inner guidance
Is It Time To Reset Your Life?
As the festivities fade and the hype of new year’s resolutions subsides, it’s natural to pause and truly reflect on the direction of your life.
Often idealized as a time of joy and connection, the holidays rarely leave room for true introspection. Instead, they bring a whirlwind of obligations — shopping, entertaining, traveling, and endless social engagements. In the rush to meet expectations, both our own and those of others, the peace and reflection we crave are often drowned out by the festive chaos.
But as the holidays end and life returns to its normal routine, many feel a spontaneous urge to make an honest assessment of where they are in life. What’s working? What isn’t? Where do adjustments need to be made?
In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it’s easy to lose sight of our true passions and purpose. Often we carry unnecessary burdens, cling to outdated habits, or stay in situations that no longer align with our higher selves.
Now is often the time of the year when your intuition may be whispering — or even screaming — that something needs to change. This inner knowing often manifests as dissatisfaction, a longing for something more, or a deep sense that you’re meant for greater things.
Recognizing the need to reset your life can be one of the most empowering decisions you’ll ever make. Letting go of what no longer serves you is not only a courageous act, but also a fundamental aspect of personal and spiritual growth.
Shield Your Dreams From The Naysayers
I’m in the midst of a major shift in my life – a bold leap forward that promises transformative and exciting changes for me and my family.
It is taking a lot of my time and requires a lot of work and personal sacrifice, as there are many moving parts that need to align to make it all happen. However, I know it will work and I trust in spirit’s guidance and divine timing. I’ve successfully navigated similar situations before in my life, so I’m confident it can be done.
As is often the case in these situations, I find myself surrounded by people who are projecting their fears and limitations onto me and my goals. Based on conversations with friends and clients who are supportive and encouraging, this seems to be a common pattern. What is clear to me is that these are people who have chosen to live very different lives from mine.
For example, I have a relative who has always lived in fear and has repeatedly tried to discourage me from every endeavor I’ve ever pursued — almost all of which have been successful. The few that have not worked out for the best I consider valuable life lessons.
I started my first business when I was 26 years old. This family member scoffed at me, saying it was too risky and that I was wasting my time and money. Well, that business ended up paying more than just my bills for over a decade, while many of my peers spent the best years of their lives in soul-destroying dead-end jobs. It allowed me, for example, to buy two houses and several new cars, and best of all, I loved what I was doing!
Tarot Forecast January 2025: Two Of Swords
This month the energy of the Two of Swords takes center stage. It is a card of indecision, stalemate, reflection, and difficult choices, potentially predicting that we may face uncertainty, difficult decisions and the need for introspection as we move into the New Year.
The Two of Swords represents moments in life when we find ourselves at a crossroads, weighing options and feeling the need to pause before making an important decision. It often comes up in readings when there is a stalemate or dead-end situation where no progress can be made until a decision is made or some action is taken.
The Two of Swords depicts a blindfolded figure sitting by a still body of water holding two crossed swords. The blindfold symbolizes the inability or unwillingness to see the whole picture or face a choice. The crossed swords signify inner conflict or conflicting choices, while the water in the background suggests the emotional undercurrents influencing the situation.
Traditionally, the Moon also appears in the card, representing uncertainty, mystery, and the unknown. Together, these symbols paint a picture of introspection, duality, and the need to find clarity and balance.
The card signifies the need to balance opposing forces or ideas. It emphasizes the importance of finding balance in a challenging situation. It can also represent emotional turmoil or an inability to reconcile conflicting aspects of a situation.
The Two of Swords encourages us to seek clarity, face challenges head-on, and strive for balance in our choices and decisions. It reminds us that avoiding a problem won’t make it go away; instead, it’s important to face it with a clear mind and an open heart.
The Mystical Purpose Of Daydreaming
In school, I was often reprimanded for daydreaming. My eyes would glaze over as I gazed into the distance, lost in a magical world of my own.
It amused the other children in the class and clearly frustrated my teachers, who mistook it for inattention or laziness, but even then I intuitively knew there was something valuable in my moments of mental wandering.
Little did I know that my frequent daydreaming opened doors not only to creativity and problem-solving, but also to spiritual connection, higher consciousness, and most importantly, manifestation.
Research has shown that daydreamers actually experience increased brain activity. Contrary to the common misconception that daydreaming equals a blank or stagnant mind, studies show that when we allow our minds to wander, we engage the problem-solving and creative areas of the brain.
Neurologically speaking, daydreaming activates the default mode network (DMN), a system in the brain that lights up when we are not focused on external tasks. The DMN connects us to deeper thoughts, memories, and emotions, often leading to sudden insights or realizations.
