Take My Hand

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It's 2:30 a.m., and for the second night in a row, I'm still wide awake. Oh, wait-I guess it's the second morning in a row! Ah, well... Why, when I'm physically and emotionally exhausted, am I unable to sleep? I decide to turn on the television for awhile. Maybe I can find something mindless to watch that will lull my mind to slumber.

Instead of mindless drivel, however, I learn that an massive earthquake and tsunami have hit Japan. At this hour, tsunami warnings have been issued for Hawaii and many nations in the Pacific. A tsunami watch has been issued for our West coast.

I'm feeling so many emotions now. Horror at the devastation and loss of life in Japan. Fear for others who have yet to feel the onslaught of tsunami. Sadness. My heart opens wide to enfold all those who will be affected by this catastrophe.

One might feel hopeless and helpless at a time like this. Yet I'm not feeling that at all. With an open heart, I know myself as connected and one with the people of the Pacific. This is not "their" disaster. It is ours. We will all be affected by this event. Reflecting on the last couple of weeks as Uranus continued to move through the last degrees of Pisces-such an emotional sign-in addition to the beginning of the Ninth Wave of Unity Consciousness, I am awed at how Mother Earth has provided us with a situation to know Unity.

Today, as the Mother shakes and quakes, as the waters rise in the Pacific, I reach out my hand. Please take it. Join me. We are humanity, all citizens of this wonderful planet. Let us raise our vibration as we extend love, light and hope to all beings. We truly are the Family of Light-let us now light up the planet and live in community with one another.

This is Magdelena's Legacy!

Namaste!

Being Human

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There is a new series on Syfy channel called Being Human. I don't ordinarily watch original television shows on Syfy-they are just a bit too over-the-top for me. However, Being Human has been a pleasant surprise.

In a nutshell, it's about three roommates-a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost-who want nothing more than to live a normal life and be, well, human. Both the vampire and the werewolf have reached a point in their lives as monsters where they are disenchanted with the lifestyle. They neither wish to harm humans-that is, kill and/or eat them-any longer. (The ghost, having made her transition only recently is just beginning to know and understand her powers.) Although there are some violent parts in these episodes, I've found the characters charming and delightful!

I can't help as I watch this series but reflect on how very human each of the characters is. Who among us hasn't been angry enough to suck the life force (or good feelings) out of another human being, or rip them to shreds, if not literally with fangs and claws, with our sharp tongues at some point in our lives? What do we do with those feelings when they arise? Surely most of us would never act on our literal thoughts of harm. Yet, if we're honest, I think most of us would admit that we've considered the prospect of doing harm to another at some point. Those feelings, uncomfortable as they are, are part of the human experience just as those feelings of ecstasy we feel in the arms of a lover.

We are entering an age when polar opposites will come together, when we understand that light doesn't exist without dark, good without evil. As we raise our vibration, the lines that before separated opposites from each other become blurred and begin to blend with each other. And we see that God, Goddess, Great Spirit, Prime Force-God as we understand him/her-is all of it. There was no monster with whom we needed to do battle. We are loved in our wholeness just as we are.

Namaste!

Heyoeka

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Ever since I was a little girl, I've had the ability to listen to opposing sides of an argument, see the validity in each, and acknowledge their truth. At the time, I thought that for some reason I had no back bone-why couldn't I listen to these opposing sides, determine which was true and take a stand? I felt many times as if I was being tossed around on a stormy sea with no rudder!

Even as an adult I've dealt with this "problem." My children often called me when they were younger to complain about one of their siblings or their father. I would listen to the one with whom I was speaking, feeling all of his or her feelings, and become irate toward whichever other had caused these feelings of hurt and anger in them. Of course, the other would then call and tell me his or her side. I quickly learned that the stories I heard from each differed greatly, even to the point of sounding like a totally different set of circumstances! I was able once I figured this out to allow each one to speak their piece and leave them to work out their differences on their own. Until I came to that conclusion, I spent many miserable hours trying to figure out how to fix the situations.

We are now entering a new age when polar opposites are meeting for the purpose of creating a New Earth. People of differing backgrounds, beliefs and opinions are being called upon to come together to work for the good of the entire planet. There is a Lakota term, heyoeka, which means "the other." Any person, place, thing, situation-or voice in our head-that expresses differently than we do becomes "the other."

