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Stay Spiritually Uplifted This Winter Holiday Season
For some people, the approach of winter is a fantastic time of the year. They love to walk amongst the golden autumn leaves, breathing in the crisp air that enlivens the soul, while looking forward to the festive holiday season.
For others, the holiday season is a time of fear and dread. It is for some that time of the year when they feel more bored, lonely, depressed and lacking in enthusiasm. I used to be one of those people. I could not wait for it all to be over, so the brighter days of spring could arrive. But these days I have a very different outlook. I have learned ways to lift my spirits during this time of the year. Yes, winter holiday period does not have to be a ‘dark night of the soul!’
If you are currently also dreading the fast-approaching holiday season, the following self-care strategies can help you turn this time of the year into a period of true joy and upliftment. It will assist you in navigating the winter through to the spring effectively and happily, while maintaining emotional well-being and keeping your spirits high.
Intentions & Goalsetting
It is always great to have something uplifting to look forward to, especially when the nights are cold, long, and lonely. This time of the year is the perfect opportunity to set new goals or personal targets that will add value and excitement to your life. No need to for New Year’s Eve to make your resolutions. Start setting those intentions
Once you have set your goals, begin to meditate on and visualize those intentions. Once you get your intentional energy rolling, the Universe will assist you in manifesting your endeavours by cosmically aligning you to the desired end result.
Spirit Guidance Requires Faith And Patience
I once received an apology call from a woman I hadn’t spoken to in over a decade. She wasn’t even sure I would accept her call. Many years ago, I predicted a new relationship for her that didn’t come to pass soon enough to her liking. She was extremely displeased and decided to ‘shoot the messenger.’ I did not hear from her again, until my prediction did prove accurate after all a decade later. She is now married to the man we were discussing at the time of her reading.
Another lady had been calling me for a while, then some things occurred in her love life in the short-term that did not please her. So, again, I was blamed for it and received no further calls. Then, six months later, she wrote to apologize. She also got married last week.
Then there’s the client that I told, “Do not go out with that guy, he’s trouble.” Yet, she still did. Two years later, she called to say, “You were right. Wish I had listened to you.”
See, when I do readings, I ask for wisdom, I pray for accuracy. I also set an intention for open-minded, sensible clients that really care about what spirit wants to communicate to them. I am fortunate that I usually have wonderful clients. Almost everyone one that I am sent to work with, understands the ways of spirit.
You see, in spirituality the journey is what truly matters, not the destination. The best things in life take time. Trusting spirit for guidance requires faith and patience. Divine timing and the divine order of things are not for us to determine or dictate.
Wyatt Earp, a legendary frontiersman of the American West, was known as the ‘fastest gun in the West.’ He famously said that being fast is great, but accuracy is much more important. Life is that way too. We often want life to move fast – quick-paced, rat-raced, constantly running to our goals! We seldom learn the lessons, have the fun, experience the growth, or enjoy the experiences we can have while steadily progressing towards the goal.
Laughter Is A Spiritual Superpower
I believe there are energies on this planet that feed off lower vibrations caused by fear, anger, depression, anxiety, jealousy, perversion, and hate. The more time we spend in such lower frequencies, the more we will attract even more of those negative energies.
On the opposite end of the energy spectrum, there is joy, love, forgiveness, light , positive thinking, and laughter that keep us in a higher vibration. Laughter is in fact one of the most powerful ways to raise our energy vibration. It even helps to heal our physical body and keeps our mind clear and our thoughts positive. It can be like a life raft that keeps us sane in a somewhat crazy world.
A sure sign that someone is going over to the ‘dark side,’ is when they lose their sense of humor. I’ve had friends who used to have a great sense of humor, until they were sucked into a dark mental state, some of them also using alcohol or drugs to self-medicate (which dramatically lowers our vibration). It’s quite alarming to witness the profound change in them. No more joking or upbeat banter. No more laughter. Not even a smile. Nothing.
I have a long-time friend who lately shows a complete lack of emotional connection. The first time I noticed this change with her was when realized she had stopped making jokes. She also stopped laughing at my jokes.
Throughout our friendship we have always relied on our like-minded sense of humor to deal with life’s challenges. We had used our sense of humor to manage the ridiculousness in life, and even our own dysfunctional behavior. Nothing is healthier than to be able to laugh at yourself!
But then she started losing empathy and interest in others. She increasingly became emotionally unavailable and dissociated. It has been sad and scary process to see my friend’s vibrant personality slowly fading. I have tried to reach out and lift her spirits, but she only checks in briefly from time to time, and then disappears again into the shadows.
Some Days Are Diamonds
Some days in life stand out as exceptional, memorable and even magical. Personally, I have experienced several such days to date. I can recall each of these enchanted days vividly, because of the way everything seemed to fall into place perfectly, from start to finish. On these days there were amazing synchronicities with people, places, events and circumstances that all came together to create the perfect moment in time. In these moments I felt completely aligned within myself, everyone else around me, as well as the entire Universe.
