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Ask Astrid Fridays ~ The Rabbit’s Corner: The Struggle Isn’t You
As this is Astrid’s last message for 2018, I was curious what she would want to share. She’s been extra playful and cuddly these days, which has added another layer to our together-time, and it also speaks to some of what her message is that she wants to leave you with.
And what might that be?
Astrid says, “The end to struggle.”
We’ve been immersed in year-end closure here, went deep with watching all four parts of the new Watership Down rabbit movie, along with prepping for new whimsical ventures in 2019 together – this to include our new book, art, and rabbit Faery fun. Our little Wonderland Faery realm has become a true Otherworld for creative manifesting, as we threaded together a Rabbit Hole of delight we feel enriched in every day. We’ve also been examining the reality we want to live and leave behind.
There’s been a lot of creative work and anchoring this last year to set up and define our intentions, and although this New Year, for us, will continue to be one of vision, setting priorities, and determination, it will also be one of breakthroughs and embodied beliefs. This, Astrid shares, to be done with joy, ease, and peace – with the knowing that we can trust our essence to guide us in flow and fun through the next leg of the journey.
If we find ourselves struggling, where can we be curious about ways in which we might be holding on to old patterns and realities, lower ideals, or stringent and limited attachments?
Astrid says, “The struggle is a detour to who you really are. The struggle is a way to stay small. The struggle is a way to keep you away from what you believe you don’t deserve. The struggle keeps illusion as an interference to seeing the possibilities and beauty available. The struggle isn’t you.”
For most of the first part of my life I struggled on many levels. I was constantly inflicting inner torment upon myself with voices of knowing battling voices of fear, pain, confusion, and conflicting patterns that weren’t even mine in many cases.
And this kept me from being me and being able to expand further. It was like being tethered to a post and always hitting the end that snapped me back.
That is, until I realized the post didn’t truly exist except for believing it did.
Astrid has been through her own struggles and in seeing her come to this place of surrender and no longer feeling the need to fight, she is finding the love and joy her essence exudes, feeling right at home.
And so are we both experiencing this, which is creating greater peace daily.
“There is always another way,” she says, “and while we feel things serve us, truly they serve our patterned beliefs – not our hearts. Love is not a struggle. Creative energy simply flows. When we relax into these spaces, spend more time nurturing and cultivating the love in our hearts, we find greater comfort in things we never thought we could. We open ourselves to different opportunities, see new perspectives, and realize there are a multitude of ways to experience what we want, rather than believe it can only be in one form.”
“And what about those old realities and lower ideals so many of us struggle to hold on to?” I ask her.
“Like the unlimited dimensional experiences you can’t see, but still exist, why is it that you feel there to be only one reality? You struggle to hold on because you are so close to letting go. It is that last piece that will change everything. The release and fall into your grace. You fight to stay small because being more means greater empowerment and awareness. It’s been easier to let others and even beliefs power over you then to truly live without constraints. Hope, love, imagination…these things no one controls, but you. They are the keys to a new reality no one can take away. They live where struggle does not exist. When you go there, you know what I mean. If you can learn to stay there, you will know what is possible,” Astrid says.
We have both been embracing this experience where struggle need not be anymore and gently breathing deeper into our hearts to help it move through.
This has brought Astrid to a place of exuberant and loving expression as her norm now, without need to struggle and fight within, as a way of preserving it only for special moments. We have both learned to trust who we each really are and that life is meant to be a joyful, creative, and wondrous experience.
The other things may exist and they may knock on our door to try to tether us back, but they will meet with surprise when they find there is no knot on the other end. We’ll see the rope and when the knocking thinks it has us, we will let go of the other end and watch them disappear.
Let this be a year we all let go of the struggle and fight.
Let this be a year to create a new reality.
For me and Astrid it is a storybook year we are weaving together, piece by piece, heart to heart.
We both wish you all a wondrous New Year – a year of greater creativity, transformation, fertile and abundant potential, and alignment for the collective with it being a 3 year in numerology.
Astrid will be back next year on January 4th, 2019.
Ask Astrid Fridays ~ The Rabbit’s Corner: Solstice Illumination as You Journey Down the Rabbit Hole
It’s no surprise to me that today’s share from Astrid falls on this incredible Solstice line-up to include a Cancer Full Moon and Ursid meteor shower. Rabbits have long been associated with the Moon and, in fact, many ancient stories tell of the rabbit on the Moon that you can actually see when She’s at her fullest. I find it fascinating how on this longest night of the year that we’ll have incredible illumination and cosmic alignments galore, as the Full Moon will peak tomorrow morning of the 22nd AND tonight we are also going to be able to see Mercury and Jupiter in conjunction within this Yule’s Long Night’s Moon sky to add to those shooting stars.
Winter Solstice celebrations of the first day of Winter in the Northern Hemisphere means Summer Solstice celebrations for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere. Again, a very cool link for Astrid, as she came home with me on Summer Solstice – a day shared by the transition of my beloved rabbit, Joy.
And Winter Solstice, two years ago, was a day my sweet rabbit, Cosmo, had chosen for some of his ashes to be spread here in Lake Tahoe.
So, I’m seeing a lot of wholeness around this, which makes sense as the Winter Solstice embodies the energy of conclusion along with a time for rest, self-reflection, self-care, and “being the light” – something rabbits are very adept at in being masterful navigators of the dark.
