"The Choice"

This past week I was on my way to visit a Reiki Client and ended up stuck in traffic. That wasn't so bad until I realized the time. Looking at the situation I decided that the lane that I had chosen was not the best to make my way out of the traffic. I checked my rear view mirror to move into the right lane seeing a truck that was at least three cars behind giving me a clear path if I was quick. I then turned my signal on and hit the gas but being in a manual to my horror my Mini tried to stall. That was the only time I had to make the move, leaving me in-between lanes. What resulted was that the driver of the large pickup truck decided he could move fast enough so that I couldn't get in and we almost hit each other in the middle of all the traffic.

I waved at the truck and since I was already in the lane proceeded to move forward. The driver of the truck had his own ideas and he also moved forward. We almost hit each other again. Still stuck in the middle of both lanes I couldn't believe what was happening and so I proceeded to move forward again only this time I hit the gas and pulled the mini out of his way as the big truck jerked forward to take over the space that I was occupying. I got in by the skin of my teeth and then became rather angry once it was all over. No, I was furious! Then I remembered the night before when I was teaching a class and the subject came up about sending out thoughts that had a negative vibe to them.  

As it just so happens road rage is one of those experiences where we get to be tested in what we are sending out to our fellow human beings and out into the world. I knew in that moment that whatever I sent out through my own energy field would not only hit that other person's energy field but it could influence others around us. I also knew that it would eventually return to me as I was the original source of the thought. Being conscious of all of this I decided to take the higher road. Instead of sending out anything that was negative, I felt it was important to forgive and to move into a positive energy. As I sat there in the traffic with the truck in my rear view mirror I sent out love saying a prayer for the person so that they would heal whatever it is that was making them so aggressive. I surrounded myself in love feeling peace flood my being and as I did the traffic opened up and we were all back at the high speed of 70 moving down the highway.  

I ended up being only a few minutes late to my Reiki session with my client. As I got out of the car a flash of the whole incident went through my mind and I caught myself smiling as I knew that I it was going to be a beautiful and wonderful day! Feeling joy in my heart I went inside the building to meet with my client.

Photographs by Ana

"Light Language"

Light language is a language that every human being is already very familiar with. It is a language of the chakras, aura, and energy fields around and in the body. The language is something that I feel most people are not conscious of yet it is a fluent language of the soul, spirit, and even the subconscious mind. The one draw back is that we as human beings become so invested in the physical world around us that we often miss this beautiful language all together even though our bodies, and energy fields are speaking the language and picking up information from others on an a every day basis.

What most people feel, or experience when they tap into this language is what the intuitive world calls hits or a knowing. In truth it is the light from our energy fields encoded with the energy from our emotions, and thoughts which are always talking to other people's energy fields expressing our deepest wishes, and desires. The information that is shared can be about our health and even our soul contracts that we have during this life time.

 When you break everything down you find that everything is created out of light and energy. This is the very basics of understanding that light also carries information that is not only an expression of a color but rather an energy that can be seen, felt, or experienced in a number of different ways within our energy fields which bump into other people's fields. For those that have the ability to see the human aura they can learn to read the colors but they can also learn to feel the energies that someone is expressing in their fields.

Our health is also projected in these energy fields around us and before we develop an illness it always shows up in our subtle bodies which is comprised of light and energy. If we don't clear the energy within the fields holding the illness we eventually advance to the next stage of carrying the illness in our physical bodies. Acupuncturist and energy workers have known this through out the ages. If you want to really look into language of light you will find that Ancient Chinese medicine has documented this amazing energy within the fields as well.

A few good books on the subject are.....

The Web That Has No Weaver, Understanding Chinese Medicine, by Ted Kaptchuk

Hands of Light, A guide to Healing Through the Human Energy Field, by Barbara Ann Brennan

Esoteric Acupuncture,  Gateway to Expanded Healing Volume 1, by Mkio Sankey, Ph.D., L.Ac.

Photographs by Steve Noyce

"A Lesson in Life"

Over the years I have been learning to access the Akashic Records in combination with past lives and shamanic journeying. These have been valuable lessons taught by dreams, Spirit, Masters and even a few teachers on this side. If someone were to have asked me several years ago if this was something I would be doing in this lifetime I would have laughed and walked away. Today it is very much apart of what I am learning and helping others to discover within themselves.

I don't talk a lot about past lives as it scares so many but the truth is that it is very much a part of our development in our Soul's spiritual journey. It is when you step onto that realm that there are no limitations to what God and the Holy Spirit can do. You begin to have an understanding that there is a lot more beyond our own comprehension even in this life time. We as humans are limited and it is only natural to limit and try to control what is around us from our own understanding.

Learning to be in the Akashic Records and the different modalities of moving in the spirit world can be more than just liberating but causes you to connect to your spirit and soul on a whole different level while bringing you closer in a higher level of connection to God and the love that you were created out of. The Spiritual support that is right by your side and at your finger tips is completely within your sight and grasp.

Now, this does not infringe on free will or the sacred contract that was signed by you and the Heavenly Creator. You still have a life mission and lessons to learn on this world of matter and that includes carrying out the life that you chose to do them in. Yes, this even includes your birth, family, circumstances and death.

It is when you examine your life from the outside and from the soul's perspective you lose some of the fear and anxiety knowing that you are 50% physical body and the other half Spirit. This is when you also discover that you have a life in both worlds living in a simultaneous connection that is linked to each other.

