Your gut instinct is your natural alarm system and something you should never discount! Over the years I have learned to trust my instinct always and it has kept me out of a lot of trouble. It has warned me away from trusting people and from getting myself into situations which at the time looked really good to me. It made me more cautious and if I opted not to listen to my instinct I was often shown just how stupid I was for discounting it.
I have learned over the years that people change and sadly they do not always change for the better. Somebody I would have been able to trust without a second thought years ago now may set my gut instinct to alert me of something being off. Usually that means I start watching a little closer and no longer take what I hear or see at face value.
Trust is important, but the truth is that there are very few people you can truly trust. I don’t have a trust issue. What I do have is an issue with having my trust abused and thrown back into my face. My gut instinct tells me that once trust is broken it can never go back completely to where it once has been. Sad fact, but it is true. Trust is earned!
Does that sound familiar? There used to be a time in my life during which I would trust almost blindly. I would take people at face value simply because I was brought up to never hide the truth. To be honest even if that meant I would be unpopular. I guess in my naivety I assumed that everyone else would be the same way. How wrong can one person be?
I was actually really shocked when my gut instinct finally started taking over and would shouting at me when I got around people I shouldn’t trust completely.
It didn’t always mean that they were bad people or even malicious in any way. Most of the time they were just careless or didn’t realize what damage they could inflict with their words and actions. I am guilty of that myself sometimes. I used to take the recommendations of those I trusted as well. “You can trust this person with your life Regina!” Yet my gut instinct told me different and I remained distant and watchful. Sometimes even to the point that I irritated those who thought so highly of the person I wasn’t fully at ease with.
Yet there it was, my gut instinct telling me to be on guard, and no matter how much I love you and trust you, I am not going to automatically trust someone else just because you do. I know that sounds a bit strange, but it is the truth. Sorry, if my gut instinct goes off there is a reason for it. Most of the time I don’t even know why or what about them or it makes me cautious, I just know it does. That is good enough for me. If I am wrong – great – that means in due time my instincts will switch and I will apologize if necessary. Sadly so 9 out of 10 times I end up being right.
See that is the sad part about it. My trust is no longer easily given which means it really hurts me when you do something that shows me that I led my guard down to someone who didn’t have my best interest at heart.
Oh I am not talking about words spoken in anger either. We all say things we later regret in anger. Every single one of us has said something at one point or the other they would love to take back. Sadly once it is out of your mouth, you can’t just hit delete and it is as if it never existed. It is there and it will live on in the other persons mind.
I guess that is where forgiveness must come in. That is again where gut instinct comes in too. Was it said in a moment of heated passion or was it done without? Was it meant to cause harm, or was it just a mistake? My gut instinct has caused me to forgive a lot of people a lot of things. It clearly told me that this was not a reason to think ill of them, to hold a grudge forever or to mistrust them now. In other cases it told me to step away and keep walking as fast as I could.
Being in my early 40′s now I have met thousands of people and I can say that only a couple of handful ever triggered the instant gut level instinct of: “Step away from this person now! Do not engage any further in any interactions with them! This person is dangerous to you or is going to seriously hurt you in some way. This person is out to destroy what you hold dear. This person is a relationship destroyer just out of fun!”
When that happened I didn’t even question it. If I didn’t even know this person and something made me feel this on first meeting them you can be pretty sure that something in the vibes they gave off had triggered that alarm. On that I am yet to be proven wrong.
I have a very close female friend whom I trusted for many years. I would talk to her about everything and never bothered to censor my words with her. She was a close a friend to me as a sister might have been. I would have trusted her with my life. A few months ago, out of the blue my gut instinct started rising up and I got the distinct warning that something had changed. I couldn’t put my finger on it and I had no outward reason of this instinct to have any cause. Each time I would start a conversation with her however my instinct started roaring at me to keep it casual. Don’t share anything important any more. Just be vague and start slowly distancing yourself from this person.
I still don’t know why but I listened. Funny part is that when I did listen it felt right. She wasn’t the same person I knew for so many years. Something in her had changed and I can’t tell you what it was. She said a few things to me which seemed odd. “Why bring this up now? Why bring something like that up at all?”
If I distrust you it isn’t out of jealousy, it isn’t out of meanness, it isn’t out of any of a million unexplainable emotions. It is because there is something which my instinct recognizes as untrust worthy.
Sometimes you may remind me of something in my former self. Something I worked hard to overcome. Or something I know I need to overcome and I realize that by interacting with you I won’t be able to.
Sometimes it may be because you are a heavy drinker and I have a deep dislike and distrust for people who worship the alcohol gods a bit too much. When you are drunk you don’t think and you can’t control what you do.
Sometimes maybe you have said something that brings up a lot of bad memories and are undoing years of work to make something a lot better. I don’t know what it is, I just know I am not 100% about you and what your agenda is.
Maybe the timing looks bad. I had that happen several times. Someone popping out of the past suddenly just as someone else whom I really distrusted popped up and they were a bit too connected. A sudden visit. A sudden mention of things that have no place in the here and now. Too many questions which weren’t in your business. Almost as if you were ferreting information out for someone else. I stopped being gullible a long time ago.
My gut instinct tells me that there are times when you can’t trust anyone, not even yourself. Oh yes, I will put myself in that because even my gut instinct warned me about myself before. “YOu are about to really fuck up and are about to do something which you know you shouldn’t just because you are scared or hurt. Don’t trust yourself to make the right decision right now!”
You know two wrongs never make a right! I don’t care how much you try to spin it. In the end you always have to live with your own choices, mistakes, flaws, actions etc. You can’t always point your finger at everyone else and blame them for everything that ever went wrong in your life. You had a hand it too you know.
I guess that is where my mistrust for even my own comes from at times. When I am in a situation I was in before and my gut instinct recognizes it, warns me about it and I still stay in that situation because of what exactly? Love, necessity, fear …? The reasons could be endless, or it could simply be that I hope things will be different this time.
When emotions are engaged you can’t trust yourself to think clearly. That is a fact we all should know. We can however always trust out gut instinct. As I said it is our natural alarm system.
Have you ever noticed that if you don’t agree with others, if you think your own thoughts, question the trust worthiness of someone that your friends, partners, parents, co-workers etc trust you are suddenly crazy?
I can’t trust someone who thinks I am crazy because they will treat me like I am crazy. They will take actions which you only take with someone whom you assume is not playing with a full deck.
I can’t trust someone whom I consider crazy either. How can you? Once that thought, those words, those assumptions come into play trust is over. Sorry it is a fact of life.
Taking it away from trust for a second, I would like to share with you an example in which my gut instinct truly saved my life before.
I used to work for an Escort service and that is many years ago. It was during a time when I was young and stupid. I worked for the escort service to support my little ones. To me them having food on the table, clothe on their backs and a roof over their head was more important to me than my pride. Did I enjoy it? No, but at that point I didn’t have much of a choice.
I remember having a horribly slow week and I had barely had any sessions. I needed money desperately that week to pay my rent, buy food and it was right before Christmas too. So I really wanted to have some gifts for my kids. We had an outcall coming in and the client had wanted a chubby girl. His words. There were 3 girls in our group that fit the description and I was one of them. My manager knew how much I needed the money that week and was offering it to me.
It was one of those multiple hour outcalls which would have put several hundred dollars into my pocket. Now think back about the situation I found myself in and the reason I was escorting to begin with. I should have jumped at the chance and milked it for all I could. Instead my gut instinct was screaming danger at me. My gut clenched, I felt like throwing up and became ill at ease. I wanted to cry because I felt as if I was letting my kids down by not taking the money, but I had learned to listen to those signs. Remember I knew nothing about the caller, not even his name, his voice etc.
I told the manager that I would decline and told her that I felt something was wrong here. I told her don’t send any of us please. Something just doesn’t feel safe here.
