Card for the Week; Preparing for the Solar Eclipse

From the Crystal Ally deck, the card that shows up for this week is Chrysocolla with the key words Sacred Sounds. Here are the words that stand out:

Chrysocolla encourages one to speak what is in the heart…In this time of change, we are being asked to review and revise our ways of communicating and interacting with one another. The power of the spoken word is now being realized. Chrysocolla has come at this time to aid us in finding new and more balanced ways of interacting, and to aid us in speaking from our hearts and our wisdom, so that we may utilize this sacred power for the highest good…Words are powerful in creating what we want on the Earth plane….The sounds we make are sacred.

The element for this card is water which is all about emotions, communication, and cleansing. So for this week, feel your way through some new ways of expressing yourself with your heart and voice in alignment, notice how your emotions come into play in this process, and where there is any sense of cleansing. The affirmation feels especially powerful: “I use my voice as a tool of creation and love.” You might write this down on a slip of paper and carry it in your pocket this week, drawing it out at least once a day to speak this affirmation aloud.

We had a lunar eclipse earlier in the month and we have a solar eclipse coming up this Sunday (we won’t be able to see it here in North America). I have felt called to offer another Group Healing Experience: Connect to Source and Open to the Unseen. This will be a live phone call Sunday, February 26th from 7:30-8pm. The cost is $20 and you will receive the recording afterwards. More details and registration are HERE. As always, thank you for sharing this with anyone you think might be interested.

Namaste

Herding: Real Life Energy Work

Recently Lilly and I went to a herding trial to watch a few runs. Have you ever seen a herding trial? It’s a dance of human, dog, and sheep. And guess what, it’s all about energy! The human has to be aware of and able to read the interplay of energies between herself and the dog, the dog and the sheep, and herself and the sheep. It’s quite complex. It’s a variation on the theme of the illusion of separation. When it looks easy, it’s because the human and the dog have such an energetic connection that they are able to move as one, and thus move the sheep with ease. Just another example of our 4-leggeds showing us the way to be—all are one. Lilly and I hope to be moving some sheep soon! #lovemyherdingdogs

Elemental Support

Mid afternoon yesterday driving northwest through Nelson I was fascinated by the light. There were summer storm clouds brewing to the west and northwest. The fields were still winter pale. It was disconcerting: winter sun slant and summer cloud formations. The air was hot. And then the winds arrived, again. The winds battered against the house all night and I felt them sweeping through even my dreams. The moon and sun share the cloudless sky this morning. And I’m focusing on allowing that same balance to shine through me. Are you feeling these shifts of weather internally? Are you opening to elemental support right now?

Rune for the Full Moon and Eclipse

With the winds that continue to blow and the full moon and lunar eclipse tonight, the Runes were calling to me. Hagalaz or Disruption is the Rune that appeared. The other key words for this Rune are Elemental Power and Hail. This Rune is all about change and the disruption can be seen or felt on many levels. Here are the words that stand out for this week:

Change, freedom, invention and liberation are all attributes of this Rune…expect disruption, for it is the Great Awakener, although the form the awakening takes may vary…the term radical discontinuity best describes the action of Hagalaz at its most forceful. The more severe the disruption in your life, the more significant and timely the requirements for your growth. The universe and your own soul are demanding that you do, indeed, grow.                             

Any time you can spend bathing in the moonlight and being buffeted by the winds, is time well spent especially this weekend. Feel the power of the wind sweep across the land, watch the grasses and trees bend and sway, feel your body respond to the gusts and allow the wind to carry off all that does not serve you. Feel the wind push through you energetically lightening your load. Let the moon light, such a different feel from sunlight, seep into your cells and slough off anything that you no longer need. Breathe and be.

In these times of change, remember I am here for you. The Building Light 2 for 1 Special is just for the month of February, so please take advantage of this offer. Details can be found here.

Namaste

~ 2 for 1 Building Light February Special ~

This month is a few days shorter but we get more light each day, yay! There’s still upheaval all around us and for many of us there’s inner upheaval as well. As a way of building more light on an energetic level, I’m offering a 2 for the price of 1 for the month of February. $90 will get you two 60 minute sessions (this only applies to 60 minute sessions and both must be scheduled in February). Perhaps you’re looking for a deep relaxation and clearing on all levels. Or maybe you’re looking for a new perspective on an issue that continues to reappear. Let’s explore and expand into wholeness together. Please email me at elizabeth@elizabethbain.net for an appointment.

