Category Archives: Spirit

Energy, Spirit, Totems

You Aren’t Alone

Sacred Stones
Sacred Stones

Have you even been in a situation where you’re surrounded by people and yet still feel alone? Or maybe you’re talking with a friend but you sense that they don’t really know who you are? And maybe, you feel disconnected to yourself….not sure of what you want or who you are anymore.

And probably the most important question of all: when was the last time you connected to the earth, the plants, trees, animals, the sun and the moon?

We live our lives in busyness. Running from one task to another and always behind. In my coaching work I hear more and more people complaining of stress and anxiety. And it isn’t just adults either. Kids and young adults are constantly pushing themselves to do more and do better.

All of this leads us to disconnecting to ourselves, our family, friends and the planet.

Ginger
Wild Ginger

But…..did you know that you’re never alone?

We are all made of the same matter and energy as everything else in our world. We just vibrate at different rates creating a sense of separateness. If we were to “tune” in to the vibrations around us we’d realize that at any moment, we are one with all that surrounds us.

And we have connections to every animal, person, plant, tree……every form of life.

It just takes opening up to this connection by our willingness to bypass the critical logical mind and remembering who we are.

AncestorsInStone
Ancestors in the stone

When you learn to remember, you’ll find your never alone. We have our Higher Self…..the part of us that is connected to Spirit. The Higher Self does it’s best to guide us, only to have us refuse to listen.

We have our ancestors, from this life and others. They often have a hand in many of our life decisions.

We have guides from the Elementals (the “rulers” of the element kingdoms), the Devas that give structure to the plant world, power animals to assist us whenever needed and beings from the “angelic” realm.

Stone Guardian
Stone guardian

All available to us when needed……if only we remember!

And, if we let down the blinders on our eyes to see the energy of others, we would be aware of how often we exchange energy and breathe each other’s breath.

We are never alone! There is a world of energy available to us every movement. If we just remember.

If you feel a calling to learn how to connect to these energies, join us in Sedona this April. Check it out at: http://www.spiritsmuse.com/ancientwisdom.html

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Energy, Spirit, Uncategorized

How To Read Energy

auraOf all the things my clients and students seem to find the most fascinating is that of learning to see, hear and read energy. Most people know that we are energetic bodies with more space than solidity. Ancient Wisdom knew it and now quantum physics has proven it.

But to be able to see that energy or even feel it is something a lot of people want to do but don’t quite know how.

The first and most important aspect of energetic reading is to realize that we project our own assumptions, thoughts, emotions, feelings and judgements on others all the time. The same goes with the energy readings. In my workshops, students are not allowed to “decide” what a color or shape might mean. We’re only allowed to notice what is taking place with the energy.

In seeing and reading auras my entire life, it’s clear to me that there is no one way for everyone.

Take colors: we often think that if we see a red aura it means the person is angry. Not true. Sometimes yes but not always. Red color can indicate agitation, love, anger, eagerness, physical distress, anticipation….pretty much anything. To presume that you know what another is feeling or thinking while reading an aura is a dangerous game to play. And if you project your assumptions onto someone else, you’ll miss what’s really going on as well as run the risk of installing something within their mind.

The most common way to read an aura/energetic body is to notice the shape and what it’s doing. In N.L.P. we use the term calibration when paying attention to the minute differences in a person’s expression, voice tonality and even muscle tone. Paying attention and calibrating a person’s energetic body is one of the best ways to know something is going on with them. Again, we don’t assume to know what that is.

The best way to learn the differences in a person’s aura/energetic body is to pay attention to it over a period of time. You can make note of certain aspects of the aura while also asking them what they are experiencing.

For instance:

  • I’ve noticed with my daughter (who has Lupus) that when her aura gets all “spikey” she’s about to have a migraine headache. Or if it looks like someone threw buckets of different colors on her all at once, that her body is starting to have needle like pain.
    • I watched her over a period of time and began asking her what was happening before accepting that those particular expressions meant specific things.

pain

  • One of the grossest things I’ve seen energetically is the dark slimy looking energy snaking across the floor from men who are on the make. Most women, even if they don’t see that energy know exactly what it feels like!
  • I once watched a woman’s aura get a brittle like texture and found out later she was blatantly lying.

