How I first found Gaia yesterday on 2/11/14

It has been quite the powerfully charged couple of days and it is feeling like something has shifted, not just personally, but in a collective way since 2/11. Synchronously, these shifts I’m feeling align with a couple of momentous experiences that took place that very day.

As many of you know, my sweet Russian tortoise, Gaia, has been “away” since Friday, December 27th, 2013. She suddenly disappeared from our yard and I didn’t see her until yesterday when she appeared just as magickally as she had gone. I knew where ever she was, she was where she needed to be and trusted that her choice to go was important and one to honor and support, leaving Divine unfolding to do its thing.

To many it would be thought that she had decided to hibernate, as that is what tortoises naturally might do at this time of year. But I never actually believed this was what was happening – at least not in the way that “other” tortoises and turtles do. I saw her departure as a self-induced state of physical suspension where she was able to focus on a collective mission at hand, which she could only do in this state. She had journeyed into Deep Earth – Gaia went to the depths of Gaia! And would not return until it was “mission complete” or there was reason to.

If you know Gaia, like I know Gaia, you’d come to understand quickly that she’s one determined being with the kind of tenacity and strength that will out-do anyone a 100 times her size. It is a great honor to be in the presence of such a magnificent being. I have great reverence for her and gratitude for all that she has been to me in this life and beyond.

Since Gaia had never actually hibernated in all of the time I’ve had her for the last 6 years, this was an unusual occurrence, in any event. But nonetheless, I released worry and trusted that all was well, however that may be. I didn’t need to know any more than I already did.

And so life went on this last month and a half, while I kept the communication channels open in case Gaia were to need anything or have a message for me.

During the last couple of weeks, I started to notice Joy, my rabbit, shifting from her usual spots in my office where she stays with me all day, to laying in the spots only Gaia used to hang out – under my desk near the CPU unit and all of the electrical wires and power cords. Gaia communicates in codes and binary, and likes to be near these kind of energy/power sources.

So, I started to notice Joy may be either in communication with Gaia, was missing her, or relaying a message to me. Like with anything, learning to interpret messages, signs, dreams, feelings, visions, etc. is a process. 😉 But my gut felt it was something in terms of communication – either communicating with, or awaiting communication from Gaia.

Then just this past Sunday, the 9th (2 days before Gaia’s appearance), I had a dream with Gaia. Gaia, Joy, and Nestor have all communicated with me in the past via dreams with some really potent accurate and clear messages that would “wow” you. My dream time is a very potent realm for me and one of my prophetic areas of life where I receive messages, do work, and prepare things for the physical world. The challenge always lies in the interpretation, but whether or not I immediately understand the message, it always ends up becoming clear later.

And I DO have very clear and detailed dreamscape experiences.

But on this night one of my dreams involved Gaia. She appeared in my dream and I could feel her working her way through something. I realized she was inside the bottom of the box spring mattress and had been wrapped in a maze of thin sheets of felt-like material that covered the bottom of the mattress and finally had found the hole from which she had gone through in the first place, and then emerged and started marching out of the bedroom and into my office. The word that stuck out was “veil” when I was seeing her surrounded by these thin sheets and then breaking through the “veil”.

I immediately was excited to see her and could tell she seemed disoriented and out of it. I brought her food in case she was hungry after being away for so long. She ate a little slowly and then seemed to gag, as her body was still needing to slowly assimilate from not eating for so long.

Then I awoke. I immediately felt the dream had been symbolic. That Gaia was trying to message me about something. Since “veil” had stood out, it at first felt to be her sharing that something was shifting and clarity would be coming – something would be revealed and no longer hidden or an illusion.

I still feel this is part of the message, although have now come to see the dream was also prophetic and her way of letting me know she was on her way back to Earth’s surface and to me. The reason the original message still holds is because I know Gaia was doing some very important collective work and there was a big shift not only I, but many others I spoke to, shared feeling had happened on the 11th – the day she appeared after her work was done. And many had expressed feeling something had been lifted, or a block removed.

(A little fun side note: I used to have a mattress and the box spring mattress had a thin felt-like sheet that was stapled across the bottom. Joy had ingeniously decided to bite open a hole in the bottom of it big enough to jump up into, and used to run along the bottom of the box spring mattress and lay suspended there above the ground, held by the felt material, like a bunny hammock. LOL! So there was a connecting factor to interpreting Gaia’s message to me that I see now later. She also likely had messaged Joy about her return and reminding me of this story of Joy, was to let me know she was fine and like bunny’s that burrow into their warren mazes, Gaia too would find her way out of the labyrinth from which she came.)

