Spirit Animal – The Wisdom of the Robin

The robins have returned to Calgary!  I have seen about a dozen over the last two days.  Each of them stops as I walk by, and looks at me with their big, dark eyes and I know that they are sending me messages by their intentness, and by their body language.

Since I could not seem to get the message clearly, I sat down in meditation to listen closely to what Robin was saying.

American Robin - From Wikipedia.com

 

 

 

 

 

Robin says:

Pay attention, hatchling (what many of the birds call me because I seem young in their eyes)!  We are here one moon earlier than normal.  We have been called to do this because of the changing food supply.  You too need to pay attention to your food supply.  The weather shifts with the Earth.  Do you not hear the grinding deep down in the ground, down below the worms?  This is the sign that the big change is coming.  We say that you are safe from the falling rocks and the hot earth that comes up in some places.  You do not know how to move quickly enough to get out of the way of changes.

When we were closer to the Sun (South), we saw that mankind is changing.  The people are hungry and looking for food.  It seems that more people are living out of doors like we do.  And yet, we can find roost in a favourite tree.  The humans seem to have trouble finding a place to roost for the night.  They do not care well for their chicks.  We do not like to go to some places because they do look at us like the hawk. 

We say to you to find your safe place.

This seems like pretty good advice!

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

Vote for Roger for the The Next Top Spiritual Author

This contest is set up like the TV Idol contests. That is, the audience, or the readership in this case, votes for its favourite author. We are asking for your vote to help promote The Story of Light, Through Heaven’s Gate.

Voting is really easy! Go to http://www.nexttopauthor.com/register.cfm and register.

Follow the instructions in the email they send to confirm registration. Then go to Roger’s profile page at http://www.nexttopauthor.com/profile.cfm?aid=715 or when you get to the search area for authors, enter one of a0 S. Roger Joyeux, b) book title, or c) Roger’s ID 715.

Login and cast your vote using the tiny vote button on his profile page, located under the book’s write up. Click to vote, then tell all your friends. After you cast your vote for Roger, blessing will abound.

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

Judy@angelsandancestors.com   See the April Magazine online at  www.angelsandancestors.com/newsletter/mag1004.pdf .  See www.thestoryoflight.com for Roger’s new book The Story of Light Volume 11: Through Heaven’s Gate.  See the new download at www.legionsofmichael.com

Spirit Speaks – Mars Ice Caps

Our myths and stories talk about the mystery of Mars. Is it populated or not?  Was it populated?  Can anyone live there?  The popular opinion was that, since the planet appeared to be red dust, there must be iron there. So, yes someone could have lived there, but it would be difficult without water.  Now, scientists, using space probes, are able to see the dark side of Mars.  What they discovered is that Mars is covered with ice like matter.

What do you think?

                    ****************

From the article:

It looks like a filmmaker's apocalyptic vision of Earth following a devastating natural disaster.

But this colossal ice formation is actually a portion of the wall terraces of a huge crater on Mars.

Approximately 37 miles in diameter, a section of the Mojave Crater in the planet's Xanthe Terra region has been digitally mapped by Nasa scientists.

The result is this digital terrain model that was generated from a stereo pair of images and offers a synthesized, oblique view of a 2.5-mile portion of the crater's wall terraces.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1259813/Mars-Ice-walls-Red-Planet.html#ixzz0jmRnENqb

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

Vote for Roger for the The Next Top Spiritual Author

This contest is set up like the TV Idol contests. That is, the audience, or the readership in this case, votes for its favourite author. We are asking for your vote to help promote The Story of Light, Through Heaven’s Gate.

Voting is really easy! Go to http://www.nexttopauthor.com/register.cfm and register.

Follow the instructions in the email they send to confirm registration. Then go to Roger’s profile page at http://www.nexttopauthor.com/profile.cfm?aid=715 or when you get to the search area for authors, enter one of a0 S. Roger Joyeux, b) book title, or c) Roger’s ID 715.

Login and cast your vote using the tiny vote button on his profile page, located under the book’s write up. Click to vote, then tell all your friends. After you cast your vote for Roger, blessing will abound.

Judy@angelsandancestors.com   Watch for the April Magazine online at  www.angelsandancestors.com.  See www.thestoryoflight.com for Roger’s new book The Story of Light Volume 11: Through Heaven’s Gate.  See the new download at www.legionsofmichael.com

Spirit Speaks – A Forecasting From the Native American Tarot Deck

I asked the question, “What do all of us need to know this week?”

I used the Native American Tarot Deck – created by Magda Weck Gonzalez and illustrated by J. A. Gonzalez; published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

The first card - #18 The Moon - represents the Moon, and, there is a full moon tomorrow evening.

The Moon card represents the aspects of the Moon and how it links the Earth with the Divine.  It is full of magic, and the promise of being something greater than the mundane.  It makes us feel hope.

 

 

The second card - #5 of Sticks – represents stickball or lacrosse.  For the tribes, stickball was a substitute for war, and therefore, very competitive.  The message is clear.  One must work together with others in order to make headway.  The only way to become the best is to practise, and to work as a team.  For our world, which has come to honour the individual achievement, this means learning how to work cooperatively for the good of all, instead of from a place of greed.

The third card is #10 of Blades – Ruin - showing a warrior down on the ground with three arrows in his back.  If people don’t understand the message in the previous card, this card makes it clear: if you do not work with others, you will need to beware of all, and eventually, if you tick off enough people, someone will “get” you.  In the real world, we are seeing more and more whistle blowers who have had enough of rule breaking by the companies that they work for. 

 

Our Ancestors believed in the ability of shaman or medicine men/women to be able to predict the future.  We might even call them mystics.  The Shaman worked to keep the tribe moving in harmony with nature and to keep harmony between the members of the tribe.  The mantra was “oneness with all things”.  Hurt something and we hurt ourselves. 

It seems to me that this truth still applies!

Judy@angelsandancestors.com   See the new download at www.legionsofmichael.com   See the updated pages at www.angelsandancestors.com

Buddha Speaks - Mind at Ease

As I study Buddhism in its several faces, I am constantly in wonder at how simple the concepts are and how difficult it is to embrace the concept and put it to full practice in one’s life.

This simple story will explain what I mean.  It is called “Mind At Ease”, and talks about how we can put our heart at ease.  Does this seem contrary to the title?  Well, Buddhism is a series of koans.  A koan is a paradoxical anecdote or a riddle that has no solution; used in Zen Buddhism to show the inadequacy of logical reasoning.  This definition comes from wordnetweb.princeton.edu. So, here is the story!

                                                  

Sometimes, trying to understand a koan is like trying to catch the Sun! Picture from Microsoft Clip Art

 

 

 

Mind At Ease

It was a dark, snowy and windy night. Hui Ko, the Second Patriarch of Zen Sect in China, went to see Master Bodhidharma.

Hui Ko asked, "Could you please teach me the supreme Buddhist Dharma?"

The Master said, "You can't learn the Dharma from others."

Hui Ko said, "I have trying to search for Dharma myself, but in vain. My heart is unsettled. My mind is ill-at-ease. Master, please pacify my heart for me."

The Master replied, "Give me your heart and I'll try to calm it down for you."

