Happy Mother’s Day!

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Matt Williams

Today is Mother’s Day. Well, at least it is here in the U.S. In the early 1900′s Anna Jarvis began a campaign for all Americans to take a day out of their busy lives to stop and celebrate their mothers. It began as a memorial for her own mother and a celebration of her life. From there, it has grown into a nationally recognized holiday and one that has taken root in numerous other countries as well. While it is true that the celebration of motherhood has been taking place for centuries, it wasn’t until this time that a specific day was set aside for the recognition of those that bore us all.

There are many reasons to celebrate a holiday such as this and the beauty of it is that every person has a unique set of reasons. There are no two people on earth that have the same relationship or history with their mothers. Even those born as twins or other multiples, have unique experiences throughout their lives that give them personal ups and downs leading to their individual relationships. Regardless of your current relationship state with your mother, today is a day to reflect on how she has helped to influence your life and shape who you are today.

The relationship that we have with our mothers is a curious one. For us men, she is our first love. Not in some creepy Oedipal way, but she is how we first learn to relate to women and harmonize with the opposite sex. It is in our relationship with her that we begin to define what it is that we appreciate and dislike about women. In her love we find compassion and caring. In her admonitions we find guilt and sadness. For most of us, there are few things that push our buttons more and affect our emotions more than our mothers. Even if we are in a heated argument and cannot stand to look at her, and I’m sure we have all been there, there is a knowledge or at least a presumption that her love is still under all that frustration. It is unfortunate that we don’t often recognize this until we ourselves become parents but it is there.

For the women, well, I have no idea what the heck is going on in your heads. The mother-daughter relationships that I have witnessed in my life have all been a mish-mash of love, hate, anger, jealousy, giddiness, caring and complete perplexity. It has always seemed from my perspective that the relationship they share is one of the mother wanting desperately for the daughter to grow up better than she. While at the same time, the daughter seeking to do her best to grow up to be as good as she sees her mom being. All in all, they both seem to be seeking the same thing. For some reason they just can’t seem to see that themselves. Yet another reason that I may never fully understand women.

Our mothers often seem to have a very determined goal for us in their heads. Sure they want us to be happy and healthy, but I think there is often much more than that going on too. Even before we have career plans for ourselves, they have been watching us and seeing what we are good at. They are plotting and planning to give us the opportunities to shine and showcase our talents whether we wanted to or not. When I think back on all the things that my mother pushed me to do, I see her now as nurturing my strengths and building my weaknesses. Back then, well, she was just being pushy and making me do things that I had not intention of doing.

My mother and I have not always seen eye to eye. I have challenged her patience and love on a number of occasions and yet she has always risen above my stunts. As an adult, there are things that we are forced to simply agree to disagree and yet I know that she still holds a deep love and respect for me. Even when she thinks I’m off my rocker. I know that she does not agree with all of my life choices, but she knows that they are mine and that I still love her too. Even when I know she’s wrong.

Despite our differences, she has raised me to be a strong independent man. She has helped me to learn how to love deeply, work hard and be honest with myself. In honor of her and all that she has done to shape my life, I wanted to share some of the things that I am thankful for on this day. This list is by no means complete and is in no order of chronological or emotional importance. It is simply my thoughts on how blessed I am to have been raised by such a woman.

On this mother’s day I am thankful for you:

Birthing me
Clothing me for many years
Changing hundreds maybe thousands of diapers
Loving me unconditionally
Allowing me to explore even when you felt it wasn’t safe

