Spring Is Springing! Are You Springing, Too?

March sunrise.

I feel as though I’m greeting you from a great distance. It’s been a few months since I last wrote a blog, so there’s distance in time. The pandemic is still raging (please keep wearing your mask, get a vaccine when you can, and remember the vaccine doesn’t necessarily prevent you from getting COVID, but it will help you stay alive--kind of a big deal), so there’s still social distancing and keeping connections virtual where/when possible. And additionally, there’s the change within each of us over time which doesn’t necessarily create distance, but does necessitate some maneuvering to figure out where I am in space and how to connect with you from this different space which also provides different perspectives.

While I am aware of the changes, I’m also aware of that which hasn’t changed. If you’ve experienced my guided meditations, you know that I bring awareness to and have you look for what is different as well as what is the same. Here are a few things I am aware of that have changed for me and my world: I am more aware of my need for quality human interaction; I only hit the grocery once a week for the whole household; I am now more comfortable with texting as a way to stay connected with friends; physical contact with other humans is nonexistent. Here are a few things I am aware of that have not changed for me and my world: Lilly is still my best pal; our walks are still a daily practice; patterns and rhythms are still foundations to my sanity; I still need a balance of quiet me-time and interactions with humans.

Here are a few things that have changed in the bigger picture: there are multiple COVID vaccines and they are reaching more people everyday; some politicians are not only listening to their constituents and the majority of the American public, but are taking moral stands; more people understand that mental health is health. Here are a few things that have not changed in the big picture: COVID is still here; systemic racism is still not being addressed; it is still harder to register to vote in most states than it is to buy a gun; there are too many deaths by guns every day.

Are you aware of what has changed and what hasn’t for you in your world?

My Intuitive Guide services have not changed. I am still here for you when you need a different perspective, and some deep relaxation or clearing, and this is still by phone.

My Doggedly Whole private training is still outside at a client’s home. My classes are also outside: I have ongoing Nose Work classes; and I am starting up some new classes next month. I am offering both Nose Work for Beginners and Team Together where you and your dog will learn foundational skills to help you both comfortably navigate the world together. You can find more information on these classes HERE.

May this find you soaking in the green, the new growth, and the emerging colors of a season of hope.

My thanks to you and your companion animals for being part of my world, and for connecting others with me and my work. I look forward to working together more in the future.

~Namaste

Navigating Time: One Perspective

January dawn colors.

So many thoughts swirl in me and my mind feels like a whirlwind when I think of writing something, but today I’ve managed to organize my thoughts a small bit. Time is something that I am fascinated with and by, and the past 9 months of living through this pandemic have really allowed me explore my relationship with time on a different level. What? A relationship with time? I know, it’s not a particularly common perspective. As my main experiential sense of life is spatial, it’s been helpful to realize that part of the pressure I feel as overwhelm is actually coming from my experience of time. Maps have always felt really comfortable for me and in recent years when I started mapping out my weeks and days, I felt better able to navigate time. My maps are a way for me to spatially orient myself, and my actions, in time. My maps aren’t new, but they’ve had a major impact on my ability to navigate the warped feeling time has during this pandemic: where at the same time things feel soo slow and lightning fast.

Much of life seems to be about figuring out myself on a deeper level and better using my strengths to meet my challenges as I expand more fully into my whole self. Knowing myself more deeply allows me to better explore my part of the whole and navigate that back and forth between experiencing myself as part of the whole and experiencing myself as the whole.

While there is obviously so much going on on so many fronts (scientific, medical, political, cultural, and more), this little snippet is what’s come out today. Stay safe, stay informed, stay well.

Are You a Human Being or a Human Doing?

For several reasons, I’m trying to stay in closer contact with friends via messaging and texting in this new reality. While the country is slow as a whole to grasp what is needed to flatten the curve, it is only a matter of time before we’re on a lockdown. Might as well start these patterns to stay in touch with people now. And in more normal times, I know that an important part of my mental and emotional health is quality human time. A normal week for me is full of planned walks and calls with friends to make sure I get that quality human time.

We live in an age where most people spend the vast majority of time staring at a screen. When they’re not working , they’re staring at their phone, tablet, or computer. There’s a massive disconnect. And it’s a disconnect from everything that’s actually real and important. It’s a disconnect from self. It’s a disconnect from other beings: humans and companion animals. It’s a disconnect from the natural world of which we are key parts. People have tried to become human doings instead of human beings. They are constantly doing and going. Being has become something foreign.

Now we are being suddenly tossed onto a new planet where we can’t go and do all the time. And the immediate thought is, “What do I do?” This is a time to look for the constants. This is a time to look for the connections. This is a time to explore yourself and your world in new ways.

