Youth Drop-In – Update

Thank you all who attended the first Youth Drop-In on Tuesday! It was so wonderful to meet kindred spirits from the Niagara area!

I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but the first turnout was a success! There was a lot of story telling, tea drinking and laughing! Not to mention meeting awesome new people!! Some of the topics we discussed included:

• Reiki and energy healing – (3 of us were practitioners!)
• crystals and gemstones
• Mediumship and Lily Dale, New York
• meditation and transcendental meditation
• communication with friends and family who have passed
• out of body experiences
• angel cards and tarot

The reason why these meetings are so important is that we offer a space where any discussion of spirituality is made in a safe and non-judgmental environment. Sometimes it is hard to talk about these things because there is a certain negative stigma attached. Our goal is to erase this stigma. It is normal and natural to experience these things or have a curiosity about them. It has nothing to do with superstition or any other negative connotation that society has unfortunately branded to it. Because it is looked at this way, many people fail to recognize the many beneficial and healing aspects of knowing about and understanding these things. Intelligent people will first investigate this information before they criticize it.

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For those of you who are interested in attending the next Youth Drop-In: in addition to offering a safe space for conversation, we’ll be doing some Spiritual Cork-Boarding! ! These are handy tools to help manifest and focus your mental, emotional, physical and spiritual goals.

Here’s what Spiritual Cork-Boarding (or Vision Boards or Dream Boards ) typically look like:

You might have heard of Vision Boarding from the movie The Secret, which teaches about the Law Of Attraction. Vision Boards are tools to help you use this Law more effectively. This Law states that like attracts like, (or consequentially, UN-like attracts UN-like) and that everything you send out on a vibrational and energetic level you receive back to you.

Everything is energy. Thoughts are energy. You use your thoughts and emotions to manifest your physical reality. You attract people or situations because of the thoughts you send out on a daily basis. Vision Boards help fine tune and focus your thoughts to help you send energy towards anything you want to manifest or create in your life.

Please bring whatever materials you want use to make your board, like markers, paint, pencil crayons, pictures of your role models, images of places you want to go, items, symbols, postcards, feathers, images, etc. We will supply materials as well!

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What: Youth Drop-In (ages 15-25)

Where: The Spiritual Spa – 185 James Street in St. Catharines

When: August 14, 2014 from 7-9pm

Why: making Vision Boards to help focus and manifest your goals

Who: facilitated by Madelyn Siuciak and Brandon Dallman

How: Send an email to healing@thespiritualspa.ca or text 289-990-3324 to reserve your spot!

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Hope to see you out!

-Madelyn

How to balance your chakras using a pendulum!

Gotta love energy healing!!

If you don’t have a pendulum, you can use anything that is suspended by a string or chain. For example, you can use a necklace chain with a pendant or you can use a ring and a piece of string. It really doesn’t matter what you use, as long as there is a decent amount of weight suspended on the string.

Chakra balancing exercise:

Sit down in a quiet place. Make sure your back is straight. Take a few deep breaths and send roots down to ground yourself. Imagine white light surrounding you. Breathe this light in and fill your body with it.

Now take your pendulum and place it above your outstretched hand, palm upward. Set the intention that by doing this exercise, your goal is to cleanse and balance your chakras.

Imagine your hand glowing a bright red colour. Make this colour the brightest and cleanest version of red you can think of. After a few seconds, the pendulum should begin spinning in circles. Keep imagining the red colour as it spins. After a minute or so, it should eventually stop spinning. This indicates that your base chakra has been cleansed.

Now repeat this process with the colours orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and white – for the other chakras. After this process is done, you will feel energized and refreshed!

🙂

Happy chakra balancing!

-Madelyn

Crystal Boosts

Crystals have a long tradition of use cross-culturally for healing. People who are in tune with different energies are often attracted to rocks, minerals, crystals and gemstones. How often have you picked up pebbles on your walk or carried home an interesting rock for your garden? How often have you felt drawn to a particular crystal and felt compelled to keep it with you? We can use crystals to balance our existence on all four levels – the mind, body, emotion and spirit. Crystal healing is a gentle non-invasive form of Holistic Healing that we can do on a daily basis.

