Magic, Myth and Metaphysics

Regional Blessing: West

In Celtic tradition, West is the direction of the great Ocean, which works perfectly for those of us here on the West Coast. The West mediates the primal power of Love, compassion, giving and receiving, the flowing tides, emotion; and is associated with sunset/twilight, abundance and Autumn. When it came time to open the sacred direction of the West, our San Francisco member informed us that she had found the most perfect place. It is a stairway going up a hill in a residential neighborhood, looking directly West. But what a staircase! Completely done in mosaic tile, it depicts an ocean scene, leading up to the Moon Realm, and finally to the Sun Realm—very much in tune with the central pillar of consciousness in the mystical Kabbalah.

We found a spot under a great tree on the side of the hill above the top of the staircase, looking out across the city to the Pacific Ocean. The power of the new Center felt strong at our backs as we sat facing out to sea. Again, I had brought a flat round stone which had volunteered for the job. We opened to the land there, inviting any spirits who would like to work with us, and we charged the stone with this power of the West.

It is said that energy comes from the stars into the great oceans of the world, and flows from them up onto the land, making a psychic counter-flow to that of the physical rivers as they flow from land to sea.  I personally felt the energy very strongly. It seemed eager to get going as I took time to explain to the spirits and guardians of the location what we were doing. Love as a cosmic power is different from love as a personal emotion, yet its beauty and supporting quality is still an integral part of its feel.

At the end of our little ceremony, I said to the tree, “I apologize! I didn’t really ask you if it was okay to charge a stone with this energy and bury it at your roots! Are you willing for us to be doing this?”  And I felt a strong, immediate, clear and unexpected answer: “I’ve been waiting all my life for this.”

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@DeepestMeaning.com

Regional Blessing: Moving the Center

In our work to bless and attune San Francisco, we had established the Center of our directions in the back yard of my friend and colleague, since we had discovered that her house was actually in the center of the city. Now that she was about to move we had to find a new, public place for the Center. We chose Twin Peaks. It’s geographically pretty much in the center of the city, and has fabulous 360° views, complete with parking and trails. Here are some pictures from our new site.

Before we could establish the new Center there we had to close down the old one, so we trooped out to the back yard and lit our candle, opening to the flow of energies from the sacred directions and inviting the spirits who have been working with us to hold that locus of power. We explained what was going on to them, and pointed out where we were going, as the great peaks were very close by. Some of the spirits would be going with us to the new place; others were local to the area on which the back yard was formed, and would stay there.

Obviously, we won’t be burning any candles on Twin Peaks, so for the new Center I had brought another round, flat stone, similar to the ones I consecrated in the East and South. We drove up to the Peaks and found a perfect flat area that is easily accessible and yet out of the main areas where people were walking. It was near a crossroads; always an ideal place to establish a center. And as we walked around a bit, we found yet another faint crossroads, this time a path in the grass, right where we could work. This felt like a faery/nature crossroads, rather than a man-made one. As usual, we felt we were being guided to the perfect spot.

When we opened out the directions there, we felt the power of being on a high hill in a natural setting. We felt our “usual” contacts, as well as the new ones specific to this place. We oriented everyone to the situation, namely that we were moving a Center and had already established power loci in the East and South. They seemed quite amenable. After charging the stone, we buried it, as it is our usual custom to put the stones into some bushes, bury or otherwise return the them to nature.

The new energy we partnered to create takes the whole project a quantum level up in power by establishing a Center in a high, open public place, from a tree-shaded private back yard. Phew! Our last task was to open the next direction: West. Having West and North be the ones that open with this new Center in place is very interesting: they are the two more “feminine” directions. I’ll continue the saga, our journey to the West, in the next post.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@DeepestMeaning.com

Regional Blessing: Moving Our Temple

I’m taking a few postings off from co-creative gardening to continue my quarterly discussion regarding our project of blessing San Francisco by working in partnership with the spirits of the land to establish energetic harmony and balance. This past weekend my colleagues and I had a lot of work to do, because the person whose house we had been meeting in for several years had just received the keys to her newly purchased home. So we needed to cleanse and attune the new place as well as to move the center of our larger city-wide project from her back yard to a public place. It doesn’t do to leave old magical workings behind in what’s to become somebody else’s back yard!

