1/31/2016 (Day 31) What are Ascension Symptoms?

Wow, it sure is hard to believe that it's the last day of January 2016 already! January has been an energetically intense month...lots and lots of energy shifts, downloads, upgrades, solar activity, souls leaving the planet, etc. It's funny...on the one hand,  it feels as if January flew by, but, taking a moment to reflect back on all that has happened, it feels, on the other hand, like a lifetime. It has been a very energetically ''dense'' month, to say the least. As a result of this, many of us may be feeling some pretty intense ''Ascension Symptoms." So, you may ask, what is Ascension anyway...and what are these symptoms I speak of? 

Ascension is a process of acceleration in vibrational frequency and expansion of awareness which results in a shift in consciousness. Ascension is a Universal and perfectly natural evolutionary process. Currently, Gaia (Mother Earth) is in the process of a planetary Ascension, and we are all a part of that process, whether consciously involved or not. As a result, we are also in the process of a collective Ascension of humanity. During this process, changes are occurring on all levels of our beings. As Gaia shifts, so do our vibrational frequencies and as a result, we experience various physical, mental, emotional and spiritual symptoms. 

These symptoms vary in severity, they come and go and often seem to make little to no sense, especially if you're not aware of what is happening. (Even though I'm aware, I sometimes "forget" and find myself thinking I must have some weird something or that surely I must be dying...lol). The good news is that, as your vibrational frequency raises higher, the symptoms tend to decrease, and even subside for a while (until it's time for your next major upgrade...lol). One of my favorite (yeah, right) ascension symptoms is a ringing in the ears that can go on for days, or even weeks sometimes. I remember, back in 2011, when I was entering into a significant shift in energies, my ears rang so much I felt like they were bleeding. It was relentless, went on for a few months and drove me nuts! I didn't realize, at the time, that this is what it was, since I was rather entrenched in my ''conspiracy theory'' mindset at that point and kept blaming it on the EMFs, chemtrails, wifi signals, HAARP frequency and such. It was toward the end of that time that I began learning more about ascension and became aware of what these ascension symptoms were and finally started realizing that the reason my ears were constantly ringing was because I was being energetically upgraded to a higher frequency, but my physical body and thinking had not yet caught up to speed. I believe it is this gap that may cause the ascension symptoms. We receive Divine energetic downloads/upgrades, but then our physical bodies and minds need some time to adjust and integrate these new frequencies before they can reach a renewed state of equilibrium. 

Here is a complete list of Ascension Symptoms for you to check out https://earthenergyreader.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/the-most-comprehensive-list-of-ascension-symptoms/

Here is an excerpt from an energy report I've been following lately. This is some of what is going on now, energetically speaking:  

As I have mentioned before in my Energy Reports, the energy is coming in more fast and furious than ever before with little down time for rest and integration between each shift. Your cooperation is needed with these shifts to integrate, adjust and anchor these energies into Earth and yourselves. Buckle up Beautiful Souls we are on an intense Energy ride that is carrying through this entire year! And yes, that’s a good thing! This is what is assisting us and Earth in THE SHIFT from 3D to 5D. If you are a Lightworker connected to Earth, YOU are needed now to anchor these incoming energies into the grid, portals and vortexes.

Aside from the symptoms I mentioned above, with these vibrational shifts we can experience the following physical symptoms in the coming days:

*Lathargy as the pineal gland and melatonin production becomes over stimulated during shifts.

* High pitched ear ringing

* Leg and foot cramping

* Headaches

* Back, shoulder and neck aches

* Dizziness, vertigo

* Dry, blurry eyes as the 3rd Eye Chakra activates and expands.

* Heart chakra activation with Heart palpitations, and a feeling of all encompassing love. (Use rose quartz to assist in expanding the heart chakra, deep breathing and be in nature.)

* Angelic visitations and interdemensional awareness

* Time line jumping and loosing track of time.

* Crown chakra activation with headaches, itchy head, pressure on the head, rashes. (Massage the head, meditate, use Lavender essential oils and Amethyst crystal to relieve headaches and pressure.)

* Extreme thirst and weird food cravings as the body increases in vibrational frequency. (Listen to what your body needs.)

* Metaphysical gifts expanding concerning energy. (Begin using)

* Vivid dreams and visions (journal). Many people will experience channeling sessions during energetic shifts as the Crown expands connecting you to Divine Source and all that is.

* Depression as the pineal gland is overstimulated in producing or reducing the flow of Serotonin, (the feel good hormone).

Key Words: This too shall pass. Keep riding the wave!

Be sure to ground yourself, drink plenty of water, rest, BREATHE, and eat a healthful diet. Funky cravings excluded

These shifts are activating your Crown and Heart Chakras. This is what you can expect from Crown expansion.

