Is there meditation for people who think they can’t do it?
“I know I should meditate. I keep thinking about it but every time I try I get distracted and I just never end up doing it routinely.”
In recent years, meditation is no longer thought of as only for Buddhist Adherents, monks or seekers; it and has been adopted by people of all ages, faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds as part of their spiritual and wellness routine. Meditation has gone from ritual to routine in homes, meditation centers, Churches and health-complexes worldwide.
Many people believe that meditation inspires a quieted mind, the clarity of their Higher Selves, and feeling more attuned with their spiritual selves as well as reaping physical and mental benefits.
Spotlight Reader of the Week – Willow
This Week’s Featured Reader is Willow. She is an intuitive psychic advisor/coach with over 25 years of experience. She offers unique, ethical insight to help you focus on your own abilities to change and shape the present and future. After all, isn’t it better to CREATE instead of wait?
We typically get readings when we’re facing pain or uncertainty and just want reassurance, but Willow believes painful emotions aren’t something we should be afraid of. For example, a fight between loved ones can actually illuminate the very things that could help grow intimacy and communication.
Willow teaches clients that our emotions, both good and bad, are guidance systems and an intuitive reading can help us understand what our emotions (and those of others) are really all about and get a real world practical game plan about how to deal with uncertainty.
Tarot Card of the Week: Page of Mirrors
Tarot Card of the Week: Feb 13–Feb 19, 2017
Page of Mirrors
Tarot Card of the Week: Feb 13–Feb 19, 2017This weeks’ card is the Page of cups from the wonderful Chrysalis Tarot by Toney Brooks and Holly Sierra. (in this deck the card is called “Page of Mirrors”). What a wonderful card to herald Valentine’s Day and the gentle energy blooming this week!
Our conscious minds are always whirring and it’s all too easy for our logical, intellectual circuits to take over. We see the logic in our current situation and are constantly trying to size up what works and what doesn’t; what will cause us harm and what will bring us joy. As adults we learn to peek around corners, to appraise danger, to doubt new opportunities.
The Page of Mirrors (cups) is all about the part of us that resonates with heart and soul instead of just our adult, protective “logic.” The Page of Mirrors is innocent, loving, romantic and comfortable gazing into the waters of intuition and emotion. She is free to follow her heart.
In many ways, this energy inspires creativity and innocence. The very nature of the intuition and the subconscious are reflected in this card and you might find yourself inspired with the kind of “aha!” that can only come in a surprising or unexpected brush with creative epiphany. That little voice that leaps past logic and gives us a stroke of genius whether about an artistic endeavor or how to handle a relationship.
Tarot Card of the Week: Special Halloween Edition
Tarot Card of the Week: Oct 31 – Nov 6, 2016
Judgment
The celebration we think of today as Halloween, All Souls Day, All Saints Day and Day of the Dead have roots in an ancient celebration that began around the 5th century BC in what is now Ireland.
Ancient Celts celebrated a festival called Samhain (pronounced Sow-en) which means “summers end” – it marked the beginning of winter and the start of The Celtic New Year between the nights of October 31st and November 1st.
This holiday was seen as a time when the veil between the spirit world and our own was the thinnest and spirits were said to be able to visit the realm of the living during this time.
Costumes, feasts, divination games, and bonfires marked a time of the year when the abundance of summer gave way to the darkness of winter, when a ripe new year was beginning, and a renewal of spiritual interconnectedness took place within families. It was the perfect time to do divination and take a look at the year ahead
So this week, our card (from the wonderful Halloween Tarot) is not only about this weeks energy but it also gives us clues to the themes we can expect to keep growing and expanding over the next year as well.
Tarot Card of the Week: Four of Wands
Tarot Card of the Week: Sept 12-Sept 18, 2016
Four of Wands
This week’s card is the Four of Wands from the Fairy Tale Tarot deck; here we see Jack descending the famous beanstalk. The beanstalk symbolizes success, upward mobility, growth and inspiration and Jack (clad in purple, the colour of wealth and gutsiness) is heading back down, carrying his bag of goodies.
