Where are Ghost and Spirit Hunters Hunting?

Where The Hell Have I Been?

2007-05-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, so there I was working feverishly on new stuff, so what the hell happened? Well among starting a new business and taking classes 6 days a week both of my computers crashed so hard that they both needed completely new hard drives! Grumble, grumble…

So having NOT backed my work up like an idiot I am left with doo doo on my face (silly me).

Oh well, it’s a DO OVER! I still have massive classes but I am getting a break next week so I’ll see you back here with a new article about….ah, but that would be telling now wouldn't it…

Working feverishly, back soon!

2007-01-20T21:10:00.000-08:00

I swear... no, really...just ask me!

(Why do you ask?)

Untill then you'll have to be dazzled by the fantastically beautiful contenance of Mz. Lollobrigida, don't know why really, but I guess it may be because she looks a lot like my dear departed momma who would have turned 62 on New Years Eve !

Ciao bella's,

Spooks

Happy New Year!

2006-12-31T18:40:00.000-08:00

Well, another year is coming to an end, and we have seen many changes in the world. I too have experienced many changes this year.

I have been away from my blog for several weeks due to some of these changes and have missed it (and you) greatly. I have so much to share with you in the New Year, some are the resolutions I’ve made for the infancy of the coming year, but most are observations I’ve made upon reflection of this past year.

Until then, I wish you all the very best of New Years!
Love,
Spooks

The Worry Spot

2006-11-04T10:31:00.000-08:00

I have a worry spot on the side of my face. It’s been there for the better part of eight months. I worry it the same way a neurotic bird plucks its own feathers out, or an anxious dog licks and picks it’s hunches, until it has created an oozing red wound.

Well, mine’s not oozing, but it is a bit on the reddish side.

I’m not sure when it started precisely, although it seems to me, that there was once a small blemish there, before that is, I ever lay a nervous finger to it.

I handle stress a bit differently now, that is, differently than before the accident that thwaped my brains onto the pavement, snapping and rearranging the direction of the receptors in the old bean cavity.

Before the accident, I could shrug off most stressors, like water off a Blue Footed Booby’s butt, but now I tend to tear up and blubber like a an over stimulated Betsy Wetsy doll.

The literature I’ve read on the subject of TBI or “traumatic brain injury” has lay to rest my fear that I’m not “normal”, I’m normal enough for a person recovering from TBI; that is to say, it’s normal for a person to run the full gamut from major to minor personality changes, after a shocking sha-bonking to the noggin.

This in mind, I’m grateful that I haven’t turned into an angry shrew or a babbling idiot; although I did go through a brief, two week stint of nervous psycho-babble for which everyone was relieved, lasted not one day longer.

Anyway, this worry spot has been driving me crazy lately, for it seems that every time it comes close to healing completely and dissolving back into a smooth unmarred complexion, I begin to worry it again. It's like an unconsciouse conscious action, I don’t know how else to put it, I’m aware of what is going on, yet at the same time, it’s like being in a trance, and it happens whenever I'm feeling a little stressed or overwhelmed.

First, my finger runs lightly over the top of it, then, finding it a little rougher than the surrounding skin, I search out and find the purchase of an edge, then, ever so slightly, I begin to worry it. Now I do have a worry stone that I like to caress with my thumb, but this seems to give me more satisfaction some how; and I can’t help but wonder if the psychology of this scab picking has something to say about my feelings of vulnerability, and my unwillingness to close myself off again to the tough turtle shell of my former self.

It might just be that I actually like myself better, now that I have become somewhat softer and squishier as far as my emotions are concerned. I do feel a certain freedom that I never felt before and my close friends have remarked on the fact that I was like an impermeable rock before, full of an over abundance of strength that never seemed to wane, and they found it at times unnerving and even frightening.

I can see how they would feel that way, I’ve felt that way about my father many times, and it’s he whom I’m sure I got trait of stoicism from. I both admired and hated it in him when I was a child, I never felt perfect enough when I was around him, no, and far from it.

So, perhaps this incessant and silly little mark upon my otherwise clear complexion is an indication of my state of being, and a small rebellion against the stridence for impossible perfection.

In any case, blemished or not, I am a happier freer person, now that the masonry of my former countenance, having fallen into a zillion little pieces, are now scrambling themselves into some sort of new working order, and so, are dispelling with old patterns that have little or nothing to do with the survival of my most basic self, I haven’t the energy for keeping that stony façade up anymore.

So now I pick on occasion, stupid habit true. I guess it’s my own little perverse take on thumb sucking or hair twirling, nothing I'd want to grow to accustomed to mind you, and I’m sure I’ll grow out of it soon.

As soon as I grown accustomed to my new me.

A Warning From An Ebay Seller This Halloween!

2006-10-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

I love Ebay, and had some great success last year selling stuff and making some really good cash too, but sometimes you just gotta say "What the hell are they thinking"! I was looking at some of the crap being sold as "haunted" and came across this little guide written by another Ebay seller, enjoy....

Haunted and Cursed Items - The Hottest Scam Going

It's a scam, folks!

By: arwenn61 ( 161 )
475 out of 594 people found this guide helpful.
Guide viewed: 19550 times Tags: haunted ghosts curses cursed paranormal

If you do a search on "haunted" or "cursed" items, you will see a preponderance of these sales. One seller's grandmother apparently had a terrible string of bad luck since every item she is selling is cursed or haunted.
Or check out the "haunted" tarot deck blessed by a coven of 30 witches? A few facts might help us see the problems here. A coven is comprised of thirteen members. A coven doesn't bless tarot decks and sell them. I am a Wiccan High Priestess with over 25 years experience in the Craft of Wicca. These people are out to steal your money. This is a deck that you can buy NEW for under $25 dollars yet they want you to spend 135$??? Don't be taken in by this New Age con game.
Do you believe in ghosts? I do. I have had very real experiences with disenfranchised spirits. Please don't think that just because someone tells you something is haunted that it is. Use your brains, gang. If we cut this trend off at the knees by not buying and by sending notes to the seller that we know they are frauds, we can make Ebay a much better place.
Join me in a crusade to rid Ebay of frauds and cons.

Do your part. Don't buy. Do question.

And now for some laughs!

HAUNTED~ KING MARID JINN/GENIE EXTREMELY RARE/POWERFUL!
SEE INCREDIBLE PICTURES OF GENIE EMERGING FROM BOTTLE!!

REAL Haunted MONKEY's PAW W. W. Jacobs taxidermy monkey

Genuine Monkey paw legal to own No Reserve !!!

HAUNTED MAGICAL Lot Of 9 Gypsy Witch WEALTH Pennies
$$$--- ENCHANTED OLD-WORLD POWERFUL WEALTH SPELL ---$$$

Pieces of Glass (BROKEN) HALLOWEEN HAUNTED! Weird!
I keep throwing it away and it keeps COMING BACK!!

A ((REAL DEAL)) HAUNTED (Condominium / Home) - FOR SALE
Once In A Lifetime Deal ((GHOSTS)) A Bank Loan - TO BUY

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Is it just me, or would you sell any one of these items if they truly did what they say they do?

Ok, with the exception of the poor monkeys paw, that has to go...

The Nameless Vampire

2006-10-24T17:37:00.000-07:00

About twenty years ago I knew a woman who could walk into a room and empty the energy from every human within her reach in a matter of minutes.

I don’t know how she targeted her “friends” exactly, and I don’t recall where I first met her; I only remember that she started coming around my house at least once a week, unannounced and always, always with a gift for me, or rather an offering, which is truly what it felt like. They were mostly small things like decorative lights or a fancy bar of soap that she would say with slight coyness in a shy thin voice, made her think of me.

She seemed somewhat apologetic about showing up the way that she did, as if it were a rather unpleasant task she needed to put me through, but never the less one she felt compelled to do.

She was a strange and uncomfortable woman to be around, she looked to be about forty eight but claimed to be only thirty six, and why she chose to attempt a relationship of sorts with a twenty four year old, who had shown no interest in her whatsoever, I simply couldn’t understand.

She was rather skinny with a sallow complexion, dull eyes, and her hair was a bit on the frizzy and scraggly side with a lifeless washed out nondescript color, and she carried herself in a bowed self protected posture. It would be fair to say that I felt sorry for her, and would like to have helped her in some way, but I really couldn’t stand to be near her.

The most odd thing about her showing up in the first place was that I don’t ever recall telling her where I lived, nor had I given an invitation, and as I already stated I couldn’t even remember having met the woman before she showed up at my door, token in hand.

Hell, I rarely remembered her name correctly (was it Sherri, Sharon, Wendy?) I didn’t consider her a friend, and I found her to be a tremendously awful bore.

I felt myself cringing with annoyance, and something akin to horror whenever she presented herself and her little offering of the week at my door, but I always opened it for her and invited her in, she seemed so pathetic and downtrodden that I couldn’t make myself tell her to go away, which is what I felt near desperation in the back of my skull to do!

I was young and could be a real wimp that way, I’d been hearing the words “You’re too nice” my entire life, meaning that I was a pushover, which I was, so telling her to get the hell away from me was not something I felt I could do without a tangible reason, after all my reasons for wanting her to take a permanent hike, seemed so damned impalpable, and what would I say to her, “You’re a nice person, thanks for the string of chili pepper lights and the lavender soap, but I can’t stand to be near you, so would you please bugger off "? No, far to crass for me at the time, but there had to be some way to make her want to go, hmmm.

In the mean time (rudeness not being an option), I put up with her visits for several months and started to notice an interesting phenomena, whenever she came over, I always ended our visit in an exhausted and drained state, while she seemed to invigorate, stand straighter and even look younger, with bright eyes, pink cheeks and a lilt in her now quite sing-songy voice! She even began to seem more interesting, less boorish, what the hell was going on here?

She would look over at me with her now shining squirrel eyes, inquisitive and sparklingly effuse “Well, I’ve taken up enough of your time, I’ll get out of your hair now, besides you look tired!” No shit I looked tired! Seriously, I could barely stand up by the end of one of her visits, when I looked in the mirror the pallid creature staring back at me looked older somehow and worn out!

Then one day, to my good fortune, she happened by while I was having a few friends over for Sunday brunch. There was plenty of food, and she looked longingly over towards the tasty spread, steam curling off of the freshly brewed coffee and hot currant/orange zest scones that I had just taken out of the oven two minutes prior, lending a mouthwatering aroma that begged for butter and honey.

“Why don’t you join us, there’s plenty, we’d love to have you?” came a robust voice
“Who said that?” I wondered, “and is it to late to catch it and cram it back down their impudent throat?” but before I could fully register the question, the answer was thrust upon me
“Are you sure?” came the now familiar anemic tone “I wouldn’t want to intrude on your beautiful party”
“Nonsense,” came the other voice I had now identified as my friend Michael “let me pour you a cup of coffee” he beamed, in that nicely modulated, deeply confident, rocket scientist manner of his.

I adored my new friend Michael he was one of the kindest hearted and most interesting people I knew at the time. We met at mutual friends party a few months earlier and had become fast friends. We shared many of the same interests in literature, art and music, he was quite a snappy salsa dancer too, and dragged me out kicking and screaming at least once a month to “samba down” with him.

And now, I wanted to kill him.

So in she came, luckily Michael reached his hand over and said “Names Michael, and you must be_____” Oh geez, what is her damned name? Just as I was about to put my foot in deep doo-doo, she took his hand and filled in the blank herself, which was a good thing, because as usual, I really wasn’t sure what it was (I’m still not).

We showed her in and introduced her to the rest of the merry band of mates: Jana, Terry, Vince and Ted, then sat down to eat.

It wasn’t long before I noticed the quiet that had consumed the formerly boisterous and sunny crew, and then the yawning contest started along with uncomfortable forced chuckles at how “contagious” yawning is. This went on for a good fifteen minutes before we just fell silent nibbling at our Sherried eggs and scones, feigning interest in continuing the late morning festivities.

Now this was very interesting to me, it wasn’t just me she was affecting, I was getting a strangely clear picture that this was something her presence did to many people, and as I was making this private observation I was closely watching the change come over her, how her eyes altered from dull and weary to lustrous and aware, her cheeks flushing and her thin dry lips even appeared to flesh out with a youthful pout. Yes, this woman was blossoming before my eyes, in fact she seemed to be fulgurating with quite a lively luminescence now, even as the rest of us seemed destined for an early nap, and brunch wasn’t even over yet!

It occurred to me then that her little gifts were meant to be more of a surreptitious trade, and that she indeed knew the effect she had on others, and as such, felt an obligation to keep an even score card, was my conjecture. This however felt more akin to trading glass beads for beaver skins with Native Americans, and I suddenly felt dirty and complicit as if I’d accepted a cheap bribe.

Suddenly she popped up like a weasel and said that she had to go now, that she had forgotten a previous engagement and was going to be late. We nodded our goodbyes, and smiled weakly as she bounced out the same door she had meekly entered a scant thirty minutes before!

“What the hell was that, and how do you know her?” asked Terry.
“Holy shit,” said John “can we never let that person back into this house, please?”
“Yeah” agreed Ted “what a parasite!”
Jana could only sit there like a melting pudding pop, staring blandly at her nearly full brunch plate.

Finally my friend Michael put in his two and a half cents “I think that was the most pathetic creature I have ever seen” he said “and Tedly, you’re not far off about her being a parasite, an energy vampire is what I think I’d call her, and Tracy, I am so sorry for speaking out of turn and inviting her in, where on earth did you find her?”

I told them my story of how I couldn’t remember having met her before she showed up at the door, and how she seemed to get younger like a modern day Bathory bathing in the blood of young virgins, I may not have been a virgin anymore but I surely felt drained and bloodless after a visit from what’s her name.

“That is seriously creepy.” said Ted.
"Should we hang garlic on the doors or something?” snorted John “I’ll go to the market right now if you want.”
Janna looked up and in a deadly serious tone added “Seriously Tracy, you need to make her leave you alone, it’s not healthy for you.”

To which we all agreed.

About a week later she came to the door, looking every bit the waif, only this time I was ready for her. I opened the door and said “ I can no longer accept your gifts anymore, I can’t afford the energy loss.” To which she replied “That’s ok, I knew it couldn’t last much longer, and you’ve been very kind to me” then she added something that made the gooseflesh appear on my arms “You know, you lasted much longer than any of the others.”
I still think of her from time to time and I wonder what became of her, but I still can’t remember her name…

Svengali parasites

2006-10-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

He is the oily master of enchantment, all slick and condescending, a constant tattoo beating his self proclaimed superiority, yet whenever his young prey try to break off from him he becomes as docile and “needy” as a lamb, begging her to stay in a sad pleading puppy-dog tone, that quickly turns to to scorn as he demands “how you can be so cruel”, but its not a question, its an admonition …

Surley you’ve seen the mismatched pairing of a wide eyed young niave talent and the often much older “Stick with me kid and I’ll make you a star” grotesquery with his silver tounge and mercurial temper? They leave a thick slime trail as they make their unctuous way across the room promoting their newest and brightest discovery.

Although it is true that many of these “mentor types” are quite good at sniffing out the next great act and propelling them into stardom (like Sonny Bono) there are many more petty promoters out to scabing a living off of their baby protégé, their "Trilby" as it were.

This always brings to mind the estranged husband of 1980 playmate of the year Dorothy Stratton, Paul Sider. Snider “discovered” the sweet teenager working in a “Dairy Queen” in 1976 in Vacouver B.C. and was struck imeadiately by her innocent beauty that was so palpable you would swear there were bluebirds and butterflies in the air around her. He wasted no time in taking advantage of her youth and complete niavete.

Heff recognizing the cheap hustler for what he was, encouraged the gorgeous young up-and-comer to ditch that jerk, and was heard to call him a “hustler and a pimp”. Snider tried to take all the credit for Dorothy’s success and was royally aggitated that no one was willing to give him his “Props”.

Sadly this slick willy ended the life this sweet girl who had so much promise in the most horrific manner; taking a shotgun to her lovely face, and taking charge once more, he squeezed the trigger and obliterated both her beautiful visage and the kiss of stardom that had only just begun to bloom upon her perfect cheeks…

The Vamp In Film Noir:

2006-09-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

Double Indemnity: 1944 Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred Macmurry and Edward G. Robinson. Directed by Billy “The master” Wilder with a screenplay he co-wrote with Raymond “all women are broads” Chandler, from the novella of the same name written by James Cain, for liberty Magazine1935.

Phyllis Dietrichson: Evil conniving dame doesn’t come close to describing the depravity of Mz. Phyllis down played brilliantly by Barbera Stanwyck; this cunning vixen plays unsuspecting insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred Macmurry) like some cheap plastic kazoo she’s won at the fair, in fact he’s too easy and she has him sucker marked the second he sizes up her gorgeous gam by making mention of the “honey of anklet” draped around her well turned tibia in the lascivious tone of a wolf on the prowl (he all but smacks his lips in anticipation), but who’s the real predator here?

She quickly makes it abundantly clear to the viewer that in this particular game of Le Chat et la souris, she is the cat and he is the mouse; furthermore, let us suffice it to say that she has let Walter chase her comely tail just long enough to get a death grip on his priapismic one with her perfectly manicured feline claws.

The story is based on a 1927 crime committed in Queens New York by Ruth Snyder and Judd Gray a married woman and her lover. The nefarious couple plotted in true crime fashion to kill her husband Albert whom she persuaded to buy a large insurance policy with a double indemnity clause; they were both electrocuted in Sing Sing on January 12, 1928.

In fact one of the best lines spoken by Fred MacMurray’s character mirrors closely something that Judd Gray said during his own lurid confession: “When I walked I listened for my step…no sound seemed to follow.” Walter Neff ‘s character seems to parrot this when he says shortly after committing the murder: “I couldn’t hear my footsteps. It was the walk of a dead man.”

For both men it seems their humanity had finally caught up with them, but to late, for the die was cast, and cast would die…

The Vamp...

2006-09-14T10:30:00.001-07:00

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene

Im begging of you please dont take my man

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene

Please dont take him just because you can

Your beauty is beyond compare

With flaming locks of auburn hair

With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green, Your smile is like a breath of spring, Your voice is soft like summer rain, And I cannot compete with you, Jolene...

Jolene by Dolly Parton

*******************************************

Ooh look-ey there! Mmm, mmm, mmm, here comes miz thing, slithering across the room like a sweetly perfumed black mamba, only a hundred times more deadly.

So where the hell does this slinky archetype find the alluring mendacity with which to weave such a fine and intricate tapestry of amatorious duplicity? (That’s a mouthful.) The good girls lament “What does she have that I don’t?” simply stated, "Tammy" may be the sugar in your coffee and honey in your tea, but this girl is without a doubt the opium in your hookah pipe, and baby the first time you inhale her deliciously smoky musk you may as well kiss your ass as well as your sanity good bye.

But it really isn’t a matter of what missy has that the normal girl hasn’t, it’s more a matter of what this "Matta Hari" is missing that spurs such a gorgeous creature to behave so nefariously.

Perhaps she was once the sweet little "Pollyanna" all daisys and butterflies and her first love was our previous archetype “The Player” who’s bite infected her with such an intense distrust and hatred for men that she became an avowed man eater, or maybe she had a tragic childhood filled with night terrors that left her screaming silently into her pillow while the worst form of parasitism was being performed on her tender young soul. Or perhaps even, she was born a sociopath and the missing part was, oopsie gosh, a genetic boo-boo.

Whatever her reasons, and whether cognizant of them or not, this baby is emotionally and morally bankrupt, she spins her heartless ploys in order to garner the one thing she craves most of all, the infallible ladder to power, and she could care less who’s precious family heirloom she destroys to get it.

To her women friends (when she bothers to make the effort), she is the best friend from hell; dripping with sympathy for whatever problems great or small her poor little “buddy of the month” is naive enough to share with her acutely tuned ear. But beware what you share with the vixen, she, like the fox is cunning and will effortlessly use or twist your most personal secrets to get what she wants. Her motto being “If your stupid enough to share classified information, then you deserve to be used.”

The salacious glamour she dispenses copiously from every pore on her tantalizing body is so intoxicating, that the most reasonable of men have been left sobbing in a fetal position naked and broken on the bathroom floor once this poisoned diva has had her fill of them and given them the “Dear John” poor sods.

And these are the lucky ones.

Men have been duped into killing and being killed by these poisonous sweet-tarts, and you’re nothing but an all day sucker if you fall for any of her ruses, but you’re not alone.

“Femme fatal” is synonymous with heartless seductress, but the fascination with which she captivates her victims may in part spring from a most romantic notion indeed; and that is to capture one and conquer her wickedness with “true love”. This is mere foolishness of course, for living out the fantasy of cracking open her beguiling shell of artifice and diverting all that scrumptious lusciousness into the soft gooey goodness that truly resides deep within her is …well…to put it mildly, delusional.

So la de da, I don’t mean to laugh in your face (alright, maybe a little) but this is not a misunderstood little girl were talking about; under the lipstick rouge and lacey push up lies one of mankind’s greatest hoodwinkers …er…wankers! But go ahead, don’t take my word for it, try cracking the enamel off of one of these turbo charged hot mama’s, you’re likely to be maced by a venom so deadly you’ll wish you’d opted for a vacation in Batswana with your ex girlfriends mother…

Comming soon: The Players and Femme Fatals we love to hate and hate to love in literature & history

A shy and gentle man…A beautiful and gifted woman...A sad family tribute...

2006-09-10T17:32:00.000-07:00

This is a an anniversary that we are compelled to remember, hopefully not more for the political ramifications than for the people who lost their precious lives on what should have been an ordinary workday in early September of 2006...

Wai-ching Chung
Mr. Wai Ching Chung was killed on that crystal clear September morning shortly after being hit by falling debris while waiting for the Manhatten shuttle that on any other day before had taken him to his office at Paine Webber in Weehawken, N.J., where he was a vice president.

His coworker Mark Turner wrote: “Wai and I would sometimes ride into work on the Path train together. We didn't speak much but he always had a smile and a pleasant spirit. I, and the rest of his fellow employees miss him but still have his smile embedded in our hearts. Our thoughts and prayers are continuously with his family.”

This sentiment is often repeated by those who worked with him, including his boss Jon Worth “You couldn’t not like him” he said, recalling the quiet, gentle and shy spirit of his fallen colleague. And it was some time before his office had the heart to take down the sympathy cards that came in or even to disturb his desk.

A dedicated worker, Wai only took the occasional extended weekend and counted those as his vacation time. He never wanted to be away long in case there was a database malfunction or some such.

Those who knew him well could tell you of his intelligent wit and the sweet manner he took with his nieces and nephews who he enjoyed spending time with.

He also had a meticulous sharp mind with a near photographic memory, and loved reading everything he could regarding both science and history.

Mr. Chung, who immigrated from Hong Kong as a child, lived in Brooklyn with his parents Ying-kwan and Pui-Ling Chung and his younger brother Richard, he also is survived by his sister Julie Tam, and her family.

Maurita Tam
Tragically his lovely niece Maurita Tam also was killed that day while working on the 99th floor of Tower 2 at her new job as an executive assistant for Aon Corp. By all accounts she was destined for great things, she was an accomplished singer and gifted with languages as well as a financial wizard on the rise! She was 22.

In the words of her mother Julie: “My brother Wai Ching Chung and my daughter, Maurita Tam...you will always be loved and remembered.”

The Man who's idea it was to get a bunch of bloggers to write a tribute to randomly picked 9/11 victems

Other Tributes

2,996 is a tribute to the victims of 9/11.
On September 11, 2006, 2,996 volunteer bloggerswill join together for a tribute to the victims of 9/11.Each person will pay tribute to a single victim.
We will honor them by remembering their lives,and not by remembering their murderers.

Vampires, The PLayer...

2006-09-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

We’ve all met at least one, that suave guy who’s charm, wit and style seamlessly suck the intended prize into his sticky web of illusions and woe. He does and says all the right things at all the right times, and seems to really understand where your coming from.

He is always attentive and seemingly enrapt by your every word and deed, he’s pouring you a perfectly chilled glass of fume blanc and rubbing your poor aching tootsies while you relax in the fragrant hot bubble bath he has drawn especially for you after your long hard day at the office. Oh, and lets not forget the aromatherapy candles he’s just lit and surrounded the tub with.

All is just bliss, you feel understood and truly loved for the first time in your life… this is the one, this is “Mr. Right” this is your perfect mate and all is connubial bliss… all that is until…until…how can I put this delicately… well, until frankly he’s done with you!

Some will put you on a slow drip and bleed you endlessly, dangling that delicious carrot for as long as you're willing to chase it. Remember, Carrie Fisher's character in “When Harry Met Sally”, the one with the married boyfriend, every other line out of her face was “He's never leaving his wife, is he...I know, I know, he’s never going to leave her” etc… Poor stupid thing, waiting for the impossible dream to be fulfilled like so many others before her. In her case, the fantasy was happily interrupted when her real prince charming (and his wagon wheel coffee table) entered and saved her from using up the best years of her life on this hopeless debacle.

Others come on like a fiery maelstrom, all hot and steamy, and full of verve sweeping you up off your feet, giving you no time to breathe or think about what you're doing; and even if you were to stop long enough to ask yourself “what the hell am I doing?” you're more likely to tell that niggle in the back of your skull, that lovely primitive lizard brain of yours, who’s only job is to warn you of danger to “Bugger off”!

And even though your mother, your best friend and your ex-husband are wagging their index fingers at you and reciting the old maxim “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is to good to be yada, yada, yada.”

Ah, but they just don’t understand the intoxicating passion of his seeming fascination for you, it is all just too much to give up! You're just a junkie for his hot, burning love now, and all you can think about is mainlining this scalding new brand of affection!

But be assured, the faster they come in and sweep you off your feet, the faster they are to dump you hard onto your fragile self esteem! It will feel like someone has stuck their fist through your rib cage, yanked your heart out, tossed it onto the pavement and stomped it flatter then a field mouse struck by a monster truck on the side of the road!

You find yourself reeling and spent, all of your energy drained. Looking in the mirror you wonder who is that sad pallid foam green creature with the drawn out features and sunken eyes frothing at the mouth and babbling an endless stream of disbelief to her self.

“What happened…he loved me…he said he loved me…he begged me to be with him…BEGGED ME…I wasn’t even interested in the beginning…it was a lark…a weird fascination… he had to convince me just to go on the first date for crying out loud…why did he do this to me… how could he be so cold…I gave him everything … all of myself…there is nothing left of me…he took it all…and now that I need someone…he… just… leaves…me… nothing… he took it all… why didn’t I listen to myself…why didn’t I listen to any body?” and on, and on, and so on and so forth.

And, yada, yada, yada…

Well whaaaaa! You’ve been had by one of the most despicable of the villain archetypes, you’ve been bitten by the vampires himself, otherwise known as the parasite archetype, who having done his job well, has left you a mere drained husk of the once vibrant being you once were! Count yourself lucky though…you’re alive.

The parasite archetypes come in a seemingly endless assortment; the effect they have on your life is much the same, but they vary in degrees from merely a nuisance to downright deadly!

Coming soon: The Femme Fatal

Work has resumed, back tomorrow...

2006-09-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the well wishes, it takes me a few days to get out of the brain fog when the headaches hit, during which I have a tendency towards word aphasia for an indeterminate period which makes even my babble too obtuse for the written page.
Spooks

P.S. Enjoy the new puppy...

Out due to migranes Back soon...

2006-09-01T13:26:00.000-07:00

TIL THEN, I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH THIS FRIGHTENING IMAGE OF A RASPBERRY BLOWING CHIHUAHUA ...

Fun with Vampires, the ongoing parasite discussion...

2006-08-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

While some energy vampires are overtly predatory like Dracula, others are more or less creatures of opportunity that lay in wait like a deer tick, dormant for a time on a blade of grass until unsuspecting fauna passes close enough to awaken its “bloodlust”; and just like a deer tick you must extricate the whole beast from your being, being especially careful not to break its head off, lest it fester and infect you with its debilitating disease and drain you continually of your precious life force.

It a very good argument that most energy vampires are unaware of the malignancy they spread in others lives, and truly believe all of their yada, yada, yada… even so, there are those predatory masters of the energy sup who know exactly what they’re doing and why.

But lets take a little recess from the heaviness of the energy vampire subject and enjoy the vampires of folklore and myths for a while. Time for to have some fun with this thing and explore vampire archetypes (oh boy!) from ancient vampire folklore to modern literature, cinema and soap operas.

We have been romancing these creatures of the night for a long time now, why is that? We just cant get enough of their stylishly freaky funky stuff, but the vampire is here to stay for a reason, may as well play around with it and maybe figure out what makes them sooo darned fascinating!

Coming soon: From Dracula to the Great Gatsby

Lost in my home town...

2006-08-22T08:53:00.001-07:00

Speaking of head injuries…no? We weren’t?…Oh…where were we then? Uh… oh yes, vampires. Well, not to get off the topic but I’m going to get off the topic for a sec to tell you a true tale of terror that happened to me today, the parasites will have to wait for the next time slot I’m afraid.

Today I went to pick up my husband at the airport, a thing that I have done at least a zillion times in a city I’ve known since I was a baby; it’s about a forty minute drive from my house and I thought I knew where I was going until I found myself terribly lost in familiar surroundings!

I cant really describe the weird horror of looking at landmarks I’d seen at least a thousand times, yet still having no idea how to get to where I was going! I didn’t think it could get more frightening when I realized that not only didn’t I have a cell phone on me, the “You have no damned gas in your tank fool!” icon had just lit up!

I could feel the tears starting to jam in their ducts as I tried to make sense of the stupid waking nightmare I was in, but alas, the “City of San Jose road-map receptors” in my brain had been snapped in the accident and left me no “workable” memory of how to navigate that town anymore!