But what science describes as a purely neurological phenomenon is, in spirituality and metaphysics, a gateway to the higher self and beyond. When the mind wanders aimlessly, we enter an intermediate mental space — a threshold between the conscious and the subconscious. This is where creativity, intuition, psychic impressions, and spiritual connection are most accessible while awake.
What It Means To Align With Your Higher Self
The term “higher self” is a term often used in spirituality, metaphysics, and psychic work, but it can be very confusing. What exactly is it? Is it our subconscious, our conscience, our alter ego, our soul, our spirit?
While these aspects are all related in some way to the higher self, it’s best understood as the most enlightened and transcendent part of our being.
Our soul or spirit is the conscious, evolving part of us in this lifetime, while the higher self is our soul’s highest potential. It is our divine blueprint and our eternal spiritual essence that exists beyond our physical self in the non-physical. It’s the timeless, eternal part of us that embodies the divine essence of who we are.
While the incarnated aspect of soul is the conscious experiencer throughout our lifetime, the higher self is the permanent aspect of the soul that exists in the higher realms.
The higher self is not a separate personality or individual being, but a deeply integrated, higher foundation of our soul. It is like a spiritual archive of all the wisdom, experiences and lessons accumulated from our past lives, as well as our soul contracts and higher purpose for this lifetime, serving as a blueprint for our soul’s evolution and life journey. It reflects the highest aspects of our being.
When we connect with our higher self, we align with this elevated aspect of who we truly are and what we intend to accomplish in this life and the next. This connection gives us clarity and insight into our soul’s path. It allows us to see life from a higher perspective and guides us to make choices that promote personal and spiritual growth. Connecting with the higher self helps us navigate life’s challenges with greater ease and purpose, allowing our soul to evolve and expand.
The Mysterious Phenomenon Of Spiritual Chills
Chills and goosebumps are fascinating responses in the human body, rooted in biology and physiology, but also shrouded in mystery.
These physical reactions are mostly triggered by cold temperatures, strong emotions such as fear, excitement, or awe, or as part of the fight-or-flight response.
But not all instances of shivering, goosebumps, or the “heebie jeebies” are rooted in physical stimuli. Some occur for no apparent reason, suggesting a deeper, more metaphysical significance.
While science attributes shivers and goosebumps solely to primal survival mechanisms, a spiritual perspective offers another level of understanding – one that links these sensations to supernatural phenomena and spiritual encounters.
Goosebumps and shivers are ancient responses inherited from our primal ancestors. When our ancestors faced cold temperatures, their body hair stood up to trap heat and provide insulation.
Similarly, when threatened, their hair would stand up, making them appear larger and more intimidating to predators. We also see this response in the fur on our cats and dogs when they go into fight or flight mode. In humans, the function is just not as pronounced due to our sparse body hair, but the response persists.
This mechanism, called piloerection, causes the tiny muscles at the base of each hair follicle to contract, making the hair stand on end and creating the characteristic bumps we call goosebumps – so named because they resemble the skin of plucked poultry. This reaction is part of the body’s autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary responses.
How Will Saturn Return Impact Your Life?
Saturn return is typically a momentous, but intense time in everyone’s life. This significant astrological event occurs when the planet Saturn returns to the same position it occupied at the time of your birth, typically around the ages of 29, 58, and for some, 88.
It is the completion of a planetary cycle that marks a time of profound personal and spiritual growth, reinvention, and transformation. It’s a time when we may face challenges that force us to confront our deepest fears, limitations, and long-term plans, often pushing us toward greater self-awareness, personal growth, and spiritual maturity.
Known as the “taskmaster” of the zodiac, Saturn represents structure, discipline, responsibility, and life lessons. During a Saturn return, we are faced with the need to take stock of our lives, reevaluate our goals, and solidify our sense of purpose and direction.
Vettius Valens, a renowned astrologer of the ancient Greco-Roman era (c. 120 – c. 175 AD) whose work has greatly influenced modern interpretations of Saturn’s cycles, wrote in his Anthologies, “Saturn delays and restricts, but through patience and perseverance the soul achieves its growth and understanding.”
Any karmic lesson that you have not yet learned, any necessary life challenge that you have not faced, anything that you have avoided, denied or neglected is likely to surface at this time, demanding reconciliation, reevaluation or reckoning, whether you like it or not.
That is why I often tell my clients during a reading, “Learn this lesson and learn it now, while there is still time.” Avoidance, denial, procrastination, and self-deception will not save you from Saturn’s return bringing it right back to your door. In fact, it will only make it much worse and more difficult to resolve.
Our Saturn returns typically occur in three distinct phases during our lifetime, with approximate age ranges based on Saturn’s orbital cycle of about 29.5 years. Each Saturn return serves as a powerful milestone, helping you to develop a more authentic, grounded, and resilient sense of self as you move through the various phases of life.