Speaking your mind when you felt you needed to
Cleaning up the mess after I decided to eat all the spare change on the counter and puke it back up an hour later
Letting me help with the Christmas cookies every year
Showing me that the cookies were only partly about the sugar intake and that they were also about family
Teaching me the importance of learning how to cook for myself
Teaching me the value of diversity and acceptance
Expanding my horizons
Staying up late to call me out on being stupid
Never allowing my laziness to be my best
Not going completely postal when you found me bleeding profusely after wrestling with my brother
Grounding me when I didn’t show up for dinner
And for letting me off so much sooner than either of my siblings would have gotten
Providing me with siblings that love me even when I was a whiny brat (no doubt they probably still think that at times)
The carefree nature that you inspire in my children
Giving me the opportunity to learn life skills
Taking us camping and exposing us to nature
Providing me with a solid educational background
Giving me a strong spiritual footing
Taking me to work with you and teaching me at a young age the importance of a work ethic
For the life lessons learned in joy
For the life lessons learned in pain
Threatening me with military school
And for not following through on that threat
Always striving to do your best
Always giving me just enough rope to hang myself by
Encouraging my independance and self sufficiency
Teaching me your values and allowing me to develop my own
Not knowing or at least not letting on that you know about most of the stupid stuff I did when I was young
Not beating me senseless over the stupid things you did know about
At least trying to understand even when you couldn’t agree with my choices
Bringing people into my life that challenged me to be better
Being a wonderful grandmother
Being uniquely you

There are a myriad of other things that I could thank you for, Mom. You have always been a powerful supporter of mine, even if it was behind the curtain. With out your love and encouragement, I would not be the man that I am today. Despite all the ups and downs in my life and our relationship, I have no regrets. Every moment of our lives has helped to shape who I am. My life, my love, my family and my friendships have all been touched by your influence whether you now it or not. For that I thank you.

Not everyone has had the blessing of being raised by a loving mother. Some have lost their mothers too young, or not known them at all. Whether your mother is still with you on the physical plane or not, know that she is still with you in spirit. I have no doubt that there are some of you listening that are not in a good place with your mothers right now. For all of you, I hope that can find it in your highest good to think highly of your mother for at least this one day. She may or may not have been the best maternal figure. You may or may not have been the best child. But the emotional and physical bond is still there and will always be. Today is a day to reflect on who she was and who we are now because of her.

Super Moon to the rescue!

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Matt Williams

We all know that the movement of the moon around the earth affects us. The orbit of the moon and the gravitational pull that it has on us is the main cause of the tidal shifts around the world. There is also wide speculation that the moon and its cycle has a profound effect on our bodies as well. For centuries, it was believed that the full moon brought out an added level of crazy to people. This is the time of the month where monsters like werewolves appeared to wreak havoc on unsuspecting villages. Even our modern words like “lunacy” and “lunatic” have their roots in the Roman goddess of the night, Luna. Though the vast majority of the claims of lunar effect on the human brain have been dismissed by science, these beliefs still hold on in our culture. More recently, it has been speculated that when the full moon swings closer to the earth in its natural rotation, there is an even greater effect on us.

At approximately 10:30 pm, Saturday night the moon’s orbit brought it to within 222,000 mi of the earth. It also brought the moon into alignment with the sun to give us the reflective face that we call a “full moon”. This event happens once every 13.5 months or so given the elliptical orbit of our closest celestial buddy and the path that we both take around the sun. Due to a bunch of scientific laws and mathematical properties, which I will not burden you with here, the apparent size and relative brightness of the moon is seen to be approximately 12% greater than a regular full moon. In 1979 the term “SuperMoon” was coined by Astrologer Richard Nolle to describe this event.

Needless to say, the term has not been adopted by the scientific community. Nor has its effect on humans been accepted. Does that mean it doesn’t exist? Well, I’m not so sure of that. There have been studies upon studies trying to see if the cycle of the moon really does play a measurable effect on the human body. This has been done through the study of the body’s chemistry, emotional reaction, physical change and mental influence. There have also been studies that have looked at social dynamics and behavioral changes in relation to the lunar cycle. Investigations have been done to look into whether or not there is a measurable effect of traffic accidents, crime, unusual behavior and more. Nearly every study shows the same thing. No measurable effect. None. Nada, Zip.