Each type of crystal or gemstone has a unique composition and structure resonating at a particular frequency. Different crystal frequencies and vibrations provide different helping and healing elements for us – from attracting love and money to cleansing, protection, repelling negative energetics, and more. Sometimes we need Crystals to help give us an energetic boost. Perhaps you’ve been feeling a bit tired or drained at the end of the day, or a little ‘meh’. You’ve done your usual routine – protecting and grounding yourself, you feel pretty positive about things – but you still feel a bit pooped, like you could use a strong cup of coffee (or a nap). Sometimes the planet and star alignments contribute to our energy levels, but we’re not always sure what is going on out there. What to do?

I created a new crystal pouch that I carry with me (I carry a couple pouches with me daily, in addition to some stray ones that find their way into my purse). I call this pouch – my power pouch, and have let a few of my friends try it by holding onto it in their hands, and see what kind of vibe they get from it. All who have tried this crystal combination in my power pouch have noted the energetic zap and boost they get from it. So, I thought I would share this power pouch with you.

Here are the contents of my Crystal Power Pouch at this time:

Apophyllite – spiritual connection; deep meditation; working with Guardian Angels, Spirit Guides and manifestations of the Higher Self; increase intuition; remote viewing and astral travel.

Herkimer Diamond – boost clairvoyant and clairaudient abilities; high vibrational frequency; assist in prescience or telepathic communication; astral travel, dimensional shifting and expanded reality.

Quartz Crystal – focus, amplify, store and transform energy; speaking with and receiving information from the Divine and other-worldly masters, teachers and healers. I’ve charged this stone with love and light, and it also amplifies the energy of the other stones in the pouch. It’s also the crystal for Archangel Michael.

Pink Kunzite – protective stone, dispelling negativity; shields the aura against unwanted entities and outside influences; receive Divine Love; stimulate intuition and creativity. This crystal doesn’t always appear very pink.

Petalite – Stone of Angelic Connection; high vibration crystal; communication with Guardian Guides; stimulates all the clairsenses: Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, Clairsentience, Clairalience, Clairgustance, Claircognizance.

Selenite – high vibration stone; take you to the Higher realms, cleansing, protection, conduit to other dimensions; contacting and communicating with angels for guidance; finding and working with spirit guides.

I will say that I’m constantly adding to this pouch – every time I am near crystals they tend to speak out at me – the familiar ones, such as quartz crystal and selenite, and the unfamiliar ones, such as petalite. Petalite is my newest addition, and when I saw it at Willow Den (and it saw me), it pretty much jumped up and down and started shouting out at me to take it home lol. I love it when crystals talk to me!

I love how all these crystals in my pouch are all clear or white in appearance, and interesting how they are all high vibration stones. They wanted to assemble together in my pouch, and now I see why! I carry this pouch with me everywhere, I will pull it out of my purse and put it in my pocket if I need to – especially when I need an energetic boost, want to connect to Spiritual Realms, or need some Angelic protection. I also meditate with the pouch (sometimes I just place it on my forehead), or keep it under my pillow when I am sleeping.

Give this combination a try and see if the vibrational frequency works for you. Each person is different, and you might want to add others or exclude some. The crystals will let you know. Follow your intuition, your inner voice, and listen to the guidance of the crystals.

Enjoy! Namaste ❤

Tracy

Your 7 Chakras and How to Keep them Balanced & Cleared

What are chakras?

You have a subtle energy system. It is the unseen expression of you in energy. When I say energy, I mean your vibration and your energetic output. We are energetic and electric beings that send  signals and frequencies out on a second-to-second basis. One of the most basic and subtle energy systems is called your chakras, which are major energy points in the body. There are 7 of them, starting from the base of your spine to the top of your head:

Why is it important to know about them?

The maintenance of the heath of your chakras contributes to your overall physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. If there are overactive or under-active chakras (energy is not flowing harmoniously through them) then this can result in illness. When things in your life are out of whack, your chakras express this unbalance energetically.

