SoulTraveler

Determination is great but….. how are you going about dealing with this major life change brought on by this pandemic? Prior to the pandemic we were very much future focused in terms of our daily lives. Things like making plans to meet up with friends, hosting   parties, participating in various forms entertainment such as concerts, conventions, movies, theater etc., and of course, travel. Now, many people are working from home and also taking classes at home and home schooling their children. All in a blink of the eye. That’s a lot to take in all at once. Our brains are reeling causing feelings ranging from concern to depression to denial to outright panic. It’s natural for the brain to go to the negative. This is where the ego kicks in to protect us from harm on a most basic level. Somewhere underneath this ego of ours is the voice of a different kind of reason. This is our intuitive, spiritual self. It is called your intuition. It's that little voice or your gut f...

The term "aging gracefully" automatically brings up reactions such as the eye rolls and cringing at the very mention of the fact that we won't stay 21 forever. There is a misconception that to age gracefully means to let your hair go grey, stop wearing make up and dress in a matronly matter. If we look at the word "gracefully" we can see that there is a much deeper meaning at play. When we live our lives in a so called state of grace, we are living inside the world of spirit and letting go of the ego aspects of aging. The ego reminds us of the obvious signs of aging that are unavoidable such as hair turning grey, hair loss, wrinkles and weight gain. The spirit reminds us that to age gracefully means to embrace and enjoy what each decade of your life brings.  The hard work of getting used to life as an adult by starting your career and setting life plans, is what happens in your twenties. All of this new found freedom makes this decade one of the hardest ones. ...

How can you have a vacation this summer? It's quite simple, change it up! Now that summer has arrived it gives us an opportunity to enjoy nature more easily and to slow down our pace. While we all have established routines that can't be let go, we can decide to do them a bit differently. By tweaking our routines a bit and maybe adding some new temporary routines, we in essence are giving ourselves a vacation. Here are a few things that come to mind, some of which I have done in my own life. Morning Coffee  I enjoy my morning coffee and breakfast out on my back porch once summer arrives. Listening to the birds, the buzzing bees and the trees as the sway ever so slightly puts me in a relaxed and joyful frame of mind. Don't have a yard? Step out onto your balcony. No balcony? Take your coffee to go, get away from the crowd and find a nearby park or beach where you can sit for a few minutes to enjoy nature before starting your day. Depending on how hot the day is forecast ...

The Justice card in the tarot deck is the card of karma. It represents righting the wrongs in order to bring life back into balance. When we see people doing a wrong to others or experience a wrong done to us by someone else we inevitably look towards karma. The idea of having someone "get what they have coming to them" is a satisfying thought in light of the fact that they are unlikely to right the wrong they did you you. Be assured that these people will have  karmic paybacks. More important though is what about us? I believe in karma. In fact, I embrace it! While we often think of it in terms of other people getting payback, we seldom think of it in terms of creating our own positive or negative karma. Karma is twofold in that we can create good or bad karma depending on the choices we make both in the short term and long term. We create karma everyday. Being mindful of what type of karma we are creating for ourselves is imperative. While most of us understand that murde...

Politically and socially, 2018 was a bad year for our country with human rights being under attack and some truly shameful things being orchestrated by our government. It feels as if the moral fiber of our country has been torn apart. The sight of children in caged spaces, torn apart from their parents is something I will never forget. The mass shootings that have taken place nearly every week is appalling. Fear and anger reign, yet so few speak up. Bad times indeed. I thought our country was so much better than this. Though we cannot control everything that is going on around us, we can and must find avenues to fight the good fight against all that is bad by speaking up often and, activism of any kind. What we can control is ourselves and how we choose to experience our lives. Once we have a handle on our well being, we will be better equipped to handle and help with the outside. It's important to separate the universal from the personal because it helps us to balance reality so t...

Oh those holiday blues. Holiday angst is common among so many people and for so many reasons. However this doesn't have to be the case. You've heard what to do in  case of a fire, those three simple words: STOP, DROP, ROLL. Dealing with the holidays can also be summed up in three simple words: STOP, THINK, ACT. Let me explain in greater detail. STOP Reliving the past . It's gone, it is no longer a reality. Everyone experiences some kind of loss. Accept this and decide how you want to live now. The pity party. Again, the past is gone and the present is what you choose to make it. Ask yourself why you are focusing on the hurts of the past instead of making the now a celebration. If your life appears to be full of negative distractions, realize that many of them are under your control You alone create your reality holiday season or not. Trying to live up to expectations whether they be from family, friends or society. THINK What does the holiday season mean to you. I...

I daresay that I hardly know anyone who could not stand to lose at least a few pounds, maybe more. Carrying extra weight is a burden to the soul. I'm not referring to physical weight loss. The kind of weight I'm referring to is the weight that is made up of feelings of self importance, overly serious attitudes and non communication. Some of the most spiritual people you may know (Dali Lama, for one) approach life with a sense of humor born out of their ability to let go of the ego and embrace their soul urges. If you have ever seen photos of the Dali Lama you might notice that he is often seen smiling. His whole appearance is one of relaxation and openness. He looks approachable. He is ready to receive. He is embracing the whole package that is his life and living it openly and honestly, without pretentiousness. You do not have to be a spiritual leader in order to live a gratifying, happy life. You simply need to be yourself. Once you can be true to yourself, you can then b...

