There.  Done.  So where were we?  Time and timing and delays in timing and wires getting crossed—just before the holidays it started.  It?  Issues with the car insurance and telephone company and a few other things; billing mistakes that I’m still not sure are completely resolved.  People seem to tell you what they think you want to hear just to get you off the phone, and then nothing changes–then  you’re back at square one again.  In the psychic class I’m having to chase after folks to fulfill their obligation to do the project reading – or at least it feels that way to me; everyone seems to wait to the last-minute.  Not that I don’t understand that (I do; everyone’s busy or whatever it is),  but it just seems like everyone is distracted and overwhelmed these days.

In glancing out the window just now I see that my cardinals and the other birds are glad that I noticed the feeder was empty—there’s quite the crowd out there now.  They, too, must wonder why it takes ‘me’ so long to remember to fill the feeder with seed.  I’m distracted too I suppose and then to make the whole darn ‘moving forward thing‘ even more frustrating—yeah, I guess that’s the word:  frustration! The rebounder cord on the pilates machine broke, so there’s been no therapeutic bouncing exercise for me lately!

Frustrating delays around timing and getting things done seems to be the theme. Things are  starting to move forward a little bit now, energy is breaking free.

Life has felt like a rusty old cobwebby wheel that got frozen in time around mid-December and here at the end of January, with lots and lots of effort on my part, is just moving forward an inch or two!  I’ve felt a bit like I’m in slo-mo if you know what I mean and if that slow motion has been how the telephone company people and car insurance people have been feeling too… well, it’s no wonder the frustration.

I’m going to put it out there in the cyber world and yell it out to the universe right here and now:  FEBRUARY IS GOING TO BE A BETTER MONTH!  The timing may be off here and there but overall, we’ve got to break the rusty frozen wheel of time!  Let me consult the I-ching here a moment and ask for some guidance and counsel about how else to get things bouncing again (in addition to the rebounder cord arriving in the mail).  What wisdom comes from the I-ching about this?

Well, here it is:  I drew Kua 39, called  OBSTACLES.  Does THAT sound right on or what?  The themes or archetypes of this Kua have to do with unexpected obstructions, frustrations, difficulties, feelings of hopelessness, struggle and discouragement.  I’ve not felt hopeless but for a few times with that horrid Frontier Communications phone company!  I nearly quit on them entirely but things are starting to clear up a bit—not that I still don’t have so much static on the phones whenever it rains more than one day in a row; but at least I think they straightened out the bill (fingers crossed; time will tell).  And the house still smells awful in places here and there from the work of terminator the exterminater who was here just before christmas—sigh!  Okay, I admit these are not end of the world issues we’re talking about but maybe you can relate on your own level?

Energy is energy and delays in getting things resolved have been a theme I’ve recognized not just in my own life but… well, let’s just say in my work I talk to a lot of people and we’ll leave it at that.

Personally, I relate to the struggle and discouragement part of Kua 39.  Now.  Where’s the wisdom?

Earlier today I was thinking about how people will tend to hide things about themselves that they don’t want others to know because they think it will destroy their image.  We have this image of ourselves and of our lives that we wish to hold up as flawless and streamlined—like we’ve got it all under control and have got it made.  Of course, most people don’t care about these flaws like we do—sometimes we look at our imperfections under a microscope.  And these are things that are  not perceivable by others.  They try to project an image like “spiritual people never get frustrated, deal with disappointment or respond to difficulties because spiritual people don’t have them”—well, that’s just nonsense.

I love the Dalai Lama—that’s no secret.  One of the reasons why is he shares his humanness and doesn’t hide his struggles and allowing others to see his human flaws and imperfections helps the rest of us.

The wisdom from Kua 39 is that we all have ups and downs and we don’t have ultimate control over everything—I don’t care how many ‘law of attraction’ visualizations you do, there are delays, disappointments and sometimes even disasters.

Those things shake our sense of security.  I had such a shake up when my rent went up drastically and I scurried (much like the mice in attic were doing before Christmas) to make some changes and adjustments.  Sometimes a crisis comes at a time when it is hard enough to just keep your head above water in the first place—that is life.

Yet, we can’t panic and it is at those times most especially that our spiritual training is called upon and is extremely useful and beneficial.  Applying our spiritual teachings and following a well-worn path of meditation helps us avoid panic or feelings of helplessness.  I’ve always said that the real benefit of meditation is not as useful in good times as it is in bad; but if we haven’t created the pathway previously… well, it’s more difficult to begin a first time meditation practice when faced with crisis.

More wisdom from Kua 39… It is important not to become a victim or entertain a persecution mentality when faced with obstacles for this drains potential for empowered action.

And from my own point of view, remember humor and use that as much as possible… sarcastic humor isn’t a sin if it helps you get through it. Be dramatic to blow off steam but don’t take your drama too seriously—remember, that it ‘is’ a drama, a movie, a play.

We want progress and we can become fixated upon it to the point of losing a balanced perspective.  Do what you can and when you can and then switch focus to something else; anything else other than the obstacle that is frustrating you.

And don’t keep it all inside; talk to others and let go of some image that you are beyond having a problem—spiritual people have problems too!

And here’s one; some wisdom that came from my mother when I asked her what she had to share from her life perspective at age 82.  I said, Mom what wisdom would you give to those of younger generations who are facing a difficult life problem.  Her answer was this, “Tell them to hang in there.  Whatever it is, it will pass.”

Currently MARS is retrograde January 23rd to April 13th 2012.  Maybe the Kua 39 guidance in this blog post will be helpful to readers who are affected by the Mars retro cycle…  depending on your own personal chart, your life could be affected differently by the cycle.  But it is usually associated with times of frustration–or so the astrologers say.  Personally, I see it as taking action inwardly–Mars energy turned inward can be a good thing many times.  Mars retrograde does not frighten me; I plan to use it!

Kua 39 says to work with what you can in the moment, with what arises and do it the best way that you can.  Roll with the current, turn to the “big picture” and you will succeed.

And we have to remember the lessons of time—that is an illusion and doesn’t exist.  We have only now so breathe in and breathe out; be with it.

We do what we can and keep the smile on the face because not to is to give up and we must never give up—adjust perhaps but never give up in the face of plans changing by conditions that seem out of our control–like the weather.
Weather, and its changeable nature, helps us to increase our awareness that generally Life Itself is that way — changeable and sometimes undependable without guarantees — there’s nothing like a life storm to help us ground and to see the big picture.  Humbling as it is.  Don’t count the chickens before they’re hatched as the saying goes, yet don’t rule out the unexpected or let it create a loss of faith; Life is full of unstable and changeable conditions. Weather and Life Itself can be like Taurus with Aries… like “push forward with passion while taking your time and relaxing when there’s a storm”  … sort of an oxymoron; but storms do happen. And sometimes the ice is thin or even breaks… don’t lose faith, just adjust to the changes.

I think of birds sometimes and their nests that become destroyed by the hand of man or by nature.  Wind blowing the nest from the tree or man cutting the tree itself down—these causes have taught the bird to build more than one nest, just in case.  And we always hear that other phrase, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”  It seems to me that a Life Storm can help us come up with the time or opportunity to figure out how to secure a few more eggs and put them in different baskets.  We can at least think about it or contemplate it especially if we don’t have the energy to carry out those plans for another day.  Let the birds inspire!  Just build some extra nests in case something happens to one, there are others.

Sometimes our plans seem to become destroyed or changed or delayed for good reason—might be the wrong direction which is leading you further away from your goal.  Maybe the goal needs tweaking or we need to reorient to it or review it.

Or maybe you are almost there even though there have been frustrating setbacks!  Go within and ask in meditation what it is that you need to know–turn into your own heart and wait.  When we call upon Intuition, we are already assuming that somewhere inside we KNOW!   You do.

I’m just asking—just contemplating this whole trust thing. We trust that our next breath will come in time and that our heart is going to beat its next.  It is something we take for granted — we don’t think much about it, we trust this mystery and magic that keeps us alive.  We breathe in and out; and our heart beats all the time without thinking about it.  Talk about the Law of Attraction!  HA! There it is; think about it.  The lungs are empty and the next breath comes exactly when needed—Law of Attraction!  Who needs to write a series of books and go on tour giving a thousand lectures about it or pretend they are channeling some master from a star system far, far away!?  We can simply observe these human body parts working in unison to know what trust is—and what it isn’t.  And while we contemplate that, we can also realize that there is a lot to be grateful for within a simple breath.

Is trust about believing in aspects of life that work without our direction and control like the breath and the heartbeat?  Intuition, I believe, is just like that—its working all the time, been there all along and most people barely realize the intuition, like the breath and heartbeat, is there and working without their interference 100% of the time.  Being psychic and intuitive is like your next breath and heart beat—it is functioning beneath your level of awareness, is automatic as well as mysteriously magical.  The questions are, “Can you trust it?” and a “Do you surrender to it?” – It’s like the weather you know?  You may as well.

Yet, I’d have to add that we learn a good deal about our life when we try to control it all and the ego takes its bows for the automatic functioning of the body, mind and spirit–really, it’s laughable if you think about it.

Sometimes, I think my strong desire and intent controls the weather—is that delusion, illusion or is there something to it?  Can I do it all the time 365 days a year or 24 hours a day?  No; and if I could, it would be 67 degrees, sunny and cloudless all the time. Yet, there are times when I need it not to rain… like when I’m finishing up my yard work, unloading a truck full of firewood or trying to get my walk in for the day.  I turn my eyes skyward and ask the nature devas (but sometimes I forget to ask and it still works anyway) to hold off on the rain until I get finished.  I cannot tell you the number of times that the second that I’ve completed the task (and I mean the second!), the rain began to fall in torrent.  If you’d have been there with me, you’d have been impressed with the timing!

At those times, however, I was willing to let be what needed to be with the weather but my surrendering to trusting that if it could be done, it would be; otherwise I surrender to getting wet on that occasion.  It gets more complicated when we see those folks who live in Florida (for a while I was one of them) who used their mind and intention to steer Hurricanes away.  Illusion, delusion, coincidence or do we have the ability to steer a storm on occasion?  Does an attempt to control the weather with the mind always work?  You tell me.  How many times have you wanted a white Christmas and gotten one and other times it didn’t snow one flake?

But then this post today is more about trust and the ability to surrender.  You’ve been breathing all the time that you’ve been reading this without thinking about it—that required a certain amount of trust and surrendering of make-believe control.  We can take the breath in our hands and control its length, duration and intensity; but we have a life!  Some things (like that) fortunately get handled for us automatically.  Life is a lot like that; we read a book or hear some inspirational speaker tell us how we can control our life and we apply the techniques and get a result here and there just the way we take up our very breath and control that and the heart rate as well with our actions and intentions.  Then we seem to try to convince ourselves that we have the keys to the kingdom so-to-speak.  How much of that is accurate?  Do we?  How much is going to happen automatically without our conscious attempts at participation and control?

As far as intuition is concerned, we will discover through our careful observations that we’ve been intuitive all along and the earth rotates on its axis and the sun rises each day and the next breath happens without our control.  It will rain or it won’t; we trust that.  If we can practice trusting our next inhalation and heartbeat and learn to observe it consciously, intentionally and if we can learn to trust these mysteries and this magic that happen naturally and unconsciously (weather is a good example), then we see that there is Divine Timing and that we participate in it and with it; we do not control it.  If we can trust that, then we can trust our intuition and we can understand the meaning of the word—trust.  Learn to do intentionally something that you usually do naturally and automatically; that is not only about trust but it is also being self-aware and awake.

Observe the divine breath within you and then you will be able to receive your own intuitive messages and have a personal understanding of what it means to trust and to be in the flow of your own intuitive wisdom. And maybe once in a while you will see that the weather, too, moves in harmony with this process called you or better said [capital Y] You, the Greater You that is We and All That Is.

Final thought–we do attract what we need (Law of Attraction if you’d like) and sometimes we need it to rain and sometimes not; sometimes we need our lover to leave us and sometimes not and sometimes we need lots of money and sometimes not.  Sometimes our breath and heart stops and sometimes not–trust is about surrendering to the idea that we receive exactly what we need–and we receive it exactly when and how we need it.  Trust that if your ego will let you.

I was just asking about some insight for us (me and you, dear reader) regarding the whole New Year getting off to a good start.  For myself, it’s not been necessarily going like gang busters.  I’m feeling determined and unwavering in my resolve but am testing myself here a little bit.  I’m not failing but I could be doing better; maybe we can get some guidance from the I-CHING here.  That is if you’re like me feeling like you’re making efforts that don’t seem to be manifesting much right now–it all feels mental at the moment.  Lots of mental efforts with little to show physically.

It is a test of character to stick with the efforts especially when we don’t see the instantaneous breakthroughs that we’d like to see.  Sometimes we have to wait until the seed we plant germinates or grows beneath the soil before it shows the results of our focused efforts.  Sometimes our tenacity and resolve are put to the test–it is easy at those times to lose heart or faith but we must avoid being defensive or attacking life head-on.  We must remain uncompromisingly focused on our intentions while at the same time remaining relaxed and free of fear in order to get through these periods.  Besides, it’s a good time to meditate upon our truths and weed out ego-inflated ideas and beliefs that we are harboring–many times it is those that are causing the problem.

It is a good idea to remain aware and alert about our thoughts.  I wrote a newsletter today which may be helpful in that regard.  HERE’S THE LINK.

Lately, I’ve noticed that before certain problems work out they tend to get worse before they get better–nearly like we seem to go south before going north for the resolution in matters.  It reminds me of the switchbacks up here in the mountains.  Sometimes south is north and east is west when you are negotiating around a mountain.

I’ve had some real issues with Nationwide Car Insurance Company and Frontier Communications Phone Company and in another area that will remained unnamed.   Issues with Nationwide went on for a few weeks and with Frontier, months.  Fingers crossed they’re resolved now but believe me it took a lot of time on my part and persistent effort combined with all that this Kua refers to– i.e. tenacigty and inner resolve.  I would like to say that without my efforts, things would have resolved on their own–not so.  My efforts were required.  The advice of this Kua is to achieve resolution one must be detached, uncompromising, patient and must not waver from their purpose.

Personally, the other matters I have in mind will be resolved too, just like with Nationwide and Frontier–I just have to hang in and not give in to emotion and persist in faith.  If you are having some issues like I have that seem to get nowhere as far as progress goes, keep in mind that sometimes we have to go south before we go north and that’s just the way life goes sometimes.  Don’t give up hope.

Sometimes we have to be flexible enough to move with the changes of life without compromising our vision.  Through tenacity and strength of character, we will reach our goal and attain our vision.  I am reminded of that with regard to my recent issues with Frontier and Nationwide–these were tests and I made it through yet another initiation.  It is fresh in my experience to share with you right now–hold true to what you desire, do your best and somehow or another, eventually and with some resolution that is for the highest and best, things will go north again.  Our efforts do pay off; continue with determined effort.  Be willing to make any adjustments but remain determined; it will work out!

Ready?  Here we go.  First, let’s look at the numerology for just the year of 2011 for just a second and see how we did.  Why? Numerology gives us a general feeling for how the year will evolve globally, or for everyone. Let’s start with 2011 first though; adding those numbers 2+0+11, we have 2+11=13=4.

[[[No time to read?  Want to just jump right into your own personal year? Scan down this post until you see that bridge picture and read the text beneath it. ]]]

The year 2011 was a 4 Year

Well, the 4 year has to do with the foundations of our life being stable and well-constructed; otherwise, it is like a house of cards collapsing. Yeah, so I guess that holds true, doesn’t it?  Think Wall Street and the mortgage issues.  They say that 4 years are years to correct errors of past mistakes and give plans a good going over to be sure they are well made.   Just consider the stock market and global economic pictures and the bail outs and these types of issues—in that case, I’d agree that generally speaking 2011 being a 4 year is consistent with numerology.

What about 2012?  It’s a 5 Year

So in the same spirit of numerology, let’s take a look.  Add ‘em up (2+0+1+2) and we get a 5 year and that is CHANGE.  Let it be good change—Amen!  So we could see ourselves letting go of routines and doing the same ole’, same ole kind of thing!  This is a year in which we will be looking at things from a new angle, getting rid of old outdated ideas and beliefs, and do some unusual things and view some new scenery.  Five years are also good years to keep the mind and body active and to channel energy properly and into good uses.  In other words, restless?  Go work out!  Bottom line word for 2012 is change.

Just a footnote on the paragraph above, even though 2012 is going to be the year of change in many ways, you may enjoy this next prediction or NOT based on your political views and PS I don’t have any myself and wasn’t even asking the question but in a small list of psychic predictions for 2012 that I received in my New Year’s Eve meditation, I received that Obama would be re-elected.  Time will tell how accurate that is—however, we look at change in 2012, apparently it does not have to do with the presidential seat.  That is, if my prediction is correct, some things stay the same.  Well, not EVERYTHING can change all at once, can it?  We’d have no stability AT ALL if that were so.

I only received about 5 or 6 predictions for this year—apparently I wasn’t all that enthused about receiving any at all, but some trickled in anyway.  I’ve done the same thing the past few years and did get some correct.  I can’t even remember last year’s New Year’s Eve predictions… let me go find that blog:  HERE:  https://psychicjoystar.wordpress.com/2011/01/01/here-are-a-few-new-year-2011-predictions/  If you go there, you can find this page again by going to the HOME page (link at top) OR find the title of this blog post in the right margin–either way you will find your way back.  I don’t think I’d win an award for any of those predictions;  however, a few of them hold true.  For example…

The “Who would have ever thought…?” prediction had to do with the huge protest in Egypt I believe and the people up in arms and it not being the tea party could have to do with the teacher’s who protested and all the “occupy” movements.  The explosion/natural disaster related to the thing in Japan with the nuclear power plants—the rest, I don’t know.

So, let me go forward now with the few things that I received for 2012—and none of it had to do with the end of the world on 12/21 by the way.

PSYCHIC PREDICTIONS FOR 2012

• Something about pharmaceutical products for younger looking skin makes a breakthrough that is popular.  (Yeah, I know that we already have plenty of that on the market, but this seems like something new and revolutionary.)
• I could see train tracks in the sky or like transportation similar to the monorail in Disney World… like monorail public transport.  Anyway, it looked like people traveling in the sky.  Could it be over-head bridges for cars to drive on? Maybe; I can only say for sure, tracks in the sky which was a “vision”.
• There is something about the oceans again; fish dying and this didn’t seem like an oil spill but some sort of chemical reactions in the oceans… I could see white fish being washed ashore.
• Obama for a 2^nd term as the US President, but I wrote about that one above.
• Purple or violet—like as having a meaning as a popular color for some reason.
• Taiwan – a disaster of some sort; some sort of earth change thing; perhaps an earthquake or something… or volcano?  (I hope this does not happen and if we can all take a breath and see this area safe and calm for 2012, that may help.)

