Ok, this is a phrase that popped into my head a couple months ago… and it has made it’s return a couple times.  This could be a song, this could be a poem, I’m not sure.  It is incomplete, but it reminds me of a rock song chorus that someone like Liam Gallagher of Oasis might sing.

It kind of has this positive inspiring message to it.  Maybe the rest of the song could be Crowdsourced, here.  Ok…

♪♫ ”Shake Loose the Lazy from your Soul.

Shake it loose and take back control.

Shake loose the lazy from from you soul.

Shake it loose.  Shake. Loooooooose…. ♪ ♫”

This is all that has popped to me, so far. Maybe you are supposed to contribute to words to it, and make it a complete song.

Maybe it is just a short poem?

For now, it is what it is. And I release it into the universe!

Much Love and Light-

Travis Wright

By Angela Abbette
The view of health by Native Americans is both all encompassing and thoughtful. Traditional medicine can play a more stoic and relentlessly lend to the scientific approach, but Native Americans have a more holistic outlook.

Health is viewed as a balance or harmony of mind and body. The goal is to be in harmony with all things, which means first being in harmony with oneself. Harmony is thought to neutralize problems and help one’s life to become beautiful. Good health makes it easier for all people to do their part in the universe, to serve others, and to fulfill their personal life visions.

Life is considered in all of its dualities: winter/summer, cold/hot, day/night, mind/body, spiritual/physical, work/play, and so on. Native people believe that the two sides of everything deserve equal attention and that both should be nourished with love. A healthy person who is walking in balance is energized and alert, and even in the presence of disease will still feel alive and fulfilled.

Traditionally, Native American people lived long, happy, healthy, and balanced lives. They did everything to respect and honor Mother Earth and the Great Spirit. They ate wholesome food and considered all food to be blessed as a gift of life from the Creator. They got up with the sun and went to bed with the moon. Exercise was a natural part of their lives, integrated into daily activities. These good health habits, a sense of joy, and a purpose in life are key factors for living into old age.

Illness occurs when balance is disrupted. It is believed that most illness begins in the head and that people must get rid of ideas that predispose illness. If the mind is negative, the body will be drained, making it more vulnerable. When people open up to the universe, learn what is good for them, and find ways to be happier, they can begin to work toward a longer and healthier life. Many ancient people had ways to get rid of this negativity. The Mayan people of Mexico would stand in a stream of flowing water and talk out all their angers, fears, sorrows, or troubles over the water. The moving water would take all the emotions they poured out of themselves into the current and away from them.

Role of Medicine Women and Men

Although they are the primary care providers in many places, the responsibilities of medicine women and men go beyond healing illness. They also evaluate advice and treatment given by other health care practitioners. They often have a strong influence on the acceptance or rejection of the treatment plans from conventional health care providers. They may also function as tribal social mediators, dispensing traditional wisdom and suggesting action. Medicine people reaffirm and strengthen tribal identity through the recounting of myth and song. They have an extensive knowledge of their communities and of family relationships and interaction. They are the formulators and teachers of the old religion and creators of the new. Medicine people are figures of authority and awe as instruments of the Creator.

In conclusion, keeping all things in balance and retrospect is a simple foundation and simple approach to maintaining good health and a healthy life.

I had lost course,\n\nbut now I have found -\n\nonce again-\n\nmy metaphysical oarsman.\n\nReady to paddle,\n\nfull steam ahead,\n\ninto the river of life-\n\nthe stream of existence,\n\nand the ocean of the universe.\n\nRow with me,\n\nas together….\n\nWe unlock the secrets;\n\nOf Being.\n\n\n

image credit: allposters.com

Nature's Balance

Being in balance in all areas of our lives is a perennial topic for discussion and contemplation. Often we may find ourselves over-committed, under-rested, over-fed yet under nourished, generally or very specifically unhealthy in some way and the key to clarity and wellness turns out to be that magic word – Balance.

Finding balance in a world where we are either pushed or pushing to be performing at our peak 24/7 365 can be a major challenge for many of us. It’s important to Take Back Control of your own life. To remember that you and you alone are responsible for creating your own reality and that you have the power to change what isn’t working can be the greatest gift you will ever give to yourself.

Start right now-are you willing-right now- in this moment – to take a time out? – To come back into balance? We are taught by some of the greatest of teachers to literally “stop the world”. It is our world, our creation, and we can and do have the power to stop everything right here, right now and ask some soul searching and very serious questions.

The first question you might ask yourself is this – When was the last time you took some time just for you? Not just a day off from work but some serious time out – 3 – 4 days, maybe even a week or two that is totally and completely unscheduled – time to reflect, to journal, to meditate, to rest, to review your life, to see where you are and where you’ve come from, to decide, really consciously decide who you are and who you want to be, to see where you are and where you really want to be going.

When we make the choice, the conscious decision, to stop, to take a time out and to deeply contemplate our passions, our purpose, our soul’s journey, we may find that there are some changes that need to happen and soon. Change can be very frightening for people and yet it’s the most natural thing in the world. Nature herself is a perfect example of the ever changing nature of our universe. All too often we busy ourselves to the point of exhaustion and collapse, merely because we are afraid to face the necessary steps that we need to take in order to change our lives, change our world and bring things back into a place of balance.

