Reflexology Certification Begins

Been a few months since I have delved into the books, so I have been guided to begin the process of reflexology certification. The practice of reflexology sheds a fascinating focus to the practitioner on the understanding of human health. The condition of the human foot is a reflection of the status of all the major body systems: skin, musculoskelatal, secretory, nervous, and circulatory. It can offer another way of pain control and stress releif that has been tried throughout centuries. Our health care "system" is re-discovering methods which were applied hundreds of years ago (reflexology) and are now coming "back to life" so to speak...

I have been practicing reflexology since 2004, but have only been incorporating it into sessions. Now, with this new advanced knowledge I will be able to do a whole hour of reflexology. In this program that begins June 13th and ends the end of October, I will form a totally new relationship with feet.

Preparing for this upcoming training has brought lots of attention to my own feet. I recognize how much they do for me ~ and I don't say thank you enough! Soooo, thank you feet, thank you for carrying me through this world, thank you for allowing me to stand upright, thank you for taking a beating with shoes that make you sweat, and shoes that are too tight and shoes that are too high and shoes that are too...

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Shaman Journey to the upper world

This weekend I was fortunate enough to participate in an introduction to Shamanism with Shaman and teacher Cecile Carson, M.D. In this workshop we got to "dive into" the world of Spirit (also known as non-physical reality or non-ordinary reality). What fun! What joy! Yes, another tool in my carpet bag (as mary poppins says). We were introduced to different ways to journey, different reasons why you would journey, and then got to journey for another in the class... In Journey work there are three "worlds", the upper world, the lower world and the middle world (which is very much like our physical reality world).

With that "tip of the iceberg" information I thought I would share one of my journeys from the weekend... here goes:

This is a journey to the upper world to ask for a spirit helper ~ an entity that will accompany me on my journeys and who I can call upon for help with divine guidance!

I started out expecting to travel to the upper world on smoke from a fire, but as the drum began beating Mucca (my dog) appeared and she had wings (like the dog from the never ending story) and I climbed on her back and we flew into the clouds... When we reached the upper world I had the sensation of being cold in my body and as I opened my eyes there was nothing, empty space, and we continued to fly in the empty space. Then Mucca "spotted" something and landed (in the empty space that seemed to be empty but solid ground). When I climbed off her back Richard Dawson from family feud appeared and he smiled and pointed into the haze which seemed to draw to us a large wheel that turned out to be "the wheel of fortune". Under each "peg" that would be hit to make the "flap flap flap" sound was a seed. And as he turned the wheel and the marker hit the peg a seed would pop off and in very fast motion implant into the nothingness, grow very fast and out of the top of each plant would open and a little person would jump out. So as the little people were being planted and jumping out I was asking "are you my spirit guide" and they would not respond just fade into the haze. After a few turns of the wheel a white seed was planted and as it grew the stem was like morticia's dress (from the Adam's family) only it was white and a beautiful woman was appearing at the top and she was trying to wiggle out of her dress/plant and she finally stopped and looked at me and winked. She was a white lily (I could actually smell lily). She opened her mouth and beautiful music began to stream forth. She was singing but it sounded like the song of a whale and as I was feeling it in my body the drum beat changed and it was time to "come home" to physical reality. So I climbed back onto Mucca's back and descended very quickly and she "deposited me" at my front door and the journey was over...

So much information, lots more than I expected... I connected with a helping spirit (lily), and also was reminded that reality is moving very quickly, and the pegs represented thoughts and as the thoughts are touched they grow and become and some stay planted and others grow and move on. Mucca coming solidified our relationship and when I got home I thanked her for her service and she seemed to know exactly what I was talking about!!

Ahh, what a great weekend it was indeed!

As I Try

I have a lovely client who is a most amazing poet and writer who shared a poem with me that was written after our first session together. It is a reminder that we all hold "things" within us that we hang onto until we are ready to release. Bodywork / energywork are wonderful tools that can help us human beings let go of that which no longer serves us so that we can become the person we came here to be ~ our authentic self!

