Fox In The Forest

The following information comes from one of my journals from 2016.  It describes an experience that I had when I was out with my dogs.

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I drove up into the Kananaskis area, just south of Canmore.  There was a lot more snow than what we had around home.  From the corner of my vision, I saw a dark shape.  I pulled over and stopped the vehicle.

Fox was coming out of the trees.  She moved with purpose.  I saw the beauty of her coat.  She stopped and turned to me.  I thought she might smell the dogs.  I swear that she grinned.  She barked three, sharp barks.  And then she moved on.

The barks represented:

• trust your senses
• stick to your purpose or goal
• rely on your own cleverness – no one else has your experience in your life

Blessings,

Judy

Allow Yourself Freedom

The poster reads, “From this day on, when I look back on the past, I will smile and say to myself “I never thought I could do it…but I did… I overcame all the people who tried to bring me down.” 

My friend Vivian sent this poster to me.  It made me think of all the times that people have said to me, “It can’t be done.” When I moved to Calgary for work, my friends said that I would not like living there.  They said that I would not have friends.  They also said that I would not succeed. 

When I mediated and checked with Spirit, I heard the words “do what you need to do to allow yourself freedom to choose.  I moved.  I prospered.  I have lots of friends.  I have succeeded! 

When people  believe that they are defeated, I feel sad!   There is nothing better than achieving a goal for self.

Blessings,

Judy

50 Golden Rules For Life

Picture of mountains in Elbow Falls Wilderness Area - by J. Hirst

Often, I find that I need a pick-me-up mental or spiritual boost on some morning.  I read a lot and sometimes find nuggets of good information in places I do not expect to find anything useful.

Last month, I was scanning LinkedIn and found this wonderful posting by Alvin Foo on LinkedIn on February 24 2024.  His thoughts and his rules for life are worth sharing.

50 GOLDEN RULES FOR LIFE.

1. Never shake hands at anyone without standing up.

2. In a negotiation, never make the first offer.

3. If they trust you a secret, keep it.

4. If they lend you a car, return it with a full tank.

5. Do things with passion or don't do it at all.

6. When you shake your hand make it firm and look that person in the eye.

7. Live the experience of traveling alone.

8. Never turn down a peppermint pill, the reasons are obvious.

9. Take advice if you want to grow old.

10. Come eat with the new person at school/office.

11. When you text someone and you're angry: finish, read it, delete it, and rewrite the message.

12. At the table you don't talk about work, politics, or religion.

13. Write your goals, and work on them.

14. Defend your point of view but be tolerant and respectful to others.

15. Call and visit your relatives.

16. Never regret anything, learn from everything

17. Honor and loyalty must be present in your personality.

18. Don't lend money to someone you know won't pay you back.

19. Believe in something.

20. Tend your bed when you wake up in the mornings.

21. Sing in the shower.

22. Care for a plant or a garden.

23. Keep an eye on the sky every chance you get.

24. Discover your skills and exploit them.

25. Love your job or leave it.

26. Ask for help when you need it.

27. Teach someone a value, preferably a small one.

28. Appreciate and thank the one who extends your hand.

29. Be kind to your neighbors.

30. Make someone's day happier, it will make you happier too.

31. Compete with yourself.

32 Treat yourself at least once a year

33. Take care of your health.

34. Always greet with a smile.

35. Think fast but speak slow.

36. Don't talk with a mouth full.

37. Polish your shoes, cut your nails, and always keep a good look.

38. Don't put your opinion on issues you don't know.

39. Never mistreat anyone.

40. Live your life as if it were the last day of it.

41. Never miss a wonderful opportunity to remain quiet.

42. Recognize someone for their effort.

43. Be humble, even though not all the time.

44. Never forget your roots.

45. Travel when you can.

46. Give up the step.

47 Dance in the rain.

48. Seek your success without giving up.

49. Be fair, stand up for those who need you.

50. Learn to enjoy moments of loneliness.

Many blessings,

Judy

A Universal Truth About Effort

Mountain Lake – Picture from Microsoft Clip Art

 

Indigenous people around the world and our Ancestors recognized the truth of the first Universal Law - Maximum efficiency with minimal effort.  Humans, now, are not that tuned in.  It seems that we struggle against all odds all the time. And, if it looks like we will not win the goal we want to achieve, then we scheme and plot and manipulate to get our results.  It is called “control”.  

Animals do not waste effort. They tend to go with the flow of life.   Cows will take a meandering path which is always the easiest road. Pioneers followed goat tracks through the mountains because it was the easiest road.  

Water will always take the easiest path. And, as it washes over stones and down gullies and rushes along the bank of a river bed, it smoothes and polishes.  The dirt and rocks offer no resistance.  As they “move” in the flow, they become less, and yet more than they are. The rock becomes rounded and shiny and pure – for that which it does not need, dissolves and flows with the water.  Dirt becomes free to move, to travel to far away places and, when it settles, offers new energy to the environment around it.  It becomes more.

