You may have seen a pendulum used if you have had a Reiki session or energy work done.  Some naturopaths use a pendulum to help with diagnosing conditions as well as when determining what herbal medicines to use.       A pendulum can be used for many different tasks.  Throughout history it was used to answer difficult questions - sometimes in life and death situations.  The military taught certain soldiers in the Viet Nam Conflict to use the pendulum to locate underground mines and tunnels.  Submarines have been located using a pendulum and a map.  You can use a pendulum in your everyday life to help locate lost items, select the best fresh fruits and vegetables, to answer questions about just about anything, and more. 
     Research has been done to try to understand how the pendulum works.  One theory is that the pendulum acts like an antenna or radio receiver.  When a question is presented it "locks" on to a specific wave or frequency to retrieve the answer.  Another theory is that the person using the pendulum connects with their unconscious mind, higher self, Spirit, or Universal Mind/Consciousness to get answers. These answers come to the person via the muscles in the human body.  The muscles in the arm that holds the pendulum cause it to move in a way to provide the answers. 
     There is no absolute answer as to how the pendulum works.  It just does.  I read somewhere that most of us don't know how a television works...or a cell phone...but we use them both with confidence.  Maybe the same applies here.
      My next blog post will explain how to pick out a pendulum, as well as how to cleanse and program it.
                                                             Blessings to all!                    

   A new year means a new and fresh start for many people. We focus on our dreams of a better life, better job, better friends, better health, better everything.  Resolutions and goals are set with good intention and enthusiasm. We make a plan and are determined to stick to it.  Then days go by, and all the vision, enthusiasm and determination starts fading.  We start falling back into old behaviors and self-defeating beliefs.  Those goals and dreams that seemed so important...and possible...get lost in the everyday hustle. 
   How does this happen? How do we loose sight of those dreams and goals that got us so excited and motivated at the turn of the year?  It's simple: Where your thoughts go your energy flows.  You create your life with your thoughts and energy.  The best way to make your dreams your reality is to stay focused.  You can write down your  dreams and goals in a notebook, and even create a plan to achieve them, but if they simply stay in the notebook and then go on the shelf...that's where they will stay...on the shelf!
   One way to manifest your dreams into your reality is to keep dreaming.  Every night before you go to sleep take a minute to focus on those dreams that stir deep inside you.  You can actually program your dream time before you go to sleep.  Always remember...your thoughts are the energy that fuels your reality.  Take time everyday to focus on those dreams.  Get specific and develop the details. Develop a plan to achieve those dreams.  Keep those thoughts and dreams active in your consciousness. 
   It's important to be specific about your dreams, but it's also important to stay fluid in how they can be achieved.  There are endless ways to create something in your life.  If you become to rigid in your beliefs about how to achieve your dreams, you are closing the door to possibilities. The universe, spirit, God, Goddess, can and will honor your dreams, but not necessarily in the exact way you imagined. 
   You may encounter failures and closed doors along the way to manifesting your dreams.  Don't get discouraged.  There are gifts and lessons you need to experience to prepare you for your future.  Failure is something that can only happen when you take action.  Learn what you can from that failure and take another action.  Keep your thoughts and energy focused.  You have the power to create your reality.
   There are specific steps to manifestation.  These steps are based on your seven chakras. Let's take a look at each step.
   Step 1: Manifestation begins in the Crown Chakra.  This is center where you connect with spirit, the universal consciousness, and receive your inspiration.  This is where your dreams come from.  It's where you can catch a glimpse of all possibilities and your potential.  Meditation can take you to this place of inspiration and possibilities. 
   Step 2: In this step you begin to create a vision with the help of your Brow (Third Eye) Chakra.  This is the center where you develop clear seeing.  You see with a vision that isn't clouded with doubts and fears.  You can form a clear goal and intention.
   Step 3. You continue your manifestation in the Throat Chakra, your center of creativity. In this energy center your dream begins to take form and structure.  You create the outline of actions required to actualize your dream.
    Step 4. This is a very important step on the path to manifestation.  In this center you add love and emotions to your dream.  Emotions are fuel for manifestation.  Is  your dream honorable?  Does it include self love and respect?  Is it considerate of the world around you?  The universe will honor dreams with integrity and compassion.  You can connect with a purpose that is based on love...and love is the absence of fear.  Without fear, you are free to move forward without baggage.
   Step 5. In this step you move into the Solar Plexus Chakra, the fire chakra.  This is the center of will, and a strong will creates personal power.  Here your purpose is clear and strong, and you  develop the power to take positive action.  You are guided by spirit and fueled by the power of love.
   Step 6. You are now entering the Sacral Chakra.  The element associated with this chakra is water.  This is where you learn the importance of being fluid and flexible.  You are set to take action on your dream, and there is excitement and anticipation.  You are about to birth a dream, but there is more than one way to accomplish this.  Stay flexible and allow spirit and your higher self to guide you.  Your mind may be telling you there is only one option...but why limit yourself to the mind.  You have the whole universal consciousness at your disposal.
   Step 7. Energy becomes matter in the Root Chakra.  You began this journey with an inspiration and carried it down through your chakras adding density and form.  Your dream is created.  You have birthed it into your conscious reality. 
   So how do you keep this manifested dream alive?  You care for it like a newborn child.  You love it, you nurture it, you give it your best.  This new born dream can grow and mature bringing new dimensions to your life.  Your creation can inspire you to even bigger dreams.  Your potential is limitless!
             DREAM YOUR NEW YEAR INTO SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL!   