So then we fast-forward to Tuesday the 11th, a day that marked my having an appointment to get my final sacred tattoo. It was already a celebratory day, but little did I know how much bigger the celebration would get.

To add to the story and timing, I originally had an appointment for February 5th, but it had to be moved by my tattoo artist, and so now became 2/11. For me, personally, this aligned with being an 11/2 Master day numerologically, and collectively, also an 11/2 Master day. I also had previously had a plan to meet up for lunch with a dear friend of mine in LA before heading off to my tattoo appointment – a birthday gift to me from me. However, being that I was going to be away for 10 days, and I was falling behind on work I needed to get done before going, my responsible voice stepped in and said it was best to cancel my lunch date and stay home. This is not like me to cancel play dates, but I have learned I need to listen to my internal messaging, as there is always a reason, even if not fully grasped as to what it is at first.

But I did for some reason feel there was more to the reason to be home, although had no idea what it could be. Needless to say, I did end up getting everything I wanted done that day before I had to head out for my drive to LA and my appointment, and as I was rushing to eat some lunch before I left, instead of sitting at the table or eating in my office, as I might usually do, I decided to just stand at the kitchen counter so I could be quick.

As I was standing and eating, my left eye caught something in the distance outside. Now, to understand how divine this is, not only in timing, but where I was standing, there is only a very tiny portion of the yard that can be seen through the sliding glass door from this position. But the tiny portion, was exactly the portion I needed to see at that moment.

I noticed something round on top of the cedar chips along the perimeter of the yard. And suddenly I knew. It came over me like a warm rush, chills, and overflow of love – Gaia had returned! In that second, before I could even make her out fully yet from this distance, the entire meaning and bigger picture of it all rushed through me in full understanding, respect, honor, and gratitude, without my needing to describe it.

I started to tear up and joyful cries flowed. I then rushed out the door and ran over to greet my friend who had returned. And there sat Gaia, all covered in dirt, basking in the sun and resting from what must have been an arduous journey to get here from where she came, and to arrive at just this timing. (Another interesting fact is, as you can see in both photos, there is this grayish area among the cedar chips. This is a thin felt-like sheet that lines the perimeter where the cedar lays on top. Another reflection of the thin felt fabric – veil – in my dream)

I could tell she was out of it, disoriented (just like in my dream), and needing time to rest and integrate. So I telepathically communed with her, looked to see if I could find a hole where she might have emerged from, but could see nothing, let her be, but went inside to get some kale (just as I had in my dream) to put beside her in case she was hungry. When I returned, she had moved a little from where I had found her, as you can see in this photo, but she was not hungry yet.

I was overjoyed and felt not only excitement to see my friend, but was excited for, and proud of, her for the work she had been doing, and also grateful that she had returned in time to see me off before this momentous tattoo venture I was now going on. Everything felt so tied together, and since I don’t only see my tattoos as personal, but collectively connected, I again was breathing in the totality of the reiterating reflection of this through Gaia’s return and the connection with what I was about to do.

I knew the rest of the day would unfold seamlessly, that I was being guided and supported, and that what would come to be my “Spiritual Skin,” would definitely be “More Than Skin Deep“. 😉

And so I was off to my tattoo appointment (arriving there in an hour without an ounce of traffic), feeling the expansiveness of what had shifted and was activated this day. I had been feeling an expansion was upon me/us and that full click of the switch seemed to have ignited. Even when I got to my appointment, I found that James, the vegan tattoo artist here in LA, was in the process of expanding his shop, had now another artist sharing his space, and soon to be a piercer, as well as the breaking down of walls to push the shop out more and sharing a common space with the hair dresser next door. It was also the first time I met James’ partner, who was herself sharing of their daughter on the way in a couple of months – hence in “creation” expansion herself.

And all flowed more than well. My tattoo coming to life in the flesh in the magick and beauty I had envisioned and I couldn’t be more pleased with what is currently a new favorite I wear on my body with great respect and honor.