Can you guess the reaction? Yup you got it – laughter and you are fucking crazy. Well your loss.
One of the girls went and we ended up having to visit her at the intensive care unit a few days later when she was stable enough again to receive visitors. They guy was a psychopath. He had a hatred for big girls since his wife had left him for a lesbian lover who happened to be a bigger woman. Now he let it out on those who wouldn’t matter so much … escorts, prostitutes etc.
Since he paid with cash we didn’t even get his real name. He had registered in at a sleazy motel which didn’t even ask for an ID and guess what nobody even asked further questions. He beat her within an inch of her life. He did things to her that I don’t even want to recount on here.
If I wouldn’t have listened to my gut instinct this would have been me.
That is only one of the times that my gut instinct held true, but I think it is one of the best illustrations why I will always trust my gut instinct before anyone else including myself.
I know this statement is mildly confusing since my gut instinct is part of me right? It is and it isn’t. It is the higher sense of me, it is the thing that is fully connected into the universal store room of knowledge. It is the part of me I can not control or monitor but which monitors me.
I hope that you will take this little post to heart and if you have not listened to your gut instinct up to know, you may want to consider starting to.
I am as always
Your friendly neighborhood witch.
Shalamar aka Regina S.
My post today focuses on music as a wonderful aid in spiritual healing. Our spirit is the driving force of our being; it is the powerful motor which keeps us evolving, growing, moving forward and achieving our goals. When we are in high stress situations regardless if that is worrying about our financial security as so many do these days, undergoing relationships problems or are at a personal crossroad our spirit becomes ill at ease after a while. Essentially we just dropped a big load of dirt into our engine.
As a Pagan we understand that it is important to keep our spirit glowing brightly and many of us use chakra cleansing techniques in order to rid ourselves of the mud which slows our energy centers down. Our energy centers are not our spirit which is something which is often misunderstood by many, but it is truly the high power of our being. When it becomes strained it will literally cause our body to grow sick, make our energy centers murky and often times throws us into depression and despair. We are out of alignment with the natural state of being we were meant to be.
As a Pagan Witch I have been experimenting with several different options for spiritual healing in order to find the one that would work best for me. The most recommended method by many pagan writers out there is meditation or having a spirit cleansing performed by a skilled spiritual healer. There is not question about this being a wonderful choice for most of us, but sometimes time restraints will not allow you to go into a full mediation mode or in a series of cleansing meditation sessions as needed. I often work 12 or more hours a day and finding some time to myself is often a big challenge in my life. For that reason I needed to find something which could be done during my work and would still help take affect.
I found this in the form of music. Since writing is a large part of my work day purely acoustic music and sounds work best for me. The voice of a singer can often become too distracting for my mind and I find myself making too many mistakes only adding to my already stressed out frame of mind. Finding the right sort of music which speaks to my spirit is important as well. I need something which is both soothing as well as uplifting. I found this often in the sounds of “singing bowls”, “sounds of rain mixed with soothing melodies”, and meditation based background music. You can find all of these readily available via any music store or you can find them on pagan websites.
The vibrations of the music relax and sooth me and in many ways put me into a half trans state. I am still able to fully function in a work capacity, but my spirit is otherwise engaged. Think of it as giving your spirit a short vacation in a wonderful place without care and sorrow. As my spirit finds the much needed rest from being connected to my frantic mind (the part of me which constantly worries about every day problems) its healing can begin. Just as you put a sick person on bed rest in order to allow it to use all its strength to heal, so does the spirit need this bit of rest in order to reform itself to its healthy state.
When this doesn’t help me I know I need to reach in and actually channel the sickness out of me. Again I do this often in the form of music. Today was such a day for me in which my spirit was heavy and I could feel depression coming on strong something I try to avoid at all cost! I already done everything possible for me to negate this further decline of my spiritual wellbeing and nothing had helped. I finally just got up and did two things which you may find slightly amusing. The first thing I did was go to wash dishes. As I washed the crime of the used plates, bowls and cups I imagined my spirit being in my hands and I was washing the illness in the form of the dirty off its surface. I marveled as I paid particular attention to the running water as it rinsed the soap, dirt and film away, leaving me with a sparkling clean surface again.
Next I went into my bedroom where I keep my keyboard and set myself on my bed, pulling my music instrument to me and turned the voice of the violin option on. I seem to respond well to string instruments. Next I simply set my hands on the keyboard and let my spirit guide my hands as it “sang” out its remaining woes and cares. At first the music was heavy, melancholic and depressing. As I continued on so I could hear the music changing to sound like hope which is a good sign. My spirit was unburdening itself and giving its cares over to the universe. As a pagan witch I am very connected to the universe around me which makes it only natural for my spirit to sing out, reach out and reconnect with the vibrations of the universe as well. After about 20 minutes of playing my music had completely changed and now sounded bubbly, happy, relaxed and filled with hopeful joy and anticipation. A direct reflection to the spiritual healing which had taken place inside of me!
Where as before I was unable to work at all, dragging and dreading every single key I struck on my laptop now I was ready and once more eager to embrace the challenge of earning my income in the way I was lead to do. As you can see my spirit and my function were back in alignment and I could return to being my filled self.
I have added a couple of my own favorite choices beneath here in the hopes that those may help you out as well. They are all available on Amazon.com at a very reasonable price as you can see. If you do with to purchase them and try them out for yourself, may I ask that you buy them through this link? Of course you are not obligated to do so I would simply be very grateful if you did.
Feel free to hum along with them – I always do and feel much better quicker for it. Don’t worry nobody will listen who doesn’t matter and those who matter would rather have you spiritually whole and hale to care.
As always I thank you for stopping by and reading. My wish for you today is relaxation, spiritual healing and being one with the universe around you.
Your friendly neighborhood witch!
Welcome to the rat race called life my dearest readers and it is exactly that rat race which is killing us all in the end. More people than ever are suffering from some sort of stress related illness, mental issues or weight problems. It is almost as if we have started to fear that someone else is going to get to our destination a second before we do and that this somehow means that there won’t be anything left for us.
Reality is that by rushing around constantly we often make mistakes which end up costing us more in the end than the person, thing or location we found so important to chase after was worth it. We hurry for nothing, driving ourself insane with fear which ends up eating us up from the inside. In the end nobody is going to get to your journeys destination before you simply because you are the only one on that particular journey. Slow down darlings, take a deep breath from time to time and enjoy the journey along the way.
One of the most difficult things for many of us to learn is being patient. Put your hand up if you are one of the thousands of people who struggle with having to wait on anything or simply being patient in general. Go ahead you can admit it, you are in very good company.
Being impatient used to be one of my biggest downfalls. I hated waiting for anything and trying to accomplish a goal was felt like lugging a ton of water uphill. If it wasn’t an instant success, I wanted to give up. If I couldn’t figure something new out, I set it down and walked away. If I couldn’t have it right then and there, I convinced myself that I didn’t need it, just so I wasn’t forced to wait on it. I was a hot mess! If you are the same way you will realize just how many things you screwed yourself out of because you were unable to wait, keep trying and universe forbid may even have to put a little extra effort into it.
I still have moments when I am not the most patient person on the face of this earth, but I have gotten a lot better over the years. Ironically it was my new found ability to be patient which has brought me most of my opportunities and has saved me plenty of times from making some very costly mistakes.
My beginning of training myself to be patient was by (don’t laugh) sewing outfits by hand. Yes, I am literally talking about creating an entire dress stitch by stitch without a sewing machine or serger. Since I or one of my children had to wear the outfit I couldn’t be slobby about it and each stitch had to be neat, small and precise. Talking about a lot of work and a great way of practicing to be patient. Oh I know, you are wondering what would stop me from just setting it down and stopping right? Well there was a little trick to that – I either needed this outfit for a special occasion and wanted it to be particularly fancy (which means buying it would have been way out of my budget range) or it was a present for one of my kids (so I had to get it done).
