Notes on the Coming Year
Hello friends. I hope this finds you rolling in the new year with grace, humor, and tenacity. I appear to have become very lax in my posting, and I do apologize. Perhaps this year I shall improve, eh? For now, I just want to say a few things about the coming year 2010.

This year promises to be a challenging one. Energies are shifting in a big way, and will continue to do so through 2012. Because of these shifts, you can expect the rate of change to accelerate, causing situations to become increasing unstable, chaotic, and -- if you do not stay grounded and clear -- frustrating, daunting; even maddening. The theme is change. Change toward higher consciousness, personally and globally. To get there, however, all that is dark and disowned must be revealed, healed, and integrated. And this could make solid ground feel a bit slippery-slidey at times.

It is the "revealing phase" that presents the challenge. We've already been in it for a while, but it's growing more intense. Can you feel it? Perhaps you are already being challenged. If not, good for you! But know this: more and more, things will seem to get in the way. Jobs may be lost, things break down, relationships end... Life changes we may not immediately appreciate may be shattered-glass-w-smiley.jpgthrust upon us. You may feel like you're battling an uphill battle, even coming to the place where you find yourself on the edge of a cliff wondering how you got there. What is important to bear in mind, to remember at all times, is that this is necessary change. If you want to be a better person and build a better world, then everything that does not serve has got to go. The weak, sickly, dead and cluttering branches must be pruned so that, when the tree is shaken and the fruit falls, we can eat of its lusciousness, nourishing our souls.

So, my admonishment to all you dear seekers and lightworkers out there is to be prepared for change, whether you think you like it or not. Try not to grieve overmuch those branches that are cut away but, instead, look expectantly ahead for what will take their place. Work to consciously release attachment people-holding-hands-sunset.jpgto things and ways that may have served in the past, recognizing that new ways of being and doing are required now. And, above all, take heart, recognizing it's all for the Higher Good. Put on the mind of the warrior. Set your intent to shed the old skin and plunge in, letting Spirit refresh you with living waters along the way. If we hang in there together, combining our intent for a clear and true ascent, we will see the New Day dawn on the horizon. We ARE seeing a new day dawn on the horizon! So keep pluckin' away, friend, and take heart!

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copyright Ashandra-Aah 2010
Passionate Spirituality

In preparing for an upcoming retreat she was facilitating, a very lovely friend of mine asked if I would care to respond to a question surrounding her main theme for the event. The question asked was "What does passionate spirituality mean to you?" Having dashed something off (she asked it be only a few sentences), I thought it would be nice to provide my answer here, with an invitation for readers to add theirs to the comments. I'd love to hear your own thoughts!


To me, “passionate spirituality” is the drive I feel within myself to live life honestly; to make, what is at times, the hardest choice to do what’s right -- even when most inconvenient -- and to live in a manner congruent with what I profess to be my beliefs. Passionate for me means having faith that is strong enough to weather rough seas without capsizing my boat, to smile in the midst of tears, knowing a light will dawn with the new day, and to laugh at myself and my foibles, all the while being able to truly see the beauty all around me. From whence comes this deep desire to be aligned with Light, to behold the world with wonder, and to walk in love and humble gratitude if not from Spirit who created All? 

 

May you live true to your own Passion,
Ashandra-Aah

Happy Earth Day!
I Thank You God for Most This Amazing

beachguywithsun.jpg
I thank you God for most this amazing day:
for the leaping, greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;
and for everything which is natural
which is infinite
which is yes

(I who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;
this is the birthday of life and love and wings:
and of the gay great happening illimitably earth)

How should tasting touching hearing
seeing breathing any - lifted from the no
of all nothing - human-merely-being
doubt unimaginable You?

(Now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

by E.E. Cummings
The Key to Everything

The Heart of the Shaman

 

We’re living in an amazing time, a time when prophecies offered throughout the ages are finally coming to pass. Today, we are witnessing and participating in the collective, transpersonal remembrance that we are so much more than flesh third-eye-light.jpgand blood; that the true nature of ourselves and the universe is more than has been dreamt of in our science and philosophies. It is an age of throwing off historic shackles of mind control, tearing down energy fences that separated us from galactic neighbors, and obliterating spiritual oppression to reclaim our birthright as Children of God. This is the time that the psychics, seers, lightworkers, and pathfinders of the past century foresaw, dreamt of, and worked to prepare for us. This is the age of our coming into Power.

 

A lot of the people I meet – as with many of you readers out there – are excited about the potentialities we are discovering and the manifestations we are experiencing. And well you should be. It’s truly exciting stuff! As a spiritual guide, however, I want to share my concerns that so much of this “awakening to power” appears to be taking place apart from true psychological and spiritual development.

 

In the “old days” when I was coming up, there was strong resistance in every quarter toward anyone finding their power. Science wasn’t talking about quantum realities, as it is now, but Newtonian physics. Medical centers didn’t believe in Healing Touch, or even the power of Prayer; they promoted the “unholy trinity” of drugs, radiation and surgery. And people like me, who questioned consensus reality and bucked the status quo, were considered flakes, quacks, and heretics. There were no schools for spiritual development, nor best-selling shamans with programs to be accessed for training. If you really wanted to find out what was “out there,” you had to learn the hard way: through disciplined, individual trail and error, or by finding the rare opportunity to become a real shaman’s apprentice. Such apprenticeships involved a deep commitment of seven to twelve years, during which time one was not only taught a model of the universe and how to access power but, more importantly, was put through a rigorous process designed to heal emotional wounds and purify the intentions of the heart. In short, apprenticeships honed people to be pure vessels for power, not just wielders of it. Today, training programs by “commercial shamans” focus on indigenous cosmology and certain healing skills but do very little in the way of helping students develop as wise, loving, spiritual beings – qualities which were abundant in shamans of old. Just as I found some of the most dysfunctional people in training programs for psychotherapists, I’ve also found some of the most fearful, insecure, jealous, and wounded people in these shamanic programs.