In the Peruvian Tradition of the High Andes we are taught about a concept known as Ayni. Ayni is a way of living in the world that is in balance with our own nature as well as with the natural world around us and all of our relations. The native peoples believe that we are all connected and strive to live lives of balance and communion with all that is.

A simple way to start the process of breaking through to balance is to track for yourself your own natural energy rhythms. Using a calendar and a scale from 1 – 10, each day mark a number for that day that is a measure of your energy level,. For example today you might be feeling very lethargic, not really wanting to do anything – maybe today is a 2 day. Tomorrow you might get up and feel all full of “piss and vinegar” as my mom would say – ready to take on the world and accomplish mighty feats – tomorrow might be a 10 day. When you have tracked your own energy for a month or so (at least 30 days is recommended) you then have a picture of your own flow – perhaps during the full moon you are totally charged, later in the month might be your down time. Chart the flow and begin to match your commitments and activities to your own true nature. Don’t say yes to that party when you know if falls on a day when you will likely be in the 2 zone. Go for it and book three appointments with clients and host a dinner party on your usual 10 day. Just bringing some consciousness to your own energy will start you on the road to balance. Make it a prayer – Lord may I bring a little more balance to my life and to the world today and may I begin with me.

Amethyst Wyldfyre, MsD Is a Multidimensional Metaphysician with a thriving practice in the Merrimack Valley of Southern NH – she can be reached through her website at http://www.amethystwyldfyre.com

The New Year is always a special and magical time – a time to reflect on the joys, blessings, challenges that have been surmounted and opportunities that have been taken in the previous year, a time of celebration of the year past. It is also a time of freshness, newness, a time of contemplating possibilities and your own capacity to create and to change.

In our culture we celebrate New Year’s on January 1st – but did you know that this was an arbitrary date picked by the Church when the Gregorian calendar was adopted and that traditionally the New Year was celebrated in the springtime when the time for planting new seeds was upon the people?

Is it time perhaps for you to think about the seeds you’d like to plant for the coming year? Often we create a New Year’s Resolution list, setting out the goals for ourselves and our becoming at a time when the energy is most supportive for the work that goes along with making change in our lives. Here in New England we are truly blessed with a noticeable difference in the seasons. When the winter arrives, we are invited to move inward – in to our homes, in to ourselves, in to our hearts, in to that place of stillness where we can connect most deeply with our Source.

All change is initiated from within. By going within and consciously choosing to make a connection to our Spirit, to the Source of our Being we are granted the gift of insight. Here, deep within, we have the opportunity to see for ourselves who we are and where we are going. Here too we can see, with compassion and great self-love, those areas of our lives that are not in alignment with our true self.

When we allow ourselves the time and the space to contemplate deeply who we are, to assess where our way of living is out of alignment with our truth, we are energized to make the necessary shifts in our patterns of behavior that will allow us to more fully express our deepest essence.

Take some time in your sacred space today. Sit with a journal and some meditative music to set the mood. Shut off the outside world (yes this means the cell phone, the regular phone, the computer, the TV!) and withdraw your senses. Come into your center, to that place of stillness where there is nothing but the breath. Let yourself be nurtured here. Don’t strive to find out anything. Just be. Allow the nature of who you are, of your essence, to arise naturally and beautifully in the moment. Give yourself the gift of silence. What you find there may surprise and delight you!

Spring is just around the corner – only a few days away in fact – all of the ruminating, mulching, deep inner work and energetic shifts of the winter have produced fertile ground within which our seeds may be planted. Now it’s time to choose – which seeds do you desire to plant, cultivate, fertilize, tend and grow in the coming months? What harvest are you visualizing for yourself?

Enjoy the newness of this time and be grateful for your own gifts, gifts that the world is waiting to receive from you when you are ready to emerge from your cocoon to share. Take a deep breath and enjoy just being. May peace and harmony be with you in this time of reflection and resolution and may you find joy on the journey of Living Your Spirited Life!

What is Karma? How does it work? Traditionally, it is taught that karma is simply the law of cause and effect, the fruits of past actions and little more is said about its mechanism and workings than that. Subsequently, much misunderstanding and vagueness has arisen and continues to be perpetuated.

It seems very difficult for us to free ourselves of the idea of karma as a cosmic justice system. In fact, karma has nothing to do with justice and retribution and does not at all work like this.

What I’ve come to understand through my own spiritual process and work as a healer, is that karma is created when, and wherever, we have created separation in ourselves. Separation is created when we have had any kind of experience where our feeling response was overwhelming, traumatic, painful – or something that we simply didn’t want to feel,  and so separated from ourselves ‘in’ the experience.

With each creation of separation, there is an accompanying sense of defeat.

We invariably have experienced these things at a very early age or in other lifetimes. In healing work, I consistently find for example, that when we have died suddenly, traumatically, in heightened emotion like fear or rage, that the feeling experience of the event is deeply trapped in the emotional body. The emotional and other subtle bodies imprint on the cellular memory of the physical body itself. This is a more extreme example, but common.