Then the brain weasels started to go off in my head, they sounded something like this weasel 1: “ Gas, I need gas, where’s a damned gas station for Chris-sake!” weasel 2: “Gas station! Jesus H. Christ, your 45 minutes late already!” Well, if I don’t get gas soon I’ll be a lot later than that dopey!” “Ok, ok, don’t panic, I see your point…you just passed one though!” “Why didn’t you say something earlier?” “Sorry, you could turn around maybe?” “ oh yeah where? I’m in the middle of a five lane thorough fare in lunch time traffic, by the time I can turn around I’ll be in Campbell so I may as well get gas there!” “But isn’t Campbell heading away from the airport, I think your heading back to Santa Cruz!” “ Well it’s to late to snivel about it now, I need GAS!” “Fine!” "Fine!"

I let the weasels go at for a time, while I looked for fuel and fought back the water-works.

Finally after 10 more minutes of stop and go traffic I spotted the most beautiful Shell Gas Station on my right, and as luck would have it I was in the right lane; pulling up, jumping out, sliding bank card, keying pin, gassing up, take a deep breath, asking for directions, get in car, drive away, get back on the freeway, miss the turn off…oh shit not again! Getting off of the freeway, getting back onto the freeway…shit, missed it again!

Then the brain weasels take another go at it –“Ok let’s go through down town, just follow the airport signs, oh look, there’s one that says ‘Airport on-ramp next right’ finally! Oh no…damn-it!” theres another sign that says ‘On ramp closed for repairs’ Jesus, Mary and freaking Joseph!” “They don’t have a detour sign up!” “Don’t panic, look there’s an airport shuttle follow it!” “Oh for cryin’ out loud, it’s just going to the convention center to drop someone off!” “ Look, up in the sky it’s a plane! Follow that freakin’ plane…I think its landing!” “ I sure hope it’s landing and not just lifting off and heading for LA, that’s the wrong direction!” “Oh shut up!“
“Make me!”

Finally I spot the airport terminal sign and surcease from the madness is assuredly mine! Looking for ‘American Airlines Arrivals’ oh good, there it is …I see my poor hubby frying in the sun on the opposite side of the terminal he motions me to pull over. Poor guy, not only has he been frying in the sun waiting for his ride for over an hour, he looks very stressed and concerned, he asks me “ Are you ok?” Then the brackish lets loose of my eyes and I could only shake my head no…

That old saying holds true -" you never miss your water, until your well runs dry" and this was a close encounter, a glimpse of what it must be like in the beginning stages of a disease like Alzheimer or even after a bad stroke, suddenly finding that you can no longer do a task or remember a place that you have taken for granted most of your life is a terrifying thing!

I try not to take anything for granted any more, whether great or small, all of the things we can do are miraculous...

Energy Vampire Attack

2006-08-18T20:23:00.001-07:00

Before and after attack captured with Kirlian Photography.

The Balance of Mind Body And Spirit: Part 3, Spirit

2006-08-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

The spiritual growth development process begins with taking responsibility for clearing our own path:

The vampire
So who were these tick like creatures I’d collected traipsing through the darker footpaths of my life. Perhaps, a better question would be “what were these tick like creatures” and why hadn’t I tweezed their engorged butts out earlier?

The “who and what” is simple ...Vampire's! Yes, vampires, although not the sexy Hollywood version with the blood drenched sharp pointy teeth and black cape skulking through the shadows and striking terror in the hearts of poor ignorant villagers while seducing hapless sex pots when there lovers aren't looking; no, and far from it! These vampires don’t suck the life’s blood from a person, although after an encounter with one you may feel that way.

No, their favorite anytime snack is * bio-electric energy, and if you’ve ever known or been in the presence of someone who left you feeling drained, stressed, confused or just plain “slimed” after every run in, you know who and what I’m talking about. !

Energy vampire also known as PSI vampire phenomena has been scientifically studied and documented using electro-photography, these pictures honestly creeped me out and made the hair on my knuckles stand up!

Remember the ancient idiom “neither cast ye pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet” this is a good one to remember before offering up your valuable time and skills to just anybody, although learning to tell the swine from the refined is not always an easy task, and most people with the best of intentions fall prey at least once in their lifetime to the false lure of the boar in victim’s clothing.

They come in several different guises all with their own red flags or mantras:

The babbler: Never shuts up and won’t let you get a word in edgewise. Mantra: "Wait, wait let me tell you one more thing…"

The whiner: Always miserable about anything, delights in finding negative in everything. Mantra: "But don’t you think?"

The sycophant: Constantly praising you into doing their bidding. Mantra: "You’re sooo good!"

The baby Jane: Needs to be the center of attention. Mantra: "I and me..."
The blamer: Never takes responsibility for anything and deflects blame onto others. Mantra: I didn’t, wouldn’t, couldn’t."

The guilt tripper: or living martyr: Pack your bags you're going on a guilt trip! Mantra: "If you'd only… Or: You always do these things to me…"

The victim: Terminally in a bad relationship or job, or some stupid drama, or… of whaaa!!! Mantra: Why me?

The thing that wouldn’t go away: Anyone out there old enough to remember John Belushi in the original Saturday Night Live horror parody skit should get a chuckle out of this title; but anyone who's ever lived through the frustration of having one of these help yourself to my life sort of parasites will take it with a grain of pain. Mantra: "So what are we doing later?"

The Time Bandit: Or as Pisces Iscariot master poet of The Far Queue calls them "Time Eaters" which he descibes very succinctly as "The ones that stop by and tell stories in infinite detail about absolutely nothing. By the time you finally get rid of them you have lost hours of your life and are running late."
Ah yes, those awful burblers of babble and brou·ha·ha, spinning incessantly insipid tales of nothingness. The late great designer/photographer/writer **Sir Cecil Beaton probably said it best "Perhaps the world's second worst crime is boredom. The first is being a bore. " Mantra: Blah, blah, blah, blah....

Swimming with sharks is a dangerous sport, and those who do so in real life take precautions, respect their quarry and accept the dangers. In other words they know what they're doing and if they get bitten they're not overly surprised. Engaging vampires can be just as deadly but most don't recognize that their being bled dry until it is too late. Some require a major life change (like myself) to finally spot the red flags just off the shore break indicating “Dangerous Waters! Stay Out!” that were flapping with gusto all along!

Professor Emeritus of psychology Joseph H. Slate PH.D at Athens State University in Alabama and founder of the International Parapsychology Research Foundation has made an extensive study of the human aura, and in so doing came across this phenomenon and has written a terrific book called: “Psychic Vampires: Protection from Energy Predators & Parasites” In which he states: “Psychic vampirism is a widespread yet often unrecognized human energy phenomenon that can interrupt our growth and impede our progress. As already noted, it exists in a variety of forms, each of which subtly consumes its victim’s energy and over the long haul, erodes the energy system itself. Although no known force can totally destroy the human energy system because of its cosmic makeup, psychic vampirism can impair its functions and seriously damage its capacity to energize growth.”

He is not alone in his finding’s there are several unconnected studies that have been conducted on this, and many good books have been written on the subject that I will be happy to recommend later on...

*Bio-electric energy: The electric current generated by living tissue also know as Aura energy, Orgone energy, or “The force” if you’re a Star Wars nut.

**Cecil Beaton on boredom: And he oughta know, having spent the whole of his life helping to create beauty and excitment with the worlds most fabulous people of his day; after all not many people could claim both Greta Garbo and Gary Cooper amongst their lovers...many could say one or the other, but not both.

Coming soon: Archetypical vampires

The Balance of Body Mind and Spirit: Part 2, mind

2006-08-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

Who knows what evil that lurks in hearts of men? The Shadow knows...

We, each and every one of us have a dark or "shadow" part of ourselves that we don’t recognize. Or so Carl Jung believed, and accorded the shadow archetype to this side of our personality that we don’t behold as our own.

The shadow may contain both, negative or undeveloped positive aspects of the personality that it finds generally bad, sinful or just plain embarrassing; and so it denies its existence. It is instinctive in nature and as such is a primitive mechanism that can create personal havoc in a person’s life left if left unacknowledged.

The late psychiatrist R.D Lang wrote:
"The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice.
And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice there is little we can do to change until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds".

Which describes perfectly the knowing unknowing of the denial mechanism innate in us all. It’s this denial of our "dark side" that compels us to project our disgust and dismay of certain traits onto others while failing to recognize the despised traits within ourselves.

I slammed into my shadow shortly after my fall, I had to come to terms not only with the weak and embarrassing things I didn’t like about the world I lived in, but also my complicity in helping to build that world. Yuck!

My Shadow(s)
So there I was having a face off with my own shadow and finding that it wasn’t a scary monster after all, more like an embarrassing in law that you trot out 4 times a year for special occasions; unfortunately that embarrassing in law it just so happened resided within me!

"Ms. Hyde, I presume?"… at last I meet! Hide and seek had been a favorite childhood game of mine and I was good at it too; but to find that I had continued to play the game all these years with myself and that I had just found me was, well, a bit daunting and completely humiliating. On the bright side, I’d found what I was looking for all along, the ability to scrutinize myself at close range without the fear of doing irreparable damage to my psyche. The damage had already been done you see, the Humpty Dumpty that was my mind had been shattered, and loving a good puzzle as I do, I was giddy with the challenge of putting it back together again!

Ah, but then Dr. Frankenstien showed up cackling like a crazed loon from out of one of the many shattered shards of my consciousness crying - "We can rebuild her, make her stronger than before, more powerful than speeding a loco-motive!" "Oh shut up" said yet another personality shard in annoyance. "We have enough to deal with, just getting her cognitive functions up and running again, without your habitual personal improvement systems running all over us!" This one I recognize to be my personal voice of reason, I’d heard her many times, not so much in talking to myself but to others. It seems when she tried to converse with me the sound buffer was turned on full blast or the other personality parts were making to much racket to hear her. She was right though, I did have plenty enough on my buffet plate to digest, and the smorgusborg was just beginning.

So now, fragmented individual that I’d become, and meeting the many conflicts of my personality (some for the first time), I’d come to find them all much to my chagrined amusement to be patterned from old Hollywood horror movie scripts, "Hyde" was only the central cast of several infighting character actors, elbowing for a better position in the forefront my super ego! I had no idea where my ID had gone, but my ego was really starting to get testy.

All that being said, falling off the roof was actually a terrific godsend; it was this single act of clumsiness that, although disabling me in some very real ways, also enabled me to have a life of my own. Sounds extreme I suppose but it took a monumental wollup in the knoggin to crack the hard shell of deniability ensconced as it was around my ego!

I had been a kind of zombie in the world, a stupid slave to my character flaws and bad habits, one of which was saying yes automatically to any favor asked of me by virtually anyone! This had been one very bad habit for a ridiculously long time, most certainly since I was small child. I was one of those first-born kids who thought it was my job to be responsible for everyone’s well being in the family; saying no, let alone feeling comfortable using the word, was not a place I was willing to go; and I doubt that it ever even occurred to me that I could go there.

Ironically I could say no for other people, and I could recognize when another was in danger of being used and abused by a predator or a parasite. I just didn’t seem to be able or willing to do it for myself. Hell, I could be downright ferocious when it came to defending someone else from the same thing I wouldn’t bat an eye at if it were directed towards me!

This is (I think) the key.

I didn’t want anyone else to be in pain, any kind of pain! Being an empath, I can barely distinguish between which pains or discomfort belongs to me, and what pain or discomfort belongs to others, which can really be a pain in the ass! It makes things very fuzzy when you feel another’s unhappiness as acutely as if it where your own.

Needless to say I’ve spent the better part of my life trying to fix everyone on the planet!
Apparently I was absent the day that they passed out the manual on how not to do that.

My Parasites
Now that I was injured and having all sorts of difficulties just understanding what the heck was going on in my world, let alone grieving the recent death of my beloved grandmother who had died two months prior; I also found myself grieving over another loss, one that was even closer to me than my grandma…me. Yeah, me…the me that I’d always relied on to be ultra capable of doing many a splendid and varied thing at the drop of a hat, all at the same time, the consummate juggler and multi task hero was gone, only to be replaced by a dizzy space cadet with a pathetically amusing hand tic!

Most people don’t understand how much everything we do is reliant on good healthy brain function, and I was only just beginning to grasp it myself in my impromptu course on scrambled brains 101 of how true that really was. I now have a deep regard for stroke victims and stupid people. This world is not set up for the cognitively challenged.

I had so much to relearn (writing and not falling down for instance), and it would have been overwhelming for me had I not become too cognitively challenged at the time, to truly comprehend the scope of the mental, physical and psychological changes that were thrust upon me due to my inability to fly.

As it was, I now qualified as a babe in the woods, and was for the most part tossing out bread crumbs to find my way back and whistling in the dark to stave off the fear that was beginning to build in me. I found that I was alone with these challenges, as no one else around seemed to comprehend that I was drowning in confound-nation and as such was so very, very vulnerable. I really did desperately need the help of others now, and this for me was a terrible feeling that I’d effectively spent my entire life avoiding like the plague.

But as much as I needed to rely on the loving help and support of others, I soon had to face the sad truth that this frightening change in me had not inspired many in my circle to come to my aide, and in fact just the opposite was true. Most of the people I had surrounded my self with were terminal takers and not at all in the habit of giving if it wasn’t convenient or as they saw it a “pay back” of some sort. I was now just an expendable cog that had been broken and was clogged up the smoothly working machinery of their parasitic lives; my presence was no longer required and I could see by the annoyed countenance of their faces that I had slipped into the “please just go away if you’re not going to be useful ” zone.

Do you know about cuckoo birds? No, not the charming little pop out of a small wooden house bird figure, coo-cooing the time every hou on the hour that hang in old Swiss clock shops! I’m talking about a certain genus of bird found in many parts of the world. Still not ringing a bell? Well first of all the adult cuckoo birds do not burden themselves with the responsibility of raising their own chicks; instead they prefer to find a host nest on the QT to lay their oversized egg. Once the perfect nest has been carefully chosen and scoped out, these parasitic parents of the avian world work in tandem to distract the newly un-laden host birds into giving up their nest and eggs long enough to lay their egg, while removing one of the proper eggs (very sneaky) and move on with the selfish business of being a cuckoo.

It must be in the genes because the cuckoo chick once hatched will not only eat foster parents out of house and home, but will also ease the other eggs chicks over the edge. All the while these unwitting foster parents are so busy trying to feed the never closing mouth that they failed to realize that they have no chicks of their own.

This had been me, I was always so busy feeding big baby cuckoo bird's with their ever twittering always open beaks that I failed to feed my own.

Taking responsibility for others had been like a second skin to me, but learning to shed that skin like a snake who has out grown his old epidermis and take on the responsibility for taking on responsibilities for things that were not my responsibility, was another animal all together!

Coming soon: Vampires

The balance of body mind and spirit: Part one, body

2006-07-14T09:35:00.000-07:00

This is the story of my traumatic brain injury (TBI) and of the personal ongoing journey into recovery from it. It's telling is an illustration of finding balance between the body, mind and the spirit in order to heal yourself.

It is also the tale of how after looking under every rock for many years, I finally found myself.

Silly me, I was here all along...

Twenty months ago I fell off of a roof that I was attempting to restore to its former leak proof self and was fortunate enough to land headfirst onto the pavement saved by little more than a big fat ponytail and the grace of god!

It’s absolutely true that everything seems to slow down for you in dire spots and this was certainly true for me in my free-fall towards my date with a cement pad!

It still amazes me just how much time slowed though; I am still able to see in my minds eye how the entire dialog and ensuing actions went down. I was headed for the ladder to come down from the roof and I discovered a wee to late that my partner in his haste had run the stiff 30 lb felt about eight inches over the roof on the side the ladder was on; I happened to be wearing brand new and very stiff leather work boots as I stepped on the overhang and went forehead first over the edge heading for a bulls-eye collision with the ragged pavement below!

"Not good" I thought "I’ll either die or end up a drooling, toothless moron if I strike this way!" So then, in the my impromptu dive, I considered bracing myself with my arms outstretched "No good dope, you’ll end up with two broken arms, a busted face and a drool cup for life! " (I’m not making this up, this is how I talk in my head) I’ve seen excessive drooling with brain injury before and it’s not pretty!

"Hmm, better cut your losses then, cause you’re goin’ down hard baby!" That’s when instinct took over, and told me to do a reverse cat twist, which is exactly what I did; mid twist my right foot caught the ladder slowing my momentum down just a tad then "SPLAT!" contact with planet earth, the theory of gravity proven yet again!

So there I lay more pissed off than a wet cat, blood starting to mass in a big sticky pool under my massively rung bell! I looked up and saw through a multiplicity of stars my partner who by now was turning green, as he stood over me aghast at the thought that I might be dying right in front of him!

I tried to sit up but the nausea and dizziness soon made it clear that that particular notion was right out, and that I indeed needed an ambulance! "Call 911" I barked, "tell them I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!"

I lay there seething with anger, I couldn’t stop thinking about how this was going to really screw up my scheduling for the next couple of weeks…oh, if only that were all!

In the emergency room they were busy giving me a less than stylish new hair-do and I heard the nurse say to the doctor "Gee, that’s just pulp! How’re you going to sew that back together?" "I’ve seen worse." was all he said as he busily gathered the pulp on the back of my skull together and stitched it into a nice little rosette.

The resulting hematoma looked as if a soft ball had been shoved partway into my skull, and was very squishy to the touch. I’ll admit to a certain perverse glee in letting people touch it and gauging the ick factor on their face as it yielded like a quaggy little rum soaked sponge cake. Delicious fun!

Luckily for my friends and family this was the only hateful behavior after TBI that I displayed. Many who sustain a traumatic brain injury suffer their loved ones through all kinds of abhorrent behaviors and personality changes. Some people become quite nasty I’ve been told, for instance there is a woman I met online who’s ex husband and "the love of her life" did a complete one eighty in the character department.

They were married right out of high school and had been going steady since their freshman year. He was a gentle, sweet soul who loved his work and his wife and family more than anything, and he was a very well loved man in his community; you see where I’m going with this right? Well after living in connubial bliss for twelve years and five lovely children, he was in a terrible car accident, which nearly took his life.

He sustained a sever head injury and went into a coma for over a month, when he came out of it this sweet guy who everyone adored was a changed man…more devil than man as I hear it. He became abusive both physically and emotionally couldn’t hold a job for more than a few months, started drinking and drugging and blatantly running around with other woman! She finally left him when it became apparent that the man she loved and married was no longer a part of this sorry ass creature’s makeup. Of course he’s been stalking her ever since.

But I digress.

I soon discovered to my consternation that I was dealing with more than just a nasty bump on my head; I found that I had actually sustained a bit more brain damage than I had planned on! (as if I had a choice in the matter) "Damn it, now what do I do?" I wondered on a daily basis. My short-term memory had become ridiculous, I walked around like a drunk from the vertigo and dizziness, and every time I looked up (even just slightly) I fell down!

Oh, and then there was this funny little tick I aquired in my right hand. You know what the hand sign for crazy looks like? Come on you know, the index finger points to the side of your head and goes around and around in a circular motion? Yeah, that one…well I had the terrific fortune of doing that every time I tried to hold a conversation with people. I even did it when I was the phone, it was as if I needed to make this motion in order to spur my thoughts and connect the disjointed dots that were floating around willy nilly in my head.

Now all that was a real pain in the ass, but sleeping after a concussion can prove to be a giant nightmare, and it certainly was for me. In the beginning I was always sleepy, so falling asleep wasn’t a problem, the problem was I woke up several times a night, every night for the first six months, because just the act of rolling over in my slumber made me so dizzy that I would pop up like a yoyo!

But the worst was yet to come, after the first six months of constant yoyo sleeping, came the next seven months of not sleeping at all! Oh yes, there I was, awake…always awake, night after night, and no amount of sleeping aids i.e. Sominex, Ambian etc. could put me to sleep for anything more than an hour.

Do you have any idea how twisted a girl gets after three weeks of watching dvd’s all night let alone seven months of it? Oh yeah, let the hallucinations begin baby!

Getting past traumatic brain injury

So there I was feeling helpless, vulnerable and incapable for the first time in my adult life. Not A comfortable feeling for a person who always prided myself on the ability to multitask anything and everything that was asked of me, while doing my work, household chores and shopping all at the same time!

Now that I was injured however, I found that most of the people who expected favors of me on an ongoing basis were still there with their hands on their hips feet tapping in annoyance, waiting for help with their plumbing, party catering, even diaper care for an elderly parent or sitting in for them in their R&B band etc.

I mean good god, help a girl out here…for Christ’s sake, it stood to reason that it may just be MY turn for a few small favors! But this was a concept apparently that many in my circle seemed to balk at.

What I’d come to realize, was that my overachiever "can do any damn thing but neuro-surgery" personality hadn’t gained me a lot of true friendships, but had instead drawn parasites to my never ending IV drip of "I don’t know how to say NO! to anyone, ever" character flaw.

Apparently I had to learn this lesson the hard way. It wasn’t as if I didn’t have people throughout the years trying to point out this little flaw of mine; subtle hints like "You're to nice" fell upon my deaf ears, and being the thick headed "let me do that for ya" kind of a gal that I was, I continued to try to do these favors for people who had no business asking me for them in the first place, let alone now that my noggin was scrambled!

Needless to say I started to fail miserably at these tasks that used to be simple for me, because I had freaking brain damage now, and let’s face it, my game was off, way the hell off! I had become dyslexic, I couldn’t comprehend written directions; my sense of direction was so whacked that I could count on finding my car by going in the opposite direction that I felt compelled to go!
It took me 2 ½ hours to do a plumbing project that should have taken me 15 minutes, the first email I composed (to my dad) took me two hours to complete two comprehensive sentences; my strength (which had once been compared to "mighty mouse" due to my small stature but comparatively great physical strength) had gone due to *pareses or partial paralysis, I couldn’t even lift a piece of drywall up off the ground 2 inches let alone hump it over to a wall and install it.

Man, I had some serious issues, and here were the freaking vultures still after me to do their stupid ass "favors" for them! You’d think I would have told them to piss off by now, but it wasn’t until some of them actually had the snotty nerve to say to me, (after I had finally started declining to do their petty biddings, citing quite reasonably my new found inability’s) "How long are you going to use that as an excuse?" that I started to snap out of it. These people didn’t give a rat’s ass about me! They literally wanted me for my aptitude! "Well screw that!" I said to myself, "who needs it?"

Soul searching can be a painful task, and it was with a heavy heart that I bared my soul to myself and started to take an honest inventory. I had to take full responsibility for this being "too nice crap" and own the fact that I had let the vampires in. My life had so far been dedicated to feeding human mosquitos which in a way made a pathetic sort of **'Renfield' character.

It's true what the myths say about having to invite the "bloodsuckers" in, in order for them to suck their fill of what you are offering. I’m not saying by any means that a vampire isn’t a nasty or disgusting creature, only that they are really only as strong as their host allows them to be.

I began to realize that my life had been out of balance for far to long, and that it hadn't even really been my own. I had been giving myself away in big meaty chunks and slices(cheaply at that)to anyone who asked;I was a virtual cornucopia of unending graciousness, and it was making me sick!

It was time to make some changes...

* Not unlike the partial paralysis you see in stroke patients.
** Dracula’s caretaker.

Coming next: Learning to love the word no

Haunted ebay!

2006-07-06T22:43:00.000-07:00

So here I sit breathing invisible smoke (see previous article) and growing another beauteous sinus headache, which leaves me with just enough energy to pursue one of my favorite living room sports... perusing ebay for stuff I absolutely don’t need but must have!

I came across some very "interesting" ( see strange and silly) “haunted” items that I wanted to share with you.

I think most people by now have done some stupid impulse buys on ebay, I certainly I have (really), but sometime even I catch myself wondering "now who the hell would buy that?" mind you this is coming from from a person who has undoubtedly and admittedly been on the other end of that telescope.

Here are a few items that had me scratching my cabeza:

While I sit here on my ass, who’s been scrying in my glass?
http://cgi.ebay.com/HAUNTED-DEAD-WITCHS-STERLING-SILVER-SCRYING-MIRROR_W0QQitemZ120004076348QQihZ002QQcategoryZ102514QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

As if dolls weren't creepy enough…
http://cgi.ebay.com/HAUNTED-DOLL-STOP-THE-VOICES-THAT-CONTINUE-TO-WHISPER_W0QQitemZ270004471394QQihZ017QQcategoryZ19270QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I have a little voodoo doll collection of my own (I love these dang things)!
http://cgi.ebay.com/Haunted-Hand-Made-Voodoo-doll-from-New-Orleans_W0QQitemZ150004475445QQihZ005QQcategoryZ88433QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Thank you, no, I’m trying to quit…
http://cgi.ebay.com/OOAK-HAUNTED-MURDER-WEAPON-KILLED-A-MAN-SHIV-SHANK_W0QQitemZ130003025363QQihZ003QQcategoryZ1469QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Every child’s nightmare!
http://cgi.ebay.com/HAUNTED-Ventriloquist-Clown-Doll-EYES-FOLLOW-YOU-OOAK_W0QQitemZ120003671782QQihZ002QQcategoryZ910QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This is my absolute favorite! My husband can barely keep me from breaking into the old pay pal account for this tasty little item!
http://cgi.ebay.com/HAUNTED-VOODOO-WITCH-MUMMIFIED-HAND_W0QQitemZ130002977059QQihZ003QQcategoryZ1469QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
What can I say, I still want my mummy...

But, buyer beware! Some of the "Haunted" items you'll find on ebay especially the jewelry have doctored "orb" or "ecto" pictures! Shocking I know, but there are some thieving con-artist bastards out there taking advantage of poor gullible s.o.b.'s who are more into the fantasy of purchasing a ghost (as if) than going out and doing some old fashioned paranormal investigative gum shoe work! Silly sods...

Oh, and one more thing, if you had a fairy that could grant you any wish and they were unlimited would you really be selling it? Duh...
http://cgi.ebay.com/Haunted-Gypsy-Witch-Jewelry-FAIRY-FAERIE-WISH-RING-FAE_W0QQitemZ110004436171QQihZ001QQcategoryZ102514QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Find Real Products to Sell on eBay!

Smoke...

2006-07-03T10:04:00.001-07:00

Ok, so here’s the thing, I have a smoking problem in my home and it’s driving me nuts! I’ve been living in this house with a periodic smoker for a little over a year now, periodic because weeks or months will go by without the smoking. But then there will be days of nonstop chain huffing!

Some days I can barely breathe out of my nose from all the second hand smoke! So why the hell do I put up with it you ask? I can feel the hint of irritation in your voice, after all I’m a grown up and can ask that the smoking be done outside can’t I? Well… actually no, I can’t ask this particular smoker to take their nasty habit to the porch, and this is the problem.

The smoker in my home is unseen and so is the smoke! “What, are you high?” you may ask. That’s none of your business, but no, I’m not high; and I’m not delusional either, nor am I the only victim of second hand smoke in this “exhausted” household! There are three of us putting up with this phantom imbiber of the lit leaf.

So how are we to deal with this invisible but caustic pollutant? I honestly don’t know. I’m at a loss here. I’ve done a lot of passive smoking in my lifetime; I bartended and sang in night clubs throughout the years of my misspent youth, but this is ridiculous and goes beyond the pale of any smoking etiquette that I’m aware of.

So what the hell is it? A ghost maybe, an overlapping dimension perhaps or has there been a cosmic fold in time, what? Should it be an inter-dimensional entity or even a spook, what can be done about it? If this erstwhile tobacco puffing person could be made aware of my discomfort (and mass consumption of sinus tablets) would it be inclined to quit or at least try the patch or nicotine-gum?

I’ve tried talking to it and I’ve even (ironically) tried smudging it out, but no surcease of the acrid house smog! Even my Ionic Breeze doesn’t help.

The present owner of the house hasn’t smoked in twenty years and knows nothing of the previous owners, but I suppose it could be the return of the spirit of a deceased inhabitant.

It isn't smoke blowing in from the outside, in fact if you go directly out the door all you can smell is the warm sea air with the sweet perfume of the jasmine and roses growing in the garden; come back into the house though and its like a bachelor party in high gear! Not only that, but I live in a quiet neighborhood and my house is 50 yards from the nearest house. In any case there are no smokers on the entire block!

Even now, while writing this squib, the odor plumes of smoke waft by my face in acrid unseen puffs.

Time for another sinus tablet…

Aromatherepy Alternative Healing

2006-07-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

Here is yet another wonderful article by my friend Jen Bones owner of The Goddess Gift Shop, I was going to do an article on aromatherepy myself, but then "Bonesy" sent me this one, and it is so good and thoroughI no longer feel the need to, enjoy!

By Jennifer Bones
Aromatherapy is the practice of using the scents of various plant extracts to assist in healing the mind, body, and soul. The use of aromatherapy dates back over 5,000 years and has recently been rediscovered as a method of holistic healing.

The most famous Egyptian technique using aromatherapy was embalming. However evidence exists to show that aromatherapy was also used in cosmetic and medicinal applications. During the same time, records from China indicate that hundreds of plants were identified to exude healing aromatic properties. Ayurvedic medicine, which spans the history of India, has always incorporated aromatherapy into its healing methods and spiritual practices.

The ancient Greeks were quick to adopt aromatherapy from Egypt and began using olive oil as a base. Romans learned these methods from Greece and were soon using scented oils in their famous baths. Although Native Americans and other native cultures around the world continued to utilize the effects of plant extracts, after the fall of the Roman Empire the recorded information on aromatherapy was lost and Western Civilization would have to re-learn everything. (Not one of the most efficient cultures, eh?)

It took the scourge of the plague during the Middle Ages to begin to rekindle an interest in this ancient technique. It was discovered then that certain plant extracts seemed to prevent the spread of infection and assist in decontaminating a house after its occupants had been afflicted.
A Persian philosopher, Avicenna (980 AD – 1037AD), is responsible for the reintroduction of aromatherapy. Once a method of distillation was discovered by the Arabs, it didn’t take long for the unfortunate Crusades to bring these methods back to Europe.