 

This is not to criticize other urban shamans or any program out there that heartshaped_hands_small.jpgteaches shamanic healing techniques. These programs have their place and are needed in the world today. And people who have been deeply wounded often make the best shamans, once they find their healing. What concerns me, though, is that people are coming out of these programs calling themselves “shamans,” while often lacking that requisite wholeness and balance that title deserves. They are healers, yes. But not shamans in the classical sense.

 

So what is the point of this little trip down Memory Lane? To point out that, though we are witnessing an unprecedented access to trainings on how to wield power, we are seeing diminishing guidance and apprenticeship on heart-based, compassionate living and being. And it is from this place that all power should, ideally, emerge.

 

“Without Love Ye are Nothing.”

 

We are incredible beings with access to Infinite Power. We can travel through time and space, heal with a thought, leave our bodies and travel the stars. We can control the weather, create perfect health, attract wealth, and – dare I say it – manifest world peace…with nothing more than the energy of our thoughts, channeled through focused intent.

 

But what is seldom discussed and oft overlooked is the fact that we can just as easily use these newfound powers to destroy as to create. If we are empowered to affect reality through Intent: if we learn how to move objects at will or manifest Something from Nothing -- with just a thought -- then don’t you think our thoughts had better be pure? Do you want someone burning alive when you burn inside with anger? Would you like nuclear missiles to go off, or an earthquake to erupt, because your fear is triggered over global events? Do you want to see someone against whom you harbor unforgiveness become chronically ill? Sounds like a Stephen King novel, doesn’t it? Surely none of us would want that! Yet, all potential – for both creation and destruction – resides within that Power toward which we now draw near. It happened in our distant past. That is why it is crucial that we understand, in an age when we are developing command of our Potential, that nothing less than total, absolute, complete and unconditional love for all beings will allow us to craft the world of Light we so desire. This is not a game folks. We’re not here just so we can feel energy buzzing, get psychic hits on lottery numbers or command a parking space to open up. We are here to become gods. Not petty, jealous, and cruel gods. But participants in the Supreme Love that created all things and holds all things together.

 

Love is the force that turns on the Light. It is the battery, the powerhouse, the generator that ignites and sustains the higher vibrations. That is why the Ascended Master Jesus taught that we should love our enemies and bless those who curse us. Well how many of us do that!? Heck, we have enough trouble just loving our parents who made some mistakes, or the neighbor with the loud music or barking dog. Don’t we now? How many of us can send a heart-of-light.gifbubble of love and light out to surround the terrorist or rapist? Yet these are the tasks that we’re here to do, lightworker. Think about it. We don’t need lighthouses where everyone can already see. If it were that easy, everyone would be doing it. No, we need the light where the world is dark: in the dangerous places, devoid of hope. Can you love people who don’t believe the same as you? Can you love people who think you’re crazy for believing you have 12 strands of DNA, or that you get messages from angels? Can you love people who say you’re a heretic, an apostate; an insane person? Can you love people who pollute the planet when you hear Gaia crying out to you? SEND LOVE to these people. They are the ones who need it! There’s no one here who doesn’t need love. Our very DNA responds to it. It goes down into the Earth, creating a repository that assists the Mother to vibrate faster, then comes back up in a feedback system designed to enlighten the planet. Your loving a stranger in New York City could help someone forgive their enemy in the Middle East. All around the world love surfaces from the wellspring you help feed. So don’t be afraid; get your love out there!  

 

Be Not Afraid

 

You can love as much or as little as you like. The choice is yours; there is no judgment. But let’s get one thing straight: you can give and give all day long if you want and you will never run out of gas. The biggest reason we don’t give more is because we’re afraid. Fear, not hate, is the opposite of love. In the 1980’s a concept called “codependency” became popular, changing our cultural consciousness around giving. People – even therapists and counselors – began teaching that a lot of the ways we were loving were unhealthy, that we shouldn’t give and give; that there’s something wrong with us if we do. helpinghands.jpgWell, here’s the truth: YOU CAN NEVER GIVE TOO MUCH OF YOURSELF. If there’s such a thing as codependency, it is giving out of fear so that someone will return the favor. When we seek something in return, we are clinging to ideas of separation and limitation; operating from a belief that we need to get “our own” reward or our well will somehow run dry. And in the ‘80’s, they were actually telling us this would happen! But our well will never run dry. How can you run out of gas when your tank is running on God, hmm? Pure Living Waters flow out of the spigot all the day long, day and night, and will never, ever stop. The Source is always there; it’s us who turns off the spigot. So turn it on and leave it on and you will find a never-ending flow of love bursting through for yourself and others.

 

Where’s Your Heart At?

 

You may be saying about now, “Oh yeah, I have love. My thoughts are pure.” Or you might be thinking, “Gosh, gee. I didn’t really think this all the way though.” If you’re really honest with yourself, power will scare you at least a little bit. The best shamans and healers I know were often the most reluctant ones. We spent more time running from our power than longing for it because we understood the ramifications of it all too clearly. The old saying “absolute power corrupts absolutely” is true. And the only counter – the only thing that can gird us against that corruption – that can save our society, transform our world, and create what we really want in the deepest parts of our heart -- is love.