Our auras do all kinds of things from changing colors and shapes to expanding and contracting. And we have seven “layers” of auras which can make things really interesting.

Having said all the warnings, there does seem to be some common expressions of the aura in people. Again, you need to pay attention and ask questions.

Examples:

An aura that:

  • Looks flat and flowing downward can indicate sadness or depression.
  • Flares shooting out can show that the person is very agitated or mad.
  • “Hot or dark spots” can indicate disease or problems in those areas of the body.
  • Turns green when near another person often means they’re healers (even if they aren’t aware of it).
  • Babies often have soft flowing auras reaching out to the world.

So how do you go about seeing auras?

I firmly believe that we all see auras when we’re children. But the adults in our world talk us out of seeing them by telling us to stop making things up or that we’re being silly. Unfortunately, that tends to set us up for a belief that we can’t see them. And we carry that belief over into adulthood. To start seeing auras, if you have this belief, might be challenging but certainly doable.

Here’s an Exercise we use in our workshop:

Seeing the energy off the tips of your fingertips is pretty easy. We concentrate a lot of energy on these points.

  • You want to start in a room which isn’t too bright with light and a doorway facing a dark hall. Stand in the doorway with your back toward the room so that you’re facing the hall.
  • Take your hands and place them about 8 – 10 inches away from your face (so that you’re looking right at them.)
  • Strongly press the tips of each pointer finger together and while looking directly at your fingertips, move your hands slowly away from each other (about 6 inches apart).
  • You should see a whitish band between your fingertips. It almost looks like rubber bands.
  • Move your fingertips back to the original position touching and slowly move them apart again until you see the whitish, almost fog like energy between them.

lightIf at first you don’t see the energy try other places. Facing a dark wall works for some and for others a lighter wall. Remember to really press the tips of the fingers together and to slowly pull them apart…it should feel like pulling taffy apart. Take your time.

It can take several tries, although most get it in the first go round…..just keep it up.

Energy is all around us. Once you start seeing it, you’ll catch glimpses of it with animals, plants and most often with trees (the tops of trees are easiest). It takes practice but you can do it.

If you’d like to really learn more about the energetic body, seeing and manipulating energy and using it for your own healing, go to http://www.spiritsmuse.com/ancientwisdom.html and join us for our Sedona workshop in February TBD

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Energy, Spirit

What Are You? Air, Earth, Fire or Water?

elementsOur bodies aren’t as separate from the external world as we might sometimes think. At our deepest level we are a part of the natural world, composed of the elements both physically and meta-physically, with each of the five elements within us.

In the Western world these are: Fire, Water, Earth, Air and Spirit. In the Eastern world they are: Fire, Water, Earth, Air and Metal. I’ll be talking about the Western mindset of elements.

Generally, one or two elements will be stronger than the others as we move through our day, week or cycle. Much of this depends on what’s happening in our lives at the time.

For instance, if we are taking care of a sick child we are accessing our nurturing element of water. If we’re angry and lashing out we’re activating the fire element within. Each element carries attributes, strengths and weaknesses.

We can also express a particular element more than others, which directly relates to the external world. Someone who “has” to live near a body of water may activate more of the water element than one who likes to live inland near a forest or mountain. If the “water person” moves to an inland location they may find themselves feeling “landlocked”. And one who likes the forest and mountains might feel off balance living far from the stability of a tree or mountain.

Our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health rides on whether we can utilize all five elements in a balanced rhythmic dance. If we continually access one over the other we can actually get stuck in that element causing an imbalance that leads to illness, disease or lack of harmony in our lives.

Knowing what our predominant element is and which one(s) we’re using can be useful in understanding ourselves. We can also look to the elements to help us get out of stuck situations, sticky relationships and to deal with other issues in our lives.

Let’s look at each element and it’s properties.

Fire: Passion and inspiration, the male activating principle, expansion and desire. It is a cleansing element. Fire consumes other elements.