Very slow to catch on, it took until the 19th century before Europe and Great Britain spent any meaningful time studying the effectiveness of aromatherapy on humans. (I imagine we were finding other uses for the Arabic distillation process.) Finally, after a French chemist, Rene Maurice Gattefosse, burned his hand and healed it with some lavender oil he wrote a book on the antimicrobial properties of certain essential oils. Thus, aromatherapy as we know it today was born…again.

If it weren’t for Dr. Gattefosse and his burnt hand, we may not have such an overwhelming olfactory experience as we walk through a shopping mall. Most of the perfumes, candles, lotions, bath salts, etc. that we use today are centered on the fundamentals of aromatherapy. After all, we don’t really want to smell some of those ingredients listed on our favorite body lotion do we? However if we take this a step forward and learn how to best utilize the immense power of plant extracts we very well might spend less time at the doctor’s office and more time, well…shopping for bubble bath!

The sense of smell is a very powerful one. The average human can distinguish over 10,000 distinct odors and people who lose their sense of smell often suffer from depression and anxiety. It is believed that smell is processed in the limbic system, the part of the brain that controls moods, memory, emotion, and learning. When a person’s brain waves are monitored, it has been discovered that smelling lavender increases alpha waves in the back of the brain which are associated with relaxation while jasmine stimulates beta waves in the front of the brain and are linked to stimulation and alertness.

Further studies have allowed scientists to break down these scents in the following functional groups:

Monoterpenes: anti-viral, antiseptic, bactericidal, and can be highly irritating to the skin.
Examples: lemon, pine, frankincense

Esters: fungicidal, sedating, and very aromatically pleasing.
Examples: bergamot, Clary sage, lavender

Aldehydes: sedating and antiseptic.
Examples: melissa, lemongrass, cirtronella

Ketones: ease congestion, aid flow of mucus, can be toxic.
Examples: fennel, hyssop, sage

Alcohols: very antiseptic, anti-viral with uplifting qualities.
Examples: rosewood, geranium, rose

Phenols: bactericidal and strongly stimulating, can be highly irritating to the skin.
Examples: clove, thyme, oreganoOxides: expectorant and bactericidal. Examples: rosemary, tea tree

Essential oils are quite different from fatty oils (e.g. almond oil or sesame oil). Essential oils are volatile and will evaporate quite quickly when exposed to air. Essential oils are soluble in fatty oils allowing the fatty oils to act as a carrier or base for the essential oils. This is very useful when using an essential oil topically which may be irritating at full strength. Dissolving into a fatty oil dilutes the irritant while allowing the healing properties to be easily absorbed into the skin.

A safer and more gentle alternative to rare essential oils are hydrosols. These hydrosols are a by-product of the distillation process and contain the same therapeutic properties of the essential oils but in much smaller amounts. Hydrosols are also much less expensive and can easily be used in a mister or spritzers.

Please remember the following safety precautions:
-Never ingest essential oils
-Never allow essential oils to come in contact with the eyes
-Take care when using candle-lit diffusers
-Some essential oils are irritants or present other hazards. Research the use of any essential oil prior to implementation

Here’s a list of uses for essential oils:

Bath: fill the tub with bath water. Add 9-10 drops of essential oil into the bath water, mix before getting into bath. Or add 9-10 drops of essential oil to one teaspoon of carrier oil, such as jojoba oil and add & mix into the bath water so the essential oil is soluble in the carrier oil before adding to the bath.

Liquid Soap: add about 30-45 drops of essential oil to 8 ounces of unscented liquid hand soap or unscented liquid shower body wash. Shake vigorously.

Body Oil: add about 12-15 drops of essential oil to one ounce of carrier oil, such as jojoba oil and shake to blend.

Body Lotion: add 50-60 drops of essential oil to 16 ounces of unscented body lotion. Stir with a spoon or stirring stick to blend the essential oil into the lotion until smooth.

Body Mist: add 10-15 drops of essential oil to a 1 ounce glass misting bottle filled with spring or distilled water. Shake well and shake before each mist.

Liniment: add 25-20 drops of essential oil to one ounce of carrier oil, such as jojoba oil. Shake well to blend.Compress: add & mix 3-5 drops of essential oil to a bowl of warm or cool water. Soak a wash cloth, wring and apply.

Shampoo/Conditioner: add 12-15 drops of essential oil to one ounce of unscented or mild shampoo and conditioner. Shake well to blend.

Hair Brush: place three drops of essential oil into the palm of your hand; rub over the natural bristles of a hair brush. Brush your scalp and your hair.

Diffuser: add essential oils to an electric diffuser, candle burner or a lamp ring.

Room Mist: add 17-20 drops of essential oil to a 1 ounce glass misting bottle filled with spring or distilled water. Shake well and shake before each mist.

Scent: add five drops of an essential oil to a hanky or tissue and carry with you throughout the day. Or place under your pillow case to ease you into sleep.

Scent: add five drops to a cotton ball and place in drawers and linen closets.Place: a drop of essential oil in the palm of your hand, rub your hands together and inhale.

And here’s a chart on some common essential oils and their uses (physical ailments listed first, emotional ailments follow):
Allergies:
Blue Tansy (Tanecetum annuum), Amni Visnaga, German and Roman Chamomile, Helichrysum Lavender, Yarrow.
Asthma:
Prevention: Blue Tansy (Tanecetum annuum), Amni Visnaga.
Treatment: Frankincense, Hyssop, Inula, Litsea, Ravensara, Black Spruce, Blue Tansy (Tanecetum annuum), Cedarwood, Cajeput, Clary Sage, Roman Chamomile, Cypress, Fennel, Eucalyptus Radiata, Hyssop decumbens, Lavender, Spike Lavender, Pine, Lemon, Mandarine, Myrtle, Peppermint, Petitgrain, Rosemary.
Arthritis:
Lavandin, Helichrysum, Black Pepper,Ginger, Marjoram, Lavender, Lemon, Nutmeg, Rosemary, Cajeput, Cinnamon, Clove Bud, Eucalyptus, Angelica Seed, Roman Chamomile, Holy Basil, Clove Bud, Cypress Tips, Balsam Fir, Juniper, Nutmeg, Dalmatian Sage, Winter Savory, Seaweed, Thyme Borneol, Wintergreen, St. John's Wort oil as a carrier oil.
Athletes Foot and other fungal infections:
Myrrh, Patchouli, Lemongrass, Niaouli, Palma Rosa, Tagetes, Tea Tree.
Backaches:
Helichrysum, Lavandin, Black Pepper, Cajeput, Chamomile, Eucalyptus, Ginger, Juniper Berry, Spike Lavender, Lemon, Peppermint, Marjoram, Nutmeg, Rosemary, Thyme.
Boils:
Bergamot, Lavender, Lemon, Tea Tree, Thyme, Juniper, Geranium (in hot compresses)
Bronchial congestion: Hyssop, Inula, Frankincense, Black Spruce, Copaiba Balsam, Balsam Fir, Larch, Pine.
Bruises:
Helichrysum, Black Pepper, German Chamomile, Hyssop, Fennel, Spike Lavender, Lemon, Rosemary
St. Johns Wort infused oil.
Burns:
Lavender, Helichrysum, Carrot Seed, Frankincense, Manuka, Neroli, Tea tree.
Candida (Yeast Infection):
Tea tree, Cajeput, Holy Basil, Melissa, German Chamomile, Lemon Eucalyptus.
Chronic Fatigue:
Sweet Basil, Rosemary, Geranium, Lemon, Pink Grapefruit.
Chronic Pain:
Topical Application: Black Pepper, Clove bud, Frankincense, Ginger, Juniper, Spike Lavender, Lavender, Lemongrass, Sweet Marjoram, Myrrh, Peppermint, Rose, Roemary, Ylangylang.Inhalation: Frankincense, Lavender, Lemongrass, Sweet Marjoram, Rosemary, Lemon Verbena
Cold Sores (Herpes simplex):
Melissa, Rose Otto, Myrrh, Bergamot, Eucalyptus Globulous, Sandalwood, Bergamot, Eucalyptus radiata, Cajeput, Niaouli, Ravensara, Teatree
Congestion (chest and bronchial)(For Nasal Suggestion, see sinus suggestions.):
Eucalyptus Globulous, Sweet Eucalyptus, Frankincense CO2, Inula, Sweet Basil, Black Pepper, Lemon Myrtle, Peppermint, Pine, Black Spruce
Constipation:
Sweet Fennel, Yarrow, Black Pepper, Sweet Marjoram, Rosemary, Carrot Seed, Peppermint, pine, sweet orange
Coughs:
Hyssop, Cardamon Seed, Balsam Fir, Inula (for dry, unproductive cough), Pine, Greek Sage, Oregano
Cramps, Muscle Spasms:
Sweet Marjoram, Black Pepper, Roman Chamomile, Clary Sage, Cypress, Geranium, Lavender, Marjoram, Thyme
Cuts and scrapes:
Lavender, Chamomiles, Tea Tree for disinfecting, Helichrysum
Cystitis:
Bergamot, Atlas Cedarwood, Juniper, Cypress
Dandruff:
Recent research published in Aromatherapy Today, the International Aromatherapy Journal, indicates that Tea tree oil, added to shampoo in a 5% dilution, is at least as effective as 2% ketoconazole and 1% terbinafine in the treatment of dandruff. In the test, the subjects used a 5% dilution in a daily shampoo, and left the shampoo in their hair for three minutes before rinsing.
Diarrhea:
Black Pepper, German and Roman Chamomile, Cinnamon Leaf, Cypress, Eucalyptus, Sweet Fennel, Ginger, Mandarinr, Neroli, Peppermint, Cajeput
Edema:
Cistus, Angelica Root, Ravensara, Rosemary, Seaweed, Carrot seed, Sweet Fennel, Grapefruit, Juniper, Lemon, mandarine, tangerine.
Fever:
Sponge the body with cool water with 1 drop each Eucalyptus, Lavender, and Peppermint oils added.
Gas:
Ginger, Peppermint, Anise Seed, Fennel, Litsea, Oregano, Black Pepper, Cardamon, Roman and German Chamomile
Gout:
St. Johns Wort oil with Wintergreen, Juniper berry, Lemon, Rosemary.
Headaches:
Lavender, Sweet Basil, Roman Chamomile, Clove Bud, Lavandin, Cajeput, Clary Sage, Eucalyptus, Marjoram, Peppermint, Rosewood, Rosemary, Thyme
Hot Flashes:
Vitex, Peppermint Hydrosol, Passages Synergy
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure):
Bergamot, Roman chamomile, lavender, litsea, melissa, sweet marjoram, neroli, ylangylang
Hypotension (Low Blood Pressure):
Ginger, lemon, red thyrm, rosemary
Indigestion:
Cardamon, Black Pepper, Ginger, Peppermint, Anise Seed, Coriander, Fennel, Lemongrass, Litsea, Melissa, Nutmeg, Cinnamon Leaf, Sweet Fennel
Inflammation:
Helichrysum, Roman or German Chamomile, Coriander, Juniper, Fennel, Nutmeg, Yarrow
Insect Bites:
Cajeput (fire ants), Helichrysum, German Chamomile, Lavender
Insomnia:
Red Mandarine, (a recent study indicates that Mandarine is even more effective than lavender in dealing with sleep disturbances.)Bulgarian Lavender, Roman Chamomile, Clementine Petitgrain, Bergamot, Ledum, Myrtle, Petitgrain, Sandalwood, Spikenard, Valerian
Lymphodema:
Cistus, helichrysum, lavender
Menopause:
Clary Sage, Geranium, Rose, Vitex, Bergamot, Chamomile, Cypress, Fennel, Jasmine, Neroli, Ylang ylang
Menstrual Cramps:
Clary Sage, Sweet Marjoram, Geranium, Sweet Fennel, Anise Seed, Sweet Basil, Roman Chamomile, Clary Sage, Cypress Needle, Yarrow
Migraines:
Lavender, Peppermint, Roman Chamomile, Clary Sage, Marjoram, Valerian, Eucalyptus, Spike Lavender, Neroli
Muscle Aches:
Lavandin, Rosemary, Black Pepper, Ginger, Black Spruce, Sweet Basil, Spike Lavender, Vetiver, Eucalyptus
Muscle Spasms:
Roman Chamomile, Petitgrain, Clary Sage, Fennel, Frankincense, Lavender, Sage.One client reports relief by spritzing St.John's Wort Hydrosol.
Nausea:
Ginger, Peppermint,Spearmint, Cardamon Seed, Sweet Fennel, Patchouli
Peridontal problems:
Myrrh, Sweet fennel, manuka, peppermint, tea tree.
PMS:
Geranium, Clary Sage, Rose, Sweet Fennel, Bergamot, Chamomile, Juniper Berry, Lavender, Neroli, Rosemary, Sweet Fennel, Palma Rosa, Rose Otto, ylangylang
Pressure sores (Bed Sores):
German Chamomile, helichrysum, geranium, frankincense, lavender,Calendula infused oil
Rheumatism:
St. John's Wort Oil, Black Pepper, Ginger, Helichrysum, Lavender
Scabies:
Tea Tree(5% dilution)
Sciatica:
St. John's Wort Oil, Black Pepper, Ginger, Helichrysum, Lavender
Sinuses:
All Eucalyptus species, especially Radiata, Peppermint, Angelica Root, Sweet Basil, Clove Bud, Hyssop, Inula, Lemon, Lemon Myrtle, Pine
Shingles:
Ravensara in a base of Calophyllum, Bergamot, Eucalyptus Globulous, Melissa with Rose Otto, Lavender, Tea Tree
Sore Throat:
Hyssop, Sandalwood
Sunburn:
Chamomile with Lavender, Blue Tansy (Tanecetum annuum), German Chamomile, Peppermint, Peppermint Hydrosol
Varicose Veins:
Calendula infused oil, Cypress, Lemon, Geranium, Juniper, Rosemary
Aggression:
bergamot, chamomile, juniper, lemon, marjoram, rosemary, ylang-ylang
Anger:
Chamomile,Jasmine,Marjoram, Palma Rosa,Rose, Rosemary,Ylang-Ylang,
Anxiety:
Neroli, Bergamot,Chamomile, Frankincense, Geranium (for balance), Lavender, Orange, Patchouli, Rose (for confidence), Sandalwood. Sweet Marjoram, Vetiver (for grounding)
Disappointment:
Bergamot, Cypress, Frankincense, Jasmine, Orange, Rose
Fear:
Cedarwood, Fennel, Ginger, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Thyme
Grief:
Bergamot,Chamomile, Jasmine, Marjoram, Neroli,Rose
Hysteria:
Chamomile,Lavender,Neroli,Orange, Tea Tree
Impatience:
Chamomile, Clary, Frankincense, Lavender
Indecision:
Basil, Clary, Cypress, Jasmine, Patchouli, Peppermint
Jealousy:
Jasmine, Rose
Loneliness:
Benzoin, Marjoram
Fatigue(emotional and mental):
basil, clary, cardamon, cinnamon leaf or bark, Clove bud, coriander, Eucalyptus citriodora, ginger, grapefruit, helichrysum, jasmine, juniper, orange, palmarosa, peppermint,rosemary, thyme, vetiver, ylangylang
Fatigue (physical):
Basil, elemi, ginger, lemon, lavender,orange, peppermint, rosemary
Nervousness:
Chamomile, Clary, Coriander,Frankincense, Neroli, Orange, Vetiver
Panic:
Chamomile, Clary, Geranium, Jasmine, Juniper,Lavender, Neroli, YlangYlang
Sadness:
Benzoin, Jasmine, Rose, Rosewood
Shock:
Lavender, Neroli,Rose, Teatree
Shyness:
Black Pepper, Ginger, Jasmine, Patchouli, Peppermint, Rose, Neroli, YlangYlang
Stress:
Bergamot, Atlas Cedarwood, Roman Chamomile, all Citrus oils, Clary Sage, Frankincense, Geranium, Lavender, Sweet Marjoram, Melissa, Neroli, Patchouli, Petitgrain, Rose (absolute and otto), Rosemary, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Ylangylang.
Suspicion:
Jasmine, Lavender
Tension:
Chamomile, Clary, Cypress, Frankincense, Geranium, Jasmine, Lavender, Lemon, Marjoram, Neroli, Orange, Rose, Rosewood

Since we often spend more time worrying about our physical appearance than our physical or emotional wellness, I’ve included a list of cosmetic uses for some essential oils:
SKINCARE (General):
Lavender, rose, rosemary camphor, cypress, geranium, chamomiles, rosewood, geranium essential oils and hydrosols
ACNE:
Tea tree, Manuka, Helichrysum, lavender, spike lavender, thyme linalool, rose geranium, tea tree, Petitgrain, grapefruit, sandalwood, Vetiver, mints, basil, German chamomile, atlas Cedarwood, rosewood, Palma Rosa, thyme, Cajeput, Niaouli, Yarrow Hydrosol
ASTRINGENT:
Grapefruit, yarrow, rosemary, lime distilled
BLACK HEADS:
Coriander, thymus vulgaris, peppermint, lemongrass
CHAPPED/ CRACKED SKIN:
Myrrh, patchouli, sandalwood, Vetiver, Cajeput, roman & German chamomile, lavender
Calendula infused oil.
CHILBLAINS:
Black Pepper, Cinnamon leaf, clove bud, ginger, lavender. (ie, circulatory stimulants to promote warming.)
CLEANSING:
Sweet Basil, juniper, lemon, lemongrass, Niaouli, peppermint
COMBINATION SKIN:
Geranium, Rosewood, Ylang-ylang, Rose Geranium Hydrosol, Neroli Hydrosol
COUPEROSE:
(Thread veins, congested capillaries)
Lemon, Helichrysum, cypress, rose, lavender, parsley, roman & German chamomiles, geranium, calendula infused oil, Helichrysum or neroli hydrosols.
DEVITALIZED SKIN:
Eucalyptus globulous, myrtle, neroli, basil juniper, lemon, lemongrass, Niaouli, peppermint, pine, orange, oregano, rosemary, spearmint, geranium, grapefruit
DRY ACNE:
Petitgrain, lavender, spike lavender, clary, rose geranium
DRY SKIN:
Carrot seed, Cedarwood, clary, jasmine, geranium, lavender, orange, Palma Rosa, rose, roman chamomile, rosewood, neroli, Petitgrain, Mandarine petitgrain, Vetiver, sandalwood, ylangylang, carrot seed, lavender, rose or neroli hydrosol, Calendula infused oil.
ECZEMA:
German Chamomile, Helichrysum, Lavender, Bergamot, Carrot Seed, Atlas Cedarwood, Roman Chamomile, Juniper, Myrrh, Palma Rosa, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Teatree, Yarrow, Ylangylang.
Calendula infused oil, Cranberry Seed Oil
HYDRATING:
Palma Rosa, sweet orange, Mandarine, tangerine, rose, most hydrosols, esp. Neroli
INFECTIONS:
German chamo, Manuka, eucalyptus, lavender, myrrh, roman chamo, rosemary, spikenard, tea tree, thyme linalool, calendula, Palma Rosa, Niaouli, laurel, myrtle, rosewood
INFLAMMATION:
Helichrysum, st. johns Wort infusion, carrot seed, Cistus, galbanum German & Roman chamomiles, clary, myrrh, myrtle, rosewood, angelica, yarrow, Helichrysum, Witch hazel or Chamomile Hydrosols
ITCHING:
Jasmine, heli, lavender, peppermint, roman chamo, Lavender or Witch Hazel hydrosol
LARGE PORES:
Myrtle, lemongrass, rose, Cedarwood
MATURE, AGED SKIN, WRINKLES:
Carrot seed, elemi, Cistus, frankincense, galbanum, fennel, geranium, myrrh, patchouli, rose, Clary, rosewood, sages, cypress, fennel, lavender, neroli.
NORMAL SKIN:
Atlas Cedarwood, geranium, jasmine, lavender, neroli, roman chamo, rose, rosewood, ylangylang, angelica, all hydrosols
OILY SKIN:
Roman & German chamos, Cedarwood, (atlas, red, texas) geranium, Clary, lavender, Ylang-ylang, lemon, peppermint, Niaouli, Cajeput, cypress, calendula infusion, frankincense, patchouli, sandalwood, juniper, Melissa, yarrow, coriander, Petitgrain, lime distilled, grapefruit, thyme linalool, Lavandin, spike lavender, rose
PIMPLES, blemishes:
Tea tree, Manuka, Lemon Myrtle, German Chamomile, Helichrysum italicuum, thyme linalool, Cajeput, oregano (spot only) Niaouli, rosemary
PSORIASIS:
(extremely difficult to treat)
Bergamot, Helichrysum, Cajeput, carrot seed, German or roman chamomile, Lavender, Juniper, Sandalwood, Tea tree
Calendula infused oil, Cranberry Seed Oil
PUFFINESS:
Oregano, Spanish marjoram, cypress, peppermint, rosemary, fennel, celery, clary, roman chamomile
REGENERATION:
Frankincense, lavender, neroli, patchouli, rose, rosemary, sandalwood, teatree, Helichrysum, elemi, Vetiver, spikenard, caraway, Palma Rosa, Spanish sage, Clary, lavender, galbanum, myrrh, myrtle, calendula, carrot seed
REVITALIZING BASAL LAYER:
Carrot seed, Rosewood, Niaouli, tea tree, orange, calendula
ROSACEA:
German chamomile, Helichrysum italicuum, rosewood, Helichrysum hydrosol,
SENSITIVE SKIN:
Roman & German chamomile, rose, Palma Rosa, Helichrysum, neroli, rosewood, carrot, angelica, jasmine, Neroli, Chamomile or Yarrow Hydrosols
SCARS:
Helichrysum (in a base of Rose Hip Seed Oil), carrot seed, lavender, petitgrain, galbanum
SKIN TONER:
Calendula infused , lemongrass, chamomiles, lavender, neroli, orange, rose, frankincense, Petitgrain, lemon, hydrosols

For a fantastic selection of Aromatherapy Products like Aromatherapy Pendants, Candles Potpourri, Essential Oils, Oil Burners, Sets see Jen at The Goddess Gift Shop!

Healing Stone Meanings

2006-07-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

The sparkle of gems and semi-precious stones has had the same kind of magnetic appeal to humans, as strands of shiny tinsel to a nesting crow for the past few millennia! Yet the hidden power of crystals is just starting to be understood by scientists, as the technology of healing continues to leapfrog into the future.

Many of the treatments the west found laughable just a few short decades ago like chiropractic, acupuncture and massage therapy have become almost mainstream now; not to mention those who practiced these healing arts were once looked upon as quacks and charlatans pushing “ snake oil” onto the sick and gullible. It’s only recently that these alternative-healing methods have even been covered by some of the more “hip” insurance company’s.

Alternative healing has finally come of age and has become big business! Millions upon millions of dollars are spent in the personal pursuit of glowing health through non-invasive and non-pharmaceutical treatments. I bring this up to illuminate the fact that where the money goes so goes big business, and with big business the grants go flying towards more scientific study, after all big biz loves a good and “legitimately” scientific testimonial!

The gap has narrowed a bit between science and alternative healing, and everyday people are demanding more and more in the way of natural healing alternatives, due in part perhaps to the rising costs of health care and medical insurance, an ounce of prevention being worth at least a pound of doctor bills!

We’ve come a long way since Quartz mysteriously powered Seiko’s wristwatches in the sixties, and the writers of Sci-fi have long taken advantage of the massive appeal of these earthbound stars; Kyptonite was Superman’s super power suppressant, and Star Trekie’s would boldly be going nowhere without their precious Dilithium!

And now, as if to throw legitimacy off the scent of science, we have purple clad new age gurus spouting about the healing metaphysical properties of crystals and minerals! Such nonsense!

Or is it?

Many ancient cultures such as Egyptian, Native American, Mayan, Hebrew, and the predecessor to Hinduism, Vedic used healing crystal and minerals for spiritual, magical and healing ceremonies. They believed in the powerful healing properties contained within these gorgeous sparkling stones.

But if your like many folk, and you’ve found that much of the “New Age” culture is just a bit too…well…you know… too; or perhaps you have a morbid fear of purple bliss ninnies, yet you still have a genuine curiosity about the healing properties of crystals and minerals, then by all means read on. I promise not to get too airy-fairy on you, and you may find some of this stuff interesting!

Science and the Crystal

Piezoelectricity
Piezoelectricity is the electricity or polarity induced in certain crystals, such as quartz, by mechanical stress. Piezo from the Greek word piezein which means squeeze as in compress; and electricity which is the physical phenomena arising from the attraction of particles with opposite charges and the repulsion of particles with the same charge as in unplug the toaster before going after a stuck pop-tart with a butter knife dummy!

Piezoelectricity is used in the production of many things like clocks, BBQ-lighters, microphones and there are even piezoelectric strips embedded in some roads that work in conjunction with highway enforcement cameras capturing speeders (say cheese) as they wiz by!

But prove the validity of this principle yourself (it’s kinda fun), first get a couple of quartz crystals, preferably with flat surfaces, and go to a completely dark place, strike the two stones together in a sliding motion and note the blue sparks! This is piezoelectricity.

This is the same principle used by crystal healers who will periodically squeeze the crystals when working with them to increase the energy output.

Pyro-electricity
More Greek, pyro- meaning fire or heat and alludes to an electrified state resulting from changes in temperature. The effect was first discovered in ionic minerals such as quartz and tourmaline and the same effect can also be found in bones and tendons.

Many motion detector sensors are designed with pyroelectric materials and since very small changes in temperature can produce electric potential they can be triggered by the heat emanating off a human or animal from several feet away.

All pyroelectric materials are also piezoelectric as the two properties are closely related.

And So…
We know that crystals emit energy and this energy is used for many modern day doo-hickeys that we take for granted every day, but what about how it effects a healing on a person. It is believed by many healers that the energy vibrations of the different stones can be aimed or concentrated at an ailment in the body mind or spirit, rather like a tuning fork to put organic and spiritual vibrations back in balance.

In others, by using a targeted energy force that emanates from certain crystals to infuse the biometric sheath or aura of a person or other sentient being, which in turn commingles with corresponding whirling *chakram in order to attain a sort of metaphysical tune up through vibrational likeness!

Could it really be that simple? Sure, why not? If nothing else it creates a lovely cosmic soup if anyone should get hungry for mineral stew; after all there are hundreds of crystals and charkas to choose from, so finding a shortcut on how to apply them to your life is, as Martha Stewart so succinctly puts it “a good thing”.

Crystal healing stone meanings are not difficult to learn and a much can be learned by taking any one of several online crystal training courses for healing with gemstones, or many numerous other metaphysical correspondence courses and classes on new age religion for beginners (you can take all kinds of paranormal classes online). Or to find an offline course in your area try your local new age bookstore, yoga or health food store bulletin boards. You can even buy a “ready made” chakra healing and balancing set with carved stones and a carry bag at most new age stores, they come with instructions on how to use them properly and are perfect for the beginner.

You will find that crystals often (but not always) share many of the same purported color relevance that aura’s and charkas have; this makes sense when deeming the energy qualities for all three subjects (crystals, auras and charkas) as they relate to each other’s metaphysical vibrations.

*Chakram/Chakra is the Sanskrit word for wheel. It is in reference to the whirling vortex systems that have been seen by yogis and clairvoyants. They are said to make up the living energy centers of our consciousness

Aura Colors and Meanings
I often go to the local bio-energy *Aura Meter Reader (about once a month) to get the latest map of my aura and charkas colors and I am always surprised to see the accuracy of the meanings attributed to the colors in both my aura and charkas and how they pertain to my health, character and temperament. These gadgets are a lot of fun to work with and may help you gain a better understanding of who you are and what your issues might be.

There are far too many color and shade variations for the aura to put them all here, and there are already numerous good books on the subject; but here are some of the basics.

DEEP-RED: Driven, physically active, hardworking, action oriented, powerful, realistic, vitality, grounded, strength of character, staying power, explorer.

RED: Energy, excitement, competition, go getter, leader, achiever, courage, will power, sexual energy, entrepreneurial spirit.

ORANGE: Productive, enjoyment, challenging, business goals, positive, active, excitement, physical expression, creative, adventurer.

YELLOW- BROWN: Intellectual, detail oriented, logically structured thoughts, security, science, honest, perfectionist.

YELLOW: Sunny, warm and generous, creative, fun-loving, childlike, charming, learning, entertaining, radiates optimism, easy to be with.

GREEN: Natural healer, social, loves nature and animals, content, harmonious, teacher, love of communicating, always the perfect host, empathetic, good friend, generous to a fault, truly cares about others well being.

DEEP-GREEN: Ambitious and goal oriented, quick witted and minded, material wealth and luxury, communicative, leadership qualities, responsibility, great organizer, driving force, long term planner.

BLUE: Very sensitive, loving and sweet, nurturing, helpful, loyal, compassionate, peaceful, desire to be of service and to help support others, care giver.

INDIGO: Seeker of higher truth, introverted, clarity, calm, deep inner feelings, love, inner knowing, authenticity, high, sense of inner values, artistic.

VIOLET: Intuitive, visionaries, innovative, artistic, charismatic, idealistic, magical, inventive, sensual, walks to the beat of their own drum, likes to deal in possibilities.

LAVENDER: Mystical, etheric, daydreamer, unrealistic, rich fantasy life, artistic, creative, fragile both physically and emotionally, sensitive, the true space cadets.

WHITE: Enlightened, transcended, transformation, spiritual healing, sensitive, living in higher dimensions, strong spiritual connections. Has been seen around people who are about to die.

* Aura Meter: Bio-energy computer program that attunes to a persons aura by way of finger-tips resting on metal grounding pads.

The Best Way To Choose Crystals, Let Them Choose You
That’s right let them choose you. I’ll explain, when you go crystal shopping at the crystal and mineral store (or any new age outlet that sells them) take your time perusing the selection and pay close attention to the ones that catch your attention. The vibrations of the stones that are right for you will resonate with your own energy, and you will feel naturally drawn to them.

