Friday Favourites: An Attitude of Gratitude

Each day I wake with the intention to hold an attitude of gratitude, and to focus on appreciation and thanks-giving for all the blessings in my life. Of course, some days this is easier than others! And there’s no mistaking that the times when it feels the hardest to do are the times when I could use it the most. So when I’m in need of some inspiration to get me back on my own gratitude track, I have some trusty sources to turn to. Here are three of my current favourites.

My Everyday Magic A dear, sweet, wonderful friend of mine recently started this blog to focus on the magic that is a part of every day, for each of us. You can go here to get inspired by other people’s everyday magic, and to enrich your life by taking some time to post your own. While you’re there, be sure to check out the pictures and stories of Kate making her way in the world as the Sparkle Fairy! If there was ever a woman that could inject a feeling of magic into the world, this is her!

Wise Ways of Women Forums This is a law of attraction inspired forum I have been hosting for about two and a half years now. The people that hang out there are some of the most beautiful spirits I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. It’s a place to uplift and be uplifted - and there’s a whole forum devoted to awesome appreciation! I don’t know of a better way to get back into a gratitude groove than to go to WWoW and catch the vibe of thankfulness from my dear sisters scattered across the globe.

#gratitude on Twitter A search on Twitter for the #gratitude hashtag will get you page and pages (and pages!) of tweets from people that are grateful. Personal experiences, words of thanks to each other, amazing gratitude quotes… If there’s reason to appreciate it, you’ll find a tweet about it. This is a super fun way to dip into a world ripe with an attitude of gratitude.

Do you have a favourite resource that helps inspire an attitude of gratitude? Please leave a comment below and let us know about it!

If you’re interested in reading more about gratitude, you can check out my recent Suite101.com articles: Gratitude Journals and the Law of Attraction: How Giving Thanks and Appreciation Creates Joy and Well-Being, How to Choose a Gratitude Journal: Tips for Journaling Thoughts of Thankfulness and Appreciation and Inspiring Quotes of Gratitude and Thanksgiving: Great Quotes on Appreciation and Giving Thanks to Inspire and Uplift.

Why is Contrast Necessary?

Reiki is the energy of unconditioned love flowing through us as Wellness Being.

This energy of Wellness Being is accessible to us in the heart of every moment through our willingness to inhabit our true Nature as eternal beings having a physical experience.

The art of channeling Reiki is the art of allowing ourselves to experience the ever-expanding Presence of Wellbeing in ANY moment.

As channels we are aware that what we are channeling is a frequency of unconditioned love and that this invites us to suspend our physical mind’s desire to condition (how/why/where/when) the flow of love with spacetime laws and boundaries. Channeling is allowing without attachment.

What this means, in a nutshell, is that we choose to identify not with that which we are experiencing but rather with our sense of continual expansion in which we recognize healing and being healed as a natural succession of expressing desire.

Abraham-Hicks remind us that one of the most important questions we can ever answer without lying is, “am I enjoying rockets of desire that have yet to be launched?”

The degree to which we can answer “YES” to this question is the degree to which we are detached from our illusion.

This may sound paradoxical: how on earth can you be in alignment with something and detached from it at the same time? Am I not supposed to be focusing (attached to) my undivided attention on that which I am wanting?

When we viscerally understand the concept of detachment, that is to say when we experience detachment as a whole body awareness not just a mental concept, we are now free to experience the spark of Joy that propelled us into saying YES to being here now having this human experience without worry and without a lack perspective.

Living within the agreement that “For Today Only, I anger not, I worry not” (the first Reiki principle) is not to say that what we are agreeing to is manifesting a contrast free environment in which our aim is to never experience “negative” emotion.

Instead what this principle invites into is an experience of ALL emotion from a vantage point that does not identify with that which it is experiencing: *I* am not the worry/anger/anything *I* feel.