The obvious sentiment around the Valentine holiday is to celebrate romantic love. For many people without a romantic interest in their lives, Valentine's Day is a poignant reminder of what is missing in their lives. This may be in part why Valentine's Day is a much maligned holiday. There is however, another way to look at February 14th. Look at it as a day to celebrate love. Love of yourself, your friends, your family and beyond. Valentine's Day is the red and pink color holiday that brightens up the drab grey of Winter with hearts, chocolates and flowers Here are some ideas to help you celebrate a day of  love. For the kids in your life: tuck a valentine into their lunch boxes or backpacks when they aren't looking. Even the snarky teenagers will get a kick out of it even if they won't necessarily want to admit it. Heart shaped cookies in the lunch box along with a red apple would be a nice addition as well. Surprise the family with a heart shaped cake for desser...

Happiness is the product of accepting the choices you have made for your life path thus far, while understanding that we can decide to alter these choices anytime we choose if we find that we need to grow in a different direction. Happiness comes from embracing our soul purpose and self sacrifice.                                                      Honoring our Soul Choices When we make a choice to partner up with another person or to become a parent, we take on a soul commitment to another being. The challenge of such commitment, is in being mindful of the well being of those who we made the commitment to and putting aside our egotistical tendencies to worry about what we are getting in return. Empowering our children to feel good about themselves and their place in the family and affirming that they can achieve their dreams, is in itself empowerin...

When the New Year arrives, many of us are determined to make changes in our lives, and so we set out to make resolutions. Often times many of these resolutions fade away almost as quickly as we write them down and we are left wondering why this happens to us nearly every time we make the attempt to improve ourselves. Some of the most common resolutions involve losing weight, exercising more and eating healthier. I feel the main reason these resolutions fail is because we are coming from an ego point of view rather than from our spiritual selves. If we remain mindful that we are first and foremost spiritual beings, then the notion of hitting the gym 3 times a week or dieting to lose that extra twenty pounds becomes amusing. Why? because perhaps we are doing it for the wrong reasons or maybe we are doing it for the right reasons but going at it the wrong way. If the goal of diet and exercise is so that we can look good to ourselves when we look in the mirror, or in the hope of attracting...

The key to any successful relationship whether it be romance oriented or not, is to honor yourself. By honoring yourself you set a standard of behavior that is acceptable to you and will allow for healthy growth to take place between two people. Often times, people set separate standards for what they will tolerate in a relationship versus a friendship. Some people set higher standards for a romantic partner than they do for a friend, others do the opposite. Standards for ANY relationship that you engage in should be the same. All relationships are about give and take and require a fairly equal exchange of effort. I say fairly because sometimes one must carry more than the other for a bit of time and vice versa. The point here is that in the end it evens out. When one person is continually carrying the bulk of the work of a relationship it puts things out of balance and sends the wrong message to the other person. Compromise and honesty are two other important frameworks that build a...

I have taken a year off from this blog in order to focus on some  aspects of my life that needed some attention, both on a spiritual level and mundane as well. My work as a psychic and life coach has given me valuable insights into how relationships can go wrong and also what characteristics define a good relationship. People call me out of concern over a romantic relationship they are struggling with, but seldom, if ever, do I get calls about friendships. For many, friendships are not something that people really think about working on. I am surprised how little people know about how to go about being a good friend. Although friendships are not required to last a lifetime, they are another important part of how we relate and share our lives with others. As such, they could use a little tending to. I feel that people seldom take the time to reflect on how good a friend they are to another person, but rather tend to focus on what they themselves are getting from a friendship. It a...

Your honest word is one of your most precious and powerful possessions.     Mistakes Were Made (but not by me) Why we justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions and hurtful acts by Carol Tavis and Elliot Aronson . This book is well worth reading not only to help you understand your behaviors, but also why other people act as they do. Great self help book. It is fascinating. Here are some tidbits from the book 1 .Promises are easily made. Keeping them often proves more difficult because when we are pressured to strive always for perfection, we find it simpler to agree to undertake impossible tasks than to say no. Likewise, there is an infinite array of circumstances that conspire to goad us into telling falsehoods, even when we hold a great reverence for truth. When you endeavor to consistently keep your word, however, you protect your reputation and promote yourself as someone who can be trusted to be unfailingly truthful. Though your honesty may not always en...