And that’s all I got.  However, I did get a few personal psychic predictions for myself – the details of which I will not bore you with. Apparently, the state of my own life took priority over global predictions this year.

How well did numerology predict 2011 in my personal life? 

Last year, 2011, was a 9 year for me personally numerologically.   I seem to remember something about endings which is usually a 9 thing!  Now I’m going to go back and look at the 9 prediction and see how it panned out for the year that just ended and this will either boost my faith in numerology or not.  I’ll look at the upcoming year which for me personally is a 1 year.  But first…

Want to know how to do this for yourself?  All you do is add together the following numbers:  the number representing the month of your birth to the number that is the day of your birth and then add that to the sum of the year. It’s easy, just add up all the numbers… don’t let the next paragraph or two discourage you or confuse you… it’s as easy as pie!

 So if you are born on November 18^th for example, here’s how that looks:  add in order to 11 + 18 + 2011 to get the number for last year.  Don’t reduce 11’s, 22’s or 33’s if that’s what you end up with.  Those are master numbers.  So in the case of a person born on November 18^th, we add 11 + (1+8=9) 9;  and so 11+9= 20 and in numerology we’d ad d the 2+0 which of course is 2.  And to that we add the year 20 +11 (2 + 11= 13 which equals 1 + 3=4).  So now we have 2 + 4 and that of course is 6.  So, someone born on November 18^th would have had a 6 year last year—Capish (understand)?  You could have added the numbers 11 + 18 + 2011 in various ways, but in the end, you’d get a 6, right?

So what about that same person in 2012?  Do the math 11 + 18 + 2012, and that would amount to 2 + 9 + 5 = 16 and then of course we’d have to add together the 1 and the 6 of the number 16 and we’d get a 7 year for 2012 for that person.  NOTE:  Don’t assume that if one year is a certain number, the next year is the next highest number since we do not reduce a number at the end that is 11 or 22 or 33—those are master number, remember? And those years have special meanings.  SEE BELOW

Alright so how well did the 9 prediction for my personal life in 2011 do?  How accurate was that 9, looking back? 

 Referring to the notes that I have on 9 years, it is about cleaning in the attic and basement!  Well, that’s a hoot!  Literally, because the muggle across the street tore down a barn and uprooted the earth with bulldozers, every field mouse came to this house to seek shelter from the winter cold.  Yeah, the attic and basement had to have an terminator exterminator deal with clearing that energy.  I blogged about it right before Christmas–if you’re adventurous enough to read it you can find it by scanning down the blog home page.  What else, let’s see.  Some things passing out of my life is another 9 year prediction—my mother had just died before the New Year last year.  Her passing out of my life did cause a certain weight gain and me now becoming the family matriarch caused other shifts of energy.  I bought a life insurance policy to cover my own funeral, made a will for the few mere possessions I have and the living will and all that other happy jazz.  In many ways I did clean up my own attic and cellar metaphysically—doing a few life reviews but I’ll spare you those details too. I did get rid of an old unsuitable relationship too; this being in my own mind and heart as well—so it’s true, I did clear a lot of mental debris with old relationships – with “him” (he who should not be mentioned, ha ha) and with my mother.  They say that 9 years are about getting your life in order and in many ways I prepared for my own death in 2011 and I also released a few old habits that needed releasing.  Yeah, I see that the 9 year does resonate and correlate!  The 9 year is a time for endings and they shouldn’t be sorrowful; that’s what they say.

So what about my personal number for  2012?  Well, it’s a 1 year—new beginnings! 

New starts, new ideas, new anything!  It is a time to develop a plan for what I want for the next 9 years.  Funny.  I’ve already been working on that plan to some extent.  Whatever is begun in a 1 year can have a good effect on the next 8 years.  Maybe I can start writing that book now!  A 1 year is good year to just be yourself and not really care who cares—if you get my meaning.   It is a good year to go your own way, to take a stand, to push forward knowing it is not the outcome but the journey—for not everything will manifest in this year but what is started will manifest over the next 8.  I’m good with that I think.  It is NOT a relationship year and I don’t care about that—I’m very much on the solitary path and actually prefer it to the other alternative.  It is a good year to self-promote (they say) and a good year for independence and freedom.  It is a year to keep things moving at a brisk pace–yeah, I have these visions of myself going back to jogging which are not practical now but nonetheless, it is a strong desire for at age 64, I’m thinking I’ve got some more good years left so “keeping things moving at a brisk pace”–the bottom line is that my notes for a 1 year are all in alignment with my personal intentions.

Good!  A 1 year has all got that Mars/Aries feel about exploring and letting self be impulsive and breaking free in many ways.  That is what I did yesterday, the last day of the year (photos below) and I feel like its set the tone for my 2012—and actually I didn’t do the math or think about what year this year was for me numerogically.  I just rather spontaneously yesterday, on my way to somewhere else drove up to the Blue Ridge Parkway (the part that isn’t already closed for the winter) and discovered a trail, and hiked for over an hour in the wilderness communing with the trees and birds (those few birds that are year-long residents).

I totally enjoyed the spontaneous decision and the adventure that I had all by myself in nature… this is the same energy tone as that 1^st house Aries/Mars energy in astrology–it relates as an archetype to a 1 year.  I’m loving this!

I  totally tapped into my pioneer spirit yesterday and explored just as the notes on the 1 year say below—and I did not even begin to think what type of year this was going to be based on numerology until a few moments ago when I began to type this.  You see how we all intuitively do what is right without even knowing we’re doing it?! Divination systems like numerology just help us validate our path…  helps to validate that we’re right on track, right on target according to the clock of divine timing!  You got to love that, don’t ya’?

If you would like to know what year 2012 is for you  in a numerological way, I will see if I can post the information here if I can find it in my flash drive. Yes, found it!  Just add your birth month number + your birth day number +  2012.  For your personal number for 2011, same thing but add 2011 to the birth month and day.  Got it?  Easy.  Just remember not to reduce an 11, 22 or 33; the definitions for those numbers are below.

NUMEROLOGY FOP YOUR PERSONAL LIFE FOR 2012

Our personal year is the vibration that influences our life for any given year.  Here are the yearly influences for all the numbers.  Add your birth month number to your birth day number and to that add the numbers 2+0+1+1 (the year 2011)…. So, add 4 to the month and day of your birth.

NOTE:  if the total ends up being an 11, 22 or 33, stop there!  Those are master numbers and have their own meaning (which you will see listed below all the other numbers).  And always do the actual math if you are looking at past or future years; the years don’t always follow in 1, 2, 3 order.

Ready? Here we go…

1 Personal Year

This is a year for beginnings, new starts, new ideas, new anything.  Develop a plan for the next 9 years and begin to work on it now.  Be yourself and go your own way with determination. Don’t allow others to overly influence you.  What you start this year may not fully manifest, but don’t let that stop you.  The energy this year for you is about independence and self-promotion; keep that in mind regarding relationship issues. Don’t repress the pioneering spirit that you have this year.  It’s a perfect year to explore.

2 Personal Year

Last year was busy and you need to factor in rest and quiet into your schedule.  It’s a good year to study and acquire knowledge to help you with plans you conceived last year.  Companions and associations with others is featured—network.  Build friendships and stay in harmony with everyone.  Proceed quietly on the path you have chosen.  Attend to details; remain patient and calm and wait for opportunities to come while remembering that before the plant appears the root has to form.

3 Personal Year

Things you have been working on for several years are beginning to make their presence felt.  The influence is social and artistic; do things you enjoy.  Entertain when you can and accept invitations as well.  Be active, but keep everything on the light side and in balance.  It’s a good year for a vacation or holiday.  You may be tempted to start something new, but be sure to complete what you started first.  This is fairly carefree year when responsibilities won’t weigh too heavily upon you.

4 Personal Year

This a year to really knuckle down and get back to really working on your goals so the energy is one of being productive and organized.  You will likely be busy and following a schedule; make self-discipline a rule and avoid any tendency to be lazy.  You are building a future this year and if you want to be successful, you’ll have to make sure that all is well constructed. The more the effort, the greater the rewards!

5 Personal Year

This is a time for changes and a ‘real’ vacation.  Let go of routine that you’ve been used to and try something different.  Look at things from new angles, discard old ideas, do something new and even unusual.  You’ll find opportunity in new scenery—be it places, people, things or situations.  Key word is change.

6 Personal Year

Home and family are highlighted. Make them the center of your life and attend to your responsibilities.  The influence this year is on things that belong to you.  Finish what you start and do everything well; this isn’t a time for half-way jobs.  Take things as they come, establishing a rhythm and harmony in your life—avoid haste.  Plan time with your loved ones and maintenance of your possessions; you will be spending a good deal of time at home.  Counsel, guide and assist others when needed.  Do things for others who can’t manage for themselves.  Give of yourself, for that is where much of your opportunities are this year.

7 Personal Year

This is a year of inner-reflection, study, development of resources and self-analysis.  Plan to use time alone constructively; analyze your thoughts and actions, take stock of your capabilities and decide how to put them to good use.  This is a growth and preparation year when the ‘inner you’ should be developed to the fullest.  Look over your life and determine what is of ‘true’ value and what isn’t.  Pursue studies which interest you and become well versed in them.  If you will let things come to you—not reaching for anything—much will come your way, including money.  This is a spiritual influence; so deep introspection and searching is typical.  Don’t concern yourself with business or material matters any more than necessary.  Leave your social life for some other year and the only major changes you should make is in thoughts and beliefs.  Relax and examine your life closely.

8 Personal Year

This is a year for business, for all material matters and one you can be very successful in.  Through effort and activity you can achieve great things.  Take the lead, be forceful and determined, and go after what you want.  Deal with everyone fairly.  Get your affairs in order, including finances and keep everything well-organized. Work at being a good manager and do everything efficiently.  Form a plan of action and then see it through; don’t let little things stand in your way.  Be dependable and thorough. You can have anything you want if you have the nerve to go after it.

9 Personal Year

Time to start “spring cleaning” in preparation for a new lesser cycle—and don’t forget the attic and basement.  Get rid of all that is finished and is no longer of use to you.  Also, things are likely to just pass out of your life now.  It’s a year which should be full of love, friendship and happiness as long as you don’t try to make it too personal—or go to the other extreme either.  Artistic activities are featured.  Take time to do things for others.  Get your whole life in order and make any changes that are indicated.  Be patient with others.  Enjoy the outdoors and surround yourself with beauty if you can.  It’s not a time for beginnings but endings—and they shouldn’t be sorrowful ones.  Realize you are going on to new and better things!

11 Personal Year

The influence is that of inner growth, a time of evaluation and reflection when much illumination can be gained.  The vibration of this year helps us check our motives and ethics and set new standards where needed.  Spiritual and metaphysical interests including psychic development and study in these areas can be beneficial.  Question if you are living up to your ideals and if not, make the adjustment.  Business matters aren’t necessarily favored and may have their ups and downs.  You can come up with new ideas but will use them later.  Opportunity will come to you; no need to go out hunting for it.

22 Personal Year

Now is a time to put your ideas into action, unless they are too ego-filled.  Anything you do for ego gratification purposes is not apt to be very successful.  If your main motives are for the good of others, then charge ahead because you will have power behind you.  Keep thoughts positive—expect successful results.  Keep others in mind when making your goals or the power of this vibration will work against you.

33 Personal Year

Best forget yourself completely this year, for this year truly doesn’t belong to you.  Direct all your energies toward the benefit of others; don’t worry about compensation.  You work for The Universe this year and It pays well (good karma).   It is also a year to seek truth, inner peace, understanding and illumination and then share it.  Give love and understanding to all.  This can be a beautiful year for you if you make it that way for others!

And on that spontaneous, adventuresome and independent personal year hike that I did yesterday that set the tone for the new year, here are a few photos—poor quality because they were taken with my cell phone, but you’ll get the idea maybe.  Maybe Uranus conjunct the Moon in Aries yesterday had something to do with it, but anyway…  throughout 2012 I hope to have more spontaneous hiking adventures like this one of just discovering a trail and heading out upon it for an hour or two!  For December and now January, we’ve been very lucky to be experiencing such mild and amazing weather!  (As I type this, its raining–otherwise, I’d be out hiking now.  But yesterday was amazingly beautiful as was the entire time just before xmas through to the end of the year.)  I hope you will enjoy the photos; its beautiful in the spring and summer, but winter has it’s beauty too.  I  hope you will enjoy going along with me on my hike via the photo’s below.  I actually took these to show the trail for my grandson who just got  mountain bike for christmas, but will share here too…

MILKY QUARTZ CRYSTAL ALL ALONG THE TRAIL BENEATH MY FEET - the vibe is totally awesome. I love these crystal mountains!

  –>> And the Sun starts to set behind the mountains bringing an end to my New Year’s Eve hiking adventure on the last day of the year 2011.  The End   

I hope that you found your PERSONAL YEAR numerology prediction above helpful…

Outside, the wind blew cold and the snow fell softly down to cover the ground. “I saw the Sun King today,” the faerie named Rose said as she pulled her mossy cloak tighter about her. “He looked so old and tired as

He walked off through the forest. What is wrong with him? The great oak said he’s dying” answered Daffodil. Dying? Oh, what will we do now?” Little Meadow Grass started to cry “If the sun King dies, our

Little plant friends will not grow. The Birds will not come and sing again.Everything will be winter for ever!” Lilac, Dandelion and Elder Blossom tried to comfort their friend, but they were all very sad. As

They huddled together, there was a knock on the tiny door.

“Open up, Faeries,” called out a loud voice. “Why are you hiding instead of joining us in our Solstice celebration?” Rose opened the door and the little gnome Brown Knobby pushed inside, shaking the glistening snowflakes off his brown coat and hat.

“We are too sad to celebrate,” Daffodil said wiping her eyes, “the Sun King is dying, haven’t you heard?”

“He is dead you silly Faeries.” Brown Knobby’s round dark eyes sparkled with laughter. “now hurry, or we’ll be late for the celebration!”

“How can you be happy and laughing?!” Elder Blossom stamped her little foot and frowned at the gnome. “If the Sun King IS dead, it will be winter always. We will never see the Sun again!”

“Silly little child-Faeries.” Brown Knobby grabbed Dandelion by the hand and pulled her to her feet. “There is a secret to the Winter Solstice. Don’t you want to know what it is?”

The Faeries looked at him in surprise. “Secret?” they all said. “What secret? We are only new little Faeries, you silly gnome. We’ve never been to a Solstice celebration before.”

“Come and see. Come and see. Get your capes and come with me.” Brown Knobby danced and jigged around the room. “Hurry, Hurry, don’t be slow! To the sacred oak grove through the snow!”

He danced out of the door and disappeared.

“What did that gnome mean?” Rose asked as she gathered up her cloak of dried rose petals held together with cobwebs and lined with goose down.

“I don’t know, but the Lady lives in the sacred grove.” Meadow Grass pulled on her hat.

“Perhaps if we go to see the Goddess, She can explain what Brown Knobby was talking about”.

The Faeries left their snug little home and trudged off through the snow toward the sacred oak grove. The forest was dark with only the light of the Moon shining down through the thick fir branches and bare limbs of maple and hawthorn. It was very difficult for them to get through the snow because they were very, very small. As they waded through the wet snow and shivered in the cold wind, they met a fox.

“Where are you going, Faeries?” the fox asked.

“To the sacred grove,” they answered, they were cold and shivering.

“Climb on my back and I will take you there swiftly.”

The fox knelt down so the Faeries could climb up. Then he raced off through the dark.

“Listen!” Lilac said as they neared the grove of sacred trees. “Someone is singing happy songs. A LOT of someones.”

The beautiful music carried over the cold, still, moonlit air. It was the most beautiful music the Faeries had ever heard. The fox carried the Faeries right to the edge of the stone altar in the center of the grove, Then knelt down.

“Look!” said Elder Blossom as they slid to the snow covered ground. “There is the Maiden and the Mother and the OLD Wise One, And many other Little People.”

“They are all smiling and happy,” said Lilac as she looked around at all the creatures.

“All the animals are here too,” whispered Dandelion. “why are they all looking at the Mother?”

The Faeries moved closer to the three Ladies seated on the altar stone. The Mother held a bundle close in Her arms, smiling down at it. The Maiden reached down and took the Faeries gently in her Hands. She held them close to the Mother so they could see what She held.

“A Baby!” the Faeries cried. ” A new little Baby! Look how he glows!”

“He is the newborn Sun King,” said the Maiden smiling.

“But Brown Knobby and the old oak tree said the Sun King was dead,” the Faeries answered her. “How can this little baby be the Sun King?”

“That is the secret of the Winter Solstice.” The Old Wise One touched the baby’s cheek with her wrinkled hand. “Every year the Sun King must come to the sacred grove during the darkest days of winter where he dies. I take his spirit to the Mother who gives him new life again. This is the way for all creatures, not just the Sun King.”

” You mean everything lives and dies and lives again? the Faeries looked down in wonder at the baby Sun King, nestled in the arms of the Mother.

” Yes Little Ones,” answered the Old Wise One. “There is never an end to life. This is the great mystical secret of the Winter Solstice.”

The Faeries laughed because they were so happy.

“I think the little Sun King should have gifts,” said Rose. “I will show him where the wild roses bloom in the early summer.”

“And, I will teach him to call the birds and listen to the songs of the wind,” exclaimed Dandelion.

“When he is older and stronger, ” said the Mother, “then the flowers will bloom at his touch, the birds will return to sing their songs, and the air will be warm from his breath, and winter will be gone for a time. Then the Sun King will run and play with you in the forest.”

The little Faeries sang to the Baby Sun King, songs of the coming spring, the sweet smelling flowers, the bumbling bees, and all the secrets of the forest. And all the creatures within the sacred grove sang with them. Then the fox took them back to their snug home under the roots of the giant oak tree where they dreamed wonderful dreams, waiting for the warmth of spring and the fun they would have with the little Sun King. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PS— a little teaching gift: it is said that written even in christian texts that Jesus was born in the Spring; it’s no accident that the patriarchal church fathers chose to move his official birthday to the time of the Winter Solstice – for it is indeed a time when the Light enters the darkness of the World, and we see again the building of christanity  on the foundations of yet another ancient Druid Celtic ritual. ॐ Om ॐ  Despite that, Happy Holidays to you no matter which one you celebrate and a very Happy New Year!