Photographs by Steve Noyce - India

"The Hamburger Theory"

I used to have a friend who liked to tell me that they thought that people were really strange. I didn't understand until he told me about the hamburger theory. What is the hamburger theory you ask? Well, you might be surprised because we hear it all the time.

It kind of goes like this....... You are talking to someone and they tell you that they hate hamburgers and if they saw or smelled a burger then they would be sick. Then you for some reason you ask them if they would like to go to lunch and they say..... Yes! So next you ask where they would like to go since you realize they have strong ideas about food. They suggest this little hamburger place that is around the corner where they make the best hamburgers.......

OK, this might make you think.....Hmmmmm...... Something is not right......and you are right. What you have just experienced is being in the hamburger theory. You are confused and well right you should be..... because what you are hearing is not adding up..... It is a sign of the soul being separated from the body and mind.....

The person is split in half.... One side wants a hamburger and the other side hates them. {Soul separation}is the term and a signal for help. Now here is the hard part, most of the time the person is not even aware that they are split in two. So blurting it out that they are split is not going to win you any points or make you popular in the relationship.

Also know that there is something they might need to deal with and could be detrimental if you see it and bring it up with annoyance. So where does that leave you?

I have a good friend who's mission in life is to remind people that we should all speak in love. So when you are with someone and you notice the discrepancy it is better to speak in love and repeat what they are saying to you asking them again which they prefer. They may even be confused by you doing this because they are completely unaware of their actions.

Just repeat it in love and go on like it is not an issue. This will allow them to hear themselves and later they can then analysis it when they are ready to deal with the separation. If you notice that someone is doing this for you then you have something to think about.

So now when you hear the hamburger theory, you now know you are not crazy and neither is your loved one. Just know that it is just one way we ask for help.....

Energy Cords

Now here is something to ponder about which are energy cords or you might have encountered them under the name of codependency. If you are a visual person like me, then think of it like attaching a cord to someone you cherish or even care for. The only difference is that when you do, you start to give them all your energy or personal power.

Everything revolves around what this person is thinking and feeling. You lose yourself in this person and it might seem fine when you love them but you need to wake up and smell the coffee. This is not just about those people in love but can effect all different kinds of relationships such as friends, marriages, coworkers, family relations, etc.....

As you read this someone may be coming to mind. You might even have known someone who has a child and the world seems to revolve around that child. And everyone knows it except the the two involved. The sad thing is that someone in this kind of relationship is always giving and the other is always taking.

The one taking, understands that this is just how it is and will sometimes push things to the outer limits as proof of the commitment form the other person. The giver gives until they are all used up and hopefully realize that they have not been appreciated but only taken advantage of.

This might bring an individual to realize that maybe they were allowing the other person to use them and that it would be wise to sever the energy cord. The term energy cord comes form all the thoughts, actions, and energy put into the relationship in satisfying the other person's needs.

I have met people in my life who have said, "that life or whatever they were doing was all about, what the other person wanted". "As long as the other person is happy or content then their life was good." That leaves a lot of responsibility for the other person to carry to be happy all the time. And will often retaliate by telling others how unhappy they are with the people pleaser.

If you suddenly wake up and find that you have an energy cord attached to another person then it is time to sever it and become free. You are not doing them any favors by trying to live your life through them or to please them. In fact you are only a hindrance to them growing. Yes, the other person will know when you have cut the cord and will want you back. Why wouldn't they, when you give yourself to them so freely.

I once took a class in Dennison, TX and the teacher Jody reminded us of the energy cords that we have attached to other people. It of course brought up a few memories for me. Ones that I plan not to repeat.  Jody also talked about how the cords grow in thickness as the relationship became stronger but not in a healthy way. This makes it harder to cut through but if you need a chainsaw then I suggest you do it for the sake of yourself and them.

Energy cords only drain you of your vital essence, time, and energy as you allow all of it to flow to the other person. Remember that getting yourself in touch with yourself may revile some issues that need to be worked out and if this is one of them then the road to healing is putting a stopper in the unplugged drain.

Photographs by Steve Noyce - Las Vegas, NV

"What is in a Word?"

I used to play a word association game with my friends when we would get bored as I was growing up. The way it worked was that my friend or I would say a word and the other one would say the first thing that came into their head. We got the idea from some detective show that we watched on television and it was a fun way to pass the time. Now as I look back I see that not only does a word have more than one meaning it has plays a huge part in understanding how we are connecting to each other, ourselves and to the Universe.

The idea behind the game is that each word has some kind of meaning or attachment to it. Bear with me as I know you already know this but the interesting thing is to take it a step further... So, for example, even a simple word like woman has different meanings to different generations. I found this out when I asked some women who were in their 70's what the word woman meant to them. They said, it meant meant hardship, no equal pay in the workforce, pain and struggling. Then I asked some of my friends who are in their 40's what the word woman meant to them and I got back nurturing, caring for the family, being their for others. When I asked someone ladies in their early 20's they said it meant power, getting out in the world and making a place for themselves, Being in charge of the workforce and others.

The reason I bring this up is that I was having lunch with a friend the other day and we were talking about how we attract things to us with our thoughts which send signals into our energy fields that tell the rest of the world what we desire in our lives. This of course lead us into talking about the different associations we have with words.

