44 Days til Christmas? Santa's Helpers, Mellow Elves and Warm Fuzzies

This morning I was leisurely browsing for gifts online when I came across a red and green banner flashing a warning: Only 44 Shopping Days Til Christmas! It was complete with a really jarring sound loop of jingling bells and animated elves frantically jumping up and down in the corner, waving their arms.

These elves had a crazed look in their eyes. Too many sugar cookies with their eggnog? Maybe they'd all been into the magic hay they feed to the flying reindeer. I closed the page and closed my eyes, nauseous.

So much for the warm fuzzies. You know, those feelings of happiness, joy, and connection. Of love.

I need my gift giving to have meaning. I want it to be joyful, and stress-free. I like it to smell like cinnamon buns, and I want to take my time, and that's why I shop online in my pajamas while I'm having my morning tea and biscuits.

Santa's cartoon helpers left me feeling overwhelmed, frazzled, and just plain visually exhausted. I know that these psycho-elves, and others like them, have been created precisely to spin me into a buying frenzy, to create the madness that sends cash registers ca-chinking, but I just couldn't look at it. In fact, I felt assaulted.

I don't want to be warned that I'm running out of time, stressed or pressured as I am browsing for the perfect gifts to express my gratitude and love to the people I care about. I want to be in the creative zone of inspiration and delight. I want to go on a little magical adventure, to hunt for the unexpected treasures I will be excited to share.

I love what Debra Dean has done with her Bonanzle Examiner Showcase. In each piece she offers a nice selection of thoughtful gift ideas (love the slippers by the way) with links to the items at the Bonanzle marketplace. There is no danger of dancing dwarfs trampling your holiday spirit, no muzak rendition of the seasonal classics, thank you. Her current selection features fashion and accessories that are all under $50 including shipping. Last week she featured all things Unique, Vintage and Antique.

Gifts don't need to be expensive, and for me, it isn't about the gift so much as it is the energy – the excitement and joy that comes from giving something to another that will make their face light up with the joy of receiving special something. It's all about the love that is being exchanged, for I believe that is the truth behind the season.

I appreciate suggestions, I need a Santa's helper!
But make mine a mellow elf, cherish the warm fuzzy.
Thank you, Jamiro!

May you be blessed!

image credit:ecletech.com

Before the Madness: Create Sacred Space for Seasonal Serenity!

Before the Holiday Madness overtakes your sense and sensibilities, I urge you to create a quiet, inspiring place in your home that helps you feel more connected to what's meaningful in your life. Like me, many of you already have sacred spaces dedicated for practices such as meditation, yoga, prayer, healing, or divination. But even if you do not need a dedicated place for "daily rituals", or you already have a space for these, you might want to create a space simply for "seasonal serenity".

Creating your own sacred space lets you express your deepest human need for ongoing spiritual nourishment, which transcends obligatory holiday shopping and social engagements which can be devoid of any nourishment at all. Everyone can benefit from creating places where they intentionally choose what surrounds them. Entering a sacred space is like giving yourself permission to take a moment to be renewed, to find rest, to get out of your head and honor what's in your heart. Sacred spaces feed the spirit. And, that can go a long way toward helping you feel more centered, grounded, healthy, and happy.

Creating sacred space is all about making personal choices that feel right intuitively, so there is no right or wrong way to do it. Begin by arranging objects that give you energy, inspire you, and are pleasing to all of your senses – that which tastes, sounds, smells, looks and feels good to you.

Even if you can not dedicate an entire room, you can use a corner of a room or garden. Also consider using a cushion, rug, low table, or screen to make your sacred space feel more contained, relaxing and personal. I personally love outdoor spaces, in all seasons, as nature's voice is most often what I need to hear when the Madness is calling me. I maintain a medicine wheel on my beach, and a beautiful crystal grid in my herb garden which are both large enough for me to sit at their centers. Because they are used often, they hold tremendous positive fields and are magnets to many of the sweet little creatures that also share my yard; butterflies, birds, chipmunks and more! Those creatures provide me with a wonderful connection to the Earth, and they are in fact the most important sounds, and sensually pleasing additions to my sacred spaces. Indoors, I have a traditional healing space pleasing to Oshun. The only sound is the waves of the lake caressing the shoreline.