And what will you do now"?  Will you flow or will you not? 

Blessings,

Judy

New Year’s Day - January 1 2024

 

It is here!  The New Year!  2024! 

We all look forward to a wonderful, fresh start when a new year rolls around.  What are you looking for?  Improved health?  A new job?  Better relationships with family and friends?  A trip to a faraway place?

These are all wonderful goals.  Before you look to the future, take a few minutes to think about what things did not go well in 2023.  See if you can decipher why those events went from perfect to chaos.  Remember to take responsibility if you had a role in why things did not go according to plan.  If the fault was another person or group of people, maybe look at whether you need to have them in your life.  We all need to shed the things and people that do not serve our life.

I suggest that you add a couple of things to your goals.  These are:

-regular exercise

-meditation at least once a week or more

-deciding to put healthy, wholesome food into your body

-being loving everyday

I do wish each of you a fantastic 2024!  I believe that for all the wars and corruption in our politics around the world, that 2024 will be a positive year for all people, if the person lets it be.

Happy New Year!

Many blessings,

Judy

A Ritual For New Year’s Eve 2023

For those of you that have asked questions about how to set your intentions for the new year, I would like to share a beautiful ritual that one of my friends sent to me several years ago. 

I do not use this at New Years, however, this ritual is certainly right for that purpose.   I do use it to set intentions for any time.  It is powerful to use this ritual with the New Moon.

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This is the initial technique - Setting Your Intentions for 2023 or any other time:

You start by asking yourself 4 questions...

1. What do I want this year in my personal life
2. What do I want this year for my financial life
3. What do I want this year for my business life
4. What do I want this year for my spiritual life

Then you write your answers. I feel into my body to identify in my heart what I am being drawn to create from the year. The MOST IMPORTANT part is to write it as if it has already happened.

As an example / template, here is an excerpt in part of what Maureen Collins (an artist) wrote for the category of business:

I am so grateful that this year became such an amazing journey of openness and discovery in my business, as it moved into the corporate world and lecture stage larger than ever before. I was able to deliver my shared vision via “What If? The Movie” through divine energy to hundreds of thousands of souls that were not only open to the information but contributed to the content collectively... AND they further delivered it to many more through word of mouth. This wisdom known to us all was a huge success with so many experiencing heart felt shifts and changes through the material offered by many like-minded souls. It became a place of safety and conversation for all who viewed it, and grew to include new audiences of those opening to the materials being offered by me and other contributors. The opportunity for the community to converse with one another about their own positive belief and pattern changes was a blessing and a joy to my heart, showing me the possibilities for all communities of the world. I loved watching and hearing the shifts and changes clients and friends and family were experiencing as they also awakened to how amazing and powerful they truly are, and reveled in the moments they shared with others in the community ...which triggered more openings and shifts and more sharing and so on. What fun... and so effortless and flowing... I felt like a kid again with all the discoveries...

You get the idea... write it as if it has already happened AND makes sure you include how you "felt" when it happened. Do this for each of the categories (there may be some overlap but the categories are designed to allow for specifics in those four areas of your life). This is a POWERFUL exercise that almost acts as plan for the year but flows through and creates a vibrational resonance with what you are desiring. You can do this over the next couple of days... I promise you it will really make a lovely impact. Then print it out post a couple of copies in places you will regularly see them to remind you what you are creating.

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Ritual:  Burn and Release from Maureen Collins…

On a sheet of paper, I write out all of the things from the current year that I've outgrown, no longer want in my life,  no longer work for me, and anything else I feel I want to shed and leave behind.  On a separate piece of paper, I write all of the things I can think of and feel that I want to grow and expand in the new year.  I then burn each paper in separate dishes or shells, making sure all pieces are turned to ashes.  Then, when cooled, I put them into separate envelopes or containers (film canister, Ziploc baggie, etc.) and mark "to shed" and "to grow" on the container.   Around 5 minutes before midnight, I start visualizing all the things on the "to shed" list, and see them slip away, see them blown away and washed away, out of my energy field, out of my life and  out of my reality.  I go out side and pour the "to shed" ashes into my hand and let the wind scatter the ashes away and release them and all they re present, as the old year fades away.

After midnight, after blessing the new year, with the second container  "to grow",  I visualize all of these goals, desires, etc. coming to fruition, to this level of reality.  I bring that envelope down to the garden, and with a stick dig a small hole, then plant these ashes in the earth, near a tree or in a special place, (for those in apartments, I encourage them to use their favorite houseplant).  The ashes are a reminder of the life cycle, the power of nature and the honoring of Mother Earth, that these seeds of hopes and dreams are nurtured into reality, in the coming year.   This is a ritual that I've shared with many people, and even had a group in Ireland do it one New Years!  You may want to try this and tweak it and do it a way that suits you.

Happy New Year and many blessings! 

Judy

What is it About Mouse?

