Breakthrough

This has been a summer of change.  14 states and 6,000 miles on the odometer. We skirted the cities and bypassed the interstates,  spending our time in nature and staying in beautiful locations.  It’s been amazing and I so feel blessed that I could take it all in while also having time and space to be quiet and contemplate.  This has been (and continues to be) a time full of powerful transits and I’ve been powerfully affected by them.  A few have kicked my okole but hey! I’m still standing here in one piece.  I didn’t succumb to the darkness and I haven’t ignored them.  Being willing to listen and then really listening has made me realize that I am becoming more authentic.  I know that loving and accepting all of me has made me more open, loving and accepting of all of you. A meaningful breakthrough has gifted me with some clarity, given me some direction, has allowed forgiveness to further expedite healing of old wounds…. yes !!! and has opened my mind and my heart to another dimension that I am just beginning to experience.  I am breaking into new territory; a place in which the old rules don’t work anymore.  I’m a little scared.  I’ll admit it.  But I am going to continue to follow my na’au, be as centered as I can and to remember to be kind. We’re all on this earth for a purpose.  I’m being led and paying attention to the signs is keeping me on track.

I’ve journaled to record feelings, thoughts, dreams and events.  My camera has been at hand and I’ve taken some great shots.   But what I was really pushed to do was meditate with music and draw.  The images just started coming out and I haven’t been able to stop.  I am able to be in the present without any mind chatter and I come into a wonderful bliss-like state.  Each piece expresses what I am feeling during the period of time I work on it.  While I draw my mind is clear, silent and open to the messages I receive.

I did this particular drawing between July 7 and July 10 at Gros Ventre National Park near Jackson Hole, WY.  The Grand Water Trine was forming (a link to the chart is at the bottom of this page).  On July 7 Saturn was stationed direct.  July 8 was New Moon in Cancer and July 9 saw the Sun and Mercury meet in an inferior conjunction.  I finished on July 10 when Jupiter was in exact trine to my natal Chiron while Saturn was conjunct and Neptune trine it.  There have been many factors at work this summer but the forementioned and these transits (below… with my natal Chiron involved) stood out to me as representative of this point in time.

Transiting Jupiter in strong trine (exact) with natal Chiron

Jul 1, 2013 to Jul 19, 2013, exact Jul 10, 2013.

The planetary energies flow smoothly; the connection is easy and beneficial.

Your religious philosophy and broad intellectual framework are subject to a certain amount of re-examination. Painful experiences in these areas could lead you to a new outlook on life. Also at this time, you may feel a revitalization of the healing awareness within yourself, possibly in connection to the process of work done in connecting to old wounds, received in earlier developmental stages. When we reconnect with repressed and potentially painful feelings that have been buried away in the depths of our psyche we inhabit these rejected parts of ourselves and become more whole. At this time too, you may connect with a higher purpose in the work that you do, especially if this work involves helping people to heal in some way, and to grow in their own understanding of who they really are. You may take up the study of new-age healing techniques during this period, or in other ways inhabit the vision of wholeness and freedom from old pain that you feel emanates from the intuitive clarity provided by your higher self.

Transiting Saturn in strong conjunction with natal Chiron

This transit is strongest (within 2 degrees)

Jun 13, 2013 to Jul 31, 2013.

The strongest blend of the energies represented by these two planets.

Your psyche is subject to a stressful and potentially vitalizing time, as the very structure of your life is subject to painful realizations, leading to great changes in your self-concept. At this time also, difficulties with authority figures may emerge, or your relationship with your father may challenging, or the way you live your life in relation to the structure of society itself may be coming to a point where changes that have been in the works for some time are ready to burst forth into your conscious awareness. There may be old wounds with your father, or with the parental care and discipline you received in early childhood, that re-emerge at this time, hopefully for purposes of healing these issues and the potentially debilitating effects that they may have on your life. At this time also, the self-concept that you have had up to now may be changing, leading to a renewed sense of your own healing potential. Through a slow concentrated effort you may begin to connect with a higher purpose in the work that you do at this time, especially if this work involves helping people to heal in some way, and to grow in their own understanding of who they really are.

Transiting Neptune in strong trine with natal Chiron

from Jun 25, 2013 to Mar 1, 2014, exact Sep 20, 2013 R, Jan 2, 2014

The planetary energies flow smoothly; the connection is easy and beneficial.

