September 4, 2010

I was thinking today of the many ways in which we often impact other people's lives and we are not even aware of them.  Sometimes it can be the simplest of gestures, a kind smile, a sincere compliment, a bright card or a caring touch that we share with others that can make such a difference in their lives.  Then, of course, there are the other ways in which we can impact other's lives, a frown, a critical comment, forgetting a special occasion or withdrawing our affection that can make such a difference in their lives.  I realized that I would not wish to have someone's last memory of me filled with hurt or disappointment or dislike because I was careless.  I do believe that many, if not most, of the times we hurt another person that we are being careless.  I do not intentionally set out to hurt someone's feelings but when I am being too self-absorbed with what is going on in my life, I can be careless.  My intention is to be more aware.  I want to be more aware of others and of the opportunities I am presented with to touch their lives with kindness.  Those opportunities are there but we must notice them and take advantage of them.  My mom and I went for a brief vacation to Oregon to visit with family.  While visiting, my cousin, Sharon, gave me a ride to find some perfume that I had been looking for.  We found it and when I went to purchase it, she gave me some money and told me to buy the larger bottle because it was a much better value for the money.  I was very touched by her generosity.  I did not need the larger bottle and she knew I would not pay the difference right now because I am on a budget.  Just buying the perfume was a special treat for me.  However, having the larger bottle is wonderful because it will last me twice as long.  Every time I spray that perfume I will remember her kindness.  Every time I get a whiff of its scent I will feel blessed by her generosity.  Today, make someone else's life sweeter by reaching out even in the simplest of gestures.  I will join you in that endeavor.  Love and Light, Shirley

August 30, 2010

If you were to make a list of those things that you like about yourself and a second list of what you do not like, which would be longer?  Years ago, I was in a self-esteem class and we were given an opportunity to make those two lists.  The first time I made my lists, my list of dislikes was very long indeed.  I had a list of likes but it was relatively short.  Over the years as I have worked to heal so many faulty beliefs, the length of my lists have greatly changed.  I have a long list of what I appreciate about my self.  It feels so good to be able to say I like myself.  As a therapist when I have worked with clients on these same lists, I have noticed how often people are so unaware of their positive characteristics.  It is as though they have on glasses that distort what they see.  I used to say that instead of rose-colored glasses, many people are wearing gray-colored glasses.  The truth is that we are all amazing human beings with our own unique personalities, gifts and abilities.  We live in a world that is strongly focused on the external characteristics such as physical beauty, youth, physical fitness and wealth.  Success is measured by an external measuring tape.  The external is part of a person but it is only a part.  I have also found that even with people who are externally beautiful to others, they may or may not see their own beauty.  We need to discard the faulty filters, rose-colored, gray or any color.  It is a good goal to pray for clarity.  I pray to see myself and others clearly.  I pray to see the truth about myself and all others.  I encourage people to look at all aspects of themselves and their lives.  I remember one client who was so entrenched in her belief that she was completely worthless.  She had pages and pages of what she didn't like.  I think she had two items on her like list.  I asked her what she thought constituted a good friend.  She named off several qualities such as good listener, kind, helpful and generous.  I then asked her if she had any of those qualities.  She stopped for a moment and it was as though a light bulb went on in her head.  She wrote down those qualities on her like list.  I then asked her what makes a person a good worker.  Again, she created a list and by this time, I did not need to ask her if she had those qualities.  She added them to her list without being prompted.  All she needed was a different perspective to begin seeing more of who she is.  Her like list grew and grew.  My wish for you today is that you look at yourself with clarity, honesty and love.  See all of who you are and celebrate.  Love and Light, Shirley

August 26, 2010

Growing up, my dad's shop at the back of our house always held a fascination for me.  It is quite large and yet, there was an intimacy to it.  There was an old barrel stove that he would burn trash in and keep a warm fire during the fall and winter months.  On the other side of the shop, the air was cold and carried none of the warmth found next to the stove.  I am sure it was a very inefficient stove but it was better than nothing.  My dad was very good at accumulating all sorts of wonderful things but not so good at organizing and letting go.  It was amazing to me that he could find anything in the jumble of metal, wood, tools and all sorts of electronic parts and miscellaneous doodads and gadgets.  Yet, he could find whatever he needed and people soon knew that if they needed something and could not find it elsewhere that they could ask my dad and it would be quite likely that he would have what it was they needed.  I would sit in the shop and take apart an old alarm clock or spend hours sorting through the buckets and boxes of screws, nails and other assorted small items.  My dad had many cupboards that he had built to store specific items.   He had a cupboard with dozens of small drawers for all the smaller items such as screws, paint scrapers, drill bits and more.  However, as over the years, he accumulated more and more, the drawers were soon filled to overflowing and the boxes and buckets I once sorted through began to stack up in front of the cupboard.  I have been in the process of sorting through and cleaning out his shop since January.  We have had several sales and yet, still, so much remains.  So, I am once again sorting through and beginning to let go of even more.  I am aware as I do this that some of what I am letting go of has been in that shop for years and years.  I am aware of the years of hard work that my dad put into nearly all that he did.  There are some items that are still new in their original box but the years of damp air have taken their toll and they have rusted into uselessness.  So, now they go into a bucket to be recycled.  At first, I felt sadness when I would find these things that were once new, never used and now are being recycled.  Then, I decided to view it differently.  Everything is destined to change, one way or the other.  Ideas, once new, sometimes never get out of the beginning stage of creation and eventually, they too, rust and are out of date.  Yet, we can review old ideas and see if there is something still of value there, something that can be recycled, changed into something more usable.  Relationships can also become stagnant, never moving past a certain stage.  We can review those relationships and determine whether or not to release them or to recycle them into a more wholesome and meaningful relationship.  As I go through this very long, tedious process of cleaning out, my own guides have told me to look at each item as a part of me.  What do I need to let go of?  What do I need to recycle into something new?  What is still useful for me?  Right now, Mercury is retrograde.  This is an excellent time for everyone to do some review and decide what needs to stay and what needs to go.  Reflection and closure is easier when Mercury is retrograde.  It is not the best time to be starting new projects or creating new ideas but a good time to reflect back on those projects and ideas which need to be released or brought to fruition.  This is not a good time to be signing a new contract but certainly a good time to be reviewing those you already have.  As I return today to work in my dad's shop once again I will release sadness.  As I recycle those things still worth recycling and place those items in the garbage that are truly no longer useful, I will say thank you to my dad for all that he did.  As I reflect upon myself and my own values and relationships, ideas and beliefs, I will release what is no longer useful and recycle that which is better altered.  I will release sadness and regret for those unfinished projects and ideas and I will thank myself for all that I have done.  Love and Light, Shirley

August 25, 2010

Last night, my neighbor, Brad, across the alley had a neighborhood barbecue.  People came from blocks around and it was a fun evening.  He has lived in this neighborhood for 17 years and has been a wonderful neighbor to my mom and dad.  My dad died a year ago but had lived here with my mom for over 60 years.  This neighbor is now moving to California so this was his last neighborhood barbecue.  Evidently, he has been having them for a number of years.  I met a lot of people that I had not known before since I only moved back to this area last December.  I was re-acquainted with some neighbors that were living here when I grew up.  Because he took the time to make the invitations, hand them out, buy some hamburger and hotdog makings, purchase paper plates and plastic silverware, make some lemonade and haul his barbecue out into the street, a lot of people had a wonderful evening.  The police blocked off both ends of the street so we had a large area in which to gather.  The policeman on duty had a hamburger along with the rest of us.  I found myself thinking that it really doesn't have to be difficult to connect with others.  Brad isn't necessarily any less busy than the rest of the neighbors and he might be busier than others yet he took the time.  He is in the middles of selling off property and packing up to move to California, yet he took the time and energy to do this.  I am already thinking about next year.  Perhaps, if I am still here, I will organize a neighborhood barbecue.  Connecting to others is part of why we are here.  Knowing your neighbors helps to create family no matter where you live.  Today, find a way to connect with others.  You don't have to throw a barbecue in order to connect to others but you do have to do something.  Pick up the phone.  Write a card.  Send an email.  Take a shut-in a flower.  Connect.  Love and Light, Shirley

August 22, 2010

This morning I led a meditation for a healing circle that meets every Sunday.  It is usually led by another person and I was honored to be asked to substitute for her since she is out of town.  Doing a guided meditation is one of my favorite things to do.  It is more than just guided, it is channeled.  Other than choosing a piece of music, I never know ahead of time what the meditation will be.  I love the energy that gets created when meditating with a group.  There is a synergy that helps each and every person to access deeper parts of themselves.  Even though I am speaking, I am still able to enter into a very deep state.  I become the channel through which the words and the energy and the love can flow.  I am blessed every time I have the opportunity to do a channeled meditation.  What brings you joy?  What do you do that while you are doing it, you feel complete?  I love teaching, writing, leading meditations, doing sessions with people, creating beauty and peace with words and images.  I know that this is a part of who I am on a very deep level.  I know that there will come a time in my life when I will be doing more and more of this kind of work.  The time is not here, yet.  I have other tasks and obligations to fulfill first.  I cherish those times that I can share with others.  I believe that the greatest gift we can bring to others is our authentic self.  Find what brings you joy and know that when you are feeling that joy, whatever you are doing, you are most likely in contact with your authentic self.  I love disseminating information.  Sometimes I have to restrain myself because when I am sharing something I am passionate about, I can go on and on.  When I find someone who is as interested in what I have to share as I am in sharing it, it is true bliss.  Find your bliss and you will know why you are here.  Love and Light, Shirley

August 21, 2010

I woke up this morning with a feeling of positive anticipation.  I have been very, very busy lately and so I decided that today I am going to get caught up on everyday chores.  Some people might find that an odd thing to get excited about but I don't.  I am a very tidy and organized person by nature.  I like to keep my home and car clean.  However, when my life  becomes filled with too many demands that must take priority, I have to let go of my standards and live in a less than tidy home and drive my car which looks like a bomb went off inside it.  I can tolerate the messes  because I have to but not because I like to.  Therefore, when I can take a day and dedicate it to laundry, cleaning my car, vacuuming, organizing and washing dishes, it feels like a treat to me.  I have had many people tell me that I should take the day off and go and relax and play.  Their suggestions have merit but I know that I will feel more relaxed after I accomplish some of those tasks that have been postponed over and over.  Everyone is different in this regard and I can respect those differences.  When I think of my spirituality, I can see a similar theme.  When life brings big challenges, especially when they arrive simultaneously, I have to prioritize some of my spiritual practices.  Some of my daily spiritual rituals get set aside for a time.  It isn't that they are not important, just as cleaning my car is not unimportant, but they are lower on my scale of priorities.  I miss them.  I feel better when I have time to make affirmation cards and collages.  I am happier when I have time to light candles and listen to some of my favorite CD's.  I enjoy working with my cards and other divination tools.  They are not essential but they bring joy into my life. Today, I will alternate my chores with some of these fun spiritual rituals.  I am grateful for the break in my life's storm.  Ask yourself if you have been postponing doing something that brings you joy.  It doesn't matter what it is or whether it is the same thing that brings someone else joy.  Just do it.  If you truly don't have the time, set a date and a time when you can do it.  Perhaps you are someone who experiences great joy from a trip to the beach.  Or perhaps you are more like me and would enjoy a trip to the beach but would rather weed your garden first.  Just do it.  Create the time and enjoy whatever it is.  As for me, I am signing off so I can vacuum my car out.  I am already smiling.  Love and Light, Shirley

August 20, 2010

I received an email today.  It was one of those emails that contained an inspirational message all about the "good old days".  It was referring to the fifties and sixties and was talking about all of the wonderful aspects of being raised during that era.  I found myself thinking as I read it that it is really easy to focus on all the positive things from the fifties and compare them to the negative things that today's children are experiencing.  There is a part of me that wants to remind the person that created it about the other side of the fifties that wasn't so superb.  There is much that was not positive from that era.  The Cold War.  Sexism.  Racism.  A whole lot of other isms.  Opportunities for nonwhite people and for white women did not begin to compete with those opportunities for white males.  Men had rigid roles and ways of being assigned to them that were not any more fair than the roles assigned to women.  I think it is fine to have positive memories from growing up.  I do not believe it is helpful to promote the belief that the world that children are living in today is somehow deficient compared to the world that most baby boomers grew up in.  There are spiritual freedoms present today that were not present when I was a child.  It is still not a perfect world but having computers replace tinker toys is not a travesty.  Children did not have to contend with drive by shootings, it is true.  But, for many children, the violence and abuse that occurred behind closed doors was worse. It just wasn't talked about.  Let's focus on what is positive about our world today.  Let's pay attention to what still needs healing and strive for wholeness.  I was born in 1954 and I remembered every single one of the "wonderful aspects of living in the fifties and sixties".  I also see much that is wonderful now.  The Internet is an amazing gift.  I can share information and someone from across the world can access it within seconds.  Children are able to access information and learn in a totally different way than what was available to me as a child.  Different does not necessarily mean deficient.  I am reminded of the song, "The Age of Aquarius".  Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, the planet of genius and electricity and new ideas and inventions.  I certainly see that reflected in our world.  The pogo stick has been replaced by the motorized scooter, the gyroscope by the light saber.  We now have electronic books.  The tin can and string phone has given way to the cell phone.  Yes, our lives are faster and there are times that a slower pace of life has its appeal.  However, I believe that everything is in Divine order.  We are accelerating on purpose.  I feel anticipation building inside of me.  That Aquarian electricity is buzzing.  Can you feel it?  Love and Light, Shirley

August 18, 2010

Yesterday, I was speaking with a couple of my neighbors.  I live in a small town and I have returned to the home that I was born and raised in, to care for my mom.  Nearly all of the neighbors are new to me, so I have slowly been introducing myself and getting to know them.  There is a young couple that lives next to mom and I and a middle-aged couple lives directly across from them.  I was speaking to the husbands of these two couples.  The older man was explaining to me that he mows the young couple's lawn with his riding lawn mower and in exchange the young man weeds his yard because weeding is hard on his back.  Isn't that just delightful?  This is what I love about community, people sharing and exchanging with each other.  It brought to my mind a relationship that I had many years ago when I was raising my children.  I had a good friend named Jan and her three children were close in age to my two children.  We would take turns going to each other's house and cleaning house.  The work seemed to just fly as we talked and laughed and our children played together.  Two nights of the week, I would cook dinner for both families and two nights of the week, Jan would cook dinner for both families.  Our cooperative efforts made life a lot more fun and easier.  It really isn't any harder to cook dinner for nine than it is to cook dinner for four.  I had two nights out of each week that I did not have to cook at all.  Jan eventually moved away and I did not have another friendship such as hers again.  I have had many friends and we have helped each other many times but the kind of cooperative sharing I had with Jan was truly unique.  I believe that the relationship I had with Jan was closer to what is intended for us as human beings.  Independence is a good thing but interdependence is even better.  Let us all look for ways that we can help each other and be helped as well.  There is a Universal Law of equal exchange that shows an ebb and flow of energy going in and out as people give and receive.  In my mind I see that energy in the shape of the infinity sign or the figure eight.  I encourage all of us to create more and more of that dynamic in our lives.  More ebb and flow.  More sharing.  More freedom.  More abundance.  Love and Light, Shirley

August 17, 2010

Are you aware that the early morning hours from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. are the best hours to meditate and be in contact with the spiritual realm?  This is the time when the veil is the most thin.  At a different time in my life, I used to get up at 4:30 a.m. to meditate every morning.  This habit has come and gone over the years depending on what was going on in my life.  There have also been many times when my own guidance has woken me up at 4 a.m. because they wanted to communicate with me.  This early morning hour is also a common time when those on the other side have communicated with me.  I know when I am awake around 4 a.m. that there is a greater reason then simply being restless.  This is one of those mornings.  I believe that my guides and teachers have something to share so I will give them the opportunity.  Thank you, Shirley, for the opportunity to share with others.  We wish to speak to those who are reading these words.  Many of you who are reading these words are thinking that you wish you had guides who spoke to you as we speak to Shirley.  We are here to tell you that you do.  It is true that some people, such as Shirley, have an easier time hearing their guides.  However, with work and with your own intent, you can also begin to "hear".  There are many different ways in which to receive your own guidance and support.  Before any of those things can happen, however, you must ask.  We can find different ways to capture your attention but for the most part we do not intervene in your life without an invitation.  Ask for us to reveal ourselves and we will.  Ask for help with certain issues in your life and we will.  Be open to the possibility that we are real and not just imaginary.  Shirley can tell you that it took us a long time to finally be able to convince her that she was not imagining us.  You can ask her why and how she finally accepted that we are real and that she is hearing us.  Her awareness of our presence completely changed her life.  Not only does she access us for her own growth and spiritual awareness but she accesses us and other people's guides in order to help them with their personal growth and spiritual awareness.  Since 1999, Shirley has been on an accelerated spiritual path.  In many ways, she is a newcomer to a great deal of the spiritual wisdom that is being shared today.  In truth, she carries within her all of the information and the wisdom that is being brought forth as new.  Many of you do, even some of you who are reading this and believe that there is no way we could be talking about you.  Yes, we are talking about you.  Do not underestimate your own powerful self.  Understand that the majority of human beings do not have an inkling of how powerful and magnificent you truly are.  One of us, one of Shirley's guides calls himself Magnificent.  When Shirley first became aware of this, she thought it was quite strange and funny.  In truth, there is reason and purpose behind him calling himself this name.  It is a reminder to Shirley about an aspect of herself that she has forgotten and needs to remember.  She needs to remember her own magnificence.  As do you.  We wish to leave you with this thought, this awareness, that you are a magnificent being.  You are a radiant, powerful being.  Your natural state is that of love and light.  As a moth turns to the flame, so you naturally gravitate to the Light.  Your instincts lead you home.  Ask for reminders of who you are and where you came from.  Ask for help on your spiritual journey.  Ask for help in mundane matters.  There is nothing too great or too small that you cannot ask help for.  You are never alone.  Never.  Thank you for this opportunity to connect.  Thank you to Shirley for giving us this space.  Blessings, US  Thank you to my guides.  They never used to call themselves anything in particular except for Magnificent.  Then, they began to sign my automatic writings with US.  I have a diverse group of guides.  Some came in with me at birth and they are a collective of guides who speak with one voice.  They do not identify themselves as individuals but merely have a group energy.  I have other individual guides who have come to me at different times of my life.  Some of these have names and some do not.  Some have names that merely refer to their function such as Pathfinder.  Remember that what they said is true, everyone has guidance and love and support.  We are all connected.  Love and Light, Shirley

August 16, 2010

What kind of people are you surrounded by most of the time?  The people in our life are mirrors for us.  When we are surrounded by negative, critical people, we are seeing our own negativity mirrored back.  When we are surrounded by loving, supportive people, we are seeing our own loving, supportive nature.  Often I have read where people are recommended to only surround themselves by positive, loving people.  There is a lot of merit in this suggestion.  However, if we use someone else's negativity as a springboard to examine our own, then there is also value in having that person in our life.  For myself, I recommend that people find ways to create balance in their life.  It certainly is not helpful or healthy to be surrounded by negative people most of the time.  I think it is essential tin our closest circle of friends and family that we have positive, supportive people.  If that is not currently the case, then find the support where you can.  Find ways to create balance and remember that you have helped to create your relationships.  If there is a preponderance of negative people in your life, it may be time to do some inner work.  Perhaps your own negative parts are calling out for healing and wholeness.  I remember going to a therapist years ago.  He had me do all kinds of tests and at the end he told me that I really did not have anything significantly wrong with me.  He did say that I have a lot of perfectionism and that tends to make people critical.  He also said that a perfectionist is critical about themselves but also holds high standards for others.  At the time, I was sure that I was only critical of myself.  Ha.  Before too much time had passed, as I took an honest look at myself and at my relationships, I realized that he was right.  I held unrealistic, high standards for myself and for others, too.  As a result, I was disappointed a great deal.  In the years since that time, I have worked on myself.  I call myself a perfectionist in recovery.  It is not easy to change deep-seated aspects of ourselves but it is possible.  The next time that you have someone challenging in your life, ask yourself if they are reflecting back aspects of yourself that you may not wish to acknowledge.  Even if your first answer is no, ask again.  If there is more than one person reflecting back similar characteristics you are probably guaranteed that you are seeing a part of yourself.  It is okay.  We all have aspects of self that need acknowledgment and healing.  Remember that when you have people in your life that you enjoy and adore that you are also seeing aspects of yourself, those aspects you love and adore.  Love and Light, Shirley

August 14, 2010

Today was a very hot day.  We went from 60 degree weather to weather in the 90's.  Whew.  I am sitting here at my computer and it is finally cool enough outside that I could open my windows and sit here in the cross breeze.  I just finished watching an inspirational video that someone sent me.  It was very beautiful and totally lifted my spirits.  I sat here and remembered a story that I had read many years ago.  In the story, a father is teaching his son the importance of choices.  The father was telling his son that a pencil can be used to create great beauty or it can be used to create great ugliness.  The choice of what is created depends on the person who is holding the pencil and what he or she decides to do.  The same is true whether we are talking about a pencil, our words, our thoughts or our deeds.  We choose what we create.  Whoever created the inspirational video I watched tonight chose wisely.  The words and pictures and music raise people up.  Many people curse the Internet and complain about the negative aspects of what can be found online.  I cannot deny that the Internet can be an instrument of great harm.  However, just as that young boy's pencil could create ugliness, it could also create beauty.  We choose what we create and we choose what we pay attention to.  If there was no one interested in online pornography, it would eventually cease to exist.  If we choose to focus on inspirational videos and uplifting stories, more will become available.  Ask yourself what you are creating with your pencil, your words, your thoughts and deeds.  Would you want what you are creating to multiply?  If not, remember that it is always your choice.  I wish I could say that I always make good choices but that would not be true.  What I can say in all honesty is that I continue to strive to make good choices, to add beauty and love to this world.  Even the small choices we make can impact the whole world.  Love and Light, Shirley

August 13, 2010

Endings are not easy for most people but they are definitely harder for some.  Some of us tend to hang on for dear life to things, people, places, jobs and even memories.   Yet, endings are a necessary part of our existence.  If physical life never ended, we would have populated ourselves right off of the planet by now.  If some relationships never ended, people would miss out on other relationships and other vital experiences.  For those who study numerology, they know that 9 is the number for endings.  For those people who have significant nines in their numerology charts, there are going to be significant and probably numerous endings in their lives.  I am one of those people.  I am also a person with several planets in both Scorpio and Cancer, two of the signs known for having difficulty in letting go.  Go figure.  So, one of my life lessons is to learn to let go and trust that whatever or whomever I am letting go of is supposed to leave.  Not everyone and everything is meant to be forever.  I believe that it is fear which interferes with us letting go and yet, it is fear that truly is the most important thing to release.  This is hard to remember when one is losing a job, moving from family and friends, getting divorced, breaking up with a lover, losing someone to death or any one of a thousand other ways in which we have to let go.  Remember that whenever something leaves, it now has created space for something new.  I am not referring to losing someone to death because people cannot be replaced.  However, jobs, homes, ideas, beliefs and ways of being can be replaced.  It is only by saying good-bye that we have often created space for the new.  Trusting that no matter what happens, we will be ok is not easy.  For myself, it is essential to living a spirit-filled life.  Trusting that my good-byes are in Divine and Perfect Order helps me to release fear and to turn my face toward God, expectantly waiting for what comes next.  Love and Light, Shirley

August 12, 2010

We are having an unusually cold summer here in Grays Harbor County.  I know that a couple of the days were record breaking cold.  A part of me is not very happy about the cloudiness and lack of sunshine.  However, I am someone who strives to find the silver lining even in the gray clouds that permeate the sky.  I have had to do a tremendous amount of physical labor since moving back to Washington State.  I realized yesterday as I worked that the sunshine is beautiful but the cloudy coolness makes for a much better work environment.  I am 55 and not in tiptop physical condition.  I know that if it was a more typical August I would be unable to accomplish the same amount that I have.  I thank the clouds for the gift of their coolness.  There have been several days that by late afternoon, the sun has peeked its way through the clouds.  I am so appreciative of those few hours of golden light.  It is such a delightful respite and a reminder to me that the sun is still there even when obscured by the clouds and the thick gray fog that often descends and covers the land.  It is so important to be grateful for everything that we can.  It is so important to focus on the positive and not dwell too long on those things we have no control over.  It is so important to remember the sun and the light that is always present even when it is not obvious.  There is an old saying that you must make hay while the sun shines.  In my case, I might say that I must get hard work done while the clouds gather.  There is a time for everything.  Perhaps one of the secrets to happiness is the willingness to be more fluid and to see the gift in whatever is present.  Soak up the sun's rays when I can and revel in the coolness of the summer clouds and the gifts that they give to me.  Love and Light, Shirley

August 11, 2010

I remember in 2004, after I had separated from my husband and moved into my own place, my guidance suggested that I not buy cable tv.  They had already told me to stop watching the news some time before.  Now, they added that I did not need to buy the newspaper.  Their primary reason is that the news is very negative and is slanted.  It is designed to feed our fears.  They reassured me that I would know what I truly needed to know because I would still see a certain amount of news on my computer.  I did as they suggested and until I moved in with my mom back in December, I did not hear the news or read the paper.  In those six years or more, I have never had one reason to regret my decision.  I have known what I needed to know.  I have also had much less negativity and anxiety-producing information bombarding me.  This does not mean I live with no awareness of what is going on.  It does mean that I am aware without being inundated.  Of course I know about the oil spill in the Gulf.  I pray about it often.  However, I am not confronted with negative information and negative images over and over.  I especially recommend that you limit how much you expose yourself to the news media if you have anxiety.  If you must watch the news, please do not watch the evening news.  Before going to sleep, it is most beneficial to have positive, healing thoughts, not thoughts of all that is wrong in this world.  Remember that what we focus our mind on is very important.  By focusing too much on the problems we can sometimes create more problems without meaning to.  Have an awareness of a problem but focus on a positive outcome.  Love and Light, Shirley

August 9, 2010

In the Bible it tells of how the Israelites were stranded out in the desert for forty years.  God reassured them that they would not perish and that they would be sent manna from heaven.  However, there was one stipulation and that was that they were not to save any from one day to the next.  They were to trust God that the manna would arrive as promised.  Even though, day after day, the manna arrived, by the end of the day the people would start worrying about what would happen if there was no manna the next day.  Of course, the purpose of God only sending the manna one day at a time was for the people to learn trust.  There are so many times in my life when I have reflected back upon this story and thought of my own relationship with the Divine.  I say that I believe in God and that I trust in God.  I say that I believe in the abundance of the Universe.  Yet, it is much easier to say those things when I have a regular income, money in the bank, my own home and more.  In the last six years, I have lost my home, moved away from the regular source of income, had to use up my savings and I have moved nine times.  I have taken leaps of faith and not had them turn out as I thought they would.  I am learning more and more about true trust.  I do not diminish the courage it took me to give away two thirds of what I owned and leave my small community that I had lived in for over fifty years and move to Los Angeles.  It was a huge leap of faith for me.  However, at that point, I still had money in the bank, money in my retirement and I believed I was going to establish a practice in Los Angeles and do well.  As it turned out, that was not why I moved to Los Angeles.  I only lived there for one year and it was more of a sabbatical, a time for me to heal from my divorce and let go of my old life.  Each step along the way, I have had to let go of what once constituted stability and security.  I have had to look deeply into myself and find the truth about my own level of trust in the Divine.  Yet, each step along the way, when I would be in circumstances that were financially challenging and I could not see how things were going to work out, I would find a solution.  I learned to become more fluid and to live in the moment.  I learned how to focus on the abundance of the moment, the daily manna, and to trust that tomorrow would also be sufficient.  I have learned to balance being fiscally responsible with trusting that my needs would be met.  People ask me what I think I will be doing in the future since I am currently living with my elderly mother and caring for her.  I am frequently asked where I think I will be moving?  Where do I think the next step of my journey will take me?  I tell them that I have absolutely no idea.  None.  For perhaps one of the first times in my life, I do not need to know.  Once in a while, I think it would be nice to have a clue but I let that go.  I trust that when I need to know where I am going and what I will be doing, I will know.  In the meantime, I trust that everything is in Divine order.  Today is enough.  Tomorrow will be enough when it becomes today.  Today I will feast on the manna.  Love and Light, Shirley

August 8, 2010

Yesterday I was cleaning some plastic lawn chairs out on the patio.  They have been sitting, mostly unused, for five years so they are pretty dirty.  It took me quite some time since there were 17 of them.  As I was cleaning them, I noticed how tall the grass and weeds have grown behind the patio where my parents once had a compost pile.  Part of the patio is covered and there are two walls and the old compost pile is behind the end wall, therefore it is not readily seen.  However, there is a window and once I moved the chairs from in front of the window, I could see the grass and weeds.  I remember sighing deeply and thinking that I needed to add it to my already full list of chores to do.  I looked more closely to see what all needed to be done.  In the midst of all the tall grass and weeds and blackberry vines there was a beautiful orange flower growing.  It is orange and yellow, to be specific, and it seemed to glow.  I stood for a moment and took in its beauty and its perfection.  I know that there are other flowers just like this growing on the side of the house, yet this flower seemed even more lovely.  Perhaps the old compost pile was giving it extra nutrients.  Perhaps it was more sheltered from the wind and rain.  Perhaps its beauty was more welcome because it was blooming in the midst of such chaos.  Instead of viewing the compost pile as just one more chore to be completed, I saw it as a gift.  Had I chopped down the weeds and grass earlier in the year I would have missed that solitary, glorious blossom.  When we are in the midst of chaos and overwhelm it is tempting to only focus on what is going wrong.  We must find the joy and beauty in life even when it is challenging.  My life is challenging right now.  In many ways, the compost pile is a metaphor for my life.  I have tremendous responsibilities and an overwhelming amount of tasks to be completed.  I do not simply have a list of things to do.  It is an immense list and it is a revolving list that does not appear to become shorter over time.  More is added to the list before I have even completed something already on it.  Therefore, I cannot focus too much on the whole list but must narrow my focus to what I can handle.  In the midst of chaos I must find the orange blossoms that are present.  I must remember that underneath all the tangle and weeds there is still rich, black soil.  My "compost pile" which nourishes and strengthens me is within me.  It is the love and support of God.  It is my abiding belief that even in what appears to be chaos and overwhelm there is still Divine Order.  I must remember to focus on that which sustains me through whatever life brings.  The orange blossom is but a physical reminder of the truth within.  Love and Light, Shirley

August 7, 2010

I have an affirmation that I found on the back of an inspirational card that was written by Louise Hay.  Ms. Hay is a medical intuitive and a writer and publisher and I am sure she is much more.  The affirmation reads: I now receive my good from expected and unexpected sources, I am an unlimited being receiving from an unlimited source in an unlimited way, I am blessed beyond my fondest dreams.  I repeat this affirmation on an almost daily basis and I have for a number of years.  The only change that I made is that I say my wildest dreams instead of my fondest.  I believe in affirmations.  When we can say affirmations and feel the emotions connected to them coming true, we are powerful indeed.  I can honestly say that since I began making this affirmation part of my daily rituals that it has indeed been helpful.  I have received abundance from both expected and unexpected sources.  I have been blessed in such amazing ways.  Does this mean that I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams?  Not yet, not yet.  I can tell you that there have been many instances where I have felt I am very wealthy.  I am not wealthy in the sense that most people understand it.  In fact, the past six years have been more financially challenging than most of the previous years.  However, there have been huge shifts inside of me and I have found great treasure within.  Time and time again I have had physical needs met in such unexpected ways.  I have had money given to me from people I barely knew.  I have had items come to me, things I needed such as a bed, and I would not have anticipated the source.  I acknowledge that there is an unlimited source known as the Universe.  The Universe is not limited in what it can bring to me.  I am the only source of limitation.  That is both the bad news and the good news.  The bad news is that I have no one else to point the finger at.  The good news is that I can change myself.  I can release the faulty beliefs that keep me limited.  I can tune in to my intuition and discern for myself if there is greater purpose to me not having something or if I am merely creating lack for myself.  I do believe that when some of our dreams do not come true it is because they are not in alignment with our Higher Self or Higher Will.  When we become aligned with our Higher Self and Higher Will and we eliminate limiting beliefs, magic happens and indeed our wildest dreams become reality.  Love and Light, Shirley