Now think about this... What do you think when you think of abundance? When talking to some people it meant having more money and physical things in their lives while others said it meant to have more love. Then I asked about the word money. Again I got different meanings spanning from, joy of spending, hoarding it, not enough, to the root of all evil. It was different for each person depending on their experiences or even what was imprinted on them from their families and culture. This really brings to mind a saying that I used to hear in old western movies which was, "Man speaks with forked tongue". I get that now! I know it wasn't a nice statement in the movie but playing this word game it makes so much more sense.

So think about this.. What are you saying actually saying when you are trying to attract something into your life?

Photograph #1 by Ana
Photograph #2 by Angelique

"Vibration"

Growing up, I used to hear people use the word vibration. At that time I thought it was funny listening to the way others used it to describe how they were feeling. Now, years later, I understand what they were talking about and I use the term when I work with my Reiki clients or explain what I notice when I pick up signals from another person's energy body.

So what is really going on when we use the word vibration? To understand what is happening within our energy fields and physical bodies let's start with the basics. We already know that everything is made up of some kind of molecular structure. That was something we learned in science class at school. We also know that atoms are always moving in and all around us and that everything, whether we see it moving or not, is moving. This means too that while it is all moving everything that we know has it own frequency creating a vibration by a certain dance that it is doing to create a solid, liquid, ether, etc... existence.

When we think about it we can see that each dance creates something unique. For instance the tango is a lot different from the two step and by having it's own dance sequence it makes energy very interesting when you become familiar with it. Then we throw in a lot of external and internal influences such as waves that affect the way energy moves. For example waves can come from so many different sources like sound, emotions, heat, thoughts etc... All of these things affect the way the atoms and particles sing and do their special dance. Sometimes it helps to remember that radio waves move though the air as does the television signals which are not seen yet we know they are there. Our emotions and thoughts are the same way. Our thoughts have more power than we realize by creating energy that can change our molecular structure into someone who is producing a positive energy field that people are excited to be around or into someone negative that others avoid.

The miracle is that when looking closely we find that the human body is fully equipped in the way that it picks up these energies. Thank about the last time you walked in a place or meeting and the hair on the back of your neck stood up. When was the last time you were around someone who was stressing you out and your stomach was hurting or someone who you just couldn't wait to be around? Your body was picking up the energy from that person.

A good phrase to remember is that like attracts like to help you gauge the signals that you are sending out. When you are sending off negative signals your body or atoms begin to vibrate in that way and people who are in the same state will be attracted to you. If you send off positive signals then the body vibrates in a higher form and people with that frequency will feel comfortable and will be drawn to your vibration. That is why we attract the same type of person over and over in our lives.

The choice is really up to you...

Another thing that happens is that energy can be imprinted on the things around us. For example if a person was depressed and sat in this one chair all the time and finely decided to sell it it can affect your energy by sitting in it. The chair may even give you a funny feeling or make you uncomfortable. That is because you are picking up the energy off the chair from the other person. If this happens you may decide to get rid of it or you can change its vibration. Cleansing the chair is one way to do that, which can be done by praying over the chair or asking someone to help who knows how to cleanse and clear energy.

To learn more about energy vibration & clearing.......

1. Frequency: The Power of Personal Vibration, by Penney Peirce

2. Energy Clearing, Heal Energetic wounds, Release Negative Influence, and Clear Healthy Boundaries, by Cindi Dale

3. Clearing: A Guide to Liberating Energies Trapped in Buildings and Lands, by Jim PathFinder Ewing

                          Photographs by Steve Noyce - Taos, NM

"Disengage"

The first time I heard the word disengage was on the original Star Trek series when Captain Kirk used it when he give the order to his crew. At the time I was really young so it didn't make a real impression until much later in my life when I heard the word again. My husband used the word on me once when my daughter and I were having an argument. She was at that age when she was starting to assert her independence as a young teen. I remember the image of Captain Kirk flooding back into my memory when he said it, understanding the idea but wondering if he had borrowed it from one of the episodes.

I have learned since that no matter who we are drama is something that plays a part of everyone's life. Whether it is being personally involved, watching it on Television, reading about it, seeing it at the movies, finding it at work etc.. in some way we all are exposed to it. Drama is just one of things that is part of the human experience. All these different kinds of exposures to drama leads us down a trail of learning diverse ways of moving through it. Sometimes the drama is out of our hands and we find ourselves caught up in the web of complications looking for ways to disentangle ourselves from it. Boundaries are great but when the drama has crossed the lines where do we go from there?

This is when the word disengage is useful as it means a form of detachment. I know when I heard my husband use it that first time I thought he was being funny and didn't appreciate it. Now years later I have learned a great deal about this one action that is so powerful in helping to see and to maneuver out of storms that have tried to blow me off course. I am not saying that I have mastered it as of yet because there are still times I'm caught off guard but when I am aware of it I know I have the choice to pull myself back. Just by detaching from the emotional roller coaster I can then find other solutions that open up in exploring the situation.

 By stepping back I am able to take a breath giving myself the opportunity to find my center again where my thoughts are a lot clearer. In this state I'm better equipped  to evaluate whether it is something that I really need to be a part of or if it is something that I need to let go.


For more information on this subject a helpful book on detachment is...  
Let Go Now; Embracing Detachment: By Karen Casey

Photographs by Ana

"Living in Love"

Wow, this is so much fun you must try it! Try to take a little time out for yourself to be alone. When you can find a quiet place or put on some soothing music then take the time to quiet the mind.

Breath out all tension and stress from the day and breath in the loving energy from our Creator. Just take the time for all negative thoughts and feelings to drain out of you. Then send it on its way into the center of the earth. Ask God to use you as a beautiful vessel to channel his love to others.

