Honor Your Ancestors

Halloween is a perfect time to honor your ancestors. I dedicate today's post to my paternal grandmother Emilia, who died before I was born. I have felt her with me lately, especially when I cook. Her family was from Genoa, Italy, and I think of her every time I make pesto, because Genoa is where it originated. I always feel my grandmother is happy when I am making pesto.

I know she was an excellent cook, so I call upon her to help me when I am in the kitchen. This is something I just started doing recently, and I am amazed at the results. I can cook, but I do not improvise well in the kitchen. I prefer precise guidance when I cook, and therefore I am more of a baker than a general cook. So when I recently attempted to make a pork roast without a recipe, I called upon my grandmother to help me. I seasoned the roast with fresh garlic, sage, and rosemary, along with salt and pepper. It came out so good, and I know it is because she helped. I've attempted to make pork roast in the past, and it was always a bit dull and overcooked. She's helped me to make a few other things too that I wasn't sure how to prepare, and the results have been excellent every time!

Happy Samhain!

INFP

I am an INFP in the Myers-Briggs personality type system. Here is a short description from the Myers-Briggs website:

INFP
Idealistic, loyal to their values and to people who are important to them. Want an external life that is congruent with their values. Curious, quick to see possibilities, can be catalysts for implementing ideas. Seek to understand people and to help them fulfill their potential. Adaptable, flexible, and accepting unless a value is threatened.

I first discovered the Myers-Briggs types years ago when I came across the book Do What You Are, by Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron. You don't need to take the official MBTI test (for which you must pay) in order to figure out what type you are - I learned my type just by reading the short descriptions in this book. You will almost certainly recognize yourself and easily determine which of the 16 types you are. Alternatively, there are several places online where you can read descriptions (such as www.typelogic.com) or take a modified test for free. This is my profile from www.mypersonality.info:



The Myers-Briggs is an incredible tool for self-discovery and self-understanding. I was completely blown away when I first learned about it. It explained so much about the way I see the world and the challenges I face. It can help you to understand other people who are different than you, and why they act the way they do. I found it helped me to be more compassionate toward myself and other people. For example, I finally understood why my "crazy" sister loves having parties and meeting new people and going out all the time. She is an extrovert. I dread going to parties and need lots of time alone. I am an introvert. These are innate characteristics we are born with, and that we also share with other people who have this particular element in their personality. Check it out!

Father Heaven and Mother Earth

Lately when meditating I have connected to the energies of Father Heaven and Mother Earth. I have felt the nurturing and support of Mother Earth, and the inspiration and creativity of Father Heaven. I have recognized the enormity of these forces, and how I live my life between them. I know I will be safe and successful as long as I am open to them, allowing each to pour their energies into my body and spirit.

Feel their power for yourself - take a deep breath, close your eyes, and ground yourself by envisioning a cord from the base of your spine going deep into the earth. Inhale, then as you exhale let all of the energy in and around your body go into the ground through the cord. Inhale again, and draw the energy of the earth in through your first chakra as you do so. Exhale, and feel the power and presence of Mother Earth supporting you. Inhale, and this time draw in energy from above through your 7th chakra. Exhale, and feel the power and presence of Father Heaven animating you and inspiring you. Sit for a while and be aware of both above and below, and your rightful place between them.

Go Easy On Yourself

Most of us are extremely self-critical. We are too fat, too ugly, too stupid, not popular enough, not good enough. We were taught that criticizing ourselves will spur us to make positive changes in our lives. But the failure of so many of our self-improvement initiatives suggests otherwise.

There is a better way. Go easy on yourself. Stop beating yourself up for the stupid thing you did 2 weeks ago (or 2 years ago, or 20 years ago). Stop looking for the things that are wrong with you, and start acknowledging the things that are right about you. Focus on your strengths. When you feel better about yourself, you treat yourself better, and you become more effective in the world.

It is also important to help others. You don't need to be Mother Theresa either. Try listening to a friend with your full attention, without judging or criticizing or relating the topic of conversation back to yourself. I know people that are so caught up in their own personal improvement plan that they are completely oblivious to everyone else around them. People get tired of hearing about you after a while, and how messed up you once were, but how you're getting better now. It's OK to love yourself, but the best way to bring your loving energy into the world is to love others.

This is especially true when you consider those less fortunate. Feeling sorry for yourself because someone dumped you 10 years ago seems so petty when you become aware of the struggle some people go through just to get their next meal (I'm talking to myself here). It's OK to be sad and process through your difficult feelings, but there also comes a time when you just need to let go. Go easy on yourself, and go easy on the people in your life.