The same principle holds true for the whole spectrum of less intense feeling experiences regardless of when in the past they occurred. There are any number of ways in which feelings – at the time of the experience – are too much to bear or undesirable. If the feelings of an experience are too overwhelming for us, we separate ourselves from them in order to not have to feel them. In order to do that, we have to stop them moving.  What we do in effect is to abandon our ’self’ that is in the moment of the experience and cut off from it, leaving it there.

So we can say that, karma is the sum of all of our past that we couldn’t or wouldn’t be present to at the time of the experience, still held within us as unresolved and unhealed as separation. To recap: separation is created whenever we are unable to be fully present to our experience in the moment, and deny our feelings.  Separation and denial push the feelings of the experience into sub-consciousness. When we aren’t present in the moment, we are not ‘conscious’.

At the mental level, an additional scenario occurs: we produce and wrap ’scripts’ around the denied feelings and separation. Scripts are the stories we run in our minds about the experience, often to justify the denial and separation, and then maintain it.

Invariably, the stories revolve around some form of judgment, of ourselves, the other or both. Scripts are created in layers each time the feelings are triggered and denied. New layers of the script are created to protect the wounds from being felt, and to divert any possibility of exposing the denial. They therefore also maintain separation.

These scripts become the subconscious belief systems and patterns through which we experience and live our lives. In our identification with thought and emotion we come to believe this as who we are and how reality is. We then act and behave as if these scripts are true and real. In this light everything we believe is conditioned by past experience held in the subconscious mind.

Our actions are dictated by our beliefs and feelings. Because the source of their motivation is held in sub-consciousness, most of our behavior is enacted without our conscious awareness of the true reason behind it.

Let us look at an example of a script that many of us share. The script is “I’m not good enough”. In an everyday situation, someone is saying something complementary about us and inside us a small voice is refuting or diminishing everything they are saying as they say it. Or someone offers to do something for us and we say “oh no it’s fine I can manage” even though we really do need help.

These are examples of the influence a script might have on us. Underneath the script are the feelings we are holding.  The script is formed in response to these feelings. In the layers of consciousness above the feelings and the scripts are the stories our mind creates about the experience of the moment.

It is easy to see then why self inquiry is so valuable as a spiritual practice. To pursue it relentlessly requires great courage and determination as it ultimately reveals ‘not knowing’ which is uncomfortable in the extreme to the egoic mind.

Our karma, then, exists in different layers of our subconscious. In our subconscious are the feelings, and the woundings of separations, caused and held by their denials, and the layers of scripts arising from them. The interwoven patterns of these held feelings and their stories, is what makes up the greater part of our ego personality.  It is in the process of identification with these subconscious patterns, their desires, drives and beliefs, that we largely construct our identity. The source of this identification being subconscious, we have no awareness of our personality’s true nature and construction. We simply believe the way we are, is ‘just the way we are’. It’s also important to make clear that all of this is actually the past, trapped within us, replaying itself over and over again, seeking release. All of this exists in our internal reality.

Karma = Separation = Past Feeling/Wounds + Their Scripts & Stories : Held Subconscious by Denial

Ray Baskerville is a healer, meditation teacher, certified hypnotherapist, yogi and proud father. He has worked as a healer, taught meditation and yoga worldwide. Ray is also the creator and editor of lifedivine.net an online magazine for <a target=”_new” href=”http://www.lifedivine.net/”>yoga, meditation, spirituality and personal development</a>. Please visit for more free quality articles like this.

For some reason, the thought “original sin” appeared in my mind a few days ago. Since I never think of sin, the mere thought of it was enough to get my attention.  Immediately after I became aware of the thought, a strong impulse of looking that word up in a dictionary followed.

I went to wikipedia (to look up “pecado”, spanish word for “sin”) and I found a few definitions.

But here’s what really got my attention: according to Wikipedia, the Aramaic word for “sin” had the connotation of… oblivion!

According to Webster’s Dictionary, “oblivion” means the state of being completely forgotten. Could that be it?

And if it were so… the original sin would be “what we first forgot”…

What did we forget?

Did we forget that we are not separated from God?  Did we forget that the Divine is within? Did we forget that we are all One?

What if the symbolic meaning of baptism was washing away the illusion of separation so that we can experience Oneness?

This is not a treaty on Theology, and I am not claiming that the definition of sin that I am now using is accurate or even correct.  Beyond the academic truth of this, which may be debatable, I feel there is truth in that there is something we, the citizens of the world, have completely forgotten.

And maybe our existence is about awakening this very ancient memory: We are all One.

Wow…  I can’t begin to tell you how liberating this feels for me.

“Father, forgive me for I have sinned” would  become “Father forgive me for I have forgotten”…  This change of words connects me with what I feel is the spirit of Confession…

“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death” would become “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us who have forgotten, now and at the hour of our death”…

It’s beautiful!

Make Sure You Stop to Notice the Blessings All Around You! Original Photo @2006 by Amethyst Wyldfyre

Blessings like butterflies come to us and often catch us unawares. How many times have we heard the words “Count your blessings!”? When we take the time to become consciously aware, to slow down, to breathe, we are able to make the space in our lives to truly acknowledge all the many ways that we have been blessed. As we count our blessings we automatically create an energetic link to Spirit which activates an infinite feedback loop that garners us greater and greater blessings to count.