The hexagram of Biting Through points to a time when it is imperative to take swift and decisive action to redefine and reform your approach. The harmonious unfolding of your life has become blocked and the responsibility is yours to correct the imbalance. Once it becomes obvious that something isn’t right, getting to the crux of the matter promptly should be your top priority.

Push through obstacles; vigorous measures must be taken–the time for deliberation is over, but do so in the right way.

Today’s DIVINATION MESSAGE:  Today, confront all apparent problems that arise and putting aside all anxiety, do what needs to be done–confront life’s issues with emotional detachment and honesty.  Emotion will cloud the ability to see clearly.  Stick with the facts.  Self-assurance and determination are keys to implement changes as thoroughly and painlessly as possible.

Again, this comes from I-Ching Kua 21 which is called “Biting Through” and has to do with punishment that is certain and swift.  Can you believe that I find this message comforting?

Maybe you can understand if I tell you this much of the famous night before Christmas story… “…not a creature was stirring, not even a….”….EEEeeeeeeeek, a mouse! 

I’ve tried—truly I have.  The strict Buddhist would find a problem with it and at first I tried to ignore the whole thing—i.e., no, I didn’t just hear something in the attic.  Oh, well, maybe one small mouse just trying to be out of the cold and get warm.  I have compassion, truly I do! 

If you only knew how many times I would gently take a wayward spider or cricket or once even a wasp out the door chanting OM MANI PADME HUM.  Be on your way tiny Buddha, I’d say while helping them back outside.

Yes, the Buddhist won’t even kill ants.  And you know the story of the worms from the movie starring Brad Pitt, Seven Years in Tibet.  The monks didn’t want to dig up the earth to make a building upon it because they were killing earthworms in the process.

The landlord and I have used certain poison that I think this growing population of mice are immune to.  And maybe you will think this is far-reaching, but maybe because of my own buddhist type resistance to having them die well and quickly– they aren’t.

I have asked they all become reborn into a life where they do not have to seek shelter from the cold and risk eradication—perhaps they could be reborn as little kittens to a nice welcoming home.  If they were good, devoted mice or whatever, then when they leave samsara (here), they will take on a better (next) life.

Anyway, I am convincing myself that they will have that.  I saw one little mouse on the cellar steps so devoted last night to dealing with the details of the poison food that I had put down… they picked up every single morsel.  But then THAT gave me the willies too!!

They say when a mouse shows up in your life it’s an indication that you should pay attention to details–or that maybe you are paying too much attention to details.  Whatever.

Oh I will spare you further details—I trust you have heard enough already.  I do like the ‘Biting Through’ guidance of Kua 21 however,  for this problem that is causing me a good deal of emotional drama.  The bottom line is to take swift action and get the emotions out of it.  Got it!

At 3 pm, the landlord and Terminex Exterminating Company will be here and I am assured that it will be dealt with just that way.  The guy will come back every so many days and/or when I call him as needed in contract with the landlord.  I am blessed to have a landlord who will take the swift necessary action.

In Wilhelm’s book on the I CHING it is written, “Biting through has success.  It is favorable to let justice be administered.”  I’ll take that as the good omen or indication that the right thing is being done. In Wu Wei’s book, he calls this kua “Corrective Punishment”.

AND, as a BOTTOM LINE, even though I won’t be here (holiday with my daughters) on Christmas Eve, I truly do hope nothing  here is stirring, not even a mouse!  May they go to the light with ease and be reborn in a better life! – ‘nuff said.

These thoughts are inspired by a divination tool, the I-ching Kua 26 “The Taming Power of the Great”, also called “Great Restraint”.  How do we tame that MIND and allow vulnerability without making mountains out of mole hills?

By keeping still and holding firm, even in the face of the abyss in which the ego fears losing power, identity and self—that’s how.

M. Thurston, former director of A.R.E. (Edgar Cayce Organization) synchronized Cayce’s channeled messages with the I-ching. He calls this Kua “Setting Forth” and for this one he writes, “One must leave the sanctuary of one’s home and put to work the principles espoused intellectually, or her life has little meaning.”  This sounds like “walk your talk”, doesn’t it?

That reminds me a good deal of people who write not because they need but because they simply cannot NOT WRITE.  These are folks are doing what is natural to them and cannot imagine not writing. But I’m sure they, too, have experienced challenges that attempt to break down their resolve.

And then there are those ‘starving artists’ and ‘starving actresses’.  They simply cannot NOT DO what their heart and soul will not permit them to quit trying to do—they do their craft anyway.

Yet, the trick in all that is that once we start to “sweat the small stuff” as the old saying goes, we are becoming overly attached to our ideas about whatever it is we are fretting over or whatever we find ourselves overly defending.  We can be overly identified with our beliefs about who we are and what we do here.

And thus, we must allow the vulnerability and fears of inadequacy while remaining in our truth—that’s the bottom line.  If you swim naked in the darkness of the abyss, you will probably bump into others eventually—perhaps one of them will be me.

I share myself, my issues, my worries and challenges here and work through them risking  looking much less-than-perfect, sometimes embarrassingly vulnerable and most times way too human.  Oh, sure, the part of me that opens the channel when you call for a reading watches this and smiles and helps and there are fabulous personal moments of integration in my private life and I write about those too both here and in my weekly newsletter.  Yet in the end, I am on earth like every body else and have to deal with that L word, Life.

With no cable TV anymore (my choice), I’m filling my evening with doing some computer tasks that I’ve been putting off.  One task has to do with figuring out how to put a donate button on my blog and newsletter—which, by the way, I told myself I’d never do.

And part of the reason why not relates to the oracle’s I-ching message which I received right after I finally nailed down how to install the silly button!

Kua 15 was the result of the toss–this one is entitled “modesty” and covers self-respect and humility as well.  It also has to do with simplicity.  Can we actually use self-respect and humility in the same sentence about a donate button without setting off a few emotional alarms?  I’m working on that one tonight.

I never thought I’d have ads on my website or blog page, but there they are–although I find them tasteful for the most part and providing a service to visitors.  After all, we’re talking about Hay House, Shamballa Publications and Sounds True  –I think of them as high-class advertisers for spiritual and inspirational material.  If you buy from them by clicking from my page, their accountants toss a few pennies my way.  But if you are looking for inspirational material, it’s all there.  Anyway…

The thing is that I just want to be a sage and work quietly and then go hide on the mountain top again when I’m not needed … no muss, no fuss and all that. But it is I who need you!

I am reminded time and again that I need you—and cannot be on the earth alone and survive without at least some help from others.  My beautiful clients and students have helped me fulfill my physical needs (thank you so gratefully).  And talk about modest… basic survival stuff like the electric bill, phone bill, rent, groceries, auto insurance and gas for the tank as well as firewood for winter.  Yes, I know that represents grand abundance in some people’s eyes (mine when I look at my life through the eyes of some others).  And even through my own eyes, if my needs are met, I do feel wealthy.

Sometimes, I don’t want to need anyone and become very upset that I do. 

I am supposed to be self-reliant in this lifetime (North Node of the Moon is in Taurus in my natal chart). In fact this morning I tweeted this quote from Emerson:  “Can anything be so elegant as to have few wants, and to serve them one’s self?”  I think that quote is pretty much about self-reliance and I like it; but the truth is that we need one another.  It seems like almost every time I try to go it alone or think of myself as living in my own vacuum of energy, the Universe shows me that.

The message of this Kua 15 is about being content with being ordinary—not seeking fame and fortune or trying to “keep up with the Jones”.  Moderation is about keeping things simple and living a simple life.  Simplicity can create spaciousness; sometimes the less we have, the less we have to try to manage.

In my work, I have the good fortune to speak to people all around the world.  I have noticed that folks I talk to who are from previously under-privileged (and I use that last term loosely) countries and who are modernized to the tune where they are making money are very hungry to do so.  Many seem to worry a good deal about creating fortunes.  As Ma Deva Padma says,

“We live in a world that reveres extraordinariness. Sooner or later nearly everyone fantasizes about being admired for their brilliance, and the guarantee of happiness from gaining fame, fortune, and adoration because of it. Rarely do we come across anyone who is content to be simply ordinary. Craving anything new, exciting, or glamorous, we imagine how our lives could be different; worrying about how the world sees us or wondering whether the grass might be greener in the other fellow’s garden keeps us discontented and preoccupied to the point of distraction.”

The message for this time (whatever time you happen to read this) is to keep things simple. Meditation will help to create spaciousness from concerns that connect with fame and fortune and locks you into your intuition which will enable you to be in each moment comfortably as it unfolds.

As for me, I am throwing pride out the window and adding the paypal donation buttons to this blog and my newsletter in a total lack of pretension while I attempt to retain my respectability.  Others, who I greatly respect, have buttons on their blogs… well, anyway, I believe that I shall be contemplating this Kua 15 of modesty in my meditation later this evening.

Sincerely wishing you many confidently peaceful days ahead …

The evergreen growing in the center picture is coming up right at the top-center of the mound--right at the top of the elevation of the mound although it doesn't appear that way in the center photo, it really is at the point of the top of the mound. You can see it if you look carefully in the other two photo's too. I did not notice it for some reason the last few times I was up there. It is what I will call my very special holiday yule tree.

[See notes at the end of this post regarding the Yule Tree.]

The images above are a composite of the American Indian Burial Mound.  The energy up there is fantastic and soothing/healing.  The trees and foliage is bare and skeletal right now of course, because it is winter–it will be beautiful up there in the spring with all the wild rhododendron’s up there that will be blooming.

I am very careful not to disturb anything up there, letting nature be completely herself.  As I get to the end of the woods on my way back down, I do pick up pieces of small dead wood for kindling for the fireplace and I thank the trees.  To me, it’s as sacred as any muggle church.  And I am so aware of all the natives who walked that very same ground thousands of years ago as well as imagine the life of the husband and wife buried up there.

Here are a few words from Chief Seattle (the name that the white people gave to him) that I really resonate with.

Every part of this country is sacred to my people.  Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove has been hallowed by some fond memory or sad experience of my tribe.  Even the rocks that seem to lie dumb thrill with memories of past events connected with the fate of my people, and the very dust under your feet responds more lovingly to our footsteps than to yours because it is the ashes of our ancestors, and our bare feet are conscious of the sympathetic touch, for the soil is rich with the life of our kindred.

I read that passage a few weeks before Thanksgiving this year.  And this being around the time I first visited the burial mound that the landlord said was there on the mountain top.  By the way, I asked how she knew for sure that it was a burial mound and she said that it is on the papers from the county–on the deed.  I also loved this next segment for Chief Seattle’s words…

And when your children’s children shall think of themselves alone in the field, the store, the shop, upon the highway, or in the silence of the woods, they will not be alone.  And at night when you think of your streets as deserted, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled and still love this beautiful land.  The white man will never be alone.  Let him be just and deal kindly with my people, for the dead are not altogether powerless. 

I am in a pinch for time and it’s getting late but I wanted to share with my readers a very, very special and sacred place.  If I thought for a moment that anyone could ever find this place, I’d never be so public about some place that is so sacred to me.  To be up here, although it is a heck of a climb straight up–like ‘if you don’t hang on you will fall backward’ kind-of-steep–and it gets the heart pumping to get up there, it is worth the hike… every single step is worth it and I enjoy the journey up as much as I do spending time at the top.

I am not alone up there–there is a strange feeling of being watched.  I always bow to the nature spirits and the ancient ones buried in the mound as I approach and always bring a gift–sometimes cornmeal, sometimes apples for the deer and the rest I will keep secret.  I speak to the Cherokee Little People whenever I get to the top as well as pause at the graves of the christian couple buried next to each other; they crossed over in the — well, she in 1883 and he in 1904 according to their gravestones. One grave has a  footstone with the man’s initials on it.  I really feel that their spirits are part of a nearby tree that is growing fairly close to their graves.  In fact, this is nearby a huge flat top rock that I sit upon to meditate.  I call this the KISSING TREE.  Perhaps to see the images below, you could understand why, considering the words of Sealth AKA Chief Seattle why I believe this tree contains the energy of the couple (who died in the late 1800′s mentioned above) — the trees are kissing. So my grandkids and I call it the kissing tree but in my heart, it contains the energy of the buried husband and wife.  Images below.

The views up there are very nice… well, winter views are different from the summer season but you have lots of privacy even in the winter and really once I’m up there, I do not want to come back down!  Last time I was there four hours and did not come down until the sun was going down and I had to!  I meditate, write, read and hike and explore and talk to the spirits; if ever I was at home somewhere, it is there.  No people, no muggles–just me and the trees.  Oh, it is very late at night now–way past my bedtime.  I will share some random thoughts that I jotted down last time I was up there and then I will end this post. Oh, now that i am looking at the longhand here, I see part of this is channeled.  Well, I will type it all out–I’m too tired to edit.  LOL

“We the spirits of this mountain top recognize your presence, your offerings, your prayers and the blessed ones smile upon you and father sun knows of your thoughts as well as the hawks who now call out their greeting to you.  Hear them sister for they too acknowledge your presence as you have acknowledged ours.  And the deer are happy for the apples and would like for you to bring more.”

Then i asked if there were ceremonies held up there.  And what I heard was, “Plenty” and with that the explanation that it was like what is called the ghost dance which is a dance or ceremony to ask for the help and blessings of the ancestor spirits.

I sit on a bed of dry leaves at the end of fall; the start of winter–trees are bare and exposed.  They show their unique shapes–arms, breasts, some with double trunks, some with arms twisted by the winds who have shaped them.  Their arms reach out toward one another, some embracing while others seem to bow in homage to their fellow trees.  Some trees seem to be about 60 feet tall.  Each one unique, special with its own personality–some with faces–some with lips kissing.  They are alive!  Alive as much as any human–less animated of course but their branches are lively and dancing in the wind–it is very becoming for them. 

They are ALIVE! Conscious! As much as any human! (maybe moreso in some cases)

Thick vines wrap around some trees creating arches and loops.  Knobs on tree trunks are different unique faces much like human brothers/sisters.  Peaceful presence.  Sturdy–looking at you, at one another–observing and communicating with their energy, with each other.  I sit upon the earth where their trunks sink into the soil looking up at their haunting skeletal silhouettes and know they are my friends–we acknowledge each other.  Their energy bands (rays) wrap around me helping me to ground into earth’s soil just as they do; yet, I look up to the sun to the direction of the top branch–the very tip-top–and then scanning down… I could stay in this place in this way forever.  I have somehow before, I have and wonder if I am remembering once being a tree–could that be?  or did I live alone in the wood and the trees were my only contacts?  It feel it within me–it was a good life then.  I wonder about that and try to remember…

I breathe in harmony and send it out to the world, and then love, and then happiness, and then peace and then…

The sun is descending toward the tree line at next mountain over and has reached the tree line and suddenly, it is noticeably darker.  I must hike down the steep descent before I cannot see the way down.  The trees along with trail down are spaced in such a way that they provide convenient hand holds to compensate for gravity pulling me forward severely.  I’m aware of the cars going by on the highway and am entering back into the world of humans again.  I always stop, turn, look up and wave several times on my way down.  I feel like I am saying goodbye to close friends and really hate to leave, know that I have to, and promise to come back again.  “Goodbye my friends; I love you guys; I’ll be back as soon as I can be.” 

I wanted to end this with an observation and perhaps a moral or lesson is part of it.  What i mean is that if you’ve been following this blog, you know that I had a trauma when the man across the street massacred trees.  I’m sure to some readers this would sound silly and I can understand that.  The greater point is that I’m realizing that what happened was that something was removed from my life (the trees across the road) but it was replaced by something much better–the mountain top of trees and a totally private place to be and surrounded by trees from every direction!  It is a reminder (yet another one) that when one door closes, another opens OR in this case, when some trees are taken away, other trees surround me!  Well, you get the idea, right?

For the benefit of the christian readers, here is a little bit about YULE TREES.  The Celtic Druids venerated evergreen trees as manifestations of deity and as symbols of the universe. To the Celts, these trees were sacred because they did not die from year to year like deciduous trees. Therefore they represented the eternal aspect of the Goddess who also never dies. Their greenery was symbolic of the hope for the sun’s return.

The Druids decorated the evergreen trees at Yule with all the images of the things they wished the waxing year to bring. Fruits for a successful harvest, love charms for happiness, nuts for fertility, and coins for wealth adorned the trees. These were forerunners to many of the images on today’s Christmas trees. Candles were the forerunners of today’s electric tree lights.

The church confiscated this druid tradition as well as many others and converted it into christian church tradition.  Most people know that–its called history but HERstory is more truthful. 

My christian sister wasn’t impressed, she mostly shopped in the little tent booths.  I was practically moved to tears hearing the drums and watching the dancing… in my head I kept saying over and over “My People” and tears welled up in my eyes.

I love when synchronistic things like being in the right place at the right time happens.

There is something within us that directs the timing of events and circumstances—I’m as sure as you are.  How many times have we been at the right place at exactly the right moment?  No accident.

It was Halloween and of course I knew when Halloween was, but without children at home anymore or even trick or treaters to come by (houses are too far apart on a single lane narrow mountain road), and with the distractions of my mind going in a thousand places at once half the time; I’d forgotten.

Suddenly, I look out and see it is going to be getting dark and I had not gone for my walk yet—“better get going, go NOW”.  So I laced up my shoes and out I go to walk in town and as I’m going along I see people across the way on the sidewalks and a bit of a crowd is forming and I wondered what is going on.  Usually there are not so many people in town.

I knew that the loop I walk will be taking me over that way and lo and behold when it did, I realized they were trick or treaters—that’s right, it’s Halloween! 

I had only walked one mile and I usually do three, so I kept going and before long the whole town had turned out and the sidewalks were full of children in costumes and even the parents were dressed too.  Small town, you know!  The merchants and the bank and the gas station and even the car wash people and the community clinic were handing out candy as the kids and their parents (and me) walked the town loop. It was fun to be out with the townspeople and as night started to fall the pumpkins everywhere were lit and it seemed to me to be perfect.  The crowd had built along with my walk—I arrived just in time.

