life design
The Hidden Blessings Of Retrograde Reflections
During the most recent Mercury retrograde, there was a day when my phone simply stopped working. I signed onto Psychic Access to do readings, but my landline failed to connect. Later that week, something similar happened. My landline was now working again, but when I tried to sign on to Psychic Access to start my shift, I was unable to connect. Technical issues twice in one week. I felt like I was going to lose it!
Planetary retrogrades are prime times to experience setbacks and frustrations. This has been especially true over the past two years due to the pandemic. Vibrational energy across the planet has been very low in recent times.
It is vital to stay calm, centered and grounded during retrogrades, and to not be too hard on oneself. Retrogrades are times for reflection, validation, and analysis of how we may improve ourselves. It’s a time of seeing where our personal energy frequency may need some adjustment. Opportunities for healing, growth and self-care abound if we take the initiative!
Carving out a little ‘sanity time’ each day is paramount. Time to oneself provides clarity and purpose to reflect upon personal growth and life’s lessons. It also gives us the opportunity to make lemonade out of lemons; something sweet out of life’s sour and bitter. In time, the sweet joy of our ‘spiritual lemonade’ can be served to the world by being of service, while inspiring our family and friends with our courage and perseverance.
To gather my thoughts after the two missed work shifts on Psychic Access, I decided to take time out for a walk. I love walking, but due to persistent back pain that has been plaguing me for years, it’s an activity that I fail to do on a regular basis.
But the retrograde setbacks with my phone line led me to start walking again. I had to start slowly, and it took some time for me to regain the necessary physical strength, but now I thoroughly enjoy my daily walks in the great outdoors. What a lift for the spirits! Thank you retrograde.
Who’s To Say If It’s Good, Or Bad?
Who’s to say if it’s good, or bad? There is a wise Buddhist children’s story I often read to my son that answers this question.
A young boy tells his father in a panicked, desperate tone, that his horse has gone missing. He is obviously very distraught and terrified he will never see his horse again.
The father says, “Who is to say that this situation is good, or bad?”
The son, of course, is confused. How could the loss of his horse not be a bad thing?
They go out into the woods to search for the horse. After many long days, they eventually find the horse. It has since made friends with a wild horse.
The father turns to the son and says, “See? Now you have two horses!”
But on the way back home the son stumbles and injures his leg. Again, he is miserable and terribly distraught. He tells his dad this is the worst possible thing that could happen. Now he will not be able to ride his horse.
His father says, “Who is to say that this situation is good, or bad?”
Of course, the son is perplexed and cannot figure out how injuring his leg could possibly be a good thing?
A week later, some of the son’s friends come to visit him. They tell him that they have been commanded to head out to war, along with all men over the age of 18. They tell the son he is lucky to have broken his leg, because now he would not be required to go to war with them.
Over the years, I have known many people, especially energy healing clients and Yoga students, who had suffered serious illness or injury…who later said it actually saved their lives, or brought them significant personal and spiritual growth, joy, fulfilment, and even bliss.
The Transformative Power Of Silent Meditation
Spirituality is perceived in the East with many similarities to what is believed in the West, but with an entirely different way of talking about it. For example, in terms of Easter philosophy a person’s individual identity is not their ego.
Identity is the journey of self-discovery that consists of affirming one’s individuality and being able to express everything that we are. This can be achieved through meditation, prayer, or various other spiritual and recreational practices that clear the mind through engaging in an activity that soothes us and brings us into silent contemplation.
Silence does not detach us from our soul essence. On the contrary, it allows us to be fully present and completely ourselves, without the limitation of words and actions. It is not aimed at denying our true spiritual nature. On the contrary, it is a time of authentic self-awareness and beingness.
Different Buddhist traditions refer to the natural state of mind as a state of enlightenment. In the Sanskrit and Tibetan traditions, we also find terms that speak of a clear, open mind. In Tibetan philosophy, enlightenment or awakened energy is called byang-chubs – literally purity and wholeness.
Being calm, at ease, and silent constitutes a state of mind that would happen naturally unless something is bothering us. These internal obstacles cannot be blamed on others or our external reality. Life is always complex and rarely calm.