Because this touched my heart so that I asked if I could share it. Now a few years later I am sharing it. This is not my story, but I am honored to be holding space with/ for/ and around this beautiful human being who is a light to many! ~~~

As I try to find my higher power
I hear the masseuse ask if I was
ever hit in the head.

"you mean was I beaten as a child?"

No, no (visibly disconcerted) I mean, were you ever in an accident, did you ever have a head injury?

I want to tell her that I just left my wife
of 29 years, or explain the chronic, odd
dyslexic challenges I have recently
discovered, thinking these seemingly once
precious facts about me might answer her
question, but all of it seems to ruin
the aromatic lavender vapor that is deep
in my sinus-even my question about beatings
seems flightless and threatens the inner calm
she has just helped me reach.

I notice that her face is angelic-it is a face you
could swim in on a warm day in Belize-all fresh
and unused just like the pictures in National Geographic.

and your throat and the area around the heart seems constricted, like you want to say something and can’t get it out.

I think about my stifled inner child and my constant need
to express myself with words
and wonder how on earth
my body, in such a relaxed state
could betray me this way.

I want to tell her that I am trying to find my Higher
Power and then she gives the final report; the middle meridian (the pelvis area) and everything below doesn’t have much energy flowing through it.

you seem to be disconnected from your source power which flows from your feet up into the body, (she gestures generously and with love) and adds; but that is probably a factor of all that lower back pain

and I think, no,
that’s not the only reason.

My boys

Quite a few months ago (almost 10) I posted that "I am surrounded by male energy" and it was interesting how much I needed to "girly up" my surroundings so that I could remain grounded in my new home. Since then lots of things have happened... We have a female iguana and more delicate decor that helps me feel like home. Now that it is summer I find that the male energy that I was so struggling with is energizing me. I get to "be a boy"... playing outside, catching frogs, hanging with the boys, exploring the creek, catching snakes in the garden, and so much more. It isn't that these activities are "just boy" activities but I thought of them as such and so they were without me even being aware of it. With that said, I thought I would post a photo of my boys and share all of their maleness with y'all!

Telling your story

Yesterday I attended a fabulous workshop~Don Miguel and Don Jose Ruiz, speaking about the Five agreements. It was so beautiful and reminded me that we are all "Angels in Training". What a beautiful thought, huh. Angels in training! What that says to me is that everything that we do, think, feel, experience, is part of our training. It is necessary. And it will be used to meet the goal of becoming an Earth Angel. All we need to do is WAKE UP. Use the training as a stepping stone to release the past, give thanks for the learning, and see this amazing moment ~ right now ~ as the beginning of the future. And then see this amazing moment ~ right now ~ as the beginning also... And so on.

In our workshop we had the opportunity to release an old story. Don Jose told us a story about how some humans go out into the forest and collect their food, and when they get it home it is rotten, but they put it in their bowl, mix it up and eat it. Then they get very sick. But they wrap up the left overs and put them in their pocket. Later they are hungry so they take out the left overs and eat them ~ again ~ even though they know that it made them sick, but its all they have. And this continues until they learn that they need to gather new food so that they are not poisoning themselves (key word themselves) and that they throw away the left overs... He told it so beautifully and please forgive me if I didn't have it exactly right, but this is the "jist" of it for me... So in our exercise we took some time to think about the stories we tell about ourselves and how they are really only lies given to us from others. And I released the story of the men who have been in my life and who have seen me in a certain way (body image), and I embraced freedom, financial freedom and freedom to see myself (all of myself) beautiful and perfect. Felt wonderful! So I end this with my affirmation of: I am love, I give love, I receive love, I believe in love, I am always becoming love, it is never ending, always flowing, and perfect in every moment! And so are you!!