The Universe is filled with raw un-manifest energy, where our attention flows that is where the energy goes. This concept called Ma Te Ah in Hawaiian is a wonderful idea to hold in our consciousness. When we think about our blessings we create an incredibly powerful force field or strange attractor as it’s known in physics that begins to both spin and magnetize more of the same to us.

Along with counting our blessings we also have the opportunity to take a moment to express our gratitude to the Universe for each and every one of them. Gratitude is the currency of the Universe and of course currency is gratitude in action. When we draw upon these powerful forces of good, naturally more good will manifest in our lives, in many forms, including financially.

As we garner greater and greater good it becomes vitally important to maintain the flow of acknowledgment for our blessings and gratitude for what we have received. It is wise to have awareness that what we have to work with is to be used and stewarded wisely for the greatest good of all concerned and not squandered haphazardly to satisfy the whims of the ego. Humility and an understanding that we have the capacity to harness these forces through the grace of Spirit is important to cultivate as is a state of balance in how we manage our resources.

Take some quiet time in your own sacred space today and let us begin to count the many blessings that we possess. Perhaps you will start your list with the physical: Are you healthy? Do you have a warm snug home? Are you well fed and clothed?  When you have exhausted all that you are blessed with in a physical way then move on to your emotional world: Are you loved? Are you surrounded by a supportive group of friends? Are you involved and connected with your family? Is your neighborhood or community a breeding ground for goodness? Moving on from there take a mental inventory: Are you well educated? Do you have access to books, literature, theatre, art, culture, and music? Are your colleagues mentally stimulating? Does your work enrich and excite your mind? Finally let’s look at the Spiritual: Do you have freedom to worship as you choose? Are you intimately connected with your inner world? Does Spirit speak to or through you? Are you free to share what you believe with others?

During the holiday season our many blessings become more obvious as we create outward displays of our celebration of the season and exchange gifts and spend time with our family and friends. It’s vitally important to remember that this time is a time for celebrating and sharing with others and that material goods are meant to be a small symbol of the deeper underlying energy of our feelings for each other.  Now that the season has passed and the focus has shifted we sometimes need to be reminded that these blessings are still here with us!

Blessings come in many shapes and sizes, sometimes those that appear to be the smallest in the end turn out to be the most valuable. The blessing of an open heart, a compassionate ear, the hug of a small child, a sunshiny day, a beautiful flower, a delicious ripe tomato, the mundane, everyday tasks that make up a life like fresh sheets on the bed, hot tea on a cold afternoon – everywhere you look there’s another blessing. By truly choosing to pay attention, to attend to that with which you are blessed you will discover a whole host of blessings surrounding you each and every moment. So the next time you feel down, sad, angry, lost, hurt, or fearful take a moment, take a breath, count five things right in front of you that are blessings and watch yourself become lighter and clearer before you know it! Thank you for blessing me with your attention today. The light within me recognizes the light within you and we are one – and blessed!

Amethyst Wyldfyre is a multidimensional shaman, healer, artist, author, blogger, performer, speaker and psychic who lives and works in the Merrimack Valley of NH.  She can be reached through her website or blog for more information.  She can also be followed on Twitter at @AWyldfyre.  (This article was originally published online by Aspire Magazine Dec./Jan. 2008)

Grandfather's Clock Stopped - It's always 6:05!

I‘ve been thinking and dreaming a lot lately about time – in the teachings of my medicine lineage we work in the North Direction with Hummingbird Medicine and Hummingbird teaches us about how to move back and forth through time and how to step outside of time.  The three areas that I’ve been pondering are Measurement, Management and Mastery.  We have organized our reality around the Gregorian Calendar for quite some time now – we measure time in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years that are not exactly aligned with our sweet Earth Mama’s cycles and rhythms.  Our bodies – natural extensions of the Earth – created from her elements – have their own internal clock – they know when to rise, when to rest, when to eat, when to go inward, when to act, when to be still.  We can actually bring the light of our conscious awareness to our own natural rhythms – track them and see how much alignment we’ve created in our outer world with our inner clock.   What if we consciously chose a more natural way of measuring – perhaps in alignment with the cycles of the moon, the earth’s rotation on it’s axis, the rotation around the sun – what would happen if we threw out the calendar all together – put the clocks and the watches in the trash and just tuned in to the rhythm that has rocked the cradles from the beginning?

Hatun Kinte - Sewa Kinte - Great Hummingbird - Teach Us To Move Through Time - Step Outside of Time - to Embark on Our Epic Journey

How about Managing Time – how often do you feel as if you are squeezed for time, pressured into moving at a pace that is just not who you are at your core, do you try to schedule every moment of your life – breaking up each precious moment of the day and allocating something to DO for yourself in those moments?  What if you took a different view of time – and realized that there is no race – there is no need to rush – there are no “dead”lines other than the ones you make for yourself.  Death is the BIG CLOCK that is ticking for everyone – notice we use the word “dead” in deadline – to put the pressure on – to bring on the fundamental fear that is at the core of our fear matrix – that we must “get it all done” before we run out of time!  What if instead of trying to manipulate, manage or manhandle time to suit your purposes, you instead allowed yourself to surrender to a larger view – a larger perspective of time and a larger perspective of life, death and the way the Universe actually works?