Again, allow yourself to fill up with this amazing love form God and just let it fill you up in all the places that you allowed to drain away that negative energy. Fill in all that empty space inside of you with love and expand your heart with love. By doing this, you get this huge feeling that moves within you of love and compassion for yourself and others.

As you do, you may start to have things come up that are negative and remember that it is OK. Just release it and fill yourself with love. People will start to come into your mind and when they do, think of them surrounded with love and send that love to them where ever they are. Ask for healing if it is painful and send that pain away and fill that empty space again with love.

If you do it enough, then you will begin to just think of love and that feeling will just take over your whole being without another thought and you can send loving healing energy form God to others through out your whole day. When you do this, then you are learning to channel a very fine and higher frequency of energy that can only come form God allowing you to heal and become balanced to.

Just try it... You may be surprised. Others will notice a change in you, who are around you. Oh one warning, you might feel, "a little out to lunch" as we say. So if you do and need to come down a little to function the rest of the day instead of being on,"cloud nine", then eat something or drink water just to ground you back into this world.

Have fun with it and enjoy!

Photographs by Ana - Taos, NM

"In the Moment"

Have you ever been in a situation where someone that you knew was having a hard time and all you could do was to be there for them to hold their hand? What I have learned in those situations is that it is about really being present for someone when they are working through something in their life that is life changing. I bring this up because it is something that seems to be a theme in my own life these last few weeks as some of my family and friends are making some incredible transitions in their lives.

 For those of us who are standing on the sidelines sometimes the real challenge is not to take it upon ourselves to fix or even take on the situation but to allow the other person to move through their own experience. In some instances it may seem easier to take over someone else's pain or even do it for them but this only creates more problems later on down the road. I remember once years ago when I ran to one of my spiritual teachers upset after I had taken it upon myself to help someone solve a problem and fixed their life only to find that they had repeated the same situation that I had helped them solve. My teacher then explained to me that when we step into someone else's life to solve a problem for them we only delay what they needed to learn.

 On the outside it may look good but if the person doesn't learn how to maneuver through and around obstacles in their life then they continue to repeat the pattern until they do. It is nothing personal but for me at that time it was such a disappointment. The other side of the coin was that by trying to fix someone else's problems I wasn't paying attention to my own life causing me to repeat unhealthy patterns that I didn't have time to solve.

What I have learned out of all of this was that as we all evolve from our experiences interacting with each other we discover how important it is to be in the moment when someone needs you to witness what they are learning about as they move through their own experience. Also how crucial it is to have healthy boundaries so that we all can continue to grow.

Photographs by Steve Noyce - Rome, Italy

Happy Father's Day!

1. "A father is someone who is proud to see you get your first car...but secretly wishes it had no keys."  by Linda Poindexter

2. "My father always used to say that when you die, if you've got five real friends, then you've had a great life."  by Lee Iacocca

3. "It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was."  by Anne Sexton

4. "By the time a man realizes that his father was right, he has a son who thinks he's wrong."  by Charles Wadsworth



5. "There's no shame in fear, my father told me, what matters is how we face it." by George R. R. Martin, A Clash of Kings 

6. "A father carries pictures where his money used to be." by Unknown

7. "Your father gives you many things in a lifetime... most of which you will not appreciate until way after he is gone." by Linda Poindexter

Photographs by Steve Noyce - Los Vegas, NV and Tuscany, Italy

"Recognizing Fear"

When we mention the word fear it seems to carry so many stigmas attached to it. Yet, it is one of the most helpful emotions that we can have in recognizing and releasing old energy patterns within ourselves that no longer serve us. Often when fear comes up we may already be conditioned to believe that we are experiencing something else besides what is really going on. Fear is one of those emotions that tends to be masked by other emotions so that we can hide it from ourselves. If we really take the time to trace the emotions of anger, judgment, grief, shock, disappointment, rejection, failure, even pain, to name a few we find that they are only extensions of fear leading back to the original source.

 So many times when we are confronted or triggered by something we are afraid of we may find that we either shut down, react, or even become stuck in old baggage when it rears its head. Then there are those times we may find ourselves facing a fear that feels so overwhelming to explore and release, we began to live through others so that we can cover it up not dealing with what is happening inside us. In retrospect it looks good from the outside as it masquerades as helping others but the truth be known its only putting off what will show itself over and over until we take the time to heal it. Another side of fear is when we don't recognize and release these patterns and we project our fears on to others. If the person we are are helping is not able to stand in their own personal power they can be forced to wear our dirty laundry. This only perpetuates the cycle of fear and is a lot like the mythical monster whose head Hercules cut off only to be replaced by two others as it multiplied.

So what is the good news about fear you may ask? First is recognizing that the emotion of fear can be a powerful tool. The test is to decide that we are ready to make a change in the course of our lives in mastering a fear that no longer serves a purpose. The emotion of fear is an energy pattern that runs through us and radiates off us into the energy around us. Just observe any animal reacting to you when you are in a fear mode. Then it is understanding that some of our fears are instinct and those are the ones to pay attention to as they help us to avoid danger. It is the conditioned fears that hold us captive that are not healthy for us to continue to keep that need to be addressed when making this decision. The key is to remember that fear is made up of beliefs, thoughts, and ideas which are energy patterns not only circulating in our minds but also in our physical bodies.

