So Much to Learn, Where to Turn?

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I've been thinking lately of all the things I want to learn to help myself grow. There's a lot. And it feels a little overwhelming, actually, knowing there are so many choices and I only have a little bit of time these days to spend on reading.

I'm reading Ekhart Tolle's A New Earth which is truly enlightening and transformative. I can only read a little at a time, though, because it's a lot to digest. I'm taking away the idea that facing the aspects of one's personality that comprise the ego - recognizing them as an observer - is a means to removing oneself from being driven by them. It's really fascinating and I recommend this book to anyone interested in looking at one's life with a discerning eye.

I also want to learn to read Tarot. I have a set of cards, and a book about it, but haven't yet gotten far enough to attempt to try to understand one card from another.

A close friend is studying Huna, and what he's shared with me has ignited my interest in this Hawaiian healing art and philosophy. So I want to learn more about it, and feel pulled in that direction.

I also want to lend more time (or even some) each day to meditation and self healing. I don't do enough of this, and I know it would benefit me very much in the areas of energy clearing and intuitive growth.

I feel torn between these things and the minimal time I have to devote to any of it, and wonder which would be the best thing to concentrate on. It can feel overwhelming. I guess the best thing is to finish one at a time. Growth can't be rushed, which is probably the biggest message in all of this process....

Patience. That's what I always need to remind myself at times like this. I need to have patience. The time will present itself to learn what I need to learn. I wish sometimes that I could stop the rest of my life and just focus on all of these things at once, but it doesn't work that way. I have a hunger for knowledge and growth that doesn't like to be patient. But I need to.

I suppose all will balance and in time I'll get to everything. Most likely more things I want to learn and do will come along as I'm getting from one thing to the next. It's a growing list, but that's okay. It's good to have new things to learn and more waiting. Growth is a continuous process. So is patience, apparently!

Patience is something I really need these days for other aspects of my life. Since the end of April, my husband has been searching for a job. The search continues, and we remain positive that something will happen soon. Patience. Also, I'm starting to query book agents and publishers with my novel, which I just finished. Now I wait for responses. Patience again. I'm waiting to find out if the enrollment will be high enough for my Reiki courses to be held. Patience. It's not a word I like very much, and it's never been easy for me, but what makes patience possible is trust.

I have decided to have trust that things will all work out as they should. Whether my husband will get a job here, in VA, or in Utah, things will work out. Maybe we'll stay and maybe we'll sell the house and move. Whatever happens, it will be for the best, and I trust the Universe, the Powers That Be, Source, the Angels, whatever, that the best interests of my family will be arranged. It is this trust that helps me have patience.

Some people would call it "faith." Maybe trust and faith are the same thing. I am not sure. I've never considered myself a "person of faith." Trust seems to be easier - just telling myself that it's all going to be fine has a calming effect.

Then there's "surrender." That is also a kind of trust - just saying that I'm going to just BE in the moment and not worry about what could happen. Just dealing with today - the now - is part of what I've been learning from Tolle's book. It takes practice, because I find that planning gives me a sense of security. And sometimes I find myself trying to plan for many different scenarios, and I get caught up in the "what-if's" before I know it.

Patience, trust, surrender - these are the lessons I'm working on. Who knew that deciding what to read next could get me here?

Peace.

Protecting Your Energy

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I learned something, (applause, please!) and when I learn something, the first thing I want to do is to share it. (It is the teacher in me that drives me!) I am hoping that this lesson is something that will help someone avoid what happened to me.

I'm relatively new to energy work, even though it's a part of each and every day for me. I do lots of attunements, advising and teaching. I blog about it, and think about it often, pondering how I can get the message about the amazing power we all have inside us out to more people.

My day to day life and Reiki practice both involve more giving than receiving. I know this, and it's something I know I need to pay more mindful attention to in order to restore the balance.

Before giving a healing or attunement, I first ask my Guides and Angels for protection and support. I feel the energy and their presences around me before I begin, and it feels good, grounding, and helps me feel ready. After the session, I thank them. I also do my best to keep my mindful attention on the flow of the energy rather than let my mind wander. Being in the moment is part of my practice, and it still takes a little effort, but it's becoming more natural. This feels right to me, and has been a good practice.

I recently learned about grounding, and posted about its importance and benefits. Today I'm going to talk about protecting your energy.

I never knew about the importance of doing this all the time, but apparently for energy workers and anyone who raises their energy to a higher vibration (through meditation for example), it is an essential practice. Having energy that is big and flowing outward apparently has the ability to attract entities and manifestations. Interacting with others for attunements and healings can make one similarly vulnerable. What are entities and manifestations? Basically, as I understand it, they are energy thought forms which take on a life of their own, and attach themselves to one's energy, causing blockages or damage. Some can be malevolent, as I found out first hand early this morning.

Here's what happened.

I was asleep. It was 5:45 am. I awoke suddenly, feeling as if a heavy energy was weighing on my head and chest, smothering me. I could breathe, but this felt wrong. I didn't know why it was happening and I asked for angelic support from Archangel Michael, to help get this energy off me. I felt it continue, weighing heavily, for 15 minutes. Suddenly, it released. I looked at my watch. It was 6 am. I lay in bed, wondering what had happened, and suddenly at 6:15, it started again. The sensation was more powerful this time, feeling like a big pillow being pushed on my face and chest. I tossed in bed, but it continued. I asked again for Archangel Michael and my angels to please fight it off, and I felt a struggle going on. In 15 minutes, it was over again, and I was shaken, but felt released. I realized I have been the victim of a psychic attack.