The lady bug perched on the leaf symbolizes luck and success and the many tendrils and glowing wands signify that many other fortunate paths and opportunities lay ahead. The crow, however, also warns Jack that he has to take a rest and enjoy his hard earned loot from the land of giants.
Four of Wands: a sense of homecoming
This card is all about that magical sense of, “WHEW! I made it” a sense of homecoming. One of the most positive cards in the traditional tarot, the four of wands indicates stability, harmony peace and prosperity. The work has been done and you can take a deep breath and enjoy the celebration of your life. Be proud of what you have accomplished , and allow that feeling of peace and satisfaction to settle in your heart as you get home from your own beanstalk adventure this week.
Tarot Card of the Week; The Hierophant
Tarot of the Week: Aug 22 – Aug 28, 2016
The Hierophant
Tarot of the Week: Aug 22 – Aug 28, 2016This wonderful card from the Housewives Tarot represents the Hierophant.
Back in the old days when we needed information, we could consult our programming guide and then switch on one of these big huge RCA TV sets and we could watch those cathode ray tubes come to luminous life; transmitting information, news and entertainment right into our living room.
The Hierophant brings important information
No need to adjust your rabbit ears or wiggle your antenna for better reception because this week information is coming to you, the message will be loud and clear- but are you willing to look at the information and take it in even if it’s not what you expect or want to hear?
The element of this card in focus for the week is that of knowledge, of expanding information, of getting answers and truths. You’ve been searching for answers and now you’re finding information and clarity in the very things that have impacted you most and are especially relevant.
Information comes in different ways
New information could come to you in conventional ways (and good old fashioned study and educating yourself) or through information you research on your own, but it might also arrive in the form of an intelligent and helpful mentor or friend who helps you on your way.
Tarot Card of the Week: The World
Tarot Card of the Week: June 13 – June 19, 2016
Tarot Card of the Week: June 13 – June 19, 2016The World
This week’s card ‘The Worlds’ is drawn from one of my favourite decks ever; The Victorian Fairy Tarot. Here we see a beautiful fairy glen, a scene of luminous celebration. Glowing fairies dance in a circle (a mushroom “fairy-ring” just as we might find out in the garden!) as bluebells bask nearby in the moonlight. We first see this fairy glen in the very first card of the deck, “The Fool” in which our adventurer steps innocently into the unknown, into the same patch of bluebells and magic at the start of the journey.
But this week, we’ve come a long way from our time of innocent beginnings. We’ve put in a lot of hard work and a lot of distance has been traveled, a lot of obstacles have been overcome or will be overcome soon. The human city visible off in the distance in this card shows us just how far we’ve come. It’s time to celebrate and honour all the things you’ve learned and the amazing progress you’ve made and to see with honest eyes and and open heart just how much progress you’ve made!
It’s easy to get caught in the trap of, “well I still have a lot of growing to do…” or, “I haven’t made as much progress as I want in this one area,” but this card is reminding you that in this time of new chapters and new beginnings, it is just as important to see where you have BEEN as to be excited about where you can still go.
Tarot Card of the Week: Two of Spirals
Tarot Card of the Week: May 2 – May 8, 2016
Two of Spirals
This week’s card is the Two of Spirals (Two of Pentacles) from the beautiful Chrysalis Tarot by Holly Sierra and Toney Brooks.
Here we see a wise mother bird patiently assessing her choices and options as she builds two nests in the crux of a fruiting Mulberry tree. Which one will she choose to build up? Which one is in the best location for her eggs? Each nest has a spiral moving in opposing directions indicating that her choices are about contrasts.
The two of spirals is all about choices, and how we balance our needs where there are conflicting choices or options. For example; will we pour ourselves into work and hit some over-time hours, or do we spend more time with the kids? Do we engage with lots of social activities and parties or do we take some much needed down-time for ourselves?
Fortunately, just like mama-bird, this week will offer you an opportunity to not be so darned TORN about the choices ahead of you and you will see ways in which you can balance the various elements of your life.