I’ve noticed Astrid spending extra time in her castle tunnels lately, as she demonstrates this time to cozy up and journey the inner labyrinths of our emotions, beliefs, fears, and patterns so we can make adjustments for bringing in and embodying the new and potentials we envision and feel calling to our hearts.
“There is value in journeying the depths of your heart,” she says.
The seasons remind you of the ever-shifting and flowing cycles of life, change, and potential to honor and make space for. Winter Solstice reminds you of the light that you are, as a gateway of sacred reverence for a “return to light” in general.
Astrid reminds you that your 3D circumstances and stories do not define you. She encourages you to open your heart more and be willing to take up more space while beaming out the glow of who you really are.
“If I relinquished to simply being seen as a little, round ball of bunny fluff I would never know the true and full power of my inner rabbit. Looks can be deceiving, but if you believe in that limited illusion then you won’t experience the full spectrum embodied in the coin of being. Remember there are two sides to it, but you’re not limited to one or the other. There is simply the coin that can flip in and out of experiences at will, never being less of the whole at any time,” she says.
So, as the holiday season flashes through with a flurry of hustle and bustle, Astrid wants you to tune into your inner rabbit and honor your needs with some extra nurturing during a time when you are feeling tugged to do more outside of yourself. This will create balance and help you to find that peaceful center amidst everything around you. It also helps you to anchor more into your wholeness and all of the potentials available for how you experience things and are experienced, yourself, by others.
The Full Moon feels at home in Cancer and this lends to the ability to do some beautiful movement on the inner landscape that can help you make those bunny leaps into the New Year. An opportune time for embracing your feelings, allowing healthy emotional release, communicating from the heart, and experience a cleansing and freeing up of space, as you are supported in shedding light on the dark crevices within.
I know how Astrid and I will be spending this cozying up Cancer Full Moontime, as I return to one of my most beloved childhood stories – Watership Down – this weekend.
Astrid’s eyes get bigger and she sits up to nudge my ankle, as I write this.
I read the novel in 6th grade as part of our curriculum and was transformed by it, falling in love with the rabbits and the movie, as well. It has long been a favorite for me so when my sweet friend, Kelly, told me it was coming out again, the little girl inside of me was over-the-Moon excited. I keep mentioning it every day, actually, and it’s finally almost here.
Originally set for release on the 25th/Christmas, Watership Down is a new BBC series starting the 22nd and will hit Netflix on the 23rd in two feature-length episodes.
I feel its message is quite fitting for these times and its release is quite aligned with things unfolding in my new world.
Before I conclude with a dream Astrid wants me to share, she also reminds me of all of the sightings and alignments that have recently been taking place here. She wants me to mention these, as a way for others to also recognize the constant messaging reflected to us even when we think we are alone and not receiving answers. And also because she knows our experiences are collectively connected, like a warren, and there may be something ignited by these reminders.
“Nature is especially supportive to your journey,” Astrid shares, “as She mirrors with raw reflection the answers you search for and in some cases for many of you, yearn for.”
Lately, I’ve had a lot more different wildlife sightings than usual. For the first time, recently on Thanksgiving, we’d seen a raccoon just across and down from our house and yesterday I saw another – this time one that had been hit by a car on the side of the road. We haven’t seen raccoons in all of the years we’ve lived here so both of these feel significant, including the full life cycling as well, as we approach the end of the year and this longest night before days expand.
Coyotes have been on ultra high around our house, too. Several individuals have crossed the street in front of our car as we turn the curve at the Sherwood sign recently (I always say we live at the edge of the Sherwood Forest). And two large coyotes that looked like wolves went right by the edge of our back deck one night, as if circling the perimeter of our home.
Then, of course, the four deer at our back deck and side yard on 11/11 for our first sighting at this house.
But yesterday, along with the transitioned raccoon, I also saw bald eagle for the first time in months and a cool sighting of wild mustangs.
This all took place on a day I decided to forego my usual schedule and go down to Reno instead, feeling called to shift things. I was contemplating the change and how it felt aligned with my feelings, guidance, and going much deeper into my work after setting things up to nurture that.
As I began my drive suddenly bald eagle appeared confirming what I was affirming in my mind and heart. She soared toward me and above, following the lake’s shoreline, as I was. I could see her white head clearly, guiding her dark, massive body across the sky. She heralds taking to flight, greater personal freedom, and going further with courageous steps, as she can see ahead the possibilities and renewal even if I can’t.
And in the valley below, I saw wild mustangs for the third time now, but rather than them grazing near Washoe Lake, they were in a single-filed line wading through the lake at hip level, which was a beautiful sight to see.
A lot of feeling confirmations and moving through the watery energies of this Cancer Moon reflected – all connected with inner trust and being willing to examine what is moving through.
A raw, freeing energy seems embodied in all of the sightings – even with the sad physical death sighting of the raccoon.
I definitely have been feeling nudges with several things and the need to make the next moves and changes. Driving always is meditative in this regard, where I solidify answers and confirm my intentions.
Astrid is always on my mind when I drive and I smile in my heart with each sighting, knowing she is experiencing it with me where ever I am.