When I got up, I told my friend and amazing healer, Sophie Lhoste, what had happened. She checked into my energy, verified that I had been attacked, and said that it was related to the attunements I did at the summer camp last week. Something that had felt displaced had come after me. She reiterated the importance of protecting my energy all the time, and said I need to learn to do that. As an energy worker, I am vulnerable to outside energies and must be mindful of cleansing my energy and protecting it.

So how does one protect oneself? There are a number of ways:

• cleanse the room. Here is a great guide for ways to do this, from my friend Alana's website.
• ask for help. Ask for the angels to protect your energy, placing a shield around you. You can also ask them to guard your home, bedroom, wherever, before going to sleep at night, or whenever you feel vulnerable.
• cleanse your energy. Do daily self healings such as Etheric Cord Flush, and ground your energy many times a day.
• visualization techniques. You can imagine yourself protected in a bubble of white light, golden light, or a blue cloak of protection. I am going to use this at the beginning of each day and before bed.
• crystals & stones. I carry energy charged stones with me during the day, and I am going to charge some with the intention for "protection" and add them to my collection. Tiger's Eye is a stone that is known to be good for this, as is quartz.

Stay tuned, also. Because Sophie is going to host a 50 minute teleclass on Psychic Protection, and she's sure to give more very important methods of how we can all protect our energies from negative influences. The class is going to be on Thursday, August 27, at 9 pm Eastern Standard Time. The fee for the call is $25 and I'll be there too, learning these important techniques with you. Sophie is an amazing teacher, healer and resource, so I hope you'll take this opportunity to join us on the call. Click the button to sign-up.



I urge you to try these methods and start today to make them a part of your daily practice. If you work with energy, or you're around people with negative energy, protecting yourself can keep you from absorbing negativity that can affect you. So learn from my mistakes, and know that I am sharing this with you to help protect you as well. We're all in this together! Energy connects us all.

Let me know how it goes for you, and I hope you'll join us on the call.

Peace and light.

The Lessons of the Summer

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After a couple very slow weeks, things have started happening. I'm happy to welcome some new students - Kundalini Reiki students and Energy Healing Mentoring Program students. I also did some searching for places to teach Reiki in my local area and came up with a few possibilities, which I pursued. There have been some promising results!

I did a search for "holistic" in my area. Why I didn't think to do that before is anyone's guess. I found a wellness center that was hosting a holistic day camp. "How cool!" I thought. I called the contact number and left a message saying that I am looking for opportunities to teach Reiki for Parents and other Reiki courses and would like to talk about collaborating. Someone called me back right away (on Friday), and offered me the chance to teach Reiki for Kids at the holistic day camp which was coming up the following week. Great timing! I followed up with the appropriate people and found myself attuning 10 kids to Usui Reiki level 1 on Tuesday morning. I created the class for the kids, taught it, and attuned each child in turn. It was really wonderful. I will be going back on Friday to teach some more and attune the kids to level 2. I met with some of the parents and they signed up indicating their interest in Reiki for Parents, so there may be a chance to teach a class after camp is over, and have some ongoing teaching opportunities with that particular center. It's a nice facility with good energy. They do lots of work with families, kids and teens, and this could be an excellent place for me to teach.

I also called another wellness center, which looked promising. I received a call back from them too, asking if I would like to apply to be one of their team. Today I went for an interview and applied. It looks like a great place to work and I could have lots of opportunities there to teach a variety of Reiki courses, including Distance Healing. The person I met with has many contacts and could help promote and bring people in for courses I would offer. The place is beautiful, situated overlooking a little running creek, and every room is inviting and warm. She was interested in my course materials, which I brought to show her, and is going to present my application to the Trustees. It is a nonprofit organization for Metaphysical study and exploration. It will be a week, at least, until I hear from them, but I feel pretty good about it.

Then, I spoke with the Program Director at the JCC here, who expressed interest in Reiki for Parents, and I sent her a course description. She is now on vacation.

So now I wait to see what will blossom from these efforts. I hope they all will become opportunities to teach and show people how amazing Reiki can be as a part of every day life. There is an element of quieting and believing that what is meant to work out will - since at this point much is out of my control. I put all of these things out there, and now I wait to see what will happen. This is the part where "letting go" is important, and having patience.

I thank the Universe for the opportunity to practice letting go and having patience. Many of you know that my dear husband has been looking for work since the end of April. He has many applications out there, and has had a few interviews. Things move very slowly, and it can be a trying process. But we are doing our best to stay positive and believe that all will work out for the best.

He is enjoying lots of time with the kids, meanwhile, and having the first summer "off" in many years. All the same, it could be easy to become anxious and wonder what the future will bring, and feel like things have to change soon or there will be problems ahead. While that is true, it doesn't do any good. It doesn't change things or make them work out sooner. So it doesn't pay to go there.

It also doesn't help any for me to worry and get intense over which teaching position, if any, will work out. Something will, and whatever it is, I'll learn something. Right now it seems, for my husband and myself, the lesson is having patience and letting go. We have to let go of anxiety, knowing we are making all of the effort we can to set things up, and have patience to see what is going to come of them - what will take root and grow into our next set of opportunities. The hardest part is the patience. Time marches on and tempts us to become anxious, worried about money - a very real issue - and yet worrying doesn't make money appear. Some might say worrying will block things from happening. I don't know, but I do know that it doesn't help. So we take turns reminding each other to enjoy the moment - be present and know that this is going to be a summer with Dad that the kids will always remember and cherish. And we remind each other to believe that things will work out in the right time. Encouraging each other when we need it helps keep us close together, supporting each other as spouses should do.

So the positives of patience and letting go are showing themselves in these ways.

The fruits of our efforts will grow in the right time.

Breathe, ground, let go, and have patience. Be in the moment.
The lessons of this summer.