This can be a time of great change and positive results for you. What is affected that part of yourself that is a dissolver of old structures, for the purpose of making way for some hitherto unseen aspect of yourself to emerge, and you are likely to undergo a transformation of your spiritual values at this time. You may experience a degree of tension between an old and outmoded way of being and a new vision of what could be possible. The shadow side is disappointment with yourself, for not being further along on the path you envision, and there could be confusion about what you truly want at this time. But the joy of this spiritual journey of discovery comes from making peace with yourself and beginning to fulfill your dreams. The gap between the ideal and the merely real, although wide, could become much closer for you at this time. Something new, deep inside you, is coming into birth, and you are learning how to hang out with the uncertainty of it all. The world as it presents itself to you during this period is not so pat and simple as it seemed. There are angels in the woodwork calling out for you to listen with your inner senses. You are dreaming a new realization into being for yourself, ultimately a new world, since the world is really what we are dreaming into being with each new moment. If you dream wisely at this time, you can make a difference, for yourself, and for others around you as well.

Sunrise Chart for Jackson Hole, WY July 7, 2013

JacksonHole7-7-13

Advertisement

Surrender to Win

When we surrender to God, we surrender to something bigger than ourselves – to a universe that knows what it’s doing. When we stop trying to control events they fall into a natural order, an order that works. We’re at rest while a power much greater than our own takes over, and it does a much better job than we cold have done. We learn to trust that the power that holds galaxies together can handle the circumstance of our relatively little lives.  ~ Marianne Williamson

Reminder to Me:

When I start to look at the Big Picture and, once again, realize I am unable to even comprehend how Big the Picture really is,  I have to acknowledge the fact that my life and it’s circumstance are microscopic in comparison.  I have imposed my will inappropriately many times over many years and it has brought me nothing but trouble. I now know I have a better chance if I let GOD sort things out.  When my EGO  wants to run the show and I begin to think in terms of orchestration and control I am now able to recognize it sooner and, if I’m smart,  I immediately surrender to win.    

I let it go.  I give it away with Love and trust the outcome.

I Believe in You

The Creator of the Universe, who has ordered the stars and the heavens and the earth, has a plan for your life. You are not a random act. You are not here by chance, but by design. You are destined for greatness that begins with your believing in your own destiny.
Mary Manin Morrissey

Enough To Need

This is what my E.G.O. needed to hear today; a confirmation to to be vigilant, to move along with Growth/Change and keep my thoughts of G.O.D positive and directed to the forefront.  It’s all about Love… of self and others.  I want to impact the lives of those around me for the better.  Revelations keep coming.  Right now they seem to be carrying quite a “jolt” as they try to settle in and can be a bit upsetting.  I’ve been consciously breathing and trying to keep my mind from taking control and distorting the facts.  I need to remember not to react adversely while sorting this all out.   If I begin to think I finally have Life under my control I’d make poor choices (again), act out in a passive-aggressive manner (again) and just generally upset the old apple cart (again). Then I am nothing more than a selfish, EGOtistical waste of my time and energy because I know better now.  There are no excuses.  The bottom line is I wouldn’t stop these Processes even if I could. They’re moving me closer to my destiny.

ENOUGH TO NEED

Dear GOD,
Never allow me to think that I have
Knowledge enough to need no teaching,
Wisdom enough to need no corrections,
Talents enough to need no grace,
Goodness enough to need no progress,
Humility enough to need no repentance,
Devotion enough to need no improvement,
Strength sufficient with Thy Spirit lest, standing still,
I fall back forevermore.

From the 12th Step Prayer Book, Prayer #26

 

A Positive Direction

Whatever route others take to reach their personal nirvana is okay with me as long as they don’t try to drag me off my path.  I’m to the point where I can’t fight the obvious and obvious to me is that I need to keep on in the direction that feels right.  Many times over the past fifty-plus years I’ve wandered off course only to struggle, sometimes tremendously, to get back on track. I’ve wasted many moments and I’d like to spend the rest of my time on this planet being happily me. I want to be peaceful, loving and kind.  Above all, though, I want to stay free of that demon in a bottle; the greatest waste of my life.

Recently I’ve been contemplating my path; where I’ve been, where I am and where I’m headed.  It’s such a good feeling to instinctively know I’m moving along in a positive direction.  It’s certainly not free of bumps, this path.  Sometimes it even feels like a corduroy road but not at all as often as it used to.  The ride recently has been pretty smooth but a breeze is starting to blow in, trying its best to stir up some clouds and put a few puddles on my path.  I don’t think it’s going to storm but I’m keeping my eye on the horizon.