 

So while you’re working to develop all your skills, while you’re bringing forth your abilities, celebrating and dancing with joy at your own magnificence and experiencing your power, take the time, also, to ask yourself some hard questions:

 

  • Is there anyone at all, in the entire world, who I have not forgiven?
  • Is there any person against whom I hold any grudge; any anger?
  • Is there anyone I blame for any of my pain?
  • Is there anyone I envy?
  • Is there any person, thing, or situation that elicits within me jealousy?
  • Is there anything I am afraid of?
  • Do I harbor any beliefs that I am anything less than 100% responsible for how I feel?
  • Do I understand that I am as happy as I choose to be?
  • Am I in any way careless in my caretaking of the earth and her creatures? Do I control or manipulate it/them for my own benefit or amusement?
  • Am I lax in recycling, conserving energy, and other things that can protect Gaia?

 

If you can answer any of these questions in the affirmative, it’s time to do more work on getting clear. Make a list and keep adding to it. Every day, pay attention to yourself. Like Sherlock Holmes, stalk your every thought and feeling for clues to your own hang-ups and triggers. Do not be dismayed if the list grows long. The more honest you are, the better. If we want a world full of light, that is truly IN-Lightened, then it must start with the person in the mirror, as they say: with our own purity of thought and intention. Then, use that list to go back and systematically remove every imprint, rewrite every story. Forgive every person, including yourself, who you think caused you pain. Face your fears, be gentle with the earth. Some people go to healers like me to facilitate the removal of imprints, a few practice Recapitulation, others go into therapy, while still others use ritual or bodywork to release their inner demons. However you choose to do it, whatever technique(s) you prefer, just to do it. Take the time; commit yourself to the process of purification.

 

The Place of True Giving

 

True giving comes from an expanded heart, a place of unconditional love, and occurs so that others -- and the world itself -- can expand. Love does not expect praise, thanks, acknowledgement or anything else in return. The only thing love wants is to see its effects brighten the world. The result of giving is its own reward.

 

If you can love every day like that, you’re going to be shining a very bright light indeed: on the world, on your own body, on places of darkness you’ve never even been. Perhaps you’re saying, “But how do I do that? If I’m honest with myself, I notice that I do want something back when I love. When I’m nice to someone, I want them to be nice in return. When I do something good, I want to be thanked or noticed. I want someone to tell me I’m good and nice and beautiful. I want to be loved. How do I get away from that?” The answer is in connection with Spirit.

 

There is no substitute for experiencing the love and the light that is there for you personally. When you taste that Living Water, you’ll have no need for payback birth-of-majeston_cropped-enlarged.jpgfrom others for no one could give you anything so sweet. But to get there, you must make the time to go within yourself, asking Spirit to pour that love through the interdimensional layers of your DNA up into every part of you. Visualize the Pure Light flooding every layer of your being, coming through the Void that is in your DNA, expanding far out past the edges of your aura. Feel it permeate you, saturating your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies. Make your desire and intentions to be a pure vessel known, and the love will come. It will. It won’t happen overnight, but you will experience a growing awareness of your short-comings and witness them as they easily fall away according to your intent.

 

Bountiful Benefits

 

Once you do this work, I guarantee you will feel lighter and freer. You will have less compulsion to overeat or drink. You will cease to attract the wrong kind of lovers, or to attract them for the wrong reasons. You will stop creating a role for yourself as a victim. You will use your skills and powers more naturally and easily, and, most importantly of all, more beneficially to yourself and the planet. As you consciously release all dense energies from your being and invite in Pure Love, you’ll be more comfortable in your skin, whether alone or in a crowd. You’ll be free of the need for attention, of any drive to feel important; free of any agenda at all except to bring love to this planet. You will know pure joy and deep satisfaction. And that is true freedom, my friend, and that is why we are here.


Copyright Ashandra-Aah 2008. May not be copied, sold, or reproduced without author's permission.

Glorious Goals

Happy New Year friends! 

 

Every year, about this time of year, you no doubt hear people talking about their “New Year’s resolutions.” I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard, “Next year I’m gonna do _____.” Next year I’m gonna lose weight, next year I’m going to quit smoking, next year I’m gonna exercise more, etc, etc. Yet, once the new year rolls around, how many people actually follow through? Not many, I’m afraid. Maybe you’ve been there yourself. Frustrating, isn’t it? Then, after “failing,” confidence is deflated, your energy around it wanes, and you feel even less likely to succeed than you did before! Not exactly what you had in mind, is in?

 

The word resolution means to be resolute, to be firm and unwavering in one’s position. When you are resolute, you have a powerful intent. When one is truly resolute, one will not fail. Clearly, we’re having trouble with the resolution part of our New Year’s resolutions. Being resolute is hard. It takes the deepest commitment. And if you’re that ready to make a change, you won’t be waiting for New Year’s to do it. So maybe we need to view New Years resolutions in a different way. The advent of a new year is, after all, an opportunity to make a new start. Any excuse to wipe the slate clean and do better is a good one, right? So how can we make the most of this new year? Here’s some suggestions I hope you’ll find helpful.

 

Setting Goals

 

Instead of thinking about resolutions, I like to think of it in terms of New Year Goals. Goals aren’t something you can succeed or fail at. They’re things you choose to work on, that you’re moving toward. So, as Jack Frost drives us to hunker down indoors in search of warmth and comfort, we quite naturally move into a time of reflection and assessment.