The tool works when we are conscious that we are being emotionally triggered allowing us to have the opportunity to work on it. It is peeling back the layers and learning to look past the emotions that come up so we can pinpoint the source of the fear. Educating yourself and doing research about the fear by reading up on it, going to counseling, joining a group that is working on it, talking about it with others is a wonderful way to prepare yourself on how to recognize it when it pops up. This is retraining your mind as it begins to grasp the pattern so that you can see it in others or situations around you. That is when you have the choice to participate or to allow yourself to release the old energy as it also moves through you. By replacing an old experience with a new one you can also train your body to learn that the fear no longer serves a purpose.

I am not going to say this is easy because it doesn't always happen over night or instantaneously. It takes time, energy, and patience when we are moving through an experience and working on dissolving a old fear pattern. What is important is having the courage to be gentle with ourselves knowing we are in a safe place, finding our center, Identifying the fear, and taking a breath as we step into our own personal power. In the end we have the power to move through it and eventually let go.

Photographs by Steve Noyce - Terrell, TX

"The Soul Mate"

I once had a friend that asked me what I thought about Soul Mates? I had thought about it and always believed that my husband whom I have a wonderful marriage of 18 years was my Soul Mate. This had been a hot topic in our marriage because he disagreed.

My idea of a Soul Mate was this childhood fancy of someone made in the universe that was made just for me. The perfect union of souls and love, come together with the blessings of the Creator Himself along with his band of angels.

"No," he would argue "I love you and I choose to be with you in this life." We finely agreed to just disagree with the whole mess. So when others brought up this topic we would smile at each other as the violins began to play for me and he would set his chin firmly and we would walk away.

It wasn't until a friend invited me to a Healing seminar when the teacher came in and started talking about Soul Mates. I was so excited because now I had someone of authority who could validate my feelings and I could triumphantly bring this to my husband's attention.

The whole talk went like this... Most people have it wrong when they think that a Soul Mate is someone out there in the world that was hand tailored for you and only you. A Soul Mate is not about a romantic love as we see in Fairy Tales but a person who will bring out your Shadow Side. This is a person who's task is to make us uncomfortable enough to change or move in the way that the Creator has designed for us. Another words "They can kick you in the teeth to get you to grow spiritually."

What most people get confused about is the Life Mate. The person in our lives who is there for us by being there as a person who will cherish, support, love and help us in life as we grow and as we will do the same for them.

Well, this hit home because I had realized that the number one person in my life was more than special but someone that I could always count on even when my shadow side slipped out. We had been there for each other in the good and the bad and never was there a question of not loving the other.

It was a long drive home but when I got home, there was my adoring husband anxiously awaiting my return...

Building Photograph by Steve Noyce
Cats Photograph by Cameron

"The Bittersweet of Life"

This past weekend my husband and I attended a Torah dedication ceremony in memory of a dear friend's daughter who had passed away last year. I had only met her daughter once so I didn't know her very well. It had been a while since I had seen my friend and I wanted to be there to show my love and support for both her and her family.

When we got to the Synagogue where they were holding the ceremony we were immediately greeted with open arms and big hugs from my friend. We talked and then seated ourselves as there was a long line waiting to have their turn in expressing their wishes. Later in a sea of people she found us and had some of her friends sit with as it was also their first time to attend so we all had something in common.

Many stories were told about her daughter's life and stories about life that made you appreciate your loved ones. One particular story that touched me was told by one of the Rabbis. "It was about a daughter who was complaining to her father about her life and how tough it was. Her father who was a Chef wasn't good with words so he took her into his kitchen and put three pots on the stove to boil. In the first pot he added carrots. In the second pot he added eggs and in the third pot he added coffee beans. When they were all cooked he took them out and put them into bowls for his daughter to look at. Then when the carrots had cooled he had her touch them and they were mushy. Then they peeled the eggs and he scooped some coffee out for them to drink. She smile when she drank it.

The father then went on to explain that all three of the ingredients were subjected to the same cooking process. When the carrots were first added to the pot they were hard and then became mushy. The eggs were soft inside and became hard. The coffee beans were boiled but they blended with the water mixing their sweet flavor transforming the water into coffee. Then the father asked the daughter which one are you?"  The Rabbi went on to say that losses in our lives can be bittersweet as they change us but it is up to us on which way we change.

I know in my own life I have seen people become soft or hard from life experiences. But today when I looked at my friend I could feel her hurting but I could also feel her love and gratitude as she hugged each person who walked through the door knowing their name and asking about their families. I watched her as she went out of her way to make us all feel comfortable before sitting down. There it was... just like the coffee. It was the bittersweet that touched us all in a loving way.

Then I asked myself the same question...

Photographs by Steve Noyce

"Standing in One's Personal Power"

When I was a young teen I used to spend my summers with my father in Taos, New Mexico. One year in particular my father decided it would be a good idea for me to have something that not only occupied some of my time but would teach me something useful. His idea and my idea were completely different as he wanted me to take a Jujitsu martial arts class. I wanted to be in a dance class with all my summer time friends. As much as I was unhappy about the decision then, I do have to say that I did learn a few things.

The one thing that stood out the most for me when I took the class was when our Sensei would line us all up standing in a stance that he taught us while centering ourselves. Then we would focus our energy on being rooted into the ground. When we did this he would come from any direction and push us. The goal was not to topple over, fall, or move. Triggers from past experiences mixed with our own fears played a roll in creating distractions breaking our concentration as we found ourselves on the floor or being caught by our Sensei. There were, however, a few in the higher ranks that could pass the test, which encouraged the rest of us to work really hard on ourselves. What really stuck with me was that each one of us had different weaknesses that made us fall or lose our stance which were unique to each one of us. The whole experience allowed me to see that even though we were all taking the same class, learning the same techniques, we still had different experiences and lessons that we got out of it.