Later yesterday evening I was messaged by a friend and artisan that I’d commissioned back at the beginning of September to create a special piece for me connected to my projects as a way of manifesting the visions. There had been no rush, as I believe in perfect unfolding and wow, was it ever.
She sent me photos of the creation she was making for me and said it would be done that night and sent out the next day – and it was!
Of course, this was magickal with its birthing happening for the Solstice and Full Moon. Not just because of the timing, but because of even the details of the creation that were so fitting – some of which she did through her own inspiration of my energetic description.
This piece happens to be a cosmic dragon, that embodies the essence of the Cosmos. She is of Aurora Borealis coloring, star-dusted, and golden star encrusted, holding a silver crescent Moon up with her tail – that has planets embedded along the spine in cosmic alignment. And upon the Moon sits a little white rabbit, while another rabbit sits on the back of the dragon reaching up in sacred connection with it.
Talk about synchronicity with the Solstice Full Moon, Meteor Shower, and Mercury and Jupiter conjunction.
Oh, how the Universe works in mystical and magickal ways.
Astrid is smiling hugely as I share all of this and she had made her way to me when I was receiving this news and the photos to ensure I knew her magickal part in all of it. 🙂
She now asks me to add the dream.
So, just two nights ago Astrid appeared in my dream landscape. She’s been hopping in lately even if I don’t always share about it. But this one was potent with its timing and so I’m not surprised she wants me to share it.
In the dream Astrid was with me and we came upon a place the Earth was opening up below us. A deep hole, jagged with rocks appeared and suddenly Astrid went hurdling down it. I couldn’t see how it happened, but there was a deliberate energy around it. I peered down and saw her laying on the ground. I was so worried she was hurt or worse, but she stands up and brushes herself off. She takes a moment working out her legs and such, shaking it off, and seems to be okay after wiggling her body back.
I contemplate how I will get her when suddenly creatures of inner Earth start to approach. First as shadows and then closing in on her from the left. They are almost like wolves, but something more.
I can hear her in my heart and know she’s about to take off, and she does. She darts off to the right down one of the tunnels and the creatures follow.
I hear the invitation and know I must journey into inner Earth and her womb to follow her. In my mind, to save her, but I gather Astrid intends much more than that.
She seems not afraid or worried that they will catch her, but I’m not as certain – my mothering instincts setting in to protect her.
But I also feel the call of the adventure, and Astrid is asking of me much more than simply to save her…she wants me to join her on the journey.
I, and she, know I have no choice because love guides me above all else, and gives me the courage.
Two dear and powerful shamanic friends of mine show up as if they know of this expedition already and come with tools of their gifts to join the mission in this underground system of warren tunnels within Earth’s core.
So the three of us devoted women head off together, down the rabbit hole.
Wishing you all a peace-filled Solstice journey into the light of your heart.
Ask Astrid Fridays ~ The Rabbit’s Corner: You Can Run, but You Can’t Hide
Today Astrid would like to speak to that little voice inside of many of you that sometimes wishes to just curl up in a ball and shrink back into a dark corner or closet – maybe even just pull the covers over your head and pretend the world has no idea you exist. Maybe you prefer being invisible sometimes and this can serve well in specific cases, but perhaps you’re holding yourself back out of fear or a deep-seeded experience that leaves you afraid to put yourself out there.
Living so close to, and intimately with, the ground and Earth, rabbits know how to “hide” well, but this can have a two-fold meaning of either having the need to camouflage and blend in or that you have made yourself so small that you are un/under-recognized for who you are and the gifts that you embody.
Rabbits know the importance of awareness and protection, but they are not shy about exhibiting their exuberance and big personalities when they feel the urge to do so. In fact, they will leap with glee when the moment moves them, or rise to the challenge with fierceness, despite being seen as small, timid and fragile creatures.
They are extraordinary sound navigators who know when to seize the moment and “hop” into new territories and experiences. Their ultra-sensitivities create the light when all seems lost and dark.
And this is the place Astrid wants to address for those of you who find yourself feeling lost so much, desire to shrink away, or aren’t even aware that you are diminishing your light when it’s needed the most right now in the world.
Invisibility can definitely be a gift, but it doesn’t serve you or the collective to live in the dark eternally.
Life can’t go on, nor thrive, without light.
Astrid knows there are times she’s been afraid and that she’s needed to regulate her energy so as to find that balance of protection and safety, while also making herself known and asserted.
If she had remained purely in fear by her circumstances and triggers, she would not only not have survived, but not have been recognized for the gifts she has. Marcy of SaveABunny and her staff of volunteers saw her because of the big energy she put out, and of course we know that this is also how she and I made the connection.
We both had to rise to our highest and most whole, to have a meeting of equals merge into partnership and recognition of reflection.
We could easily have missed a beautiful chance if we both stayed small.
How many times might you have missed out on an opportunity because you kept yourself small?
How much of your dreams are you not able to experience because you hesitate to share your gifts?
How much love do you hold back from yourself because you’re scared to show others who you really are or to feel how worthy you are?
Is it disappointment, hurt, anger, or guilt that makes us fear ourselves and our power?
I often wonder why these feelings win out over love over and over again.
Astrid shares that responsibility can play a part in this process we seem to be learning in exercising our gifts and powers.