Mastery of Time is when you Re-member that this whole concept is MADE UP IN YOUR HEAD!  You get to decide – about everything!  You can, if you wish to expand your conscious awareness, begin to see how you can move through time, bend time, stretch time, move back in time, step forward in time, and even if you really wish to hone your skills step outside of time all together.  Time I have found, is highly elastic.  Sometimes I set an “appointment” for myself here in the 3D and discover (sometimes to my consternation when I’ve let myself re-attach to the collective notion of time) that I’m not going to be arriving at the appointed hour.  Some would say “I’m late!”  some actually do speak about themselves and say “I’m ALWAYS late!”  When we speak to ourselves in this way – of course we are – we create our own late!  Every TIME!  I have come to understand much better (I think that the 9/11/01 example was a wonderful clue for us to see) that there is Man Time and then there is DIVINE Time – In DIVINE Time – thousands of people who would normally have been to work “On TIME (in Man Time)” didn’t get there – and of course were spared from the experience.   When you become a Master of Time – you RE-Member that you are ALWAYS EXACTLY ON TIME!  Because the only place you can ever be is HERE, NOW.  Time (as is Death) is an illusion.  Being is the Truth.  BE – HERE – NOW.  Bring the fullness of your presence to this and every moment – let go of time and you will be immeasurably blessed by the river of life that is timeless.

Amethyst Wyldfyre is a multidimensional shaman, healer, artist, author, blogger, performer, speaker and psychic who lives and works in the Merrimack Valley of NH.  She can be reached through her website or blog for more information.  She can also be followed on Twitter at @AWyldfyre.

(An Excerpt from The Visionary Vibe Report from my own blog dated 12/15/08)

Stillness – cultivating stillness.  Being still even in the midst of much activity, even in the midst of major shifts and adjustments going on all around us, even in the midst of external crisis both large and small.  Breathing and being.  Breathing and being.  We are now called to still ourselves and to be the Eye again.  So much is being shifted and re-configured both externally and internally and we are being called to allow the “upstairs team” to work on us – helping us to heal and recharge from the work of the last year and to allow the clearing of the canvas as we look towards the new.

How can we best cultivate stillness?  Time in nature – watching and observing the moment by moment movement of the Earth.  Being in touch with the heartbeat of the Mother – the Schumann Resonance is a great start.  Can you go inward and focus?  I’ve posted here an audio meditation that will help you to connect to the deep feminine, the heart core of the Mother that is the place from which our ability to be still lies.  

Connecting With The HeartBeat of the Mother – Meditation

Sometimes (usually!) the biggest challenge to being in a state of stillness is our mental body!  Our mental body is highly enmeshed with the idea of time and is like a caged animal – pacing and fretting that there isn’t enough.  There isn’t enough time to get A B or C done, there isn’t enough resources to go around, there isn’t enough room for everyone,  these are some of the thought forms that our mental body sends through our minds that cause us to be continually in a fight or flight mode.  When we are in fight or flight mode – there is no way that we can be fully present to what is unfolding in the moment.  When we are in fight or flight – that pacing, frustrated, caged beast place -  we are very ineffective in what it is we wish to manifest and all of our creations are tinged with this energy.   When we are in fight or flight it can be very difficult to disengage too and to settle into the place where nature/Universe just brings us all we need synchronistically.   We are caught, trapped, emotionally and mentally either paralyzed or running in circles and not really getting anything accomplished at all other than raising our blood pressure and often “stirring the pot” and causing those around us to have the flight or fight response activated too!  Ultimately the fight or flight mode leaves is in a place where all we can concern ourselves with is survival – the impetus for this is the fear of death.

Cultivating a practice of coming into stillness at least once each day (more often is even more wonderful!) will allow your body/mind time to re-set and relax – and provides great benefits – physically, mentally and emotionally.  Be like the great trees – grow slowly – enjoy each unfolding moment – bring awareness and presence to your days.  Breathe, take time and make it your friend.  Make death your friend.  When you can befriend death you can bring meaning and purpose and presence to each and every moment – you can realize that you are eternal, immortal and everlasting at the core of your being and that your consciousness can never be extinguished.  From this mindset you begin to thrive in the world, you begin to truly step into your power and become eminently effective in the world.

Amethyst Wyldfyre is a multidimensional shaman, healer, artist, author, blogger, performer, speaker and psychic who lives and works in the Merrimack Valley of NH.  She can be reached through her website or blog for more information.  She can also be followed on Twitter at @AWyldfyre.

“In every one of us there is the yearning for life, for knowledge, for happiness.”
                                                      Swami Yatiswarananda, Meditation & Spiritual Life

Recently I heard, “When one lives with an open heart there is no need for protection.” This is a simple truth; it is on a Path to Light that we develop this ability of detachment from the energy, reactions and actions of others, as well as our self as defined by the ego. There are lessons along the way that assist in reaching this goal, one of which is discernment: ‘the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure’ or ‘the power to distinguish and select what is true’. Now, there’s the rub: what is true and real and how do we distinguish it?