Often this balance indicates that it’s time to mix emotional or spiritual needs with practical and financial considerations.This might mean that you’re called to work on a passion project, but that the bills still need to be paid. Or perhaps you’re in such a swirl of activity or creativity in your work that you will need to pay special attention to your calendar and day planner so you can meet all your commitments with everyone .. including at home.
Giving Thanks after Thanksgiving: The Real Role of Gratitude
Between the months of October and November, the United States and Canada celebrate “Thanksgiving” – the holiday seemingly designed for uncomfortable conversations with in-laws and turkey (or Tofurky), garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, pumpkin pie and giblet gravy.
The original reasons for “Thanks Giving” celebrations are various; from Martin Frobisher surviving his voyage from England to discover a Northern Passage to the Pacific, or the Pilgrims of Plymouth celebrating an especially good harvest in 1621, to the many many “harvest” celebrations in gratitude for the bounty of the season.
Thanksgiving dinner is over, but Thanks-Giving is also an act that we would all do well to inspire on days that don’t include snapping wishbones or football comas. Giving Thanks and being grateful for what we have, observing the good things in our lives and thinking about what we care about is one of the fastest and surest ways to attract more success and abundance in our lives. Being content and valuing what is HERE NOW is one of the most powerful things we can do to take care of those things which are truly important to us.
Gratitude reduces pain, fear and stress in ourselves and others. We spend most of our lives focusing on what DOESN’T work, what we’re scared of, what we don’t like, what we don’t want to happen that we spend little time reflecting on what is true in the moment.
Does He Want to Break Up?
Does He Want to Break Up? Does She want out?
In the Part One article last week, we explored some of the signals that a person wants to be in a relationship with you. In this article, Part Two, we’ll take a look at the signs and signals that a partner wants to end a relationship.
As in the previous article, there’s no cookie-cutter formula that will show you the complexities of each personality and situation but there are a few energetic signatures of fear and withdrawal to look out for in a person who wants to leave a relationship but is afraid to talk about it directly.
Sometimes one or both people wanting out doesn’t really mean a permanent end to the relationship; it can be a crisis signal that there is a serious issue within the relationship that is not being communicated effectively and there can be an opportunity to move forward. However, these signals often mean that an ending is near. It’s not possible to change what isn’t working in a relationship if one partner is unwilling or unable.
Here are the signs that the two of you are headed for a break even if they insist that things are fine, or don’t want to talk about the relationship:
Does He Want a Relationship?
A few years ago I started hearing a new kind of jargon from people seeking romantic guidance, “What are his / her intentions?”
When I first started hearing it, it seemed like a weird question. After all, relationships are organic, flowing and dynamic and people rarely have fixed “intentions,” exact blueprints or robotic instructions of what they want and how they wish to proceed. Nope. Most people (just like you) are trying to understand another person, decide how they fit in their lives and protect their heart from hurt in the process.
I quickly tuned into the fact that what people really wanted to know was whether or not the person they were seeing was interested the same kind of relationship they were. Does he want a relationship? Is she interested in me the same way I am? And while this might have been a more obvious process a few decades ago (don’t people talk openly anymore?) modern dating has made figuring out how another person feels a more complicated and confusing process as dating (and social technology and social media) changes the relationship landscape.
Have an Amazing Romance Instead of a Whirlwind Disaster
Are whirlwind relationships delightful breezes that propel emotional and physical attraction; that time when we can’t get enough of the other person’s presence?
Or, are whirlwind romances a hurricane gale force wind that will inevitably send us crashing into the rocks of relationship disaster?
It depends on how successfully we meld the zing of attraction with the discernment of our strength and authentic selves.
When we meet a new person, the temptation to throw ourselves head over heels into a whirlwind romance is heady. After all, we’re trained that whirlwind romances are desirable.
Romantic fiction, movies and media all tell us that real love is intense, destined, and can progress at the speed of light. “He swept me off of my feet,” they say, “I knew right away that this was perfect.”
We’ve all heard stories of the person who meets a guy on Monday and by Wednesday they’ve declared a new relationship status on Facebook.