After pondering for a long time, Hui Ko said, "I have been searching for my heart, but I cannot find it."

Bodhidharma said instantly, "Now, I have comforted your heart already."

Hui Ko was enlightened all of a sudden. It is impossible to show the heart as its existence is only an illusion. The whole process of the creation and cessation of the heart, or the mind, is also an illusion.

When we are void of the illusion, the 'heart' is not there at all. Without any attachment, the pure Buddha's nature is revealed. The mind is finally at ease.

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

What do you learn from this story?  Is is something that you can share with all of us?  Send your story to Judy@angelsandancestors.com and she will publish it on the blog with other comments to this article.

See the new download at www.legionsofmichael.com   See the updated pages at www.angelsandancestors.com

Spirit Animal – Badger, The Teacher

Our Ancestors in Europe, North America, and in Africa, have regarded Badger with awe, with superstition, and with malice.  This, to me, seems reasonable since Badger clans so closely represent human clans or tribes.  And, the behaviour of Badger should put us in awe of her, because she is such a brilliant teacher.

Badger has long been revered for her fighting prowess.  She will take on wolves, bears, and a pack of dogs. She fights with her long, sharp claws and with her teeth.  She hears extremely well because she is near sighted.  This means, however, that she is prepared.  She will choose to fight from a place where her back quarters are protected.

She is also very strong.  Since her mainstay diet is roots, grubs, earthworms, and creepy crawlies that reside under rocks and logs, Badger needs to be able to shift the rock or log that is often four or five times her weight.  She uses a rocking motion to set the object to move, proving that she has a basic understanding of the physics of motion.

 

Picture of American Badger from Wikipedia, with thanks!

 

Men have found Badger to be very cunning when they hunt her.  She knows how to become invisible.  She seems to be able to confuse dogs by mixing up her tracks and spraying a musk to cloud the area.  She knows how to use streams and culverts and hollow logs or deadfall to rise up off the earth and move to a different location.

Badger will fight to the death to protect her young.  And, she did need to protect them because around the world, people still eat badger meat to gain some of Badger’s strength and wisdom.  Instead of eating her, many would do much better to ask her to come and teach them her ways. 

           Picture of badger from www.cwsd.org, with thanks.

 

As a teacher, here is what Badger says:  

1. Spend less time mourning what you do not have, and spend more time looking at the ways that you may acquire what you need.
2. Eat simply! The more that you eat that which is away from where you live, the more you weaken your body.  This allows outsiders to come in and take what is yours.
3. Bond with your family.  In times of distress, they are the only ones that you can truly count on.
4. Teach the children well – how to find food; how to defend themselves; how to become invisible.  The world is full of predators.  Each parent is tasked with keeping the child safe for that child is the legacy of our line.

Ask Badger to come in to teach you in dream time.  She will oblige if she finds you worthy.

Judy@angelsandancestors.com  See the new download at www.legionsofmichael.com   See the updated pages at www.angelsandancestors.com  See the blog from February 19, 2009, Spirit Animal - Badger

Spirit Animal – Dolphin On Gentleness

Since the release of the film, “The Cove”, about the slaughter of Dolphins in Japan, and now, more recently, the Youtube film called “ Dolphin Slaughter in Denmark Killing Dolphin in Denmark” www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmQlh7JhTxc, Dolphin has been front and center around the violence done to sea life.

Dolphin has long been heralded as the keeper of ships, and the guardian of the seas.  There are many stories that talk about how Dolphin has saved shipwrecked men, or helped a small vessel navigate around treacherous waters.

People love to swim with the Dolphins because they are so playful, and so gentle. The message behind the massacre movies is that Dolphin is mirroring what Man does to Man.  Man kind thinks from Ego.  Why would a rite of passage need to be the killing of something that cannot fight back?  It provides the untested male with a situation where he is superior, powerful, and has absolute control.  This rite becomes the making of a warrior or, perhaps, a bully or abuser.

Dolphin, with its playful attitude and friendliness to humans, has tried for millennia to teach mankind, by shining example, the concept of gentleness! Man, represented by the masses, does not get it.  Gentleness to self, to others, to the Earth, to the seas and oceans, and most of all, to the animals, fish, fowl, creepy crawlies, and reptiles, because these beings sustain the Earth, and indirectly, sustain mankind.

Be gentle to yourself and to others today!

Judy@angelsandancestors.com  See the new download at www.legionsofmichael.com   See the updated pages at www.angelsandancestors.com

Spirit Animals – Domestic Sheep

We often overlook the value of having animals around us that we are very familiar with.  Sometimes we treat these animals with a certain contempt (familiarity breeds contempt) without realizing that we are doing so.

Picture of Sheep from the Picasa Public sample album – with thanks!

I think that often we treat sheep, cattle, chickens and pigs like that. They are so humbly in service to humans, that we miss the strength and the pride of what they do because of how silently they do support us.

We all know that sheep are used for many products that we also take for granted – wool, mutton, lamb meat, milk/cheese, and hide/leather.  Legends say that Sheep volunteered to be in service to mankind from the beginning of man’s time on Earth.  They did this because they were peaceful, loving, well grounded (close to the Earth) animals. At that time, all the Beings and Angels that looked after the Earth thought that all that loving would rub off on humans.  In many of the pictures of Jesus, one sees him with Sheep or holding Sheep or walking with Sheep.  Again, legends say that Jesus recognized the beauty and service role of Sheep.

Mankind, however, did not acknowledge Sheep as a leader in service.  Instead, man has denigrated Sheep, and has made up all sorts of sayings about them – implying that they are either stupid or boring, or both!

• Count sheep before you go to sleep.
• Don’t be a sheep and follow
• Black sheep
• Make sheep’s eyes
• Don’t leave the wolf to guard the sheep
• Wolf in sheep’s clothing

Sheep, however, even though known for its peacefulness, was used by our Ancestors as an early alarm  system.  Because sheep are so sensitive to noise and to negative energy, they could determine, by the vibrations in the ground, when large groups of people were approaching a castle or keep.  Their frightened bleats and bunching together for safety, alerted the watchmen that trouble was coming. 

People make fun of the way Sheep move together.  What Sheep is showing is the fascinating ability of herd think, or mind link, something that people simply have not developed.  The herd mind link allows the Sheep to move at a moment’s notice to safety.  They do not stop and say, “Why? Or, why that way? Or, are you sure we really should?”  And, my personal favourite, “What gives you the right to tell me what to do?”

May you be as loved as the Sheep by Great Spirit!

Judy@angelsandancestors.com   See our www.legionsofmichael.com site for downloads of information and teachings by Archangel Michael.  Check out  BOOK LAUNCH
Sunday, April 25th, 2010
Attend the launch of Roger’s new book, The Story of Light: Volume 2, Through Heaven’s Gate. Watch this announcement for time and location.

Ancestors Speak – Wind of Change

The Lakota Sweat Lodge Cards (Teachings of the Sioux) carry great wisdom in them.  They are remarkably in tune with the overall energy on Planet Earth.
Yesterday, I pulled a card to see what we all needed to know about this week (March 22 to 26).

Picture of Card 6 – Wind from The Lakota Sweat Lodge Cards (Teachings of the Sioux) – written by Chief Archie Fire Lame Deer and Helene Sarkis, published by Destiny Books. Thank you for creating such a wonderful resource!

