culture
Friendship And The Empath
Friends are a wonderful addition to our lives. In some cases they even take the place of family of origin, and become our chosen family. A healthy friendship is a balanced one – give and take, trust, loyalty, acceptance and truth delivered with compassion. Unfortunately, for the empath, friendship can also be treacherous territory, sometimes rife with debbie downers, energy thieves, and psychic vampires.
There are different levels of friendship, from casual social friendships to those we call ‘best friends.’ These best friends are ones with whom we feel safe sharing our deepest secrets, fears, hopes and dreams.
Social media has made it much easier in recent years to connect with friends. With a click of the keyboard a new friend can be made or an old acquaintance rekindled. Social media sites have even recognized the importance of providing the choice of putting people into the appropriate category, such as people from work or close friends. People can be also unfriended, blocked or reported if they are out of bounds, and what is seen publicly by our friends can be limited.
Little Miracles – Charms, Milagros And Ex-Votos
Years ago, my Grandfather gave me a gold bracelet. Upon his travels, or on special occasions in my life, he would gift me a charm to add to this bracelet. It was to remind of the things I loved or accomplished.
These charms are all special to me, but the one that stands out is the gold angel he gave me one Christmas. I remember when opened the box, the Angel was sparkling. I knew she was inviting me through the doorway to the unseen – to be able to speak through the veil.
This was my initiation to charms. Today, I use them as talismans, jewelry, mementos, and for divining. I’m also a collector of small, unique boxes and that’s where my charms reside. Many of my charms are items that were passed down to me, such as a thimble, buttons, coins, safety pin, small crystal figurines, toys from cereal boxes’ I also have found objects, like feathers and an acorn. Some are purchased charms, and charm kits from my favorite artists.
No matter our background or culture, symbols are universal and they tell a story. When I use my charms for divination, I ask clients to select charms at random, or intentionally. I then read their chosen charms before they leave from a session. There is usually a charm or symbol that speaks to them that about a loved one, or someone that passed on. It’s often through this symbol we can speak to them or make that connection.
Dirty Little Secrets
So many of us have secrets. Some sneak food, others drink alcohol, or they have a sugar habit, can’t have an orgasm, or they are depressed. More interestingly, in my experience, some people in the helping, motivation, exercise, or spiritual industry often have more secrets than most. They keep these secrets, because they have more to lose. If they are supposed to be selling a service or product that ‘works’… appearances matter (perhaps even more than the practice they sell).
Furthermore, people love to worship their idols and gurus… who are sometimes frail and imperfect humans themselves. We create heroes who in turn create themselves. Some of these ‘heroes’ come close to revealing themselves, most are only revealed after their death. In truth, we have no idea what other people are really going through in their lives. Nor do we typically want to know. Instead we prefer to worship some ideal. This helps us to further self-criticize, because we are not that ideal like them. And this in turn encourages everyone to keep more secrets.
‘Taking Out The Garbage’ With Past Life Soul Regression
The soul is our ‘personal computer’ that retains data from previous incarnations, or past lives, as well as constantly adding to the database in real time from our current experiences in this lifetime. Thank goodness that the soul’s ‘cloud storage’ capability is truly infinite. And did you know that through the process of Soul Regression we can access this data for the purpose of personal growth and spiritual healing?
Many people believe in reincarnation and past lives, yet only a small percentage explore the experience of regression into it. Why would one want to go back into a past incarnation? What value does it hold? What would the purpose be, since we are living in the present time, and our challenges are here and now? This was also my point of view once.
The Soul Self In The Age Of Technology
I used to work as a realtor for a short period of time. Most likely the short duration of that career was, even though I absolutely love people, that I sucked at the selling part.
As part of that chosen career path, I felt compelled to purchase and carry a cell phone. Customers looking for a salesperson usually will not wait long and will often just move on to the next available agent – hence the need for a phone that I had to carry with me constantly.
When I was out visiting family or friends, I had to explain immediately why I was carrying this device and my need to answer it quickly, so that I didn’t lose a potential sale. Everyone seemed to understand the situation.
If my phone rang and it was only someone wanting to chat or another type of call, I simply explained to whomever was on the other end that I was thus engaged and would call them back. However, this did not always go over well! People who call someone sometimes feel their call must be taken and followed through with a conversation.
Digging Deeper Into The Signs Of The Zodiac
Astrology fans are often familiar with the general traits of the twelve signs of the Zodiac. For example, we may know our best friend is headstrong because she is Aries, or we might have a moody Cancer parent, or a wisecracking Sagittarius coworker. But how well do we really know the deeper characteristics of each sign?
Each sign has, for example, a hidden side – and it is not just signs such as Gemini or Pisces, which we often associate with duality. Plus, each person’s natal or birth chart is unique! No two charts are alike, just as no two people are exactly alike.
The Fire signs are stereotyped as confident go-getters, who know exactly what they want from life and are born leaders. However, Aries, as the first sign of the Zodiac, seems confrontational to some, but can be sensitive and even childlike. Think of the charging ram versus the meeker sheep. Leo the lion comes across as egotistical and uncaring, putting everyone else below her, but she is also the protector of her pride and makes an excellent parent and confidante. And Sagittarius is literally of two worlds: the horse (animal) side symbolizing wild abandon and humor, and the human, philosophical part which is serious-minded and appreciates deeper meaning.
The Gossip Jury
In letting something into your life you have to understand its value. This is the same with advice, or with people you get involved with. This also means when you have the ability to listen into someone’s life, you have an opinion, but it does not necessarily equate the truth.
In turning people on or off, you can count on one thing: hurt feelings… no matter how much harm they have done to you, or how much harm you have done to them. In a world where technology has empowered us to feel that have the ability to listen into others thoughts, let’s take a moment to truly listen to their feelings, or feel with them.
We do not need to be sociopaths through the ability to listen in and gossip. The power may be intoxicating for those that do so, but the control is false, and their needs exaggerated and self-centered. After all, they regurgitate just one point of view. And these poor listeners never tell you how they are doing… they only regurgitate what they think you are doing, as a form of entertainment, because they are feeling out of control.