 

My own “looks within time” each year often begins with reading my old journal entries for the past year or two. If you journal, this is a great thing to do on an annual basis. I start by reviewing my previous goals, evaluating how I have grown, what has shifted, and the accomplishments that are manifest. This is important. We don’t want to be so wrapped up in looking for where we fell down or what’s next that we fail to appreciate where we have been and the good we have wrought. We need to rejoice in those things, pat ourselves on the back, and thank Spirit for each healing, shift, and accomplishment. Have a party, go out to dinner – do something nice for yourself!

 

Reviewing the Year

 

As I review my notes, I stay aware for any patterns that may want to be uncovered, scanning for weaknesses as I go, and looking for areas in which I have not yet climbed the lofty heights to which I may aspire. Lastly, I scan the spiritual practices, activities, and activations I have performed or engaged in throughout the year, reviewing how those worked out for me, how they may have changed over time; reminding myself what direction I was headed. If you don’t keep a journal, you can do the same thing by just setting aside a good chunk of quiet time to mentally review your year, making notes if wish. As you do so, recall your ups and downs, how you reacted to each, what came out of it, and what you learned. As you review, stay open to Spirit, listening for impressions, intuition, and guidance.

 

When I’m done reviewing, I spend time just listening to Spirit. Sometimes this takes days, sometimes weeks or months. Some years the listening process starts as early as September or October. Sometimes it doesn’t start ‘til the last week of the year. It’s a process initiated and guided by Spirit and, since I do it every year, I am aware when Spirit begins triggering the transition into the energy of the new year. You’ll know when the energy is right so, when the guidance comes, start your own “looks within time,” regardless of the time of year. 


Listening Time

 

Then, when the review is done and you’ve allowed time for contemplation and synthesis of what came before, ask Spirit (which includes your Higher Selves), “What yet needs to be done and what still wants to be healed?” Hold this question in your consciousness for as long as it takes. Remind yourself at the start and end of each day that you intend to receive an answer. After a while, you’ll begin to receive guidance, usually through your strongest “channel.” For some, that may mean flashes of intuition, for others it could be unexpected emotion popping up around a certain activity, event or issue. For others it could present through synchronicities or body awareness. Let these “hits” come without trying to be intellectual or rational about it and, slowly, you will see them begin to form into goals.

 

The Quest for Goals

 

Goals for the new year can be anything from minor projects to the most far-fetched spiritual maneuvers. I’ve been doing this every year for decades, almost as long as I can remember. Some of my goals in past years have included:

 

  • I will and intend to hold Love and faith where fear and doubt now live.
  • I will and intend that I AM a successful healer, helping others to break free of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual patterns that hold them back from their full potential.
  • I will and intend to experience increasing awareness, knowledge, growth and understanding regarding the relationship of food to my entire well-being and to have the desire and commitment to live in accordance.
  • I will and intend to find an artist to do cover art for my book.


When setting goals, look for three things:

 

1.      What have you already accomplished? How can you go deeper into those areas where you have already been successful? How would Spirit have you broaden those horizons?

 

2.      Look for areas of weakness in your life. What still troubles you? Do you lose your temper or get hurt easily? Do you still fear committing to love? Do you have a health problem you’d like to see vanish? Do you need to change your diet? Can you improve your practice of forgiveness of yourself and others? Do you need to change a belief you hold?  Look at these areas, asking Spirit for a direction in which to move in order to resolve these issues.

 

3.      Get in touch with your deepest desires and passions. My deepest desire is to be the master I Am, to ascend on earth and help it move to a place of love, and my mission is to help others come along with me. What is your deepest desire? To manifest the right livelihood, to find a partner, to have a spiritual breakthrough?  Let this passion infuse your goals with energy and guide your priorities appropriately.

 

Here are some more suggestions to get you started:

 

  • Make a list of everything you want and believe you need. Then let it lie for a while, listening to Spirit over time about the items listed. What things seem to fall away and which continue hold your interest or begin to feel more urgent? Move them around on the list. Keep doing this until you feel like the things on top are what’s really resonating for you at this time.
  • Use the words “I choose” or “I intend” when writing your goals. Appropriate goals are not things you think you should do; they are things you choose to do, so take responsibility.
  • Sometimes it helps to organize your list by issues or areas of life so you can better see what you’re doing. For instance: material goals, task-related goals, relationship goals, spiritual goals, and emotional goals could all be separate groupings.
  • When finished listing all your goals, summarize those in each area down to one or two over-arching, general goals. This is helpful if you have a long list. It makes the goals appear more manageable, more do-able, and gives you an abridged version to tack on your wall where you can see it every day, reminding yourself of what you’re working on. For example, if you have a lot of goals around your body and health, your general goal may be something like, “I choose to be healthy in all systems, organs, cells, and molecules of my body.”

 

Breaking it Down

 

Once you have your yearly goals sifted out of your dreams, desires, and weaknesses, you can further break them down, as appropriate, into weekly, monthly, or seasonal goals. For decades, for example, I have had a monthly goal to always perform a full-moon ritual. The ritual changes with the years and seasons of my life but it does, nevertheless, continue to be a monthly goal. You can also have goals inside of goals. Every month, for example, I determine what I choose for my body, mind, spirit, life and relationships for that month. With each new month, I decide what I need for the next month and consciously intend for that.

 

Describe your goals to the smallest detail possible.

