Self Care at Christmas

 

Just being more conscious of one's self will make this Christmas a much easier time for you.  The list above is to stick on your fridge, or in your wallet so that you don't forget.  Too often, we forget that if we don't care for self first, no one else will do it for us.  No one can sleep more for us, or drink more water for us.  Others cannot exercise for us or relax us.  Those things must come from inside us.  

Make a pledge to yourself that this Christmas season, you will be kind to yourself first, and then kind to others.  

Many blessings.

Facts About December

 

                                                 Winter snow - Picture by Judy Hirst  

 It is December and Christmas is very close.  Do you know the following things about December?

1.  The Moon celebration is called "The Moon of Long Nights".

2.  During this time, the water is believed to be revitalized.

3.  The event of Winter Solstice, held on either December 21st or 22nd depending on the length of the year. This honours the longest night and the return of the Sun Goddess, Lucina.

4.  Our Ancestors thought that December was a time to  endure, for the elderly to die, and for the world, and their life, to be reborn.

5.  During this cold time of December, our Ancestors spent time on introspection and renewal - weaving new clothes, creating new tools, honouring the Gods and Goddesses.

6.  It is common for people to use this time as time of purification.  People have saunas and roll in the snow. Others participate in sweat lodges.  Some simply steam.  The hot and the cold are the balance to purify our bodies.

7.  The trees that we honour at this time are the family of evergreens - pine trees will be decorated for Christmas

8. The colour traditionally associated with Christmas was dark red.

Many blessings,

Judy

Christmas Thoughts - Happiness

 

How do we know what happiness is?  Is happiness the same for everyone?  These are some of the thoughts that wandered through my mind when I was picking up some last minute Christmas things.

I see people rushing here and there, yanking their children after them when all the while, the child wants to play in the play area or hopscotch on the tiles in the mallway. Kids just want to do things and be happy.  One little fellow said to his mother, "Let's go home.  I'm not happy here."

Happy seems to be a state of mind that just is.  One doesn't have to work at it.  It may be that it is a state of grace.  Or, maybe it is just a place of love – love of life and love of everything.

It is one more thought to explore this Christmas.

Many blessings,

Judy

Spirit Animal - Nightingale's Song

  

This picture of a Nightingale Bird from common-nightingale-night-5a959ce8c673350037c9f3a4.jpg (1500×1000) (thespruce.com)

Since I was little, I have been intrigued by tales of the Nightingale.  She is featured in many fairy tales, such as “The Nightingale” by Hans Christian Anderson.  In all of the stories, people want to own the Nightingale to possess her beautiful song.  

For this Christmas, Nightingale brings a message that true freedom is not about being able to capture and control things and people or animals; true freedom is about being free to let all beings act and live exactly as they are meant to… unconditionally as nature intended.

Nightingale’s message is also in this beautiful traditional Christmas carol from Spain. 

The Gift

A poor orphan girl named Maria
Was walking to market one day
She stopped for a rest by the roadside
Where a bird with a broken wing lay
A few moments passed till she saw it
For it's feathers were covered with sand
But soon clean and wrapped it was travelling
In the warmth of Maria's small hand
She happily gave her last peso
On a cage made of rushes and twine
She fed it loose corn from the market
And watched it grow stronger with time
Now the Christmas Eve service was coming
And the church shone with tinsel and light
And all of the townfolks brought presents
To lay by the manger that night
There were diamonds and incense
And perfumes
In packages fit for a king
But for one ragged bird in a small cage
Maria had nothing to bring
She waited till just before midnight
So no one would see her go in
And crying she knelt by the manger
For her gift was unworthy of Him
Then a voice spoke to her through the darkness
Maria, what brings you to me
If the bird in the cage is your offering
Open the door and let me see
Though she trembled, she did as He asked her
And out of the cage the bird flew
Soaring up into the rafters
On a wing that had healed good as new
Just then the midnight bells rang out
And the little bird started to sing
A song that no words could recapture
Whose beauty was fit for a king
Now Maria felt blessed just to listen
To that cascade of notes sweet and long
As her offerings was lifted to heaven
By the very first nightingale's song

                   -Unknown Author  

You can listen to Garth Brooks sing this beautiful Christmas song at The Gift - YouTube.  Remember that links to YouTube change over time so this song may disappear.

