Tuesday, August 30

AN ASTROLOGICAL OVERVIEW: September: Clean-up time!


Just got back to AZ from 10 days in Huntington Beach and I had wanted to share with you Simone Butler’s Astrology Alchemy blog. While I’m a couple of days away from setting the intention on the New Moon, remember that energy follows intention and so you can decide right now, what it is that you want to accomplish in the next few weeks.

I’ve spent the last few weeks spinning a bit and feeling a bit overwhelmed with completion of some projects to accompany the new book, GPS for Living, A Practical Guide for Surviving Change. Not only the book, but also the phone app and calendar that go along with the book. I had a wonderful time at the beach where feelings and self-evaluation had room to emerge and I was able to get some energy treatments as well.

Read from Simone and see how the movement of the stars and planets may be affecting your life. I did notice the 10 days I was gone how the sun has made a dramatic shift south...change is in the air.....

From Simone:
While the Sun is in earthy Virgo (Aug. 23 to Sept. 22) we hone in on details, refurbish our nest, redefine our work and take better care of ourselves. The Aug. 28 Virgo New Moon is the perfect time to launch a clutter-bust or commit to a hearth or health makeover. The New Moon's trine to Pluto in Capricorn lends potency, wisdom and efficiency. And, trickster Mercury will have just turned direct on Aug. 26, greasing the wheels of progress after a stressful three-week retrograde. If you need to make an important purchase or begin a creative project, the New Moon energies along with a beautiful Venus/Jupiter trine on Aug. 29 are ideal.

September promises calm and productivity. It's a month for purging old habits and detritus from our bodies, minds and homes, and moving ahead. In Virgo, we tap into Sacred Vulture medicine. Native traditions tell us that Vulture feeds on the remains of the dead, clearing away the past and releasing karmic patterns. Vulture swoops down to clean up filth and corruption on Earth, helping us do the same in our personal lives.

Transformational Pluto, retrograde since early April, turns direct on Sept. 16, bringing power and punch to our efforts at reform. My home renovation began in April; Pluto's forward turn triggers its completion. Whatever you've been working on or struggling with since April should also come to fruition. Set your intention at the August 28 New Moon. Call on Sacred Vulture to help you purge the past and move forward. http://www.astroalchemy.com/thismonth.html

Tuesday, August 23

COYOTE MEDICINE - ALIVE AND WELL - THE TRICKSTER!- ILLUSIONS!



In the Animal Medicine Cards, inspired by Native American Spiritual, the coyote represents The Trickster! You think something is one way and it turns out to be another.

This is what happened recently when my little house quickly sold and quickly unsold!

What could this possibly mean? I begin spinning and after I work out some issues in my head of the “What if’s, I think it doesnt’ matter. The bottom line, “What if” I had been protected and that’s that?

Speaking with a friend on the phone yesterday, he said, “Can you Hang on?” My past experience has told me that “Can you Hang On?,” means, “I’ve another call!” When I expressed this to my friend, he said, “Did you ever think I was getting rid of someone else on the line?” Of course not!!!

It simply goes back to ‘you think you know, but you have no idea!’

I don’t know what is up with the house, but I do know that it will unfold according to plan....a bigger plan...God’s plan....

However, I can see where I need to be taking a more active business role in the little cottage, for all matters in my life actually.
When I don’t like something, I get someone else to do it! In one way that’s good, but I still need to understand and pay attention to what it happening.

Yes, the little trickster is alive and having fun! And me, I just gotta learn to laugh and enjoy the ride!

Monday, August 22

IN A FUNK AS MY NEXT PROJECT COMES TO A CLOSE




Since I’ve been at the beach I’ve had some lovely company. My daughter, her husband and their family and friends have stopped by. I’ve enjoyed the distraction from my projects.

Now that everyone is gone, I find myself, in a funk and I can’t exactly place my finger on what it is...I’m at the beach for heaven’s sake! Walks, swimming and lying in the sand...or better yet, taking advantage of my private deck on top of the house that I’m sitting for.