You can help open your chakras through:

• Chakra meditations: YouTube has tons of these! Choose whichever one feels right for you.
• wearing the corresponding colour. All 7 chakras emit a different colour, and therefore resonate and respond to that colour’s specific frequencies. Root is red, sacral is orange, solar plexus is yellow, heart is green or pink, throat is blue, third eye is indigo or purple, and crown is purple or white.
• affirmations: can be in the form of thought, spoken word or writing. (I have listed some chakra affirmations below)
• sound: listening to uplifting music, using tuning forks or Tibetan singing bowls, or listening to a song/tone/sound that carries the same frequency of that chakra (ie. the root chakra resonates to the note of “C”, sacral to “D”, solar plexus to “E”, heart to “F”, throat to “G”, third eye to “A” and crown to “B”)
• you can carry around gemstones of the same color as the chakra you are trying to balance. These guys carry extremely high and positive vibes that send out healing frequencies that your chakras pick up on
• Seeking energy healing or alternative healing methods, such as Reiki, Quantum healing, Healing Touch, reflexology or acupuncture
• burning white sage or lighting insense and focusing on the chakras you want cleared
• eating healthy and exercising
• yoga
• practicing gratitude! it is an instant frequency “tune-up” and affects the state of your chakras

When you start working on your chakras and keep them open and balanced, you will start seeing positive results manifest into your life. Like attracts like, and if you clear and balance your chakras, you subsequently raise your frequency – which in turn attracts like frequencies. Things will start happening. It is your right to have a life filled with abundance, joy and harmony and my wish is for everyone to experience this!

 

Root Chakra

Colour: Red

This is the first chakra, and is located at the base of your spine. If this chakra is under-active you may feel like you don’t belong. You will feel like you are not supported in your relationships. Your family life may be difficult. You will struggle with money and financial issues, and you will have little to no connection with the earth.

Tips on balancing:

• wear red
• go outside, and breathe in the fresh air for a while
• take off your shoes and walk barefoot in the grass. Imagine roots growing out of your feet and deep into the earth. Absorb energy from your roots, much like a tree absorbs nutrients from the soil
• stomp your feet and feel the energy running down your body and into the earth
• wear red gemstones, such as garnet or red jasper
• meditate on the symbol

This chakra is all about connection to the earth and being grounded. We are electric and energetic beings, so it’s no wonder that we need to send our “grounder” down into the earth – much like a lightning rod always needs grounding. If we are not grounded and we experience emotional turmoil, we can “blow up” energetically, much like a building would that got hit by lightning if it had no grounding device.

Affirmations: I connect. I am whole. I am fully supported in all ways.

 

Sacral Chakra

Colour: Orange

This chakra is located just below the belly button. This chakra’s energy expresses how we act and experience intimate relationships, our creativity and our sexuality.

If it’s closed, you’ll feel that you cant get intimate with anyone. You’ll have problems with creativity, and will experience little to no sex drive. You might want to self-destruct and willingly engage in abusive situations.

When this chakra is open and balanced, all these areas in your life thrive. You experience beautiful and intimate relationships. You can express yourself sexually. You will feel comfortable expressing your sexuality and you will have an appetite for creativity. You will feel at peace in your body.

Tips on balancing:

• Wear orange
• Eat an orange. Cut the orange open and smell it. The citrus smell connects your with your sexuality because it is the “fruit” of you. There is a reason why they call it “bearing fruit”
• Breathe deep into your tummy
• wear orange gemstones, such as sunstone, orange calcite and orange kyanite
• meditate on the symbol above

Affirmations: I create. I am comfortable in my own skin. I am passionate. I am healthy.

 

Solar Plexus Chakra

Colour: Yellow

This chakra is located right below the sternum. This is your power centre and also referred to as your “personal sun”. When people say that you brighten up the room, you may have a strong solar plexus chakra. When your power is used properly, you exude peacefulness and generosity. It is a force to make the world a better place.

Unfortunately, people abuse their power and use it in unhealthy ways. This can be destructive for yourself and everyone around you. If this chakra is under-active you are easily controlled and have a hard time saying what you want. You have little to no self esteem and have self-confidence issues.

Tips on balancing:

• wear yellow
• sit in the sun for 20 minutes. Let the sunlight funnel into this chakra and imagine it dissolving any yuckiness (I imagine dark grayish bits getting blotted out by the light)
• carry yellow gemstones like citrine, topaz or amber
• meditate on the symbol

Affirmations: I manifest. I use my power in healthy ways. I am powerful.

 

Heart Chakra

Colour: Green or pink

This is the centre of your energetic system. It is located in the middle of your chest. Some people this energy centre the “seat of the soul”. It is extremely powerful and has many benefits for healing yourself and others, but unfortunately many people keep this place guarded because of emotional self-preservation. If you ever had your heart broken or experienced loss, or have a painful memory, there is a good chance your heart chakra may be under-active.

