What May Be

Here we are in the 5th month of the year, and the number 5 as we know, is about tests and challenges.

For those of us who like to garden, we hope that what we do this month will bring good results in the coming months, yielding beautiful flowers, as well as healthy vegetables. What may be, has everything to do with what we are doing to plan, prepare and put in place now.

How much of this applies to other parts of our life?

There are many things that we may do, which is when we are being courteous and get permission to do. Then there are things that we can do, and the question before us then is what will we do?

It simply caught my attention when I thought about the name of the month being the same as the word that indicates permission.

We may have a more profitable year in business this year. What do we need to do to make it so?

We may have better relations with people this year. What do we need to do to make it so?

We may have better strength and health this year. What do we need to do to make it so?

The number 5 challenges us to go beyond our previous limitations. Month 5 prompts us to think about how we want to proceed.

Mayday. Funny how this simple word became a universal call for help. May I help? Can you help?

What choices may we make now? What choices will we make now?

There is also the old saying that April showers bring May flowers.

May you enjoy this beautiful month and use it to accelerate and expedite your dreams and visions.

 

Our Teachers

Throughout our entire lives we are engaged n the process of teaching and learning. And we are both students and teachers at the same time. We learn from those who have more knowledge and experience and in turn, share with those younger.

Did you ever find yourself thinking that you had wished you had asked more questions of someone when you had the chance? So, instead, take the time now.

You know how young children always like to ask their grandparents to tell them stories about when they were young. Part of our life lessons come from those stories.

Knowing what I know now, would I ask my grandparents more or different questions if I could do that now? Yes.

During my different careers, I have different teachers for each of those phases of my life. They taught me technical things, and even more importantly, lessons about working with other people to get things done.

I have always appreciated that people who were older and more experienced than myself always smiled and enjoyed sharing when I asked them questions about things they did excellently.

My experience as a healer who teaches brought me teachers who are spirit guides, and two of them are nurses. So yes, some of our teachers are in spirit.

There were my teachers in real life who taught me the basics and techniques. But it was when I felt the connection with my spirit guides helping to heal that my healing increased in flow and intensity. I feel it and my clients feel it.

When I refer to teachers, I mean all of them, from the person who taught you in school, to those who taught you how to create win/win relationships, use your sense of humor, plant a garden, cook a tasty, nutritious meal, to those who gave you pointers for your workouts.

That includes your inner circle of family or friends who are always there for you. We all need people who can relate to who we are now, not who we used to be. As we grow and evolve our social circles evolve as well.

Throughout our lives, we will have more than one teacher or mentor, all part of our team. How do you feel about your team now? Is it time to work with a new teacher?

By the way, the image above is the Hierophant from the Victorian Romantic Tarot. Hierophant is a word from ancient Greece that means a spiritual teacher.

 

Jumping Through Hoops

 

The more I look at it, the more the learning curves just keep bending into circles. How often do we find ourselves jumping through hoops in order to accomplish our goals?

We are always jumping through hoops. This is where the universe is testing us to see if we can go farther or do more.

Each leap, each twist, and each turn is just another chance to flex our mental muscles and grow stronger. 

For certain, there are some projects with so many hoops that we may choose to pass on that project and seek a version with less hoops, or choose a different path.

Now there are other times when making the jump requires courage, and that often comes when we are facing into a fear or a doubt. This is spirit challenging us to rise to a new level.

These challenges make us more alive, more conscious, more aware. Opening a new business requires us to pump up our energy and go for it, putting all our strength into our move, because it brings up fears when we put our resources into doing this because we think we can create a better way to get what we need.

We take a risk when we try something new. We may or may not like it. It may or may not work. But we take these risks because we think it is worth it. It is empowering for a person to take a risk that will give them freedom and a greater sense of joy.

New methods like AI can be one of those hoops. There are people who use it and think it is great, and there are others who are skeptical of it. Will it be a hoop we jump through, or will it be something we pass on?

I have a feeling that eventually it will be installed in everything and we will be using it, just like we all use smart phones now and AI is installed on our phones. These are all hoops that we will either choose to jump through or choose another route.