The meaning of this card is “Change”.  I love the affirmation/meditation that travels with this card -

“I trust the deep promptings of self that guide me through change.”

How hard it is for us, human that we are, to trust! We feel the pull to make changes in our lives because what we are doing is not working like it once was.  Because things are not going so smoothly, people are getting angry or angrier, and agitated, and they are taking this out on the people around them as well as carrying that energy into the products or services that they build or provide. However, the message of the card says it better than my words.

I am born of the imminent motion of creation.  I am all that was, is, and will be.  I am the blessed breath of the one who loves you.  I am the necessity of motion manifest in your world.  I give you the experience of time -of past, present, and future.  I share my breath with all Earth's children.  I can be gentle and caressing; I can bring destruction.  Im he who sees to it that no creation begotten of man lives forever, for this is against the Law of my Father, Skan, who says that these children must learn from experience, from change, internal and external, until the knowledge of his origin is all that is left to know.
But I need not be harsh with you, dear one.  Here the message of my soft voice then I need not become so loud but for my own exuberance.
I have much to tell you, for I travel far and wide, high and low.  I swirl in eddies over the seas and rise high onto our Father and return again to the surface of the earth with messages for you.

Be still, and listen to the wind, and then take action.
Judy@angelsandancestors.com  See the new download at www.legionsofmichael.com   See the updated pages at www.angelsandancestors.com

Spirit Animal – Horse Nudges

All of my life, horses have played a role in my work, my leisure, and my focus.  For many years, my work took me away from having horses in my everyday life.  And now, my life reflects the circle where I come back to the beginnings when Horse appears in my work.

Picture of horses from Microsoft Clip Art

Here is what happened.  I was driving down the highway, on my way back from seeing a client, and my mind was wandering as I released the energy from the session.  As I gazed into the fields, I noticed all the different pastures with horses in them.  Most of the horses stayed in small herd formations, mostly moving the same way.  However, I came to one field where the horses were scattered all over the place, and facing different directions, and definitely not acting herd-like.  My mind stopped at this puzzle, and began mulling it over.  I asked for guidance around what was going on.
Horse was nudging me, and the rest of the world.  Horse’s message was about “acting together instead of separately”.  When horses are rescue horses, which is the case with the field of horses that I was seeing, the horse has been damaged, and often cannot bond with other horses. The horse has forgotten the “herd instinct” for survival.  Wild Mustangs will move as one, in some instances because their connection to one another is so very strong.  Mustangs will protect a mare giving birth, and they will take turns watching over the foals.  Our Ancestors did those very same things.  In the families, the older ones cared for the younger ones or the very old or very ill.
Does it seem to you that humans are now acting in favour of the individual instead of for the good of the herd?
Judy@angelsandancestors.com   See our www.legionsofmichael.com site for downloads of information and teachings.    Monday, March 22, 2010 - Tele-class - Discussion Group of  Teachings Of Michael- Scripting Your Destiny
Time:   6:00pm Pacific Time
             7:00pm Mountain Time
             9:00pm Eastern Time
Tele-class dial in --  1-218-862-1300
Conference # 207077
Call is recorded and will be available for download

From Judy – Concentrating on “You”

Last night, we celebrated our eighth spring equinox event. Eight people attended. (Are you noticing a pattern of eights?)  We had a potluck supper, and then a ceremony that was quite different than our previous circles. Last night, we were guided through “A Rejuvenation Ceremony”.  The energy was huge, and we moved a lot of “stuff” that had been holding each of us back.

Picture of runner from Microsoft Clip Art

 

The most important teaching and lesson that came through last night was, “concentrate on you”.  What this means is, concentrate on your own healing, wisdom, learning, growth, and experience.  Let others concentrate on their own journey.  Offering unsolicited advice, driving and controlling others, and manipulating those around you, will lead to illness very quickly.

This brings to mind the affirmations that I provided in a previous blog called Spirit Speaks – Affirmations Are A Gift!

You always decide for yourself what is best for you, and you allow others the same right.

You accept complete responsibility for your life, and for your reactions to all situations.

You enjoy excellent health, and you are easily able to relax at any time.

When we get involved in other people’s stuff, we move away from our path.  We can ask for blessings for others or for healing for others, yet if the person does not ask for it themselves, we are simply sending out energy that will keep on going without touching the other person, because that other person is not ready. 

So, how does this affect healers?  The more that a healer tries to work on others without doing any work on themselves, the more likely it is that the healer will fall ill or have an accident that takes them out of the healing world for a time.  The illness or accident, will focus on the cornerstone that the healer must work on to keep being the example they need to be to their clients. 

Overall, it does not matter if you are in service to others if you are not in service to self. Translating this concept to self means – eating properly for you, not according to someone else’s diet or way of life; maintaining the body temple in a healthy balanced manner, for if your body can not support you, it will not support your work; and doing all the clearings that you do with people, on yourself, at least in weekly sessions. (Daily is better!)  If you do not have time to work on yourself, should you be working on others?  This is a question that each of us must answer.

As a comparison, when an athlete is training, they train only for themselves, and use a coach.  Only when they have trained long and hard, doing the same routines everyday, often for eight and ten years, or longer, do they think about becoming coaches, to work with others.

Where are you on your training program?

Judy@angelsandancestors.com   See our www.legionsofmichael.com site for downloads of information and teachings.    Monday, March 22, 2010 - Tele-class - Discussion Group of  Teachings Of Michael- Scripting Your Destiny
Time:   6:00pm Pacific Time
             7:00pm Mountain Time
             9:00pm Eastern Time
Tele-class dial in --  1-218-862-1300
Conference # 207077
Call is recorded and will be available for download

Tarot Discussion – Spring Equinox March 20 2010

Today is the spring equinox – a time of renewal and rejuvenation.  I was curious to see what messages would come up in the tarot cards that represent different traditions.  I asked the question, “What does the world need to know for spring equinox?”  The results were actually astonishing.

From the Native American Tarot Deck – created by Magda Weck Gonzalez and illustrated by J. A. Gonzalez; published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

The first card is #3, Medicine Woman.  This card represents the natural healer, the nurturer, that allows for the natural changes.  Our Ancestors celebrated the life transitions of birth, adolescence, puberty, taking one’s place in the tribe (growth), marriage, teaching, and death.  She channelled the energy of change in such a way to make each experience as positive as possible.  The time was very exciting for those journeying their life path.  As well, Medicine Woman was able to heal and help those around her with natural products from Mother Earth. A write up on the card says,

“The highest spiritual and the lowest material qualities are combined in this card. A continuity of life, an inheritance of blood, binds all forms of nature together.  The meaning is that wishing for the possible brings creative results, but blindly wishing for the impossible is self destructive.”

The Warrior of Shields represents the material, and the egocentricity of man, particularly in North America. It shows that man is caught up in the mythology of working for others, at the expense of the upkeep of family, and that man has become dependent on powers of bureaucracy.  Some of mankind’s largest failings – unrealistic ambition, superstition/religion, and unwillingness to make a decision – are represented by this card.  The Warrior of Shields then, represents all the people that realize the world is changing rapidly, yet refuse to take responsibility for their own change, and remain as passive or even aggressive in trying to keep things the way they are.