Years later I found that personal power works very much the same way. It is only when we are standing in alignment with our mind, body, and spirit that we find the strength within ourselves to connect with our personal power and it becomes harder for life to topple us over. As individuals living on the planet we each have our own experiences and gifts that we have brought into this world that helps us navigate through our lifetimes. When we are in alignment we recognize when we are having a moment or when others are having theirs in the middle of a situation. This allows us to stay within our integrity while having grace within ourselves and with others.

Life experiences offers many tests where we find that our foundation is threatened throwing us out of balance within ourselves which may cause us to lose or in some cases to hand over our personal power to someone else. This only creates frustration and discord as the mind begins to over analyze, the body reacts, and the spirit separates as it looks for harmony in what was an alliance.

In truth we each have the ability to recognize and make conscious choices in our response to ourselves or someone's negative actions. We all have our moments and sometimes they spill over on to others or on to us. But all of us have our own lessons that are unique to each of us and it is there in those moments that we discover whether we have what it takes to stand in our own personal power so that we can stay in our integrity and hold our stance.


Photographs by Ana; Japanese Gardens, Fort Worth, TX

The Grief Experience

The grieving process is one of those experiences that when we really look at it we can see how it affects the the different layers of us being multi-dimensional beings. Yes, we can track a formula that follows a certain pattern and sometimes it soothes us a little to have a particular course that we can follow. But then there are those other times we may find that we are stuck in a monotonous cycle of the grieving process reliving the experience over and over. So the next question is, "When does it end?" That is a very good question and when we look at ourselves again as multi-dimensional beings we see that we are indeed very complicated beings making that question dependent on healing three important parts of ourselves that hold our grief.

Grief is an emotion that marks the separation of the mind, body, and soul scattered in different directions. When we grieve, we grieve with our whole being but each part of the mind, body, and soul has it's own unique way of processing the whole grief experience. For example even if we are able to accept and understand what has happened, our body may still be moving through its own course of action in releasing the loss. This is why we find that we burst into tears, become angry, or feel depressed even after we thought that we had mentally processed a loss. Another example is when we feel that something isn't right and yet we can't place a finger on it feeling an enormous emptiness or heaviness within ourselves as we have lost our way. This can be described as Soul Sickness. The soul has lost or is missing something that needs to be processed or experienced within the lifetime of the individual yet it makes no sense to that person until they find meaning or cause in making a serious effort to change their course in life to heal the soul. Then there is the mind which can also play its part in grief causing a person to relive and over process an experience of loss to a point of minor madness.

Ancient Chinese medicine says that we carry our grief in our lungs. For many of us we feel it in our hearts. If it is not through the breath in our lungs it is through our hearts torn into a thousand pieces. Even though it may seem to be cruel it is the physical body's way of realigning itself so that it can bring itself to heal within the cells as it tries to reprogram itself to cope with what has happened to continue on with life. The mind also has it's own way of remembering, replaying, processing, firing-off, or even forgetting an experience as it also adjusts itself to come to terms to what has happened or endured. Then there is the energy of the soul that spills over affecting the energy bodies within and the outer layer of the subtle bodies that surround the physical body. Each of these energy centers are also influenced by the mind and body experiencing the grief causing them to become out of balance creating more anxiousness and frustration with one's plight in life. 

For whatever reason a person is moving through their own grieving experience it is always good to know that there is more going on than just the emotion of grief. Grieving is not a process of allowing time to change things so that we heal. No, it is a process of finding balance and learning how to work with and heal those different parts of ourselves that are experiencing the grief. We are after all a whole being not just a body, not just a mind, and not just a soul. We are unique as multi-dimensional beings with all three built into one that needs to find a healthy balance for our grief to heal.   

photographs by Angelique

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's day!

"The Art of being a mother is unique to each individual relationship as it is truly an art that is perfected each day. It is not easy but fulfilling in participating in the life of another individual as they blossom into themselves."  Ana  

1. "Motherhood is... difficult and... rewarding."
   by: Gloria Estefan
   
2. "Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever."
   by: Unknown 
3. "We never know the love of the parent until we become parents ourselves."
   by: Henry Ward Beecher
   
4. "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."
   by: Abraham Lincoln
   
5. "God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers."
   by: Rudyard Kipling
   
6. "A mom's hug lasts long after she lets go."
   by: Anonymous
   
7. "The best place to cry is on a mother’s arms."
   by: Jodi Picoult

Photographs by Angelique

"The Light Body"

One of the many things that you will hear in the healing world is the term "light body". I know for a long time I got the concept of this but didn't actually understand what it really meant until I started to have these amazing series of experiences when I would close my eyes at night trying to fall into sleep. I would see these brilliant rays of the light that moved into my third eye that were breathtaking and blinding to say the least.

At first I was startled and would open my eyes trying to catch my breath almost afraid of closing my eyes not knowing what I would see but within a few nights of this I was able to keep my eyes closed and experience the intensity of the light. On a few occasions I would see a beautiful face smiling back at me as close to my face as possible.

I know that when the third eye opens people will have this type of experience with the light but it was this being whom I felt was very close to me that made me realize that there was more to it than that. I had the great feeling of peace and that a guardian or angel was trying to show me that they were in my energy field.

