appreciation
Nothing Tastes Sweeter Than Gratitude
During the holidays, most homes and businesses have their festive lights and decorations up. One of the parking lots in my neighborhood is currently featuring a flamboyant set of beautiful red lights that really struck me as I was driving by the other day. In fact, it caused a strong emotional reaction within me.
Now, what might be so profound or special about a display of red Christmas lights, you may wonder. It is, after all, a typical holiday decoration seen everywhere this time of year. So, what’s the big deal? Well, those lights set me off so much because it brought back precious memories of my childhood.
I grew up in a very small town in New Brunswick, Canada. My family struggled and we were very poor. However, that did not prevent my parents from ensuring that we still enjoyed a few rare luxuries and treats on special occasions.
The most memorable of these were the “barley toys,” as we used to call them. Every Christmas, it was the tradition for each of us to receive a packet of barley toys. Now, this has nothing to do with actual toys. Instead, a barley toy is a kind of clear sugar lollipop or sucker shaped like a toy. These translucent, glass-like candies traditionally come in whimsical shapes, including various animals, as well as ships, trains, cars and, of course, Santa Clause.
According to the Startup Candy Factory in Provo, Utah, one of the earliest clear toy candy makers in the United States, German immigrants brought this holiday tradition to America and original recipes for it can be traced back to the 1700s. It was originally called “barley candy,” because cane sugar was very scarce at the time, so early candy makers used the cheaper and more readily available barley sugar.
May Our Souls Continue To Rejoice
We have indeed so much to be grateful for today. May the joys and rememberances of this post-pandemic holiday season keep our hearts alive with hope, faith and gratitude throughout the coming year.
May our souls continue to rejoice with the miracles of joy, hope, faith and love of the Christmas of the Christians; Yule of the Pagans; Candle-mas of the Celts; Hanukkah of the Hebrews; Eid ul-Fitr of Islam; Pan-African festival of Kwanzaa; and Hindu celebration of Diwali.
In the old days, before the reformers came, the Old Oak King conquered the Holly King every year around this time. Mother Earth would then sleep under a white blanket of snow, the quiet ice of still waters, everything waiting for the Summer Solstice, when the Holly King would win the battle in turn.
We face the same battles of duality in our own lives. At times we are happily progressing along our own path, expanding, learning, growing spiritually, when suddenly an impasse comes along that requires us to become still, to be patient, to wait, to rest, to contemplate, to accept. We are seldom thankful, as we would prefer to continue rushing towards our goals, our dreams, our desires. We grumble, we complain, we resist, we fight the wait, and then we wonder why we are waiting so long.
Sometimes we are meant to just take the time to rest, draw strength, find ourselves. The true lesson and miracle of this season is the wait, the peace, the rest, until we once again see our dreams more clearly.
How To Achieve Inner Peace This Holiday Season
I recently did a deep meditation to ask Spirit how we can achieve inner peace this holiday season, as well as throughout the rest of the year. Here is what Spirit revealed to me.
Self-Care
Take better care of yourself – mind, body and soul. This is key, because if you are not taking care of your own health and well-being, then you won’t have much to offer others.
Do not neglect your spiritual practice. Pray. Meditate. Chant. Journal.
Eat a healthy diet. Get enough sleep. Exercise. Moving the body helps with circulation and helps with all kinds of pain. You will feel better for taking an hour to exercise. We are happier when we feel better.
Take some time to relax and have fun. Read. Reading is very relaxing and is a healthy escapism. What interests you? Find books on subjects you enjoy and start reading. Someone once said that books make good friends.
And most of all, don’t neglect your daily spiritual practice. If you do not have a practice, get one.
Goodwill
Think about this past year, and make a list of those that were naughty and nice to you. Pray for both. Ask for happiness, joy and goodwill to enter everyone’s lives, and then also visualize this. Visualize each person and open your heart. Wish each of them goodness.
The Healing Power Of A Smile
I have noticed something very interesting lately, since we are no longer wearing masks in public. There are two types of people: those who often smile and laugh, and those who do not. You can smile at some people that seem to not be very happy and they will smile right back at you, while others will just look at you like you’re an alien.
I love to smile at people and change their energy, it uplifts them. I can tell. I can see the auric energy around those who smile, and it’s much brighter and lighter. It’s a healing, positive energy. Those that don’t smile have dark and cloudy auras. It makes me feel good to help people get into a better mood and access their higher consciousness, as it will just keep the ball rolling for a positive domino effect for the rest of their day.
