Monthly Archives: December 2013
Change Is Your Friend
Life Renewed by Tania Marie (1998)
A quick little inspirational post I felt nudged to repost here, since not everyone is on Facebook.
Many see change as the enemy, but until you make it your friend and valued ally, you won’t experience the graceful way it can bestow gifts in your life. Transformation is a force for real growth and real growth can sometimes mean pain or discomfort, though can be experienced with the understanding of its natural cycle.
Without this interim of pain you would not feel alive and there would also be no aliveness of joy, nor a butterfly birthed from the caterpillar.
It is when we block, stop, or judge the change set in motion, that we experience increased and unnaturally prolonged discomforts, which in essence are merely lovingly trying to get your attention because, guess what?
You love yourself more than you allow yourself to realize and the knowing part of you will always act in your best interest to support you into remembering who you really are.
Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas On Sale – Crystal Illuminations to Light Up the Holidays
If you’re looking for that last minute special and unique Christmas gift for someone, or perhaps for yourself, today and maybe tomorrow are likely the last days your order will make it in time to arrive before the big day (if you live in the U.S.).
Due to the Closeout Sale, everything has moved fast and I’m beyond happy to see these pieces going to their loving new homes for the holidays. And enjoying seeing a piece off today going all the way to Latvia to a dear soul.
There are ONLY 2 amazing items left in the shop, which includes these rare crystals featured below. All Crystal Illuminations paintings, crystal jewelry, and other crystals have moved on to their new keepers.
The series of over 30 Crystal Illuminations paintings (I lost count, since I made others I didn’t post), has come to close. I so enjoyed creating these and have put much love into each of them. I am grateful and honored to have been able to steward these crystals and express their essence.
This is a Closeout Sale with hugely reduced prices, as I will no longer be offering any more crystals and crystal creations for sale. So what you find in the shop are some of the special and powerful ones that have been looking for their perfect partners.
These crystals have been marked down to below cost and since shipping is also included FREE if in the U.S., these are an amazing bargain. And both are available with a payment plan. Simply message me with inquiries. You won’t find a giant Lemurian Seed Crystal or Aquamarine like these.
I choose each crystal intuitively and lovingly infuse each crystal and creation with Reiki.
You can read about all of the energetic support each of your potential new friends will bring to your life, here:
Crystal Illumination – Holiday Giving Closeout Sale
Here are the 2 items left that you can choose from below. Please check out the link above to read about them and see more photos of each.
The shop will remain open only until all crystal friends find their new homes.
Full Moon in Gemini Energy – December 17th, 2013
Took this photo early this morning and loved the symbolism of the Full Moon in the background and this partnering reflection of illumination in the foreground. Sun and Moon, duality of Gemini, and simultaneous singularity of inner and outer vision and expansion.
Here we are at the last Full Moon of 2013 and interestingly we find it to be illuminating the Gemini energies of flexibility and adaptability – which are powerful tools to approach all of the shifts we have been experiencing, leading to this New Year of opening experiences.
Gemini is an Air sign and symbolizes our thirst for knowledge and experience. To understand this energy let’s briefly review some Gemini qualities which include communication, being light-hearted, learning about life through a multitude of experiences, teaching what’s been learned, the constantly changing truth, curiosity, being wide open, and the symbolism of the butterfly who flies from flower to flower and enjoys each and every one of them.
Gemini tends to live from the neck up, in the chatty throat and inventive mind – speaking and thinking in continuous flow, which can sometimes lead to spaciness or over-analyzing. There is the tendency then to over-think and talk more than listen, or actually do what we say, so when this energy is illuminated with the Full Moon you need to be sure to listen as much as it is your desire to communicate. As well, it would benefit you greatly to be willing to commit to taking action to fulfill those words spoken, otherwise they remain as empty space filled with unfulfillment.
This is a time to find your voice and appreciate life’s diversity with an open mind that allows new things and surprises into your experience. But also, as mentioned, to remain committed with patient restraint while the old is cycling away, in order for the new to appear on the scene.
Gemini’s ability to easily change from moment to moment is wonderful in allowing for those natural cycles to take place, but if you unknowingly or knowingly use this kind of flexibility to avoid commitment, or out of fear of verbalizing your stand, at any given time to others, then it becomes another denial tactic by which you use this to avoid shining your brightest and living fully.
What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
This full moon also has the duality of Gemini Moon and Sagittarius Sun in action, which can add to some confusion in feeling pulled in different, and sometimes opposite, directions. You have the ability to shift directions easily by embracing that inner flow of feeling that can help to subdue the overactive intellectualizing. The Air element provides breathing space for the emotional freedom craved, but it also can produce the “hot air” of either misleading words (leading to misunderstandings) or simply “talking the talk” as we wonder about options, question over and over, and flip-flop constantly. So it’s important to stay on top of your worries, fears, and self-doubts and be conscious of how you are communicating intentions with hesitancy or clarity.
You may feel both full and empty simultaneously. Walking, movement in general, and deep breathing can help to move the energy through so it doesn’t get stuck or over-stimulated and produces congestion, heaviness and nervous anxiety. Striving for balance is key with the Full Moon in Gemini.