Another night near Christmas time, the same sort of thing happened.  Now that I think of it, it happens when there’s a street dance too… something within me says, “Go now” and when I do, I see the perfect timing involved and smile and nod while feeling warm and happy inside.  The divine intelligence at work again!

I went for a walk late in the day that day and when I got toward town to start my little jaunt, I see there are about 5 cars lined up at the traffic light.  Huh?  Traffic?  We don’t have traffic around here!  I wonder what’s going on.

As I get closer to my destination, I ask and am told that the Christmas parade is about to start.  Really?  There it was again—perfect divine timing, at the right place at the right time. 

I got to do my walk while alongside the high school marching band (17 members with instruments and about 10 girls with flags), every fire truck in the township (all 5) and every bit of equipment the county owns—police cars and snow plows included.  Around here we have lots of 1950’s restored car shows, so they were all in the parade too.

You should have been there—even the local Roto-Rooter truck was decorated and pulling a wagon full of kids with elf hats throwing candy at the crowd.  Should we use the word crowd?  It was hard to know if there were more people in the parade than watching it, but I enjoyed it!

The point is that I’d have missed it if I hadn’t listened to that voice of intuition that says, “Go now.”

I’m pretty accustomed to following it and it helps me to be at the right place at the right time.

PS—sometimes it helps me not to be in the right place at the right time too.  Recently, I missed a phone call that it was definitely good to miss (it’s a long story and the details don’t matter).  Just believe me that it was good that I missed it, and it worked out in my favor that I did.  The circumstances around my missing the call were enough to prove to me, once again, that there is an intelligence that is metaphysical at work and it isn’t just pure simple dumb luck.  No one could convince me otherwise—not when I witness perfect, exact timing happening over and over and over again!  And you know exactly what I’m talking about–think back.

I am blogging about this vow I made to myself so that maybe I can release a certain guilt that came up a moment ago.  You see, It’s been taking a good deal of energy for me to cope with a recent rent increase—I’ve been doing the quick step over here in my attempts to figure out how to work that one into the budget.  There’s been a splitting off:  one part of me is planning to pack and move while knowing perfectly well that wouldn’t solve a thing!  Another part of me would like to start digging a tunnel to China (have no idea what that means except maybe it’s related to going home by way of  China to Tibet?),  while the more grounded other part is actually determining what we “do without” around here or how to increase income to compensate for the rent increase.

I really dislike the begging bowl thing (you have no idea!) and it doesn’t work well in the 21st century in America anyway, unless you become some sort of church or ministry–no thank you.  I’ve noticed that some bloggers have a Paypal button on their blog for donations–really?  Okay… so after I saw that, it crossed my mind.  Maybe if I get desperate, which hasn’t happened yet but I’m close.  Ha ha.  Anyway, back to moving right along here…

The rental lady called yesterday, left a message that I should call her right away because she needs to talk to me about something—and her tone of voice wasn’t really saying, “everything’s alright” but then her voice never does.  But, yeah, I was pretty disappointed in my reaction… before I even had finished dialing her number, my life was flashing before my eyes.  Those darn fears of being homeless again!  I thought I’d resolved that at least a thousand times already.

Who knows?  On the outside looking in (if someone would have been in the room at the time to see it), I may have appeared cool as a cucumber; but inside?  Imagine having just been in a car accident—that feeling.  It’s highly embarrassing – I teach this stuff!  I blog it, tweet it, Facebook it, read about it as well a/s write about it and still and as the song goes, still crazy after all these years!

We’ve all got something that triggers our security issues and rings our fear bell—everybody’s got that one big fear just hanging out on the sidelines waiting for something to hit its pattern so it can activate.  And many times, there’s really irrational stuff attached to the thinking and thank goodness we have other humans to discuss these things with because until someone laughs at those fears, we really don’t realize how irrational they are!

I told my sister that part of what flashed before my eyes when I was calling the rental girl back had to do with the x-tian telephone man who was in my very own kitchen telling me I was going to go hell the day before—see blog post from two days ago 11/29/11 –maybe he’s the cousin of the landlady or the rental girl and they want /me out!  It wasn’t until my sister roared laughing and then told me how ridiculous that sounded that I realized how irrational that fear could be in my mind!

After all was said and done, it had to do with an adjustment of $6.  Meanwhile, back at the ranch as the saying goes, I had another good look at that fear monster.

Today, I hear from someone who writes that the bank is foreclosing on her home.  I feel ashamed for splitting off from myself in these smaller and much more insignificant matters of mine in comparison to that.

And within 10 minutes of making the vow to myself to hold a high vibration today, feelings of being ashamed for whining about my rent increase in comparison to someone who is being foreclosed upon, I’ve broken my vow.

I must release this feeling.  I suppose it’s all relative—one man’s foreclosure is another’s rent increase?  I don’t know it’s a fair statement or not.  In these types of matters, I immediately go deeper into the meaning.  Anytime something happens, I’m immediately asking “What is the universe trying to tell me?”  In other words, what’s really going on here?  Is the direction changing and what IS that direction and how am I to work in harmony with it?

You know, some things are real in the sense that it is just life doing what it does and it is always for our benefit.  Yeah, I hear ya’; I know.  Trust me, I know.  I had very fast-moving thoughts of how I was going to pack up all my belongings yesterday to be ready to move.  And truthfully, I’m still working on chasing that image out of my head.   It’s one of those situations of “wherever you go, there you are” when it comes to me, myself and I with the bills and rent.  Anyway… I could probably nurture that belief system into something more prosperous!  How many times have I read, “poverty is a state of mind”–?

It’s strange though, deep down – which is where I’ve just gone since the pause between now and the last paragraph – I always believe it’s going to work out alright and that I am going to be alright.  You know, that it’s going to be (at a minimum) okay and more likely that it’s going to work out for my benefit so that it’s going to be more than okay.  And that’s even in the moment when my stomach is doing flips, my life is passing before my eyes and I’m thinking I may have to head for the bathroom at any moment!  Somehow, it’s going to be okay or better than that.  That’s what I want the person who wrote to me about the bank foreclosing on her house to know.

I now release the shame/guilt that I felt earlier and have re-infused my vow to hold a high vibration today for all of life.

And as I go about my work today, I will send special love to the person who wrote to me and to all beings who are in any way suffering or feeling insecure, unloved, fearful or confused.

Today, I will do the Buddhist Tonglen Meditation Practice for you!

And I will hold a special focus for the person who wrote to me about the bank foreclosing on her home.

Universal Love Prayer

        from the Metta  [Lovingkindness] Sutta

May all beings be filled with joy and peace. May all beings everywhere,  The strong and the weak,  The great and the small,  The mean and the powerful,  The short and the long,  the subtle and the gross:  May all beings everywhere,  Seen and unseen, Dwelling far off or nearby,  Being or waiting to become:  May all be filled with lasting joy.  Let no one deceive another,  Let no one anywhere despise another,  Let no one out of anger or resentment Wish suffering on anyone at all.  Just as a mother with her own life Protects her child, her only child, from harm, So within yourself let grow  A boundless love for all creatures.  Let your love flow outward through the universe,  To its height, its depth, its broad extent, A limitless love, without hatred or enmity.  Then as you stand or walk, Sit or lie down, As long as you are awake,  Strive for this with a one-pointed mind;  Your life will bring heaven to earth.

Namu Amida Buddha.

My heart, mind and soul carry several major messages as part of my standing in these shoes and walking about just living and breathing and BE-ing on this planet at this time.  The quote below is one of those messages that are simply woven into my life that though my presence here, just like with you and your message, i cannot help but give.  What are you messages?  What does your life represent.  When you discover it, you will know it like this one below is mine and i ♥ love,  ♥ love, ♥ love the way Louise Hay said it so succinctly and simply!   Here it is:

 ”The Piscean Age we looked “out there” for our savior: “Save me. Save me. Please take care of me.”

Now we are moving into the Aquarian Age, and we are learning to go within ourselves to find our savior.

We are the power we are seeking. We are in charge of our lives.” ~ Louise Hay

Yeah, that too and striving for balance when the days seem so short!  Honestly, a segment of time for exercise, meditation, food, housekeeping, work, emailing and there’s not enough hours in the day.  Yeah, I Facebook and tweet but it’s my way of letting my family and close friends be in touch and vice versa; it seems like nobody has time to email anymore and I am constantly behind there too.  Maybe with the cable being shut off in a day or so (my choice), the perspective will change; we’ll see.

I mean last night I was watching the Sunday evening Amazing Race show on TV (cable gets shut off tomorrow) while working on emails, bills, bank statement and accounting for holiday gifts and lots of loose ends being tied up when I hear coming from the direction of the TV, “Welcome to the Morning Show.”  Really?

I crashed for a few hours and then back at it – clients, students and other email inquiries tugging and pulling and then paypal demanding tax ID information.  Sometimes the head just swirls, you know?  I haven’t blogged in a while again and I’ve got to compose this week’s newsletter which I’ve already done in my mind—it’s a matter of typing it out.

Maybe you are feeling a bit overwhelmed and slightly frustrated even though you are (like me) gallantly, truly and sincerely, from-your-deep-heart completely grateful for your life and your family and your blessings, no matter what denomination/amount or trend they come in.  Yet, also like me, right about now, you could use a little wisdom and guidance.  Will you be joining me for a cup of hot tea and a toss of the I-CHING?  Let’s do; here we go then.

What does the divinatory system available to us have to say to us at this time of mini-frustration and overwhelm?  Let’s have a look; if you need this as much as I apparently do right now, keep reading…

Many times, if I am feeling stuck, frustrated or overwhelmed, I recognize it (as I do now) and pull a divination card (tarot), do an I-CHING toss or select an Angel card after a quick shuffle.  Any of these give me something to meditate upon—like a mandala or focusing on a prayer of some sort.  Lots of times, I will just quiet down, look at the image on the card if it’s a picture and allow the image to trigger something within my heart that wants to speak by way of wisdom or guidance.  With the I-CHING, if there’s time, I will read the meaning of the Kua if I do not know it from memory and my intuition will spark on a word, phrase or sentence.  I may take that and then sit with it in meditation; I usually like to do this outdoors and am happy to be able to have a room that is designated a meditation room where I can sit when it is cold, snowing, raining or dark outside as it is now.  I try to make this area as comforting and warm as I can for myself.   There were times in my past where I had only one room and set aside one corner with a small altar for this purpose—an angel statue or a Buddha and other special, sacred (to me) or spiritual (to me) items to help me focus in a different way.

One of the worst things that we all do, and it is something that I’m doing now as I’m typing (and I need to release this NOW) is to feel guilty for how we were feeling previously in the preceding hours or days before we can do this calm-down and re-centering meditation or contemplation.  This becomes a vicious cycle of course—we feel bad and then begin to shift and do a guilt trip on ourselves by feeling guilty for feeling bad (meaning feeling overwhelmed or temporarily frustrated or agitated).  We might say something like, “Just look at you with all your blessings—how dare you complain when so many people in the world are suffering! YOU should not be feeling this way.”   This type of self-berating does absolutely no good and is a trap.  The truth is that you have given yourself the opportunity to slow down and regroup and are seeking guidance and wisdom from within—NOT the inner critic!

So the I-CHING Kua we have here is (interestingly enough) Kua 40 called DELIVERANCE or ABATEMENT OF DANGER.  (By the way, I looked into the meaning of the word “deliverance” in the dictionary:  “action of setting free” in physical or spiritual senses. )The wisdom here is to recognize that the worst is over for the moment mostly because of the wisdom that we had here to take action—to actually STOP and recognize that we needed to consult the oracle.  Because we’re doing that right now, the danger of “going off the deep end” has subsided or been averted.

The I-CHING oracle is saying that it is good to reflect on the entire situation but don’t reflect too long—too much contemplation cripples the ability to make a decision.  Like I said, feeling guilty has no place in this process, it’s crippling. Further, the oracle says to return to your normal activities as soon as the danger is over.  I don’t know about you, but stopping to type and consult the I-CHING has helped me get past the hump enough to be able to return to normal activities.  In this case, the normal activity is sleep aligning with my intention to get to bed at a reasonable hour and not be up all night again.  Since it’s nearing 1 AM, my inner guide is saying, “Good enough–now post it.  Maybe it will help someone else out there and then OFF TO BED!”

Knowing me, I will probably consider the guidance further and then maybe have a follow-up dream about it (no matter if I remember the dream or not, I’ll probably have one) and wake up in the morning feeling much better.  Maybe by then the rain will have stopped and the snow they’re predicting will be starting.  I’m not going to lament the fact that I hardly got to enjoy the fall before winter showed up!  Like a little child, I get whiney when I’m tired.  Tomorrow’s another day as my grandmother used to say a lot and I do (after all) like snow.   Really I do.

See you next time…   the sound of the rain and wind outside will help me sleep (I hope).  I love the synchronicity of the rain and thunderstorm image on the Kua 40 card above. Looking at the image what comes to mind is an American Indian (maybe the ‘me’ of a past life in my fantasy) beseeching the Thunder Beings to “beam me up” and you know the rest of the line from Star Trek.

Read my addendum below and you should see my point with that last comment… and by the way…

 …currently the transiting NORTH NODE of the Moon (evolving evolutionary intention for each soul) is conjuncting the SUN (purpose) and MERCURY (talk/communicate/discuss/information) ALL in the sign of SAG (belief systems/truth versus lies and freedom/deliverance as well as Nature and natural law) — toss in that MERCURY  is  RETROGRADE in that sign of SAG and Omg I guess we can see the possibility of what I describe below happening elsewhere; maybe different details but generally the same possible vibe as below.  After all, that NN, Mercury retro and Sun in Sag stellium is happening right now for everyone.

ADDENDUM:  Posting this paragraph the following day–I noticed that the Moon was in Capricorn yesterday and the day before.  Cap is about “getting real” and “work” and applying discipline.  The emotional energy was in alignment with wrapping things up and dealing with the practical earth-living stuff.  I had a giggle this morning when I pushed aside another obvious connection with that Capricorn energy yesterday.  The phone man was here and let me tell you, trying to get phone problems dealt with up here is like pulling teeth sometimes.  Toss in that we have a new company that simply  cannot seem to get its website straightened out so that I can pay my bill online—well, lots of patience is required.  Now, Saturn rules Capricorn and that energy really relates to the religious Patriarchy, “Father” god, and “society-consensus” energy (i.e.Muggles).  Long story short, that Capricorn Moon must have stirred the muggle’s emotional heart on the level of the father-god dogma because in our discussion about the phone, the native american burial mound, and my questions to him about snakes (after all, he probably knows–he’s a local-yocal in these here mountains) eventually lead him to bring up the B word (THE BIBLE).  And now here we are in my very own kitchen having this conversation!  Another meaning of the word DELIVERANCE as it relates to yesterdays oracle, Kua 40 is SALVATION.  Synchronicity galore there, right?  And this guy who is telling me that this week is FAWN HUNTING around here which topic we get to because he tells me if I go hiking up on the mountain to wear a bright orange vest or I could get SHOT, adding that he doesn’t let his kids go out and play during FAWN HUNTING SEASON which is right NOW.  (The danger is that his own children could be shot.) Omg!  Well, you know how my head, heart, and solar plexus chakras were spinning if you are a follower of this blog!  Anyway, why would the hunting license people ever say it is okay to shoot a baby deer?  I mean, WHY?  Okay, I could go on writing for days, but client’s want readings and there are a gazillion things to do so… the bottom line, okay?  The phone guy in my kitchen ended up saying that no rattle snakes are around here but added that he’s killed several copper heads when he’s been out in the woods; so I say, “were they coming after you, attacking you?” and he says no and I just couldn’t ask any more questions.  The other bottom line was he told me that he feels very bad for me since I will be going to HELL because I don’t fully accept the BIBLE as the full, complete and end-of-story and do-not-question-it WORD OF GOD, period.  You know how these people are–its like talking to a brick wall.  I wanted to laugh when he told me that the god buddha (really?) is buried but jezuz doesn’t have a grave therefore he’s really god and that his baptist-bible father-god “really is an INTOLERANT god” said like it’s a good thing,  but really I bit my lip and tried not to roar laughing–why be blatantly rude, you know?  The guy was pretty pissed off when he left because I simply would not buy into the fear of hell he was trying to get me to buy.  Yeah, Moon was in Capricorn yesterday–it all figures! I still don’t know why they kill baby deer anymore than I can understand why a very nice tree along the public walkway, standing straight and tall and shading the sidewalk along a creek is being chopped at with an axe.  Maybe its a boy scout project?  Why that tree?  Every time I go by, I can see the axe chopping marks are going deeper into the tree’s trunk with a huge V on both sides now and a few more swings and she’s firewood.  Truly, I scratched my head thinking of what possible harm the tree could be doing there along side the creek and walkway–it has no obvious signs of death or decay nor is it leaning or posing a threat to anything.   A boy scout project is all I can think — overall, a sad thing to teach a boy scout to do IMHO, but maybe its a survival-skill badge or some such thing.  Really I wanted to put a big sign on the tree with the three letters and a question mark, “WHY?”  I’d put that same sign on every FAWN on the planet too if I could and my imagination goes even further but I’d spare you that since it goes into areas of perversion.  So there it is– an example of the Capricorn/Saturn archetype and a little bit of what the MOON in CAPRICORN might trigger within us emotionally charged by a stellium in Sag with the transiting NN, MERC and SUN; and now I have to go burn some sage in my kitchen!  Buddha a god, oh please! 

(PS — I slept great, don’t remember any dreams, feel much better, it hasn’t snowed yet but I had an invigorating morning task of gathering up the outdoor carpet, lawn chairs and flower pots that blew upside down from the big winds and rains last night.  Have a glorious fire going in the fireplace… it’s 30 degrees but cozy in my bear den here. By the way, the lady who brings me firewood does not chop down trees, these are “downed -already-tree-firewood-logs.”.. well, you know what I mean.  )

Today’s divination message comes through the I-CHING Kua 31 called INFLUENCE or ATTRACTION.

I am a little bit shaken by drawing this kua because I have just been talking about someone who I would like to resonate with, but frankly don’t and I really didn’t (until just now giving it thought after getting this divination message) know why.  Every part of me is telling me to avoid this person even though I find this person to be quite interesting and ‘into’ things that I AM.  Now that I drew this Kua for today, it is a validation of some past life prior association with this person, thus the unexplained energy repulsion.

I think we need to honor those feelings when we have them.