It was much later that I understood that we are all like the being in which we are all created out of light that is just as brilliant. It is the density of matter that creates our bodies to live in this third dimension world. I remember being under the age of five laying in my bed at night trying to remember where I actually came from. I knew that I was not just my body and had forgotten something very important. It was so close to me remembering but I could not recall it.

I would lay there thinking I came from somewhere else and it was really good but why had I forgotten? I did not understand until one night it came that it was not important for me to remember at the time and so I let it go until that experience so many years later with the light.

Like so many others I had forgotten where I originally came from and like many had always believed that I was alone when the truth is that we are never alone. We are always surrounded by this massive amounts of love and loving guardians. And I remembered what I had forgotten so many years ago is that we are truly the beings and creation of the Creator which has created us in his own image.

I find that often we get stuck in this third dimension but our thoughts and memories are of the the world of energy and light. When we are stuck we send out all this fear, anger and anguish
creating this energy field of this low emotional turmoil that keeps us in fear. It is when we arise above this and find that there is a higher energy field of pure love and light that our eyes open to what can really be achieved in this world.

Look around you today and see all this great fear that we have all created to live in! Then look deep within yourself and find that truth that was and is who you really are. We are all so beautiful when we remember from where we came from and a part of.

Photographs by Ana

"The Eyes"

This week I have had some very interesting conversations with various people and one of those conversations happened to be on the subject of eyes. What spurred the conversation was that they had heard from the eye doctor that there was really no treatment for glaucoma. This remark triggered a memory of someone I knew who had healed their eyes through energy work. Now it was a little different as that person was working on healing their eyesight because they didn't want to wear glasses, but if it worked with wearing glasses why not with glaucoma. As an energy practitioner myself I knew that all things are created out of energy and that even our physical forms can be broken down into energy patterns, so why not. I then told the story...

Years ago when I was working at the Acupuncture Clinic in Fort Worth I met a women who was studying at the time to be a Qigong master. She knew the woman who ran the clinic so she started to teach Qigong classes there. One evening after one of her classes we had time to visit and that is when she confided to me that she was working on healing her eyesight. She admitted that she wasn't fond of wearing glasses and through energy work she knew that she could heal her vision. This was something that never even entered my mind even though I wear contacts. I am fine with my contacts but was truly fascinated by her story and the eye exorcises that she did. She was really dedicated to the cause.

A few months later I ran into her again when she was there for a class. I worked days and her classes were in the evenings so I just happened to be working late that evening when I saw her. Of course I was highly curious about her eyes and had to ask how she was doing. She was excited to report that her eyesight had improved so much that the eye doctor wasn't sure if he hadn't misdiagnose her vision. We both enjoyed a good chuckle. As fate would have it I didn't see her again until a year later. I ended up taking time off to write a book and so when I saw her at a social event I had to ask again about her eyes. When I did she smiled really big and let me know her vision had improved to almost 20/20. It was amazing!

After I told my story to the person who told me about the glaucoma. I had to say that from my own experience I knew someone that healed themselves and that through energy work they could possible do the same. However I did want them to know that I wasn't the person to help them but that there were Qigong master teachers out there who taught techniques for healing the eyes and that she could look up and find help..

If you are interested... below are a few websites that I found that do techniques for healing the eyes.

http://flowingzen.com/4068/fix-your-eyesight-with-qigong/

http://www.masterteresa.com/Content/eye-qi-gong.html

http://www.albanyqigong.com/images/Qigong%20Eye%20Exercises.pdf

Photographs by Steve Noyce

"The Stone People"

My love for stones started very early in life. My mother used to tell the story of when I was a toddler and would sit out in the driveway putting stones in my mouth. People would ask her if she was afraid that I would swallow them but she said that I never did, so she didn't think it would do any harm to let me do it. Years later I used to join my father in Taos, New Mexico where he had an art gallery and would set up his tepee for the summer. When I was there I would help him gather stones for the fireplace and sit around the fire in the evening listening to him tell stories. Some of his stories were about the stone people reminding me to have respect for all things.

I always enjoyed my dad's stories but I used to think that he was making it all up until I was in my early thirties and was sitting in the living room one day knitting. On that one particular day I was feeling so happy and full of love that I ended up shooting out of my body from the top of my head and merged into a brilliant bright light of pure consciousness. Any worries that I had at the time dropped to the floor like discarded clothing. From there high above my physical form I could see and experience everything around me and in me made out of complete unconditional love. I was fully aware at that time that everything in the room and anything that existed was made up of one consciousnesses. I also understood that I was only a tiny speck connected to it all and so was everything beyond what I could imagine. Even what I thought were empty spaces held this one consciousnesses as the tiny particles that made up the air were a part of it, as nothing was separated from it.

In that moment of full awareness my attention fell upon the rocks that I had collected sitting on my fireplace. Immediately I recognized they were a part of that same consciousness and I could see the tiny atoms bumping around in different sequences making up the physical form of the energy that held them together. I knew in that moment that my father had been right all along and that he was not just telling stories. After that experience I started to become sensitive to energy patterns and of course one of the things that drew my attention were stones. As I worked with them as an artist I could also see how the different energy patterns of stones affected the subtle energy bodies. Later on as an energy practitioner I also learned that we were attracted to the various stones according to what we needed in our energy fields. An analogy of this is when our body has a food craving and we seek a particular kind of food as our body needs certain nutrients from it.