Ah, once again, I’m alone with myself.....and the completion on my next projects. I’m to read the final edit on GPS for Living....I hate that! I don’t want to read it one more time....already I would change many things! My first talk is due in just about 2 weeks, what is my resistance to working on that? I just wrote to the Amega Global company and told them I wanted to be a spokesperson for their product...the amazing energy wand and help them develop a self-care program.....I went to the internet and saw that they are working on a self-care project with the author of Chicken Soup for the Soul!

I drag myself back to the moment and call my sister. She’s free and comes for a visit. I use the wand on her knee that just had surgery several weeks ago...she said the bend is 90% better than when she arrived. I did a little mini facial, she said she could see the lines above her mouth were not as deep and her skin was brighter, more freckles:)

Knowing that nothing I create is ever good enough, I’m grateful for the fact that I know, The Show Must Go On....no matter what I would do differently or change or fix.....let it go, it’s what it is and I complete my work with love and blessings that they will be a benefit to others....now, off for a walk to the beach before I tackle my next project. Happy End of Summer!!!

Sunday, August 21

TOWANDA !!!



After a recent Energy Symposium that I attended, where I became reacquainted with the Amega Energy Healing Wand, when the demonstration was about retraining your face muscles for a natural face lift. Since then I’ve been running around wanding everyone and everything trying to see how and if it really works. (It does).

Like in the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, when the father’s believed that Windex would cure anything, that’s how I’ve been with my new wand. When anyone has a pain, I say, “Let’s wand it!” I babysat my friend’s dog who totally wigs out during the monsoons. His behavior during these storms has dramatically changed. He’s even slept through a couple! (This was a dog who ate my friend’s bed and tore apart his computer during a monsoon.)

My new wand has been named TOWANDA!, after the movie, Fried Green Tomatoes, where a middle aged housewife begins finding her own personal power from stories she’s been hearing from a new old lady in a rest home.

Looking up the meaning, towanda a word used to express extreme excitement while doing something exciting and crazy!

I’ve been involved indirectly with the art of energy healing for the past 27 years because of the allergies of one of my daughter’s. I’ve witnessed many (seemingly) miracles. I became a Rising Star Energy Practitioner (much like Reiki). Energy Healing calls upon Divine Energy and the healing happens between the client and God/Source/The Universe, the practitioner is just the conduit, the channel for this Divine Energy to flow.

I feel like Harry Potter! The next time that i’m around, I’d love to introduce you to my new friend, Towanda!


Friday, August 19

WE PLAN AND GOD LAUGHS!


Recently I talked about how on the road to achieving our dreams, something happens, we’ve been let go or our house falls out of escrow, shattering our plans and that we just need to stay vigilant to reach our final outcome.

What becomes hard in these apparent adverse situations is to trust that they have been orchestrated for our highest good. Timing seems to a major factor in the final outcome of our plans. You may remember the old saying, WE PLAN AND GOD LAUGHS!

Changing up the energy of where you are physically, can help with staying in a place of expansion rather than reverting to contraction, which is what many of us are familiar with. Like when the stock market goes down, the first thing that we are advised to do is to ‘stop spending,’ which stops the flow of prosperity. When a whole country does this you can imagine the final outcome.

It is a friend of mine who has modeled for me over the years what expansion during apparent adverse times looks like. She tells one story where she and her husband were down to their last $5,000 and there were no jobs offers coming in for him. (He is a consultant.) She suggested, much to his dismay, that they take their last financial resources and go on vacation. “I promise you, honey, when we return, you have have many offers to choose from!” she assured him. So they flew first class and went for 2 weeks to Europe. True to her promise, when they returned, he did have several offers to choose from.

It’s been my experience that when we can change up the energy, physically, thinking in an expanding mode becomes easier and makes the space for things to move. The challenge for me continues to be, can I stay in expansion even when I can’t see how things will manifest, when life doesn’t follow Plan A, B and C?

In the recent sell of my house, I just found out that the buyers changed their minds (because of health issues). This brings with it for me, another round of unwinding trust issues. Rather than clamping down the lid on the plans that I have made to move ETL forward, can I continue my movements towards expansion even when I don’t know exactly how they will be able to manifest? Can I move forward trusting that God sees the bigger picture? We don’t know how things all fit together. Most times we are on a ‘need to know’ basis. We know what we know, when we need to know it.

