Lightening Up

The phrase "lightening up" has several meanings which have value for us. The most familiar refers to lightening up our attitudes, letting go of heavy emotional burdens. We feel heavy when we are burdened with serious issues and important changes.

There are several ways to address these issues. Having someone to listen to us and focus on what we are saying, perhaps offering help, but often we can lighten our load simply by having someone to talk to about our concerns can help us feel better.

When I am doing any kind of reading for a person, this is part of the process, and then by asking for help from our spirit guides, which I do every day, solutions may present themselves after the layers are peeled back. What may be revealed is that the initial concern expressed is not the core of the issue, but once the surface concerns are examined, the core issues can be addressed directly. The various kinds of coaching and consulting I offer is one way to delve in and remove burdensome weight so that a person can clearly see what needs to be done next.

One of my favorite simple home remedies for relieving stress is to turn on some comedy and laugh. Laughter raises vibrations because the genius of comedians is to offer us a different perspective to view our lives, situations and relationships. There has been medical research done to show that laughter can stimulate the body's own healing systems, healing cells, hormones, and so on to facilitate a relaxed flow of energy. In my opinion, the fastest acting comedy are the stand up comedians, as compared to sitcoms. A good stand up comedian, man or woman, works fast. When they are on stage alone, they have to be on, their sharpened wits moving at full speed. I have seen stand ups who can keep the audiences in stitches for an hour or two straight. To me that is the height of the form because it is simply that person with their wits, their expressions, their voices keeping the audiences entranced. There are no other actors, no background music, no plot, just one person with an audience. Live shows are fabulous, but if you are at home and just need a little lightening up, try Netflix. In their streaming videos, there are lots of stand ups. I try people I have never heard of as well as old favorites. That's a great way to discover new talent. And if you start to watch one and you don't like it, just turn it off and try another one.

Then after, you will also have some new jokes to tell when you get together with others. Years ago, I worked as a straight commission salesman and a guy I worked with was a big fan of stand up and he got me hooked. He was a great salesman and one of his methods was that he always had jokes to tell so that when he went to a meeting he could get the customer to lighten up before going into the sale, and that opened them up to listen to him. Even aside from sales, when you are working with a group of people on a committee, or your every day co-workers or just out with friends, telling a joke is a great way to break the ice. At a party, a person who can tell a joke adds levity to the gathering and gets people smiling.

Another aspect of lightening up is with energy work. You have probably heard some people refer to themselves as lightworkers. In a general way, this is about the energy work we do. Reiki is one of the best known, and there are many others, including pranic and tantric to yoga, tai chi, chi gong to shamanic work and other methods. By doing energy work, we can remove energy blockages and facilitate the free flow of good energy that help a person get unstuck and actually feel a lightness in their body, which can help ease physical pain, emotional discomfort, and bring mental clarity and spiritual peace and strength. Most of these are very comfortable and non-invasive, where you are awake and clothed, perhaps reclining on a massage table or a pad.

Lightworkers also use meditation, visualization and positive thinking as tools to help a person turn their life around. These methods can certainly help lighten a person's load by clearing off confusing, negative and limiting thoughts so that they can focus on a vision for the future, which begins in the present moment.

Music is another great method for lightening up. We all know how singing a favorite tune while working helps make the work flow easier and adds energy, making time seem to go by quickly.  

Another aspect of music is making it as a way of boosting energy. In many spiritual traditions, singing and chanting, especially call and response types can elevate a person's mood and energies. Singing in these ways is never about who has the best voice, rather it is all about everyone combining their voices to make music together. Playing drums, rattles and percussion in a circle with others is a magical method. I used to lead a lot of drumming circles and I saw bunches of strangers get together in a room or around a fire, and within minutes, people who never saw each other before would be playing together. Within moments, a group could be transformed, a group of individuals learning to work together to create something beautiful without much instruction. As one of my teachers used to say: "A person who has trouble with drumming has trouble with listening."

And then there is dancing. You can go to dances in bars or concert halls, you can go to community dances in dance halls where there is no drinking, just dancing. And like I suggested with stand up, you can just put on your favorite music in your home and dance until you work up a good sweat. If you are the only one there, you do not have to give one thought to what someone else thinks of your dancing style. Another teacher of dance was Gabrielle Roth who wrote about dance in books like "Maps to Ecstasy" and "Sweat Your Prayers." By the time you have danced for a half hour or more, your burdens will have lightened and you will feel a great wave of energy pulsing through you. It is a great form of exercise.

So you see, we lightworkers work in a number of ways. You can use psychic readings, past lives, tarot, runes, dream interpretations, numerology and other methods to see through the veils. And you can lighten your body, mind, and spirit with energy work. You can laugh, drum, sing and dance to bring more light into your life.

And the more you bring in light, the more you open the way for love. Remember that all our decisions come from either love or fear. Lightening helps release fear so that there is a pathway open to bring more love into your life. In this way, romantic love is only one aspect. There is also love and relationship with everyone else in our lives including family, friends, co-workers, associates, vendors, neighbors and all of the people we interact with every day.

So you can implement some of these ideas just as soon as you read this, and if you want to try some of the others, just ask me. I will be happy to help.