Tips on balancing:

• wear green or pink
• every time you look at yourself in the mirror, tell yourself “I love you”. (Mirror work is extremely powerful and effective!!)
• Forgive yourself. Forgive anyone who has ever hurt your or caused you pain. If you don’t want to physically confront this person, write it out and burn it. This transmutes the negative energy. Practicing forgiveness is extremely releasing
• If you have a relative who has a baby or a toddler, pay them a visit. Hold this child, and really connect with them. They have very powerful heart energy and it will sooth your heart chakra
• gemstones: jade, pink quartz, peridot, green adventuine
• meditate on the symbol

Affirmations: I love. I am loved. I am open to giving and receiving love. My heart is healed. I love myself.

 

Throat Chakra

Colour: blue

If this is open, you are comfortable speaking your mind. You never second-guess yourself. You feel like your voice matters and you have no trouble showing your creativity and explaining it. If you stutter or are always unsure of yourself when you speak to someone, this is an indicator that this chakra is under-active. If you experience lots of sore throats or are always clearing your throat, this is also a sign of under activity and is your body’s natural way of trying to clear this energy spot. Lying is a good way to disrupt this energy centre.

Tips on balancing:

• wear blue
• sing
• take a public speaking class
• engage in healthy self-talk
• wear blue gemstones, such as sodalite, blue kyanite or lapis lazuli
• meditate on the symbol

Affirmations: I speak my truth. I express myself clearly and with ease. My voice matters.

 

Third Eye Chakra

Colour: Indigo blue or purple

This is your intuition. It is located in between your eyes. It represents your inner sight and your psychic ability. But it battles with your intellect. It is a pure sense of knowing and how you follow spiritual signs and direction. You want to have a balance between your intellect (decision making) and intuition (guidance and direction). Psychics have their ability because they have learned to clear, balance and trust their third eye (intuition). Trust is a major issue with your third eye. People are naturally psychic and intuitive but because of the society we live in, we have learned to disregard our intuition and listen more to our intellect. It is trusting your inner knowing and that “gut” feeling. It’s there for a reason.

When this chakra is cleared and strengthened, you will experience vivid dreams, lucid dreams, visions, clairvoyance, have a strong sense of inner knowing and experience states that are “out-of-body”. You will start to easily pick up on people’s thoughts, feelings, energies and hidden intentions. Clearing and using this chakra to the fullest of it’s ability will literally blow your mind!

Tips on balancing:

• start wearing purple!
• close your eyes and imagine you are looking out of your third eye. what do you see?
• keep an amethyst crystal under your pillow at night
• close your eyes and imagine a beam of light shining out of your forehead, into the unknown
• trust your gut feelings and don’t disregard them! Trusting the first thing that comes into your head is the key here
• Don’t doubt yourself
• erase any fear, stigma or judgement about your first thoughts (your intuition)
• keep a journal and write down everything and anything that pops up into your head. Free flow like this for a few minutes and keep building it up every day.
• meditate on the symbol

Affirmations: My inner vision is clear. I am a highly psychic and intuitive being. My intuition can be trusted.

Crown Chakra

Colour: purple or white

This is the highest frequency chakra. It is located on top of your head. It is your connection to the divine, whatever that means to you. It doesn’t matter what you think your higher power is, or what people, figures or things come to mind. There is no right or wrong answer – it is all individualistic.

When this chakra is closed, you do not believe in a higher power and don’t believe there is something divine that created you and loves you. You don’t feel support. You have trouble accepting help from people and are depressed and devastated about the thought of what happens after death.

When you are in tune with this chakra and it is balanced, you are vibrating at a higher frequency. Everyday tasks are a beautiful experience and you walk this earth enlightened about everything. You are excited to get up every morning. It is a wonderful feeling. You are open to messages and signs from the divine. Synchronicity and inspiration happens on a daily basis.

Tips on balancing:

• give yourself a head massage
• imagine a white light funneling down from the sky, down into your crown chakra, down through your root chakra and deep into the earth. This is a powerful meditation to create a state of energetic vertical alignment that balances your energy.
• use clear quartz, herkimer diamond or amethyst to stimulate and clear this chakra
• meditate on the symbol

Affirmations: I am connected with the divine. I am experiencing my divine nature. I am one with the universe. I am blessed.