Since matter is also made up of an ethereal substance the atoms and subtle energy in our bodies can also become out of balanced like our physical forms causing us to be attracted to things in our lives that we crave to help us find balance. This is not to be mixed up with the mind following the ego but the feeling we get when we actually hold a stone in our hands feeling it's energy as that is the energy pattern we are seeking to help us balance our energy fields. Our energy fields finds the atomic pattern and copies that into our field making us feel that feeling of peace as it rebalances itself.

Now, I do want to make a note: That I am not going to say that I don't love stones and gemstones because of their looks and sparkle... but there is also a feeling of balance that moves through the soul that has nothing to do with looks which is very much a part of our own energy make up. The other point was something my father used to say which was that, "The stone people like everything else in the physical world are only there for us as teachers, the rest is up to us."

To learn more about stones and their energy I would recommend...

The book of Stones: Who They Are and What They Teach, by Robert Simmons and Naisha Ahsian

Also please join me at the Artini Art Gallery as I continue to share my own passion for stones.  

Artini Art Gallery-  http://artiniart.com/gallery/info/anna
Circle Insights-   http://www.circleinsights.com/

Photographs by Ana

"Our Heart's Desire"

This past Friday I went to visit some of my artist friends who are showing their work at the Main Street Art festive in Fort Worth, TX this weekend. As I was looking around one of the artists who I met last year came up to me and started to talk about a conversation we had and how much it had affected him. He then went on to say that it was about the power of what we say and how it was connected to our heart's desire that made the real difference. As I listened to him it was nice to have that subject echoed back to me as my own soul needed to hear what we had talked about because of the changes that I am thinking of making in my own life.

He told me that after our conversation he decided to make the conscious effort to look at what he really wanted in life and how it was connected to what he really was feeling, thinking, and saying. He said that by being aware of matching the energy that he was putting out to his heart's desire, his whole life made a dramatic shift. He was then able to manifest what he wanted as it all seemed to quickly drop into his life.

As I walked away later after visiting for awhile I thought about my dad who liked to give lectures on the power of our own words and what we said spilled out the inner struggles inside of us. Often we don't even realize that our words don't match up to what we want in our lives therefore releasing into the universe that we are not ready to create what we want. If energy follows thought then we are only canceling out what we want to manifest. After leaving I decided to file it away in my memory bank to return to it when I had more time to work on myself as I felt like this was something worth revisiting.

Saturday evening after having a lovely dinner out with my family we decided to go to the bookstore as a treat as we all love to read. My attention was immediately drawn to a book called Magnetizing Your Hearts Desire, by Sharon A Warren M.A. Laughing at the coincidence I picked it up and thumbed through the pages thinking that if something like that dropped into your lap it might be the universe trying to bring it to your attention on some level. Still thinking that it was funny I thumbed through the book only to read a few pages realizing that I felt an energy resonating inside me almost pulling me in to read it. Listening to that feeling I made the connection that something was really going on with me so I picked it up along with a novel and went to find the rest of my family which had scattered throughout the bookstore.

Later in the evening I started to read the book and discovered that not only did it talk about the subject of changing our thoughts, feelings and words but also how to use magnets to demonstrate how the concept of attracting what we want and how it was repelled. I thought using the magnets was an ingenious idea as it physically helps to understand the whole idea of lining it all up. As I read on I again became aware of a physical tugging inside of my energy field as if wanting to match up with some of the changes I was still thinking of making in my own life. It felt a lot like what I felt in the bookstore when I picked up the book. I then realized that it was time to make those changes and then gave thanks for being shown that I needed to pay closer attention.

Photograph #1 by Ana - Modern Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX
Photograph #2 by Ana - Cowgirl Museum, Fort Worth, TX

"The Robe"

I had an interesting thing happen to me a few nights ago. This past week we have been enjoying our time visiting our family for the holidays in California. A few nights ago I woke up in a cold sweat from a nightmare not knowing where I was and as I started to catch my bearings I felt my heart pounding away. I thought about the dream trying to calm myself down telling myself it was only a dream and I was safe. The dream itself was a lot like being in one of those zombie movies. I don't watch zombie movies because they do tend to give me nightmares and this particular dream had me really upset.

To help calm down I decided to get up and get a drink of water thinking it might distract me from the images and feelings that I felt still reeling inside my body. As I continued to try to get a hold of myself I saw my old robe that I love so much draped over a chair in the room. Instantly feeling a need to pick it up I wrapped myself in it and immediately felt my heart slow down as a warm feeling of being safe rushed though my body. At the time I did think it was strange how quickly my heart changed over to a normal beat when I did this. I then felt myself start to relax into the familiar soft fabric of the old robe and laid back down with no trouble of falling into a peaceful sleep. I had no more nightmares though the rest of the night.

Later the next day I thought about what had happened and wondered why when as soon as I put on my favorite robe my heart stopped pounding. When I looked back I could see that the old robe was not just a symbol in my life for being safe but when I wore it I was happy as I padded around the house working on my art, playing with the pets, or hanging out with the family. This beautiful energy had woven itself into the very fiber of the fabric with the precious moments of being content at home. That energy was what I felt that night when I was upset when I placed the robe on.

Now I know now what children feel like when they feel safe when they have their special blanket or the old toy that they loved until it is ratted and falling apart. When you really look at, it isn't the tangible item itself but all the loving energy that is trapped and held within it.

Photographs by Steve Noyce - Malibu, CA