We often look to our external environment to provide knowledge and happiness. Osho, in The Book of Secrets, says, “Whatever society has given can be taken away again…” This simple statement illustrates the transitory nature of possessions and culture as a means to happiness. A culture lasts only as long as it controls its members or holds that influence, in which case we give away our control to an entity other than our selves. When we think of knowledge, we usually think of it as coming from outside our self. In the age of the Internet, there is a particularly muddy situation as information comes at us so rapidly, yet with many caveats. We must consider who is promoting the information, who financed the research, and what is the purpose of disseminating the information. Whether it be possessions, culture or information, discernment is key in order to sift through this endless barrage.

When it comes to culture, the ‘con’ keeps us all believing in regulations and social manners that keep us in control. We can look at the history of organized religions and how they have risen and fallen throughout history. They have used knowledge as their power base, keeping the masses uneducated in order to maintain a façade of stability. To bring this closer to home, we can see the same thing with the current economic turmoil. In this case, the economic culture has brainwashed society into believing that ‘bigger is better’, promoting the worship of the almighty dollar—values monitored on the screens of the global markets. These are ‘cons’ of outrageous proportion that affect society in its entirety.

There are everyday smaller ‘cons’ in each of our lives, which are employed by the egocentric to manipulate and control, though these are not nearly as evident as those of organized religion and global finance.

I was social networking and received a couple of notes from a ‘self-help’ practitioner. The first two were misaddressed and indicated “how may I ‘serve’ you”. The one correctly addressed said, “What do you need me for; you have your own gig”. I cannot comment on the practice of this person or their ability to help others, but I use this incident to illustrate a point: what a person says to your face may not be what they say behind your back. This is not walking the walk or talking the talk; it is this sort of double-face that necessitates discernment.

There are those that see us as ‘marks’, offering the snake oil remedy, the quick fix; again, the ideology that purchase will buy happiness surfaces. At a health and wellness expo I attended, there was a doctor promoting a machine that costs thousands of dollars. We were discussing the science and research behind this product. He made a most interesting statement: “Say anything to get them in and make the sale.” Here, a person of knowledge and apparent cultural status was ‘buying’ into society’s acceptance of information manipulation in order to sustain the economy of greed and excess.

There are unnerving trends in the ‘self-help’ industry (which is what it has become); it is big business. Recently, I have seen seminars and products promoted as ‘recession insurance’ or ‘recession proof’. But in reality there is no insurance against recession. It is only our ability to deal with the repercussions that can be developed. There are those who play against our fears and insecurities for their own self benefit. Again, discernment is necessary in order to have ‘the ability to understand and discriminate between relations’.

Conscious awareness is necessary for discernment. This allows an ease in identifying those factors that require our attention. This is an individual process; that which works for one may not work for another. It is within that we find the answers, the knowledge and truth. It is here that we can tap into those concepts that resonate with our life’s purpose.

Conscious awareness can assist us in penetrating these façades by developing the ability to judge wisely and objectively, thereby revealing authenticity. This action requires an internal search for our own authenticity. When we discover the authentic self, when it is revealed, then whatever bombards our senses can be dealt with in a positive and constructive manner. I have been known to jump in where angels fear to tread. This has led to many wonderful experiences, each one of which I appreciate as a lesson. Some situations are repeated until the lesson has been fully realized. A simple truth evolves from the experience and can be utilized in a practical manner in other situations.

Life is a rollercoaster; without the ups, the downs have no meaning or reality. The reverse is also true: all is defined by its opposite. Upon accepting that life is full of opposites, these opposites lose their power, as they are non-reality, transitory and illusory.

Once there is a conscious awareness of the mind and its machinations, then we can begin the journey to our centre, our heart. There we can manifest a condition of understanding with complete honesty and detachment. This creates trust within our self. Once established, we can see the truth in others—a gift of discernment on a Path to Light.

©T.S. (Tim) White, 2008
All rights reserved.
www.TheSereneWay.com

(The top half of this post was originally published in December of 2007 on Applaud Magazine’s blog)

As is customary at this time of year we all take a few moments to say goodbye. Saying goodbye to the year past, saying goodbye to the frenzy of holiday preparation and celebration, saying goodbye to habits that no longer serve. As the year wound to a close I had to say goodbye to an old friend too. My labrador retriever – Blackjack was assisted to cross over last Thursday. Blackjack was what you’d call a “good old dog”. He was a loyal companion and friend, a good watch dog, a guardian and playmate for my son and a true and kind member of our family. At 17 1/2 he lived a long and mostly healthy life. He ran, jumped, played and kibbitzed right on up to 15.

Then he started to slow down a bit, he got a little grey around the edges, he lost his vision. Many people told me after he lost his ability to see that he should be put down but I refused to do that. He was still generally healthy, found his way around the house and the yard well enough and was an integral part of our family life. My boy James was insistent that he should live to die a natural death and so this was a most difficult rite of passage for him. In the last year I knew that time was short. Last Christmas Eve I didn’t think he’d make it through the night and I stayed up late opening sacred space and showing him where the rainbow bridge was. He surprised us all by staying for another whole year! Finally the end drew much nearer. He made it through this Christmas and then went rapidly down hill.