But she and I both agree that responsibility can can carry its own weight that isn’t always tempered with love, but analyzed and dissected by ego.
So in fact it, too, can lead us astray of going bigger, as it tries to work out every angle to satisfy another excuse not to shine forth.
While we think that hiding serves us well, in most cases it is a reaction to something now or from a “past” that didn’t go the way we hoped. And even though those triggers and experiences are gone, we are still operating as if they are happening right now.
This perpetuates our “staying small” and unable to shine our inner lights, like rabbits do, to navigate us through the dark tunnel labyrinths of experience.
And in some cases, we devise ingenious ways of talking ourselves out of letting our energy out bigger to serve our ego fears and can even find spiritual bypassing ways of describing it and why it makes sense to do so.
Truth is, if you want to find a reason not to do something you can always find one.
And when it comes to our wholeness and embodying our potential, we have all the excuses in the world why not to do that.
Whether or not those excuses are valid is between you and yourself.
Astrid wants to remind you that it’s okay to recognize when camouflage and invisibility can serve us and be a magickal tool in our back pocket to pull out now and then, but “hiding” when rising would benefit you most, is not the healthiest choice to always fall back on.
It’s okay to learn as you go and make instant adjustments along the way. Chances are, you’ve already done years of work so truly, now is about the experiential classroom. This is about being both student and teacher and bringing integrity and humbleness to the process of being.
Now, more then ever your gifts, your light, your essence is needed in the world.
And while you think you may be alone in facing those frightful triggers, experiences, and the things that feel scary in the world, you are not.
More and more souls are finding that the way out of hiding is to actually step out. No one is going to force you out nor pull you out. Only you can make that choice, but it’s a very liberating choice that once made – even in small steps – suddenly helps make sense of an upside down world and brings authentic power to the forefront.
Astrid says, “The more you wear a mask, the less you will ever know yourself. It’s not just others you hide from in doing so, nor whom are robbed of knowing your beauty and experiencing your ripple across the world. You are the one who is hurt the most when your light is kept small.”
Astrid knows how I, too, have kept myself small in the past and straddled timidly between two worlds of fears and hopes.
“And what did that do for you?” she asks me.
“It kept me stuck,” I replied. “Torn and tormented between two worlds warring against each other, rather than teaming together and empowering myself into truly living, rather than merely surviving.”
That reminds me of a favorite line Julia Roberts says in Steel Magnolias, “I’d rather have 30 seconds of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special.”
How about you?
If coming out of hiding gave you the most enriching and fulfilling experience you’ve ever known and was better than your wildest dreams, wouldn’t it be worth “going bigger” for, even if it wasn’t forever?
Not that it couldn’t or wouldn’t be forever, but you won’t know it until you try it.
Or is the known feeling of suffering and smallness, more comforting?
“Everyone has the ability to go bigger, no matter what their circumstances are. You are creative beings and therefore have unlimited ways to bring through more of your potential. Feel bigger! Thinking is only half the story, but your heart will guide you past the limits of your mind,” Astrid says.
It’s not easy, I know, and can be quite sticky with layers, but personally I decided that the possibility of that total enrichment far outweighed the illusion of safety in the darkness.
Astrid says, “That safety is an illusion that keeps you away from your truth….away from being who you really are and experiencing what you have available. That illusion is the fix to experiencing the true power within your heart.”
And she’s so right.
We think we stay safe by staying small and hidden, but by making that our “norm” we not only get to experience more of it, but are dying a slow death.
Choosing to go bigger and stop hiding happens for each person at different times in their life or soul journey and in different ways, by different triggers, and timings, so there isn’t just “one” way to get there.
Yet the one thing we all have in common is “potential.”
And the more each of us do our best to rise to that potential, the easier it becomes for others to do the same.
Rather than spend time trying to make others step into their potential, why not utilize our resources to “be” the potential?
Rabbit doesn’t wait for snake to see the “potential” when it threatens her kits rather than finding something else to eat that day. Rabbit rises to her “potential” and becomes the bigger rabbit she knows herself to be and chases off the snake.
Yep, that’s right. There are videos out there that catch mother rabbits fighting off poisonous, deadly snakes to save their babies. It’s incredible, but this is the truth of their wholeness they weave in and out of, as they carry it at their core always.
And I’ve seen this happen not only with people, but myself as well, where we’re put into dire situations and then rise to the occasion.
But wouldn’t it be wonderful to rise always, rather than only when threatened or in our darkest hour?
Those moments demonstrate that we have it in us, but we choose not to always shine the light.
Astrid carries this bigger energy with her always. You can see it and feel it, even if not demonstrated every second, but when she wants to, she does. She’s not afraid to let you know it’s simply who she is, nor is she worried how you might judge her. She knows the truth of who she is will reach the truth of each of us and when truth meets, that’s the most authentic and fulfilling experience, regardless of result. Yet, it also helps reflect and draw to her exactly what she needs and wants to see, while not missing out on what it feels to be alive.
I asked Astrid if she has any advice to offer to someone wanting not to hide anymore, but is too afraid.
