it's all about love

these pictures were sent to me by a friend and they opened my heart, creating so much joy and tears of gratitude. this chimp has help to raise several tigers and leopards in her lifetime. sometimes enemies can be the best of friends when you open your heart to love.

sometimes life shows you miracles. often times it is trying to show you love. be open.

Interview on Empathy

I responded to an article request on Empathy and here is the whole article:
Do you feel what I feel?

and an excerpt: article by Kathy Gruver

By now, some of you will recognize yourself in these descriptions. Learning to feel without taking on too much is a skill that takes some practice. You certainly don’t want to suffer or have to leave society because you’re so overloaded. I consulted numerous practitioners and other resources to find ways to control and enhance this energy. Here are some of the answers I found:

• Be choosy, stay away from “psychic vampires” who want to zap your energy and learn to put up an “energetic shield.”
• Donna Eden in her Energy Healing videos suggests zipping up your energy like a coat and locking it by placing your tongue behind your top teeth.
• Marci Wolcott suggests visualizing cords at the bottom of your feet attaching you to earth. She also imagines golden cuffs at her wrists that stop the energy from traveling further.
• Watch your diet. A vegetarian diet can leave some people untethered. Meat can help ground you.
• Engage in a spiritual discipline, such as meditation or prayer. Chakra work was recommended by several practitioners for strengthening spirit.
• Amy Goetz, a bodyworker, imagines gold light filling her body and does slow breathing.
• Some people rely on crystals for protection, such as boji stones or quartz crystals.
• Find a teacher, mentor or guide. Speak with others who have developed this skill. The Internet is a great resource for these connections.
• Spend time in nature. Let the trees or the earth take the excess.
• Respect yourself. If you need a break, take the time to recharge, whether with a massage or a long walk.
• Learn energy work. After I learned reiki, I was less apt to take a client’s physical pain, but still able to instinctively find it on her body.
• Take a break from too much negativity. Avoid the news, the newspaper and the needy neighbors for awhile, so you can rest.
• Try to remain positive, and realize as hard as it is sometimes, this truly is a gift that can benefit others.

As you grow and mature as a healer and acquire a stronger sense of self, you will find that your empathy grows and changes as well. You’ll uncover a sharper sense of intuition and a better ability to shield yourself. As Reiki Master Eddie Rose says, “Every gift has its own purpose, and each gift is valuable. I am very thankful for it.” Accept your gift and share it generously with others!

the lonely tomato

please help this amazing band go viral... distribute widely, watch often and comment with exuberance.

nightime questions

did you ever have the feeling you are living totally two (or more) totally different lives?

just contemplating randomness as i am not sleeping and decided to babble about it. but not really babble just pose the question. sometimes aspects of my life and personality seem do disparate from each other that there's no way i'm not leading several lives.

i think i should shut up and sleep now...

markings

last night i dreamed of a tattoo

i have never wanted something permanent lingering on my body. yet last night i dreamed of a tattoo, my tattoo. twining across my back igniting a fire within.

i understand the idea of claiming and marking rights of passage or claiming of ranks. this went beyond and embraced it all. i love other peoples markings and the visual artist within loves the idea of color and contrast on skin, just never wanted one of my own.

we'll see if i can reclaim the visual image and translate it into 2 dimensions. i'm not sure it's that important. i'm already marked, i can feel the shift, so the idea of actually marking is secondary.

you know when life presents you magic sometimes it's all you can do to not run away.

it's terribly hard to stand in the beauty and majesty of the world.

it makes you feel small...

but if you can embrace this infancy you can begin to feel your bigger connection to the entire universe.

a goal for 2009

If you could meet one person... (link to Seth Godin's full blog entry)

"Think about this for a moment. If a trusted friend could arrange a meeting between you and anyone of your choosing, who would you choose?

Not for entertainment or curiosity or bragging rights, but to help your business. Who could help? Someone who could actually aid your marketing or development...

If you're an author, can Jeff Bezos at Amazon help you more than a motivated promotions manager far down the ladder? It's unlikely.

So, who is it? Hint, it's not the Wizard of Oz or the Pope or Barack Obama. It's someone not famous, someone who actually makes things happen and someone who actually cares. Think hard... Got it?

Great. Go meet them."

First I have to figure out who I'm supposed to meet and then I will go seek them out this year. Amazing things will happen... who is your person? I'd love to hear.

Raindrop Theraphy

Earlier in the month I rambled on about the lovely hot stone massage I received from Michele Timm at Maya. I also promised I'd do a follow up post about her Raindrop Therapy.

There are very few words to describe this treatment. All I can really say is I felt utterly transformed. I went into the office the day after making a 14 hour drive home from Sacramento CA. I was tired and felt like I was coming down with a cold, really lethargic and sore throat. I left feeling energy, less tension in my throat and more... alive or something.

The process is simple essential oils worked into neck, then feet to ground. Then you turn over and these oils are dripped along your spine, each in accompanied by a different pattern and different strokes. It's so hard to describe as the sensations and scents put you into a lovely bliss coma.

Michele offers your first session in Raindrop therapy at $60 a $20 savings.

If you are feeling energetically stuck, spiritually/mentally/emotionally drained or like you just collected a whole bunch of toxic waste from some event, I highly recommend a visit. It is beyond amazing. Plus you smell really damn good afterwords.