 

Happy Chakra Balancing!!!! xo

-Madelyn S

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“Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics.” – Darryl Anka

“Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics.”

Read more: http://www.physicsforums.com

“Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics.”

Read more: http://www.physicsforums.com

“Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics.”

Read more: http://www.physicsforums.com

The Realist’s Guide to Meditation

We’ve all heard of the fantastic benefits of practicing meditation, like reduced stress, pain management, better sleeps, increased energy and clarity throughout the day, balanced hormones, increased libido, an increased sense of general well-being and contentment…

But the truth is, classic mediation is really hard. I’m talking about the kind where you completely empty your head and experience not thinking – no thoughts! – for an extended period of time. In my experience I have found this nearly impossible. Especially in the fast-paced world we live in. Our minds are always racing. No one has time to relax and filter through their thoughts. Some people even unfortunately frown upon those who purposefully sit back and not think about anything. The truth is, we need this down time. We need to recharge, especially in our crazy workoholic-valued Western society.

Anyway, the most I’ve ever achieved of this “classic meditation” state is maybe 10 minutes. Then before I know it I’m thinking of Cristiano Ronaldo and how my cat would look like in a sweater. In the span of 1 second. How can people do this for an hour?? 20 minutes? Absolute insanity.

So without selling everything you have and moving to Tibet to become a monk… how can one start experiencing the amazing benefits of practicing daily meditation??

I’ve made a list of easier meditation-type techniques that aren’t super hard to incorporate into your daily routine but still give all the benefits of classic meditation:

1. Conscious breathing. Just sit there, and breathe. Listen to your breath. Count your breaths. Listen to the sound your lungs make and how your body moves. If there is any pain, ”breathe” into that area. Take deeper and deeper breaths as you do this. Imagine you are breathing from the base of your spine and fully expand your stomach with each breath. Simple right?
2. Body scanning. Lie there, and consciously feel every part of your body individually. Start with your toes. Wiggle them. Focus completely on just your toes. Stretch them out, then relax them. Now move your attention to your feet, then your ankles, your lower legs, thighs… etc. This is actually a great one to help you physically relax and can help you fall asleep.
3. Mindfulness. You essentially sit or lie there, and let your mind wander. But instead of becoming emotionally involved, watch your thoughts as they come and go. Imagine you are on the shore of a river, and your thoughts are on a boat, coming towards you. You see the boat coming… and then the boat passes you, sailing away until you can’t see it anymore. No judgement, fear, happiness, anger, etc is felt towards the boat. Another way you could do this is to imagine yourself floating above your body, just watching yourself meditate. Cheering from the sidelines. This took a while for me to wrap my head around, but once I could do it easily, it was a great stress reliever and it made me handle tough situations rationally and logically. I could analyze my emotions without getting wrapped up in them.
4. Focus on a single image. Or a symbol, or something that means something positive to you. You don’t even have to close your eyes – you can focus on a solid object like a lit candle or the smoke from a burning incense stick.
5. Mantras. These are basically words you say over and over again to help you focus in meditation. Or you can sing them. Google some. Popular ones are the Buddhist “om mani padme hum” (the jewel is in the lotus) or the Hindu “hare Krishna, hare rama” (to the energy of God). If you’re not into the fancy ones, or religious ones, you can create your own, like “love, live, laugh, learn” (cheesy but you get the idea). Repeat it as often as you can. It’s like creating your own tag line. Your own words to live by.
6. Music. This one can get pretty cool, and it opens you up to listening to different types. Focus on the sound, each note, each chorus. How does it make you feel? Let it sweep you up or bring you down. Just be conscious about it. Appreciate it. Don’t judge it. Let it flow.
7. Gratitude. Just sit there and make a mental or physical list of everything you love in your life. Everything you’re grateful for. This is one of the most powerful techniques and instantly raises you up to that perfect level for meditating. Makes you feel warm and fuzzy.
8. Guided meditation. So you sit there, close your eyes and listen to someone talk. This is my favourite technique. I can easily visualize imagery, so this is really powerful and effective for me. It also gives me a bit more leeway for my mind to wander, because I can create my own “scenery”, but I’m still focusing. YouTube has a massive pile of these things. Some are really good, but some are terrible. It doesn’t matter which ones you choose, it just has to do something for you. A typical guided meditation takes you through gardens, down beaches or any relaxing sounding environment. It’s really peaceful and lets you “get away” without actually leaving.
9. Paint something. Read a book. Go for a walk. Pick up the guitar. Don’t think about the past or future. Be in the “now”. These are all meditations in themselves. Just be conscious and focus on what’s in front of you. Use all five senses. Send loving thoughts to everything and everyone you come across. These are the not-so-obvious methods that turn into the completely obvious methods once you start doing them, if that makes sense.

