Spiritual Living Blog
Angels All Around Us
International Angel Day is Sunday, September 12, 2010 - a celebration around the world of the angelic realm.
As I was preparing for the celebration that Elizabeth and I will offer in communion with so many others I was remembering how connected to the angels I was as a small child. I had a true rapport and ongoing relationship with my Guardian Angel. I can remember lying in my twin bed, leaving a space next to me so my angel could also lie down and sleep when I was sleeping. While I didn’t see my angel, I talked to her all the time - to tell her about my day and my little girl dreams and concerns. My Guardian Angel was a comfort and companion at a time when I needed that most.
In a real fit of identification with my angel, I decided that I should cut off half my bangs and give them to her. This little adventure happened because my mother had shown me a picture of angels in a story book, and, at age three, I noticed that the angels didn’t have bangs. So, later that day, after everyone had gone to sleep, I took my mother’s craft scissors silently out of the drawer where she kept them, opened the window in the bedroom I shared with my sister and cut part of my bangs off and threw the hair out the window so my angel could catch them.
You can imagine my mother’s reaction when she saw me the next morning with zig-zag bangs beyond the repair of any stylist’s skill. At first she thought my sister who was older had done it as a prank but no. I patiently explained to her that angels didn’t have bangs so I cut half of mine off to give them to the angels so I could be more like them and they could be more like me. Try arguing with that logic!!
Do you have favorite memories from your childhood of your relationship with the angels? If so, connect with them again in the spirit of International Angel Day and invite in again that little child’s belief, love and grace.
Just stay away from the scissors!
Posted by Cathleen O’Connor
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/26/10 at 02:02 PM
Intend and Intention by Cathleen O’Connor
I intend a bunch of stuff – all the time, in fact. I intend to exercise every day but often don’t. I intend to eat only organic food but still succumb to that occasional Micky D’s. I intend to go to bed at the same time each night to get a really good sleep but often get caught up in some show and then am up way past my target nighty-night goals.
Actually, now that I think about it, the stuff I intend to do rarely gets done. So what is it about intending that is different from intention? Like Indiana Jones after the Ark of the Covenant, I set out to discover the subtle shift that happens when I set intentions versus when I just intend. And I think I found the answer.
Setting an intention takes focus, clarity and dedicated energy where my intending to do something is often a throw-away thought – one that floats in and then on but never really stays long enough to take root. When I set an intention, however, I usually sit and journal about it a bit, visualize about it a bit, and take the time to see, hear, smell, taste, feel the result as if it were already with me. I honor the process and myself and that makes all the difference.
So here are my simple rules for setting intentions and moving out of the intend place into real change:
First open the heart to possibility. Often the limitations you and I may experience come from our own beliefs about what is truly possible. If you want to play in the universal amusement park, then it helps to fully open to the infinite potentiality and possibility inherent in every moment.
Next open the mind to flexibility. If you’ve always done things the same way and still don’t have what you want, then you may be holding too tightly to how something is supposed to unfold. Remove all expectations and let the universe surprise you. I’ve found that universal wisdom will always come up with more spectacular results than I could ever imagine.
Take a few moments to dedicate to the process – just a few – you can fit it in, I promise. In those few moments, write your intention in as positive language as you can muster. Then sit and close your eyes and visualize that intention fulfilled. Really see, hear, taste, smell and sense your life with that intention manifest. Feel happy – happiness raises the vibration so get into your happy place and go with it. When you feel you really have it you are there and sending your intention out to the universe – all wrapped up with a big, bright red bow.
Happy Intentions!!
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/19/10 at 07:21 PM
The Final Awakening by Deborah at beingknowingdoing.com
Death—- the last sleep? No the final awakening.~Walter Scott
Death as the final awakening? Yes!
I love this quote because it sums up everything I’ve come to learn about death. The WORD death makes most people shutter. The WORD conveys’an ending’ of some sort, and usually not a good one at that! THIS is what I would like to change in our world!
As I know it, death is a BIRTH into something new- ALWAYS. Death is a transformation of energy. Sometimes that energy is of ‘form’, like when a person’s body dies, or when we simply boil a full pot of water until it evaporates. Yes, I DO recognize there is a major difference between a pot of water evaporating, and a loved one’s passing. The difference comes from what we believe we can recreate. We can not make our loved ones come back into form. We can ALWAYS boil another pot of water. We are more attached to the things we feel we can not make new again. We try to keep things status quo in fear of having too much change. By design this halts the entire process of life and living and shuts down the entire system. For example,when a cell of our body refuses to go through its normal death cycle, the cell continues to replicate and it creates a mass.. often times known as cancer. It then goes on to affect the entire system.
We grieve deeply for the things that’once were’.. which includes your smaller waistline, your youth, your carefree and fearless attitude, a good time, ..yesterday. However, we never really enjoy these things in the moment anyway, because we are never really fully present.
When we go with the ‘grander’ plan, and come from an understanding that nature has Divine Intelligence and THIS intelligence is precisely what we are made of, we can fully embrace, understand and process the ‘flow’. We can become powerful co creators in the process of our own dying.. or living. Which ever you prefer to call it.