Whether you create a space outdoors or inside, focus on aesthetically pleasing items that speak to you, inspire you, and that are meaningful to you. You might include:

• Stones and shells that hold memories from special places
• A dish garden or fountain
  
• Talismans and symbols of peace and safety
• Artwork and photographs of loved ones and special places
• Statuary and traditional symbols of divine and protective energies
• Candles, incense, scented plants and flowers
  
• Color, light, texture, fabrics, mirrors, crystals, chimes
• Poetry, sacred texts, favorite quotes and words of wisdom from any and all faiths
• Personal Divination Tools such as Runes, Shells, or a favorite deck of Tarot cards
  
• Music: Instruments or CDs
  

It all starts with a desire to make something as beautiful and as comforting as you possibly can, just for you. This space is yours. Today, honor your heart's desire to feel more connected to what's truly meaningful in your life. I wish you seasonal serenity!

May you be blessed!

Feeding Your Body and Soul with Chakra Healing Foods

I've had many inquiries from new clients who are just beginning to explore chakra wellness through the Journey Beads. While using color therapy, aromatherapy, laying on gemstones (crystal healing), and Reiki are all effective techniques for balancing and restoring harmony to our energetic bodies, we cannot forget to nourish our physical bodies as well!

When I notice a disconnect between my actions and my emotions, or level of spiritual awareness (I know better but I did it anyway...) I scan my chakra system, but I do not first consider the types of foods that I have been eating. And I should.

Because our chakras are energy vortexes and invisible to most of us, we can conclude that chakras thrive on energy, prayer, and other such spiritual stuff... you know, those things that we can't see with the human eye – and they do. However, the chakras cannot sustain our human body without our help. It is important to feed and nourish the flesh in order to help support and fuel our our subtle bodies.

Whenever one or more of your chakras is misaligned first see if you are not eating or possibly overeating the foods that fuel that particular chakra.

To feel more grounded, feed your root chakra. Choose root vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, parsnips, radishes, beets, onions, garlic, and protein rich foods like eggs, meats, beans, tofu, soy products, peanut butter. Spice it up with horseradish, hot paprika, chives, and cayenne pepper

To nourish your sexual and creative energies, feed your sacral chakra. Choose sweet melons, mangos, strawberries, passion fruit, oranges, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Boost your self-esteem and encourage self love by feeding the solar plexus. Many sensitive people have allergies to foods that nourish this chakra. If you have gluten sensitivities aor you are lactose intolerant I beleive its your cellular/karmic directive to focus here. Comfort foods include pastas, breads, cereal, rices, flax seed, sunflower seeds, and dairy milk, cheeses, and yogurt. Many of us need to learn how to love ourselves in new and different ways!

Lighten emotional hurts by healing the heart chakra. Think green, airy, leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, dandelion greens,broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and celery. Enjoy green teas and teas from basil, sage, thyme, cilantro, and parsley.

Speak your truth. Your throat chakra responds to water! All liquids, including fruit juices, herbal teas, lemon water, and sour-ish citrus fruits are helpful Add a dash of salt, and lemon grass.

Awaken your intuition by feeding the brow. All, dark bluish colored fruits are beneficial. Choose blueberries, red grapes, black berries, raspberries, red wines and grape juice. Spice it up with lavender, poppy seed, and mugwort.

Fast to opening and clearing the crown. Intermittent fasting as a spiritual discipline has been recommended various religious and cultural practices around the globe since throughout time. Because it resets out metaboloic processes, many physicians recommend supervised fasting to rebalance and detoxify the body. Always fast under the supervision of a qualified practitioner.

Incense and smudging herbs including sage, copal, myrrh, frankincense, and juniper are recommended to purify and open your spiritual center as well.