Transiting Uranus trine natal Saturn ~ The planetary energies flow smoothly; the connection is easy and beneficial.
This is a stressful time of great internal pressure upon the existing structure of your daily life, as unusually vivid insights or perhaps unexpected events threaten security and your feeling of status quo. You can usually deal well with the challenges you experience at this time, which tend to be productive of new awareness, rather than dilemmas impossible to solve. It can be a time of tremendous creativity in fact, as you incorporate new ideas into your existing system of values and possibly shed some outworn limitations overly restricting your behavior.  

 

Beginning to Unfold

I want to wish each and every one of you a fantastic New Year.  I  am really, really, really looking forward to what this year has to offer to each and every one of us in our Universe and to the unfolding of events in this time in space.

I’m on a good, pretty even keel.  The holidays came and went without any drama, family trauma, co-dependence or guilt.  It’s 2013 and we’re all still here, although the climate has changed.  There has been a shift in awareness with information coming through much more freely and what I consider incoming doesn’t involve “DUCK FOR COVER !!!”  This incoming is gentle and loving, opening my awareness and sharpening my senses.  Old ways are dissolving while at the same time something so totally new emerges.  It’s almost magical the way it is starting to softly cover the rough edges.  My seeking, soul-searching and looking for signs of what’s coming next (i.e. “heads up”) continues with great interest on my part.  I started to write about the experiences I had in my alcoholic, co-dependent and dysfunctional marriages.  After 4 agonizing days and 2,000 words I put a halt to it.  I dredged up memories and went backwards to where I don’t want to go right now.  It’s said that time heals*, after all, and those particular past issues** have almost been dealt with.  Almost is the key word here.  I know I need to look again but found myself starting to stare.  I will finish it but need to do so with all honesty so, for the moment, that story is on hold.

I’m “lightening my load” right now.  It’s a process, this cleaning up and cleaning out.  I used to spend a lot of time in thrift shops and at garage sales and made some money selling bits and pieces of vintage and antique items.  Trouble is I kept stuff and it added to the stuff I already had accumulated.  Then I acquired more stuff when my dad died and we cleaned 55 years out of his house.  That’s a lot of “stuff”.  It’s similar to what I’ve done in my life; just packing one experience, emotion or thought away and then stacking more on top without looking at what is underneath.  Pretty soon it’s stacked so high I forget what’s down there.  So anyway….  I came across a box of my old journals in the back of my closet.  (Stacked under…  of course.)  They go back to the late 70’s.  I randomly started reading something I’d written in 2004 and finally had to stop just to digest the whole experience.  At that time I was starting to question certain aspects and beliefs in my life.  To have this reference point and to be able to see where I am now is really rather amazing.  Thank GOD for faith.  That’s what got me here.  My emotional load has balanced out along the way as I’ve dumped old views, thoughts and feelings.  I’ve learned to know that when The Committee goes into session it’s time to sit, breathe, center and focus on being still.  I’m being attentive and going with each new realization and revelation I receive.  I know deep down that it wouldn’t  be wise to ignore them.  I’ve spent years not listening to what I knew was right.  NOW is my time.  Being propelled towards a New Me is one of the most exciting things I have ever experienced.

* Transitting Mercury Square Chiron ,  **Chiron Square Natal Sun

Quite A Beautiful Ride

We are living in a time when life is moving so rapidly that we can’t afford to cling to old rocks. There is far greater wisdom (and joy) in opening to the adventure and making a game of flowing with the stream. It really is quite a beautiful ride. Sometimes it seems that life is not working, but it is. The universe is intelligent, and our game is to remember that perfection is always unfolding, even when we do not see it in a cloudy moment.  ~ Alan Cohen

I want to continue to explore, expand my horizons.  There are so many fascinating subjects to research and an abundance of life to experience.  I don’t want to cling to a rock until my dying day.  I’m enjoying my adventure and am finally able to see it for what it is; for what it has always been.  I’m recognizing the lessons and learning.  I’m learning that everyone I come in contact with has something to teach me and I am grateful for that opportunity.  Sometimes I instantly recognize the significance of the message and other times the lesson isn’t immediately clear.  Sooner or later (and it’s sooner and sooner now) it appears and I am able to acknowledge it.