Taking those faithful leaps will help you to overcome the duality Gemini presents and will be a way to put your wisdom into action. Moving past heavy limitation with a heart with wings to fly high and go more public with the things that are self-nurturing to you will help you to be more fluid. This may bring higher responsibilities to your life, which is something we’ve been trying to embrace more of, and in fact will provide greater freedom.
I’ve talked before about things feeling like they’ve been on hold and with this Full Moon you may feel extra restless or experience increased anxiety that things aren’t moving as fast as you would like or “think” that they should. This is where breathing in the acceptance of what is here now will be helpful in releasing that mental stress and tension and getting you more unified toward what is being created, rather than scattered.
If you can become aware of the dual ways your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are running a muck, then you’ll harness that inefficiently spread energy that is not only sending out mixed messages to others and the Universe, but working against you and what you are working towards creating.
Mental stress is a leading proponent of sleep deprivation, nervous and compulsive disorders, fear and worry, and compromised health. And it will take you out of your heart and suppress the voice of your inner guidance that would be of assistance to you if you could hear it over the loud mental chatter. So it’s really important to strive for flexibility, to gain that balance, to be the breath of fresh air that you seek from others, and to speak to yourself and others from the heart.
The Full Moon in Gemini supports reflection and inquiry into your emotional field of experience and asking yourself how you are feeling, THEN using your insightful wisdom to understand so that you can implement actions with all of your parts working together.
The heart of the Galactic Center (where the Sun is sitting during this Full Moon) is singularity and yet Gemini is about duality. So this makes for some interesting energy to work with when we have been focused on transcending duality. Again, it takes us back to that balance needed, the ability to observe all parts, and to be able to step in and out of them without attachment, but with the realization and respect for the value each embodies as an integral part of the whole. And with Sun in Sagittarius, this assists our ability to expand our mind and go further than the limitations of black and white.
This becomes the complexity of energy with this Full Moon, as we are working at understanding the larger picture and utilizing the mental faculties of Gemini to broaden our point of view to see more of what we are each here to do and to redirect our energies in the ways that will align in support of that.
This “reorientation” is a big theme for this Full Moon which utilizes our individual, mental and spiritual energy in new ways that will support the now and future at large, simultaneously.
This may be a time of receiving unique and expansive insights, not to mention unexpected gifts – if you are able to see and work with the energy as such. This can also be a time of extra tension because of unexpected events that you aren’t able to be open, flexible and adaptive to – hence the innate gifts then become unwanted challenges.
This Gemini Full Moon activates the Galactic Center, which can be seen as an awakening burst of energy supporting new thoughts, ideas, and ways of being in the world, as you release all limitations with full trust that you and your efforts are completely being supported.
Yes, all things new are abound. Engage expansion of your horizons, which will include having the optimism and willingness to commit and dedicate yourself with utmost faith. This will lead to new ways of living and being. Moving, exploring, and traveling to distant lands or even just journeying farther in your mind’s visualization and imagination “eye” will initiate the creation of dreams into being.
Believe that resolve is at hand.
Last Chance Holiday Gifts Starting At Only $38 + Free Gifts
Still looking for a special and unique Christmas gift for someone, or perhaps even yourself? There’s still time to order your unique Crystal Illuminations painting, rare crystal, or enchanted crystal necklace and receive it in time for Christmas.
There are only 10 crystal essence pieces of art left, only 2 crystal necklaces, and 2 crystals still looking for the right person to welcome them into heart and home. All of which have been hugely reduced by up to 50% off, and include some of my all-time personal favorites.
Each piece holds its own unique energy signature frequency and commands a particular person to resonate with what they have to offer.
This is a Closeout Sale, as I will no longer be offering any more crystals and crystal creations for sale. So what you find in the shop are one-of-a-kind pieces and some of the special and powerful ones that have been looking for their perfect partners.
Items start at only $38. Several are under $50.
All are WAY under their value since shipping is also included FREE if in the U.S.
Everyone that has received their Crystal Illuminations painting have all shared how the beauty and energy is unmatched by any of the photos I am able to take of them and have also shared that they can feel the essence that comes through the crystals right away (both in paintings and stand alone pieces), as being different from any others they have experienced.
I do choose them intuitively and lovingly infuse each crystal and creation with Reiki. Like with the Faery-infused crystal necklaces I made, you will experience an enchantment that emanates from each.
The larger crystal items have been marked down to below cost. You won’t find a giant Lemurian Seed Crystal or Aquamarine like the ones available. And for the right person, there is the option of a payment plan on these.
So don’t wait too long if you’d like to receive one of these by Christmas, as you know how busy the carriers are at this time of the year and aren’t always able to make any guarantees, but do their best to make sure your package arrives in time.
You can read about all of the energetic support each of your potential new friends and sacred meditational pieces will bring to your life, as well as place your Christmas orders here:
Crystal Illumination – Holiday Giving Closeout Sale
FREE gifts will go to the first 3 people that place an order.