 

Again, this helps them feel more realistic and do-able. For instance, if you write, “I intend to quit smoking,” that’s fine and good but that’s a tall order! How about if you intend, instead, to a) check online and with your doctor about aids for quitting, b) find a support group with others who wish to stop smoking, and c) make new friends that don’t smoke? This way, you’re setting up goals that you understand and can implement. If you don’t know what to do to reach your goal, include a goal that says, “I intend to diligently look into how I can stop smoking. I intend to do this by Jan. 31th, 2009.” This is the date by which you will know everything you need to know to help you quit smoking, not the date by which you will quit. Now you’ve reached step 1 in your goal. The next goal would be something like, “I intend to synthesize that knowledge and choose which aids I will use (ie. how I will quit smoking) and to begin to implement them by Feb. 28, 2009.

 

(Note: If you set date goals for yourself, make sure you transfer them to your calendar, appointment book, and/or online reminder program. Set them up with reminders for 2 weeks before the deadline, 1 week before, 3 days, etc., to keep you mindful of getting it done.)

 

Ritualize

 

You now have a precise, spirit-inspired, comprehensive list of what you want to learn, heal, achieve and acquire. Good for you! You’ve done some nice work! Now it’s time to get the ball rolling by announcing your intentions to the Universe. Ritual strengthens intent, deepens resolve, and sets energy in motion.

 

You can do this by yourself, with your family or close friends. Sharing with a group, that agrees with and supports each others’ goals, further compounds intent. (I don’t recommend it as gathering, however, unless it is with people you are comfortable being quite intimate and vulnerable with.) Call in any guides and helpers you wish and/or do whatever you choose to set apart this space and time as special.  Now read your goals for the next year aloud, concentrating on each as you do so. If you are sharing the event with others, it usually works best if each person reads their entire list before moving to the next. This allows you and your witnesses to more strongly direct focus and intent on each individual’s goals. (Whether you are alone or with others, it is important to read them aloud, for this brings an added vibration to bear, and your body hears it as well.)

 

After each person has read his/her list aloud, getting oriented to the ideas and energy they represent as a whole, now go back to the beginning. This is your time to declare to yourself, your friends -- the entire universe – that you can and will accomplish these goals. So instead of just saying the goals, you now get to restate each one, with full intention and intensity. This is no time to be a wimp. Now is your time to access Power, channeling it through the Void, to bring each of those things into being. State loudly and clearly – put all on notice – that you “will, command and intend that ______.” State each goal separately and powerfully in this way, letting the joy, the excitement; the anticipation of each fill you up. When all are done, then jointly declare “It is so. So be it, so be it, so be it!” and release it all to the universe. Thank Spirit and all your guides and helpers for being present, close your sacred space, and have fun!

 

Be Mindful

 

Finally, make sure the goals are somewhere you will see them every day. Post them on the wall to read while you brush your teeth, set time aside to meditate on them daily, read the list before you get out bed, whatever works for you. The important thing is to intend beforehand how you will stay mindful of your goals, not letting them get buried in a drawer, metaphorically or physically. These are the things you choose to work on, your own dreams and desire. It’s up to you to honor yourself enough to allow a growing consciousness around them to evolve. Then, by the time the end-of-year review rolls around, and you once again begin the process for a new cycle, you may just be surprised how much you’ve really gotten done!

 

Today is the first day of the rest of your Life!

 Make it Count!


Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

What is Prayer?
People who know me know that I pray a lot. With many of my friends, I pray every time we talk. In fact, I pray with anyone who will let me! So it's only natural that I often get asked about prayer.

stillness-meditation.jpgSo, what is prayer? Well, that’s a big question! One with answers enough to fill volumes. What I’m interested in here, however, is prayer as it relates to my field, lightwork.

We know that prayer is effective. If you don’t believe it, there is an ever-growing body of scientific research now available to show the data on this. But, what most of us want to know, is how do we enact effective prayer?

Some people think of prayer as the petitioning of some god or deity who, out love or other benevolence, answers. Research, however, reveals that “prayers” sent out in the form of healing intentions for the higher good are equally as effective as religious prayers. This leads us to conclude that the results of prayer are not so much due to God(s) directly intervening with specific action as it is a means of our accessing our own godlike abilities, or godliness. Now -- hold on minute before you stone me -- this is not heresy. Far from it! If you’re a devout Christian, consider this: did God ever say that S/He was directly responsible for the outcome of prayer? Or are we told instead, as Jesus says in the New Testament, that if we have faith as a mustard seed we will say to the mountain “move” and it will be so? “Move” is a order, not a request. We are told to command that which we would have done, not beg for it. And in what, exactly, are we to have “faith?” Are we supposed to have faith in God to move the mountain? That question is answered elsewhere in scripture. “When you ask something, believe that you receive it, and it shall be done.” Jesus instructed us to believe, not in God to do the thing requested, but in the manifestation, the result. As the Bible later says, “Faith is the belief in things hoped for, the assurance [affirmation] of things not [yet] seen.” Is God/dess left out of the picture then? Not at all.

Divine Consciousness set everything in motion -- perpetual motion as it were – which has continued to work through all the ages. Do we need to pray for the sun – without which all things would die – to come up every day? Do we pray for our meditation-golden-light.jpgheart to beat, our food to digest; our cells to oxygenate? Of course not. All things necessary for life have been put into action and continue to work according to Divine Order. And we – as well as our lives – intersect with and are permeated by that great Divine Matrix which comprises All. Do not doubt that you are part of God for even a moment. In the same way that Divine Intelligence created all things to work in a perfectly coordinated way, likewise have we been orchestrated to access and create all that we need according to that Plan. We have been taught to pray, not because we need God’s blessing --which is with us always -- but because we needed a means by which to focus our faith – our assurance – on that which we wish to manifest. Hence we arrive at a definition of prayer accessible to Christian, Muslims, Hindus, shamans, lightworkers, and atheists alike.