 

Picture of Woodmouse from The Mammal Society

"Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse!" - line from the poem, " 'Twas The Night Before Christmas"

Humans have long had a love-hate relationship with tiny Mouse.  On the love side, we have Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Stuart Little, Algernon, Mighty Mouse, and Jerry from the cartoon, "Tom and Jerry".  On the hate side, we have traps, science experiments, carrying disease, and eating holes in walls and bags of food.  One of the most famous views of Mouse's place in the world comes from the series, "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" by Douglas Adams.  In this series, it is actually Mice that use humans for experiments in the human condition.

Why does mouse affect us so?  Why do we see pictures of people standing on chairs trying to get away from Mouse?  More than anything, people that are scared of Mouse are really scared of Mouse's power.  This tiny animal is a great example of "small package contain big power".

Mouse is fearless, very quick, and can climb pretty much anything.  Mouse also has very sharp teeth that are self sharpening, allowing her to gnaw through pretty much anything.  With her speed, ability to climb and her ability to gnaw, Mouse will challenge any obstacle and conquer.  And, don' t forget that Mouse is very intelligent. In different experiments, Mouse has proven her ability to look over the situation and to reason out a solution.

When Mouse shows up, do not be frightened!  Mouse has messages for you and will show you different ways of being.   

One - always be persistent in attaining your goals.  If you give up, you will go hungry!  

Two - walk through life in an unassuming way.  You do not threaten others and this allows you to go where you will, much like I do.   

Three - be wary of all people and all new things presented to you.  Someone is always trying to create a new Mouse trap.  Let people earn your trust.  Let them show you and others that they are "in service to others" and not selfish.  

Four - pay attention to the messages around you.  I see the the shadow of Hawk, and know that I will not be safe on my journey, so I rest.  I feel the energy of Coyote in the grass, and I know to hide and contemplate life.  I smell the rain, and I know that the Great One is providing water for me, and I must drink. 

May you find your way with Mouse's guidance.

Many blessings,

Judy

Releasing Expectations

 

Somewhere along the evolution of humans, we changed from “allowing ourselves to be in the flow of life” to “trying to control our life and the lives of those around us”.  Wow!  

We are so busy trying to be what we think everyone is telling us that we shall be that we lose sight of the wonderful process of self discovery and the joy of finding little miracles and synchronicities each day.

Yes, we need to do some planning.  We need to have shelter and food and some kind of routine.  It seems, however, that we get so caught up in goal setting, achieving success, and being at the top, that we become egocentric or self-absorbed and sometimes ruthless.  

The proof of this is that many people that appear to have achieved the greatest successes in their field often just drop out of the profession or career, and go and do something that makes them happy.  They drop out to move more simply in life, to enjoy balance, nature, joy, and self actualization.  These folks create a new life that is very different than their old life and more like our ancestors who moved in the flow.  

Yes, we can have expectations.  The thing is that we need to have realistic expectations and not get caught up in the drama of achievement and the struggles that we create by not looking at different ways to get to the place that we want to go.  

Strokes, ulcers, heart attacks, and debilitating illnesses seem to be the road blocks that pop up to show folks that the person is on the wrong track of life.  

What do you think?

Blessings,

Judy 

Your Life Purpose

 

Clients always ask me, "What is my life purpose?  I know I have one.  I just don't know what it is!"

My response is always - you need to become the best person that you can be and to share that with the Universe.

The poster above is a different take on life.  I like it!  "Make your heartbeat match the beat of the Universe."  Or, learn to go with the flow of the Universe.  Beat as one.  What an exciting life goal to have!

It is hard, however to be in step with Nature.  It is not our nature to move easily and freely with the weather and with the seasons.  We want to be in control.  No one really knows why.  

Today, listen to the heartbeat of the Universe.

Blessings

Angels Say That There Is Beauty In Every Day!

 

It is not very often that a day is really awful.  

Here is a start to your list.

1. Smile. 
2. Connect with nature. 
3. Surround yourself with positive people in person or online. 
4. Do something you’ve always enjoyed. 
5. Do something you’ve never done before but have always wanted to try. 
6. Learn something new. 
7. Smell something that makes you happy: a mandarin, your lover’s perfume, chocolate, you decide. 
8. Reward yourself for your good habits. 
9. Eat something that makes you happy, but not too much if it’s fattening. 
10. Spend time with a good friend. 
11. Touch something that makes you happy: a cat, velvet, the bark of a tree? Take time to notice. 
12. Don’t worry now, worry later. 
13. Say, or sing, something that makes you happy. 
14. Challenge yourself, I dare you. 
15. Look at something that makes you happy. 
16. Stop procrastinating, do something. 
17. Take a small step towards your goal. 
18. Congratulate yourself. 
19. Tell someone you love them. 
20. Do a good deed.

Now – you can finish it.  If you need help, check out the rest of the list at http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/101-ways-to-feel-happy-on-a-daily-basis.html.

Many Blessings This Day,

Judy