These are surprise Santa gifts that you will receive in your package sent out for Christmas. 😉 Isn’t Christmas fun?! You shouldn’t know everything you’re getting right?! And if you’re purchasing for someone else, your giving energy should be reciprocated with some receiving. At least I think so.
Here are the 10 Crystal Illuminations paintings you can choose from below. They each have either metallic silver or gold paint sprinkled around the crystals that will light up in person under the light. Please check out the link above to read about them, see more photos, and to also check out the crystal necklaces and crystals.
Shifting Into New & Freeing, Vulnerable Processes – Powerful Insights from Matt Kahn
I feel this is such a powerful and worthwhile hour to listen to by spiritual teacher and intuitive healer, Matt Kahn. As always, it is up to each person to feel what is your own heart’s truth and to filter things by resonance. I only share things that resonate or reflect my own feelings and, to me, Matt so beautifully and simply expresses something that has also been on the forefront of my class teachings and contemplation, in the last 7 or so months.
It’s amazing to observe the evolution we are continually experiencing.
This weekend, while out in nature I was synchronously discussing how more and more I am being energetically turned off from much of what I once found interesting, used to use as my processes, or that come through the teachings of others that has become far too elaborate and unnecessary to my innate, childlike ways. This does not make them invalid to me, but merely not in resonation with my current personal frequency.
For me, the searching is no longer there, nor the wordiness, over-mentalizing, and spiritual jargon that feels entrapping to methodologies and the pursuit of sameness that produces righteousness.
The processes people have become conditioned with and well-versed in, subsequently going out and teaching to others, in many cases has become outmoded. They worked fabulously in the 3D phase of experience, but we aren’t there anymore and so, as Matt shares, they just aren’t going to work anymore. Many are discovering and wondering why things aren’t happening for them like they used to, or why the same stuff is coming up. This is why.
We need new, simplified processes and insightful perspectives to free ourselves from the vicious circles and entanglements. The only complexity will be your feelings of discomfort with the vulnerability needed, but vulnerability is truly a simple energy at heart – the basis of telepathy and deep connection/communication.
Much of the complex processes are part of what’s keeping us in an endless cycle. I feel the new processes are leading back to the vulnerability, real connection and heart, authenticity, true intimacy, and unconditional love and compassion at its finest, which isn’t the kind you’ve likely come to embrace, but the kind that you recognize from your holding the wholeness of your personal frequency in honor and love of its light.
It involves the courage to see your weaknesses as gifts to your strength, and how you can instantly create that transmutational healing.
So when a dear friend shared this video, I smiled to hear that others are also feeling similarly and are constantly embracing the evolution of experience that is needed.
We can lead by example with these newer processes, which is always the best way to create change. And much of the time you may feel like you’re the only one doing the new, which may feel awkward or even weird at first, but this is part of how change will take form. We each need to step out of our comfort zones and lead in our own ways.
I do believe that the powerful shifts come from having your learning environment be out in the real-time world. Controlled environments don’t mirror real experiences, nor the type of vulnerability needed.
It truly is about “LIVING THE EXPERIENCE” and processing “OUT LOUD”.
There are some really powerful things you will find in the video talk, but as with anything, and as Matt shares:
“This isn’t the whole journey, but it’s how we begin to step to the forefront of our evolution and use every day and conversation as a chance to transmute the cellular debris without getting in the cycle of endless modalities.”
Anyway, I hope you enjoy Matt’s heart-full insights:
Activate Your Creative Power With Conscious Intention
Some quick thoughts to ponder today about creative power and the miracles you create with it:
Are you using your creative energy most efficiently?
Think about that, as I bet you will find that you spend more time misusing your creative energy and power fixating on worry, doubt, complaining, gossiping, story telling, and coming up with ingenious excuses, preoccupations, and stories to support fears, than you do investing in creative thoughts, imaginative visualizations, inspired pursuits and passionate actions.
Be mindful of where you are placing your creative power and make the necessary adjustments so you can harness it in empowering, rather than disempowering ways.
Here’s an interesting perspective flip…
Miracles are considered to be occurrences that take place in surprisingly wonderful and “welcome” ways. The definition of a miracle is an inexplicable event considered to be the work of some divine agency and the truth is, “miracles” are responses to a request fueled by YOUR focus and intents sent out, which are then answered/mirrored by the unified field of consciousness.
This principal is the same when you constantly focus your attention on how much you don’t like your job, boss, or particular person, complain about lack in any way, and focus on all of the things you don’t like about yourself and your life situations, and then those things manifest.
You would likely not choose to label these as miracles, but in fact they are, as a result of your powerful ability to be the creator of your life. There is no universal distinction between a creation of limitation and one of expansiveness – they simply are manifested creations/miracles that you are demonstrating each day to be in your ability to create.
The issue becomes one of perspective and judgment, where in you have chosen to only use certain words to describe something you deem a favorable experience. But if you come to realize how truly powerful you are in the way you are creating so many things, of every variety, in each moment, you can start to ease off of focusing your time and energy on things you don’t want to create, and start focusing it on only the things you do.