What I do know is that it isn’t about selling the house, it’s the journey along the way of selling the house. Not getting stuck or hung up on any one issue.....for instance the price....but to simply go inside, check in with myself and see if it ‘feels’ right every step of the way. If I have questions or doubts, to address them with those whom I’ve hired to represent me.

The practice in all of this for me is to go inside in each moment and see what is the correct thing for me, letting go of any well laid out plans that I may have conjured up and to trust that I will know what the next step is when I pay attention to my inner knowing. That I need not be discouraged and that I only need to feel into expansion and not remain stuck in contraction.
HAPPY FOLLOWING YOUR DREAMS.....







NEVER EVER, EVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAM!!!



A couple of incidents happened in my family that brought me back to the movie In Pursuit of Happyness. When my dad had come to CA for his last days on this earth, he, my boys and I went to see this movie. After it was over, I asked my dad, “So, what did you think?” “That’s just life!” he said non-chalantly. On a recent preview of this movie from a DVD, Will, the dad, said to his son, “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something, including me! If you want it, go and get it!”

My daughter had gotten the news a few days ago that she had been dropped from the D League in basketball. What a blow! She had moved back to the west coast in order to pursue her dream of becoming an NBA Basketball Referee. Now, I have absolutely zero doubt that if she wishes to pursue that dream, she’ll make it. It’s just a part of the journey in this life.

Don’t get me wrong. I know that it feels BAD! I get that. That’s a given. But life is about the journey, not the destination. How boring would it be if we reached our goals without any experiences! Like I told my daughter, “Now, you have more adventures to tell about how you achieved your dreams!

The time that it takes and the age that you are makes no difference! If you say something like, “I”ll be 60 when I get my degree if I start going for it now!” You’re going to be 60 anyway! Make YOUR life what YOU want!

The point is....NEVER EVER, GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS! Go for what you know that you want! Make it happen! Live your life with all of it’s ups and downs....Go for the Gold!!!!

Sunday, August 14

COULD YOU PLEASE JUST LISTEN TO ME?


There are many times that a friend or loved one asks us to listen. To simply be a witness to their life’s journey.

There are many times that I do not just LISTEN. Wanting to save others (rescue) the many years of pain and therapy that I went through figuring out my life I sometimes forget that part of the process of each of our individual journeys involves figuring out things for ourselves. Learning what works and what doesn’t and many times that simply comes from the school of hard knocks. (Experience)

At times talking is how we begin to unwind the questions in our heads. When I ask you to hear me, I don’t want you to diminish my feelings or try to fix whatever it is that I’m telling you. All I’m asking is that you give me support and permission to feel what I feel.

I know from experience that when 'You do something for me, you prevent me from finding my own strength and power.’

And as far as giving me your unsolicited advice, I can get free advice in the local newspaper for 50 cents and that would include both Billy Graham and Dear Abby!

Several years back, I crashed my dad’s van and I called him to let him know what happened. The response I received was less than desirable. I understood his reaction to the accident was how he was trying to deal with his fear that something really serious could have happened to not only his van, but to it’s precious cargo....my daughter and me.

What that incident taught me was to ask two questions when any one had a problem. 1. Are you OK? 2. What can I do to help?
LISTEN to what they are feeling and how they are going to solve their problem, without trying to fix it or give unsolicited advice.

I have still have trouble at times, just listening....I know it’s part of the problem solving process and recovering from codependency tendencies, I still have a need to make the lives of others, better and less painful.

So the next time that you ask me to listen to what’s on your mind, I promise to try hard to do just that....I’M ALL EARS!!

Friday, August 12

YOU HAVE TO LET GO IN ORDER TO MAKE SPACE FOR NEW ADVENTURES!



OK, the first step to begin living the life you want is to decide what it is that you want. (Probably the hardest thing.)

Then the next step is having the courage to let go of what you have in order to get what you want.