Stuff to help in the process: light a candle or incense. Sit outside – nature is better for this. Breathe. Make sure you’re in a place where you won’t be suddenly interrupted. Lock the door. Use earplugs or headphones. Wear loose clothing. Don’t be hungry. Make sure you use the washroom before. Whatever will make you the most relaxed and comfortable. And don’t be discouraged if you can’t get it right away, or if your mind wanders. This will happen. Focus on rewarding yourself for getting back on track when you slip up.

Remember there is no right or wrong way to do this! It’s whatever you make of it. Just let whatever happens happen. Let it flow.

And most of all… enjoy!! 🙂

Happy meditating!

Love & Light,

-Madelyn

~Allowing Yourself to Bloom~

The world is coming alive all around us. It’s a bit late this year, and we are certainly ready for the beauty that the May flowers have to offer us. Growth is all around us; the grass is greener, the trees have buds, the Forsythias are blooming, and flowers pushing up through the ground to greet us. It’s here. Mother Earth is beginning her bloom.

Last month we cleaned out our Spiritual, Emotional, Mental and Physical closets to make room for new vibrant Energies. We can take lesson from Mother Earth at this time, and think about what we want to nurture and cultivate in our lives. What do we truly want to manifest in our lives at this time? What will you grow? Take some time to think about the kind of world you want to create around you. How will your inner garden grow? What kinds of things will you say, do, and feel to help nurture and develop the world of love and beauty you want to live in? Imagine it. Grow it. Live it. You know you can do it.

One of the most noticeable issues that surfaces in my classes, workshops and seminars is how busy people are, and how challenging it can be to take the time for Spiritual Self-Care.
Many of us know what we need to keep ourselves balanced on all four aspects. However, we get overwhelmed by the demands the outside world has on us, and then we feel we don’t have the time we need to do our Spiritual work. In truth, we do have the time – we just don’t make ourselves a priority. We don’t prioritize our daily Spiritual Self-Care the same way we prioritize grocery shopping, bill paying, (paid) work, cleaning, child care and so forth. We don’t allow ourselves to fully bloom. Why aren’t you taking (at least) ten minutes for your daily meditation? What’s stopping you from going in your backyard for five minutes to ground yourself? Why is it difficult for you to snatch two minutes for yourself and converse with your Spirit Helpers and Angels? Why are you holding yourself back?

I want to tell you – and assure you – that you are worth the time, and that your Spiritual needs are a priority – just as much as the other hundred things you do in a day. You have value. You are deserving. This May, I encourage you to Allow Yourself to Bloom – convince yourself that you can take time for yourself, even if it’s within the cracks and crevices of a busy day. Give yourself permission for self care. Nurture your inner needs, and cultivate your Spiritual garden. YOU are worth it.
Happy Spiritual Gardening!
Namaste! Tracy

~Spring Cleaning~

It’s finally April – the long winter is over and we are ready for warmer days. The days are already longer, allowing us to spend more time outside taking walks and sky-gazing. We’re starting to think about Barbeques, gardening, vacations and days at the beach. April puts a smile on our face and offers us hope. This is the time of year where we feel the urge to clean – we’re inspired by the rain that washes away the residues of things trapped under the many months
of snow.

You’re probably already getting that ‘spring cleaning’ itch. In your homes – clearing out eaves troughs, raking the lawn, cleaning out closets, renovating, painting rooms and whatnot. We think about renewal – freshening up things that are stale or that have worn down a bit.
While we tend to do this easily for the physical world – our homes, yards, vehicles and whatnot, we don’t always think of this kind of cleansing and renewal on an emotional and spiritual level. This is a perfect time of year to take stock of what is going on inside of us – a life review of sorts. As mentioned, this is a good time of year to clean out our emotional and spiritual closets – purging things, people and situations that do not work to love and support us. This month, I encourage you to do a major clean out. Start with your home – ridding yourself of clothing, household items and knick knacks that you’re not using or that you’ve outgrown.