You – YOUR frequency – influences the energy field of your experiences.
Choose to activate your creative power with conscious intention and you will be the magician of your own chosen, life miracles, as you choose to shape, create, and flow them through.
Riding the Train of Life – Symbolism to Navigate the Tracks of Your Journey
ready to board the train – taken by rod foster
Trains have been a topic of symbolic discussion for a while – often referring to the synchronicity train we seem to ride along together. I love their magickal quality to be able to instantly evoke the powerful imagination. This reminds me of childhood stories and animated movies centered around trains.
And there’s of course the Hogwarts Express at King’s Cross Station that Harry Potter and the other wizards and witches take between London and Hogsmeade Station to Hogwarts Castle.
Most of you will also remember The Polar Express that seamlessly blends the dream world with reality, as it describes a journey (both literal and symbolic) that brings about transformation for the characters and the reader as well. We are reminded that the world is full of wonder and all you need to do is look for it, listen, and believe.
I’m called to remember my first journey I took alone, which in fact was a train ride. Interesting I chose this mode of transportation to mark the beginning of what would be many more journeys I would continue to take. Up until then, all of my traveling had been with my parents and brother. My brother and I were lucky our parents took us everywhere and that they were already supporting the adventurous path that was surging from my blood from the get-go.
But it was a magickal train ride up the west coast – destination Montana – that I did take, enjoying my sleeper car, meeting new people, taking in the beautiful vistas from sunrise to sunset, and lots of time reflecting. It was an incredibly opening journey in many ways, but that’s for another story.
The reason it was called to mind, is that a few nights ago I had what seems to be (at least by my limited memory lol) the first dream I remember where I was on a train, and the energy was very similar to my train trip, but with an element of enchanted mystery.
That along with the recent train horns sounding in the distance, which has suddenly begun in the last few weeks here – our nearest Amtrak train station is about 8 miles from the house – has gotten my attention. I have found the sound of the train, as it passes through, igniting an excitement and warmth inside causing me to pause and take it in.
Being someone who keeps conscious vigil on what is going on inside and around me, I have understood the trains also messaging me.
Indeed, a new journey is in sight, as I continue to ride out the rest of this year. And despite not knowing what is to be, I am assured I am on the right “track.”
Some of the elements of my dream I remember included being on a very large train that had three levels. I had my own sleeper car that was at the bottom level and I remember going up winding stairs to the other levels and that everything was dark, but warm, inviting, and exciting.
I don’t remember getting on the train…I don’t remember getting off. I don’t even know where I/we were headed. And I don’t recall seeing anyone or anything, but feeling and knowing they were there. Somehow I was in a parallel reality, layered over the one happening simultaneously, so it had a magickal feel to it, similar to how The Polar Express weaves dream and reality together with the train being that bridge.
I knew that the train symbolized a journey – my journey – and the constant, shifting and evolving journey of life, but I was interested in delving further into more meaning, so I began researching to see what I could find.
And a lot I did, which I thought you might enjoy reading about, if in fact trains have or are showing up for you, in some way.
The journey a train represents, can be symbolic of not just a literal journey/trip you will be taking soon, but also the journeying into regions of the psyche that are unexplored. Sometimes even, journeying into a new relationship – with self, another, business partner, etc. It can also indicate a journey into a new facet of your life that entails a new destiny.
I find my being in a sleeper car on the train to be comforting, as for me, it indicates my always feeling at home where ever I am, or am led.
Since the train is a mode of transportation controlled by someone other than yourself (unless you dream yourself as the engineer), it can symbolize a powerful force guiding you, which you may either feel flowingly aligned in trusting, or for some, you might feel you have no control and that can cause anxiety. In my dream, this felt very relaxed and peacefully relieving, which is what I’ve been feeling in waking life of trusting completely in where I’m guided, whatever that means or takes.
They say that if the train in your dream crashes, this may symbolize a force that is less beneficial – no crashing in my dream! 🙂
And since train travel isn’t as common as it is in other countries, it can also symbolize a way of doing something you’ve always done, that needs to be let go because it is outdated. Well, this is perfect, as I have been letting go, phasing out, and cutting out things in my life that to others may seem surprising, but I realize it’s time for something else. No need to continue what’s been done for lifetimes. And definitely seeing the end to contracts with others and myself, as I wrote in my year-end post:
…we are starting to activate more responsibility, empowerment, collective connection, and gentle grace to shine as brightly as we want, after having been released from contracts we’ve fulfilled. Many of you don’t realize you can relinquish these, are in denial and choosing to diminish yourself, or are still empathing others and waiting on others to step up before you will allow yourself to.
This is all done. This coming year, especially, the time has come to act upon being your shiniest ever. Leading by example will become your way of living, rather than an idea you aspire to and throw around as a positive quote when it fits the bill.
On the other end of the spectrum though, it could also mean simultaneously to do something new, or to do what you’ve longed and dreamed of, to enact visionary ideas into manifestation, even if it is NOT, and BECAUSE it is NOT, the “common” way. It is time to be uniquely you and create new experiences and systems that are more expansive.