Once a gem type has picked you, go ahead and hold it in the palm of your hand, fondle it for a bit (gently now, no funny business) consider how it makes you feels. Handle a few of them and ask yourself which one most wants to come home with you tonight (nudge, nudge). Don’t spend any time second-guessing yourself with stones. If it feels right, it is right!

You don’t need to spend a lot of money buying dozens of crystals for your collection. If you let them pick you, as you need them instead of going in there with a list of the ones you don’t yet have, you can build a powerful customized collection of the few that you really need.

If you’ve found a crystal outlet online that you want to use this is not a problem. Peruse the pictures until you find the ones you feel attracted to. You won’t be able to fondle them but you can send your energy to the outlet and they will intuitively put the right ones the box for shipping…Really!

Remember To Cleanse Your Crystals
Before you use your pretty little pebbles for healing or energy work, you’ll need to cleanse them first. There are a few different ways in which to do this.

Sea or rock salt: Place crystal (especially good for *friable) in container with enough salt to cover over night. Be careful to gently brush all of the sand off of you more delicate stones.

Running water: Let water run over stones for a few minutes with the intention of washing away all negative energy (not recommended for delicate friable stones).

Salt water: Let sit in a bowl of salt water for a few minutes

Sea Shore: Take your crystals to the ocean and let a small wave pass over them for a powerful cleanse and recharge; it’s a good idea to put your stones in a netted bag and hold on tight so as not to lose them to Davey Jones locker, he has enough treasure down there.

Smudge: Pass crystal through smudge smoke.

Candlelight: Pass crystal through the light of a candle while thinking good cleansing thoughts.

Other crystals: Carnilian kept with your tumbled stones will keep them clean at all times or you can place a small stone on top of a Quartz cluster overnight to cleanse it.

Recharge their battery: Put fade resistant stones in sunlight for a few hours, and moonlight does the trick for your sun shy crystals.

*Friable: Those stones easy to crumble or dissolve such as halite, hanksite or other salt related crystals.

Crystal Programming
So, now that you've chosen your crystals and cleansed them of foreign energy it’s time to program them to suit yourself.

Hold the crystal in the palm of your hand and visualize it surrounded by light.
Ask yourself what healing purpose this stone is to be used for and focus that purpose onto the crystal.

Healing Your Chakra’s With Gems
Some people wear their of choice as jewelry. Some carry them in their pocket or put them under their pillow at night, and still others go to a healer who formulates a stratagem for the placement of stones on the “patient” in a treatment. Some never leave home without em’ and some always have some on display keeping the home energies positive and cleansed of negativity.

Here’s an abbreviated chart of ten charkas and a few of their corresponding therapeutic crystals.

Earth Chakra (just below your feet)
Color: Brown
Gems: Fire Agate, Brown jasper,

1st Base/Root Chakra
Survival instinct, security
Element: EarthColor: Red, brown, black or gray Gems: Garnet, Onyx, Red Jasper

2nd Sacral Chakra
Function: Creativity, Emotion, Sexual energy.
Element: WaterColor: Orange Gems: Carnilian, Orange Zincite

3rd Solar Plexus Chakra
Function: Cognitive function, Career/work, Power, Control.
Element: FireColor: Yellow Gems: Yellow Sapphire, Citrine4th Heart Chakra
Function: Love, Devotion, Compassion, Empathy, Healing.
Element: Air Color: Green. Gems: Rose Quartz, Green Quartz, Green Tourmaline, Variscite

Higher heart Chakra (just above your heart)
Color: Pink
Gems: Dioptase, Kunzite

5th Throat Chakra
Function: Communication, Speech, Self expression
Element: LifeColor: Light blue or turquoise. Gems: Azurite,Turquoise, Aquamarine, Blue Lace Agate, Blue Topaz

6th Brow/Third eye Chakra
Funtion: Intuition, Esp.
Element: TimeColor: Dark blue. Gems: Sodalite, Lapis Lazuli, Blue Obsidian, Herkimer Diamond

7th Crown Chakra
Function: Connection to the divine.
Element: SpaceColor: Purple, violet, lavender, white or clear. Gems: Purple Jasper, Moldavite, Clear Tourmaline, Quartz, Purple Sapphire

Higher Crown Chakra (just above your head)
Color: Clear
Gems: Kunzite, Beryl, Muscovite, Apophyllite

Healing Your Body
Ok, so now that you’re an expert on crystal Chakra healing it’s time to take a look at organs and their corresponding crystals for physical healing (surely you were expecting this). Just so you know, this is a short list of the organs and the crystals that are used therapeutically. If you are interested in learning more I will have some recommended books, readings and links for you to check out later.

Brain: Amber, Beryl, Green Tourmaline
Ear: Celestite, Rhodonite
Eyes: Cats Eye, Aquamarine, Saphire
Teeth: Fluorite, Rutilated Quartz
Lungs: Beryl, Peridot, Emerald
Stomach: Beryl, Fire Agate, Green Fluorite
Skin: Azurite, Brown Jasper
Arms: Malachite, Jadeite
Hands: Moldavite, Aquamarine
Feet: Onyx, Smokey Quartz
Knees: Azurite, Brown & Green Jasper
Nervous System: Amber, Green jade,
Throat: Aquamarine, Beryl, Amber, Amethist
Heart: Rose Quartz, Garnet, Rhodonite
Liver: Beryl, Aquamarine, Bloodstone
Kidneys: Bloodstone, Citrine, Rose Quartz
Spine: Tourmaline, Beryl, Garnet
Prostate: Chrysopase
Testes: Carnilian, Jadeite, Topaz
Fallopian Tubes: Chrysoprase
Female Reproductive System: Carnelian, Topaz, Moonstone

I’ve learned a lot about crystal healing from several different natural healers I’ve gone to through the years for one malady or another, but mostly through a lot of personal experimentation on myself, my animals and my friends (or victims as they prefer to be called).

Be creative and use your own intuition to guide you on how to best be served by your stones!

And now for the actual crystal meanings
Ever mindful that there are hundreds of different therapeutic stones and crystals, I’m abbreviating it to the few that I have mentioned, and a short version of their healing properties. I could write a very large book about multi faceted principles of each and every crystal, stone, and mineral if I had it within me to bore you with all the groovy details; fortunately for you I have ADD and the likelihood of that ever happening is nil.

Agate: To bring about abundance, provides pain relief. Overcomes negativity, calms and grounds an emotional situation. Stabilizes and centers the aura.
Blue Lace: Brings about peace of mind, and assists with opening lines of communication. Releases feelings of rejection or being judged. Heals fractures.
Fire: Security and safety. Strong grounding powers, supports difficult emotional times, protects against ill wishers. Reduces hot flashes, prevents energy burnout.

Amber: Stimulates the intellect and is a powerful chakra cleanser. Imbues body with energy and vitality and draws away disease.

Amethyst: A natural tranquilizer and blocker of negative environmental energies. Facilitates in clearing the mind of the mundane so as to gain a deeply meditative state. Boosts hormone production. Strengthens the immune system and cleanses the blood. Especially beneficial for addicts, it aids in calming their cravings.

Apophyllite: Creates a conscience connection between the spiritual and physical realms. I astral travel it keeps the physical connection strong. Stimulates intuition and promotes introspection. Releases suppressed emotions of anxiety and fear. Used often in Reiki healing for its deeply calming effect.

Aquamarine: Known as the stone of courage, its calming energy allows for personal bravery as it quiets the mind and reduces stress. Overcomes judgmental nature and helps create tolerance for others. Clears blocked communication. Opens clairvoyance. Good for hay fever, sore throats, swollen glands and thyroid problems.

Azurite: Psychic development and enlightenment. Stimulates the third eye and creates a channel for spiritual guidance. Assists in astral travel mind expansion and brings clear understanding. Good for throat problems, arthritis and brain damage.

Beryl: Sheds unnecessary baggage and clears the path for the essentials. Helps actualize ones full potential. Aides in bodily waste elimination and supports the liver. Heals concussions.

Bloodstone: Blood and energy cleanser. Stimulates dreaming, keeps out undesirable influences and keeps you emotionally grounded. Stimulates the lymphatic system and detoxifies the liver.

Blue Obsidian: Aides in astral travel and enhances PSI. Supports communication. Pain reliever. Treats Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia and personality disorders.

Carnilian: Grounds and encourages you to be in the present, restores vitality and motivation, stimulates creativity, and has the ability to cleanse other stones. Improves analytical ability sharpens concentration protects against envy, and rage. Quells anger and resentment. Dispels negative energy and replaces it with love. Stimulates the metabolism, increases fertility and helps overcome impotence and frigidity. Heals rheumatism arthritis, depression and the aides absorption of vitamins and minerals.

Celestite: Channels angelic realms and creates peace. Increases spiritual development and enlightenment. Attracts good fortune and love. Heals the aura and brings balance and alignment. Dissolves pain.

Chrysoprase: Induces deep meditative states and promotes personal insights. Encourages personal and business loyalties. Calming and non egotistical, creates openness to new situations. Heals codependents supports independence, encourages commitment. Good for relaxation and peaceful sleep, enhances fertility reverses infertility, reduces claustrophobia nightmares.

Citrine: Powerful cleanser and regenerator. Energizes every level of life. Aura protector. Early warning system. Brings about abundance attracts wealth happiness and generosity. Reverses degenerative disease, stimulates digestion and balances hormones.

Dioptase: Powerful healer for the heart else reached the highest levels of consciousness. Facilitates living in the moment activates past life memories, promotes a positive attitude. Regulate cell disorders, activates T cells, eases high blood pressure alleviates migraines, heals heart conditions. Detoxifier that supports overcoming addictions.

Fluorite: Draws off negative energy, fights infections, diffuses electromagnetic smog from computers & TV’s etc.

Garnet: Strengthens survival instinct and brings about courage in a time of trauma. Regenerates the body and stimulates metabolism.

Herkimer Diamond: Energizes and promotes creativity, relieves insomnia, detoxifies, protects against radioactivity, promotes past life memories. Leads you to your soul's purpose promotes past life recall of injuries or disease that if that may still be affecting the present-day life. Eliminate stress and tension through gentle release.

Jade: Symbolizes wisdom, purity and serenity. Increases love and nurturing, keeps the wearer from harm, attracts good luck and friendship. Releases negative thoughts, stimulates ideas, simplifies complex tasks. Aides and bodies filtration treats kidneys and the three local and removes toxins, assists in fertility.

Jasper: Known as the supreme nurturer. Supports during times of stress and brings tranquility. Brings about the golden rule. Aligns the chakras and facilitates dream recall. Absorbs negative energy. Aides dowsing.
Brown: brings stability and balance facilitates deep meditation, past life regression, karmic causes. Earth awareness. Facilitates in quitting smoking.
Green: Releases obsessions that rule your life to the detriment of others. Treats skin disorders.

Kunzite: Does not hold negativity, so it never requires cleansing. Facilitates meditation, tranquilizers stimulate psychic abilities and intuition. Promotes connection to spiritual guides promotes healing through dreams. Encourages self-expression and communication cuts through ignorance, encourages speaking one's truth, cutting through fears and blockages increases logical of linear thought. Natural pain reliever lowers blood pressure, facilitates healing of infections balances yin yang energy.

Lapis Lazuli: Opens the third eye and balances the throat chakra, enhancing psychic abilities and facilitating spiritual journeys. Releases stress brings deep peace. Contacts spirit guides, blocks psychic attacks, and returns bad energy to the source. Encourages taking charge of your life reveals inner truth and self-awareness releases blocked communication skills. Promotes honesty and compassion. Alleviates migraine headaches, helps overcome depression and insomnia, and lowers blood pressure.

Malachite: Handle with caution, it is toxic and should only use in its polished form. Enhances intuition and insight encourages the expression of true self. Facilitates empathy and teaches how to take responsibility for one's actions. Enhances immune system, called the midwife stone it facilitates childbirth and treats sexual disease.

Moldavite: Puts you in touch with ascended masters, help in communicating with higher self. Will enhance effect of other crystals, taking them to their highest energy vibrations.

Moonstone: Promotes empathy and intuition and has a calming effect, brings about lucid dreaming and psychic ability. Helps with insomnia and reproductive systems.

Muscovite: Facilitates astral travel and psychic visions, connects to the angelic. Promotes problem solving and quick wittedness. Balances pancreatic secretions, and the helps control blood sugar.

Onyx: Give strength, clarifies confusion, centers your energy, promotes steadfastness and stamina, heals old grief and sorrows. Lends wisdom in keeping your own good council. Beneficial for feet, blood disorders, bone marrow, teeth and bones. Holds onto the energies of whoever has held or worn it.

Orange Zincite: Reenergizes depleted energy systems and removes old energy blocks. Attracts abundance. Stimulates creativity in fertility enhances gut instincts. Instills confidence, releases shock and trauma from painful memories and kicks your lazy butt out of procrastinating. Beneficial for menopause, and gives a boost to the immune system. Improves hair and skin.

Peridot: A powerful toxin cleanser opens up and activates the solar plexus and heart charkas to relieve old baggage. Balances bipolar disorders and helps overcome hypochondria.

Purple Jasper: The ultimate nurturer it reminds people to help one another. Grounds energies, absorbs negative energy and balances the lines physical, emotional and mental self with the Spiritual realm. Encourages honesty with yourself eight and quick thinking and organizational abilities, promotes follow-through. Balances mineral content in the body but wont over stimulate the body.
Red: Placed under the pillow it helps dream recall assists and rebirthing lenses and stabilizes the aura strengthens your boundaries, provides insights into difficult situations and stops problems from getting overblown.

Rhodonite: Balances the emotion of love creates a nurturing environment or humanity. Can see both sides of an issue. Aides in achieving one's highest potential, heals emotional shock and panic. Dissuades abuse, self-destruction and codependency.

Quartz: The most powerful energy amplifier there is, it is the master healer and can be used alone or in conjunction with other crystals (and makes a terrific wrist watch battery).
Rose: Unconditional love. Purifies and opens the heart. Strengthens the heart and circulatory system.
Rutilated: Illuminates the soul. Cleanses and energizes the aura.
Smokey: For grounding and anchoring. Absorbs electromagnetic smog. Promotes positive thinking. Alleviates headaches.

Sapphire: Known as the wisdom stone it calms the mind and releases unwanted thoughts and frustration. Encourages peace and serenity and in doing so relieves depression and spiritual confusion.
Black: Centers the self and gives confidence to your intuition. Creates job prospects.
Blue: Spiritual truth, love and purity. Keeps you on a spiritual path. Helps you speak your truth.
Purple: Brings about prosperity and attracts abundance. Is helpful for meditation, stimulates visionary qualities and psychic abilities.
Yellow: Stimulates intellect and mental focus, draws wealth to the home.

Sodalite: Brings together the world of logic and intuition and urges you towards both your personal truth and idealism. Releases guilt, phobias and control issues that hold you back. Allows for non-judging of darker qualities. Cools fevers and cleanses the lymphatic system.

Tigers eye: Draws a spiritual energies to the earth, enhances psychic abilities, shows correct use of power. Protects against ill wishers and curses. Results internal conflicts, enhances practical perceptions heals issues of self-worth. Heals mental disease and personality disorders. Repairs broken bones, treats eyes, aides night vision.

Topaz: Empathetic and soothing with a mellow energy that gently recharges where ever it is need most. Brings about trust in a higher power. Aids digestion and combats anorexia.

Tourmaline: Transforms intense heavy energy into a diffused and lighter form. Grounds spiritual energy and forms a protective shield around your body. Brings inspiration and tolerance, dispels feelings of victimization.
Green: Excellent all-purpose healer. Assists visualization promotes compassion and tenderness. Facilitates healing sick plants and the study of plants and herbs. Quite the mind aid and insomnia treats eyes, immune system facilitates weight-loss.

Variscite: Hope, courage and feelings of encouragement for invalids and the very ill. Aide’s caregivers in dealing with the energies required for caring for the ill or infirm. Restores depleted energy reserves and calms your nerves. Place one under your pillow at night and it will promote a restful sleep. Helps male impotence.

Crystals are not merely useful for their curative effects on the ill or injured, they’re great for healthy people too. They can be used to balance and rejuvenate energy after a long hard day at work and can even help sooth a broken heart.

They can be a powerful addition to your natural healing medicine cabinet, as crystals will aid and support all other natural healing remedies. I use them most often for help in meditation, psychic development, especially assisting in astral travel and spiritual communication…Really!

Making a Gem Elixir for a Soothing or Invigorating Bath
What you’ll need:
Glass bowl
Spring water
Non-friable crystal preferably tumbled
Amber colored bottle with cap.

Place crystal in the bowl and pour the spring water over it. Leave in sunlight for twelve hours. Bottle it and store in dark cool place. To keep it for a period of time longer than a week add 50% Brandy to the bottle as a preservative...Really!

Magic Crystal Wands, Jewelry, and Decoration
You can find many lovely crystal objects d’ art with which to adorn both your body and home. They’re not only fantastically beautiful, but holistically functional as well (a winning combination to be sure)! Here is a link to one of my favorite places to shop for crystal ornaments and jewelry there are even some stunning crystal wands that I am especially fond of!

This is also a great place to get one of those “ready made” chakra healing and balancing sets for beginners; each pouch comes with an instruction card and these stones!
1st: Root - Garnet or Apache Tear

2nd: Navel - Carnelian or Golstone

3rd: Solar - Citrine or Tiger Eye

4th: Heart - Aventurine

5th: Throat - Blue Lace Agate

6th: Third Eye - Sodalite

7th: Crown - Amethyst

Psst! A little birdie told me they are all on sale this season!

For all of your metaphysical gift shopping needs, visit my friend Jen at the Goddess Gift Shop Amulets, Earrings, Pendants, Wands and much more!

Summer Solstice

2006-06-29T22:04:00.000-07:00

Pagan Sabbats - Litha
By Jen Bones
The Summer Solstice has long been a time of celebration and festivity for cultures dating back to ancient times and stretching through the present day. For those of us on the Northern Hemisphere, this day falls approximately on June 21st. During this time the Earth is tilted closest to the Sun giving us greater exposure to the Sun’s light and, subsequently, the longest day of the year.

The themes of Summer Solstice are sex, love, creativity, energy, luck, health and wishes. "Solstice" comes from the Latin "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still. As the summer solstice draws near, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky each day. On the day of the solstice, it rises an imperceptible amount, compared to the day before, thus appearing to "stand still." In the magical sense, Summer Solstice brings us to the halfway point of the Wheel of the Year. The sun is in full reign, reaching a peak in the sky and shedding beams of truth. The brilliance of the sun allows us to see things clearly, banishing shadows and releasing the past.

This day has special meaning to all societies. For those who follow Faerie Magik, this is an especially meaningful event as it is said that all the faeries come out to celebrate this day with all the creatures of the forest. An elaborate feast is held with endless goblets of ale, festive music and dancing. If you’re familiar with faerie lore, you won’t be surprised to learn that these Summer Solstice parties are clothing optional and last until the wee hours of the following morning. Shakespeare centered his faerie-packed tale of love and trickery, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, on this mystical day.

Of the modern religions, it is the Pagan & Wiccan societies that celebrate this day with the most passion. This holiday is most commonly known as “Litha” (the ancient Germanic name for Summer) and it is believed to be the time when the Sun God is at his strongest. He is also the God of the Forrest and is often depicted as seated at on a green wood throne. During the time in which Christianity and Paganism was merging, images of the Sun God wearing masks made of leaves were included in the architectural features of many early churches. This God has become more commonly known to modern Wiccans as The Green Man.

Herbs are at their most potent state during this time. Now is the time to gather and dry your herbs for use during the rest of the year. Be sure not to wait too long past Litha or the plants will begin to seed and lose potency. Gather roots as the Moon wanes and leaves & flowers as the Moon is waxing. Thank each plant as you harvest it, keeping in mind our debt to Mother Earth and Her children.

The many sacred stone circles found around the globe (e.g. Stonehenge) were believed to have been built to celebrate this time. On a practical level any agricultural society would hold this time in very high regard. Not only does this longest day of the year offer a welcome break, it also marks the transition from cultivation to harvest. The significance of this day was not only practical but also held a much deeper, spiritual meaning. If you are lucky enough to live near a sacred stone circle plan a picnic and bring whatever supplies needed for your individual spells and rituals.

Alternatively, one can create their own stone circle by selecting stones that you are able to feel a vibration from or are otherwise attracted to and placing them in a circle. Choose eight large stones and place them equidistant at each spoke of the wheel. Fill in the spaces with smaller stones. Cast your circle as you normally do prior to performing any spell craft.

This is the time of year to write down any wishes you have and tossing them, along with a Litha inspired offering into a well, spring, or cauldron. For example, simply hold a small stone along with a special feather or sprig of herbs in your right hand and meditate on the wish (or reasons to be thankful). Once you have filled up the stone with your meditation, toss it with intention into the water. If a cauldron was used, empty the contents into a stream or other body of running water when the spell is complete.

Litha has long been a time for unadulterated joy and pleasure. Lengthy and detailed scripted rituals seem to contradict the spirit of this season. Rather, we should celebrate with intention but with an open heart. Focus on how grateful one should be that the Sun continues His tireless journey each year providing so much to all of us. Pick a few themes (below) and simply set out to have a great time. Rise early with the Sun and plan a bonfire for later that night to further lengthen this day. In other words, party ‘till you drop!

The following themes and recipes are utilized in Pagan ceremonies, rituals, and spells:

Herbs – basil, chamomile, daisy, elder, pine, St. John’s wort, thyme, yarrow, frankincense, fennel, lavender, and lily

Essential oils and incense – frankincense, lemon, lavender, sandalwood, lotus, jasmine, rose, wisteria, and myrrh

Colors – yellow, white, red, blue, green, tan

Decoration – anything reminiscent of the sun (yellows, reds, oranges), dried herbs, potpourri, fruits, summer flowers

Gemstones – any green stone (e.g. emerald)

Foods – mead, fresh fruits and veggies, lemonade, cookies and cakes decorated to honor the Sun, and of course plenty of ale

Spell work – Litha is the perfect time for any magick but is especially good for Animal Protection and Marriage & Vow Renewal spells

Litha Incense –2 parts Sandalwood1 part Mugwort1 part Chamomile1 part Gardenia petalsSeveral drops of Rose oilSeveral drops of Lavender oilSeveral drops of Yarrow oil

Orange Honey Butter -2 Tablespoons grated orange zest3 Tablespoons confectioner\’s sugar½ cup unsalted butter, softened1 – 2 Tablespoons honeyCombine ingredients and chill until ready to eat. Yum!

Easy Honey Mead –This recipe can be considered cheating but if you’ve ever tried to make honey mead at home, you’ll appreciate this recipe’s simplicity.First heat 1 part water with 1 part wildflower honey until the mixture is smooth and the honey’s completely incorporated. Sprinkle some rose petals into the mixture and let it cool. Strain the mixture (optional). Mix 2 parts honey water with 1 part grain alcohol and serve chilled over ice. (Alternatively, mix 1 part honey water with 1 part vodka).

Such a treat to get an article from my friend Jen "Bonesy" Bones! Not only is she a lovely person, but she really knows her stuff when it comes to wiccan lore and religion, and as you've seen she also knows how to throw a wicked mead party (goddess, I love the taste of mead)!

If you havent yet tried this succulent nector for yourself, then now is the time (while your still breathing) to get on with it! Lovely with a perfect sunset and the love of your dreams by your side.

Searching for the perfect gift for the wiccan in your life? Look no futher than Jen's Goddess Gift Shop !

Everyone Has a Personal Team of Angels...

2006-06-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE AND LIFE PURPOSE
By Howard Wimer
Over the last thirty years, I have had the unique opportunity of sharing with people in 13 countries about inner peace and the tools that it takes to get balance in life.

Everyone is searching. We are all searching for our identity, our purpose in life. As many people have said, “Life is simple.” Sometimes it’s not easy – just simple. If we don’t make the best of it, who will?

In life, you always have the opportunity to discover who you really are. No one can take that away from you. You are very unique and are the only person who can clarify what you have come to do. Don’t try. Don’t put pressure on yourself or prove yourself. If you have to prove yourself it means that you don’t believe in yourself to begin with.

Our lives are shaped by the first seven years of life. Every “Universal Law of Life” that is presented in the “Spiritual Guidance and Life Purpose” Weekend Retreat sponsored by Inner Expansion revolves around this cycle. Whatever we create between our first year and our seventh year will affect us for the rest of our life. We are the only ones who can change it.

WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN ANSWERS
We are all leaders of self.If you ask someone else what to do, you are following their direction, not yours. It is important to believe in ourselves, to follow our own hunches and impressions and create the vision for our own life that is true to us. If we don’t do it, it certainly won’t get done. My purpose in life is to help you organize all of this for yourself. You do not need anyone else to tell you what to do. You already have your life plan. All you need to do is discover what it is!

OUR ANGELS ARE UNIQUE SOULS JUST LIKE US
Everyone comes to planet earth with a team of spiritual guides or helpers to back them with their life purpose. These are souls that have accomplished everything you are involved in one way or another and have mastered it in themselves. This is why you chose them.

Before you were born, you and your guardian angels started to send energy to your physical body in the womb to help it grow and mature into a normal human being. This is why there is always a beautiful “aura” around pregnant women a few months before they give birth.The silver cord starts to attach itself a few weeks before birth.

If everyone understood what happens spiritually as a soul moves into this school, then there would not be the moral issues created around the birth process. Of course, if you destroy the physical body before it has a chance to come in to do its work, then the soul has to find another avenue or wait until a later time to accomplish its purpose.

At the same time, since our true nature is that we are a soul and not a physical body, it is impossible to keep a soul from entering the planet one way or another. There are many souls that have to wait for a long time to be able to come back in.Most people are taught that they have at least one guardian angel or spiritual guide. For people who came with a life purpose to accomplish more in the physical realm, there is not a great need for more than one or two guides to help them. These are the people who only need an inspiration to help put great theories together.

For people who came to work with people, however, it is not unusual to bring three or more spiritual helpers with them. It is important to understand how to communicate with people from all walks of life. Communication is the key to living a successful life. If you can’t communicate with yourself, it is invariably more difficult to communicate with others.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ANGEL AND A SPIRIT GUIDE?
If a person comes from a more traditional or religious belief system, he or she will usually refer to this divine inspiration as “angels” or “the Holy Spirit.” If someone has studied metaphysics or is involved with Eastern philosophy, he or she is more likely to call them “guides.” Whatever you call them, they are one and the same.

There are not ten million different systems in the Cosmos, there is only one. Unfortunately, there are ten million different names for the same experience or phenomena.This is why there is so much confusion or competition on planet earth.

Actually, the word “angel” comes from the Hebrew word “mal’akh,” meaning “messenger.” The original term came from the Persian (angeros) and the Greek (angelos) which means “courier.” All of these names refer to a celestial spirit who gives us divine guidance from the universe.

Since most of ancient culture is based on experience and not scientific theories, these people knew they received inspiration from something apart from themselves.Your spiritual helpers or guides are not people you have known during your lifetime. They are souls who have learned every lesson there is to learn on planet earth and they are there to help you to get to their level of awareness.

They are totally benevolent. This is what makes a “high soul.” Just because an individual is an “old soul” doesn’t mean that they have “graduated” from the earth plane. It takes someone who has mastered their experience on planet earth to help someone else really understand who they are and where they are going in life.

They needed to have a symbol to communicate to the masses about this inspiration. There is a bird that never starts to fly until it knows where it is going. This is the dove. When they wanted to symbolize the crystal-clear message from these helpers, they decided to put wings on the body of a child. This is where the image of the cherub was born. It can also be traced back to the original Greek and Roman mythology of “Eros” and “Cupid” - both symbols of divine love and inspiration.

DO ANGELS HAVE WINGS?
Of course, our guardian angels do not really have wings. This is the conception of the original artists. The Bible is full of symbols and parables. This is so that everyone can relate to it and be able to receive inspiration at their level of consciousness. If we take all of the religious writings that have become available to us throughout the ages literally, we miss the point or essence of what the author was telling us.

Because of the many translations through history, sometimes even a word or phrase can change the meaning of an entire concept.People think that they cannot talk to their guides or angels, but the opposite is true. You are always receiving inspiration from your spiritual guidance. As a matter of fact, it is not unusual for you to pick up 80 to 90 hunches or feelings a day from them.When your angels or guides come around you, they give you a surge of energy throughout your nervous system. Some people call these “chills or goose bumps.” In Hawaii, the native people call it “chicken skin.” Whatever you call it, it means that your angels are close to you and want to communicate with you.

Sometimes they want to tell you something that will help you accomplish your life purpose. At other times, it is to warn you not to move in a certain direction. You have the ability to communicate with them directly. Since they are energy – and you are energy, there are practical techniques which enable you to develop a two-way communication.

They will always be with you no matter what. Even if you decide to go off on a different path than what you originally planned, they will always protect and guide you. They will never put you in situations that you cannot cope with. Even if you end up very confused, they never judge or tell you what to do. They have ultimate patience because they have been through it.

Once you realize that you have gone down an avenue that may not be healthy for you spiritually, then your spiritual guidance can assist you more and you will feel closer to them.

OUR SPIRITUAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Have you ever had the experience where you felt that you were being guided or that you said something that you did not know you knew? This is when your spiritual guides are really working closely with you to help yourself and the people around you. Consider them a team, a spiritual Board of Directors of your life, so that you do not put them higher or in greater esteem than you have for yourself. Remember, they are no different from you. They are simply more organized spiritually and they do not need to return to this school to learn more lessons. They have already mastered everything here.

Your life purpose is not to build great buildings or find the cure to the great diseases that are plaguing mankind. These are the byproducts of our purpose for being here. Your real purpose is the spiritual message that you came to share with people everyday. Of course, you have to do it for yourself first.Some people think that “someday” they will achieve their purpose in life. Guess what? You have been doing it your entire life! You are an example of how you live your life.