Detachment is dis-identification with form. It is the felt knowing that as eternal beings having a physical experience we are engaging within a reality that SEEMS real in order for us to realize the ever-expanding nature of unconditioned love.

The translation of Rei mirrors Einstein’s philosophy that says, “everything is energy and beyond that supreme intelligence” - the universe is the energy of supreme intelligence.

What I would like for us to come to viscerally experience, is that WE are the energy of supreme intelligence RE-COGNIZING it’s true nature: *this* is the leading edge.

Detachment allows us to experience our eternal nature as it invites us to re-member that the essence of all desire is to reach a deeper feeling experience of unconditioned love. Everything we want is just outside our comfort zone. Why? Because without contrast, how could there be evolution? Without contrast how could we, the energy of supreme intelligence, recognize the ever expanding nature of unconditional love?

Are you enjoying rockets of desire that have yet to manifest?

I invite you to listen to the Reiki for Life: Being Reiki conference call we had on the 17 September.

We did a wonderful Energy Awareness Practice in which we experienced ourselves attached to our emotional experience and then detached from our emotional experience, which gave us the contrast necessary to realize our eternal nature as ever expanding beings of wellness.

click the cd to listen to the call

Envision Quest℠ for the Experience of Observing Energy

Reiki invites us to experience our eternal nature as we come to practice the art of observing that which we feel instead of identifying with that which we feel.

As you observe the following image, infused with the healing energies of Reiki, allow yourself to fully relax and follow the rhythm of your breathing. Inhale deep relaxation and as you exhale become aware of how your body responds to being in deep relaxation.

Use the affirmation below the image by saying it out loud and hearing your own voice. There is great power in the spoken word and even more power in hearing your own voice.

Affirming: As I enter the present moment and allow what is to be, I discover my eternal nature within all of my experiences: I am the observer of all I experience: which experience do I prefer?

This affirmation leads us into the quantum realm of possibility with a sense of deep inner knowing that what we are experiencing here is a very real affirmation of our inherent wellbeing. Take a moment to soak up this energy and give yourself the gift of returning to this energy throughout your day.

The following audio is a clip from one of our Being Reiki conference calls and it invites us to experience the difference between identifying with what we are feeling and observing it.

Please enjoy it and pass it on

You can listen to the full Being Reiki conference calls here

In Joy

Shireen

I chose this image of a frog that I took while on a walk in the mountains (in Stanford, near Cape Town, South Africa) as frogs symbolize transformation, fluidity and adaptation. The energy of Frog teaches us to go with our flow, so to speak, with a sense of grace and ease.

If you would like to work with Shireen in a personal 1on1 distance Reiki share with guided audio energy awareness practices, please visit this page and contact her directly.

If you are feeling a calling within you to experience the art of Being Reiki within a light-minded group of conscious creators, I invite you take a look at this exciting Reiki for Life Certification Program with Shireen Freeman and Nina Ferrell.

How does Unconditioned feel to you?

It’s a windy evening here in Cape Town (South Africa) and the moon is just incredible! There is a beeeeg ring around it in the clouds with a bright star at the edge of the ring Such a gift we gave ourselves when we chose to inhabit this physical existence

That was one of the things that came up during the Reiki share for some of us and I suspect a LOT of us - a calling to be more deeply aware of our bodies.

During our call we did an Energy Awareness Practice in which we became aware of our inner energetic body. We were able to sense and channel this Life Force energy simply with our Free Will, Intention, Attention and Allowing.

(listen to the call here: http://envisionjoy.com/2009/08/reiki-life-preview-calls/)

It became apparent to us during this practice that our bodies are portals through which we are able to make contact with Life Force energy and we realized that by connecting through the body in this way, it was easier for us to enter the heart space of deeper allowing, deeper connection and deeper trust, which in turn amplified our ability to feel wellbeing in the present moment.

