cleansing
Time To Shake Out Your Rugs!
Every year when spring arrived, my mother used to say, “It’s time to shake out the rugs and get all the dust out that settled over the winter.” I never really understood what she was referring to. At the time I took it to be literal. It simply meant the rugs are dirty, so let’s shake them out and hang them on a clothesline in the fresh air. We would beat them with a rug beater, to make sure all the dust would come out. The rugs would then go back in the house, smelling fresh and looking like new.
Now that I have matured, I realize what she was referring to on a wisdom level. These days when the spring season arrives, I look at my life and say, “What do I need to get the dust out of?” And I don’t rush through this process, I truly look at the depth of what is slowing me down, from the goals I have set, or from manifesting my best reality. This year it is no different.
These past few days I have been focusing on my business life. I work out of a home office, which has been decorated with things that relate to my spirituality, including vision boards, special metaphysical items, books, cards, crystals and some office supplies, which has become an extremely cluttered mess.
My personal energy has also been cluttered lately, and I realized this while I was walking around the piles of papers on the floor. I also noticed the multitude of cards and books which no longer resonate with me, but were still sitting dormant on over-packed shelves. All this clutter was pulling the good energy out of me every time I come in here to work. Continue reading
When The Empath Becomes An Energy Sponge
I just completed a psychic reading for a long-standing client who is a successful teacher, as well as an empath and psychic in her own right. Despite being highly intuitive and, under normal circumstances, able to make good decisions based on her gut feeling, she was feeling totally at a loss, and in limbo concerning her current circumstances.
She asked me for guidance as to what could be happening to her, because even though her situation is not dire, she described herself as feeling like “a sponge that cannot not absorb any more.” She was feeling no sense of creativity or inspiration, nor any initiative to get the ball rolling for a future move for herself and her family. The Tarot’s Hangman card defines how she felt, as if she was just dangling and not getting anywhere fast.
Both she and her husband had made a big geographical move a few years ago, with the well-being of their children in mind. She was beating herself up, because she also felt responsible for every circumstance her family was experiencing, including her 17 year old daughter, who hasn’t quite yet identified her future career niche. Of course, the additional negative energy of guilt was holding her even more in limbo. To top it all, the schooling of her children and work of her husband requires that she lives and teaches remotely, with a several hours commute away from them, so they can only come together as a family once a fortnight. More guilt! Continue reading
Spring Forward Energy Shift
Many of us know the feeling of disorientation we get when Daylight Savings Time (DST) kicks back in… including perhaps the craving for an extra cup of coffee! But did you know that our physical and spiritual energies are undergoing a dramatic shift at this time also?
The vernal equinox at the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere exposes us to more sunlight, after the short days of winter. The body and mind now send signals for new growth. More cellular activity takes place in spring than any other season. Literally, we are become new versions of ourselves at this time, as our cells are replaced.
It’s the perfect time to begin new routines or rid ourselves of practices which are no longer beneficial. Cleaning out closets and attics in our homes can be likened to conducting a spiritual ‘spring cleaning.’
On the equinox, the hours of light and darkness are evenly balanced. This only happens twice a year. It’s a reminder from the Universe that both sides need to be in harmony, and neither can exist without the other. Our personal energies are more balanced than ever at this time, which makes it a perfect time for meditation, deep psychic exploration, and shamanic journeys. Continue reading
Choosing Your Own Tarot Deck
Purchasing your own Tarot deck may seem overwhelming for the newcomer, but can actually be a very magical experience. Back in the ‘dark ages,’ when I decided to purchase my first Tarot deck, I remember getting a plethora of recommendations from others to buy certain decks. I was overloaded with opinions, none of which I listened to in the end.
I’ve always been a bit of a rebel, so I chose a deck that I felt most drawn to. I remember the day well, I visited a little metaphysical shop in Michigan and was immediately drawn to the back of the store, where there were some revolving racks with Tarot decks on display. I felt almost mesmerized by one deck. It’s theme was angelic, and although the images, design, and roman numerals were not really suited for a beginner, it didn’t matter to me, I bought the deck anyway.
When I got it home, I took it into my herbal room, laid it out on some black silk, to anoint it with consecration oils of rosemary, basil, star anise, frankincense, myrrh, and patchouli. I held a pendulum over the cards to program it with my intentions, and to activate it.
After that, I fanned the cards out on my herbal table and slowly waved my palm over the deck, sending my energies into it to align and connect with it as my sacred tool. Lastly, I asked Spirit to oversee the deck by placing it into the right hands once they left mine. Continue reading
The Healing Power Of Forest Bathing
Forest bathing, or tree bathing, is a lost healing art much needed in this era of technology. It is a powerful, natural healing tool for cleansing the aura and chakras, and it doesn’t cost anything. The Japanese call it Shinrin-Yoku, or ‘forest medicine.’
Tree bathing is to allow the trees and plants to filter your energy, like they filter the air – in with the good, pure and new… and out with the toxic thoughts and feelings of anger and fear. There is a tremendous benefit to being in nature without having to achieve, compete, accomplish, or do something.
Trees are believed to have a secret language they use to communicate with each other. This language helps to heal us when we become part of their energy and communication. Trees are natural purifiers. They take old, toxic, polluted air and filter it through their system and release healthy, pure air with renewed and powerful life force. We breath this air in and it heals our lungs and organs. Stress can also do this energetically, just by being in their presence. Continue reading
Clearing Your Chakras
With spring just around the corner, many of us have the urge to clean house. But did you know it’s just as important to do a spiritual cleansing? The perfect place to start is our seven chakras: the centers of energy in the human body. It’s just as important to conduct a regular spiritual health check as a physical health check, and for the same reasons.
Much like our cars or living spaces, our chakras don’t function correctly if they are neglected and left to ‘gather dust.’ When this happens our entire well-being is affected, from our physical and emotional health to our relationships with others.
Likewise, we won’t be at our best if we only focus on some, and not all of our chakras. Your car wouldn’t run if you gave it oil changes, but forgot to put air in the tires! The three upper chakras (Crown, Third Eye, Throat), the lower three (Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus) and the Heart Chakra, which ties them together, are all equally important. Continue reading
Spiritual Cleansing
With a new year comes the opportunity again to better ourselves, but how many of us consider the spiritual along with the physical or mental? Like our homes or our cars, our spiritual selves accumulate ‘junk’ over time and need cleaning too.
The first clue that a spiritual cleansing or psychic clearing is overdue is that general feeling of heaviness, emotional clutter, or being overwhelmed. Just as we tend to get depressed when our living space is a wreck, if our spiritual essence is no longer working properly, neither will we as a whole unit.
A perfect way to get started, which is inexpensive and environmentally friendly, is to smudge your physical space with a healing herb such as sage, or something stronger like frankincense. As you burn these herbs, focus on ridding negative energies and memories and repeat a mantra such as, “I release that which I no longer need, and focus now on the present.” Continue reading