One Size Does Not Fit All

I strongly believe that what's true for one person is not true for everyone. We are so programmed in our society to believe that there is One Truth that applies to everyone, but it simply isn't so. Yes, there are some things that are true for many people, but there is very little that is true for everyone.

Food is a perfect example. I think each of us intuitively knows exactly what our body needs us to eat, and how much of it, on any given day. We all intuitively know what foods nourish our own bodies and what foods are toxic to us. But what is good for my body is not necessarily good for yours. For example, broccoli may be extremely healthy for me to eat, but it may be toxic for you. Broccoli may be very healthy for most people to eat, but that does not make it healthy for everyone. Only you truly know what your body needs. Furthermore, broccoli may be good for me today, and bad for me tomorrow. Our bodies are constantly changing, so eating the same thing every day probably will not meet all of our needs all of the time. We need to learn to tune in to our bodies, ask them what they need, and trust that only we know what is best for ourselves.

I will take this a step further. I don't believe smoking is bad for everyone. Personally I do not smoke, and I don't believe smoking is healthy for most people. However, I believe that someone who smokes without guilt, who completely enjoys it, and who truly feels good despite the fact that they smoke, will not be harmed by it. The fact that our society has condemned smoking, and that "science" has come out against it, means nothing except to the extent that people buy into the idea that what is true for one person is true for everyone. It isn't.

Most people are intimidated by this idea. If this were generally accepted, it would be much more difficult to apply "one size fits all" solutions to everything from medicine to education. It would be more difficult for a relatively small group of people to control huge numbers of people. It is a firm spiritual tenet that we are all One. Yet paradoxically, what is true for one is not true for all. Believe it.

Cards

I have been working with tarot cards for almost ten years. My first experience with tarot cards was in college, when my best friend showed me her Barbara Walker deck. I loved it from the moment I saw it. However, after college I didn't spend much time with the cards. It was about ten years later that I decided to take a class on tarot reading, taught by the fabulous Susan Levitt. Since then, I have done a daily reading for myself every day, and I sometimes do readings for friends. I use both the Universal Waite deck, and the Crowley Thoth deck. Both have their strong points, and although for a long time the Thoth deck did not appeal to me, now I consider it the stronger of the two. Of course it is a highly personal matter which deck to use, but personally I like that the Thoth deck is more abstract, and I like the colors, and I like the astrological information included on each card. But since many people don't like that deck when they first see it, I prefer the Universal Waite when reading for others.





Recently I bought my first non-tarot oracle card deck. I have been so enamored with Colette Baron-Reid lately (see yesterday's post) that I bought her Wisdom of Avalon Oracle Cards. For the past few weeks, each day I have drawn two cards for myself, one from the tarot and one from Wisdom of Avalon. Reading the two cards together really enhances the meaning of each, much more than I expected. The Wisdom of Avalon is simpler than the tarot, which I think has its benefits and its limitations. It is more straightforward, but because of that, it is less subtle. I have such a deep love for the tarot that I wouldn't want to replace it, but I'm finding that using the Wisdom of Avalon cards with it helps to steer my readings into a more specific direction.

Colette Baron-Reid

A few months ago I had never heard of Colette Baron-Reid. In the short time between now and then, I have become a huge fan. I discovered Colette when I registered for the I Can Do It! - Tampa conference (www.icandoit.net). As I was trying to decide which workshops to attend at the conference, I did some research and found that her products were very well reviewed on Amazon (www.amazon.com). I bought her book Remembering the Future, and read it in a few days. I couldn't put it down.

Remembering the Future is basically an autobiography, with a focus on how Colette came to be at the point where she is today. She is a gifted psychic, though as she explains in the book, her life-long dream was to be a recording artist. For years she did readings only to support her dream of being a singer. The way she comes to terms with this conflict is one of my favorite things about the book. She eventually realized that it was God's will for her to focus on her psychic gifts, and let go of the singing career. Once she surrendered to that, she became hugely successful. And I think her star is still rising.

The process that Colette went through flies in the face of programs like The Secret. She was completely savvy to doing all of the visualizations and affirmations to manifest her dream singing career, but it just didn't happen. That's not to say that people shouldn't do visualizations and affirmations, but I think her message is that if you do the work, and still it does not manifest, perhaps the Universe has something else in mind for you. I think of it as God's veto power. Yes you may be a co-creator with the Divine, and the Divine will support you as long as what you are working to manifest is consistent with your soul's purpose and life lessons. However, if it is not, God's veto power will prevent it from happening. There comes a point when acceptance and surrender must replace your own willful intention.

