2017: The Power of One

In numerology, the year 2017 is a 1 year, which means that it will be a year of new beginnings. And these new beginnings can take many forms, either as a radical departure from the recent past or perhaps taking up new interests or creating new relationships that move us in a new direction. New beginnings are often intertwined with periods of expansion in our lives. New beginnings create new openings. As we strive to make things different, we are also making our lives larger because we feel that expansion giving us new freedom as well as new focus. When we decide to focus on a new beginning, we are freeing ourselves from the things we are done with in order to make room for what is next. Remember that nature abhors a vacuum, so we need to move new energy in when we take old energy out if we are focused on changing our patterns.

New beginnings can also serve to expand our consciousness and elevate our interactions with others while we are making other changes. It is natural that as we evolve, our circle of friends evolves too. And so do our other perspectives on life. For example, now that I have used the services of various health care providers such as massage, chiropractic, herbalism, aromatherapy, Chinese Medicine, energy healing, and other methods, I could no longer go back to thinking about health only in terms of allopathic medicine.

And now that I have a great deal of experience with various psychic methods of insight, intuition, visualization, tarot, runes, past lives, dream interpretations, dowsing tools, clairvoyance and more, I can not go about my days as if I do not know about these things.

The famous quote by Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes speaks to this point perfectly. "Once a mind has expanded to embrace a new concept, it can never shrink back to its original size."

In my life, I have lived through several periods of expansion, and each of these has brought about major shifts in my life. I grew up in Chicago, which experienced constant robust growth during that time. As I completed college and began working for a large corporation, I was transferred to Charlotte, North Carolina, just as it began its boom. I watched old buildings downtown being imploded so that the banking giants could build new skyscrapers. I had no friends or relatives there, just the job, so I joined Sierra club, went on a lot of hikes with them and made new friends that way. There were tennis courts in the apartments where I lived and so we played a lot of tennis and made new friends that way too.

Then I was transferred to Los Angeles when orange groves and vineyards were being bulldozed to make way for new subdivisions and the LA metro area was expanding to include adjacent counties. There were hikes not only on weekends but weekday evenings, and I was within 15 minutes of trail heads in the mountains, and could be down at Venice Beach within an hour. Some weekends, we went cross country skiing on Saturday and down the beach on Sunday. Or maybe we would bicycle through orange groves on Saturday and sail over to Catalina Island on Sunday. A single hike could include hot and sunny weather at the base and snow once we got up higher. Or we could hike in the desert on Saturday and ski on Sunday. All of that variety gave me a deeper appreciation of nature, and like many others being out there brought a very spiritual appreciation of the environment.

From there I went to Atlanta, and during the time I lived there, the metro area grew from 2 million to 7 million people. There I also did some hiking but the major transition I witnessed was in the urban structure. When I arrived there, the most exotic restaurants were Chinese, but as the city grew, you could find almost every kind of ethic restaurant, art galleries, nightclubs and theaters blossomed from old factories, warehouses and schools. Farmland was gobbled up by new housing subdivisions, shopping centers and office buildings. New highways were built and maxed out. What used to be little country towns or mountain towns became suburbs. Companies moved there from all over the country and other countries and with them came more diverse populations, cultural festivals and expansions into new mindsets.

During that time, I got interested in metaphysics by the simplest method possible. Each time I arrived in a new city, I had to reinvent myself, make new friends, find new things to do. One day I was looking for something to do and in the paper I noticed a little ad for a psychic fair. I had no idea what that was, but I had nothing else to do, so I went. And getting readings in that environment opened my mind in bigger ways than going to art festivals, music festivals or other events. Later on, I first became a writer for a metaphysical monthly, and then went on to become the founding editor of two more, and that process introduced me to all manner of things that I had never even heard of before, as well as introducing me to some of the leading lights in that field. Once again, my life changed radically. As a freelance writer, before I began metaphysical writing, my clients were often real estate developers, builders, architects and interior designers, some of the real drivers of external growth. Then I began writing about people who were the drivers were internal growth, the psychics, shamans, witches, healers, artists, musicians, ministers, monks, gurus, and free spirits who engaged with the world in ways that were new to me. 

Now here I am in the Denver metro area of the Front Range, and once again, the boom area is all around me. I no longer work for corporations but work full time as a metaphysical reader, healer and teacher. Once again, I am watching rapid population growth, new industries emerging, and small outlying towns becoming suburbs. This stage of evolution is in my life once again has expanded my own development. My business is now about helping other people cope with changes in their lives, to find some healing, peace of mind, see the world in new ways and exploring ways to live their vision. Our vision is evolving, our way of living is evolving, our way of seeing ourselves and our relationships, our work, our goals, is all evolving.