There is nothing wrong with bowing and going the other way when we come upon a rattle snake or skunk on the trail—in fact, its wisdom.  In life, we have to be able to recognize that snake or skunk energy when we see it and that’s where our strong repulsions and attractions come into play.

Both attraction and repulsion are highly influential energy—commercial advertisers know this well.

Disillusionment happens when we purchased a highly advertised product that promises are nearly too good to be true and the same thing happens in relationships—some relationship potentials are like great salespeople who don’t know how to deliver what they’re trying to sell.  Heck, you can find this anywhere I suppose… in any profession or in any human connection with another. I’m just typing as I contemplate this whole business recalling different past experiences.

I recently read that good relationships should be like an “ongoing happening” rather than anything static or safe.  Interesting way of saying it!

Back to the repulsion energy… I met someone years ago who I had a strong connection to and half the time it really WAS repulsion but yet the connection was so strong maybe I tried to turn it into attraction.  Unlike the recent person that I refered to earlier, that connection was an intimate/love thing whereas the recent one is very distant and nothing to do with romance whatsoever.. yet the repulsion is there.

The point is that learning the hard way, I’ve come to recognize past life connections… some are great but the ones that are too intense, you can bet there is going to be some nasty stuff to contend with if you pursue them; but live and learn.  People don’t like to take other people’s words for those types of things—it’s a matter of finding out for one’s self.

A good bottom line message is that another person’s energy should complement yours if you are going to connect well together and sometimes the truth of this takes time to find out.  Let me explain…

But first let me say that instant attractions or repulsions are clues that this person has some unfinished business with you from a past life.  It does not mean you need to deal with it any more than it means you should walk close to the rattlesnake on the trail—some things are best left alone.

However, with that said, even if you do approach the intense energy, do so with caution and give it time.  The world is full of stories of how people think they have so much in common at first and then three months later say how much they do NOT have in common with that same person; in other words, we tend to see what we want at the start of a connection with another and sometimes it is our own anima/animus ideal that we see rather than what is really there. After three months or so, you start to see past your own ideal projections.  And sometimes that intense energy should be avoided altogether–use your intuition and remember…

Just because you come across the skunk or snake on the trail and it feels intensely familiar, all that means is that you got bit or sprayed by that one before in a past life and you don’t have to go through that again.  You know?… been there, done that.

Saturn will restructure the value system for sure and that’s been happening for the past few years—and so perhaps the god of practicality/reality left me a parting gift as he exited house 2—a rent increase. I was thanking him a few months ago for a new (used) car.

And now that Saturn has reached my 3rd house it is causing me to examine what is practical and necessary by way of communication too. I just took a step in the area of communication that I’d been threatening to take for the past year anyway—disconnected the cable TV. That compensates at least partially for the rent increase but it also cuts away excess and anything that is unhealthily obsessive—which TV watching can be anyway. What will I do on long, cold winter nights now? What will the lord-of-practicality and restructure demand of me in the area of communication as Saturn has just entered the 3rd house of communication? Maybe get to that book written that I’ve been threatening to write!?

Interestingly enough, the phone company just changed which reduced my monthly phone bill by around $40 per month, so that Saturn and Capricorn energy is really restructuring my whole system of accounts receivable and accounts payable as well as what I do with any free time in the evenings. No TV will be liberating and I will turn to more practical (Saturn/Capricorn) types of communication (3rd house). Those are some basic archetypes astrologically that could play out in other ways too—time will tell.

Sometimes too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing! It creates pressure that either comes from within or without but anything excessive needs to be changed and restructured eventually. The question becomes do you deal with the ‘handwriting-on-the-wall’ as the saying goes, and stop while there’s time or do you go down in flames? I’d prefer to avoid the flames as stubborn as I can be at times. I’m looking at other ways where I am wasting energy—I’ve recently put weather-stripping on the windows and am more aware of where I may be wasting electricity.

The whole question that we should ask periodically (and that’s what this message today is about) is, “Am I living in accord with the laws of nature? Am I functioning like a robot in some areas, remaining asleep (too much TV can do that for you by the way) and am I living in alignment with my own truth?” That’s the bottom line with today’s divination message from Kua 28 which is called EXCESS. When we are being temporarily restrained by life, it gives us an opportunity to awaken further and fill our time with useful activities—one’s that are in alignment with our inner truth and integrity. My integrity may be different from yours but when we are not living to our own inner integrity, we need periodic adjustments. Sometimes those are forced (as in my case with the rent and TV and other things) but always we can use them as opportunities.

One  message for today is this. “Life becomes more energy-efficient when we are in touch with our own rhythms and needs.”

What has reached the breaking point in your life? Where are you overloaded in your life and what needs a little restructuring? That’s the point of contemplation for today.  And if something is forced on you to restore balance, simply be grateful for it; it’s a blessing!  (try to see it that way if possible)

If obsessive worry is where you are overloaded, release the burden and deal with only what is necessary–worry never is necessary. One thing I do is to say  myself, “Are you doing the best that you can Joy?” And if I answer  to that is honestly, truthfully “Yes”, then the next thing I say to myself is, “Then you are not allowed to worry!” This may sound silly and childish,  but it happens to work for me in the moment so that I can release the burden enough to recognize my next step using my intuition.

After all, look at that image above… all those burdens on the guy’s back; no wonder he’s exhausted and had reached the breaking point. The Cherokee tell a story of going for a walk and picking up a fist sized rock for every problem you have and before long you will see it is impractical to walk carrying those rocks. Put them down!

One last thought. Lately I am reading a book about the Mound Builders of North America – our ancient ancestors. It’s a book about archeology that goes back to the time when Asians came to North America on foot over the Bering Strait and while the information is gleaned from the Mounds or burial sites (I have one right behind this house that I rent, thus my interest!) examined by archeologists, there is plenty of information about how our earlier ancestors lived in pre-historic times.

So far I’ve read  to about 1,000 AD and find it fascinating. It certainly makes the way I am living in the present seem like a castle in heaven. At least I don’t have to rebuild my hut every 2 years because the wood and grasses become rotten or blow away and I don’t have to have to smoke the bugs out of the dwelling because the little critters inhabit the thatch roof and walls! Talk about perspective! 

Maybe having to pay more rent and deal with the month-to-month uncertainty of being self-employed, in comparison to our oldest ancestors, I’m really feeling pretty grateful.  Just look at that place!  Okay, so they’d dig a floor in the earth about a foot deep…but still. Remember THAT next time it rains or snows Joy! <– said to myself.  And I do really; I honestly do have faint memories of living like that in a distant past that get triggered when it rains hard or snows–am then most thankful for the solid roof and walls I live beneath and within most especially then.  But we try to be grateful for all of our blessings all of the time the best we can, right?

I’m only writing about it because we all get these reads and hits all the time, but most folks are just simply not tuned into them on a conscious level. Yet, my notion, my theory is that we are still getting the signals and most of the time we act on those signals and we could call that guidance and if you want to give it a name such as “spirit guide”, whatever. The point is that some folks simply can tune into it, read it and act on it more consciously—and this doesn’t make them better than the average man on the street or any more “gifted”. And while I’m at it, when I hear that word (gifted) used in same vicinity as psychic or power or intuition, it makes my skin crawl a bit. Maybe it is because it is such an un-truth to me. I hung for this or was burned for it or had my head removed—maybe all three for this idea that someone is ‘gifted’ in such a way that makes them different and therefore mostly evil. You get the idea. Besides, the greater point is that it simply isn’t true.

People will say to me that I have a gift and I don’t want to offend anyone but it simply isn’t any more of a quality that they don’t have—they perhaps are not being called to be as aware or conscious of it; that’s all. A car mechanic can be gifted too and that is because he enjoys his work and is thus interested in it and keeps it on his mind a good deal and then practices as often as possible. Maybe even studied a bit like most psychics have studied or read or learned from teachers as part of their professional development. We’re all called to different areas of life professions based on our natural interests and okay perhaps we’ve worked in these areas in past lives and developed skills which can be mistaken as natural gifts—who really knows for sure. I took a few classes from psychic teachers and Mr. Goodwrench read a few auto manuals and learned about cars since the age of 8 from his uncle. Mr. Goodwrench the car mechanic is gifted too; but nobody burned him at the stake for it. Sorry, lost my point, so let’s get back to it.

A thousand times a day energy around us is changing and shifting. This is true on so many levels—the moon is moving into a new territory in the heavens (from Gemini to Cancer), the husband/wife or parent or child has a shift of energy and they’re sending out signals, the atmosphere is changing—a weather front approaches. And we adjust to these signals, even if we don’t read them, interpret them—we still adjust to them or they affect us.

I have to add that the less burdened we are with problems, difficulties or life-challenges that we’ve taken on by that inner argument that things shouldn’t be the way they obviously are, the more aware of these shifts we can be. Perhaps as we move into what they call the golden years, although for the life of me I’m not sure why they’re called golden, maybe then we have fewer distractions. Maybe as we have more and more years under our belt we’ve grown wise about taking up burdens that only weigh us down—some of us (me, for example) are still learning about that. It’s easier sometimes when we have a plateful of life already—meaning a plateful of responsibilities for others like our children and spouses. When our children are on their own and if we are blessed enough (as in my case) to live a more solitary life, then we can be really clearer about the energy around us—more sensitive to it.

We still react to it even if we have that plateful is my point but we just may not be able to put our finger on exactly how we do it. I wish I could have been more aware of all of this when I was a young wife and mother—heck, even before that! Yet, looking back, I realize I was guided and had a lot of help even if I wasn’t conscious of the energy signals.

I look at some of the younger generations who are coming in much more conscious and aware and wonder how they will use the energy signals that they pick up on more consciously. I have hope they will pick up on the signals from the earth and from the natural world of plants/trees, animals, minerals and so forth. I fantasize about young people feeling reverent and sacred about the earth and nature because they are reading and responding to the energy signals.

I must move along for the day is getting away from me and I’ve yet to mention last evening’s “practical magic”—just a small thing that happens a thousand times over a day, like knowing who is on the other end of the phone as it starts to ring. One becomes aware of having a knowing about so many things in life in these small ways and eventually one recognizes that they are just part of an energy information field too, participating with it and even effecting it. Before I go into a discussion of quantum physics, let me just get it out.

I knew it may rain, the weather man predicted such a thing. But many times their prediction is wrong or delayed. I was nearly asleep and in my room there was as good deal of purposeful white noise which I used to help me to sleep. Windows were closed and the white noise prevented any sound to give away as clue as to the weather. I suddenly said to myself, I feel that it has just started raining outside; it’s raining. I got up shortly afterward to get some water to drink and opened the door to look out and sure enough it was softly but steadily coming down—not a heavy rain, but not a drizzle either; sort of in between.

So what? I know, a small and rather silly example—I already said that. Just a little practical magic. That is a cute movie by-the-way.

Our Life Journey Itself creates certain wear and tear as it demands perseverance through hard times or difficult experiences. Bumps and bruises along the way with sad tears and shadows are all part of the human experience on this 3rd planet from the Sun; but we must keep the ‘sum of the whole’ in mind during those times.

Seeing the unity of our life during the temporary difficult issues or suffering by remembering the good times and the future hopes and expectations will help to widen the picture. And like me with my elbow, put it into proper perspective. This makes it bearable and keeps us from letting life (our thoughts and emotions about it) get out-of-hand.

The Earth Itself is this way too if you think about it. We  may see areas of earth where destruction has taken place—perhaps a forest fire that leaves its scar on Earth Mother’s face, but if we stand back and see the whole of the Earth, we see the undeniable beauty.

This doesn’t mean that we should not put out the forest fire, deal with the issue at hand in practical ways and in the case of my elbow, avoid treating it with a pressure wrap for support, an anti-inflammatory (or Reiki healing). Do what is practical while at the same time view difficulties as simply a part of the whole of life. Keeping the whole in mind is an optimistic measure to embrace while we deal with the part—whatever that part may be.

In my humble experience, meditation helps in being able see the unity, the wholeness, which aids in putting life in a balanced perspective. Water travels for hundreds of miles, sometimes beginning as a tiny stream, disappearing beneath the soil, eventually resurfacing. The process is essentially the same on a human scale. Meditation can tune us into that view of our life as well as the lives of others so that we can gain those perspectives and then we can allow without grasping.

“The real glory of meditation lies not in any method but in its continual living experience of presence, in its bliss, clarity, peace, and most important of all, complete absence of grasping.

When you live in the wisdom home, you’ll no longer find a barrier between “I” and “you,” “this” and “that,” “inside” and “outside;” you’ll have come, finally, to your true home, the state of non-duality.”

— Sogyal Rinpoche

If you think about it, the Internet is a perfect example of how it REALLY ‘is’. What I mean is there you are on your computer, alone on your keyboard; yet, in some way still having interaction with various other levels of mind who show up on your screen through your Internet Connection. A perfect example of life.

We can hang out in Facebook-ville or the local train station and we’re just as much alone and interacting with other minds around us; it’s just that at the train station those minds are within a physical body. But, we’re still just as much alone—and this is true even if we have our family in the mix of minds and bodies. We’re still one mind observing the rest and sometimes interacting with them (relating to them) so that we can determine who it is we are and what it is we believe. Our Inner truth, their inner truth and sorting it all out and that takes, if you don’t mind me saying, a good deal of humor. Human nature really is pretty comical if one gives it half a chance to show itself by standing back and watching instead of participating. And we can also laugh at our self in the process too.

It makes me think of times when there’d be someone at a party or social event that others would think of as a wall-flower and sure as rain someone would come along and try to drag the person into the heart of the activity only to hear them protest that they were really enjoying watching. Why does no one ever believe that this could be true? Anyway, these thoughts are the precursor to more serious consideration of the KUA of the day which is 61, “Inner Truth”—the gentle, wind above the joyous, lake. VISUAL: the wind blows over the lake and stirs the surface of the water.

A heart/mind has to be free of prejudices in order to be open to truth; therefore, dogma has no place in observing the truth in self or others. In fact, it’s a hindrance. Truth is not found by adopting certain beliefs from the local preacher or priest-like cult or by any type of social conditioning. It comes from the silent voice of the intuitive heart.

The problem with social conditioning and dogma is that a person is deeply influenced without knowing they are conditioned and dogmatized—it’s all very subtle but it does not miss the careful observer. There are those who find joy in the victimization of their religious figures and model themselves right along with that and let us not omit the new age white lighters who find the multi-million dollar bandwagon to jump on by repackaging the dogma into a new form. It’s all plainly there in front of the eyes of a careful observer with the open, intuitive, free of dogma and unprejudiced heart. And it’s really hard not to laugh about it all until one realizes that people are serious and have created their own specialized hell out of it—and this elicits a certain compassion but at the same time acceptance knowing that someone’s truth is what it is until it isn’t anymore. And some minds with bodies find joy and freedom in obeying those that they deem to be their superiors with their books of writing to stand behind.

It becomes a struggle some days to know if one should smile or cry at what is clearly observed without influence—just simple observation with unattached emotionalism that is always available but often ignored. It’s sometimes insidious but often obvious. Like, there it is—there. Obvious. And it isn’t difficult to see it and know it, for people will bend over backwards to pour out their inner truth to you without even trying to do so.

What the difference is between the truth attained via dogma and social conditioning is both vital and spiritual. The inner voice of one’s own spaciousness is serine and based on love—that love has nothing whatsoever to do with victimization or suffering and all to do with inner peace.

Heaven and hell are both seeds in the mind that are just waiting for you to think them into being and there are many of those seeds planted upon this earth—which ones will you nurture? Which ones are being nurtured by the other minds around you? Do you have a belief ABOUT truth (call this religion) or are you more interested in inner truth?

When anyone has had ENOUGH of the truth that’s been handed to you; when you begin to awaken from the spell of religious and social conditioning and when you can duck and dodge the new-age white-lighters and their multi-million dollar businesses made from repackaged christianity, you will enter an entirely new territory which in spiritual terms is known as “walking the path”.

What does that mean? It has to do with abandoning the prior conditioning and then questioning life. And this leads you within and helps you get in touch with your own inner truth. And that, ultimately, comes out in your attitude eventually whether you want it to or not.

BOTTOM LINE: Once you achieve a state of emptiness and openness, you will be open to receiving wisdom and knowledge from inner sources and the Universe Itself. It requires an open mind and that starts with releasing dogma and beliefs based on old paradigms and patriarchies.

Eventually, you will be able, then, to perceive the minds and inner truths of others.

Think Before You Shoot (or if you must, for you own health, think after… read on and you will see what I mean; it can’t hurt to know these things

This post was motivated by love for both human and animal kingdoms.

One With The Earth; are you awake or asleep?  A myth is a legend and as many historians will tell you, the power of the myth (See: Joseph Campbell) is…. well, powerful and it holds a truth that is deeply engrained in consciousness.  That is, if one is conscious enough of consciousness to ‘be’ conscious of it.  Either you get that or you don’t.  Let’s move on…

Do you find hunting, the hunter—sport hunting with no reverence for the animal—emotionally upsetting? Are you a hunter who is looking forward to the upcoming hunting season and one who has never considered the spirit of the animal and its connection to your christian god?   Do you believe nature and its inhabitants are on the earth for the sport of serving your destructive pleasure?  On the other hand, you might carry the memories in your soul of the early days when man was merged with nature as one.

Perhaps, like me, you dread the start of the upcoming hunting season.  May you find some comfort or balance with your emotions with that by reading this post.

Whether you have an aversion/abhorrence to hunting OR an attraction to killing animals (either way), my intention in writing about this whole issue of hunting and killing animals is that it be of service to the reader.

If you’re a hunter with no conscious awareness of your spiritual connection to your animal brothers and sisters, maybe you could develop a-little-bit-of one by reading the story of the Little Deer below.  You may want to think about what you are doing when you shoot to kill in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina–you are on sacred ground, the Cherokee Ancestral Home where animals were considered ‘relatives’ and their clans respected.

This information comes from some writing by Warren Jefferson who compiled such information on beliefs of the North American Indian.

The lives of the  North American Indians were infused with the supernatural and there was a constant interaction between the spirit world and theirs.

In my recent study which comes from a renewed interest in Indian culture I came across a Cherokee myth or story referred to as Little Deer.  I am most interested in the ancient ancestors, before Europeans came to North America.

Many Indian tribes throughout North America tell of a time when humans and animals ‘shared common ancestors’ and ‘spoke the same language’ with animals.  (See Ted Andrews, Animal Speak)   We see groups with semi-animal and semi-human ancestors in American Indian culture–half-man and half-animal.   But then don’t we see the same thing in the ancient cultures of Egypt and Greece for example?

