growth
Thriving In The Winter Of Our Discontent
Enduring a harsh winter with extreme weather, in the midst of an ongoing pandemic, is not an easy feat. It reminds me of the ‘winter of our discontent’ that Shakespeare refers to in the first line of his play Richard III. This winter-pandemic combo is certainly a ‘double whammy’ that could potentially break any camel’s back! But how we choose to deal with these times will determine how it will serve to improve our lives in the long run.
Winter is actually a great time to think about spiritual and personal self-care, especially in places where there are extreme weather conditions. Where I live, in the state of Maine, the winters weather conditions can be severe, making it a time to just surrender, to give myself permission to rest my body, mind and spirit.
It is a time to go within, to meditate, to read, write, paint, to do things that feed the soul. It is good time to connect deeply with our inner being, the subconscious mind, the higher self. It is a time to retreat, allowing the mind to regroup, and to replenish your body, mind, and spirit. When we take the time to get acquainted with ourselves again, we find truth, wisdom, mental and even physical healing.
If you are going through a snowed-up winter right now where you live, use this time to review your bucket list. Reflect on all that is good about your life. Think about things that are not working for you anymore and the best course of action to move forward. Give yourself time to process it all.
The past year has also been a time of getting to know who we really are and what matters to us most. The global pandemic had some major shocks and surprises in store for those of us who had lost touch with ourselves and the people around us. I have been helping many clients working through these challenges.
For many the pandemic has notably been a time of intense solitude. A time of learning to be comfortable in your own company. In the beginning, the hope was that life would go back to normal in just a few months. But as time has gone on, we have had adjust to the so-called ‘new normal.’
Yoga And The Tarot Archetypes
When I’m not doing psychic readings, I enjoy engaging in activities that support a healthy lifestyle, such as Yoga and Herbalism. Although I spent many years training with Yoga masters from around the world and I am a certified Yoga instructor, I continue to learn more each time I get onto the mat.
While practicing the other day, I found myself thinking about the Tarot cards while in a particular yoga posture. It was the asana known as the Hero’s pose, or Virasana. The pose involves kneeling or sitting in between your bent legs.
As I was sitting in this stretch, I was wondering how the posture got its name, which comes from the Sanskrit word vira meaning ‘hero.’ It occurred to me that a hero was someone who had to think of someone else or others in that moment more than themselves. When we are pushed to our edge, in that moment of vulnerability, it makes us stronger. The same humility can be found in certain Yoga postures.
Then the Emperor card from the Tarot deck came to mind. The Emperor in a reading can show a ruler or leader who is strong, confident, and who guides others. Might there be an ancient connection with Yoga and the Tarot?
I then began to think of other Yoga postures and how they might correlate with the other Major Arcana cards in the Tarot.
The first that came up for me was The Hanged Man. This iconic card features a figure hanging upside down from a tree. Hanging from a tree in this way would certainly make one see the world from a different perspective. Interestingly, the headstand pose in Yoga, Sirsanasa, aims to create mental balance and physical poise. Continue reading
Walk In Faith As You Move Forward
“For we live by faith, not by sight.” I have relied on the words of this verse from 2 Corinthians for most of my life with much success, no matter how tough times have been.
What does it mean to walk in faith, and not by sight? Well, it means to keep going and to keep your faith in God, Spirit, a Higher Power, even when you are not sure of where exactly you are headed.
This past year these words could not have been more relevant. It has been very difficult for all of us, especially for those who have lost loved ones. Sadly, in our day and age, when a loved one passes, we don’t always get the support we need in order to get through the loss and get the help we need to move forward.
Processing grief on your own is no easy task. First we have to accept that our loved one is not with us in the physical sense anymore, but their soul is always with us. They will tell us that they are still here, but they do not want us to have an unhappy life, they don’t want us to be alone.
In our soul contract one of us agrees to leave before the other, whether it is a parent, husband, wife, child, sibling, whomever it may be, and that the one left behind would be experiencing what it means to endure such a loss.
As we struggle to move forward, people might say, why aren’t you feeling better yet? Time to get over it. Life goes on. Why are you still so sad? Well, it just doesn’t work that way, and anyone who has experienced such a loss understands that it takes a lot of time for the heart to truly heal.
I lost my husband of 31 years a long time ago. You don’t ever get over it completely, but it does get easier with time. It’s a step-by-step process, and having people that support you means so much to help you get through.
There Are Silver Linings In These Difficult Times
I remember my mom used to say that nothing good can ever come from something bad. While I fully understand her rationale, today I respectfully beg to differ. Even the darkest clouds can have the brightest silver linings!
Like most people, you are probably also sick and tired by now of reading, hearing and talking about Covid-19. However, this pandemic is a perfect example of how we can derive something good from something that has proven to be so incredibly challenging.
Of course, these benefits do come at an extremely high cost and we would all have preferred not to have this calamity happen in the first place. Even so, there are also blessings in every curse. The coronavirus pandemic appears to have at least had the following beneficial effects on making our world a better place.
Environment
During lockdown, nitrogen levels is said to have dropped significantly and experts say this may have resulted in a healthier planet, although the long-term effect remains to be seen. Nitrogen pollution is believed to be detrimental to our water quality, the quality of the air we breathe, the health of ecosystems, and biodiversity.