Samhain is the time of year when the veil between the spirit world and ours is the thinnest. This makes it a good time to communicate with the ancestors. Some people may not have a strong connection to their past family members or a desire to connect with them. However, the concept of ancestors does not have to be limited to a family tree. For some people, ancestors can be the deity they identify most closely with.  Find what works best for you and try this spread in the quiet hours of Samhain. To make this spread part of a ritual or the Samhain ritual itself, I would suggest setting up an altar with black and silver candles which can be scented with vanilla or cinnamon oil. I also like to clear the room with sage prior to any ritual. A black or silver altar cloth, clear quartz crystal and/or onyx stones, a picture of your ancestor or statue of your deity would be a nice addition as well. Animal totems could also be used. I like to use my raven statue. Raven is a...

With clouds overhead and more rain today, I am most aware that the promise of Fall is just around the corner. As I savor the last of summer, I await the Fall with eager anticipation. Fall is my favorite season. It's a natural for me since I was born on Mabon. I started putting Summer to rest yesterday, doing some final harvests before I pull my plants. The herbs are still doing well as are my fairy gardens. I hope to bring both of my fairy gardens inside for the winter to put in my garden room. I harvested basil and made a nice pesto to enjoy before we head out to California. so many of the leaves were damaged but I decided to dry them to use for magical purposes. I will do the same with the mint, lemon balm and lemon verbena. Today I have decorated the mantle with leaves, ravens, owls and candle jars. I will add some tiny pumpkins when they are available. My harvest wreath and Celtic knot doormat are out on the front porch. So often in the past I have bypassed ...

Someone rang my doorbell earlier today. Throwing caution aside I went to answer it. standing there was an older couple who wanted to give me an invitation to an upcoming Jehovah' Witness event. I smiled kindly, thanked them for the invitation and told them to stay cool. I didn't feel any anger or resentment towards them or a need to point out the broom that hangs right by my door and announce to them that I am an earth worshiper. I understand that we will never change another person's spiritual beliefs nor should we attempt to do so since it is really none of our business. If this couple had pressed their views, I would have stood my ground and been very annoyed indeed because along with acceptance, I also believe in standing up for your beliefs if provoked to do so. It feels good to be able to be so sure of your spiritual beliefs that you don't need to mock or condemn others for theirs.  I believe that is living the Buddhist path and I like it!

I read a post this morning from the blog The Bishop in The Grove about the upcoming vernal equinox, known to pagans as Ostara. Traditionally, with the coming of spring and thus with Ostara, we look towards new beginnings, both for mother earth and ourselves. The thought of new beginnings brings to mind all sorts of fun things like perhaps a new relationship, new home, new job, a new place to visit. What intrigued me about Teo Bishop's article was his idea of focusing on the balance aspect of Ostara. As I ran my errands this morning, I couldn't help but reflect on where and how we could restore balance into our lives. Our Nutrition: Many of us are looking to bring our weight or health back into balance and naturally look towards ways we can be achieve this. Perhaps instead of focusing on diets that eliminate whole food groups (vegetarian,paleo, Atkinson, gluten free etc) we should instead look into how are eating habits are unbalanced and how we can bring things ...

Relationships are the things that ground us and allow us to grow as people. They teach us many things. They teach us to have the courage to admit when we are wrong, to admit when we are scared,  to admit when we are lonely. They teach us the value of truth and of the importance of being ourselves. They teach us the folly of expectations and instead the wisdom of acceptance of another person. It is for these reasons that friendship reigns supreme in the relationship genre. To learn to be a good friend is the basis of a lasting and fulfilling romantic partnership. Entwining ourselves with unhealthy, unstable people will never be a satisfactory experience and will in fact lead a person further down the slippery slope of mental wellness. It is important to look at the people to whom you feel the closest because they are a reflection of yourself and show what it is you value. People who feel that the world revolves around them are the most unattractive people of all. It doesn't tak...

I am taking a break from raking the many leaves that have fallen in my back yard. At first I found it amusing to think that at a time of year when it is time to release things that no longer serve your highest good, that I am gathering together a bunch of dead leaves. Then I realized that I was forgetting about the next step, which is throwing them away. So ritualistically I am gathering all of the dead and decaying things in my life and throwing them out. Whether a person celebrates Samhain or not, it is a good idea to rake the leaves in one's life at least once a year, if not more. When we wait for just this one opportunity at Samhain, it ends up being more work than if we get into a habit of cleaning up on a more regular basis. Being human is a condition that seems to prevent us from easily sloughing off attachments that no longer serve us, yet with wisdom, we can learn this skill. At the opposite end of the spectrum of Samhain is the idea of rebirth from the ash...

People who are involved in soul connections that have gone awry find themselves frustrated and confused. These are the people who find their way to me for coaching or readings. The word potential is often bandied about during these sessions which got me to thinking about what exactly potential means in terms of ourselves. The best way to look at potential and what could be the result,is from both sides. Greatness cannot be achieved by re-writing your life's script in order to place blame on others for mistakes and bad choices you once made and then act as if they never existed. If everyone, or selected others, are to blame for all of your failures then there is no need to face the responsibility of being an adult. It is always a failure when you do not treat people (or animals) with respect and dignity. Greatness cannot be achieved by living, or surrounding yourself with people that are mediocre at best, and deluding yourself that they are something more. Greatness cannot be ach...