Life is moving at an amazing speed at this point in time and I know I’m not the only one who feels it.  It’s not frantic or stressed out.  It’s more like the information highway from the cosmos.  I am receptive and am having revelations right and left, out of the blue. Many people are, it seems.  Are you ?  I’m also witnessing more kindness.  Yesterday I pulled up to the drive through window at Starbuck’s with money in hand and found that the unknown person in the truck ahead of me paid had my tab.  I was so overwhelmed by that simple act of kindness… paying it forward (backwards!)  It’s another reminder that helps keep my faith in humankind alive.  I know it was a direct message to me to be more giving, loving and kind.

Time is unfolding, more is being revealed and I gratefully await to see what it brings.

.

The Edge

(Chiron Trine Natal Chiron*)

I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over.  Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can’t see from the center. ~ Kurt Vonnegut

 http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/saturn/images/IMG002314.jpg

I wish I could come up with a brilliant quote like this one.  It rings true to me and aptly explains how I feel.  I’m able to imagine how it would be to stand on the edge of one of Saturn’s rings and absorb the wonders of The Universe.  Although I can only envision the sights I would take in I’m just grateful I have my imagination and a link to the NASA website.

I’m at a point in my life where I want to go to the edge.  My mind is open and my curiosity strong.  I spent too many years in the center; playing it safe, being a chameleon, giving lip service and being controlled by one person or another. Having had guilt very frequently served to me on a silver platter I paid for it dearly in dis-ease.  Now I’m continuing my education in this University of Life.  I get to choose my courses and I am truly happy, enjoying this time in my life.

When I talk about going to the edge I’m not referring to out of control as in ” OMG she went over the edge this time”.  I’m talking getting to my edge, my “jumping off” place.  It’s about walking past old fears and old habits, which means being open to new ideas, different thoughts, spiritual growth, psychic impressions, people of like mind, insights and listening to my dreams, to name a few.  It means I can have my own GOD/Saviour, with whom I am at ease, and know that Love is always with me, that GOD is always in me.  I want to learn much more about things that resonate to and with me. Going to the edge  also means I can be myself, speak my truths; have my own opinions without fearing reproach and it means I can stay in my pajamas until 2:00 without any guilt.  In turn, it lets other people live their lives without my judgement upon them, their beliefs and opinions.  We all need to make our own mistakes.

My view is much clearer view since I started this journey.  I am becoming my authentic self  while I quietly mature.  Better late than never.  I realize I am holding much more  tolerance , understanding and compassion,  as well as holding my tongue.  Nothing much surprises me anymore.  I like getting to my edge, jumping off and finding there’s something even better waiting for me, purer and more refined, when I land.

*Transiting Chiron in trine with natal Chiron ~ The planetary energies flow smoothly; the connection is easy and beneficial. 

You are likely to be going through a period of transition. You are in the process of getting in touch with yourself, and this can be extremely rewarding as well as a necessary part of your evolution. This could be a time when strange events force upon you an intimation of other worlds, a broader perspective than that of ordinary reality, perhaps a taste of the transpersonal world of shamanism and magic. It also may be a time for re-examination of some painful issues that could be part of your make-up and possibly have been holding you back until now. Usually some issues from early childhood that were too painful to deal with in their era, and that have become repressed and remain lodged in your unconscious, come up during this period of time, perhaps brought on by recent events. Long repressed feelings may be difficult and painful to deal with, but there is a rich reward for getting in touch with these walled-off areas in order to become more whole. You can achieve a much greater degree of self-acceptance and ease once you have made the dark journey of discovery to find what lies within that space. (TimePassages www.astrograph.com)

Getting “Past” Gone

Dwell not on the past. Use it to illustrate a point, then leave it behind. Nothing really matters except what you do now in this instant of time. From this moment onwards you can be an entirely different person, filled with love and understanding, ready with an outstretched hand, uplifted and positive in every thought and deed.  ~  Eileen Caddy

I like to take a good look at my past on occasion in order to gauge how far I have progressed.  Staring or dwelling upon it for any reason other than gleaning it’s lessons does not work for me.  I do not need to fall into a “could have, would have, should have” condition.  That’s a short road to a long depression if I decide to go there.  As long as I do  the next right thing now and keep love and kindness close to my heart I continue to evolve.  Developing into who I am at this moment in time has been slow but steady.  My mind, as well as my horizon, has expanded, becoming open and accepting of almost everything put in my path.  Negativity, dark thoughts and unbecoming action are quietly being left in the dust of the past and I continue to move forward.  The rest of this life is stretched before me like a canvas; waiting for me to pick up my brush.  I hope to create my masterpiece.