Yet, with all these studies and the lack of any evidence showing that there is a correlation, there is still widespread belief that the moon somehow manipulates our bodies, brains and emotional centers to act just a little off. Look through the comments in any online article about these studies. You will find a majority of the comments are telling stories of how the moon affects them or their environment. Their workplaces go nuts, their families get crazy, their pets act haywire. There are still police departments that consciously add extra officers to the patrols during full moons. There are hospitals that add extra staff during this time. Veterinary clinics that find themselves overwhelmed with ill or odd acting animals each month too. There may not be a measurable effect through scientific means, but there is something going on. Something that we just don’t understand yet.

I’m not going to pretend to be an expert here and lay out all sorts of data to try and explain it. I’m no doctor or scientist. Hell, I’m not even an astrologer at this point. But, I will share my thoughts as to what I see around the full moons and what we can do to utilize it to our fullest potential.

There are levels of energy that our modern science still has yet to understand. These are energies that early philosophers, priests, wise men and oracles knew about and harnessed in their practice. Energies that empower and fuel all of those paranormal things that science is still striving to prove. Psychic phenomenon, spirits, premonitions, astral travel, energetic healing, all fall into realms of energy that we do not have the tools to accurately measure and justify. Some of us believe in their existence wholeheartedly, others are still waiting for the proof. It is in these levels of energy that the moon has its effect on us. It’s not gravity that is warping our brains to do unusual things, it is this odd paranormal energetic pull that affects us. A pull that gives us the opportunity to do more. In these times of a “supermoon” this opportunity can be even that much greater.

The frustration that I have with full moon associations is that the popular sensationalized myths hold that this is the time that all the crazies come out. The criminals, the weirdos, the whack-jobs. This is the time that even seemingly normal people start to act crazy and may do things that are out of character for them. I’m not saying that this is not an effect that our dear Luna can have on us, but its not the only effect. The light and energy of the full moon can also bring to light that which in the shadows. It can bring about a safety and protection that comes with added light in the darkness. It can be a culmination of our manifestations and an opportunity to harvest that which we have sown.

When I look at the energy of the moon, I find myself applying the wisdom of the Tarot to it. The Moon card itself is a card of mystery and shadows. When we look at decks that are based on Rider-Waite-Smith images, we see that there are a number of obscure things going on. It is a dark card in terms of colors typically with the use of a lot of blues, purples, shades of gray and black. This makes sense when you consider this is a card of the night. We also will typically find animal images of wolves and dogs as well as creatures of the sea like lobsters and crabs. Here is where the obscurity of the moonlight and shadows start to really have an effect.

Think of yourself out in the woods and you hear that first howl of a wolf. Wow, that is beautiful and majestic. Then a few more chime in, then more and more. Now you realize that the hills around you are full of wolves and that they are most likely pretty hungry. Your thoughts of majesty shift to fear and you start to panic figuring that they are probably stalking you right now. Though the howls may never actually get any closer, your fears grip you and leave you immobilized. Wait, was that one passing through the trees right there? Holy shit, you’re going to die!

Relax, you’re not going to die. Well not tonight anyway. The likely scenario is that those wolves, while they are talking to each other, are stalking out something much tastier and less frightening than you. The reality is they probably want nothing to do with you. It’s your fear that you are somehow on their radar that has you worked up. Irrational fears and obscured vision are a product of our limitations and perceptions. It is not the moon itself that causes these fears, it is our perception of how it affects us and others.

The same holds true with our general actions and our daily fears. Our perception of what is after us or threatening us is often more aggressive than what the truth really dictates. The full moon nights may or may not affect you directly. But what is your perception of it? Do you worry that others will be acting crazy? Are you concerned that something bad is going to happen to you? Chances are, your fears and concerns are no more logical during this stage of the moon than any other.

So, why focus on those negative aspects of the moon? If you are going to hold your attention on potential influences of Luna, why not at least place an equal focus on her good side? Allow the light of the moon to shine on you and illuminate the shadows. Let her brilliance light up what is scaring you. Shoot, why not even tip your head back and howl with the wolves. The moon’s luminance is there to bring you light in your darkest times. To show you that even that which you fear the most is not nearly as bad as you may think.

In these times of the “supermoon”, we have the opportunity to take advantage of that 12% of extra light. A little extra brilliance to shine down on us and show that things may not be as scary as we thought.

