Forgiving a Family Member

The Oxford Dictionary defines family in several ways… one definition is “all the descendants of a common ancestor”.  That is a really big definition!  It is even bigger if you think that genealogy blood work shows that we are all descended from “the seven daughters of Eve”.  This is actually the name of a book written by Brian Sykes.  Check it out for Christmas season reading.

Back to the point - family is big.  When one of the family members does you wrong, it is very hard to forgive the family member.  So much that needs to be forgiven happens in families…

• Cruelty
• Guilting
• Punishment
• Belittling
• Beating/abuse
• Theft
• Abandonment
• Lack of food and clothing, and even shelter

You get the picture of some of the family actions that require forgiving.  Even worse, some of these activities cause individuals to stay stuck in a place where they relive the moments and feel the recurring pain.

There are many practices that one can use for forgiving family members.  What many do not understand is that forgiveness does not mean accepting the family member.  Forgiveness does not mean you have to be buds with the family member or that you have to like what they did or even like them.  Just as you choose your friends that you hang out with, you can choose which family members that you associate with.  Forgiveness means that you can move on in your life without them, that they no longer have a hold on your life.  

In the process of forgiveness, the Abundance and Healing take hold in your life.  You can now move forward.  You can follow your own path.

Blessings

Walking Meditation

 

Walking beside the Bow River looking onto Poplar Island where the beavers have chopped down a tree.

When I first learned to meditate, based on all the instructions from teachers and from books, I thought that one had to sit quietly, in a lotus position, and push all thoughts out of one’s head if you were going to meditate properly.  Over the years, I have learned that there are many ways to meditate, depending on what belief system you follow and where you are when you want to meditate.

I have learned to love the walking meditation which is an active meditation practiced in Buddhism and in Shamanism.  Walking meditation is not limited to these traditions.  Meditation while walking may seem like a contradiction of activity versus focus.  However, one must be extremely mindful while walking in meditation.  You concentrate on your steps, your breath, and on the world around you.  Mindfulness is part of the strength of the walking meditation.  The steps one takes bring clarity of what needs to be dealt with, or what emotion needs adjusting, and, gives space for a different point of view.  For many practitioners, the walking meditation is a prayer to Nature and to the Universe.

When something troubles me and I cannot seem to get a grip on it, I leave the house and do a walking meditation.  I focus on my steps and my breath and leave the troubled thoughts behind.  Sometimes, it takes a half hour before the soothing peace covers you as you walk.  It make take an hour or so for a simple solution to appear as you walk.  The physical activity helps you work off the tension and walking is just a good health strategy anyway.

Blessings.

Finding Peace in a Stressful Day

 

This picture is of Fish Creek in the summer in Fish Creek Provincial Park.

Many folks carry a lot of stress around with them…from work, from family, from financial worries or health worries.  When stress is building up, even those things that are usually seen as “normal” add to the stress. 

I worked with a teacher for two years in the early 2000’s. One of his best lessons for me was to teach me to deal with stress by finding peace.  He would lead me through meditation to different places to see where I felt the most comfortable….a beach on the ocean, a lake where animals come to drink, a mountain ledge easily accessible, a cloud, beneath a tree, and we tried different trees, on a rock, up a tree, by a creek, in a forest glade, by a waterfall, in the middle of a meadow, and even on a monastery.  Each meditation relaxed me and gave me shades of peace.  The place where I felt the most peace was by running/moving water with a forest close by. 

For years, as I felt stress, I closed my eyes and went to that place where the water was running with the forest in the background.  As time passed, the vision of the place changed.  Sometimes it was an ocean with waves rolling up on the shore and the forest in the background. Sometimes it was a large lake that was mirror still with a forest growing almost to the water’s edge.  The vision slowed my thoughts, cooled anger and frustration, and relaxed my muscles, especially in my shoulders.  

In the beginning, it would take up to 25 minutes to get peace.  If it was a tough day, then it took longer.  Eventually I could find peace in two to three minutes, and what a difference it made to my work performance!  

The lessons that my teacher taught me about finding peace in a stressful day are:

• In meditation, people will tell you to go to your comfortable or safe space.  One does not know what that space is until all the options are explored.
• Finding one’s peaceful, safe place is a process and the safe place may change over time.
• There is not a magic time that it takes everyone to get to their peaceful place.
• Like many actions, getting to the peaceful place takes a lot of practice.
• Arriving at the peaceful, blissful state is worth the work.

Blessings.

Creating Sacred Space

 Over the years, I have been taught that sacred space is to be created in very specific ways.  If you look up "creating sacred space", you will find long articles on creating an alter with specifics on what needs to be on the altar.  As well, there may be some long chants for creating the space and keeping it secure.  

I do have an altar.  It holds the items that are important to me.  I am not saying that an altar is not needed.  What I am saying is that you can carry sacred space to any place that you wish to be... to meditate, to be part of an activity, even to work.  