Pre-patriarchial times is what I mean… the matriarchal days when earth mother was honored have an influence on the consciousness carried forward into some Cherokee myths. 

There were animal totems and certain animals were seen as protectors of the animal clan.  The person would, in those days, enter into the relationship with the spirit of a particular animal species such as the wolf, bear, caribou, elk, deer or other animal and incorporate the animal’s characteristics into one’s self drawing the animal’s qualities, strengths and survival skills.

Perhaps there are many of us who have the memories of living in such ways still alive in our souls?  And we are the ones who would likely shutter at the thought of sport killing and hunting.

Once a totem animal, in Indian tradition, has been acquired, the person is bound to certain actions and taboos regarding that animal.

Christian or non-spiritual hunters today seem to have no taboos other than their enjoyment of the kill as a sport without any consideration for the soul of the animal.

And, Yes.  North American Indians believed not only animals but trees had a soul too.  Living closely with nature thousands of years ago  it was as obvious to them, just as it would be to today to anyone who lives close to nature and who has thrown off patriarchal religious conditioning which poisons the mind to the sacredness of nature.

Often a person could not hunt or kill his totem animal even as a matter of survival and even if the spirit of the animal was honored.  This is because someone’s totem animal is, for them,  in effect a special “relative”.

The Cherokee ancestral home is in the present-day western Appalachian Mountain region of North Carolina.  Today, many (or most) Cherokee people live in Oklahoma, since their forced removal from the region in 1838 known as the Trail of Tears.  I live in the Cherokee Ancestral territory.

I believe the following information comes from James Mooney’s “Myths of the Cherokee” about North American Indians.

Man is the paramount power and hunts and slaughters the others as his own necessities compel, but is obliged to satisfy the animal tribes in every instance, and according to the Indian system, the bones of the dead are covered with presents for the bereaved “relatives”—the other animals of the animal tribe. (I wonder how many hunters stop to think of the bereaved animal relatives of the animal they kill.)

This pardon by the hunter is made easier, according to the shamans, through their knowledge of reincarnation in which it is understood that every animal has a definite “life term”, which cannot be curtailed by violent means.

If the last paragraph above is true, it will help me get through this year’s deer hunting season—the beginning of which is closely approaching.  I find it highly significant that I seem to have drawn in the information exactly at a time when it is most beneficial to know!

According to the shaman, if the animal is killed before the ‘expiration date of the allotted time for that animal’s life’, the death is only temporary and the body is immediately resurrected in its proper shape from the blood drops, and the animal continues its existence until the end of the predestined period, when the body is finally dissolved and the liberated spirit goes to join its kindred.

This belief appears in the story of Little Deer (below).  In that story, certain supernatural personages have dominion over the animals and are therefore regarded as the… well, for the lack of a better word, perhaps the one who disseminates karma.

Here is the short story of the Little Deer from Cherokee Myth (and there are truths in myths!) about a hunter who neglects to do a ceremony for the animal’s spirit after killing a deer.  The following story comes from beliefs of North American Indians regarding their animal “relatives” who they call the “four-footed tribes”.

The Little Deer

Now, whenever the hunter shoots a Deer, the Little Deer, who is swift as the wind and cannot be wounded [the Soul of the animal group leader for the deer], runs quickly up to the spot and, bending over the bloodstains, asks the spirit of the Deer if it has heard the prayer of the hunter for pardon.

If the reply is yes, all is well, and the Little Deer goes on his way; but if the reply be no, he follows on the trail of the hunter, guided by the drop of blood on the ground, until he arrives at his cabin in the settlement [the hunter’s living quarters], when the Little Deer enters invisibly and strikes the hunter with rheumatism, so that he becomes at once a helpless cripple.

No hunter who has regard for his health ever fails to ask pardon from the Deer for killing it, although some hunters who have not learned the prayer for the animal’s spirit may try to turn aside the Little Deer from his pursuit by building a fire behind them on the trail.  (Moony 1900)

Here is another version of the mythical tale of The Little Deer:

In these early days, the plants, the animals, and the people all lived together as friends. As the people multiplied, however, the animals had less room to roam, and they were either slaughtered for food or trampled under the humans’ feet. Finally the animals held a council to discuss what to do.  The deer held a council and decided to send rheumatism to any hunter who killed a deer without asking its pardon for having done so.

When a deer is shot by a hunter, the fleet and silent Little Deer, leader of the deer, runs to the blood-stained spot to ask the spirit of the killed deer if the hunter prayed for pardon for his affront. If the answer is no, Little Deer follows the trail of blood and inflicts the hunter with rheumatism so that he is crippled.

The more you are motivated by L.O.V.E., the more fearless and free your action will be

The world’s oldest profession is the shaman!! The ancient shaman  is the ancestor to the modern-day doctor and the priest.

The oldest religion of which we have any secure knowledge is shamanism.

Ahhh, and to think one or more may be buried here upon this property… no wonder the crows circle above that area and nowhere else. And no wonder the crowd of deer come and go from that very place. More on that later… but first…

Inserted Later:  I’ve just learned that in the archaeologically termed “Woodland Period”, the Cherokee in this area  actually did create their burial mounds on the top of mountain ridges or “high up” –this according to a Cherokee Archeologist from Cherokee, NC. –More on this below

(This has nothing to do with anything but if I could have a “DO OVER”, I’d have studied archeology in college instead of physical therapy…. Note to Soul:  next time!)

That’s twice now! Yes, I know that posting something like this is risking appearing crazy to some; so be it— I’m used to it.   I just have to blog this quickly because it happened AGAIN and after this weekend… well, you’ll see what I mean.

I’m taking a bit of a break from outdoor work, mowing and raking all those things that make landlord’s happy. A few weeks ago (and if you are a regular follower of this blog, you may recall this), I found a “mounds” candy bar wrapper in my yard when I was mowing. I live on a country road two-lane curvy highway in the mountains of North Carolina and many people are of the habit of tossing their litter and it ends up in the yard now and again.

And today was no exception, there were some papers in the yard and as the mower and I came across from one, upon picking it up I nearly froze in my tracks! There it was again! A MOUNDS candy wrapper (coconut filled dark chocolate). So what you might say and I’d agree. Apparently someone who likes Mounds candy tosses their wrapper when they come around this particular bend—and it happened twice.  So what!  Right?  But there’s more to it–there always IS with me!

The first time it reminded me that the landlady told me that there is a Native American Mound (burial place—mound of earth—ceremonial ground for Cherokee) here high on the ridge. I’d been meaning to investigate that for years but the timing was never right and I wasn’t about to mountain climb the steep ridge alone. I’ve also been waiting for the right weather and when the overgrowth wasn’t so dense to make the ascent. Well, my grandson got up there a few weeks ago and reported a headstone of some kind. Hmmmm, no mound? A headstone? Yeah, he said, adding that it wasn’t raised up, bur ‘sunken in’ and the headstone had some strange writing on it.  He got up there to have a look before I had time to explain what a Mound actually is; so he didn’t recognize it.  The ‘sunken in’ graves, according to him,  sounded strange to me.  (My grandson is 13 years old.)

So this past weekend my daughter, granddaughter and I, attempted to repeat the feat. My grandson warning me that I’d never make it up there which is all I needed to hear in order to vow that I’d get there!  O, really? Watch me!  

It wasn’t easy; but we made it up after doing some honest to goodness vertical rock climbing (like the real-deal ‘where do I put my foot next and where to I put my hand’–that kind of thing).  It was quite THE adventure!  Any tree root, protruding rock or nearby limbs were grips for hands and feet. Anyway, the point is that we got there!  Eventually!

The mound plus two christian graves off to the side of it were obvious. Bingo! LOL My grandson only found one christian grave and the strange writing that he reported actually could be made out with some effort.  My daughter had to put her fingers over the letters to ‘feel’ what she couldn’t make out with her eyes.  This was carved with a rough tool; perhaps a stick when the cement was wet.  We’re talking the 1800′s.  It read this way… her first name (omitted out of respect) and then the words “wife of” and the first initials and  last name of the husband.  Beneath that it said, born (month/day) 1831, died (month/year) 1893.  It appeared ‘sunken in’ to my grandson because it wa directly next to the native american mound.

Next to headstone was another.   That one said FATHER (_______) [last name intentionally omitted for privacy purposes], died 1907.

Why do I say  they are christian graves?  On the wife’s headstone it says, “Blessed are they who trust in the lord”.   Strange trivia–the date of her death as indicated on the hand-marked grave stone happens to be the same month and day as my own mother’s crossing.

Here is a general image of a Native American Mound if you’ve never seen what one looks like; I just took this image below off google as an example of what a mounds looks like for readers who don’t know.

Example of what an actual mound looks like.

The general location of the property that I rent and thus the mound is very close to the V-fork (or the Y) of where two creeks merged–the Cherokee, it is said,  believed that places where water meet to be sacred and often burial mounds are to be founds where 2 or 3 bodies of water merge as it does right at this location.  (Across the street is a creek that merges in a V with a creek on the other side of the property here.)

The energy up there was quite sacred and peaceful and the trees around the area seemed to be protecting the spot–yeah, I know I’m repeating myself now but it deserves that emphasis.  This spot, by the way, cannot be seen by any human from any direction and there are huge rocks upon which to sit and meditate nearby.  And these huge rocks are up against trees.

Anyway, the whole time I’m mowing the lawn today, I’m thinking about going back up there if I can find a safer way up than yesterday’s adventure. Do I risk it at my ripe old age of 64? Maybe if I take my cell phone along with me!?  Yeah, I’d bring the phone and also what I forgot to take  up there with me yesterday, which is CORNMEAL to make an offering to the earth.  I can’t get over the vine covering the ground up there just in those specific burial areas.  It’s fall (autumn) now and there’s nothing much that is green and fresh looking growing right now; I’ve not seen that vine anywhere else.  It’s as if mother earth covered that area with the vine to honor the contents beneath.

Yeah, so anyway, I’m waiting to get a call back from the Cherokee Nation.  I called them today; they may not call back but it seemed right to reach out to them for some reason.

So I pick up this stray paper as I mowed the lawn today and there it is a second time–a mounds candy wrapper!

I brought it in and snapped a photo of it just for me to remember—the universe is recognizing the connection with the Native American Mound and that I went up there yesterday.  I saw that same wrapper weeks ago which reminded me about the mound to start with.

After all, I didn’t find the mounds candy paper any other day. It was today!

Today–the day after I hiked up there with my daughter and granddaughter!

And whoever tossed the wrapper had no idea he or she was working in such harmony with the happenings here!

Photos of the christian grave markers; I have whited out the names out of respect and for privacy purposes….

 Notice the green vine?

it is only present around the graves and the mound ONLY!

PS — Intuitively, I feel the Cherokee buried in the Native American Mound next to these graves are from the Deer Clan.  (I’ve read there are four major clans in the Cherokee.)

There are many deer on this property and they can often be seen coming down from the top of the ridge there (sometimes 10 or 20 at a time) and returning to the place where the mound is up there.

I read online that the sacred wood of the Deer Clan is OAK and there is a huge old Oak Tree growing on the edge of the mound itself, seeming to be guarding it.  One more thing and then I have to get back outside to finish my work; it must be done today, for tomorrow the rains come.

I’ve always seen big black crows circling the top of the ridge in the area of the mound!  Rather spontaneously I call them the guardians  or ‘the watchers’  and will catch myself saying aloud to myself, Oh, the guardians are back.  Funny how you just say things like that without knowing why, isn’t it?

Lately, I’ve been finding crow feathers–a single feather here or there–around my back door or the side of the house.  I’d like to believe these are the crows and Cherokee ancestor spirits acknowledging me. These feathers are (to me) magical and sacred.

Congratulations if you haven’t shaken your head, rolled your eyes and clicked off this blog post up until now and made this far!  Maybe you and I are a “relation”!

ADDENDUM ~ I just spoke to a few Native American experts from the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation and they said that the Mound is likely from what they call (in archeology terms) the “Woodland Period” and when I asked what that meant, he said that the natives buried there were from the  1,000 BC to 800 AD timeframe.   Wow!  We’re talking pre-European, pre Columbus!  In that time period is (according to archeology studies) is when the Cherokee in this area would bury their dead high up on mountain ridges as the case here.

So obviously Mr. and Mrs. christian people from the 1800′s had no way of knowing the Cherokee buried in the Mound next to them–the mound is from some 2 or 3 thousand years before they were even born!

It was very interesting talking to both of the Cherokee men from Cherokee, NC today; they told me how to enter the mound from the East (the doorway) and offered other ceremonial information, etc.

Just as a side note, if anyone in North Carolina or Tennessee who finds a mound on their property comes across this blog post, apparently many (not all) of the Mounds were documented during the time of the “Thompson Project” and one could call the State Historic Preservation Office to find out more.

And one more thing–color me crazy but I think that the spirits of the crows and deer around here are connected to the natives buried on the ridge. Shaman of that period would shape shift or it is thought ‘turn into’ an animal — as in merge with the animal’s consciousness.  These ideas are not at all foreign to me or my soul, especially because of the work that I do–that concept is not strange to me at all.  Although, I realize that for some readers, this would seem incredulous.  When one realizes (as shaman do/did) that everything is energy and consciousness…  well, that’s a whole other topic for another day.

I found some drawings of what the Cherokee natives living here thousands of years ago would have looked like, including their homes.  Here’s one below.   I’m having all these imaginings and fantasies of how they walked this very same ground as I am today–they would probably scratch their heads and laugh at my lawn mowing!  And at the idea that I could “rent” the land or even the house that is upon it.

Note in the image above that at the back the burial mound is up on the ridge along the tree line in the farthest point in the picture

I’m suddenly (by looking at the image to the left) being whisked away in my memory now to being back up there like I was yesterday…. my gosh, the energy up there is totally amazingly serene and peaceful and sacred.  They must have done many ceremonies up there!

I was just thinking how they probably washed things in the creek across the street.

Today I am waiting for a washing machine that the landlady is having delivered — what a comparison!  One wonders if life was really as happy and simple as it looked in this image.  I wonder what they’d think of a washing machine.

I have clear soul memories of living on the land that way and being connected to… well, a time of living simply and being One With The Earth.  And those memories always make me feel so grateful for the walls and roof and my warm bed and being to a certain extent protected from ‘the elements’ as they call it now.

If you want to know what ‘the message’ that I mention in the subject line of this post actually is — in case you haven’t put it together by now.   I’ve learned that to me what is obvious is not to others.  So let me spell it out.  The Universal Intelligence or ‘Universal Harmony Energy of Divine Guidance and Acknowledgment’ directed me (or reminded me) to follow-up on a desire that I’ve held for many years but not acted upon and had nearly forgotten which was to go looking for that Indian Mound that the landlord said was here up on the ridge.  How?  Via the “Mounds” candy wrapper in the yard that I came across while mowing weeks ago.

It took me a matter of weeks to actually get up there.  The day after I did (today, the date of this post), I come across another Mounds candy wrapper–this being the acknowledgment that the mission was accomplished, a sign of the recognition that I had just come down from  the ridge top where I saw the mount the day previous!

And (obviously) now I cannot get this whole thing out of my mind and feel that this is a lead to something else and I trust that I’ll be guided to that too.

I’ve always thought that we (you and me) are ‘our own ancestors’…. what do you think?

When I came to the mountains, the certain feeling of being back home again was (and still is) overwhelming.

ADDENDUM:  I keep remembering the day that I first looked at this rental home where I now live.  The elderly landlady was struggling with her key in the back door to get us inside to show me the home and directly behind us within less than 10 feet at was a curving 6-foot high retaining wall.  That detail will be more important in a moment.

Generally, at that time of my life, I wanted to move from my previous rental because they were cutting down all the trees and they filled in a deep crater in the ground where the deer lived down in and under.  Surrounding this crater were a number of saplings bent over and covering them were various vines and berry bushes.  Perfect natural home for the deer!

The deer went down below ground there under the convenient hideaway year round.   It was cool in the summer and warm in the winter being protective from the weather conditions.  I could watch them come and go from my living room.  They were my friends and I’d give them apples and corn and often I’d catch them looking into my window as I worked.  I am not making this up!  Many times there’d be three of them just outside my window looking in at me.  Very magical!

When the humans tore down their home and clearcut all the trees, I was heartbroken and wanted to leave too… just the way the deer actually did; they had to… their home was destroyed.  Late in the day when the human tree butchers had gone, I’d see them looking around confused and I’d cry for them and … well, if you want to know the truth, I really wanted to leave the planet back then.  Anything to get away from humans!  But back to my other story…

He looked just like this and stood so close that I could have reached out and touched him. He looked right at me standing tall and proud and unflinching

When the landlady fumbled with the key at the back door, something caught my eye and I turned to look behind me.

And there just at the curving retaining wall,  which at that point was less than 10 feet away (so close I could reach out and touch him), was a huge deer with antlers–large enough to be an elk!

He stood there so majestically holding a pose looking right at me.  It took my breath away.

” A deer”, I murmured.   I was in such awe that I could hardly get the words out of my mouth.

I knew it was a sign and that deer were welcoming me to this new home–she hadn’t agreed to rent to me and I had no idea how much the rent was; nor had I even walked inside to have a look.  Yet, I already knew that this was going to be my new home.  How could I pull off a move?  I had not a nickel saved or even a whisper of a hope of any sudden influx of money to provide for the relocation financially.  You may be wondering why I was looking at a rental when I could not afford to move–that too is a whole other story for a whole other day!  Suffice it to say that I was definitely divinely guided to that moment.  But back to the deer…

I knew that it was no accident that this deer was standing so close to the back door at that moment looking right at me!

The lady seemed to glance my way to ask me to repeat what I’d said.  “Look, a deer–right here, see?”  and she barely glanced in that direction and went back to struggling to get the key in the door.

I’ve always wondered if she actually even saw the deer–she surely didn’t act like she did.

And I can’t ask her now because I don’t see her anymore.  (I deal with her daughter with any rental issues.)

Since I’ve lived here and it’s getting close to 9 years now, I’ve never had a deer that large with antlers that huge stand that close to the back door or to me personally in that way since.  This only further validates the special-ness of that moment.

I’ve tried to make good friends with them (the deer), and they will look to me and let me come somewhat near but never as close as my old friends did where I lived before.  Those other deer would eat apples out of my hand.  These deer move around me almost like ghosts.  Anyway, I digress.