The Fire Tends To All

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Matt Williams

You are continuing your journey through the Beltane energy from Hillary Parry’s blog.

As with many of my fellow bloggers in this hop, when I saw that the topic of this edition, I was both excited and intrigued. I mean when it comes right down to it, who doesn’t like playing with a little fire now and again. The inspiration, the heat, the danger, the light… Fire brings so much to us that should be celebrated.

In asking the Tarot what it is that I need to know about Beltane and this idea of the Fire tending to us, I got the Three of Cups from the Spiral Tarot. A card of water energy telling me how to harness the fire. Such an interesting card to draw! Let’s explore this a little more…

The first thing that really hit me with this card is the color and feel of it. Though it is a watery card by nature, the colors bring in more of a fiery feel than anything. The bright yellows, oranges, reds ignite a joy that many of the other cups cards fall short on. When I look at the figures as well, it is almost as though they are flames themselves dancing in the larger fire. This is a card of celebration and joy. It is a celebration of the work that we have done, a harvest of our emotions and our hard work. This part of the energy is very strong for me at this time as I made a conscious effort this past winter to really focus on many of the shadow aspects of myself that were holding me back. As I emerged from the dark part of the year, and embrace the ever growing sunlight, I have found many causes for celebration. The fruits of my harvest have been great and I can see now how important it is to honor the work that was done. But the fire energy of the season has more in store for me. Now that I have pulled the weeds and harvested the good fruits, I need to prepare myself for greater things on the horizon. It is time to throw all those weeds and dead plants on the bonfire. It is time to recycle their energies back to earth and allow the room for new growth.

The fire that burned within me to keep me warm all winter can now be fed by all that no longer serves me. Burn, baby, burn!

You can continue on your journey through this hop by visiting Jera Babylon’s blog here.

Should you find a broken link within the hop, you can find a master list of all the Tarot Blog Hop participants here.

Eaten by our egos

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Matt Williams

A few months ago, I posted about the power of music and the effect that they can have on our chakras. I talked about how specific songs and even particular genres can have an enriching and empowering effect on us through our various energy centers. I have always had an affinity for music and even though I may talk some trash about particular artists or genres, if the music is created with energy and passion, I am able to appreciate it. Even if I would never admit it out loud.

If you are anything like me, you probably have felt at times that certain songs were speaking directly to you. Though the reality of it all tells us that the songs was created to personify universal or wide spread feelings an themes, you just can’t help but feel that the singer is right there crooning to you. Drawing out the exact words that you needed to hear at that time and conveying the emotions that you have inside you.

Sometimes, the message is one of comfort and compassion. Reminding us that we are not alone or that the struggles we are going through will find their end and bring us closure. Other times, we are ramped up and energized by the lyrics. The words seem to inspire in us a way that nothing else can to get us up an moving towards our goals. There are also songs that get us thinking, pondering and philosophizing about some of life’s greatest mysteries. Really, when you think about it, there is likely a song for every circumstance in our lives.. We just may not have heard it yet.

These songs seem to find an added dose of power when the Universe coordinates those serendipitous moments when the needed song plays at just the right time. That happened to me this morning as I was listening to a new album from an artist that I just discovered in the last year or so.

I was bopping along while doing the dishes, when The Tiger Inside will Eat the Child by Kate Miller Hiedke came on. She’s got a few semi-spiritual and philosophical songs in her line up, so the initial lyrics only caught my attention a little. But something grabbed me when she got to the chorus. The lyrics seemed to jump out and smack me to pay attention to the words and this songs in particular.

“The minute you think you know got it
is the minute you know it’s gone for a good
the second you pause his claws are on it
the tiger inside will eat the child”

What the hell? Did she just say something about a tiger eating a child? Lemme back this up and figure out what the heck she is talking about.

As I listened back through the verses, I heard references to multiple religions and the quest for holiness and enlightenment. Climbing Jacob’s Ladder, finding Siddartha’s temple, crawling through the shadowy valley. So many experiences that speak to humanity’s search for the ultimate answers. Yet, through these references there is still the frustration that the answers just aren’t there.