Messages from Laurens

I said goodbye to my dumpster Maine Coon cat, Laurens, at the start of the week, and I’m very aware of his final messages. One thing he really wants me to pay attention to is the connecting point that love of our 4-leggeds creates among us humans. Even in the vet’s office after his transition from the physical plane, I was hyper-aware of knowing the other people around me have had these same connections with 4-leggeds. As someone who connects much more easily with other species than humans, knowing the power of this connecting point is important for me to remember. As the illusion of separation is such a deep part of the human experience, connecting points can be very helpful navigation tools. Are you aware of this connecting point? If so, how?

Card for the Week

This week we are just into the Chinese lunar new year and in the final month before the Tibetan lunar new year, still in this window of astrological transition. I pulled out the Crystal Ally deck for a card for the week and Lapis Lazuli appeared. The key words are self knowledge and the element is wind. Here are the bits that stand out from Naisha Ahsian’s book with the card deck:

The greatest path of knowledge that we can pursue is the path of self knowledge. Our life on Earth is an opportunity to explore and learn about our own selves—our motives, ambitions, and beliefs…

Self knowledge is the tool with which we can create a reality that is conscious. Without self knowledge, we are often unwilling participants in an unconscious creation. Lapis Lazuli has come to aid us in the opening of our inner eyes, allowing us to see and perceive our own inner world, from which our outer world materializes…

When Lapis Lazuli appears, you can be sure that your guides and guiding angels are preparing you for a period of growth and enhanced understanding of your path and purpose on the Earth plane.

As I am writing this, the wind is roaring through the trees outside my windows. Wind is an element of motion, it is the mental aspect of existence, and it is the messenger of the Spirit world.

With the dark skies of the new moon full of sparkling planets and stars, Lapis Lazuli with its deep, dark blue, often found with pyrite’s gold shimmers in it, too, feels like a reflection of the skies in crystal form. So, too, does this bring to mind the macro-cosmos and micro-cosmos, or the outer world and inner world Naisha mentions above.

Here’s an exercise for this week. Take a few minutes to go outside after dark and stare up at the sky. If you can find even 5 minutes, grab a blanket and actually lie down on the earth and stare up at the sky. While you’re staring at the sky, allow your eyes to zoom in and focus on a star or planet and then zoom out and take in the vast sky. Breathe the night air and allow yourself to fill up with Spirit on your inhalations and empty out your worries and burdens on your exhalations. Notice what you’re creating in different aspects of your life and notice whether you are consciously or unconsciously creating it. Call on your guides and allies for support during this exploration of self knowledge.

As always, I love to hear your experiences and any sharing you’d like to do can be done in the comments below, via email, or via Facebook.

Namaste

Card for the Week

I pulled out the Liquid Crystal Oracle deck for the card this week. We have the stone Kunzite and the key words Heart Activation. The piece that stands out for me most is that “the creative avenues are fueled by a mind attuned to an open heart.” Kunzite is about balance of heart and mind, and the energetic connection between spirit and the physical world. This week notice what happens when you open your heart. Notice what this open heart and clear connection brings about. Creativity and/or manifestation will be flowing this week when you allow your heart to open. Does this resonate with you? How is this showing up for you?

~ The Power of a Curve or Navigating Cycles ~

We notice and talk about cycles of all sorts in life. Cycles are often circular in nature, but when we add another dimension we have spirals which feel so much more like the actual experience of growth within a cycle. This week it feels important to be aware of your location within cycles. What cycles are you aware of in your life right now? Check the external landscape and the internal landscape. Notice your location within your time on earth, your location in physical and physiological cycles. Be aware of cycles of thoughts and emotions and energy and relationships. You find so many layers and dimensions when you start exploring the cycles of existence. This could very easily become a cerebral exploration, but if we do our exploring from the heart center, we will find a more healing (remembering we are whole) view.

What I’m noticing is curves everywhere: from the curves of the mountains and roads to the curves of grasses and bodies. From the orbits of planets to the thoughts that get stuck on repeat. If I orient myself along the curves within the cycle, I am then better able to navigate the curves and have a different perspective of the whole cycle and whether it’s a closed loop circle or if I’m allowing growth and thus shifting the cycle into a spiral instead. This is not a case of circle is bad, spiral is good. Neither is right or wrong, they are both important. The curved line itself is the focus here.