What are the constants? First the natural world, of which we are a part, is the most powerful constant. It’s right outside your window. Even if you can’t go outside much or far, or are in an urban area, you have access. Look at the sky: clouds, birds, insects, colors, shapes, movement. Look at the trees and plants and landforms. Look at the animals: insects, birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals. Look for the elements: earth, fire, water, wind, wood, stone, metal, ether, light, star, storm. Look to the humans who are constants and stay in contact with them by phone, video chat, messaging. Look to the companion animals who are always there supporting us. Second, look within yourself for the constants. This may not be as familiar a landscape for you. Take your time with this exploration. What do you know about yourself? Your likes and dislikes, your skills, gifts. What do you know about different aspects of yourself like your physical, emotional, mental, energy bodies? What do you know about your heart space? You will find constants within yourself as you explore.

Where are the connections? These may be with other humans, but they may be with companion animals, plants, characters in books. These may be the connections that you see and feel at more of a distance like the connections between trees in a wood, or the connections between grackles as their flock flies into the tree in your yard. Everything in our world is interconnected. Humans are not special in having and feeling connections. Look around you and explore.

Knowing self is one of the main reasons we are here. You can’t know other until you truly know self. Take this time in this different reality to do some inner spelunking. If you’re at home with your family, do it together. This is how massive change is created: person by person. You have power, use it wisely and with love.

~Namaste

Do You Have Control Freak Tendencies? I Do.

Mercury has already gone direct, but I’m still feeling the effects and growth of the retrograde period. It was a Mercury retrograde unlike others for me: intense and rich. The theme for me had to do control: what is in my control and what is not in my control. I kept experiencing clear moments where I had the awareness that I could choose not to keep sending my energy toward something that was out of my control. I had a major growth moment on an early walk with Lilly one morning. I felt like all my energy was streaming away from me in all directions in tiny little ribbons toward all the many unknowns, and then suddenly there was a shield, a bubble, around me. All that energy that had been streaming away from me toward all the things out of my control bounced off the shield and right back into my center. All my energy I had been wasting on stuff I couldn’t control was suddenly redirected back into/on me. I have since used this experience to redirect my energy when I can feel that I’m losing energy on stuff which is out of my control. Bonuses I’ve already experienced: I have more energy (imagine that); I am more relaxed; the more I do this, the easier (still not easy peasy) it is.

When I think of what’s in my control and what’s not in my control, I easily get overwhelmed because it always feels like there’s so much more out of my control than in my control. (Clearly, this is a piece of my anxiety picture.) With the coronavirus a pandemic now, it feels like the not in my control aspects of life are looming over me. But, using this experience, I now have a new tool to help me bring all my energy back to what is in my control: ME. So along with my daily walking and gratitude practices, and breathing exercises, and a plethora of other tools that I don’t necessarily need on a daily basis, I’ve been focusing on this redirection of my energy, and I’m not only finding glimmers of hope, I’m better able to navigate life.

~Namaste

Have You Mapped Yourself? Let’s Do It!

Because for me life is an exploration, I am always looking into different aspects of self and other. Lately, the patterns and beliefs I’m uncovering in my deep dives are fascinating. Sometimes what I find is completely new, sometimes it’s a different level of something I already know, but everything is an insight that I need right now (due to the current bigger energies, I believe). Because life is change, we’re always in transition. I find that to be a helpful reminder fairly regularly.

This summer I read this article about walking and felt a deep resonance with what Shane O’Mara, a neuroscientist, is studying and has found about the links between walking and cognitive function and depression. I know that walking is a key component of mental health for me. I know that walking is when thoughts rearrange themselves, when insights occur, when my brain is able to relax. O’Mara calls walking a superpower and I know that walking is a key component to my knowledge of and continued explorations of other realms. My superpower is actually an important piece of my gift as a realm walker. I know, how mystical and fantastical that sounds! In reality it’s such a part of me that it took years to separate it out as something that not everyone experiences.

O’Mara also talks about theta brainwaves and walking and spatial learning. (Yes, this guy hits on everything, including rhythm, that I have been writing and talking about for years!) Being spatial (not just as a learner, but as a way of being) for me means that I use time, place, current emotional, mental, and physical states (and more) all as markers for knowing where I am in relation to other, whether that’s beings, emotional, mental, physical state, or beyond. Basically I am always mapping my existence. I talk about navigating a lot and that’s because I am always mapping and moving within the map inside of me. This cool article reminded me that maps are narratives. And just like life is change, maps are always changing, too.

The guided meditation work I do helps people discover who and what and how they are in relation to others (ideas, aspects, beings, etc.). What we’re doing together is mapping you in your current world. Regular work together keeps your mapping skills honed and helps you navigate daily life and keep up with life (changes). If you are in the midst of a larger transition a session can be a huge support in shoring up your boundaries, and bringing clarity to your perspectives, and possibilities. We’re heading into the time where each 24 hour window has more dark and less light. Now is the perfect time to get some inner mapping done to prepare for the next season. You can schedule your session HERE or HERE.