Since trains are mass transit vehicles, it could mean that you are conforming to what others around you are doing, rather than doing what you believe is best and in alignment with your truth. It can also mean doing something methodical.
For me, since I was in a parallel reality, while still on the train of life with everyone else, yet on my own train, this would point to me that the journey I am taking or to take, is one that is outside the mass experience.
But since trains run “on tracks”, the symbolism of this points to encouragement and nudges that you are on the “right track”. Yay!
All of these things, including any dream you have, really have a lot to do with how you associate things and believe or feel about them. So it’s important to see how you feel about trains in waking life to understand how your psyche is messaging you. Dream interpretation is general and there are so many ways to interpret anything really. So it is a process to learn what things mean for you and how they relate to your belief system, in order to find the key that unlocks the meaning of your dream.
For instance, if when you think of trains you don’t feel them to be outdated/uncommon, but rather prefer or enjoy them, then that would shift the above meaning about your continuing on an old track that needs to be changed. In which case, dreaming of trains may have very positive reinforcement for you, as mine felt to be, unless of course there’s a crash or the train derails.
And like anything, and definitely with my own dream I shared, there are many layers…some of which you won’t uncover consciously and truly don’t need to, as they are, and have, done the work and recalibrating needed while you were dreaming them into being. Or, will come to make sense and click for you, when the time is right. So just make note of the dream, maybe journal it even, and you can flip back to it with an ah-ha! later on.
I also found information sharing, of course, that derailments symbolize something unsafe you are feeling, anxiety, fear, and warnings with serious consequences. Missing a trains may be a missed opportunity and waiting for one may mean you are waiting on something to happen and feeling helpless to affect the outcome. Train wrecks are indicative of being on the wrong track and headed for disaster, or that you are not being conscious of everything going on around you in order to make wise decisions.
There’s even info indicating trains can be a sexual symbol and represent sexual desire.
If you’re on, or see, a freight train they say that refers to burdens and problem you are hauling around, an omen of changes, or manual labor. Passenger trains can relate to spiritual and mental work (this was the kind of train I was on) and playing with model trains can speak to your wanting more control and power over your own life.
Dreaming of trains in general can be a metaphor for being “in training” for something as well, and the perseverance needed for what’s ahead.
as the train of life rolls on – you are taken into a new reality – by rod foster
I’ve always known that our cars represent our vehicles in life, but the same holds true for trains, buses, boats…they represent a part of the total and true self traveling through the journey of your life. And in the case of the train, you are able to see the views through which you travel in greater depth and expanse, being that trains travel through areas cars cannot. So perhaps this speaks to having vision of the paths and possibilities with great clarity, as well as monitoring the environment that will bring changes to your life and personal growth.
In my “darker” dream, it seems the vision was one that came from within, since I don’t remember seeing the landscape – only enjoying the journey. I was being guided by a trusted force and embracing the journey, since I was quite happy on my “dream” train.
Indeed, the train symbolizes your life’s journey and validation of heading in the right or “challenged” direction, whether you can see it or not. 🙂
Last Chance Today to Receive $100 Off Your Spring Equinox Reiki Retreat
Until midnight, today you can still take advantage of the $100 Early Bird registration for our Reiki Renewal Retreat this March in Laguna Beach, CA.
A deposit holds your space and a payment plan is available.
Locals and past local students are welcome to join any of the class days that fit your desires.
New local students can choose your class interests and message me for individual rates. You’re welcome to stay the weekend too.
Past students who are auditing, can do so free. Many enjoy a refresher, as well as find that each class is different and new information is shared. If you are a past student, you will still need to let me know ahead of time what classes you’ll be joining, in terms of food (which will need to be purchased) and any activities you want to participate in.
Out of town, past students can join the classes free as well to refresh, in which case you’d only have accommodations/food/activities to handle.
Please message me with any questions or to get specific rates for your particular needs at tania@taniamarie.com
This is a perfect way to celebrate the renewal of Spring, as a mirror to your own revitalization, healing, empowerment, exploration, and connection, while doing something for you that is of far-reaching service.
Details can be found here:
Lighting Your Truth to Freedom, Passion & Inspired Leadership – Closing Chapter 2013 to Write Chapter 2014’s Lively & Instinctual Year of the Horse
My wild mustang friend in the marshland behind my parent’s Reno home
I felt inspired to share thoughts about the energy shifts with the year transitions earlier than usual, as it felt like this could be useful to your reflections, processing, and preparations in the last few weeks of 2013. I know it’s a busy time for many, but this way the energy and thoughts can percolate in the background, as you navigate through your days.
And oh how the days move quickly, as we near straddling the segue between one year to another.
Like many, I have seen so much take place in such a relatively short time. Rapid transitions and immense shifting have been processing through, which sometimes go unnoticed because they happen so naturally, or are being felt to the umpteenth degree because we put up some good fights – all while we relearn to embody our home frequencies.
It’s an exciting time, as you remember and expand upon your abilities to co-create with the forces of the universe through the gateway of your heart.