The synopsis of the two cards shows that the natural state of growth, change and spirituality, is being offset by the weight of those who feel powerless.  Eventually, a major shift must happen to bring the population to a new natural balance. Those that are stumbling blocks will fall by the way side.

Using the “Wisdom of the Maya” deck created by Dr. Ronald L. Bonewitz, with carved illustrations by Achim Frederick Kiel, and published by St. Martin’s Press.

BEN/GLYPH 13 Green Maize-Unready/ill-prepared: This card is showing that green maize, in order to grow, needs to have the right climate and conditions of soil.  Therefore, green maize has potential to fulfill its destiny, or to die.  The card is a parable for man kind, at spring equinox, poised to rejuvenate or not.  In potential, one sees that man kind has an opportunity for personal growth and advancement.  Or, man can choose to do nothing, and wither away, like corn trying to grow without nourishment.  Just like the corn field needs tending, so too do our shifts and opportunities.  Ignore either the corn or one’s growth at great peril!

PAUAHTUN 4 The Skybearers: The Pauahtun are the four quarters or the four pillars of Mayan cosmology.  In their positive aspect, they bear heavy loads, endure, represent solidness and strength.  The negative aspect is that they can be immovable, stubborn, and self destructive.  The message is clearly to be strong in what one needs to endure to move forward but not to get so attached to that situation that one refuses to let go of it.  When we do not know when to let go, we create unnecessary limitations to our own journey.  Perhaps it is time to let go of all of the heavy burdens that you have been carrying, and approach the changes that are happening with a new lightened outlook.

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

It is quite astonishing to me that the cards, from two different decks, from two different belief systems have such identical messages, or, you might even call them “warnings”.  There is a strong suggestion that people must get on board with working with Nature, that they need to achieve peace, and that “Oneness” is needed to move forward.

Judy@angelsandancestors.com   See our www.legionsofmichael.com site for downloads of information and teachings.    Monday, March 22, 2010 - Tele-class - Discussion Group of  Teachings Of Michael- Scripting Your Destiny
Time:   6:00pm Pacific Time
             7:00pm Mountain Time
             9:00pm Eastern Time
Tele-class dial in --  1-218-862-1300
Conference # 207077
Call is recorded and will be available for download

Judy Speaks – Word of the Day – Integrity

 

Picture of integrity comes from ninitalk.files.wordpress.com

 

Each day, as part of my meditation, I pull an angel card for the day.  Today, the card was “Integrity”.  I wondered why this card came up – was it to remind me to be in “integrity”, or was it to tell me to be wary of those spouting “integrity”?  Or, was it simply a reminder that when we lose our integrity, we have lost everything? 

For me, being in integrity simply means listening to the inner guidance from my heart that tells me that something is right for me, or, that something is not right for me.  I can apply this to being friends with people, to undertaking tasks from writing to house work, and to how I feel about a situation.  If my head (logic) starts to get in the way, then I know it is time to go to my heart, and see how the feeling sits with my inner knowing.

When the thought is not of the highest intent, then I know that I must use “Control, Alt, Delete”, as you do on a keyboard, and rid myself of that thought.  Buddha says that our thoughts that are not of the highest good come from a mind that is in turmoil.  For me, turmoil comes when I move to carry out a task, and I am not able to.  For example, today I went to start my dish washer, and the electrical panel was dead. 

Buddha and other spiritual teachers say that when you are blocked on a path, then you are not doing the right thing for you in that moment.  I guess that I am not to was the dishes, now.  The turmoil arises, however, around the thoughts like – why am I being blocked?  Why do the dishes need to remain dirty?  What should I be doing instead?  Why am I having this difficulty?  Is there a spiritual message that I am not seeing?  And, the thoughts go on.  The key to staying in one’s integrity, is to allow the thoughts to come and go, and to not hang on to them.  I need to accept that the situation is perfect and go on to do something else that is easy and gives me pleasure.  What I chose to do next was to listen to meditative music, answer emails, and then write this blog.

I feel very peaceful now!  May you too find peace in your integrity.

Judy@angelsandancestors.com  See some guidance from Archangel Michael at www.legionsofmichael.com

Saturday, March 20, 2010 – Spring Solstice Celebration Spring arrives at 5:30pm so join us for potluck dinner at 5:30pm followed at 7:30pm with ceremony of renewal. Donation bowl Please pre-register with Judy or Roger at

Spirit Animal – Blue Jay Leads

Picture of blue jay from Wikipedia….

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday, I went to see a client who lived out in the country.  After about 40 minutes travel by car, I parked in her driveway, and stopped to look around.  Her house was set in the forest, and was surrounded by majestic spruce trees and poplars.  As I put my head down, to see what was ahead of me, on the path, I heard this big sound of “jay, jay, jay”.  I looked up and there was a big Blue Jay.  She looked down at me.  I say “she” because she seemed to be looking at me in a nurturing way.

I said, “Hello”, and thanked her for being there.  Then she swooped off the branch, and down in front of me, and flew up the path, ahead of me, finally landing on the roof, a little to the left of the door.  She jayed again, several times, and the message that I got was,

“Yes, you are walking the right path! We Blue Jays have always walked with the Shaman and Medicine People.  We are blue for “truth”.  People are afraid of us and think us evil.  It is because we are pure and reflect their own failings back at them.  You, child, are of the elemental natures. It is in your nature to make things grow and to make them whole.  Call and we will answer.”

I walked into the client’s house with a smile.  I felt uplifted, and ready for the next two hours.  I am truly blessed!

Judy@angelsandancestors.com  See some guidance from Archangel Michael at www.legionsofmichael.com

Saturday, March 20, 2010 – Spring Solstice Celebration Spring arrives at 5:30pm so join us for potluck dinner at 5:30pm followed at 7:30pm with ceremony of renewal. Donation bowl Please pre-register with Judy or Roger at 403-225-2016   Calgary AB

Ancestors Speak – Happy St. Patrick’s Day

For all of my friends that are Irish, and for all of you that feel you are Irish, here is a blessing for you!  And, special thanks to Skye for sending out this wonderful blessing.

Beannacht ("Blessing") On the day when the weight deadens on your shoulders and you stumble, may the clay dance to balance you. And when your eyes freeze behind the grey window and the ghost of loss gets in to you, may a flock of colours, indigo, red, green, and azure blue come to awaken in you a meadow of delight. When the canvas frays in the currach of thought and a stain of ocean blackens beneath you, may there come across the waters a path of yellow moonlight to bring you safely home. May the nourishment of the earth be yours, may the clarity of light be yours, may the fluency of the ocean be yours, may the protection of the ancestors be yours. And so may a slow wind work these words of love around you, an invisible cloak to mind your life. ~ John O'Donohue ~ (Echoes of Memory) Judy@angelsandancestors.com  See some guidance from Archangel Michael at www.legionsofmichael.com Saturday, March 20, 2010 – Spring Solstice Celebration Spring arrives at 5:30pm so join us for potluck dinner at 5:30pm followed at 7:30pm with ceremony of renewal. Donation bowl Please pre-register with Judy or Roger at 403-225-2016   Calgary AB

Ancestors Speak – Confucius on Youth

“A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do you know that his future will not be equal to our present?”  ~Confucius~

Picture of kids in a team building exercise from www.extension.umaine.edu

 

 

 

 

Confucius was considered by many to be a mystic, a seer, and therefore, one who had knowledge of the future.  Perhaps this is why his meanings for the casts of the I-Ching hold so much weight.  Confucius did not invent the I-Ching, however, he did take the meanings to a depth that were not recorded before his time.