Death is all around us AND within us every day. When are YOU going to embrace and LOVE that fact? That is when you are fully integrated into the ‘Divine Flow’.
When we embrace death, we are fully present in our life !
Join me on WednesdayMay 5th at 7PM EST when I launch my new and exciting 5 part series on the above topic in a Worldwide Teleconference right here on SpiritualLiving.com! More details to follow!!
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/07/10 at 05:25 PM
Prayer For Finding Your Life Purpose
Excerpted from Karen Paolino’s new book The Everything Guide to Angels
What does it mean, “living your life purpose”? When you are expressing who you are and doing what you love to do from your authentic self, you are living in purpose. You share with others your gifts, your talents, and what you feel passionate about. When you’re in purpose, you feel good about yourself because you know you’re making a contribution to enhance or help others in some way.
Purpose is what brings you joy, happiness, peace, and fulfillment. It’s not living from the expectations of others or doing what you have to do or are supposed to do. When this happens you feel stuck and trapped in a something that’s not who you are. This creates unhappiness, resentment, depression, and stress.
PRAYER TO SAY…
“Archangel Chamuel, Archangel Michael, Archangel Jehudiel, Gazardiel, and Hasmal, my desire is to know and live from my divine purpose. You know exactly what it is that will bring me happiness, fulfillment, purpose, and joy. Help me to unfold it for myself. Give me the direction, courage, and guidance I need to become one with my divine purpose. Show me the possibilities to live my purpose fully and to create all the abundance I need and desire. Thank you.”
Karen Paolino will be offering a Working with Archangel Haniel and Archangel Jeremiel: Enhancing Intuition and Receiving Divine Guidance teleseminar this Thursday, April 8, 2010. She is one of Spiritual Living’s regular presenter and is author of The Everything Guide to Angels and What Would Love Do?, a channeled 40 day journey to transform your fears into miracles of love. She is a Certified Angel Therapy Practitioner, a Hypnotherapist, and is founder of Heaven on Earth, a spiritual center for the soul in Abington, Ma. Karen is a passionate, clairvoyant spiritual counselor who teaches and empowers others to recognize their ability to communicate and connect with the angelic realm.
Register for Karen’s Class
Find Out More About Karen’s Work
Added by Elizabeth Harper
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/05/10 at 01:08 PM
Ask Alim - By Spiritual Living Co-Founder Elizabeth Harper
Many years ago, when I was first inspired to “channel” or Inspirationally Speak I would do so in my own home with no one around and no recording equipment. Eventually I was impressed with the idea of writing what came through. Whenever someone wanted to communicate with me in this way I would get a feeling in my throat as if a peanut were stuck in it. Then there would be an almost cobweb like feeling that would cover my face. This was my cue to prepare for a “transmission.”
Usually I would write about two pages of information, mostly about earth changes, what to expect in the coming years, and general information about my personal progress. It was really nothing spectacular and I believe what was happening was part of my training as a channel. But, one thing remained the same, I would always off the transmission with the word “ALIM.” I thought this was just another name for Amen.
Then one day the entity that would normally transmit messages asked if I would be willing to channel a different entity. What did I have to lose, so I said OK! This entity had a totally different and almost felt like he was coming from a higher dimension. His transmission was about my work with color and how we had, in a previous lifetime, worked together to bring the knowledge of color healing to the masses. He said our work was written about in “The Books of Abraham.” As soon as the transmission was over and I signed off with the usual Alim, I sprung into action and scoured all my books, including the Bible to find this Book of Abraham. I had no luck, so I went to the library - this was long before the computer age, so my only avenue of research was the written word. Still, I did not find anything about this book.
A night or two later I was lying in bed and heard some voices that appeared to be coming from another space and time. We had a conversation, but I can’t remember what it was about. I do remember they told me that they came from Arcturus. When the conversation ended I again checked my library and discovered that Arcturus was one of the farthest stars in our universe, but I gleaned very little else.
The next day I went to work at a center in London where I gave workshops and consultations. The man who owned the center had just returned from the US. I happened to ask him if he knew anything about Arcturus. He immediately put his hand in his bag and produced a book - We the Arcturians. I was not the first to have a conversation with Arcturians.
I devoured the book and toward the end was surprised to find the answer to another question I had. The Acrturians were asked about the second coming of Christ. Their answer surprised me, but not in the way you think. They said the second coming was not a person, it was an energy - Christ Consciousness. They said this has been written about long ago, but that it was no longer available on earth. The book they were talking about was called “THE BOOKS OF ABRAHAM!” When I read this I almost fell off my chair.
In the ensuing years I came to understand that Alim was not another word for Amen, it was a name, the name of my main guide. When the Internet became the research tool of choice I “Googled” the name. Alim means Teacher. I don’t believe this is his name. I have never seen him and yet recently our work together has become ground-breaking and innovative and with this I am beginning to glimpse his form.