But there are those people who find nothing pleasant or amusing and will not smile for anything. I understand that sometimes life just seems to hand us a bad hand of cards, or just seems depressing or no fun. But we all have the ability to smile and our sense of humor is a gift from God. If you can’t smile for yourself to change your own energy, or find yourself unable smile back at those that smile at you, maybe take a look in the mirror and that may inspire you to crack a smile. It changes energy and lives.
As a psychic, I consult many people who are in unloving relationships and marriages. They stay with partners who are unkind, abusive, or unfaithful. They carry a torch for spouses who talk them down to them and make them feel less than. For many it causes mental and physical health problems.
Signs That You Have A High Vibration
Spiritually aware people know that it is important to achieve and maintain a high energy frequency to live a truly conscious, empowered life. Diverse spiritual practices, metaphysical techniques and lifestyle activities can be pursued to achieve this elevated state of ‘beingness’ and higher consciousness.
But how does one know for sure that all your efforts to raise your vibration are indeed successful? How do you recognize an elevated ‘vibe’ in yourself and others? Are there clear signs of someone having a high energy vibration?
Yes, there are indeed certain traits and indicators one can look out for to identify people with a high vibration:
Empowered. When a person with a high energy vibration walks into a room, everybody immediately takes notice of them. They have a powerful presence. Everyone will instantly light up and suddenly become more relaxed, friendly, happy, and joyful.
Healing. People seek you out others who have a higher vibration when they are feeling sad, depressed, anxious, or just need someone to talk to. High vibration people therefore often find themselves in the role of teacher, nurturer, caregiver, healer, or peacemaker.
Trusted. People with a raised vibration are often more easily and spontaneously trusted by others. Animals and children especially are naturally drawn to those who have a high vibration. Animals and children are sensitive to negative, low energies and tend to avoid it at any cost. If a crying baby or scared pet vehemently refuses to have anything to do with someone, chances are something is off with that person’s energy. Kids and animals prefer and only trust ‘light and love’ vibes.
How To Make Gratitude A Way Of Life
Life has certainly not been easy for me recently. First and foremost, my iPhone, email account, bank account and credit card had all been hacked by some very clever cyber-criminal. Soon after, my brother went into hospital for the second time. I was feeling rather sorry for myself until one day, after visiting my brother in the hospital, I was delayed while driving home. I had to stop at a junction to allow oncoming traffic to pass. A hearse was passing by on the other side of the road.
“God bless the deceased and their loved ones,” I softly prayed.
As the funeral procession moved closer, I noticed that the flower wreath beside the coffin had a ribbon with the words: Beloved Daughter. In a flash, all my own problems seemed to evaporate, as I thought of the bereaved parents of the deceased. Here I was, complaining that I could not access my email account, while other people were grieving the passing of a loved one. Although it was a brief, random experience, it made me take a step back and take an honest look at my life. It caused me to reflect upon the many blessings in my life and, apart from my brother’s current health condition, the ongoing well-being of the rest of my family.
The hearse experience was highly synchronistic and definitely a sign from spirit. The Universe no doubt had an uncanny hand in ochestrating this occurence, as it mimicked an similar experience I had almost 20 years ago! Back then, my son had been born three months prematurely and suffered a minor brain hemorrhage as a result. Statistically, the doctors told me, the odds were fortunately in favor of him surviving such a premature birth. Still, the four months that he was in hospital were probably the most harrowing of my life!
The Gift Of Spiritual Healing
Spiritual or psychic healing, or you can call it energy healing, is also a gift of mediumship, because the healer is working as a channel, for advanced spirits to work through.
All of my life I have had visions, spirit communications and all of that, but I would often also dream about and witness medical surgeries taking place. Some of it is pretty gory, and I would wake up and wonder why?
As time went by the reason became clear to me. I discovered that it was part of my life purpose and I started working with a healing group. They were, and still are, wonderful! There are a lot of different forms of healing. I believe that in a future world, psychic healers, physicians, and psychiatrists will all work together in the healing of human and animals.
There is much involved with psychic healing. One must learn to align your body, mind, and soul to the person being healed. And one must also have permission from the person to conduct the healing. If they cannot communicate, you can ask them telepathically.
Some healings are complete, where the patient becomes free of the disease, and recovers. Others are only partial healings, and this happens when the disease is karmic, and necessary, for the spiritual growth of the person. Even if the patient crosses over, believe it or not, the healing has still taken place!
For the past 16 years, I have been working with a very great healer in spirit. I have witnessed him do some pretty amazing things, for both humans and animals. He is especially skilled with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and tumors.
For a while I was saving baby kitties that had lost their mothers. Their lives are important too. He saved two kittens that were on the brink of death. One of the kittens I really fell in love with. She was a tortoiseshell cat, and very, very tiny. I had her and her two sisters that I was taking care of.