Confucius believed that the youth of the world will be the revitalizing force that creates a new world order.  With that in mind, he wrote about respecting the youth and the wisdom of youth.  With youth, comes ideas that are not belief ridden and built on ideas that have been false, yet generated for centuries.  For example, no one believed Nicolaus Copernicus who discovered the Earth revolved around the Sun. Copernicus began his discoveries in his early twenties and was scoffed at by all the elderly scholars who did not believe someone so young could out think them.

In the twentieth century, Bill Gates, in his teens, realized the potential of a software program that he and a friend created.  When IBM turned down the young men because IBM did not believe “uneducated” youngsters could create anything useable, Gates and his friend went on to create their own company.  Microsoft is now part of history.

You can think of many more examples of people, very young, who have created something out of the ordinary, and beyond the understanding of those much older then them.  Youth, then, needs to be treated with respect.

Judy@angelsandancestors.com  See some guidance from Archangel Michael at www.legionsofmichael.com

Saturday, March 20, 2010 – Spring Solstice Celebration Spring arrives at 5:30pm so join us for potluck dinner at 5:30pm followed at 7:30pm with ceremony of renewal. Donation bowl Please pre-register with Judy or Roger at 403-225-2016    403- Calgary AB

Ancestors Speak – Confucius on Good People

“Good people live wisely and improve customs.” is the meaning that Confucius attributes to the 53rd meaning of the I Ching or Book of Change

 

 

Picture of the 53rd cast of the I-Ching

The translation of this cast (shown below) comes from a translation by Wilhelm, both in English and French.

On the mountain, a tree: The image of DEVELOPMENT.
Thus the superior man abides in dignity and virtue,
In order to improve the mores.

The tree on the mountain is visible from afar, and its development influences the landscape of the entire region. It does not shoot up like a swamp plant; its growth proceeds gradually. Thus also the work of influencing people can be only gradual. No sudden influence or awakening is of lasting effect. Progress must be quite gradual, and in order to obtain such progress in public opinion and in the mores of the people, it is necessary for the personality to acquire influence and weight. This comes about through careful and constant work on one's own moral development.

I saw this cast of the I-Ching, and immediately realized that this is actually the journey of our lives. It takes well into our adult hood before we develop the credibility to have others look to us for answers, or for leadership.  The Mayans believed one was not truly a Master or a true teacher until the person reached 52 years of age.

The irony of this, is, that while many of us believe in the wisdom that comes from age, we have created “Masters” programs in our Universities and Business Schools that purport to give a twenty-two to twenty-six year old the same knowledge one has at fifty-two.  Does it work?  In most cases, no!  The other sad fact about this hypocrisy is that the twenty-something wants to earn the same as the fifty something, and feels it is “due” to them because they have the education.  Would the Enron type situations still have happened if we did not have all the youth employed in high level positions, and guided more by the dollar than good sense?  I don’t know.  It is, however, worth thinking about.

See the other side of this debate in my blog tomorrow.

Judy@angelsandancestors.com  See some guidance from Archangel Michael at www.legionsofmichael.com

www.angelsandancestors.com  See our upcoming events
Monday, March 15 2010 7:30pm New Moon Meditation is focusing on healing one’s self of worry since worry causes blocks to moving forward. The Norse Goddess, Idun, will guide us this evening. She is the Goddess of the spring, eternal youth and the keeper of the golden apples. Energy exchange - $10.00, register with Judy at 403-225-2016 Calgary AB

Saturday, March 20, 2010 – Spring Solstice Celebration Spring arrives at 5:30pm so join us for potluck dinner at 5:30pm followed at 7:30pm with ceremony of renewal. Donation bowl Please pre-register with Judy or Roger at 403-225-2016.  Calgary AB

From Judy – Caring for our own

Picture of illness from Microsoft Clip Art

In our Ancestors’ days, when someone became ill, the family cared for that person.  Usually, there were several families, (mother, father, children) living under the same roof, with grandparents or elderly aunts and uncles.  That meant that there would usually be someone available to do some healing and caretaking.  As well, someone in the family, or someone within walking distance, had a knowledge of herbs and would probably know the herbs required to speed up the healing.

The person with the healing knowledge was usually considered a shaman, medicine man or women, healer, or witch man or woman.  Note that in Roman and Celtic languages, the old meaning of witch was “one who knew of the earth”, or someone who knew about what grew and what was helpful.

In extreme cases of illness, families might pilgrimage, with the sick one, to a well known healer, or to a sacred shrine, to ask for healing from a particular god or goddess or saint or from Christ.  Now things have changed.  The healer that we go to is a doctor and the pilgrimage is to a hospital.  Seldom do we care for our own – we are all busy, with jobs, and cannot care for someone on a 24 x 7 schedule.  We trust others to care for them, and then are outraged when abuses take place, for example, as in abuse of the elderly in care homes. 

Instead of natural herbs being cooked and made into teas or salves or poultices, our ill are given synthetic products, in large quantities. The drugs react to each other, in many cases, and possibly are toxic to each other.  Unlike the healer/herbalist, the doctors getting samples and products from the drug companies may not know what the ingredients and the side effects are.

Why did we get to this place of not being able to care for our own? There are five reasons:

1. as the practice of medicine developed, people were taught that only doctors knew enough about the body to treat the body, and that people who used natural remedies were con artists.
2. as the industrial society required more people to work in factories or in other labour positions, people were taken out of their homes on a daily basis, and there was no one at home to care for others.
3. this problem of being out of the home increased through World War I and II, and because so many young men (and women) were killed in the wars, created a gap where there were not any children left to care for elderly parents. This created small nursing homes to care for injured and elderly people, left without family.
4. in the rebuilding of countries, through the fifties, sixties, and seventies, all able bodied people were needed to be in the work force.  Corporations were replacing “mom and pop” shops. Women were increasingly taking on what were deemed "male” jobs. Soon babysitters were required for children, and day-cares became the norm.
5. entrepreneurs, always watching for a service niche, realized that there was a market opportunity to care for children, the ill, and the elderly.  Hospitals with a dollar agenda became big business, as did personal care homes, and education.  Pharmaceutical companies grew up around the “illness” industry, for there is not the same amount of money or annuity in the “wellness” industry.

No, this does not make us bad people.  It does show how we have been manipulated by circumstances and by those looking to profit from those circumstances.  Perhaps it is time to take our power back!

Judy@angelsandancestors.com  See some guidance from Archangel Michael at www.legionsofmichael.com

www.angelsandancestors.com  See our upcoming events
Monday, March 15 2010 7:30pm New Moon Meditation is focusing on healing one’s self of worry since worry causes blocks to moving forward. The Norse Goddess, Idun, will guide us this evening. She is the Goddess of the spring, eternal youth and the keeper of the golden apples. Energy exchange - $10.00, register with Judy at 403-225-2016 Calgary AB

Saturday, March 20, 2010 – Spring Solstice Celebration Spring arrives at 5:30pm so join us for potluck dinner at 5:30pm followed at 7:30pm with ceremony of renewal. Donation bowl Please pre-register with Judy or Roger at 403-225-2016.  Calgary AB

Spirit Speaks – Dream called “Round up the dragons!”