She thinks a moment and replies in her own way, “There will never be a perfect moment to wait to do something and tomorrow is not always a promise. We can’t survive alone in the dark forever. Night turns into day and it is your nature to do the same. In and out you weave, but weave you must, or cease to be. Both the Sun and Moon know just when to shine on the Earth or how to allow others the same. Yet they DO and WILL shine in fullness and never cease to shine while others are. They dance in and out, sharing the stage of the grand show. You may not know how stepping forth and being bigger will be embraced, but embrace it for yourself and you will find your place on the horizon amidst the other stars. It’s there that we will meet, heart-to-heart.”
What I’ve learned, and Astrid describes so beautifully, is that the truth of who you are is not something you can hide from forever. It catches up to us, no matter how fast we run away. Just as the Sun’s light keeps shining, despite your only seeing it half the day, so does your light, despite blanketing it in vein.
Eventually, your essence will see its way through, so why not give it a boost out?
“That’s right! Being who you really are is what we need most in the world at this time and is the greatest service to humanity,” concludes Astrid.
Ask Astrid Fridays ~ The Rabbit’s Corner: The Worth of Waiting
I was reminded yesterday when I gave Astrid the first batch of her holiday gifts, just how much joy it brings to my heart to see her happy and giving her the things she deserves. This continued later in the evening over conversation with my sweet friend, Lynne, who is visiting, as I shared with her about the first time Astrid saw her Wonderland realm I’d created just for her and she dropped into a deep state of heartfelt gratitude. She stopped in her tracks and took it all in, then sat in overwhelming feelings she had always believed were possible, but hadn’t materialized outside of her belief until now. That was the most moving moment for me when she looked at everything then turned to me and wanted to snuggle – if her eyes could have shed tears they would have, but mine sure did. I heard her expression of gratitude and felt her love, as she thanked me for seeing her and making her dreams a reality.
We both dropped into a timeless shared moment that is etched in my heart forever.
Last night I went to bed knowing today was Astrid’s share time and asked her to let me know what she wanted to write about.
She said, “the worth of waiting.”
So, I went to sleep with the intention to hear her message and bring that through now.
Astrid knows that so many of us feel like we are waiting forever for the things we want. That constantly we’re told to be patient just a little while longer. To keep believing. To not let go of our dreams. And to keep moving forward when all we want to do is give up with disappointment, exhaustion, and feelings of overwhelming sadness.
She knows I have so many times gone through that myself – feeling like nothing was ever going to happen. That I kept working on things, giving my all, making changes, devoting myself to figuring out what I’m missing, and still had only my hope to go on.
She knows that so many times I wanted to give up and was brought to my knees in painful soul-felt tears and couldn’t understand why.
And she knows somehow I kept going.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons she and I connect so much. Because Astrid has been through the same in her life.
Her background is filled with disappointment, fear, sadness, the unknown, and yet she kept fighting and kept going.
This eventually brought her to SaveABunny where she was finally treated with respect and tenderness, and at least was out of danger.
Yet, she still had a couple of years ahead of having people come and go, but never seeing her, nor wanting to adopt her.
She kept believing when all seemed hopeless.
And although she was there one of the longest of any bunnies, awaiting a forever home, it did happen.
We found each other.
Two souls who kept believing.
Two souls who have never given up.
We found our happy ending in each other.
Astrid says, she easily could have let her health go and gone into full-on depression, but she kept strong, took care of herself, and remained a robust picture of well -being.
She knew one day….one day….her dream would come true.
And she wanted to be at her best when it did.
I can so relate, as so many times I wanted to give up on things in my life I hoped for and never saw evidence of getting closer to.
And yet they did come and I was reminded, like Astrid, that time is an idea we attach to. The spirit and heart don’t experience it the same. There is no timeline for when things unfold. There’s the journey and how we embrace it.
No matter when something happens in our lives, even if it’s just for a minute of blissful depth, that one moment will be worth all of the pain, struggle, and work we put into our lives.
Astrid says, “It needn’t be that way though. If you embrace that the future is now and live your life backwards with the beauty being in your heart to experience whenever you want, then you will know how to ride the eternal.”
In essence, we don’t have to suffer, as the only reason we do is the acceptance of separation from that which is in our heart awaiting our opening to.
Hard to embrace when your physical reality seems to say something else, but that doesn’t have to be the story if we tell it differently.
And this provides the hope and the ability to experience life more fully now with whatever our situation is.
It makes what we desire more tangible and draws it in as a manifestation.
Astrid knows this isn’t easy to embrace when heartache becomes overwhelming.
But she knows it’s possible, as it’s been her experience.
And I do too.
I keep using these techniques and keep listening to her reminders, as I continue to embrace hope for manifesting more things my heart is feeling.
I see and experience them as done and so the journey is much sweeter. It also makes it so that if they manifest or not, it’s not as important because I already am enjoying the possibility within my heart where it counts the most.
It creates a feeling of wholeness and from there anything is possible.
Astrid says, “You are a timeless being living a blip of your immensity. Open to your fullness and you’ll open to the potentials in greater ways than you think.”
There are reasons things align as they do and if we remove the time constraints, the worth of waiting reveals itself.
You might even find that you’re living rather than waiting.
Take care of you. You are worth it.