August 6, 2010

I read a quote this morning or rather a portion of a quote.  "This too shall pass."  I have used that phrase many times to remind myself that no matter what is going on in my life, that it too shall eventually pass.  There are so many times when that is absolutely the perfect reminder to us that nothing remains the same, everything changes.  However, I am also aware that there are times when it is NOT the right thing to say to someone.  There are times when the most important thing we can do for another human being is to simply be present.  When someone is losing the love of their life to cancer, this is not the time to remind them that this too, shall pass.  It is too glib and too lacking in empathy.  Yes, it is true that everything passes but in a moment of great grief, it is the wrong thing to say.  We are here in these human forms having deep emotions and we cannot discount that.  The sorrow of a parent whose child has been abducted is so massive and almost unendurable, that to tell them that this too shall pass is not only inappropriate, it is cruel.  We must use discernment as to whether or not someone is ready or able to hear our words.  If they are not, the words fall on deaf ears and can often increase their pain.  What is the best thing to say to someone who is encountering great pain? " I am so sorry that you are in such pain.  I don't even have the right words to tell you how sorry I am.  I am here for you.  I care about you."  These are words that may or may not be heard by someone immersed in great pain but at the very least they are not harmful.  They are kind words.  Kind words can heal and can be received even by those who cannot receive anything else.  Love and Light, Shirley

August 5, 2010

My apologies for having missed so many days.  My computer received a virus and needed to be fixed.  Life has been a whirlwind for quite some time.  My list of things to do does not seem to diminish as the months go by.  I am reminded of something very important as I sit here writing this message.  That something important is our breath.  It is very important to pay attention to our breath.  Our breath is the gateway to relaxation and also to our subconscious.  Our breath has the ability to connect us to all the parts of who we are.  It can ground us into the physical reality of being here on earth in this physical body.  Our breath can also take us into altered states and other dimensions of reality.  You do not have to do anything fancy or technical in order to benefit from your own breath.  Simply by breathing in deeply, holding your breath, breathing more in and holding it, then slowly releasing, you have already accomplished a great deal.  Repeat this procedure and feel as your body begins to relax.  You can also sit with your eyes closed and simply follow your own breath, breathing at your own pace.  Merely by following your breath as it goes in and out can assist you.  Our breath can help us to connect to our emotions and aid us in expressing and releasing them.  I have often shared with clients that the reason we hold our breath when we are feeling intense feelings is an attempt to reduce that intensity.  It may work in the moment but the emotion is not released, merely subdued.  By breathing deeply and allowing the emotions to surface, we can breathe through the emotions, releasing them into Mother Earth and thereby releasing ourselves.  Breathe on!  Love and Light, Shirley

July 30, 2010

Just a quick reminder about what I wrote yesterday.  Today there are strong astrological alignments that could bring up anger and frustration for people.  Keep that in mind with your interactions with others.  We are being pushed to change our patterns of behavior, old patterns that no longer serve us.  That is never comfortable.  I also highly recommend that this is a day when you find some time to be in nature, if possible.  Just being out in your yard or a park is sufficient.  Having your feet on the earth is beneficial.  I am referring to having your feet on soil, not cement or blacktop.  Remember that good smells can help raise your vibration as does beauty and music.  If you do feel yourself becoming angry, take a few minutes to breathe and envision bright white light coming in through your crown chakra.  If there is someone in particular you are angry with, envision them standing a distance away from you.  As the white light expands and fills you, have it expand your heart.  Direct the white light right into your heart chakra.  Envision a beam of white light going to the person you are struggling with.  Send that beam of white light into their heart center.  Do this as often as you can even if for a few minutes.  I have had people tell me that they cannot forgive this person and are struggling with whatever the issues are.  I tell them, I am not telling you to forgive them just yet.  I am suggesting that you merely allow yourself to receive the white light and send some to them.  Often, those who cannot yet forgive do find that they can receive and send the light.  At least begin by allowing yourself to receive.  Love and Light, Shirley

July 29, 2010

I have a dear friend who is a wonderful astrologer.  I am so grateful for her presence in my life.  The other day she was explaining that right now there are several astrological alignments that are affecting us a great deal.  Part of the energy that is present right now is the opportunity to break through old patterns, to clean out old beliefs and patterns.  For those people who are resistant to changing, a lot of frustration and anger can come up right now.  This is not a time to be confrontational with people or to have reason for someone to be confrontational with you.  Tomorrow, July 30th, is an especially powerful day for this energy.  To make the most of it, allow yourself to look at your life and to look at those areas that may not be working as well as you would like.  Ask yourself if there are patterns of thinking or acting that may be contributing.  Mark Twain once said that the true definition of insanity is to continue doing the same thing over and over, hoping for a different result.  This is a time for all of us to look at those patterns that are not working.  The energy that is present can help us to release old patterns which are usually fear-based and move forward into love-based beliefs and behaviors.  For a great deal of my life, I avoided being in any kind of conflict as much as possible.  Sometimes it is a mature decision to avoid confrontation.  Sometimes it is an immature decision to avoid confrontation because of fear.  This week I have had to deal with several difficult situations where I needed to be assertive but not confrontational.  I had to push through any residual anxiety and approach the situation from the mature perspective of being compassionate at the same time that I am holding someone accountable for their actions.  When I was younger, I would have ignored much of what was happening so that I did not have to confront someone.  There is a difference between being confrontational and assertive.  Being assertive is when you speak from your own truth and integrity.  Being confrontational is when people speak from anger and fear.  Releasing fear and changing your old patterns benefits you as well as everyone else.  Love and Light, Shirley

July 28, 2010

The other day I was having a conversation with a friend of mine.  I was telling her about a difficult situation in my life and she made the comment that a lot of karma was being created.  She was referring to some of the people involved.  I responded that we don't really know that.  She asked me what I meant and I said that we don't know if this unpleasant situation is a result of my own karma or karma that the others are creating for themselves.  She agreed that we don't know.  Therefore, if I don't know if this situation is the result of my karma or not, I can't truly judge what is going on.  Often, we go through situations and experiences that are very challenging and painful.  It is easy in those circumstances to feel as though the other person or people are at fault.  Yet, from a higher spiritual perspective, until I can trace back and go to the very beginning, I do not know whether it is a karmic situation where I am experiencing what I created long before or it is a situation where someone else is creating karmic debt for themselves.  I do know that this is a karmic time for me.  I have received information from more than one source that I am currently in the process of repaying karmic debts that have accumulated over many lifetimes.  I agreed prior to incarnating in this lifetime, to have completion with my karmic debt, especially to my family.  Knowing that this is a large part of what is going on in my life does help me to keep from going into self-pity or anger.  This does not mean that my life is not challenging because it is.  This is probably one of the most challenging times in my life.  However, understanding that I am completing karmic debt lightens my load.  Everything is truly in Divine Order.  Everything is in Divine Timing.  Someone once asked me if there is any way to alter our karma and my answer is yes.  Amma Karunamayi taught me that we can burn karma.  Meditation is one way of burning away karma.  I believe that selfless service is another way.  However, it is not merely being of service, but selfless service.  Being of service is very positive and is part of why we are here on the planet.  Selfless service takes being of service to a higher octave.  The moment we have any attachment to being of service it is no longer selfless.  Selfless means to have no thought of self.  Not an easy thing to do but something that all spiritual seekers can strive for.  Love and Light, Shirley

July 25, 2010

World peace.  Praying for World peace.  I cannot even begin to imagine how many times I have prayed for World peace.  As long as I can remember I know that I have been praying for World peace.  As a child, growing up in the Methodist Church, we prayed for World peace.  As I explored different Christian churches, church camps, retreats, youth groups and other Christian organizations, we prayed for World peace.  When I grew older and began to participate in different religions ceremonies and rituals, we prayed for World peace.  It is truly not difficult for me to pray for World peace.  I can envision it in my mind and heart.  Pray for your enemies.  I can even pray for my enemies.  After all, I don't truly even know who my enemies are, at least not in the global sense.  Pray for those who have wronged you.  Ah, now this is something that I can identify more clearly.  I can make a list of people that I perceive have wronged me.  My emotions are rising as I think about this.  I can feel pain and anger and grief.  Can I envision peace within me when I remember those wrongs?  Can I release the pain and anger and grief?  The answer is yes.  I can release all of those emotions and I can bring peace into my heart.  It is not easy for me but I will continue to strive to do so.  Because until I release and achieve inner peace there can be no world peace.  World peace is just a hollow phrase until we achieve inner peace.  If I can stand hand in hand with a roomful of strangers, it is truly lovely.  If I can stand hand in hand with those who I perceive have wronged me, that is where I will find true peace.  I can begin by envisioning this in my mind and heart.  I can envision embracing those who have hurt me.  I can.  I must.  The whole world waits.  Love and Light, Shirley

July 24, 2010

When I was still in bed thinking about what I want to talk about in my radio show, I started thinking about the body/mind connection.  I remember when I first started understanding how our body will manifest what our mind is thinking and how I found it so amazing.  I bought a book called, "Heal Your Body" by Louise Hay.  There is a lot of wisdom and information packed in this small book.  Ms. Hay goes through all the different parts of the body and the different issues that we can have with our body and connects them to thought patterns that may be affecting them.  I say, may be, because I found over time that my physical issues were not always caused by what she had in the book.  I later bought a book called, "Feelings Buried Alive Never Die" by Karol Truman.  It is truly an amazing book.  I highly recommend both of these books if you are interested in learning how to listen to  your body and heal yourself.  I have used them on many occasions and healed myself of physical issues that were painful and difficult.  I have also used them with clients to help them determine what may be an underlying factor in their own health issues.  Eventually, I learned to combine muscle testing with the books and I was always able to find the metaphysical connection between my mind and my body.  For example, I remember having pain in my feet.  I looked up feet pain in both books and I wrote down the possible mind connections.  Now, in Louise Hay's book, it states that feet are connected to our understanding of ourselves, others and life.  I muscle tested to see if that was why my feet hurt.  The answer that came back was no.  I then sat in meditation and asked myself what purpose do my feet serve?  Of course, they allow me to stand and walk, to navigate and move in all directions.  I muscle tested and asked if it was connected to movement.  The answer was yes.  I muscle tested if it had to do with moving forward and the answer was a loud YES.  I then knew that my feet pain was connected to my reluctance to move forward in some area of my life.  I immediately knew what it was.  Usually, if we have reluctance to move forward it is because of fear and insecurity.  That was absolutely the case at that time.  I forced myself to face my fears and I began to move forward.  The pain stopped within a fairly short amount of time.  I had been going to the podiatrist and he had told me I might have to have surgery.  How grateful I am that I had these wonderful tools at my disposal and I never had surgery.  Nothing else changed except what I was thinking.  Love and Light, Shirley

July 23, 2010

Take time to smell the roses.  That is a phrase that has been around for a long time.  At face value, it means to not get so busy that you don't even have time to stop and relax.  To me, there is also a deeper meaning connected to our sense of smell.  Smell is the number one sense for being able to evoke deep feeling.  Our sense of smell can transport us to past experiences more quickly than any of the other senses.  Obviously, our sense of smell is very powerful.  There are reasons why scent is used in so many spiritual rituals and ceremonies.  Certain smells can raise our vibration, lift our spirits, transport us to a heightened state.  There are also smells that can nauseate us, irritate us and lower our vibration.  I am sure you are already aware of scents that are pleasing to you.  Most people can associate certain memories with scent.  The smell of lavender may remind them of their favorite grandmother or the scent of cedar may remind them of Christmas.  Figure out what scents bring you the sweetness of life.  Even when you may not have time to stop and read something inspirational, you can smell.  You can smell when you are doing anything.  I love to burn incense when I am praying or meditating but I also love to burn incense when I am doing just about anything.  Even in the midst of some very dirty work I burn incense and I can stop and inhale its sweetness and everything seems better.  Bring some sweetness into your life today.  Inhale the scents that elevate you.  Breathe in the smells that connect you to the beauty in life.  Love and Light, Shirley

July 22, 2010

I woke up to the sound of the wind blowing through the bushes and trees next to my bedroom.  Lately, there has not been a great deal of sun and the weather has been cloudy and cold.  It is not that unusual to have clouds here on the west coast but it is not normal to have such cold weather in July.  I find it disappointing, yet I do not want to base my happiness on the weather.  I find that when the clouds do part, my spirits are brightened, and I am so appreciative of the blue sky and sun.  I have read several different articles that have talked about global warming and how the temperatures are going up world wide.  So, it is even more interesting to me that we are colder than usual. A lot of people have been complaining about the cold.  I am reminded of what Buddha said about unhappiness.  He said that unhappiness comes from desires and revulsions.  When we desire something and we do not have it, we are unhappy.  When there is something that we do not desire and we have it, we are unhappy.  If we can become detached and simply accept whatever is in our life, we can be happy.  This is a tall order at times, especially in a culture that promotes having all your wishes come true.  One of the advantages of moving into a place of more acceptance is that there is far less energy wasted being upset over something that you have absolutely no control over.  I have decided, therefore, to move into a place of acceptance about the weather.  Normally, in the fall and winter, I love a good wind storm.  It always seems to bring in freshness.  I love the energy of the plants moving about as if they were ready to dance their way across the lawn.  Today, I will not only accept the wind and cold, I will embrace them.  I will haul my warmer clothes out of the closet and warm myself.  I will stand with the wind against my face and feel the fresh, cleansing gusts.  After all, I carry the sun in my heart and blue sky in my mind's eye.  Love and Light, Shirley

July 21, 2010

In Buddhism, forgiveness is important for many reasons, but one of them concerns mental well-being and mental karma.  To hold thoughts of resentment, bitterness, hatred and pain does not create peace and harmony within a person.  To forgive another and be able to release all thoughts of resentment and hatred helps to create inner peace.  Naturally, by establishing inner peace and harmony, one's mental karma becomes positive and harmonious.  In order to accomplish this inner peace, one must change their thoughts.  It is not a decision one makes and instantaneously achieves.  Forgiveness is a process.  It is the willingness to confront the negative thoughts over and over, releasing them and replacing them with more harmonious thoughts that eventually accomplishes forgiveness.  It is the willingness to do no harm, even with one's thoughts.  It is the stubborn refusal to give in to hatred or resentment and the ability to bring in more positive thoughts.  I read something yesterday and it impacted me a great deal.  It spoke of how our thoughts create an identity and this identity continues to be reborn with our thoughts.  Lack of forgiveness creates an identity of pain and anger.  Every time we think those thoughts that are connected to a lack of forgiveness, we once again resurrect that identity.  By choosing to change our thoughts, that identity begins to fade away until it is no longer reborn.  When I read this, I realized that I do NOT wish to keep resurrecting an identity that is connected to lack of forgiveness.  That identity is filled with anger, hurt, grief and blame.  No thank you.  Have you ever met someone who had a terrible loss of some kind and they have created an identity around that?  I have.  I met a woman once who had lost her only child.  This is a terrible loss.  It is one of the worst kinds possible.  However, her entire identity had changed to that of the woman who lost her child.  Everything she did was connected to this loss.  Almost everything she talked about concerned the loss of her son.  It had been ten years or more and she still was immersed in her grief.  I understand why.  She focused her thoughts continually upon the loss and so this identity of loss and grief became reborn again and again.  She refused to let go.  This happens a great deal with forgiveness or rather the lack of forgiveness.  In the long run, it is the person who will not forgive who suffers the most.  What identity do you wish to have reborn again and again?  I choose inner peace and harmony even though it means I will have to release all thoughts of having been harmed or wronged.  I choose that golden warmth that steals over me when I feel one with all others.  I choose the cool still waters within me that refresh and revitalize.  I choose forgiveness.  Love and Light, Shirley

July 20, 2012

I would like to share about one of my favorite books.  It is called "Astrology For The Soul".  It was written by Jan Spiller, who is a well-known astrologer.  Ms. Spiller writes about the north nodes of the moon and explains that whatever node the moon is in when you are born has a very profound effect on you.  I can look up a person's birth date and read about their north node and gain tremendous insights into them.  I have used this book on a personal level to help myself and others gain wonderful insights into why we are the way we are.  I have also used it with clients to help me gain a better understanding of who they are and how best to help them.  Each section contains rich information about each node and how we can develop the attributes we came in to embody.  In Kabbalah, the north node is often referred to as our correction.  It shows the tendencies that we need to leave behind as well as the attributes we need to develop.  In the book, each node lists one specific tendency that is the greatest challenge for the person to overcome.  I have found that this is always consistent.  Most people, when given this information, will nod their head and agree.  Once in a while, someone will not agree but this is usually someone who is very unaware of their internal state and unaware of how their behavior impacts others.  I highly recommend it to anyone.  You do not have to be familiar with astrology to get a great deal out of this gem of a book.  It helps to have an open mind and the willingness to look at your own need for improvement.  Remember to spend the most time reading your own and not checking up on everyone else!  Love and Light, Shirley

July 19, 2012

I overheard a brief conversation yesterday while in the grocery store line.  A young man was telling the cashier that he had taken his black belt test but had failed miserably.  He talked about the reasons he believed he had failed and then cheerfully stated that he gets to take it again this weekend.  What a wonderful thing to overhear!  I was reminded of a quote by Thomas Edison when he reminded others that it took him 1,000 experiments to get the light bulb right.  How often do we attempt something and fail and then waste so much precious time feeling like a failure?  I prefer to be a Thomas Edison and get right back out in the laboratory of life and just do it again.  Of all the struggles I have faced in my life, one of the most tenacious has been my weight issues.  I refuse to just accept failure.  I cheerfully strive to accomplish weight release and better health, once again.  I let go and release all other attempts, just counting them amongst my experiments, as Edison did.  Recently, I embarked on a weight release program that seems to work very well for me.  I have released 17 pounds.  My instincts tell me that I may have finally created my own light bulb after many, many trials.  What are you working to create in your own life?  Have you felt discouraged because your efforts fell flat?  If you really know in your heart that it is something for you to accomplish, keep on striving.  Remember Thomas Edison and how he just couldn't let go of what he knew was possible.  Ask your guidance and the angels for support.  Pray for your highest good and keep on keeping on.  Love and Light, Shirley

July 18, 2010

Karma is one word that describes a universal law.  Other words that describe this same law are: what goes around comes around.  You shall reap what you have sown.  You have made your bed now you must lay in it.  So often when people have talked to me about karma, they only speak of it as something to fear.  The truth is that every single one of our thoughts and deeds result in karma.   I think of it as a boomerang and so whatever I send out comes back to me.  I do not have to regard it with fear as long as I am thinking positive thoughts and living my life with integrity and kindness.  Over the years, my own guidance has helped me immensely with this issue.  They have taught me not to question what is happening in my life.  They have told me repeatedly that when something seems unfair, it is only because I cannot remember all that I have thought, said and done throughout my existence.  The universal laws are consistent, just and fair.  What may appear to be unjust may simply be a karmic completion.  There are reasons why some people are born with wealth, good health, beauty and fewer obstacles.  This lifetime may be a huge karmic reward for them.  Other people may seem to have struggle written on their forehead.  This lifetime of struggle could be karmic completion for them.  It could also be a choice of the soul in order to learn something, to develop inner strength perhaps.  What is important to me is that I quit resisting whatever is presented to me in my life and move out of any kind of victimhood.  If large obstacles are presented to me, I strive to regard them as obstacles that my Higher self has placed before me for very good reasons.  Sometimes I know that they are part of my karmic completion so I am learning to be grateful.  I am striving to say, "Hallelujah! I am releasing and letting go and I am thankful to be completing something so important".  It is not easy.  Karmic completion can be painful, hard work.  Someone once asked me how did I know if it was karmic completion or not?  I responded that I don't always know but I do know that whatever is before me is part of a greater plan.  It is not something being done to me without purpose.  I don't have to like it but I can accept it.  The less resistance I have, the more my life can flow.  Eventually, I can flow, unimpeded, right on into my destiny.  Love and Light, Shirley

July 17, 2010

Today I would just like to share some of the words from one of my favorite songs from childhood, "Accentuate the Positive".

You got to accentuate the positive. Eliminate the negative. Latch on to the affirmative. Don't mess with Mr. In Between

You got to spread joy up to the maximum.  Bring gloom down to the minimum. Have faith or pandemonium is liable to walk upon the scene. 

If you google the words Accentuate the Positive, you can find videos where it is recorded.  One is with Bing Crosby and Bette Midler.  I highly recommend it for a quick pick me up!  Love and Light, Shirley

July 16, 2010

Yesterday, I was doing a dirty, icky job.  I was sorting through piles of stuff that contained garbage, things for the recycling center and occasionally, something worth keeping.  It is someone else's stuff and the space that I am working in is smelly and dirty.  I opened the door to the outside and sat near the door as I worked.  The sun was shining and on the edge of the property are massive wild blackberries that have grown to about eight feet high.  The sun on the blackberry blossoms was very beautiful.  I had to look beyond the piles that were accumulating in the yard in order to see the blossoms.  I just trained my eyes to only look at the blossoms.  For brief moments, here and there, I would take the time to gaze at the blue sky, the blackberry blossoms and the green vines.  Amazingly, my work seemed lighter and I was lighter.  There are times that we simply must find a way to look beyond the garbage and chaos in our life to find the beauty.  Something as simple as blackberry blossoms can bring us back in touch with the beauty in life.  It brings us back to the divine.  May you find the blackberry blossoms in your life today.  Love and Light, Shirley

July 15, 2010

Recently, I reconnected with someone that I was close to in the past.  More than ten years had passed and we had not spoken.  Yet, he was never far from my thoughts and certainly not far from my heart.  He kept coming into my mind and so I finally found his phone number and contacted him.  It has been so wonderful.  It has been as though time never passed and we never spent years without talking.  I pay attention when someone comes into my mind.  If it happens several times, I listen because I believe that there is an important reason why that person comes to me.  Our conversations have been deep and rich and I have been helping him to understand many of the experiences he is currently having.  There are no accidents in my world and I know that there is great purpose to us having reconnected.  Do you listen to yourself?  Do you pay attention if something keeps coming to you?  Often, what appears to be random, odd thoughts are really messages from spirit.  I often wonder how many experiences I have missed out on because I ignored messages or explained them away with my rational mind.  I am grateful that I listen to my intuition.  My life is richer for it.  Love and Light, Shirley

July 14, 2010

Today I am going to turn the keyboard over to my guides and see what they have to share with you.  Shirley, thank you for once again giving us an opportunity to share with others.  There is a great deal of turmoil in the world right now.  Truth be told, there is always a certain amount of turmoil and strife going on in the world, but there are times when there is more.  Let us share with you today about some of our views on why there is turmoil.  The earth is shifting.  When the earth shifts and changes, so must all of her inhabitants and everything else upon her.  The reverse is also true, that as the inhabitants shift and change, so must the earth.  Change is inevitable but it is still challenging.  Think of earth as going through puberty.  Puberty brings with it hormonal changes and mood swings.  For a young man, his voice changes and there are times when he cannot seem to find his voice.  Males and females alike swing back and forth between wanting to be children again and having their parents care for them and wanting to be independent and grown-up.  In a sense, this is similar to what earth and her inhabitants are going through.  Growing pains.  Earth and her inhabitants have spent thousands of years in ignorance and illusion.  Fear and hatred have often governed her people's decisions, far more than love and compassion.  This is changing.  This is the beginning of the age of enlightenment.  Oh, there are some who will say that you have been through the beginning already.  Yes, it had already begun before we wrote these words.  However, when you are able to take a look at earth from our perspective, you are still in the beginning.  In the greater scheme of things, there is much more that will occur  before you can say that you are truly immersed in the age of enlightenment.  Every time someone chooses mercy and kindness over fear and control, you move closer to the age of enlightenment.  Even one person making choices from the heart brings all of humanity closer and closer.  One person's prayer for peace is powerful.  So, be of good faith and continue with your prayers and hopes for earth and her inhabitants and all else upon her.  Continue to pray for those who are still at war.  Continue to pray for the oil spill.  Continue to search your own heart for any seeds of hatred and fear.  You can eradicate them.  Send out the intent into the Universe that you desire to eradicate them and tap into your own vast resources of love and forgiveness.  Remember that just as you are an infinite being, you also have an infinite well of love from which to drink.  Thank you for allowing us this brief opportunity to share with you.  Remember that you are never alone.  Love, US  Thank you to my guides.  May their words bless you.  Love and Light, Shirley

July 13, 2010

There is a movie called Amish Grace and I watched it yesterday.  It is based on the true story of a man who gunned down 10 Amish girls while they were at school and the Amish community's response to this tragedy.  The people of this community chose to forgive the killer and to reach out with compassion to his grieving wife and children.  The movie centered around the family of one of the girls, especially the mother, who was struggling to forgive.  I highly recommend watching it if you have the opportunity.  It is a beautiful opportunity to experience love, courage and forgiveness of the highest order.  How does someone forgive the unforgiveable?  In the movie, one of the mothers said that she MUST forgive the man, not only because it is God's way but because she cannot bear to feel the pain of hatred.  She lost two little girls in the slaughter and yet, she fought back her hatred.  They are right to want to forgive.  Hatred and lack of forgiveness hurt the person hating more than the person hated.  How difficult that is to remember when we have been hurt or betrayed or suffered tremendous loss.  I applaud that small Amish community and include them in my list of teachers.  Love and Light, Shirley

July 11, 2011

Reincarnation was a foreign concept to me while I was growing up.  I grew up in the Methodist church and we did not believe in reincarnation.  However, when I was 28, I had an experience that changed my whole belief system.  I was at a women's retreat at a lake cabin and we were all in a circle.  The circle was meant to be a time to be quiet, to go within and to bring in some healing energy.  As we stood there, I felt compelled to start toning, simply emitting one single tone at a time, slowly.  Soon, others were also toning and it was beautiful.  What happened next was incredible.  I lost all awareness of the room and the women there and I felt myself shoot up out of my body.  I travelled and at some point, I was drawn down into a body.  The body was of a young male monk and he was standing out in a courtyard.  I remember every detail vividly, what I was wearing, the cobblestones on the courtyard, the moss growing in between and so much more.  I somehow knew I was in England and it was the 1200's.  I was 21 and slender with light brown hair and blue eyes.  I had on a simple robe and nothing else.  I could feel the coolness of spring and it was a beautiful day.  I was filled with gratitude for the day and for my life as a monk.  In back of me was a large stone building and I could hear my "brethren" singing.  My joy was too great to be contained and I, too, broke out in song.  After a time, I could hear a voice calling me but not by my name as a monk, the voice was calling me, Shirley.  I shot up out of my body and it felt as though I was flying.  Once again, I was drawn down into a body and when I opened my eyes, I was standing in a circle of women.  The women were all staring at me and I was somewhat in shock, trying to figure out what had happened to me.  I was speechless until one of the women asked me where I had learned to chant like that.  Puzzled, I told her I don't know how to chant.  Another woman spoke up and said that it was Gregorian chanting and it was absolutely beautiful.  I told her I don't know Gregorian chanting.  Encouraged to share my experience, I told them what had happened as best I could.  Several became very excited and talked about astral flying and past life regression and a lot of other things that I knew nothing about.  I had never considered that I might have had previous existences, much less one as a man.  I became very curious and began to read everything I could about reincarnation.  My world shifted and has never been the same since.  I do believe in reincarnation.  I believe we are infinite beings and that reincarnation is just one part of that infinite existence.  Twenty years after I had that experience, I was having a Reiki session and the woman was holding my head.  She began to speak to me about how much "monkness" I have about me.  She began to share about this lifetime I had as a monk and how happy it was.  I was amazed and grateful for her words.  I knew they were true.  Love and Light, Shirley

July 8, 2010

God is speaking to us all the time but we are not always listening.  Those who live close to Mother Earth know that she is a living being and that everything upon her is also living.  Everything has awareness and its own vibration and purpose.  The Native Americans have always known this and have respected Mother Earth and her inhabitants.  A tree has its own spirit.  Animals have their own spirits.  Stones have their own spirits.  When I first began opening to this possibility and I began listening and paying attention, a whole new awareness opened up for me.  I had already learned that life is not random and that if I pay attention, I can see patterns and important information in the most common of places.  I began to learn about animal totems and how each and every one of us has animal spirits that are connected to us and to our life purpose.  One of my main animal totems is the black panther.  The energy of the black panther is diverse.  Part of the energy of the black panther is going into the unknown.  Another part of her energy is reclaiming your power.  A third aspect of her energy has to do with psychic energy.  She epitomizes so much of what I have been learning to do in this life, especially in the past ten years.  I have been reclaiming my own power.  Someone once asked me what does that mean?  I shared that to me, when we reclaim our own power, we are letting go of fear and making a statement to the Universe that we are innately powerful.  Every time I have pushed myself beyond my comfort zone, I am reclaiming part of my own power.  Every time I have stood up to someone else because of my beliefs and values, I have been reclaiming my own power.  Every time I have faced my fears and told them NO, I have reclaimed my own power.  Every time I have withstood other people's criticisms with dignity and no retaliation, I have reclaimed my own power.  There is another side to reclaiming our own power.  It is also reclaiming our own power when we can apologize and admit we have made a mistake.  It is reclaiming our own power when we make amends.  Three of the most incredibly powerful words in the Universe are: I am sorry.  Today, ask yourself about your own personal power.  Is your personal power in balance?  If not, ask for help from the spiritual kingdom in whatever way feels right for you.  If it resonates with you, call on black panther.  You can read more about her in the book, "Animal Speak".  Love and Light, Shirley

July 6, 2010

I have written about this before but I believe there are some messages well worth repeating.  The message is about the importance of being in the Now.  Being in the moment can be one of the most powerful things you can do for yourself.  When life is stressful and challenging and at times seems too overwhelming to handle, simply ask yourself how things truly are, in this moment.  The majority of what we feel anxious and fearful about are events that are in the future.  What if??????  What if I lose my job?  What if my boyfriend breaks up with me?  What if I get sick and have no medical insurance?  What if, what if, what if?????  In moments of stress, if instead we would remind ourselves that in this moment we are not dealing with all the what if's at one time, we would become more calm and less fearful.  The majority of our fears never manifest in the ways that we are most afraid of.  Yes, people do lose their jobs and that is a challenging situation.  Yes, people have relationships that break up and it can be very painful.  Yes, people do get sick and are without medical insurance.  However, it is the rare person that manifests all of their fears.  By bringing ourselves back to the present, we can do a reality check.  The majority of the time, we may be facing some challenges but not all of those we have manufactured in our minds.  In this moment, I can pay my current bills.  In this moment, I am still in a loving relationship.  In this moment, I am healthy or my health issues are being addressed.  Even if what we are saying is that in this current moment I have lost my job, it is hard and challenging but it is not necessarily the end of the world.  By focusing on the Now, we can deal with what is currently on our plate and use all of our energy to resolve what is, not a series of what if's.  This is not about sugar coating life's challenges but it is about putting them in perspective and dealing with what is really on our plate.  It is about bring us back to the present so that we can more clearly deal with the present and move forward.  In this moment, I have multiple challenges but I can deal with them one at a time, one moment at a time.  Love and Light, Shirley

