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Procrastination

temperenceTo paraphrase an old saying, “Why put off ‘til tomorrow what you can do today?”

I wish I knew, but I can’t answer that question, especially when it’s me whose participating in one of humankinds oldest pursuits—procrastination.  We all do it.  The more aware of us know better.  That certain feeling or inner voice that tries to intuitively nudge us into keeping our promise to do something that we know must, for whatever reason, be done. Read more

When Your Back-Up Plan Backs Out

temperenceWe’ve all been there.  You have the passionately envisioned, perfectly planned event or project before you.  You’ve covered every aspect of actualizing it.  And because you’ve learned from your previous experiences, you even have a contingency or back-up plan just in case something doesn’t work out.

Secure in the knowledge that you’ve covered all of your bases, you don’t panic if Plan A runs into road blocks.  Sure, you’re disappointed but you know you can rely on the fact that you’ve got something just as strong up your sleeve—Plan B, your contingency or ‘safety school’ plan.  Read more

Intuition– the Master Interpreter

temperenceI am a natural Intuitive. It’s primarily how I gather and process information. I love to travel and I often take groups of people to sacred and interesting places.  I’ve found that there’s nothing more encouraging to the development and strengthening of the intuition than traveling in a foreign country.  My heightened senses really help when I can’t readily use my command of language to understand and interact with others.  Once I get into the rhythm of the country I’m visiting, I rely on my intuition, my phrasebook and my command of their language in order to communicate. You don’t have to leave the country in order to have a similar experience.  Spend a week in Hawaii or New York or New Orleans—each place has its own rhythm and it’s guaranteed to be different than your home town.  Here are some useful tips on travel and getting the most from your experience.    

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Getting Rid of Negative Energy

temperenceSometimes, no matter what you do, you’re going to have to deal with people or situations that are negative. 

When that happens, you have to make a choice between giving your power away to that energetic slime pool of negativity (i.e., arguing or fighting with the instigators) or taking the high road and staying centered and grounded as you exit the situation as quickly as you can.

Whichever choice you make, you’ll need to ‘clear the air’ in your personal energetic field.  (It’s a lot less clearing work and toll on your system if you choose the high road.)  Your personal energetic field could be your home, office, desk or workspace. 

There are different levels of intensity and needs in cleansing rites.  Hopefully, most of the time you, your space and your situation will only need a simple cleansing technique.  Here’s a simple method that I use and recommend–

You Will Need:

A bundle of Dried Sage, sometimes called a Sage Stick

Sandalwood incense sticks or cones

A small lighter or safety matches

A fan (a piece of cardboard will do)

A plate to hold under the burning sage

Roses (fresh cut, cloth or picture)

Your favorite prayer of protection    

Optional supplies: Sandalwood fans or small statues

‘Smudge’ (burn dried sage and slowly fan the smoke around) your room or space.  Be sure to fan the smoke around faucets, pipes and water containers.  If you’d like, you can also recite your favorite prayer of protection while you’re smudging your space.  (I recite the 23rd Psalm or The Lord’s Prayer.)

Afterwards, light a stick of sandalwood incense in the room and let it burn until it goes out on its own.  For added healing and protection, I bring in fresh roses (cloth roses and pictures of roses work well, too) and put them in the room or space.

When you finish this cleansing rite, you and your entire space will feel so much lighter and clearer!

What do you do if it’s impractical for you to burn sage and/or incense in your space? 

Although burning sage and/or incense are the most direct and powerful methods of clearing negativity, you can also lessen the impact of negative energy by placing sandalwood objects in your space.  (Sandalwood objects will extend the clearing energy if you smudge and burn incense, too.)  Import stores often carry sandalwood fans or small statues that you can place around your home or on your desk.

You can learn more about changing and shifting energy by purchasing my book, Secrets of a Psychic Counselor.  Just click on the Store tab on the navigation bar at the top of this page and you’ll be directed to the Store page.     