Later on as I learned to have a little bit of patience I started setting myself goals with rewards if I met them and loss if I failed. For example I would have to write 20000 words on my new book in two days. If I achieved it I was allowed to have some of my favorite Ice-Cream and if I failed I couldn’t have any chocolate for a whole week. (I am a chocolate Monsters folks – that is hard core punishment here!)
The next step was learning to recognize when I had to jump on an opportunity because it would be gone otherwise and when I would have to force myself to wait a while to see if something better would come along or I would receive a sign that this would bring me trouble in the future. For example a Concert Ticket to one of my favorite bands which can sell out very quickly is something I might want to do fairly quickly as long as I have the available extra cash. Signing up to a new course, signing any type of contract or making a large purchase is something I am going to wait on a little bit, meditate over and ask questions about first.
I am a natural bargain hunter as well. I have long since understood that everything is always marked up by about 200 to 300% from the price that they have originally paid. Striking bargains, looking for bargains, negotiating for a better price etc all takes patience. It is definately worth it so when you walk away with an item at 40% off instead of full price. At that point the seller still makes a profit and I received a savings which reflects the price a lot more realistically. Of course you do have to be willing to walk away at times too which brings me to letting go.
Letting go is not just walking away from something you want because you can’t get a good price on it, but it is letting go of negative, painful, harmful etc things in general. That includes people, memories, emotions etc too.
Anger is another of those really big energy drainers. Now I know that in some people anger catapults them to greater accomplishments, but when they are done they crash just like the rest of us. Anger is not positive for anyone in the long run. It adds into your stress levels and can cause some major emotional, physical and mental problems in the end. Not to mention the loss you can cause yourself in relationships. No mentally healthy human being can stand being around someone with major anger issues for long. Sooner or later the emotionally healthy partner will need to walk away.
Letting go of feelings of guilt, sad memories, blame, jealousy, fear etc all are necessary in order to move forward and in many ways to distress your life a little bit at the same time.
Once something is done and over with you can do very little to undo the situation. Driving yourself crazy over mistakes you have made is not going to do you any good. I am not saying just shrug them off right away either. I am saying look at what you have done wrong, learn from the mistake, make amends if possible, don’t do it again and then let it go.
Let the dead go please! This may sound funny to some of you, but you have no idea how many people out there are hanging on to their dead loved ones to the point that they make it unable for those who should have been able to pass on in peace to move forward and / or for the living to move forward in a healthy way. I am not saying completely forget about them. In many cases that would be impossible to do. I am saying don’t put them in front of the living if you are fortunate enough to have someone by your side. You may not think that you are causing pain and harm to someone who loves you if you put the dead beloved as a constant example or showing her/him as the only one you could ever love, but that is exactly what you are doing. You are cursing the one you are with now to a lifetime of misery and waiting. Either they will love you enough to try to stick it out or eventually they are going to walk away for their own sake.
A wonderful way of practicing both – becoming patient and letting go of negative or useless things – is by meditating. As you slowly concentrate on nothing but your breathing, empty your mind of the endless noise and feel yourself slowly drift into a state of “being filled with emptiness” you will learn the meaning of timelessness and ease of spirit. This is such a wonderful feeling that you may just find you wish to seek it out more and more. BAggage can’t come on this trip, you have to leave all those things at the door, teaching you already just how beneficial it is to let go. Being able to meditate takes a little bit of practice since our ego constantly wants to speak up. You will learn to have to silence it and that too will become a great exercise in being patient. Not just with others, but in this case with yourself.
If you are still wondering what the benefits of learning both becoming patient and letting go of negative and useless things close your eyes for a second and imagine yourself as a much lighter, less stressed out, happier and better adjusted person. Those are the benefits!
Don’t forget to take a few moments today to sit back and enjoy the beauty of a cloud, a flower, a snowflake, a pebble, or any other little thing you find in nature every day and are usually too busy to notice. Balanced blessings everyone!
I am as always
Your friendly neighborhood Witch!
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My mind is focused on love today. The love we hold for ourselves, the love we hold for those special in our live like our partners and children, the love we have for our friends, and of course the love we hold for our higher source.
Scientists and skeptical thinkers would tell us that love is nothing more than a chemical reactions in our brain. That is of course true if you want to just look at the physical and scientific aspect of love. When you go away from the icebox for a second so and view love as the power behind many things, the driving force for many of our behaviors, you will see a completely different picture emerging.
Love is one of the most powerful emotions which can be ultimately healing, energizing, driving, as well as destructive, humiliating, and scary.
Love can make us do some of the stupidities things imaginable and at the same time can help us overcome many obstacles we would otherwise fail to conquer.
Everyone has a different concept of what love means to them. I would like to share MY concept of love and what it means to me.
Love in a relationship!
Love is not blind but it is willing to accept and overlook a lot of the minor problems that come with being with another human being. None of us are perfect and we all have character trades that can be very annoying at times. If you love someone you are willing to overlook or learn to deal with them.
Love doesn’t try to change their partner, but rather work on making changes within ourselves to be able to better adept to the situations at hand.
Being in a relationship with someone you love takes a lot of effort to make it work out well, the difference so is that if you truly love that person it won’t feel like effort at all. For example I get up every morning my husband has to go to work and make his coffee, breakfast and lunch for work. Often I only have 3 hours of sleep at that time and the last thing I want to do is get up. I do it because I love him and because it is a little action that says :”I love you and I want you to be happy.” Is that putting effort forth? Yes of course it is. Do I feel it like effort? No! It is just something I do because I love him. Anytime you go out of your way to do something for someone else it is an effort no matter how you spin it. If it was for someone else you would feel it as such. Since you love that person so it becomes effortless, meaning you don’t feel the effort you are putting into it.
Love is patient and forgiving. I am by nature a very impatient person, but I have a lot of patience when it comes to my husband simply because to me he is worth it. Mistakes, things that are said which should never have been said, foolish actions etc are easier forgiven when you are in love with someone.
If you are truly in love with someone it doesn’t stop. You don’t fall out of love. You fall out of liking, out of lust, but you don’t fall out of love. Love is a very deep emotion and it isn’t based on the fireworks. Those are great if they are there I am sure, but love goes a lot deeper and even when those fireworks have died down love is just as strong. Most of the time even stronger, since you have already grown to accept, embrace and love your partner – wards and all.
Love is one of the scariest emotions you can ever feel since you are 100% vulnerable to this person. There is no other adult person in my life (I am not counting my kids) who could completely destroy me emotionally and mentally if he would choose to do so as my husband can. Losing him would feel like losing a part of myself. We are two separate people, but within myself he is part of my soul.
Love matures over time. Love shifts and grows through a lot of different stages. Over time you will grow to love someone on a different level then you have ever felt possible. I call that being lost in love. It comes to the point that even the thought of no longer being with the person you love hurts so much it rips your heart out, but ironically also accepting that if that is what would make the other person happier to be without you, you would accept the pain and let them go.
Love isn’t demanding and it isn’t dependent on what you get either. I make less demands on my husband than I make on anyone else including myself in my life. I strive to make his life as easy and smooth as possible when I can. That doesn’t mean I do not pay attention to my own needs, but it means that I always keep his in mind with every decision I make.
Love is the most destructive force in the universe if it is one sided. There is nothing worst than loving someone who doesn’t love you in return. Sadly that can happen to any of us.
You can’t force someone to love you and if you truly love that person you wouldn’t want to do that anyways. That is why I get so angry at people who use the word love as a weapon. “If you would love me you would do this for me.” “Prove to me you love me by behaving this way.” Those sentences have no place in a love relationship. If I have to guilt trip you into loving me, than you are not the right person for me. If you feel I have to change for you in order to be worthy of your love or have to agree with everything you say and do, then to me that isn’t love either.