July 3, 2010

Change is something that most people resist even though change is the one thing we can count on.  It is not always easy to let go.  Tomorrow is the 4th of July and I find myself reflecting back upon past Independence Days and I realize just how radically different my life is now.  I grew up with a fair sized extended family on both sides of my family.  Many of my holidays were spent with one side of the family or the other.  I have countless wonderful memories of family gatherings at the beach, or at my dad's parent's summer home or trips to Oregon to visit my mom's family.  Camping trips and picnics, barbecues and fireworks seemed to predominate my growing up years.  My oldest brother was born on the 4th of July, so that always added an extra element of fun, not to mention yummy peanut butter cake because that was his favorite.  Once I married and had children, there were still picnics and barbecues, usually at my parents camping lot or my husband's parent's home.  Eventually, after my own grandson was born, the festivities moved to the home I shared with my husband.  The 4th of July was a time for friends and family, lots of activity and fun.  In 2004, I was divorced and that ended the big joint family barbecues at my home.  It was very painful that first year.  I felt as though I was cast adrift.  We had a barbecue at my parent's home but it wasn't the same.  More than half the people who would normally come were not there.  Divorce is never between two people.  It affects so many more.  I did my best to make the most of my life and the changes that had occurred in my life.  Every year since then I have had very different 4th of July celebrations.  None of them have resembled what I had known for most of my life.  Some years I was living out of state and had no family available.  Instead, I celebrated with my friends.  This year, I am living with my elderly mother and the rest of my family is going to be gone.  My boyfriend is coming down and the three of us will go and find some festivities.  I  remember past Independence Days with gratitude and fond memories.  I accept that life is ever-changing and I seek to find the good in those changes.  Perhaps a more quiet holiday will be more relaxing.  Less distraction gives me more time to reflect upon what the holiday was originally intended for.  A celebration of our Independence!  A ringing out of gratitude for our freedoms.  A time to hopefully soak up the sun's rays and feel the warmth of knowing that I live in such an amazing country.  If you are alone this year, get out of the house and go to any kind of celebration.  Instead of focusing on what you don't have, focus on all the amazing ways in which being in America has blessed you.  Smile at strangers.  Watch the colorful fireworks and let them light up your life!  Love and Light, Shirley

July 2, 2010

A number of years ago my own guidance instructed me to build an altar in my office.  At the time, I rented a house for my mental health practice and the altar was to be placed in the waiting room.  I received some very specific instructions about what I was to place on the altar and I was told that I would eventually understand what each item meant.  At the time, I was nervous about putting my altar in the waiting room.  I still had fears about what other people might think.  However, I had promised I would do as I would instructed so I built the altar.  People were curious about it but I never received any kind of negative repercussion because of it.  I was instructed to have certain stones placed on the altar, jade, obsidian, rose quartz and amber.  Amber isn't truly a stone but is usually found with stones and crystals.  At the time I was instructed to build the altar, I had not studied anything about stones.  As time went by I began to learn more and more about the properties of different stones.  I began to understand that it was the properties of the stones and what they brought to me energetically that made them an important part of my altar.  All of the stones have more than one property but I will just give a brief summary of those qualities that I knew were helping me.  Obsidian is an excellent grounding stone.  It helps with root chakra issues and is designed to help you be connected to your physical body and the physical plane.  Rose quartz is a stone that helps to fill the heart with love.  Amber is an excellent substance for protection against negative energies.  Jade has many qualities but it is a healing stone and it also helps open the heart chakra, as does rose quartz.  I eventually was guided to add clear quartz, which is excellent for opening and clearing the sixth chakra, our chakra for higher intuition.  Over time, I not only used these stones but I learned about others.  Everything on earth has awareness and is ultimately connected to everything else. The properties of the stones corresponded to properties that I already had within but needed strengthening.  Rose quartz does not create love where there was none but it can enhance the love that is there.  Sometimes I think of the stones and crystals as amplifiers.  I believe we all have the capacity to self-heal but we have forgotten it or we are so consumed with what is going on in our lives that we don't stop long enough to listen to our body.  Healing stones can help us remember who we truly are and what we are capable of.  They can awaken what is asleep within us.  What do you wish to awaken or enhance?  You might consider learning a bit about crystals and stones in order to help you.  There are a multitude of books available to you.  Love and Light, Shirley

July 1, 2010

I was reading today about the cause of man's misery.  The words were written in a book by Swami Sri Yukteswar called The Holy Science.  In it, he speaks of man's desire and of his aversion being the causes of his pain.  When we are immersed in desire for something, we are attached to having whatever it is we desire.  When we attain the object of our desire we are temporarily happy but it is not permanent because everything is temporary that stems from our egoistic desires.  When we have aversion towards another person, object or experience, we are in misery because we wish it to be gone.  We are basing our happiness on certain things either being present or not present in our lives.  When I first read about desire and aversion, I had a very hard time conceiving how I could not have desire.  It was difficult to envision life where I did not have an aversion to certain experiences or people.  I still struggle with much of this although I have learned to let go of many desires and aversions.  I continue to work on this.  What Swami states is that it is only when man turns his thoughts and desires inward towards spiritual enlightenment and realization of the true self that man can find true happiness and true peace.  I do understand the words.  I acknowledge that I am still very much immersed in the physical world.  I know that for myself, I have experienced much pain and misery in the past when I defined what needed to be present in order for me to be happy.  I see this evident in most people's lives.  I must be married or have a love interest in order to be happy.  I must make a certain amount of money in order to be fulfilled.  I must work a particular kind of job in order to be content.  I must have children.  I must not have children.  I must live in a certain place or a certain area.  I must not live in a certain place or a certain area.  The list is endless.  When we go within and our thoughts and desires go inward, we have less and less attachment to our physical lives having to be a certain way.  We have equanimity within and more tolerance with whatever exists in our physical realm.  For me, acceptance of what is helps me to release my desires and aversions.  Living in the moment helps me to go within and seek that which is eternal.  I long for that day when I no longer have desires and aversions at the same time that I acknowledge I have a long way to go.  I refuse to give up.  Where are you in your own journey?  Do you have equanimity and peace within?  Examine what it is that prevents you from answering with a resounding yes.  Most likely you will find somewhere that you have unfulfilled desires and aversions not yet released.  I pray we all move closer and closer to the truth within. I pray we all strive for liberation.  Let freedom ring!  Love and Light, Shirley

June 30, 2010

I have a deck of cards called Osho Zen cards.  They are Zen Buddhist tarot cards.  I love working with them and they have beautiful imagery on them.  One of the cards is called courage and it depicts one solitary daisy that is growing up between two stones in a stone wall.  There is no visible dirt and yet, somehow, this courageous beautiful flower found a way to grow.  Sometimes, we have to be just like that daisy.  Even when our life is filled with difficulty, heartbreak and disappointment, we have to find a way in which we can flourish in the midst of it all.  Yesterday was one of those days filled with stressful situations, one after the other.  It was the sort of day where I felt as though I had barely put out one fire and another was already raging.  Surrounded by difficulties and challenges, I had to find the "hidden" dirt in which I could still flourish.  There are times when the external environment is not the place to look for it or certainly not to look for it there exclusively.  I did find something to nourish me in the physical world but it is primarily by going within that I find my sustenance and nurturance.  There was a beautiful sunset last night.  The sky was golden and the gilded clouds looked magical.  Fingers of light spread out across the sky in a lovely fan of gold.  Gratitude for this gift of nature filled me.  It is those moments that help sustain me.  An outer image of an inner experience.  The true gold is within me, my own spiritual essence fanning out in fingers of gold.  For today, find something to nourish you.  It can be something as simple as a flower growing where none other dares.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 29, 2010

I have already written many times before about the importance of paying attention to our thoughts.  If we are thinking negative thoughts, we are drawing negative energies to us and negative experiences.  This morning as I reflected upon what I wanted to write about, I thought of two things.  First, I remembered the saying that what you resist, persists.  The second thing I thought of has to do with being the Observer during meditation.  In some forms of Buddhist meditation, one is encouraged to simply observe one's thoughts and not react to them.  By simply observing, there is no emotional charge attached to the thoughts.  The thoughts flow in and the thoughts flow out.  Ah, I am having this thought of revenge against someone who has harmed me.  I allowed the thought to flow in and now I allow it to simply flow out.  I observe that I had this negative thoughts but I do not react to it.  There is no resistance, simply observation.  What I have realized recently is that when I become aware of my negative thoughts, I tend to have two distinct reactions to them.  One is that I get upset with myself for still having the undesirable thought.  The second reaction is much closer to simply being an observation.  Ah, so I still have not eradicated that thought, I choose to let it dissipate.  Sometimes I do Tong Lin meditation, breathing the thought in and releasing white light.  When I get upset with myself and have strong emotion regarding the thought, I am actually empowering that particular thought.  By not having a strong emotional reaction, the thought dissipates more easily.  There is no way that I can simply say I am not going to think a certain thought because the moment I say it, I have already thought it.  Instead, I can calmly observe and transform it.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 28, 2010

I have received some wonderful energy healing sessions from a woman named Mary Pat Marshall.  She is the owner of Soul Picnic, a healing center in Aberdeen, WA.  She has many wonderful healing modalities but one of my favorites is sound healing with Tibetan singing bowls and tuning forks.  She plays the singing bowls right on my body and I am transported!  Music is one very quick way to change your vibration.  If you are feeling down, just turning on the right music can cheer you.  If you are tired, the right music can energize you.   I love to listen to music before I go to sleep at times and it induces deep restful sleep and lovely dreams.  I am also aware of how there is some music that creates disharmony within me and music that is discordant to me.  For today, find the music that resonates with you and brings you to a better state.  Even five minutes of the right music can help bring you back into balance or raise your vibration.  So simple, yet so powerful.  Feel the music.  It can stir your soul. Love and Light, Shirley

June 27, 2010

A tiny vibrant hummingbird darted in and out of the mock orange at the corner of the house.  Sunlight heightened the sheen of its tiny colorful feathers.  Hummingbirds represent joy.  Whenever I see a hummingbird I am reminded to find the joy in life.  Hummingbirds are the only bird that can flow up and down, forward and backward and can literally fly in place.  This ability reminds us to look for more than one way to do things, to be willing to "fly" in different directions when necessary.  Sometimes we may have to "fly" backward in order to get to where we need to be.  Sometimes, we have to "fly" in place, not appearing to be going anywhere at all in order to accomplish what we need.    This flexibility and willingness to go in different directions is not always easy.  I know that for myself, there have been times when I was so certain that I was going in a certain direction.  I had divine inspiration and guidance.  I had deep certainty.  Yet, there turned out to be far more twists and turns than I had anticipated.  There were times when everything appeared to be at a complete and total standstill.  I have become far more accepting of Divine Order and Divine Timing.  I listen to my inspiration and guidance but I also keep in mind that my ego still can get in the way and interpret some of my messages incorrectly.  I worry less about "getting it right" and focus more on being in the moment.  Okay, so that particular venture did not turn out as I had thought.  I can back up, just like the hummingbird, I can "fly" in place for a while until I figure out the next step.  Or better yet, I can figure out this moment, trusting that whatever the next step is, I can handle it.  And in the midst of it all, I can find joy.  I can find the joy no matter what the circumstances are in my life.  Certainly, some days are easier.  But, I can find joy everyday because the ultimate source of my joy is within me.  It is when I connect to the infinite source of joy that I know I can face whatever life brings to me.  I not only connect to the hummingbird, I am the hummingbird.  Today, connect to joy.  Look for the hummingbird in your own life: a blue sky, a baby's laugh, the sound of grass being mowed on a warm, sunny day, a friend's loving voice or whatever it is that brings you joy.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 26, 2010

Yesterday I spoke about the Swami Sri Yukteswar bringing the East and West together.  He wrote his book about the universal truths that were written in Hindu scriptures and those in Christian scriptures.  One of the scriptures that I am aware of that speaks of Universal truth is found in John 1:1.  In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  There have been many different explanations about what that means.  What is the Word?  Many esteemed spiritual teachers have explained that the Word was OM, sometimes spelled AUM.  This AUM also corresponds to the word AMEN.  In Sanskrit, OM is referred to as the seed sound, the sound from which all other sounds come.  I believe the Word, or perhaps even more accurately, the sound, OM, is what is being referred to in John 1:1 as well as many other sacred texts.  This sound can be heard when one is in deep meditation and one is attuned to higher vibrations.  I remember when I was at a Vipassana retreat and had been in silence for six days and I began to hear the OM.  There is nothing else like it.  It is more than hearing the OM, it is hearing and feeling the OM that can transport a person.  While at this same retreat, as I directed my consciousness to different parts of my body, I not only heard the OM when I passed my consciousness over my ears, but I saw bright white light when I passed my consciousness over my eyes.  In this state of heightened awareness and silence, I was closer to my true essence than ever.  I believe we carry within us the light of eternity and the OM of creation.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 25, 2010

I am currently reading a wonderful book called "The Holy Science" by Swami Sri Yukteswar.  Swami Sri Yukteswar was the guru of Yogananda.  For those of you who may not know Yogananda, he was the first person to introduce Yoga to the United States.  He was also the founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship.  His guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar  taught Yogananda while Yogananda was still living in India.  He foretold Yogananda's coming to the United States and he knew that it was very important to create a connection between the East and the West.  In his book, "The Holy Science" Swami Sri Yukteswar writes of the unity between the Christian scriptures and some of the Hindu scriptures, specifically Sanatan Dharma.  He was able to show in his book the fundamental harmony between the book of Revelation and the Sankhya philosophy of India.  My heart soars when I read books like this.  There is a fundamental truth that resonates with me whenever someone shows the connection and unity between religions.  I remember going to a service several years ago which was led by a Jewish Rabbi from the United States and a beautiful muslim man from Israel.  The purpose of the service was to show the commonality between the religions and to celebrate unity.  At this service there were Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and people who had no particular religious affiliation but who were spiritual seekers.  We sang and danced and prayed together.  It was such a joy to celebrate God and love with such a diverse group of people.  I highly recommend this book, "The Holy Science" to anyone who is interested in its wisdom.  I also recommend Yogananda's book, "The Autobiography of a Yogi".  It is transformative reading.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 23, 2010

In 2006 I lived in Los Angeles.  I was only there for one year but I met some absolutely wonderful people while there and had some amazing experiences.  While there I participated in some wonderful classes taught by a young man named Jason Nelson.  Jason is a channel and a spiritual teacher.  During one of his workshops he took us through a meditation where we journeyed up the chakras.  It was the first time that I had gone above the crown chakra.  First, we went into a chakra about a foot above the head that Jason explained was a chakra for connecting with our guidance.  Farther above that was what he referred to as our Soul chakra and the chakra above that was our God chakra.  It was easy for me to go up the chakras and while in the God chakra, I had an amazing experience.  At first, all I could see was bright, white light.  I felt euphoric and weightless.  Then, I could see my hand holding a mirror.  I gazed into the mirror and saw my own reflection.  However, soon my reflection disappeared and others began to take its place, one after the other.  At first, the images were faces of people that I know and love.  They soon gave way to faces of people that I did not know, faces of what I would call ordinary people.  The faces began to come faster and faster like a slide show on fast forward.  I began to recognize faces here and there.  At one point I saw Adolf Hitler and shortly after him, a face of Mother Theresa.  Soon, the images came so quickly that they were just a blur and eventually all returned again to bright, white light.  When the meditation ended, I found that my face was wet with tears even though I had no awareness of crying during the meditation.  I understood why I had cried.  My heart center was so open and was radiating with love.  In that moment, I understood the message.  Everyone I see is a reflection of me.  They are not a carbon copy of me but a reflection of an aspect or aspects of me.  Those aspects I have rejected I see in those people I wish to reject, such as Adolf Hitler.  Those aspects I embrace I see in those I love and in someone revered such as Mother Theresa.  Because I was in the God space I also understood that each and every image I saw in the mirror is also a part of God.  In the God space there was no separation between you and I.  There was only us.  I pray to hold that God space within me to remember the truth.  I hope you join me there.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 22, 2010

Today while working with a client, I was reminded of something that a woman from Sedona had told me back in 2006.  Her name was Darlynn Bowman and she was very helpful to me. She was giving me an intuitive reading and during the reading she shared that a number of years previously, she had been in a terrible car accident.  After the accident she had to learn how to do everything over again.  She had to learn how to talk and write and brush her teeth and comb her hair and everything else that we have had to learn to do in order to function in this world.  She shared that one of the reasons she was able to do as well as she did was connected to the fact that every time, before attempting a task, she would tell herself that it is so easy to comb my hair or brush my teeth, whatever the task was.  It is so easy to __________.  In my session she was telling me that I have a tremendous amount of knowledge and wisdom stored from previous lives and that I am able to access tremendous amounts of Universal Wisdom.  I told her that I had been told this many times but I was frustrated because I did not know how to access it. She suggested that I say to myself, it is so easy to know what I know.  I began using that phrase every day.  It is so easy for me to see clearly.  It is so easy for me to know what I know.  It is so easy for me to hear clearly.  It almost became a mantra.  Instead of focusing on how I did not know how to access information, I was focusing on how easy it is.  It did not matter that I was unsure whether or not it was really true.  I just kept affirming that it is so easy for me to know what I know.  Over time, that no longer was an empty phrase because it was becoming easier and easier to access hidden knowledge.  My ability to hear from other dimensions became easier and easier.  My inner vision became more acute.  I still use the phrase for whatever I find challenging in my life.  It is so easy for me to find solutions to problems.  It is so easy for me to forgive myself and others.  It is so easy for me to be in the moment.  It is so easy for me to surrender to Divine Will.  It is so easy for you to use this same method.  Change does not have to be difficult.  It is so easy to change.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 20, 2010

Happy Father's Day to all men who father others!  It isn't only men who are biological fathers that I honor today.  I also honor those men who have chosen to father others because their heart compels them.  I honor the teachers, coaches, Boy Scout Leaders, stepfathers and all those who choose to be in a fatherly role for others.  For myself, this is my first Father's Day without my own father as he passed away last July.  I was blessed to have him here on this earth for over 84 years.  Happy Father's Day, dad.  I am divorced and so I no longer celebrate Father's Day with the father of my children.  Happy Father's Day, Tony.  Happy Father's Day to my grandson's biological father, David.  Happy Father's Day to my ex father-in-law, Leonard.  I honor so many of the men who influenced my life while growing up.  Uncles, grandfathers, neighbors, teachers and local businessmen.  Growing up in a small town, I had the fortunate experience of having many adults in my life that knew me because we lived in a small town.  I had many neighbors that I could count on to watch over me and help me if my own parents were not around.  I honor Wes Rhodes and Marvin Moyer for the loving way they treated me as one of the children on the block.  I pray that everyone has someone they can honor on this important day.  Even if your own biological father was not present in your life or was not a positive presence, I pray you can recall another adult male who gave you his fathering energies.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 19, 2010

Counting our blessings is one of the best things we can do to raise our vibration.  Having an attitude of gratitude creates abundance because we are focusing on what we already have or have already experienced, instead of feeling lack.  Today is my daughter's birthday and so I count my blessings for having such a wonderful daughter.  I have two wonderful children but today is her day.  Whenever someone celebrates a birthday, I try to remember to count my blessings for having that person in my life.  July 4th is coming up and that is another important birthday.  I like to count my blessings on our nations birthday, too.  Instead of focusing on all the things that are wrong with the United States I would rather focus on what is right and there is a great deal that is good.  We live in a nation of abundance.  Our garbage dumps are filled with refuse that many people would love to have in their homes.  Most people have more than enough to eat and we have food banks and meal programs to help those who do not.  We are a nation of volunteers.  I remember reading once about the percentage of people who volunteer their time and service in one way or another and the United States had the highest percentage of their people volunteering.  I think this is a wonderful statement about our people.  I don't recall all of the countries that were included in the survey but I do remember that they were all well-to-do nations.  When disaster occurs around the world, people from the United States are often amongst the first to respond.  Count your blessings and write them down.  You may find that you need a bigger piece of paper than what you might have guessed.  Feel the abundance of your own life.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 18, 2010

Last night I was doing a card reading for a good friend of mine.  Because I do a fair amount of readings for people, I will often see that there are patterns which can connect one reading to another.  In other words, there are cards that will often show up in reading after reading, even if it involves people from all over the country.  This has happened many times and I finally realized it is because, in addition to our individual lives and individual issues, there are universal issues that are connected to all of us.  One of the cards that has been very predominant is a card called Letting Go, out of my Osho Zen tarot deck.  Letting Go shows a beautiful green plant with a drop of water poised at the edge, just ready to let go.  I have received this card so many times that I could almost say it is the theme for this part of my life.  Letting Go.  The drop at the edge of the leaf sits waiting for perhaps a slight breeze to propel it off the edge or for another drop to join it in order to gain the weight or momentum to finally drop.  What is it you need to let go of?  What would it take for you to do so?  Do you need help, a slight breeze to come your way to help you let go?  Perhaps you need someone to join you in your efforts so that you may receive encouragement and support in letting go.  Letting go can be expressed in many ways.  Cleaning out our excess material goods is one way of letting go.  This is easier for some people than others.  Letting go of resentment and blame is another way of letting go.  Our resentment and blame hurts us the most in the long run.  Letting go of lost hopes and lost dreams such as those which occur when we suffer loss through divorce, death and other losses.  Letting go of the need to be right.  Whew.  That can be a challenging one for many of us.  Letting go of the need to know.  That is also a challenging one, too.  Too often, we want to know what is happening, where are we going, what are we supposed to do, what does the future hold, etcetera, etcetera.  The need to know is often a side effect of anxiety and lack of trust.  Letting go is the opposite of fear and anxiety.  Letting go is a manifestation of trust.  I trust the Universe for its abundance, therefore, I can let go of excess.  I trust the Universe that all is in Divine Order so I can let go of the job that I did not receive or the job that I lost.  I trust the Universe that I am here to make decisions and learn from them so I can let go of needing to be right all the time or needing to be perfect.  I trust that in this moment I know what I need to know and that when there is something else I need to know, I will.  I trust.  I let go.  Love and Light, Shirley

 June 17, 2010

There is a lot of talk about a New Earth.  This New Earth will be so much better because it will be governed by love and not fear.  There are millions of people who are holding this New Earth in their hearts and vision.  I am one of them.  However, I also recognize that the seeds of this New Earth are contained within me.  I have the potential to embody this New Earth even before it manifests outwardly.  I have the choice whether or not I am going to live my life from love or fear.  Not only is it possible to live life from love instead of fear, it is possible right now.  That is not to say that it is easy.  Changing one's outlook requires work at times.  Releasing old beliefs and thought patterns requires diligence.  It is possible.  It is very possible.  Going within and finding that inner well of peace and well-being helps me.  Being in nature and feeling the vibrations of beauty and peace are helpful.  Finding other people who also share my beliefs is extremely important.  Connecting to my inner guidance and to the vast spiritual realm of love and support that we all have is of paramount importance.  My guidance suggested long ago that I no longer watch the news or read the newspaper on a regular basis.  They shared that the news is slanted and is primarily negative.  It is an agent of fear for the most part.  They promised me that I would know what I truly needed to know.  They were right.  I do occasionally skim the paper since I am now living at my mom's and she subscribes to the newspaper.  I still do not watch the news on television.  Those things that I truly need to know are rarely found in the newspaper or the television.  They are found in my day to day interactions with people.  They are found when I go within and connect with my guidance.  They are found when I read inspirational stories and articles written by others who are also on a similar spiritual path.  When I do hear about world news such as the oil spill, I go within and pray.  I do not immerse myself in all the drama around it and tap into all the fear.  That does me no good and it does nothing to help with the oil spill.  There are some events that I can help by contributing money.  Local events I can sometimes participate in.  For the most part, I can pray for those who are hurting and who are immersed in fear and difficulty.  I can continue to hold my vision for a New Earth even in the midst of war and violence, oil spills and unemployment.  I can continue to find the well of love within myself and allow it to spill over into all that I do.  In the meantime, I can clean up my own personal "oil spills" and find more and more ways to embody and express love.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 15, 2010

I remember when I was learning about the chakras and I was interested to learn that there are two chakras connected to the heart or two aspects to the heart chakra.  Chakras are wheels of energy that are connected to us physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.  When the chakras are open and functioning optimally, so are we.  When we have mental or emotional issues, the chakras can close down or become sluggish.  Over time, this dysfunction can show up in the physical body.  One of the areas where these chakras are located is along the spine in the center of our chest.  This chakra is called the heart chakra and its energy is connected to love.  The chakras vibrate at different frequencies and produce different colors.  These colors compose what we call our aura.  The heart chakra produces two different colors, green and pink.  This is why some say there are actually two different chakras.  Others say that the heart chakra simply increases in frequency to the point where a different color is produced.  Green is the beautiful healing color of the heart chakra most of the time.  Pink is produced when unconditional love is present.  This is why both green and pink are such calming and healing colors.  If you are in need of loving energy it is helpful to bring those colors into your environment.  Green and pink stones carry the healing energy of love within them.  Painting a room with soft green or pink paint will improve your mood and bring healing energy to you.  Wearing those colors helps bring those vibrations closer to you.  Meditating upon those colors will bring peace and calm into your being.  I love rose quartz, not only because it is a beautiful stone, but because I can feel its calming and loving energy.  I love to hold it when I meditate.  Bring some love into your life through color.  Sometimes even simple changes can bring lasting change in us.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 12, 2010

What is your passion?  How much of your time are you able to devote to your passion?  I remember the first time I heard those words.  I was working around 65 hours per week in my mental health practice.  I was a very busy person and I was not living a very balanced life.  When I stopped and thought about what I was passionate about and how much of my time was devoted to that passion, there was very little time.  Through the years since that time, I have worked to change that percentage of time.  In truth, I have passion for more than one thing.  There are many things that bring me joy.  It is important to bring more and more of what brings you joy into your life.  Right now, I have many challenges in my life and demands on my time.  Some of those cannot be altered for the time being.  Therefore, I must strive to find time every day for what brings me passion even if it is only a portion of that day.  I love to learn new things and share them with others.  I love to communicate through writing, teaching, sharing, singing and guided meditations.  I am not able to do that full time right now but I still find time every day for at least one of those and often more than one.  I have a radio show that I do every week.  This is part of my passion.  I have clients that I work with and share and teach with them.  I love to write here and in my journals.  I have co-workers that I exchange services with and I am able to share my passion with them.  Is the greater percentage of my day filled with what I am passionate about?  No, not right now.  But, I believe, firmly, that there will be a day when it is.  In the meantime, those moments filled with passion and joy help to sustain me.  In those moments, I feel fulfilled and that fulfillment brings positive expectation into everything else I do.  Bring your joy forward!  Find your passion and begin to live it as much as you can.  If you would love to be an artist but you currently find you must keep your current job, then doodle in a sketch book during your lunch hour!  Devote one hour per day to your passion.  Set your intention for that hour to grow over time and it will.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 11, 2010

I don't have a lot of time today so I asked my guidance to please share something today.  "Shirley, we are always happy when you ask us to share with you and with others.  We know that you do not have a lot of time so we will make this brief.  What we want everyone to know is that each and every person on this planet is never alone.  You all came in with spiritual support.  There are a host of spiritual beings who are here to aid you in this journey on Planet Earth.  Everyone.  Too often, you see others as better than yourselves but that is not true.  Each and every person is equally important.  No one is greater or lesser.  You all have different gifts and roles to play in this grand adventure of human life but no one is without spiritual resources.  State your intention that you wish to begin connecting more and more to your support system and you will.  There are so many of you that make it so difficult.  Do you know why?  It is because you expect it to be difficult.  It may be subtle, the communication you receive, but subtle is not necessarily difficult.  Pay attention to your environment.  Ask for signs.  You will receive them.  You may not receive the burning bush or other dramatic phenomena but you will receive.  Set your intention.  Raise your expectations.  Receive.  Remember that some of what you receive will be conveyed in feelings and not words.  Ask your Guardian Angel to be with you and you may feel love, sweetness and warmth.  You may feel a tingling or goose bumps.  These are just as real as words.  We hope to share with you again, soon.  Until then, blessings.  US"   Until tomorrow, have a wonderful connected day!  Love and Light, Shirley

June 10, 2010

Everything that exists has its own unique energy and vibration.  Everything has an affect on us whether we are consciously aware of it or not.  A few years ago, I learned about psychometry for the first time.  Psychometry is the ability to gain information about something through touch.  I participated in a class where we would hold an object and then simply report what information, images and feelings we were getting from the object.  I was amazed at how much information I received from simply holding someone's ring or keys or any of a number of other objects.  I held one woman's ring that had been her sister's ring for many years.  I primarily shared the images that I received and it was a little confusing to me until the woman told me that I had just described her deceased sister very accurately.  After I learned that I am quite good at psychometry, I began thinking about how often I have had times when I would have fatigue or emotions crop up, seemingly out of nowhere.  I began to realize that I pick up other people's vibrations from something as simple as pushing a shopping cart.  It takes a bit of sustained touch so simply opening a door may not do it although if the the last person before me was feeling very strong emotions, it might.  I had noticed several years ago that I am often very fatigued after shopping at Walmart.  I thought it was so strange and could not figure out why.  After learning about psychometry I believe I have the answer.  A great many of the people who shop at places like Walmart are on limited incomes.  They have a fair amount of anxiety regarding money and getting their needs met.  I would pick up on this anxiety without being aware of it.  By the time I would leave Walmart, I would feel drained.  Since figuring this out, I am very careful to release any energy that is not mine after shopping there.  When I go to doctor's offices or any places where people are in pain and frightened, I am conscious of what I touch.  After leaving, I release anything that is not mine.  Pay attention to yourself especially if you are psychically open and empathic.  Some of the fatigue and emotional stress you are feeling may not even be your own.  A very good way to release energy that is not yours is to take a sea salt shower.  Put some sea salt in a glass and dilute it with water.  Take a shower and pour the sea salt water over your heard making a declaration that you are transforming any negative energy and releasing it back into Mother Earth. Envision the neutralized energy going down the drain and ending up in the earth.  Envision the sea salt purifying your energy field.  You can then wash your hair with shampoo.  I love the image of the negative energy being neutralized and transformed.  It is so much better than releasing negative energy out into the world.  We can transform negativity into something positive.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 9, 2010

Never underestimate the power of one person bringing in the Light through their prayers.  It is easy to become numb when you hear about disasters such as the Gulf oil spill.  At a time when so many people's lives are challenging, news of the oil spill can simply seem overwhelming.  What can I do?  Some people can actually go there and help.  Some people can perhaps share financially in some way.  However, for the great majority, this may not be the case.  We can pray.  I received an email today from someone who has asked us all to pray and bring light into the Gulf.  The email referred to the Net of Light to which we are all connected.  We can, through our prayers and intentions, connect to this great Net of Light and bring Light and healing to the Gulf.  Envision this Light helping to bring healing and harmony to the land, the minerals and plants, the animals, the water and humanity.  As you pray, allow yourself to be aware of the others who are also praying and bringing Light into this catastrophe.  We are all connected.  All of the kingdoms are connected.  What is done to one is also done to the others.  This disaster does not only affect the Gulf of Mexico, it affects all of us.  Our prayers do not only heal the Gulf of Mexico, they heal all of us.  Please join me and others in praying and drawing this beautiful Net of Light over the Gulf.  Remember that our true essence is the Light.  We are a part of this Net of Light.  It is our true and natural state.  Let us restore Mother Earth to her true and natural state.  Thank you.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 8, 2010