As the year-end approaches, once again we find ourselves in reflection upon closure of yet another chapter in the story of our lives. To many, it may have felt like you are waiting on something, especially the last few months and indeed there has been a period of physical “hold”, while energetically things are aligning, integrating, and recalibrating. There is always much going on even though it may look like nothing is.
It has been a challenging, opening, mysterious, explorative, and penetrating year and while the rolling in of a new year calls to many to reflect, it’s likely you have already been doing much reflection all year through.
It’s important to try to practice making reflection, gratitude and celebration an everyday focus, rather than waiting for any given day or time of the year to designate this for you. That being said, if you haven’t had the chance to take a moment to go within, then now is as good a time as any to spend time with yourself and listen.
For many, 2013 has brought much, much change from new jobs and homes, to seeing the cycle of relationships and friendships come to natural closure and new ones emerge. This has also included the relationship you had with yourself and likely seeing someone you never did before, staring you back in the mirror, and yet the new face reflected is feeling more familiar than ever.
Sweet and gentle, or bitter and harsh, change manifests as a result of your perceptions, beliefs, and feelings. When you understand that at any given moment, the possibility to experience what you desire is available to you, then you start on a path of co-creative self-empowerment and realize you are not at the mercy of anything. We do have the power to be better partners in the experience of our lives, than we have chosen to be, and there are many ways we can go about supporting this for ourselves, and with the support of others, when we commit responsibly and learn to ask for help, as well as listen to, and act upon, the answers received.
In remembering our true natures and limitless potentials, learning more balance and presence in our lives, and exercising vulnerability, deeper intimacy, tenderness, and compassion we are starting to activate more responsibility, empowerment, collective connection, and gentle grace to shine as brightly as we want, after having been released from contracts we’ve fulfilled. Many of you don’t realize you can relinquish these, are in denial and choosing to diminish yourself, or are still empathing others and waiting on others to step up before you will allow yourself to.
This is all done. This coming year, especially, the time has come to act upon being your shiniest ever. Leading by example will become your way of living, rather than an idea you aspire to and throw around as a positive quote when it fits the bill.
“Don’t fear the light within. May it ignite the Sacred Flame in your soul.” ~Paulo Coelho
As the plants and animals may slumber during the Winter season, warm feelings and creative potentials are richly abound and incubating. These changes, brought on by the season, reflect as inward renewal with potentials for new and passionate blossoming. We are approaching a new year and that means an energetic field of opportunity for creating anew, just as each day presents a clean slate, if we so choose.
I don’t believe it is a time for seeking anymore, as much as it is a time to activate your truth, exercise your sovereign free will, and discover your greatest freedom and creative powers when you do so. You already are all that you have been trying to find. I feel that everything is already there and just awaiting your enacting it now and this is why there is so much challenge I hear from many, as there’s no more room to hide. It is time to activate your truth, rather than continue to actively search or wait for some magickal moment.
You will come to see that YOU create the magick.
I see a lot of people struggling with this, as they are replacing that truth with continued seeking and there is a tendency to use spiritual jargon to support this illusion/confusion and perhaps in some cases, the denial I spoke of. We all have our time in those denial, or self-sabotaging moments, but soon you will come to see that it is more about remembering and trusting what is, in whatever beautiful unique, you-way, without comparison to others, or in direct proportion to how little or how much others are doing.
That reminds me of the words I quoted in the acknowledgment section of my book, Spiritual Skin, by my instructor at FIDM – Mr. Cufflin. The words had a particular meaning for me and included some other passages he was planting seeds of support for, from his very intuitive observations of me ;), but I feel that many of you will relate to this portion of what he shared and that the value of his words speaks to everyone. This is what he wrote on one of my term project papers:
“Do NOT let your peers keep you from always doing your best. Don’t listen to those who would try to pull you down to their level of performance. You have been given talents and abilities and along with those, the responsibility to encourage and inspire others to do more and reach heights of excellence they never thought possible. Remember: only compete with yourself, avoid critical comparison with others’ achievements. Discover your God-given gifts and develop them for service to others.”
I find that words easily can be both poetic and entrapping, so be extra mindful of how you may be talking yourself into a parallel reality of your own creation that closely resembles what your truth may feel like, but in actuality is an illusion of the real you.
2014 will herald in some exciting energy, which I have been feeling all 2013 long. 🙂 I have mentioned before how I have felt I’ve been living in 2014 most of 2013. I feel that that accounts for a lot of the reasons why I hardly remember everything I’ve done this year, have moments of being zapped back by people’s comments that don’t make sense from where I’m experiencing, and have experienced amped up déjà vu’s. At times this year has even felt dragged out, as I was waiting for all of my parts to align with what I was already feeling and seeing on an existing parallel plane of existence I’ve been prepping alongside this one. I feel we all do this, but perhaps aren’t consciously aware of it. It shows up in those déjà vu moments, however.
So what will the energy of this new year, a number 7 year in numerology and the Year of the Horse in Chinese Astrology, feel like? I feel that it holds an exhilarating energy for many visionaries and people who have been laying the groundwork for years, to rise to the occasion and suddenly step out in big ways. It will seem like overnight, and yet no one will truly realize the process that has been taken to get there, except each individual and others doing the same.
