us. Even our physical and spiritual bodies are connected as we learn that illness can often be stopped from entering the body if dealt with first in the spiritual body. It all starts in the ether moving out into the physical field. 

"Connection"

As I am working with different energies I do my best to be conscious of the different energy patterns that I pick up. What I mean by energy patterns are what we feel, see and experience through the many senses of our physical and spiritual bodies. Not only can we feel an emotion but we can actually see it. All it take is a little practice learning how to see the colors and energy around people. I find working with energy is almost like enjoying a piece of a favorite fruit or food. Not only can we experience the color, smell, flavor and textures but we can also be satisfied when we do find how connected we are in participating in the whole life experience.

Remembering again that we are both spiritual and physical beings. This in its self makes us somewhat unique as we have the ability to experience both sides of the spectrum. The only draw back is that we have to awaken into knowing there is more to life than just the physical realm around us. This means that we are neglecting the other half of us that is apart of our birth right. We have to abilities to be active in the spiritual world and the world around us. It is two worlds merged together in one just as we are two merged into one. It is only by being aware of the subtle things around us which helps us to see ourselves, each other and the world in a whole new domain.

For example if you are aware of energy you may notice when you walk into a room how the energy shifts. As you move from room to room you may feel the energy changing when you step through an entry way or when you are closer to certain objects. As you pick this up you may find that objects that are placed in a room can shift the energy by creating or changing the flow of the energy moving through the room. If you are working with emotional energies you will discover that these energies can create patterns that shift the energy in a room which sometimes gets stuck or even held captive for long periods of time within that space. This not only includes physical places, but also the human body as well.

 It is because of some of these things that can happen in the space of a room or within a person's aura that it is always good to learn how to clear the energy so nothing can linger there that shouldn't. Energy as it is created needs to continue to move to be healthy to the environment and anyone who walks into that field. I must share a little recipe that was handed down from one of my teachers for clearing rooms from different energies. The essential oil peppermint can be used in a diffuser or you can add a few drops to distilled water in a sprayer. It is easy to make and doesn't cost a lot of money. It also makes the room smell good while clearing the energy in the room. You can also spray it on yourself and those who want to be cleared. I know that white sage is used a lot but the smoke can also be intrusive. White Angelica essential oil can be used the same way when you need to bring out the big guns. It is more expensive as it is rare.

There are lots of book on the different essential oils and the internet has good information about them if you want to go further on with them. That was a little tip that was shared with me that I want to pass on.




  

"As Above, so Below"

"As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul..." is part of a quote that originated by Hermes, and seems to play a key part in life when you are aware of the world, and universe around you. I was reminded of this just the other day when I was having lunch with a friend, and we were talking about how we as human beings are an incredible combination of both the spirit, and the human bodies that we occupy.  The really amazing thing is that if you are conscious of this then the some of the secrets of the universe are not as mysterious as it all begins to make more sense.

  Later that evening when I had time to myself I was reminded that the human voice also plays a part in our connection to both heaven, and earth. Since we are all made up of atoms, and energy knocking themselves together creating the physical world then our voices that vibrates also creates a frequency, and sound that is just another part of the big picture.

 A few years ago I had the opportunity to sing with a band, and during that time I was also studying voice like all people do when they want to improve their singing. It was during this time that I became aware that certain notes could shift the energy in my physical, and spiritual bodies. At first it was only an awareness, but later on when I started to take Qigong classes I discovered it was not my imagination going wild as we learned a technique to heal, and repair the organs in the physical body by using different frequencies in our voice. It was explained in our class that our internal organs each make their own particular sounds when they are healthy. When we are sick the organs change their vibrations as they become out of balance creating a different sound, and vibration within the body. By working with the voice, and concentrating on the sick organ we have the opportunity to reprogram the body bringing it back into it's original frequency to give it that boost it needs start to heal it's self.

  Learning this technique was amazing experience, and when I went to sing with the band I began to notice more how the vibration of the voice blended with the instruments creating a resonances both within, and outside of myself. As I looked out onto the audience when we were performing I started to see that the blending of sounds had created a union within the singers, music and listeners as we all came together as one during the whole the experience. It was all so beautiful to behold, and be apart of.

It was also during this time in my life that I wanted to know more about what was happening with the voices, and how it all connected that I came across a spiritual teacher who shared with me that the human voice has more to it than what we are aware of. It was explained that vowels when spoken are on a frequency that connects us to the heavens, and higher realms, and the consonants are connected to the physical frequencies. That means that when we speak the different languages we are still connecting to both heaven, and earth as both spirit and physical beings. We speak the languages of the universe in our own languages without even knowing it. We connect to each other when we speak or try to learn a language as it is in the vibrations of our voices that connects us one universal language. We are of course both spirit, and physical beings as we are always connected to the above, and below, (heaven, and earth), within, and outside of ourselves.