Since our so-called “temple” doubles as my colleague’s living room, it obviously isn’t a dedicated space. When we are going to do our visionary work together, we light a candle and open the 7 Directions, inviting those inner spirit beings who wish to work with us, and allowing through our resonant energy only those with harmonious and beneficial intent. We lit our candle in the soon-to-be “old” house and from it, lit a new candle to take to the new house. Then we went to the new place with the candle, sage, and water for cleansing and blessing.

First we saged, starting at the threshold and including all the corners, cupboards, nooks and crannies—even inside the refrigerator!—opening all the windows and turning on the ceiling fans so that the air could carry the old energies out with the smoke. Then we cleansed with the water. Usually this is done with salt as well: the salt, of earth, pulls in energies and the water carries it away. But as we had forgotten to bring salt, we used frankincense for the earth element. (Like a good Girl Scout, I am never without my compass and frankincense.) This worked! It brought a slightly different feel, but it did further cleanse the energies, and blessed the place as well.

Finally, we lit the candle, and my colleague who is moving said a beautiful blessing over it, shifting the energies of the blessing to a second bowl of water, and sprinkling that around as well. The home felt very different when she had finished! Once she gets a new coat of paint on, it will be utterly transformed and ready to be our new meeting place for magical journeying and blessing work.

Next posts I’ll describe what we did in the public arena.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@DeepestMeaning.com

Regional Blessing: South

This past weekend I got together with my colleagues to continue our process of bringing balance to San Francisco by working in partnership with the spirit beings of the land, (see postings on 10/19 and 10/20/08). Our work this time was in the South, which in our Celtic indigenous tradition embodies the primal power of Light, growth, noontime, summer, initiation, and the spirit.

After looking at the map to get an idea of where we were going to go, we begin each segment of this work in the back yard of our hostess, as she lives in the geographic center of the city. We light the central candle to state our intention and let the earth spirits know we are back for the next phase. This time, we lit some frankincense as well, as this plant is associated with the sun and higher realms, part of the energy of South.

It felt like the earth spirits were happy to connect again. To them, it’s as if no time has passed; it’s an energetic attunement, rather than a time-bound one. Once we opened the connection and asked to be guided to an appropriate spot, we got in the car and headed south. We drove around a bit before we found our perfect place this time, but eventually found a hill with a grassy bank looking directly South. This time, I charged the stone there in our South location rather than in the center. Even though the stone was to primarily mediate the energies of South to the city, I held it to each of the seven directions, because they all have something to offer in keeping balance. 

Here are a couple of pictures showing the view looking south from our knoll.

When doing this work, the spirit beings always prefer the humans to remove themselves for a time to let the object “cook” energetically, so we walked off to admire the view and speculate about what part of town we were seeing. When we went back, the stone felt quite energetic, yet with an energy that was so balanced that even though powerful, it didn’t feel jangly or overwhelming. I buried it in the roots of a California poppy plant on the hillside. When we got back home, I tuned in to how it felt from there, and definitely could feel the new energies coming from that direction. So for me, now the Center, East and South feel stronger when I open the directions in San Francisco, and I look forward to completing the work with the West and North.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@awakeability.com

A Group Manifestation Technique

This technique combines being in sacred space with doing role playing. I encourage you to try it out at a party, in a women’s or men’s group, or just with some friends. It works on the principle of “acting-as-if.”

·         In a circle, open sacred space in whatever way you do this.

·         Sit with your group for a few minutes, so that each person can attune to their higher self.

·         Go around the circle, having each person speak an intention that they want to manifest.

• When everyone has spoken, have a group socializing time, as if you are at a cocktail party in the future.
• Each person talks about their own intentions as if they have come true (“I loved my trip to Ireland!”) as well as the other people’s (“How did your art show go?” “Are you enjoying being a business owner?” “What’s it like to be cooking in your remodeled kitchen?”  “I really got a lot out of your book signing event!” “I hear you’re getting quite well-known as a relationship coach.” etc). Pretend for each other, in sacred space.
• Use all of your imagination to conjure up the sense of your own intention having been manifested. Think and speak of how it now “is” in the future. And support the others with questions that will help them think and speak about their intention.
• After at least 20 minutes of this, come back into the circle, take a few minutes of silence to integrate the experience. If you want to, you can also then talk about the process, but you may want to just let it rest.
• Close sacred space and return to other activities.