Apparently, for the first time in years, clean water ran through the Venetian canals, Delhi enjoyed blue skies, and the air quality in China improved considerably. Not only that, reports suggest that the quality of air around the globe has also improved and in some places wild animals were roaming wildly and freely in their natural habitat.
Industry
Covid-19 has also revolutionized how many of us work and will continue to work in the future. Many working people have experienced the benefits of working from home. For one, there is less commuter stress, less money spent on fuel and other expenses, and more time for family and home life. Estimates suggest that people working from home will be financially better off by doing so. In addition, many of us can now enjoy an enhanced work-life balance by being more in control of our working hours.
Truths In Your Astrological Chart
An astrological chart can be a wonderful tool – a marvelous means of gaining insight into who we are as a person. Reading your astrological chart and having it interpreted correctly is the only way to be able to use this tool effectively.
Many people think that their Sun Sign is the only important aspect to know, and little do they realize that it is a mere piece of the astrological puzzle.
We are complex beings, made up of a variety of astrological aspects. It is important to combine all these elements and influences, in order to truly function at the level of which we are capable. The world around us needs a combination of things to ensure the continuation of life and we are exactly the same.
If you over water a plant you can kill it. Too much, or too little, fresh air and sunlight may or may not damage a plant. We are just another expression of nature, except that we have arms and legs.
For example, a young lady has her Sun in Taurus, her Moon and her Venus in Aries and her Ascendant (or rising sign) in Libra. Let’s go one further, and say that all these planets fall into her Seventh House. Can you determine what this young lady’s Achilles heel might be? In other words, what might her downfall or her soft spot be?
The answer is love. The reason for this is that her Moon (who she is on the inside, her deepest darkest self) is in Aries – a fiery passionate sign, prone to impulse. Her Venus is also in Aries, and her rising sign Libra (the ultimate lover). They are all in or near enough to the seventh house, which rules love and partners, to just about control every aspect of her being, until she has been properly ‘broken in’, just like you would a wild horse.
She has great, harsh lessons to learn in her life about love. She will, no doubt, while she is younger and more resilient (at least in her mind) fall in love many times a day, and for each moment give it her absolute all.
Getting More Out Of Life With Your Psychic Reading
Working as a psychic reader for so many years, I have learned a lot about the human condition. I have learned, for example, that all of us essentially want the same things in life. We all want to be loved and accepted, appreciated for our talents and gifts, and we all need a sense of belonging, and to feel secure, safe, and happy.
These are fundamental needs and a natural part of being human. How we satisfy these basic needs, and how we decide what brings us happiness, is where we differ as individuals. It matters not how our preferences differ, but instead that we can find ways to fulfill these needs, while maintaining our soul growth and purpose.
One person may be happy in the type of relationship that affords her the independence to travel with her girlfriends and to have time and space for herself, her hobbies and interests, and her spiritual practice. Another may prefer a partner to spend most of his free time with her, shares the same interests, and showers her with constant attention and gifts.
Over the years, I have witnessed how certain clients more easily achieve the type of relationship they want, while others struggle with one unhealthy relationship after the other. The same goes for career opportunities, business ventures, and finances too.
We all have areas in life where we need to open up, expand our awareness, and grow as a soul. I’ve found that my job as a psychic reader is not only to tell my client all I see around them, but to also help them grow spiritually. My job is to help my clients achieve their personal and spiritual goals in all aspects of their life.
This becomes challenging when someone tells me they do not care about their personal and spiritual growth, or how they can achieve more of what they want. Instead, they only want what they want right now, and are unwilling to look at the bigger picture of what can be done to increase the likelihood of reaching their goal. This is often the reason why some become stuck in dead-end, toxic relationships, for example.
We Are All Somebody’s Somebody
This is a story about a child who grew up thinking one way, but in time discovered that things are not always as they seem. How we choose to think, or see, or feel about life is how we will live it.
His journey started in the fall of 1961. At birth he appeared to be perfectly ‘normal,’ except that he was underweight and arrived a little early. It was later to be discovered that he had sight in only one eye and did not respond to sound in his left ear. This caused him to also experience difficulties later in learning how to talk. He also had some health issues with the functioning of his heart.
He was fortunate to grow up with a loving family, who understood early on that he was different, but for the most part they didn’t treat him any differently. With the help of speech therapy, hearing aids and glasses, he learned to manage and adapt, but there was a burning anger and frustration inside of him as he grew older.
In time, he increasingly realized how different he was to the other kids, to the extent that it made going to school and interacting with others very frustrating.
Then something wonderful happened. His father, who had been an Eagle scout in his youth, also got him involved with scouting. Suddenly, his world opened up. Although as a family they often went camping and taking canoe trips, this was different, because he was spending time with other boys his age.
Soon, he became involved as a manager of the football team, and later as an athletic trainer. He had found his role and calling, figuring he can’t play himself, but he can certainly help others play! He had finally found something he was really good at, and by the time he was a senior in high school his reputation was such that he was recruited to be a student trainer for All-state Boys Basketball.
Later he attended college on a scholarship as a student trainer and participated in several championship teams, including as the head student trainer for the co-ed training room. College, however, not only afforded him his dream career, but it also offered him the opportunity to help those kids who weren’t playing on the A-teams. He could teach them how to participate in their own way, and still succeed. After graduating he became a certified athletic trainer.