So, going back to the chorus, the first two lines are starting to make sense.

“The minute you think you know got it
is the minute you know it’s gone for a good.”

Too often in our search for enlightenment, we view it as a destination. A goal that can be achieved and then owned. Peace, tranquility, spiritual power, all the things that religions promise are sought after like the proverbial pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. If we are pious enough, if we work hard enough, if we believe enough, if we give enough, then somehow we will achieve this goal. But we fail to see that the holiness and purity that we seek is in each moment. It’s the journey, not the destination that matters. It is in the realization that we cannot grasp for something that can only be attained through releasing the need for it.

The minute that we think we know that we have it, the ego takes over and fills us with pride. Ah ha! Look at me, I have just attained true enlightenment! And in that split second, the enlightenment vanishes in the glow of our sense of pride.

Now about that second part. Yeah the hungry tiger part. What the heck does that mean?

As I thought about this, I seemed to recall a story about a boy and a tiger that wanted to eat him. In true 2012 fashion, I couldn’t remember what the story was, so I googled it and found exactly what I was looking for. The Story of Black Sambo. In this story, a South Indian boy is walking through the jungle alone. He encounters 4 tigers who are hungry and finding him rather tasty looking. Through the encounter, Sambo sees that the tigers are proud and vain. He offers them articles of his new clothing in hopes that they will let him go. The tigers take the items and soon find themselves arguing over who has the best new thing. As the argument ensues, the tigers end up doing themselves in and Sambo escapes unscathed. Naked, but unscathed.

Here again we see the idea of pride getting in the way. In a way, you could say that it was the pride Sambo had in his new clothing that led the tigers to him. He represents the child like wonder we all have as we are attaining new things. The curiosity and amazement at the gifts we have and the things we can do. They personified the danger we face when our egos take over. The demise that can happen when we don’t keep our humility in place and let the good feelings go to our heads. Maybe we are the first on the block to get the latest new gadget. Or a new car that just kicks the pants off of the one your neighbor has. Maybe it is even a new opportunity that you have been given because of the recognition of your talent and hard work. There are a host of reasons to be proud of what we have and what we do. But we need to be smart about it. And we need to be in control of our own egos.

Sambo gave up all of his new things to fend off the tigers that were going to eat him. He released his possessions knowing that he could get more at another time. Being naked was a whole lot better than being tiger chow. He also recognized that the tigers needed to feed on what they were seeking. Attention and glory fueled them and drove them even more than food. By releasing from himself the need for the attention and glory, he was able to escape and witness the destruction of the ego as it imploded on its self.

We need to be constantly vigilant in this effort as the second we pause to hold to our ego, the tiger’s claws sink in and we get eaten up by our own pride.

As I sat back and listened to the song in its entirety, I saw this playing out within the words. All the holiness we seek seems to constantly slip away from us. We spend our lives trying to grab the carrot dangling in front of us only to miss all the apples along our path. The recognition we desire for our hard work and skill means nothing if we stop there and allow ourselves to rest on our laurels. After all, getting a hold of the carrot won’t mean much after the tiger eats you.

Princess of Pentacles

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Matt Williams

I love it when the cards just jump right out and slap me with information for the day. I had a lot of plans today and when I saw the Princess of Pentacles come up this morning, I knew that there was going to be some shifts going on with my plans. As a card that corresponds with transitions in resources, I was interested to see what the day may have in store for me.

Throughout the day, I was hit with the typical ups and downs including news of some finances coming in and more going out. Nothing too crazy and nothing out of the ordinary. As it often happens, as soon as I stopped thinking about the energy of the card the wheels of fortune started turning.

Mid way through my day, I got a message through Facebook from a friend that had a very interesting and intriguing proposal for me. As it is still very much in the transition stage, I can’t share many details with you all right now except to say that it has the potential to be really cool and really big! Not only does this card represent the energy of Spring and rebirth for me, it also represents the idea of investigating new opportunities and exploring them fully. The proposal that I got today will need a lot of examination and will certainly bring about a rebirth for me as well.