When I need to create a safe, sacred space, then I call in the angels... in my case, the Archangels that I work with, asking them to create a safe, sacred space all around me and above and below me that will keep out all energies and entities that are not for my greatest and highest good.  

This process has worked well for me when I am walking in an area that is unfamiliar. I have used it at work to help keep out the negative energies that some people may carry into my office.  I love using this when I am out in nature, by a pond, meditating.  

I want to say again that there is a place for a formal alter and there is a place for formal ceremony to create sacred space.  This is usually required for gatherings of more than three people.  There are lovely ceremonies to use for gatherings and even for a solitary practice.  Explore them.  Use them.  Know that there are alternatives.

You can figure out what method works for you and practice it in different places.

Blessings.

Faith - Commonly Called “Believing”

When I work with clients, one of the biggest challenges to overcome is the person’s lack of faith or belief that their thoughts, in part, have caused the issue.  Secondly, is their lack of faith/belief in what is going to happen as they begin working on themselves.  And, thirdly, is their determination to hang on to the issue or challenge because they feel by letting go that part of their identity is gone.  These problems are so common!  It is as if the whole negative realm is working to keep the issues in place.

To be clear, believing in ourselves, in our intuition, and believing that everything works out for the best and highest good is the faith that those people that we perceive have “good luck” carry with them each day.  Where does Faith come from?  From inside us… it is part intuition, part belief in a higher being…God, Great Spirit, Mohammed, etc.  …. And the knowledge that that faith gives us the inspiration to make great choices which makes our lives easier.

We all know the phrase… when one door closes, another door opens.  That is what faith is about.  When a door closes, instead of moaning that a door has closed, change the moaning to the searching for the open door!  

When clients come to start healing themselves, they are actually choosing the open door and yet put up barricades to the process.  The good news is that by making the choice to start, the processes will begin to work.  And, slowly, the belief changes.

Blessings.

Winter Blues?

 

It seems that many shaman are writing about fall and winter sadness, or winter blues.  And, I am hearing from some clients that they feel empty and sad.  

Alberto Villoldo, an extraordinary teacher and shaman, has a great video about fighting the winter blues. You can access his video on YOUTUBE.  See the link below.

Find out what you can do during the winter months to keep your  mood up, your body healthy and your energy field clear. Watch Villolodo's YouTube video to find out more. Blessings.

Feeling Energy Depleted?

 

This picture was in an email... source unknown.

Are you feeling like my family and friends are feeling?  Tired, empty, and no energy?  It seems to be going around in circles of acquaintances.

What is causing this lack of energy?  Part of the source is the energy dive we all took from the covid-19 crisis in our areas.  Part of the source is worrying about elderly family and friends, and losing people you love.  Part of the source is that the time demands from work, that is, from inconsiderate bosses who refuse to fill vacant spots on the team and take the workload and dump it on the remaining team members.  Part of the source is loss of movement... not being able to go freely anywhere you want when you want.  It is a lot of stuff to deal with!

How do you get your battery recharged?  The simple answer is stop working and take a vacation.  If you do not work, then you need to find a safe place for you to go to recharge.  A walk in a park or along a river.  An overnight in a hotel with breakfast served bedside.  Maybe it is a spa day.  Or, maybe you need to go for a short run.  The message is that you need to change up what you are doing so that you forget about everything that is weighing you down.  One of my friends started going to the Humane Society and walking one or two dogs around lunch time.  She said it did her a world of good.  

Whatever you decide to do, remember, there is nothing broken in you.  It is happening to everyone.

Blessings.

In Remembrance

 

Today, in Canada, is Remembrance Day.  It is a time of quiet remembering of our family and friends, and for many of us, of our Ancestors, who have fought in different wars to help keep Canada a democracy.  

Blessings 

Positive Thinking For the Highest Good

It seems that the media is filled with all kinds of negative views of the world and that people in their daily work or daily interaction with neighbours, mimic the negativity.  When surrounded by all this “downer” vibration, it is difficult to look at things positively.

Years ago, a teacher/mentor that I had gave me some guidance on staying positive.  Being positive has served me well.  Her wisdom included why you should be positive.  It helps you:

• Stay healthier
• Gather more friends like you
• Increases your self confidence
• Have coping skills to deal with set backs
• Allows you to achieve your dreams

If you have been negative, it can be a real challenge to get to positive thinking. So how can you make the change?

• You are what you think… Ralph Waldo Emerson had it right when he said that you are what you think all day long.
• Consciously focus your thoughts and actions, including your words, to be positive.  “I am, I can, I will”

Best of luck making changes.

Blessings.

Choosing The Best and Highest Good For Me

 The poster above popped up in my email a couple of days ago.  It reminds me that we are mortal and that we need to make the best choices for ourselves each day.  