Since I loved Remembering the Future so much, I also bought Colette's Journey Through the Chakras CD. This is an excellent guided meditation CD, and I listen to it several times each week. There is something so uplifting and energizing about Colette's work.

I immediately recognized this positive energy when I saw Colette in person at the I Can Do It! - Tampa conference. She is full of life and laughter, and at the same time, watching her give a reading is incredible. When she was speaking before Sylvia Browne at the conference, everyone in the audience had a bracelet with a number on it, and random numbers were chosen from a basket for people to come up and get a reading. Despite this system, Colette would also describe certain people in the audience who she wanted to "read" based on spirits that were contacting her. She gave extremely accurate readings to everyone she called up, both those she called up herself and those chosen through the random number system. Witnessing this process was so exciting and entertaining.

I could go on and on about my impressions of this woman, but I strongly encourage you to experience her for yourself. On her website you can join her "Members Lounge" for free, and gain access to lots of free information and advice. She also does a weekly radio show on Hay House Radio. She is still on tour with Sylvia Browne, and does other workshops on a regular basis (look at the events listings at www.hayhouse.com). What really excites me is that she has a five day workshop coming up in February called "Your Partnership with Spirit." If I could come up with $3000 before then, I would so be there! But times being what they are, I don't know if I will make it. Regardless, I am so grateful I have discovered Colette. She is bright, generous, and exceptionally gifted.

Doreen Virtue

Yesterday I wrote a little bit about seeing Doreen Virtue in Tampa, and how I enjoyed her lecture there, as well as the readings she did for people in the audience. I also enjoy her weekly radio show on Hay House Radio. She is smart, articulate, and fun to listen to.

I only recently discovered Doreen. A couple of months ago I had a sudden urge to read books about angels, and Doreen has written many. Based on the Amazon reader reviews, I chose her book Angels 101, which as its title suggests is more or less a basic primer. It's a quick, breezy read, but it's a pretty book with a light, positive touch.

Although I enjoyed the book, I was not an instant Doreen Virtue fan. However, about a month after I read Angels 101, I saw her being interviewed in Louise Hay's You Can Heal Your Life DVD (which I rented from Netflix). Something she said in that movie really struck me, and has stayed with me ever since. She was talking about listening to divine guidance, and how that comes through. She said it is a step-by-step process, and the guidance usually directs you one step at a time. When you complete one step, you receive the next step. Eventually the steps lead you to where you need to be.

This immediately made sense to me, and really helped me to relax and focus on my own intuitive next steps, and not think and worry so much about where I'm ultimately going. I suddenly became very clear on exactly what I needed to do with my life, and it got me to the point where I feel very happy with what I'm doing, rather than worrying about what I "should" be doing, or what I'm not doing. Thanks to Doreen for the great advice!

By the way, if you're interested in the You Can Heal Your Life DVD, I strongly recommend that you rent the "expanded version" and skip Disc 1 altogether. Just watch the interviews on Disc 2. Not only is each interview fascinating and engrossing, in total they cover all the principles covered in the actual movie (and more), without the rather irritating narrative intercut throughout the movie about an anonymous every-woman in the process of changing her thinking.

Back to Doreen, if you have an interest in angels, by all means check her out. Personally I struggle a bit with admitting my fascination with angels. Some harsh part of me says that angels are nothing but childish fantasy. Yet the wiser part of me knows that angel consciousness is a very loving, healing, and protective energy to bring into your life and into the world. It is powerful.

Caroline Myss and the Shadow

Although I'm a huge fan of Caroline Myss (see yesterday's post), like everyone else she too has an apparent shadow side. I first observed this a few weeks ago at the conference I attended to hear her speak (I Can Do It! - Tampa). I was fascinated by what she was saying, but her lecture had a definite edge to it. For example, she said to the group, "Your mother and father didn't love you? So what? I don't care that your mother and father didn't love you!" Her point was that people need to get themselves out of their self-pity and self-focus, but she can come across as a bit harsh despite this important message.

Immediately following the lecture, I heard two women talking outside. One had attended the lecture, and the other hadn't. The woman who attended was telling her friend that she "felt like she was in church" and noted the fire-and-brimstone flavor of the talk. I chuckled to myself because I could relate, yet still I found Caroline's message to be ultimately important and affirming. When I later described the workshop to my partner, I said it had an SM quality to it. At times, Caroline seemed angry and punishing, but then she would soften the tone and say the most exquisitely loving things to the audience.