I love dragons and I have often seen them in dreams and visions.  Recently, however, I had a strange dream about dragons that made me sad. I would like to share it with you, and get your input into the imagery.

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

Image of dragon from www.freedragonpictures.com

 

The dream began with me walking out of a building because I could hear a noise.  I walked out on the road, and then I could see a huge truck, carrying four large dragons, like the one above, chained in the truck.  The dragons were crying.  They had been captured by subterfuge; the dragons coming to share information, and the men capturing them so they would not.  I felt sick.  I walked away, wondering what I could do for them.  I went to the kitchen, to get some tea.  As I leaned over to get the tea kettle, four small dragons, about the size of cats with wings, ran out from under a table. They had gotten loose.  The colours were red, blue, gold, and silver.  They came running at my legs and I thought they might bite me.  However, they simply bumped them and then began running around, and playing.  When they came back at me, my dog Sage, appeared at my side, and woofed them away, and then grinned up at me, and licked my hand.  I then I woke up.

The dream is staying with me, so I feel there is something important in it that perhaps I am missing.

If you have any thoughts, please share them.

Judy@angelsandancestors.com  See some guidance from Archangel Michael at www.legionsofmichael.com

 www.angelsandancestors.com  See our upcoming events
Monday, March 15 2010 7:30pm New Moon Meditation is focusing on healing one’s self of worry since worry causes blocks to moving forward. The Norse Goddess, Idun, will guide us this evening. She is the Goddess of the spring, eternal youth and the keeper of the golden apples. Energy exchange - $10.00, register with Judy at 403-225-2016 Calgary AB

Saturday, March 20, 2010 – Spring Solstice Celebration Spring arrives at 5:30pm so join us for potluck dinner at 5:30pm followed at 7:30pm with ceremony of renewal. Donation bowl Please pre-register with Judy or Roger at 403-225-2016.  Calgary AB

Angels Speak – Archangel Azrael

Blessed ones, know that this is the time of the great shifts, and we, the legions of Azrael, pay tribute to the bravery of all of you for being on Earth at this time.  For this is a time of upheaval at a physical level and at the spiritual level.  All that you held true is now being questioned.  Who do you believe?  We say, believe no one.  Go into your hearts and guts and intuition and sort out for yourself what is true.  Know that truth has its foundation in Universal principles – physics if you will.  It is all around you, and all you need to do is to tap into the Universal wisdom that is at your disposal.  It is true!  You are all geniuses!  Many of you, however, do not realize this potential because your body/mind/spirit is shut down. 
You may have noticed that all technology is starting to work intermittently.  And still, your phone messages, emails, and postings do work, in time.  They work because your belief that they will work causes that energy to be pulled out of the energy of the original break down of the technology, and to be directed to the end recipient.  This ability to manifest the desire to communicate is more telepathy than technology.  You will soon no longer require the technology.  And, that is as it should be.  Those of you that speak with us – the Angels – regularly, know that you do not need a phone or text message to reach us.  You simply need to ask. 
We simply await for you to speak with us!
Archangel Azrael and the legions of Azrael
Judy@angelsandancestors.com   www.legionsofmichael.com    www.angelsandancestors.com  See our upcoming events
Monday, March 15 2010 7:30pm New Moon Meditation is focusing on healing one’s self of worry since worry causes blocks to moving forward. The Norse Goddess, Idun, will guide us this evening. She is the Goddess of the spring, eternal youth and the keeper of the golden apples. Energy exchange - $10.00, register with Judy at 403-225-2016 Calgary AB

Saturday, March 20, 2010 – Spring Solstice Celebration Spring arrives at 5:30pm so join us for potluck dinner at 5:30pm followed at 7:30pm with ceremony of renewal. Donation bowl Please pre-register with Judy or Roger at 403-225-2016.  Calgary AB

Buddha Speaks – Song of Zazen

One of the concepts that is difficult for the western mind to grasp in Zen Buddhism, is the concept of “zazen”.  Zazen is not meditation, however, it is the opening of the body, mind, and spirit to thought or to insights about why we are here.

Picture of Zazen in Rinzai school comes from Wikipedia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rev. Issho Fujita describes the  objective of zazen is just to sit in kekka-fuza correctly—there is absolutely nothing to add to it.  Kekka-fuza is Japanese for the “Lotus Position” of sitting.  I believe this why so many people think zazen is meditation – because the recommended position for sitting is the same. 

The poem below by Hakuin Ekaku quite simply describes what one may experience when sitting in zazen.  

Try sitting in zazen some day, simply sitting, without any objectives or even any attachment to the idea of zazen, and see what comes up.  You may write your own poem of life.

HAKUIN ZENJI - SONG OF ZAZEN

Dharma poem by Hakuin Ekaku [1685-1768]

All beings by nature are Buddha,
as ice by nature is water;
apart from water there is no ice,
apart from beings no Buddha.
How sad that people ignore the near
and search for truth afar,
like someone in the midst of water
crying out in thirst,
like a child of a wealthy home
wandering among the poor.
Lost on dark paths of ignorance
we wander through the six worlds,
from dark path to dark path we wander,
when shall we be freed from birth and death?
For this the zazen of the Mahayana
deserves the highest praise:
offerings, precepts, paramitas,
Nembutsu, atonement, training--
the many other virtues--
all rise within zazen.
Even those with proud attainments
wipe away immeasurable crimes--
where are all the dark paths then?
the Pure Land itself is not far.
Those who hear this truth even once
and listen with a grateful heart,
treasuring it, revering it,
gain blessings without end.
Much more, if you dedicate yourself
and confirm your own self-nature--
that self-nature is no nature--
you are far beyond mere argument.
The oneness of cause and effect is clear,
not two, not three, the path is put right;
with form that is no form
going and coming--never astray,
with thought that is no thought
singing and dancing are the voice of the Law.
Boundless and free is the sky of Samadhi,
bright the full moon of wisdom,
truly is anything missing now?
Nirvana is here, before your eyes,
this very place is the Lotus Land,
this very body the Buddha.

Judy@angelsandancestors.com     See www.angelsandancestors.com and www.legionsofmichael.com  See our upcoming events
Monday, March 15 2010 7:30pm New Moon Meditation is focusing on healing one’s self of worry since worry causes blocks to moving forward. The Norse Goddess, Idun, will guide us this evening. She is the Goddess of the spring, eternal youth and the keeper of the golden apples. Energy exchange - $10.00, register with Judy at 403-225-2016 Calgary AB

Saturday, March 20, 2010 – Spring Solstice Celebration Spring arrives at 5:30pm so join us for potluck dinner at 5:30pm followed at 7:30pm with ceremony of renewal. Donation bowl Please pre-register with Judy or Roger at 403-225-2016.  Calgary AB

Spirit Speaks – Creativity

The topic of creativity has been coming up for me, and for others, over and over for the last four or five months.  This is a signal, in my mind, that we need to get more creative about our lives instead of simply following the rut that everyone else is in.  With that in mind, here are some great ideas around creativity.