I was excited about sharing an experience I had the previous evening, after our Reiki Share, which gave me a way to viscerally understand the concept of Unconditional Giving | Unconditional Receiving (if you remember, this was something that came up in the reading after our Reiki Share as something for us to focus on to bring us into alignment with who we really are).

(listen to the call here: http://envisionjoy.com/2009/08/reiki-life-preview-calls/)

Lets take a peek at each word (so as to draw a holographic agreement of terms) and see where it leads us.

At the beginning of our call I point out that Rei-Ki are two kanji (images) that conjoin to form a bigger picture, or Ideogram.

These images each have several layers of meaning: from the mundane (physical/literal) to the esoteric (non-physical/metaphorical).

This is how I’d like to look at the word Unconditional

On a mundane level, Unconditional means (and here I turn to the trusty dictionary)

“not limited by conditions; absolute”

With this in mind, lets see it’s esoteric meaning, and it is here that we turn inward, through the body, in order to experience our broader, non-physical perspective and wisdom.

Breath in deeply and allow yourself to focus on the rhythm of you breathing;

Relax - allow each breath to invite you deeper and deeper into relaxation; feel the tension leave your body….

now from a place of feeling present… intend for your awareness to inhabit your heart space - wherever you find your attention, follow it to your heart centre, focusing on your breathing….

imagine that you are floating in a gravity free environment….

notice how you physical body responds to your imagining…

continue focusing on your breathing….. allowing yourself to be exactly where you are in the stillness of your focus…. you cannot get it wrong….

you are freely floating in a gravity free environment….

in this space you are unconditioned….

notice how your emotional body responds…. focus on your breathing….

How does it feel to be unconditioned?

What are you able to do? Watch and SEE what your imagination is showing you…

notice how it feels to watch yourself occupying this space, as if you were reading an absorbing book…

you are unconditioned

ask yourself how it feels… listen… see…. watch….

This is your personal esoteric meaning to the concept of Unconditional. Allow this word to trigger this state of being. Use your Intention.

If I had to write a formula for Intention it would look like this:

I = UD over D squared FW

Intention is Unconditional Desire over Detachment amplified by a Free Will.

There is freedom in detachment. There is a freedom in being unconditioned. There is freedom in intention.

There is freedom in the balancing of these energies. The balance, is weightless.

A “pure” desire, as Abraham reminds us when they speak to us of the power of a pure thought ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBmuc8_GySQ&feature=PlayList&p=880794B9823B4227&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=19) is an uncontradicted one.

A pure desire feels like, “I want it, I got it, it’s coming, I know it!”

This is the energy of Unconditional Desire: it is a desire held for the Joy of it. It is held in the glory of its apex, it’s zenith - the grand finale - because it feels good.

We are unattached to it: there is no fear of it stopping or it not being enough or right… we enJoy our present moment, it is our greatest gift to our Self

How are you enjoying inhabiting your body?

In our next call we will be exploring our bodies more deeply as channels for Life Force energy.

Notice how your body is responding to your consciousness (awareness of being aware) and how your perception of physical energy corresponds to your Intention.

Intend for yourself to inhabit your inner energetic body and respond to it from your heartspace: say Yes Your will is free and your Inner Being honours this - intuition is unattached to weather or not you say yes

Following your breath is an amazing and ever constant invitation to enter the body - happy breathing!

Our next call is this Thursday at 11am EST.

Access Number 218-548-0930

Passcode 1111

consider signing up to let us know you are cominghttp://envisionjoy.com/2009/08/reiki-life-preview-call/

If you want us to send you the Questionnaire so we can set up a 1on1 to establish if this course is a perfect match for your personal goals with Reiki, sign up or update your details here http://www.envisionjoy.com/signupq

In Joy

Shireen

Reiki for Life Conference Calls

Ritual and the Law of Attraction

As Joyous Visionaries we are on a continuous journey of discovery that leads us again and again to that place within that affirms, “Indeed! The Law of Attraction is the essential force that animates all living systems I know!”

