human body
My Near-Death Experience
About 12 years ago, right before Christmas, I had a lot going on in my life. I was taking care of my two kids and my brother. My cousin had a three-month-old baby, whose mother was in the hospital with complications due to diabetes. He brought me his new baby and asked if they could stay with us, and if I could care for his son while he worked. He was working the night shift, from around 7pm till 4am. Of course, I said I would help in any way I could.
Between my kids’ and my brother’s schedules, and now this new baby who was colicy, I was exhausted at the end of the second week. Somehow, I also got food poisoning. Never having had food poisoning before, I didn’t know the symptoms and thought I had a touch of stomach flu. Being so tired, I hadn’t realized how sick I actually was. After about 18 hours of fluid loss, I become so dehydrated that I had a seizure. My eyes rolled into the back of my head and I fell down. Apparently, I was clinically dead for around 1½ minutes.
I did not experience all of the typical near-death phenomena. There was not any floating over my body; there was no white light, no tunnel. I was simply here and then I was there. The first thing I remember is walking along a sort of grassy path. I don’t remember turning around to look behind me, but, I just knew that there was a darkness from which I came, back there.
There were two people there to greet me. A woman and a man, the woman spoke to me first, and the man was a little ways behind her. Today, I could not tell you who these people were. But, when I was there, I was so glad to see them. It was like when I had sent my kids to summer camp, and they were gone for all those summer months, and I missed them terribly. It was the same feeling I got when seeing my children for the first time returning home. I had a deep love and bond with these two people.
The next thing I remember is that I was taken to the top of a mountain. There was no journey to get there, I was just there. The only way to describe the mountain is that it was like standing on top of Pikes Peak and looking out. I was so high up that the only thing I could see was blue sky.
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
By The Light Of The Moon
Oh, the Moon! How I love the Moon. What’s not to love? I love watching the moon dance on the lake’s surface outside our home or just to observe it in the night sky. It is so healing to me.
I remember going outside and just basking in the light of the moon. I remember waiting for it to be full and then putting a big bucket of water in the garden. I would let the light of the moon reflect on the surface and I would prop up my feet on either side of this and just go into the alpha state and meditate.
To this day I will wash my precious stones, like my moonstones and agates, with salt water. After that, on a full moon, I will let them absorb the light. I feel it recharges and cleanses them.
I always agreed with the school of thought that the moon affects the fluids in our bodies, just like the tides of the ocean. I also view the moon as a lovely lady who is in charge of our emotions and feelings; she is the ‘bringer of moods’.
Usually you can see her influence very clearly on a full moon. For example, emergency services and police sirens are often more prevalent on the roads, there are more arrests and accidents and people lashing out and doing things they normally wouldn’t dare.
There is much power and control to be found in knowing when the different phases of the moon are, and to have the heads up as to how it affects us. The moon also rules all female physiology; she is the mother of all things which are important and necessary for creating life and nurturing. It virtually has an effect on the growth of all living things, including all plants and animals. I call the moon ‘she’ because of this. She rules over the ‘internal ocean’ that keeps us all alive.
Empower Yourself With A Tarot Meditation
The Tarot is so much more than just a method of fortunetelling. Tarot can be used as a tool for meditation just as much as it is an aid for divination.
For example, you can meditate on one of the cards in the Major Arcana, to connect with that specific card’s archetypal energy. Connecting with the card’s energy can not only help you find the answers you need, but more profoundly it can also invite that energy into our life.
Every archetype can awaken within us certain a type of personal power. The Magician can inspire us to become more quick on our feet, as he is mercurial in nature. The High Priestess connects us more deeply with our intuition and higher self. The Tower can bring an immediate closure to a negative situation we cannot stand anymore, and so on.
Let’s focus on The Empress card with a more detailed analysis, to demonstrate how we can utilize her in meditation.
Symbolism Of The Empress
The Empress is the number 3 card in the Major Arcana of the Tarot. She is the archetypal queen and symbolizes all the riches of femininity. She is related to the planet Venus and the zodiac sign of Taurus, representing affectivity in all its fullness.