In 2000 I received a message from my guides.  They told me that there is no place for fear in this lifetime.  At the time I received the message I did not understand exactly what they meant.  I came into this lifetime with a host of fears and negative beliefs.  Even as a very young child I had anxiety.  I carried so much anxiety and fear in my body that my hands shook with a slight tremor.  At twenty-eight, I went to a hypnotherapist for my weight issues and I did not release any weight but I did quit shaking.  Over the years I have conquered so many of my fears and phobias.  Bit by bit, I have challenged my fears and insecurities and have refused to be ruled by them.  It has been a long and arduous process.  Ten years ago, it was still inconceivable to me that I could one day be free of all fear.  Over the years I have conquered most of my severe allergies.  I have conquered bulimia.  I have conquered and healed self-hatred.  I have conquered my fear of heights, claustrophobia and other phobias.  I have healed myself of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  Every step along the way I have confronted my fear and refused to allow it to rule me and rule my life.  I continue to work on releasing all fear.  I wish I could say that I am fear-free but I am not there, yet.  However, I do understand why my guides told me what they did.  Fear is a choice.  It may not feel like it but it is.  I can choose to be in fear or I can choose to release it.  Better than releasing my fear, I can transform it.  I can take that energy and own it and then transform it into something that truly serves me.  It is not always easy especially when I am surrounded by people who live in fear.  It is not easy but it is not impossible.  It is my choice.  My guides told me that I can live my life from fear or love and that it is my choice.  I choose love.  What do you choose?  Love and Light, Shirley

June 7, 2010

It is a shame that there is conflict between people because of religious differences.  I believe that there is truth in all religions and that this truth lies in their essence rather than their particulars.  A few years ago I came upon an article on the Internet which shared one of the basic tenets that was found in nearly all religions.  In Christianity it is referred to as the Golden Rule.  Do unto thy neighbor as you would have thy neighbor do unto you.  The wording might be phrased slightly differently for each religion listed but they all conveyed the same basic message.  I remember once when a Jehovah Witness came and talked to my dad about religion and asked my dad if he had a church.  My father said that if he had a church it would be the Lion's Club.  The look on the woman's face was priceless.  The answer was a perfect one for my dad.  He was not a religious man but he lived the Golden Rule.  He lived a life of service to his fellow man.  One of his vehicles for providing service to others was the Cosmopolis Lion's Club.  When my dad died, the Methodist church where my mom had attended was packed.  During the time of the service when people stood up and shared stories about my dad there was a common theme.  Generosity.  Service.  Selflessness.  Kindness. Hard worker.  I heard many stories of times when my dad had helped people secretly and without any need for acknowledgment.  This is what we are here for.  We are here to be of service to one another.  We are here to look beyond religious differences, racial differences, political differences and personality differences.  We are here to be generous to one another and to be kind to one another.  Let us all shed the clothing of separation and celebrate in our naked unity.  Whether we are members of a church, temple, mosque or Lion's club, let us all rejoice in our commonality and allow our differences.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 6, 2010

I just finished recording my radio show.  The topic for that show is surrender.  The last portion of the show is a meditation which is intended to help you experience surrender.  I shared in the show some of the different times and ways in which I have surrendered to the Divine.  In those moments that I have truly surrendered, I have experienced a kind of weightlessness, a buoyancy and freedom that is so delicious!  I have felt as though I had become liquid and I could flow everywhere with grace and ease.  Grace and ease.  I often include those three words in my prayers.  I pray to move through life with grace and ease.  I pray to deal with others with grace and ease, to have fluidity instead of rigidity.  This is my prayer for you today.  I pray that you move through your life with grace and ease, surrendering to the Divine flow of the Universe, knowing that whatever comes your way you are safe and you are beloved.  I pray to surrender to my Divine Self, letting go of the petty beliefs, thoughts and behaviors that create fear and rigidity.  I pray to become more and more of who I truly am.  I pray the same for you.  As each of us returns to the truth of who we are, we create space for others to do the same.  Just envision the world, filled with billions of people who have all surrendered to the Divine Flow.  Imagine billions of people moving through life with grace and ease.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 5, 2010

I remember learning a number of years ago that a very good way to find answers is to ask your body.  Our bodies are very wise and they live completely in the present.  Our emotions can go every which way and we can fool ourselves mentally into believing almost anything.  The body is totally present and available if we but listen.  When I first started learning this, I already knew how to listen in a subtle way.  If I felt a stirring in my gut or goose bumps, I knew that I needed to pay attention.  But, what I did not realize is that the body can give us information in very concrete and less subtle ways.  I learned about muscle testing and that you can test your muscles for answers.  When I first learned about muscle testing, the method required that someone else do it to me.  Over the years, I have learned other methods that I can do for myself.  I have even learned how to use my body like a pendulum in order to obtain answers.  If you stand with your feet shoulder width apart, slightly bend your knees and relax, you are ready to be a pendulum.  An easy way to try this is to find food that you can hold against your abdomen.  Ask if this food is good for you.  Stay as relaxed as you can and wait to see what your body does.  If the food is good for you, you will fall slightly forward.  If the food is not good for you, you will feel yourself falling backward.  If the food is neutral, you will simply stand there with no movement.  The falling forward or backward can be subtle but it can also be quite dramatic.  I have used this method to see what foods are good for me as well as supplements and medications.  I eventually used this method for other answers, too.  I always encourage clients who wish to use this method to start with foods.  The body can give you accurate and easy information.  It seems to react more strongly to food and more subtly to other questions.  Start with the food responses and then it will be easier to get your answers when the body is reacting more subtly to other kinds of questions.  I have learned other methods of muscle testing but I still like this one best.  You should see me at the grocery store!  I am often testing foods before I decide to put them in my cart.  What a hoot.  Happy testing!  Love and Light, Shirley

June 4, 2010

I am very aware of my own guidance most of the time.  I feel very blessed to have this in my life.  I have had many clients who are striving to listen and follow their own guidance.  By guidance, I am referring to spiritual guidance.  I am aware that I have a Higher spiritual self who guides me.  I also am aware that I have a collective of spiritual guides, as well as other guides and teachers that come and go.  I will occasionally encounter someone who is longing for a sign, some kind of proof that they are being listened to and that they are truly in connection with the Divine.  I tell them to pay attention to everything that they can that is currently in their environment.  God speaks to us in so many different ways.  Back in 2000, I was told that I would start finding small white feathers and that this indicated angels around me.  I did, indeed, begin to find small white feathers.  I found them in the most unusual places and ways.  I knew over time that it was not coincidence when I found them.  Certainly, if one is at the beach and finds a feather, that is not surprising.  After all, the beach is filled with birds.  However, I would find my feathers in places where one would not expect to find a bird.  I also paid close attention to the timing and why I was finding a feather at any one given moment.  I remember going to a psychic fair and I had a session with a lovely woman named Cherry Divine.  When I sat down and we began the session, she gave a start and said that now she knew why she had kept something that she had found that morning.  I had no idea what she was talking about.  She reached beneath her table and pulled out  a small feather.  She told me that she had found it that morning and was almost ready to place it back on the ground when she heard she was to keep it because someone was coming that she needed to give it to.  She looked at me and stated that I was that person.  She continued to inform me that "they" bring me feathers so that I always know I am surrounded by angels.  I had been finding feathers for several years when she gave me that small feather, however, it still thrilled me just as much.  Just for one moment, envision yourself surrounded by angels.  For myself, it is like being wrapped in beautiful light, colors and warmth.  Ask for signs from the Divine.  Be open to them coming in all different ways.  You are listened to.  You are loved.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 3, 2010

It has been quite rainy and overcast here where I live in the Pacific Northwest.  I am hoping to do some work outside so hopefully it will not be quite as wet.  It is spectacular here in the spring.  The rhododendrons love the cool moist environment as do the azaleas and other plants.  There is something about the rhododendrons, however, that produce such beauty.  Their blooms can be enormous and even an old straggly bush can produce a mass of blooms.  I have seen rhododendrons in other states, Nevada for example.  However, there is simply no comparison.  The rainfall produces the lushness.  I keep this thought in my mind as I ponder my life.  Sometimes it is those very things in our life that can annoy us, make our life more difficult and challenging, that are the very same things that help us to bloom.  It is often only after our feet have been muddied and we have been greatly inconvenienced that we receive wonderful results.  What is the rain in your life?  What is it you may feel you are slogging through?  Be of good courage.  Know that whatever it is, it is not forever.  Know that it may be the very thing that helps you to grow the most.  In the midst of the deluge in your life, find a way to take a break from the rain.  Put up your spiritual umbrella by taking some time to pray, meditate, listen to music, talk to a friend, read something funny, take a walk, take a nap, pet an animal or simply reach out to another human being.  Buy yourself some flowers and immerse yourself in their beauty.  Remind yourself that you are like those flowers and that you, too, have to go through certain stages before you can fully bloom.  Be patient with yourself.  Be kind to yourself.  If the rain isn't slowing down right now, put on your rubber boots and raincoat and immerse yourself in it, knowing that you can make it.  Love and Light, Shirley

June 2, 2010

I was listening to a presentation by a woman named Carol Steinel who channels a being named Carruch.  I have thoroughly enjoyed every time I have connected to them, whether through a live class or a phone session or through her website www.CosmicLaugh.com  Carruch was teaching last January about this coming year.  He called 2010 the year of the 10th chakra and explained that we have our individual chakras but we also have chakras that we share collectively.  The 10th chakra is located far out beyond Mother Earth and we can see Mother Earth from there very much like the earth shots that were taken from the moon.  He recommended that every day we go to our 10th chakra and view Mother Earth from afar and as we return back to Mother Earth that we envision her as we want her to be.  I have been practicing this.  What has occurred to me is that this is a useful tool to use in other areas of my life.  For example, if I am encountering challenges in an area of my life, I draw myself back so that I can view it from a great distance.  As I come closer and closer to the situation, I envision it just as I would like it to be.  This has been very helpful.  Sometimes, we are so caught up in what is directly in front of our face that we lose perspective.  Sometimes, we just need to back off and back up and see things from a different view.  As we return to the situation or relationship we can bring with us our new vision.  Whether it is a new Earth, a new relationship or a new job, creating some distance between the old reality and returning with a new vision is helpful.  Where in your life do you need to create some space in which to see things from a different perspective?  Where in your life do you feel stuck and that you just keep going around and around without making effective change?  I suggest you try this exercise.  Envision yourself going far, far away from whatever it is.  You can see it but it is so much smaller than what you thought.  Now, decide what it is you truly wish to create and as you come back, keep this new vision in your mind.  Practice this daily, at least once a day.  For myself, I know that I feel calmer and a sense of hope and excitement every time I return.  Love and Light, Shirley

May 29, 2010

The other day when I was talking on the hone with a good friend, he asked me if I was still there.  I said yes, that I was listening.  This has been happening more often to me while on the phone with people.  It made me realize how much better I am at listening.  It is a great gift to be listened to.  For myself, I know that when a friend allows me to just talk and vent and process with them, I receive a great deal from them.  I am not asking them to solve my problems or tell me what to do.  I simply need someone to listen to me.  Sometimes having someone else listen to me aids me in listening to myself.  I am so pleased that I am a better listener!  I have always cared about people and it isn't that I have not listened in the past.  I have listened for many years but the quality of my listening has changed.  I am not quite as quick with the advice or my interpretation of what is going on for someone else.  I am more receptive and reflective so that they can interpret for themselves what it is they need to do.  If they ask me for my advice, yes, I give it.  I am more likely to wait or ask them if they want it.  Sometimes, it isn't the advice that people need or want.  It is the receptive ear.  It is the friend who listens and by listening is giving the person an opportunity to reflect.  The gift of listening is also the gift of time.  By listening to someone you are telling them that what they have to say is very important, therefore they are important.  Happy listening!  Love and Light, Shirley

May 28, 2010

For a great deal of my life I struggled with finding the balance between being too judgmental of others myself and being so compassionate that I allowed them to cross over my boundaries in one way or another.  The truth lies somewhere in the middle.  I have learned that there is a difference between discernment and judgment.  Judgment means that I am looking at a person's behavior and labeling the person with that behavior.  Discernment occurs when I am able to assess a person's behavior and know that there is much more to the person than their behavior.  Having too much compassion or sympathy creates a situation where I allow someone's behavior to violate my own boundaries or the boundaries of others.  I have been in the process of learning how to love others and still hold them accountable for their actions.  As a parent, I knew that I loved my children no matter what they did.  I had expectations of them and I held them accountable if they violated rules or behaved in an unacceptable manner.  I must hold others to the same standards, including myself.  Loving others unconditionally does not mean I allow them to behave in ways that are hurtful to myself or others.  Loving others unconditionally means that I love others no matter what they may do at the same time that I hold them accountable for their choices and behaviors.  When I am loving myself unconditionally, I apply the same standards.  I love myself no matter what my choices may be but I also hold myself accountable.  If I make a poor choice, I do not beat myself up but I also accept that I may receive certain consequences as a result of my choice.  We all are creating our own reality, including how we allow others to treat us.  Take a boundary check for yourself.  Do you hold others to the same standard that you have created for yourself?  Do you allow others to violate your boundaries?  Do you hold yourself to the same boundaries that you have created for others?  Do you violate the boundaries of others?  Remember the Golden Rule: Love your neighbor as Thyself.  Do you understand that this means you must first love yourself?  When I love myself I know that I deserve to have my boundaries respected.  I also know that to allow someone else to violate my boundaries has nothing to do with love, no matter what my relationship with them might be.  Today, remember the Golden Rule and love yourself as well as your neighbor.  Love and Light, Shirley

May 27, 2010

I was talking on the phone to a friend last night.  He was telling me how he had been sitting there thinking about the state of the world.  He mentioned a long list of negative events and circumstances that were occurring all over the planet.  It was fairly late in the evening so I realized as he told me that he needed to get ready for bed that he was going to sleep after having a lot of negative and sad thoughts.  I was reminded of what my guides had told me back in 2004.  They told me to stop watching the news on television and to stop reading the paper.  They reassured me that I would know what I needed to know and that most of what was on television and in the news was negative and it was not for my highest good to be filling my mind and heart with all that negativity.  I followed their guidance and I never bought cable television again nor did I purchase the newspaper after that.  I would occasionally look at the news on my computer and that was about it.  That was over six years and my guides were right.  I have always known what I truly needed to know.  I have had less problems with anxiety.  I have had fewer feelings of hopelessness.  I have had less times where I felt overwhelmed with the state of the world.  I don't regret following my guidance.  My life is different because I now live with my mom and she gets the newspaper and has television.  However, I leave the room if she chooses to watch the news.  I glance at the newspaper briefly but rarely truly read it.  Do I think I am sticking my head in the sand?  No.  I believe that the news is lopsided and primarily is negative and fear-producing.  Of course there are difficult things in the world.  I have difficult circumstances in my own life.  But, that is not what I want to read about, hear about and focus on.  I want to read words of inspiration and encouragement.  I want to focus on those circumstances that are improving and those that bring me hope, love and joy.  So, for today, in the news flash of my own mind, I am hearing laughter and joyous clapping, people celebrating the victories in their life.  The headlines in my ethereal newspaper state that more and more people are turning to their spirituality and are discovering their true selves.  In my own want ad, it states that I want to share with others and that I am looking for others who are willing to receive what I have to share.  What does your want ad state?  How does your headline read?  Remember that we always have a choice as to what we focus on and experience.  Love and Light, Shirley

May 25, 2010

When is the last time you had a belly laugh?  You know what I am talking about.  The kind of deep laughter that rises up from within you and takes over your entire body.  Your eyes water and you can barely catch your breath as you give in to the delicious sensations of out of control laughter.  Laughter is good medicine.  When I used to have problems with depression, I would go to a local drug store and look at silly greeting cards.  Eventually, I would be laughing and laughing.  Somehow there just wasn't room for depression when reading The Far Side.  If you can't remember your last belly laugh, it is time to lighten up!  It is time to rent a funny movie or read a funny book, check out funny greeting cards or call a friend that can usually make you laugh.  Perhaps it is time to laugh at yourself.  I always know that I am taking life too seriously if I have not laughed at myself recently.  When I am going more with the flow of life, I always seem to find humor in my life, including laughing at myself.  When I laugh at myself, it is not in a demeaning way, but is a way of telling myself to lighten up and quit being so hard on myself.  I remember one time I discovered that I had been wearing two different earrings all day long.  In the past, I would have been embarrassed.  Now, I just look at things like that as golden opportunities to help other people laugh, too.  Bring some levity into your life today.  Laugh.  It is good for what ails you.  Love and Light, Shirley

May 24, 2010

I learned a type of Buddist meditation that I like to practice.  It is very simple and yet very powerful.  When you breathe in, you breathe in whatever is distressing you at the time and you breathe out white light.  You may breathe in anger, your own anger, and breathe out white light.  Then, you breathe in the anger of those close to you and breathe out white light.  You breathe in the anger of larger groups of people and breathe out white light.  You breathe in the anger of the world and breathe out white light.  Most of the meditations I had previously learned had people do the opposite, breathe in white light and exhale the toxins.  At first, it felt foreign to breathe in anger or hatred or fear or pain.  However, it is very powerful to breathe out white light and to be the agent for change.  In this new kind of meditation, you become the transformer, the spiritual magician who transforms dark to light.  The truth is that we too often place God outside of ourselves and we miss out on the inherent spiritual power that we all possess.  The God in me is a powerful transformer and healer.  Every time I breathe out white light, I am affirming my own ability to bring positive change into the world.  Just for today, breathe in whatever it is you are struggling with and breathe out white light.  Lighten your load and therefore you lighten the load of the world.  Love and Light, Shirley

May 22, 2010

This morning while I was listening to my guidance and writing what I heard, they talked to me about my channeling.  I have channeled many times but I am still hesitant at times.  They shared with me that I still need to trust myself.  Ask.  Open and receive.  So that is what I am doing right now.  "Shirley, it is truly so simple.  You have opened and received from us countless times before and will do so countless times into the future.  What is it we would most like to share with you and with those who are readings these words?  We wish to share that you are loved.  You are loved and cherished far more than most of you can truly comprehend.  You live in a world of conditional love, which isn't truly love at all.  It is a distortion to say you love someone if.  To be loved unconditionally means that you are loved no matter who you are or what you do.  To love someone else unconditionally is to love them no matter who they are or what they do.  This includes all people even those who have committed heinous acts.  This is a very difficult concept for most human beings to embrace.  You live in a world of duality.  Good and bad. Black and white.  Hot or cold.  True or untrue.  Let us just look for a moment at the last pair of words, true and untrue.  It is not as simple as what one might think.  What is true for you may not be true for someone else.  Therefore, how can you definitively state what is true or untrue.  You can only share what is true or untrue for you.  Billions of people inhabit this planet at this time.  That equals billions of truths.  When you move into a higher state of being, you have more tolerance for all these different truths.  You no longer need to prove whether or not you are right or wrong because you truly do not care.  When you move into a place of more tolerance and compassion you are able to love others even those who have chosen paths that are divergent from yours.  What they may believe to be true is true for them.  They may never be able to see your point of view.  As you progress spiritually, this will matter less and less.  Therefore, you do not have to prove yourself.  Others do not have to prove themselves to you.  It is enough to say to yourself that that is their truth and I have my own.  You allow space between themselves and you.  You allow.  Allowing others to have their own truth is a huge gift to them and to yourself.  This is especially important in this world that is filled with so many different religions, philosophies, political parties and racial and cultural differences.  So, for today, allow someone else to have their own truth even if it is the opposite of yours.  Make no move to change their mind.  Waste no effort to convince them of their folly.  Allowing others to be themselves is one aspect of unconditional love.  Through the generosity of your own heart you increase your ability to love yourself unconditionally.  Thank you for allowing us to share with you.  US"   My guidance just refers to themselves as US when I channel and write with them. Love and Light, Shirley

May 21, 2010

I have a wonderful friend, Cliff, who is driving two hours to come and help me with some clean up I am doing.  He has a pickup truck and has been helping me for months.  My appreciation is enormous.  We have made countless trips to the dump, the recycling center, the hazardous waste drop off and more.  I was laughing at myself as I realized I was feeling such excitement and anticipation this morning about what we would be getting rid of today.  So much to choose from!  Cliff has also been great about fixing some things at my mother's home.  He is a handy man extraordinaire.  There was a time in my life when my father was still alive and much younger that I could count on him to help me with all kinds of projects.  Before my divorce, I was married to a very talented man who could also fix all kinds of things.  My life is very different now because I am divorced and my dad died last summer.  I am learning to ask for help from other people.  I am learning to accept help when people offer it.  In truth, after I moved away from Washington State and lived in places where I was not surrounded by old friends and family, I already have had to do that.  Especially when I lived in Reno, I was blessed to have the assistance of so many different friends.  My friends, Mary and Michael, were particularly supportive in a huge variety of ways.  I have always been someone who helped others without hesitation.  It has been important for me to allow others to be there for me.  It has not always been easy.  Yet, every time I accept someone else's help I am giving them the opportunity to give.  Every time I receive from someone else I am helping to reinforce the belief that we are here to be of service to each other.  If I only allowed myself to be of service, I would actually be quite selfish.  Universal law demands that we give and receive.  Equal exchange creates balance.  Thank you to all of my friends and family, especially my children, Michael and Amy, and my son-in-law Blake, for all your kindness and assistance.  Love and Light, Shirley

May 20, 2010

The weather today is very unpredictable.  One moment the sun is shining and the sky is blue and then a short time later, dark gray clouds cover the sun and it rains and hails.  I can look out the windows in the back of the house and it looks like a beautiful spring day.  If I move to the front of the house, the sky is dark and the clouds look ready to burst.  This is not uncommon for the Pacific Northwest.  If you wait for the perfect weather to do something, you might wait a long time.  Instead, we have umbrellas and rain bonnets and rain boots and rain coats.  I realized as I watched the weather change so abruptly that there are ways in which I have postponed doing certain tasks waiting for the "right" moment.  I guess I have been waiting for the perfect weather.  I cannot do that.  I must put on my spiritual raincoat and bonnet, my spiritual rain boots and grab my spiritual umbrella.  It is time for action.  I might get a little wet or uncomfortable but I will eventually have the satisfaction of knowing that I did it in spite of less than perfect conditions.  I read not too long ago a recommendation that you always start off your to do list with one of the hardest things you have to do.  Once you check that off your list, you feel so good that everything else seems simpler.  That is what I am doing today.  Maybe what I have needed all along to do some of my spiritual work is not the perfect day but the perfect storm.  Keep on splashing!  Love and Light, Shirley

May 19, 2010

If you died today would you have any words left unsaid?  Something happened today and it reminded me of the importance of telling people what is on our hearts.  I know that eventually I will be reunited with my loved ones but I don't want to pass over and leave anything unsaid or undone.  It isn't always easy.  Sometimes there are relationships that have been very challenging and difficult.  There are times that it seems easier to just let them lie and do nothing and say nothing.  That, however, is the lazy person's way out.  It is a cowardly way and is not the way of integrity.  So, today, I will write that difficult letter and express myself.  I will speak my truth with kindness so that if I die tonight, I leave nothing unsaid.  Do you have unspoken words?  Is there someone you need to reconnect with?  Is there something not yet complete in one of your relationships?  Step into your integrity and do what your heart is telling you to do.  Never mind about how the other person responds.  You are only responsible for you.  Love and Light, Shirley

May 18, 2010

Yesterday, when I was preparing myself to sit and write with my guidance, I had an interesting experience.  I took a deep breath and I said the words, I surrender, inside of my mind.  When I did that, I saw and felt a unique vision and experience.  I saw myself changing from a solid presence into millions of tiny particles.  These particles then dispersed themselves out into the world.  When I breathed in again, the particles re-assembled and formed a solid body once again.  Not only did I see this in my third eye but I could feel it physically in my body.  I tingled all over.  It was though I became liquid and flowed out everywhere and then flowed back into my self.  My guidance talked to me about my experience.  They asked me if I truly grasped the significance of my experience.    Shirley, do you truly grasp the importance of this?  This dispersing, this dissembling of yourself and then re-assembling yourself is part of being in the flow.  You become a part of that flow.  When you are surrendering, you are saying, I let go of control.  I let go of my boundaries, my rigidity, my fear.  You disperse yourself out into the flow of the Universe, knowing that you are both One with the Universe and One with yourself.  You flow back, you re-assemble so to speak but you are not the same, you are new.  By surrendering to the Divine, by letting go of the need to control, you flow out and your vibration of trust, love and surrender attracts new elements to you.  Re-assembled you are made new, a brighter version of you.  A new improved you.  Surrender everything to the flow, to God.  For when you do, the world as you know it today will be forever altered and she will no longer exist.  The more you harmonize with your Higher Self, the less that the You, you identify with today, will exist.  The new improved Shirley will take her place.  Life will flow more, less struggle and less tension.  Quit worrying, Shirley.  Quit worrying about what you will do when??????  Have you not seen that you are taken care of?  Have you not seen that whatever happens is truly best?  It is always good when I connect with my guides and write their words of wisdom but some times are even better than good, they are wonderful.  This was one of those times.  Every time I surrender I move closer and closer to being in that flow.  I pray for the day when I am in the flow all the time and there is no longer a need in my vocabulary for the words, I surrender.  Love and Light, Shirley

May 17, 2010

I sometimes get information about the future.  For a long time, I would receive the knowledge that someone was going to die.  Usually, this would come in the form of dreams but sometimes I would simply have that knowing spontaneously.  It is not a very pleasant experience to wake up from a powerful dream in which someone passed into the other realm.  I would wake up nauseated and my heart would be pounding.  Usually within the next 24 to 48 hours that person would die.  I used to cry and wonder why this happened to me.  I used to be anxious because I thought that perhaps I was supposed to do something to prevent those deaths.  Now, I don't worry about having them, I just understand that this is a part of the experience I chose to have in this lifetime.  It helps me to understand my own connection to life and death.  I believe it has helped me to trust what I get and not discount the revelations that come to me.  I have had other information about the future imparted to me that is much easier to receive.  The other information is filled with hope and love.  Death is not the end of our existence but the end of our physical existence in this plane for a certain period of time.  When I connect to those who have passed to the other side, it is usually joyous.  Whether the connection is for me or for other people, I still experience such joy.  How sublime to help people connect to loved ones that they believed were gone forever from them.  How blessed to share their messages of love and encouragement.  No matter what happens in this physical plane, ultimately we are all fine.  That is information about the future that is truly useful.  Love and Light, Shirley

May 16, 2010

Yesterday was a very busy day and I spent most of it taking loads of junk to the garbage dump and a load to the recycling center.  I am in the midst of helping to clean up from years of accumulation.  The interesting part is that none of it is personally mine.  It is from other family members but I am in the position of needing to be the one to clean it up.  I have had others tell me how unfair it is that I am "stuck" with this huge job.  For the most part, I do not agree.  Certainly, from the worldly perspective, that is what it appears to be.  However, from the spiritual perspective it looks very different.  My guides have told me that I am cleaning up garbage from my past.  They are referring primarily to past incarnations.  I am paying my karmic debt to those involved.  When I keep this in mind, I do my best to clean and organize and throw things out with a deep sense of accomplishment and freedom.  Every load I take to the dump I remind myself that I am unloading old stuff that is no longer needed.  Since my guides have told me to think of it as my own, I say a prayer of thanks that I am letting go of what I no longer need to pack around.  It does not even matter if I know exactly what it is I am letting go of!  I simply trust that I am.  I also must trust that everything will get done in divine timing and divine order.  I do my best to focus on whatever the task at hand is.  Otherwise, I get overwhelmed and go into self-pity.  When I do that, then I am defeating the whole purpose!  I have learned to trust that everything is in order even if it does not feel like it.  I do believe that ultimately, everything that happens is for my highest good.  I have already learned in the past six to seven years to let go of a great deal of my own physical belongings and trust that whatever I truly need will come to me.  I have learned that our physical belongings are a reflection of much of our inner self.  Are you hanging on too tightly to your stuff?  Is your life cluttered and disorganized?  Everything is connected.  When you are able to let go of excess baggage inside it will eventually be reflected outside.  When you let go of excess baggage outside, it will create space within you for something new.  Are you ready to go to the dump?  Whether it is a physical dump or a psychic dump, it will benefit you.  You will lighten your load.  Let go, let go , let go.  Love and Light, Shirley

May 14, 2010

There is a corner in my mother's yard that is overgrown to the point that the bushes overlap each other and have obliterated the sidewalk.  I can go out the back family room door and sit upon old stone steps that are covered with moss and it is as though I am in the forest itself.  To the left tall beautiful ferns grace that corner of the house, their lacy arms gently waving in the breeze.  The andromeda bush has grown to where you can see through it but not easily and the sidewalk disappears into its middle.  Trillium bloom beneath and oxalis covers most of the remaining ground with its bright green lucky leaves.  Tiny white blossoms peer above the leaves, their delicate presence bright amongst all the green.  The camelia bush to the right has grown to an immense size and height and I can stand beneath parts of it.  Hidden behind, surrounded by these ancient plants, it is not difficult to leave the city behind.  I can smell the dark, rich pungent soil.  The air and soil are cool and moist and speak of ancient times and of old, deep roots seeking sustenance.  These are the steps of my childhood where I often sat amongst the ferns and trilliums and leaves.  The lily of the valley are gone but I can still narrow my eyes and see them blooming so cheerily amongst the rest.  The fuchsia bush is also gone but the memory of its brightly colored blossoms remains.  I travel back realizing how deep my own roots grow.  There is a part of me that is connected to this corner of the house.  There is a part of me that lives within the rich, black soil and the leafy green bowers.  Just as the lily of the valley still remain in shadow, so, too, will a part of me remain long after this corner has gone.  We are ancient.  We are indestructible.  Our essence remains intact long after the body has dissipated.  I feel the spirits of those who have passed, human and plant alike.  Sitting in my sacred corner, my brother Doug is once again with me, his broad bright smile lighting up my life.  My dad with his twinkling eyes and funny quips is once again making me laugh.  Grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends who have passed join me in my leafy sanctuary, their own sacred blossoms sweetly nestled in amongst the antique blossoms of white.  Do you have a sacred corner to visit? A place where you can smell the soil and breathe in the green?  Perhaps yours is a rocky place devoid of green but filled with a different essence.  Perhaps yours is a sandy place where salt air fills your lungs and body.  It does not matter as long as you have one.  If you do, find some time to be there.  If you do not have a sacred sanctuary, find one or create one.  When life is hard and challenging, a sacred space can revive you.  You can leave behind your worries and difficulties and simply be.  You leave that sanctuary renewed and a part of it goes with you.  Love and Light, Shirley