~Namaste

I’m a Fraud! Oh, Wait! Just Human.

Final summer sunset 2019.

It’s officially the first day of autumn, and I’m reaping my harvest. I’ve been experiencing epiphanies and uncovering and exploring old, deep beliefs. So, here I am, again, in a multi-layered transformation. In this life so far, I find that, for me, the discovery and exploration of the deep beliefs and patterns is often just as important, if not more important, than the dismantling, unraveling, shedding, releasing of said beliefs and patterns. Yet, right now it feels like this belief is in a central aspect of my being and very rooted, and I am feeling my mental body try to kick in and overwhelm (overthink) the rest of me.

In recent years, I’ve discovered and recognized the belief that “there will never be enough for me to do more than eke out a living.” Wait, what?! Here’s the thing with the old, deep beliefs, there’s never any logic involved. These are beliefs that are epigenetic, that are tied into the reptilian part of our brains, that are about survival. This summer’s harvest has uncovered the belief that “I can never be enough” which leads to constantly striving for perfection in the hopes that no one will notice that I am a fraud (at being human). I know! Just today I was journaling and found my brain trying to take over with worries and fears about what to do with these beliefs and the patterns they hold together.

My process is my process (just as your process is your process). It is one of flow, one of deeply being me in my daily practices: walking, writing, gratitude. I recognize and acknowledge the belief and then I let go of it and it’s like the idea or essence of it floats around in my being. And I start to feel or see where it is connected to or in other parts of me; I start to sense the patterns within me that have grown from the belief. I tend not to even look for the whys of a belief, though sometimes they’ll appear somewhere along the journey. The now is where I focus. So, here I am at the equinox, opening to the strong, accessible energy of balance, feeling it stream into me. And working with this balance, I can feel the shifts begin at my core.

It is a new season, a new day, and I am always me even as I am a new me with each breath. Breathe, be you, part of the whole.

~Namaste

Seeking Unity on This Journey

Yellow Mountain dawn gloaming

August flew by with busy days and the steadily lengthening dark. Our early morning walks are shifting, bit by bit, with the light. More of our feathered friends are moving through on their journeys toward their winter homes. Deer are herding up: coats browning, antlers growing, fawns so much bigger now. It’s so dry here; leaves are already falling steadily from some trees. The creeks, rivers, ponds, and lakes levels continue to drop and some are almost completely dry. After such a wet year last year, this feels even more drastic.

Migrations: many species migrate as a regular and key part of their existence. Climate change is like a pendulum swinging farther to the extremes and there is extremely noticeable change of many species due to this. The refugee crisis around the world is tied into the effects of climate change on humans and the thought that humans don’t migrate is absurd. As a species we have long (probably always) migrated even if the reasons may appear different. There are many other species who are adjusting in a positive way and there is always much we can learn from other beings.

Separation and unity are two opposite experiences for us as humans. Separation is often tied in with the fear based us against them perspective. Unity is what most of us are actually seeking: a belonging and feeling of being known and accepted and loved. But in our current culture and society, these two are often woven together in a warped way, so people unite around a sports teams or school or country but take it to an extreme with a fear based us against them perspective. We already belong, it’s being able to remember and know that we belong to this greater whole that is key.

Part of my mission is to help people experience unity and belonging as part of nature, part of the larger organism of Gaia and this multiverse. I am forever thinking of “when I walk” sentences as I try to put into words the powerful beyond words experience every time I take a walk. But, all those sentences boil down to: when I walk I know I am part of the whole. And while walking is one way I experience unity and belonging as part of nature, another way is to experience heart to heart connections with other beings. Whenever I work with a new client for a companion animal session, there is an added layer of joy-aha-pure life when a person experiences that heart to heart level with their companion animal(s). The newfound awareness of unity, belonging, connection is profound.

~Namaste

Heat, White Supremacist Terrorists, and Creating Change

Our donkey friends were such lovely silhouettes in the dawn.

We’re almost at the halfway point between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox. It’s another hot summer. The National Weather Service issued a report in July showing that here in Charlottesville the average number of days above 90 is 21, and by mid July we’d already had 39. Yes, almost double, and that was still in July. This is also another summer of white supremacist terrorist attacks. It’s been two years since the attack in Charlottesville and the numbers (all of whom have names and are not merely the numbers it feels they have become) of blacks and people of color who have been murdered continue to rise. Until we face the past, acknowledge that our current systems were built upon white supremacy, and still maintain and promote white supremacy, we will continue to experience mass horrors and atrocities.

What does any of this have to do with the energy realm?