My husband is a very difficult person to be around sometimes since he is a strong type A personality and very set in his ways. There has only been 3 areas in our 12 Year relationship so far where I ended up really stepping up strongly and said, “Ok I can’t deal with that anymore.” Ironically it ended up that one small change, one small concession on his part enabled me to make the necessary changes in me to be able to handle it after. The only change that was necessary was to reduce the time he was spending on it down. I am a difficult person as well and I am aware of it. I am stubborn and very opinionated. Not an easy thing to deal with for him, but yet he makes concessions for me as well.
Love enables us to accept our differences. We don’t always have to like them, but we can still love the person. Matter of fact sometimes we love them even more because of the difference from us.
Love takes pride in their partners achievements. I often find that I take more pride in my husbands successes and achievements than even my own. I have never been someone who just watches, but I love watching him soar to greater heights in his hobbies and talents.
Love enables us to stand back sometimes and let our partner take the spotlight instead. To just be the wind beneath their wings so to speak.
Love shares – everything!
Love between a parent and a child!
I am a mother of multiple grown up children. In my case love is watchful, patient, protective, and understanding.
There is very little I wouldn’t be willing to do for my children. In many ways I have done things to assure my children’s welfare as they grew up that I would never have done for myself.
I am proud of them, but I am not blind to their short comings either.
Loving my children means that I will speak up if I see them running head first into a problem. Since I am older and have had a lot of the experiences they are just now coming to I can see the warning signs that they will miss. Even now as the mother of grown ups, it is my “job” to watch over them. However it has now one big difference, I won’t try to run their life. I can warn them, but then I have to accept that they have to make their own choices and yes mistakes as well.
Loving my children means that at times you have to sit back. That is especially true while they are still small. They didn’t ask to be brought into this world, they are here as a result of an action we took. We as parents are responsible for them and if we love them that is not all that difficult to handle.
My children are the only other people to whom I am vulnerable to. They are the only other human beings on the planet who can utterly destroy me.
The love of friendship!
This is a minor form of love and yes can be lost at times. Here is simply means to me that I care for them very deeply and enough that it borders on love with me. It is that one little step that goes beyond strongly liking someone.
It shows itself in accepting them just as they are. It shows itself in being there for them when they need me. It shows itself in being willing to listen to them when they have problems and if necessary help whenever I can without having to be asked. It allows me to forgive them to a certain point depending on what it is that was done.
Unlike the love I hold for my husband or children so, I do remain within in own standards and the compromises I am willing to make to accommodate them are not as far ranging.
I wish nothing but the best for my friends and I am willing to take their needs into account before my own at times.
The love of a family!
I am a strange duck maybe because I don’t belief that just because I was born into a family I am obligated to love them. I either do or I don’t. I have a couple of dear friends whom I consider more of a family than I would a lot of people in my own family.
To me so loving my family means I am there for them. I will never put them before my husband or my children at any time. I do not allow them to hurt either of them. For me the love of family shows itself more in the respect I give to the individuals of the family and how far I am willing to go for each individual person to assure that they are ok. My belated foster father and my belated father in law where two people whom I loved very deeply. There was very little I wouldn’t do for them.
In none of the forms of love am I ever blind. I see their short comings as easily as I see my own. I am one of those personalities that is the hardest critic on herself. I know and understand that as human beings we are fallible. We make mistakes daily. We are not perfect and we don’t know everything either.
When it comes to loving someone I am willing to bend for them. Depending on who they are and what my level of love for them is dictates to me just how much changing and bending I am willing to do.
Yet here is the last one of the forms of love which many of us over look and that form of love is what ultimately will put the boundary on what I will accept. You see I can be completely and deeply in love with you, but if that boundary is consistently overstepped or in two cases even broken just once I will walk away and deal with the pain I have to experience instead.
That last form of love is the love for self.
I have spoken of loving yourself as a prerequisite to being able to love others on my blog “Gentle thoughts of love” in detail. Just click the blog title link to be taken to it. I do want to add a few more things to it here so.
Loving yourself means loving your higher source as well. You are part of that higher source and not separated from it as so many people want to belief. It isn’t something from the outside, but an integrated part of you. By honoring yourself and staying true to yourself you are honoring and loving your higher source as well.
I know you are wondering if that is not a contradiction to all I said above since I am talking about bending and being willing to change myself in order to smooth the path for my love relationship with my husband. It isn’t because the changes I make within myself are not breaking my core values or my core spirit. He is the catalyst for me to grow and evolve into a better form of myself.
This really in many ways brings us into the meaning of life and what we are here on this earth to do. I never had to question this in my entire life since it is integrated into my spirit already. It is part of the universal and ancient knowledge that I was born with. My purpose, your purpose in life is to live! Sounds so simple doesn’t it, but is one of the hardest things to do for most people. This will be my next post, so keep an eye out for it if you are interested.
How important is love to all of us? It is the one thing we all are searching for, we all desire and we all need. For me as a Witch love is the highest power and deepest blessing. It allows me to embrace my path even stronger and it gives me the added will to perform my spells and work my healings. Love is strong and in the end Love is what we are all about.
For now thank you for reading as always. If you enjoyed my thoughts please pass them along via your social network. I wish you a wonderful sunday and a blessed day.
I am as always
Your friendly neighborhood witch.
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Hello my dears, I hope today was a wonderful and happy day for all of you out there. Mine was a bit of a mixture really, between the traffic here in Las Vegas being murder and a few emotional ups and downs which really spurned me on to write todays post.
If you are involved in any way in the magical workings and path it is so important that you stay grounded in all aspects. Not only after a spell casting, reading or channeling but even during regular times. As a “magical person” we leave our minds wide open to the influences of the universe or our higher source. Regardless of what you call it personally, the result is the same, sometimes we attract things which are not of a positive nature.
We can easily be pulled into directions we do not wish to go if we are not able to remain grounded. It actually really means just that too in that aspect. To remain with both feet firmly on the ground, meaning not to given to flights of fancy.
Of course the grounding after you have participated in a casting, a channeling etc. is the bringing of your spirit back fully and to completely reconnect it with your earth body. We do this easily by partaking in substance – food and drink. For me personally a piece of break and a drink of flavored water does the trick if I have nothing else available.
Basically we remind ourselves of our body if that is how you want to put it the easiest to understand. We perform a physical activity that draws attention to it by our mind. This to me is considered the grounding of the spirit back to its human form on this path.
After a healing too it is important to one channel the “sick” or “negative” energy we have drawn from those we have aided into us and now allow it to flow unhindered back into the earth. I do this by placing both of my bare feet solidly on the ground (uncrossed) and visualize a bright white light sweeping from the crown of my head through every part of my body “washing” the negative energy out through the soles of my feet and into the ground. Think of it as a positive energy shower! Doing any type of magical activity or spiritual activity does take a lot out of you. You may not at first feel it like that since you are also excited about it, but the crash would come quickly enough, leaving you sluggish and exhausted. We are responsible for our bodies and so it is important that we assure its nourishment after. Restoring the energy which we have expanded during our activity.
As I said it isn’t only after a magical working that it is important that we remain mentally grounded. Being a witch or pagan of any type doesn’t mean you are gullible or easy to be influenced. It doesn’t mean you do not question everything that happens and are not skeptical of claims others make. I would say that in at least 70% of us the opposite is true. We do question! We do not hide behind faith or follow blindly. We do ask the hard to answer questions not just of others but ourselves constantly. At least I know that I do.