Your crown chakra is your connection to the Universe on a cosmic scale. Its complete activation brings the ultimate state of human achievement, and enlightenment, that of cosmic consciousness. It is the point of entry of the Universal mind of God Consciousness, and complete oneness with the cosmos.

When you are in a complete state of unity with the Divine, the Spiritual gifts, and super normal powers you will receive are nothing compared to the expansion of your consciousness as it unfolds into infinity. When this seventh chakra expands, any blockages remaining in the other six dissolve, and their energies begin to vibrate at their highest possible frequencies.

We had the heart chakra expansion come in, and now the crown and heart are expanding at the same time, expanding your love for ALL and connection to the Cosmos and Universal Divine Source!

I will note, be aware of your surroundings when out and about, as mentioned above this shift can bring on agitation and aggression especially in those who aren’t aware of what is going on in their bodies, thus creating unpredictable behavior.https://tiffany934.wordpress.com/2016/01/31/solar-alert-major-shift-imminent-january-31st-february-3rd-2016

Pay attention to how you are feeling and what you are experiencing in the next week or two, and if you are experiencing any discomfort, notice where it is coming from and try to tune into any message your experience is telling you. Allow it to simply be, without trying to change it.  and then, when you feel ready, release the discomfort and allow it to transmute any lower frequencies still stuck.

There is so much more I can say, but, once again, I am falling asleep at the keyboard, so goodnight my dear friends <3

1/30/2016 (Day 30) Practicing the Practice of Non-Judgment

Having lived here my whole life, I have come to realize that New Englanders tend toward being rather opinionated, often judgmental folk who seem to try and show affection by ridiculing and/or insulting one another. We have a sort of stoic, Puritanical way of looking at the world that came over on the Mayflower and has remained ingrained in the very fabric of this region ever since. It underlies our beliefs and shapes our social structures. This belief system tends to dictate for us to be ever vigilant in judging thoughts, feelings and impulses of, not only ourselves, but also anyone else who is a part of our experience, as well. It tells us that we must categorize our thoughts and feelings according to whatever belief system we subscribe to and reward or chastise ourselves accordingly. 

In my own family of origin, we were, if not always blatantly, then certainly subtly, encouraged to be judgmental of both self and others. There was no shortage of finger pointing, blaming and shaming in our home. Every time anything happened, there almost always seemed to be the need to deny blame of self and/or cast blame on someone else. There was much scapegoating and evasion of responsibility. These things weren't necessarily done intentionally or with ill will, it was just the ''normal'' behavior that had been established in our family based on years of unconscious patterns of communication and interaction. And, as we continued interacting from this place of unconscious patterning, we moved further away from any form of authentic communication and more toward one where we were no longer interacting with one another, but rather re-acting to one another. 

Through the many psych classes I took in college, I had come to recognize lots of ''dysfunctional'' family patterns over the course of my 4 years of school, but there was this, sort of, underlying ''friendly mean-spirited-ness'' inherent in our familial communication patterns that I was not fully aware of until, at 30, after graduating from UMass, I packed up, took my 5 year old daughter and moved to a place called Earthlands to take part in a 4 month residential program called "The Ecological Living Project." There we lived, off the grid, in a room in the lodge/program center with a bunch of strangers who were dedicated to living gently upon the land and with one another. I hadn't realized the impact that living with these folks, who had a whole different way of interacting than those my daughter and I were used to spending our day to day lives with, would have on me. I have a strong recollection of being incredibly uncomfortable the first couple of weeks because there was none of the bantering and subtle (or sometimes not so subtle) "cutting down" or teasing of one another that I was used to in my interactions with those I'd lived with before. No shaming or shifting of blame. Everyone was dedicated to clear and effective communication...not that it was always achieved, but there was an admirable striving for it which felt foreign to me and made me feel as though there was something ''wrong'' with me. This lead to a great deal of internal conflict, and lots of self (and other) judgment of every thought, feeling and action. So, while this was in incredible time for me in many ways...there was awakening and shifting on on many levels, there was still a great deal of psychological pain and suffering, and I was still not aware of how my own internal dialogue was causing this pain and suffering, because I had not yet come to begin practicing mindfulness and non-judgment of thought...it would be another decade, and a journey into the dark night of my soul, before I would begin practicing mindfulness and using it as a tool to quiet my mind, sooth my soul and better understand my ego.