Part of my purpose in this life is to explore and help others explore how we are part of the whole, this whole multiverse. A key piece of this perspective is recognizing that choosing a path that harms others is a path that ultimately harms you, too, because you and others are actually parts of the whole and thus, all one.

Knowing yourself energetically and knowing how you fit into the whole is powerful and empowering. When we dive in for a guided meditation, yes, I am guiding you, but you are the one exploring and experiencing yourself in different ways and in different realms. You are the one gleaning new perspectives and insights. By knowing yourself and how you fit into the whole, you are able to see where and how things need to change and you are able to use your specific gifts and skills to create change and help the whole.

A case in point about using your gifts to create change: in case you didn’t check Layla F. Saad out before, please do. Her work is amazing and not only life changing, but world changing! Her book will be out in February.

As we head toward the equinox and the energy of balance that comes with it, it’s a great time for a session on any topic, aspect of self, or area of your life that could benefit from some balancing. Schedule HERE or contact me HERE.

Current Energies, Transformation, and Bears, Oh My!

July dawn beam. Just like food is the original medicine, self-care is energetic nourishment.

The eclipse season starts tomorrow with the new moon total solar eclipse (visible in South America) and Mercury goes retrograde on Sunday. It’s not just getting hot outside, the inner realms are getting hot, too! I’ve been experiencing lots of shifts on all layers and feel like June couldn’t possibly have been so full when it flew by so fast. There’s much about completion right now from deaths to jobs to personal patterns to karmic patterns. I’m seeing it in others, hearing it from others, and experiencing doozy level completions myself. If you’re interested in seeing what resonates for you in the current astrology, check here to see the astrologers I follow.

Last week I had a brief but clear dream full of nonhuman animals, with the closest and most prominent being a large bear sitting in front of me staring at me. I felt no fear, just a very matter of fact sense of being in the presence of a bear. The following morning Lilly and I met a friend for an early morning hike where we saw a huge bear walking down the trail towards us. We stopped, bear stopped. And eventually the bear turned around and walked back down the trail with one pause and glance over the shoulder at us before disappearing around the curve. We waited a bit before proceeding along the trail. The bear had left the trail at some point and we neither saw nor heard any more from a bear on our hike. For this to occur in the space of deep transformation I am currently experiencing feels potent. It is summer and I normally see lots of wildlife, but the past month has been rich with wildlife. Typically I don’t feel that the nonhuman creatures I see or hear are messengers, it’s more that they remind me of the webs within which we exist, and the similarities and differences among all of us as parts of the whole. Especially in a time of transformation, the support that I feel from so many reminders helping me remember and know I am part of the whole is priceless and affirming.

How are you currently navigating and/or experiencing life?

In my quest to reach more people with whom to share my work, I have a super short survey for you. Thank you for taking a few minutes to fill it out!

Are You Grounded? What Does That Even Mean?

Yellow Mountain June sunrise.

While being grounded is something I’ve always been able to do, or really be, with a fair amount of ease, I am always (still) exploring it and ways of describing it. Grounded can have different meanings. Typically when people talk about being grounded, they mean specifically grounded in the earth. But for someone who does not have earth as one of her major elements, being grounded in earth can actually be a big interruption of flow. We are here in this human experience physically connected to this planet and we need to maintain that physical connection to the earth herself. But we don’t have to be weighed down by it.

I find that a different perspective or way of describing being grounded is: the flow in connection here in this body. If you’ve worked with me, you’ve, more than likely, experienced gold and brown light flowing through you, the connecting energies between your higher self and the earth. This is your manifestation in the physical plane. And this is an important connection to maintain. For many folks who don’t have earth as a major element, shifting the definition of grounded to a connection between higher self and the planet can make a huge difference. It is suddenly not an interruption of your being or a burden, but a connecting flow allowing you to be you.

Another aspect of being grounded which is less about the earth element and more about your major elements, has to do with being fully of the essence of the elements that are your major elements. This allows you to have a very different support within your energy structure. I used to specifically offer a short guided meditation for discovering your major elements where part of the discovery was receiving a shortcut to shift you into the space of sensing that support in your energy structure. This specific meditation hasn’t been called upon recently, but it’s suddenly come back into the light.

While being grounded has been a theme recently with clients, it’s also timely with the bigger energies. This week we’ve got the full moon (full earlier this morning at 4:30am) and the solstice on Friday at 11:54am. When the bigger energies, or people without healthy boundaries are pulling you off kilter, find your way into your elemental structure and you’re able to more safely and comfortably navigate the world.

Be sure to get outside to lie, sit, walk, dance this week. I have been feeling a pull to lead a solstice walk Friday evening, but so far have only receive a vague bit instead of details. If this interests you, please let me know and we’ll line it up.