It has been customary to ignore or suppress "the other" in the past. When "the other" expresses itself, it's an uncomfortable feeling. Yet suppressing this expression, whether it comes from within ourselves or without, only gives it strength. It will keep coming up in bigger and bolder ways until we allow it to express fully. Listening to "the other" and allowing it to express doesn't mean we are going to act on that voice. Listening with an open heart without judgment, however, often reveals new or better ways to deal with a situation. A good question to ask yourself if you are feeling uncomfortable with what "the other" is saying is "why is this making me feel uncomfortable?" Once that question is answered, feelings of unease often disappear and we are free to work toward resolution in cooperation with "the other."

So often the voices of "the other" only want to be heard-and can handle being told "no." My elderly father has had to be in and out of the hospital several times over the last year and a half. Each time he moaned and groaned-okay, he bitched about it. But after being heard, he went ahead and did what the health care professionals recommended. All he needed was to be heard and acknowledged.

Working with hoyoeka provides the perfect tension between opposites to hold things together. May we be willing to give "the other" the chance to express itself to us and may we work toward bringing those opposites together to create the New Earth!

Namaste!

Dealing with Depression

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Depression is a common issue for a lot of us. For some people it's the time of year-although if this time of year is depressing, we can probably find a reason to be depressed any time of year. For others, there are family and relationship issues, financial issues, issues surrounding the massive change and chaos that surrounds us now. Depression is also a common symptom of ascension. I know. That doesn't make sense. Ascension should feel good-and it does. However, as we raise our vibration we often feel frustrated at how heavy it feels to live in a physical body. Yet this is what we came here to do-live in physical bodies and raise the vibration of ourselves and the planet.

A friend contacted me the other day and told me he was fighting feelings of depression. When I told him that I, too, was having with some depressive feelings, he asked what I do deal with it. The first thing that came to mind for me was that I no longer try to resist depression. "What you resist, persists" is so true. When I fight those dark thoughts and feelings, I only give them energy and make them stronger. They gain such strength that they consume me. So when I feel myself being pulled down into the depths, instead of fighting, I relax into the feelings and begin to look for the gift that hides in the darkness.

Accepting that everything is what it is instead of trying to make it what I want to make me comfortable is helpful. Being uncomfortable in a situation is a sure-fire way to get me to change and grow. But change can only begin from the point where I stand. I also remind myself that, even though I can't see it, the Universe is masterful at orchestrating events to get all of us-all of humanity-where it needs to be in any given moment.

Knowing I am never alone is helpful when I'm in the doldrums. Depression is usually accompanied by feelings of abandonment and isolation. The truth is that we are never alone, even when there isn't someone physically in the room with us. I have connections with other Lightworkers all over the planet. Regardless of where any of us is located, I'm always aware of their presence. All of us have friends who care about us. Just try posting on Facebook that you're in need of prayers-I guarantee you will be pleasantly surprised at how many people really care about you!

Humility is essential for me to get through a depressive period-no matter how long it lasts. And that includes being humble enough to admit that I can't do it alone and being willing to ask for help. I've seen absolute miracles happen when I shed my persona of not needing anyone else. We are all part of the human family and now is the time for us to support one another, regardless of any differences we may have, and build and sustain community.

Staying in the eye of the storm is helpful to me also. As an Empath, I tend to feel everyone else's feelings. It can be very disconcerting and confusing to feel down in the dumps for no apparent reason. Discerning which feelings are mine and which are not clears away a lot of the depression. I find that very often I've let someone else's drama become my own. If I've hooked into it and been drawn back into the maelstrom, time to unhook myself.

I believe that we all deal with depression from time to time, some to greater degrees than others. With so much chaos in the world, it's hard never to feel depressed. However, unless we are in need of professional help and medication to get us through a crisis, we can look for the gift that is waiting for us in the dark.

Namaste!

The Power of Attention

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I am nursing a cold. I don't handle this the way I used to-trying to figure out who the culprit was who exposed me to nasty germs that are making me feel numbed out and awful. Okay, I have a good idea how I caught this. But the point is that it really doesn't matter about the who--what's important is the how of attracting this to myself.

