The new year and our old girl Mucca

Seems like years since I've posted, but its really only be three weeks...

We have had many changes. As always, the first of the year begins with pulling my tarot cards and doing my Runes for the year. Then, I burn all my past year journals after reading them and giving thanks for the lessons learned. Then I set my intentions for the upcoming years hopes and dreams, and send it all to spirit on the smoke of a bonfire. Once done outside, I take the new energy in. I rearrange my furniture to shake up any stagnant energy, switch all my plants around to see who's happy where, and when that is all done, I sit with a cup of "hot milk tea" and listen.

This year's new year was a little different, though. We had to release our oldest dog (Mucca) from the bondage of her body. She had a week of getting ready, her whole family came to say good bye and thank her for her service and m she passed very easily. Ond our vets (Groton City Animal Hospital) allowed us to usher her onward with drumming, rattling and sage and say goodbye for as long as we needed to.

With that said, tonight I believe Mucca came to play. I had the other two dogs outside for a walk in the dark, and I heard them barking, then I heard 3 dogs barking. I tried to make excuses, our neighbors dogs etc., but when I knew it was 3 dogs barking in the same vacinity of the yard, I ran inside to get my camera. Here is the photo I took...

Cheers to you Mucca, thanks for gracing us with your physical presence for 10 years and now your energetic presence for many many more!!

Peace on Earth goodwill toward...

Merry Christmas Eve my blogging buds...
I have been having many conversations lately pertaining to male/female roles and attitudes in our society. Sooo, since I have been having these conversations I have also been paying attention to my words and my reactions to words. Some of them feel rather "big inside" of me, like when listening to a man talk about female anatomy using slang terms which hold an attachment of "yuck" to me. If you're gonna talk about it, please use the anatomically correct words, instead of those that degrade... When I witness (even from a distance) the degradation of anyone (just lately its been men towards women) if gets my blood boiling, and I need to take a step back, a deep breath and remember "but for the grace of (fill in the blank here) go I. If we can all remember to engage our hearts prior to engaging our mouths we would (hoping here) really live the energy of this season ~ peace on earth GOOD WILL TOWARD ALL!
Blessings on the road of discovery toward your best true self!
~ Janet ~

Tis the season...

Today I have been pondering the whole idea of giving. I recently witnessed a mother who promised a rather large gift to her child to get the child to make a choice about where he would live. And I heard someone in line saying "He better do xyz when he gets this, etc..." This got me to thinking about the act of giving (and the thought also included "lending"/giving money to family and friends). I have not always given with a free heart. I am guilty of having expectations of good behaviors for gifts ~ promises of "if you do this, you'll get that..."

As a parent I sometimes found it hard to think about my intentions before giving to my kids, and it can be even more difficult when the gift is for a partner or my Mom... But what I found is that if you give from your heart because you know it will make someone happy, then that should be the only expectation you have. And if you give because you think you have to, then you are setting yourself up for disappointment, heartache, anger, and ultimately suffering (for the one receiving too)...

Underneath all this rambling this is what has surfaced... This season I am not buying gifts, I am making things for my dear ones, and offering massage and energy services ~ Because it really is the thought that counts!!!

Sometimes you just gotta say WOW

Today as Jim, Sam, the dogs and I were outside playing (shoveling off the pond for ice skating, and clearing paths in the snow...) I had an "all of a sudden urge" to take the dogs into the woods. I stopped playing, looked at Jim and as our eyes met we seemed to know what the other was thinking... I told him I was taking the dogs into the woods, he said "yes I know and you will see something for me" and I knew he was correct. Its that feeling when you know something big is about to happen but you just don't know yet what it is... That's the feeling I had as I started on the path to the woods, stopped to ask permission to enter from the Grandmother tree, and headed into the woods. When I was almost to the upper field I "saw" a beam of light (almost like a lightning bolt, but smooth) and it stayed for a long time. When I got to where it had been, I saw a woman in a pinky peach dress and I heard the word magistrate. Puzzling, but I have heard more interesting things so I continued on my way with the dogs...

As I was nearing the end of our walk and descending back toward the house I saw through the woods what looked like three graves, but when I got closer I saw that in this reality they were posts to where the yurt used to be. And standing in the middle of the three "graves" as an old Indian man. He smiled at me, the dogs barked, I turned to call them and turned back and he was gone. It was breathtaking and peaceful and I knew inside of me that the three graves were mine, Jims and Sams and we have been on this land for many lifetimes and we will be here again.

The rest of the story was more private so I'll not share that yet, but it was brilliant and awe-filled and a little overwhelming, but its a gift to see it and feel it before IT is in this physical dimension, and as always, I am grateful and trusting!

So, all I can say to you my lovely bloggers is this: Take a walk in the woods today and expect surprises!! They will come if you invite them!!

