What is magic?

 

What is magic?

Magic happens when we do the unexpected. Magic happens when we make a change happen that takes others by surprise. Why is that? Because they did not expect it. In the earliest tarot decks, the magician is a slight of hand magician, the entertainer, the stage magician. The image here is from the Tarot de Marseilles, which is what Le Bateleur means, a street performer. The performer lives by his wits. Yes, they perfect tricks to fool the audience and that makes for great entertainment. Think about that for a moment. They share a link with today's stage magicians. All these magicians get your attention one way, with their words, their humor, their misdirection, getting you to look at one thing while they are doing another, resulting in amazing surprises. Things happen that the audience does not expect. Have you ever witnessed a magician with a deck of playing cards right in front of you who can make cards appear or disappear right in front of you and you have no idea how it happened? That is how good they are. You can be within arm's reach with your eyes wide open and not know what happened. That is one kind of magic. Another kind of magic happens when someone who is more of a shaman creates change that we cannot figure out. The card below illustrating that is from the Old Path Tarot. Shamans could use simple tools like sound from drums, rattles and bells to transform consciousness through our feelings. We could see feel those vibrations in our bodies, but we did not know what happened. That kind of magician is getting our attention with a subconscious level of recognition. That kind of magician would pick up signs from animals and nature and communicate messages to us with symbols. That kind of magician could communicate with plants and knew which plants we could burn or ingest to help us recognize changes. These messages from nature, through the shaman could help us heal and gain insight into our selves. Even to this day, with our great abilities in science, we do not know how or why they constructed things like stone circles, although we suspect links, like connections to constellations of stars. It was a kind of communication between the universe and us that the magician facilitated and today we have theories about it. But think about it. Although we do not really understand it all, ancient people put a great amount of labor into those constructions. Would they work that hard for no reason? When you look at today's Farmer's Almanacs, you still find the ancient connections between astronomy and astrology. They pay attention to moon cycles and planetary changes for not only planting our food crops and going fishing or launching voyages, but also staring new business, ending old business and taking care of our selves. Today, we can still get messages from nature, and still find healing and peace of mind through nature. The shaman's tools were extremely simple. Dressing in certain kinds of furs not only kept us warm, they also conveyed energies to us. Warriors wore one kind of skin, fur, feathers and amulets while healers and seers wore a different kinds of skins, fur, feathers and amulets. People were pictured with certain kinds of animals to convey certain messages. The second magician is also casting runes, which are an abstract set of symbols thousands of years older than cards, which still contains the sames kinds of meanings that they did to our ancestors. How powerful is it that those symbols have remained consistent through millennia? How powerful is it that the first musical instruments that humans developed were drums, rattles and simple flutes and wind instruments, and those are still catalysts for change for us today? How powerful is it that our ancestors found that the aroma of certain burning certain plants could shift our feelings and consciousness and that we still relate to the same ones today? How powerful is it that ingesting certain plants could bring about changes in health and consciousness back then and still today? The most concise definition of magic is change according to will. We discovered ways to make change and then we used them deliberately. So what is the link between the stage magician and the shaman? Change according to will. Both use materials that are hidden in plain sight. There is magic all around us. We just have to open our eyes to it and use it. We all have the ability to be magicians and our magic can take us by surprise. I always love hearing from you, so if you feel like sending me a note, calling or coming to see me, please do! Have a wonderful day!

Pollinating our dreams

 