Time and time again, as if spiralling on an axis of remembrance, we find ourselves deepening our understanding of just how powerful the Law of Attraction is. It is here, at this edge, that we invite ourselves on an exciting quest that calls us to synchronise our beliefs and projections with this essential law.

So, as we direct our attention to the art of ritual, I propose that we formulate a mutual vision of how the law of attraction works and then see how they harmonise with each other.

Attention

Our attention determines our perspective and everything we perceive is always a vibrational match to the essence of our attention.

We have access to the essence of our attention through our emotional guidance system. By including into our attention the quality of our emotional resonance with that which we are focusing upon, we can determine if it is pleasing to us or if it is not.

If it is pleasing to us we allow ourselves to open up to more of the same by continuing to include that which we are focusing upon into our field of awareness.

If it is not pleasing to us, we detach from it and choose something different to focus upon using our emotional guidance system to navigate our way through this process.

One of the attributes of a Joyous Visionary is that we detach from that which is not pleasing to us from the heart-space.

In other words, from a place of knowing that there are no mistakes in Dreamtime, that all is consistently well, we allow ourselves to thank what it is that has brought us to this place of realising our misalignment with our joyous visions and in love we hand it over to Source and shift our focus.

We will be discussing more aspects of detachment later on but I want to point out, as you can and will continue to see, how these steps dovetail into each other. They are not things we have to arrange and do sequentially because we are practicing each of them simultaneously all the time. Our “work” is to simply be aware of where we are and in so doing, give our attention to the quality of our emotional resonance.

The domain of attention is one of the most pivotal arenas of discovery for the Joyous Visionary. With consistent practice we come to know how vital our perspective is in terms of what we are experiencing.

Notice that in all your offerings of attention, there are really only two routes that attention can take: the route of lack or the route of presence. We are either focused on the apparent lack of something or the presence of it. This is your direct indicator of the experience you are calling forth into your Dreamtime.

Are you calling forth a Dream of presence or a Dream of lack? Are you focused on what you are wanting or the lack of it?

Have fun with this. Cultivate a sense of eager participation with all the facets that make up your awareness. It is only by knowing yourself that you come to know the being-ness of Source.

Intention

As we come to experience more and more evidence of the power of our attention, we realise that we have unlimited freedom available to us: we are free in any given moment to shift our attention to align with our Vision and our Vision is always free to expand.

We come to realise that the essence of what we are wanting is always a state of being and that anything beyond that is how we would like to play with this energy.

We know that it is our attention that does the asking. We know that Law of Attraction is always responding. Now we align with the presence of our wanting made manifest and we do this through the power of our intention.

Intention is the activity of swimming in the Dream where your Vision is as real as real can be. It is the willingness to act on that which resonates with the currents of this water. We must know this water well in order to recognise the inspiration it births.

We come to know that within the Dream we have the power to suspend belief in what appears to be real and that within the metaphysical space of daring to dream we give ourselves permission to write our script from a place of trust. Trust is what gives momentum to our intentions.

Detachment

To be detached is to be lucid in the Dream. We are Dreaming for the joy of it, because it gives us deep satisfaction to know we can never get it wrong and that in never getting it done, we are always free to Dream.

When we are feeling angst about what we are manifesting it is because we are attached to it. We can be attached in one of two ways.

The first type of attachment is aversion. If we have an aversion to what we are wanting we feel uneasy about receiving it. When we imagine ourselves in proximity to it we experience a stream of resistance. We may believe that in order to have what we are wanting there must be a trade –off.

We may feel as though a series of complicated events must occur between our asking and our having in order for it to reach fruition - a coping mechanism designed to keep us from having to take responsibility for this attachment.

To neutralize this kind of attachment we detach from trying to figure out the “how” and learn to trust the efficiency and consistency of the Law of Attraction.

We also come to understand the value of forgiveness and how heart felt intention can soften the vibration of unworthiness.