Prayer is the distribution into the world, via focused thought- or feeling-wave forms" through the energetic Matrix, of benevolent intent for any person, being, place, situation, etc.

Belief in God is not a requirement. Yet, if you personally know or believe in a Higher Power, as do I, then you can resolve the dilemma of prayer by accepting that you are created in the image of that Being and hold some of His/her Power within you. We are meant, not only to reflect the Brilliance of Source, but to participate in the full Glory of the One. We are a PART of the Great Central Sun. It is within our very cells. The ability to have your prayers answered was put into effect at your creation, built into you as surely as the cycles of the sun and moon and the changing of the seasons was built into nature. The engine’s already built and perfect. This is our God-liness, or God-like-ness. We need only turn a key in the ignition for it to start right up. And that Key is prayer. Prayer is God’s way of reminding us we have the Divine Power within us to do good. Primary Creator desires we understand and use that Power, through our own Intent. God built the system perfectly and it works!

I’ve heard some people actually say they don’t want to “bother God” with their trivial needs and concerns and desires; that God has “better things to do.” Such thoughts, though humble, stem from a lack of understanding of what God is, how prayer works and how much we are truly loved. God is All Things, in Every Thing. God is our breath, our life, meditating-in-bliss.bmpour heart beat. We cannot escape the throbbing, thriving, eternal, Interlligent Pulse of Life, even if we try. God desires us to have all things we need and desire and has built the potential into the system for us to experience those things. Through this means millions – billions – can access God at once, and we don’t have to wait around for Him/Her to “be bothered” to answer. The whole thing’s on Autopilot. If you are devout, then you can understand this as God’s way of providing for everyone forevermore. Through our own free will, we are partakers of Infinite Divine Love. To me, that’s an even better definition of prayer

Prayer is the act of acknowledging, receiving, and sending Infinite Divine Love through the participation in Divine Order facilitated by your own free will, or intent. Faith is utilizing your own free will to agree to access that which is already prepared for you since before time began.

I want to make clear that this is not intended to be a theological treatise, or a complete exposition on prayer. Nor is it my intent to invalidate any form of prayer known to humankind. Some prayer has as its intent the goal to simply “draw near” to God, to touch upon and experience that Infinite and Supremely Loving Consciousness. Therefore, if done with intent, everything from toning to twirling to hiking in the woods can become prayer. So please, do not take offense. I share this article so that we can all expand our awareness and effectiveness of prayer.
 
You can pray anywhere, anytime. Just quiet your mind, open your heart, and feel the Love. It’s important that we receive. The more we want to give and serve, the more we need to learn to receive. Then, when you feel it, send it out to others. It can be as easy as that. If you ask for specific things for yourself and others, send black_white_maybe_copyrighted_345.jpgout that intent, then believe it is done and forget it. If you want to hold a frequency, hold your intent for the Highest Good for that person, situation, etc. Research shows that the more we are willing to release our ideas of what should happen and intend, instead, for the greatest outcome for the highest good, the more dramatic and effective the outcome of prayer. And the intended recipient of the blessing does not need to know of the prayer for it to be effective.

So why pray aloud, or with others? Two reasons. One is for the powerful effect of combined intent. To put it in terms of physics, this establishes a stronger standing wave, each person’s intent reinforcing the field. The second reason is because your love and intent can inspire, encourage, and strengthen the will and intent of others. This gift, which keeps on giving, is sometimes the answer to prayer itself.  

So, the next time you think of prayer as a “chore” and can’t whip up enthusiasm, or find yourself thinking you're unworthy, try reframing it in this way. On your drive to work, while you’re cooking dinner; as you perform your various tasks, just intend things. Intend Good Things. For yourself and others.

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

Spin your Way to Health
My previous article, 7 Practices for Spiritual Actualization, provides a list of powerful practices which can be used to dramatically change your reality. In that article -- primarily a list to get you thinking and exploring -- I stated, “If the list is too much to tackle at once, pick two or three things to focus upon at a time, moving forward as you master or incorporate each into your life.” So let’s do just that, covering one spiritual tool at a time until you have a toolkit that’s brimming full with wonderful ways to heal and expand.

Chakra2.gifThe subject I want to discuss today is listed in Section Five on taking care of your body. This practice has so much to offer it could have been placed under several headings, but I put it under the body care heading because of its potentially strong benefit to physical health. And just what is this wonderful practice to which I’m referring? You may be surprised to read it is Spinning.

Yes, you read correctly: spinning. Anyone who spends time around children will probably observe at some point kids spinning just for the fun of it. Children are naturals at exploring sensation and altering their state of consciousness and, for toddlers, getting dizzy and falling down is a hoot. After the initial novelty of getting woozy wanes, however, who would keep doing such a seemingly crazy thing? Everyone, if they’re smart.