I learned years ago that most people want to “pal” with you because they have an agenda that they think you will be able to help them achieve.  In other words, most people are selfish and they will be looking out for themselves, not for you.  I think that the most common mistake that we make is that we forget to choose what is in our best and highest interest because we get sucked into doing what others want.  I hear stories from clients about doing college/university and a career that was chosen by their parents or a spouse.  They have gone through life not doing what they would like to do. 

It is never to late to make choices that feel right for you!  A lady that I met told me that as a little girl, she wanted to play the organ.  Her mother refused to let her have lessons and would not buy an organ.  As she grew older and married and had children, she still wanted to play the organ.  Her husband thought it was a waste of time.  He never bought an organ or let her take lessons.  At age 53, her mother died and left her some money.  She went out and bought an organ and took lessons regardless of her husbands wishes.  She now plays the organ at her church.  She is happy and feels fulfilled.  Her friends supported her and cheered her on as she struggled to read music and she loves them for their support.  

Today… look at what you want to change in your life.  Live by choosing to do what is the greatest and highest good for you!

Blessings.

Spirit Guides - Karma Thoughts

 There is a lot of discussion about karma in the spiritual circles these days.  Therefore, I thought I would share a post that I did quite a while ago about karma.  

Rolling the memories of your life, back and forth on the big screen of your life, you will see moments when it seemed luck was on your side, and that nothing can go wrong.  Then, you see times where you were unkind and life smacks you with something grim that you have to deal with.

The Spirit Guides talk to us about Karma, the idea that what we put out to the world comes back to us, sometimes as much as ten fold or ten times.  To explain this, think about something very loving and kind that you did for not just one person, but for a group of people.  Not only did you feel a sense of rightness after the action, you also saw "rewards" from doing that particular action.  Send out – get back. 

The Spirit Guides tell us that karma has a long reach through many life times.  So, if you were a taker in a previous life time, in this life time, the Universe might reverse that action, and you will need to be constantly giving, at expense to yourself. 

There are not hard, fast rules of karma.  Today, think of all the good things that you can do for people, and begin doing them.

Namaste.

To read other blog posts on Karma, see the following links.

Karma Yoga Thoughts... A Meditation

Karma Yoga Thoughts – Namasté

Buddha Speaks -  The Circle Of Life  -  Samsara

Spirit Animal - Horse On Community (a thought on Karma)

From Judy - Karma Takes Too Long

Karma Files - Karma Needs To Be Cleared Quickly - Archangel Michael's comments included

Trouble Sleeping? Use These Chants

 

Most people think that chanting is part of meditating and that it needs to be done in an upright, lotus position as shown in the picture above.  That is simply not true.  

Yes, chants are used in meditation.  Fact, chants are meditation and can be done anywhere.  That is why, when I am having trouble sleeping, and say one, two or all of the chants below until I fall deeply into sleep.

My favorite chant is "The Loving Kindness" chant.  The version that I learned goes like this...

May I be filled with loving kindness.  May I be well.

May I be peaceful and at ease.  May I be happy.

May you  be filled with loving kindness.  May you be well.

May you be peaceful and at ease.  May you be happy.

May we  be filled with loving kindness.  May we be well.

May we be peaceful and at ease.  May we be happy.

 

The chant that I learned back in the nineties is the OM chant.  "Om Mani Padme Hum".  I can say this chant for about twenty minutes before I am asleep.  You can look up the meaning of this chant.  However, the Dalai Lama says that this chant will...

“transform your impure body, speech and mind into the pure body, speech and mind of a Buddha.”

The third chant or mantra that I use is the...Ra Ma Da Sa, Sa Say So Hung chant.  Again, you can look up the meaning.  This is a very sacred healing chant that I learned in 2003 and that I use to help heal aches and pains that keep me from sleeping.

Please try these mantras when you can not sleep and please post what happened when you used them.

Blessings.

 

Spiritual Terms That You Should Understand

When I work with students (apprentices) or clients, I find that they often do not understand some of the common spiritual terms.  I am sharing what some of these terms are and how they are used.

Universal Law -  Laws that are created with the birth of the Universe... this one or others, that guide the beings in the Universe to have the ability to reach their highest evolvement for their soul.  These laws help reach higher consciousness.  The First Law is - Do No Harm.

Higher Self - This is the highest vibrational aspect of your soul that is the liaison or intermediary between you and The Universe (God, Creator, whatever your belief system is for your prayers).  One finds their higher self through meditation and looking within one's self.  Higher Self provides unfiltered truth which most people are not prepared to listen to.

Vibration - Everything is made of energy.  We know that energy is made up of moving atoms, and that the movement of the different atoms happens at different frequencies or speeds which create a vibration.  When we "feel" energy, we "feel" the vibration because it is different than the vibration within the atoms of our body.

Blessings.