May 13, 2010

God is everywhere and in everything.  I remember the first time I heard those words or ones that were very similar.  I could wrap my mind around the concept of God being everywhere but I had not really thought about God being in everything.  I certainly thought of God creating everything but not being in everything.  That was many years ago and my beliefs have changed many times since then.  I do believe that God is in everything.  I believe that we are all connected because we are all part of God.  Therefore, God can speak to me through many different venues.  If I listen, I can hear God everywhere and in everything.  I especially find God in nature, in the plant, mineral  and animal kingdoms.  One of the most profound times that I connected to the bird kingdom was when I was at a friend's house.  I had been praying and asking for answers to some troubling questions.  I was sitting in a lounge chair and suddenly, a large hawk swooped down and ran its talons through my hair.  I could hear the hawk even before I felt it or saw it fly into a thicket.  I was astounded.  I had never seen a hawk do anything like that before.  I knew that hawk signified a message was coming.  I kept my eyes and ears and my intuition open for whatever that message might be. I soon began to receive answers to my questions.  When I was still living in Reno, one of the ancient crystal skulls named Max came to The Spiritual Element.  I had a private session with the skull and it was very profound.  We had been told that sometimes the skull will reflect yourself back to you.  In other words whatever messages or emotions are coming from the skull actually originated from me.  As a result, I had the opportunity to feel my own compassion.  I wept tears of compassion for myself and for the whole world.  I received so many messages of love and my heart was filled to overflowing.  Today, for just a while, give yourself some time to listen to God.  If you can be in nature, so much the better.  Listen to the river, the trees and flowers and the animals.  Listen to the wind and rocks and soil.  What do you hear?  What do you feel?  Sometimes the messages do not come in words but in feelings.  Do you feel loved?  Do you feel cherished?  If not, keep listening until you do hear or feel the love of God.  That love is ever present in everything and everyone.  Love and Light, Shirley

May 11, 2010

I have often shared with my clients some of the ways in which we continue to manifest experiences in our lives even though they are not what we want.  We all have deep, underlying beliefs which feed our thoughts.  Our thoughts feed our emotions and it is this combination of beliefs, thoughts and emotions that create magnetic energy.  This magnetic energy then attracts to us those people, experiences and situations which match in frequency.  Once those people and experiences come to us, they reinforce the original beliefs, whether the beliefs are creating what we want or not.  When we challenge those beliefs and begin to create new healthier beliefs, that is when we begin to experience change.  For example, if someone believes that no one will ever want to marry them, this underlying belief creates negative thoughts about their ability to be married.  The negative thoughts stimulate emotions of sadness, unworthiness, loneliness and more.  This person is now magnetized to a vibration that matches sadness, unworthiness and loneliness.  This makes it unlikely that he or she will put themselves in a position to meet people or to attract someone to them who could be a potential mate.  They continue to live alone and lonely, which reinforces the original belief that no one will want to marry them.  For this person to change their vibration, they must find a way to challenge the underlying, faulty belief.  It is not always easy but it is possible.  So many of our beliefs are false and were created when we were quite young and we were so open to everything and everyone in our environment.  Small children are like sponges and soak up whatever they hear.  If they hear words of love and support, they create beliefs that are positive and supportive of them.  If they hear words that are unkind, untrue and demeaning, they create beliefs that do not support them.  Whether the beliefs are positive or negative, they all feel true.  Is there something that you are longing for and you simply cannot seem to make it happen?  Are there areas of your life that seem to yield the same results no matter what you do?  Examine your thoughts, especially those that are recurring.  Ask yourself what the underlying belief might be that supports and creates those thoughts.  Be open to the possibility that the belief and therefore the thoughts are false even if they feel true.  Tell yourself that your feelings are just feelings and do not necessarily reflect truth.  Ask your Higher Self to reveal the truth about you.  Make a decision to find new beliefs that are positive and supportive of you.  Decide that you are going to focus on these new beliefs. Don't worry if you don't "feel" that these beliefs are true.  Keep on bringing yourself back to the real truth about you.  In time, your feelings will shift and your vibration will change.  You will begin to draw to you, those people, experiences and positive feelings that are in tune to your new vibration.  Love and Light, Shirley

May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day.  Here in the Pacific Northwest Mother's day was absolutely beautiful.  After taking my mom to lunch, my boyfriend, my mom and myself went for a drive to the Quinault Rain Forest.  For anyone who has never been to the Quinault Rain Forest you are missing something truly spectacular.  Some of the largest trees in the world are found here.  Some of the last old growth timber can still be found growing amidst primeval ferns and horse tail.  Moss hangs down in magnificent abundance and everywhere you look there is evidence of the richness and abundance of Mother Earth.  After stopping for a cup of tea and a late afternoon snack, my mom and I waited out in the parking lot of the restaurant.  Across the road and on up into the hills were stands of evergreens as far as the eyes could see.  High above the trees a bald eagle soared and swooped, its white head glistening in the afternoon sun.  It was a magical moment.  I hope you had a wonderful day, too.  Love and Light, Shirley

May 8, 2010

Tomorrow is Mother's day.  I want to make sure and write something because I may get too busy and not write tomorrow.  I have heard some people complain about Mother's day and how it is just a day for commercialism.  I guess I am always amazed at some people's ability to focus on the negative and thereby miss the goodness inherent in every day.  I am aware that Mother's day is also a day that people often spend money.  I believe I read once that more flowers are sent on Mother's day than any other day of the year.  I prefer to focus on the reason the day was originally created.  It was created to honor mothers.  I have honored many different mothers throughout the years.  I am very blessed to still have my own mother, who is 84.  I was very blessed to have a wonderful mother-in-law for the 28 years that I was married to my ex-husband.  I still honor her in my heart every Mother's day.  I honor my grandmothers even though they are no longer here in the body.  I honor my daughter who gave me one of the greatest joys in my life, my grandson, Brendan.  I honor those mothers who have touched my life in so many different ways.  Mothers of friends who became like second moms to me.  I honor Ruth Moyer who lived across the alley from me when I was growing up and who opened her home and heart to me.  I honor Grace Rhodes, another neighborhood mom who always had a dimpled smile and soft words of welcome.  I honor the aunts who brought their motherly love to me as well as to their own children.  I honor the teachers who brought motherly love and energy into their work in the classrooms.  I was blessed to grow up in a small town where everyone knew each other and I honor Pat Bloomingdale and her mother, Lillian Carlson for the mothering energy they brought to The Corner Store.  I honor Mrs. Gill, the librarian, who mothered in me a love for reading.  I honor the women who worked in our small grocery store.  I honor Mrs. Church, who was flamboyant and bigger than life, yet who also showed caring for everyone who came across her path.  I honor the countless women who mothered me, each in her own way.  I honor Amma Karunamayi, a Hindu saint who brings her message of unconditional love to the world.  I honor her for seeing beyond my ego and smallness and loving me.  I honor Mother Mary and the essence of her deep, abiding love. Last, I honor myself, for I, too, am a mother.  I honor myself for my own mistakes, sacrifices, courage and love that I worked to share with my children.  I see such imperfection within myself and I know the many ways in which I did not always succeed as a mother.  But, then, I look at my two children and I know that I did the best I could.  Mother's day is not about honoring perfection.  It is about honoring the love and work and sacrifice that is present even in the midst of imperfection.  Happy Mother's day.  Celebrate!  Give thanks!  Rejoice!  Love and Light, Shirley

May 6, 2010

I love synchronicity.  I love it when two seemingly random events can collide.  In yesterday's message I talked about a book from my childhood called "The Secret Garden". Last night I was watching a movie and in the movie a child is introduced to a book called.........."The Secret Garden".  I have had people ask me whether or not occurrences like this have any meaning.  My response is that I believe everything has meaning.  Now, as to the importance of any particular events that are synchronous, that depends on the person involved.  Often when I have had clients who came to me hoping to receive messages from spirit, I have encouraged them to pay more attention to their everyday lives and what happens to them throughout each day.  What previously may have been ignored could be found to have greater meaning.  For myself, I have learned to pay attention to most everything.  I pay attention to synchronicity, I go within and ask myself if there is a message there for me.  I especially pay attention to anything that comes in threes.  I pay enough attention to yesterday's events that I have already stopped and thought about the story and what might pertain to me, in my life, at this moment.  The story is about a sour little girl who is orphaned and goes to live with her uncle who lives in a huge, forbidding mansion.  She discovers that there is an invalid young boy, her cousin, who also lives there but is in seclusion most of the time.  When he was born, his mother died in childbirth and the father can barely be around him because he has not healed from his own grief.  Bit by bit, the cantankerous little girl proves to be a match for the equally spoiled and unhappy cousin.  Together they begin to form a bond which is aided by the interventions of a happy go lucky neighborhood boy who helps them when they discover a secret garden hidden behind a wall.  The garden had been the sickly boy's mother's garden and had been neglected since her death.  The three of them secretly enter the garden and diligently work together to bring the garden to life.  In the process, both the boy and girl become healthier and happier.  As they work their magic within the garden, digging, weeding, planting and pruning, the garden works its magic on them.  I thought of the parallels in my own life.  I am living with my elderly mother and I am cleaning out years and years of accumulation.  I am having to deal with years of neglect and things that have been saved long past their usefulness.  This is not just at my parent's home but my dad had his own scrap yard and there is several acres of junk there.  There are other properties that are covered with junk and things that need to be hauled to the dump or the recycling center.  My mother's yard is overgrown and neglected.  My own guides have told me to think of everything as my own garbage and to be grateful that I am letting go of that which is old and no longer needed.  They have instructed me to clean out everything with joy.  I understand what they mean.  As I sort out and ponder why did my dad save some of what he did, I reverse my thoughts and ask myself what have I hung on to that no longer is needed?  Every time a truckload is taken to the dump or recycling center or every time something is sold and someone else hauls it away, I give thanks.  I pray that I am releasing old negative thought patterns.  I rejoice that I am releasing and cleaning out issues from past lives that I no longer need to pack around with me.  Every time a space is created, I smile knowing that I have also created space within myself, within my life, for something new and better to come in.  This time of cleaning, sorting, organizing and simplifying is one of the secret gardens of my life.  It is a very big one.  A monumental task but I have learned to tackle it one day at a time, often one task at a time.  When the children transformed the secret garden, it must have seemed insurmountable in the beginning but they just started scratching at the soil, freeing the flowers from their entangled prison.  Little by little, the flowers bloomed and raised their faces to the sun, grateful for their reprieve.  Within myself, I can feel the entangling of old, old vines and brambles.  Each time I create a space it is a victory.  It will be exciting to see how the coming months unfold.  Love and Light, Shirley

May 5, 2010

Appearances can be deceiving.  The other day I went to a friend's house and she took me on a tour of her garden.  She bought the house five years previously and the garden had been completely overgrown.  It was enchanting to walk down the pathways and see the beautiful plants and trees that she had slowly been discovering as she removed the weeds and brambles.  There was still much work that needed to be done but I could see the beauty unfolding in front of me.  She showed me bushes that had previously been completely hidden from view.  For her, it was all a labor of love.  It reminded me of a book I read as a child called The Secret Garden.  In the book, there is a garden that is walled off and hidden from view.  Some children find their way into the garden and secretly they slowly transform the garden into a lovely, fragrant treasure.  People can be just like those gardens.  Sometimes they are walled off and hidden from years of pain and grief.  Others may be overgrown with disappointment, lost dreams and hopelessness.  Yet, their true beauty remains, hidden but still intact.  What does it take to restore a neglected garden?  It takes patience, love, hard work and a vision for the future.  What does it take to help restore a neglected human being?  I believe it is much the same, patience, love, hard work and an ability to see them differently.  In truth, it is about helping to instill patience, love and a vision for the future within others, more than yourself.  That is, unless, you are the secret garden.  It is never too late.  What can you weed out today?  What needs pruning?  Where do you need some new seeds sown?  Bring some beauty into this world by allowing yourself to bloom more fully.  Love and Light, Shirley

May 3, 2010

I missed writing on May Day, May 1st.  I loved May Day as a child.  I remember making May Day baskets and filling them with lovely spring flowers, in particular I remember the grape hyacinth and the bluebells.  Bluebells always remind me of May Day.  I think the part of May Day I loved was that I would ring a neighbor's doorbell and then run so that they never knew who it came from.  That was how it was done when I was a girl.  The excitement and fun of bringing joy into someone's life and having it be anonymous.  It has been a long time since I rang someone's doorbell and ran to hide.  My guess is that if I tried that now, I might not be able to move fast enough!  However, I can bring some joy and beauty into someone's life in other ways.  I can do it anonymously knowing that I do not need to be recognized for my efforts.  Bring some beauty and happiness to someone today and keep it a secret.  You may be surprised at how much fun it is and how rewarding it can be.  The most important person to be aware of what you have shared with someone else is you.  Go ahead.  Ring someone's doorbell.  You never know how much it can mean to someone to receive without any expectation on their part.  A gift freely given blesses both the giver and the one who receives.  Love and Light, Shirley

April 30, 2010

Pennies from heaven.  I used to wonder what that phrase meant and several years ago I received an answer.  I was living in Cosmopolis, Washington at the time and a lovely man named George Phelps was having a spiritual circle at my house.  We were raising money for a friend of ours who had had a stroke.  George is a wonderful medium and he went around the circle giving people messages from their loved ones on the other side.  There was an elderly woman who had recently lost her husband and she was upset because every time she turned around she was finding a penny.  George told her that they were pennies from heaven.   They were signs from her husband that he was around her.  She evidently knew that and wanted him to stop leaving them so often.  For her, they were not always comforting.  I had received feathers from spirit for a long time but I had not heard of people receiving pennies.  Then, a few years later when I was living in Reno and I was going through a challenging time, I began to find pennies.  I did not just find one or even two a day.  There were days that I would find six or seven pennies.  I would find them in very unusual places and I knew that they were pennies from heaven.  One time, my boyfriend, at the time, and I were sleeping.  He is also a medium and that night before going to sleep we both were aware that we had an unusual amount of people who had died in our bedroom.  I don't remember exactly what was going on at the time but we both figured they were showing up en masse to support us.  The next morning when we woke up, the bed was filled with pennies!  Steve and I just looked at each other and laughed in amazement.  To this day I still find an unusual amount of pennies and I find them in interesting places.  I have had someone ask me if every time I find a penny it is from someone on the other side and I answered no.  There are times I find a penny because someone dropped it on the ground.  My dad passed away on July 29th and since then, I have noticed an increase in pennies.  I know my dad is around me a lot whether I find pennies or not but every time I find one, I smile.  In that moment I know I am never truly alone.  Love and Light, Shirley

April 29, 2010

Yesterday, I drove to the river and sat and watched the sunlight dance upon the surface.  It is very calming to me, to see the interplay of light and dark as it ripples its way down to parts unknown.  I was reminded of other times, other days of sun and water.  Once, while in Moss Beach, California, I was at a friend's house.  She lived in a charming little house that was perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean.  While there, the sun shone brightly most of the time.  I loved standing at her kitchen window and just watching the sunlight glint off the ocean's surface.  The light and motion was mesmerizing and at one point, I lost all awareness of anything but the light and water.  The walls of the house vanished.  My body disappeared.  Even the land itself became nonexistent.  All that remained was the light, the water and my awareness.  I was immersed in the light and floated in a sea of calm and peace.  It was true bliss.  I have no idea how long I was a part of the light.  I was brought back to the awareness of my body and my surroundings when my friend spoke to me.  I returned with some reluctance.  I knew that what I had just experienced was more real than anything I had ever experienced.  I knew that for that brief period of time I had returned to my natural state.  I was one with all existence.  I was floating in the eternal sea of love and light.  This has happened to me on subsequent occasions and every time I am overwhelmed with peace and bliss and love.  And so, I am drawn to the river and the sunshine.  I am drawn home.  Love and Light, Shirley

April 28, 2010

On 5/5/2005 I attended a dinner and a mini psychic fair in Kenmore, Washington.  It was sponsored by a center that was operated by a mother and daughter.  I cannot remember the names but I do remember the name of the center had the word angel in it.  I had not realized until I arrived there that the mini sessions offered by different practitioners were free, included in the cost of the dinner.  It was an enchanting day and evening.  During one of the sessions, a woman told me that my guides and angels wanted me to know that they were preparing an oasis inside of me.  It was a place for me to retreat to when the outside world was chaotic and I needed some peace.  Over the years, time and time again, my guides have reminded me that my true home is within.  We are spiritual beings encased in this physical body, living in this physical dimension.  It is important that we remember there are other dimensions of existence and that we also belong in those.  Our true home is not in this body nor is it in this physical world.  I am someone to whom home has always been important.  My home has been important to me.  I am a good housekeeper and I love to decorate.  I have always taken a certain amount of pride and comfort in my home.  Yet, in the past six years I had to move nine times.  During those moves, in addition to living in three different apartments and two houses,  I have lived in a couple of friend's guest rooms two different times, I have slept on a blow up mattress in one friend's dining room for five months and I am now living in the spare bedroom at my mother's house.  Needless to say, for someone who has always found security in her home space, I have had to face challenges.  I have had to redefine what constitutes home.  My true home is within.  I understand now why my guides kept reminding me to go within and find my oasis.  I know that someday there will come a time that I remove my boxes from storage and unpack them in my own home.  I know that even if I continue to move around in the future that there will come a time that I have a home base to which I can return.  In the meantime, I comfort myself at the hearth within.  I bask in its warmth.  I rejoice that there is nothing that can take it away from me.  When all else may change, it remains.  Go within and find your own oasis.  It is there waiting for you.  Love and Light, Shirley

April 27, 2010

When is the last time you were silly?  Or that you laughed so hard that you could barely catch your breath?  I have several different funny friends and when I am with them, we almost always laugh.  I miss seeing those friends in person as they live all over the United States.  I am grateful that we can still connect through the telephone.  I have to agree with someone wiser than myself that once stated, "Laughter is the best medicine."  Laughter helps us to connect to our inner child and to the inner child of others.  Laughter lifts our spirits and reminds us that even in the midst of difficulty we can have a reprieve.  Years ago when I suffered from depression, I would go to the local drugstore just to read the greeting cards.  My favorites were called The Far Side.  The cartoonist had the quirky kind of sense of humor that resonated with me.  I would begin to read them and a smile would come to my face.  Soon, a faint giggle would emerge.  After two or three cards I would find myself laughing more and more.  I didn't care what the other people thought about me.  I only knew that when I laughed, I knew I was going to be okay.  I usually would buy several of the cards with the best of intentions to send them to others.  I eventually did but I often would save my favorites for a time, bringing them out to remind myself to laugh and not get too bogged down with the challenges of life.  I always seemed to know when it was time to send one on to someone else.  I was sending more than a card.  I was sending them a treasure from my heart, a reminder to laugh and lighten their spirits.  Hmmmmm.  I am not depressed but I think it is time to go card shopping anyway.  A good belly laugh is better than candy.  Treat yourself and find a reason to laugh, truly laugh.  Love and Light and Laughter, Shirley

April 25, 2010

Yesterday, my boyfriend, my mother and I drove down to the Columbia Gorge to have dinner in Hood River.  What a spectacular drive!  The scenery was so beautiful and the weather was quite cooperative.  As I looked at the gorge, I pondered what it must have been like eons ago when the glaciers carved their way through and created the gorge.  It reminded me of the power and majesty of Mother Nature and of the earth herself.  It also reminded me that there are more than one way to create change.  Sometimes it is dramatic such as when the dinosaur age turned to the ice age and the dinosaurs were rapidly killed off and the earth changed from humid tropical weather to glacial land of white.  Then there are other places where the change has taken place over long, long periods of time, such as in ancient caves where the slow perpetual dripping of water and minerals creates such fantastic formations.  In my own life, I have had both kinds of change.  The life altering changes where my whole life seemed to turn upside down over night or even in the time it takes to breathe one breath.  My divorce was one of those kinds of changes.  I have also had the slow drip, drip, drip of striving to change a habit or a way of thinking.  I have had to persevere in order to create my own fantastic formations.  Most change is of the second kind.  Perseverance.  Tenacity.  Stubborn (in a good way, of course).  If you are feeling discouraged because change is not happening in the time frame you would wish, don't give up.  Whatever it is, promise yourself that you will not give in to discouragement.  Remember it was the tortoise that won the race, not the hare.  Be the tortoise.  Slow and steady wins the race.  Love and Light, Shirley

April 22, 2010

Today is Earth Day.  Therefore, it seems most appropriate to give a prayer of thanks to Mother Earth as today's message.  Beloved Mother Earth, thank you so much for all the abundance that you bestow upon us.  Everywhere my eyes look I see evidence of your loving generosity.  The trees and plants and flowers all bloom and grow because of your goodness.  The birds dance your praises in the sky and call out boldly, Mother, Mother.  From the lowly earthworm to the majestic whale, all of the animal kingdom extends their gratitude.  Even the rocks and sand and soil are aware of their Mother. I listen to the sea as each wave crashes upon the shore whispering your name.  Please forgive us when we have forgotten you and neglected you.  I pray to be a better steward of all that you have given me.  I pray to use less, to be more wise and for my heartbeat and your heartbeat to be one.  I pray to remember that everyone and everything upon you is my sister, my brother, my child.  I pray to have the loving generosity towards others that you have towards all of us.  Thank you.  So be it.  Love and Light, Shirley

April 21, 2010

The wind is blowing outside of my windows forcing the bushes to dance unexpectedly.  I love the sound of the wind.  Even though I am inside, I can close my eyes, listen to the wind and almost feel it on my face.  Memories of other windblown days pass through my mind and body.  I can almost smell the salty sea air that once caressed my face as I stood at the ocean's edge.  My tongue licks my lips in expectation of its salty essence.  I revisit windy nights when the air moaned and groaned like ancient voices calling to me of other worldly existences.  Mountain air, cold and brusque, brings its revitalizing presence to me as well as clarity and alertness.  Soft meadow grass gently bends in unison as a summer breeze lightly passes over.  There is warmth and sweetness to this breeze which speaks of romance and lazy indolent days of youth.  Autumn winds bring the crisp crackle of leaves beneath my feet as I scurry on my way to school, torn between the desire to dance with the leaves and the need to be present in class before the final bell rings.  I welcome the winds of time.  I cherish the memories that sweep through me bringing their timeless gifts.  I am reminded that I am always surrounded by beauty and treasures if I but stop and receive.  Love and Light, Shirley

April 18, 2010

Looks can be deceiving. Outside of my window stands an old bush that has grown for so many years, it is more like a small tree now.  The branches look old and dried out and are covered with lichens, usually a sign of old age or disease.  I thought it was dead for a while.  Then, I looked closer and I saw tiny green buds at the end of its gnarled and tangled branches.  Even in the midst of what appears to be old and dead, I can find new life.  I am so happy.  The birds come and sit in this bush frequently.  I would miss the birds if I had to cut it down.  Somehow, it is a reminder to me to remember that even when people may appear to be old or dead, hopelessly stuck in a negative way of being, that there is still the potential for new life.  There is still the possibility of change in a positive direction.  Even when there are situations that are negative, stressful and have existed for long periods of time, I can still hope for change.  Never give up believing that things can change and shift for good.  I have had numerous people talk to me about all of the negative people and negative happenings in the world today.  I agree that at times it can feel pretty overwhelming.  Yet, I still hold within me that knowledge that even in what appears to be dead, there is still new life just waiting to sprout.  There is new opportunity for growth and change.  I keep this eternal spring in my heart and soul.  I pray you are able to do the same.  Love and Light, Shirley

April 16, 2010

I have a dear friend who lives in Brooklyn, New York.  We met in 2005 at a Kabbalah Pesach/Passover celebration in Florida.  We met the last night of the event and yet, we connected on a very profound level.  Since that time, I have lived in Washington, California, Nevada and back to Washington.  She has lived in Florida and now New York.  We communicate through email, letters and on the telephone.  We have not been in each other's physical presence since that brief time in 2005, yet I consider her one of my best friends.  Our connection, of course, goes back into previous lives and it is a profound spiritual connection.  Our relationship is unusual at times because my guides will often come to Holly with information for me.  She is a very clear channel and there are times they can make themselves known to her when I am not listening quite as well as they would like.  The other day this happened while we were talking on the phone and one of my guides, a being who simply calls himself Magnificent, came through and talked to me about asking.  He was pretty frustrated with me and was reminding me to ask for help.  Ask.  Three little letters that can really pack a whollop.  Seek and ye shall find.  Knock and the door shall be open.  Ask and it shall be given.  I have heard similar words so many times.  I remember someone telling me that I am surrounded by angels but I must ask for their assistance.  We live in a free will Universe and therefore, I must ask.  Magnificent went on to say that he would love to see me have all that I want.  Hmmmmm.  He also told me that my ancestors want to help me but I must ask.  It is a sticky wicket in some ways, this manifesting business.  If I state that I am in need and the Universe gives me more of what I put out, then I could receive more need!  So, how can this work better?  I decided that what I am going to do is create a shopping list.  I will put on my list whatever it is I desire.  A shopping list implies that I already have the means to shop.  Why would someone create a shopping list if they had no resources?  So, I am accepting that my "Cosmic Bank Account" is full.  I have earned it through my thoughts, my intentions and my actions.  It is now time to begin using my resources even if they are not always immediately visible.  They are still there.  I must acknowledge them and acknowledge that I have earned them and I deserve them.  I can ask for help because I have earned it.  That help is part of my Cosmic Bank Account.  I asked my guides for a sign regarding my online radio show.  I really have been questioning whether I should continue because there is a fee and my finances have been challenging since I moved from Reno back to Washington.  I believed my radio show was of value and something I should be doing, yet needed those resources for other things.  I talked to a friend of mine and she shared that it seemed as though I should let it go for now.  I wrote the owner of the online radio station and I received a surprising answer.  She stated that she is canceling my subscription but wishes to retain me as a host because my radio show contains valuable material.  I was amazed and very grateful.  Ask.  Three little letters with enormous significance.  Love and Light, Shirley

April 14, 2010

Sometimes it is challenging to be on a spiritual path.  It often requires us to step out of our comfort zones.  I remember back in 2002, I received a message from my guides during breath work when I was at a hypnotherapy training.  My guides were telling me that I needed to build an altar and put it in my office.  At the time, I was a traditional mental health counselor and operated out of a house.  The living room was my waiting room.  When they first told me to build an altar, I envisioned it inside the portion of the house where I had my desk, the true office portion of my space.  As soon as I had that thought I could hear a loud, resounding NO.  They told me that I was to build it out in the waiting room and they proceeded to tell me some of the items that I needed to place upon the altar.  Please understand, that at the time, I was living in an area that was not exactly the metaphysical center of the world.  I was very nervous as to how my altar would be perceived and received by my community.  However, I had promised my guides that I would follow my spiritual path and my guidance to the best of my ability.  On the way home, I stopped at the hardware store and purchased what I needed for the basic altar.  Little by little, I began to seek out the items that I had been told were needed on my altar.  They told me to have candles burning on it at all times because candle light draws in angelic energy.  I brought in an image of a black panther, for she is my main animal totem.  I was given a beautiful statue of Archangel Michael.  Within two weeks of my altar going up, the energy in my office began to shift.  The focus of some of the therapy began to change.  People would ask me about the altar and I began to share more about my own spirituality.  Clients began to bring up issues around their own spirituality.  I did not receive any negative feedback about my altar and it readily became apparent that people were hungry for more spirituality in their lives.  People began to bring me items for the altar.  I remember one woman brought me a lovely wooden star of David from Israel.  Several brought me crystals.  Little by little, the office was truly transformed.  People would tell me how good they would feel just sitting in the waiting room.  I was so grateful that I did not allow my fears to rule.  I am so grateful every time I do what I am called to do in spite of fear or discomfort.  What is it you are being called to do on your own path?  Push past your discomfort and just do it!  Love and Light, Shirley

April 12, 2010

A friend sent me an email yesterday describing some very difficult people in her life.  She is currently surrounded by many people who have significant emotional and mental issues.  She asked me, "What is this all about?  I have to wonder what are the lessons?"  Sometimes it is very challenging to be in the middle of painful situations and still retain the faith, hope and enthusiasm that everything truly is in Divine Order.  It can be almost impossible when one is exhausted, disappointed and lacks clarity.  I do say, ALMOST impossible.  I do believe in Universal Laws.  In the Bible it states that the rain falls on the just and the unjust.  Therefore, somewhere in this long chain of infinite lives and experiences, even the chaos has meaning.  When I was younger and my spiritual beliefs were different, I struggled with why some people were beautiful, wealthy, healthy and happy while others had deformities and were poverty-stricken, living meager lives of existence.  It made no sense to me.  The only answer to my questions was that I must have faith and know that God's ways are not my ways.  Somehow, that just never quite worked for me.  My beliefs are different now and it makes more sense to me that we have numerous lives in which to experience all the aspects of being human.  We have the opportunities to experience being different races and the opposite sex.  It makes more sense to me that on a soul level we might choose poverty or other adverse circumstances in order to balance out karma or to learn a certain lesson or to bring awareness into the world that others might also learn.  My own guides have reminded me on more than one occasion that there is no true injustice in the Universe.  Everything is in check and balance.   This does not mean we do not fight the oppression and abuse that we witness in our current existence.  While I am helping others who have suffered, I also retain a different perspective.  This perspective includes the understanding that this, too, shall pass.  In another existence, one who suffered greatly may live a life of beauty, wealth, good health and happiness.  In my own life, when I experience hurt from another, I strive to remember that I do not know the long chain of connection I may have with this person.  If I only focus on the moment, my hurt remains.  If I allow the possibility to exist that this may be karmic and I am balancing out my karmic debt, it becomes easier.  I do not remain in a position to be hurt but the pain dissipates more quickly.  Even if something may not be karmic, I can still learn from it.  Sometimes the lesson is simple.  Perhaps it is an opportunity to learn forgiveness.  Perhaps it is an opportunity to learn self-care and I choose to no longer be in relationship with this person.  Perhaps it is an opportunity to practice compassion, compassion for myself as well as the other.  Love and Light, Shirley

April 11, 2010

I am living back in the home that I grew up in with my elderly mother.  Today, I went outside to pick some roofing paper out of one of the bushes growing outside of my bedroom window.  Such a simple thing, to pull the piece of black paper out of the bush and I have been meaning to do it for months!  I would look outside my window to enjoy the sky, the clouds, the birds or the raindrops on the leaves and I would see that darn piece of roofing paper marring the beauty.  Now, I look outside and there is no junky pieces of paper hanging in the bush.  Such a simple thing and yet it makes such a difference to me.  Now, someone might ask me why I waited so long to do it since it obviously was bothering me.  I am not a lazy person, in fact, I have struggled with being a workaholic in the past.  No, that is not why.  My mother has lived in this same house for over sixty years.  There is much that needs to be done because a great deal of the house is in disrepair.  The yard is in sad need of help.  Nearly everywhere I look there is something that needs attention.  Overgrown bushes cover some of the sidewalk on one side of the house.  There are leaks out in the family room.  We have already had the plumber here five times and the electrician twice.  The list is a very, very long one.  I have to prioritize and focus on one thing at a time in order to prevent feeling overwhelmed.  The black roofing paper just never seemed to rise to the top of the list until this morning.  A few minutes of my time, however, and I feel so much better.  I was thinking of my own self and how there are ways in which I am like this house.  I have some parts of me that I have neglected for some time and they need attention.  Physically, I need some attention.  I need to eat better, drink more water, stretch more, walk more, meditate more, soak my feet more, let go of coffee and the list goes on and on.  Because I already have a very demanding life right now, the list to care for myself seems endless, too.  That is when I remind myself of my need to prioritize and focus on one thing at a time.  What do I need to focus on first?  And, what are those things I can do for myself that are simple?  What is the black roofing paper on my list of self care needs?  Something simple perhaps such as putting lotion on my dry feet, doing five minutes of breathing or brewing some delicious smelling tea instead of defaulting to coffee.  If you find yourself in a similar place don't give up!  Create your lists and then prioritize.  Be realistic about what you really can accomplish and don't forget to put yourself on the list.  Do something good for yourself today.  You deserve it.  Love and Light, Shirley

April 10, 2010

Wings of Truth

I cried to God to reveal himself in my hour of need

A bird flew by my window with gracefulness and speed

I cried to God to speak to me, to feed my hungry heart

I heard the rustle of the leaves, their secrets to impart

I cried to God to soothe my fears, my pain and loneliness

A person came to me whose heart was filled with even less

Less faith, less hope, less strength within

My heart burst open wide

I reached to her with love and care

And found my God inside

God is the bird, the wind, the leaves, God is all that I seek

God is the sea, the earth, the sky, God is the love inside of me

God is my breath, my tears, my light

How can I ask for more?