In 2005 when I was a very, very long way from all of my hopes and dreams and in the most pain (physical, emotional and mental) I had ever been in, I was desperate to find a way to feel better...any way at all, really. I'd tried some less than productive ways that hand't worked out very well and was in the process of putting the pieces back together with a great therapist. We'd done a lot of work, but there I was still suffering a great deal and I was willing to do just about anything to feel better. So, at her suggestion, we begin a therapeutic practice known as DBT, or Dialectical Behavioral Therapy which used mindfulness as one of it's core principles. When first presented with the idea of non-judgement of thought, my initial reaction was, ''you're kidding, right?" I thought, no way would I be able to do that. My brain was so full of chatter that I could scarcely imagine a quiet and peaceful mind ever being something I could achieve. Suspending my internal judge and shutting off the ''shoulds, woulds and coulds" seemed like it would be incredibly difficult, but there was something about this mindfulness stuff that spoke to some far wiser part of myself than the ego place I had been operating from, and that part of me was ready to step forth and give the ego a little more help running the show. 

What I have discovered in the 11 years since; is that mindfulness is one of the greatest tools available to us with which we are able to gain mastery over thoughts, feelings and reactions to both ourselves and others in any situation we might encounter. When mindfulness becomes a regular practice we begin to know peace within, the more skillful we become, the more at peace we feel and it is through this deep peace within that we are able to become instruments of peace in the greater world. Since this is one of the goals of a Lightworker, I spend a lot of time practicing my mindfulness in everyday life.

One important aspect of mindfulness is that of non-judgment of thought. In order to practice non-judgment of thought, we must switch our thinking from that of active participant in our thoughts to that of observer of our thoughts. When we take action to step outside of our thinking, we are able to see our thoughts more objectively. We learn to allow our thoughts to simply be without judging them, trying to change them, or act on them...simply observing them from a place of non-judgment. As a result, we are no longer a slave to our thinking because rather than seeing our thoughts as facts, we begin to realize that they are simply nothing more than mere noise in our heads and that we have the power to decide how and if to react to them. We have the power to free ourselves of the painful thoughts we have been enslaved to our entire lives, if we have the courage to be mindful. It is a lifelong practice, but once you've embarked on the road, it's not really one you can turn back on, so you're kind of stuck with it anyhow...lol. There may be times when you're inclined to be less mindful than others, but pretty much you can't really put the cat back in the bag once it's out...but, I'm not really sure why anyone would want to anyhow when the peace that comes with practice it so vast. 

If you have questions or comments or would like to know more about mindfulness, I'd love to hear from you. Sorry about not getting this out last night, it was half done and I was falling asleep, and then, this morning while I was working on it, my landlord showed up with a chainsaw to attack the shrubbery...and we know how that has the possibility of ending up....lol...so I decided to wait till tonight to finish it. The challenges of a daily blog, or as my friend Joel would say, ''first world problem." Goodnight, my friends. Thank you for reading <3 

1/29/2016 Sorry...this is gonna have to be late.

It is almost 11;30 and I am falling asleep at the computer. I will have to finish my entry when I wake up. Goodnight, World <3 

1/28/2016 (Day 28) Abundant Cosmic Light

In every moment

Abundant Cosmic Light shines

One frame at a time

~Amie

There is no end...

/

...to the abundance of Light...

...available to each of us.

We need only open our hearts...

...and allow it to flow.

It is the same with Love.

1/27/2016 (Day 27) Gaia Speaks in Haiku and Pictures

Gaia speaks her truth

In every tree and flower

Season matters not

~Amie

1/26/2016 (Day 26) An Empath's Challenge

The morning got off to a rough start for this empath.  If you've read some of my other entries, you may have noticed that I have a very strong affinity with the trees. Well, shortly after waking up this morning, while (ironically) about to look at an article on the toxic attraction between an empath and a narcissist, I heard what I immediately recognized to be the unmistakably miserable sound of a wood chipper somewhere nearby! For most people, this would not be a big problem, but for a tree loving empath, it can spell sure disaster, especially if caught unawares like I was! 

I jumped up as the sound of tree parts being chewed to bits made my ears cringe. I went over to the front window to peek out the blind, see where the offending noise might be coming from and who had fallen victim to its jaws. Just then, the sound quieted as the machine waited to be fed. I didn't see anything out there but as someone tossed a new victim into the mouth of the beastly machine I realized that it sounded like it was coming from out back. As I opened my bedroom door, the godawful noise got louder and I could feel it reverberate throughout my entire being as my apartment was filled with it's destructive vibration. I covered my ears and rushed to the back door where the glass was shaking and vibrating with the sound of machinery in the process of annihilating entire tree limbs. I parted the curtain and saw that there, behind the house, was a big orange "Asplundh" truck complete with it's industrial sized, tree dismembering, machine which was now feasting on some of my tree friends out back.