 

If we wait until we are ready, we will be waiting for the rest of our lives

These days, it is popular to talk about bucket lists. Frequently, these appear to be whimsical things that we want to try at least once, like parachute jumping. Which is why I am sometimes reluctant to use that term.

From the same perspective though, we all have some things that we say that we will do some time when we have more time. When talking with people I often hear them say things like "I love to paint but I never have time," "I love to write, but I never have time," "I love to play my musical instrument but I never have time any more," "I have these books on my shelf that I have been meaning to get to for a long time now," "I love to take long walks, but I never have time for that any more," "I love to go dancing but I just don't have time any more," "I would love to see more comedy shows, plays or concerts, but I just don't have time for that any more," "There are friends I have not seen in a long time, but I just don't have time any more."

All of these are quality of life activities that help us keep our work life balance. Making time for art, music, dancing, live entertainment, long walks, visiting with old friends, or just spending a quiet evening at home reading a good book are all things that help us get more out of life. They can also help us destress and decompress from demanding work schedules. I know. I have been there myself. Doing these things can help us get back to work more refreshed, ready to get going and dig in again. These days, many of us may be working more than one job or be doing mandatory overtime just to keep up.

So after a day like that, taking a break with any of the above mentioned activities will provide not only a good antidote, but also a fresh perspective. Taking a time out to do any of these and experiencing the pleasure of doing so again can cause us to ask important questions of ourselves, such as "How can I rearrange my schedule so that I can put this back in my life regularly?"

Other questions that we may be reflecting on may be about whether it would be best for us to find a different job or get into a different kind of work. 

If you have thought about getting into a different line of work, why not start researching all the ways that you might do that now? Considering your options when you have the luxury of considering it a research project is far superior than having to make a rush decision under pressure. 

Another aspect that can be helpful is this. People also say that one of these days they would like to learn more about tarot, runes, drumming, guided meditation or energy work, but there is no time.

However, working with these tools can help us make these other transitions. The clarity that can come from working with runes, tarot, guided meditation, drumming or energy awareness can facilitate or reinforce those things that we have been thinking about. The simple clarity of these tools can serve to reinforce our intuitions and our instincts.

You see all those things that we keep putting off create energy blockages for us. If we were ready to discard them, and no longer consider them a good choice, then that would clear the path for what we think is more important. The fact that we still have those thoughts in mind means that we are not ready to give up on them. So which of these thoughts do you want to clear out and which ones do you want to act on? What choices would make our life better from this day on?

And that, naturally brings us to another point, which is both simple and powerful. When we take a time out to consider those things that we no longer have time for, we need to ask ourselves whether we really want to have this in our lives again, or whether we are ready to let it go. Making the choice frees up our energy. We have all had activities or hobbies that we may have outgrown or lost our enthusiasm for, and that is not a bad thing. 

It is natural that our attentions and energies evolve just as we do. Some of our life activities have to be centered around what we do to make money, and then there are those other things we do just to relax, just for the creative spirit of it with no concept that this will be a revenue producing activity.  

Perhaps you have also noticed that when you are relaxing that that is precisely the time when some creative thoughts just float through your mind in a free flowing fashion and these can also relate to ideas about how you make money. 

Another aspect of this is that whenever we are creatively engaged, time just slips by, and that is because whenever we are focused on doing a task as well as it can be done that we have really traveled over into the realm of spirit. That very same process is how some people become inventors or come up with new business ideas.

People who are just clocking in are never the ones who come up with innovations and fresh ideas. These always come from those who really care about what they are doing. 

Notice also how we relate to people differently when we have spent time engaged with an activity we love. That dynamic seems to bring out courtesy, cooperation, appreciation and respect. 

The best time to give consideration to those things you want to change or do more of is before someone else forces a change on you. Consider your options when you have a clear mind and a desire to do so. 

If we keep on saying "I will do that when I have more time," ironically, we never seem to find that time and then we feel frustrated because we never get to it. 

Procrastination always leads to dissatisfaction and energy blockages. It is like that old saying the the best time to look for a new job is when you don't have to. Why? Because that gives you time to consider all angles without sudden pressure and with thoroughness and clarity. When we are between and short of money is when we make lesser choices and desperate choices. And in that respect, putting off a decision does not serve us well.

So what time is the right time to do those things that are always tucked away in part of our consciousness? Now. Now is the time to either act on those ideas or cleanse them out of your system so that they do not keep popping up and bugging you. Bugging you? Yes, when thoughts keep coming up and we simply keep shoving that thought to the side and not acting on it, we get annoyed with our self which increases tension. Making a free will choice now lightens our load and clears our path so that we can get to where we really want to go.

As a celebration of my 10 years in business here in Colorado, I have rolled back my prices to what they were 10 years ago to give all of you a fresh start this year. I appreciate knowing each and every one of you and thank you for the part you have played in helping my business grow during this last decade.

Yes, you can have my reading and healing services in private sessions at the rate of $60 per hour and $30 per half hour. That means tarot readings, rune readings, dream interpretations, numerology readings, reiki healing, energy clearing, guided meditation, visualization, mentoring, spiritual counseling, drumming, chanting, and other methods I may have forgotten to mention. (Parties, events, classes and group activities are still priced separately from private sessions.)

I am ready whenever you are.

Thank all of you for being part of my life. 

Life is good. I am happy to be here now. And I am always happy to hear from you.