Fire people are natural born leaders and generally interesting to be around. They often become inspired and will get bored easily with routines. Due to their energy, they are the life of the party and people gravitate to them. But, they can run right over other people with their intensity and self-righteousness. Typically hot-tempered and impulsive…..quite literally the “fiery-tempered” personality.

waterWater: Emotions, it’s magnetic, the female principle, nurturing, coolness and contraction. It is our unconscious and intuition.

It’s all about the heart to a water person. They feel and empathize with you and are great at listening. Water people tend to be artistic and creative and many gravitate toward the mystical practices.   The emotions run high with a water person causing them to feel things greatly and cry easily. Unfortunately, the negative side of this can lead to depression.

earthEarth: The grounding principle, solid, stable, foundation of all the elements, fertile, The Great Mother.

Earth people need to feel grounded or “rooted” to wherever they live. Their home is important to them. Not usually a dreamer, the earth person takes it one step at a time, able to postpone gratification to get the goal. Patience is a strong quality. Most earth people will marry and stay in long committed relationships. Just like a mountain, earth people can be stubborn to the point of never moving forward.

ariAir: Thought, movement, communication, ideas, knowledge, and dreams.

The Air person has a gift for the gab. Excellent communicators as well as story-tellers. They like to think things through rather than feel them. Air people are individualists and freethinkers who can hold many thoughts at once. Too much air can cause an air person to become the intellectual who can’t share his thoughts with anyone, often lacking social graces.

Sunset Ceremony at HonaunauSpirit: Binding energy of the other four. Realm of potentiality, source of all energy, completely balanced.

Spirit is in all of us and everything and everywhere. It unites all things. It is that spark of life within us and our connection to the “greater something”. It is perfectly balanced energy of all the elements and cannot be defined.

To put it all together, take a look at the attributes of each element and notice what seems to look or resonate most with you. If you tend to be more emotional than analytical, you would associate with water. If you’re energetic and people seem to be drawn to you, you would associate with fire. If you find it important to spend a lot of time in nature and seem more at ease there, you’d probably pick earth. And if you like to really think things through and are often considered an idea person you would pick air.

Since we contain all the elements in ourselves and we are multidimensional beings, we usually run more than one element at a time. Identifying what your predominant element is and the other element(s) you’re running at any moment can help you in changing situations.

It’s then a matter of accessing the element, which would most assist in activating the change you desire.

How to utilize the elements to create change…….to be continued in the next post.….

If you’re really interested in the elements—both in the Macrocosm and Microcosm check out the upcoming training in February 2017. We’ll be spending time learning about the elements, the Elementals and teaching you to access and manipulate them at will.

Go to: http://www.spiritsmuse.com/ancientwisdom.html to learn more.

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Spirit, Totems

Death-Eater……….Black Vulture Totem

Vultures!
Even the name conjures up squeamishness in some people. For some, the vulture seems gross and others associate it with death. But, in ancient and indigenous cultures it’s just the opposite!

I too misunderstood the vulture until visiting a nature preserve and was surrounded by about 20 Black Vultures. At first I was nervous, thinking they might attack me. After all, they were feeding off a dead rabbit. But no, they must have been at the end of their meal because they were more curious than anything else. It allowed me the chance to study them closely.

They are actually quite beautiful with purple-black feathers and solid black heads. The demarcation line between the feathers and the black skin on the head is very distinct, giving them the illusion of wearing a hood. I think I must have looked just as odd to them as they lined the roof of a building and perched in the trees, cocking their heads down at me.
Even when I walked close to them, they just stared.

(I later learned that a vulture, when threatened, will spit up bits of digested or decayed food! Fortunately, I must not have been very threatening.)

The Greeks thought the vulture to be a descendant of the griffin, the guardian of the mysteries of life and death. In Egypt, it was a vulture feather that the goddess Maat used in the Book of the Dead to weigh against the heart of man (conscience).
They were also noted for the nurturing of their young, so much so that the Priestesses wore robes made of vulture feathers.

In most cultures, there is a relationship between death and the vulture…..hence my name of the Death-Eater. They were thought to be the ones who released the spirit of the dead and assisted in the guidance to Sprit….almost like a Psycho Pomp or in today’s world the hospice worker.