In this case I mean staying realistic, skeptical, but open minded. Yes you can and should be both as a Witch or Pagan of any type. You should be willing to investigate possibilities and not simply dismiss them out of hand because they sound strange or uncomfortable to you. On the other hand you don’t need to swallow everything in whole you are being shown or told either. Just as with every other lifepath, we have our authorities, our teachers, our mentors and yes sadly our charlatans as well.
I wish all of you a wonderful day today filled with blessings, love, health and success. Remember that each day is a gift we are given, make the best out of it always!
Your friendly neighborhood Witch
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As a Witch I am used to seeing signs and omens when the universe give me the little way signs that let me know that something is coming my way or that I have overlooked something important and need to pay closer attention. I learned to “see” and “hear” with all my senses not just my eyes and ears. That however doesn’t mean that everything that happens is a Omen or Sign. It is crazy how some people get so caught up in this way of thinking that they literally live their life in fear or unrealistic expectations of things to come. Ironically that is not just the Pagans among us either, plenty of everyday Christians are the same way. They simply think it is “God” talking to them.
Let me give you a blunt example (I am best at those).
The other day I stood in my kitchen cooking and cleaning. All of a sudden things just started dropping out of my hands and I couldn’t seem to hold on to anything without it slipping. I even broke a plate in the process.
Now if I would have been a person who thinks that everything is a “sign from God, the Goddess, the Universe *enter your own in here*” I would have made the assumption that this meant something important. I would have probably driven myself nuts for the next couple of hours trying to figure out what the meaning of it all was. Consulted my Tarot Cards, called a fellow pagan for their thoughts on it etc. I probably would have spend endless hours being worried that something bad was going to happen or that since my husband was out of the house and my kids deployed one of them was hurt or about to get hurt. See how the mind can play tricks on you?
Instead the reality is that I am a bit clumpsy from time to time and add to it that I had just put lotion on my hands and it probably left a little grease on them still. With other words my hands were slippery and I had a clutz moment. Once I washed them again, dried them off and applied a smaller amount of lotion making sure that I rubbed it in real good, the slip sliding stopped.
One of the most important things you need to learn as a person living in a magical world and especially those of us who have the gift of second sight, foresight or are energy sensitive to begin with is to distinguish between “seeing” a sign and receiving a message from our source, and things just happening without any meaning to them.
Yes I said it. Sometimes things just happen. There is no spectacular reason for it. It is just one of those things that means absolutely nothing other than the effect it has.
My gifts are a mixture of different little and bigger things. I have the second sight (lightly) and I am a medium for those who wish to contact me from the other side. I do not initiate those contacts and I refuse to, but I am open for their communication with me when they want my help. I am gifted or cursed (sometimes I truly wonder about that) with precognitive dreaming. I am a strong empath (trust me that is a curse to have when you are in a hospital or near a lot of people who are angry or negative) as well as being mildly (thankfully) clairaudient.
Can you imagine growing up with that mixture of psychic abilities and not having a clue what this is all about? Talking about terrifying. It leaves you wide open to a bunch of really negative backlashes and I can’t tell you how many people think you are nuts, because they don’t have the same talents you do. Remember that it is really hard for people to accept things they themselves are not experiencing, can see or belief in.
Having those talents actually made me more skeptical than most people. For one I hate the popular TV show “Ghost Hunters” because the poorly staged amusement of the TV program gives those who truly have that talent a very bad name. I hate anything that makes a media circus out of something that is pretty serious and not to be made into a spectacle for the constant “naysayers” out there. Instead of proving it is real, it only serves to give ammunition to those who are already doubting. It is sick! Bad camera angles, blurred visions and the constant: “Did you see that? Did you see that” coupled with really bad over acting, makes this show a joke. I don’t know if the people actually have the gift they claim to have or not, but the show is so fake it is paramount to the Blair Witch Project.
The facts are that most of us have a talent in the paranormal aspects without even knowing. In some cases it is latent or has been repressed, because of the fear to be seen as different or insane by those around them. In some cases their religious upbringing would stop them from ever opening their minds up enough to be able to develop those gifts. Anytime you see something as evil or negative your mind will automatically close the door to it period. Sometimes it can be extremely scary and in other cases it can safe your life.
Wow wait a second Regina, that can’t be true. What about Serial Killers and Mass Murderers, they sure don’t seem to have a problem with dealing with evil things. Not true. They don’t see it as evil or wrong, or are hardwired to enjoy the act of causing pain so again to them it is a positive activity. See what I mean? It is usually by the point that they realize that what they are doing is bad that they start making mistakes or start setting up clues to be caught. There is a real big difference between the clues they leave for the police to find when it is still a game to them, and those they leave behind when they want to get caught. Survival instinct is not going to allow them to just turn themselves in in most cases. They know that the penalty for their action will be steep.
Over the years I have learned that when a true message comes through my body has a very specific reaction to it. The reactions are always the same as long as I am in a true waking stage. I grow hot and cold in rapid succession as if I am having the onset of a flu. My skin starts visibly prickling up and I get light headed for just a few seconds. My heart beat speeds up to the point that I think I am going to pass out just to suddenly (literally within moments) to grow completely calm and almost slow as if I am in deep sleep. I become completely still as if I am in the deepest stage of meditation while being fully awake and alert. All that happens within less than a couple of minutes and than I receive the message or sign given to me. I can’t even begin to tell you how much that use to terrify me before I connected the dots. Now I just breathe through it and let it happen. I also learned to take them very serious when they do happen. They have saved my ass several times.
Precognitive Dreams for me are different than regular dreams as well. I do a lot of lucid dreaming when I need the answer to a question, but even those are different. A precognitive dream for me comes in threes, meaning it is the exact same dream in the exact same order three times on different nights. It is always in full color, scent and feeling. Where other dreams for me feel as if I am dreaming, those dreams are me living it. Literally to the point that I have bruises at times if I hit myself on a table in the dream or something. Where I initialize lucid dreaming I am able to remember them for a short time only after I wake up. Precognitive dreams just come and I can remember them for weeks and months in detail. They essentially become a memory of something that hasn’t happened yet. Regular every day dreams I don’t remember at all. I know I have dreamed maybe, but I couldn’t tell you what about. No I didn’t see the end of the world, the next big natural disaster and neither do I get them constantly. Normally they are more centered around people in my direct area, someone I am close to, someone I know or someone I am about to meet. Sadly most of the time they are bad and warnings of things to come. As in death, illnesses or accidents. Very unpleasant!
Second sight with me is a clear thing as well. It isn’t like seeing a person as much as an energy print of the spirit which has passed on. If I actually “see” the person as in its form it is because it is someone who is attached to either my home or someone I really love. If it is somewhere else it is just an imprint or a quick picture. Normally when it happens it gets really cold around me, I smell the perfume, a scent of something they loved or get an energy impression of someone touching me. I can both “hear” them and “see” their imprints if they chose to show themselves to me. Gratefully I only had one really bad experience with a spirit whom had passed on and ironically it was the belated “wife” of my husband who simply would not let go of him. She wanted me out of his life, not willing to be replaced by anyone else in his heart. To him of course she was the most important thing in his life and the only woman he ever truly loved. Her attachment to him affected him strongly without him even knowing it and it almost broke our marriage completely apart. At her last visitation with me she actually attacked me making it feel as if I was suffering from a heart attack. Thankfully I was able to “repel” her after a while, but this was too close for comfort for me. Those sort of things are not the norm for me. Boy am I happy about that. Most of the spiritual encounters I have are benevolent in nature and in some cases they just want to be recognized.
As was the case of two little girls who for a while “ran” through the house we live in. They never did anything bad or even tried to do more than just keep me and my daughter company I think. They had attached themselves more to my teenage daughter than me, because once they she moved out so did the two little girls. I have no idea what happened to them and I never bothered researching it either. This was one of the rare cases in which both my daughter and I both were aware of them, would hear them, and feel them, but could not see or talk to them. We just knew they were here and wanted us to know they were.