All that is and ever was and evermore shall be

Are gifts to me from God above, within, below and all around, for all eternity

I cannot stay in pain and fear for my heart is nudging me

To look beyond these worldly trials and see the Truths that be

There is much more beyond the veil, much more than eyes can see

But, I can look within my soul and find the truth I seek

I close my eyes and still my thoughts and slow my breathing down

I wait expectantly for light to fill my crown

What joy, what bliss, what endless happiness!

Floating on a sea of love, I become the Truth

I am the sea, the sky, the earth,  I am the bird, the wind, the leaves

I am the source of all that is for all eternity

I am God and God is me, I soar on wings of love

I rustle in the wind and sing my songs above

I am God and God is me and God is also you

You are the bird, the wind, the leaves and I am also you

All is One beyond the veil, beyond illusion where truth prevails

Oh, take me there on wings of love away from all this pain

I long to feel the inner peace of Oneness once again

From deep within my soul replies with patience calm and sweet

Are you not the bird, the wind, the source of all that is?

Fly yourself on wings of love and share the truth you find

Bring back into this worldly place the source of Light, of Love Divine

Heaven and peace are not a place but are a state of love and grace

You have within all that you need to calm your fears and pain

You have within all that you need for liberation endlessly

Break through those chains of fear and doubt

With silence within your heart can shout!

Freedom, freedom is my choice!

Unity, Oneness is my recourse!

April 9, 2010

Following your intuition is not always easy.  The analytical mind gets in there and interferes with the process.  For example, the other night, some people were coming to my mom's house to buy some stuff in my dad's shop.  I have a couple of men who are handling the sales and I don't need to be out in the shop when they are occurring.  However, I felt compelled to go out into the shop, an intuitive hit that I needed to be out there.  My analytical mind struggled with that idea, telling me that it did not really make sense to be out in the cold shop, wasting time, when I have so much I could be doing.  Fortunately, I have learned to set aside my analytical mind in times like these and so I put on my warm vest and stayed out in the shop.  A married couple was there, who had been at the previous sale.  I felt drawn to the woman and we began to talk.  At first, we just spoke about the shop and the interesting items my dad had accumulated over the years.  My dad had died in July and so it was time to clean out his shop.  At some point, the conversation changed and we were talking about the spirits of those who had passed on to the other side.  I shared that I was a psychic and a medium and she revealed that she was, also!  We had a wonderful time together sharing our stories and talking about our spiritual paths and spiritual beliefs.  A like-minded soul is such a gift.  She asked for my business card and said she would be in touch.  I hope she does.  She is a beautiful woman with a lot of light around her.  I know she is the reason I was drawn to be out there.  I don't know all the reasons why and I don't need to.  I just trust the process.  Perhaps someone else there needed to hear our conversation.  Perhaps she and I have reasons to connect that will be revealed.  I may never know or it may turn out to be one of those wonderful gifts that unfold over time.  Had I not listened, I could have missed a wonderful opportunity.  I wish the same for you, a listening inner ear.  Love and Light, Shirley

April 8, 2010

The raindrop landed on the leaf and woke up.  One lone lovely pearl balanced on the edge of the leaf.  The drop became aware.  I am all alone.  I am just one lonely raindrop.  The breeze came along and laughed at the raindrop, shaking the leaf and causing the raindrop to fall upon the ground.  No one could see the drop, it appeared to be absorbed by the soil.  The raindrop sighed, sad with the thought that no one even knew she was there.  Soon, the sun came out and smiled warmly down upon the drop.  The heat made raindrop drowsy and slowly raindrop began to evaporate, rising high above the soil, the plants and the trees.  Higher and higher, she rose, until she floated so high, she began to reform once again into a drop.  The sky was cool and she began to see other drops that were forming.  As they bumped into each other, the drops combined to create bigger drops.  Soon, she, too, joined with other drops, growing larger and larger until they formed a cloud.  The raindrop was so happy.  I am not alone!  I am a part of something bigger.  The cloud grew and grew and soon it was located over a dry and dusty region.  The cloud was bursting at its seams and soon could no longer contain itself.  Opening up, the cloud sent forth many raindrops that landed on the earth below.  Raindrop was one of them.  She landed on a leaf, a very dry thirsty leaf.  Listening, raindrop heard the leaf sigh, very softly and gently, "Thank you, raindrop".  Startled, she told the leaf, "You are welcome!"  As more raindrops joined her on the leaf, she could feel the leaf's gratitude multiply.  Raindrop became aware.  I am never truly alone.  I am a part of a greater whole.  I am just as important as all the other drops.  I make a difference.  Together we make a tremendous difference.  Raindrop fell to the ground.  She could no longer be seen as she was absorbed by the soil.  She smiled to herself, knowing that this state is temporary.  It does not matter whether anyone else knows I am here, because I do.  And, besides, soon it will all change again.  This is just a time of rest.  Life is a series of cycles and I go with the flow knowing that everything has its proper time and place.                                  Love and Light, Shirley

April 7, 2010

I am a lover of words.  I love to read them, write them, speak them and sing them.  I even love words that are in foreign languages and I don't know what they mean but I love the sound of them.  Words have the ability to affect us in very deep and profound ways.  I remember as a child that there was a rhyme about words, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me."  Even as a child, I thought it was a stupid thing for people to say.  I would have rather been hit by a stick then by cruel words.  Words can be weapons that instill life long wounds.  Words can also be the sweet balm that soothes and heals even traumatic wounds.  Words can uplift us.  Words can inspire us to be better than we have been.  Words give us hope.  Words are a treasure that we as human beings have been gifted with.  Share some loving words with someone today.  Tell someone that they are a gift to humanity and that you are so grateful to know them.  Tell someone how they have enriched your life with their presence.  The words don't have to be fancy, just true.  Thank you.  I appreciate you.  I love you.  You are an amazing person.  You have  beautiful eyes. Begin by looking in a mirror and saying these words to the reflection that looks back.  The one person you are guaranteed to have in your life is you.  What is your relationship like with your self?  Is it loving and grateful?  Is it appreciative?  The more you love yourself and see yourself as a truly amazing person, the more your words will flow.  Write yourself a thank you card.  What would it say?  What would have meaning if someone else said it to you?  Write and say the words.  Don't worry if you struggle to feel them.  Do it anyway.  Make a habit of it.  One day you will realize how easily the words flow and how your emotions are elevated.  That is what happens when we eventually recognize truth.  Love and Light, Shirley

April 6, 2010

Have you ever had a time when you felt as though there was so much going on in your life that you were going to spin right off the planet?  I have.  When I have experienced those times, I have known that I needed to make a change of some kind but even making a change seemed so overwhelming.  What has helped me is to pick one thing, even one small thing and work on changing that.  I am living with my mom right now and my bedroom is in the room that used to be called the office.  My dad had his desk in there and it is a room that was probably paneled back in the early 70's.  The curtains were definitely late 60's and early 70's.  The curtains were too old and had to be thrown out.  I still have not replaced them.  The walls are paneled in the old wood style that was popular in the 70's.  I am guessing that it has darkened over the years.  I am someone who needs light and color and lots of it.  So, now I am staying in a dark room that has very little color.  My mom doesn't want me to paint the walls because she likes the paneling.  Where I live is quite overcast most of the time so that adds to the darkness and gloom of my room.  My brother, Steve, gave me a beautiful miniature yellow rose in a peach-colored ceramic container.  Every time I look at it, it brightens my spirits.  I realized that I need to bring some more color into the room.  Ok, so I can't paint.  That doesn't mean I can't make some bright curtains or a few pillows to bring in a more elevated vibration.  It has been a good reminder to bring change in where I can and when I can.  Just the thought of having more color in here makes me smile.  For today, consider if there is one area where you can create change on whatever scale possible.  Let go of thinking that it must be on a grand scale to make a difference because it doesn't.  Love and Light, Shirley

April 4, 2010

Today, a plump red-breasted robin perched on the branches outside my window.  It is not the first time, hopefully, it will not be the last.  I read in Animal Speak about the metaphysical meaning of the robin.  It is, of course, a harbinger of spring in many different places.  The book also spoke of how the robin's egg is a beautiful blue and that this blue helps to open the throat chakra.  The robin is said to help people sing their own song in order to create something new.  What a lovely thought!  I sing channeled songs of healing and so today, I will sing my song of healing for the world.  I envision this beautiful robin's egg blue surrounding Mother Earth helping to open all of our throat chakras.  Are you singing your own song?  Or has your song become muffled by the challenges of life?  Each and every one of us has a unique song to sing.  If we all opened up and shared ourselves with the world what a chorus that would make!  Singing your own song isn't just about singing musically, it is about expressing who you are in whatever form calls to you.  Opening your throat chakra to your own song is about speaking your truth and expressing your unique truth in whatever way is right for you.  Happy Easter/Passover/Spring.  Love and Light, Shirley

April 2, 2010

A Ray of Hope

A brilliant ray of sunshine pierced through the murky sky     Midst wind and cold, it warmed the earth below

For miles around its radiance could not be missed                  Within the waiting soil, the seed was kissed

Awakened by the ray of sunshine's heat                                  It grew and grew until it was complete

Where once a tiny seed did lie, there stands a tree of oak     A mighty tree which grew because it felt a ray of hope.

Love and Light, Shirley

April 1, 2010

It is Passover and Easter weekend.  People all over the world will be gathering together to celebrate.  I sat here thinking about some of the Easter traditions that I grew up with such as the Easter egg.  Easter is about resurrection and eternal life.  It is about hope and believing in something beyond what you can see.  I remember reading some of the reasons why the early Christians used the egg as a spiritual symbol.  The egg can be found in other spiritual texts and teachings as well.  There are references to it in Buddhism and in esoteric texts they refer to us as having an auric egg.  Some pictures of our aura show an egg-shaped field around us.  I have even read how the egg is a perfect food, how it contains all of the nutrients that we need.  The egg is a symbol of new life and new beginnings.  So, when I look at Easter eggs, I remind myself that this is a time for renewal.  I remember that I am like the egg and that everything I need is already within me.  I may need to crack my own shell and go within but it is all there.  All the spiritual nutrients are already here, I merely need to slow down, crack myself open and receive untold treasures.  I pray for everyone in the world.  I pray that we can all crack our outer shells and find the beauty and truth within.  Only then, will we be able to see the beauty and truth in everyone.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 31, 2010

Changing our thoughts is not easy.  If there is something distressing in your life, it is challenging to not think about it.  So many of the books say that we must only think about what we do want, not what we don't want.  However, when you are sitting in the midst of a challenge, those thoughts of what you do want may be difficult to find.  For myself, sometimes it is just too great a stretch, so I modify my thoughts.  First, I envision the challenge lessening.  If it is a financial challenge, I envision it getting better and better each and every day.  This works better for me than to jump right into abundance and prosperity.  I still keep those in my mind, too.  I still envision being debt-free and able to share great abundance with others.  I just know when it is the right time to hold the full vision and when it works better for me to see it clearing step by step.  If we bring a thought into our mind but it truly is not believable for us at that moment, I don't think it is too beneficial.  Years ago, I was losing weight.  I was quite overweight and I was attending a weight-release class taught by a hypnotherapist.  She told us to close our eyes and envision a mirror.  In the mirror was the image of our slender self.  We were then directed to step into the mirror, into the slender image.  At the time, it was just too much of a stretch for me.  So, I envisioned myself about 60 pounds lighter.  I found that I could easily step into that image.  As time went by and I released the weight, I could eventually step into the slimmest image.  I eventually reached my goal weight.  So, when I create my vision boards and manifestation posters, I put exactly what I want.  However, if on a day to day basis, that may sometimes seem too far away, I create images in my mind that are moving me towards my goals, that encourage and sustain me and bring me hope.  Today, what kind of vision do you need?  Have you created wonderful goals for your life?  Hold those within your mind and create reminders for yourself such as a vision board that you can look at.  Hold onto your dreams and when you are feeling discouraged, envision them unfolding piece by piece.  Envision yourself taking down your vision board because you need a new one as you have accomplished all that was on the old one.  Remember to have fun!  Love and Light, Shirley

March 30, 2010

For a number of years, on my drive home, I would pass a house where an old woman lived.  The trees and bushes around her home had grown to the point that nearly all of the windows were covered by them.  The front door was barely available because the evergreens on each side were almost touching each other in the middle.  I was fascinated by this house.  I would wonder to myself why someone would choose to live in a cave?  I love the sunshine and I am someone who needs a lot of light, so the idea of living in a house where virtually no light came in was very strange to me.  I have seen other homes like this and they are usually inhabited by older people.  I used to think that maybe they could no longer afford to have someone trim their bushes and they were no longer capable of doing so themselves.  That is not always the case.  Often, they simply cannot bear to have the trees or bushes cut.  There is something comforting to them about the size of the bushes.  Perhaps, something comforting about being in a cocoon.  As long as they are inside, they feel safe and secure.  I would feel claustrophobic but others would feel secure.  I began to ponder what would be the overgrown bushes in my own life?  What is it time to trim and let go of, so that I can let in new light?  What has become too entrenched and is strangling me?  There are times in my life when I have needed to clear out physical things, clutter, no longer needed items.  That is not the case right now.  Instead, I need to prune some outdated ways of thinking.  I need to trim some old ways of being that are strangling me.  I need to uproot old resentments and clear them out.  Bring in some more light so that I can grow upright with arms stretched out to embrace the world.  Just for today, consider your own life.  Do you need to do some pruning and trimming?  Are there old ways of thinking and being that need to go?  Have the courage to open up your own windows and let the light shine in.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 29, 32010

In this moment.................   This is a common phrase that I use when I start to become anxious over something.  The majority of issues that people become anxious over are rarely in the moment.  Most of the worries that people express concern the future.  Often when I am working with clients or even my friends and they are talking about something they are concerned about I will ask them how they are in this moment.  For example, if someone is worrying about their finances, I will ask them how they are doing financially, in this moment.  Are their needs met..........in this moment?  The majority of the time, the answer is yes.  Do not misunderstand me, please.  There are times in our lives when we are faced with enormous challenges.  If your loved one is dying, it may very well be, in this moment.  Certainly, there are times when, in this moment, our hearts are breaking or we are facing health issues, loss or other difficult circumstances.  What I am referring to is what is true the majority of the time when we are worrying.  The majority of the time when we worry, if we were to stop and ask ourselves where are we, in this moment, the answer would reduce our anxiety.  In this moment..............my needs are met.  In this moment................there is nothing that is too big for me to handle.  In this moment.................I can close my eyes and know that I am safe.  If I live my life in the moment there is truly rarely anything to worry about.  I find that even those painful, difficult challenging moments are more tolerable when I stay in the moment.  Why?  Because then all I am dealing with is in that moment.  I encourage you to just try it.  The next time something comes up that seems too big for you to handle, just bring yourself completely and totally into the moment.  In this moment.......................I can handle what is present in my life.  I let go of the past knowing it is just shadows.  I let go of the future knowing it is still a mist.  In this moment......................I breathe and connect to my body and to my spirit knowing I can truly do anything one moment at a time.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 26, 2010

There is a lot out in the media about manifesting.  The Secret, both the movie and the book, have been viewed and read by millions.  I agree with the ideas that are presented.  There are a few things that I believe are missing.  There is a lot of talk about changing our thoughts but I believe that more emphasis on feeling is important.  There is something else that I have pondered and I believe is missing or underestimated from some of the literature on manifesting.  It has to do with time.  Many of the people that I have encountered who are using the principles or who have attempted and been discouraged have been discouraged because they are not seeing the results that they expected in a short period of time.  You can get the impression from some of the literature that if you are doing it "right" you will see results fairly quickly.  This is not always the case.  What I understand from my own guidance is that I am currently experiencing what I have already composed through my thoughts and actions from all of my previous life.  It is a culmination of everything.  Yes, in order to change what I am currently experiencing, I must change my thoughts, words, feelings and actions.  This does not automatically guarantee a quick reversal in my circumstances.  I do believe that every change is valuable and is altering the totality of who I am.  Every time I let go of negativity and immerse myself in positive thought, I am altering the whole of who I am and my life.  However, that does not mean it will instantaneously be apparent in all areas of my life.  It is important to remember that whatever steps you have taken to create change in your thoughts, emotions and actions are still working even if you do not see the evidence.  I believe in Divine Timing and so I remind myself that my previous actions were not in vain even if they did not result in what I expected.  Patience and trust in the process are also part of manifesting. Often, our heart's desire will finally come to us when we least expect it.  If that moment is not now, do not give up, have faith that your efforts always matter.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 25, 2010

Seeking

Longing, I seek myself in the reflection of another's eyes  Hungry for an old familiar feeling of belonging  I wait

Yet, deep inside, I know there is purpose in my aloneness  Everything has order and reason  Nothing is random

My aloneness envelops me at times, like a brand new blanket  Still stiff from its package  Unfamiliar, not yet fully mine

My heart yearns for an old familiar quilt  Worn soft from years of use  And togetherness

But, this is not to be  Not now  Someday perhaps

Discontent to feel discontented  My eyes change course  Hunger, still voracious and demanding, calls to me

I cease looking to others for reflection  Eyes turn inward and in the great, luminescent mirror of my inner eye  My own reflection blinks back

Smiling, serene, fully fed  With the knowledge that I am love  Fully surrounded by the ancient, velvet quilt of belonging

I am love  I am belonging  I am the reflection I seek in another's eyes

I am

March 24, 2010

Yesterday I took my mother's car in to be detailed.  I spoke with the man who was doing the work to ask him when it would be finished.  He asked me if I could please leave it another day because he really wanted it to shine.  His enthusiasm for his work was infectious.  He explained in detail how he cleans the car and he wants it as good as it can be.  He had me smell the leather cream he puts as a finishing touch on the leather seats.  This is a man who takes pride in his work.  I left knowing that my mom's car was in good hands.  What a difference it makes when someone loves their job.  I have no idea what kind of money he makes from detailing cars but I am willing to bet that it isn't a great deal.  Yet, this man is a rich man because he loves what he does.  When we do what we love everyone benefits.  We benefit because we are happy and others benefit because the work we do reflects our own happiness.  I left a thriving mental health practice in 2005 and moved from Washington to California and eventually Nevada.  I worked as a hypnotherapist, psychic and spiritual counselor.  I loved my work even though I made much less money than I did as a traditional mental health therapist.  I believe that the joy in my work touched many people's lives.  I am currently starting over again having moved back to Washington State.  I believe I will eventually have more abundance doing what I love.  By having had less money than what I was used to, I have learned many lessons along the way.  So much of what I previously would have described as needs eventually revealed themselves as wants.  I found that by simplifying my life, I created a different way of being.  Do you love your work?  Do you think that your enthusiasm about your work is infectious?  Do you think that people would describe you as a rich man or woman, regardless of your financial status?  I pray that when people encounter me and my work that they leave me with the same kind of impression that the car detailer gave me.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 23, 2010

I asked my guides once why they didn't tell me all kinds of prophecies about the future of the world.  It seemed at the time that there were so many different people channeling all kinds of information, yet my guides primarily focused on what I needed to learn or change or do.  They gave me more than one answer to my question.  First, they said that I hadn't really asked them to.  I thought about that for a while and I realized it was true.  I had never asked them what was going to happen in the future.  Second, they told me that they could give me information about the future based on the patterns of energy and thought that were present in the current moment.  They laughed and explained that we are creating the future right now.  Yes, there are certain things that are already set in motion because of previous thoughts and actions.  However, a great deal of the future is yet to be determined.  With the current energy patterns and with what is already set in motion they could give me some prophecies but that those prophecies could change.  I asked if this was part of why some prophecies came true and others did not.  They said yes that even a very good seer can have one vision be remarkably accurate and yet another never comes to pass.  They shared that it is more important for me to focus on the present and leave the future to itself.  It is valuable for me to envision a positive future and hold it in my mind because that increases the likelihood that it will come.  However, to live in the present is vital for my own welfare and my own development.  There have been times that I asked them about myself and whether or not I was on the right track.  In my mind, being on the right track meant I would eventually get what I want.  They reassured me and said that as long as I was learning and growing, I am on the right track.  Not exactly what I was hoping for.  I can be learning and growing and not have what I want!  I am better at living in the present now than at any other time in my life.  The present may not be what I want but I have learned to accept that it is what I need.  Instead of looking to the future for what I want, I change how I look at the present and find those elements of my life that do bring joy and appreciation.  A little bit of joy can help me deal with a whole lot of challenges.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 22, 2010

The sun is out today.  Yesterday it rained so hard that you could hardly see.  I live where there is an old saying that if you don't like the weather wait for five minutes.  I was just thinking about that saying and realized that it is a metaphor for life.  Life can be unpredictable and one day it is sunny and warm, the next day storm clouds gather.  Certainly, this is not exactly an original thought!  There are poems and stories and sayings that all allude to this metaphor.  Change is always a guarantee just like the change in weather.  Granted, when I lived in Reno this metaphor would not be quite as evident.  We would have day after day of beautiful blue sky, often week after week.  However, when the weather did change you really noticed!  So, how do we weather the storms of life?  I believe it is by going within and finding what is constant and never-changing.  In my inner sanctum I find the eye of the storm.  There is a calm and a hush like nothing else I have ever experienced elsewhere.  In my inner self I find what is changeless.  Love is infinite and does not change.  My true essence is eternal and does not change.  When I go within and found this peace, this eternal promise of peace, I can cope with the storms of life.  I may not like them but I can draw from my inner strength and ride out the high winds of chaos.  I can trust that whether I am facing sun or storm I am safe.  I have the strength to endure.   I pray that you find yourself in the eye of the storm when necessary.  I pray you enter your inner sanctum and find peace.  I will meet you there.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 21, 2010

I remember the soda fountain stools at The Corner Store in Cosmopolis where I grew up.  The wood was so smooth and shiny that as a little girl I could almost go sailing off if I twirled too fast. The old fashioned soda fountain with its antique mirror and beautiful wood shelves was warm and inviting.  It was always difficult to make a choice when ordering. Milkshakes, ice cream cones, malts, sodas ( the real kind), banana splits and so much more was mine for just a little money.  A child could also choose from the candy display case if ice cream or a soda did not appeal.  Row after row of delectable penny candy could keep a child occupied for hours just trying to make a decision.  We had our own pharmacist and all the sundry items that a pharmacy requires.  There were gift items for birthday parties, weddings, Mother's Day, Father's Day and Christmas.  My precious dollar could buy my mom a beautiful lipstick that came with its own special case.  Rain or shine, the store was open and in the chill of winter, you could warm your cold hands by the old stove that stood at the back of the store.  There was a rocking chair and I don't remember anyone ever sitting in it except an old, fat lazy cat.  But, the greatest appeal of The Corner Store was that it was community.  People gathered and shared their stories.  No one need be lonely if they could get themselves down there.  It was a rare day that the stools were empty.  Community.  I believe that part of the success of the coffee shops of today is not just the coffee but the community they provide.  Their bulletins boards become filled with flyers and cards announcing various and sundry events.  Even people who do not know each other begin to recognize each other as they gather at their appointed times.  Connection is a vital part of being a human being.  It reminds us that we are not truly alone.  Whatever grief and sorrow and burdens I may carry, community helps me to remember that I am not alone.  I do not have to bear my burdens alone nor do others.  No matter where you live you can find community.  You can create community and connection.  The next time you buy your grande, soy, decaf latte, look around and notice the people.  Make eye contact and smile at someone you may or may not know.  You never know when someone might need that little bit of connection.  It might even be you.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 19, 2010

Spring is just around the corner.  Today, the blue sky was occasionally visited by small white clouds and the sun sent its golden warmth to cheer all the dark corners of my small town.  We have been blessed with an unusually sunny winter this year.  I love to watch the bees as they busily gather the nectar from the andromeda bush outside of my bedroom window.  The andromeda blooms late in the winter and early in the spring, its cascading white blossoms a sweet herald of what is to come.  Along with daffodils, grape hyacinths, forsythia and flowering quince, the andromeda seems to defy the winter months by bringing its blooms into being when all else still appears to be dead.  I find myself going within and looking for my own late winter blooms.  What part of me challenges the inner chill and the bare branches from the tree within me?  What part of me is courageously defying the lethargy of fear and doubt?  What part of me is awakening to an early spring within?  My inner self knows that this season of fear and doubt is coming to an end.  My true self knows that there is indeed a blossoming within, a sweet tendril of hope curling its way around my heart.  Trust opens its buds to the ever present sun within.  Surrender's sweet fragrance fills my garden within and I inhale deeply.  I trust in the invisible sap running true even in what appears to be dead branches.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 18, 2010

A number of years ago I was experiencing a great deal of stress and anxiety.  I was working too many hours and was on overload.  I knew better as a mental health therapist but it was an old pattern that I had fallen back into.  I knew I needed to make a change but I also knew that I was so busy that I did not have time to bring anything into my life that would also demand my time.  I quieted myself one morning after meditation and listened to my guidance.  They recommended that I buy myself a journal and begin writing down five things daily that I was grateful for.  That was all I had to do.  The only rules were that I could not repeat the same thing within one week and if I missed a day, I made it up.  I was to write down 35 things I was grateful for each week.  I wasn't sure how that would help with my stress and overwhelm but I trust my guidance and so I began.  Over the weeks and months I noticed that I was happier.  I worried less and I was able to let go of much of my anxiety.  I began to see the richness in my life.  Writing down what I was grateful for required me to expand my view.  I started out with those things that most people would include such as food, shelter, family, money and good health.  As the weeks went by I began to include such simple things as toilet paper and Q-tips.  Have you stopped to think how your life would be if you did not have toilet paper?  I began to understand how much I had been taking for granted.  It seemed as though the more I was grateful for, the more I had.  I wrote in my gratitude journal for over three and one half years.  I quit writing in it on a regular basis when I went through my divorce.  I did not quit writing because I was no longer grateful but because my routine and my life was so disrupted.  The truth is that after the years of writing it down, I truly no longer needed to.  My life had become a gratitude journal.  If you want to expand your vision of yourself and your life begin to write a gratitude journal.  And, when you are having a rough day, just open your journal to any page and begin to read.  It will help you to remember everything in your life not just the difficulties.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 16, 2010

I remember one time when I was hearing my own guides very clearly.  It was during a breathwork session in 2000.  I was asking them a series of questions and receiving some very interesting answers.  In the middle of the session, during a pause in the questions, they began to speak about a tree.  They told me that there is a tree, a tree of many fruits.  In my third eye, I could see an immense tree growing up out of water.  The tree had a large variety of fruits growing on it.  They went on to say that the fruits are truths.  One tree, many fruits.  One tree, many truths.  There was a hesitation and then my guides began to speak a list of names: Abraham, Jesus, Buddha, Zoroaster, and many more.  I began to understand that the fruits represented different spiritual truths brought to humanity.  After they finished the list, they began to share that I could eat the fruits, as many as I desired and that when I feasted on the fruits I would no longer need to feast on food.  I did not completely understand at the time but in the time since, I have come to understand so much more.  I do not have to choose one way to God.  I do not have to be exclusive and declare that this is the way to God!  There are many pathways and many expressions of the Divine.  I do not have to choose only one.  I can have a feast.  I can taste of the sweetness of the Divine through as many different wines as I please.  What a relief to know I am not limited.  What a wonderful sense of freedom to taste the Divine nectar from so many beautiful flowers.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 13, 2010

I was thinking about what it must be like to live to be very old.  Most people say how wonderful it must be to live to be in the nineties or even to a hundred.  In many ways, this could be true, but it could also be very challenging.  Imagine that you have lost your grandparents, parents, siblings and all of your friends that you have had most of your life.  You may have lost some or even all of your children.  When I think of the amazing amount of losses and grief that some people have had to endure in their life it is quite humbling.  I think of my own grief which is not minor and I am only 55.  Then, I am reminded of those people who have endured unspeakable losses and yet have endured and even flourished, people from the Holocaust, people who have been persecuted, oppressed, executed and imprisoned unjustly.  Why is it that some people simply collapse or will themselves to die because of great pain and others are able to survive and eventually thrive?  The human spirit can be very strong.  The will to live can be tenacious.  Many people who share their stories tell of an inner voice that urges them on, an inner cord of strength that seems to sustain them even in the midst of desperate events.  I believe that these people are tapping into something greater than themselves.  Call it their soul, their Higher Self, God or love.  It is available for everyone.  It is the invisible thread that binds us all together whether we are aware of it or not.  If you find yourself in a place of grief and loss, remember that this love is here for you, too.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 12, 2010

The clouds pass by my window quickly in this brisk winter wind.  As a child I watched the clouds in wonder.  How did they get up in the sky?  Where did they come from?  To me, they were mysterious and magical.  Their soft shapes filled the sky and filled my mind with imagination.  A sailing ship.  An elephant.  A woman's face.  As an adult, I know the scientific explanation for clouds.  But, for just a moment, I choose to gaze at them in wonder.  Viewed through the eyes of a child nothing is ordinary.  Everything is amazing and mysterious and intriguing and wonderful.  For just a few moments, the wind outside my window speaks to me of where it has been and where it is going on its grand adventure.  For just a short time, the faint tones of a train whistle beckon to me and I climb aboard and travel to unknown parts.  Who is to say what is real?  Perhaps the Queen of Clouds floating past my window is just that and she is as real as anything.  My child within says she is.  For just a few moments suspend your adult judgments and feel the freedom and joy of seeing the world through a child's eyes.  Feel the magic and smile.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 11, 2010

Everyone is a mirror for me.  I have talked about this before but there are circumstances in my life that have brought it up again in a very big way.  How do we connect to this principle when we have people in our lives who are living lives that seem so far removed from our own?  How do I find my reflection in a drug addict when I don't take drugs?  How do I find my reflection in a thief when I do not steal?  My ego wants to call out and say that there is an exception to this principle.  I am not a drug addict!  I am not a thief!  I am better than that.  Yet, from deep within I know that this is still a reflection of me because we are all One.  It does not mean that I am doing the same things although perhaps I may have in a different incarnation.  But, that is too far removed from this moment.  Instead, I ask myself what aspect of myself is a drug addict?  What is my drug of choice?  In my case, I have overeating issues.  So, what is my motivation for overeating and how does that relate to a drug addict?  What aspect of myself is stealing something if only from myself?  What would I be a thief of?  Perhaps I am stealing precious time.  Perhaps when I slip and talk poorly about someone I am stealing from their reputation.  Ultimately, in order for me to look into another human being and see their light even in the midst of great darkness, I must do the same with myself.  This is not about condoning drug addiction or thievery.  I do not and cannot.  It is about moving out of judgment into a place of discernment and compassion.  It is about finding a balance between compassion and holding people accountable.  Beginning with myself.  It is about moving out of pity or anger into a place of acceptance of another human being.  Acceptance, not of their behaviors, but of their essence.  The wise parent treats the wayward child with both love and discipline recognizing that ultimately this is what children must learn for themselves.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 10, 2010