Of course, using affirmations remains a powerful technique to align and focus the mind, body and spirit. Combine affirmations with meditation, energy work and a diet update and you'll not only feel better, but you'll BE better.

May you be blessed!

image credit: farm1.static.flickr.com

Not gone, just gone on ahead

Taking a moment to remember Chelsea, who left this earth yesterday. She is

JUST MY DOG

She is my other eyes that can see above
the clouds; my other ears that hear above
the winds. She is the part of me that can
reach out into the sea.

She has told me a thousand times over that
I am her reason for being: by the way she
rests against my leg; by the way she thumps
her tail at my smallest smile; by the way she
shows her hurt when I leave without taking her.
(I think it makes her sick with worry when she
is not along to care for me.)

When I am wrong, she is delighted to forgive.
When I am angry, she clowns to make me smile.
When I am happy, she is joy unbounded.
When I am a fool, she ignores it.
When I succeed, she brags.
Without her, I am only another woman.

With her,
I am all-powerful.
She is loyalty itself.
She has taught me the meaning of devotion.
With her, I know a secret comfort and a
private peace. She has brought me understanding
where before I was ignorant.
Her head on my knee can heal my human hurts.
Her presence by my side is protection against
my fears of dark and unknown things.

She has promised to wait for me...
whenever... wherever in case I need her.

And I expect I will as I always have.

She is just my dog.

– Gene Hill

Holding the Blue Bead, Affirming My Place in the Universe

By working with affirmations, we begin the process of changing negative and unproductive beliefs into positive life supporting beliefs, that with regular practice will create our desired futures. Affirmations focus the mind and clarify attention and intention.

I love the Journey Beads Crystal Affirmation Beads for prayer, meditation, and mindfulness as I navigate life's twists and turns. I love the way they play with light, each facet representing a moment of clarity, joy, and celebration!

Blue is the color of the spirit and relates to self expression - speech, communication, the ability to communicate our needs and requirements; the Spirit of truth and purpose.

"Everything I do is an expression of love.

It is now safe for me to express my feelings.

I love and trust my creative gifts.

It is now right for me to express the best of who I am now.

I release the fear and doubts which block the way to my creative expression."

Journey Beads are both tactile and visual. They help to engage all our senses as we work with affirmations to reach our desired goals. An affirmation is a statement expressed in the present tense and phrased in the positive. I have found it advantageous to see myself as already having obtained my desired outcome and while holding the image, I bring to mind the feelings I would have when accomplishing my goal.

By combining the elements of sight, light, and touch to visualize our objective it becomes real to our imagination and in so doing becomes embedded in our subconscious as a part of our reality. As an example; if I desire to sail around the islands this winter; I concentrate and tune in my senses. I feel the motion of the boat beneath yme as I smell the sea air, hearing the flap of the sails and the calls of dolphins and gulls. I hear the rustle of palms on the breezy beach. I taste the salt spray on my face as I enjoy the pleasure of my surroundings. All the while, I turn the bead in my fingertips.

The subconscious mind, being non-critical, will believe my visualizations as being real as my sense of touch anchors those images in the third dimension reality. As I meditate on my affirmations, my subconscious mind will raise images and sensations of my successes to my awareness.

By visualizing your goal your subconscious mind will work for you, behind the scenes, to encourage the manifestation of situations which will ultimately enable your goals to come true. The process of achieving your goals through the application of positive mental images will empower you to create a reality from your desires. Journey Beads will bring light to your intentions and anchor them for manifestation with the healing power of touch.

Journey Beads may be purchased on Bonanzle and also at Oshun Spirit Earth Friendly Goods. There is a Free Design Service if you'd like help in creating a set of beads and positive affirmations for your unique journey, or for someone you care about. Journey Beads also fit Pandora and Troll Jewelry.

Like words of encouragement, Journey Beads make a thoughtful and personal gift for someone facing challenges, celebrating a personal triumph, and growing in spirit. Each bead arrives wrapped in scented silk rose petals with an affirmation tag.

"Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us." – Samuel Smiles

May you be blessed!