Ask Astrid Fridays ~ The Rabbit’s Corner: Building Strong Foundations for the New
Last weekend Astrid received a new, wood castle tower to replace her toppling over, cardboard carrot cottage. I got her the cottage when she first came home to live with us and she immediately went at renovating it by chewing open the carrot windows and widening doorways to let in more light, create clearer vision, and have easier in-and-out access. Eventually, she started chewing the backside wall almost completely where the second story sat above the first, and the whole house became the Leaning Tower of Pisa – or like a friend said, “the Leaning Tower of Carrot.”
And this is where today’s blog inspiration comes from, as Astrid points out, “There is nothing random about this, mom. Reflect back for a moment and you’ll see what I mean.”
She’s right. When I first gave her the carrot cottage we were living in our condo – the tree house in the sky above Lake Tahoe – and were in a bit of flux with our living situation and decisions on what we wanted to create from there, what home looked like to us, new ideas around business ventures and long-term planning, and even what I wanted to do with my current inspirations of writing and so forth.
Hence, a bio-degradable, non-permanent, and easily mobile carrot cottage for Astrid – my reflective counterpart.
But just as we outgrew our tree house and decided upon a forest-side dream home that we, too, wanted to renovate, Astrid let out her energy larger and larger and I began to create a room of similar dream-home quality for her.
This all coincided with us rapidly moving many parts of our life at once, and setting into place brand new foundations that were strongly anchored, but also much more integrated and balanced. We continued to fine-tune our lives, cleared out the old, listened to what our hearts had to say, and worked on getting greater clarity of focus and efficiency while building and recreating.
Astrid continued to mirror this and more and more shifts to her little Wonderland realm began to happen while I listened to her needs and saw her for who she is. So, even what she started off with when first moving into this home, transformed. Much like it did for me.
All but that cardboard carrot cottage, which every morning she would chew away on more and more.
She tells me that she was doing this for three-fold reason.
One, she was moving energy through that chewing, as rabbits do, and this in reflection and addition to changes she processes and supports beyond even herself.
Two, she was trying to get my attention that this house just won’t do anymore. “I want a better lookout place to oversee things in the forest and to see into the Cosmos when the stars come out. I want a stronger fortress to create boundaries when I need them from the energies abound, so I can do my work more easily. I prefer my feet feeling grounded and supported with a strong foundation, rather than walking on flimsy, moving cardboard. I prefer castles over cottages because it’s who I am and deserve it – thank you for seeing that. I want to go bigger.”
And three, she wanted to remind me about the concept of building the new, which you can’t do upon an old foundation because the new structure will simply fall down. In order to build the new, you must work from the ground up, clear out all of the old that lies deep under the surfaces as well – the hidden stuff – and then rebuild and recreate from a whole new vision. This will create something lasting.
She’s so right.
Astrid would like me to break the latter one down further into digestible pieces of understanding. So, here we go.
Many times we try to build the new, but we don’t take time to look under the demolished building to see what it was standing on in the first place.
You can’t simply just put on new clothes, change location, get plastic surgery, or buy a new car.
Whatever you carried with you from before will still be there emanating and magnetizing things regardless of what the outside looks like.
But, if you do some psychic surgery, excavate into the emotional caverns of your heart, explore the inner realms and dig up the roots of your beliefs and patterns, you can then integrate and transmute, clear, and move beyond.
Then, the new you create has the ability to firmly root in clear fresh soil, without any of the old plants fighting for nourishment and energy.
Your new won’t come toppling down surprisingly one day when these old roots start surfacing again.
Astrid knows of these things because she and her rabbit family are so connected to Mother Earth.
They hear her vibrations and understand the inner workings that support vibrant and renewing ecosystems.
They hear the vibrational frequencies emanating beneath the surface and can see beyond what we present to them.
They see things for how they really are.
And so Astrid compels us to take a deeper look.
If we want to stand firm with our new visions, then we need to be willing to tear down, chew up, and process that stuff we don’t want to experience anymore, find their gifts, and transmute them into a brand new reality.
Don’t forget your parts along the way.
If your carrot cottage no longer suits the essence of you, then build yourself a strong castle tower where you can see more clearly from.
Yet, don’t forget those roots!
Astrid thinks everyone would do well with having some rabbit teeth for those nasty little buggers.
Chew, grind, and chew again, until they’re broken down and easily digestible.
Doing so will provide the nourishment needed to create new realities based on wisdom of the past and vision of the future, integrated right here and now.
Have a question for Astrid? She welcomes you to share them and we both send a lot of love to everyone processing the old and working on creating and building the new.
Inviting Animal Companion Healers & Helpers Into Your Life – My Story About Joy Plus Bonus Rabbit Wisdom
I saw this rabbit a couple of days ago and its showing up, the way it did, and the message that came through to me, inspired a long over due post today. Rabbits often appear in my life and of course are in my life literally, as I have a special affinity for them. I’ve had three rabbits in my lifetime as animal companions – the first only graced my life for a few months and was the only male I’ve ever had – his name was Twinkie. Then of course there was Nestor (male name, female body, but androgynous in essence) and then Joy Julianna (aka Jules and Tiny) who is with me physically now.
a precious moment shared between me and joy
When I saw this rabbit I was reminded of a post I wanted to share about Joy and how she is an amazing partner I’ve been graced with in my life, plus reiterate rabbit wisdom to you again because I feel they are very poignant in message for us right now.