For anyone interested in astrology, today is the day that Mars goes direct.  It has been retrograde since December 20th.  This means that the normal activating energy of Mars has been reversed since then.  People have had feelings of blocked energy and frustration, more than usual.  It has taken twice the effort to accomplish the same amount as before so discouragement has been prevalent amongst many people.  The good news is that our efforts are never for naught and that the efforts we have been making will begin to manifest once Mars goes direct.  Anger is also an issue when Mars is retrograde.  Mars is in Leo, so some of that blocked energy may have manifested as anger.  Roaring lions is a good image.  But, now, we can breathe easier and watch as our efforts begin to pay off!  I have already been feeling that shift energetically for about a week or so.  So, let's all get excited and keep our motivation to manifest our heart's desires.  I have not done a manifesting poster for some time and I think it is high time.  I simply get out my paper and felt markers and begin to draw pictures of what I wish to manifest.  I have also done collages but there is something about actually drawing the pictures that seems to facilitate the manifesting more quickly.  What do you wish to manifest?  What is a symbol that would represent that to you?  Draw a picture of it or pictures if you have multiple things you wish to manifest.  Place it where you can see it every day.  If you want more money in the bank draw a piggy bank filled with money.  Don't worry what it looks like, it isn't about art.  It is about the art of manifesting.  Then, after you draw the poster, think of one action you can take towards manifesting your desires and then just do it.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 9, 2010

I just returned from a hypnotherapy session that I gave in my new place of work, Soul Picnic.  It is such an honor to be able to work with people on such a deep and profound level.  Every time I am amazed at the beauty of this work.  Helping someone trace back to the roots of a faulty belief and replace it with the truth about themselves is amazing.  So many limiting beliefs created because our young minds came to certain conclusions based on our interpretation of events.  With hypnotherapy, I help people reclaim their true selves and their true potential.  Are you aware of your own limiting beliefs?  I have had people tell me that they don't have any.  I simply smile.  I am sure there might be a few people in the world who may not.  The Dalai Lama, perhaps.  Since most of us are not the Pope or the Dali Lama or Mother Teresa, odds are we still have some limiting beliefs.  Any belief that is motivated by fear is limiting.  Any belief that diminishes my sense of self is limiting.  We are all such amazing beings.  We all have brilliant lights to share with the world.  Not the same light but our unique light that brings its own brand of illumination.  If your beliefs stem from love they are on the mark.  If you are curious about your own limiting beliefs, simply begin to notice the dialogue in your head.  What do you say to yourself when faced with a challenge?  What do you say to yourself when facing a disappointment?  What do you say to yourself when you are sad?  Your inner dialogue is filled with information.  Just for the coming week, pay special attention to your inner dialogue.  Write it down.  Ask yourself if it is true.  Then, ask yourself what you would say to your very best friend if she or he was sharing this as their internal dialogue?  Would it still be true?  Be your own best friend and listen for the real truth about who you are.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 8, 2010

Spring is here early this year.  The sunlight is reflected in the yellow daffodils heralding the newfound warmth of spring.  Camellias are blooming, their bright pink and rose blossoms mimic the rosy cheeks of coatless children lifting their faces to the spring air.  The blue sky a surprising backdrop for unfurling buds of green on tree branches barely over winter's chill.  Not far from where I live there is a bulb farm and every spring its fields are painted in beautiful shades of yellow, red and white.  Their doors opened three weeks early as the insistent flowers would not wait.  There is an underlying sense of urgency in nature's song.  Hurry, hurry, hurry.  There is something coming that cannot wait.  I resonate to the melody I hear in the spring breeze.  Something within me stirs to an early spring.  Bulbs of dreams planted during bleak, cold, autumn times of my life are pushing up through newly warmed, wet soil.  Expectations held still by winter's chill are waking up.  There is something within me that cannot wait.  An early spring created by the warmth of my inner sun unexpectedly shining in the midst of winter.  I know I am not alone in this spiritual early spring.  I see it in the faces of others who share this journey towards light and love.  Something is coming.  I don't know exactly what it is but I do know I want to be ready.  I want to be like those brave daffodils reflecting the sun.  I want my inner sun to be reflected so that anyone who sees me will know that hope and faith bloom early this year.  I want those who feel as though winter will never leave the icy caverns of their hearts to know that spring is coming early.  I want those who feel bleak and barren to know that hope's tight buds are unfurling to reveal their inner beauty early this year.  I luxuriate in the cherry blossom sweetness within.  Their pink blush whispering of ripe fruit to come.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 6, 2010

Last night I did mini readings at Spa Night at Soul Picnic in Aberdeen, WA.  It is a beautiful holistic healing center that I have been invited to become a part of.  I provide a variety of services but last night I was doing mini card readings.  I love doing them.  It is not always fun but always rewarding.  There were many tears as I shared the information that was coming in.  Tears often come when talking about painful or difficult circumstances in people's lives.  Tears also come from joy and from recognition of deeper truths.  Throughout my career as both a mental health therapist and a spiritual counselor I have encountered many tears from people who have low self-esteem.  Those tears may fall because someone put them down or they put themselves down.  However, those tears that often flood down their cheeks are after hearing words of kindness, encouragement and praise.  Last night, I acknowledged people's gifts and who they truly are.  Most people barely begin to see the truth of who they are.  Most of the time we are blinded by false beliefs, limiting ideas and emotional baggage.  As I shared about their true essence and how much they have to offer the world eyes glistened.  Somewhere deep inside truth rang a bell and that bell resounded and reverberated creating a shift in their awareness.  Their bell had been muffled far too long.  Today, remove the muffle from someone else's bell.  Tell them about something good you see in them.  A true compliment from the heart is like a summer breeze whose soft warmth gently moves.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 5, 2010

I am a Scorpio.  For anyone familiar with astrology they may know that Scorpio is represented by four animals not just the Scorpion.  There is the Scorpion, the snake, the eagle and the Phoenix.  Scorpio energy is in part the energy of death and rebirth.  The scorpion represents the lowest aspect of Scorpio.  Often this is the part that people recoil from when they know someone is a Scorpio.  Uh oh, the vindictive, vengeful, stinging words and actions of the scorpion!  More than once, someone has said to me after finding out I am a Scorpio that they would not want to make me mad.  The snake represents transformation.  The snake sheds its skin when it is ready to grow.  Snake represents moving up from the scorpion and being in a higher state.  That potential of transformation also allows the snake to eventually move up to the eagle.  It is representative of our ability to die and be reborn.  We can die unto the ego and be reborn anew.  We can let go of the lower aspects of being and rise up.  The final animal is the Phoenix who can only be reborn through fire. This fire can be experienced in many ways but it is the rare Scorpio who makes it to Phoenix.  Only someone who is truly willing to die to self can become the Phoenix.  It is important to understand that whereas the Scorpio may embody these characteristics that everyone has a bit of Scorpio in them.  We have all twelve of the signs within us somewhere.  Therefore, everyone has times when the scorpion may raise its ugly stinger.  Everyone has the opportunity to allow their too tight skin to be shed when it is time to grow.  Everyone has the ability to move beyond the snake and to soar like an eagle.  Everyone has the potential to rise from the ashes.  Where are you in your own process of death and rebirth?  Perhaps you are in a place where everything seems to be going right and life is good.  Enjoy it and know that you are exactly where you are meant to be.  Perhaps you are in a place where everything seems to be going wrong and life is very difficult.  You may be in the process of rebirth.  You may even be in the fire.  I will not ask you to enjoy it because that is too much.  I will ask you to consider that you are in an important part of your journey.  Birth does not come without its labor pangs.  It is the wise mother who learns to relax and breathe and flow with the labor pains instead of fighting them.  The baby will be born either way.  The mother who learns to go with the flow has less pain.  She is accepting the temporary pain knowing it was inevitable.  The ending of her pain is also inevitable.  So for today, if you are in pain, breathe and let go knowing that even pain has its purpose and nothing will last forever.  Envision yourself with shiny new skin or better yet envision yourself as you rise up and spread your wings knowing that you have earned them.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 4, 2010

I was reflecting back on a session I had with a woman in Reno.  She was a delightful woman from India who was reading for me.  At one point, I asked her about relationships and whether or not she saw me meeting a man in the near future.  She said yes but she also said that he would not be exactly what I wanted.  I was to allow the relationship to slowly develop over time and I would find the companionship and partnership I wanted.  In addition, she said I was to enjoy every person who came across my path.  Those are very wise words.  Enjoy every person who comes across your path.  I am, by nature, a very friendly and outgoing person.  I love people.  I love to meet new people.  I love to talk to strangers and connect even if only for a short time.  So, for me, to be told to enjoy every person who comes into my life is not a totally strange or foreign concept.  It was still helpful to hear it.  It affirmed what I already believe.  I believe that every person we encounter is not by accident.  Every word we speak is significant.  Every gesture, every action is important.  It is significant how we speak to the grocery cashier, the gas station attendant, the waitress, our neighbors and everyone we encounter.  It is important to have an awareness of the impact we have on others when we least expect it or are aware of it.  Have you not had someone reveal to you how you affected them at some point in their life and you did not know it?  I have.  I have had people share with me how I impacted their lives and I was unaware of it.  In order to enjoy EVERYONE who comes across our path, we must let go of judgments and barriers and be open to our differences.  I pray this for myself often.  I pray to be open-hearted towards everyone who comes into my life.  It is not always easy.  I do not always succeed but I intend to.  I pray for this to eventually be such a part of me that I don't have to consider it, it simply is.  In the meantime, I did meet someone and he is not exactly what I thought I was looking for but I am enjoying him and I am willing to see where our relationship goes.  I can be patient and remember Usha's words, to enjoy everyone who comes across my path.  I encourage you to do the same.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 3, 2010

I had a phone session with a woman today.  In preparation for the session, I set up my table, lit candles, placed my quartz crystal ball on the table and brought out my decks of cards.  I love to do intuitive sessions with people.  I sat and prayed prior to my client calling me.  I almost always say the same prayer.  I pray to be an open vessel and to only bring through that which is for my client's highest good.  I invite and thank my own guides, teachers and angels for their help.  I invite and thank my client's guides, teachers and angels for their help.  By the time that my client calls, I can feel my crown chakra opening and light coming in through my third eye.  I can feel tears come to my eyes as I am steeped in gratitude for the opportunity to do this work.  I love my work.  I love helping my clients.  Today's session turned out to be different.  She did not want a card reading, she merely wanted to talk and get my perspective on what was happening in her life.  I sat back in my chair and listened to her for a while.  As the session proceeded, I could feel how quickly the information came to me.  The words flowed and the energy sparked.  I knew in my heart that I was helpful to her and that the information I shared with her was not only helpful but very significant in her life.  To be a vessel for the Light brings me some of the greatest joy I have ever felt.  It brings me purpose and joy and gratitude.  I feel gratitude to everyone who has ever supported me in my journey.  This includes beings on both sides of the veil.  I could not begin to list the number of people who have encouraged me and believed in me.  Are you aware of what gives you joy and purpose?  Are you aware of those who love and support you?  Understand that no matter what you may see in your immediate physical world, that there is always a multitude of supporters for you on the other side.  Guides, angels, teachers are all here to help you in your journey.  There are also family members, perhaps friends and others who have passed over to the other side who are also part of your support network.  If you are not experiencing joy in your life, perhaps it is time to ask why not?  It may be time to ask yourself, what is my purpose?  Everyone single person has a divine purpose.  Not everyone is aware of what their purpose is but they still have one.  Each and every one of us is just as important to the world.  The more that people can tap into and begin to fulfill their purpose, the more the whole world benefits.  If you are not aware of your purpose, simply opening up and asking for clarity helps to create a chain reaction of events that eventually leads to you knowing more.  Ask for clarity.  Ask for your purpose.  Ask for more joy.  Ask and you shall receive.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 2, 2010

What does it mean to surrender?  I have been thinking about that quite a bit, lately.  To surrender to my Higher Self, to Divine Will is something that I meditate on, pray about and long to do.  There are some areas in my life that I have surrendered, or at least I will think I have until I realized that I am still holding on.  One of those areas is connected to my weight issues and my eating habits.  I have received many messages about what foods are not good for me.  I will vow to surrender them and will do so for a while, until some stress comes into my life and I revert back to my old eating habits.  In truth, I did not really surrender, I merely let go of them for a time.  To surrender means to completely let go and trust that whatever happens is for your highest good.  When I tap into my guidance I know that they are calling me to surrender sugar.  To surrender sugar and find sweetness elsewhere.  My body is calling out to me to surrender sugar.  Until I sat down today and started to write this daily message, I had not truly resolved to do so.  I am surrendering sugar because I know it is Divine will and my body deserves the best I can give it.  As you read these words, what in your life do you need to surrender to your Higher Self?  Is every aspect of your life aligned with Divine Will?  I encourage you to choose one thing, one aspect of your life and surrender it to Divine Will.  I look forward to the freedom that I know comes after surrender.  The more I surrender, the more I experience true freedom.  Some would say it is the opposite, that by surrendering I am letting go of my freedom to do as I please.  That kind of freedom is ego based, what we call free will and is, in truth, limiting.  The freedom that follows surrender is much greater.  It is a divine freedom and is expansive and infinite.  Love and Light, Shirley

March 1, 2010

Today would have been my parent's 63rd wedding anniversary.  My dad died in July so they were married for over 62 years.  That is a long time to be committed to one person.  They were married longer than some people live.  My mom still lives in the same house that all four of us children were born in.  Commitment of that kind is very admirable in this time of so many broken marriages.  I asked myself what am I committed to in my life?  My marriage ended after nearly 29 years, so I can't answer my marriage.  I am not deeply committed to my community because even though I lived here until I was 51, I left it and lived in two other areas before returning home.  I do not believe I have returned permanently.  I could say that I am committed to my children, however, they are grown and have their own lives.  They have my love permanently and forever, but that is still not the same as a marriage.  I would have to say that the one constant in my life, the one commitment that stays whether or not I am married and stays wherever I live, is my spiritual commitment.  My spiritual commitment is that I want to fulfill my spiritual goals and purpose for this lifetime.  I want to be able to say that I am done before I pass from this world to the next.  I want to be of service to my fellow human beings.  I don't have an anniversary date for my spiritual commitment.  No fancy cards or flowers mark the occasion.  But, there are times along my journey when I stop and reflect and I recommit myself to my spiritual goals.  Just as couples often will say their vows again as a way of affirming and recommitting themselves to their marriage, I will vow again to my commitment of love and service.  There is no silver anniversary or golden anniversary to mark the occasion but instead an internal celebration that has no end, no limitation.  I feast on the cake of spiritual awareness.  I drink of the sweet wine of spiritual delight.  Where are you in your own spiritual journey?  Is it time to recommit?  Is it time to celebrate? Party on!  Love and Light, Shirley

February 26, 2010

A friend of mine sent me a picture today of a snow scene from Reno, Nevada.  It was so beautiful with the bright blue sky and the pristine purity of the snow.  For a moment, I looked out my bedroom window at the gray, cloudy sky and felt a brief pang of disappointment.  Then, I noticed the raindrops covering the rhododendron leaves like tiny crystal pearls.  They slowly gather together creating one glistening pearl on each leaf's edge until one drop too many draws them down to earth.  I remember how much I missed the raindrops when I lived in Reno.  I remember how much I missed the vast stretches of green when I lived in Reno.  I choose to delight in the raindrops of today.  Every place we live and every aspect of our life has its own gifts and they are not all the same.  Childhood is not the same as young adulthood.  Being the mother of small children is very different from being the mother of grown children.  Being married to one man for a long time is vastly different from being divorced and dating several men.  I choose to focus on the raindrop pearls of today instead of feeling I am missing out somehow.  Nothing is permanent.  Change is inevitable.  I want to savor each place, each person and each circumstance that comes into my life.  By savoring each moment, I never really lack when that moment is gone.  I carry it with me in my heart.  I carry the blue sky and snowy peaks of Nevada within me.  Instead of feeling pangs of disappointment, I choose to feel grateful for the experiences I carry with me.  I can close my eyes and see the mountains.  And, if some day, I leave where I am now, I can close my eyes and see the rain and count my blessings with each drop.  Love and Light, Shirley

February 24, 2010

Today, I went down by the river to sit for a short while and reflect.  As I was sitting there, I noticed something odd moving about in the river.  I watched and soon I could see as it dived and whirled and floated about on its back.  It was a river otter, just having the time of its life.  If you have never watched a river otter, let me assure you that they are some of the most playful animals in the animal kingdom.  I looked otter up in my book, Animal Speak, and the keywords for otter are playfulness and sharing.  The book states that if otter has surfaced in your life, to find some play time, some creative activity and to treat yourself to something special.  The book also shares that by honoring otter, otter will teach us to have fun and to help us reawaken a new sense of wonder.  I totally believe that we are being spoken to all the time by nature, by all aspects of nature.  In the last few days, I have had bees show up in my bedroom, deer show up across the street and now, a river otter.  Bees teach us to savor the sweetness of life.  Deer brings us gentleness and the opportunity for new adventure.  Hmmmmm.  I hear the message loud and clear.  Quit being so serious and lighten up, Shirley.  Don't get so focused on getting things done that you forget to savor the moment.  Be gentle with yourself and others and have some fun!  All three of these beings, the bee, the deer and the otter speak to the lighter side of life.  Joy, gentleness, fun and sharing.  Time for me to tap into my inner child, little Shirley.  Are you in need of some sweetness?  Are you savoring the sweetness of life?  Are you gentle with yourself and others?  Are you having fun?  If any of these questions resulted in a no, I encourage you to tap into your inner child and ask, what do you want from me, the adult?  Listen and then respond to whatever comes back.  Listening to our inner child frees us.  Bringing our inner child out brings so much joy, sweetness, gentleness, innocence and fun to the world.  Well, I had better get going.  Evidently, I need to go and find some Mr. Bubbles, among other things!  Love and Light, Shirley

February 23, 2010

I love to do guided meditations for other people.  I have had more than one meditation group and it has always been such a privilege and a pleasure to lead them.  One of the first things I have people do is close their eyes.  I tell them to begin paying attention to their own breath.  Just follow their own breath and notice the rise and fall of their own chest and abdomen.  Other than being guided to choose a certain piece of music, I never know what the meditation will be until I open my mouth and the words flow out.  I know they come from a source other than myself.  Beginning with the breath is very important.  Our breath not only connects us to life but it connects us to everything in existence.  By learning to breathe deeply, we can access parts of ourselves that may have been previously hidden.  By breathing, we can bring new life to our tired bodies.  By breathing and letting go of thought, we can enter new realms.  By breathing, we can remember who we truly are.  We can connect to everything and everyone else in existence.  We can hear the infinite breath of God, breathing us into existence.  Today, even if just for five minutes, close your eyes and follow your own breath.  Just notice the rhythmic fall and rise of your breast.  Follow the breath in and out of your nostrils.  As thoughts come in, simply breathe them out gently, allowing your mind to rest, even if just for seconds.  Envision that you are not only breathing in fresh, pure, oxygen, you are breathing in love.  Breathe in love to every cell of your body.  Breathe in love and breathe out love.  Permeate yourself and the room around you with love.  Create a sanctuary within you.  A place you can retreat to any time you need to.  All you need do is breathe yourself into your sacred space within.  Love and Light, Shirley

February 22, 2010

For most of my life, I have been an early riser.  When I was growing up, we lived one block from the train tracks.  Every morning at 6 a.m. there was a train whistle and this whistle was my alarm clock.  One whistle and I was instantly awake and ready to start the day.  Even though I am now living back in the home I grew up in, the train tracks have been long gone and with them, the early morning train whistle.  I was thinking of the train whistle as a metaphor for spiritual awakening.  What have been the spiritual train whistles that have helped me to awaken spiritually?  Why is it that some people seem to live their lives with little or no spiritual awareness and others live lives permeated with their spirituality?  Why is it that some phases of my life are more representative of the first category instead of the second?  Some of the spiritual train whistles are easy to identify.  Pain and loss have often helped me to open more spiritually.  Grief has propelled me to travel down spiritual tracks seeking relief, seeking understanding.  Beauty has also served as a spiritual train whistle for me.  Beauty has stirred me to such depths of emotion and passion that I could not but travel on that train to spirit.  Deep within me, there is a train whistle that blows sweet and low from such a distance that it is barely perceptible.  Unless I quiet myself and hold myself still, I may think it is but a breeze whistling by.  Stilling my body and slowing my breath, I hear its tones, echoing through the midnight of my soul.  Come home.  Come home.  Come home.  Stop.  Listen.  Can you not hear your own spiritual train whistle?  Can you not also come home?  Love and Light, Shirley

Februrary 20, 2010

I was reading a daily message from one of the teachers at the Kabbalah Centre, Yehudah Berg.  I like receiving his messages because they are short but are always meaningful.  One of the main teachings from the Kabbalah Centre is that we are here to share with others.  When we share with others and give to others, we are connecting to the Light.  The Light is another word for God, Source or Creator.  When we connect to the Light, we are also connecting to our true essence.  Spiritual leaders of all persuasions have taught this for centuries.  It is more blessed to give than to receive.  Giving enhances the receiver and the giver.  I would like to note that it does say it is also blessed to receive.  How could we all be giving if there was no one to receive?  I personally see giving and receiving as a flow of energy, similar to the infinity sign.  Giving, the energy flowing out and receiving, the energy from the other flowing in.  I know that when I am feeling low or discouraged, I change my vibration when I give to someone else.  I feel lighter and less burdened.  By extending my hand or heart to someone else, I am also sending a powerful message to the Universe.  This message states that I am strong, I have much to give and that when I tap into my heart, I receive unlimited strength and courage.  If you are feeling down, ask yourself if you are open to receiving?  Are you open to giving?  We must be open to both for the Universal flow to occur.  By being open to receive I am giving someone else the opportunity to tap into their heart and find their strength and courage and love.  Let's get that flow going!  It doesn't have to be big to be important.  A kind word, a gentle smile, an offer to help someone with their chores, a moment of listening are all ways in which to give.  A thank you, a smile back, allowing someone to help, being willing to open up are all ways in which to receive.  Love and Light, Shirley

February 19, 2010

It is late in the day but I decided to write a brief message anyway.  Today was one of the days that I took a truckload of scrap iron and other recyclables to the recycling center.  My friend, Cliff, and I have been cleaning out my dad's shop for weeks.  My dad died in July and left behind an amazing amount of stuff to be cleaned up, organized, recycled, thrown out or sold.  Cliff drives here from two hours away and brings his truck and his hard work ethic with him.  I am very grateful for his help.  There are times as I sort through the massive amounts of tools, electrical fittings, and every kind of doo dad and gee gaw you can think of, that I remember being in my dad's shop as a little girl.  I don't ever remember my dad's shop being organized.  It was always a mess, heaps of miscellaneous stuff everywhere.  Yet, my dad knew where almost everything was.  As a little girl, I thought it was a treasure trove.  Alarm clocks just begging to be dismantled.  Old gears and mysterious electrical parts that still clicked or had a dial where unknown energies registered on its numbers.  Years of hard work and sweat are in that old shop.  Years of generosity towards my dad's neighbors, friends, family and even strangers.  My dad was a rich man.  Not in the sense that many people consider rich.  He was rich in the respect and love of his fellow man.  A lot of people have told me what a shame it was that he left such a mess.  I tell them that it is ok.  My dad was generous and helpful to me my whole life.  I can clean up his mess.  I can take trip after trip to the dump and to the recycling center.  I can hold sales and slowly dismantle what he left behind.  Every screw, every tool, every spare part reminds me of my dad and how hard he worked for all of us.  How could I measure my debt to him?  How could I ever really repay him?  Dad was not someone who asked for help and had a hard time receiving it.  I know he knows what I am doing.  I know he knows I really don't mind.  I know he knows how grateful I am for who he was, even his messy shop.  Today, be grateful for some challenge or hard task in your life.  Find the gift in whatever life has placed in your way.  Love and Light, Shirley

February 18, 2010

It is a beautiful day today.  The sun is shining and the trees and plants all grow towards its warmth as if lifting up their faces to be blessed.  Even though it is still February it feels like spring outside.  This is quite unusual for the Pacific Northwest.  Normally, this is a time for rain, rain, rain.  I know that it is not permanent and that the rain will return but, in this moment, I bask in it.  It is as though I am taking that sunshine and drinking it into myself so that I may tap into it when the rain returns.  I believe that this is part of what being spiritual means.  Tapping into that spiritual sunshine to warm myself and to illuminate myself when darkness comes.  I am then able to share that sunshine and warmth with others.  It is unrealistic to hope that the sun will always shine.  We need the rain, too.  They each have their job to do.  It is the same with life.  What we call good and bad or easy and hard is just like sunshine and rain.  They both have their purpose in our lives.  By strengthening ourselves spiritually, we can withstand whatever life brings.  We can shine even in the midst of great darkness.  Just as the rain nurtures and sustains life, we can find ways in which even the difficulties in life have something to offer us.  So, for today, lift your face to your inner sun.  Bask in the warmth and golden glow.  Open your arms to the rain, knowing that nothing is permanent and that you can survive all the storms of life.  Love and Light, Shirley

February 17, 2010

Our thoughts create our reality.  All that we are is a result of what we have thought.  As a man thinketh, so he goeth.  You are what you think.  Change your thoughts, change your body.  These are all fairly common quotes that can be found everywhere.  What once was a rather obscure concept, that we create our own reality through our thoughts, has now become more mainstream.  The Law of Attraction can be found in movies, books, classes and cd's.  Even people who are not particularly metaphysically minded are now watching videos on the Law of Attraction.  Workshops have sprung up all over on how to create the life you want by changing your thoughts.  As a mental health therapist, I certainly became aware of the power of thoughts and words when I studied cognitive therapy.  Cognitive therapy is one method of coping with depression and anxiety.  It requires an examination of the words, thoughts and beliefs that predominate a person's life.  By changing those words, thoughts and beliefs, anyone can alter depression and anxiety.  So, I have been learning those concepts from a variety of angles.  First, on my own, as I worked to heal my own issues of anxiety, depression, panic attacks, bulimia and multiple phobias.  Second, as I trained to become a mental health therapist.  Third, as I trained to become a hypnotherapist, working with the subconscious where those beliefs and thought patterns exist.  Fourth, as a spiritual seeker, seeking to evolve and grow in as many ways as possible.  Over the years I have found a very important component that is sometimes overlooked or downplayed and that is our emotions.  Our emotions, our feelings also create our reality.  Therefore, as I strive to change my reality, to bring into manifestation those aspects of life that I find pleasing and fulfilling, I must also use my emotions as part of my creative effort.  The Universe is magnetic and just as our thoughts will magnetize and draw to us what we are thinking, so will our emotions.  As you become more conscious of what you wish to create, don't forget to stop and allow yourself to feel that creation.  How does it feel to have good health?  How does it feel to have an abundant flow of money? How does it feel to be in a relationship with someone?  We are too familiar with how it feels to NOT have those things in our lives.  We must practice feeling in order to speed up the manifestation process.  Feeling healthy or wealthy or successful will magnetize and draw those experiences to you much more quickly than just thinking them.  Allow yourself to luxuriate and bathe yourself in those feelings.  Give thanks to the Universe for your good health, wealth, or whatever it is your heart desires.  Feel the joy, give thanks.  Your magnetic feelings enhance and amplify your thoughts.  Love and Light, Shirley

February 15, 2010

I live in a small town in Washington and it is the same small town where I was born and raised and lived most of my life until I moved away in 2005.  I recently moved back in with my mother and so, not only am I back in this town, I am back in the home I was raised in.  It is truly quite an amazing experience.  We live three blocks from the river.  I love rivers and although this is not a particularly lovely river, it is still a river.  There are industrial sites along the river which is why it is not the prettiest.  The water is frequently churned up and brown.  Yet, I am still drawn to it.  The water calms me.  The flow of the river resonates with something deep within.  I love to park my car down next to the river at night.  When it is night, the lights, from the bridge at the far left end, shine on the water creating beautiful shimmering ripples of gold and white.  There is a loveliness to the interplay of light and shadow.  The darkness hides the murky water and only reveals its liquid beauty.  I find myself thinking how the night can be a metaphor.  Often people think of the night as hiding things, keeping secrets, its darkness something to fear.  I experience the night differently.  Yes, there are some things hidden that you can only see during the day, but there are other things revealed, other beauty exposed that would otherwise never be seen.  In the quiet of the night, you can hear subtle sounds, the river's voice is more easily revealed.  Much like the night, when we close our eyes and quiet ourselves, we can see previously hidden sights, we can hear previously mute voices, we can delight in the liquid beauty of our inner selves.  We can flow with the inner river and sigh with sweet relief.  Love and Light, Shirley

February 14, 2010

Are you someone who has had spiritual or mystical experiences that you knew were profound and real?  Did you then try to share those experiences with others only to be looked at strangely or to be teased and ridiculed?  It is challenging to be different.  It is not always fun to see the world and experience the world through a different lens.  I am one of those "weirdos".  I experience reality very differently from most people.  For all of my life, I wanted to be loved and accepted so I kept huge secrets about myself and my world.  As I grew older I worked harder at being honest about my beliefs, my experiences, my feelings and my reality.  At first, I began to find a few like-minded people that I could share my experiences with.  It was like a breath of fresh air.  Ahhhhh, I don't have to explain myself and wait for the sideways glances or the barely suppressed laughter.  Over time, I found more like-minded people and open-minded people who were willing to listen.  My own guidance encouraged me to begin sharing with others who were not necessarily on the same path but who might listen.  Bit, by bit, I began to share with people, all kinds of people.  Their responses varied.  What I learned over the years is that it really was no longer about other people's acceptance or lack of acceptance, it was about my own acceptance.  The more I learned to love myself and embrace all the wonderful quirky parts of Shirley, the more readily I could share with others.  If you are afraid to share parts of yourself with others, ask yourself if you have truly embraced them yourself?   Working on self-acceptance will help you to let go of your fears of rejection.  After all, if we reject ourselves of course we will experience other people's rejection as well.  As within, so without.  Whatever is inside of us will be reflected outside of us.  As we learn to love and accept ourselves we will begin to experience more acceptance from others.  Love and Light, Shirley

February 13, 2010

When people ask me what I do for a living I usually tell them that I am a counselor, a hypnotherapist and an intuitive reader.  Many times people do not know what an intuitive reader is, so I use the word psychic.  What I do not always explain is that I am also a medium.  A medium is a person who can communicate with those people who have died and passed to the other side.  I have been a psychic and a medium as long as I can remember.  I spent a great deal of my life trying to make it all go away but, fortunately, it did not work.  I accepted that this is who I am and now I embrace those aspects of myself.  In the last few years I connected with the Spiritualist Church and it was while attending Spiritualist churches that I learned more about mediums.  I learned that there are mental mediums and physical mediums.  A mental medium primarily sees or hears those on the other side.  A physical medium can help those on the other side create physical phenomena.  Some of this phenomena can include knocking, rapping, lights going on and off, electrical appliances turning on and so much more.  I had had those kinds of things happening around me all of my life.  I remember as a little girl spirits knocking and rapping on my walls, objects moving, lights going on and off in my bedroom at night.  As I got older, there were times that the rapping was so loud it would wake me, pictures rattling, doors opening and closing, my stereo coming on by itself and playing a CD.  The other night I walked into the living room and suddenly the television began to change from the channel it was on to On Demand.  It clicked on Free Movies and then it clicked on A-L.  I watched as it scrolled down the movies and clicked on a movie.  It then had to have clicked on OK because the movie began to play.  This was amazing and yet not surprising to me.  I am living at my mom's house and there has been a lot of activity from those on the other side.  My mom came into my bedroom and asked me why I had changed the channel if I was not watching it.  I explained what had happened.  She was amazed naturally.  She asked me if it was my dad and I quieted myself.  No, it was her sister, June.  Then, I could tell that there were others.  All three of my mother's deceased siblings and her mother were all there.  She asked why they were there and I said that they were there to tell her that even if she feels abandoned, she isn't, that they are there to love and support her.  We are never alone.  No matter who you are and who you have lost to death, you are never alone.  They come and visit us often.  They are in their eternal bodies and it is only us that are limited by our physical bodies and our physical senses.  Remember that even though our bodies are not eternal, our spirits are.  Perhaps more importantly, love is eternal and never dies.  The next time you feel abandoned or lonely, remember those you have loved and draw them to you.  Wrap yourself in the warm blanket of that love.  Bring those people into your mind, one by one, and know that they are there in spirit, not just memory but spirit.  Love and Light, Shirley