Michele's contact info and offerings:

Availability & Pricing ::
Mondays,Thursdays,Fridays and Saturdays, as well as by appointment. Call 206.465.2648.
Swedish/Deep Tissue- 60 min. $60, 90 min. $75
60 min. packages: 5 for $275, 10 for $500
90 min. packages: 5 for $350, 10 for $650
Hot Stone Massage: 90 min. $85, 120 min./$120
Raindrop Therapy: 75 min. $80 ($60 first time visit)

West Seattle Herald

Look there's me :D

Look into 2009

"There's hope out there" West Seattle psychics look at the year ahead

by Steve Shay

Friday, January 02, 2009

In years past, those suffering from a lonely-heart or physical illness may have consulted a psychic for a peak into their future for a hopeful sign. The psychic, in turn, consulted a large crystal ball, a numerology chart, a deck of tarot cards, and personal intuition in hopes of finding that sign. But it's 2009, and everything has changed, even in the mysterious world of the occult.

According to three area professionals claiming psychic ability or fine-tuned intuition who offer "readings," the universal question, "Will I ever find Mr. Right?" percolating behind storefront curtains, in coffee shop booths, and at corporate summer picnics, has yielded to, "When will I get a job?"

Fortune Teller Sheila Lyon owns Market Magic in Pike Place Market and has done over one hundred bachelorette parties in West Seattle and entertained at area corporate events.

She struggled to lift a heavy crystal ball, 200 millimeters in diameter, or about 7 inches, at Market Magic. "These lead crystal balls are made in Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Italy," she said. Her shop is wallpapered with large, colorful vintage posters of Houdini, bearded mystics, and other, other-worldly performers. She sells large crystal balls for about $700, ventriloquist dolls and the apparatus to safely saw your assistant in half. "You never know what you're going to see in a crystal ball," she said. "I definitely feel something coming from this crystal ball. This is really weird but I'm seeing libraries, shelves and shelves of books, and cooking, people getting together to cook more often. The poor economy is humbling. People are going to get together."

In Lyon's shop, four customers pulled four "Native American Medicine Cards" from a 56-card deck, one for each season in 2009. All have colorful drawings of a full moon. On some are feathers to represent air, coral to represent water, and horns or animal teeth to represent land. The first three cards chosen were the Raven, Weasel, and Porcupine. Lyon said the Raven means tough times in winter and we'll need a bit of magic to get through it. The Weasel means we will need a sense of humor to make it through spring. The Porcupine card means, "Back off. I am on a mission...Hard work ahead."

A customer chose the "Blank" card for fall, and Lyon's eyes lit up. "This is like the 'wild card,'" she exclaimed. "This means that by the end of fall dreams will come true. That's a great sign to end 2009."

"We all need a tune up in 2009," said Amy Goetz, who lives and works in West Seattle. She practices "transformative body work," and is a degreed in massage therapy and reflexology. She also reads tarot cards and practices shamanism. "We're all carrying around a story. When things get bleak we forget we are the authors of our own story. My job is to jump start it, look at patterns, talk about things we can change to get you on a new path, and take action.

"We need to get off our collective asses," she said. "Stop sitting in front of the TV and start taking action. It doesn't have to be huge, but if you want anything to change you need to act. We also need to listen to the committees in our head. In 2009, people have to stop getting into self-depreciating patterns, and create a positive, hopeful story. We must then proceed from the inability to move, past guilt, and into discovery. Find teachers to help take small actions as 2009 progresses. Stand up and walk forward. This is a healing process.

"I've noticed a lot of people in West Seattle seeking out new direction, 'Do I start a new job? Do I start living my dream, or hold onto security in fear of losing my job?' Some people cling to, 'I don't know what's going to happen,' while others say, 'Maybe this recession is an opportunity to change.'"

"My shamanic work is based on indigenous spirituality, connecting to nature, yourself, the healing of your soul," she said. "Any traumatic event you have had caused a flaking off of your soul. Trauma causes fright, and as a result, a part of you fractures off like little pieces of glass. Shamanic work goes into the in- between world, a meditative state, to bring back the pieces. "

"I use intuitional insight as well as a numerology format," said Lance Campbell of West Seattle. He is a friend and colleague of Lyon, and they work corporate parties together. "I just enlighten (clients) in a helpful way so that their decisions are their own." The Australian-born 50 year-old with the rectangular mustache and beard wears a "yukata," an Asian robe to add a look of Eastern ambiance, and acknowledged a large component of his profession is performance. He puts on "interactive ESP" shows and said he plays with human psychology.

"After my ESP show an onslaught of folks from the audience want their numerology explained. I won't invade their private thoughts. I won't embarrass them. Corporate clients can relax on that.

"For 2009, how we do Chinese numerology is the 2 plus the 9 equals 11. You then add the two ones which equal two. The number two represents continuation without real change, while people will experience more of a community feel, due possibly to economic times. We will become close knit and help each other, either outwardly or it could be behind the scenes. I fill my mental vision around West Seattle and see that in 2009 people will realize they need to take care of trees more. People who are cutting trees down should stop and say, 'If we're not careful we're going to look like Kansas.'

" I see more people coming in (to West Seattle.) This may spur us on to actually do better mass transit into the city.

"We're at a point of change. It is not like a wall, but a hill we are standing before. There is hope out there, tempered with a little bit of fear, definitely."

To contact any of these purveyors of psychic services visit these links:

www.divaofdivination.com (Sheila Lyon)

www.barefootphoenix.com (Amy Goetz)

www.anespexperience.com (Lance Campbell)