I know that all of my loved ones were with me, and it was also the first time I had brought with me one of my crystal friends along for the tattooing journey – a new and amazing! Lapis Lazuli that has become a staple part of my daily AND nightly experiences. I held my Lapis friend during my tattooing session, as he fits so perfectly and comfortably in the palm of my hand.

It is important to add that this Lapis Lazuli was also a birthday gift to me from me, which I had just purchased on February 6th. Until now I hadn’t owned any single Lapis. I just had a Lapis beaded necklace with Lapis Ankh. But I had an intention to one day have a special piece I could work with. And when I was at a local crystal shop just a couple of minutes from the house picking up something for a friend, at the last minute this Lapis Lazuli instantly stole my heart and I only needed to pick it up once and we were wed. 😉

Lapis Lazuli is an amazing stone of royalty and symbol of the starry night that always reminds me of my Egyptian roots. It’s a stone of inner truth and power, openness, mental clarity, intuitive and psychic awareness, magick, courage, manifestation, trust, hope, communication, good for writing and automatic writing, protection, and dream work – helping to bring information from dreams into waking life with wisdom.

Immediately I knew this Lapis was special and have slept with him under my pillow every night since bringing him home. The moment I did take him home and held him to my Third Eye, I was instantly provided clear insight on the last missing piece of a project I was working on. And that first night, and continuing forward, I had these enhanced prophetic, and detailed dreams. I only have to think of my Lapis and I get these clear images that flash in my Third Eye and bright light that illuminates.

I was with my Lapis the night Gaia communicated as well. 🙂 There seems to have taken place, an upgrade and enhancement to all things that were before, but in a new dimensional realm of experience.

And even clarity on symbolism in my tattoo, just a couple of days before getting it done, came through in magickal ways with the presence of my Lapis friend. (I will likely do a separate post on my tattoo another time). For now, I’ll just share the image that is now worn proudly on my skin and that I am absolutely in LOVE with.

The image is of the triple rabbit symbol, but I wanted my rabbits to be more organic, with each rabbit being unique, and each having an otherworldly/human quality. They are layered over a Full Moon, which they are circling round, and that is spinning out of a galactic vortex, exploding with tiny magickal stars. And inside the center sits a sacred Ogham tree letter that holds layered meaning.

All of my tattoos are done in black and shades of gray, but this is the only tattoo that we added white to. James asked what I thought of that and instantly it was like he was reading my mind, as this was to be a special piece in so many ways, and by pixie-dusting it, was just the brush of enchantment it needed.

And if you recall from a previous post where I mentioned my getting this tattoo, the area where it now lives and breathes, had also shown up in a dream sequence experience where I had received an implant underneath the skin that felt to be preparing the energy. Interestingly, the implant was a shiny silver-shaped disk, which would mirror the shape of the Full Moon that now resides there – a Full Moon that will also be mirrored in tomorrow’s Full Moon in Leo on Valentine’s Day. 🙂

So now my tattoo is in healing, but there is another magickal piece to this story.

On Sunday, the day before I had the dream of Gaia, I was working on completing a tattoo design for a client. And that night, after I was done, I noticed that my right, drawing hand (same right arm I got my tattoo on) was sore right where my thumb joint connects to the rest of my hand. The design was the one I posted last, Galactic Butterfly Activation. Little did I know what all was really being activated. Lol! And makes sense, given the power of this symbol and the meaning it holds.

The next day, Monday, I awoke with more pain to my hand in that thumb joint area, but it was extending down a bit and in connection with the middle finger. And by Tuesday, it was really in pain and now had extended down along the top of my forearm and was getting numb as well. It hurt a lot to use my mouse and to type, or to write. So I was wondering if I would need to stay away from things for a long time (thinking good I’m going on vacation Saturday), as I don’t want to permanently damage one of my main tools I use for my work.

I remember it was at it’s worst when I was in the tattoo shop, and I massaged it whenever I had the chance. But there was great pain when I moved it and a lot of numbing.

But the next morning, after getting my tattoo on the very same arm, I woke and all pain was gone, leaving only a tiny stiffness in the joint and has continued today without the pain and numbing I had felt.

Was it the tattoo? Was it the old clearing and releasing? Was it the needle working like acupuncture? Or was it simply an energetic shift that was taking place on all levels through a culmination of all things, including the power of sacred symbolism to shift on a DNA level?

What ever one believes or doesn’t, I am living these experiences and their meaning for me is all that is important.