The boom in real estate out here forced me to move this past September, and at the time, it was very stressful. I really liked where I used to live but when the new owners took over I had to move fast. It was a lot of work, a lot of extra expense, and I had to spend a lot of time looking at properties to find a new place to live. I kept my focus on finding a good deal in this town, and I did. Now that I am settled in, I like my new place even better. Sometimes the things that make for a new beginning are difficult at first, but then the problem becomes a blessing. Challenges often open up to new opportunities.

Each move into an expansive area challenged me to grow. Twice I moved to small towns, thinking that it would be a refreshing change and twice I only lasted there a few months. I need the energies of bigger populations and growing environments.

In addition to the things I have mentioned here, there were many turning points at which I could have chosen differently and taken my life in a different direction. We always have opportunities. It is our free will that is instrumental in making those choices. Knowing what I know now, I would have to add that it is always our spirit guides who help us make those choices. The more we develop our relationships with them, the more help we can get when we need it.

In drumming circles, there is a saying that if you somehow get lost in the sound, to find your way back, go back to the one. The one is the first beat of any rhythm. Where does a cycle start? If you listen, you can always find it. One of the drumming teachers I studied with says that anyone who has trouble with drumming has trouble with listening.

As we listen to our own lives, and our own stories, where is our one? Where is our source of inspiration? Where is our source of power? Who are the people we are making music with? What is the rhythm we are comfortable living in?

In this year of new beginnings, we must listen for our one. In what ways do we need healing or growth? What knowledge, insight or perspective will help us enjoy our life more? What will help us cope with all the changes in our environment?

Will it be something totally new and different? Or will it simply be building on some interest that has kind of been on the back burner but just never goes away? Will it be leaving some old interest to make room for a new one, whether that is a new course of study, acquiring new skills, spending less time with old friends and more time with new ones? Will it be stripping down to a simpler life so that we can put more focus on what we now decide is most important to us?

There is a strength in finding our one. At one time, my job was managing a department in a major corporation with 60 employees and a million dollar budget for my department. At another time, I managed  monthly publications with a small staff that served over 100,000 readers and sponsored events and expos. At one time, I was teaching creative writing to classes of adults three nights a week. At one time, I led drumming circles every week for large gatherings of people. At one time I went from my office job to very athletic activities. At one time, I lived in a house where I had a fertile garden with more than 100 kinds of plants blooming in the yard. At one time, my career took up most of my days and metaphysics was a part time hobby. Now metaphysics is my full time engagement.

Now, I only manage myself and I have my hands full. I still enjoy nature and I still engage in physical activities, yet the metaphysical evolution, the cultivation of my spirit is my one. Sharing that with others is part of my one. Most of the time now my private sessions are focused on working with people one on one, rather than teaching large classes like I did in the past.

The power to make change always starts with the one. We are our one. in this one year, we will be feeling it even more. How we respond will set the tone for the years to follow.

So if your spirit is giving you signs that it is time to change, you are picking up on the energy of the year. How you respond will depend on your return to your one. Tune in to what is important and that will create the new rhythm of your life. It is not always easy, but it is always worth it. In this year of expansion and new beginnings, how can we use this energy to make our life better? We are the ones who define our one. What shape will our vision take? And then how will we grow into it? I wish that all of us have a wonderful new year. If there is any way I can help, please ask.

Dancing with the Light

One of the most beautiful aspects of December is all of the beautiful lights we see. They are beautiful on the surface and they are also symbolic.

During this darkest, coldest time of the year, all our celebrations are about bringing the light into our lives and celebrating it. As we enjoy cozy evenings at home we have time to reflect on what daarker aspects of our life that we want to let go of and what we would burn in the Yule fire. Even if you do not have a fireplace, you can take a bowl and then write on a piece of paper all of the darker aspects of life that you want to let go. These could be various fears about love, relationships, money, career, health, spiritual paths or any other life quests.

This process is also about letting go of bad habits, behaviors that hold us back, attitudes we need to let go of, any impediment to our progress. Each of us knows what that is for us.

So when you write these things on paper and then burn them, we are symbolically cleansing ourselves.

Then we replace what was removed with our hopes, dreams, desires, and visions for the future. With each candle we light. name one of those things you want more of in your life. This simple ritual brings more light into your life and brightens your prospect for the near and longer term future.

This small personal ritual is a mirror of the bigger dance of light we see all around us.

When we invite people into our homes for holiday parties, we are bringing light into the house. We literally light our lives with electric lights, candles, fires, and other means, but the biggest light of all is that which comes from sharing joyous moments with our friends and family, with conversation, story telling, dancing, singing, music, special seasonal foods and drinks.