He is a master teacher, he does not give me a name because he doesn’t need to. Names are human. As spirit we are the name of light and love. He chose to be labeled Alim because he is my teacher and it helps me to identify with him in this way.
His work with me has been multi-faceted. If you listened to the Opening to the Divine Series or the Spring Cleaning seminar then you will know that he is bringing in new information about the chakras and especially the ascension energy. This is all new to me and I am in awe of how this work is evolving. He has chosen to share this information with the Spiritual Living community, so I feel that my work with Cathleen is of great importance to our development as spirit having a hue-man experience.
Posted by Elizabeth Harper
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 03/31/10 at 09:08 PM
Cleanliness is Next to Godliness - By Spiritual Living Co-Founder Elizabeth Harper
This Sunday Cathleen and I will be offering a FREE teleseminar to welcome in the Spring, and what do we do at spring time? We spring clean! So naturally we are following up the Ostara class with a Spring Cleaning teleseminar later in the week.
As the earth awakens in the northern hemisphere, I am mindful of nature’s agreement to communicate significant messages to me, whether it is a mosquito biting me to wake up, or a frog gently prodding me to cleanse. After all everything is an extension of our consciousness. A butterfly can mean transformation and change; an armadillo might reflect barriers and protection; while a rainstorm just at the right moment may signify a need to renew energy. The interpretation of the message wholly depends upon our own personal dictionary of symbolism, where our consciousness is focused, and how open we are to receive the sign. Well, your clutter is a sign too, it could be telling you that an area of your life is stuck.
This month be aware of your surroundings, the messages in nature, how the weather reflects your inner world, play with the communication of the clouds, and remain open to the soul-driven interpretation of each sign. Be mindful of what is an extension of your consciousness and what is simply a natural part of your reality.
A final note – If you are reading this article you may also need a gentle prod to cleanse. So, here are three suggestions, sign up for the Spring Cleaning teleseminar to get more tips on cleansing.
1. The simplest way to cleanse is to imagine a waterfall of light showering your auric field and personal space.
2. Take a shower or a bath to cleanse energy. Salts, such as Epsom salts are perfect in a bath. You can also use a salt scrub in the shower. Salt is a cleansing agent and is well know in the Craft as a protective agent.
3. Sound is an effective cleanser. Clapping your hands, using bells, chimes, crystal bowls, music, singing, anything that has vibrational potential can change stagnant energy.
Posted by Elizabeth Harper
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 03/16/10 at 03:21 PM
Thoughts for December
Something feels different about this holiday season to me. Recently I read that food banks in the area and charities that collect gifts for children in the social services system are reporting a dearth of donations compared to last year. It’s understandable. It can be hard to give when one’s own resources feel so limited. Yet, in spite of the problems all around, there is something else that seems to be stirring. I hear people talking more this year about their connections to family, friends and each other and less about shopping, the hectic flurry of holiday parties and what to wear on New Year’s Eve. We seem to be holding a collective breath waiting to say goodbye to 2009 - a truly challenging year on so many fronts.
What’s wonderful though, while we are all waiting to exhale, is that this truly is the season of grace - when small acts of kindness and connection really make a difference - when we reach out to each other with wishes for a brighter future and good fortune in the year ahead. This year the gift for all of us I think is that gift of grace - that gift of remembering what really matters and how celebrating that never goes out of fashion. In difficult times, grace is always present, just waiting to be discovered - a precious gift in plain wrapping that soothes the soul.
So, may you be blessed this season with grace, peace and the true joy and love of family and friends. May you keep your heart open to greet the new year and plant beautiful seeds this winter of hope and desire.
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/30/09 at 07:34 PM
A Season of Gratitude
The season where we want to cultivate an “attitude of gratitude” is upon us. And that has me thinking about why gratitude is such an important spiritual concept and practice. For some time now I have prepared for bed each night with my own gratitude ritual. I end my day, each day, taking a few moments (or even seconds) to express thanks for all the wonderful people, events, challenges, surprises and mysteries of my life. And I do this regardless of what has happened that day - whether the news has been good or bad - whether I have felt well or ill - whether dreams have manifested or died - whether I have been a gracious expression of my divine nature or a comic misadventure at play in the world (you’d be amazed at how often THAT happens!).
Most of all I find that my gratitude ritual helps me keep perspective and a sense of humor about my own spiritual unfoldment. It reminds me always that I remain a work in progress - an unfinished piece of magnificent art, sculpted by an unseen hand committed to revealing the beauty within. Gratitude turns our attention away from our national obsession with imperfection and back to the divine reality of the present moment. And, in the present moment, we are always and forever safe, loved, eternal and in perfection. I think the Divine gift is to see all life as a mosaic of an image ever evolving. If you can observe the work from just the right distance you can see the total unbroken whole of light and radiance rather than the individual jagged bits of color and shape. My gratitude ritual reminds me I am part of the brilliant whole and softens the jagged edges of my being, bringing me into harmony with the creative source.
So, in this season of gratitude my wish is that you open to the grateful heart within. As you do, may you receive all the blessings of the season and of each other.
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/15/09 at 11:04 AM