Or the warning that I received many years ago from a spirit (or guardian) when I was about to rent an apartment. I felt the presence and than saw a blood stain on the floor of the bedroom. I thought I was shown something that had happened there back than, but I also heard the word “NO” when the Lady showing me the apartment asked me if I wanted to lease the Apartment. I listened to the spectral advise and rejected the offer. 5 months later I heard that the new tenant in that apartment was stabbed in her bedroom. Remember that spirits don’t always just “know” the past but can foreshadow too.
You see what I mean by being able to tell the difference between an actual omen, sign or message and just the everyday things that happen? One has nothing at all attached to it, while the other comes with an “announcement” so to speak.
If you happen to be someone who has had those types of experiences yourself, but can’t talk to anyone about them, let me invite you to call me on my life coach counseling line. It can be pretty scary and in some cases just being able to talk to someone about it who knows what you are experiencing can help.
No I am not going to try to sell you an exorcism kit, tell you to repent and pray to God, that you are nuts or that you are going to hell. I am not going to cast a spell for you to send them away. It is a gift you have and not something that you should cut out of you. What you do need to learn instead is to recognize it when it happens and if necessary how to protect yourself mentally and psychically in order to come out ok on the other side.
Trust me even when the strange and sometimes scary things happen, they come with a special gift for you. After the last attack that really unnerved me, she finally gave up and said good bye to him. It was the saddest thing to see her sitting (or her energy imprint) by his feet and with tears in her eyes. Realizing that she was actually hurting him and was no longer able to help him. As she “faded” away there was a sense of relieve and our marriage finally had a chance to grow. Sadly of course by that point a lot of a bad blood had already build up and what I knew to have happened he would never accept. He is a skeptic and doesn’t belief in anything he himself doesn’t experience. Ironically he is gifted himself but has buried it deep inside. Instead of me having had the option to share what I saw and knew with him, I had to react to things and trust me those reactions weren’t always good. Of course she did her part by coloring his perception as well. Some of the things he remembers that were said and done, are not true memories. Nothing can be done about that either, but to forget about it and move forward now.
If you have those sort of gifts or talents and live with or are surrounded by people who do not belief or see it as evil (which it is not) you need to be strong onto yourself. You need to learn how to cleanse yourself after and channel the energies that you are encountering into the ground and out of yourself. Never retain energies which are not healthy inside your body or you will grow ill. That however is a subject for another post.
Be assured that you can live a perfectly “normal” life with those gifts and in some cases an even better life since you have the ability to be sensitive to things around you. Those things aren’t going to be make you rich unless of course you want to hire yourself out (I refuse to but that is my personal choice and not something that is black and white), they can however make a huge impact in recognizing opportunities and dangers which you can stay clear off.
For now I will say good bye to you and wish you a healthy and happy day.
I am as always
Your friendly neighborhood Witch
There is so much power, magic and the ability to change your world in the use of words that is simply boggles the mind once you really understand their potential of creation and destruction.
As a writer I am aware of the impact the written word has on those who read it. With the written word I can sway emotions, make you focus or refocus your mind on the places I gently guide you to. With the written word I can empower you or destroy your peace of mind. I can invite you to go on grand adventures with me without ever taken a step from the place you are seated. I can install horror and fear, or lighten your heart.
As a Witch I know the powerful magic words hold. Spoken, written or silent they can form a reality or reform a reality. I can weave a magical spell with thoughts or silent words. I know I can draw certain situations, things, or even people to me with the use of words, just as I can repel them. I can help to heal emotional pain and ease fears or worries with words. I am aware that the use of words should never be done without thought.
Words are ultimately powerful and hold all the magic in the universe within them.
With words, both spoken and written, I paint a world for you just as surely as I could with colors and shapes. I can invite you into this world and beckon to you to become part of it. I can make you comfortable in it and give you a haven within the sanctuary of this world.
Words, regardless if spoken, written or thought, bring things into reality. They bring it forth, create it, and give it shape. They are the gateways, the keys, the doors to our subconscious.
How often have words given you comfort if spoken with intent and how many times have words of anger cut you as deep as the sharpest knife? I know we all have felt the power of words, but very few of us seem to take them serious enough to give thought to it.
I would like to invite you today to start changing your world for the better one little word at a time. It will take some practice, because as you use these words your mind and your attitude must shift with them as well. That is the other thing, words should never be empty. Sadly usually for those who do not recognize the magic and power of words that is what they are. Empty. It is your honor and privilege to use them as they were meant to be. To fill them up, to give them their meaning back and make your world a lot better.
How do you change your world for the better with the simple use of words?
- Speak softly and gently. Use words of empowerment and love, instead of destruction and hate. Use words of positive instead of negative. Focus your words to bring healthy relationships of all types to you.
- Journal daily. No matter if it is on an online blog which you feel comfortable to share with others, or a paper journal you keep locked up for your eyes only. Everyday write into it and paint your dream of the future one little step at a time. Record every success you have gained in order to give your focus to it. Remember that which we give our strongest focus to, is what we gain more of.
- Stop using words you don’t really mean! If you don’t really love someone don’t say it. If you like them, but don’t love them, it is a lot better to say: “I deeply care about you and like you a lot!” Instead of speaking a lie. Do not throw the word “hate” around. When you use this word you are wishing ill and often death on something or someone. This is a word of destruction which is overused and often misnamed.
- Pay attention to how you think! Remember that thoughts are silent words as well. Don’t utter a curse in your mind if you don’t really mean to cast it. Most things do not deserve to be destroyed on this earth. Just because you may not agree with it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a place in our world for someone else.
Once you start thinking, speaking and writing with a deeper level of care, understanding and with a positive outcome in mind, you will see things changing around you in due time.
- People will be become aware of the changes in you. They will feel the positive and joy inside of you and feel drawn to it. Now that of course also means that people who are drawn to drama and negativity will feel repelled by you and t hat is exactly what you want. The less negativity you have in your life, the better it is for you and those you love.
- You will notice little things around you which are wonderful, positive and empowering which you overlooked in your state of blindness before. When your words and mind was one of sadness, negativity and doubt, that is all you see. Once it shifts to light, joy, happiness and more, your sight opens up to those things as well. That doesn’t mean you won’t see bad things or experience negative situations, but remember that we need both in our life so we can appreciate the good we have.
- Opportunities which you never thought possible will come your way since you have created them with your mind and words. Yes, you have finally told the universe: “Ok I am ready to claim what is mine now!” It has always been yours to begin with, you have simply misplaced it. When you feel negative towards something you can’t claim it as yours. I will talk about that more in a later post.
- You will see your life become less cluttered with outdated relationships, things and thoughts. That can be really hard at first since we are creature of habit. How many of us are holding on to toxic friendships and relationships because of fear to give up something we are familiar with even if it causes pain and sometimes even hard to us? As you paint your world in a brighter light, those relationships, objects and thought patterns no longer will be necessary and will be replaced with those that are beneficial to you instead. Isn’t that worth the few growing pains?
As you can see it won’t go overnight, nothing ever does. If you are a “I have to have it now!” type of personality you may feel tempted to give up if it takes a little while to adjust, but I suggest that this is the first thing you write out of your life. Nothing worth having ever comes super easy and without effort of sorts. The effort can in due time become easy and effortless so. That is the irony of life for most. We expect certain things to have to be a certain way. Effort doesn’t always mean having to struggle to achieve it. Growing isn’t always painful. Letting go isn’t always hard. It takes practice but in due time you will become one with yourself and the spirit residing inside of you and guiding you.