Black Vultures are pretty smart. Unlike the Turkey vulture, their sense of smell is diminished. They will fly higher than the Turkey vulture, watching them for dives to a carcass. Following the Turkey vulture, they will often push the Turkey vulture out of their way to feast on the remains.

It’s been observed that without the vulture, we would have dead animals lying EVERYWHERE and have to use more taxpayers money to clean up road kill. Since the vulture uses strong acids in their stomachs to kill bacteria and disease, they also keep our environment more sanitary.

So next time you see a Black Vulture, remember that they are nature’s “clean-up” crew and give thanks for their efforts!

For years in Florida, a man, Stan Gober, paid homage to the lowly buzzard with a song, dance and costume contest. You can view it on YouTube at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDYVOUUJlcQ

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Spirit

The Blessings of Reiki

Pets do more than just love us.

Having been around animals all my life, I can understand why more and more people are becoming pet owners. We love our pets! We spend thousands of dollars on their food, upkeep, toys, health and for some, clothes.

And with good reason. Pets provide a myriad of benefits for us. Probably the most quoted reason that we love them is their unconditional love of us. No matter how grumpy we get or messy we look, our pets still love us. And they are so forgiving if we’re late to feed them or make them wait to go out.

They provide other benefits to us as well. Studies have shown that pets:

  • Will help us uplift our mood. Several studies with men who have AIDS showed they were more apt to become depressed if they didn’t own a pet than those who did.
  • Can keep us calmer. Having a pet helps to control blood pressure better than prescribed drugs
  • Help us to get more exercise: Dog owners walk more than those who don’t have one.
  • Are date and friend magnets: Dogs are particularly good at helping us meet people, especially if the dog is cute.
  • Keep us from feeling lonely. When nursing home residents are visited by dogs they report less feeling of loneliness and seperation.
  • Lower the likelihood of developing allergies. When a child grows up with a pet, they are less likely to develop allergies while developing stronger immune systems.
  • Help manage pain. Loyola University used pet therapy for recovering surgery patients and discovered they may need less pain medication than those without.

With all the wonderful benefits to having a pet, it’s no wonder we love and treat them as members of our families.

Unfortunately though, things can happen. Pets can become ill just like us. When this happens, it often makes us feel particularly helpless. After all, like a baby, the pet cannot verbalize where it hurts or how bad they feel. It’s an awful feeling when you don’t know what to do. Even after going to vet, it can still be so frustrating.

Years ago, we had a cat that had been with us since my daughter was about 2. The cat was one of the most lovable animals I’ve ever had. I always said that she and my daughter grew up together.

One day though, when she was about 10, she was diagnosed with liver cancer. The vet had us take her to a special radiation clinic where she underwent a series of treatments. It was heartbreaking to have to put her through this but there just wasn’t another option short of putting her down.

And she got better. For about a year she was fine and then it came back.

One day, I found her hiding behind the toilet in the downstairs bathroom. By that time, I knew the cancer had returned and we were debating what to do. But here she was, mewing and hiding out and I dearly loved this cat. I had to do something.

So…..I sat down on the floor and pulled her into my lap. I had taken a course in Reiki years before but never used it until that day. I spent about 2 ½ hours in that bathroom with her, running the Reiki energy.

At some point I just had a feeling it was done. There’s no other way to describe it….I knew it was done.

As the days went by, she began to have more energy. She began eating again and even playing with her sister. After about a month, there were no signs of anything. She was a healthy energetic playful cat again!

She lived to be 21 yrs. old and was never sick again.

Did Reiki heal her? I don’t know. All I know is she was sick and then she wasn’t.

I’ve used Reiki on other animals since then and had great results. I’ve also used it with people and they have reported pain relief, feelings of calmness and reported feeling stronger. And I’ve had Reiki done on myself. It has cleared up headaches, aches and pains and fatigue.

We are all just energy. It makes sense that energy work can be used with other methods of healing. And for some, like our cat, maybe it’s what’s really needed.

If you’re interested in learning more, go to: www.SpiritsMuse.com/reiki.html

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Spirit

The Fragrant Skunk

A while back I wrote of the misunderstood totem the Snake. There’s another one that is often misaligned and yet has much to teach us. And that’s the Skunk!