Courage to Be

“It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are.”   e. e. Cummings

The moment  I read this quote a part of me thought  “No.  I can’t write about courage.  I don’t have it in me.”  That’s how my  mind works against me.  I almost bought into it but caught myself.  I am going to write about it because I have fought hard to attain the courage to do this.

Courage is “the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Physical courage is courage in the face of physical pain, hardship, death, or threat of death, while moral courage is the ability to act rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame, scandal, or discouragement.  In some traditions, fortitude holds approximately the same meaning as courage.  (Wikipedia)

Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

My last active insanity session came during a time in my life when I couldn’t cope with the reality of a situation over which I felt I had no control.  I thought it would go away and when it didn’t I went into denial and then into dis-ease.  It was like a living nightmare.  In dis-ease I become another person; dark and depressed.  I came to every morning and went to work; grimly facing the day with a pair of dark glasses and constant anxiety.  Towards the end I had to have a drink before I got to work.  At the end I drove almost 20 miles in a blackout on the wrong side of a two lane road with two police cars following me.  I didn’t see them.  It is said there are three ends for an alcoholic:  jail, institutions or death.  That final spiral downwards, and I don’t use the word final loosely, took me to places I never want to visit again and it’s only by G.O.D.’s grace I haven’t died.

When I came out of my fog I had several years of guilt, anger, fear, anxiety and shame to run through the shredder.  I was overwhelmed by my emotions.  Thank G.O.D. that my friends were there for me. I couldn’t have done it without their encouragement, love and (sometimes not so) gentle pushes.  Once on the road to freedom I had to learn to live with myself.  I had to forgive myself and all those “others”.  I had to learn to love myself and I had to learn how to love/live life as a responsible adult.  That was a big mouthful to swallow but the work I did, and still do, has rewarded me.

In the beginning I was terribly uncomfortable when I had to go “out in the world”.   I was very unsure of myself and my self-esteem was at rock bottom.  I had embarrassed myself beyond beyond.  I thought that everyone in town was talking about me and it made me crazy.  I couldn’t do what I wanted to do to alleviate the pain and thus the work, the research, the prayer and meditation began in earnest. Slowly it became easier  and my anxieties calmed down.  I realized that what other people thought of me was none of my business.  I found myself having the courage to go places, like the local market and post office, where I would inevitably run into someone looking at me as a juicy bit of gossip.  I found the courage to look back, smile and say “I couldn’t be better” when asked (and yes, many times, asked in a condescending manner) how I was.  My family saw changes and welcomed me “back”.   The guilt and shame slowly left.  I began to recognize my assets while removing the liabilities.  Today I have the courage to express my feeling and emotions, views and thoughts and can get usually get them up and out before they tear me up. I still have problems holding on sometimes.  I have the courage to post these blogs.  This is one of the more courageous thing I’ve ever done, and I do it with hopes it helps someone else at some time.  For some reason, it helps me.  It feels damn good having the courage to just be.

Image:  Strength VIII – Kay Steventon’s Spiral Tarot

 

We Are Not Alone

We are being led. We are not alone. Our Higher Power is working Its finest and best to bring true change in us. Others have traveled this road too. We will be led to someone who can help us, someone who can provide the markers we need. We are being prepared for receiving as much joy and love as our heart can hold. ~ Melody Beattie

There have been many times in my life where I have felt trapped, alone or abandoned with nowhere to turn and nowhere to hide. It’s impossible to hide from yourself unless you are anesthetized and out cold. And that is only temporary. Once the lights come on it only gets worse. This is not a speculation on my part. It’s the truth as I learned it. It’s a different story today. I am not in my disease and I have spent, and still spend a lot of time recovering from it in one way or another. I accept that I am the sum of all my experiences, good and bad.

I remember in order to forget, in order to move through those cobwebs that would like to cling to my being like sticky little bits of cotton candy. I could stop and wallow in some of those old patterns and pities. I could bow to low self-esteem and self hate. Maybe I could twist up some resentments and anger. Or how about jealousy and rage, lies and deceit ? Oh ! I forgot drama. Lots of drama. Yeah ? I don’t think so. I could but I won’t. I’ve grown and changed over the years and that behavior isn’t in my life any longer. It tries to slip sneakily in. But I need to remember what it was like, not to become too comfortable and let my guard slip.