Used for everything from promoting longevity to eliciting mystical experiences, the art of spinning has been practiced for centuries by diverse spiritual traditions the world over. The power of the practice lies in the effect it has on the chakras. If you’re reading this, you probably already know about the chakras but I’ll say it just briefly here to illustrate the significance of the practice. The chakras are energy vortexes, many located along the vertical midline axis of the body, that draw energy into the system, distributing it along energy channels which feed directly into organs and systems of the body. To maintain vibrant health and youthful appearance, fully-functioning chakras are essential. And that’s where spinning comes in.

Although western medicine would have us believe that sickness is caused byChakra3.gif mysterious “disease” processes, the origins of which are rarely known or understood, eastern traditions have long held that it is the quantity of energy and the efficacy of its distribution in the body that determines health. That is why I recommend spinning on a daily basis.

Spinning is one of the easiest and most powerful ways known to increase the rate at which your chakras spin. Equally important, regular spinning also helps the chakras expand outward from the body and assists energy in circulating through the nervous system. In a truly healthy being, the chakras spin quite fast and extend as much as three to five feet from the body. Few people today have such optimally functioning energy systems, and those who do are invariably people who consciously cultivate it, such as practitioners of Chi Gung. Most people I see, and nearly all my clients, have chakras that are clogged, spin too slowly, and/or are very close to the body. Some people’s chakras are so small they are nearly flat on the body and so weak they can be difficult to test. This is a sure sign of sickness and aging but, thankfully, it can be reversed. We simply need to start paying attention to our energy bodies. With that in mind, here is how to properly spin…

How to Properly Spin

The first thing, as with any energy practice, is to do this on an empty stomach. Stand in a safe, level place with your arms outstretched in line with your shoulders, parallel to the floor. Hands should be facing downward. You will only be doing this a few seconds so, if your arm muscles burn, grin and bear it. If you have serious neck and shoulder issues, however, that cause too much pain to do this, then it’s okay to bend your elbows slightly to take the pressure off your shoulders. Now picture a clock on the floor under your feet, with 12:00 facing straight ahead, and begin spinning slowly in a clockwise direction (from left to right). Begin and end slowly, picking up speed toward the middle before slowing again toward the end. When finished, relax, taking a few deep breaths in and out before moving on with your day.

Spotting

Just as some of us get more air or sea sick than others, some find it very difficult to spin. If you fall into that category (or anyone else for that matter), use the technique dancers call “spotting” to help you get comfortably spinning. Here’s how to do it.

Before you begin to spin, fix your eyes on something in front of you, in the 12 o’clock position. Make sure it’s at eye level. (You don’t want to be spinning with Chakra7.gifyour head up or down; you want your spine aligned.) Then, begin to spin, holding you eyes on that object as the rest of your body leads the way. When you’ve turned so far that head has to go with it, snap it around immediately so it is again fixed on your object. Repeat with the next spin, and so on. Now, if you’re one of those rare individuals who really has no balance and gets dizzy exceedingly easy, you can also spot a second position at 6 o’clock, or even four positions, one at every quarter turn. The easiest way for most, however, is just “spot” 12 o’clock.

Important Points when Spinning
  • Never allow yourself to get too dizzy. Only spin ‘til slightly dizzy, then stop.
  • Don’t overdo. Too much spinning can be as detrimental as not enough. Start slowly, with 3 to 6 spins, adding one or two more per week, up to a maximum of 12 - 21 spins per day.
  • Only spin once a day.
  • ALWAYS spin clockwise.

Contra-indications of Spinning

Spinning can cause dizziness, nausea and/or a loss of balance. These are generally temporary and not of concern for most of us. However, please be aware that according to medical experts, spinning may aggravate certain conditions such as MS, Parkinson’s, vertigo, and some seizure disorders. It may also not be advisable for persons on certain drugs and those with certain heart conditions. If in doubt about your health condition, please do consult your physician before embarking on a program of spinning.

Benefits of Spinning

Spinning increases the energy flow through all the vortexes, especially the upper chakras and knees, enhances blood circulation, and aids the flow of cerebrospinal dance-at-sunset-in-phuket_cropped.jpgfluid. It is believed to stimulate the revitalization of cells, provide relief from varicose veins, help prevent headaches (don’t do it while you have one though), tone the arms, contribute to mental clarity, and spark a process of rejuvenation in the whole body. There’s really no limit to the effects getting sufficient energy can have. The lamas of Tibet both halted and reversed aging using this, among other, methods. So, if you want to stimulate your chakras and start feeling vibrantly healthy, consider adding spinning to your daily regimen of exercise or spiritual practice.



Thanks for reading and, as always, feel free to let me know what you think!

copyright 2008 Ashandra-Aah
Find the Beat: Jun 21 - Jul 22
The Long Days Time, also called Strong Sun Moon, is the first of the three cycles of summer. During this time, the ground warms, the clouds part, and the earth is enlivened with lush vegetation, wondrous fragrances and the expectation of fulfillment of the promises of spring. The totems for this month are flicker -- a type of woodpecker -- rose quartz and wild rose. The element for this cycle is water and the clan is frog clan.

Influences of the South

The solar influence of this cycle is the south-east and people born in this time are carried into the world on strong south winds. These warm currents are very maturing and operate in a spirit of innocence and trust. Innocence, in this context, is an awareness of Unity and is a condition of the Higher Nature which enables them to trust that they will develop and mature according to the Divine Seed within them. These people can easily develop the traits of impartiality, objectivity and non-attachment, and have the potential to manifest the kind of deep wisdom and divine love that can change the world.  

Individuals born in this cycle learn best “up close and personal” and, hence, value and learn well from direct experience. Guided by their feelings, getting close to people and things is their natural way. Because of this characteristic, some natives used the mouse as a totem for the south due to the powerful sensing ability they have in their whiskers.