Pollinating our dreams

Watching the hummingbird moths gathering pollen from the lilacs, gives me something to think about. After all, there are a lot more flowers than pollen gatherers. So how do we pollinate our ideas and actions? One way of looking at it is how we mix and match things today. Like bees and moths who carry influences from one plant to another so that the plants produce fruits, nuts, vegetables, coffee, chocolate and spices, we also cross pollinate aspects in our life. For example, many of us healers combine energy healing with music, stones, aromatheraphy, herbs, breathwork and other techniques which are often practiced separately. Seeds for ideas came to me by finding ways for music to combine with other things. Synergy is created when different elements are combined, and it is fun to experiment with different ways to bring them together to make them more effective. How have you cross pollinated your work? Your play? Businesses that borrow ideas from other kinds of businesses often produce breakthrough results. Do any come to mind from your own experience? Perhaps for us humans pollination takes place when new ideas fertilize our energies by joining the right and left sides of our brain. You are probably familiar with the model. The right side of the brain is the masculine side, the projective energies, ruling over our abilities in ways of order, in fields like law, medicine, accounting, engineering, math, science, logic and order. The left side of the brain is the feminine side, ruling creative abilities and receptive energies, in fields like art, music, writing, design, fashion, culinary arts, free flowing, instinctive and great sensory appeal. Certainly we can see how an artist needs to have some business skills in order to succeed, and we can also see how creative inspiration leads people in professions like law, science or medicine to make new discoveries. When we fertilize a new idea on the other side of our brain, the growth brings new developments. Pollinators help plants get their male & female parts together so that they will produce all the wonderful fruits, vegetables, nuts and other foods we need and want. Fortunately, we humans have a more direct route for getting male & female parts to meet. All kinds of ways to make relationships blossom. Pollinate your relationships. Pollinate your ideas. Pollinate your dreams. See how they blossom as we act on our desires. See how blending energies and ideas gets results. I always love hearing from you, so if you feel like sending me a note, calling or coming to see me, please do! Have a wonderful day!

Optimal energy empowerment

 

Optimal energy empowerment

Clearing blockages to keeping our energy flowing freely is one of the methods for keeping our thoughts and actions aligned with our purpose and focus. When all our chakras are running smoothly, we maintain a level of confidence and a flow that enables us to create good results in our relationships, our work, our health and happiness. Think about this. Just like getting a massage or chiropractic adjustment when we feel out of sorts, think about getting a reiki treatment to help put our mind, body and spirit back in order. Not so many years ago, getting a massage was something you heard about being offered at spas, country clubs, and as a treatment for athletes. Today, we have massage therapists in every shopping center, which has greatly broadened its public appeal and common acceptance. The same has happened for chiropractic care and yoga. These are now present in storefronts in shopping centers, and as a result, more people are routinely using these services to maintain optimum health. The same has happened for stores that sell herbs, essential oils and organic foods. These are everywhere and people use them more frequently. Of course, not all of this takes place in shopping centers and storefronts. Many massage therapists have offices in their homes or office spaces. Organic farmers offer their goods to customers through subscription or delivery services. Reiki may or may not become public in the way of opening chains in shopping centers. What I am suggesting that you consider is making reiki sessions a regular part of your health care, like the massage places that offer memberships where you sign up for a monthly massage. It is quite common for reiki healers to offer discount packages for repeat clients the same way massage therapists do. I do. I have always offered package discounts of 25%, where you buy 4 sessions for the price of 3. Here is another option. If you come in once a month for an energy tune up, you can have a rate of $75, which is a 25% discount from my regular price of $100 per hour without paying in advance. You can have the discount just for coming regularly. Why would you want to do that? Think about it. Comparing reiki to massage as a regular treatment is an excellent model. Sometimes we go to massage therapists when we have aches and pains and are recovering from injury, illness or surgery. But we do not only go for that. We also go for stress relief. When stress keeps stacking up on us, we feel out of sorts and edgy with ourselves and others. Stress causes headaches, indigestion, anxiety and nervous tension. Calming the monkey mind with reiki soothes and calms all of these. Working with people over the years, I have also noticed that people also need energy clearings and boosts when going through major changes like seeking a new work situation, new home, new relationship. Reiki can help you build your energies for successful changes. Regular sessions can avoid stresses and aches from piling up on you. Massage and reiki restore the fluidity to your everyday movement and your every day sense of well being. People always say that they feel lighter after a reiki session. Lightness lets you be more fluid and calm. Massage treats all of these in a very physical way, with deep tissue manipulations reducing tension. Reiki, on the other hand helps re-balance your energies with gentle touch, sound, smudge and other gentle measures, such as placements of stones. So consider a regular reiki treatment as a regular part of maintaining good health, rather than only making an appointment when there is something that urgently needs attention. My thought for today then, is to encourage you to consider making reiki appointments a regular contributor to your wellness, rather than just when a pain won't let you rest. Some people still view massage as an occasional treat, but others have made it an ongoing practice. Think of reiki the same way. I always love hearing from you, so if you feel like sending me a note, calling or coming to see me, please do! Have a wonderful day!