~Namaste

Current Energies

June sunrise glow

It’s been an interesting roll from May into June. In mid May intense despair moved in, but even while experiencing it, I was aware of how different it was. I was depressed for a number of years and my experience of depression was being dragged into an abyss of despair and being stuck there. This recent despair was a presence in my energy body. I felt constricted with a sense of pressure from all directions, and I struggled to be me in every moment. I used all my skills working with this despair and it was just lodged there; there was no moving anything. And then after almost two weeks of this, I could suddenly feel it moving. It dissipated and flowed out of me over a 24 hour period. And that was when I realized just how much of my space it had been taking up. I was expanded into my whole self again. I could actually feel flashes of hope again.

I’m now in the midst of deep transformation with insights popping up right and left and all sorts of shedding going on. That despair was definitely a part of this transformation: setting me up for the different, the new, and reminding me of how much space I have that is mine to fill. This transformation feels specifically related to old, unhealthy patterns of perception of self, being human, love, and relating to other humans. Piece of cake, right?!

Today is a new moon and we’re only weeks away from the summer solstice. The days are stretching so long. There is so much light we can easily access. What seeds are you planting? What old blossoms are you releasing to the winds?

Here are two takes on the current energies that resonate with me.

https://thepowerpath.com/monthly-forecast/june-2019-monthly-forecast/

https://chaninicholas.com/horoscopes-for-the-new-moon-in-gemini-june-2019/

https://thepowerpath.com/moon-updates/moon-update-6-3-19-to-7-1-19/

May you know you are whole.

May you know you are part of the whole.

May you know you are light.

Timing, Rhythms, and Paths

Blue grosbeak

When you pay attention to timing, rhythms, and paths, you find where you intersect with others. On our morning walks this is literal. While the time of our walk shifts with the light throughout the year, it’s a pretty gradual shifting most of the time. Who do we intersect with? Four deer cross our path at the same spot for much of the year. Grasshopper sparrows and meadowlarks are in the same areas of field and fence as we pass by from spring through fall. The adult foxes have slightly more variable rhythms but we often see one or know one has just crossed our path. This year the blue grosbeaks are nesting close to our path and this morning we got to see the male in a display with head feathers spiked, tail feathers dragging the ground, and wings moving slowly out and in as the female watched from the fence. He was just ahead of us and didn’t seem perturbed by us. We stopped to watch (just as we stop for the deer to cross) and he eventually flew up to where the nest seems to be. For me, awareness of where I intersect with others who are wild(er than I) really helps me know I am part of the whole. I can feel my part in the symphony of life. Who are you intersecting with and where?

Intense Times: Finding Support

We are currently experiencing some intense times, again. Astrologically there’s a fair amount going on and if you are looking for some insights and resonance, check here:

https://thepowerpath.com/monthly-forecast/april-2019-monthly-forecast/

https://thepowerpath.com/moon-updates/full-moon-update-4-19-19/

https://chaninicholas.com/horoscopes-full-moon-libra-april-2019/

These energies magnify our individual issues, but we all seem to be feeling the same level of intensity. I have been experiencing despair as I haven’t felt it in years. And while it’s hard, I’m very aware of just how different I am now, and how much better I am at knowing what is self and what is non-self. This is allowing me to experience the despair as waves that move through me and out of me. Previously, I could only get overwhelmed by and stuck in the despair. I find that I am ever more grateful for and clear on what helps me maintain awareness of my connection with source.

It’s spring, so my feathered allies are everywhere, whether migrating through or arriving for the next several months. Each bird view and song is like a vibration in my core where I can feel these birds are me; we are source. I am also ultra aware of the difference between quantity human contact and quality human contact. Now is a time when quality human contact can really make a big difference for you. Support is ever present, we just have to remember to search for it.

If you need help finding that support, contact me for a session! We can work together to clear away the murk and debris to open up the heart to heart lines that connect all of life.

Clearing Connections

Lately, I’ve been aware of an extra active mental state. My mental body defaults to override overrule in harder or more intense times and I’ve been noticing this old pattern trying to overwhelm the balance I move in, towards, through on a daily basis. But one of the interesting benefits of this is that I have flashes of insight when I’m not even looking for them. I got a good one the other day. I’m always listening closely to the words clients use when they talk about working with me. I know that how I perceive my work is not always the same way clients perceive my work. (Major part of this human experience, right?!) I talk about perspectives a lot and I know that clearing is a good way to define much of the work that I do, sort of the umbrella of my work. I also talk about how the heart to heart connections we have with all of life are the basis of my work. But, I hadn’t really seen it as actually clearing those heart to heart connections. Basically, I help you clear connections. Look at that, a short sentence to describe my work!

Many folks immediately go to chakras when they think of energy work. My work is coming from a different perspective and the base is that we are all part of the whole. We’re all connected to each other and to all of life. These connections can get fuzzy, clogged, skewed, and need attention. Clearing is the mainstay of this work, but just experiencing the perspective of these heart to heart connections is powerful. While I do some chakra work, more often I draw on elements, higher harmonics, and rays.