Animal Totem  


The animal totem for this cycle is Flicker, which represent rapid growth, trust, and the ability to manifest all-healing love.

Flickers, like all woodpeckers, tap out a rhythm, connecting us to our heartbeat; to our own dance of life. And, like the drummers of old, they can also usher in altered states, allowing us to perceive things differently.

People with Flicker medicine have natural music abilities and are very good at shifting perceptual states from one level to another. If you feel “out of sync” with the earth, with others, or the rhythm of life, call on flicker to help you find the beat.

Flickers have powerful bills and long tongues, with which to extract bugs and otherFlicker_northernredshafted_5x7.jpg nourishment from the trees. Likewise, Flicker can help you extract nourishment for your own soul out of the things around you. Another application of their skilled mouths is the ability to heal through words. Flicker medicine can help pastors, counselors, or anyone who needs assistance in using their mouths and words in a more productive or healing manner.

Flicker also has feet that differ from most birds. With two toes in front and two toes in the back of each foot, they are particularly adept at maintaining balance on the side of trees. If you have any lop-sided viewpoints or feel out of balance in any way, Flicker can help you find or regain your balance. Flicker can also help you hold tight and stay focused on the goals and tasks you wish to accomplish. So if you have trouble sticking with one thing very long or feel that you never get ahead, call on flicker to lend you its ability to grab tight.

This powerful grip, however, can also cause one to cling too tightly to people, things -- even beliefs and concepts. So those with Flicker medicine would do well to work toward consciously maintaining a state of open-mindedness and non-attachment.

Woodpecker people have powerful instincts and a sensitive emotional nature. Their primary life function is to assimilate experience, drawing wisdom and knowledge to themselves. By doing so, they learn to harness the intense powers within and obtain emotional balance. Those who succeed are among the most powerful of healers. If they fail, however, their strong drive toward love and emphasis on commitment can lead to feelings of turbulence and great unhappiness, even causing some individuals to become twisted.

Mineral Totem


The mineral for this month is rose quartz. Rose Quartz is a gentle pink color which brings a soothing feeling like a soft and fluffy cloud. Rose Quartz is best known for strengthening the heart chakra, easing the troubled heart, and removing barriers to love. It is also said to enhance one’s appreciation of beauty in all forms.

Plant Totem


The Wild Rose blossoms from May through July and has been accessed for wildrose.jpgcenturies for its medicinal properties. Wild Rose may be taken for headaches, as well as a tonic and blood purifier. High in Vitamin C, it can also be used in the treatment of colds, flu, and sore throats. Wild Rose is a gift to the senses. Beautiful to behold, it can also be made into an oil and used as a perfume or air freshener. Most importantly to my own work, Roses have agreed to be energy clearers and, as such, have been used by practitioners of magical arts and lightwork for centuries.

Like the rose, people with this plant totem bring beauty, harmony and freshness into the lives of others, but be careful for their prickly side!

Please feel free to ask questions or present issues for future blogs by using the Contact form. Peace be with you always, Ashandra-Aah

copyright 2008 Ashandra-Aah
Message from the Devas
Channeled by Ashandra-Aah

We elements of nature –
Collective consciousnesses that have traveled from afar,
Through secret gates
    from other dimensions
Traversing portals from divers stars.
We come to you now,
In your Ultimate Hour,
With wisdom, love, grace, and power
To support your work
Enhance your essence
Lead you to your highest Presence.

Teach you lessons
    lead you into higher vibrations
Guide you to drink of your own
    Soul’s libation.
Prosperity, Abundance, Love…
These things are all so Ready
Willing; Able to come from above
From Within and Through
Not outside,
    but Inside of You.

Wisdom spirits,
    mineral elders
Holding frequency for eons
    upon the earth mother
Watching in the wings
    waiting for none other
Than your divine Self to arrive on the scene.

Will you speak with us?
Sense our essence, our energy;
Retrieve all that you can be?
There is power
    for those who can see it,
Who choose to Be it.
We are but a helper
    You are the Master
Draw us in
    Make us One
Move ahead, beyond the past
Gather to you what will last.
You have the power
    It is yours for the asking
Stop the braking
    Put on the gas
Manifest desires
Create your dreams
    Be free at last.

We are the mineral function
And plant devas of earth
We come to you from afar
We bring rebirth.
We hold in our hand
    keys of knowledge
Healing we extend…
Challenge your mind
    to drift around the bend
Throw in your heart
    for extra good measure
We assist in peace, health,
    prosperity and leisure.

So use us now
Take us into your spirit and body
Hold us in high esteem
Trust in yourself; begin to allow
Believe in the magic
Manifest the NOW.

All is One
And One is All
And we are Free
Inside the Whole
Luminous, Eternal Beings
    are We
Unlimited, unstoppable
    Free to BE
Play with us, use us –
Dare to Believe…
And you will See.  


Copyright 2005 by Ashandra-Aah
Poem: Activation
Old wounds spun away;

Christ energy flowing in. 

Feeling every stage, every dimension,

     as energies dance with my being. 

I burn with light

     DNA pulsing in goodness; love.

So excited, so ignited.

Ancient memories surface,

     long-forgotten codes remembered,

     disabled functions activate.

Eternal being am I,

     forever young, self-renewing;

     perfection in my bodily form.

Quantum flowing, ever growing

Infinite poetry in breathing, being,

     living light.


copyright 2008 Ashandra-Aah




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