The powers of the circles and spirals can be felt in the firmness of their shape. A straight line is the shortest distance between two points and has a force of direction you can feel just looking at it. A curved line is magical. It very definitely knows where it is going, but it takes a longer route, still a set (mathematical) placement between two points, but there is an immense amount of power in holding that line. The power of a curve is majestic; it is a power to be reveled in. My image for you is a whirling dervish, a spectacular example of this power. Here’s a quick exercise for you to explore the feel, the energy, and the power of a curved line.

While you are seated or standing, close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths: settling into your physical body in the now. Allow yourself to drop into your heart space, placing both hands on your sternum. Check in with your heart space, noticing what is. Tune into curved lines and be aware of any curves. Place your palms together and rub your hands briskly for a few breaths. Then slowly pull your hands apart and gently push them toward each other, in and out slowly expanding, and notice what this feels like. Then slowly spread your arms out and move your arms from side to side in front of you and above you, feeling with your hands the curved lines you are creating/following. Notice what your hands are feeling and notice, too, what this feels like in your heart center. Gently bring your hands back into your sternum. Take a few deeper breaths bringing your awareness back into your physical body in the now. And open your eyes with a soft gaze as you’re ready.

This is a very calming exercise and it connects your whole being in a gentle fashion, so if you are agitated in any way or feeling disconnected, give it a try. As always, please share any experiences by commenting below or by sharing on my Facebook page.

This week I have slots open Tuesday at 7pm and Friday at 1, 2:15, and 3:30. Please email me to set a session.

May you be one with the power of a curve.

Cross Species Relationship Changes

As our relationship continues to grow Lilly and I are having more fun with photos. We still have lots of bloopers, but we also end up with lovely shots now, too. The other morning there was a lovely dawn sky and I decided to try some silhouette shots. We ended up with a perfect series as she turned her head and I was able to capture different head positions. A building block of relationships is time spent together just being, especially when our relationships are across species. What have you noticed changing over time in your relationships as you spend more time just being together?

On Being Whole

~ Exploring Wholeness ~

The other day I was watching the birds at the feeder while I was at the sink, and I noticed a titmouse with no tail. Not a single tail feather on this bird. I watched her flitting in to the feeder and away to a branch to eat the seeds, back and forth. There was definitely a difference in flight compared to the titmice with tails, but this bird was maneuvering through the air just fine. I started thinking about how often we focus on what we feel is missing or what we have deemed is wrong with self rather than accepting and being grateful for what is. Rather than acknowledging our wholeness: who we really are by dint of being of Source.

This feels like a good week to place our intention in an exploration of self and wholeness. Here’s an exercise you can try when you have a few moments for yourself.

Close your eyes and place one hand on your heart. Bring your awareness to your heart space. Focus on the light and dark within your heart space, just noticing what is. Notice the flame that is your heart light and notice this flame is whole and perfect just as it is. Allow yourself to become this flame, so it is not just a flame within your heart space, but your being is this flame of heart light. You are heart light. You are whole. Spend a few moments just being. As you are ready to come back into the present physical plane, breathe a little more deeply; breathe out to the edges of your physical body, filling yourself with fresh prana, and open your eyes as you’re ready.

Try this a few times this week and pay attention to how you feel with each practice. Be kind to yourself. This is still a time of breaking free of old patterns, so this practice may well shed some of those patterns for you, allowing you to emerge more fully as the heart light you are. As always, feel free to share any experiences you have by replying to this email or on my Facebook page. You will also find the card of the week here.

As we’re shifting out of Mercury retrograde, you may notice some forward motion. If you’re feeling stuck in anyway, let’s see what we can clear out in a session. Tuesday slots are still available this week at 4:30 and 7.

Namaste

Card of the Week

Our card for the week from Roweena Pattee Kryder’s Vibrational Healing Cards is Vastness. Mercury has gone direct. We are in a new year. This is a week of EXPANSION. Be aware of your center and staying firmly in this physical plane as you are expanding. Breathe in and notice what is expanding and where that expansion is. Breathe out and be you: whole just as you are.