Over the next few weeks, I hope to be able to elaborate more on this as I confirm details and plans. In the mean time, I am going to be harnessing the energy of this card to do my research and enjoy the transition that is on the horizon!

Candles and oils

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Matt Williams

And so it begins! Last week I shared with you all about my plunge into the world of essential oils and aromatherapy. This past weekend I took the opportunity to do a little mixing and playing to see what I could come up with.

One of the first things that I wanted to experiment with was using the oils for therapeutic uses and healing the body. Foot rubs and massages are pretty common around our house so I thought to myself, why not make a massage oil to help melt the aches and pains away. I added a little lavender and some vanilla to my carrier oil and tested it out over the past few days with my sweetie to some pretty good reviews. It smelled wonderful and was quite relaxing for not her but me as well.

I also decided to do a craft project with my kids and make some scented candles too. We picked up some wax from the craft store, found some candle dyes and set out to make some really cool and smelly candles. With a little bit of experimentation we got the colors figures out and set to work on making our candles. The kids had a blast choosing the colors and scents for their creations and putting it all together to make the final product. And I have to admit, I had a good time too! We ended with some light green vanilla candles, a bright red cinnamon one and a darker green vanilla-lime creation.

With each experiment that I do, I am even more thrilled with this choice of exploration and I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the oils set that I ordered as well so that I can play even more.

Avoiding the scammers

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Matt Williams

I felt like I needed to provide a little redemption information after last week’s prank that I pulled on you all. If you were listening in to Akasha Temple Live! last week, you heard me discussing a new level of energy work and healing that I was experiencing and working with. I discussed how this energy work was delivered to me spiritually and how I had changed lives through its use. Then I dropped the bomb and told you it was all fake. I used this little April Fool’s Day joke to highlight the importance of being aware of scams in the psychic and energetic healing world.

The problem with identifying scams is that they aren’t always obvious. We hear stories every year about various people who have fallen victim to unscrupulous readers and healers that promise the world and leave you with little more than an empty bank account and crushed dreams. The stories that most deliberate scammers use play on your fears and anxieties. They seek out the areas of your life where you are most insecure and capitalize on them to extort money, jewelry or anything else of value that they can get from you. The tactic is not unlike any other scam. Find a weakness, promise the ultimate relief of that weakness and charge enormous amounts for that relief.

The tricky part is, with psychic and energy based scams, there is little to show whether the process that is promised is working or not. There is no measurable scale that shows precisely how much money will get you the information or healing that you are seeking. Enter the repeating scammer. Some con artists will play it safe and bounce from client to client taking small amounts where they can and then move on to avoid becoming “traceable”. Others, typically the ones that you end up seeing on the news, find easy prey and latch on until they bleed them dry. When the promise of relief falls through, the blame gets placed on the client and their apparent lack of faith or sufficient sacrifice. The requirements for success get greater and greater until there is nothing left to give.

We have all heard about these tricks and I hope that there will continually be fewer and fewer victims of them over time. As we collectively raise awareness, the ability to be duped lowers at the same time.

But what about readers that are not professional criminals or deliberate scammers? Is it possible for them to pull one over on you with knowing it? Unfortunately, I believe that it is. I find it sad and disappointing when I hear of readers or healers that seem to have gone off the deep end. Oftentimes, they are truly gifted individuals who have allowed the gifts they posses to inflate their ego to the point that they lose track of how their gifts work. At any point in a reader or healer’s work, there is a rick pf allowing the ego to take over. After countless sessions of targeting accurate information, divining secrets that no one else would know or releasing pain, trauma and sickness that seemed relentless it can be very enticing to accept the praise and accolades and acknowledge that you are the source of this wonderful power and that you are somehow above others in your gift.