Consistency for kids (4 legged and 2 legged)

So as you may be aware if you have been reading my blog since conception, in the last year and a half I have embarked on new family situation and living situation. With this new situation came another dog, an adolescent child and a new puppy... It has been interesting to say the least. We have really good times and then some really hard times and then we sometimes get to "coast". In this transition I have been focusing on the adolescent child's "behaviors", and forgetting the 4 legged adolescent child... And he has been reminding me lately that he is here, he is feeling pressure, and he needs some help knowing what's ok and what's not.

So, I being the loving mama, called my friend Juanita (who has rescued over 30 dogs in her lifetime, and who has been training dogs for over 20 years). After much discussion with all of us in the household she had some very wise tips about consistency, simplicity and energy (which was very important because sometimes hearing things from an "outsider" ~ someone who is not "in" the family it can be heard, absorbed, and implemented).

We agreed on the word to use to stop the whining, figured out that two times speaking to him was acceptable, and that after two corrections he would be isolated until the whining stopped. Then when he was quiet for a period of time we would let him enter the room again, tell him good boy, but not pay him too much attention. AND IT WORKED! We only needed to have two time outs and he has been a perfect gentleman the entire rest of the evening. No anger, no threats, no frustration, just simple and consistent! What a gift Miss Juanita Sunshine is! A true gift to my heart and my 4 legged kiddos!!

Hoidays

It amazes me at how so many folks put such pressure on themselves at this time of the year. Example #1:I have a friend who spent 12 hours (really, 12 whole hours) shopping for presents ~ which probably will be used for a total of 12 hours, and then for 12 months they'll have to pay for them... Why? Because it is their belief that if they find the perfect present for all their children and family then they are a "good" person. They can think of themselves as good, giving, caring, thoughtful, and loved. Example #2: One person I know gets so stressed out about the house being "spotless" that they yell and scream and have panic attacks if there is even a speck of dust on the shelves ~ and guess what, no one even cares if their house is spotless. All they want to do is hang out, watch football, have some drinks, and eat (and after a few drinks they can't see anything on the shelves anyway).

As you can see, I have my own issues with the holidays. This is the time of year that I get frustrated. Probably because I refuse to celebrate in the typical socially acceptable way... I choose to not have a tree, not buy gifts, not hang lights, and not run up my credit cards... And because I choose not to, I have a hard time when others who know I don't celebrate get me a gift and then expect one in return. OR is it that I feel guilty for not getting them a gift and it has nothing to do with them at all?? The point is, I am taking this holiday season to not be so stubborn about not celebrating... I will eat drink and be merry, without getting sucked into the gifts and money aspect. I will share friendship and make memories with those I love based on laughter and sillyness. I will not feel guilty when someone gives me a gift ~ I will choose to see it as coming from the goodness of their heart. AND I will practice being gentle with myself as I have suggested to many others!

So, happy holidays! May we all be abundantly blessed in whatever fashion that we desire! Cheers,
Janet

I am the One

Every other week I gather with a few very wonderful women and we write poetry. It has been an awesome experience for me. I am not educated to write poetry, I do not hold any kind of degree in English literature, but I am fortunate to have been raised by parents who believed the proper use of the vocabulary was imperative, and so we spent many hours learning new words and their meanings. On a side note, I also did this with my children ~ we would take out the dictionary and choose a word, see if we knew the definition and if not we read it, then we used it in a story, then we made up other words that sounded to us to mean the same thing...

So, back to poetry group... I have used poetry as an outlet for thoughts, imaginings, feelings, events, hopes and dreams, etc. for about 5 years ~ started as a way to explore the feelings I had while going through a divorce. I was amazed at what was inside and came out on paper. With prompts (the use of objects, photos, scents, words, magazine articles) I learned to sift through the muck in my mind and have clear concise points of release.

And tonight was no different. As we sat in front of the blazing fire, our prompts were photographs. I chose an Anne Geddes that seemed to jump up and land in my hand. And so I began to receive feelings from the photo. Then I felt like someone was whispering in my ear. So I asked ~ Who Are You? And I heard...

I am the one hidden in the roots, curled around the crevices of earth and wood, sleeping neatly in the spaces in between.
I am the one you laugh with and cry with. The one who holds your hand and covers your eyes to the world hidden beneath the surface.
I am the one that sits and valiantly protects the soft broken places, filling the holes with warm rain mud so the mending can begin.
I am the one gifted with wings to fly away and touch the night of dreams. Connecting our worlds of seen and unseen.
I am the one who came here with you, from birth through growth to death and decay.
and I am the one who remains.

It flowed so quickly and once it was recorded on paper the presence that I had felt whispering over my shoulder said good night. And I am the one who remains...