 

Learn to Read the Tarot Easily, Quickly, Accurately!

temperenceMy new Salvador Dali Tarot deck just arrived.  I’d been wanting this deck for years and visiting his museum in his home town of Fiqueres finally inspired me to order it. 

When you tour his museum, he wants you to intuitively choose your own route through the facility and trust the guidance that directs you.  His tarot deck is like that, too.  It’s so unique that relying on traditional meanings won’t help you interpret the messages you get as you work with his deck.  You have to use and trust your intuition if you want to retrieve meaningful messages.

That’s perfect for me because I read and teach the Tarot intuitively.  That way I know I’m receiving beneficial information.  I encourage you to approach the Tarot (and life) from this perspective, too.  To give you an experience of this, I’m including an excerpt on reading reverse or upside down cards from chapter 5 of my book, The Infinite Tarot.     

How to read and interpret Reverse (upside down) Cards:

Many Tarot practitioners interpret a Tarot card differently when it’s upside down after it’s been turned over by the Tarot practitioner or the querent.  They feel that it’s upside down to warn them that they need to pay special attention to the card. 

 What do I do when a reverse card shows up in a spread?  I turn it right side up and I keep reading, interpreting the card from it’s now upright position. 

 I don’t read reverse cards any differently than I do when they’re upright.  I’ve never had the experience (or the luck!) of walking into a room and seeing someone or something standing on their head so that I’d know I needed to pay special attention to them or be wary of them for some reason.  I’ve always had to read the energy of a person, space or situation just the way it showed up, and I’m guessing that you’ve had to size up life’s situations that way, too.

 Inherent in each Tarot card are all of its possibilities—positive, negative and neutral.  A card, regardless of its position, upright or upside down, the other cards around it and the energy of the question and the querent at the time of the reading contain more than enough information to attract your attention and guide you to all of the pertinent information related to the question or issue.  It’s been my experience that you can get all of the information you need from the cards in their upright position without adding the extra work and using the valuable time it takes to learn the reverse meanings of the cards. 

 I urge my students to learn to read the cards without placing special emphasis on reversed cards.  If they’ve had prior experience reading the Tarot with reversed cards, I honor their experience and their method and I ask them not to read the cards from a reversed position during the class.  Sometimes, a student who learned the Tarot with me will decide later that they want to read reverse cards and sometimes, a student with prior experience, will choose not to read reverse cards anymore.  When that happens, I honor that person’s choice and I encourage them to do what works best for them      

 That being said, when I consult with another Tarot card practitioner, I don’t care if they read reversed cards or not.  I’m not a ‘back seat driver’ and if my intuition leads me to a particular oracle for information I need, I’m more than happy to let them obtain it in the manner that works best for them.

That’s my approach to reading and interpreting a Tarot card that shows up in a reversed or upside down position.  I invite you to test drive this method a few times and see how it works for you.  I also invite you to learn more about developing and using your intuition with the Tarot by purchasing my book, The Infinite Tarot.  Just click on the Store tab on the navigation bar at the top of this page and you’ll be directed to the Store page.     

 

Barcelona—wandering through Dali’s mind

temperenceMy friend, David, decided to celebrate his birthday in Barcelona this year.  David is one of my dearest friends and I’d never been to Barcelona, so I left Paris and volunteered to help him celebrate. 

There’s something magical about Barcelona, something that has you thinking outside the box and (to mix metaphors) wanting to ‘color outside the lines’ while you’re there.  This is a city and a region with a big, expansive heart and vision.   Where else in the world could an Antoni Gaudi, a Salvador Dali and a Joan Miro be inspired, encouraged and celebrated for expressing their very different views of life and beauty?

This uniquely beautiful capital city of Catalonia on the Mediterranean coast of Spain has a great social scene and is resplendent with the art and architecture of uniquely creative, passionate artists.  

I went to Fiqueres, the small town where Dali was born.  His museum is there and as I wandered through it, I realized that being there was like spending a few hours inside his mind.  What a divinely mad, outrageously creative, phenomenally courageous genius he was!  (Did you know that he designed a deck of Tarot cards?)  We are blessed to have had him in our world.