Example. Writing has always been a strong, clear way for me to communicate. So I write newsletters. And I still like to read books that are ink on paper. Other people post little videos every day as their way of communicating. Different styles we can choose.

And who knows what you or I will do as we interact with all this? Maybe one of these days you will see me making videos.

The more I look at it, the more the learning curve looks like a circle.

The photo above is a metal sculpture by an artist named Lewis Tardy. I took the photo at the Old Town Art Fair in Chicago last month. If you Google, you can see more of his work.

Storytelling

 

One of the things I enjoy most is being able to meet much older people who are good storytellers.

Family reunions present excellent opportunities for us to hear some great ones. When I hear people tell stories now, sometimes the thought pops into mind that if I knew then what I know now, I would have asked my grandparents and other elder relatives more questions and different questions than I did at the time. Of course, that opportunity is gone now, but we can do more of that now, and I would encourage you to take whatever opportunities you can get.

Stories give us that insight that comes with personal experience, and the stories may even give us some new ideas. Here is a simple example.

Since we all use texts or email to send notes to each other now, people who do send an actual card or note in the mail will make a good impression on the receiver, since so few of us do it. Old story, new idea.

Other stories may make us aware of what was happening in our family or our business long ago and how that shaped the way it evolved.

Storytelling is as old as mankind, and it is how wisdom was passed on since before we had access to printed literature, and it is still important to us centuries after we got easy access to printed literature.

In addition to family stories, mythology and folklore were valuable ways to communicate concepts, ethics, principles and ideas. Every group of people on earth has stories. What do they reveal about us?

An important rule to keep in mind about our own stories is to consider how you tell stories about your self. The more you tell a story, the more you wear that energy on you, same as you wear your favorite shirt, blouse, dress or pants.

When you tell stories about yourself, how do you tell it? When someone is asking you about your life, do you tell your stories different now than you used to? Do you emphasize your successes or your failures? How you tell your stories affects how people see you. How you tell your stories also affects how you see yourself.

Look at the way your stories are part of your life.

Retiring Ideas

 

Over time, we have come to realize that retirement refers more to ideas than people.

In our parent's or grandparents' time they saw their working life as something they did for a number of years so that later in life, they could afford to live on their savings and live a life of leisure.

However, I never saw my career in those terms. I always thought that I will just keep on doing the things I love doing for as long as I can. I think it is in our nature to be active and do things that we feel fulfill our purpose, as well as doing things just for fun.

That is why some people after retirement start a new business, or find some work they like. Others may take up new activities, like gardening, bird watching, astronomy, art, music, dancing, baking or cooking, to name just some choices.

We now view the end of a career term as the end of an old phase in life and the beginning of a new one.

The internet provides a way for people to start their own business online and operate from their home. And it also makes it easy to find things we would like to do, or activities we would like to participate in.

Another factor is that we are living longer now than earlier generations, and we are able to get around better than earlier generations.

In 1965, the average life expectancy in the US for a men was 66.8 and 73.8 women.

In 2025, it is 76.1 for men and 81.1 for women.

The longer we live, the more that our career development years are only a portion of our lives, not the whole thing.

Look at all the possibilities. Yes, many of us need to keep working because what we have saved is not enough to live decently. For others, it is a choice that adds income and enjoyment. Either way, we want to create a life that we look forward to every day.

And the more we develop our connections and communications with our spirit guides, the more help we can get with all that.

What ideas are you ready to retire in preparation for your next phase?

Saturn Returns, We Learn

Saturn Returns refers to the fact that the planet Saturn completes its orbit around earth every 29.5 years. These often coincide with major life changes. During our lifetime then, we experience them when we are near 30, 60 most notably.

Think about what is happening in a person's life at those intervals.

At about 30 is when we are having or raising children, if we have chosen to do that. It is also the time when we are getting a strong path going in our careers. These two developments influence our choice of where we are living, perhaps necessitating a move or a real estate purchase.