There are numerous places in the Niagara Region where you can drop these things off – Goodwill, Value Village, Women’s Shelters – whatever organization you may support. We tend to hold onto physical items very tightly. Some offer memories of special times, other physical items may work to prove to us our successes in the material world. In truth, we really don’t need these items. In truth, they are constructed falsehoods that feed the ego and make us feel like we’ve accomplished something in Life. Let them go.

In addition to clearing out material items, I encourage you to cleanse things on the “inside” that aren’t working for you. Consider your relationships with others – who supports you? Who ridicules you? Who are the people that offer you unconditional love, even when you might not do the same for yourself? What situations make you feel loved and supported? What circumstances sit right within you, and which ones don’t? What worldview and perspectives are stagnating you? Which ones are blocking or impeding your flow and life path? Purge whatever and whoever is not resonating with you. Send them or the situation love and light, and move on.

Some of these suggestions might be challenging. But remember, we can’t fill a cup that is already full; pour off some excess and make room for new. Be confident that what is coming to you now is supportive of your path and rooted in love and light. Accept no less. Happy Cleaning!

Spring Forward – With Courage & Intent…

The past year has been all about Angels for me. I was never really one to pay attention to ‘Angels’ until I did some research on what they are all about and where their stories stem from. Much to my surprise, I discovered that Angels can be found cross-culturally and historically. Stories of Angel helpers and protectors are found throughout time and across different cultures – throughout Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, and more. Sometimes they have different names and sometimes they have the same names, but they typically have the same significance, meaning and story.

My Angel Oracle Cards are one of my favourite decks to gain insight into where I’m at, or for messages from the Spirit World. I use them daily to connect to the energetic world and they always offer useful bits of information and help when I need it. As I am also planting the seeds and working on manifesting the world I want around me, two cards from the Angel Oracle Deck keep surfacing for me and I thought I would share them here. They are timely with our theme and with a specific message: Spring Forward – with Courage and Crystal-Clear Intentions.

The first card is from Michael and notes “Crystal Clear Intentions – Be clear about what you desire, and focus upon it with unwavering faith.” Be bold enough to admit what you truly desire, and have faith that it will come to you. Set some time aside and write out exactly what you want and need. Don’t worry how it will come about, the ‘higher powers’ will take care of that.

The second card is from Ariel and notes “Courage – Be courageous and stand up for your beliefs”. This card encourages you to do what you need to do, even if others do not agree or understand your needs. Ariel gives you the strength to stand up for your beliefs and allows you to act as a role model to others who are searching and seeking their own life path and purpose.

This March I encourage you to join me – Spring Forward with Clear Intent and have Courage to take the steps forward to manifest positivity – what you want to nurture and grow in your life.
Namaste! Tracy

I Saw the Sign, and It Opened up My Eyes…

Being busy is a state that people are constantly in; it is how our society is structured. Our minds are full of things; we’re constantly thinking and focused on the hundred or so tasks we need to do and take care of. One of the hardest things to learn is to how to still the mind, and certainly one of the biggest barriers for people when they try and meditate. When we’re in this busy mental state, it’s easy to go on ‘automatic pilot’. We miss what’s really going on around us, and we overlook the signs and synchronicities that are out there, and often right in front of our noses.
Synchronicities and signs, or tid-bits of information are clues from the unseen world around us. Carl Jung discusses it with respect to the collective unconscious, and The Celestine Prophecies also talk about it. Call it what you will, the Divine, the Universe, our Higher Self, Our Spirit Guides etc, often provide us hints to help us solve our problems, or help with what direction to go in when we’re trying to make a decision about something, or even just to offer us strength during difficult and trying times.

When I was thinking about articles to write for this newsletter and the blog, I was toying with some ideas but couldn’t really decide. Then, the Ace of Base song – “The Sign” kept popping up – on two different radio stations at different times of the day, at the thrift shop, and then at the grocery store. I thought to myself, it’s not a new song, why does it keep showing up? And so, I decided to write a piece about synchronicities and signs. It was a good reminder to me how the unseen world speaks to us, but how easy it can be to miss these signs – even when we feel we’re in tune, the exterior world can still fill our minds and clog our cosmic flow.