Remembering where the Past has taken me brings me to the Present and the gifts I receive daily. Waking Up (not Coming To), watching the sunrise from my lanai, having time to just be or create, my beautiful children and grandchildren, other family and friends, fantastic times with the man I love, working in my garden, traveling to places I never imagined, living in beauty by the ocean and being at relative peace with myself and others are just some of the gifts only a truly magnificent G.O.D. could give me. I felt, at a time passed, that I was undeserving of such gifts. Today I can smile and say “Thank You” while I accept these Blessings from Above.

Transforming With Mercury Square Chiron ~ Time Heals

Our past is neither an accident nor a mistake. We have been where we needed to be, with the necessary people. We can embrace our history, with its pain, its imperfections, its mistakes, even its tragedies. It is uniquely ours; it was intended just for us. Today, we are right where we need to be. Our present circumstances are exactly as they need to be,  for now. ~ Melody Beattie

Transiting Mercury in Square with Natal Chiron

For this brief period of time, you will become more conscious of the energy for personal transformation and healing in your life. This will likely mean exposing some form of deep-seated pain for the purpose of working through old issues and ultimately healing these issues. During this brief period of time, you may be blessed to provide the impetus for healing to others. You may also feel healing energy come into your life from a meeting with another person during the course of this transit. It may also be that communication with other people brings to light certain areas of your psyche that you would rather not have exposed, and that can be quite painful for you to connect with. But getting in touch with these areas is for your ultimate benefit, for the more integration you can achieve within your psyche, the more whole you are and the more you can bring yourself forward to be of help to other people on the same journey of discovery.

My daughter said “Mom, it’s okay to look at the past.  Just don’t stare too hard”.   I consider this good advice.  Staring tends to made me maudlin and depressed so no, I  haven’t been staring,  I’ve just been reflecting on where I am today while realizing that I’m actually happy with myself and others.

Way back when, in Time Passed, I made mistakes I should have learned from.  Except I didn’t.  I continued to exercise the same behavior over and over again.  I thought I could change outcomes because I was different, special or whatever.   If I’d been wiser and given more thought to what I was doing I might have avoided the pain that continued to compound.   I was, however,  incapable of rational thought as dependence fed the addiction that pushed me to practice insanity.  I didn’t have to practice too hard, either.  It quickly became rather natural; sometimes with its own language and invisible friends included at no extra charge.  When I look at where I started, where I went and how great my life is today I’m grateful that Passed is gone and that the gap between then and now is getting wider each day.

NOW, I understand, that Time Passed continually makes me Me.  I am the sum of my experiences, in constant motion with change and growth.  There have been so many good times;  happy times I remember with warm thoughts, smiles and joyful tears as well as those sad days, those periods of pain, fear, anger and drama.  Those times can’t be changed but as long as I can accept every bit of it, good and bad, for what it is/was and know I’m okay, it’s fine.  I also know it could have been worse.  I could be dead.

My Life Time NOW is filled with healing and love, friends that stayed true and new ones, too.  I have my health and my happiness is free.  My circle is widening and includes such a wide array of people, many of whom I could have never guessed would have blessed me with their presence in my life.  A whole new world has opened up to me.  There is so much in NOW.  My children and grandchildren have blessed my life more than I could ever have thought or wished for.  I have a fantastic relationship with a mentally healthy person.  In the program we talk about “happy, joyous and free”.  I am happy, I’ve found joy and best of all I am free to choose my own reality.  Thank GOD.

Never Give Up

When you get in a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.  – Harriet Beecher Stowe

How many times have you been in that tight place, ready to throw in the towel and quit ?  I know I’ve been there more than once but I’ve learned that although it is darkest before dawn the sun will  rise.

I had always put Myself in those “tight places”.  No one else did.  I could play the blame game and be the victim.  “He/She/You MADE me do it.  It’s all YOUR fault.  Poor me.  Look at the mess I’m in”.  My part in it wouldn’t come up because I was in such great denial.   “How dare you suggest I had any part in the predicament!”

I have spent a lot of time looking at how I reacted when I was in those situations.   I was angry, resentful and fearful.  My escapes turned into insanity.  My insanity created chaos which in turn would cause other situations to arise and the game continued, got worse. I liked to play with fire and finally fell into a Hell of my own making.   Fortunately, I finally experienced and embraced a “moment of clarity”.   GOD showed me the stairway and I became to climb out.