If you travel in any psychic or energy work circles, you will undoubtedly run into a few of these people. They will start to raise red flags among others in the circle when their talks shifts into patterns of identifying themselves as the source or the reason behind a certain action or outcome. This can be tricky to spot at first as it usually doesn’t come out right away in a blatant manner. But if you listen for the subtle clues, you can start to spot the pattern before it gets to far. The shifts you may notice take a statement such as “I was working with a client today and through the reiki energy, their headaches just vanished” to “I was working with a client today and I released their headaches totally.” Unchecked, this pattern has the potential to grow into stronger ego based statements like “I can cure your headaches” and eventually into the idea that you are so powerful that people need to pay you a lot more for your amazing headache busting technique. After all this technique was bestowed up you by the almighty spirit of whatever and it is only for your use. Sound outrageous? I’ve seen it happen…

What frightens me and upsets me at the same time is that so many of us risk this same transition and without the assistance of our peers, there is a huge risk of falling off of that ego cliff and possibly pulling some innocent people down with us. I find that it is crucial for each of us to maintain a high level of humility in what we do and constantly be open the suggestions of our peers when we are getting too big for our britches. From a peer perspective, it is important for us to all to foster a constant state of confident humility in our workings and interactions. Encourage each other regularly but avoid the mistake of naming individuals as reason or source for anything that has happened. We are all catalysts and channels, but we are not the source of the energy. That is so much greater than any of us. Think of a lamp, sure by flipping the switch we are able to turn the lamp on. Be we are not the source of the light, nor are we even the source for the energy that fuels the light. All we are is a catalyst for allowing that energy to travel to its intended destination. Don’t believe me? Unplug the lamp or unscrew the bulb. Now tell me that it is you that caused the light to shine.

Another aspect of unintended fraud is the the idea that there is a magic bullet for anything. It doesn’t matter if it is a prediction that you are hoping for, a healing, a specific outcome or anything. There just isn’t an action free way to get your desired results. Anyone promising you differently, is feeding you a line of bull, whether they know it or not. The universe does not work in a vacuum. When we seek a specific outcome, there is no way to simple drop a coin in a cosmic slot and dispense that outcome like a soda. It takes work. It takes change. And it takes your active role.

One of the most frustrating things I find with some healers is that there is no suggestion on how to improve your life after the session. It is assumed by either the healer, the client or at times both that just getting an energetic healing will be enough to cure what ails you. For some things, this may have some truth. If all you are seeking is temporary relaxation, then yes, a simple session may be enough for you. But how many of us just want temporary relaxation? Do you ever ask your Reiki practitioner, “Just calm me down for an hour or so. I’d really like to get stressed out again later today.”

No, that’s silly and completely unproductive. When we seek relaxation, we want it to be lasting. But that lasting relaxation will take change on your part. You can’t expect to have your life suddenly be less stressful just because you had a reiki treatment. You need to use the calming energy to examine the stresses in your life and seek to alter them so that they do not affect you in the same manner. The same goes for physical ailments. If you are seeking energetic treatments for a specific condition, you need to make sure that you are taking steps to change the triggers for that condition in your life as well. Energy work can add great relief to conditions like high blood pressure, but if you follow your session with another big bag of pork rinds and Mountain Dew, you’re not going to be doing yourself any good.

As a reiki master myself, I know it can be challenging to broach this subject with your clients. Especially if we are not medical professionals ourselves (which I am not). However, it is in this time that as professionals we need to be honest and open with our clients. Talk to them about the energies you felt during the session and advise them of any problem areas you picked up on. If you have any concerns that there are medical issues going on, advise them to talk it over with their doctor. I advise against attempting to give any diagnosis, but do strongly suggest that they seek follow up with a licensed doctor. Remind them that changes in lifestyle effect the lasting changes within us.

The point of my story last week was in highlighting both of these issues. In my story, it was me that was doing the healing. Not Source, not God, not the Universe, but me. I was offering this miracle healing as a magic bullet as well. There was nothing you needed to do to take advantage of this opportunity other than shell out a huge sum of money. These aspects are things that I urge you all to watch out for when you are seeking out energy work and psychic advice. Fraud is avoidable, even when it is not intentional. Keep on your toes and remember the old adage. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Smells right to me!