Does the same number or sequence of numbers keep popping up everywhere you look? Does a particular song keep popping up in various locations? Does a certain animal keep revealing itself in different places? Do some topics keep coming up in conversations with different people at different times? Does a person’s name keep showing up? Have you ever experienced a strange sequence of events that all seem related? Go beyond notions of coincidence or fluke events; pay attention to patterns of tid-bits that keep surfacing for you. What does it mean to you? Why is the pattern significant?

When we take the time to observe the world around us, we can really start to ‘see’ things differently and experience the world around us in a very different way. In hearing this song (and I don’t even like the song really) in all these different venues, I was reminded to stay in tune and listen, to see, to feel and experience what is going on around me. Sometimes when we ask for guidance from our ethereal helpers, help can come to us in various ways, sometimes very overt and ‘in your face’, and yet other times very subtle – like in synchronicities, signs and patterns. To borrow the phrase from the X-Files, ‘the truth is out there’, we just have to notice it is being presented to us and shared with us. And so, a good reminder that we all need to stop, take a deep breath and really look at the world around us, as it interacts with us continuously.
Namaste. Tracy

Living in the Light – Navigating Daily Challenges

Many of us have a good idea about what we want to do with our lives, and how we want to live out each day. We have a sense of what our life path entails and if we’re lucky, we’re already dabbling in it and doing our thing (perhaps on a part-time scale). We also have a sense of where our thoughts and hearts should be as we begin our days. We know that our thoughts manifest the world around us; we start off our day with a positive affirmation, a grounding meditation, we tuck our crystals in our pockets and purses, and we fill our hearts with Love and Light and go off to do our daily things. For the most part, we’re in a good place, we have our tools and we’re ready to manifest what we truly want.

And then, we meet some challenges along the way. We might wake up feeling weird, or have a strange funk hit us in the middle of the day. We might face situations or people that are not energetically in the same place as we are. Sometimes we just feel like we’re having a ‘bad day’. Arguably, there is no such thing, as each experience is meant to teach us something. But – some days it’s just darn difficult to stay positive and stay in the Light.

We might wake up and wonder about the job we’re in – the job that isn’t part of our path and that just doesn’t feel right. We do it begrudgingly. We might ask ourselves – why is it so hard to do what I want to do? Everyone asks this, you’re not alone. It’s likely that the job you’re doing isn’t part of your path and you feel that – like you should be somewhere else doing something else. It’s important to remember that it’s a means to an end – it’s a tool to help you get to where you’re going. It’s paying the bills right now.

Importantly, your job (the one that’s not part of your life path) doesn’t define you. It’s not who you really are. Again, it’s an instrument, a stepping-stone. And, although it’s sometimes unbearable to be there, it’s an opportunity to think about – what can I learn from this? Are there situations or people here that I need to deal with and work through? How can I put my ‘good-mojo’ to work here? Think about the ways that you can incorporate the ‘True-You’ into seemingly unbearable or unpleasant situations. The customer who is yelling at you at the counter, the demanding Boss who’s constantly on your back, the tedious and monotonous tasks that you do daily – In what ways can you integrate the True-You into the ‘blah’ or ‘meh’ aspects of your day? In what ways can you let Love and Light trickle through into the ‘yuck’ aspects of your job and social relationships? There’s a reason why you are where you are right now. Look for ways that you can shine your Light in places you might feel are dark for you right now. Move from passive to active on Your terms. Be grateful for these opportunities, no matter how challenging.

It’s easy to feel weighed down by the exterior world around us, especially if you’re intuitive or empathetic – and despite the energetic boundaries you’ve set up for protection. We’re still human, and the Ego still plays a role in our existence. Sometimes when we take a moment and evaluate our lives and the changes we want to make, we feel a little overwhelmed. The big picture viewpoint is daunting and huge. You might ask yourself – How will I ever get to where I want to be? How can I possibly make all these changes? How will this all play out? Try not to get caught in the trap of the meta-view. Try and take a more micro-view and take it day by day. What can I do today that will help me get closer to my goals? What can I do in this very moment to help me get to where I need and want to be? Part of this is learning to exist in the ‘Now’. We want to be sure to enjoy this very moment, this hour, this day and not be so worried and overwhelmed about the month, the year, the decade. Utilize your spiritual-tools: practice gratitude, use your crystals, say your affirmations, go hug a tree, reach out to a friend, or whatever you use and do to help you stay positive and in the Light. You’re not alone, and in truth, you’re already on your way to where you want to be.

Stay strong.
Namaste.
Tracy