Walking each other home

 

Walking each other home

The noteworthy and influential spiritual teacher Ram Dass said that we are all walking each other home. We can each meditate on that saying and what it means for us. For me, I see it as helping others find their way to peace of mind, being at peace with their spirit, being at peace with themselves and others. This is always the first step. We need to be at peace with ourselves to be truly at peace with others. We live in this world, in this body in this lifetime, and at the end, we all return to spirit. In this respect, we are all on the same path. Of course, there are people who are not at peace with themselves and others, but we make this life a better life when we open ourselves with love to be able to walk with others. Each of us can help make this world a better place, one person at a time. Maybe I can't help everyone, but I can certainly help someone. When we realize that when we help make the journey better for others, we are also making it better for ourselves. When we help each other along, we help dissolve differences between us. Offering love, in the humanitarian sense, rather than the romantic, we help each other find our way. In some instances, we walk with those who are having difficulty finding the way, and in other instances we may be encouraging our walking partner to keep on the path until we get home. We also reassure each other that we are not alone. Yes, our journeys do differ in details and timelines, yet we still can offer each other support and companionship while we are with them. Yes, during our lives we have many who walk with us although we do not always recognize them. Our awareness informs us that we are never truly alone. We need to remind ourselves to recognize this. Love opens the way for us to recognize each other. Love allows us to truly see each other. We are all on a spiritual journey through this life, and although we will complete our journeys at different times and with different details, we realize we have much in common. When we walk with a person metaphorically, through empathy and understanding, we help them find peace in their spirit. That, in turn, helps them find peace in other aspects of their life, and we both feel it. This is a concept that guides me in my work every day. Do you sense it? Do you sense it with others? We are all walking our way home with each other whether we have ever thought of it that way or not. If you try on this concept, notice the changes. I always love hearing from you, so if you feel like sending me a note, calling or coming to see me, please do! Have a wonderful day!

Awakening to our true beauty

 

Awakening to our true beauty

Today was a beautiful day to visit the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, Colorado. It is one of those places I had read about but have never visited before. The indoor and outdoor gardens are beautiful and it is magical to just stand there or walk through the gardens with an infinite variety of butterflies of all colors fluttering silently all around. Yes, this picture is one that landed on my arm. Maybe it thought I was a big blue flower. And it matches my shirt! Like attracts like. Butterflies are one of those universal symbols of transformation. That is why you see them in many tarot decks, and why many metaphysical books or videos feature them. Yes, that is a photo of one of my favorite coffee cups below. It is a great daily reminder of an important concept and it certainly fits with this theme. I know that many of you can relate to this as well. After all, the most common reason why people make appointments with me is when there are changes in process in their lives and they are making transitions of various sorts. The butterfly is a perfect metaphor for this as it begins its life as a caterpillar, then spins a cocoon and then emerges as a butterfly. Example 1. A person is in a steady pattern in their work. Then an opportunity comes to take on a new position that will have them using new or expanded skills at the next level or next position and they achieve new levels of recognition in the new position. Blossoming as they take wing, aren't they? Example 2. They leave their corporate job to create their own business, and they blossom, finding greater freedom with their schedule and their cash flow. The butterfly can go wherever it finds beautiful flowers. You enjoy beautiful flowers too, don't you? Example 3. A person is in a relationship that is not working out well for them, so they split up and their next relationship allows them to spread their wings and enjoy life to a greater degree with their new partner. The role of the new partner could be one that helps them emerge from their cocoon if they have been single for a while or repressed for a while and did not have the experience of flying before. Feels good to fly now, doesn't it? Example 4. A person has not been taking the time to enjoy personal expression through art, music, gardening or cooking, but then they make time for it and by doing so, they explore an inner realm of beauty that they bring out for others to see. Feels good when people compliment us on beauty that we create, doesn't it? Example 5. A person faces a health challenge and so they change their habits, lose weight, work out regularly, change their hair, the way they dress, and their new look draws compliments and praise. From cocoon to beautiful wingspan, isn't it? Example 6. A person takes up some new spiritual habits like meditation, prayer, journaling, chanting, drumming, yoga, tai chi, cards, runes and these practices help them see things differently and have greater peace of mind. Leaving baggage behind to sail smoothly feels uplifting, doesn't it? Emerging from the cocoon to the butterfly lets a person experience new energies in all aspects of life. After all, you do see things differently and feel things differently when you change from crawling to flying. I always love hearing from you, so if you feel like sending me a note, calling or coming to see me, please do! Have a wonderful day!