And that was it...I was instantly launched into full blown empath mode...I had hooked into the energy of the trees that were being violated, and could literally feel and hear them screaming in terror and pain. You see, when you are an empath, it's not only human emotions and pain you can pick up on, but those of other lifeforms as well...especially those you have a strong connection to...like me with the trees. I started to tremble and panic and feel sick to my stomach and wanted to run but could barely think....''music must have music, must have music (grab the CD player). No CD in there. Gotta find a CD." Grabbing "The Essential Journey" out of a drawer I cram it the CD in the player and turn it on full blast to try and drown out the sound, but I can still hear it...I run into my room, feeling sick to my stomach and panicked I sit on my bed feeling like I might cry. I run to the kitchen and find my earbuds in my backpack, I grab my ipod and press play and my ears are filled with the blessed sound of Melissa Etheridge's sweet voice singing "Heal me, lift me, take me to the other side, Amazing Grace has touched my face and the sweet sound doesn't lie..." I take a few deep breaths and let the music soothe me as I wait to regain my composure. 

But I will not fully re-gain my composure for hours. I will keep the earbuds on, while I prepare to flee my apartment, until such a time as they are done violating my tree friends. I will leave and go to the Coop, my ''home away from home'' and connect with my community. I am thankful that today is the day that I have my meditation group and am blessed to have a place where I can go and share how I am feeling and be met with compassion and understanding. Where I will be nurtured and held and where I will sit in silence and contemplate the meaning and experience of being an empath. I will take the time to sooth myself back to wholeness and give thanks for the opportunity, means and support for doing so being available to me. 

I remember a time, not that long ago, where I did not know or understand what was happening to me, nor did I have any idea how to protect myself and regain my equilibrium when I was experiencing a ''full blown emapth attack." Since coming to understand more clearly what it is that I can expect and learning how to protect my energies, I am prone to far less "empathic attacks.'' Suiting up (see 1/23/16) regularly helps me to protect my vibration from both incoming energies and from being usurped by others. In a situation like this morning, where I was caught completely off guard, and therefore unable to shield myself from the unwanted intrusion, there was little that could've been done, other than to remain conscious of the process and strive to handle it as best as possible. Sometimes, that's all you can do. 

By talking about being an empath and striving to help normalize this gift, I hope to help undiscovered and/or newly discovered empaths out there that may have been struggling their whole lives, as I did, to understand what is ''wrong'' with them, to gain some insight and understanding about their own special empathic abilities and learn how utilize their skills and talents.  As always, if you have questions or comments, I welcome both <3 


~Namaste <3 

1/25/2016 (Day 25) Trust Your Self

Each of us possess an innate ability to connect with that non-physical aspect of ourselves, often known as Spirit, in order to receive messages and guidance in our lives. The answer to every single question we have ever and will ever ask is right there within our reach and always has been. The message in our society tends to be on looking toward some outside source for answers. Most of us are taught to look for answers, seek relief and gain wisdom from anyone and anything outside of the Self, but are taught to second guess our own voices and, even if we do allow our inner voice to give us the answers, we have been programmed to doubt that we could possibly already know the answers to the questions we keep asking everyone else and often continue to seek answers and approval from outside sources. In doing this, we weaken our connection to our inner knowing and rather than utilizing our Divine guidance system, we are blindly seeking answers from outside. 

Once we realize and accept that we already have the answers to all of our own questions and begin to foster a relationship with our own internal guidance system, we start trusting our inner knowing and amazing things happen. To do this, we simply have to make the decision to stop seeking answers to all of our questions and decision making processes outside of ourselves. Begin asking ourselves the questions that we would  normally be going around asking all of our friends/family/co-workers/etc. Then, take the time to be still and allow the answers to come, TRUSTING that we already know the answer. It takes a bit of getting used to at first, but once you get the hang of it, you will soon find that there's much more time and energy for other kinds of connecting with the people in your life, because you're no longer spending time processing all of your ''shit'' together. It also frees up your relationships to explore other territory and expand because there is no longer the underlying dynamic of caretaker/caretakee going on. And the process is self-perpetuating in that the energy you put in yields at least as much, and then some back. 

Go ahead give it a try...trust yourSelf...what have you got to lose? 



<3

1/24/2014 (Day 24) The Art of Basking

Bask, a verb meaning: 

1:  To lie exposed to warmth and light, typically from the sun, for relaxation and pleasure. (Synonyms:  laze, lie, lounge, relax, sprawl, loll, wallow; sunbathe, sun oneself). 

2:  To revel in and make the most of something pleasing; to enjoy the attention and good feelings expressed by others. (Synonyms:  revel in, delight in, luxuriate in, wallow in, take pleasure in, rejoice in, glory in, indulge oneself in; enjoy, relish, savor, lap up.)

Basking is an excellent way to raise your frequency and keep yourself in a more positive vibration. It goes hand in hand with appreciating and developing an ''attitude of gratitude'' in your life. We really aren't taught the art of basking in our culture. These days, it seems as though our attention spans grow shorter and shorter with each passing day, due to the speed at which information bombards us at every turn. We are not often encouraged to simply tune into the goodness surrounding us and allow the richness of what we see, feel and experience to penetrate our hearts and souls so deeply that it brings us to a place of deep gratitude and joy for the mere experiencing of it. 