As Joyous Visionaries we realise that forgiveness is the response to judgement. We come to know that what we are attached to is our perspective and in our detachment we choose to tell our story from within our Vision.

The second kind of attachment is resistance. Remember earlier we spoke of attention taking one of two routes: the route of lack or the route of presence? Well, when we do our asking while our attention is routed in lack, every time our wanting comes into focus we feel the lack of it immediately present in our current vibrational state.

For example, if we find ourselves in a pattern of feeling impoverished each time we open a bill, keeping in mind that every moment, every action, is an asking, we can be sure that we are doing our asking from a place of lack awareness. We are perceiving the Dream and believing that it is more real than our freedom to Dream deliberately. We are not, in that moment of feeling impoverished, including our Vision of presence into the field of our focus.

At the point of observing the lack of presence within your vibration you unleash your freedom.

Here is where you jump for joy! For it is here, in this sliver of realisation, that you detach from attachment.

Any attention given to the attachment from this point forward is deliberately turning against the current.

There can be many reasons for deliberately turning against the current. One common reason is the belief that we must think our way through creation.

If you find yourself resisting the shift of focus that brings about an attention routed in presence, it is most likely because you are trying to think yourself into alignment instead of intending yourself there.

Your inner being at this point is reminding you that it does not have to be an effort or a struggle and this is where being willing to listen to your emotional guidance system can greatly assist you. It is saying that what you are wanting is accessible right here, right now, with a simple shift in perspective.

Know that you never have to reach the equal and opposite vibration of what you are experiencing instantly. In other words, you are never expected to go from 0 – exuberantly joyous in 0.3 seconds.

Reaching for presence is choosing relief and oftentimes the easiest way of finding the freedom to make this choice is in the simple following of the breath.

Focusing on the breath takes the edge off being completely occupied in the mental body. We cannot think and be attentive of our breathing at the same time. Here we relieve ourselves from needing to control. It takes no effort to breathe. We relieve ourselves from past and future and we discover the familiar feeling of being present in our bodies.

Here we cultivate our personal relationship with the stream of wellbeing. How does it feel? How does your body respond? How does your thinking respond?

By practicing the art of being present when we are not attached, it becomes easier for us to slip into it when we want to detach.

Ritual

Having covered the basic foundation of the Law of Attraction we can see how the art of ritual can enhance our understanding and participation within it.

Quite simply, a ritual is an act of asking and allowing that employs an open dialogue with Source using attention, intention and detachment to outcome in the process.

A ritual is a mirror image, a movie if you will, of our inner world of manifesting. Any material objects used during a ritual is specifically dedicated to resembling a facet of our inner work. Are you beginning to see how the life of a Joyous Visionary is ritual itself?

Ritual is powerful because it is imbued with creative energy. It works because it has our trust and our heartfelt participation.

Creative Energy

Creative energy flows on the breath of inspiration, through our open hearts and willing hands.

We are open to inspiration when our being is immersed in the knowing that all is as it should be. When we approach Life with a sense of appreciation for what is we allow creative energy to flow through us.

It is for this reason that we remember that any work we do along our path of manifestation, whether it be a ritual, visualization or a rampage of appreciation, we are doing it for the pure joy of it, not because we are wanting it to transport us to where we are not. We do it loving where we are and loving where we want to be simultaneously.

Moving Mudra Meditation

A moving mudra meditation is a sacred dance of invocation, a living prayer.

We use hand genstures as mudras, the Sanskrit word for sign, to embody our intentions as we open ourselves up to allowing universal energies of manifestation to flow through us with ease and grace.

I invite you to spend some time playing with this in order to generate a deep sense of understanding for each mudra.  In short they are invoking witness, being receptive, finding balance between relaxed and altert, paying tribute to the vastness of life, recognizing the unity of all that is and honouring this connection from moment to moment.