That being said, Spring Cleaning: the Energy Level is a phone class doing just that. We’ll be clearing the connections between you and the house, the house and the land, you and the land, as well as the house structure itself, and the land itself. I didn’t specify previously, but this class will be recorded, so if you’re interested but busy on April the 9th from 7-8pm, you can still take the class via the recording. Know someone who’s selling their house, just moved, renovating or just wants something different in current life? Share this class with them. Your house is your foundation and this clearing work will ripple into all aspects of your life. Register!

Equinox Thoughts on Balance

Vernal Equinox Dawn

I’ve always got a lot to say about balance, and today is the equinox which is all about balance, so here are a few snippets.

Balance isn’t a destination, it’s an ongoing state of flux. It’s the difference between thinking you are in the river and you will arrive at the ocean and that is the goal, the end, and knowing you are the water, whether the river or the ocean or rain running down the gutter in a storm. When I think about balance, I like to think about how much water is in our physical bodies; over half of our bodies is water. Flow is natural for us to feel and experience as we are already amazing containers for flow. But in today’s fast paced world of instant gratification, many of us have forgotten how to access and experience flow. While flow is most easily associated with water and other liquids, flow can be found in sounds, breathing, physical movement, and more.

Balance and flexibility go hand in hand as it is hard, if not impossible, to find balance if you are not flexible, just as flow is not going to be as easy if you’re like ice, moving reeaally slowly, or moving super fast. It can be an easy shift from the physical body to the mental, emotional, and energy bodies when we’re talking about flexibility, balance, and flow. Our minds tend to lean towards symmetry, but balance doesn’t have to be exact because, remember, it’s not an end goal.

Balance is being the water, not being the captain of a boat on the water. Balance is acknowledging and accepting what you are and are not in control of. Balance is recognizing that you’re swimming and you can move your body in the water, but that ultimately the water is moving you somewhere, too.

Here are a few simple things you can try out for yourself as tools to assist you in finding flow, flexibility, and balance.

• Breathwork

• Walking or other physical movement

• Floating or swimming

• Listening to music or nature sounds

• Meditation of whatever form suits you that’s not listed above

While this is by no means the be all and end all on balance (there isn’t one, right?!), it’s another piece of what I like to think is an ongoing dialogue on and exploration of balance. What are your thoughts on balance? I’d love to hear.

Insights of the Dark Season: Limiting Beliefs

Life feels to be a continual shedding and creating. I have long used both breath and eye blinks as reminders that I am new. Especially this winter, I am feeling an intensity of this newness on a daily basis. Sometimes insights hit me with unexpected force. As December drew to a close I had several insights arrive with that unexpected force. Timing can be everything and in this case it was. One of these insights had to do with a limiting belief. It wasn’t new to me that I had this particular limiting belief, but I was finally able and ready to see/hear/know it’s bigger impact on my existence. I finally got the possibilities of who I could be without this belief.

Limiting beliefs are often built off of old patterns (inherited or absorbed or learned early in the current life or carried over from a previous life) and thus slip past our radar time and again. When they are suddenly highlighted, there can be a clarity to the connecting lines between the belief and those old patterns. So how have I shifted since recognizing that limiting belief? What did I do? I didn’t really do anything. I’ll explain.

I tend to use the time in bed after I turn out the lights as my sacred space. I ask for assistance, guidance, support. I set intentions. And what I realized most recently is that this is where I let in source in a different way. This is where I have practiced and am learning to allow and receive. One strong view in our culture is that you have to do something to something and this is often tied into the belief that fixing is what it's all about. I have found that shifts often occur when you let go and allow what is to be, when you receive what is and accept it as it is. This allows a detachment to occur and the tethers we’ve created often vanish. At base this is all a shift in perspective.

I laugh at that last sentence because for me so much comes down to perspective. It’s one of the foundations of my work. And on that note, I’d like to share that my work is shifting and I’m now offering my sessions in a slightly different format. There’s more of a combined reading and healing aspect to my work and if you’re interested in more details please hit reply to this email. I’d love to share. I’m also exploring some future offerings and look forward to sharing more on those soon.

I’d love to connect with more like-minded people, so if you know someone you think might resonate with my work, please share this post.

• If you’re looking for nature connection in the physical realm, we can arrange a walk’n’talk and get you noticing your surroundings in new ways, email for a session.

• If you’re looking for deep relaxation (and clearing), email for a session.

• If you’re looking for nature connection across the tiny screen in front of you, follow me on Instagram: @intuitive_energy_guide and you’ll get views and positive words all in one spot; and on Facebook at Elizabeth Bain, Intuitive Energy Guide and Elizabeth Bain.