Have you ever wondered why certain people are attracted to you and maybe not to others?This is because they came to learn something from you. We all learn from each other, but sometimes this feeling or affinity is very strong. Believe it or not, it is true that when we get impatient with certain people, it is because they have not quite learned what they need to learn from us yet. Isn’t that why it is important to be patient with others around us while they are searching for their niche?We have all the help we need to be successful in life. You do not need to be rich to be happy, although it is also important not to deny yourself as well.

Many people think that by acquiring many possessions that this will make them happy. There is a big difference between being comfortable and being happy.Your spiritual guidance will help you acquire and achieve whatever you need to accomplish your life purpose. You did not come here to deny your needs or your wants. The key is to enjoy everything you have and not let anything keep you tied down to the point where you never do what you came to do.If you are depressed, it means that you do not have personal direction. You may feel that others control your destiny. Only when you realize that no one can keep you from accomplishing what is right and good in your life, will you earn back the enthusiasm that is so important.

Your spiritual helpers cannot do anything for you. You have to do it for yourself. This is why some people pass on without fulfilling their purpose. They may feel that it was up to someone else to tell them what to do. They end up confused. Only by setting your own personal direction, can your spiritual guides help and back you to achieve your life dreams.

HOW DO OUR ANGELS CONTACT US?
There are four ways in which a person communicates with himself or herself personally and with others. These are called the “gifts of the spirit” or spiritual gifts. Some people even call them psychic gifts.When you are born, you choose which gift is going to help you the most in order to accomplish your life purpose. Even though you have all of these gifts within, you rely on this main avenue of communication to make your decisions. If you follow your first impression, you are always right.

THE PERSONAL GIFT OF PROPHECY
The first spiritual gift is Prophecy. A prophetic person is said to have “inner hunches or knowings” about what is going to happen. They often pick up feelings or thoughts in the future. They will even finish your sentence before you have a chance to continue. They make great managers because they are able to keep a big picture of many different projects all at the same time.

When a teenage Prophetic child does their homework, do not be surprised when they have a book open, a television on, the internet booting up or are carrying on a conversation with one of their classmates – all at the same time – and still make the grade!

These people love to be creative and often become artists, musicians and philanthropists. In business, they are accomplished executives and can coordinate and communicate effectively with people. As a matter of fact, they see the potential in others before they even see it in themselves.

The challenge for Prophetic people is to stay interested in all those projects that they start. They would much rather delegate to someone else the finishing of a project they were so excited about at the beginning. Once it becomes a routine, they get bored easily. They also have a tendency to procrastinate because of this and will sometimes not trust the hunches or impressions they pick up so readily.

When this person is balanced, he or she will stop being a workaholic and become an example for other leaders to follow. Their ability to work with people is well known and they are often considered to be the “actors” of the world. They keep a balanced perspective and help people to help themselves without smothering them or giving them advice.

THE PERSONAL GIFT OF CLAIRVOYANCE
People with the spiritual gift of Clairvoyance see in pictures. They visualize everything. When you are talking with them, it is important to paint them a picture of your experience. They love to read. If they can see it in their mind, they can create it for themselves. It is sometimes hard for a visual person to be flexible because their picture is so rigid. They even say “no” three times before they finally agree with you that this might be a good thing to do.

Sometimes people with this first gift think that they are not as smart as others around them. In reality, they are very smart. Once they can see the pieces of the puzzle in their mind and how it fits in the overall picture, they are more organized than any other of the gifts.

People with Clairvoyance as their first gift make great professors or teachers, designers and decorators. They gravitate toward professions where they can see themselves making a difference in the world. Sometimes they are called the “beautiful people” because of their tremendous concern for their personal appearance. Colors are very important to them.They can also see auras very easily. If you have a negative thought, they can see this in your energy. If you are thinking positively, they can see that, too.

They often say, “Out of sight. Out of mind.” If they do not want to associate with you, they will put you out of their mind forever. You have to earn their respect.When this type of person is under pressure, they sometimes see the dark side of life because they feel they are not perfect. They can get depressed if they don’t see the solution to a problem. They will blame others because they don’t want to look bad themselves. Once they are in balance, however, they can create great visions for people to follow. They can see where everyone fits in a project. Because they see this overall picture and all the steps in-between, they usually set very high standards for themselves and others.

THE PERSONAL GIFT OF CLAIRAUDIENCE
The Clairaudient person is a natural leader. They realize that in order to be successful, a person must have all of the facts. By having the what, when, where and why of a project, they have the innate ability to keep things simple.
When they are children, they do not like people to touch them without permission. They can sometimes become withdrawn because too much chatter becomes overwhelming. Because of this “running conversation” in their mind, they come up with great ideas.

Once a Clairaudient person gets an idea that they believe in, they don’t stop until it is accomplished. They are great delegators because they do not want to be involved with details. They receive inspiration from their spiritual guidance through thoughts and the “still, small voice within.” They have a tremendous respect for themselves and others and will go the extra mile with you if they feel you are sincere. If you disappoint them, they will forgive you but they never forget.

These people become great leaders in society, such as presidents of companies, heads of State and diplomats. If they believe in what they are doing, they will do whatever it takes to get it done. If they put themselves under pressure, however, they will sometimes become very overbearing and undermine people around them. When they are in balance, they are very direct and honest and have a reputation for being quietly gentle and fair in their dealings with people.

THE PERSONAL GIFT OF HEALING
A person with the special gift of Healing has the unique ability to help everyone feel good about themselves. They are enthusiastic and bubbly people with an intuitive sense of what people need. Because they love to inspire people to fulfill their life purpose, they realize that people are more than just a physical body.

When in balance, they can tell where a person is hurting physically and spiritually. They gravitate toward the healing arts, such as medicine and helping others who are in need. They are greatly concerned with details and love to work with their hands.

It is important for this person to be detached, however, because they sometimes get caught up in the emotions of others easily. They can become very depressed if someone else is giving off negative energy around them. If they go shopping in a large Mall, it is difficult for them to throw off the feelings they pick up from others.Once they learn to stay in their own energy and not let others affect them, they become a powerhouse of energy and can move mountains with their inspiration. They can rally people together and give them a sense of purpose and desire to accomplish.

DOES EVERYONE HAVE THESE PERSONAL GIFTS?
Since everyone has all four of these spiritual gifts, each one plays an important role in your communication. Prophetics receive inspiration from their spiritual guidance through inner hunches and impressions, Clairvoyant people receive pictures and visions, individuals with the first personal gift of Clairaudience hear thoughts and ideas and Healers get a feeling impression for what needs to be done.

By understanding yourself more through these innate psychic or spiritual gifts, you can learn to relate to everyone. If you are talking with a person with a gift other than your own, you will be able to communicate effectively.

Howard Wimer is the founder of Inner Expansion Workshops. He has been involved in the personal growth field for 30 years and has given lectures and workshops in thirteen countries, including the United States, Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand.

This is the second article I have posted by Howard and I'm likely to post articles by him again as long as he continues to let me! I really enjoy his view of angels/spiritual guides. He has a simply succinct way of writing about it that keeps me enthralled...

For more info on Inner Expansion Workshops
Inner Expansion

spiritual reunions

True Scary as Hell Ghost Stories...

2006-06-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

I've posted several of my own personal ghost experiences here on the ol' blog, and have also posted several articles by other writers (mostly those who've spent their lives working with spiritual growth and or the supernatural). I am always happy to post someone else's true tales of the paranormal, as I like to have company on the dark and stormy nights that rage continuously in my head.

In any case, I find delight in hearing another’s ghost stories, whether they're truly frightening or hysterically funny, if you purport them to be true I'll post them. If however, I find out later that you made it up, I shall hunt you down and kick you in the shins!

That being said, here are a couple of true ghost story’s sent in by one of my readers who was good enough to permit me to share them with you. Feel free to comment or send me a story of your own. Enjoy...

Annie's story's
1.
I was staying in a 3-month rehabilitation program. There were four of us in a room. I awoke one night at 3:00 a.m. (which is how it has always been for me) and I saw an apparition on the wall kind of floating above one of the other girls that was sleeping. It was a very clear image. She had a towel on her head like she just got out of the shower. She looked pasty white with dark colored hair. She had dark circles under her eyes and looked tired. Her face was very clear and I etched the image in my mind. She was wearing a bathrobe. She just kept staring at me and she seemed very sad. I was a little frightened at first and then I realized she was harmless. She was an addict who had struggled like me. I kept staring at her then I told her it was okay, that she could go home now. I then closed my eyes. This all took place within a 20-minute time span.

I could not go back to sleep so I got up to have a cigarette. There was another girl sitting outside that had been there for a while. I told her what I had seen and described the girl in detail. She started shaking and became visibly upset. She told me the story of the girl I saw. She had been a client at the facility. She was a beautiful girl that sang and played guitar. She was well liked. But as I said, she was an addict. One night she couldn’t take it anymore and bolted out of the facility. She was walking on the train tracks and had her headphones on, listening to music. She was hit by an oncoming train and was killed. Nobody knew if she did this on purpose or not, but the consensus was she committed suicide. It had happened one month ago.
The next morning, I spoke to one of the counselors about this. I described the girls face to her. She went white. She then showed me a picture of the girl. It was the face exactly as I had seen it.

2.
I was living in Cupertino California in a two-story duplex right by Stevens Creek Reservoir with my husband and months old baby and my dog. I had a sub-contracting business, which required I work odd shifts, so I was in that house alone quite a bit. Many odd things would happen to me there. Most of which, my husband was not there for. He thought I was losing my mind. He was an account and very much living on a two-dimensional plane so none of what I described to him would ever make much sense. He was not sensitive to the goings on of the spiritual world.

This spirit was one of those menacing kinds that liked to play games. I did not think what went on in that house was very funny at all. I would go up the stairs to get something, then come back down and turn the light in the hallway off. When I reached the kitchen, I would turn around and that light would be back on. This happened a lot. My earrings would constantly be moved around. Things would disappear and then re-appear in odd places, when I knew for certain I did not move them! It started to become more annoying than anything else. To the point I was yelling into the air “What is it you want from me, just leave me alone!”
One night, I had my girlfriend Patty over and she was spending the night. We were in the living room watching movies. My dog was sleeping next to me on the floor by the couch I was on. Patty and I both had fallen asleep. At 3:00 a.m. I bolted straight up, all the hair on my body standing straight up. At the same time, I saw my dog spinning in circles, growling, biting and snapping at something in the air. She definitely could see something we could not and obviously did not like this entity. I looked over at Patty and she was looking pretty wide-eyed and scared. I finally had another witness to the goings on that I kept telling my husband about. Needless to say, that was the last time Patty and I had a sleepover. I didn’t see her again until I moved.

Amanda's Tale
Moved into a house with my family that was built on old civil war ground. Behind our house was protected fenced in area of battlegrounds. The house was newly built and in good shape.

When we moved in a ton of things started to go wrong. Everything was breaking from pipes to air conditioning. Some things that were unusual were sewage coming from the basement floor, "plagues" of bees, centipedes, milipedes, black widows, flies, etc. By plagues I mean that they came in packs and they were always in our basement that this would happen.

I was younger at the time and one night I had woken up and saw a man sitting at my window looking outside. (My window was the back window that overlooked the battlegrounds.) I remember he was tall with red hair and a beard. I closed my eyes and asked that he go away. He wasn't there when I opened them back up.

I told my mom the next day and she gave me a funny look. Apparently a few weeks before she had seen the same man kneeling near her bed just staring. We told of our description back and forth so that we both knew we had seen the same person.

So many other weird things happened in the house. I had knocking at my door every night...doors would open that were closed. I was younger then so I definately did not appreciate it. I think then I developed a sense of knowing what's around. I never felt safe in that house even before the things happened.

In my new house I have never gotten that feeling and nothing major has happened...

Thank you Amanda for sending this spooky tale of an unwanted house guest!

Send your true tales of terror and bed wetting!

spiritual reunions

Where Does Inspiration Come From?

2006-06-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder about your guardian angels? Howard Wimer is a guy who not only knows about his guardian angels, but he can teach you how to get more in touch with your guardian angels as well!

When I was 23 years old I discovered that I had a whole team of spiritual helpers working with me. I was not a particularly religious person and never really thought about “guardian angels” helping me and guiding me through life.What I realized was that everyone has a team of these “spiritual guides” that they can tap into, on moment’s notice, and get creative inspiration.

Because I had invested over 10 years of my life learning music and had become somewhat of a jazz musician, creativity was very important to me. It was my whole life.I had attended a lecture and a seminar where a group of people there said that I could have a direct two-way communication with my guides or “angels.” Even though this was foreign to me at the time, I was open.

Then they showed me.

It was so simple that I went home and made out a list of thirty questions to ask my personal “angels” – and they answered every single one of them!I started using them right away. By that time, I had drifted away from music and had started a career in film and video in Dallas, Texas. Every time someone would come in to edit a marketing or educational film, I would tap into this inspiration – and come up with the perfect ideas.

One time, a man came to the door who wanted to produce and edit a highlight film for the Dallas Tornado Soccer Club, a franchise owned by Lamar Hunt, an oil millionaire in Texas. After about three days, he overheard a conversation I was having with a friend about working with my “metaphysical abilities,” and asked me what it was all about. At that time, telling people about this whole idea of having spiritual guidance that I could communicate with directly was not on my agenda.Even so, he pressed me about it – and I gave in.

I turned him on to one of the individuals that had shown me how to do it. When he didn’t show up for three days, I decided to call him at home and find out if there was a problem. What he said was, “I had so many things to ask my angels, I totally lost track of time!” I couldn’t believe it.After that, we worked so closely with our angels – getting this inspiration every day – everything fell into place.

Since it was a sports film and was to be shown at the National Managers Convention in San Francisco, we cut the highlights – and he proceeded to write the narration for the background color. When we laid in the narration track, it fit perfectly. We didn’t have to cut one single frame! What an amazing experience. Anyone who has ever been a film or video editor knows that it is virtually impossible for someone to write copy that fits perfectly into a 30-minute project. But it happened.

After about a year and a half, I was having more fun working with this new-found communication with my personal team that I decided to go on a full-time lecture tour. Since then, I have visited and lectured in thirteen countries over the last 30 years. I’ve never looked back, although I did make a couple of pit stops along the way.

In 1979, I decided to take some time off from touring around the country – and headed for Los Angeles. When I hit Phoenix, I told my “angels” that I wanted to work with the best people in Hollywood. I didn’t know if this was something I would do as my final career, but I just couldn’t get the idea of producing and writing out of my system – at least at that point in my life.When I arrived in Los Angeles, I got an inspiration. I said to myself, “Wouldn’t it be great to work with someone like Steve Allen…and then I could do some of these lectures on the side whenever I want.” The next day, as I was navigating down the 405, I had a feeling to get off at Sepulveda Boulevard. This took me to Burbank Boulevard in Van Nuys and as I was heading down the street, I got this incredible feeling to stop. I couldn’t have gone any further if I had wanted to. I knew that if I stayed where I was, someone was going to ram the back of my car, so I turned left and found myself in a parking lot next to a two-story building. I looked up – and saw the words “Steve Allen” in front of an empty parking space.

I had met Steve and Jayne several years earlier when I was in high school on a visit to California briefly since a friend of my father’s had worked with him for many years. But I had never been to his office. When I got out of my car, two women were walking up the stairway into the second floor of the building. As I followed them up, not really knowing if I was heading in the right direction or not, I started to realize that this was indeed Steve Allen’s office!At the top of the stairs, a lady came up to me and asked if she could help me. I said, rather curiously, “My name is Howard Wimer…and I was wondering if there might be an opportunity to work here.” She looked at me for a moment and then said, “Why don’t you go into the music room. I’ll join you in a minute.”

Reality started to set in. Five minutes before, I had been traveling down the San Diego Freeway.True to her word, she showed up and found me sitting at the piano and staring at all of the pictures on the wall and the file drawers where “Steverino” stored all of the “lead sheets” for the 4000 songs he had written up to that time. She again looked at me strangely and said, “By the way, how did you know that there was a gentleman here who turned in his two-week notice three hours ago?” At that point, I realized that my angels were working overtime. I said, “Really?”

Over the next few minutes, I showed her my resume and sensing that I was definitely over-qualified for the job that this young man had left to go back to school, she proceeded to try to talk me out of applying for the position. “You really don’t want this job,” she said. “You would be working in the office – and you have more of a production background.” All the time she was telling me this, I could hear one of my angels clairaudiently in my head say, “Take it…just take it!”

I finally convinced her that I was serious and that the hourly wage really didn’t bother me, since I had just arrived in LA the night before and I needed something to “tide me over.” Of course, I knew that this would be a great opportunity to get to know other people and to learn as much as I could from Steve himself.

As a result, I stayed in the position for nine months. At that point, I decided that my true desire was to share with others how beautiful life can be – by learning how to have this two-way communication. I wrote a note to Steve and he graciously accepted the fact that I was going to head out and make my own way. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t long after that I was lecturing and giving seminars in Europe.

Since then, I have shown thousands of people all over the world how to tap into this inspiration. To me, this is total spiritual freedom. It means that no matter what I do or where I go, I always have a spiritual “life-line” that I can ask questions – and get direct answers.

Some people think that guardian angels are a fairy tale or that it is some sort of religious doctrine. In reality, everyone on planet earth has at least one or two spiritual helpers working with them to guide them and help them with their life purpose.Every time you feel a “chill” or “goose-bumps,” your spiritual guides are near you. They are pure soul or spirit. This is why you feel this spiritual energy around you when they come close to you. As a matter of fact, even Clive Davis of J Records recently said that the way he knows whether to sign a new artist is if he feels that chill down his spine. He just “knows” that it will work.

By listening to our inner hunches, visions, ideas and feelings, we will always be in the right place at the right time. It’s when we don’t listen that we find ourselves out in left field. By using your sensitivity to the maximum and realizing that it is not just a passing thought, you can start to unfold a solid relationship with your personal team of angels.

For people who would like to go deeper, Inner Expansion sponsors seminars and workshops to show you how to get into a positive two-way communication with these helpers. Once you experience one of these sessions, you will never go back to wondering where your creative inspiration comes from.

I guarantee it.

Howard Wimer is the founder of Inner Expansion Workshops. He has been involved in the personal growth field for 30 years and has given lectures and workshops in thirteen countries, including the United States, Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand.

For more info on Inner Expansion Workshops
Inner Expansion

spiritual reunions

Signs to Look for When Choosing a Tarot Reader

2006-06-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

The ancient art of the tarot reader has kept people both entertained and fascinated for millenia, and there is no sign that the popularity of this strange art shall ever wane.

In fact there are dozens of different styled decks to choose from including: Egyption, Crowley, Goddess, Vampyre and even cute little Halloween character illustrated ones.

Here is an artical on how to get the best reader you can find. Later I will post some pictures of my favorite decks with a line on where to find them all...

by Dianne Hardwick

Things have come a long way since my youth when readings were frequently done by mysterious old women in secluded booths masked by beaded curtains. Divination of all forms and Tarot Card reading in particular has attracted its quota of dubious readers. But how can you tell?
Many readers engage in their work with a genuine desire to help clients sort out life issues and offer the insight to help them do so. Some are in it purely to make money and I think that to a certain extent this has made the public skeptical. There is a need to be careful.
With so many media now advertising readings of various kinds, how do you tell where you are likely to get good information and what is likely to be a rip off? Well, for one thing, you should look out for personal contact. Usually individual readers who set up their own web sites are more reliable. If a site has been around for some time, if the reader is experienced and is willing to answer any enquiry you may have, then the signs are good.
Naturally you want to be happy that your credit card details are secure. Internet sites where secure payment systems are used are a good bet. Paypal and KAGI are examples of well established payment agencies. A good website is likely to use these types of secure systems, to protect its clients. It pays to be more cautious about sites which don't use these types of systems and which take your card details themselves. A bona fide web site will also outline clearly what type of reading you get for your money and how much that reading is.
Areas where caution is needed are website or newspaper services where there is no clearly identifiable person dealing with the readings. If it's organised by a virtually anonymous "company", what are you getting? If there is no interaction with a real person, be cautious. Will the information you receive be genuine or something printed from a long list of "options" by a computer? If you are asked to send in your mobile phone number to receive your reading in that way, be very cautious. How much are the charges? Is this a "one-off" reading or will you be sent regular readings and how much will they be? If you are going to speak to a psychic on the phone, how much are the per minute charges? How much will they add up to if you speak for an hour, which is not uncommon? Often these kinds of operations are run by people who teach their readers to keep clients talking so they will spend more and more money. Ethical readings involve a one off payment for a well described service.
To avoid problems it is best to select a reading type from a site which offers a range of options. If you want detailed information about your life over the coming year, then you would be looking at a reading which is quite substantial and for which you would pay more. Simpler questions such as, "Will I find a lover?" can be covered in smaller layouts.
The issue is that you should choose a reading and know the cost beforehand. Sometimes clients think if they pay more they will hear more. This is another misconception about the nature of divination and it can be encouraged by readers whose focus is on making more money. There is usually a limit to how much can be seen about an issue at any time by a reader. So, if you choose an appropriate reading, it should cover the issue you are looking at adequately and there should be no need to have more readings on that topic. Indeed it can be unproductive to ask the same question again and again.
Provided you bear these points in mind, then the Internet offers a wide range of readers, from different traditions, who are able to help you in your quest to understand your life better. That is what a reading should be. It should not be a lip trembling moment of consulting about your "Fate" but a genuine enquiry into the possibilities around you at the time. Bearing all this in mind, may your readings be fruitful!
© Dianne Hardwick 2006
About the Author
Dianne Hardwick has been reading tarot for over 30 years. For a free astrology forecast visit her website at http://www.diannehardwick.com/

For a great selection of tarot and divinition books as well as tarot cards

Or:

Aeclectic Tarot - Tarot Cards, Readings, & Community
Dedicated to the diversity & beauty of Tarot. See images of Tarot cards, read reviews of Tarot decks and Tarot books, learn about Tarot, receive Tarot readings, visit Tarot links, or join our Tarot community.

spiritual reunions

Listen to Your Little Voice Intuition

2006-06-03T14:59:00.000-07:00

Do you want to learn to be a more intuitive person? Here is an article by Lynn Robinson the master of intuition.

8 Ways to Strengthen Your Intuition
by Lynn Robinson

Intuition is often called, the "inner voice," which is something all successful people - consciously or unconsciously - listen to. The following strategies will help you hone your intuitive abilities to assist you in making better decisions for your life:

1. What Does Your Intuition Tell You?Your intuition can contribute "quick and ready" insight. Too often we discount the role of intuition in decision-making. Begin to pay close attention to what your intuition is telling you; it could lead directly to positive changes in your life.

2. How Does Your Intuition Communicate With You?Each of us has a predominant form in which we receive intuitive information. It may come through feelings, images, body sensations (gut feelings) or through your thoughts. When you are making a decision, pay special attention to all of these ways that your intuition communicates with you.

3. Ask Your Intuition For HelpMany people believe that intuition comes completely unbidden. I have found that when you ask your intuition for additional insight it will respond with answers. Ask, "What should I do in this situation?" or "What do I need to know about this?" Remember you may get the answers from a variety of sources including feelings, words, physical sensations, and images.

4. Act On the Information You ReceiveDeveloping your intuition is like learning any new skill. It's not unlike learning an athletic ability. The more you practice, the better you get at it. If using your intuition is new for you, it may be best to use it in relatively low-risk situations at first. This will help you develop your intuitive muscles.

5. You May Not Receive the Answer ImmediatelyIf you don't understand something, ask for clarification. It is possible to get your guidance in dreams, for instance. Many people ask for intuitive guidance during a meditation and don't receive information immediately. You may find that the insight you desire will come seemingly unbidden at some point later in the day while you're involved in other tasks.

6. Learn to Take Small StepsMost of us feel quite anxious when making big changes in our lives. We're afraid we'll make a mistake that we'll later regret. I've found that taking small steps towards a decision works great. You may find, as many do, that as you take those small steps, the decision becomes clearer, your resolve becomes stronger and the fear begins to lessen.

7. Write Down the Guidance You ReceiveWhenever you're facing a tough decision, write about it in a journal you keep for this purpose. Always jot down what your intuition is communicating. What feelings do you have about this decision? What images come to mind? Are there any body sensations that indicate a good or bad decision? Is there a still, quiet, inner voice that informs you? It's helpful to look back at this journal from time to time to see how accurate your guidance was. Did you trust the information you received? Did you act on its wisdom?

8. Don't Forget to Use Your Left BrainRemember to use your logical mind in this process as well. There needn't be competition between the intuitive and the logical mind. Your left-brain logical side can help you find out facts and assist you with details of your decision. Your intuitive mind, or right brain, simply adds another level of information often described as, "I know, but I don't know how I know."

Lynn Robinson, M.Ed., is one of the nation's leading experts on the topic of intuition. Her most recent books include Compass of the Soul: 52 Ways Intuition Can Guide You to the Life of Your Dreams (Andrews McMeel, 2003) and Divine Intuition: Your Guide to Creating a Life You Love (DK Books, 2001). Lynn is a popular and widely recognized author and motivational speaker as well as a columnist and the Life Transitions Expert at ThirdAge.com. Her free monthly "Intuition Newsletter" is available at her Web site, http://www.lynnrobinson.com/.
© 2002 Lynn Robinson, M.Ed. All rights reserved in all media.
Would you like to receive this article via e-mail? Just click here or use your favorite e-mail software to send a blank message to: strengthen@lynnrobinson.com.

spiritual reunions

Toys In The Attic

2006-06-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

I found this artical by Dr. Ulla Sebastion compelling, and thought that it would be usefull for anyone on the path of finding the truth beyond the the myths we have concieved of our lifes history...