The presence of these people is the greatest source of light of all.

So as we balance the quiet moments at home with our thoughts, reflections and feelings, our musings on our selves and our recent developments, we have time to meditate on all these things that matter to us and quietly set our thoughts and feelings in order to create a positive atmosphere and opening for the entrance of the light.

Then we join with others and celebrate our hopes and dreams that will return with the new light, sometimes growing so subtly and slowly that changes are not obvious, and then eventually we see the greater opening and the flood of light that greets our new developments.

If you do this personal ritual in your home as you celebrate the spirit of this season you will find yourself uplifted and energized with great prospects on your horizon.

Do the dance of the light and dark. Burn off what you want to let go, and light lights to symbolize what you welcome in.

How many lives do we touch?

A few weeks ago, when I was getting ready to have my cataract surgery, I posted a small simple request on my Facebook page and said that I would appreciate any healing energy or prayers that anyone would want to send me for a successful surgery. Even though my sister had the same surgery with the same surgeon and was happy with the results, it still was a strange thought to have someone cutting on my eye, so even though I trusted the surgeon, it was a strange unsettling thought. So I got ready by reaffirming that I trusted him to do his job on me excellently as he had done on many other people, and that everything would go well and I would be able to see clearly again.

So I thought that perhaps a handful of my friends would respond. Then during the next couple of days nearly 100 people wished me well and said that they would send prayers and healing energy.

I was totally blown away by this response. I had no expectation or preconceived notion of what would happen, so this just opened a whole new window for me to see through.

Among the responses were acknowledgments from people who I had helped in some way, some of whom I had forgotten about because I thought what I did for them was small. But obviously to those people, what I did for them was memorable. Some of that may have been as simple as sending them healing energy when they needed it. For others, it was a reading that confirmed or clarified a tough choice or difficult situation they were facing. For others it might have been that I helped them feel better when they really needed it or encouraged them to pursue their dreams rather than settle for something else.

The important lesson here is that every day we touch the lives of others, and we may not be conscious of how much that may mean to them. I think that we all have a tendency to keep the big things in mind but what is small to one person may be big to another person.

Every day, I affirm that I am here to be of service to others through the work I do, and I promise my spirit guides that I will help whoever they send me, and that I will need their help to do all this. I consciously acknowledge this help, which is how I stay in the flow. I know that everything will get done because they are helping to get it done. And that is why some things may seem small to me, because they helped me to do it, and the flow of energies just eased everything along.

This enormous response has made me even more aware of all these interactions, and in so doing, has increased my commitment to do even more. This was a simple, yet powerful demonstration that the good energies we put out in the world come back to us, so we always need to be aware of the energies we are putting out. Having a positive attitude every day makes a difference.

Things people have said recently really touched me in profound ways because it had been years since the original contact. Or things that transpired between us that flowed in the course of a day's work for me, yet it was something that had a memorable effect on someone else. It is always my intention to be helpful to whoever comes to me for whatever reason, my vow is to be of service. Sometimes I know how that helped and sometimes I don't. Being acknowledged in this way affirms the value and efficacy of my work. That moment of realization is stunning and life affirming. Thank you for that.

How many lives do we touch? Are we conscious of how we touch them?

What lessons do we learn from each of the people we meet? Sometimes these are great lessons, but remember even small, simple lessons can be great. If we each help others when we are able, the whole world becomes a better place, one person, one action at a time.

At this time of year, of course, there is always a frenzy about shopping and gift giving. This is part of our culture. But let me shift your focus just a little.

How would December be different if we all just realized that we are the real gifts we give each other? Yes, of course, some goods would still be exchanged, and there would be many parties, concerts and grand celebrations.

Focus on this thought for a moment. What if we considered that every person we interact with, every person who is part of our lives, even if only for a few moments or a few hours, as a gift? How would we treat each person differently?

We have probably all experienced times when just a kind look, a friendly smile or some act of generosity helped make someone's day. Or when someone asks for help or advice and you just do that with their best interests in mind. Doesn't that feel good?

How do our interactions change if we begin each encounter with an assumption that we are all here to help each other? Everything would flow better, wouldn't it?

What would happen if you took a few moments to express your gratitude to those who are and have been helpful and kind to you? What waves of good energy could we stir up and all it would take is a word, a call, an email, a message to let those people know that you appreciate them. If we are all giving and receiving this kind of energy, what kind of world would we be living in?

If you would like to find out, try this simple exercise. Having been the recipient of this lately, it has been a very heart opening experience that is still shifting my feelings and ideas. It is both humbling and encouraging.

Yes, since my eye surgery, I am learning to see again.