• Dog training is an exciting and fun part of my world. If you're interested in what I'm doing, be sure to find Doggedly Whole on fb and ig, too. Shared moments of joy with your 4-legged(s) are amazing!

~Namaste

A Lesson as a Shapeshifter

I am a shapeshifter. For me, one of the (many) gifts that comes with being a shapeshifter, is my ability to understand others and their views even in situations I have not personally experienced. This is a powerful and amazing gift, but gifts have lessons, too, areas of growth.

Somewhere along the way, my ability to understand others and my ability to stay in connection with source and know my worth have gotten tangled up at the edges. When I am not centered, grounded, and aligned with source, I fall into the disarray of those tangled edges. That is a default setting that was highlighted recently when I was too understanding of someone else and didn’t stand up for myself. When I am not centered, grounded, and in alignment with source, I get lost and/or stuck in the other being’s perspective and can’t get back to myself to see my own perspective.

Do you have default settings? I certainly do. Once I am aware of them, I explore and mine them for information on the wheres and whys, and do any clearing or resetting that is healthy and right for me. Over time, I work the different layers as they are exposed doing what I can and need to do at that point. For me this is all part of this human experience. Is this something you might need help with? I’m here!

I am considering leading a small, group walk to broaden perspectives and show ways of reconnecting with the world of which we are a small part. If this is something that interests you, please reply to this email to let me know.

• If you’re looking for some nature connection in the physical realm, we can arrange a walk’n’talk and get you noticing your surroundings in new ways, email for a session.

• If you’re looking for some deep relaxation (and clearing), email for a session.

• If you’re looking for some nature connection across the tiny screen in front of you, follow me on Instagram: intuitive_energy_guide and you’ll get views and positive words all in one spot.

• Dog tricks are an exciting and fun part of my world at the moment with teaching classes and working with Lilly. Be sure to find Doggedly Whole on fb and ig, too. Shared moments of joy with your 4-legged(s) are so healing!

As always I love to hear your thoughts and current reality! Thank you for your continued support and referrals.

~Namaste

~Mirrors and Connections~

A magical piece of this human experience is synchronicities. I find there are times, typically the bigger transformation points, when I notice them all around me, and other times when I do not notice them as often. One of the interesting bits for me in the end of this month is the synchronicities with mirrors. I enjoyed a good fantasy read earlier in the month which has a magical mirror called the Ouroboros (which is the ancient image of the snake or dragon eating its own tail as a symbol of wholeness). No one has been able to claim this mirror for hundreds of years because to claim it you must look into it. No one remembers the last being to claim it. It’s been in the same place for so long, and those who have looked into it have died. But this character is desperate and called to claim the mirror. When she looks into it she sees all of herself, the good and the bad, and understands that those who have died looking into it have not been able to accept themselves as all they see. Just days after reading this book, I was led through a centering exercise where there was a mirror in front of me that reflected my divine self. And a day later while in conversation with a friend, we were mirrors for each other. The Power Path writes that the forecast for June is all about a Reality Check. I am finding that these mirrors are an interesting tool for this Reality Check which is happening on so many different levels. With the solstice and new moon last week, I feel like a different being with new patterns from my deep inner core radiating outward creating a new life externally. The big theme for me, the second half of this month especially, is connections. Not only am I aware of new patterns and ease of connecting with other humans (always easier for me to connect across species), but the opportunities for connections abound. The new way the presence of my feathered allies provides me with not just a feeling of support, but a knowing I am connected and one with source. And the clouds this month have been beautiful and huge, stretching across miles of the sky. When I am cloud watching I feel so tiny, but at the same time I feel connected to the all and am as massive as the whole sky, one with the clouds. What are you noticing as this month draws to a close? I’d love to hear your experiences.                                                                          

Reminders

The Elderberry

Tuesday, July 25 4-6pm and Tuesday, August 22 4-6pm

I will be offering free mini-sessions focusing on the heart to heart connection between you and your companion animals. If you have a specific issue or just want to deepen the connection with your pet, join me for a 15 minute one on one guided meditation.

September (dates to be announced)

I will be offering a 3 part class. (You can sign up for all or just one or two.)

Energy Healing for Pets

Part 1: All Healing is Energy Healing. Are you interested in ways you can help your pets be healthier and happier? Come learn how diet, herbs, flower essences, and homeopathy can help you and your companion animals.

Part 2: Know and Strengthen Your Pet’s Structures. You might know something about your chakras, but do you know about your pet’s chakras? Learn about both energetic and physical structures of your cats and dogs.

Part 3: Animal Communication. Let’s deepen the connection between you and your companion animal. Communication is a joint effort; let’s learn the whys and hows.