Later that evening, I attended Doreen Virtue's keynote workshop, open to the entire conference. She is a warm, delightful speaker with a great sense of humor (you can hear her on her internet radio show at Hay House Radio). Like Caroline, she is an intuitive, but Doreen works with the angel realm. Caroline is a medical intuitive, and also senses the archetypal patterns in people, so you would expect a reading given by these two women to take rather different approaches.

Well, these approaches completely clashed later in the evening. There were hundreds of people in the audience, most of whom wanted Doreen to do a reading for them. It is fascinating to see Doreen do a reading, because with little or no information she is able to talk to a randomly chosen audience member with complete ease and accuracy. One of the last people to be chosen for a reading was a woman from Brazil. She was a massage therapist, and said that she had a life-long dream of being a healer. Immediately Doreen confirmed that the angels supported her in that path, and that she was meant to be a healer. The woman looked relieved, yet also frustrated. She said that earlier in the day she had told Caroline Myss about her desire to be a healer, and Caroline bluntly replied that she did not see the healer archetype in her "at all." Direct contradiction between two great intuitives! Perhaps there is a way to reconcile these two readings, but nevertheless the incident was rather jarring.

When I returned home from the conference, I told my partner how much I had enjoyed hearing Caroline Myss speak. He dug out the Sacred Contracts 5 CD set he bought several years ago, and I listened to them for the first time. It is an excellent set, and I highly recommend it along with the book Sacred Contracts. Since I enjoyed the CDs so much, I looked at the Amazon reviews for her Entering the Castle 9 CD set. I was somewhat surprised to see that several Amazon reviewers rated the set with only 1 star out of a possible 5. However, when I started reading the reviews, I realized that many of the reviewers were complaining about the same harsh tone I had a taste of at the conference (although from the reviews, it sounds like the CDs are worse).

Regardless, I still plan to listen to the Entering the Castle CDs after I've worked with the book for a while longer. If her tone on the CDs is anything like her tone at the conference, it is clear to me that many people are far too quick to take offense. What I witnessed at Caroline's lecture was a woman who is an incredible visionary. She speaks with tremendous passion, and a conviction that what she is saying is useful, relevant, and important to every person in the audience. She is not trying to get people to like her, or even to buy her products. She is saying what she believes, and she is not sugar-coating anything. I found her candor and honesty impressive. And what she is talking about is far beyond programs like "The Secret" or other programs designed for getting what you want (or what you think you want). She addresses the very highest levels of spiritual practice and possibility, and she pushes her audiences to meet her at that level. I love her for that.

Caroline Myss

Caroline Myss is exceptionally gifted. She is a medical intuitive, author of several excellent books, and a captivating speaker. I first heard her speak over 20 years ago, when I was a freshman at the University of Massachusetts (Amherst). I was taking a class called Biology of Cancer (soon to be called Biology of Cancer and AIDS) with Professor Albey Reiner, a life-changing class for me. Professor Reiner presented both the scientific underpinnings of cancer, its causes, and its treatment, as well as perspectives from alternative health (a little more about him and the class here). One of the speakers he invited to the class was Caroline Myss, who at that point had only co-written a book called The Creation of Health. The day she spoke to the class I was spellbound, and immediately became a life-long fan. At the time I obviously had no idea how big she was to become in the New Age world.

Almost 15 years after I first heard her speak, I was in New York on a business trip. I was feeling dissatisfied with my job and my life, and was browsing in a small bookstore in SoHo, when I picked up her book Anatomy of the Spirit. I went back to my hotel room and started reading, and it blew my mind. The next day I finished the book on the plane, and the following day I walked into my boss's office and quit. A few months later I moved to Los Angeles, and for the next two years steered my life in an infinitely better direction. I am so grateful to Caroline for the inspiration this book gave me.

Since then I read two more of her books, Why People Don't Heal and How They Can, and Sacred Contracts. I couldn't get through all of Sacred Contracts, and put Caroline out of my mind for a few years. Then, about 3 months ago, I was again browsing through a book store and this time I picked up her latest book, Entering the Castle. After reading the first few pages, I decided to approach this book as a workbook, doing all of the exercises she recommends without reading ahead. Again, as a result of this woman's influence, my life is undergoing a huge shift.

I'll write more about Caroline Myss and my experiences with her books. In the meantime, I highly recommend any of her books, audio, video, and/or workshops. She also has a great website with lots of free content.