Welcome to 2017 ~ Transition ~ A Time for Gentle Kindness

After a year like 2016 where most of us experienced loss of some sort and a roller coaster ride through relationships with self and others, emotions, physical health, and more, many of us are not just tired but exhausted. We are feeling like the ground is still shaking under our feet, heck, many of us feel like we are still shaking! Transition of any sort is a time for kindness to everyone, self and others. And right now, this week, what we all need specifically is gentle kindness.

We are in a stage of reestablishing ourselves in a state of aligned balance. Gentle kindness allows us to be flexible within ourselves and in our relationship with the outer world as well. And gentle kindness brings a quiet, and asks us to listen closely to the inner voices as we tune in more clearly, again, to Source. 2016 rattled our radio stations so much that some of us may be searching from one end of the dial to the other, trying to find that frequency we know is there, that frequency we are already tuned into, but can’t quite hear at the moment.

Let’s ease into this new year, especially as Mercury is still retrograde until the 7th. On that note, here are two exercises for this week.

1) When you’re lying in bed before you go to sleep, or when you’re in the shower, breathe gently in and out, filling your lungs from the lower edges to the tops, and notice what you hear. Listen for the sounds of the outer world and the inner world. Listen for voices, again outer and inner, and notice the dissonance or resonance you feel with the different voices. Allow those you feel dissonance with to flow out on your exhalations. Allow those you feel resonance with to resonate more strongly through your entire structure. Breathe and be you, the amazing light you are.

2) Smile. A lot. Smile to yourself whether you’re looking in a mirror or not. Smile at others whether you know them or not. Every time you smile, you’re changing the vibration.

In numerology 2016, was a year of completions and endings. And 2017 is a year of new beginnings. Let’s start off this year with by getting ourselves ready to receive and engage with new beginnings.

Satisfied clients who resonate with my work are what keep me going. As referrals are by far my biggest and best source for new clients, I am now offering a referral discount. For every new client you send my way, you will receive $15 off your next session with me. Thank you for continuing to spread the word. This newsletter can easily be shared if you think someone might be interested and you can always send them here for more details. I am so grateful for our time together in 2016 and I look forward to 2017. Remember in person sessions are available through January.

Loving Your Whole Self

With the current energies supporting inner work, my guides have been nudging me to focus on loving all of myself. The specific piece that keeps arising has to do with noticing the dark and light aspects of self and allowing love to flow through, encompass, and fill my entire being.

I pulled out the Animal Dreaming deck by Scott Alexander King for this week and the Horse appeared. Horse, with the key words personal power, has to do with travel and movement both outer and inner journeys. This fully supports our inner work of loving the whole self. Specifically King writes:

Horse Dreaming embraces the essence of Personal Power and what it means to spiritually journey within in search of inherent wisdom…

According to tradition, a Horse stands symbolically at each of the four cardinal points on the great Wheel of Life…Each of the four directions offers a sacred gift of Power and a wealth of corresponding energetic wisdom.

It is up to us to go out and spiritually seek this knowledge and, once found, integrate it into our life. Metaphorically journeying to the East, for example, brings with it the gifts of illumination and introspection, while heading to the North inspires a healthy blend of innocence and passion. In the West we learn to understand the art of introspection and meditation, and in the South we are offered maturity and judgment.

Lying in the dark before I go to sleep this last week, I have played around with different ways of opening to and experiencing myself as love. Feeling the beat of my heart and allowing the vibration of love to pulse through me with each beat, to fill not just my physical being, but my energetic being so that I can feel that I am one giant being of love. Or standing in my heart center and checking in all directions for areas of dark and light and calling in healing streams of grace to fill me, dark and light pieces. These are ways I can shift my experience into that remembered space where I am all love and I am not merely I but merged with the All. My journey is one of remembering that I am already enough, I am already whole, I am already love.

May you feel the support of Horse as you love your whole self this week.