 

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@awakeability.com

Healing the Land, Part 2

To energy cleanse a space in nature, you must connect with the spirit beings of the place. Energy cleansing is done in partnership: the intention has to come from humans, since the energies came from humans originally. Just as our trash doesn't automatically disappear from the side of the road, it is up to us to decide to clean up our vibrational mess as well. The nature intelligences won't override our inherent free will as humans and energy cleanse places on their own. But they will be glad, grateful, and usually surprised if you contact them in an area, with the intention of doing an energy cleansing. Once you intend it and hold the space, they can release the inappropriate energies and recycle them back into the neutral energy bank, or move them to whatever their next phase might be.

Follow these seven steps:

1.      State your intention to connect with the spirits of the place for the purpose of conducting vibrational healing. You will be connected whether or not you feel it.

2.      Tell them clearly what area you are talking about—avoid being vague. Let them know the boundaries.

3.      Ask that the unhelpful energies be collected, and that you stay protected during the process.

4.      Then allow time for those energies to be collected. Inwardly feel, sense and see this happening. It can take anywhere for 5 minutes to a half hour.

5.      When this part feels complete, ask that any energies collected now be moved on to a more productive state. Give this about half a minute.

6.      Visualize positive energies coming into the whole area for several minutes. You can move your attention deep down to the radiant core of the planet, and invite the regenerative power of the Earth--the mysterious power that enables the seeds to sprout and grow--to move up through the realms and flow into our outer world, to bless everyone, everything, everywhere. This is what healing the land is about; it's done for the benefit of all, unconditionally.

7.      Thank the spirits and ask to be disconnected from them. Don’t forget this part! You must always close the connection.

Healing the Land, Part 1

Earth healing is both physical and energetic. There are the obvious tasks of cleaning up litter, removing invasive plant species, and planting indigenous shrubs, trees, grasses and wildflowers. We can try to restore insect and animal balance when these have gotten out of whack. And we can clean up pollution, and work to prevent it from reoccurring. But what many people don't realize is that the emotional energy of humans gets absorbed into the land as well, and is a different, unseen form of pollution.

Many of us can recognize easily that this is so. We walk into a building and don't like the feel of the place. Or we notice that there's one store location where no business ever seems to survive. But even out in nature, the trees, rocks, soil and plants are subject to the ever-changing vibrations of human emotion. It's the not-good feeling emotions that are the problem for the land. Energy goes out from people all the time, and doesn't just go away; it soaks into the world around us. This is true in your house as well. Fights, grief, anger, envy, depression; your pets feel and respond to them and the walls soak them up.

If our whole society could learn just this one thing, and take action to energy cleanse our living and working spaces, it would transform our lives. Homes, businesses, government buildings, schools, hospitals and public spaces would all support balanced, harmonious living. It doesn't mean that everyone would always be balanced and harmonious, but it does mean that our environment would feel better, and support a quicker return to a higher state of awareness.

Although the best way to learn how to conduct Earth healing is in person with someone who can teach it, it’s possible to get started on your own. Tomorrow’s post will describe more about how Earth healing is done.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@awakeability.com

Using Your Sacred Garden

A sacred garden has many possible uses, depending on your intentions. But a general overall purpose is to be a place of beauty, tranquility and harmony that uplifts the spirit. The reason that I strongly recommend working with the devas and nature spirits in creating your sacred garden is that there are ways in which they can help you achieve this goal beyond what you might have thought up on your own.

For instance, they will usually tell you what plants to put in, and where to put them. Going with their recommendation ensures the greatest balance of energies. So one of the uses of your garden can be to learn about balance from the masters, as I mentioned in my previous post. Remembering that everything is energy, you can come to realize that the energies of each plant, the colors of the flowers, the properties of the herbs, the pattern of the garden beds themselves, all make a difference. In this way, your sacred garden can be a classroom, and you can also continue the partnership with nature on an ongoing basis, always asking about the best ways to care for the plants, and perhaps leaving offerings for the nature spirits.

Of course, your garden can be a place to meditate as well. For this purpose, I recommend working with Sacred Space in your garden—opening your consciousness to attune to the powers of the seven directions, East, South, West, North, Above, Below and Center. Putting something in your garden to represent these directions helps to open gateways for the spirits to come. When you attune to the energies of the directions, you both open and invite. Having a specific place in which you do that, such as a garden, greatly empowers it; your garden becomes a living temple, holding the spiritual energies. So meditating within sacred space, in your sacred garden, becomes even more powerful and uplifting.