It’s been a while since I had such an amazing day. The Covid-19 pandemic especially have played a role in this, causing for me a sense of disjointedness and isolation. I made a real effort to get out of the house as much as possible, even having lunch here and there by myself. I even attempted to strike up new friendships, but none of these connections quite gelled or there was a lack of follow-up on either side. I accept that those potential new friendships simply were not meant to be.
It is said that our deepest, longest-lasting friendships are formed earlier on in life. For me this is true, as I remain in touch on a daily basis with friends I left behind a few years ago when leaving South Africa. Some of those individuals have since scattered to various corners of the world, but many of us still stay in touch, even if only to touch base now and again. Then there are also those special friends that I communicate with almost every day, from Bali to South Africa, to South America, and beyond. We are blessed these days to have the internet to be able to do this.
I also formed some online friendships during the height of Covid pandemic through various spiritual and metaphysical groups online, and I have been keeping in touch with some of these acquaintances in other parts of the world.
Take Some Time Out To Embrace The Silence
I see now, more than ever before, parents busying their children with this and that sport, and this and that activity. I sometimes wonder if they ever have time to just be children.
I see how fast time flies these days and I think we actually make it go by even faster by overloading our lives with so much activity. We over commit ourselves way too much. I have been carefully watching my world lately, and I have seen the busy lifestyles of my friends and family. I see how frantic everyone has become. Such a commotion!
I find it disturbing how we over-busy ourselves and our children, and our lives. We really miss out on what I deem as the ‘finer things’. We need to get that connection back. It’s never too late.
We need to take it down a notch. I understand there are things we have to do – go to work, pay the bills, chores to do, people to see. Sure, I get it! But there are those additional things that we sign on to do when we really shouldn’t, or don’t have the time for, and when we do it has a domino effect. Chaos. Anxiety. Stress.
We need time to unwind more, and not just when we give ourselves six or less hours of sleep. We carve time out for our kids and for our friends and family, and often there is really no time left for a few blissful moments of silence. It’s in the silence that we can know ourselves and truly learn to live with a glass half full mentality.
We are filling our days with so much unnecessary activity these days just to keep up with the Joneses. What is wrong with staying home once in a while? I think staying at home is underrated. I don’t know about you, but home is where my yoga mat has its place and I don’t have to pay a gym membership to be active in my own home. It’s also where my library is, and my family, and most of the things I love and enjoy.
Journeys And Destinations
One often hears the saying “It’s about the journey, not the destination.’ But what does it truly mean? I believe the events of the past year has brought many of us to a deeper understanding.
The importance of the ‘journey’ became more evident with so many cultural holidays, birthday parties and family gatherings that had to be cancelled during the worst of the pandemic. For example, the significance of planning these special events became especially obvious this past Christmas, as well as the many cancelled festivals here in Spain.
The Christmas holiday season is usually a hectic time, with much hustle and bustle, including the mandatory family conflicts or ‘differences of opinion.’ But the joy of the season leading up to Christmas and New year is typically a time of excitement, especially for children.
People normally spend lots of time planning these celebrations and the excitement leading up to any gathering is often more fun than the event itself! Not having these occasions to look forward to has created a void in the lives of many people all over the world.
Instead, Christmas 2020 was a difficult time for many. It certainly brought up a myriad of personal challenges and negative emotions, particularly for those unable to visit loved ones, or not being able to have relatives home for the holidays.
Here in Spain, the locals are constantly planning their many fiestas. Each town and province has its own special festivals and cultural traditions, especially in the summer months. I have even witnessed the locals take to the streets in very cold weather, just to enjoy the vibe and camaraderie!
The Spaniards have a deep sense of community and they love letting their hair down whenever they can. Having grown used to the culture here, it made the silence of the empty streets this past year even more jarring than it might have been somewhere else.
Fun Facts You Never Knew About Your Zodiac Sign
The zodiac signs we are born under afford us certain personality traits, talents and gifts in our lifetime. Over the course of one’s life you can typically see these traits in an individual’s personality and life choices.
Astrology has been around for centuries and offer us a special insight into our life path. The Zodiac signs can be a lot of fun to investigate, even for the lay person. If you look closely at the traits of your own sign you will most likely discover many accurate descriptions of your personality in your sign that may be hard to deny.
You may also come across certain traits and fun nuggets of information that may surprise you. For example, it has been noted by astrologers that some of the zodiac signs tend to lean more towards having stronger psychic ability. These are known as the so-called ‘psychic signs,’ namely Cancer, Pisces, Scorpio and Libra.
If you were born under one of these signs, but do not consider yourself psychic, then you may want to take another look. It could be that you are more gifted than you realize, but you are not making proper use of your psychic talents.
Another fun principal of astrology centers on those who are born on the cusp between two signs, meaning they have trails of both signs. For example, those born on April 19 or 20 on the Aries-Taurus Cusp are literally ‘born leaders’ because they have the natural leadership traits of Aries combined with the inner strength and bullish perseverance of Taurus.
Another interesting ‘born leader’ is the Pisces-Aries Cusp born March 19 to 26. They strike the perfect balance between being a dreamer and idealist, while also being a determined, tough, and sometimes highly opinionated ‘go-getter.’ They bring the best of both worlds to innovative leadership positions that require imagination and an unconventional approach.