This year has been sort of a holding zone for incubation and deep processing, and yet it won’t be babies that are emerging from the cocoons, but much more matured beings lighting up the world, as they spread their wings.
“Seven is the number of realization of the space time” ~Abellio
2014 is a number 7 year which is considered a magick number associated with mysticism. It is also the searcher of truth and that speaks to seeing your truth and how that weaves into the collective bigger picture, as well as becoming aware to understand the hidden truths of life. This implies that more illusionary veils will fall and surprises await. It will be up to each of you how you choose to work with what you find and how, as a result, you will experience them.
This is a year of transformation for the better, where you’ll be challenged to remain focused and directed, despite feeling pulled in different directions. The work you have done will lead your intuitive knowing and heart guidance to wise discernment, if you engage it. You will also need to be aware of your own frequency and when being triggered by others, so that you can keep your cool without defensiveness, realizing you’re just feeling their projected energy and not the centering of your own.
You may find yourself in introspection a lot, evaluating everything in terms of how you can make the world a better place through your own life example of being true to you. Having come through a personal number 7 year myself, about ready to move into an 8, I can attest to having felt very much wanting to be with my own experience in order to ground the foundation I’ve been building, to review everything so that only what is most aligned will carry forth with me and the rest will be thanked as it sails away in other directions, and to be extra on top of the balance needed between giving and receiving.
The number seven is known to be the number of creation, representing the live relationship between the human and the Divine. It is the symbol of divine abundance and the sense of change after an accomplished cycle and of a positive renewal. We may seem some extreme changes and experiences on the global scene in this coming year as a result. All of this deterioration will help foster the building of new systems and ways to take into account the best of interests of our Earth collective at large.
But in general, I feel this is a lively year of activity and progression with many opportunities unfolding.
And that leads us to the good luck Year of the Horse, and in 2014’s case, “The Wood Horse”. This is a high energy year where production is reward, there will be fast victories as result of decisive action (horses don’t procrastinate!), unexpected adventure, surprising romance, and the potential for a lot of travel – the farther, the better – that will offer you expansive opportunities and growth.
It’s a time to only act upon what your intuition feels completely good about. If it doesn’t, it either is not the direction to be going, or you need more information to make a better informed decision, as something is obviously under the surface that you’d probably like to avoid rather than have jump out at you later. The thing is, you will be able to do this quickly, by tuning in to your intuitive senses.
It’s a year for finding your inner strength, power, courage, and wings to even fly, like the magickal Pegasus. Horses are independent, free-spirited, willful, wild, and have a highly refined instinctual sense that not only can act quickly, but can do so with great accuracy because of their deep inner knowingness. A lot of movement, action, and a lot of big breakthrough experiences that will catapult you, are all possible this year.
It’s a year of action and continuous energy flow, as movement is everything when it comes to the Horse. Like the air Horses breathe, freedom and independence are essential, and this lends to what I shared earlier about it being time for each of you to shine YOUR brightest, without any constraints placed on you by yourself, others, or your response to empathing others.
If something is right, you don’t need to think about it. Just do it! I’ve been saying this for a while, and finally a year that also supports this energy. It’s time to wiggle your butt into action. You truly do already have enough to take those steps. Horse teaches us the balance of being really connected to the Earth and our instincts, but also doesn’t ignore any details. It’s a simultaneous experience and doesn’t take a ton of analyzing and worrying over, to work it out.
So think, instincts, instincts, instincts! And when you follow them, you’ll find greater freedom and fulfillment. And if you haven’t already, it’s a good time to return to nature, as Horses teach us the importance of communing with our natural world, both inner and outer, as this will not only help you to keep your center and balance, but will provide the accurate guidance needed to navigate your active course!
Whatever you choose to embrace, try to maintain your vision and flexibility to build the change you want to experience. And as always, a supportive way to do this is to keep your heart and perspectives open, learn to be more present and compassionate, responsive vs. reactive, and exercise your imaginations and vulnerability while finding a grounded balance.
As we put peaceful closure to what was quite a full year of shifting experiences, it is time to be ever-more present and focused on the now and to leave the rest behind you for good – moving forward only with the love and healing wisdom that is shaping the new you have desired.
And let me just say, even though it’s been a challenge, you have made it to this point. Nothing is impossible and synchronicity and balance are appearing more at the forefront of our lives as we continue to move forward with renewed empowerment amidst the change. The more we embrace, the more we can let it be and flow with each wave of experience that enters our lives.
Thank you for shining your courageous hearts as beacons of light to help support and guide others to do the same.
You’re Only As Strong As Your Weakest Link But As Wise As Your Strongest
Back in 2002, when I still watched television, I remember the game show, the Weakest Link. The premise of this game was to have a team of players trying to reach and bank a set target within a limited time period by answering a chain of answers correctly. The chain was broken if one player answered incorrectly, or if they decided to bank the money in the chain already. When a player answered the question wrong, they were eliminated and the game show host would see them off by saying: “You are the weakest link. Goodbye!”