My wish for you this day is that you may find your calm center, that you become more open to the possibilities and opportunities the universe has in store for you every single day. That you will paint your world with only positive words and fill it up with love, health and success. That you enjoy the Journey more than you worry about the destination. No matter what you will always reach the destination in the end, it may not be the destination you thought you should reach, but you will reach the one your spirit needs.
Trust in your magic, in your heart, in your spirit and in the knowledge that the universe is abundant and that there is plenty for all of us. Claim that which is yours today, without fear or guilt, because that is the only way you can claim it.
I am as always
Your friendly neighborhood Witch
I went through different google groups today and was looking for one or two pagan groups to join. I was truly dismayed by what I found on so many of them. Most of the Members in various groups were complaining how they are still viewed as evil and how pagans are not as accepted as other forms of religion and belief.
If I was to look at Christian groups I would find a lot of Members crying and complaining how they are being persecuted for their belief and how hard it is in this time and age to be a true Christian. How horrible it is that prayer has been taken out of the school and yadda yadda yadda.
I could probably go on and find the exact same thing in each and every single belief system and religion out there. I am not trying to single any of them out, but I am trying to make a point. If you constantly want to act as if you are being treated like a victim you are going to be victimized.
You are painting a huge target on your back and forehead a keen to the signs bullies used to put on your back in school that said: “Kick me! I am worthless!”
Here is the funny thing. I have been a Witch for an awful long time now and hold on to your pants for a second I even had a 3 year period in between where I followed the Christian teachings. That was right before I figured out that I could not agree with what I saw, heard and witnessed. It was not for me, at least not in this lifetime.
The funny thing is that no matter which belief I called or am calling my own I never had any problems with anyone, Matter of fact I’ve been treated better by people who were not of my faith than a lot of people get treated by their own.
Are you wondering why that is? I can tell you why that is in a very precise and clear way.
#1 I didn’t act as if I was ashamed of who and what I am. I didn’t try to hide in the shadows and make it look as if I had some sort of weird ass mystery that I couldn’t share with someone else because I may be laughed at or because it was so sacred that only the select few whom either I or a coven leader deemed to be worthy was allowed to know.
#2 I didn’t go around knocking on people’s doors or preach at those who really had no interest in hearing what I had to say over a meal or during a chance meeting either.
#3 I am not only secure in who I am, but I am proud that I have the courage to follow my own path and don’t buckle under the expectations of those around me. That shows very clearly in the way I behave around others and the vibes which flow from me are not those of a victim. People may not realize they are reacting to the vibes someone gives off, but we all do.
#4 I am more than capable to back my belief up. By that I mean that I have enough facts which can be historically proven for those who are skeptic and I am secure enough in my path that I do not get swayed that easily. I am usually open for a discussion as long as it doesn’t turn into some sort of farce. Most people who do feel as if they are getting persecuted usually don’t have either of those and try to hide from any real discussion. If you feel secure in what and who you are, you have nothing to hide.
#5 I don’t play cloak and dagger. In my neighborhood I am surrounded by several different religions. Next to me I have a couple who are practicing hinduism. On the other side of me and for the next 4 houses are Christians. Across the street and slightly down to the right I have a couple of Buddhists and there are several people on our street who don’t belief in anything period. I am the friendly neighborhood Witch and everyone who knows me on that street is aware of it. I never had a problem out of any of them yet and I have lived here for over five years now. We all get along just fine and mind our own business. I had several of them come into my house which has Dragons, different statues and two different altars set up in. None of them seemed to be bothered by it. The most I got out of them was. “Wow those are neat!” or “MM that looks interesting. You have to explain it to me sometime!” To which the answer always was the same. “Sure, when you are ready to hear the answers, ask me the questions and I’ll be happy to answer them honestly!”
The thing is that these people see me on a daily base. They see how I am with my husband and when my adult children visit me how I act with my kids. These are the people who bring their children around my house for trick or treating. Whose kids I sit and tell a story to from time to time in the front yard. They see me pick up my mail. Take out the Trash and go for walks. Ever so often they see me sit on a large stone in the front yard and play with the stray cats around the neighborhood. They see me – the more or less normal human being, not the strange Witch Woman. They see me like that, because that is how present myself to them. I am transparent.
People only fear what they don’t understand. They see things as evil that get turned into something evil or shameful. There is nothing evil or shameful to being a Pagan or a Witch.
Do I ever get stupid or ignorant questions online about being a Witch? Of course I do, we all do, but I know just how to handle it too. Instead of getting offended or apologizing because I have dared to be myself I joke or explain things.
The usual question I encounter is the typical one still left over from the dark ages. Yes folks some people develop a bit slower than the rest of us. Go figure.
“You are a Witch. So you are a Satanist and you worship Satan?”
Drumm roll please, because if I would get a dollar for every time some dipshit asks that, I would be rich right now.
The answer always remains the same: “Sure I worship Satan every time he holds still enough for me to do so!” That usually stops them dead in their tracks for a second and it shifts their minds long enough to listen to my answer. Of course that is right after I get “What? Hea or some equivalent of that.
“My husbands nickname is Satan by his co-workers because he is so anti-church. I worship him (as in go down on him) anytime he holds still long enough for me to do so!” Get it?
That usually gets them to start laughing and it breaks the ice.
“Alright let me answer your question in seriousness, no I do not worship the entity Satan. I can’t worship something I don’t belief in. Satan is a scapegoat of the Christian Church fashioned in appearance after the likeness of the God Pan. Don’t belief me pull up a drawing of Pan and pull up a drawing of Lucifer. Aside from that neither do those following the Satanic Church. Don’t belief me? Go buy a copy of the “Satanic Bible” by Anton LaVey and read it sometime. For a Satanist the entity Satan simply stands for the great opposer and that is what they are. They are the Opposers of the Church and stupidity.”
Now ever so often I have to sit through about 5 minutes of preaching at me to which I usually answer: “Amen! Do you feel more secure again now and can you go on about your day without having any nagging doubts that there might be something truthful in what I just said? I don’t want you to suffer just because I didn’t turn out to be what you had fashioned in your mind about me. After all, you have to live with your reality just as I have to live with mine.”
That 99.9% of the time concludes those conversations. It is really hard to condemn or come back in a negative way against someone who remains not only reasonably polite, but also steadfast without getting drawn into a stupid argument. If they would try they can already tell that by the end of it I would have them walking away feeling like an idiot, instead of me feeling like I should go wash my soul out.
Which brings me full circle. No matter what you do in life and no matter what the situation. You get treated by most people the way you behave. If you act like a victim, you are walking with a big target around your neck and you will be victimized. If you act like a bully, don’t be surprised if you attract someone stronger and bigger who will take you down a notch someday. If you act like you have something to hide, people will treat you as if you are something dark and evil.
Just be yourself and get out of the old habit of:”A good Witch does not talk about her craft to people. It is to be kept secret.” Secrets usually mean you have something to hide and being a pagan isn’t a cause of hiding anymore.
I wish you a wonderful evening everyone. I am as always:
Your friendly neighborhood Witch.
If there is something that really bothers me it is the idea that we all have to force our belief system on someone else and that unless you are following the same path that I do we can’t be friends.
If you take a look into the history books you will notice that there are no new ideas or stories when it comes to religious belief. They all are simply renamed and slightly reworded “teaching” tales taken from one belief system to the next. In the end – unless you are part of a belief system that preaches hatred among humans – the one message the always remains the same is “LOVE” and “RESPECT” for one another.
Even the stories of creation, of resurrection, and of renewal are the same. Regardless of which path you take you are being held accountable for your behavior or actions. Be that in the here and now as happens in the Pagan belief or in an unforseen future as in the case of many one god based religions.
No matter what belief you follow or if you even follow a belief at all – we are all still human beings. We all have feelings, goals, dreams, fears etc. We suffer, we are happy, we seek love and friendship. We bleed if you cut us. We shiver when we are cold.