Today, sitting in the Coop with the deliciousness of the late January sun streaming through the windows..feeling its heat deeply penetrate my back and warm my blood, while surrounded by wonderful people having a lively discussion, I  felt like I was basking on multiple levels and felt such an immense gratitude for the very opportunity to be alive to be a part of such simple but profound moments of human experience. 

So, the next time you feel the sun streaming in the window or a bright sunny spot calls to you outside, I encourage you to do yourself a favor and sit down for a few minutes and soak it in...allow the Light of the Sun to penetrate every cell of your body and to caress your Soul with it's warmth and allow your heart to fill with a deep appreciation for all that you have, all that you are and all that you are becoming and let your frequency raise to the place of Unconditional Love that the Art of Basking can allow. 

~Namaste, my friends <3 

1/23/2016 (Day 22) Suiting Up

An Empath is a person who is (among other things) highly sensitive to the energies of others. So much so, that they will often experience the thoughts, feelings and emotions of those around them without even realizing that what they are thinking or feeling is not actually their own "stuff,'' but that of someone else. Because most Empaths don't even know that they are picking up on something that belongs to someone else, they are often confused by their ''unfamiliar'' thoughts and feelings, which can lead to an increasing sense of unease. As a result, one of the side effects of being an Empath is the tendency to easily get overwhelmed in groups of people. I'm quite certain that it is actually undiscovered/misunderstood empathic gifts that are responsible for a great deal of what we consider ''social anxiety'' in our culture. When you constantly find yourself bombarded with thoughts and feelings that seem ''foreign'' to you, it has the tendency to cause a great deal of anxiety, confusion and, if it gets bad enough, even the urge to flee.

For the undiscovered Empath, this place of not knowing what is happening can cause a great deal of mental suffering and anguish, which is a shame really, because being an Empath is a wonderful gift, which, once understood, can enhance your life in many ways. Once I learned that I was an Empath, and what that meant, it was as if my WHOLE life suddenly made so much more sense! And once I learned how to protect myself from constantly absorbing everyone else's energies, I found my own life force to improve dramatically. The one tool that has been especially helpful to me (and many others I have shared it with) is what I like to call my "Empath Catsuit." I read about the idea a ''suiting up '' to protect yourself form absorbing other people's energy a few years ago, and decided to try it one day when I was going to be around a bunch of people and was delighted to find that it actually did seem to help a bit. So i began using it regularly for a while, until I seemed to grow less susceptible to outside energetic influences.

The process is really quite simple. All you do is take a few minutes, before you have to be around any type of situation where you are feeling like you might take on unwanted energies, to ''suit up'' in your ''armor." To do this, simply imagine whatever color, texture, material etc you identify with as being protective/reflective (for me it is like a very shiny, black patent leather, almost liquid looking substance). See this coming down, starting at the crown of your head, and covering your entire body. As you do this, set the mental intention for this suit to shield you from any and all unwanted energies protecting your personal space from any intrusion and keeping your own vital energies from being drawn upon by others. I have found this process to be invaluable in my own experience, and will sometimes find myself ''suiting up'' mid conversation because I realize I am taking on more than I want. I urge you to give it a try and see how it feels! 

If you think you may be an Empath and would like to know more or have any questions, please feel free to  contact me. Meanwhile, happy Leo Full Moon I hope you have a wonderful night <3 

~Namaste

1/22/2016 (Day 22) Lucky Leo Full Moon

Full Moon in Leo

The Cosmos puts on a show

Time for Soul Searching

Tomorrow, January 23 at 8:46 p.m. we welcome our first full moon of 2016. Referred to as the The Full Wolf Moon by many Native American tribes. This Leo Moon is very heart centered, joyful and freedom loving. Leo, the Sun and Moon are all saying to focus on Joy and Love and to have confidence and courage to step into the Light at this time. So, it's a perfect full Moon to have on a Saturday! I encourage you to take some time to connect with the energies of the Full Leo Moon sometime in the next 48 hours and set your personal intentions for what it is that you want to release from your life (the New Moon marks the beginning of a cycle and time to create/manifest while the Full Moon marks the ending or time to release and let go.)  

Without getting into the details of the astrology or numerology of it all, there are some very powerful aspects going on at this time that make this is an opportune moment to harness some fortuitous energies in order to release and heal old and outdated patterns and to begin to look joyfully to the future with the expectation of breakthrough and innovation. It is a good time reset yourself energetically and to focus on and anticipate phenomenal results. This time particularly favors relationships of all kinds...wonderful deep connections with others both personal and business. This is a also a great time to focus on health and healing and an easy time to implement health regimens. This Full Moon is a good opportunity to tune your Soul into your full fledged creator mode! 

