In the dark of the year

I endeavour to conduct my professional life in a way that’s in keeping with my values of respecting the time, energy and intelligence of my clients as well as a belief that what we practice in the world will return to us threefold. This is called the ‘law of threefold return’.

Experience tells me that word of mouth is the best form of publicity for the sorts of services I offer. If my clients value the service I provide, they talk about it to their friends, family and colleagues. I have always believed that the best form of promotion is the recommendation of a person who has had first-hand experience - especially when it comes to something as personal as counseling and coaching and readings.

No junk-mail from me!
What this means to you is that I deliberately avoid bombarding you with advertising and promotions, reserving gently informative emails for the rare occasions when I have a special offer. Instead, I try to remain true to the same spirit of service that drives my practice, by posting my blog and hoping that the subjects I write about will be of use to my clientele, past, present and future. Further, I hope that the blog will keep you thinking about your emotional and spiritual health, and of course that you will think of me when and if you decide that you would like some professional support.

It’s getting darker out there
Which leads me to the ‘dark of the year’ which is already upon us. This is the time of year when we become more ‘inner’, and paradoxically, when we are often the most busy in our whirlwind outer lives. In honour of your ‘inner self’, I encourage you to plan some time during the dark of the year to slow down and shine some light on the places in your soul that need a little gentle attention, or even a major clear-out.

A better world is on the horizon
I am feeling encouraged by the outcome of the US presidential election because I think that it represents a freedom cry that will rally those of us who are weary of our current dysfunctional global systems and give us hope that we can actually change things for the better. There are those who say that this present time is similar to the 60’s with Martin Luther King and the huge levels of social change afoot at that time, but I believe that we have come even further than that, and that we are within sight of the land of which he dreamed. Not that we’re there yet, but we have it within our scope!

To get to our long-dreamed-of place of equality, peace and prosperity for all, we are each going to have to reach deep within our souls, encourage our best selves to come out, and make our own unique contributions. Now is not the time for the sort of cynicism that protects us from disappointment, no matter how many times we’ve had our hopes dashed in the past. We’re in the final lap of the race and we need to harness what’s left of our courage and pull out all the stops.

I believe that every single one of us makes a difference and that the time to make that difference is NOW. There’s a wonderful book by Dr. Seuss, his last one, called Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, given to me by a very dear friend many years ago. I find it a constant source of inspiration. It talks about the courage it takes to walk into the unknown. It says the following about being scared to go on:

But on you will go
though the weather be foul.
On you will go
though your enemies prowl.
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl.
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

At the end of the book, he asks if we will succeed and his answer is:

Yes! You will indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

Take the plunge!
What mountain do you need to move? Or do you have a dear friend, or colleague who is struggling with mountain ‘removal’? I will shamelessly promote myself here as a great person to help with mountains - when you get to the point of wanting to identify yours, or if you’re actually ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work - I’m your woman! So today I’d like to leave you with that thought... Make a plan, take a step, commit yourself. We can move mountains, but it takes personal courage. We can do it!

Love is all there is

Channeled Message Number 7

Dear Ones:

When you seek the divine and your connection with the divine, you are seeking to participate in the love that makes up the fabric of the Universe. At present, many people on Earth are experimenting with meditation for the first time, or are returning to it after a time away. Many of you want to know what to look for that will tell you when it’s ‘working’, or how you will know that you have been successful.

Let us explain to you that there is not just one ‘right’ way to meditate. Meditation is a practice which allows you to shift your focus from the hubbub of your everyday life to the inner quiet that is the centre of your being. This is a place where you ‘just are’, a place of ‘allowing’. When you connect with this place, you come into contact with the part of yourself which has no beginning or end, that has no sense of time at all. It is in perfect balance. It does not need, desire or promote. It allows you to attend to your ‘being-ness’.

All of your spiritual belief systems have words for this, including suggested practices, histories and wisdom, accumulated over time and designed to help believers to connect to themselves and to the abundant love that makes up the Universe. Keep in mind that these are aids and not prescriptions. Use them if they help but don’t feel that you are meditating incorrectly if your way is different.

You will know you are doing what you need to when the state you reach helps you to feel loved and loving. If quieting your worldly inner chatter is difficult, as it often is in your busy world, you can try giving the love that you would like to feel. Participate.

Many of you can reach a state similar to that of ‘meditation’ when you do things that make you happy and use your talents. This could be playing an instrument, being in nature as you are when taking a walk or gardening. It might be dancing, painting, flying or even cooking. If this is done in a group, you might experience the delight of being in harmony with others - or you might be alone. It doesn’t have to be a life-altering feat, but this state of equilibrium will alter your life.

Having said that you can be doing something, we caution here that it is not necessary for you to do anything. When you pass a person on the street, or sit beside them on the bus, someone who catches your attention, for whatever reason, send that person a loving thought. Appreciate them as fellow beings in the Universe. Know that they too have their part to play and that they play it to the best of their ability at any given time, just as you do.

When your heart and mind are full of loving thoughts, peace and appreciation, there is little if any room left over for fear. Fear is what causes constriction of your energy flow, hoarding of resources, suspicion of motives and the collapse of economies. It makes you want to run faster, do more, have more and share less. It makes you nervous, irritable and out of sorts, and more likely to look for solutions outside of yourself. In this fearful state, you tend to forget that you have your own answers to your own questions and that you don’t need to give your power away or make deals to get what you need - which is love.

You could call ‘loving’ a state of grace, which is essentially what you enter when you’re meditating. No matter whether you’re in a taxi cab or a Buddhist temple, when you’re in a state of grace, you’ll find it easier to make sense of life, love yourself and everyone else, and have enough time and resources to do what needs to be done.

Peace

Here's a link to a weekly photo by Neil Wakeling in Scotland. I just love his photos and he always has an inspiring quote to go with the picture.