In fact, these obstructions are seen as being nothing but habits, the result of karma, that obstruct the free and unconditional luminosity of the mind, like clouds that cover the sun on a summer day. Karma does not mean punishment. It is the result of previous actions. They are the result of what we do and what happens to us.
Setting Intentions Successfully
I have discovered at different times in my life how powerful intention, when guided from the heart, can be. Again, more recently, I experienced this when it was important for me to manifest some prosperity for my family and get my own health issues back on track.
I was specific in setting my intention regarding the amount of money I needed to manifest in order to meet my family’s needs. I also set the intention to attract to me the information which would help me heal and return my sense of well-being.
Intention is a motivational force of energy and it’s a force to be reckoned with when our intention is for the highest good of all individuals involved. When we set our intention, we are focusing on positive visualizations and affirmations to help steer our lives in a desired direction.
I see intention as a process of becoming, a desire, or a longing to achieve a specific result. When you wish to help bring about better circumstances for others, and your intention of wanting the best things to happen for them, it works like mass prayer.
Every morning, before I begin work with clients, I stand in one corner of my work room and set the intention for the day by asking my spirit helpers to assist me in helping others on their pathway through life, and to help me to help customers find clarity and direction with their pressing concerns. Doing readings and healing with good intention works wonders, because one has the best interest of the client at heart, as opposed to working purely to make money.
Actually writing down your goals make them feel more real. In other words, ‘if you see it, you will believe it’. It is more than likely your goals will change in time, and as you surpass them you will be making new and higher goals. There are plenty of negative people (often relatives), who say this is not the time to dream, including the media who say it’s time to be realistic. Granted, we have to be sensible and make reasonable arrangements to meet our worldly commitments, but the greatest challenge is our ‘attitude’ about reality.
Moon Transits In Your Daily Spiritual Practice
There are many additional ways to apply Astrology in a spiritual lifestyle beyond the customary horoscopes and birth charts. For example, following the lunar transits is one of my favorite methods for working on my personal growth and spiritual development.
The Moon is the fastest transiting planet of the Zodiac, as it moves into a different sign every two and a half days. The Moon’s monthly journey through the constellations, enables us to reflect on the qualities and pertinence in our charts of each of the twelve zodiac signs.
How does one use the energies of lunar transits as a guide for personal and spiritual growth? In my work as a professional astrologer and psychic reader, I have found the following aspects useful:
Natal Chart
Do you have a strong natal Moon? How is it aspected? Have you struggled with any emotional issues in your lifetime? A Natal Moon with a lot of squares and oppositions can predict issues such as emotional lability and impulse control. Gaining insight into one’s struggles through astrological interpretation can help a person find spiritual healing.
Also, consider the transiting Moon’s current aspects with your natal chart. Is the Moon, for example, in a conjunction with your natal Mars? This aspect may create an emotional need to connect with your inner warrior on that particular day. Or perhaps the Moon is transiting your midheaven sign today, which is the highest point at the top of your chart that says, “I’m here!” to the world.
Dating A Married Man
The subject of dating married men and being ‘the other women’ is something that for obvious reasons is seldom talked about. But I feel it might be healthy and necessary to discuss this more openly, as it is a much more complex issue than is often realized.
For example, many women who become involved with married men do not always know initially that he is married. In my experience, helping many female clients over the years in this predicament, many woman get into it by default after being misled by the man, only to find out later that he is married and has no plan of ever leaving his wife.
I could write a book on all the reasons why married men do not leave their wives. But instead, I think it is more important to focus on why so many women continue these affairs, once they find out he is married.
Now, you would think the empowered, modern woman of today would not put up with such a situation, but they do. I find these women are often so much in love and hopeful for what might be someday, that they convince themselves their situation is unique or different, and that he is unique or different. The truth is usually quite the opposite.
How to break free from this dead-end situationship? It can be challenging for sure, but certainly possible. I believe the key is self-love and self-worth. It requires the courage to step forward and say, “I deserve more.’
If you are caught up in a relationship with a married man, know that is seldom ends well for any of the parties involved. The chances that the outcome of your situation will be the exception to the rule is most unlikely. Stay true to your highest good and make the necessary changes for your future happiness.