   Thanksgiving Day has come and gone, and for many people there is a shift now into shopping for those perfect gifts...and the expectation of what they will be receiving.  The act of thankfulness gets lost in the hustle and bustle of the next holiday. 
     Thankfulness is a state of the heart that should be maintained every day of the year.  It is a way of being that must be practiced - consciously - with every breath we take.  Being thankful keeps us humble.  It 

makes us aware of all those things we take for granted...the ability to simply breathe, to feel, to love and be loved, a warm place to live, food in the cupboard, clean clothes to wear, friends and family, and a purpose in life.  If you have any or all of those things, you have something to be thankful for. 
     Someone close to me is very ill, and I had the opportunity to spend time with him on several occasions during the week before Thanksgiving.  I am thankful for those times.  We were able to laugh and cry - let our guards down and be very real.  I will cherish those memories.  Sometimes the things we are thankful for are not easy.   They aren't meant to be.  
     It's easy to be thankful for the big and special events in our lives.  It takes a conscious effort to be truly thankful for the little things we experience everyday.  I make it a point, everyday when I wake up and every night before I go to sleep, to take an inventory of all the things I am thankful for.  Many times I speak it out loud.  There are so many things on my list that I could just take for granted, but I choose to be thankful.  By being thankful, my heart feels full and I have a larger capacity to love and be compassionate.
     Sometimes I look at other people and wonder what they are thankful for in their lives.  I wonder if they know they are blessed.  Sometimes I can see it in their faces and even feel it in their energy.  Other times I wonder if they are aware of any of their blessings, or if they see their life as some sort of punishment. 
     I choose to be thankful.  Even when life gets difficult and it seems that people are treating me unfairly, I look for the gift or the lesson.  In every situation, every interaction, there is either a gift or a lesson.  The person who treats me unkindly may be sent to show me part of my shadow side...they show me the part of myself that I want to hide.  This is a lesson that is also a gift, but we have to be willing to experience it with gratitude and humbleness.   I choose to be thankful when my beliefs are challenged.  It gives me the opportunity to examine what I believe, why I believe it, and where the belief came from.  I choose to be thankful when I am forced to face a fear...and live through it.  Sometimes it seems that dramatic.  I choose to be thankful when I wake up and look outside and see a beautiful sunrise. 
     There are so many things to be thankful for.  I suggest taking the time to make a list of all the things you are thankful for.  Start with the obvious and work through to all those little things you take for granted, all those things you thought were bad experiences.  When you look at things through the eyes of thankfulness, they can take on a whole different meaning.
     I am thankful for every person who reads this blog post.  I am thankful that perhaps someone will discover more beauty and goodness in their life.  
                                                I AM THANKFUL! 

      I happened to be awake shortly before sunrise this morning.  It was so quiet in the house and there was a hint of daylight coming through the windows.  Something motivated me to go outside.  I soon found myself standing in my back yard in my pajamas.  I just stood there, looking to the east, in the calm before the sun rose.  The air was cool, the grass was wet with dew, and there was a silence full of sound.  I felt the quiet from the plants that were just waking up and preparing to receive the warm sunlight,  from the animals who were not yet out, or at least not yet visible, and from the air that was still, yet moist and full of a cool clear energy.  Somewhere in that silence the birds began singing.  At times I could hear them clearly, and other times I was simply lost in that silence before dawn.
     This was a magical time. This was the promise of a new day being fulfilled.  It was a time of anticipation and knowing that, just in that moment, everything was OK.  The grass was green, the sky was blue, my husband and kitties were safe, all my neighbors were probably safely asleep in their homes.  I didn't feel the need to do anything at that moment.  I simply stood there absorbing all the beauty of nature around me. 
     I'm not usually awake before the sun rises, but I am thankful for that experience.  It was a type of short meditation that involved all my physical senses, as well as my heart.  It didn't take much time, but it had an positive influence on my whole day. 
     Cherish those special moments when the world goes silent and you become one with the All.  They create a memory that you can call on when there is too much chaos and noise in your life.  I will always remember that moment before the sunrise.   