In this dance we are channels through which we invite the presence of our intentions to be felt as desires already met as we enter present moment being through the rhythm of our breathing: we are fully in our bodies. Our intentions occupying real time with us.

We call upon Earth Mother as our divine witness to our present moment being. We are grounded, earthed, centered and we are held in the loving gaze of Nurturing energy.

We are receptive, open and allowing to whatever may unfold, fully absorbing our reception within our receptivity.

We balance the energies of relaxation and altert awareness within the heart space and stabilize ourselves in a steadfast mind. We allow ourselves to witness ourselves as we are witnessed by the divine and loving presence of Earth Mother.

We pay tribute to the vastness of Life, acknowledging the infinite potential contained within every particle, every nuance of Life.

We celebrate Life in all it’s magnificence.

We experience, explore and express the connectedness of all things through our awareness of unity and unification.

We allow ourselves to move freely within unity, honouring our unique expression and expansion as part of this divine connection.

We embody our intention to feel this holy connection from moment to moment, activating within us a living intention that is now being sewn into the fabric of our moment to moment experience of life.

We fully embrace the expression of Life in our present moment being. We dance like Source is watching.

And again, we pay tribute to the vastness of all Life, knowing deeply that all is united in a cosmic dance of manifestation and that all is indeed very well, right here, right now.

Here is a movie that you can watch to assist you with learning each of the mudras. Have fun and feel free to connect with me and share your experiences - I’d love to hear from you!

What is the Purpose of the Number of Crystals in a Grid?

Q: What is the purpose of the number of crystals [in a grid] and how do u place them? Do you cleanse the crystals first?

A: Good questions.

The purpose of each stone, is to receive, store and transmit energy/intention: the ability to “do work”.

The number of crystals vary according to your preference - you can use one crystal in a grid and have
it be as effective as using 6 or 10 or 50.

The constant denominator in all grids, is the central “Master Crystal” which acts as a powerful conduit for the energies.

The important thing to remember here is to include in your intention, that the rate at which the energy is being received, stored and transmitted occurs at a pace that sustains the highest good for all. Some people are more sensitive to energy shifts and can experience dizziness, headaches or fatigue, for example, after an energy healing session.

I recommend cleansing crystals before use, yes. From this post:

There are many many ways to cleanse crystals. My current favourite is with intent-infused breath. Many crystals do not fair well in water or sunlight (amethyst fades in sunlight for example) and this method eliminates any need to research or second guess.
Hold your crystal in your hands. Close your eyes and feel the intention of wanting your crystal to be cleansed of all negative and previously stored energy for the highest good of all.

Feel what it feels like to be cleansed.

See your intention as a ball of white light in your navel. As you feel it more and more vividly, see that it travels to your heart centre where it infuses your breath.

Take in a deep conscious breath as you hold your crystal up before you and then, as you blow all over your crystal, become aware that as you are doing so, your intent is manifesting as you desire.

Thank your Higher Self and your ability to tap into Source for the highest good of all and spend a moment fully present in your body.

When I create grids, I remember Grandmother Spider, weaving her silky web of Life and Cycles in silvery strands of wisdom and light.

She hums as she weaves, gently connecting the strands at points where she knows they will yield just the right amount of tension. She is graceful, yet quick and nimble. She does not second guess herself.

Her Life-Silk comes from deep within her belly, where peptides of ancient knowing spiral into substance that is stronger than any replica. She reminds us that ancient knowing is that which connects us all.

She invites us to count our blessings, that the deep appreciation and heart-felt allowing that comes through this, is where our strands are connected.

Have fun with this. Know that you cannot get it wrong. Your intentions are your energetic tools: the empty spaces between the strands of the web that borrow a view, frame a branch of a tree, allow the wind to pass.

As you feel the frequency of relief and all the joy that follows in its wake as you render your desires acknowledged by a Divine Universe, resoundingly say, Yes to the invitation to act.

Spirit penetrates matter in order to evolve. Inspired action is this: spirit evolving through you.

