Self Help or Help Yourself?

At the prime (mid-life) of life, I have read plenty of self help books - haven't we all?  I'm pretty sure this is the largest genre of books on the market.  And the other day I thought to myself, as I was listening to one of the many "self-help" books I own... how many times do we need to help ourselves, and instead we pick up another book aimed at self-help, read it, listen to it, and do nothing to follow through with it?

For me, that had changed a long time ago - I gave up searching for the book that was going to hold me by the hand and give me step by step directions on how to live my life.  Instead, I listen to the books, read the books, and LIVE MY LIFE.  I trust that my heart knows what it's doing, and that my head will keep me from getting into too much trouble.  Sometimes I feel like a walking affirmation.  My approach to life is simple - I love who I love, I make no excuses for my choices, they are after all my choices.  And I live my life to please myself.  If I end up pleasing others in the process, all is well.
I have learned which battles I am willing to fight, and which ones are worth the struggle.  I have learned to tell myself no, and to discipline myself.  I have learned over the course of my life that the only person I can truly count on is ME.  I am the only one who is living this life... those who I love and share my life with are living their own lives and are not accountable for my actions any more than I am accountable for theirs.  I stopped being in relationships with people that I wanted to FIX and with people who wanted to FIX ME - I am not a Coldplay song - I march to the beat of my own heart's rhythm - as we all should.

Since this transformation has taken all of my life, I can't say that there is an easy fix to living the life that you desire to live, except to just live it - one day at a time.  Rise up to the challenges set before you - be honest with yourself, be honest with those that you include in your life.  Love yourself, and make sure that the love you give is unconditional - meaning; it's OK to make mistakes, it's OK to not be perfect - no one really expects you to, so why do you expect this of yourself?  Life is what we make of it, and we attract like minded people into ours.

I am blessed with many diverse friends in my life - in fact - I was recently asked, "Who DON'T you know?"... a very good question.  I am open to the world - I joyful greet new people, smile and talk to them... this is how I know if I want to nurture those relationships into something more, or if I just want to have the experience of meeting that someone.  I acknowledge that every day is a gift worth receiving, and I embrace that gift fully.

Do I have bad days?  Of course!  No one can be sunshine and light every moment of every day - but those dark moods remind me to take stock of the things I am grateful for.  And then I realize that I am helping myself!

Help Yourself!  Nurture yourself, Love yourself, Be Patient with yourself, remember that if you aren't doing it for yourself, no one can do it for you.

Namaste

My Favorite Tarot!

I am a collector of Tarot decks - I have MANY... and each one speaks to me with it's own unique voice.... but there is one deck above them all that has my heart - over the years it has become my best friend and has shared the most intimate secrets with me so that I am able to help you achieve your success.

I love this deck so much that I have 7 iterations of it, and one of them I purchased in Hong Kong! It has traveled the world with me!

I'm not naming names, but if you look back over many of my witch pictures, you will be able to see my little buddies in quite a few of them. I hope to be able to use them in the book that I have been writing about the Tarot (of course I have been writing it slowly, because I had hoped to be publishing it long before now!) But they were the cards that told me I was supposed to write the book in the first place!

I would really appreciate hearing about your experience with the Tarot - do you have a favorite deck? A favorite card?

I hope you will join me on this Tarot Adventure!

The Attitude of Gratitude

Here in the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November- some say it is to honor the peaceful meal shared between some of the early settlers of the Plimoth colony and the Native Americans of the area.  Of course, having grown up in the Southeastern Massachusetts area, I have been often to Plimoth Plantation (a living history site for visiting the Pilgrim settlers), and once I even participated in their "Eat Like a Pilgrim" event where you can learn some interesting facts about history, table manners, and what these folks may have actually eaten at the "first Thanksgiving".  It's quite interesting, and the food is delicious, so if you find yourself looking to visit America's Hometown (now spelled Plymouth), this is a must do!

Now, gratitude seems to be "a thing" lately - people are urging others to practice gratitude every day.  Like Alice's Restaurant (when sung by 50 people a day, with feeling, when it comes around again on the guitar) is a movement; the practice of gratitude seems to be becoming a movement.  There are many Facebook posts - people challenging each other to post what they are grateful for for a specified number of days - or to post a certain number of things they are grateful for each day for so many days.... there are gratitude journals, and last year I noticed that Lululemon was giving away free note-cards for their customers to send a note of gratitude to someone.... That is all very very nice.  In fact, I took a few, and sent even more than what I took - but then again, if you know me, you know that I write notes of love and gratitude as a regular practice... no prompting needed.

Sigh*

Shouldn't we be grateful every day?  Of course we should.  I'm not saying that people shouldn't be shouting from the rooftops, or posting in caps on FB, Twitter, etc or even blogging about it (conspiratorial wink inserted here)... I do think that we shouldn't wait until one holiday a year.... and I hope it is a part of your daily life.  Why not make it a daily tradition... let the gratitude envelope you and surround you with it's comforting warmth.  Know that you are loved and that obstacles are just the universe's way of saying - "hey, you could do better".  Be kind to yourself, and be kind to each other.

I believe in you.

For those who have never experienced the blessing of Arlo Guthrie - enjoy this; a family Thanksgiving tradition for 25 years in my house - plays on the local radio at noon - we all tune in and sing along.  Alice's Restuarant - A Thanksgiving Tradition

A Mothers Love

This year, my son is turning 23.  The same age that I was when I gave birth to him, nearly 23 years ago.  For some reason, this scares me.  I look at him and see my baby.  My beautiful boy who struggled through my young adulthood with me.  My little man who helped me to learn to be the best parent that I could be.  His unconditional love made me feel that I could move mountains.  His unshakable belief in my strength, love, intelligence and protective arms taught me to believe in myself.