      Prayer is something we all use at one time or another, and for a variety of reasons. We say prayers before we go to bed, when we get up in the morning, when we are afraid, and when we are in awe.  There are memorized prayers, desperate prayers, and prayers of praise.  But there is a special kind of prayer, the prayer that originates and emanates from deep in the heart.  It's a prayer full of love and compassion.  It's a prayer that embraces our unity  with all people and things.  It's a prayer we send up to Spirit/God for someone else who is suffering or looking for answers to a problem.  
​     In my last job I had the opportunity to meet people who were applying for credit to purchase a vehicle.  Credit applications involve questions about things that are personal and sometimes emotional.  During the last year of my employment I met some very special people applying for credit.  These were people were dealing with major life-changing, health issues.  I met a man who suffered a spinal injury in a motorcycle accident.  He dealt with intense pain on a daily basis.  At times his pain was to severe that he would pass out.  We would sit and talk about alternative ways he could find relief.  His doctors just wanted to medicate him.  He didn't want to be all drugged up, so he tried to endure the pain. I also met a man who had serious intestinal problems.  This is a man who owned a huge Big Dog motorcycle and had been very active.  He loved his bike, but ended up selling it because of his illness.  Doctors were having trouble diagnosing his specific condition, so he was forced to live with chronic pain.  It took a year for him to get a diagnosis, surgery and treatment he needed.  I also met several people with various forms of cancer, two of them in stage 4. During this same time period some of my close friends were going through serious problems.  I was told to pray for them, also. 
     That inner voice kept getting louder telling me to pray for all these people. I started a prayer notebook and entered the names and a few details about each person I held in my heart.  I decided to make it a prayer ceremony. I created sacred space and sat down in the middle with my notebook.  I felt my connection with all living things and my connection with Spirit.  I went through every name on my list - not with sadness - but with love.  When I got to the end of the list more names came to mind, and not just people.  There were animals, and even a tree.  The tree was a very old and large black walnut tree in the yard next to mine.  An old couple lived there, and they loved that tree.  Every year they would pick up all the walnuts and shell them.  Then they would give them as gifts to their special people.  I was blessed to receive a large bag of nuts.  Eventually this couple ended up in an assisted living center.  About a year ago the man passed away.  When spring came I noticed that the tree had no buds, no life at all.  I appears that when the old man died, the tree died, too.  The woman who lives there now told me it would cost her over $1,500 to have the tree removed, and she just can't afford that.  So the tree stands...as a memorial to a great old man.
     My prayers were, and still are, simple.  I believe it isn't the words that are so important, it's what I feel in my heart.  I don't feel called to get personally involved with any of the people on my list (except some close friends).  I simply put their situations out to the universe and send them energy (love) to help them in ways only they know. 
     I believe we all experience that feeling of someone touching our heart.  We also experience that feeling of being helpless to do anything for them.  That's the time to send up a prayer.  It doesn't have to be a ceremony.  You don't even have say it out loud.  Just send up a little love prayer from your heart.  This love energy will help to empower them to deal with their situation.  Your thoughts and prayers are very important.  Every thought and every prayer has an impact on the whole universe.  
                   

I've spent the last few years away from people and most social activities. I continued spiritual studies and practices, worked what I call a "mainstream" job, and did "home things" like baking, gardening, and dealing with fibromyalgia.  I retired from my job at the end of last year, and went through the adjustment of not having to get up, get dressed, and go somewhere.  It was mentally and financially trying at first.  Gradually I adjusted to the changes.  
Recently I decided it was time to get back out there, time to leave the cocoon I had created.  I checked out a Tai Chi class, joined a local spiritual group, and started the process of teaching a Community Education class on the chakras.  That's when the feelings of anxiety set in.  I was doubting my ability to follow through on these activities.  
The anxiety stayed with me until yesterday.  I'm not sure what triggered it, but I woke up knowing there was more to me than what I was feeling.  I did a meditation journey that brought me some great insights.  I created sacred space and was trying to express my love for Spirit, Mother Earth, the beautiful plants in my gardens...but I was having trouble expressing the deep feelings I was having.  That's when Spirit told me all I needed to say is "I LOVE!"  How simple, yet how powerful. 
Spirit went on to tell me that in order to connect with my power I needed to affirm that I AM LOVE.  That was another great revelation.  If I am love, there is no room for fear or anxiety.  I AM LOVE is my power.  It is my confidence, compassion, motivation, and fulfillment.  It has left me full of joy, and that joy has energized me to move forward.  It can work for you, too.
 

 

 Spring is my favorite season of the year.  In Minnesota the transition from winter to spring is exciting. It's a time of rebirth for plants and animals. The ice melts on the lakes and rivers. The snow melts away and the first crocus, tulips, and daffodils appear.
  It has been an unusual transition from winter to spring in Minnesota. We had above average snowfall in April. The anticipation of springtime lingered on for too long.  The people I saw in the stores and at gas stations weren't smiling.  The general mood was depressed.  The transition into spring that we knew should be happening...wasn't happening.  Then all at once the seasons shifted, and we experienced 70 and 80 degree temperatures.  The general mood shifted, and people were happy and energized. 
   Spring is an important season.  It gives us hope of rebirth and new beginnings.  Mother Earth is goes through a birthing process that is truly miraculous.  New plants, baby animals, and fresh starts.  I feel my connection to nature, Mother Earth, and spirit very strongly at this time.  It seems only natural that we have a strong connection with our planet at this time.  What a perfect time to honor her with ceremonies and rituals.