Moon Cycles

The different cycles of the moon can play an important part in helping to move some serious energy when making healthy changes in one's life. As you already know the gravitational pull from the moon does affect the tides and as we carry a high percentage of water within our physical bodies so it can also stand to reason that we as human beings can also be influenced by the moon. I am not talking about people going crazy on the night of the full moon. I am speaking about being mindful of the different phases of the moon such as waxing and waning of the moon to set good intentions of what we want out of life. Why is this important you might ask? Just like the cycles of the moon our bodies follow the same energy pattern of the moon that helps us make those important shifts in our lives.

Just a little refresher on the subject on the different cycles of the moon to help you follow where I am going with this subject. There are two moon cycles to be aware of. The first is the waning moon which is when the moon is growing smaller until there is a night where there is no moon. The second is the waxing moon which is when the moon grows bigger and bigger until it become a full moon.

What is great about the waning moon is that it is the best time to let go of things that no longer serve you in your life. Just by setting your intentions during this time to release old baggage that is stuck or blocking your energy field will help you get the energy moving. At the beginning of the new moon you can then write or start to meditate on what you want to let go of as you track the pattern of the moon. You can then check in each day during the the waning moon cycle or you can just be be mindful in reminding yourself that you are going to work on releasing those things that are unhealthy in your life. This can be anywhere from letting go of an old habit, to changing an old thought process, to relationships that need to be let go of etc... It is a great way to cleans your energy field and hit the reset button in your life.

It is during the waxing moon cycle when you want to build or bring things into your life as the moon begins to grow. Again writing your intentions on a piece of paper or just set your thoughts in a direction that will help to bring things that you want or to change in your life. I am not talking about winning the lottery. This is the time to start anew and begin things in your life that brings healing or a healthy abundance back into balance in your life.

Here is a website with a wonderful moon calendar to find the phases of the moon to help with tracking when it is waxing or waning.

http://www.observers.org/moon/phases/calendar

The Empath

Recognizing when you are experiencing someone's else's truth is a sure sign that you are an empath. I have written about empaths before and it something that likes to return as a subject as I find others who feel as though they have the misfortune of being one. If you are an empath there is no need to suffer as it is really a wonderful spiritual gift that has been bestowed upon you and if you learn how to master and work with it then you will soon discover the many benefits of being one.

Being an empath means that you have to ability to feel and experience other people's energy. Basically you experience their emotions, physical pains, etc... as though they were yours. It is like being compassionate on steroids only for some they don't realize that they are being overly compassionate. This makes it really hard to know what belongs to the empath and what belongs to the other person. For an empath the way they process energy on the subconscious level is to conform their energy pattern into a carbon copy of the other person which their physical, and emotional body will follow as a blueprint thinking that is what it is supposed to do.  The empath is already programmed to do this when they are born into this world.

The way to live in harmony with being an empath is to first be aware that you are an empath learning how you pick up the energy of other people. That is a whole process in it's self by taking time out for yourself to find a quite place so that you can check to see if you are experiencing someone else or if you are really having the experience yourself.  By taking the extra time to analysis what is going on around you and what is happening to you will help to determine if you are an empath. Then taking the extra time to talk to the person or person's you have come into contact may reveal some of what is happening to you. After a few encounters and doing this you will discover a pattern that can be traced.

 Some empaths may be more in tune with the physical body. For example they may come in contact with someone who has a hernia and suddenly develop pain in the area that the other person is experience it. When they are with that person they start to feel as though they have a hernia and may even go home thinking that they need to call a Dr. Other empaths may find that they are more in tune with the emotional side of being empathetic. They may come into contact with someone who is grieving and find that even if they don't know that person or have any idea that person is grieving they will suddenly become very grief stricken. They are just doing what they do best and that is picking up energy and rewriting their own to match the people in the room. Then there are empaths that have both abilities and that can bring up other situations that they feel just by stepping out into the world.

As you can see if you are not familiar with how the empath functions in the world just how frustrating it could be if you are one. If you want to know more about being an empath I suggest that you Google Judith Orloff MD website where you can read more in depth about being empathic. 

The Victim Energy

I don't know if you have run into or recognized when you are in the presence of someone who carries the intense victim energy. That is a personality that is best described as saying, "No body likes me, everybody hates me."

One of two things to watch out for is that because of the victim energy you may find that you want to help and protect the victim only to be accused by the victim energy as another disappointment or failure in their lives. There is no pleasing or making the victim happy with themselves or with others. I believe that for anyone else that is the hardest part to learn is that you can't fix them. If you are a fixer it will only drive you crazy with the monotony of it all.

The other part to be aware of is that the victim will always find ways to blame others for any mistakes or misunderstandings as they feel they are the ones that others are coming against to hurt them. On a professional basis they often wont give credit to anyone else for any projects or anything that they are working on with others as they will voice that they were the ones left to do all the work themselves. The victim energy is hardest to please and if you do which I am not saying that it can't happen is that they will find a way to discredit or forget that the event ever happened as they go back into the fog of being a victim.

 The one thing to know if you recognize that you are in the company of the victim energy is the they are the ones who have to learn that life is not against them. It may take a full lifetime or they may never learn this in this lifetime but it is a lesson that they are working on which really has nothing to do with you.

I do want to make a note that this is a different energy from anyone who has suffered from a violent crime.