The Trap Of One's Story
by Dr. Ulla Sebastian
Our memory has a tendency to draw together events in such a way that our dignity is guaranteed. And the more frequently we tell our story, the more we are convinced of its truth.
I remember a carved wooden doll, which I loved dearly as a child. Relatives from Canada had sent me a "proper" doll, a real treasure in Germany at the beginning of the fifties. She had hair to be combed; she could say "mom," she wore a ball-dress and had an everyday-dress to change into. Yet despite all these advantages, she could not compete with my wooden doll whose body was handy and robust and whose limbs swung at the nails, which joined them to the trunk. And most important, I loved her.
One day, this precious doll disappeared and was recalled to memory only thirty years later during my psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis and therapies in general tend to plough through the ground on its shadow side, searching for memories which can be held responsible for unfulfilled dreams and wishes, for the failure of plans and projects, and one's own deficiencies or life hardships.
And here it was. The memory, the quintessential proof of how little my mother had loved me, and appreciated and honored my needs. One day, SHE had burnt the doll. Could anything have better expressed her relationship to me than this act of carelessness? And yes! During the psychoanalysis I progressed to the point of counting this as an oversight and not as intended malevolence. It was a step in the direction of forgiveness, but not yet a reconciliation.
One day, when I was preparing to move into the Findhorn community in the Northeast of Scotland, my mother brought a large package from the attic storage and said, "I have kept your toys for you. I thought that it would be lovely for you to have them as mementos." Oh, what painful embarrassment shook me as I rummaged through the box. On its floor lay the wooden doll. Nothing was left of the splendor, which had invested the early childhood days, but she had endured through this long time unharmed.
The shock shattered the story of the rejected daughter, and with it came the collapse of the carefully built card-house of my memories, my story. It opened my eyes to what had really happened. However, it took some more years of deep and intense work before I could recognize that the fears and scares of my childhood had had little to do with my family, that my mother had loved and valued me as much as I could have wished for, and that she and I were just as human as are all mothers and daughters, with our strengths and weaknesses, personal challenges, failures and successes.
This incident stayed in my mind as a warning while I listened to other people telling their story during therapeutic sessions. I knew now how the brain deludes us by selecting and assembling single aspects of events in such a way that it supports our core beliefs. And the more frequently we tell our story to others, the more we are convinced of its truthfulness. I found that to the same degree that I could penetrate the construction of my own story and release it, I could support others in giving up their story.
This is not as simple as it sounds. We are often fundamentally attached to our perception of reality. It gives us identity, it excuses our weaknesses and it justifies our human laziness. Surely, it is the others who are responsible for our suffering! Why then should we strain ourselves to change our life?
To give up our story means taking responsibility for our life, for all that has happened to us, and for all that we have made out of it. To do this, it is often necessary to broaden our perspectives from the level of the personality to that of the soul, which is the higher plan that guides our fate.
To see the events in a new light, you must give up your story. The first step is to trace how you produce the events that happen over and over again. This requires some practice, especially when your life's guiding principle is that others are responsible for your suffering.
The second step is to find out how you produce the situations that happen to you over and over again. People tend to evade the answer to this question by making general statements. The devil sits in the details, particularly in the feelings that are connected to the details. Feelings are the glue that holds together painful and unpleasant memories. We would like to bypass them by making general statements.
The third step is to move back into the situations that lie at the root of the 'evil'. In my sessions with clients, I invite their Higher Self to join me. The Higher Self is a bridge between soul and mind and is an expression of the True Self or core of the person. It is closer to the truth than our Ego, for whom it is more important to save face than know the truth. I ask the Higher Self to lead us back into the situation where we can find the key for the present experience. This key opens the door to what lies underneath the outward symptoms, diseases or problematic life strategies. Such a situation could be a familiar repetitive incident from childhood, which now appears in a new light, or a traumatizing experience that has been repressed from consciousness or classified as unimportant.
One such example is the story of a young man who felt that his mother had restricted his spontaneity and vibrant self-expression to the point where he had physical sensations of paralysis and being crushed. In an inner image, this situation presented itself as a large round stone that had been rolled over a tiger and buried its body. As we looked closer, the stone changed into topsoil, which carried a new germ, the germ of a large tree, which was now ready to grow. All the oppressive and constricting forces, which the stone symbolically represented, were at the same time the mother-ground for the unfolding of his potential.
You cannot recognize this side of the story if you look at it from the perspective of the victim. Only if you put the story into a larger context, if you shift your perspective, can you value the gift that is hidden in it. When you acknowledge and appreciate the positive intent, you can liberate yourself from the entanglements of the past.
In cases where the experiences cut so deeply and were so painful that they are repressed from consciousness, it will take longer to reach the source. You will probably need some guidance, or undertake your own training and practice. Our inner wisdom opens the door to the unconscious only when we are one hundred percent ready to see the truth. A part of the work is just bringing our resistance into conscious awareness. Resistance is another word for fear. Fear has many faces: Fear of the unknown, fear of responsibility or of being held responsible. We are afraid to change our life and to let go of attachments. And we fear that we will not know who we are without our familiar story.
All these fears are legitimate because they carry a grain of truth. It is important to acknowledge and appreciate them, without getting trapped by them or surrendering our power to them. If we dare to look at them, they lose their power and terror. Upon closer inspection, we find out that underneath the threatening fantasies are events which, seen in the light of day, are human. The knowledge relieves and liberates us.
A child interprets events according to the mental capacities that are available at the time when traumatic experiences occur. As adults we are more able to accept human limits. To the degree to which we develop understanding and sympathy for our own weaknesses, we can also accept that our parents or the other important people of our childhood were not perfect. At this point we allow ourselves to see the larger truth and say good-bye to our story. At this point we attain the freedom to bring about overdue changes, to dare the new and to take responsibility for our life.
The above article is a piece from her Ebook: Beyond Suffering at http://www.visioform.com/uk/ebook-joy.htm.
About the Author
Dr. Ulla Sebastian is a well-known author, trainer and psychotherapist. Her work spans a wide range of themes for professional and personal growth and is the result of forty years of research, work with thousands of people from all over the world and a lifelong experience of self growth and transformation. Visit her website http://www.visioform.com/ for free courses, distance courses, books, ebooks and articles

spiritual reunions

Secrets And The Afterlife

2006-05-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

Now Bob here is an interesting guy, He's kinda like having a tabloid reporter to the after world!
Secrets And The Afterlife In Our Worlds Beyond
By Bob Daulby
I tell you what one of the best parts about communicating with Our Worlds Beyond is. It is learning of secrets, things and events in other people's lives without their knowledge.
The insights that we gain from such knowledge is often riveting and reveal so much more about people than if people actually told you themselves.
Allow me to explain.
In the first place, our other place of existence - the place we call 'heaven' or 'The Astral Plains' - have very little need for lies, misdirection or pointless silence. Those on the other side (and do remember that you and I *will* become one of them ourselves in due course) know far better than we, the true value of *The Truth*. One cannot grow in the shadow of lies and so, in being just slightly nearer The Great Light than when they were here and, in being a part of that truth themselves, the truth is everything. And they will stick by that truth too, no matter what! Meantime, when truth is everything then, understand, no 'secret' of any description exists over there. When we are faced with the light of The Truth, we are *all* naked and laid bare so that *all* may see who and what we are *all* the time.
However, what many of us don't realise is that, we are laid bare in this way, not only then - but right now too! We do not have to die or be dead to then be 'in soul' for our secrets to be revealed. What many of us also forget is that, inside these shells we call 'bodies' our *soul* exists. And so, where the soul exists, so too, does the truth also exist through it. This truth is then reflected through our souls to our Auras - for all to see at a glance - who and what we truly are deep down. In short, our auras are - in all seriousness - open books in which, every single moment of our lives have been faithfully recorded and that each page - and even each line within each page - can be viewed by any sentient being anywhere in any dimension of existence. None of us can hide this truth at any time from anyone. And so, in being so freely available to all and sundry anytime day or night, what many of us also do not realise is that, in being sentient beings ourselves, we too can tap into this information any time we like.
So, for example, if we needed to know if someone close to us has had - or is having - say, a 'secret' affair then, this information can be accessed.
If someone is having problems that they wont share (for whatever reason) then this information can be accessed.
If someone is ill but doesn't know it themselves then, this information can also be accessed.
If someone is pregnant and is not aware of it (it happens) then, this information can also be accessed.
But, we can go deeper with this - and a LOT deeper too.
If someone we knew was say, a 'secret' paedophile, this too can be accessed (and yes, even if it was *years* ago too!)
If someone murdered or harmed someone but was never caught then this too can be accessed. (In many cases, the harmed or murdered person will show up to verify this now, very public knowledge - likewise with paedophiles too!).
In now being able to access any information on any level with each person we meet, it is also common to discover new and often riveting information about people and their pasts too, say, when they were children or youths - how they got on with their parents and other relatives etc as well as what all this entails?
***Oh My Goodness!***
Upon first inspection, of course, to realise that such information can be accessed by *any* sentient being anywhere will cause some trepidation. But, you must understand that, such information about anyone is not used in nearly the same way there, in our afterlife, as it is used here on this - very greedy, power-hungry, materialistic, small-minded world. When a body or group learn something about us here on Earth then, nine times out of ten, it is used *against* us. The Data Protection Act was invented because of misappropriation , misuse and, generally, unlawful practices - as it still is. So, in this sense, being nervous about having so much known about us by all and sundry is understandable and, in my view, absolutely necessary.
You see, to me, it is not enough to say that we 'shouldn't fear it if we have nothing to hide'. Whilst a lot of law-abiding citizens hide behind this common statement yet, it is not good enough for me. My view is, "Why do you need so much information about me when there is nothing to *reveal*?" - "Why is it necessary to *know so much about me if you do NOT intend to use it against me someday?" At the moment, we have the right to protect our identities. But, I promise you that, one day (and soon at that) this privilege will be completely lost and that ID cards are only the beginning. Then we will pay for it I'm sure (oh, only through the nose over and over again that's all).
Be that as it may yet, such information is, most certainly, NOT used in the same way in Our Worlds Beyond. In fact, it is not even viewed the same way either but is (often) utilised for exactly the *opposite* reasons and that these reasons are always, always, always about *growth*.
When we pass over to the great afterlife beyond, suddenly, all is revealed - not to 'them' - those we meet - but to US. The only 'secrets' that we ever possess over there are those that *we* may have specifically kept from ourselves. That's the first thing. The second thing is that, when we do come to discover any - let's say - 'aberrations' then, it is not through 'punishment' that our 'secrets' are resolved but through facing them and then *understanding* how they came about and what we did with them. You see, the 'currency' on the other side (Heaven - The Afterlife or whatever) is all about understanding and not punishment. Through understanding, we grow. Through understanding, we come closer to The Truth and 'All That Is'. The closer we come to 'All That Is' the less our chances of repeating past mistakes. (And, be assured, we ALL want that like you wouldn't believe you know?) And so, as you can see, that 'currency' is worth a lot isn't it? And so it is.
So, let us say, for example, that you feel that your spouse/ lover is having a secret affair and you need to know.
Well, firstly, my advice would be that, before you even set out to ask the question then, I would suggest that you prepare for the worst case scenario. Live it in your mind. Make it true. And *then* decide upon a course of action (or no action at all - as *you* decided or see it) that you know is right for you and that you can live with it for all your life. Remember, life is all about the things we DO and not so much the things we 'say' we'll do. 'By Your *Actions* Be Ye Known' - is a great and very wise parable. I would take it very seriously indeed and heed it. Then, when you're ready, go to my Spirit Contact Board(c) 2006-7, speak to someone you know you love and trust and then ask them this 'dreaded' question. I promise you that, whatever the truth is, you will be told. From that point, you must decide what happens next for, by then, the ball will be stuck very firmly in *your* court. Thus, whatever follows becomes just *your* responsibility alone and no one else's Ok? (No pointing of fingers now. No matter how good it may feel at the time yet, pointing fingers at someone *else* and *not* oneself never works).
I have had this happen. I have had someone around my SCB(c) 2006-7 with me whereby, to my utter surprise, this student's first question was, "Did my husband have sex with my sister all those years ago?" (I nearly jumped out of my skin when she asked this. I would have liked some warning you know?). And the reply? Well, she wasn't happy with it. What did she do about it? Well, after the fireworks - which went on for weeks of course, he (finally) admitted his failings. But, to their credit, they have remained steadfast. However, the bad news is, neither have spoken to her sister since. (Shame isn't it? What a loss! And, what for eh?).
However, this is but one example of what may be gleaned through interacting with and communicating with those from our afterlife worlds. But, I have to add that, not all secrets are like this. There are *many* secrets to be revealed that are extremely positive that, once revealed that, in themselves, can change worlds.
Supposing you're a healer and don't know it? How many people do you think need you?
Supposing you're a very creative person but don't know it or have ever tapped into it properly even if you did?
More importantly...
Supposing...
..you are *not* the 'little thing' you think you are or have been led to 'believe' but are, in fact, a *great* being deep inside?
You think you could DO something with that kind of knowledge about yourself? I know I could.
So, as you can see, some secrets need to be told. However, from the afterlife, they *all* do.
Why do they?
Oh, that's another story for another time... (And it's a whopper I promise you)
I thank you for your time.
About The Author
Bob Daulby is a world renowned, global expert on matters of life after death, the greater life and Our Worlds Beyond. He has contacted and communicated with all kinds of entities from the astral plains, other-worldly beings (aliens) as well as with those from inter-dimensional existences and different time-lines. He can teach you to do the same in a very safe, sure and positive manner at: http://www.ourworldsbeyond.com/ so that everyone may glean limitless knowledge, love and understanding as well as adventures beyond dreams. Please visit http://www.ourworldsbeyond.com/ where this too can be yours.

spiritual reunions

Modern Psychic Research

2006-05-26T08:34:00.000-07:00

I'm always fasinated by the research done in the name of science on the subject of paranormal and psychic experiences.
Here's another artical on the past and present study on this endlessly fascinating genre of research.

What Has It Discovered?
by Brian Alan Burhoe

In 1882, the Society For Psychical Research, with such members as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, began modern Psychic Reasearch. What are the discoveries of Psychic Research?
"Millions of surfers are checking horoscopes, getting tarot readings and consulting with psychics on a daily basis. It's a PSYCHIC REVOLUTION!" -Psychic Revenue.
The critical study of paranormal powers and events must be as old as those paranormal occurences themselves.
In the Medieval Age, Alchemy and Astrology were accomplished sciences. The Order of Knights Templar would fall out of favor with the established Church because of their research into occultic lore.
In more modern times, the writings of Nostradamus and Swedenborg caused sensation and brought about reasoned, critical studies from their peers.
But it wasn't until 1882, with the founding of the Society For Psychical Research (SPR) that the scientific method was formally brought to bear on psychic phenomena. It was followed quickly with an American branch. With members such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and William James, the study of psychics, Spiritualism ("The strangest of the marvels we are investigating.") and other mysteries of the Victorian Age had begun.
SPR critically studied the Italian medium Eusapia Palladino, who was astounding witnesses with the accuracy of her seances. But it was the occurances of physical psychokinetic phenomena that amazed the researchers. Not only would the chair Palladino was seated in (sometimes tied in by researchers) move about, but tables, sofas and other things would move about the room. The French astronomer and psychic researcher Camille Flammarion reported: "The sofa came forward when she looked at it, then recoiled before her breath; all the instruments were thrown pell-mell upon the table; the cushions took part in the sport, overturning everything..." Researchers concluded that the cause of this poltergeist activity was associated with her tragic childhood: her mother had died giving birth to her and her father was murdered when she was 12.
With the 20th Century, the study of psychic phenomena increased. Various studies of dreams began -- from the collecting of prophetic dreams to the interpretation of dream meaning by Freud, Jung and other dream theorists. Dream labs became common in various Universities.
Psychic research expanded. Some of the best work was done at the Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke University in North Carolina. Starting with experiments in telepathy and claivoyance, it extended its research to precognition and psychokinesis. More research was begun worldwide -- Canada, France, the Netherlands, Germany and more.
In 1970, the publication of PSYCHIC DISCOVERIES BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN hit like a bombshell. The Los Angeles Times called it: "The most important book about ESP research and the validity of the occult tradition yet to appear." The book gave whole new phrases to psychic research: Wolf Messing, Cosmic Biology, Amping-up Psychic Ability, Artificial Reicarnation, Kirlian Photography, the Bioplasmic Body, Acupuncture, ESP-ionage, Suggestology, Psychotronics, Pyramid power and others. It was as if a powerful genie had been let out of a secret bottle.
The New Age had arrived.
"Psychic research" had given way to "Psychic discoveries." The Psychic Revolution had begun.
Today the Psychic Revolution is all around us -- on the World Wide Web. Online psychic readings. In-depth personalized horoscopes. Tarot readings. Dream analysis. Biorhythms. Past Lives. Holistic healing. Rediscovery of the Goddess and Feminine Wisdom. Online psychic chatrooms. Online Dream Forums. Bringing together genuine Psychics for Live Readings. The phenomenal PSYCHIC WEB, which has not only discovered some of the best and most sensitive psychics in the world, but is giving people a chance to see them live, online. It's all on the Web and it's happened almost beyond the ken of many.
To Learn more about modern Psychic Research, see the PSYCHIC CHAT NETWORK -- you can meet and "talk psychic" and it's free.
It's truly a Psychic Revolution and it's happening now, all around us.
See more Articles by Brian Alan Burhoe at PUPPY DOGS INFO: http://www.puppy-dogs.info/
Or see The GoArticles of BRIAN ALAN BURHOE
About the Author
Brian Alan Burhoe is the author of many articles and short stories. His Home Page is ORNITHANTHROPUS Science Fantasy by B Alan Burhoe. Many of his animal-related articles can be found at PUPPY DOGS INFO. Or just do an Author Search at GoArticles!

Learn just how much you depend on your inner-self and your psychic ability.I would like to take you on a journey of discovery .... Allow me to show you how! Click Here!

spiritual reunions

The sillier side of Ghost Hunting

2006-05-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

What is It?

In paranormal studies there is one thing you really can’t miss - Ghosts! In this article we are going to discuss about Ghost hunters and the technology they use. No! Unlike the name suggests, they are not ghost killers or vampire slayers. It’s a misconception produced by films like “The Ghost Busters”. Ghost hunters are people that try to shoot ghosts (with a camera) and catch them (on tapes).

Getting them on it:

Ghost hunting is the art or technique of catching ghosts on film or audio tape (EVP), these evp and ghost videos serve as excellent proof of existence of these paranormal elements.

Spooky Snaps:

Ghosts can be caught on film even by a simple disposable camera. One more method is by normal or digital paranormal infrared photography. In this method of imaging an ordinary camera is fitted with infrared filters, which keeps out the visible light and let in infrared light. The image is caught on special infrared film. When a digital camera is used instead of an ordinary camera it is known as digital paranormal infrared photography.

Spooky Sounds:

Ghost voices or sounds are recorded in audio format using two methods: EVP and CEVP. EVP is an acronym of “Electronic Voice Phenomena”. It refers to weird, strange and unexpected noise recorded on any recording device especially on a ghost hunt that tends to freak out people. While some skeptics discount these as inference of radio or TV frequency with the device, some these recordings are really convincing. Most of the times the voices are not heard during the recording but are heard during playback. Usually the voices heard are quiet and incomprehensible (infrasonic). A newbie will probably think of these as creepy background noises. These are often short and contain a few words or a sentence. Paranormal researchers believe that the messages are telekinetically impressed on the recording media. Sometimes playing the recording in the reverse direction can reveal a hidden message.

These sounds can be recorded by using any audio recording instruments. There are reports of psychics being able to hear evps of ghosts on the telephone too. A simple tape recorder with an external microphone can produce excellent results. There is no need for other expensive electronic voice phenomena devices. However an internal microphone is not recommended since it picks up the noise of the recorder's gears and motors.

Another method is CEVP. err friends, I am sorry, there is no method called CEVP, …I lied. CVEP simply means creepy electronic voice phenomena.

Methods Of Detection:

You can’t get the spooks on film without knowing their presence. There are two ways of doing this: 1) EMF fluctuation. 2) Intuition.

1) EMF Fluctuation:
Ghosts generally tend to distort the electro magnetic field around them and this can be used to detect them. Cheap experimental paranormal emf meters are enough for the purpose. But care is taken to ensure that fluctuation is not dues to power cables either above or under the ground or by stray radio frequency.

2) Intuition:

For a psychic it is possible to detect the presence of a ghost with his or her sixth sense. General indications are hot or cold areas, a feeling of heaviness or a strong smell.

However smell can means something else too:
Troy Taylor is a super cool ghost hunter and founder of the American Ghost Society. Once he reported a strong odor of peppermint along a road near the Civil War battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Only later did he learn that locals had used cartloads of peppermint and vanilla to hide the stench of rotting corpses on the battlefield.

There may be other indications like light orbs, touch, etc. or just a gut feeling.

Now we conclude this article with some extra information for all you budding hunters and wannabes,

Stuff Used For Ghost Hunting:

The things generally needed on a ghost-hunting trip depend on the type of ghost hunter you are.

Beginners or people who can’t afford expensive stuff can manage with a camera, a notepad, a flashlight with spare batteries, a pen and a strong heart (most important). For a beginner it is better to watch and learn. So go and see those ghost and spirit hunters hunting around for the spooky grail.

Here a list of stuff that “Advanced hunters” usually carry.

ü Flash lights
ü Notepad
ü Pen
ü First Aid Kit
ü Digital Camera
ü Tapes with high grade external microphones
ü EMF Detector
ü Motion detector cameras.
ü Thermal Scanner
ü Walkie-talkie
ü Compass
ü Laptops
ü Surveillance camera
ü White Noise Generator
ü 2 people for carrying all the equipment.

Here is a list of some do’s and don’ts:

Some Don’ts:

Never go out alone on the hunt. Its common sense that in case you get hurt or (gulp) "occupied” you need someone to get help.

Don’t put the film in the camera until you spot a ghost. When you do spot one, take at lest twenty minutes to load your camera. You see, ghosts are jobless and hence have got all the time till you finish playing with your stuff.

Take photos while driving or a stampede and guess what? You’ve got a photo of an orb. Another method is to make sure nobody is looking and take a photo while facing the sun to get a cool light orb.

Don’t jump just to conclusions. Use your common sense.

Some Do’s:

Please go into the graveyards/haunted house without the owners permission. There no quicker way than trespassing to get your ass in jail.

Be chicken hearted and let out a blood-curdling scream whenever the wind blows or a twig touches your foot.

Put on a truckload of cologne so that you freak out people and the spirits.

Smoke at least a pocketful of cigars. Your team-mates will take it for ectoplasm and voila! you have got a ghost on film!

Be polite, ask the ghost before taking his photograph.

Be safe and Happy Hunting!
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What Is Death?

2006-05-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

A look at Heaven and Hell in Various religions

We all know that death is an inevitable event that occurs in every living being life. Every thing that was born has to die and we cant help it. it is known as the life's greatest question. For many people death is frightening and unwelcome. The main cause of this is that death is a great mystery. What happens to us after death? Does life continue after death? or is it the complete cessation of our existence? Nobody can be sure since it cannot be known without being dead and those who have died cannot convey the experience to us (If you don’t believe me try asking a guy in the coffin). However an attempt can be made to find out the nature of the other world by studying out of body experiences and religion.

Different religions look at life after death and reincarnation in different ways but the central point of view seems to be the same. You get heaven for being a good boy and hell for being the devil's apprentice. A summary of the religious beliefs of life after death of some of the religions is given below:

Christian: Now let us look at Christian beliefs on afterlife. Christian beliefs on the afterlife differ between denominations and individual Christians. However the general interpretation is that after the death the soul goes either to the heaven or hell as determined by the sum total of good and bad deeds done by it. Some believe that the individual surely goes to heaven for Jesus uplifts all. Some believe that all souls have to wait till judgment day when they appear before Christ and are sent to heaven or hell forever. Some others believe that all the dead will be resurrected like Jesus Christ did.

Heaven is: A bright white place among the clouds with winged dudes playing harps and soft rock. The gates are pearly and require a password to go through.

Hell is: A place of bad guys, made by the bad guy just for the bad guys. It contains fire, brimstone and even more brimstone. In the background there is boring classical music going on forever. It is endless torment so the residents are poked, thwacked, cracked, thrashed, pulped, crushed, whipped, twisted, cut, barbecued, salted .........

Hindu: Let us now study the various ways Hindu look at reincarnation. Hindus believe that life of an individual is infinite and hence a person never "really" dies. People are not aware of this and the fear of death is due to the love of life (which is essentially infinite). A study of the ancient scriptures reveals the various ways Hindu look at reincarnation. The ancient Hindu texts say that the individual is a part of the cosmic consciousness. This part is known as the atman (soul). The atman; is said to be trapped in the physical body to enjoy the good and bad fruits of his karma (deeds). If the karma of the soul is not finished before death the soul has to take rebirth in the physical world again. Death is just a phenomenon similar to birth. It is believed, that after death the soul is taken to a court of the angels of death and a verdict is passed on the fate of the soul after considering the deeds done by him in the physical world. After that, the soul goes to either heaven or hell, but the stay is not permanent and they are reborn. The texts also say that the yogis and saints who meditate regularly do not produce new karma in this life and hence after death gain salvation and are absorbed into the universal consciousness just like a drop of water (from the river of existence in time-space) is absorbed into the ocean (of bliss).

Heaven is: A big golden palace with dames and damsels, handsome dudes, gardens, and best of all No taxes!

Hell is: A big pit of boiling (insert slang term) crap. 100% income is taken as tax + all the royal treatment as in the Christian hell.

Islam: According to the Islamic life after death theory, god has given every individual a spirit body along with the physical one. After death the physical body returns to the dust but the spirit body continues to exist. It is said that after death the spirit body separates from the physical body and is in a kind of "sleepy state" and enjoys partial fruits of the deeds done in the physical realm. On the "Judgment day", the whole universe will cease to exist and dead people will be given a life that will never end. At this time the soul will fully realize the deeds of his past life and will suffer its results. As this life given is eternal, the experience of heaven or hell will be eternal too (i.e. eternal bliss or eternal torment) The Islamic life after death ideology does not believe in reincarnation in human or any other form.

Heaven is: A place full of virgins and crates of beer.

Hell is: A dry hot dessert with no food or water (for eternity). But the biggest pain is that the devil drinks lemonade in front of you.

Buddhist/Chinese: The Buddhist believe that the individual exists in six forms or states : Human, animal, demon, Ghost, (in) heaven and (in) hell. It is believed that the soul undergoes a transmigration between this states according to the deeds done. Buddhists take warmth to be a sign of life. According to the belief a person is declared dead on loss of awareness and temperature. It is clear that they believe in reincarnation since they believe the soul to be in a sate of transmigration. However they have an exception, the soul of the Sravakas, bodhisattvas and Buddha’s are believed to escape this continuous cycle of transmigration into transcendence due to their constant devotion and practice of meditation. As China is mainly a Buddhist country, this information reflects china's afterlife beliefs.

Heaven is: A serene, calm and quiet place. There is unlimited supply of noodles and Peking sauce.

Hell is: A place where noodles are served only once in a day which you HAVE to eat without chopsticks.

Suicides and the Afterlife:
All the religions of the world surely condemn suicide and it is even considered a sin. Suicidal people tend to become ghosts since they have vibrations of depression and cannot communicate freely. Or they may suffer the consequences of murder since suicide is in fact murder of the self. Theology teaches us that we do not have the right to die. It’s an irony that these people bitch about (insert slang term here) life and leave it only to find a not-much-better-but-still-more-hotter hell. Those of you, who feel like ending your life, call 911 for help or read Edgar Cayce - Secrets of the Universe. If even this doesn’t help, well… try not to leave the water running.

Is it possible to explain death in a scientific way? Maybe, Yes. Until now, for people who believe only in science, proving life after death was difficult and it was thought that once we die we are nothing else but dead meat. But recent studies seem to be positive towards the afterlife and Near Death Experiences. Testimonies of the people with near death experience have been thoroughly researched and the details have been verified. A few of the observed facts are given below:

A close study of the examples of a near death experiences show similar characteristics like, seeing of close relatives, light, tunnel of light, etc.
Phenomena like EVP show that the consciousness remains active even after death.
After life experience have been studied in controlled environments and hence can be considered as a "scientific experiment".
Brain dead people have near death experience.
Many of the people have quoted past event unknown to them.
People See Verified Events While have a near death experience.
The list goes on .....................

The studies made by the likes of Dr. Ken Ring, Carl M Jung, Dr. Bruce Greyson, Dr. Cooper, etc seem to have enough evidence to prove that we continue to exist beyond our bodily death.

However some die-hard skeptics of near-death experiences say that the near death experience is not real and is produced due chemical reactions in the dying brain due to the lack of oxygen. It is called the "dying brain hypothesis". However most of the claims of the theory are found to be biased and unscientific. Skeptics are generally prejudiced against paranormal ability, enlightenment, out of body experiences and religion.

We end this article with a quote from Dr, Ken:
"In the light of the near-death experience, death is nothing more than the illusion of separateness and finality, and those who can believe in this vision of death, like near-death experiences themselves, lose all fear of it, for how can you fear that which does not exist?" - Dr. Ken Ring

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Scientific Study of Paranormal Phenomena

2006-05-22T16:29:00.000-07:00

Past Present & Future
There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. - Søren Kierkegaard (1813-55)

Human experience suggests that some phenomena occasionally fall between the cracks, and are not purely subjective or purely objective. These include telepathy, out-of-body experiences, near death experience, UFOs, Crop Circles, etc. Such phenomena are called "anomalous" because they are almost difficult to explain within established classical principles of physics. Premonition in parapsychology is difficult to explain considering that we only have a “physical brain”. Let us take a look at the top rated ancient paranormal and updated researches.
For the nonbeliever, paranormal phenomena are nothing but an integration of hallucination, misunderstanding, delusion and cognitive distortions. However there is a difference between critical thinking and skepticism. Maybe that’s why a modern approach towards the paranormal shows a completely different perspective and now even die-hard skeptics agree that Psi phenomena are worth modern scientific research.

Studies On The Paranormal In The Past:

Among the past studies conducted on the subject. Some of the most notable are that of Karl Zener, J B Rhine (1920's), Professor Gertrude Schemeidler (1940's) and Raymond Moody (1960's). Let us take a summary of the studies performed by them.

Karl Zener and Dr. J B Rhine :

Karl Zener and Dr. Rhine are world renowned for their experiments on ESP with Zener cards. In this method a set of 25 cards containing 5 cards each of the 5 symbols: a star, a Greek cross, a circle, a square and a wave form of three lines. The cards were shuffled and the tester draws a card from the pack. Then person being tested has to tell which of the 5 symbols is on the card. It was observed that the general chance of a correct answer was 20% and was fixed as the test line for a non-psychic person. If the chance exceeded 20%, the person was considered psychic. Though it was primarily used for testing clairvoyance, it could also be used for testing telepathy. For this a person drawn the card and mentally transmits the answer to the person in the front and the results could be analyzed. However they made a goof-up in the beginning of the experiment - they used translucent white paper - the person being tested could see the symbol and usually got a high score!! The cards were later modified to be opaque. A score of 100% would indicate that the person was

Professor Gertrude Schemeidler:

Professor Gertrude Schemeidler excelled in parapsychology theories and studies. Schemeidler discovered what she called the "Sheep Goat effect" for psychological testing of paranormal beliefs. In this experiment she divided the participants into two groups namely 1) The goats - the one who didn’t believe in ESP and 2) The sheep - The ones that did believe in ESP. They were then given a parapsychology test in which the students had to guess the sequence of target cards on the deck. When the results were observed, it was observed that the goats scored below chance while the sheep scored above chance. This could not be explained by any physical law and hence proved that there are still some unexplored processes in the universe. She studied in detail psycho kinesis history.
She also conducted other tests where the person was to answer particular questions for a psychic reading, which were tallied later. The results of her study is said to have the following four conclusions:
(1) Personality variables have similar effects on scores in ESP and in other tasks. Psychological theory makes effective predictions about ESP; thus it is a part of ESP’s theory too.
(2) Telepathy not only can transmit information, it can also activate a general readiness to use or to inhibit ESP (1961).
(3) Precognition can be effective for information never known by any person.
(4) Psychokinetic effect in one area is balanced by compensating physical changes elsewhere (1973) and that ESP seems to show direct access to distant events.
Raymond Moody (1960):
Drs. Melvin Morse and Raymond Moody specialize in near death studies. He made a list of characteristics of near death experiments. Some of them are a floating experience, sound of bells, whistles, buzzing sound, seeing departed souls, seeing god, light, angels, etc. After study of a number cases he came to the conclusion that when an individual dies, his body and brain gets disintegrated but the mind continues to exist. This mind then creates a spirit world according to the belief that the person had in his life. This explains why the experience of people differs. Moody is also advocates "past life regression". You can read more about his research on his site: www.lifeafterlife.com.

Current Extrasensory Perception Research:
Presently studies are going on Psi phenomena at institutions like The Parapsychology Foundation, Society for Parapsychological Research, the Rhine Research Center, etc. Among the scientists engaged in this study, the work of two of these is extensive: Dean Radin and Russell Targ.

Dean Radin:
Dean Radin is the senior scientist at the the Institute of Noetic Sciences. The majority of his professional career was focused on experimentally probing the far reaches of human consciousness, primarily poorly understood but often profoundly interesting phenomena like intuition, clairvoyance and psi phenomena. He is the author of about 50 books on the subject.
He claimed that as a Psi researcher for 25 years, he has been convinced that some of the Psi Phenomena are indeed true. He was witness to one such incident in which he was a witness to a spoon bending phenomena.

What is spoon bending ? :
Spoon bending is a Psi Phenomena in which an individual can use his psychokinetic power to bend a spoon by mental power.
He observed that the spoon literally felt like putty when the psychic demonstrated it and bended immediately. It was bent at the center of the bowl and was very smooth without crack which shows that it was not bent using mechanical force.
Radin precognition experiment:
His current subject of research is brain wave frequency for precognition. He has observed that for telepathy the brain wave frequency must match.