Blue flame of Spirit

And she'ssss backkkk...
Been a little while... life has been busy with the arrival of spring. Yard work, "mucking" out the inside~started a raw food diet~and walking in the woods reconnecting to the life around me!

Yesterday I had the privilege of participating in a shamanic journey with my friend Sue. I won't share her experience because its hers, but here is what I experienced.

When doing a journey you begin by setting the intention and asking a question so that spirit can guide you to the answer that is beneficial for your life path. The question we asked was "What is the meaning of the dream (a dream I had which included she and I) and what do we need to do together":

My journey begins with us sitting together around a fire, but not a fire made with wood, it is a fire of red hot rocks and as I remember I can feel the heat on my face and see the reflection in Sue's eyes. As we are connecting across from one another at the fire, we "open a door" in our midsection (looked kindof like a pot bellied stove) and inside there is a blue flame. The blue was very "other worldly" and was not hot like the fire but cool like water. Then we close our doors and I feel like I am a chimney and the blue flame rises up and out of the top of my head (the crown chakra) and dances with Sue's flame which is also rising. We intertwine and become the flame on a hot air balloon. The balloon "takes off" and fly's over many lands. The land below is green and lush and I feel like I smell earth... We float over to a cliff~its very grassy like a meadow~and we "land" the air balloon. We release the flame into our physical bodies which have "been along for the ride" and we open the door in the basket of the air balloon and walk to the edge of the cliff. I feel such peace and connection at this point and I feel myself coming back into my physical body as we witness the water below us. We pay attention to the waves and the life within the water and we are laughing. The drum stops (oh yeah forgot to mention that during a journey the shaman drums~its the vibration of the drum that carries the spirit to the answers of the journey) and I feel myself "land" inside myself. I am smiling. I know I don't need to "Do" anything... I just need to follow spirit and allow the joy within to guide the path that Sue and I are preparing to walk together.

keep your eyes open there's sharks in them there waters

This week has been, as usual, fabulous! I had one BIG lesson this week and one smaller lesson and boy were they eye openers...
Yesterday, as I was dropping off my daughter at her father's house, she said "Mom, come in, I need you to help me find my brown belt" and since her father was not home I thought it would be fine~ya'know trying not to infringe on his space and all... And it was fine... but when we got into her room she had lots of photo's sitting on her bed and as we were chatting I was looking through them and noticed that there were a number of them that her father had given to her that were of us when we were married and working hard on our future ~ bought land together and planned on when she graduated moving up there, living off the land, and being self-sufficient, with me doing massage, etc... Made me feel so sad. Really sad. All those dreams, and the photos of us working together brought it all right to the forefront. Then I realized that when I thought I was being the good ex-wife and not wanting to go into his (used to be ours) house to infringe, I was really avoiding the feelings of sadness that come for me when I see stuff that used to be ours, which is not anymore, and stuff that was never there, and belongs to someone else (who, by the way is quite perfect for him) placed very comfortably among the old belongings...
Wow, epiphany... The feelings I had at that moment were not nice, like a shark swimming in the water, who could bite hard... Could this be how Jim's ex feels? Could this be why even though she is very much moved on, when she returns to the house where they were building their future and working hard to make plans that she gives me the cold shoulder? Hummmm... Could it be?

Anyway, the other lesson was this... One of my clients shared with me that she made some choices when her child was younger that she HAD to make (or die, ya' know the kind of life choices I mean) and has now had a most loving conversation with her adult child letting him know that she was sorry that her life choices caused him so much pain and that if she could she would take away the pain, but she cant and she is so very sorry... And they are working toward a relationship, and it is hard for her because he sounds so angry (like his father) and what I thought when she left was this... I will never ever say anything negative about Jim's ex to their son. I will hold the space so that when he grows up he will make his own decisions about his mother, and I would hate for her to suffer like my client is suffering. All life choices are up to each individual person and they live the consequences, and it is not up to me to "make" it a certain way, just to hold the space and know that we all the do best we can at all given moments.