And as you channel this consciousness, this awareness of being suspended in motion, rooted in knowing, moving with the breeze of intuition and allowing the manifestation of wellbeing to occur, complete the circle:stand in appreciation. Acknowledge the dew dropped web. Bask in humble appreciation, that is to say, acknowledge the divine presence at hand through you and allow each cell
to absorb this beingness.

In Joy, your wellbeing!

Different Crystals for Different Applications?

Q: Do you use different crystals for different applications?

A: Each crystal can be used in a lot of different ways - as many as we can imagine! Some examples include -

meditation - here are some free audio meditations you can try out
crystal grids
crystal elixirs
placement healing (for the physical body and spacial cleansing and dedication)
in rituals

Knowing just a few methods can assist us in selecting and creating different methods that best suit our personal requirements and preferences.

The only time I take care in selecting which methods to use when working with specific crystals, is when making crystal elixirs with physical stones. Some stones, when coming into contact with water do not fair too well - malachite for example crumbles.

There are also certain stones that contain toxins which when released into water and ingested can cause discomfort
in the bodily systems. A list of these stones is available on the page linked to above about crystal elixirs.

Basically, crystals receive, store and transmit energy. Think of the quartz in a quartz watch. It’s nature allows it to keep perfect timing.

When we use crystals in healing, they receive and harmonize our vibrations, store our intentions and transmits a specific frequency of consciousness.

Metaphysically, we know that everything is essentially consciousness vibrating at varied frequencies. Thoughts are consciousness, all substance is a manifestation of thought and is also consciousness, as is the awareness that births thought consciousness.

Consciousness is in constant communion - everything has impact. Everything is connected.

It is because of this that we find ourselves drawn to specific crystals at different times. It is often said that they choose us rather than the other way around. Here is an article about choosing crystals along with some tips on how to choose them.

I bring this up because when I use crystals in different applications, I allow myself to be open when choosing which ones to use and also, how to use them.

Lets say I am making a crystal grid for someone who desires more clarity and focus and a sense of groundedness in their excitement.

I may choose to create a grid because it’s a distance healing and it allows the person to receive the healing over a period of three days.

I spend some time holding my clients desire as my intention before offering it as a prayer into the universe, that is to say, I hold the vibration of the desire already met with the willingness to act on inspiration and then move into a state of detachment (the absense of attachment to outcome) and ask for the most suitable crystals to make themselves known to me.

At this point I do whatever feels good to me. I may do a reading to encapsulate the essence that when focussed upon, will invite the shift needed for healing to occur. Then I may go through my crystal books and pick out the ones that hold the frequency of the reading’s message. From here I will “randomly” selects ones to use in the grid.

Have fun with this, allow yourself to experiment with different ways to use your crystals, and feel free to share your experiences here with us!

Guest Post: Seven Ways to Awaken Your Intuition and Activate Your Psychic Powers by Diana Rankin

Developing your intuition is a healthy way to take charge of your life and use your own inner psychic powers to guide your life to greater happiness and fulfillment. Following are seven ways to awaken your intuition and activate your psychic powers. Each is designed to help you get past the brain patterns you’ve created with your normal thinking. These methods mix up your thinking process in order to help you reach deeper of your intuition and find your psychic powers.

1. Open to Spirit and develop an awareness of your own inner world through meditation, prayer, and a loving desire to live a life of service to all living beings and the planet. You’ll be amazed at the richness and joy you’ll experience as you tap into your inner world. Children are especially adept at exploring their inner worlds, so take your child-or your inner child-on an exploration of the wonders of meditation and deep prayer.

Begin with the intent that you wish to explore the place of love within you. Use a guided meditation CD, music, or meditative breathing. As relaxation spreads throughout your body, allow yourself to experience the love that you are, the truth of who you are. Begin deep prayer work by thanking Spirit for your life and that which is in your life, then relax and ask that it be revealed to you the ways you can be of service to life and live a greater, more expanded and exalted life.