Who hasn’t recognized that pungent odor when something has gotten this critter riled up? Did you know that man can recognize the smell of a skunk for up to two miles depending on the wind? This is one strong totem showing up in our lives.

Most of us will go out of way to avoid having any contact with a skunk. The animal doesn’t even have to do anything….we will just give it a wide berth. And this is what skunk has to teach us.

The skunk demands respect by its very nature. It is fearless, patient and pretty much minds its own business. But, overstep the boundaries and it lets you know real quick it’s not happy.

Watching the skunk when its boundaries are challenged gives us a clue as to how to demand respect in our lives by walking our talk and enforcing our own boundaries. And doing so without being aggressive.

A skunk will warn you before it sprays. It will stamp its feet, then turn and raise the tail. If you haven’t moved fast enough by the time it looks back over its shoulder, it’s too late.

By stamping its feet and raising the tail, the skunk is making its boundaries known to you. It is in essence saying you’ve encroached on its territory and you need to back off.

Many people I work with have issues in being treated with respect. I often encourage them to let others know of their feelings and how they expect to be treated. My mother used to say: “we teach others how to treat us”. And she was right.

If we want to be treated with respect then we must respect our boundaries and ourselves. We don’t have to be aggressive about it. We just have to enforce it with consequences.

And that’s the next thing the skunk does. It looks back, aims and sprays. If we have presented our expectations then we must follow through on enforcing the boundaries. This is a part of demanding respect.

If you don’t enforce your boundaries and follow through, you let others know that you have no respect for yourself and will give in. This is like the kid in the checkout
screaming until he gets what he wants. He knows that if he persists, mom or dad will give in.

Skunk has shown up every day in the past week. I didn’t get it at first. Where was I not respecting myself or not enforcing boundaries. Then I realized I had made an agreement with myself regarding payment for my services and had reverted to a previous pattern.

This has been something I have worked on many times in the past. I thought I had overcome it but apparently not enough! Now I must be like skunk. I need to reaffirm my boundaries and then enforce. Gently and politely but still hold to them.

So maybe skunk isn’t quite so bad after all. It could be a lesson for all of us to walk our talk and to treat others as well as ourselves with respect.

If you’re a woman and find yourself not enforcing boundaries, you might want to check out my Empowerment Made Manifest™ Workshop: www.debrafentress.com/empowerment.html

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Spirit

I Dreamed of Owl

Hawaiian OwlI dreamed of owl last night. Wasn’t too surprising as the owls have come back to nest at one of the old adobes not far from us. But, since spirit is always speaking to us, I thought it might be a good idea to pay attention.

People receive messages from Spirit www.magicmiraclesandmystery.com/messages-from-spirit/ all the time. The problem is that we don’t always listen. There’s a saying in the metaphysical world that “you always have to pay……at least with energy”. So if we ignore these subtle hints, dreams and nudges that come our way, then it’s as if our Higher Selves (www.spiritsmuse.com/yourhigherself.html) just give up trying to reach us.

Last night, we had heard the owl for the first time this season. When I went out front to see if I could locate him, I found part of its nest in the road. You can tell when an owl is around by the remains of animal skeletons in their pellets (the regurgitated, undigested parts of animals they eat).

This morning, even though I have a basic understanding of Owl medicine (www.magicmiraclesandmystery.com/totems/), I decided to get more feedback on it by doing a little research.

Two of my favorite books on animal totems are Jamie Sams, Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through the Ways of Animals and Ted Andrews, Animal Speak. (http://www.spiritsmuse.com/books.html)

Owl medicine generally means: wisdom, seeing beyond the illusions of this reality, messenger from Spirit, desire to learn, reincarnation and the ability to see past the masks others wear.

Owl has been a totem of wisdom since the days when we worshipped the goddess Athena who had an owl on her shoulder in order that she might see.

Owl is also a wakeup call to deception. We have to look at whether we are deceiving ourselves or is someone attempting to deceive us. This isn’t the first time I’ve had owl fly strong into my life.