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

Creativity comes from trust.  Trust your instincts. - Rita Mae Brown

 

Picture from www.masternewmedia.org

 

 

 

“Ignore everybody.” -- The more original your idea is, the less good advice other people will be able to give you. When I first started with the biz card format, people thought I was nuts. Why wasn’t I trying to do something more easy for markets to digest i.e. cutey-pie greeting cards or whatever? from gapingvoid.com

 

“ Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.”  …….Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with books on algebra etc. Being suddenly hit years later with the creative bug is just a wee voice telling you, “I�d like my crayons back, please.” from gapingvoid.com

Judy@angelsandancestors.com  See our upcoming events

How To Work With Your Crystal Skull – Teleclasses

Thursday, March 11, 7:00-8:30pm Telecast #1, Thursday March 18, 7:00-8:30pm Telecast #2 Thursday March 25, 7:00-8:30pm Telecast #3 Takes the one day workshop and breaks it into three evening session. More at www.angelsandancestors.com/workshop.html#skull $22.00 per session or all three for $55.00 Prepayment required. See the PayPal link or contact Judy 403-225-2016.

Monday, March 15 2010 7:30pm New Moon Meditation is focusing on healing one’s self of worry since worry causes blocks to moving forward. The Norse Goddess, Idun, will guide us this evening. She is the Goddess of the spring, eternal youth and the keeper of the golden apples. Energy exchange - $10.00, register with Judy at 403-225-2016 Calgary AB

Saturday, March 20, 2010 – Spring Solstice Celebration Spring arrives at 5:30pm so join us for potluck dinner at 5:30pm followed at 7:30pm with ceremony of renewal. Donation bowl Please pre-register with Judy or Roger at 403-225-2016.  Calgary AB

Ancestors Speak – Leadership Lessons from Avatar and From Dancing Guy

For any one that watched the movie, “Avatar”, a subplot that was apparent in the movie was the topic of leadership, and the contrast of dictatorial leadership and rule, to the holistic and natural rhythm style leadership exhibited by the Navi (blue indigenous population).  By the end of the movie, it was apparent that the Navi style of leadership was more effective.

This fun little movie from “Dancing Guy” shows that again, the effective style of leadership is to “walk the talk”, as the Navi did.  When you are walking your truth, then others will follow.  The movie makes a great point – do not underestimate the power of the second person to join the leader.  That person, the early adapter follower, is sometimes believed by others, although he would be second in command, to have more power than the leader.

How will you lead when your turn comes?

Judy@angelsandancestors.com  See our upcoming events

How To Work With Your Crystal Skull – Teleclasses

Thursday, March 11, 7:00-8:30pm Telecast #1, Thursday March 18, 7:00-8:30pm Telecast #2 Thursday March 25, 7:00-8:30pm Telecast #3 Takes the one day workshop and breaks it into three evening session. More at www.angelsandancestors.com/workshop.html#skull $22.00 per session or all three for $55.00 Prepayment required. See the PayPal link or contact Judy 403-225-2016.

Monday, March 15 2010 7:30pm New Moon Meditation is focusing on healing one’s self of worry since worry causes blocks to moving forward. The Norse Goddess, Idun, will guide us this evening. She is the Goddess of the spring, eternal youth and the keeper of the golden apples. Energy exchange - $10.00, register with Judy at 403-225-2016 Calgary AB

Saturday, March 20, 2010 – Spring Solstice Celebration Spring arrives at 5:30pm so join us for potluck dinner at 5:30pm followed at 7:30pm with ceremony of renewal. Donation bowl Please pre-register with Judy or Roger at 403-225-2016.  Calgary AB

Spirit Speaks - Heed Your Calling!

“Vocation or calling has been described by Frederick Buechner as the place where your deepest gladness meets the world's deepest need. In living our calling, we experience joy and a sense of wholeness.” from www.csj-to.ca 

I quite often pick up one of my favourite Doreen Virtue books,  “Daily Guidance from Your Angels: 365 Angelic Messages to Soothe, Heal, and Open Your Heart”, and I found the passage on “Heed Your Calling”.  I got some shivers and knew that this was something that The Divine was trying to tell me about. 

I have recently discovered that I love wood carving. I carved my first Salish wolf mask (about 11 inches long, 4 inches wide and 4

 

Salish Wolf Mask Carving – picture © Judy Hirst Jan 2010

 

 

inches high, at a carving class.  I am now working on my second one, and on several small 3D pieces to help me get the feel of the process.

What has this got to do with “Calling”?  For me, wood carving feels like a calling – where my deepest gladness meets the world’s deepest need to understand creativity, and the joy that comes from creativity.  It may be that my carving gives pleasure to me alone.  That's okay!

Other wood carvers have this calling, and their passion shows in their works.  I love this design from Gene Webb. 

 

Wood carving – relief carving in a post as shown by Gene Webb on www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjyzaQb22KE

 

The best thing about this new found passion is that I was directed by my Angels, by Great Spirit, to take an opportunity that presented itself when I was buying a Christmas present in November 2009.  The class was posted in the store, and although I tried to register, the class was full.  I put my name on the waiting list, and three weeks before the class, received the call asking if I still would like to attend the class.  My answer was a resounding “Yes”. And now, I am part of a wonderful carving club in Calgary called “The Calgary Carvers”.

For me, finding something that fills my heart with joy makes the time I spend carving full of meditation and gratefulness that I can do this! I believe that many of my ancestors must have carved and done woodworking because it seems I can feel them at times, helping me.

I was lucky to find this calling.  I listened to my inner voice, or intuition, and followed it.  According to my Angels, that is all one has to do.

Judy@angelsandancestors.com   Our free March magazine is posted at www.angelsandancestors.com/newsletter/mag1003.pdf

See www.legionsofmichael.com  A new posting is on the teachings page.

Monday, Mar 15 2010 - Tele-class -  Teaching of Michael
Time:  12:00pm Pacific Time
             1:00pm Mountain Time
             3:00pm Eastern Time
Tele-class dial in --  1-218-862-1300
Conference # 207077
Call is recorded and will be available for download.

Monday, March 22, 2010 - Tele-class - Discussion Group of  Teachings Of Michael- Scripting Your Destiny
Time:   6:00pm Pacific Time
             7:00pm Mountain Time
             9:00pm Eastern Time
Tele-class dial in --  1-218-862-1300
Conference # 207077
Call is recorded and will be available for download

Technorati Tags: woodcarving,meditation,angels. angelsandancestors.com,ancestors

Spirit Speaks – Through Mary of Magdala

 

Picture of Jesus from the site, www.diometuchen.org

 

I have been reading a fascinating book called “The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle” by Karen L. King.  It was published in 2003 by Polebridge Press, Santa Rosa, California. 

The phrase that really strikes me, and what Shaman have been teaching for years, is in the second section of Papyrus Berolinensis 8502,1.  It says,

The Nature of matter

“The Savoir replied, “Every nature, every modeled form, every creature, exists in and with each other. They will dissolve again into their own proper root.  For the nature of matter is dissolved into what belongs to its nature.  Anyone with two ears able to hear should listen.”