I’ve often wondered if the animal that I saw that night was a spirit animal or perhaps a Cherokee shaman ancestor in animal form.

I think they know that I love this place.  Yesterday, I looked up at the autumn beauty as the trees above on the ridge sent down their leaves in the wind that circled around me and said aloud with tears in my eyes, “I love all of you!  I love you!”  (a state of joy of course).

An essential aspect of Cherokee spirituality, philosophy, cosmology and NATURAL LAW is the belief that everything on Earth is the reflection of a star.

This includes not only people and animals but also trees, rivers, stones, and mountains–all are sentient (alive!) beings to the Cherokee.

They said on the local news station that deer hunting season starts November 14th (in just over a month).  As you begin to think about Thanksgiving this year which may be around  the 14th, will you keep our dear  deer brothers in your heart?  Perhaps take a moment to see them surrounded by light?

May you run fast and swift deer brothers!  May you hide well from the hunters!  I love you!  and my heart breaks again as I type these words and am crying without reserve.  Excuse me, sorry :’(

Many people here are baptist christians and therefore through their own admission and preaching, they clearly articulate that they do not know how to connect with nature in the ways in which I am communicating here.  And, as they will readily and with glee tell you themselves,  they do not equate nature with divinity in any way whatsoever.  And thusly do not treat the earth and the animals  as sacred.

They will not hesitate to inform you of your error in thinking should you suggest otherwise and will lecture you with great assurance, righteous and fervor.    I’ve been ’preached to’  several times from the religious locals who affirm with great conviction that trees, rocks and the mountains themselves have nothing whatsoever to do with god or divinity.  They quickly add these comments too–they will say…  and by the way,  there is only one god (theirs–the white bearded one on the throne and you know the rest) and that there is only one life and this one is IT (sad) and THEN afterward it’s either heaven or hell (that’s it) and any second now, the rapture. And they’re going to be raptured and you’re not.  Yeah.  Okay, whatever!  Things are slow to change in the Appalachians; and the consciousness of many of the fundamentalist religious locals seems to be like 13th to 14th century consciousness or twisted puritanism.  It is well-known that the preachers in the churches have no formal religious training or have not studied theology or probably not even world civilization in any way.  Formal education is not necessarily highly valued from what I can tell and the community college is filled with young women who are fearful that their husbands or fathers will find out they are in school.  You get the idea.

Some days, when I am feeling my most cynical or discouraged (something I try to avoid),  I’d have to admit to thinking that most folks around here may as well be called Muggles who live in Muggleville!  A little humor helps us get by sometimes!

Anyway, about the deer and hunting season…if you could hold them in protective light in your thoughts…

Thank You

One last thing, the last 2 trees standing across the street that I asked (via cyber request to readers) for protective light around are still standing–so far, so good.  I’d like to thank readers for honoring my cyber request for protection for them.  It did help! (Or so I’d like to believe)  So anyway, Thank You

Remember the deer during hunting season…  well, O well, here’s a kicker!  the chart for deer huting dates for North Carolina all state SUNDAY RESTRICTIONS!  Hmmmmmm….  I wonder if the hunters have made any connections with that one!  No killing of animals on Sunday but the rest of he week, have at it?  I can’t look at those websites because my stomach ties up in knots, but as far as I can tell, it looks like mid January is when hunters have to stop killing deer–by law.

Maybe if we say it this way,

May all deer and all other sentient beings (including but in not way limited to humans) be protected from killers and hunters.  May all intentional killing and hunting for sport or religion or terror purposes be ended and may we all live peacefully together Now and Forever.

Soha (so it is) and Amen.

Of course, there are those who don’t realizes that there is energy to be read (felt) in the first place and being oblivious to that is a handicap. Until that happens we seem to have to be “hit over the head by the 2 by 4”; and this is a phrase I really don’t like and maybe that’s because I’ve felt that 2 x 4 before. Anyway…

Geese intuitively know when it is time to go. We could learn so much from the example of the deep intuitive sense that animals have… our own dogs and cats or other domestic animals can be awesome teachers and we could benefit from being more like them in certain respects.

Today’s message is to get in touch with the inner whispers of the inner knowing by being in harmony with the TAO; with all energy that surrounds us.

I was just thinking of a house guest who doesn’t know when it’s time to leave. I’ve had that happen so many times when I did readings for people in my home. So this is what the message is about today—being sensitive to the energy around you and knowing when it’s time to go or when it’s okay to remain where you are without having to experience that push or pull from life.

We, as intelligent (for the most part) humans, sometimes rely too much on our intellect and abandon the right brain for the left. There’s something to say about the good old-fashioned animal instincts, you know? One of my teachers said that when we cover up our natural odor with perfumes and deodorant, we lose the ability to know who our natural partners are. She said that if you want to know if someone is going to be compatible with you to go for a hike with that person so that in perspiration you can use the olfactory sense to know if that person’s odor is attractive or repulsive. That’s one way to know if you should retreat and depart; some person’s natural scent will attract and others will repel us. Animals do this all the time, but we humans have forgotten about it. Sometimes, forgetting the intellect and using our intuition and instincts in these ways are highly beneficial in avoiding that 2×4!

I love birds. They can’t over identify with any one home and are always flying off to new nests—there’s such freedom in that. Most birds have more than one nest because they know that any one of then can be destroyed at any moment. Well, that happened around here lately actually. The human “muggle” (term of endearment ~ LOL) who lives across the way cut down numerous trees any many birds lost homes—I feel consoled for them because of my knowledge that birds often have more than one nest and besides  it’s the time of year that many birds have already flown south.

So today we say that what you cling to or are attempting to cling to is contrary to life or to the TAO… energy must move on and holding fast to energy that must change because it is the very nature of life that energy changes, well, it brings suffering to hold to what is changing.

By the way, the master number (33) is associated with the TAO, “All That Is” or some may say that which is god.  And the I-CHING Kua 33 is called “Withdrawal, Retreat”.

Another message for today is about retreating from negativity–one only exhausts oneself today when attempting to deal with and subdue negativity.  It is better to yield ground and walk away; step back and avoid battles.  Introspection and patience are better weapons.

In order to read the energy one must quiet down, tune into the heart rather than the intellect, breathe deeply allowing one’s self to become sensitive and feel the energy. 

BOTTOM LINE: dispassionately evaluate the signs of change, sniff the wind in the air, what are you being shown about the energy around you? If it is time to go, spread your wings. If not, nestle in for a cozy winter season. We are approaching that season after all, we’re deeply into fall now… the days are growing shorter.

See you next time…

Trines are opportunities to act but we can be lazy and not take advantage, but no matter because eventually the square comes and then the pressure is on and something’s got to give. It’s our choice–do it the easy way or be forced to do it.  Today I’m doing housework and if I didn’t keep up with it, that’s my choice–but eventually I’d be forced to, right?  Think of that TV show about hoarders and you’ll get the picture; its like pay now or pay later, but eventually it catches up.  And NO, I’m not a hoarder just in case you are thinking that but we all have to go through rooms and do deep cleaning and tossing periodically–that’s my meaning.  Life gives us opportunities and supports certain actions and if we don’t make best use of the opportunity, eventually we’ll be forced.  Observation and correlation, right?  That seems to be how it works if we just look around us.  Anyway…

The message for today is that this is a positive day (no matter what day you read this!) wherein things can be easily achieved but EFFORT is necessary one needs to push steadily toward the light just like the plant anchored in rich soil pushes up and breaks through to reach new heights. If we sit back on our haunches and wait for a jezus to save us or the spaceships to land, we’re wasting the opportunity that this time has for us to make progress, gain confidence—we are guided to accept the challenge of the moment and keep on working. Effort—always!

The I-CHING Kua 46 is called “Pushing Upward” or “Advance” brings forth the message that even the most difficult goals can be achieved if we break them down into simple easy steps. But we must take those steps!

We ‘are’ on earth after all and being grounded and applying steady effort is the name of the game in this reality—there’s no escaping it. So, what applies today is that old adage “a journey of a thousand miles begins with one single step”; we must not become discouraged.

Everyday Life Itself is our teacher and we must not turn away from it trying to escape or wait for someone to save us—we have to keep moving one step at a time while examining each step and where it takes us and discovering if that’s the direction we should go being aware and conscious in each moment so we stay on the right path.

Effort ~ one step at a time, focusing on each step and where it is leading you

It is a time of action and all past struggles that have been part of your journey have led you to this opportune moment. Remain empowered and keep applying effort until you push through to birth a new part of yourself. If you wait for the spaceships to land or for a god to save you, you will be missing a valuable opportunity to use earth experiences to ascend into light.

We all can become overwhelmed with the challenges of earth living from time to time.  Sometimes when I look at my financials I feel that way and in other mundane examples the lawn full of leaves that need to be raked as more come down by the second! (That exact thing with the leaves  is happening right now as I type these words.)    I have closets to clean and a garage collecting some minor clutter (but still!) that needs to be gone through and cleaned, things tossed and tidied up; the thought of all that can be overwhelming.  There are times that I become triggered and a flood or worry or fear will swoop in showing me that I still have such a long way to go to achieve that continual state of peace that I desire–this can leave me feeling discouraged if I let it.

These earth experiences can be exactly what I need to use, to examine, to vow to use at that one-step-at-a-time pace using applied effort to Ascend into Light.

Steady progress helps us to gain confidence on our journey toward light, and examining our steps and making conscious effort is what helps us live that heaven upon the earth (unless you are waiting for jezus or the spaceships that is).

Reaching for the stars with our feet firmly anchored in the rich soil of everyday life experiences of earth–that’s a formula for ascension. 

 BOTTOM LINE:  Remain encouraged; apply continued effort, one step at a time.  All conditions are supporting you.  Hang in there!

As soon as I saw the image [to the left], I thought of Sagittarius – that gypsy and travel part of Sag.  The other thing that came to mind was that famous phrase, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” 

Today I learned about someone I know who has lost her job–again!  It’s not any one who turns to me (my services) for advice or guidance; in fact its someone who is rather convinced that my psychic work is associated with the devil.  Sigh!  And its someone who believes (factually in her own words) that trials and tribulations come from the christian jesus and is asking jesus to stop the pattern of giving her life these repeating problems. Yeah, right?  I know!  I’m saying wow and shaking my head too.

Ever meet someone who you so much wish to help while knowing you must be asked, you cannot take over their free will?  Someone who believes that god is punishing and victimizing them?  It’s so frustrating.  What can we do?  We can only envision them healed, whole and happy and try to energize that picture for them I suppose. (And like I do often here, take my frustrating moments and use them as teaching moments.)

And then ask what is the lesson in this for me personally?  Why did this come before me and frustrate me?  And so, until I figure it all out, I use these things as teaching moments especially when they align so perfectly with the I-CHING Kua draw of the day as so happens today.

I came across a quote recently by David Hawkins that sort of sums up religious distortion.  He wrote the following about the fundamentalist sects of any religion about the jealous, vengeful and angry god:

The god of righteous negativity represents a glorification of the negative, and provides for his followers a disavowal of responsibility through justification of human cruelty and mayhem. — Power vs. Force, The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior by David Hawkins

New in town? New on the job? It can be destabilizing and trigger all of our insecurities—change really does trigger self-doubt or anxiety.  Sometimes, in error, we can overcompensate when we feel out of place—we really want to keep it all together but go about it the wrong way; therefore, we can sometimes try too hard and come off  appearing like a misfit instead.   This comes from our own inner insecurity malfunction.

There is wisdom in the advice of the I-CHING Kua 56 called “The Wanderer” or “The Traveler” or as I’d like to call it the gypsy part of Sagittarius.  And that advice is to do as the Romans do and for goodness sake when you’re new to town or to a job,  don’t ‘put down’ the unfamiliar in order to compensate for your own insecurity by trying to feel superior.

Whether it is being a newcomer to a town or  a job or a family (whatever it may be), it is always wise to create a respectful and friendly atmosphere by being sincere in unpretentious—just be yourself in sincerity and hang back to learn the new environment while being respectful to yourself and to others.  Give yourself and other people the gift of grace and time.

Many of the readers of this blog already know this (preaching to the choir I’m sure)  but I am thinking about a particular person/ situation as I write this.  Besides, there might be someone else who can relate to this in a helpful way—so I will continue in that spirit, if I may.

Sometimes, when we are new to town or to the apartment building or to the job, we will be a curiosity to others and maybe even one or two humans could pick on us a little bit to see what we’re made of—that’s human nature.  Avoid challenging established order,  but of course if your boundary is transgressed speak up while respecting others.

We are all wanderers in one way or another on the journey of life.  Seasoned travelers know how to adapt and keep to themselves in the right timing and how to blend with others in the right way.  They also have learned the value of a sense of humor and about the avoidance of arrogance at all costs.  A very valuable took that I read in my teenage years was, “How to Win Friends and Influence Enemies“.  I’d bet there are still copies around.  I can’t remember the context of the material in that book after all these years; however, I do remember it helping me out a great deal regarding human interactions.  I think I was in high school when I read it or maybe age 17 or 18 years old.

Personally, I think that a good way to move through life is to do so in such a way that when you have moved through the town, the relationship, the job or even this lifetime, others will speak well and kindly of you (about you) when you’re gone. 

When in Rome... etc. Also, do others speak well of you after you've left?

Also,  I think that to meet others more than half way (giving more than half) when possible is a good idea. People can feel where your heart is even if you’re words are not spoken aloud.  Of course, I shouldn’t even have needed to type that last sentence– apologies to the reader for the redundancy and overstating the obvious. Some people, however, don’t know about any of these simple common sense concepts and they are having difficulty on their travels.

Some of us may be meant to wanderers as part of our karma or choice —some of us go from one job (or relationship or town) to the next continually–who are we to speculate as to why this might be?   Perhaps there is a divine plan of which we are unaware.  Maybe you have chosen an accelerated path and part of that is to have many changing experiences.  HOWEVER, if you are continually being asked to leave jobs and as a result you are not able to function or meet your  survival needs, and if this happens over and over again, ask yourself if  you are repeating patterns.   And when you are escorted out the door of employment (being fired from your job for the umpteenth time) while you blame jezuz or god (or whomever) for being tough on you (“blessing you with trials and tribulations”) and if you are not taking any responsibility, playing the victim… can you not see there is a pattern there for which your own behavior or decisions (free will) could be playing a part?  I’m just sayen’. Is it really fair to always blame god?  What about self-responsibility?

Not all people who move frequently or change jobs often have done something wrong.  Perhaps you are someone who enjoys such change, seeing it as an adventure and an opportunity for another new experience, then so it is.  I guess it’s all in the attitude.

However, if you feel victimized, consider your role in the plot.  The bottom line is that when any of us finds ourselves in changing conditions (no matter how they came about), it is best to do as the Romans do (at least at first) when in Rome.   When first in Rome, release arrogance, be honorable, respectful and modest and if you want to be a permanent resident, smile and don’t put on any airs.  Journey with your eyes open and take responsibility and make corrections rather than blame the gods.

PS– and should the reader assume that I claim to be in any state of enlightenment … (not hardly).  Someone asked the Dalai Lama that question once (if he is enlightened) and he at first laughed and then said if that was true he wouldn’t be here.  (I’m just repeating what he said.)  Anyway, the point is that I’ve made my fair share of mistakes and have (hopefully) learned from (some of) them.  I’ve seemed to attained my best learning the hard way many times. And like you, am a work in progress.

But… you want to hear something strange on that topic?  It’s not me who is doing any of it really, I’m just watching while agreeing to participate and finding the humor and the irony and the anguish sometimes to–but none of it is really me.  That is, unless I make it too real; do you know what I mean?  How real do you make your life?  And how well do you hold it lightly in balance?  This paragraph is about a few random thoughts that may have nothing to do with Kua 56, The Wanderer–or maybe they do?  After all, I just wandered!

Kua 56 of the I-CHING, The Wanderer, brings a message about how to travel and that is with grace and with humor.  When you are a stranger in a strange land, it is you who must take some responsibility for your behavioral actions; don’t be blaming it all on a punishing god somewhere outside of YOU.  I’m just sayen’.

See you next time…

Hope your weather is good; here the mountains are starting to have deeper color (leaves changing) and it is quite beautiful. 

I’ll be back soon; All is well; life is just busy.  Today, 10-6-11, the Moon is in Aquarius.  Here’s a link to a blog post I wrote about the Aquarian Moon and the transiting Aquarian  Moon:

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT TODAY’S AQUARIAN MOON

Infinite Blessings,

Joy

I made a Facebook post late one nigh recently to this effect (about this topic) and today I find that the I-CHING has directed me to Kua 47 for today’s divination message—this Kua is called “oppression” and a good image for this message is the yin/yang symbol which is a reminder that within the darkness is always the point of light and quite honestly, vice versa.

The overall message is that any event can be turned because it always presents an opportunity to turn adversity to good fortune.  In fact, it is helpful in the midst of the dark moment or period to carry a deep conviction in the heart that something higher or better will come of it, whatever it is that you may be facing.

When I look at the dark circle in the white half of the yin/yang symbol, it reminds me that those who profess to be white-lighter’s (or any of us really) will all be tested by the fires of life; it’s just that many times when white-lighter’s are tested, they go silent in guilt.  It happens to the best of us—we’re all tested by the fires of life and that’s what the yin/yang is a reminder of.

I’m not promoting darkness or negativity.  All I’m saying is that today’s message is a reminder that there is always light within the darkness.  Personally, I see opportunity in all adversities and obstacles, even if they come from my own emotions; for without those, I’d not be able to have the ability to grow and evolve and progress upward.  One must not become depressed because there is a fall or a dip in the road—the guidance is to maintain the confidence that there will be an elevation and upliftment and expansion that follows.

I’m glad the I-Ching toss directed me to this Kua today because what I was trying to communicate on the brief Facebook post requires more words and the blog gives me the place to use them.

Living life is like giving birth to one’s greater self and in that process there is, like any birth, expansion and contraction. 

 Or like the image at the top of the blog, ups and downs. That is the journey of every human.  And during the downs it is important to hold fast to the light within for that can help you pass through difficult circumstances with greater ease and especially with greater confidence.

We could say, if we wanted to, that the light is representative of your deepest spiritual beliefs and teachings as well as ideals. 

And there (in that light) is where we can call upon the energy of the masters who have walked the earth before us and left their messages and teachings to help guide us.  For me, and this is just me, it is the teachings of the Buddha and I also draw upon the living example of the Buddha of Compassion, the Dalai Lama.