Then what happens when we are about 60? At this point in our life, we have had a career and we are thinking about retirement. If we have saved and invested, during this next phase, we might quit working full time. And sometimes parents will move to live near children or grandchildren. If we are still working, we may be in a position of teaching younger workers, working part time or perhaps doing something different. Perhaps changes are needed for health concerns. In any case, more important decisions.

Saturn represents responsibility, discipline and structure in our life. It brings about self evaluation about the structures in our life. So you see why it coincides with periods of great change. We examine the structures in our life and make changes. Of course, in some of our cases, the self examination may affirm that we are on the right path.

The examinations we give our self are the most challenging.

And that is why the turning points are in sync with Saturn. When I moved to Colorado, my life changed in big ways and I made that move during a Saturn return. Two of my apprentices came to me during their Saturn returns.

The rings of Saturn are not a single, solid structure, rather they are bits of ice and rock orbiting around it. Visually, think of the planet as the big thing that needs your attention. The bits and fragments of things that failed, broke, or didn't turn out are around us may glitter, but do not let your attention be diverted from the main focus. We need to focus on the big, important thing that will give us the energy to go for our goals without being held back by all the little things that simply distract us.

Focus on the things that you have done well, the skills you have, the desire you have, and that is what gives you the confidence and strength to go forward.

Saturn teaches us to keep moving. Success often means following a long view, and sticking to it, even as others jump from this to that. The steady progress may seem slow at times, while we do what we needed to do to get where we want to go. Saturn's long path leads to big developments. Move toward your vision. Focus on where you want to go, rather than what you want to get away from.  how much energy, strength, and clarity comes from that type of focus.

All of this, of course, does not mean we do not have important changes and decisions at other points in our lives, just that these important ones will always be part of it, and we are advised to take note of it.

Take a look around and what do you notice about your life patterns? What major changes aligned with your Saturn return?

Whispers from Spirit

 

Whispers from Spirit

Synchronicity is spirit's way of whispering to us. When we are paying attention, no one needs to yell to get our attention. A quiet message can be delivered in many ways. Example. It has happened to me on a number of occasions. A person calls and tells me that they really want to see me right now, and I tell them that it will have to be later because I have other appointments to take care of first. Next thing that happens is that one of the appointments reschedules, and that person does get an appointment now. Or a person changes their appointment when 10 minutes later another person calls and asks if I have any openings today. Or a person tells me that they have looked over my listing and website on more than one occasion and every time they look, they feel called back to my listing, so they call. Of all the billions of people on the internet, spirit gave the person a sign, a gut feeling when they were looking over the listings. Or I am looking for a business card for a person and exactly the one I need is on the top of the stack, a stack that I have not looked at for a while. Or I am wanting to look up something and a book that contains the answer catches my attention even though it was not the one I had in mind, so I pick it up and find out what I need to know. Or a book that falls off the shelf is one that addresses what is on my mind. Out of all the books on the shelf, why that one? Other examples. A person expresses their dissatisfaction with their day job, expressing a desire to spend more time on their own business, which has been a side job. Soon after, their day job lets them go. Now they have more time for their own business. A person goes hiking simply because they enjoy hiking. They join a hiking group and meet another person who also enjoys hiking and they find a great partner. A person is thinking about what might be the next best career move for them. A news article about a new business idea catches their attention, after a web search and a phone call, they have found their new position. A person needs a new car. Then someone brings up in conversation that they know someone who has a car sitting in their garage that they never drive any more and are willing to let it go for a very reasonable price. Synchronicity. Coincidence. Alignment. Spirit is showing signs of support when you are connecting with people with a project in mind and everyone you talk to says yes. That is a sign that spirit wants it to happen. When a person appears in your dreams and shortly after you meet a person who is like that, do you think that maybe spirit was affirming your desire to connect with that person? You think it was a coincidence that you dreamed about a person just before you met them? When you have a feeling that you should choose a different route to get where you are going today, and later find out there was a big accident on the road you were first intending to use, you think that was a coincidence? When we begin to notice the patterns in our lives, this is a way that spirit indicates alignment with us and helps us find the way on our path. The more attention we pay to these coincidences, the more significant they become. Everything has a meaning. It is up to us to recognize it. 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!