This is an especially wonderful time for Lightworkers and healers and such, because our collective desire to serve others in a Spiritual way is naturally magnified at this time. There is also great opportunity at hand to manifest change that will last well into 2016 and beyond. Don't be afraid to really ask yourself what your purpose is and to listen for clarity and guidance. Things are really starting to move and will continue to do so throughout the year. We have moved into some much quicker moving, mutable, energies and as a result, things are beginning to manifest and change much more quickly than they have in a long time. You may have been feeling this the past few weeks...I know I have...it's kinda fun. 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy this Lucky Leo Full Moon, my friends! Thanks for reading <3 

1/21/2016 (Day 21) Lhasafur the Philosafur, My Little Dalai Lama

A year ago today I had to help my wonderful dog "Pupup" transition into Spirit. He was almost 15, suffered from ''doggy dementia"  and had declined a great deal in the last year of his life. I knew he was nearing his end and could sense that he was in physical pain along with the cognitive decline that had become painfully more obvious over the last several months, so I consulted with a friend who was an animal empath, and she told me that he was in more physical pain than I knew and that he was ready to transition into Spirit so that he could be out of pain. And so I made the phone call to arrange to have him put down. I was blessed to have had this wonderful companion for almost 12 years. He was the best dog a person could ask for. He was with me during the deepest, darkest hours of my life...through the Dark Night of my Soul and there to help me find my way back  into the Light. He was a wonderful companion, and I am so thankful for the time we had together. The way that he came to me is a wonderfully magical story, and, to honor him, I would like to share it with you. 

Back in the late 90s, my parents adopted a little dog from our veterinarian. Her name was ''Mopsey" and she was a Lhasa Apso mix. She was a fiesty little thing who tested each of us before she gave us her love, but then loved us all fiercely. My father had done some reading on the breed and discovered that Lhasa Apsos originated more than 800 years ago in Tibet, where they were owned by monks and cherished as carriers of good luck. They participated in religious ceremonies and guarded the monasteries, thus acquiring the name of "Tibetan Temple Dog." In their native land, they were also called the Abso Seng Kye "Barking Lion Sentinel Dog" and their keen sense of hearing and intelligence uniquely qualified them for this role. They were never sold, but were often given, in pairs, as gifts by the Dalai Lama to visiting nobles and dignitaries. The Lhasa was first introduced to England in the 1920's. In 1933, the Dalai Lama gave some Lhasas to a friend from America and they came here. After hearing about their background that day, I told my parents that I wished I had a Lhasa Apso of my own, so that I could , I joked, have my very own little "Dalai Lama."

At the time, my daughter rode horses at a place called Craig Equestrian Center, in the town of Leverett and I would clean stalls and help take care of the horse in order to barter for her lessons and riding time. Roberta, the woman who owned the stables, was also the animal control officer for the town and had a kennel where the strays were kept until they were claimed or adopted out. One cold day in April, I had arrived at the barn and while I was standing by my car putting on my layers of barn clothes, there was barking coming from the kennel, which was about 20 or 30 yards away. The dog kept barking and barking and so I turned and looked at it and said, ''all right, all right, just be quiet already, I will come and see you when I'm done getting dressed."  And, lo and behold, the dog stopped barking, sat down and just watched me. For some reason, on my way out of the house that day I had gone back in and grabbed some dog treats ''just in case'' there was a dog there. So, I headed up to the the kennel with the treats and went inside, and there was this big fluffy mop of a dog...all covered in knotted white hair and a complete mess. And he looked up at me, with the most amazingly intelligent looking, black lined, eyes I had ever seen on a dog, barely visible in all that fur and I fell instantly in love. In his mussed state, I couldn't be sure, but, looking at him I was almost certain that he looked like a Lhasa Apso. 

I gave him a treat, and a moment later, when someone came up to front of the kennel to ask me a question, he instantly took a stance of protection in front of me and proceeded to bark like the dickens at the poor woman. I had never had a dog of my own before, but I was pretty sure this meant he had claimed me. So, I found Roberta and asked her about him and sure enough, I found he was available for adoption. I told her that I would have to take him home and see how he and Mopsey got along (at the time I was living with and taking care of my parents who were ill), but if it worked out I was really interested in adopting him. She said sure enough, he was available for adoption and I could give it a try. When I asked her what she could tell me about him and where he had been found and when she looked at me and said the he'd been found by the monks at the (Tibetan) Peace Pagoda in town, a huge wave of goosebumps traveled through body and I knew, in that moment, that this was MY dog...the one I had wished for... that he had come to find me so I could ''have my own little Dalai Lama!"