Namaste

Winter Solstice Poem

the stars dim and fade as our earthly ride turns slowly toward the sun

the light shifting colors across the smudge of clouds, the mountains, the moon

pinks ranging from the softest and palest to a richer heated pink

ivory blending to tangerine so thick I feel like I could reach out

and smear it across the sky

instead the colors shift to golden and the sunlight touches all the world

lights it to day where the world’s own colors take over

we breathe in light

we are light

welcome, solstice

Owl Magic ~ Lilly and I Meet an Owl

Lilly and I are out the door in the dark for our walks most mornings lately. With our reflective gear and blue lights, we move along in this dark world hearing the deer, squirrels, and birds rather than seeing them. We walk in the ever growing light of dawn and I am discovering how powerful this is as a way to stay connected to the light at this time of year. The owls, raptors of the dark, have been very strong allies for me at this time. I hear owls quite frequently and I am honored to hear such a variety: screech, barred (occasionally), great horned, and even the northern saw-whet.
 
Seven weeks ago, Lilly and I set out for our morning walk in the twilight. On silent wings, suddenly an owl swooshed into the hollowed out dead tree less than 15 feet in front of us. We stopped, Lilly just as aware of this bird as I was. In one of those out of time stretches, I gazed into the eyes of a northern saw-whet owl. She then flew about 15 feet away to alight on a branch and continue our meeting. I felt the need to move on by the dead tree since the owl wanted to get back into it, so we walked on. Our meeting was no more than a minute but felt like 10.
 
The trunk of this dead tree is right next to the pavement of the road. In the weeks since our meeting, I have kept an eye and ear out for the owl in this spot. Only one other time did I hear a saw-whet near this tree. I was concerned that this tree, which clearly fits the picture of an ideal saw-whet roost, is so close to the road. So as I trooped past each day with Lilly, I often spoke to the owl and wished her well and perhaps a new home farther from a road. I noticed nothing of note until last week, when Lilly and I set out in the dark and came upon a body in the road by the dead tree. Before we were close enough to see feathers, I knew this was our owl friend. She had been hit by a car. I moved her body from the road and just stared in awe at this beautiful creature. Just as there are moments where time stretches out and seems to slow down while you are still aware that it is flying by, there are times when size of something is large and small at the same time. This owl was small, about the length of my hand, but seemed huge. With a sharply curved beak, big eyes, long feet and talons, russet red and buff feathers, this owl’s body stopped my brain and shifted me into a state of wonder and allowed me to just be. I was no longer aware of my human body; I was one with the All. I was both human and owl and not human and not owl. I was not I.
 
This gift from the saw-whet owl feels extra potent coming so close to the winter solstice. Owls, as birds of the dark, often guide us to new insights on aspects of self hidden in the dark. I am finding new ways of relating to and engaging with the dark both inside and outside of myself. And I am excited and ready to celebrate this magical turning point from growing dark to growing light.
 
I wish you all a Happy Winter Solstice.

P.S. Don't forget the $20 Email Card Readings through the end of the year!

Rune for the Week

I drew a rune for the week for everyone: Breakthrough. As Mercury goes retrograde today, this rune is a positive support for the inner work, the work on self that a retrograde period encourages. The rune Breakthrough or Transformation calls you to rely on radical trust for this transformation is often a 180 degree change in attitude. The piece that really seems fitting in this week of the winter solstice is that “the darkness is behind you, the daylight has come.” Remember that the work, whether hard or easy, can be done with joy.

**$20 Email Card Reading**

Looking to change your job, move, or for a new relationship? I'm offering a special email card reading through the end of December. Email me your particular question or issue and I'll deliver a card reading. If you're looking for insights around a specific issue or area of your life, give this card reading a try. Email me: elizabeth@elizabethbain.net

Shape-Shifter

Today I asked who or what our greatest ally is for this 4 day window, today through Sunday. The card that came is Shape-Shifter from Denise Linn’s Native Spirit Oracle Cards. Shape-shifting is a reminder that all is one and the skill to move energy and move through energy is one that has to do with being able to see or sense from different perspectives. For the next 4 days, practice some shape-shifting and notice where and what you are freeing with these new views.

Full Moon Release

With the full moon today, we’ve shifted into the space of release, again. In the last 4 or 5 days I’ve noticed a specific slant to this window of letting go: the familiar. We often hold onto the familiar just because of the comfort and security of that which is already known. This means sometimes we’re staying attached to something that no longer serves us. It feels like the familiar stuff that we’re holding close is what we can let go of with this full moon. So with intention, breath work, and some moon bathing, release the familiar that no longer serves and create some space for the magic of possibility.