Difficult circumstances and sometimes even confusing circumstances are life’s way of provoking a leap of consciousness from one level to the next by shoring up and strengthening our good inner qualities—in that sense they are opportunities.   

Instead of right and wrong or good and evil, we can see the world in a holistic way, embracing the whole—that is how the expansion of consciousness and elevation of awareness occurs. 

The bottom line message is that every darkness has a dawn and with each dawn our wisdom grows—or at least there is an opportunity for it to do so if you can view ALL in a HOLISTIC way instead of living the old paradigm, which is based on (good/evil, right/wrong) separation. 

See you tomorrow…

I’ve had a bit of a challenge lately with the huge disturbance in the force-field around where I currently reside. And a few other minor “issues with my issues” lately and today’s I-CHING toss results in a confirmation or validation of what I’m internally feeling—that progress has been made. What about you? What’s the guidance and prediction for you at the exact hour and day that you read this post?

As I look at the image for this Kua, it appears as if the individual is holding a pose, applying focus and feeling satisfied about it based on the expression on the face.   And so it’s about inner stuff here too; see the eyes are closed?

PREDICTION:  Where life has been complicated or intense lately, if there has been an effort to hold a particular pose or focus—perhaps to apply a certain set of principles—progress has been made and advancement has occurred.  Or it will today if it hasn’t yet!

As with any Hatha Yoga posture, the strength-building occurs at the core, based on the extent of the hold. (My apologies to any Hatha Yoga instructors out there for that awkward sentence.)

This image for Kua 35 reminds me about doing yoga today—the universe is giving a gentle nudge. I’ve been hiking/walking increased distances and not doing yoga; and today I need some stretching of the muscles and to practice my asanas (poses). I love the tree pose (Vrksasana)! If you’ve follow this blog lately, you know exactly why too.

So there in the paragraph above you can find another potential message for yourself—ever think of taking up  Hatha Yoga?

The common predictive meaning of this divination tool has to do with things “coming to light” –the ability to see what was not there before such as when the light is turned on inside a darkened room or better yet like when daybreak comes.

That makes me think of the times we used to take the pop-up camper and pull into a campground late at night. My daughters were children then and as soon as my husband got home from work on a Friday, I’d have the camper loaded and we’d be ready to go. Yet, we’d arrive at our destination after nightfall and not know how the place looked until daybreak when we could look out and see what was around us. Such fun!

So this Kua predicts such a thing for today—being able to see what was previously not able to be viewed. And this can be literal (physical) or metaphysical, such as a new awareness “dawning”.

And if turns out that the spotlight is upon you today—if it is YOU who is dawning upon others or if you suddenly find that spotlight on you, there is no concern if you’ve been true to yourself and in integrity all along.

Another angle on the message of this Kua has to do with continuing application and effort just as before even once recognition has been received. Once we get the applause for any efforts, it is tempting to either slack off or to continue seeking the applause by continuing to try to impress others with our achievements. That, we can see, is an easy trap of the ego and a huge distraction that takes us off the path. So with this Kua today, we are given this subtle teaching and more to contemplate to see if it applies to our life in any way.

 So stay alert and don’t take a nap under a shade tree when you should be remaining aware of when it is time for your next move when the dawn happens.

Other divination keywords for today are advancement, gaining recognition, appreciation, achievements, acceleration, steady gains and of course, increased clarity and progress.

So like the tree stay grounded! In divine timing, I came upon a t-shirt that my sister gifted to me many years ago. In fact, so long ago that I forgot that I had it! She must have recognized my love for trees from so many years ago by selecting this t-shirt as a gift for me. And written upon the shirt under a beautiful image of the tree are these words…

Advice from a Tree

Stand tall and proud ♥ Sink your roots into the earth ♥ Be content with your natural beauty ♥ Go out on a limb ♥ Drink plenty of water ♥ Remember your roots ♥ Enjoy the view!

Until next time,  hold your pose, keep your balance, get ready to welcome October 2011 and remain  joyful…  

Sometimes it isn’t easy to find it, but in the process of sharing… well, maybe it will be helpful to someone.  Maybe something you can relate to in your own life and if nothing else–even if you find no wisdom here–perhaps you will find some things you can relate to which help you feel less alone.

Maybe you can make a connection here for a purpose that is useful for you… this is my wish and intention.  Please read on and see what you make of this as it applies or can relate in some way to your own life.  These are thoughts for consideration, offered with L.O.V.E as MJ would say to make the world a better place, as he says.

Baghdad Bombing

It’s been like a war zone around here since transiting Mars has been approaching it’s return to my birth Mars—talk about shock and awe! Like Bush bombing Baghdad and shake, rattle and roll, the bulldozers and earth moving equipment sounds and wounds to Mother Earth have rocked my inner world! I admit to being rocked back on my heels with this bulldozing, tree murdering, earth ripping event.

My ego has been having a bit of a field day with it and then this morning I woke up knowing that it was time to surrender, to let go, to accept ‘what is’.

Mars from Hubble

After all, it is. My Mars is pretty passive by nature in the 12th house with Cancer on the Cusp and blended into natal Pluto and Saturn, it’s pretty intense on all those inner 12th house levels. My Mars can get riled up but when it does, that 12th house Pisces energy takes over and helps me to surrender. Call it letting go and letting god if you’d like; yet, I’ll have to call upon that surrendering process even more so as Mars will soon be squaring my natal nodes (yikes! – real karma producing stuff if I’m not careful) and then over my Ascendant! The last time Mars crossed over my Ascendant, I got myself in some trouble. My impulsive Mars signed up for Match.com and after realizing it was a big mistake (that took no time at all), I realize further that I’d wasted not only time, money and energy, but put myself through some hoops that I didn’t need to jump through. Yes, there was a lesson in all that and some inner realizations but this time as Mars crosses my ascendant I’m going to watch those impulses. Mars jumps before it thinks sometimes. True, sometimes in life we have to do that but let’s move on for now. We’re talking early November before all that happens anyway; but it’s a good example of how astrology can help one prepare.

Since I’ve stepped through the most recent time (the “revolting development”, as my mother used to say) rather publicly, I’m hoping maybe it will be some type of service to someone. What I mean is that things happen that frustrate the be’jezus out of us (as the saying goes) or trigger us, just as the neighbor who I call the muggle has done for me. That total disregard and disrespect for nature has been quite disturbing; yet what causes that? Now we get into the good stuff.

My attachment or my position to the idea that nature should be respected and my attachment to that delicate balance not being disturbed as it has been around here this past week—that’s what causes my suffering. And frankly my attachment to those trees just across the road, it was something like a privacy wall for me in a way and I loved watching the birds fly back and forth from the maples in the front yard to the maples across the street. So yeah, I cried like I did on the day they bombed Baghdad feeling helplessly frustrated and highly attached to my idea that what was happening should not be! There it is again, you see? The need to surrender to what is and then of course doing something about it if it’s possible and then taking some of that serenity prayer wisdom, “… the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”

This is how my new view looks with just 3 pieces of equipment instead of all that. But this is much like my new view instead of the forest and trees. Earth Movers are Ugly! (Obviously, resistance, judgment and opinion are still present. I'm a work in progress.)

Yeah, so there it is then and of course I’ve been resisting that process of surrender a bit and realizing it is only causing me pain to remain attached to my indignation and resistance to change. Now I have a cruddy empty football field /slash/ air strip of dead trees and destruction across from me with bulldozer machines and other earth rupturing equipment parked here and there in the chaos (they may as well be military tanks and dead bodies) instead of the beautiful forest that was there. What can I do about it? It happened before I realized what was going on—besides, I was frozen in “shock and awe”. So yeah, I’ve been resisting my new view and the sounds of the heavy equipment. Lovely that the landowner across the street,  who I call the muggle actually owns the heavy equipment company – set this guy loose with the entire Appalachians at his disposal and… no, let’s not go there. Anyway, I sat on my front porch the other day, when he was destroying the land on the other side of his house and out of my direct view.  And while sipping my cup of Chi tea, I forced myself look at the view and find something positive about it. I could not! (Or maybe would not because I was still resisting the whole ‘what is’ thing.) I told myself you are going to sit here a minute and get used to it and find something to like about it! Nope, it wasn’t going to happen that day! Okay, I said to myself, then get in the car and go somewhere and we will try again tomorrow!

Each time I hear the earth mover out there as I’m typing this, I take a deep breath and surrender and I’ve had to do that a number of times already this morning and its only a bit past 10 AM as I write this. It will happen; I’m getting better and better at surrender. A person just has to get over the shock first, then the anger, then denial and then comes acceptance—I’m beginning that last stage of the grieving process.  This time it has been slower, maybe because is happened more suddenly and I wasn’t prepared.  Usually I surrender much quicker than this; I hope I can surrender much quicker at the time of my own death.  I’d like to think so because I’m already preparing!  Anyway…

Suffering a Loss? Here’s Help  to Get Over It!

Nobody likes sudden, dramatic loss or change of any kind, but that’s life. Life is always changing and it is the one thing we can count on and be sure of.  And yes, of course, in the grand scheme of things I realize that one football field sized loss of forest isn’t a big deal compared to things like human death/suffering.  I suppose most people would say the death of a human or loss of a home is much more of a loss then a bunch of trees, right?  It’s all relative; besides, I am using my own little drama here as a teaching example to use for any scale; or at least this is how its turning out.  And could I think of worse loss?  Totally, of course!  With Uranus transiting my 8th house, anything can happen and if there is an 8th house (death) mortality… let’s just say that I’m happy that my family is in tact.  (My mother crossed just before last christmas when Uranus first entered my 8th house.)  But IF I had to suffer a sudden loss, best it be the trees that I’m attached to rather than a family member.  So the universe is taking it really easy on me in comparison, right?  So now the loss of trees (as compared to the loss of a family member) doesn’t seem so bad and that is the technique that the Dalai Lama uses–to think of how it could be worse and then to look at what is and it does not seem so bad.  You’ve got to love those Buddhists don’t ya’?!  It’s all relative is what they say.

I saw an image of the Dalai Lama this morning on my Facebook timeline. He’s my hero; look at how he has surrendered his anger to what the Chinese have done to Tibet. He is always teaching the Tibetan people about the poison of anger and has loving compassion for the China. And I’m sure he’s had to forgive the rest of the world too when he asked for help and none (or very little support) came.

So whatever loss you may have currently or disappointment or fear or anger—let go. We humans seem to have the need to grieve the loss and then accept and reach for the Sun–for the enlightenment that experience provides for us and for others.

Projection?

 I mentioned this to a Facebook friend yesterday–it’s something else that helps.  There is a possibility–and I’m sure I suppressed this deeply if it happened–that maybe I was responsible for destroying a segment of Mother Earth or deforestation from a previous life or another time, who knows?  We will, as humans, often project onto others things that we ourselves are guilty for but cannot admit to ourselves.   And we project onto others our own guilt or self-anger.  Either way the pain comes up and we either release it or create further karma.

So, all I’m saying is that if I can imagine how I might (just might) be guilty of what I dislike the muggle for (in this case, the current destruction of trees and tearing into Mother Earth, destroying animal’s homes)… if I can just imagine how I maybe could have at some time been so thoughtless and egocentric myself,  then it makes it easier for me to release my attachments and anger.  It’s a method that helps one let go of judgment, thus releasing attachment, thus ending suffering.  

Karma?

Another thought I want to add is about karma.

Last night I remembered about this and thought maybe I have tree karma since this seems to happen to me time and again–where I go, trees seem to be massacred.

Honestly, I am still sorrowful over the evergreen outside my bedroom window that was murdered by the landlord–a beautiful hemlock pine.  Okay, okay–shouldn’t have mentioned that… starting to get emotional again. And as if to punctuate the end of that sentence, I hear the slamming down of the dump truck which sounds like it’s in my living room!  With the trees being gone now, there is nothing to buffer the noise.   Geeze!  Deep breath, letting go… I surrender while trying to bless the muggle for giving me such excellent  opportunities to practice letting go. 

You know the kind of tree you sometimes see on christmas cards with snow-covered branches?  The image to the right  isn’t her (my old hemlock friend); she was actually bigger and more beautiful.

Anyway, when something happens, maybe it is karma?  We don’t always know for sure, but if we accept it and don’t become angry or blame and all those things, then we don’t create additional karma or future further karma–see what I mean?  So letting go is for our great benefit.

If we say something like, “ Alright I accept this as it is without anger or frustration or disappointment, this releases me from the need to call in or create  further future experiences of this nature”, it  is another way of  letting go and surrendering.  And as sure as life, we call things back again and again until we’re sure we’ve got it right–and then we recognize it and say, Okay I now know how to handle this. 

I let go, I surrender, with ♥  L.O.V.E. ♥, with ♥ L.O.V.E.♥, with ♥ L.O.V.E.♥

and with Courage moment-by-moment as long as it takes for myself and for all sentient beings to be free from all suffering.  Soha.

 

I and earth mother herself are trying now to heal. The animals have gone away higher into the mountainsides, a neighboring farmer said with glee that because of the neighbor who is destroying the forest that he’s only seen a few deer—he was very happy about that and I really had to turn away or he would see my near-tear expression. I do wonder though, this particular neighbor was drunk as he could be when I stopped to speak with him; his property adjoins the nature destroyer muggle’s land. Maybe he was trying to find something positive to say—the deer are not eating his garden now. But later I thought how he, too,  must be affected by the noise and destruction, but perhaps not fully conscious of it.  He was certainly drunk enough not to be feeling any pain; perhaps he was trying to bury it without knowing where it came from. One can speculate (without projection) and through empathy reach that conclusion.

It is quiet out there today—the machines are not moving. I’m grateful. I am going to do an I-CHING toss in a moment to ask for guidance about all this. Meanwhile, knowing that there are some readers who will stumble upon this blog or the others who are regular email subscribers to it, I wanted to share something today. I know there are still some who believe that Michael Jackson was a drug using child molester—not true! The trial starts today for MJ’s physician and there will be more lies about Michael Jackson, but I wanted say that he was a very sensitive soul who loved nature as I do. Here are a few of his words and a clip of a rehearsal for the concert called THIS IS IT. This is the clip of EARTH SONG followed by a meeting/gathering with the members of the team for the tour. Below that, a picture of Michael; he said that he used to write his music while sitting up in a tree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eigNnzAM3L8&feature=player_embedded

Michael Jackson’s words…spoken in his soft voice,

“I RESPECT THE SECRETS AND MAGIC OF NATURE. THAT’S WHY IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY WHEN I SEE THESE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING. THAT EVERY SECOND, I HEAR, THE SIZE OF A FOOTBALL FIELD IS TORN DOWN IN THE AMAZON. I MEAN THAT KIND OF STUFF REALLY BOTHERS ME. THAT’S WHY I WRITE THESE KINDS OF SONGS, YOU KNOW. IT GIVES SOME SENSE OF AWARENESS AND AWAKENING AND HOPE TO PEOPLE. I LOVE, I LOVE, THE PLANET. ♥I LOVE TREES♥. I HAVE A THING FOR TREES AND THE COLORS AND THE CHANGING OF THE LEAVES. I LOVE IT. AND I RESPECT THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.”

So now back to the regularly scheduled program which is the I-CHING coin toss to bring forth the cosmic communiqué for the day.

Limitation! Kua 60 and what I get from this right away is about cultivating patience.

Wow, and the moment I write this, I am recalling a channeling that I did many, many Moons ago.

It was about the Earth and how many times it has been destroyed—but it wasn’t a message of sorrow or sadness but one that felt like “Don’t worry about it.”  No, let me explain.  Don’t worry about it does not mean to mistreat the earth, it was a feeling much vaster than words.  It was like the cosmic feeling of the death of a star and the birth of a star happening over and over throughout eternity.  Like that.  Much different from what it may sound like or seem at first–these things are not easy to put into 3rd dimensional words.  Anyway…

Yes, so this can help with patience cultivation. It hints to the illusionary world of form which is Earth… matter, form… just as we are. We too have left our bodies and been reborn and the spirit of the Earth is the same. I know how “out there” this may sound to some readers, but maybe the vibration coming through the words on the screen will hit your soul and some level of consciousness will understand… remember.

So, this is comforting to me today.

Let us see what else we can pull from this Kua 60 for readers….

 Meanwhile, I have the movie DVD of THIS IS IT playing softly on the living room TV as I listen from the den. I like the word den as it makes me think of a hibernating bear den—cozy, comfy and in winter, warm. (I have a fireplace in my den here.)

Sorry about that—seem to have drifted off there. Back to Kua 60, Limitation.

I suppose if we think about life being in any way limited it will cause pain and we should remember that we live in an unlimited universe! How’s that for a soothing message?

Ma Deva Padma says (about this Kua) that nature imposes limits on all things, causing energy to build up from within. In fact, without limitations it is impossible to maximize our potential. So here we could see, going deeper, the illusion of the whole system. Yet the illusion is motivating or energy moving or creative in many ways. (Example:  Because of the trauma with Earth Mother this past week, I am now thinking deeply about writing a story, a book, about the issues which I’ve been blogging the past several days.  Another example is that I love Earth Lover’s a lot more and am even more grateful for National Parks and the acres of forest that has NOT been mutilated. So, you get the idea, right?)

Limitations, although an illusion, can feel frustrating but they do help us grow and become productive, creative, and even strengthen us, our resolve, our love. So, in that way, like I said, motivating. We really should try to see the whole picture in these ways.

So let’s say that in some way in your life you are feeling frustrated about something. We should not allow it to become immobilizing; we can, instead, use the frustration and actually be creative with it or allow new appreciations. That’s the point, you see?

We just have to remember that reality is not real—sounds like a contradiction, I know. But even death isn’t real; almost all of my readers know that, accept it. Energy just changes form but nothing ever actually “dies”. Not people, not trees, not animals, not flowers…. Consciousness will re-create! And consciousness never dies.

An alternative message of today’s Kua is that practice makes perfect—never give up.

And of course, always cultivate patience in the process. Oh, and here I am thinking of MJ again who seemed to often say the words “with L.O.V.E.” (spelling out the words) at the end of his sentence when he spoke.

The message also is about moderation—as in, instead of killing every tree on your property, do selective cutting! In order to achieve this level of consciousness, one must have ideals and ethics rooted in respect for nature which guide the boundaries of behavior. That’s all I’m sayen’.