 As I said, his eyes were very intense...when he looked into your eyes, it was as if he knew every possible thing there was to know in the entire Universe (one of the reasons it was so hard to witness his steady cognitive decline the last year of his life). This coupled with his being such a furball when he found me, plus him being the Lhasa I had wished for, led me to come up with the name "Lhasafur the Philosafur, My Little Dalai Lama."

He was the most incredible dog! I consider myself blessed to have been chosen to be his human and have always cherished the magical way by which he came to find me. And, then,  to make it even more syncronistic, couple of months ago, I learned that someone who has, in this past year, become a cherished friend of mine, was the person who donated the money for the land that the Peace Pagoda stands on, adding another layer to the story of my precious little Pupup's journey to find me (Pupup turned out to be much easier to say and so that was what he ended up being called). I am so thankful to have had him to walk with for 12 years, he was as a very special gift from the Universe who couldn't  have come a a more perfect time then he did and will always live on in my heart < 3

1/20/2016 (Day 20) I Don't Feel Broken Anymore

Yesterday, during a conversation I was having with a friend, the topic of ''brokenness'' came up, and before I had a chance to think about it, I had said to him, "I don't feel broken anymore," and as I spoke those words, I knew, deep inside, that my Truth was speaking and, in that moment, I felt gloriously healed and whole as I realized that these were not merely just words that I had said, but what I honestly did feel in the depths of my heart and soul. And I was so incredibly thankful because not that long ago, this wasn't true at all. 

And then, last night, at the Spoken Word open mic, listening to the others read and/or recite their work, I felt that what I'd written and read was mere ''fluff'' in comparison to the depth of some of the work others had shared...I truly admired much of this work and thought to myself that I wanted to go deeper in my own writing...that perhaps I needed to tap back into some of my pain and suffering in order to write some "grittier" stuff. And at that particular moment, my pain and suffering felt very far away and I felt so whole and complete and full of Light that I couldn't imagine how or why I would want to choose to revisit my pain and suffering ever again if I didn't have to. I had spent so many years focused on it...I had fed it and nurtured it and given it all sorts of names...I'd invited it to move in and allowed it to stay for a good long time, because that was what I had been led to believe as my Truth back then. 

In my family, it seemed, the more you had to bitch and complain about, the better. I was taught, early on, to claim my pain and suffering, to own it and broadcast...to whomever would listen, just how much I was suffering. I was taught to hold on for dear life and ride my suffering like it was a bucking bronco. People in my life always got extra attention points for brooding and being miserable because, in my family, it was important to bitch and complain about everything. And boy could I ever bitch and complain and boy did I! So, for most of my life, I unknowingly contributed to my own suffering by constantly focusing on what I didn't want and talking about all the things wrong with myself and my life. 

I've been thinking about all of this today and realizing that the way I fixed my brokenness and put myself back together was by choosing to fearlessly allow myself to look at all the places that I was broken and to feel deeply into and through my pain and suffering and out the other side, into relief...all with the intention of releasing and transmuting it once and for all. And, all the while choosing to focus on everything in my life that was good and positive and practice a state of gratitude. By releasing the hold my past and my upbringing had had on me, I was able to rearrange all of the broken pieces and reconstruct the story of who I AM as I put myself back together and returned to wholeness. I am no longer broken, hallelujah! 

I AM thankful!  
<3

1/19/2016 (Day 19) Waxing Gibbous Moon

Waxing Gibbous Moon

Her beauty only eclipsed

By her fullest face

~Amie Hyson

 1/19/2016

1/18/2016 (Day 18) The Great Spiral of Life

The longer I travel around this Great Spiral of Life, the more I find a sort of preciousness in the opportunity to revisit energetic connections that I may have previously had to some person, place or situation that had a significant impact on my life. I welcome the chance to reconnect from the new vantage point at which I find myself on the spiral of my life, and to glean insight into where my truth is now as opposed to where it was when I previously connected with them. As someone who has been dedicated to lifelong learning for decades, I have almost always found that there are further insights to be gleaned from revisiting things and re-experiencing people that I once felt a significant connection to but are not a regular part of my life any longer. I welcome the chance to reconnect with these energies as a means to better understand how any expansion of consciousness I may have experienced since I last engaged with this particular person/situation has changed me in my experience in the NOW. 

Since coming more fully into remembrance of my mission and making the conscious choice to step fearlessly into my role as a Lightworker, I have, in an effort to raise my vibrational frequency on a consistent basis, dedicated myself to the process of conscious expansion with a vengeance. As a result, in these past few years (and especially the last one), I have experienced a great deal of change in my thinking. (Heck, the energies seem to shift so quickly these days, that some days I find that I almost feel like a completely different person than I was the day before...lol.) 