Russell Targ:
Russell Targ is a physicist and worked on the development of the laser and laser applications. He was also the co-founder of the Stanford Research Institute’s investigation into psychic abilities in the 1970s and 1980s. He is the pioneer in the research of the phenomena of "Remote viewing". The results of his studies are not only baffling but also convincing for psychic transformation and brain enlightenment. He is now into ESP research in Palo Alto, California.

The Future:
Analyzing the above information, we can say that the future holds a lot for us. One can say that we could change reality with quantum physics. Now we have a quantum-physical worldview that no longer contradicts the reality of telekinesis: a scientific worldview in which shape shifting, scientific prayer, and the Psi phenomena are no longer outside the realm of scientific possibility. According to string theory, human consciousness is a energy particle (string). According to it, there exists a universal mind, which is responsible for the paranormal phenomena. These are however for the time being quantum thought experiments and hence are considered only theories. However we can be assured that in the near future scientists around the world will be able to confirm this facts and ESP. In college metaphysics, parapsychology and ESP will be normal subjects and will not be considered an “Alternative Science”.

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Where the haunts are, someone waits for me…

2006-05-19T17:13:00.000-07:00

From that chamber, and from that mansion, I fled aghast.
The fall of the house of Usher -Edgar Allen Poe

So now that you have your equipment, and you’ve even practiced using it in your basement, attic and even the local graveyard you are ready for the next step; the thrill of the hunt, or as we in the know call it the “Big Magoo”

(I’m full of it…you know that, right?).

So just where do you go to carry on this wonderful new research with these really cool toys? where can I find information on hauntings? I’m delighted you asked.
This is of coarse a matter of personal interest (number one) and (number two) it depends on how comfortable or confident you feel at this point.
You may be the kind of person who likes jumping into the deep end feet first trusting your instincts to keep you afloat, and also you aren’t prone to self consciousness or embarrassment due to your flailing extremities should you start to drown.
Perhaps you’re more the" sensible" type who will stick your big toe in to test the water first in the kiddy-pool.

Either way, this is not meant to be a negative reflection on you.

So whether you’re a known maniac, and you’d thrive upon the adventure of plunging yourself headon into a dark, scary (possibly haunted) house with little or no experience, or you’re a timid, frightened, little mousy, who feels a meek toe wetting is a the more “prudent” method of ghost hunting this artical is designed for you.

And if you're somewhere in the middle that works too...

Where are Haunted places open to the public:
I'll be posting here periodically haunted places open to the public for tours as well as overnight stays. I will also post haunted places owned by the public. On occasion, I may post unknown haunt privately owned, but will only include contact information with the owner's permission, where applicable. Until then...

Myrtles Plantation/St. Francisville Louisiana
Circa 1796
Billed as one up America's most haunted homes, they conduct public tours daily from 9am - 5pm, and special mystery tour on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Also a bed and breakfast, reservations include a complimentary tour. The Inn features a 120 foot veranda, outfitted with giant rockers for you relaxation pleasure.
The home is surrounded by 10 acres of majestic live oaks with pink crepe myrtles in the giant brick Courtyard.
Room rates from $115-230.00 per night.

Myrtles Plantation
St. Francisville, Louisiana
7747 U.S. Highway 61P.O. Box 1100St. Francisville, Louisiana 70775John & Teeta Moss, Proprietors
PHONE 225.635.6277Fax 225.635.5837
Email: myrtles@bsf.net

Brookdale Lodge/ Brookdale California
Circa 1870

Now I gotta’ tell ya', this is one of the saddest experiences I've had on one of my "Haunted Honeymoons". My hubby and I were married on Halloween a few years back (it was only way I knew how to get him into a "Monkey Suit"), and on occasion we will go on a so called haunted honeymoon for our anniversary. Reno, New Orleans, Seattle, Swan Lake Montana etc... yep, there are some outstanding haunted places you can travel to in the world...this was not one of them!

Oh it's haunted to be sure, but the general feeling of malaise is not from the ghosts so much as the depression one feels from the run down look of the poor old thing. The heady glamour of the Marilyn Monroe days is long since past, and we are left with a sad incongruent shell of its former self.

Once a getaway for the mega rich and the super celebs, this hideaway in the redwoods had seen the best and the brightest stars of it’s time and featured the “Brook Room”, a five star restaurant with a natural brook running right down the center of the dinning area! Little Sarah Logan, only six years old drowned in that stream and is one of the spirits purported to haunt the resort to this day.

Built in 1870 it was first the headquarters of the Grover Lumber Mill. In 1900 it was sold to H.J. Logan who converted it into a hotel and campground. It changed hands again and from 1922-45 was run by Dr. F. K. Camp who built the famous Brook Room.

The lodge was once the second most popular resort in California and was indeed the place “were the elite meet”. Some of the most famous people to pass through the doors of the Lodge in its day were President Herbert Hoover, Hedy Lamarr, Mae West, Joan Crawford, Marilyn Monroe, Tyrone Power and Rita Hayworth to name but a few.

The lodge also featured the best big bands of the day (they still have music every weekend) and there are even a couple of songs from that period written about lodge!

They still feature name acts in their lounge, mostly jazz and rock and roll.

To be fair, it's been 4 years since I've been to the lodge. I hear tell that they are fixing the old girl up and I can only hope this is true. I only live about 45 minutes away and I will go and check it out for myself in the near future.
Until then...
Room rates from $59.-205.00. per night

Brookdale Lodge
11570 Highway 9
P.O. Box 903
Brookdale, California 95007

(831)338-6433

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The History of Wicca

2006-05-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

There has been some controversy as to the origination of Wicca. James Johnson has written an article about just that. I hope this brings you to closer understanding of the mysterious religion known as Wicca.

The History of Wicca - Where Did The Craft Originate by James Johnson
The history of Wicca or "The Craft" is complex but traditional Wicca is rooted in the so called "British Mystery Traditions", for example the Picts, who existed before the rise of Celtic consciousness, the Celts, and some Celtic Druidism.
Wicca predates Christianity by about 28 000 years.
A variety of archaeological discoveries, reveal that the history of Wicca can be traced as far back as the Paleolithic peoples who worshipped a Hunter God and a Fertility Goddess. Cave paintings, that are dated at around 30,000 years old, depict a man with the head of a stag, and a pregnant woman standing in a circle with eleven other people.
Modern American Wicca has its roots in British Wicca, brought to the United States in the late 1950's by English and American initiates of Gardnerian, Alexandrian and Celtic Wicca. These are different forms of Wiccan tradition. All of these cultures form part and parcel of the history of Wicca.
The ancient Greek Mysteries of Eleusis, Italian Mysteries of Rome, Etruria and the general countryside, Mysteries of Egypt and Persia before Islam, and various Babylonian, Assyrian and other mid-eastern Mysteries also find a place in the history of Wicca and its beliefs and traditional practices. Perhaps the best way to describe Wicca is to call it a modern religion, based on ancient witchcraft traditions. But do bear in mind that not all those who practice witchcraft today are Wiccas.
Wicca is a both a belief system and a way of life. Over the years information about how Wiccan ancestors lived and worshipped has been lost due to actions of the medieval church. However, modern Wiccas have tried to reconstruct the history of Wicca in an effort to lay the foundation for their practices.
During ancient times Wicca was called "The Craft of the Wise". This name was derived from the fact that most Wiccas aligned themselves with the forces of nature. They also had knowledge of herbs and medicines, gave council and were important in the village and community as Shamanic healers and leaders. The history of Wicca indicates that Wiccas once had a prized place in society which is quite a contrast to how they are viewed today.
Ancient Wiccas felt that man was not superior to nature, the earth and its creatures. Instead they were only one aspect of the world. The idea of sustainable development to maintain balance and equilibrium was central to the belief systems of the ancient Wicca. The history of Wicca is a far cry from the way that man views the earth today.
In the last several hundred years, witchcraft and witches have been incorrectly labeled as evil and unrighteous. Where do these ideas that form so much a part of the history of Wicca originate? Some Wiccas believe that the medieval church of the 15th through 18th centuries created these myths.
This was done in an effort to covert people to Christianity. The history of Wicca contains many stories of the persecution of witches based on so called "evil" practices.
Another theory about the history of Wicca is that as medical science became more prominent in society those who did these initial studies did not understand female physiology, especially menstruation. This "mystery" seemed to fit in with the churches agenda in labeling healers as evil heathens and placing power and respect in the hands of male physicians.
Many of these myths and superstitions have survived in modern times giving The Craft a bad name. While Wicca is essentially witchcraft, those who practice it usually do not refer to it as such because of these negative connotations. The history of Wicca is important since it is the persecution of those who practiced it that has led to its current ethic of "religious freedom first".
About the Author
http://www.pier55.com/ offers some of the best HOW-To and FAQS concerning all areas of interest.

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Psychic Readings Counseling

2006-05-13T13:53:00.002-07:00

Years ago a psychic told me I would be moving up north to a mountain area. I was living in the bay area and I had been thinking of moving to the coast of Oregon.

First she said she saw me in Idaho on the pan handle, then she said "no, not Idaho... Montana". I told to her I was planning on moving in April to Oregon or back to Seattle were I grew up.
She said "No your not, you're moving to Montana, and you're moving in early June."

She also said I would be visiting Seattle in the next couple of weeks (I had no plans to do so).

I left her feeling dissapointment in my reading.

When I got home from my "bogus" reading, my husband had news that he had gotten us plane tickets to go to Seattle to visit my dad in 2 weeks! He had just thought that it would be a fun Christmas surprise for me that day and had gone ahead and made reservations
!
After we got back from our visit to Seattle we were offered a job in (can you guess) the north western part of Montana right by the Idaho border. We took it, and moved June 6th. We lived there for six years.

Not all psychics are this good of course, and one should be aware that there are a lot of phonies and scam artists!

When first delving into the spooky realm of psychic readings and the different types of psychics out there that you can go to, it is wise to first aquaint yourself with these few simple facts.

Getting the Best Psychic Readings
By George Royal

There are many types, methods and systems of readings employed by people who claim to have psychic abilities. Each and every professional psychic may have one or more specialized areas such as Tarot reading, Numerology, Palm reading, Psychometry readings etc. Though the reliability of such readings cannot be fully ascertained, many people are ready to pay huge amounts on personal readings while some do it for the sake of entertainment.
Psychic readings include Face to Face Readings such as In-Person Readings at home, Psychic Party Readings for a group, and the less detailed and shorter Psychic Fair Readings. Distant Readings include Internet Readings, Phone Readings and Mail Readings.
Tarot Reading:
Tarot reading is the most popular form of psychic reading in which a deck of 78 cards known as the Tarot is used to predict and interpret relationships, love, careers, etc. The tarot is also used for spiritual, esoteric, psychological, occult and divinatory purposes. Tarot reading has a great deal of variables because each card in the Tarot, as well as the order in which they appear, and their position within the 'spread' when dealt, have different specific meanings.
Psychometry Readings:
Psychometry is a form of postcognition which enables the psychic reader to achieve information about people or events that had already occurred, or is occurring by being in close contact with the area or object where the event took place. If you seek pyschometry reading in the commercial world, the reader would ask for your favorite and closely worn objects such as wedding rings, glasses, car keys etc for the reading. This method is also used to try and locate missing persons.
Numerology:
Numerology is defined as the study of the occult meanings of numbers and their supposed influence on human life. It is essentially a reading of an individual based specifically upon numerical values such as their date of birth, letters in their names, etc. Numerology was considered part of higher mathematics in the ancient world but is now regarded as pseudomathematics.
Aura Reading:
Aura psychic reading involves the observation and interpretation of auras around physical human bodies. The “aura” is a set of cascading colored outlines emanating from the surface of your body which differs from one person to another in terms of size, shape, intensity, and color. Aura readers claim to have the ability to see or sense this aura, observe each characteristic and interpret their meaning to the individual.
Palm Reading:
Palmistry is another popular method in psychic reading which involves characterization and foretelling one’s future through the study of the lines, shapes, wrinkles and curves on the palm. Palm reading has its origins in gypsy fortune tellers and Indian mystics. This practice is regarded as pseudoscience like many other psychic readings.
Astrology:
Astrology is closely related to, but not regarded as a science because it involves reading of an individual and predicting the future based upon date of birth, using the planets and stars, and their alignments etc which is considered unscientific. Astrology is most popular in India and surrounding countries.
Psychics Live http://psychics-live.com/ presents articles about psychics and how to uncover your psychic abilities.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=George_Royal

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spiritual reunions

Science V.S. Religion

2006-05-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

Here's an artical I found on EZINE that echos my feelings very well on the issue of science and religion.

Why?
By Chris Bishop

Honestly, I am sick to death of the eternal squabbling between science and religion. Religion is a methodology that has been constructed to enable humans to understand their place in the universe. Science is a methodology that has been constructed to enable humans to understand their place in the universe. There are similarities in the limitations of both systems of thought. In some sense, science and religion are the same. In my opinion, the most important discovery in science is that there are things that we cannot ever know about the universe. This is neatly paralleled in most theistic thinking, that we cannot truly know God. He is a mystery that cannot be fully comprehended.
Let’s start with science. The central tenets of mathematics, physics, cosmology, biology etc., are not invented by human endeavour. They are discovered. They exist independently of humans. The universal layers of opacity have, over hundreds if not thousands of years, been slowly and painstakingly removed by scientists in all fields, to reveal ever more clearer views of not only what our universe is, but how it is. The problem is that these systems do not attempt to explain why it is.
Some people think the whys of the universe are inappropriate even irrelevant questions for scientists to try and answer, but this is just disingenuousness. The most important thing people want to know about the universe, about their lives, about themselves, about their place in the world is, why?
I can reasonably ask why the charge on the electron or the gravitational constant have the very exact values they do. Why is the speed of light what it is? Why can't the position and momentum of a particle be determined simultaneously (yes, I know what happens but why does it happen)? Why did the big bang um… bang, and so on.
The usual scientific reactions remind me of my childhood and the echoes of my mother saying in final exasperation after many ‘whys?’ "There is no reason, that's just the way it is! You have to take my word for it." Or “It’s just a coincidence.” Just a moment now, lets move over to religion and the question of faith. When scientists ask (or even tell us) to accept that there are no reasons for an event like the big bang, no reasons for the universe to exist and can you please just stop asking such nonsensical questions? Scientists are ignoring the really big questions, the why? questions and in the process risk being dogmatic in the same way as certain religionists are (dogma: principle, tenet, doctrinal system laid down by some authority).
With the above in mind however, I have no time for the Creationist ‘philosophy’ currently sweeping the U.S. Evolution is a fact. And what is more, scientific investigations produce facts about our universe. Now, while scientists understandably do not want to engage with Creationists there is still much intelligent and constructive debate to be had. It seems to me that why the universe is as it is, is as interesting and viable a field of scientific exploration as it gets.
The thing is, I am not talking about superstition or religious belief here (let’s put aside the invidious point of view that religion is the cause of all strife in the world because no actually, people are the cause of all strife in the world). I’m not interested in converting anyone to anything. No, what I’m talking about is this. With intelligent objectivity I have arrived at a point of view that says something very ‘spooky’ has been going on in our universe, our world if you will, and coincidence as an argument for things being precisely as they are is just not going to cut it. People want to know why they are here and so do many scientists I suspect. It is a legitimate question to ask even if the possible answer may scare the hell out of some scientists.
Now I must come clean. I don't have so much as a belief in science as have a profound knowledge that what it reveals about the universe is true. I don't so much as believe in God as have a profound knowledge of His existence. The latter has come about exactly because of the former. I haven't got the space to explain how that happened, just go and read science books like Simon Conway Morris’s amazing ‘Life’s solution. Inevitable humans in a Lonely Universe’ or John Gribbin’s ‘Q is for Quantum’ among many others, and you will be utterly astonished at how incredibly unlikely it is that this universe exists in the state that it does, let alone that we are in it.
But just imagine it, among all the wondrous insights that science has given me about our beautiful universe, the biggest and most profound is the certainty of God. Now why is that I wonder?
Chris Bishop.Creative partner.http://www.theethicalagency.co.uk/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Bishop

spiritual reunions

Letting Go! Personal Growth and Development Barriers

2006-05-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

spiritual growth development process

The Void: Where The Change Process Stops Us
By John Robson-

To significantly change in our lives, there must be changes in our subconscious minds and our belief systems. As these changes occur, we find ourselves in a transition zone, a place of the unknown, the lull, the fog, the void, the dead space. It is like being between first and second base on unsafe and vulnerable ground. It is uncomfortable, new and often scary. Often we get fearful and go back to the old safe place on first base. And that's O.K., but at some point, we may want to leave the rut that was not working for us.

Change requires a letting go and trust that there is a second and third base and that I can make it there. It is about trusting myself and God and the universal laws to unfold a new reality for me. It is knowing that my vision, prayers, visualizations, affirmations and wishes will come true.
Too often the test is right to the eleventh hour, where I must totally give up and let in the new. To make it worse, everything seems to go wrong at the same time. This is a place where my life turns upside down. It’s a place that calls for surrender and faith, knowing that my beliefs are being changed at a deep level.

When I was in the consulting business, my heart wanted to move into the personal development and education field. As I was planning this process, my client offered me a phenomenal opportunity, with substantial equity in a company in the personal development field. It was like falling in love--the infatuation, the fantasy, the excitement. My mind was full of ideas.
After a few days, I sat down with myself and analyzed it more closely. Something was saying it wasn't the right move. But I kept the door open on the opportunity and was getting pressure for a commitment.

During this time, my mind was in a fog. It seemed like I couldn't think or even add 2 + 2. I was torn between what looked like the offer of a lifetime and what my heart wanted to do--my own programs, not someone else's. And I did not want to let my friends down.

This fog brought on tears (yes, men can cry). It was scary to be unable to break out of my stuck thinking patterns. My mind seemed dead to new ideas and everything in my life was going wrong or stopped flowing. Finally, I had to make my stand. I did not join their group.

Making the decision relieved some of the fog, but it was a few weeks before the dust settled and I was fully functional mentally. During that time, I was gentle with myself, not creating too many pressures or new decisions. I soon realized a new level of commitment to creating and delivering my own programs and taking control of my life.

Now, when I sense I am in this fog or transition zone, I work to just be there and identify with it. I step back and watch myself, careful to avoid overreacting to situations. I keep my focus on the results I want, and I act as though they are already in place. I stay open to opportunity. I'm glad I've learned how it feels to be in transition, because as I grow and change, there will be more of them, and I want to become a master at navigating through the fog into my next vital stage in life.

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spiritual reunions

Spiritual Reunions, Grandma

2006-05-06T16:48:00.002-07:00

Grandma
My grandma and I were very close, and I always felt dearly loved when I was with her. A few years ago she asked me to promise her that she would never go into a home if she became ill. I promised that I would make sure that that would never happen.

Last year my aunt and I were the primary care-givers for my grandma when she was dying with pancreatic cancer.

While grandma was sick I was having a difficult time in my marriage and I didn't go home to my husband for the last three months of my grandma's life.

Even after she passed I preferred to stay at her house rather than go home while I figured out my next step.

Every night when I went home to grandma's house after she passed on I would find the light on the bedside table to the guest room turned on. I'm acompulsivee energy conserver (left over from the "energy crisis" of the 70's) and I know I wasn't leaving that light on!

When my grandma was healthy and whenever I went to visit her overnight she would always have my bedside light on for me in the guest room if I went out for the evening. Always.

But rather than feel spooked by this, I found it to be a comfort. I felt happy at night to come home to that one little light on in the house. I should also say that I was the only one in the neighborhood with the key other than my Aunt. In any case no one else knew of her lighting habit with me.

This went on uninterrupted for a couple of weeks that warm still summer. And when I found myself drawn to sleeping in her room rather than the guest room, the light started to be on in her room rather than the guest room as before.

All was quiet until one night when my husband came over to confront me about whatI intended to do. He was angry with me and raising his voice he demanded that I come "home" with him.

I told him that I wasn't ready to come home yet, that I was too deeply grieved about my grandma to know what I wanted to do yet about us.

Then he yelled at me "Screw your grandma, she'd dead! I'm alive!" No sooner than he finished his rant the tightly closed front door to her house slammed open, then shut again and the lights TV flicked off then on again!

My stunned husband grew quiet and uttered a quick "Sorry grandma" then he leapt up from the couch and hurried out of the house.

After he left, the night was quiet and still again and the warm air was fragrant with the sweet perfume of Jasmine and Ben Gay.

Ben Gay had been my grandma's favorite cure all for "hundreds of years" as she liked to say. She rubbed it on whatever body part ailed her every night as long as can remember.

If you happened to complain within her earshot of some ache or pain, she'd get out the Ben Gay and commence to massaging the menthal ointment into the offending joint muscle. "Here comes Dr. Joseph" she would practically sing and her whole face would light up as she worked the the magic into your feet or back.

It's been over a year since my grandma has passed over and my bedside light only illuminates when I turn it on now, but sometimes I swear I get a faint whiff of Ben Gay....

spiritual reunions

The Demon

2006-05-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen the black sand beach of Maui, Hawaii?
The way it shimmers like a zillion tiny stars on the deep coal blackness of the volcanic sand?
This is how the "being" I saw appeared to me, after first showing itself in the near perfect form of my darling grandmother.

One night, while visiting my grandmother from another state, I was sharing the master bed with her, since my grandpa was ill and sleeping in the spare room.

Grandma had been asleep for a couple of hours on her side of the bed, while I had been reading on the other side. I had just turned off the reading lamp and lay back down, I turned on my side to get more comfortable when I noticed that my grandmother was sitting up in bed looking at me.

No, not just looking at me... she was glaring at me!

I started to apologize for waking her up, though I was puzzled by her attitude, (my grandma was always a doll to me) but before I could get the words out her expression became the most hideous countenance I had ever seen!

My blood literally ran cold, and my teeth began to chatter (I am not kidding) while I observed (frozen by fear) this thing shift from the sweet familiar form of my loving grandmother, into a tremulous obsidian humanoid nightmare that electrified the air with its maleficence.

It's black saphire eyes glistened at me coldly with malicious intent.

Time seemed to suspend itself in honor of the horror I was witnessing, and we stared at one another for what in real time probably amounted to only a few moments.

Then just as suddenly as the thing appeared, it began disintegrating like the fine black sand of Maui, straining through an hourglass onto the small figure laying in its stead.

Gently snoring...

spiritual reunions

Spiritual Reunions, Michael

2006-05-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

Swimming In My Own Stream

My step-daddy Michael, whom I loved dearly killed himself several years ago. The day before it happened (July 28th) was my 32nd birthday.

We were very close when I was a little girl and I remember when he taught me that no one was "the boss of me" on my fifth birthday. I had come to him in tears earlier because one of my girlfriends (CHRISTINE) was trying to be "the boss of me" on my special day!

He stooped down eye level with me and said "Teecy-bee-bee chicky baby (his pet namet for me), no one is the real boss of you but you".

Ooh, my little mind danced with delight, this was just dandy news, I'm my own boss, yippy!

Then he said "Yes, being your own boss is terrific but (figures, there's always a but) that doesn't mean that you are free to do as you like, so much as it means your free to do as you choose".
Choose? Hmm, he was getting deep on me. This meant he wanted me to think about what this meant for the next ten, twenty, thirty.... rest of my life.

He wanted me to always think about what my choices meant, some choices would bring joy, some wouldn't even seem like choices and still others could have grave consequences. "Your choices are precious" he said "be responsible for them".

So there I was on my 32nd birthday, choosing to frame a wall (naturaly) when suddenly I get the queerest picture in my minds eye, Michael was buying a gun and planning to shoot himself!

I remember saying to myself "That's a strange thing to think about on your birthday freak, knock it off." I told my husband and he concurred, as usual on the freak part.

If I had a phone I would have called him but I was in the middle of no-where Montana and wouldn't have access to a phone for a few more days when the home-owner finally had his phone line hooked up.

So I let it go.

The next morning I woke up at around 5:00 am with a terrible headache in my right temple. I woke my husband up to tell him I didn't think I could make it to work; he took one look at me and with a shocked expression said "My god honey, look at your head!" I got up and looked in the mirror and was stupified to see that my right temple was swollen to a monsterous proportion.

The nearest thing to a doctor was actually a "medicine man/herbalist" 45 minutes away, if I wanted an M.D. I would be traveling for a couple of hours on a bumpy road, no thanks!

I opted to just stay in bed for a few days while I recovered from...whatever the heck it was.

When I did go back to work the phone was in working order, and my little brother had managed to track me down after trying to locate me all weekend. I thought he called to wish me a happy birthday but (see, another but) instead he called to tell me that Michael (his biological father) had shot himself in the head (right temple) early (around 5:00 am) the morning of July 29th, the same morning I awoke early with a headache and a strangely swollen temple!

That night after I'd fallen asleep, Michael appeared to me in spirit as I was dreaming. In my dream I was in a large vacant room with huge windows and lots of warm golden light; he standing just outside of the largest window looking in at me when he told me with tears in his eyes "I'm sorry, I just didn't know" I took that to mean that he was so lost at the time he took his own life that didn't know what else to do.

This was one of those grave choices.

I told him that I loved him very much and that it was ok. I wanted him to be happy and to find some peace (he looked so sad).

I still try to be thoughtful about the choices I make, and sometimes it's still difficult. I am ever mindful that my life is my responsibility, and I do my best not to blame anyone else for my short comings (not that I wouldn't like to at times).

I'm grateful to a man who made the choice to teach a little girl that the measure of her came not only from the choices she made in her life, but whether she took responsibility for her failings as well as her triumphs.

I certainly haven't always made good or even smart choices in my life, but I've learned to accept them all as precious gifts (painful or not) thanks to him.

I still think of my Michael dad nearly every day, and always with lots of love...

spiritual reunions

Spiritual Law Taking Responsibility

2006-05-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

Slay your personal dragons!

Turn Problems into Power and Potential!
By John Robson--
"The things which hurt, instruct." -- Benjamin Franklin

How do you respond to the problems that continually surface in your life?
If you're like most people, you feel victimized. Moaning "Poor me," we get angry, impatient, depressed and stuck. We think problems spoil what life OUGHT to be. And we do whatever we can to avoid the pain.

For those of us on a spiritual path, problems and blocks are precious gifts that open the door to deeper self-knowledge. Through them, we can identify and release the unconscious fears and negative beliefs that hold us back from higher consciousness.

So what are problems or blocks? From a spiritual perspective, they block the natural flow of energy through our being, creating stress and pain. Operating in the mental, emotional and physical realms, they indicate that something within us is out of alignment with the true nature of who we are - our spiritual nature.

Problems involve two different aspects of our human make-up:
Much of our behaviour is governed by our subconscious mind according to our beliefs and habitual patterns and reactions. Unfortunately, we are generally unconscious of the beliefs that sabotage the best intentions of our conscious mind.

We also have both a personality governed by our ego and a higher mind or soul. We see the soul as a unique expression of the divine that bridges our individual physical being with the almighty power, whatever you understand that to be. As human beings, we all have some understanding of our personalities. Most of us, though, have a limited awareness of our souls.

When we are willing to face and work through our problems, we become conscious of what is now unconscious in us. We begin to see our shadow side, the dark and unknown parts of our psyche that reside in our subconscious mind. We begin to see the beliefs, misinformation and defence mechanisms we carry that no longer serve us.

We also become aware of the divine side of our nature for at the root of every block lies a soul quality seeking expression. Our ultimate aim is to embrace the opposing forces within us, the "bad" and the "good," and bring them together in wholeness. This is transformation.

From the spiritual perspective, blocks offer our best and perhaps our only path to growth. Paradoxically, we can only get to the positive through the negative. Like it or not, pain gets our attention. Pain also challenges the ego's perception that it is in complete control of life. If we want to be rid of the pain, we must do the work that leads us to greater consciousness.

So there are great blessings in problems. Our troubles come to us for good reasons -- to invite us to connect with our souls and to learn more about who we are. And we are wise to accept the invitation. If we deny the pain and strive to avoid it, the problems will keep on coming, and they'll be even more painful.

Our lives change when we become conscious that every experience of resistance and fear has meaning and purpose. Working purposefully through our problems helps us become whole and healthy. Through them, we awaken to and can genuinely express new and more powerful aspects of ourselves. John Robson

"In school you get the lesson and then take the test...In life you take the test and then get the lesson." -- Unknown Source

Offering 20 personal development and spiritual growth programs at Higher Awareness! Patrice Steen and John Robson

Personal Development Plans

Online courses, FREE Inner Journey newsletter

and daily email coaching for personal

and spiritual growth

spiritual reunions

Afterlife Or Worm food?

2006-04-29T16:43:00.000-07:00

Out- out are the lights- out all!

And, over each quivering form

The curtain, a funeral pall
Comes down with the rush of a storm

While the angels, all pallid and wan

Uprising, unveiling, affirm

That the play is the tragedy, "Man"

And it's hero the conqueror worm.

-Edger Allen Poe

Was Poe right, is life just an exercise in futility? Do we struggle to achieve great things, feel unconditional love and war against our enemies, only to end up as plant fertilizer and grub for the lowest earthworm?

Or is there something greater once we pass the cusp between life and death, perhaps an ongoing existence that transcends the need for corporeal things?
How do we know if there is life after death?

In this artical you will learn some of the amazing (often comical) history of paranormal research and the resulting off shoots of scientific studies on the afterlife being done today.

You will explore beliefs in life after death that have been tested under strict lab conditions by scientists and paranormal investigators.

You will meet some interesting characters, some of them famous, some not who without a doubt, as a result of their own personal experiences believe in life after death.

In fact, belief in the afterlife has held between 65-77 % since the 1940’s. That is, two out of three Americans believe that a living soul continues after physical death.