Obviously, each team hoped to have what they thought to be “strong” players, as that would help them to achieve their individual goals. They didn’t always recognize where the “weakest” link would be, so it was important to each do their best to keep in the game in order to potentially make a play for their win they helped to grow.
In this scenario, the “strongest” links were self-serving in their quest as well, and therefore not truly acting from the spirit and wisdom of “team effort” for a greater good. After all, these games are focused on winning and that tends to be an individual goal rather than being in the spirit of unity.
Now, I’m not about “winning or losing”, nor supporting a game of humiliation as a spectacle, but the premise here of the “whole” being only as strong as the weakest link within that whole, I feel has some important symbolism in terms of integrative healing processes that have been a focal point for everyone. And especially so if you are wanting to move into the fullness, freedom, and expansion of you, since doing so involves having done the integrative, deep, and honest work that will bring you to the realizations that have always resided within, awaiting you to embrace their truth.
You will only be able to do as much as is equal to the amount your shadow aspects have been loved, embraced, integrated, and transmuted. This is evident in the things that suddenly crop up or trigger you, or perhaps even completely pull the rug out from under you when you thought everything was peachy keen.
You can be chugging along feeling things are all lining up and incredible, then suddenly hit a break in the train track along the way and boom! Crash goes your puffed-up ego and positive “I think I can” fluffy engine with a domino effect of all your cars/pieces smashing one into the other, all the way down to your caboose, because you weren’t keeping in conscious, full-spectrum connection with the whole picture.
You can’t fake your way through life and you definitely can’t spiritually bypass the shadows within you that will blare at you from all angles until you revisit your natural feelings in a deeper, holistic way.
It’s not about judgment either, so weak doesn’t mean bad, wrong, or less enlightened…it simply is a piece that hasn’t seen the light yet, nor has been nurtured with the wisdom of your strongest parts that can lovingly assist them into empowerment, if given the committed attention and energy.
To explain how this works, remember that a link is something that holds things together. So in the case of a chain, if you pull from each end of it, your ability to break the chain is in proportion to how strong the links in the chain are, which dictates the amount of force it would take to do so – small or large.
It is said that if every link within the chain has the ability to withstand a strong force without breaking, then the chain is strong. If just one link breaks with even just a weak force, then the whole chain is weak, despite the strength of the other links. (hold that last thought until I revisit it shortly)
Something can come out and bite you in the butt by surprise because of untended old beliefs, repressed and denied emotions, and past pains unhealed.
So it’s a way of pointing out the weak points, or parts in need of your love, within you. You will find greater strength with all the new you are creating when you’ve refreshed and strengthened the old, weathered foundation/weak points.
But rather than measure yourself by your challenges, feel humiliation, shame, or defeat about the weaker aspects (as the game show liked to capitalize on), it would benefit you more to be grateful for them showing up and messaging you – seeing them as a helpful, valuable, and incredibly useful partner wanting to provide you the insights and tools to build the greatest creations ever.
Embracing your vulnerability and honesty with love, rather than judgment, ridicule, or self-punishment will provide you the gentle grace to fly. Self-punishment only keeps you caged.
But now let’s push play, from our previous hold, and take a look at the flip side as well. Is the chain really weak, because of some pieces needing your attention? Or is it that these weaker links are requiring your most wisest, strongest parts to step up to the plate and truly enact “real” strength to operate from their full potential?
While your weakest, untended parts/link may hinder, they do have their beauty and perfection for their presence in your life. And I have firmly believed that they hold the key to the most beautiful of your gifts and strengths when realized for what they are behind the distorted mirrors. There will always be seasons of change and inconstancy is part of the constancy of change. Your weaker and stronger parts don’t have to be a dichotomy of black and white duality, but rather the perspective of harmony within perfect elements that when understood, can create alchemy in your life.
Small tweaks to how we see and feel about things does change everything.
So, in fact, you are also as strong as your strongest links because the strength within their wisdom can be utilized productively, rather than as a force against or powering over the other parts. You can harness their innate clarity, courage, and compassion to meld with their counterparts to provide them exactly the cultivation they need for transmutation.
The wisdom of your strongest links wouldn’t dismiss the weaker links with a simple “goodbye”, as takes place in the game show, just because they don’t currently have the “right stuff”, as this can turn into denial or suppression since nothing was ever addressed. No, they don’t just go away by thinking them gone or ignoring them.
Instead, the wisdom of your strongest links would recognize there’s a vital ingredient the “weaker” have that will greatly impact the empowerment of the whole, so it is in the stronger link’s best interest to find ways to draw out and fortify the fine points rather than completely dismiss a part of the “team”. They have the vision to see that doing this will make them a force to reckon with, that will open more doors for ALL of you.
So rather than be the perpetrators of ridicule, enlist your strong links to replenish, renew, and reactivate the links in need, by utilizing the wisdom recognized in their call for help.
In this way both your so-called “weakest” and “strongest” links can rise to the occasion and support the fullness of your whole being.