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Matt Williams

I seem to find myself regularly searching for new skills and tools for my life and spiritual practice. Sometimes these searches lead to dead ends and at other times, I find new ways to live happier, healthier and more productive. Over the last year or so, I have been sticking my toe in the deep waters of essential oils and aromatherapy. Not just because it smells good and is fascinating, but because I have been able to experience first hand many benefits of using certain oils to aid my health and spirituality.

I started with just a few specific oils to use for anointing candles in my spell work. Then I branched out into a few blends for specific purposes. A headache blend here, an energizing blend there… I was quickly staring to see and feel the benefits of using these products.

A few days ago, I picked up a book at my local metaphysical shop, The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy by Valarie Worwood. Holy cow, did this one book blow the doors off of what I was doing. Part of me bought the book as a general reference so that I could find more uses for the oils that I had. Another part of me bought it so that I could find the excuse, umm…I mean reason, to buy a collection of oils.

The vast number of recipes and simple concoctions in this book showed me that there is so much more that I can do with a few little bottles of plant extract than I thought. Got a headache? Massage a little peppermint and lavender oil around your temples. Sore throat? Chamomile, thyme and lemon. Hate washing the dishes? Add some bergamot and lemon to your detergent and get a mental and emotional boost when you bust the suds!

I have a host of ideas that I am planning to use these oils for as soon as they arrive. Massage oils, candle blessings, energetic boosts for the house, and so much more. Wish me luck and if you don’t hear from me after I receive my package of oils, know that I at least disappeared into a wonderfully smelling bliss!

Do you use essential oils in your daily routine? What benefits have you experienced?

Four of Pentacles- Miser or Master?

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Matt Williams

When I typically look at the Four of Pentacles, I see a miser. A man that is so bent on keeping his resources to himself that he risks missing out on all that is going on around him. We see him here in a brick throne, in a stark room with a black and white checkerboard floor. Everything must be in line and in order. His resources are what he holds dear to his heart and his head. They are what keeps him stable and secure, or so he thinks.

In this view of the card, he is missing out on the beauty of the outside world while he sits coldly caring for his wealth. But there has to be a good side to him too, right? He can’t be just about holing up inside and stockpiling, can he?

No, of course not. He also reminds us that there are times that we need to be secure in our resources and manage them wisely. Whether we like it or not, our physical world runs on time and money. If we do not manage these things well, we will soon find ourselves in a heap of trouble. Our gentleman from the Four of Pentalces gives us a reminder that if we spend all of our time, money and energy on fleeting things, we will not have what we need for our grander plans. Sure, we must live in the now. But not at the expense of the future. We must be mindful of how our actions now will affect our futures and be aware of how careless actions may carry unintended results.

In the words of .38 Special, the Four of Pentacles tells us to “hold on loosely, but don’t let go!”

Sometimes the picture says it all

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Matt Williams

At least every Monday through Friday, I pull a daily tarot card for my Facebook fans and friends. Every day the card means something special for someone and quite often the interpretation that I give holds a deeper meaning for multiple people.

Today’s card just seemed to jump out of the deck and scream at me though in a very literal and clear way. I drew the Seven of Pentacles and gave the following interpretation on line.

“Card of the Day: Seven of Pentacles from Spiral ~ Today is a day of labor and toil. Reminiscent of yesterday’s energy, today we are called to stick with it and get our hands dirty. Planting the seeds to your own success requires you to regularly cultivate those same seeds in order to reap the benefits.”

I felt all of this energy throughout the day, but I also felt so much more! This card’s energy is all about hard work and getting your hands dirty to get the results you desire. As soon as I got to work today, this theme kicked in as I found that we were going to be short staffed and extra busy all day. In order to get the results that were needed, I was going to have to jump in head first and do the work that was not getting completed.

It always amazes me when the cards just come right out and say exactly what is going to happen for me. No real insight or esoteric wisdom necessary here. Just look at the picture and then get myself ready to dig in! Thanks for the heads up, Tarot!

Tarot Thoughts Blog

The ramblings of a fool on his journey through the cards…