As an earthly partner of the Emperor, her archetype represents the earthly plane achievements and pleasures of the physical body, including motherhood. There is also a connection between the Divine Feminine or Divine Mother archetype, represented by this card, and the Earth as Gaia, our nurturing mother.
Take Advantage Of Today’s New Moon Energy
Along with the Full Moon, the New Moon is one of the most defining phases of the lunar cycle, because the Sun, Moon and Earth are all in perfect alignment during this phase. This month’s New Moon occurs today, in the mid-morning hours, while the Dark Moon happened last night. Both phases are potent to utilize intentionally.
The lunar phases are known to affect the ocean tides and all water on the Earth. Similarly, in Astrology, the Moon represents everything associated with the water element, such as our mood, emotions and dreams. The Moon in our natal chart also shapes the blueprint of our inherent skills, gifts, talents, and psychic abilities.
Since ancient times, the lunar cycle has been utilized as a tool for conscious creating, manifesting and spiritual practice. In the case of the New Moon, the Moon find itself directly between the Earth and the Sun. It reaches a point when it becomes totally ‘dark,’ with no sunlight illuminating it at all. The Moon then emerges again as a tiny sliver of light, known as the New Moon.
The transition into the New Moon actually presents us with two powerful points of lunar energy to work with – both the Dark Moon’s total blackout, and New Moon’s re-illumination.
The Dark Moon is a short but powerful time for soul-searching. It is the deep ‘cocoon phase,’ before the shell of rebirth cracks open. It represents a moment of release of that which is no longer serving us. The Dark Moon is the ideal time to enter into stillness, re-evaluate goals, and plant new seeds of desire. The darkness is a potent point of creativity. Pay close attention to any dreams or visions you may had in the past 24 hours. It is worth being very intentional at this time of the month.
The Intuitive Wisdom Of The Human Body
The more time I spend working in the psychic realm, the more it seems to expand outward and the more it has to teach me. There is a certain magic that happens during psychic readings, where I feel touched by Spirit.
Sometimes, after completing another session with a client, rather than getting back to everyday life, I just stay in my chair for a while, and commune with my guides. I thank them, and also absorb any further messages or information that I need to learn as a spiritual advisor.
However, I find the best time to learn from Spirit is actually in my free time, when I am not working. It is actually in my personal life where Spirit usually has the most to teach me. Those ordinary, mundane moments, when I am doing the dishes, or taking a shower, or cleaning the house, is often where I learn the most. Maybe this is the case because I’m in more of a receptive, relaxed state of mind? It also happens frequently at night, when I’m just about to fall asleep, or upon waking in the morning.
I find it truly amazing how divinely orchestrated everything is in the metaphysical realm. There is very little effort needed to be able to perceive so much. Each year that passes, I learn to trust my inner guidance more and more.
Lately, I have come to recognize once again that the human body is a highly sensitive, intuitive apparatus through which Spirit guides us. My physical body, and how it reacts to being around certain people, and in certain situations, is something I no longer take for granted. What I have observed is that my body is innately aware and instinctively intelligent, maybe sometimes even more than the rational mind.
Changing Your Think-Feel-Act Cycle
There is a popular saying, “Where attention goes, energy flows.” And since everything is energy, we often forget how true this is and how it plays out in our lives. We can be stuck in the same groove without noticing it. And then we think, where has time gone, and maybe it’s too late to change?
The good news is, as long as we are still breathing, it’s never too late to change, or to choose differently to create a different outcome.
All things in the Universe is energy vibrating at various frequencies, and so does our thoughts. This is highly relevant in the think-feel-act cycle of our mind-body connection. Our thoughts have an effect on our feelings, and then our actions, which ultimately produce outcome in our lives.
Our thoughts and feelings can even affect our body and physical health, as well as how a situation will play out in our relationships, finances, daily habits and lifestyle choices.
In relationships, it’s important to look at how we view ourselves first, as it has a direct relationship on how others will react to us. How we think, feel and act can make a big difference in relationship outcomes with friends, lovers, co-workers and family.