One of the worst blasphemies I can think of is the “killing in the name of God”. I don’t care what you call that “God”. You are committing a horrible crime when you murder in the name of your fanaticism and I can’t imagine any “God” or “higher being” wanting that from you.
I am a Witch and proud of it. I don’t make a secret out of it. I don’t force you to belief the way I do and neither do I force you to come to read what I write. I offer it to you in a silent way, but I don’t go door to door and try to cramp it down your throat if you want to hear it or not. If you click on my links and find yourself here, you have done so because you were curious to see what I have to say. That doesn’t mean you will stay here. You may decide that I am full of shit and move on. You may feel it necessary to shake your head at my “ignorance” and feel the need to “pray for my salvation” because that is how you belief and how you have been programmed. Than again you may see a bit of wisdom in what I am offering to you and decide to give it a change and read on.
After that you may decide to completely reject it, forget about it or just maybe it makes you think and you draw your own conclusions. That is what this blog is here for. To share what I know to be true for my path and my belief. That doesn’t mean it is perfect for you and I would ever presume to force you to think that way. I would never pick up a gun and shoot at you because of it. Or refuse you food if you are hungry and I have extra to share with you. I would never refuse my friendship to you, just because you don’t see eye to eye with me on how I belief.
I have several online friends who come from extreme oppositions in their belief system and still I count each as valuable and special to me. We simply agreed to disagree and to respect each other choices.
Do we ever debate our believes with each other? In some cases yes and in others no. I will debate it with people who can remain civilized and don’t try to force theirs on me or resort to name calling, but simply want to compare notes so we can understand each other better and not cause undo discomfort to one another.
I try to remember their special religious holidays and wish them whatever you say during those days. Not because I belief in it or agree with it, but because it means something to them. I do it because I care about them and want them to be happy and feel loved.
Are there some things I really feel negative against in their religion – yes I do. If I didn’t see it as something wrong for ME I would perhaps have opted for it. Yet I can see the positive in each belief as well and appreciate the positive aspects of it.
No matter what we belief we all seek to find our own better self. We all are shaped by what we experience and depending on if you belief in reincarnation they way I do or not, you may see yourself as coming in with pre-programmed experiences from a previous journey on this planet.
Some of us question what we hear, read and are being told, while others follow blindly and call it faith. Some of us may appear to be ”godless” but act more in the ways that “God” they are taught says we ought to behave, than those who claim to be “god fearing” and study their holy books every day. There is a big difference between “talking your belief” and actually living it.
Neither you or I can judge the spirit and heart of our fellow man, we can only judge ourselves and the actions of those we encounter. Instead of going around condemning someone for their belief try worrying about your own actions instead. Are you truly pure in the ways of your belief or are you just putting on a big front for the benefit of those that claim to belief like you?
Are you so sure there is only one true path to spiritual enlightenment and only one true belief? If yes, then let me ask you why even in the same belief system there are so many fractions arguing and defaming each other. It doesn’t sound and look to me as if anyone really knows the answer.
Is my path the only true path and way to the ultimate goal? Absolutely not, it just happens to be the right path for me. The one that feels correct and resonates with my very spirit so that I am in total alignment with my purpose and soul.
I know that to be true because I don’t have to struggle against myself in order to be and remain who I am. I don’t feel guilty or embarrassed. I don’t feel the need to convert anyone else to my way of thinking, because I couldn’t do this to begin with. It isn’t my place to do so. My job is to be transparent. To allow you to see me – warts and all – for who and what I am and let you draw your own conclusion if this is something that seems right to you or not.
I don’t have to follow your moral code, because the one I have is pretty solid. Mine is simple by the way. I never would do to someone else something they don’t want to have done to them (as in my fetish life) or something I wouldn’t want done to myself (as in all other aspects of my life).
That doesn’t mean I have to push my morals on you either, because I hope you are mature enough to figure your own out as well.
We can still be friends as long as we both act mature about our differences and our different opinions and belief.
The one phrase I keep getting quotes at me is: “Love one another as I have loved you!” Well in that case if I wanted to take that serious, we are pretty hated because that seems to be more frequent when we can’t agree on something than the other way around.
I hope you have a wonderful and happy day today. Free of distress, illness and sorrow. Take the blessings you have and be grateful for them and trust that tomorrow will bring something new.
As always
Your friendly neighborhood Witch.
No I am not going to try to sell you the next big self-help book or a $49.95 e-book that promises you guaranteed happiness, neither am I going to sell you a program that claims to hypnotize you into being happy all the time.
I won’t do this, because honestly you can’t find happiness that way. Happiness has to start somewhere else and that somewhere is deep inside of yourself. It is a decision you actually have to make. Yes, I said it. Being “happy” is a choice which you must make in order to be able to find that holy grail of contentment.
Sounds like a bunch of BS to you? I promise you it isn’t and I am even going to show you why you need to make a decision to allow yourself to be happy before you can actually find happiness.
Some people feel they don’t deserve to be happy deep down inside. For whatever personal reason, be it their upbringing, their feeling of inferiority, or something a religion the follow had beaten into them, they fear or feel guilty when they experience a moment of happiness. When that happens, there is no way they can maintain even a moderate level of happiness since they push it away mentally.
Some people are only “happy” when they are miserable and have drama in their life. Sounds really oxymoron and in a twisted sense it is. They are so comfortable with being unhappy and have learned that being unhappy gets them more attention from others that they don’t even want to be happy, no matter what they claim.
Some people can’t recognize the feeling of happiness and think it is a constant feeling of “wanting to do cartwheels” or “euphoria”. Neither is true.
Others yet have a fear of the consequences if they allow themselves to be happy. Perhaps they have learned through a series of unfortunate events that once they feel happy about something or someone they end up loosing it.
Those are just a few basic examples, but the most frequent ones.
Being happy does not depend on the ownership of material goods, other people, or circumstances. It is dependent on you and your ability to feel happy with yourself.
Happiness is a state of being, something that goes beyond contentment and will not automatically leave you if you lose something or someone. If you have mastered the ability to be happy even in the worst circumstances you will notice that your life flows a lot smoother.
Of course you will still feel anger, disappointment, pain and loss. That however is not going to impact you as deeply when you are able to remain happy within yourself. It is like your very own little bubble that keeps you sane and safe.
Every single day holds something that gives you a reason to be happy being. No I didn’t forget the rest of the sentence, I meant is just like that. You are happy just being! No matter what my day my bring I am happy being who I am, being alive, being in a place of inner contentment, being able to chose my actions which are in keeping with my spirit.
Being happy means that you have control! Maybe not about everything that happens, but about how you adjust to it and how you perceive or handle whatever life throws at you.
What about those that have lost everything or are terminally ill? How can they possibly be happy? Even then they can and even more importantly strive to find happiness within them-selves. As long as you are breathing, you still have a reason to be happy. Things can be regained, people are with us only for a season no matter how long that season lasts. We are firmly rooted in a circle of life which is never ending.
Gain and loss, birth and death, sickness and health…
Finding happiness within regardless of what goes on in our life is essential to emotional, spiritual and even physical well being. Even after you make the choice to learn how to let yourself be happy, it still takes a little bit of practice. Nobody manages to be 100% happy all the time. We all end up straying of this path from time to time, but the difference is that if you have chosen to be happy, you will recognize that something is missing and return to this state of inner sanctity quickly. Each time gets easier and you will soon start seeing a lot of very positive changes in your life.
Remember that positive attracts positive, just as negative attracts negative. No matter how dark something is, even the light of a candle flame can pierce and break that darkness. It is up to you to keep that small flame called happiness alife and not allow anyone else or yourself to snuff it out.
Balanced blessing to you all.
Shalamar
http://shalamarsdream.com
http://witchjournal.info
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