On two occasions, there was someone attempting to deceive me. One of my lessons for this life seems to be learning how to “see” the inner light and goodness in another as well as being aware that not all are walking their talk. Both of those times, I deceived myself into believing that what I was picking up energetically was an illusion. And in the end, I discovered they were deceiving me.

I think for “lightworkers” this is a common theme. We know that inside all of us is that being of light regardless of how the person behaves. Sometimes, we let that spark of light get in the way of our awareness of whether another is actually walking in their light.

One thing that really spoke to me was the idea that we must respond to what our Soul needs and wants. As Owls hunt birds, rodents and insects they are part of nature’s way of keeping the balance. In our lives, if we allow too much “stuff” to dictate our lives we get out of balance and we smother the Souls’ desire to fly.

The questions that beg to be answered become:

What can we let go of which will rid us of stagnation, boredom and inertia?

Do we have too many “things”, projects or even negative emotions dragging us down?

This follows the principles of Feng Shui. Feng Shui means the “way of wind and water”. These two forces affect everything within us as well as our external world. They may appear separate, but in reality they are the same. So when we make a change in our external world, we also create one within ourselves as well.

To allow our Soul to fly, owl could be a call to release the old in order to make way for the new. Before we can change and become that which we want, we have to remove the self-imposed obstacles we have put in our way.

I think this is the message of Owl for me. Since presenting the Ancient Wisdom Modern Magic™ www.spiritsmuse.com/ShamanicMasters.html workshop in Hawaii last December, I’ve felt myself going through a transition. Even there on the Big Island, I realized I was saying goodbye to some old connections which I had been carrying far too long.

I’ve been aware of shifts taking place on an unconscious as well as conscious level. Not always comfortable and yet I’ve felt they were necessary. Lately, there has been an acceleration of the process as if it’s all finalizing.

So the answer is that I have to stay with the process and be open to the lessons. To be in the flow of it so that my Soul can fly.

What do you need to do to set your Soul free?

To read an incredible and moving story of one man’s flight with the eagles check out Michael Kemball’s book Out Of The Blue: A true story about learning to fly, discovering your wings and setting your spirit free available at: www.SpiritsMuse.com/books (under the “Magic, Miracles and Mystery section.)

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Spirit

Messages From Spirit

Over the years, working in the field of spirituality, metaphysics and transformative work, I have asked for and received many messages from what I call Spirit.

 

The energy field that we live in and receive messages from Spirit, is the same energy we are composed of and therefore it will also “feel” like whatever we’re feeling. So if we’re afraid, the universe will feel scary to us. This is the lesson of Law of Attraction. Whatever we’re feeling (vibrating to) than that is what we experience in our world.

 As so many seem to struggle to stay feeling connected, I thought hearing some of the messages I’ve received might help.

 The one I like the most is: “You are not alone”. Our universe is like an ocean of energy. And just as a drop of water is to the ocean, we are to the energy sea we live in. We are all part of the same consciousness; therefore, we are all connected to one another. When you send out an energy intention of wanting to feel connected, the universe sends the connection right back to you.

You can prove this to yourself right now. Get quiet, open yourself up to the energy, imagine you can expand yourself into the field and then notice how the area around your heart feels. You should be an expansion of yourself.

Another message that may not seem like much unless you’re in overwhelm is: “Pick 1 thing!” Often in my life I’ve had so many things going on I didn’t know what to do. Then I would hear—“Pick 1 thing”. Once I did this and put it into action, things settled down and my stress level went down. Our world is so inundated with To Do lists, projects and responsibilities that we all get overwhelmed at times. The simplest answer is to focus on 1 thing.

One of my favorite message I’ve ever received is that “Energy begets energy”. This means that whatever you want to be, do or have in your life you have to generate or give energy to get it. It’s really simple. For example, if you want to lose weight, you have to change your eating habits and exercise. It you want to manifest a new house, car, boat, or whatever, you have to take action to generate the resources and money to acquire those things.

If you sit and do nothing then nothing is what you’ll get. If you say you want to be successful and yet you watch T.V. or play video games, you’ll end up being successful at watching T.V. and playing video games. Whatever you want in life you have to pay with energy.

These are just a few of the things I’ve learned from Spirit. Simple really and things we all already know. Sometimes we just need to be reminded.

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