February 12, 2010

I received an email today from a friend of mine with an inspirational message attached.  The message was from a fairly well-known spiritual teacher, someone who has helped many people.  Contained within the inspirational message was a prayer but it was quite long and fairly wordy.  Now, I am someone who loves words!  I like to speak and teach and I love to write.  However, for some reason, as I was reading it, I found myself skipping over a great deal of it.  It was too wordy for me today.  Another day I might want all those words but for some reason, today, I did not.  Some days I just want simplicity.  I thought about those messages that really stick with me, the ones that roll around in my head and resurface time and again.  They are rarely wordy.  They are simple and to the point.  One of those is a quote from the Dali Lama.  When asked what his religion is, he simply replied, "kindness".  So simple, yet so incredibly powerful.  His religion is kindness.  No dogma, no required belief, no essential ritual, just being kind to others.  Today, I pray to be kind.  Love and Light, Shirley

February 11, 2010

Valentine's Day is just around the corner.  There are a lot of different opinions about why we have Valentine's Day.  Some say that it is just another commercial holiday.  Others say that we do not need a special day to tell someone that we love them.  I am sure there is truth in both of those statements.  But, I will tell you why I love Valentine's Day.  First, it falls in February, which follows January and I find both of those months a little dreary weather wise.  There is all the excitement and glitter and lights and fun of the holidays and then January is so plain!  I realize that this may vary in different parts of the country but in the Pacific Northwest, it is very gray.  February is pretty much a repeat of January.  Yet, right in the middle of February comes some sweetness.  I remember making homemade Valentine's as a child.  I loved the red, white and pink paper doily hearts that I pasted onto pink, red or white construction paper.  If I was really fortunate, I would have some red foil heart stickers or red foil hearts to paste on my Valentine's.  In school we were allowed to have a Valentine's party and the classroom was filled with cereal boxes covered with construction paper and lots of hearts.  We learned how to fold paper over and cut out half a heart, unfold it and ta da, a perfect heart!  Cupcakes and candies were adorned as well.  Heart shaped boxes filled with sweet, creamy chocolates.  Red vases filled with red roses or carnations.  Some say that Valentine's Day is primarily for sweethearts, lovers or married people but I disagree.  Valentine's Day is for bringing some sweetness into anyone's life.  There is an emphasis commercially on buying something for your sweetheart but many of the original Valentine's Day cards were sent from women to their female friends.  Many Valentine's Day cards were a way of celebrating the bonds of friendship.  Not everyone has a sweetheart but most people have a friend, a sister or brother, parents, co-workers, children, grandchildren or an elderly person next door, who could use a little sweetness in their life.  Go on, be a sweetheart and send someone a card.  You don't have to make it yourself, the stores are filled with ready made cards.  It is the thought after all, the sentiment.  Do you need to have a special day to tell someone you care?  No, of course not, but it doesn't hurt!  Love and light, Shirley

February 8, 2010

I remember the very first time I went to a psychic.  It was in 2001 and I was attending a training held in Mexico.  There was a woman at this resort who could read people's auras and she also would do card readings.  My friend, Angie, and I decided to do both.  The only reason I agreed was that this same woman had poured our sweat lodge the night before and I knew her to be a very spiritual person.  I trusted her and it felt like the right thing to do.  I was amazed at how much she told Angie as my friend stood up against this white wall.  Then, it was my turn.  There are some parts of the reading that I still remember almost word for word.  One of the things she told me is that I have always worked very hard to be a good girl.  She then told me that I needed to stop being such a good girl.  I was surprised at her words.  She went on to say that I needed to say no.  I needed to say no, especially in my work and to only do what I love.  Her words went around and around in my head.  Stop being such a good girl.  I really didn't think I was such a good girl, in fact, I could have given her a big long list of all the ways in which I was not good.  Hmmm.  Yet, she was so accurate in almost everything she had told me that somehow I knew there was some truth here for me to learn.  Three years later I was at a meditation retreat with a holy woman from India called Amma Karunamayi.  Being in Amma's presence was amazing.  She was truly unconditional love in a body.  Once while getting a blessing from Amma, she looked into my eyes and softly said, "You are good.  You are a good daughter."  The tears cascaded down my face.  Of all the people that I had ever met in my life, I knew I could believe Amma.  If Amma said I am good, then I am good.  Hmmm.  So, now two spiritual teachers had told me the same thing.  You are good, Shirley.  Which means that any part of me that doubts my goodness is not the spiritual part of me or the wise part of me.  The part that doubts is still in illusion.  Being good does not mean I am perfect in the sense that the world might measure.  Being good means that I am being seen through eyes of love.  When I quiet myself and go inward, I see myself and others through eyes of love.  I remember the truth.  Today, remember your own goodness.  Then, you can remember the goodness of others.  love and light, Shirley

February 7, 2010

Today I have been installing shelf paper in my mom's kitchen cupboards.  I am somewhat of a perfectionist so I love it when the paper uncurls without a wrinkle and lies flat on the shelf with little effort.  But, of course, there are also those times that no matter how carefully I unroll the backing and slowly allow the adhesive to cling to the shelf, it seems to go on a little crooked or there are slight wrinkles on the surface.  When I first started doing this the other day, I would roll and reroll the paper until it would lie perfectly flat.  This was quite time consuming.  Finally, I had one piece of shelf paper that would not  co-operate no matter what I did.  So, I finally left a few wrinkles, smoothed them as best I could and placed the dishes over them.  After I finished, I realized how ridiculous it was to take so much time over a few small wrinkles that are covered by the dishes anyway!  I had to laugh at myself.  How often do we get so caught up in minor details that we lose sight of the whole picture?  In Native American culture, when they weave a beautiful basket or a blanket they intentionally weave in one small flaw.  They do not truly consider it a flaw but understand that it is a more accurate representation of nature, of reality.  Our manmade conception of perfection is sometimes flawed because it considers something a flaw when it is not, it is simply a difference.  So today, as I install the shelf paper, I am much more relaxed and easy on myself.  Those small wrinkles are simply a slight difference.  I can apply this same philosophy to myself and to others.  Instead of regarding parts of myself as flawed, I choose to see those parts as merely different.  Instead of seeing others as flawed, I will choose to see them as more accurate representations of nature, of reality.  Today, if you struggle with judgments and perfectionism, weave a small difference into your basket.  You will find yourself in a much better space.  Allow a few wrinkles and see the bigger picture, the bigger picture of your own and other's unique beauty.  love and light, Shirley

February 6, 2010

In order to get the best benefit out of reading today's message, you may wish to read yesterday's message first.  Yesterday I spoke about the wisdom of our physical body and how we can learn a great deal from our body.  I spoke of muscle testing as one way of listening to our body.  For any of you who may not be familiar with muscle testing, it is a simple procedure that anyone can do.  When I first learned about mechanism it was when I went to a nutritionist many years ago.  She explained that my body can tell me which supplements were good for me and what food was good for me.  The procedure she used involved me holding my arm out from my shoulder in a straight line to one side.  She would place a bottle of a supplement at my solar plexus, tell me to hold my arm in position and then she would push down on my arm.  I was amazed to see how there were times I could hold my arm up and other times it was so weak, she could easily push it down.  She explained that the substances that were good for my body kept my arm strong and those that my body did not like created a weak arm.  So, I started using that technique in order to find out information.  The only problem was that it required a second person to do it.  Over time I have learned other procedures that I can do by myself.  I will share two of them and hopefully one of them will work for you.  The first technique involves standing up with your legs shoulder width apart.  Bend your knees slightly so that your knees are not locked.  You should be standing in a relaxed position.  If you are checking a food or substance, place it on your solar plexus area.  Simply stand and your body will usually begin to fall forward or backward.  If you fall forward, your body is telling you, yes, this is something good for me.  If you fall backward, your body is telling you no.  If you just stand there, this is a neutral position and it is neither good or bad, it is neutral.  Another way of muscle testing involves one arm.  Hold your arm out straight in front of you with your palm down.  Make a true statement such as saying your name out loud.  After you speak the statement, gently turn your hand over until it naturally stops.  Notice how far the hand turns over.  Make another statement that you know is not true and turn your hand over.  Your hand should not turn as far over and you will feel some resistance in your arm.  Everyone is different and some techniques work better for some people.  It is important that you are making statements not asking questions.  For example, let's say that you are trying to make a decision about how to spend some money.  Don't ask should I spend money on a certain item?  Instead, state that it is a good choice to spend money on a certain item.  If it is a good choice your hand will easily turn over.  If it is not a good choice, you will feel some resistance to your hand turning over.  It takes practice, so be patient.  The more you do it, the better you will become at getting information.  At one point in my life, my guides told me that I spent too much time in my head trying to analyze everything and figure everything all out.  They suggested that I use the wisdom of my body to help me make decisions.  I spent months making very few decisions without doing some muscle testing.  I was amazed at the accuracy of my muscle testing.  I would also add that it is helpful to say a quick prayer before using muscle testing, especially if you have a strong desire for a certain answer.  I always pray that I am able to learn whatever is for my highest good and that I will listen even if I am not hearing what I desire.  Good luck and remember that you can always email me if you have any questions.  love and light, Shirley

February 5, 2010

Did you know that your body is filled with wisdom?  A number of years ago while I was going through a very painful divorce and in the years following it, my guides talked me a great deal about the wisdom of my body.  They suggested that I could learn much from my body if I would just take the time to listen.  I had learned about muscle testing long before and I had used muscles testing to determine whether or not certain foods were good for me or what kind of supplements I would benefit from taking.  What I had not realized is that muscle testing can tell me so much more than that.  My guides explained that I have a mental body, an emotional body and a physical body.  I also have a spiritual body but they were mostly talking about the other three.  In our mental body and our emotional body we are often living in the past or the future.  In truth, it is often quite a challenge to remain in the present when dealing with either of those two bodies.  However, our physical body is always 100% in the moment.  It might have side effects from food eaten earlier or it might have physical reactions to anxiety connected to future events but the body itself is completely in the present.  The anxiety regarding the future is created by the mental and emotional bodies and the physical body is simply reacting to those thoughts and emotions.  The body tells the truth about what is going on in the physical body and also what is going on in the subconscious.  In other words, we may be able to fool ourselves mentally but in our subconscious mind, the truth remains and it is that truth that the body will respond to.  For example, let us say that we are in a difficult relationship but we do not want to have to deal with conflict.  We can mentally convince ourselves that everything is fine.  It is called minimizing and if we get good enough at minimizing, it is called denial.  We can mentally deny and we can emotionally deny.  However, in our subconscious the issues remain and fester.  It is this that they body responds to.  It is this mechanism of denial that gives us the ability to say that everything is fine even when our body may have headaches, stomach problems or any host of other issues connected to what we are denying.  Therefore, when we muscle test, our body will give us a straight answer.  What we can deny mentally, we cannot deny physically.  I can create the lie inside of my head but my body will tell the truth.  I began to use muscle testing for all kinds of answers, answers about relationships, answers regarding my work, answers regarding my personal work and growth.  The results were often surprising and not always what I wanted to hear but they were always what I needed to hear.  More tomorrow on muscle testing and how you can access the wisdom of your body.  love and light, Shirley

February 4, 2010

I have a dear friend, Holly, who lives in Brooklyn, New York.  We met at a Kabbalah event in 2005 and have remained good friends ever since, communicating by email or phone.  Holly is an amazing intuitive and spiritual woman.  She will frequently be visited by my guides, which she refers to as my "cast of characters".  I have a large group of guides and they are quite varied and interesting.  One of the more recent times we talked on the phone, Holly shared that my guides want me to surrender.  I had been talking about letting go and how I have had so much to let go of, especially in the last few years.  Holly shared that my guides want me to do more than let go, they want me to surrender.  There have been times in the past when I have surrendered, even if only for brief moments of time.  So, what is the difference between letting go and surrendering?  I guess when I think of letting go, I think of letting go of specific things in my life.  I have let go of being married.  I have let go of my mental health practice that I had for many years.  I have let go of living in certain places or not living in certain places.  I have let go of people, places, things, ideas, ways of being and so much more.  To me, surrendering means going beyond all that.  To surrender is to let go on such a scale that there is no longer anything left to let go of.  Once when I was driving down the freeway going seventy miles an hour, my truck's steering went out.  I could not hold the steering wheel steady and I turned from the far left lane and crossed over the three lanes to my right.  I had been driving in very heavy traffic, much of it semi trucks and other large trucks.  I had lost all control and as the truck turned, I remember saying, "Jesus, help me, Thy Will be done."  In that moment, I did surrender and I felt little fear.  Miraculously, I made it across all four lanes of traffic and there was no accident.  This is what I am being called to do but on a bigger scale.  I am being called to let go of the steering wheel of my life and surrender to a Higher Will.  I am being called to trust that whatever happens in my life, it is all good.  No fear, just trust.  Certainty in the Divine.  I pray that I am able to surrender and sustain it for longer and longer periods of time until one day there is no longer a need for me to surrender because it is my way of life.  love and light, Shirley

February 3, 2010

This morning I finished reading "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse.  It is a beautiful story of one man's search for his Self.  I highly recommend it.  One of my favorite parts of the book is when Siddhartha is seated next to a river and listens to the river.  He looks into the river and begins to see thousands of faces, each one coming and going, merging and flowing, just as the water of the river comes and goes, merges and flows.  Siddhartha can feel the unity of all life as he gazes into the river.  I am reminded of one of the experiences I had a few years ago when I was at a workshop taught by Jason Nelson, a young man in Santa Monica.  We were learning how to go up the chakras and enter and experience each one.  He had us enter a chakra above our head which helped us to communicate with our guidance.  Following that we were to enter what he called our chakra of the soul or Higher Self.  Once I entered this chakra, I remember seeing myself and I was looking into a mirror held in my hand.  As I gazed into the mirror I could see my own reflection as I appeared on that day and then slowly, my own image disappeared and I began to see the images of other people that I knew and loved.  The images of those I knew and loved began to disappear and soon I saw the reflections of people I did not know.  The faces began to come and go so quickly that it was like a slide show going at the speed of a strobe light.  I would periodically recognize a face or two, Mother Theresa, Hitler, my second grade teacher, the boy who sat next to me in high school biology.  The parade of faces soon blurred together until all I saw was white light.  I was unaware of the tears flowing down my face.  I was unaware of the room that I sat in or that I was surrounded by forty other people.  I was only aware of the white light and the bliss of Oneness I was experiencing.  In that moment I understood what Illusion means, the Illusion of separation, the Illusion of good and evil, you and me.  There is no you.  There is no me.  There is only One.  I have experienced this before and I know I will experience it again.  My goal is to one day live in this space, knowing that we are all One and that any time I perceive myself as separate, I have forgotten Truth.  For me, this also means that whatever I see in another also resides in me.  If I see beauty, it is also the beauty in me.  If I see avarice, hatred or fear, it is the avarice, hatred or fear that resides within me.  If I reject another, I am, in essence, rejecting myself.  If I love another, I am also loving myself.  I pray for acceptance, that I can accept all others just as they are.  Then, I will truly know self-acceptance.  Love and Light, Shirley

February 2, 2010

I receive all kinds of inspirational email almost every day.  There are some days that I do not have the time to read them but I eventually do.  Sometimes there will be one sentence or one phrase that sticks in my mind.  It is the same with the guidance I receive from my guides.  They may tell me all kinds of things but there will often be one word, phrase or sentence that echoes in my mind, again and again.  Today I received an email that talked about the health benefits of kindness.  I know that there has been scientific proof of the health benefits of prayer and the benefits of gratitude so it only makes sense that there is also a benefit for kindness.   I believe that all acts that are in alignment with our Higher Self, in alignment with our Divine purpose have health benefits.  I often do readings with people, either in person or over the phone.  I love my work.  As I quiet myself just prior to a session, I always say a prayer.  I call it the invitation because I am inviting the other person's spiritual support network to connect to me and help me bring in whatever is for my client's highest good.  I invite my own guides to help in this work.  And, of course, I always include thank you to everyone.  During the sessions, I feel energized and uplifted.  By the time we are saying good-bye, I have such an awareness of how good I feel.  This work is in alignment with my purpose.  Being kind to others is in alignment with ALL of our Divine purposes.  I believe that ultimately our divine purpose is to love and be loved.  Kindness is a lower octave of love.  It is treating others as we would wish to be treated.  Just remember that every time you are kind to another human being, you are also being kind to yourself.  The benefits are many, including better health.  So, here's to your health!  Today, do at least one act of kindness.  Love and Light, Shirley

January 29, 2010

When I lived in Reno, Nevada, I worked at a wonderful place called The Spiritual Element.  We had a beautiful crystal meditation room and I would occasionally attend the Thursday morning meditation.  This particular group welcomed different people to lead meditations which was very enjoyable.  One of the women shared a Buddhist meditation and I regret that I cannot remember what it was called but it was very powerful.  So often, in guided meditations, we are instructed to breathe in white light and breathe out and let go of whatever it is we wish to let go of, negativity, stress, anger, pain, or whatever.  In this meditation you are instructed to do the opposite.  For example, if you desire to let go of anger, you breathe the anger in and when you exhale, you release white light.  After breathing in your own anger and releasing white light, you breathe in other people's anger, usually people you know, and breathe out white light.  As you continue, you expand the number of people whose anger you are breathing in and breathing out white light.  The goal is to eventually breathe in the world's anger and breathe out white light.  I benefit from both kinds of meditation but this particular meditation is very powerful.  It is showing that we already have the white light within us.  We are the white light.  When we acknowledge our true selves and our true potential, we CAN breathe in the world's anger or pain or fear and still breathe out white light.  We can breathe the light in and release the anger to be neutralized by Mother Earth.  Or we can breathe the anger in and release the white light.  We are acknowledging the power of the white light.  The white light is outside of us.  And the white light is inside of us.  We are the white light.  Next time you feel as though something is just too big for you.  Breathe it in and breathe out white light.  Remember you are bigger than any struggle that comes your way.  Love and Light, Shirley

January 26, 2010

Last night I had a session with a woman and she was talking about how she felt disconnected from God.  She said that there were times in her life when she felt connected and could see the synchronicity in her life but that right now she felt stuck.  I, too, have had those times when I felt less connected.  I reassured her that she would, indeed, feel more connected again in time.  Of course, God never disconnects from us.  Our spiritual self, our Higher Self never disconnects from us.  It is our ego that creates this illusion of separation.  When life does not go as we thought it would, especially when we have received what we believed were signs from God, it is not difficult to become discouraged.  After all, if we were not receiving what we thought were signs from the Divine, what where they?  If we cannot trust what we believe is coming from the Divine, what then?  I shared with her that it has been at these times, when my life has hit one brick wall after another, when I have received what I thought were signs and then life did not follow as I thought it would, that I have surrendered.  In other words, I have said to my Higher Self, to my guides, to God, I surrender.  I have quit trying to figure it all out and "feel" in control of my life.  I have acknowledged that I do not have all the answers.  I remain open to answers and I still look for signs but I acknowledge that it is my interpretation of the signs that is most likely the issue.  I believe we are surrounded by messages from Spirit all the time.  First, we must see or hear them.  Second, we must let go of our ego in order to understand them.  Our egoist desires distort our interpretation.  Many times my own guides have said to me, "Shirley, what is, is."  It has taken me a long time to understand what they mean by that.  Acceptance of what is.  I have spent way too much of my life trying to interpret, analyze and figure out why things are the way they are.  For me, surrendering means, in part, that I accept what is.  Acceptance facilitates trust.  I accept what is and I trust that whatever is, is here for my higher good.  For me, one of the best prayers I can pray is to pray that whatever happens is for my higher good and that I can recognize that.  When I pray for my higher good and the higher good of others without dictating what I think that means, I am surrendering to a Higher Will and a Higher Authority.  I am trusting which leads to a stronger connection with the Divine.  Love and Light, Shirley

 

January 24, 2010

Yesterday, I went on a lovely drive with a friend and my mother to Mt. St. Helen's.  It was a lovely day with good weather which is unusual for western Washington, especially in January.  The skies were filled with clouds, interspersed with sunshine and patches of blue.  As we approached the mountain herself we were met with a most spectacular view.  I had seen the mountain before but never in the winter months when she was snow covered.  I had forgotten how breathtaking, not only the mountain herself is, but the surrounding peaks and valleys.  There are places that as far as the eye can see there are evergreen trees, lush, green and vibrant.  It was only thirty years ago that this same mountain blew her top and devastated these same peaks and valleys.  Looking at the vast size of the portion that blew up and out of the mountain is an amazing experience.  It is while I gazed at Mt. St. Helen's missing peak that I thought about my own life.  I thought about some of the time's in my own life when I have felt such devastation.  I have had time's when I felt as though my own life had blown apart, taking parts of me and scattering me in places unknown, leaving the rest of me to never feel the same.  The landscape of my life had erupted and was no longer recognizable.  Yet, I remain.  Just as the land surrounding the mountain slowly reclaimed itself and began to grow new life, so did I.  Tiny seedlings blown in from other places found a home in the gray, rich, ashen soil.  The dust had settled and with it, had created a new landscape.  In my life, the dust eventually settled and I, too, planted new seeds of life.  I, too, eventually began to experience verdant growth.  As humans, we try to avoid the volcanos in life, yet they are unavoidable.  We cannot control Mother Nature any more than we can often control the events in our lives.  Instead of trying to avoid or control, we must stand our ground, tap into our deep reserves of strength and courage.  We must affirm that the landscape may have altered but the majority of the mountain remains, the inner core of who we are remains.  We must look to the new seedlings within and allow them to mature into lush, prolific and majestic forests.  Love and Light, Shirley

January 16, 2010

I was laughing at myself as I sat down and prepared to write today's message.  The title of this page is Daily Messages.  Perhaps it should say, Almost Daily Messages!  Yesterday, in the morning, as I was making coffee and getting ready for my day, the lights kept flickering.  It was raining and the wind was blowing a great deal.  Each time the lights flickered, I found myself holding my breath and praying that they did not go out.  I found myself planning in my mind what I would do if they did go out.  I live with my elderly mother, so she is my first consideration.  We do have a fireplace out in our family room and plenty of dry wood, so I know I could get that room warm.  Depending on how long the electricity would be out, I could keep food cool by not opening the refrigerator often and if necessary, I could get ice.  As my mind raced through the possibilities, I found myself thinking how much we depend on electricity and how many people would not have the warmth of the fireplace or a way to cook their food.  We have become a society where we are not very self sufficient.  If we get disconnected to our source of electricity, we are limited in so many ways.  When I was studying kabbalah on a more regular basis, they referred to God as being the Light.  Being connected to God was described as being the same as being connected to the Light.  A light bulb that is not connected to power is just a useless object.  Once it is connected to electricity it can light up an entire room.  When we are connected to God, we light up the world.  When we are disconnected, we are much like that light bulb, without much use.  I thought about my own connection to God and I asked myself if my light was flickering, threatening to be disconnected?  The answer is no, I am not disconnected.  However, it did make me think about what helps me to stay connected.  Prayer and meditation help me to stay connected.  Being of service to others helps me to stay connected.  Loving myself and caring for myself helps me to stay connected.  Spending time with other people who are also connected helps me to stay connected.  Reading inspirational messages and stories helps me to stay connected.  Gratitude expressed every day helps me to stay connected.  Writing and sharing with others helps me to stay connected.  Today, stop and ask yourself, what helps me to stay connected?  Then, love yourself enough to do at least two of them.  Love and Light, Shirley

January 13, 2010

I live in one of the wettest parts of the United States.  Even more than high rainfall, we have so much cloud cover.  I live in Cosmopolis, Washington and I live approximately one hour from the rain forest.  The rain forest is beautiful.  The moss hangs down off of the trees like an old man's untrimmed beard.  It is green and lush and the ferns are enormous.  Washington is known as the Evergreen state because of its enormous and majestic trees.  Part of why they can grow to such heights is because of the rain.  Some of the largest trees in the world are found in this rain forest and in other places in Washington.  As I was sitting down to write today, I looked out of my window and I saw a patch of blue sky.  This brought such a smile to my face and so much pleasure.  Because we do have so much cloud cover, seeing a patch of blue in January is a wonderful treat.  When I lived in Reno there was blue sky almost every day.  People who lived there and who had always lived there would laugh at me because I would get so excited about another day with blue sky.  I remember thinking that they take it for granted.  When I moved back to Washington in August I found that I absolutely was thrilled to see the evergreen trees again.  Everywhere I looked there was green, green, green.  I realized that to a certain extent I had taken the evergreen trees for granted just as the people in Reno took the blue sky for granted.  It is easy to be grateful and notice something that is less common, such as a patch of blue in January.  It is not always as easy to notice that which is right in front of our nose, day after day, week after week, month after month.  Just for a moment, look around and see your life as it is right now.  Notice your environment, your circumstances, the people in your life.  Is there something you have been taking for granted?  Is there something you need to be grateful for?  Find the evergreen trees and the blue sky in your own life.  Love and Light, Shirley

January 12, 2010

For a number of weeks now, I have been cleaning, organizing, sorting and letting go of some of the stuff at my mom's house.  My mom has lived in the same house for over sixty years and my parents both were collectors.  They were raised during the depression and I believe that a part of their reluctance to save so much stems from those early childhood experiences.  I am not, by nature, as much as a collector or a saver as either one of my parents, although I have certainly saved much over the years.  In Feng Shui, it is very important to not have clutter.  It is also very important to not have items that are broken.  Letting go of clutter opens up space for new things to come in.  What comes in is not necessarily material, it could also be new people, new ideas, new opportunities.  As I help my mom with her home, I find myself thinking about what it must be like to have so much to let go of.  The other day my own guides were talking to me about the gift of me doing this work, not a gift to my mother but a gift to myself.  As I clean and organize and get rid of garbage or no longer needed items, to ask myself what do I need to clean and organize and let go of within myself?  What old thoughts, emotions, habits, or beliefs are cluttering up my insides?  What is broken and needs to be discarded?  What needs to be polished?  What remains from the past that no longer serves me?  Any old resentments lingering?  Any old hurts that still need to be forgiven?  I encourage all of you to stop and consider whether or not it is time you cleaned house.  Whether it is your physical house or your internal home or both is an answer that only you can give.  Love and Light, Shirley

January 7, 2010

I have taught classes on how to develop your intuition and how to connect to your Spirit Guides.  One of the most common issue that people ask about is how to tell the difference between their conscious thoughts, their ego and their spiritual guidance.  It is not easy.  Even for many spiritual teachers and spiritual seekers of all kinds, this is a common problem.  How do I tell if it is me or them?  How do I discern the difference between my lower self and my Higher self?  How do I know if this message or guidance is truly for my Higher good?  What I have taught in my classes is that our motivation, our intent is the most important aspect of listening to messages.  What is your intent?  Is it to receive whatever is for your highest good?  Or, is it to receive whatever will make you happy in the short term?  I know that for myself, when I receive messages and they are not comfortable because they are calling on me to do something I don't want to do, they are often those messages that are for my highest good.  For example, I was living in Reno and I had just moved into a house that I absolutely loved.  I had cleaned and painted and planted flowers and moved my business into my home.  I was all set.  However, my business was not going as I thought it would.  Plus, I kept having dreams that indicated I might be moving back to Washington State.  In addition to the dreams, when I would look at my Cards of Destiny spreads there were many indications that I would be moving my business and my home and that I would also be changing what I did for work.  When I read the spread that truly spelled out what was likely to come, I closed the book and put it away.  I did not want to move, plain and simple.  The thought did not make me happy.  So, I ignored the messages that I was getting.  Well, I ignored them for a while.  In the beginning of July, I simply could no longer ignore what I was getting.  The dreams were nightly and were becoming more urgent.  My aging parents lived in Washington State and I was feeling more and more concern about them.  I finally called a very good friend, Mary, and we talked about what I was going through.  By the end of the conversation I knew I was leaving Reno and moving back to Washington.  I was not happy.  I loved Reno.  I also knew that there were many reasons why I was returning to Washington, including my parents.  On July 29th, my dad died, leaving my 83 year old mother alone.  I am now living with my mother.  Everything that I was receiving and trying to ignore has now come to pass.  Change of location for business and home.  Change of occupation since I am now looking to work online.  I still do not know all of the reasons why I am here in Washington.  I believe I am completing some very large cycle.  I am now sleeping in the same bedroom I slept in until I was two.  I do not need to know all the reasons right now.  I simply have to pray that whatever happens is for my highest good and then trust in God, trust in myself and be willing to listen to the messages I receive.  I pray you are able to do the same.  Love and Light, Shirley

January 6, 2010

Have you ever wanted to tell someone something important but you didn't and the opportunity passed you by?  Perhaps they moved away or even died and you were never able to let them know how much they meant to you or perhaps that you were sorry for something you said or did.  I know that we are eternal and that it is always possible for those messages to eventually be expressed.  However, we are still here in human bodies, having this human experience, and eventually can seem a very long time away.  Say it now.  Tell someone thank you or that you appreciate them.  Tell someone you are sorry if you have a reason to.  Make amends now.  Tell someone how much you admire them now.  Tell someone that you love them now.  You never know how much your words can mean to another person.  Not only can speaking them now save you regret later, you may touch another person's heart to the core.  Never underestimate the power of truly spoken words from the heart.  Some of the most powerful words in the Universe are thank you, I appreciate you, I am sorry, I love you.  Is there a reason for you to use some of them today?  Be bold and be honest.  Be free.  Love and Light, Shirley

January 4, 2010

Heaven on Earth.  That is a common phrase that I have heard for as long as I can remember.  What exactly does it mean to have heaven on earth?  Whenever I hear it, I am reminded of another phrase.  As Above, So Below.  My guides have taught me that everything begins in the spiritual realm and eventually makes its way into the physical world.  We are integrally linked with the spiritual realm and owe our very existence to it.  If we wish to experience heaven on earth, we must draw from the spiritual realm, pull those things into our physical realm that are heavenly.  I also use the phrase, As Within, So Without.  Whatever I am experiencing internally will be manifested externally.  My thoughts and feelings will eventually manifest in my physical body and my environment.  Therefore, if I wish to experience good physical health, I must create positive thoughts and feelings within.  If I wish to live in a positive environment with harmony and joy, I must first create harmony and joy within.  Discord with others begins with some kind of discord within me.  My ego would like me to think otherwise and to blame the other person.  However, I must always look at all aspects of what is happening in my life.  How do I contribute to whatever is happening in my life?  If my life is chaotic and scattered, what part of me is still chaotic and scattered within?  If we wish to have heaven on earth, we must all look within and root out all parts of ourselves that are not heavenly.  We must connect to the highest and best parts of the spiritual realm, ask for help in our endeavors and strive to bring those spiritual energies to ourselves.  As we each become a citizen of heaven here on earth, we help to transform earth to a heavenly place.  Love and Light, Shirley

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