Hay House

I love Hay House, the publishing company and so much more, founded by the great Louise Hay). Before I go on, I want to be clear that I am not an employee of Hay House, nor am I affiliated with them in any way whatsoever (although honestly, I wish I were). I must be their ideal customer though, a paragon of their target audience. They are an amazing organization. Here are a few reasons why:

*the books they publish are consistently excellent

*they attract the very best New Age/spiritual authors, even those that have previously published multiple best-sellers with other publishing companies

*they sponsor fantastic events, seminars, and workshops by the authors

*they have great on-line radio programming (Hay House Radio)

I came to truly appreciate Hay House only recently, when I decided to attend one of their events. I was looking to see if Caroline Myss Caroline Myss would be speaking in my area because I am currently working the exercises in her excellent book, Entering the Castle (which, incidentally, is NOT published by Hay House). I noticed on her web site that she would be speaking about Entering the Castle in early October at the Hay House event called "I Can Do It! - Tampa". When I looked up the details of this four day event, I found that in addition to Caroline Myss, several of the authors that I have happened to read recently or have otherwise admired over the years were participating in this conference. I knew I had to go.

I was beyond excited when I registered for the conference, but being there actually exceeded my expectations. Every speaker was phenomenal and extremely inspirational. Not surprisingly, I most enjoyed Caroline Myss - she was, after all, the primary reason I was there. But that in no way diminishes the excellent workshops and lectures I attended, with speakers including Sonia Choquette, Colette Baron-Reid, Marianne Williamson, Doreen Virtue, and several others. It was New Age nirvana!

I plan to write more in future postings about these great authors, but the point here is that it is so impressive that Hay House is able to bring together such a group of brilliant, smart, incredibly talented individuals and then promote them not only through their books, but through live events and programming as well. It amazes me.

If there is a shadow side to Hay House (and just about everything casts a shadow), it is that they are a commercial enterprise after all, and this New Age marketing machine powerhouse takes every opportunity to pummel their patrons with advertising and cross-promotions. It is so tempting for people like me to buy piles of books, attend zillions of workshops, download their podcasts, on and on and on, but as Caroline Myss pointed out during her talk at the conference in Tampa (somewhat ironically), reading a book or attending a workshop does not make a person "spiritual." To be spiritual requires carefully directed thought, action, and especially discipline. With all that said, still I am so grateful for the information and opportunities that Hay House provides.

God's will vs My will

Welcome to my blog! I have been a spiritual seeker for over 20 years, with a broad range of interests under the metaphysical umbrella. I created this blog to share with you some of my thoughts, insights, and experiences that have come from this journey. I also intend to share with you some of the wonderful resources that I have found particularly helpful along the way.

As the starting point, I want to write about a spiritual dilemma that I have been struggling with for a very long time: God's will vs. my will. Many powerful spiritual traditions recommend that we completely surrender our lives and our will to God, and then simply get out of the way. A perfect example of this is the third step of the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (www.aa.org):

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him [emphasis in original].

To me, this is an extremely sane way to live life. I consider God (aka a Higher Power, or, the Universe) vastly more qualified to run my life than anyone else, especially me. If I have truly and completely surrendered my life to God, I can rest assured that anything and everything that happens to me is for the highest good.

Yet inevitably we face choices. Most spiritual traditions acknowledge that we have free will, and many say we are co-creators with the Universe. At some point or another, we must take action. God is not going to live our lives for us. If I am unemployed and then receive two job offers, which of these is it God's will that I accept? Sure, I can pray for guidance, but ultimately it is me that must make the choice.

Taken a step further, some say that most of our reality (if not all of it) is created by our thoughts. If this is the case, I am solely responsible for everything that happens in my life. When those that promote this world view mention God, they often say that it is God's will for us to use our own free will to achieve our highest potential - but that it is completely up to us how we choose to create our own reality. The Universe will simply manifest reflections of our thoughts, and this is what we consider "reality." An excellent example of this philosophy is the subject of Gregg Braden's book, The Divine Matrix (www.greggbraden.com). These ideas are also the foundation of affirmations and visualization, the fundamentals of the extremely popular system of The Secret (www.thesecrettv.com).

As with most things in life, I struggle to find the middle path between these principles, both of which I consider valid. One of the many joys of our existence is that there is no one correct answer - it is a divine mystery. I believe that every individual has their own Ultimate Truth, but there is no one Ultimate Truth that applies to every individual.