I visited many of Barcelona’s recommended sites, but the two that moved me the most were Gaudi’s take on a house of worship, La Sagrada Familia, and his version of home, sweet home, Casa Batllo. 

La Sagrada Familia is organic and like all living things, it’s a work in progress.  Still unfinished, it speaks more beautifully to the soul than any other temple I’ve ever been in. 

As wonderful as La Sagrada Familia is, it’s Casa Batllo that whispers my name.  La Sagrada Familia takes your soul outward beyond the confines of this earthly plane and merges it with all the wonders of creation; the private family home, Casa Batllo, is more intimate, more personal, more visceral.  It takes you deep inside your own being as you recognize yourself in all of the curves and shapes and forms of this most magnificent dwelling. 

As grateful as I am that La Sagrada Familia exists, it’s Casa Batllo that has me thanking God that I exist– it was here that I saw and felt the presence of the Divine.

David’s birthday party was such a reflection of him– fun, deep, eclectic, brilliant, surprising and filled with wonder and love.  Although most of the attendees lived in Barcelona, several of us had flown in just to sing “Happy Birthday” to him.  One of his gifts evoked the classic film character, Norma Desmond, for several of us and in unison we recited her response to William Holden’s, “You’re Norma Desmond.  You used to be big!”– “I’m still big; it’s the pictures that got small!”

Norma Desmond’s response sums it up for me.  That’s why I’m drawn to places like Barcelona and people like David, Dali and Gaudi.  No matter what the circumstances are, we always interact with life on our own terms and actively create the lives we want.

Paris—the city that gives you permission to live life out loud

temperenceAny excuse to stop off in Paris is a valid excuse.  I only had three days and I made the most of it.  Paris is lovely any time of the year.  Even when it’s cold and rainy—which it is right now.  I love this sensual, stylish, elegant place of beauty, history, spirituality and charming decadence.  My favorite arrondissement these days is the 1st.  The Louvre, home to so much creative splendor, including my beloved Mona Lisa, is there.  As is the Museum of Decorative Arts, which always has a wonderful surprise encounter for me.  And the fashion and shopping!  Wherever you turn you see exquisite style on the passers-by and in the shops—truly a divine experience.  A gorgeous antique gold and garnet snake ring has caught my eye and captured my heart.  To my chagrin, I allowed the voice of reason a vote as I reluctantly handed it back to the clerk.  I can still feel it on my finger.  (What was I thinking!?  I was in Paris, for God’s sake!)

I finally made it across the Seine to the Musee D’Orsay on the Left Bank in the 7th arrondissement.  It is breath-takingly stunning beyond description—and that’s before you see any of the art work. Formerly an old train station that was saved from demolition, its interior was transformed into what is now a fabulous temple of art and discovery.  The building itself is as fascinating to observe and explore as the priceless collections of art are.  I know I’ll be spending a lot of time there on future visits.

I met the owner of a heavenly metaphysical shop and we hit it off.  I’ll be leading a workshop there later this year.  Stay tuned for more details.

Jim Haynes and one of his renowned Sunday night dinners was the highlight of my too short stay.  Jim’s an American life-artist who has lived in Paris for a long time and every week for the past 30 years, he’s hosted a Sunday dinner in his home.  People, most of whom are total strangers to him (and each other), call or e-mail to book a spot. The first 50 or 60 people who call are assured a place and he always has a waiting list of those who weren’t fortunate enough to make a reservation in time.

I love this type of gathering.  A collection of people from all over the globe, from all walks of life coming together to share food and life adventures.  Even though most of us were ‘strangers’ to each other, as we interacted, we discovered that we all had something in common.  Somehow, whoever you spoke with was a fellow traveler on the path to discovering the meaning of life’s great mysteries and their story supplied an important, previously missing detail for you and your journey.  The food, the ambiance, the company and the evening were a gift and a blessing and surely there’s a special place in heaven for our phenomenal host-raconteur, Jim Haynes.