How beautiful and true!  We are all connected.  We all are physical that breaks down and releases us to our true forms that are not physical.  And, it seems this passage says that we all carry a piece of The Divine in us that links us to all others (animals, fish, birds, reptiles, and insects) because they too have that spark of divinity.

Judy@angelsandancestors.com   See www.legionsofmichael.com

Monday, Mar 15 2010 - Tele-class -  Teaching of Michael
Time:  12:00pm Pacific Time
             1:00pm Mountain Time
             3:00pm Eastern Time
Tele-class dial in --  1-218-862-1300
Conference # 207077
Call is recorded and will be available for download.

Monday, March 22, 2010 - Tele-class - Discussion Group of  Teachings Of Michael- Scripting Your Destiny
Time:   6:00pm Pacific Time
             7:00pm Mountain Time
             9:00pm Eastern Time
Tele-class dial in --  1-218-862-1300
Conference # 207077
Call is recorded and will be available for download

Technorati Tags: Angelsandancestors.com,angels,ancestors,archangel michael,mary of magdala,Divine,meditation,prayer,Great Spirit

Spirit Animal – Llama’s Thoughts

Llama in Peru – picture from animals.nationalgeographic.com

Over the past several days, Llama has popped up in pictures, in conversations, and even as shapes in the clouds and trees.  The place where Llama originated is Peru, and with the Incan culture, according to Wikipedia.  The wiki goes on to say that Llama originated forty million years ago on the plains of North America. Llama then migrated south – one thinks probably because of the cold and the ice – and prospered in South America.

Llama is a herd animal, and when others of its kind are not around, it will gravitate to people or other animals.  A common sound one hears around Llama is a hum, and it will become a loud type of braying noise if the Llama or the herd (or offspring) are threatened.

Llama does have a message. 

We have survived for millions of years beyond humans because we go with the flow of the movement of the Earth.  We do not try to conquer or change the surroundings we are in.  Our family is important to us, so we take care of them.  We easily bond with sheep and goats and can become their protectors.  We ask why humans, who seem stronger than others, do not try to protect those that are weaker?  Surely this is what the alpha must do?  We have learned, too, that there is safety in the higher regions.  We left the plains and the lowlands and opted for a mountain existence.  Our instincts tell us that another big change or big water (flood) is coming again for the plains (of North America).  We say that you too must find higher ground to be able to survive millions of years.  You need to lead the herd to a safe place.

Since before the days of the Incas, Llama has served mankind.  This message seems to be one more service that Llama is doing.  We are grateful!

Judy@angelsandancestors.com   See www.legionsofmichael.com

See our new March Magazine online www.angelsandancestors.com/newsletter/mag1003.pdf

Buddha Speaks – I Can’t Meditate

This is a story that we had to read about the common problems that come up for people new to meditation, and sometimes for those who have had to break their meditation practice for some reason. 

Perhaps you will find some wisdom that you, too, will be able to use.

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

Beginners with meditation often get the feeling that they can't meditate; "I meditate for a week now, and still see no change", "I can't control my mind", "My mind is only getting crazier, I cannot get rid of my problems and thoughts".
To briefly comment on these in order:

Meditation requires patience - a few sessions will not undo a lifetime of opposite habits of excitement and confusion.

None of us can control our mind unless we train ourselves to do it - have you ever seen anyone playing the violin nicely without practice?

If it seems that our mind is getting worse, it usually means we just see our 'madness' better than before - the first step towards success!

 

A story by Master Shen-Yen (from Ch'an Newsletter July 1982):

"The purpose of cultivation is not to seek anything, but to discover the faults in our character and behavior. By opening ourselves to self-investigation, we hope to find out where our problems lie, and if, after searching within ourselves, we can see these faults and problems, this in itself is the fruit of the practice.

A woman on the last retreat said that the more she tries to get away from her faults, the stronger they seem to become. And the more she thinks about it, and wonders why she can't get rid of them, the more she gets disgusted with herself. She said, "Probably I just don't have the ability to practice meditation. A good practitioner is able to throw out their problems while practicing, and I'm not." At that time, I was standing up, and the light above cast a shadow of my body on the wall. I asked: "When I am standing still, is the shadow moving?" She said, "No." Then I walked slowly away, and the shadow followed me along. I walked quickly and the shadow kept pace with me. No matter how I tried, I could not get rid of it. Only if you turn the light out, or make your body disappear, will your shadow go away.

Just like the shadow, our problems stick to our "self." Wherever there is a self, there must also be problems. But if you were to say, then, "I want to throw away my 'self'," that "I" who wants to get rid of the self indicates that the self is still there. This would amount to the self trying to throw away the self, which is impossible to accomplish. It would be just like trying to get rid of the shadow if your body is still there. If there is a subject, there is definitely an object. This being the case, is cultivation of any use? Of course it is, since we cultivate to discover our problems. Recognizing your problems shows you have made progress. Desiring to rid yourself of these problems may he a good sign, but actually that is not how we should approach it. The method of practice does not consist in throwing them out, but rather in decreasing the sense of self until it becomes so light that the problems will naturally disappear."

Judy@angelsandancestors.com   See www.legionsofmichael.com

See our new March Magazine online www.angelsandancestors.com/newsletter/mag1003.pdf

Spirit Animals – Bat Makes An Appearance

I often wonder where bats hibernate during the winter.  I read in a nature magazine that they hibernate in caves and underground, below the frost line, and in the attic of buildings, if there is an access spot.  Therefore, in my mind, Bat is pretty much sleeping all winter, and I do not expect to hear from her.

 

Bat sleeping on the floor of a cave from free-stock-photos.com

 

 

 

So, imagine my surprise when I was out walking the dogs yesterday morning, and glancing down, I saw what appeared to be a black bat in the snow.  It was stretched out very much like the bat in the picture.  As I picked it up, I realized that it was a black plastic replica of Bat. Still, I wondered how it came to be lying in that spot on the path I use, on top of the snow.  I picked it up and put it over by a tree.

The feeling that I had from the Spirit of Bat was one of relief – we had finally connected.  Bat’s message went like this.

Deep inside the Earth, we feel the changes that are happening and that are going to happen. We urge you to be aware of the rumblings and the sounds.  This is part of the pressure that is building inside the Source of All Things.  Under the ground is not safe.  Above the ground seems safer, however, we animals need to be on very high ground to avoid the swirling waters that will rise and recede several times in the low areas. We feel, through the connection with everything, that there will be no food for us in many places.  The insects that we love will be dying.  We will need new food or we too, will die.  We Bats have a higher sense of feeling and seeing than do humans.  We hear the distress of our ocean cousins who are already experiencing the upsets in the oceans.  Humans tend to ignore the warnings in Nature. We believe that we must warn you so that we can all be in harmony and adapt to the new times that are arriving in pieces around us.  We say to you that you must create your own food sources, which in turn, will help create a food source for us, as you will attract insects.  Begin your gardens now!

I found this message from Bat to have a feeling of being very concerned for all animals as well as all humans.  Bat’s overall tone was that we humans are not taking the changes seriously enough. Perhaps Bat is right.

Judy@angelsandancestors.com   See our new March Magazine online www.angelsandancestors.com/newsletter/mag1003.pdf