I know today that Nobody can make me do anything if I’m uncomfortable with it.  I don’t have to surrender to any kind of pressure.  I can say NO.  Being happy, joyous and free means more to me than anything else in this world.

Diligence, Knowledge and Detail – The Eight of Pentacles

Spiral Tarot – Kay Steventon

I haven’t pulled a card for a while now.  I had the urge this morning and quietly sat and asked for some clarification on where I’m heading at this point in time.  I was given the Eight of Pentacles.  This card really applies to where I am at this moment in time.   I’ve listed it’s actions below.

I have been busy, seeing some results.  I’m making efforts, as well as progress, in many areas of my life.  I’m working on my posts; enjoying the exercise.  It helps to keep my mind functioning at something productive.  As for knowledge, Well Wow !!!  Astrology is fascinating and I study it as much as I can.  I can’t seem to get enough.  I don’t profess to be expert but I’m getting better and I believe it is right for me.  If I don’t know “what the hell is going on”  I can call my Wise Friend and she will help me make sense of it.  Having a “heads up” of what is happening in my world gives me a choice to make changes or at least the sense to go with the flow knowing  “this too shall pass”.  I sometimes laugh when I find myself wishing I’d been at this point years ago.  I might have avoided some costly “mistakes” and marriages !  Oh well….  It is how my path is playing out.  You know…  everything for a reason !  Last but not least we have details.    Spunky would say I’m overboard in this area.  I can be lax but not when it really matters.  It might be that I am overlooking something and need to be more aware.

I’m happy with this card today.  It affirms what I feel.

Showing Diligence

• making an effort
• working hard
• applying yourself totally
• being absorbed in a project
• dedicating yourself to a task
• plugging away
• producing steady results

 

Increasing Knowledge

• taking a course
• learning a new craft or skill
• receiving training
• pursuing greater understanding
• researching
• finding out the facts
• increasing expertise

 

Paying Attention to Detail

• being painstaking
• being extra careful
• approaching a task methodically
• getting down to the nitty-gritty
• handling all the loose ends
• checking and rechecking
• noticing the fine points

 

http://www.learntarot.com/p8.htm

Affirming My Thoughts

Affirmations are really anything that we say or think. Our thoughts create our feelings, beliefs, and experiences. Too often they are negative. We say, “I don’t want this in my life” or “I don’t want to be sick anymore” or “I hate my job”. If we want to change or manifest something in our lives, we must state what we do want.  We must affirm that we are willing to see ourselves or our lives in a different perspective. Thus, we can change our experiences by first changing our thoughts.   ~ Louise Hay

If like attracts like then Negativity attracts itself.  I know it can breed with amazing speed, just like The Flu.  It can create a very Sick Puppy.  But unlike The Flu the person with the downtrodden, negative or bummer attitude usually doesn’t even know it’s there.  It is so ingrained in their thought patterns it seems “natural” to them.

I’m sure you know someone like this.  There’s the person I don’t want to run into when I’m in a hurry because my casual, “Hi!  How are you?” usually elicits a reply that I’m 99% sure is going to be a (long) story about A Bummer.   Or, there’s the guy who has had the Same Problems, Different Day for way too long.  He’s still beating his head against the wall;  hasn’t done a thing about changing his ways and has no idea why his life sucks.  I know women and men who have been in dysfunctional and co-dependent relationships forever who constantly complain about their  situations but can’t bring themselves to leave.  Their heads can’t wrap around the fact that they could be happier if they would just stop controlling, being controlled or both  (Just Say NO!  No More! ).   These are just a few examples but these are behaviors I’m familiar with.

Affirmations are an effective way for me to keep Negativity at bay.  When I came out of my “Coma” I started to listen and learn.  I realized there was more to life than being on The Pity Pot and Hitting My Head Against the Wall While Trying to Orchestrate it All.   I learned that words are powerful and using negatives such as No, Not, Don’t, Can’t and Won’t (to name just a few)only hindered my progress.    By using a positive approach with affirmative words and actions I am able to process my thoughts and feelings and turn “it” around which, in turn, prevents The Flu . I don’t want to spread any Germs.   I’m not perfect but I’m making progress.  I’m happy, healthy and whole today.   For this I am truly grateful.