A couple of recent examples:
My daughter wanted to pursue a career refereeing basketball. In order to follow that dream, she let go of her things and place in the bay area and moved only what she could fit into her honda civic. (Less a seat for me and my backpack!) After 5 years of perfecting her skill, she knew to advance further, she needed to move back to the west coast. Once again, she let go of everything familiar in order for that to happen.
HAPPY CREATING!!

Because she knew what she wanted and had the courage to let go of the familiar she now has been offered 3 contracts for the next year. When she came to the west coast, she didn’t know how things would work out. She had to trust that God/the Universe had her best interest in mind.

My other daughter and her husband, not knowing what they wanted, decided to find out and head out for the summer ‘vision questing,’ letting life unfold for them. She had the courage to quit her job, (he’s a school teacher) and they let their apartment go, along with most of their belongs. The rest they put into storage and have been living the summer following their hearts, living between their VW camper bus and their sailboat on the Columbia River. Vision Questing is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get, who’s going to show up and where you will end up!

In order to move forward in life, we have to let go of our ideas, our perception of things and of trying to control everything. Certainly it’s not everyone’s journey to live of life of dramatic change. But I believe that it is a part of everyone’s journey to follow their own intuition, heart and dreams.

Ask yourself:
What do you spend most of your time and energy trying to control? Would would happen if you let go?
What would you do if you weren’t afraid? Be honest and THINK BIG! DREAM THE UNIMAGINABLE, THE IMPOSSIBLE!! HAPPY CREATING!!

BE PROACTIVE IN YOUR LIFE: DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT, BE CLEAR AND COME FROM A PLACE OF STRENGTH



I had coffee with a new friend from a group known as Master Minds. There are many things that I like about this group and one is that they speak of how we are all Individualized Expressions of The Divine. I love that! We are made in the likeness and image of God, so while we are all the same, we are all different as well, individuals!

The other thing that they talk about is Quantum Physics. The movie “What the Bleep?” was popular awhile back and of course the book “The Secret” continues to be practiced by many that I know. Tonight I’m going to see the author of the book “What If” here in Tubac, Az., who speaks on quantum physics. (By the way, I wanted to see him, didn’t want to spend the money. At this coffee meeting, I sold 2 books. Exactly for the cost of the dinner and talk tonight!” I was clear with what I wanted and the Universe/God made it a reality.)

The hardest part in this is to decide what it is that you want and then to be clear with your intentions.

The healing work that I am interested in, NAET, Emotional Healing, Rising Star Energy Healing are all a result of quantum physics or so I’m told!

My friend began to talk about in Quantum Physics, first comes conscious (knowing what you want) to material ( letting it manifest). I had him explain. He said, “You do it all of the time. You said you wanted to sell your house, for this price in this many days. You consciously decided what you wanted and then the Universe manifested it into reality.” The same with your new Energy Wand. You said, you wanted to the wand to take on your last trip, for your relatives. While it didn’t seem financially possible, the money came and your wish was manifested into material being.”
(I actually do know how to ground Spirit into Matter, it’s part of what I brought with me to this world. It’s finally nice to experience it in a conscious way.)

The secret is to be POSITIVE, BE PROACTIVE, BE CLEAR AND COME FROM A PLACE OF STRENGTH. KNOW THAT YOU ARE THE CREATOR OF YOUR LIFE! YOU DESERVE YOUR HEARTS DESIRES! WHEN WE’RE HAPPY, IT OVERFLOWS TO OTHERS! YOUR FAMILY, COMMUNITY AND THE WORLD BECOMES HAPPY! SEE, IT’S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE HAPPY! IF WE CAN’T QUITE TAKE OWNERSHIP OF IT FOR OURSELVES JUST YET, THINK OF THE KINDNESS YOU’RE DOING FOR HUMANITY!!!!

HAVE FUN CREATING! THE CANVAS IS BLANK AND YOU CAN MAKE YOUR LIFE HOWEVER YOU WANT!!!!




Tuesday, August 9

I CONSCIOUSLY LET GO OF MY LAST SECURITY, RIVERBEND RETREAT HOUSE



While visiting the Wizards (my family) in Oz, (Kansas), I was dealing with my house rental. While it had been great the first year that I rented it, the second renters were not as cooperative. I had finally hired a property management company (who did a worse job than I was doing) and we gave 30 day notice to the tenants. I then had to hire legal services to complete the process.