Now offering dog walking services in Crozet. 30 minute midday walks for those dogs who need to get out and move. I will also happily toss in some tricks clicker training if dogs need some extra brain work. Just like we need physical and mental stimulation, our dogs do, too! (Lilly and I have been working on some new dance moves. Have you seen our video on instagram at handle intuitive_energy_guide?) If you don’t live in Crozet, but know someone who does, thank you for passing along my information!

Buying, selling, or renovating houses can be greatly supported by my work. Together we can create the energetic space for movement in your real estate world, email me for a session or more details.

Walking this earth, knowing that I am part of her, is a sacred act. Should you want to experience this sacred space of walking the earth, please email me for details. I am always honored to support you in finding a heart-centered perspective in a phone session, if that’s what you’re looking for. Just let me know how I can help.

~Namaste

~The Rest of Lilly’s Name and Inner Tectonic Plates Have Shifted~

Since Lilly arrived a little more than a year ago, we have been on many swimming outings. She loves to swim for her squeaky ball, and is far easier on her body in the water than she is scrambling madly on the earth. Most of her swims are at public lakes which means there are usually other people around. She draws attention with her exuberance, powerful launching, and serious focus. And she has a following; people of all ages and sorts are fascinated by her. Just this weekend we were out for her swim and a couple strolling around the lake came to a halt to watch her. When we did a few practice launches from the dock, the man sat down, pulled out his phone and videoed her launches, smiling the whole time. The couple sat and watched her swim for at least 10 or 15 minutes and thanked me when they left. Just like when people tell me she’s beautiful and I reply, “Lilly says thank you,” when people thank me for getting to watch her swim, I say, “Lilly is glad you’ve enjoyed it.” She was just over 2 years old when she came to me and there was never any question of changing her name, but I did discover in the last month that there is more to her name. She is Lilly, Bringer of Joy.

This past year with Lilly has been one of deep level growth for both of us. Since late winter, I have had continued messages that June would be a pivotal month for me, personally, and for my business. No details, just a knowing that there is a new unfolding occurring. Last Monday, not even June yet, things started shifting in the physical plane, and this past week has given me a peek into what this month will be like: exciting with a new flow, clarity, and light. I am still grounded in this being, this time, this planet, but my tectonic plates have shifted, especially with the transformation experiences in May. I continue to feel as though my ability to connect with other humans, previously something that was far harder than connecting with other species, is opening wide. Thanks to Lilly, Bringer of Joy, I am more aware of my connections with all beings. My years of gratitude practice and this year with Lilly are the foundation for this new more solid experience of the double helix flow of gratitude and joy, an experience of being one with source that Naisha Ahsian describes in her Crystal Ally Cards.

With the solstice coming up this month, we’re in the stretch of the longest days of the year. The colors of the world are rich and layered. The plants and animals are full of life. There is always powerful energy to connect with on this planet. Remember to connect to source, Gaia, the stars, breathe, and be you.

Lilly and I invite you to expand into yourself, your already whole light self, and experience the joy and gratitude flow of life. As always, I am here to support you. Please email to schedule a session. If you want to try something different, I have limited availability for walking sessions. These can be especially helpful if you seek a new perspective and/or feel as though you whole body could benefit from a sacred earth connection. Also if you’re on instagram, you can now find me at intuitive_energy_guide.     

~Namaste

Allowing Wholness: A New Way of Being

Last week I got to meet a falconer’s Harris’s hawk, Lexi, and I can still feel the experience rearranging my perceptions of self. How we connect to, are aware of, and define self is a journey in and of itself. During the entire event, I was in an extended state of detached observation of self, and it was similar to an out of body experience. From the moment I was within about 50 feet of the vehicle the hawks were in, my energy was stretching out and already merging with the birds’ energy. I was thrilled and honored to be the last person to hold her on my hand and have her (what I read as happily) squawking and moving her wings about some, too, for a long time. While she was on my hand, I was fully aware of my physical body, my feet on the ground, Lexi on my hand. But, I was also one with Lexi, in the space beyond the physical form.                         

                   
This merging into oneness has opened me to a new level of feeling and being whole. I am me, but I am also the All, and I am whole in all ways. There is often such resistance to our true nature, but when we explore and are open to trying new things, we are more likely to experience a new way of being, or a new perspective of being. Today is the vernal equinox and we are hovering in the balance point between the dark and the light. This celestial balance point feels so supportive for setting the intention of allowing wholeness as our new way of being.
 
May you remember you are always whole.

To keep you up to date on the latest shifts in my work: over the last 5 months I've done some work with a few clients, dogs and humans, where I do energy work for no more than 30 minute stints for 2 or 3 days in a row. This is showing to be extremely helpful support in cases of physical injuries and I feel this would also be very appropriate for pre and post surgery situations as well. As always, I'm here to support you in transitions, big and small, and to provide a new level of connection with your companion animals. Thank you for your interest and support.

Happy Spring!
~Namaste