2. Build up the pathways between the left and right brain hemispheres with easy-to-do-crossover exercises. Cross the right hand over the front of your body and tap the left foot seven or eight times. Then, cross the left hand over the front of your body and tap the right foot seven or eight times. Repeat the exercises, but this time cross your hand over the back of your body.

Practice doing things with your non-dominate hand, such as opening doors, brushing your hair or teeth, or even writing. In addition to opening more pathways in your brain for intuition, you’re also creating more brain power for problem solving and critical thinking skills.

3. Heighten the awareness of each of your five senses. Intuition may be called the sixth sense, but if our five senses are dull, we can’t expect the sixth sense to be sharp. Our lives offer an endless playground for our five senses. Mix up your five senses. Begin by holding an object, any object, such as a stone or piece of cloth. Become intimate with that object. Look at it until you can see it with your eyes closed. Then ask yourself what the object tastes like. Use your imagination. You don’t actually have to put the object into your mouth and taste it.

Once you’ve gone through all five senses, mix it up and ask yourself questions such as: What color is the taste? or What does the object’s sound feel like? Then go to the next level and ask yourself questions such as: If this object could speak, what wisdom about my life would it tell me?

4. Become aware of the whispers from Spirit by becoming more aware of life in each moment. Be open to receiving information and guidance to help make your life better. Nature is a wonderful teacher for intuition. Pay attention to the animals that cross your path and the winged ones who grab your attention. If you live in the center of the Midwest and a flock of seagulls dip and dive all around you, listen. Are they asking you to let go of your worries and soar with them?

Nature is alive with stone people, cloud people, tree people, and a myriad of others who speak to us all the time. We only need to listen.

5. Journal and dialogue with that which is greater than you: God, Goddess, a spirit guide, an angel, the highest self of someone you love and trust who has passed over. Choose a regular time to meet. Following morning meditation is ideal. Use your favorite blank journal, and just start writing, or if you’re a visual learner, draw. It doesn’t matter what you write, just write, or draw, and keep on going for about three pages. It usually takes about three pages to get pass the objections in your mind that keeps you from accessing your deeper nature.

You’ll feel the shift, and once you do, write a question, then write the answer. Don’t judge the answer as you write, just write down the words that come to you. This is a subtle process. Don’t expect shouts. Trust what comes. Later, go back and read what you wrote. You’ll be amazed at the wisdom that comes through your inner world.

6. Play intuitive games with yourself and others. Before getting into line at the bank or market, ask yourself which line is the quickest. Gather a group of photographs of different people that are all the same size, turn them upside down, and then guess whose picture is on the other side of each photograph. Use your intuition to stay safe. I live in deer country. Every time I feel the deer near, I slow down. Sure enough, deer will be around the next corner or over the next hill.

7. Let go of control and surrender to that part of yourself that is connected to Spirit. None of us are in control of life, but we are in charge of our lives. We can choose to experience life to its fullest. Or not. We can choose to be grateful for what we have. Or not. We can choose to live a life of service to our own lives and to all humanity. Or not.

Trying to hold control is like trying to stop a river from flowing. Taking charge of your life is becoming the master of your own destiny, flowing with the river and laughing all the way, and allowing your intuition to guide you to a greater, more fulfilling life.

These steps to awaken to your deeper intuition and activate your psychic powers take time and practice. Be patient and loving with yourself. Tapping into your intuition comes in its own time, but comes only after you take the steps toward your own greater self.

Diana Rankin, author of 23 Days, A Celtic Journey, is a gifted psychic medium, international speaker, and radio personality. For a private reading by phone or in person, or for information on workshop, seminars, or speaking to your group, please contact Diana at 937-593-6500, or http://www.dianarankin.com. To read her latest book, while she is writing it, go to http://dianarankin.blogspot.com.

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