When he couldn’t get up anymore, stopped eating and drinking and had to be picked up to go outside we knew it was time. I opened sacred space before we left the house, called in all of the spirit guides, spirit animals and energies of light to make the way clear and obvious for his spirit, opened his chakras and showed him the rainbow bridge to the other side. It was a tough decision to make but the right thing to do. The vet (Dr. Stephen Frye, Clark Veterinary Hospital in Nashua) was incredibly compassionate, gentle and kind. He helped us to say goodbye in a way that was filled with dignity, grace and the ultimate kindness. Blackjack has already come to work with me in my medicine work, to dance in my dreams and will always be a guardian spirit and friend for my son and our family. While saying goodbye is never easy to do I’m incredibly grateful to Dr. Frye, to my husband Ross and to the lovely Marie Glover at Animal Heaven (in Hollis NH) who made this experience the best that it could be. Goodbye Blackjack and hello once more. May you journey joyfully to your home star and illuminate the path for those of us to follow. Your faithful friendship was a magical gift. With all our Love – Amethyst, Ross and James

December 28, 2008 – When I was contemplating what to write for One Consciousness today I was brought back in time to this time last year and found that I had this lovely article written about a loyal and true friend and companion and felt it was fitting to share in his honor with the readers here.  The whole subject of loyalty has been “up” lately in my life. Most importantly I’ve been getting the guidance to remain loyal to myself – sometimes this can be quite a challenging thing for us to do – our loyalties are torn – we are spread thin – there are so many priorities.  I invite you to use the final days of 2008 to take some time in sacred space and to come back to the center of who you are.  As you do this you may find that some of the activities or people that you’ve been giving your loyalty to aren’t serving you and the greater good any more.  You may find that as you clear your mind, body, heart and Spirit that you are being called to a higher level of loyalty and you may need to apply all the teachings and practices that have brought you thus far to make the changes that are necessary for your growth and evolution right now.

Ayni Despacho Photo from Four Winds Sanctuary Project Site

We just held a despacho ceremony (a ceremony from the Peruvian tradition of shamanism) at our home last night in honor of the new moon followed by fire ceremony.  This despacho was very interesting – we were guided to place many, many prayers in to this gift bundle for Pachamama (Mother Earth)  around what needed to die for us as this year comes to a close.  After all of our group had placed in their prayers I received guidance to lay down over this arrangement of kintus (prayer bundles made with leaves and flowers) a layer of incense & purifying herbs, followed by a layer of “clouds” (made from pieces of cotton balls stretched out) onto which we then placed our prayers and planted the seeds for our becoming.  It was most interesting because it was like two despachos in one – one layered on top of the other with purification between the two.  Take this sacred time to lay down and put to rest what needs to go in your life – purify and cleanse and prepare the canvas/blank page/soil for your seeds, your intentions, your dreams for yourself, your family, your community and your world.  Be loyal to the higher calling.  Let it be.

Amethyst Wyldfyre is a multidimensional shaman, healer, artist, author, blogger, performer, speaker and psychic who lives and works in the Merrimack Valley of NH.  She can be reached through her website or blog for more information.  She can also be followed on Twitter at @AWyldfyre.

(This article was originally published Spring 2008 in Applaud Magazine)

Yoga is an ancient practice and a word meaning to unify or yoke together. What does yoga yoke together? – the mind, the body and the spirit. Springtime is a time when we move out of our winter slumber and start to think about bathing suit weather, we realize that we may not have been as diligent with our exercise routine or maybe we are ready to try something new. One of the major benefits of a yoga practice is that it does tone and strengthen the physical body. Stretching and flexing the muscles, developing upper body strength, improving balance, getting that yoga butt, all are great motivation for starting a practice.

The subtle benefits of yoga though are even more beneficial. Within the practice there is a great deal of time spent learning to focus on the breath. Awareness of the breath connects us at the deepest of levels to the life force that sustains us. Deepening our breathing instantly takes us into a state of relaxation releasing us from the fright or flight response created by the shallow upper chest breathing that most of us do in our daily life. Breath awareness alone is enough to transport you to a deeper space of subtle connection with your own spirit and with the spirit that is all around us. Practicing with a group provides opportunities to share the breath with each other and to note how we are all connected. Group practice also provides a magical support system and can enhance the energy of your practice as each member of the group contributes to creating a safe and supportive environment for each other.

Often as the practice deepens, the asanas or poses will activate releases of emotions, thought forms and other toxins that are stored in the body at the cellular level. The asanas are designed specifically for these subtle benefits as well as the more gross benefits of a lean and muscular physical body.

There are many wonderful styles of yoga and a wide variety of studios throughout the region for sampling them. Yoga is also available at most gyms. Private in home instruction can be a great way to learn the poses and to refine and customize a practice that is perfect for you and your body type and ability. Finally there are a lot of great video based instructional tapes that you can just pop in to your VCR or DVD player and begin your practice right on the living room floor.