Even those in the scientific community one out of six scientist at the top of the profession believe in life after death according to recent gallop polls. This belief increases to one in three in the sciences that deal directly with medicine and questions of life death.

Near death experiences or NDE’s are reported by 12% of the American population indicating that it isn’t so rare an occurrence as many believe.

You might believe that it is mostly the uneducated who believe in the paranormal, but you'd be wrong according to one of my favorite new stats (I'm fond of stats that have unexpected results). These indicate that the more educated a person, the more liable that person is to believe in the paranormal. Hmm...This flies in the face of those who have so long claimed, adamently and with great bluster, that belief in the paranormal is merely a coping mechanism for the ignorant. What they found instead, (much to their chagrin) is that this particular "coping mechanism" belongs to the educated.

The actual "coping mechanism" of the so called "ignorant" is a belief in organized religions, who eschew belief in the paranormal (seems like an oxymoran to me).

The opposite was found to be true for more educated people, in other words, the higher your education level the more apt you are to have at least some belief in PSI Phenomenon (ESP) and the afterlife and more likely you are to eshew oranized religions.

This brings us to who are the people most likely to believe in the paranormal due to ongoing personal experience. Psychics.

You might suspect them to be unbalanced and to be sure many psychics appear to be flakey to say the least (many truly are). Strangely enough there is a pretty good explanation for this...

Ha, at this point I'll leave you hanging (I'm in a mood)

but stay tuned for more fun facts about who, why, and what the heck...

Also some interesting true experiments from science proving life after death...

spiritual reunions

Never bet the devil your head

2006-04-21T16:14:00.001-07:00

I looked the devil squarely in the eye
And saw myself...

This article will explore the realm of evil in myth, religion, philosophy, psychology and science, and specifically whether or not evil can be defined straight across the board. While many assert, that evil, as a basic moral issue, is always an objective thing that can only (like beauty), be defined as such by the beholder, others believe that evil is a palpable thing that exists whether you believe in it or not. However, what I found fascinating, was how many people turned away from any dialogue on evil, preferring rather to remain mute on the subject, believing it to be too objectionable or even dangerous to entertain, in either thought or conversation. Superstition is alive and well in our modern world.

How do we approach the subject of evil, or set in motion a discussion on the belief or disbelief in the Devil, without getting our under shorts all in a bunch? I don't really think we can, nor do I care to be so complacent on such a touchy subject as evil. We'll just have to venture bravely into that not so good night and try not to be disrespectful of others convictions or fears.

Does such an entity as the Devil exist, or is it only a myth, invented by organized religions, and used to protect social mores and act as a prophylactic against religious taboos? (There's an irony there I just know it). Is the modern belief in a tangible devil just the ranting of some fervently (whacked out) religious folk, who've been swept up in the dogmatic doggerel of the moment? After all exorcism is alive and well in the 21rst century, and even seems to be on the up swing. How do we explain this queer rise in church exorcisms?

If evil truly exists incarnate as "the Devil", what does it look like; does it sport horns and a trident tail and go tippy-tippy-tap around on hoofed feet? Or is the face of evil so benign in appearance, that it merely mirrors you and me. Our reflection in the glass is our perfect opposite image, and it calls to us brilliantly when we catch a glimpse of ourselves in the silver sheet.

Is the fascination with an opposite image really just an exploration of our own dark side, a flirtation as it were with the evil that lives within ourselves (the true exercise of free will)?

I believe that true evil is narcissistic in nature, and moronically infantile, in its quest to sate itself. It favors the twilight of half-truths, preferring to hide itself in lies behind a shimmering veil of pretty stories and soft lighting (and there isn't a girl alive, who hasn't met him in one form or another).

As to one who lives in the twighlight of lies, all I can say is that he (or she) is a manipulator, a deceiver and a fool. Perhaps the person he is most adept at deceiving is himself, and he will lay waste to anyone (consequences be damned) who dares to expose their untruths, for he will protect his lies as feircely as a lioness with her cubs when threatened by the truth.

Yet he does the most harm to those who offer to be of good service to him either by lending a helping hand, protection, or (god forbid) love. Being narcissistic in nature, these selfless gifts of friendship can never truly be appreciated, let alone reciprocated. Their motto seems to be: if your stupid enough to have fallen for my pretty fantasy (ie. pack of lies), and have given me everything I want for nothing (being unable to recognize that giving out of love or the goodness of your heart has any worth), then you, as an idiot*, deserve nothing.

When they are through with you (that is, when the jig is up and you have finally had enough of their self absorbed shenanigans), they simply kick you're empty shell out of the way, exclaiming "Next" and go on with their wickedly selfish path.

Responsibility is not their cup of tea, so unless blue is you're color, don't hold you're breath waiting for them to smack their forhead and have an inlightening "V8" epiphany anytime soon. They don't even know "they done you wrong" nor would they care if they did, an apology for their appalling behavior will not be forthcoming (and even if moribund, it is unlikely to ever happen).

At this point you may be thinking that I am merely on the rant about an old flame that burned me (and I very well could be), however I was really thinking more globally about this sort of behavior. Consider the actions of big company's like Enron for instance, didn't they whisper sweet nothings into the ear's of their shareholders and employee's lulling them into believing that their future was secure, before sticking it to em'? Or how about some of our politions, who shall remain nameless on this blog ( for now), I don't know about you but I like to get kissed first before I get...nope, gonna keep it clean (but my poor butt). In any case It is the very selfishness and short sightedness that comes with this behavior that I find wicked and stupid. After all, in the end they have only really succeeded in shooting themselves in the foot (and giving the rest of us hemorhiods).

I get a nervous tic in my right eye now when the subject of "evil, real or not" comes up. A buddy of mine who I consider to be an intelligent and decent human being, insists on (when the question of evil comes up) dismissing it out of hand as being a purely moral issue, and as such, merely an objective personal sort of thingy, that only exists in the mind of whomever has been touched by "it", It being evil (whatever it may be). He is not alone, many of the people I questioned on this subject were of that mind.

This I found disturbing , which of course it brought me to thoughts of Hollywood (which I always find disturbing) and the movies.

I love movies, and I frequently steal lines from the ones I like best ("It puts the lotion on it's skin..."). My favorite line from the movie 'The Usual Suspects' has the character of Verbal say, "The greatest trick the Devil played, was to convince the world that he doesn't exist". I know it's only a movie, but this struck a deep chord of truth in me (and it gave me the willies).

So has the devil done a fine job of convincing the world he doesn't exist; or does he just not exist?

*Of course, the "fool me once" adage works here, so I hope this isn't just a bad habit of yours to keep picking these nasties to hang out with...

Coming next: Science on the subject

spiritual reunions

Legends Of Irish Leprechaun

2006-04-06T08:12:00.000-07:00

The Leprechaun
In a shady nook one moonlit night,
A leprechaun I spied
In scarlet coat and cap of green,
A cruiskeen by his side.
'Twas tick, tack, tick, his hammer went,
Upon a weeny shoe,
And I laughed to think of a purse of gold,
But the fairy was laughing too.
With tip-toe step and beating heart,
Quite softly I drew night.
There was mischief in his merry face,
A twinkle in his eye;
He hammered and sang with tiny voice,
And sipped the mountain dew;
Oh! I laughed to think he was caught at last,
But the fairy was laughing, too.
As quick as thought I grasped the elf,
"Your fairy purse," I cried,
"My purse?" said he, "'tis in her hand,
That lady by your side."
I turned to look, the elf was off,
And what was I to do?
Oh! I laughed to think what a fool I'd been,
And, the fairy was laughing too.

Robert Dwyer Joyce 1830-1883

*************************************************************************************

Legends Of Irish Leprechaun

Legend has it, that should you be crafty enough to capture a leprechaun, he will be obliged to lead you to his treasure. As long as you can keep an eye fixed on your wiley little captive, he can't escape, but the moment you blink, or turn your gaze, he's vanished...poof...just like spit on a hot rock!

They are very clever spirits, who enjoy making mischief for any human foolish enough to try and abscond with his treasure. They are known to be quite wealthy, and have many crocks of gold buried all over the "Emerald Isle".

At just two two feet tall, leprechauns are hard working, industrious little fairy cobblers who, though fond of a snort, and often seen with a *cruiskeen of beer or *poteen by their side, are never so intoxicated that they fail to create the most exquisite shoes for all the fairy folk.

They can be found working their ancient craft all over the soft glens, and forrest briers of Ireland, where the tippy tap sounds of their busy little hammers betray their where-abouts.

If you should capture a leprechaun, you must demand very rudely (according to protocol) that he take you to his treasure at once! The startled elf will have no choice but to do so.

But the cute little darling isn't so benign as to roll over like a puppy and give up quite so easily. After all, he is a cunning little devil, who wasn't born yesterday. To be sure, he has more than a few tricks up his sensible sleeve, or I should say belt? For on his belt, he wears two small leather pouches, in one he keeps a magic silver shilling that has the lucky habit of returning to the pouch, every time he pays it out. In the other, is a brilliant coin of gold, and this he uses for bribing his would be captors.

You musn't accept this shimmering gold coin though, for the second he places it in your hot little hand, he knows well, that you (being a greedy money grubing human), will avert you're gaze just long enough for him vanish like a pipe-dream.

Oh well, at least you still have the golden coin, or do you? Look again, hi-ho, you'll find you have nothing more than a worthless hand full of dried leaves, ashes or even a stone for you're trouble.

Sucker...

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The “wee folk” of Irish, Celtic and Danish lore, are some of the most enduring of all folk legends. These tiny creatures in tights have been a favorite for children of all ages, for many ages. Charming he is, in his red or green frock coat and his pipe sticking out the side of his sly little mouth.

It isn’t clear where the name leprechuan sprang from, but here are some reasonably good guesses: leath bhrogan, Irish for shoemaker, though its origins may lie in luacharma'n, which is Irish for pygmy. There is also the Gaelic word Préachán, forming the later part of the word leprechaun, which means crow, or when used to describe a person it means, mischief-maker, or gossip.

There is a similar little fairy fellow called the cluricaun, who is said to forever be "deep in his cups". As such, you can always count on the the weeny bugger to be thoroughly tanked, plowed, housed, pissed, sauced, blitzed, shnockered, ya’ know drunk!

The Clurichaun, like any thrill seeking tippler out for a joy ride, receives great satisfaction from hopping up onto the backs of unsuspecting dogs and sheep or anything else with legs he can get his sticky little mits on. The raskal will then ride the poor traumatized creature, willy-nilly into the night, causing as much mayhem as possible, before finally succumbing to exhaustion, from his nocturnal shenanigans, and enough liqueur to kill an average football team.

Solitary and cranky (terminally hung-over), these little fairies are not made for social gatherings, and they have'nt much use for humans. But if you treat the little booze hound well, he will gladly protect (wink-wink) your wine cellar. But beware, if he feels at all slighted by you, or your kin, the wee blighter will likely wreak havoc upon your dwelling’s, and bespoil your entire stock of wine and brew.

And that's no shin-dig...

*Cruiskeen; a small jug
*Poteen; a home-brewed irish whiskey

Still More leprechaun lore to come:

Correct Way To Use The Ouija Board (Or Not)

2006-04-04T10:34:00.001-07:00

The first recorded usage of a tool like the "Ouija Board" was about 540 B.C..
It is a genuinely ancient and universal tool used for spirit communication.

In France, a spiritualist named M. Planchette invented the version most similar to the one manufactured by Parker Brothers.

The version used today was invented and patented in 1892 by Elijah J. Bond who sold it a year later to William Fuld who started the Baltimore Talking Board Company and sold them as the "Oriole Talking board".

In 1966 Parker Brothers purchased the rights and the rest is history.

The reason it ever became designated a "game" by the way is that in 1920, when it was still sold by the Baltimore Talking Board Company the Internal Revenue Service contended that it was such in order to collect taxes on it.

The Baltimore Talking Board Co. always maintained that it was not a game, but rather an amateur mediums tool.

Sly buggers the I.R.S. eh?

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A couple of ouija boards stories

The Twins
Early on in my grandmother’s third pregnancy in 1951, she and my great grandma, thought it might be fun to use an old ouija board, to ask if she would give birth to a boy or a girl.

The planchette moved around aimlessly for a short time, until it finally began to spell something out. T-W-I-N-S. They asked it several more times if she would have a boy or a girl, it never would specify the gender, instead, it kept insisting T-W-I-N-S.

Eight months later, my twin uncles were born.

My great grandma never went near another ouiia board again. They gave her “the willies” she said, showing me the goose-bump’s on her arm to prove it. Then she told me that she’d always thought of the ouija board as a silly kids game…well…until of course the boys were born.

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A word of caution
There is documentation of people messing with the ouija board or with automatic writing who have had severe problems afterwards. Whether or not it was "only in their mind" (perhaps especially) it is clearly not a toy.

The idea of contacting a friendly spirit can be very seductive for many people, and this is where the danger begins, starting with the obsession; you are feeling special now that you have a spirit friend willing to tell you things that you otherwise would not know. You start to ask more questions, maybe you just want more proof that this is real or maybe you are getting a rush now when you chat it up with your “pet” ghost.

It used to be once a month or once a week (just as a goof) that you would “play” with it, but nary a day goes by now that you don’t consult with the dang thing. By now you’ve started to alienate your friends, and the things it tells you may not be true anymore, the words of encouragement have become cruel jabs at your intelligence and you find that you cant sleep at night.

Sometimes you don’t even feel like you anymore. You pass someone you know on the street and they say hello; but it takes you moments to long to even respond, you feel like you’re a few feet behind your own body and getting back into it feels like moving through molasses. What the heck is happening you wonder, am I me anymore? Yes, you’re you, you plus one. But who is that “one”?

The possession begins…

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How Does it Work?
There are plenty of theories as to how automatic writing, channeling or ouija boards work. Some psychologists believe it is a merely a muscle reflex that makes your hand automatically move and your subconscious mind is what controls the words that are spelled out and that this accounts for the accuracy of ouija boards. (Although they often are far from accurate)

There is also a school of thought that we all have two distinct personalities, a conscious one, and a subconscious one. So when a subject is in the act of channeling or auto-writing, it is the subconscious taking command over the writing. Perhaps this is true in some circumstances, I can only tell you how I felt at the time of my experiences, and I strongly have felt that it was something distinctly “not me”.

And what of the countless recorded instances of the planchette moving on its own without a single finger on it, or the future predictions that come true, or the past information that no one at the table had any previous knowledge of, and had to be researched in great depth to uncover whether it was fact or fiction?

So just how does it work? I don’t really know, and there are to many theories at this point for anyone to know definitively.

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How Do You Use A Ouija Board?
Two or more people are recommended for using the Ouija board. I find that 2 people on the planchette at a time and one sitting by to record messages works very well. Some prefer to use a ouija board solo, But I don't recomend it.

Form a circle around the board
Link hands left on top of right
Say a prayer of protection
Place 2 fingers of each person upon the planchette
Ask questions
Don’t ask questions to things you don’t treally want the answers to.
Make sure only one person asks questions at a time which avoids confusion
Don’t ask for a "sign" that the spirit is really there, you may not appreciate what that “sign” could be!
If it isn’t working remove and or replace participants.
The planchette may start by rotating around the board as if the spirit is trying to gain their bearings.
If you do not understand message ask spirit to repeat it or ask more clearly defined questions, they may not understand you either.
If a spirit points to "good bye" or otherwise indicates that it wants you to bug off, let it go, don’t try to bully it into staying (that would be rude).
If you want to finish the seance place the planchette on "Good Bye" and say that you are now leaving. All participants should remove their fingers from the planchette and off the board, put it away now.

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Things to take into account
Spirits are just like you and me (except for the dead part),in that there are many different personallity types and varrying degrees of intelligence, talent and ability to spell.

Be aware that it requires a lot of energy on from both the spirit and the living to communicate with each other. If you or the spirit should become tired (or bored) and just stop before someone falls asleep or gets cranky.

If a nasty spirit shows up, cut off communicating with it immediately and stop the séance. Never reward a creepy spirit by giving them any airtime. There are plenty of good spirits to spend your time communing with, it is a terrible waste to spend any with a degenerate or a liar.

Remember, if you wouldn’t hang out with them if they were still breathing, why would you now that they are not?

Even if the spirit seems a likable fellow exercise caution, don't count on the accuracy of ouija board, and don't believe everything it tells you. Remember what you're mom always told you “don’t take candy from strangers” you may not be communicating with who you think you are so buyer, beware!

DO YOUR RESEARCH!

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Reincarnation / Karma & String Theory

2006-04-04T07:21:00.000-07:00

Reincarnation (“Going Around and Around”)

Karma (“What Goes Around Comes Around”)

And String Theory (Good Vibrations)

The theory or idea of reincarnation is a key belief of various peoples’ spiritual beliefs/practices, perhaps influencing the most people through its being a fundamental part of the Hindu religion. Reincarnation, the idea that our spirits have existed and continue to exist in various forms and/or bodies (i.e., incarnations) in the past, present and future, can help explain many phenomena of human experience. Indeed, when the Reincarnation theory/idea is combined with the theories/ideas of Karma and String Theory (to be discussed a bit later), persuasive support is created for the existence of supernatural and paranormal activity. Now that science has pursued some study of the supernatural/paranormal and is close to being able to possibly proving the existence of multiple dimensions (again, more later and elsewhere in this discussion) we are probably on the verge of the ability to definitively prove and demonstrate paranormal/supernatural activity.

O.K., so what about reincarnation? If one has lived multiple past lives it becomes logical that a person, or soul, can be born with extraordinary talents or skills that just “appear” one day. It has been common throughout history to find people who have musical, artistic, scientific and other aptitudes that they were not taught but rather seem to have “arrived” (i.e., were born) with. Why does a child show the talents of a Mozart, the aptitudes of Leonardo DaVinci or the unusual skills of Edgar Cayce? Extraordinary talents and high levels of proficiency are not easily explained by genetic or evolutionary processes. Additionally, it is common for people to feel a strong sense of familiarity with certain places, people, situations, time periods in history, other cultures etc. If we are
“cycling” through reincarnations then it makes sense that we can encounter, and learn from, people, places and multiple experiences and gather this “database” of knowledge and experience and “collectively” use it at some point.

Psychics and spiritual leaders such as Sylvia Brown, Edgar Cayce and Parmahansa Yogananda describe reincarnation as a path to spiritual awakening and eventual fulfillment. It has been alleged that the Bible originally contained many references to reincarnation but early church leaders who edited Bible content removed them to provide church followers with a greater sense of urgency concerning one’s salvation. If a person believed they lived an “infinite” number of lifetimes they might be inclined to slack off on their religious practices and progress.

Reincarnation is like a wheel turning around and around taking us on a spiritual journey. Whether a person (or spirit) progresses or digresses depends upon their actions in each lifetime. Here we must introduce another concept which is intimately connected to reincarnation and which we are about to discuss further: karma. Karma is an integral part of the belief system of eastern religion/spiritualism, particularly the Hindu religion. While we will give the reader an overview of how reincarnation and karma work and how this relates to supernatural occurrences, it should be noted that these are part of belief systems and practices which are personal in nature and each person makes during and/or after they have found the spiritual path and practice which is best for them.

So, what is karma? If reincarnation is a wheel that turns round and around, then karma would be a way of determining the wheel’s direction. Karma is often looked at as a “payback system” i.e., “what you do to others will be done unto you” but there is more to it than that. Most simply put, however, karma is the reaction one gets from one’s actions. It is a form of cosmic justice, which does not deal with god and bad, but rather, is simple action/reaction. As one’s actions generate karmic reaction a person accumulates momentum to progress either forward or backward in their spiritual progress. Karma, while most often connected to eastern religion/philosophies, can also be found in the Bible. Christian churches and traditions interpret the Bible in ways, which often use out-of-context quotations to justify certain actions and/or goals. For example, “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” can easily be interpreted as referring to karma. Since it doesn’t refer to who plucks out the eye or pulls the tooth it seems to simply say how justice works rather than to be justifying punishment or revenge as popular interpretation might have it.

When one life is over and another is ahead, i.e., reincarnation is in progress, where that life will begin in terms of talents, abilities, status etc. will be greatly influenced by karma. Karma will not only dictate the starting place o one’s life it also has major influence over ongoing life experience. Free will also contributes greatly in determining life-direction. According to Edgar Cayce and others free will an influence, direct and even, at times, override karma. O.K., so how does this relate to the supernatural? We’re getting there…

If a person reincarnates and there is an after-life existence, then whatever it is that makes up the essence of that person, often called the soul, must go somewhere to continue its existence and await its karmic direction. Science and belief converge here and, while science cannot yet conclusively prove the existence of an afterlife, it is getting closer and closer through such fields of study as quantum mechanics and, particularly string theory, to demonstrating the clear plausibility that there are places where a soul or spirit can be found. By various experimental and technological methods we may be able to show clear evidence of this.

So we may have located our departed relatives and friends out there in the “spirit world” awaiting reincarnation and their karmic fate(s), but how might it be that we see or experience their presence in our space and time? Why are some of them so bothersome in particular, like, for example, that weird kid down the street who always used to leap in front of moving vehicles until the day he ended up underneath a large truck, and who now is seen wandering in the street on the night of the anniversary of his demise, frightening his former neighbors? A good scientific explanation may be had through science proving the existence of other, possibly multiple, dimensions. This exciting possibility may come about through further exploration and experimentation in the fields of Quantum Mechanics and String Theory, which have become popular in the study of physics. So, let’s take a look at these…

This discussion is only intended to give the reader an idea of how physics’ study of Quantum Mechanics and String Theory may help prove the existence of supernatural phenomena, life after death etc. These ideas/theories can be confusing and quite involved, but we will make it quite simple and basic for our purposes.

Quantum Mechanics was devised as a means to explain the very small world at the subatomic level (i.e., the world of that which is smaller than an atom). Einstein’s theory of relativity and other explanations of electromagnetism, gravity and related large-scale properties of the universe did not cover behaviors of the subatomic level. While Quantum Mechanics (theory) is complex and has many fascinating things to say about life in the tiniest world, for purposes of relating to supernatural events probably the most interesting is that most anything should be possible and can happen given the right conditions and/or time. For example, if a person pushes against a wall long enough, conditions will eventually exist whereupon that person will physically pass through that wall! A “catch” to this (if that’s how one sees it) is that it may take nearly an eternity for the right conditions to come about, so one might have to have patience. Nonetheless, in the quantum world about anything can happen anytime! Materials can change form, disappear, pass through apparent solid matter and other stuff, which can chill and thrill!

String Theory may be the theory that overrides Quantum Theory (Mechanics) and both explains and unifies the world of the subatomic with the larger world of gravity, electromagnetism et. al. String Theory proposes that the universe is built up of extremely tiny strings which vibrate in ways which dictate composition and behaviors of things in our universe (as well as possibly others). By all calculations, String Theory requires multiple dimensions to function in the way it has been proposed. There is debate about how many dimensions but the consensus seems to favor ten or eleven. What’s exciting is that, through experiments to be conducted at the soon-to-operate CERN particle accelerator, the existence of these dimensions may be evidenced if scientists are fortunate enough to find a particle or particles named Kaluza-Klein particles. The discovery of Kaluza-Klein particles could open the door to the proving of there being other dimensions and maybe universes! Plenty of “space” for supernatural events and entities!

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The Wheel of the Year Wicca Picture

2006-04-03T16:21:00.000-07:00

Christmas Origins and Rituals, and other Modern Holidays Influenced by Ancient Pagan Celebrations

2006-04-03T14:49:00.001-07:00

Pagan History Comparison Christianity

If you peek up the skirts of some modern and Christian holidays, you may be surprised to find, that many of the lacey underpinnings were created from ancient pagan celebrations...

Groundhog Day / Brigid / Candlemas

Groundhog day/Brigid/Candlemas, is celebrated on February 2nd. Spring has just starting to make a showing, and this is where that prickly old weather predictor the hedgehog peeks his snout out of his ground dwelling to tell us how much longer we need to put up with winters chill.

"Wait a minute" you say, "Punxsutawney Phil's not a hedgehog, dang it, he's a groundhog, are you, daft"? (Yes I am)
In the "old country" on the other side of the globe (in Europe),where this rather primitive (silly) form of weather forcasting began, pagans and simple country folk, poised themselves, every February 2nd above the cozy little underground hovel of the shy little hedgehog. There they quietly lurked, until he sprouted, like an organic jack in the box, for a brief look-see. If he saw his shadow, thus frightening himself back into his home, there would be six more weeks of winter. If instaed, he comes out and starts rooting around for grubs, there would be an early spring, and everone would go home happy.

As europeans began to swarm the America's, they brought with them many of their superstitions, and traditions, one of them being "Hedgehog Day" (Ok, so it's not really Hedgehog day, per say).
Of coarse, hedgehogs not being indigenous to this continent, necessity (and their new found American ingenuity) found them the groundhog as a reasonable substitute.

"That's all fine and good", you say "but just what, does a ground dwelling varmint, have to do with the Sabbat Briged?
Fair question. Traditionally, this is when the first signs of spring are springing. The days are growing longer, the trees are beginning to bud, and the baby God (born at Yule), is growing like a little crocus sprout. It is at this point, that the pagans, impatient for a fully sprung, spring, turn to this curious little beastie for the scoop on how much longer, winter's cold bite will be in the air.

Not much has changed since then. We still lie in wait, for the poor little critter to poke his snout out of the comfort of his home every February 2nd. Only now we do it in Punxsutawney, PA, where dear little Phil, puts up with yet another showing, of silly humans (some in top hats) impatiently waiting for his weather report. Oh, and now we report it live on CNN news...

As the light grows longer
The cold grows stronger
If Candlemas be fair and bright
Winter will have another flight
If Candlemas be cloud and rain
Winter will be gone and not come again
A farmer should on Candlemas day
Have half his corn and half his hay
On Candlemas day if thorns hang a drop
You can be sure of a good pea crop
Old Scottish Poem

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Easter / Ostara

Easter commemorates the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. So what’s with all the bunny's, eggs and marshmallow peeps? The symbolism of bunnies, eggs and sweet little baby lambs, mark the spring equinox Sabbat, known as Ostara. Pagans created the name Ostara from the Teutonic lunar Goddess, Eostre, whose symbols were the hare (bunny) and the egg (chocolate). The hare symbolized fertility and virility (for reasons to obvious to mention), and the egg symbolizing new life (and the cosmic sugar egg of creation).

Ostara celebrates the return of spring around the 21rst of March. With springs bloom, come the births of cute baby farm animals, like the spring lambs, and chicken hatchlings etc. It is no coincidence then that we see marshmallow chicks, chocolate eggs, baby bunnies and lambs, as the symbols used for decoration and gift baskets at this time of year.

The tie in with the resurrection of Christ comes from another part of the Ostara myth. It celebrates the return of certain deities, from the underworld, where they have been in stasis all winter long.

The end of winter, I believe, is plenty enough cause for celebration. But, add to that, the thrill of the hunt for chocolate bunnies, over done hardboiled eggs; eagerly colored the night before, by sticky, fumbling little fingers of giggling children; add one neighborhood dad, willing to don the bunny suit, and well... now you've got a real hoot-a-nanny!

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Halloween / Samhain

Halloween is the eve of the pagan new year Samhain, which is Gaelic for summer's end. It really is more representative of end of the old year, than the start of the new one.

Some old Celtic traditions don't celebrate the New Year until Yule. For them, the period between Samhain and winter solstice is a time full of magic.

Traditionally, Samhain is a day to remember, and honor, loved ones, and ancestors who have passed on into the nether regions of death.

The Christian Church created All Saint's Day (November 1) as a holy day to recognize all the Catholic saints, the idea being, if you cant take the Sabbat out of the pagan, take the pagan out of the Sabbit, by turning it into a Christian holiday. Even so, many of the old Halloween traditions are still very much alive and well today.

Some things are just too fun to give up.

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Christmas / Yule

Ever wonder where the term Yule came from? The Yule Sabbat, around the 22nd of December is the celebration of Winter Solstice. It is the shortest day of the year, and the mid point of the difficult, cold winter season.

Yule welcomes the lengthening of the days, as they march toward the thaw of spring, when the air is warm with sunshine, the breeze perfumed with roses, and the birds find cause to sing high up in the trees again.

How does it tie in with Christmas? The tie in comes with the myth of the god who dies on Samhain, and is reborn on Yule. The Christian story of the birth of Jesus has simply been substituted for the pagan story of the God reborn.

The tradition of Yule logs and wreaths, are also left over from this pagan holiday. Even gift giving is part (and parcel) of this ancient celebration, which also ties in nicely with the story of the three wise men, offering their gifts, to the newborn messiah, Jesus.

Whatever the cause, we still gift and receive as in the days of old, and mulled wine is good for the soul whatever the celebration may be. Perhaps, even in our modern day society (and probably because of it), we still need a reason, when the days are dark and short, to find some gratitude and cheer, to ward off that old demon depression, in the cold winter months.

And what could be more cheerful then receiving a warm friendly smile, flushed with brandy wine, from the cute little third floor receptionist, at the office x-mass party? How angelic she appears, as she sits demurely on the Xerox machine printing out "Best Holiday Wishes" for each and every one her co-workers.

Ah Christmas, a wonderful holiday, ripe with the spirit of giving and receiving.

Oh, and one more thing, there is no Sanity Clause...

How did this happen?

You may be wondering how Christian holidays become so tightly interwoven with pagan Sabbat celebrations. The truth is a little bit sneaky. Christianity in its the first few hundred years, though gaining momentum with the nobles, and aristocracies of Europe, was still struggling to become an accepted religion by the simple peasantry and serfs. Unwilling to give up their ancient traditions for the New Faith, the church decided to meet them partway, by leaving the traditional dates and symbols in place and tweaking the names and the reasons for the celebrations. In that way they where able to homogenize the old pagan beliefs with that of the new religion of Christianity.

I told you there wasn't a "Sanity Clause"...

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