You can also use your garden for healing purposes. It becomes a place to uplift your spirit, raise your vibration, remind you that limitless possibility exists. Going there to read your most inspiring books; to paint, draw, write, dance, sing, or do other creative work; or to simply lie on the ground and replenish yourself with peace and joy can bring huge benefit. In the summer, you can sleep there. And any time of the year can be a good time to do ritual or ceremony in your garden.

Finally, you can hold the intention that your sacred garden be a place that brings uplifting energy to the whole surrounding area. You can allow your garden to serve a purpose wider than your own. You can invite the spirits to remain and embody healing energies for all the land, plants, insects, creatures and people around you. You can feed this intention every time you work or meditate in your garden, just by holding it in your thoughts and heart. In this way, your garden can help to transform the world as well as you.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@awakeability.com

Creating a Sacred Garden in Alliance with Nature, Part 3

When you feel you have enough information, or have meditated in Sacred Space for a while, thank the beings, even if you aren’t sure you got anything. Close Sacred Space, either in your own way or by shutting your eyes and focusing inwardly again. Return to a place of balance inside and then feel the energy within and all around you. Imagine releasing the connections between you and the others for now.

Plan to take notes always. I recommend getting a notebook dedicated to your sacred garden work in which you jot down impressions, ideas and next steps to take, right then and there before you forget anything. Going over your notes, readjust your plans for the garden according to what you learned in your meditation.

If you had some impressions or ideas during the meditation, start to do the things that came up to do when it is convenient to do so. Be open to the nature spirits as you work, even if just as a friendly greeting and appreciation of what they do to create the plants. If you feel you got a blank during your meditative conversation, ask before you close that the ideas for your next step will come within 24 hours, then go about your day, trusting that the answer will come. Sometimes a desire to “get it” actually gets in the way during the session. But later, when you aren’t thinking about your garden, suddenly an idea will pop into your head, and you will know what you are to do next.

When you have done everything that came up in the first session, return to your garden, open Sacred Space and conduct another information-gathering session for the next steps. In this way, your garden flows into manifestation in the most harmonious, balanced and natural way possible, guided by the nature spirits who are the masters of form.

Tomorrow I’ll discuss uses of your sacred garden.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@awakeability.com

Creating a Sacred Garden in Alliance with Nature, Part 2

When you feel present and connected to the land, invite the devas and nature spirits of the area to be with you. Don’t worry if you don’t perceive them; trust that they are there and that they perceive you. Open your eyes and state your intention for the garden and your initial thoughts of what you’d like to do. BE OPEN to the possibility that the nature spirits will have other ideas! After stating your intention, close your eyes again and focus inwardly. See if you get any thoughts, pictures, feelings, impressions. Just let them come or not. Possible changes may include:

·         Ideas for a better place for the garden than the one you had picked

·         Ideas for a different shape to the garden

·         Ideas for a different place for the nature spirit sanctuary.

·         Ideas for specific plants and/or ways to plant them in the garden

·         Ideas for other things to place in the garden (like statues, pots, signs, etc.), possibly in specific places

Remember, you have choice and input into this process; you don’t have to blindly follow every idea you get. On the other hand, also remember that the nature spirits know about the balance and harmony of nature a heck of a lot better than any human does, so learning from them is a tremendous opportunity. I strongly recommend going along with them whenever possible, even if you get irritated that they just shot down your terrific ideas. This is part of re-establishing the human-nature intelligence partnership. Let them have their part; this is the part that they know much better than we do!

Ask what should be done first, and see what comes up in awareness. What you had thought to do first may not be the most important thing to the nature spirits. For instance, they might be most interested in a general cleanup—physical, energetic, or both—rather than beds being dug. The order of unfoldment is just as important as the actions themselves for balance, because balance is a universal dynamic that exists in time as well as space.

I can’t emphasize strongly enough the shift of allowing the nature spirits to determine the structure and process of your sacred garden. Once you set the clear intention of what you want, nature’s job in a co-creative partnership is to let you the most balanced way to bring it about. It will have so much more power and sacred energy if you will follow nature’s directions. They know what will best fulfill your intentions. Learning to back off of being the one who controls all the details is a huge learning curve, but incredibly rewarding as you watch the magic unfold a step at a time.

Tomorrow’s post will go into closing the interaction and beginning your next steps.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@awakeability.com