As you begin to explore the world of yoga you will discover that the asanas or poses are merely a scratch on the surface of this ancient practice of alignment. There are whole workshops dedicated to just learning the different types of breathing that you can do while practicing. Chanting is another practice that is a part of the yogic tradition. There are also philosophical writings that are available for study. Yoga is a multi-layered, deeply transformational way of life that you can spend your whole life exploring. Come to each practice with beginners mind, that way you’ll reap the maximum benefits!

Amethyst Wyldfyre is a multidimensional healing artist and initiated shamaness in the Inka Tradition who uses sacred sound, color, aroma, light and energy to catalyze positive change, healing, growth and evolution on a personal and planetary level. She teaches at a number of locations and has a private healing practice in Nashua, NH. She practices yoga daily to maintain balance, focus and to stay in good shape physically, mentally and spiritually.

For more information about her and her evolving work contact Amethyst at her blog or website.

(Photo credit – Darlene Pina Yoga Teacher with Amethyst Wyldfyre in Triangle Pose – Photo by Keith Spiro used with permission)

by LaSara Firefox, MPNLP

When it comes to the delicate matter of belief, there are creative ways to answer our children’s questions without taking the magic out of it all.

When my oldest daughter was about five, she asked whether Santa Claus was real. Her dad and I her told that Santa is real to those who believe.

Is love real? Is hope real? Is magic real? Is faith real? We can’t touch or see any of these things, but most of us do believe in at least a few of them. In some cases, we can feel them. In others, we see proof of them appearing in the physical world.

I, for one, still believe in Santa Claus, and always will.

I believe that Tibetan Lamas reincarnate with full recall of their previous lives. I believe in Knights in shining armor, and Princesses in towers. (As much as it irks my post-riot-grrl self to admit it!)

But I do believe. I believe in faeries, and faerie tales, pookas, ghosts, saints, and goblins. And I believe in Christmas miracles. Just like I believe in God,with It’s ineffability, and the many faces It wears.

Jitterbug Perfume by Tim Robbins has one of the best descriptions I’ve seen of the human relationship with deity. Basically, the premise is this: the gods depend upon our belief in them to survive. Our belief makes them real.

The power of belief is an important gift we must safeguard and instruct in our children. Without belief, we are cast adrift on an endless, meaningless sea. Belief offers a rudder when nothing else makes sense. Belief is what we build our lives upon.

I will never tell my kids that Santa Claus is not real, because I myself believe in Santa.

My oldest daughter is now 11. She started our Christmas festivities by saying she no longer believes in Santa. And then complained when she didn’t feel the Christmas Spirit flooding her as we trimmed the tree.

I talked to her about faith.

(Article continued after break…)

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Sometimes it has been hard to have faith that Santa will come. I admit it; I test The Spirit from time to time. A couple of years ago I made one such test. It was my first Christmas post-divorce. I had no one to give my Christmas list to. No one to tell what I hoped to find under the tree.

That year it was hard to find my belief in the Spirit of Christmas. I prayed to the universe to enforce my faith.

I wanted proof that Santa was still real. I wanted Indoor/outdoor, Ugg-like slippers. It was what I wanted.

It was a deal between me and God, and God knew exactly what was required to prove my faith.

I know, it’s kind of petty.

But come Christmas, I did get gifted a pair of slippers. My sister didn’t buy them for me, but for another family member. When they didn’t fit the growing girl, my sister asked me to take them instead – she didn’t want to go to the trouble of carrying them home on the plane and exchanging them.

I whispered a thank you to Santa, and reminded myself that sometimes God works in mysterious ways.

So does Santa. He still makes miracles occur, or at least the belief in him does. I didn’t know my sister was bringing slippers for the nieces. She didn’t know I wanted them, either. But he did. And he delivered.

Throughout my life I have seen miracles of Christmas faith occur, large and small.

Movies are built on the theme of the Christmas Miracle. But even off the screen, I have seen food banks fill, at least for one day, with more than enough to feed the local poor. I’ve seen people open their doors to strangers so they would have somewhere to be on Christmas morning. I’ve seen communities pull together and provide gifts for children who would have otherwise gone without.

To quote the words of song writer Red West, popularized by Elvis, “if every day could be just like christmas, what a wonderful world this would be.”

As a Mystic mama, I don’t feel like a liar, hypocrite, or as though I’m misleading my children by allowing them to believe in a power that makes thier child-lives a little more happy, a little more bountiful, a little more hopeful, a little more magical.

The Holiday spirit does exist. It’s palpable. It acts in the world. Call it the power of faith, or Jesus, or Santa Claus, or generosity. It’s an invocation of some sense of love for our fellow man.

Regardless of the name we give it, it sustains. It acts through each of us, bringing miracles to bear.

Kind of like God.

About the author:
LaSara Firefox, MPNLP, is a coach, trainer, and author. LaSara helps clients find balance in their lives, and alignment with their personal and family-held values. She teaches and coaches internationally. She’s wife to an outstanding man, and mom to two brilliant girls.

You can find out more about LaSara at http://www.lasarafirefox.com. While you’re there, be sure to check out her December coaching special – the VERY affordable Body, Mind, and Spirit Renewal program.

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