I love babysitting my grandchildren. After years of living so far away from them, I now live in the same town. So when my son and daughter-in-law ask if I can help out by keeping them, it gives me great pleasure and joy to be available. Such was the case a few days ago when my youngest grandchildren came for a couple of hours. I noticed right away that both of their little noses were leaking and grabbed the tissues to keep their faces clean. Of course, I entertained the thought-why are their noses running and do they have anything contagious? Just that fleeting thought was enough less than two days later for me to start feeling the achiness, scratchy throat, and stuffy head that accompany a cold.

I knew much better than to allow this thought into my head-into my belief system. For years when I was teaching my Chakras for Beginners and Beyond class I would use the example of catching a cold when I talked about how energy follows thought. And every time I used the example, I came down with a cold that I had to nurse for the balance of the class. (I should have come up with a different, more positive example!)

I've been telling clients and students for the last five years that the energies are speeding up, to be conscious of the thoughts they are allowing into their awareness. It's almost as if humanity is taking a crash course in Manifesting Made Easy now because we are manifesting almost as fast as we can think the thoughts. As we move closer to the Great Shift next year, this will continue to speed up.

How can we stop placing our attention on what we don't want? The news is full of things we don't want. People talk about things we don't want. So how do we counteract the effects of being bombarded with the ideas of things we don't want? I don't have a solid answer for everyone. I can only say what I do. I spend each day practicing the Presence of Spirit in my life. When I feel myself slipping into fear, depression, desperation, I bring my awareness back to that essence of Spirit that is always alive in each one of us. When I am aware of the Presence, I know only joy, peace, love---ecstasy! And I know that everything I need and desire has been provided to me.

Namaste!

What Are You Attached To?

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As the last hours of 2010 ticked away, I knew that we humans were going to have our feet held to the fire. The time we'd been awaiting for so long wasn't "out there" any more, and as we entered the new year we'd better have our feet planted firmly on Gaia. It's time for us to put to practical, physical use to all the things we've been getting on our journeys to "out there."

One of the important lessons for me as 2011 began was to be honest about my own attachments. What could I possibly have left to purge and release? For the last decade it seems like all I have done is purge and release. I walked away from a job I'd had for 20 years to start a new career that was more fulfilling and resonated with me and my purpose. I released my home (such an important thing for a Cancer). I joyfully waved good-bye as my youngest child flew the nest, looking forward to the next (Crone) stage of my life. I even welcomed the changes in the course of my new career as they came. So again, I ask, what is there left that I am attached to??? Of course, I know better than to ask the question unless I want almost instant answers-and I rarely enjoy the answers!

Immediately after the first of 2011, my first husband's 93 year old mother was admitted to the hospital. Since my first husband made his transition 11 years ago this month, our three children have been diligent in their care for her, even as she continued to live independently. I can see now how carefully orchestrated this whole scenario was set up to begin the answers to my question-what are my attachments-now. I could tell that first morning when I went to the hospital that my oldest son (21 years old when his father passed) was having difficulty with the situation. His mind was going where he didn't want it to go, and he had no control of it. When he finally broke down and began to cry, I stepped right into my self-made trap! Just as I did 11 years ago, I tried to take away his fear and pain. It took me awhile back then to realize that it's not my job to take my children's pain from them. This time, although it still caused me great pain, it only took minutes for me to see what I was doing. I may be well into my Crone years, but the Mother Goddess is still a driving force for me!

Yesterday morning before I got to work both of my daughers called me-one with a possible serious health matter, the other having relationship problems. You guessed it! The Mother in me wanted to come out with the big guns to "fix" my girls' problems. The fact I could do nothing to fix things for either of them left me feeling punched out, deflated. What was I to do? What could I do?

(I love you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.) I heard a soft voice in my head, whispering, comforting me. (I love you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.) Reminding me that my children-all of my children-are grown now. They don't necessarily need me to fix their problems-never did. But there are things that I can do still. (I love you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.)