My son and I shared our young lives together.  We fought the world together, and stood together against any odds that we came up against.  We would go to the ends of the earth for each other.  And I can honestly say that I love him without condition or reserve.  Like all parents, I want him to do well in his life, to be as successful as he can, and to follow his passion, and find his life's calling - wherever that may take him.

It is not his birthday yet, but this year, I am reflective of my own pregnancy, now 23 years ago, with the only child I would ever give birth to.  23 years ago I was telling my parents the news, preparing for my first ultrasound, and wondering what my life was going to be like in the future.  As I look back at how far we have come in the short span of his life so far, I am amazed.

I am so proud of him for deciding to continue his education, and that he is doing well at this, even though it is sometimes a challenge.  I don't know if I tell him often enough how proud I am.

I am touched that he calls me when the weather is bad, to remind me to drive carefully, and to tell me that he loves me.

I am honored that he can be so frighteningly honest with me, it shows me that he KNOWS that I love him unconditionally. 

In the depths of the winter weather, he is the promise of spring, the joy of summer, and the wonder of amazing autumn. 

Love
MOM

Selling Yourself - Lessons in Self Confidence

What is the difference between self confidence and having a "big ego"?

When people ask me about my skills, I am not always comfortable blowing my own horn.  With a devil-may-care attitude I may say that I am the best, but I often have a hard time "selling myself". 

Friends and clients tell me that I don't charge enough for my services.  But I charge what I am comfortable charging - and that should always be my decision.  Does a high price point mean that I am more psychic than others?  Absolutely not - it just may mean that I have better marketing skills - or really good PR people.

I have been psychic my whole life.  And I feel that I have nothing to prove to anyone else.  I continue to grow and evolve my skills, and I continue to work with clients who are more often than not, pleased with the results of their time with me.

Recently, a friend of mine revamped my website.  She has done an amazing job!  It looks great!  And I am sure that this will be a good selling point in marketing myself.  I have re-worked my business card so they reflect my personality a little more, and have begun to "sell" myself more on the internet - using such agents as facebook, twitter, thumbtack, eventbrite, and linkedin to help promote me.  I have so many blessings of good friends, and good clients who want me to be as successful as I would dare to become.

This is the next leg in the journey for me to embrace my passion more fully than I have ever allowed myself.  I thank you all for your kind and encouraging words which help me to learn to be more confident in selling the LoonWitch.  I am inspired by your feedback as always!

One of the hardest lessons I have learned is how to take a compliment.  I am learning to just say Thank You when someone compliments me on my abilities instead of shying away from the compliment. 

Although many say that there can be no room for the ego in a successful spiritual path, I believe that when you are creating a career around your spiritual path, you need to have a healthy ego.  Being self employed means that you have to be confident, and that does take ego.  But learning to temper and keep yourself well balanced often proves to be a larger challenge as success comes closer.

Faith in People

Today I attended my nephew's confirmation at a United Church of Christ.  Ironically, this is the church that I recommended to my sister-in-law when she asked where she should have her children baptized.  I like this church because it is a small, local church.  It has no stained glass, it is a very typical and quaint New England white board church.  Very simple, as I believe that faith should be - no matter what your faith is.

Everyone who knows me, knows that I value faith.  And though I may not believe the same as you, I respect your right to believe as you will, and enjoy discussing peoples' beliefs with them, without judgement.

During the church service this morning, I was very moved by what I heard the pastor say.  They had a communion service.  And since I am not a Christian, I do not partake in this ceremony as I feel it would be disrespectful to people who believe in this.  But the pastor at this church remarked that she knew many people were there this morning to bear witness to these young people making a serious commitment to their faith.  And she understood that many people in attendance may be of different beliefs.  She wanted to assure those of us who were of a different faith, that we were welcome at the communion table.  And she stated that God loves each of us for who we are in this moment, because we are who we are meant to be.

I will say, that is the nicest thing I have ever heard any clergy person say.  It was said honestly, and embracing that there are many paths to the light we all strive for.  She encouraged these young people to be true to their beliefs and assured them that as they grew, and their beliefs changed, they would still be loved without judgement.

I hope that this is true for all of us.

Faith is a powerful thing.  Religion is something different.  Faith is belief in the intangible.  Science can debunk many things that we believe, and yet, we take the leap of faith to believe them outside of the scientific proof.  Faith is love and compassion.  Faith is warmth in the coldest places, and light in the darkness.  And faith can be unshakable even in the most tumultuous times.  Religion is the governing rules of faith.  We all crave structure in our lives, and religion is a way to give structure to the intangible things that we have faith in.  It gives us leaders to follow.  And sometimes we follow those leaders blindly.

I hope that we all will come to a place where faith is what binds us together, and religion will not tear us apart.  Many of our religious tenets are about having compassion for our fellow man, and often times these tenets do not state that we should have compassion for only those who follow the same religion that we do... instead, we are encouraged to have compassion (not pity) for ALL.

I have faith in people.  In spite of tragedy, war, senseless deaths, murder and the series of crimes we commit against each other.  I still have faith in people.  I believe in love that is boundless and unconditional.  And this morning, the light of my faith burned a little brighter when I was welcomed to a different table, with kindness and compassion.  When I was embraced without judgement.