Still not sure if I was going to re-rent or sell, I knew of someone who thought that they may be interested in renting the property, which didn’t pan out. (Roadblocks) To be honest with myself, I had been borrowing money to move ETL forward, money that was tied up in the house. Next step, test the waters for selling. It was a big decision as it would be the end of my past life, my last connection with my dad (on a material level) and a dying of Patty Hobbs and a life style of the past. All loans and all banking in California would come to a close. No real connection to California would be left, well except my driver’s license and car registration.

On Wednesday, I called the realtor, put the house on the market and had nearly a full offer on Saturday. They were asking for $2,800 credit for closing costs and they wanted me to pump the septic. The tears began to flow. Was it because of the previous reasons mentioned or was it that I was mad at God/The Universe, for giving me $2,800 less than what I said? (A test:) Once I came to my senses, I knew that I needed the full price in order to be sure that I was to sell, after all, it hadn’t even hit the MLS market yet.

While I wanted to be fair and compromise with the new buyers, I also wanted to leave the land ‘sacred’ for the new owners of the Riverbend Retreat House and so I agreed to pump the septic. (A willingness to clean up the last of my ‘shit!’!)

While it is a bit scary for me and I easily can spin in the ‘it’s not the right time to sell’ attitude that many share with me, I can say that it was the right time for me. The doors were clearly closing in the rental arena and while I love Grass Valley and the people, I knew that it wasn’t where I was to live.

Like in the Wizard of Oz, Glenda, the good witch said to Dorothy, The Tin Man and Lion, YOU HAVE THE POWER YOU’VE ALWAYS HAD IT, we know the answers to all of our questions. They are inside of us. We have the power to do and make changes in our lives. We just have to believe that we do!

So now that I have made the decision and I’m flowing in the river once again, I’ll remember what the Hopi Elders said, “Push off the edge and flow with the waters.” I’ll not cling to the familiar, holding onto the edge, while loose debris rams into me. Instead of trying to paddle my way up a very swift stream, I’m going to relax, not look back and trust that the waters that I’m floating on will continue carry me to new adventures and I’ll leave the ‘What if’s and doubts behind!”

Happy New Beginnings as jobs and schools resume!!!!!




Wednesday, August 3

STRAIGHTEN IT OUT AND BRING EM HOME! (BASEBALL)




Just an update on my travels. Here in Kansas City, visited my cousins and my grandma’s old home town. Last night, the hottest day of the year, we went to the Royals Baseball Game. (Picture, a view from our seats.) My cousin had gotten tickets from his work, right behind the dugout, second row back. I laughed when I heard my cousin yell, “Straighten it out and bring ‘em home!” They didn’t of course! But it was a beautiful night and there is something about being at the ball park, beer, peanuts and not climbing to the heights of the nose bleed section.

Today I spent the day with my cousins and Aunt and Uncle and was warmly welcomed to the devotional group to discuss my latest book, GPS for Living. I’ve also been warmly supported by my 2 cousins, P1 and P3. (I’m P2) I gave a few massages and took my Aunt and Uncle to dinner. One of the workers at the Retirement community that my Aunt and Uncle live at is from Nigeria, the same tribe as my Nigerian friend in Los Angeles. We made a call!

I signed the papers to put the Riverbend Retreat house on the market. Interesting that I signed the papers while in Kansas, the place I was born. (Must be some symbolism there:-)

Leaving tomorrow to see my brother and his family (5 hrs away, south) and I understand that there was a lot of tornado damage there. Without a tv or newspaper, I am not aware of the many natural disasters that had happened here in the midwest. In fact, the Atchison area (my grandma’s old stomping ground) is so flooded, that the bridge is closed, the water, (still) is at the top of the banks along the river and from the right view, it looks like an ocean, water as far as you can see, rather than a river.

Saturday, visiting my aunt on my dad’s side and then Sunday, back to ????? Not exactly sure. My plane flies to Los Angeles, but my daughter has my car and I haven’t received my traveling orders:-) So stay well and happy! Just wanted to keep you updated.