Self-discovery, self-realization, is one of the most challenging and rewarding paths for me. I learned through this. I learned that I am still and always will be a mother. The Mother Goddess will always be a part of me and will continue to give direction when I need it. She showed me while the children's grandmother was in the hospital that the most helpful and nurturing thing I could do was to cook meals and let them come here to eat them in a loving atmosphere. She helped me share with my oldest daughter the health challenges I've faced-and how I faced them-so she has the information she needs to care for herself. And She tells me not to worry about my younger daughter. Yes, she's 1,000 miles away and I have no way to communicate with her. But this is temporary and she's perfectly equipped to figure her relationship challenges out on her own.

(I love you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.)And what is my responsibility now? It's the attachment I have not to my children, but to my urgent desire for them to know joy all of the time. My responsibility is what I'm feeling about all of these scenarios-not fixing them.

This has been a challenging and rewarding time in my life. I'm seeing that I do still have some rather strong attachments, and I'm also working on detaching with love. Allowing my children to walk their paths, knowing that they have their own lessons to learn and staying out of the way to let them do so. Maybe-just maybe-I will eventually be able to say I have moved into the Wise Woman stage of my life.

Namaste!

Dancing with the Shadow

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The Shadow has been emerging more frequently and in more apparent ways as we move through the end of the Age of Pisces into the Age of Aquarius. When She first appeared, we knew She was a force to be reckoned with. We started out turning our backs on Her, running from Her, thinking if we didn't acknowledge Her, She would fade away into the Void never to be seen again.

When this didn't work, we began acknowledging Her. Maybe if we admit we sometimes have mean thoughts, sometimes join in the gossip, have considered committing homicide or suicide, She will be satisfied with that acknowledgment and disappear. Of course, along with those admissions were our judgments that these darker parts of ourselves are "bad" and must be kept under control.

Regardless of how I try to hide or control Her, my own Shadow self continues to emerge on a more and more consistent basis. I give Her energy as I hate Her. Maybe I should look at her in a different way. Perhaps She isn't a broken off part of myself. Perhaps She is a fully developed entity in Her own right Who has something to teach me and Who wants the same thing I do-to love and be loved. When my Shadow appears, I know somehow I've gone back into my own BS. Lacking judgment of any kind, She refuses to co-sign it with me.

We talk a lot about merging the polar opposites, particularly the masculine and the feminine-within ourselves. This is going to be absolutely necessary for us as we move into the next great Age. I can see my own Shadow becoming less ethereal-more real. I open my arms to Her and we begin to dance. And as we dance, I become one with Her. I am aware of my oneness with myself and merging the factions within that have been warring I am one with the Universe.

Namaste!

New Year's Intentions

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New Year's Day is probably my least favorite holiday. Even as a child, to me it seemed anti-climactic after all the holiday cheer. People were so happy during the months of November and December. Then with the New Year everyone seemed to return to their humdrum, everyday selves. So was the love and joy of the Yule season just a fake or a respite from our dreary lives? Just as I checked out of organized religion because it didn't work for me 24/7, many times I've distanced myself from holiday revelry because it doesn't last 365 days a year.

Part of my problem with the New Year is the New Year's resolution. I found that there was no better way to insure failure than to make a New Year's resolution. The issue of the resolution itself was always something I didn't believe was attainable in the past. Why would it be any more attainable if I made it a resolution that I "must" accomplish? Yep-writing out a New Year's resolution has always been an exercise in futility to me.

Maybe part of the problem is that I treat New Year's Day as different from every other day of the year. Just as Sundays were different when I was a member of an organized religion. Or Christmas is different than other days of the year. I have to have a system that works 24/7, 365 days a year no matter what I'm about.

I think the difference between making a resolution and setting an intention is that when I live with intention, I live joyfully. Making a resolution is more like telling myself I "have to" do something that I don't necessarily want to do. Living with intention is about doing what I love doing when I want to do it. It's about creating the life I want to live and loving every minute of it. When I live life intentionally, there is no more struggle because I am the creator. If I don't like what I've created, I can create something else.

On this first day of 2011 I'm setting my New Year's Intention to live each day in full awareness of the Presence, acknowledging the love of the Creator, and in gratitude for the abundance given to my by the Universe.

Namaste!