Yesterday was another extension of expansion that unfolded while I was teaching an intimate Reiki 3 Master Teacher Workshop. I found the timing of this to also be powerful, as originally this workshop wasn’t to be until March 5th, but had been changed by request. And coming the day after Gaia’s return, my tattoo, and before the Full Moon, was quite a day to say the least.

I was so happy to have Gaia arrive back for a Master Teacher training and the day of Trinity energy, mirroring my tattoo, was reflected in three women coming together – a new student, a past student, and myself – could that not also be like the Maiden, Mother and Crone? And I had my three soul companions around – Gaia, Joy, and Nestor.

Our experiences during class were like a seamless flow of synergistic weaving that was impeccably orchestrated. And even our conversations extended into the realm of the “three” energy, as we discussed the dynamics of the triangular field of experience from black, to white, to gray.

And it was now the second time that Joy did not physically join class, which again was part of the expansion that is taking place. Last class she had prepared the energy of the room, but left when the students arrived. Yesterday, she stayed in my office the entire time. I know it is the next level of our connection between myself, Gaia, Joy, and Nestor that is being messaged to me for how the work we will be doing is now to start unfolding.

They will always be with me, connected to me, and supporting me (just as I will be them), but we will not have to be physically together to do that. More and more we will just trust in the open channels and telepathic love we share that bridges all boundaries and empowers beyond measure.

But back to Gaia.

I’d like to finish this post with the most endearing, amazing, and precious moment of reverence and love I’ve had with Gaia – I’m tearing up right now writing this. The depth of meaning to all that has been unfolding and that does in my daily life, in general, I can’t possibly express. Yet, I know many of you understand in your own unique ways with all that you experience. So some things are simply left unsaid.

This special experience happened this morning. Since Gaia returned, we washed her up and brought her indoors. The first evening she spent on her heating blanket, then fell asleep on the cold tile, likely needing to moderate her body temperature back in stages. She remained out of it and still not eating. Next morning she spent on her heating blanket and still no food, but later during Reiki training, she came marching through and made her way to my office and I later found her asleep under the bottom of my wall tapestry of  Faery Queen Astranaithes – also known as the magickal Dragon Witch.

This morning when she woke up I brought her to her heating blanket and then put out some more food. This time she went to it and slowly ate several bites, taking her time to assimilate it. Then I watched what she wanted to do next, as I made smoothies and golden raisin, cinnamon scones in the kitchen. I saw her walk toward the door to the yard and looked at it, then went back to her heating blanket. I had a feeling she wanted back outside.

I went to go sit with her and check in. And this is when the most magickal moment happened.

I won’t be able to explain the magnitude, but I’ll just share what I experienced. I sat there with my hand, palm facing up, next to her, as I telepathically spoke to her. My hand started heating up like when I do Reiki and then Gaia slowly reached her right, front leg up and forward, letting it come to rest across my index and middle fingers where they connect to my palm. And she kept it there, as she then turned her neck towards me and stretched it as far as she could, looking me directly in my eyes, while we sat there – “holding hands”.

I was overcome with emotions hearing her saying thank you for everything, for trusting, and supporting her. All of the mutual respect, honor, gratitude and love we have shared through the ages all washed over us both in those minutes and we also were clear on how this journey would need to continue. I understood.

We were not only a human with her tortoise companion – leg in hand, but we were two souls meeting in our wholeness, as we recognized everything in that moment that was us and beyond us.

Tears rolled, as she then reached forward into my hand with her left, front leg and then slowly put half her body in my hand while again stretching to look up at me, asking me to lift and hold her up, as she once did for me. I held her to my heart and then knew she wanted back outside and wanted me to carry her there.

My special song is playing right now in the background, as I finish this. It’s a song I use to travel to another realm, many times with Nestor, Joy, and Gaia – a sacred and healing space. Perfect timing to be completing this story, as my CD is ending with song #11, which is my favorite for inner journeying.

And so Gaia has been outside since 8:30 am this morning and just a few minutes ago, while writing this, I went to check on her – finding her marching over the area, back and forth, where I had found her.

I came back and continued writing a bit, but felt to go check again.

I just returned and in full tears of a feeling beyond words, as the song is now ending, I can share that Gaia has returned to the depths of Gaia – our connection and understanding deepened in mirror to the depths she will be traveling. Again, her timing is impeccable.