The part I loved the best about seeing this rabbit out in the wild, aside from the cute nose twitching, hopping, and its little round butt and amazing ears, was seeing the magical and adorable interaction that happened when she and another rabbit stumbled upon each other “accidentally.” Right before she disappeared, she was quickly hopping towards the bushes and suddenly another rabbit came out of the same bushes, seemingly out of no where, so quickly that there was a meeting of noses and a jolting response and sound that had them leaping off in opposite directions. It happened so fast it was like an igniting of energy that took place in a flash that felt like this cosmic collision. I remember thinking…was that a large butterfly that she collided in dance with? As it felt so magical and literally electric in a transformational sort of way, as if something had swooped in and caused an alchemical reaction.
joy and gaia – best buds
Instantly this brought me to think of Nestor and Joy and their powerful connection, both to each other, and to me, seeing this cosmic collision. I happened to also be with a friend who also had more recently lost her female bunny, Isis, so this was a very powerful moment in my opinion. And I felt as if the rabbit that came from a flash out of no where, seemed like an etheric manifestation.
joy and her stuffed bunny companion she adores
Needless to say, it reminded me of the alchemical relationship shared between the three of us – Nestor, Joy, and myself – (no I’m not forgetting you Gaia, my amazing Russian Tortoise, but you’re a whole other story sweetie) and to stress the importance of recognizing our animal companions and animals in general, for the powerful souls that they are, and to invite them with honor and respect, more into your life. The more grounded rabbit that first caught my attention, reminded me more of Joy, still with her magic, but attuned to walk both worlds easily. And the rabbit that came out of no where of course was like Nestor who showed up in eerie and mystical ways, always had tons of very big energy that she needed to release all the time by racing around the house and tables and jumping and dancing in the air because she was more at home in the Cosmos, although loves Earth.
I didn’t think I’d get another rabbit, or animal for that matter, after losing Nestor, but as I’ve shared before, Nestor had other ideas for me and knew what would help my healing and integration into the next phases of my life – and so she brought Joy to me after very discerningly choosing and testing her in her ability to telepathically communicate with me and be open to channeling Nestor and more.
my favorite pose of joy’s – this is when she is resting behind her stuffed bunny and she holds her head up irresistably sweet and regal, full of joy and magic
I always thought that I would likely just have a soul in bunny form, after Nestor, that was more about the simple things in life – love, the experience of the physical, integrating things from other lives and living the sensuality and instinctual processes their body affords them. However, much to my “joy” and surprise, Joy was much more than this, as some souls that incarnate as animals are very powerful beings, healers and have poignant missions too.
joy feeling out the tarot cards
I have come to see Joy flourish over the few years she has been in my life and what fun it is to see her reveal more and more of the depth of her gifts. In many ways she mirrors the things Nestor used to do with me – telepathically communicating, being with me all day when I work, supporting and assisting in Reiki healing and intuitional sessions by distance, teaching Reiki classes, physically noses people in person to transfer Reiki energy, helping me to channel when I paint, helping to channel the inspiration and messages for all aspects of my work, does Tarot card readings with me – picking cards with her teeth, and sometimes signs my paintings at the corner with a little tooth imprint where I sign.
And then she has her own unique gifts, which are her ability to work with crystals and create and program crystal grids, being more balanced and connected to the Earth with calm serenity and in devotional work, has adorable humor and keeps me laughing with her sillyness, and is a channel and messenger between the Cosmos and Earth. She can even fully give over her body to channel Nestor and she acts as the bridge between both worlds to help me with integrating what comes through in a tangible way.
joy caught in action as she bites the tarot card of her choice for the reading – she chose 2 for this one from different places
Yes, she is truly a blessed gift of grace in my life. And she exhibited much of this immediately to me from the moment I took her home and it’s just increased over time as she has flourished and I have supported and loved her every step of the way.
Joy, like Nestor, is a Reiki Master Teacher as well. Yes, you can attune your animal companions to Reiki and I highly support this, if you are receiving that your little one is on the path of a healer. I believe that souls choose to incarnate in the form that best supports the given contracts they have chosen to experience. So, I believe I have many times been an animal, just as souls that are animals may have at one time, or more, been human. Then of course that’s not to mention all of the other “experiences” we have had and have, but that’s another story.
The point of this is, I value all of life, understanding that at the essence of it all, we are all the same and unified. I honor my “animal” companions just as I would anyone or anything sacred, in relation to that Oneness.
a very content and pleased joy with her two cards chosen for the day’s question
So, I take care of my little ones with utmost respect on all levels of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs. That being said, again, yes our animal companions can be very supportive healers to support our work and in their own right. They are able to assist others (animal and human alike, as well as global and cosmic experiences) as equal partners. I’m not going to go into the details on the hows here, but if you are interested more in this and in supporting your animal companions on the path of Reiki (something they are very naturally connected with), you can get in contact with me or other Reiki Master Teachers to learn more.
All I know is that I have seen and experienced profound and magical things take place with both Nestor and Joy in terms of their Reiki “practice” and teaching. There could be a book alone, on all of the adventures with my magical little ones indeed. 🙂 Joy loves to be present in all of my Reiki classes and I always call upon both Joy and Nestor, as well as Gaia, to assist in sessions.
joy with raja seraphina (my crystal skull) – joy’s favorite new spot i find her in lately
There are too many stories I could share (so I hope you enjoy the photos of Joy in this post), but I wanted to honor Joy’s work and who she is here today, as I’ve been wanting to talk a little more in detail about her special gifts and the gratitude I have for her. And this was also something Joy has wanted me to write a bit about to help encourage others to “see” the truth and value of the animal companions in your life and how much they have to offer you and the collective.