As a result of our internal shift in consciousness and frequency, things begin to shift in our external world as well. Through the Law of Attraction (''that which is like unto itself, is drawn"), as we change our frequency the people and experiences we tend to attract into our lives change as well. So we become accustomed to a certain kind of interaction and exchange, with the world around us, of energies that match our current frequency, not who we used to be. When, for whatever reason, we reconnect with some person or situation that was a significant part of our lives back when our energies were very different, we are often met with an expectation of sameness by the person who knew us as we were prior to our expansion process (this tends to be especially true with familial ties and/or ''exes'' with whom we shared a significant amount of energy and/or felt deeply connected to in the past and who are not, themselves, dedicated to our same level of conscious expansion).

I find that as a result of this, sometimes, when I revisit someone or something from my past experience, it is as if I can literally feel how I am no longer the same person that I was when they were a part of my life.  A part of myself quietly observes my internal thoughts and feelings and notices how I have changed and how the connection, which might've fit like a favorite shirt before, now feels like something that doesn't quite fit any longer. And when this happens, there is a bittersweet moment of awareness about who I was and who I have become and who I may yet be, and I am thankful for the chance to be a part of this Great Spiral of Life and all of the wonderful lessons that come round over and over as I move along my path. 

<3

1/17/2016 (Day 17) Life Happens...

Well, here it is, 12:15 on the 18th and I'm still not finished with my blog entry for last night (which I was unable to complete because something came up). It's taking me longer to write than I thought it would, so I am going to have to finish it later, and promise that tonight's blog will be really good...I hope...lol. I am finding the daily commitment of writing both welcoming and a challenge, and, as we all know, sometimes life happens and we just need to live it...and write later :) Thanks for your understanding ;) 

1/16/2016 (Day 16) Tree Talk

There is something about the trees this time year, when their bones lie bare against the bleakness of the sky, that speaks to something deep inside of me of the wisdom they behold. As I walk among them, admiring their silhouettes, while the sky begins to darken, I am struck by the vastness of their beauty. I feel their magnificence, as I look up at their branches, and wonder how it must feel to stand in one place, unmoving, but only to sway in the wind, for decades or perhaps, a century or more. I think of the strength it must take and yet, also ponder the ease of spending an entire lifetime standing in one place, firmly rooted in your purpose without question or even possibility of other. I wonder, is that more like complete bondage or total freedom? 

(Sarah's Silhouette) 

This is my friend Sarah, she lives nearby. She is one of the only ones left standing on the ''tree belt'' on my street. She's a big old maple and I just love her. We made friends one day when I was out walking my dog...it was the first time a tree had ever told me its name...I know, I was a little surprised too, I didn't know that trees had names...lol. I have grown to love her dearly and consider her a favorite friend. I warned my neighbors, when they came to take Esme (a tree that stood in front of my house) down in 2014 that if they tried to cut Sarah down, they may just have to bail me out of jail, because I would chain myself to her in protest. I mentioned this to Sarah and was surprised when she told me that she would actually be okay with it if they decided to cut her down because she's been standing there for a very long time and wouldn't mind being freed of her tree-ness when the time came. 

(Looking up at Sarah...the pic doesn't do her justice..she is so magnificent!)

You may be wondering how it is that one would go about talking with the trees, and I can assure you, it is not something I consciously decided to do, it just sort of happened one day. I mean, it's not like every tree talks to me all the time (that would be creepy and overwhelming) and I don't actually hear them talking (that would be weird...lol). It's more like we communicate telepathically...an impression of the message appears in my mind. It's the same as when Spirits communicate with me...the message is just sort of there all of a sudden. It's almost like I'm imagining it and, believe me, for a long time, I thought that I was just making all this shit up. But, in the meantime, too many things have happened to confirm the messages I get for me to second guess myself any longer. And, if you think about it, it really does make perfect sense. Everything is comprised of energy vibrating at whichever particular frequency it is aligned with. I believe that trees naturally vibrate at a frequency that is above that of where most humans generally vibrate unless they are consciously working to raise their vibration. As someone who consistently strives to do so, it would make sense that I would sometimes find myself aligned with the higher frequency of the trees and therefore able to connect with their energies and receive their messages. 

(I have been teaching Phoenyx since she was tiny to ''talk to the trees." Here she is saying hi to Sarah last Winter. She knows her by name now...lol)

(When we left to go for our walk last week, Phe was calling "Sarah, Sarah, here we come Sarah" on the way down the street. It made my <3 glad) 

We humans have only just begun to understand the amazing potential of these giant brains of ours...which, up until this point in our evolution, have been highly underutilized. By working to expand our consciousness, we create new pathways in the brain that tap into parts that we've never used before and activate neurons and synapses that have long lay dormant...there is no limit to the potential for growth in consciousness and as our consciousness expands more and more, who truly knows what might be possible...I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited to find out! 


<3