This is the main reason I wanted to share about this, was to provide some insight on how our animal companions can truly be powerful supporters and integral parts of our lives in more ways than we think. We already know they bring us a lot of joy and love, for which we mirror, but they carry the same intelligence and gift abilities as we do.
And just as we are all unique, they are as well, with their own individual personalities and their own paths. So not all animal companions are necessarily destined to certain things, but you can still treat them with the honor they deserve and invite them more into the experience of your life. You might be surprised at what happens when you do. 🙂
And animals in general are amazing messengers carrying with them pieces of magic and gifts that can help transform our lives when we recognize and listen to them, as they show up for us.
joy loves to work with and be with her crystal friends and receive their energy too
This brings me back to the rabbits I saw a couple of days ago and to close with sharing rabbit wisdom with you in case they are showing up, or will be, in your life.
Rabbits are sacred and magical beings that not everyone understands and when you see them show up in your life, cross your path, or happen to be a rabbit lover/keeper yourself, there is a lot to learn from them beyond the hare and tortoise symbolism that we have all come to know. They embody some beautiful energy mirroring of the now, the Full Moon energy we’ve just experienced, and are supportive to the Divine wholeness within that is merging forth from the creative heart.
joy helping me while i paint
Aside from their embodiment of agility and quick-thinking maneuvering, they are grounding, teach us we do not have to be victims and can listen to our instincts and intuition in times of fear to guide us as empowered individuals, and they share the balance of times we are capable of and will need to move with great speed through life in leaps and bounds with wise discernment and precise maneuvering gained from listening within.
joy playing and being silly
Hares/Rabbits are powerfully profound in their transmutational energies. The Ancients found them to be one of the most mysterious and perplexing beings, thought to be hermaphrodites (male one month and female the next), with powers of self-impregnation. Since Hares reflect the idea of balance between masculine and feminine they are highly regarded as sacred, mediators of the sacred, and embodying actual creative powers of the Universe.
Hares are also associated with the Moon, lunar cycles, and cyclical life, are considered creatures of fire – the “Sacred Fire” that is the same regenerative fire of the Phoenix – thus destruction and recreation of the heart of all life. They are connected with the dawn, enlightenment, Spring, the Cosmic Egg from which the Cosmos is produced, and embody balance, creative potency, eternity, androgyny, genius, and inspiration.
joy with her beloved giant amethyst rabbit
joy meditating under the altar
joy playing with our septarian cosmic egg
joy under another altar sanctuary
joy and sweet pea, her female kitty companion hanging out
healing for the healer – lots of love for my sweet joy
Rabbit Symbolism – The Magic They Bring to My Life
I keep being nudged to share about rabbits, so when last evening a group of friends were talking about animals and rabbits came up, as one person mentioned them being the most amazing little ones to have in your life, I felt the call to dedicate a little blog to them.
I have been blessed with three dear little bundles of love in the form of rabbits in this life. Always having been drawn to animals more than most anything else since birth, and communicating with them telepathically since a child, I so soulfully desired an animal companion, which we were not allowed to have in the furry form I wanted. We had fish and parakeets and turtles and fun little amphibious friends, but it wasn’t until I was about 13 that I found my first little love bunny, Twinkie. He only graced my life for a summer, but oh how I loved and adored him and we were inseparable.
Then came Nestor for five years, at age 30 and Joy, when I turned 36. And life has never been the same.
I adore at my core being-ness, ALL animals and have special places for many in my heart experience, but for whatever reasons, I find myself so drawn to rabbits as companions. Therefore, I would have to agree with that remark my friend made that they are such amazing little ones. Synchronously, I have been contemplating this a lot since my connection in Bali with the little one in my profile photo on facebook and here:
Bali bunny and me
and feeling deeper communication with Joy and Nestor lately. They truly are magical and require a certain kind of person to allow their potent mysteries and teachings into your life, as they do require more intuitive presence to care for.
Joy and me
Normally, I’d write some long expression from my heart, but I’m choked up with the love and emotion that these little ones bring me and will let my photos speak for themselves.
Nestor and me
I find a theme of total love and joy these little ones bring to me, by looking at these photos, and that I always hold them close to my Heart Chakra. mmmmm….I know I have a photo of Twinkie somewhere, but not loaded on my computer, as it was pre-computer days! LOL! Will share one day when I get them from my parents. Interestingly I had short hair in it, just like in Nestor’s photo. And interesting all three of my bunnies were lop eared.
But I did find this very cool article by Sandy Koi for House Rabbit Society that I felt compelled to share. I LOVE what she expressed and perhaps others will find it of interest and value too:
And here is a little rabbit wisdom from a favorite animal shamanism site:
Rabbit/Hare’s Wisdom Includes:
- Guile
- Paradox and contradiction
- Living by one’s own wits
- Receiving hidden teachings and intuitive messages
- Quick-thinking
- Humility
- Moving through fear
- Strengthening intuition