Many blessings,

Judy

From The Angels - Keep Your Inner Peace

 

I was in a situation yesterday where I was getting so upset with a family in a grocery store.  Normally, the grocery store is a soothing place with quiet music and staff that sometimes break into song. The family - Mom, Dad, and two kids about six and eight - were very loud and argued about everything.  Both parents were obviously not in a happy frame of mind and both parents were being very vocal and demeaning to their children.  

I was about to say something, if only for my peace, when my inner guidance - my angels speaking - reminded me to stay calm and peaceful and to project the calmness and the peacefulness to the family.  I took several deep breaths in and closed my eyes and strove to find the peacefulness I normally carry around with me.  I breathed it in and out.  I projected the peacefulness to all those around me.  I focused on walking in a sunny meadow.  I concentrated on my walk in the store.

Suddenly, I realized that it was much quieter in the store.  Perhaps the family left.  However, when I rounded into the next aisle, there was the family.  They were much quieter and looked more pleasant. Whatever calmed them was a welcome relief.

I realized then, how quickly a strongly negative influence like the unhappy family, could throw those around them into a more negative space.  Rotten apples in a barrel effect, it seemed.  I also realized that we all have to work at overpowering the negative with a positive influence.

Perhaps you will have the chance today to send peace and tranquility to someone who is unhappy.

Many blessings 

Judy 

Forgiving A Family Member

 

                                                 “Yellow Roses” - Picture by Judy

The Oxford Dictionary defines family in several ways… one definition is “all the descendants of a common ancestor”.  That is a really big definition!  It is even bigger if you think that genealogy blood work shows that we are all descended from “the seven daughters of Eve”.  This is actually the name of a book written by Brian Sykes.  Check it out for Christmas season reading.

Back to the point - family is big.  When one of the family members does you wrong, it is very hard to forgive the family member.  So much that needs to be forgiven happens in families…

• Cruelty
• Guilting
• Punishment
• Belittling
• Beating/abuse
• Theft
• Abandonment
• Lack of food and clothing, and even shelter

You get the picture of some of the family actions that require forgiving.  Even worse, some of these activities cause individuals to stay stuck in a place where they relive the moments and feel the recurring pain.

There are many practices that one can use for forgiving family members.  What many do not understand is that forgiveness does not mean accepting the family member.  Forgiveness does not mean you have to be buds with the family member or that you have to like what they did or even like them.  Just as you choose your friends that you hang out with, you can choose which family members that you associate with.  Forgiveness means that you can move on in your life without them, that they no longer have a hold on your life.  

In the process of forgiveness, the Abundance and Healing take hold in your life.  You can now move forward.  You can follow your own path.

Blessings,

Judy

Ancestors Speak - Allergic Reactions to Food

 

Picture from Cropsandsoil.oregonstate.edu

 

A while ago, I had a bad reaction to some food that I ate.  I was sick to my stomach and my hands and feet and face swelled.  My husband suggested that I do a journey via karma clearing to see what was causing the reaction.

As I tumbled back in time, I heard the words – NIGHTSHADE, Potatoes, Peppers, apples, plums, peaches…. and then I saw different vignettes of me eating a food, and choking and dying.  There were quite a number of foods that did this, however, mostly they came from the nightshade family.  Not knowing exactly what this family contained, I looked it up and found…. The nightshade family or potato family includes Datura (Jimson weed), mandrake, deadly nightshade (belladonna), capsicum (paprika, chili pepper), potato, tobacco, tomato, eggplant and petunia.There are superstitious beliefs about the nightshade family (Potatoes, Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplant) and how they may harm the immune system or be unfit to eat.  Actually, many of the vegetables in the nightshade family are staples in one's diet, particularly in the Middle East where Eggplant, Peppers and Tomatoes are eaten in abundance.  These vegetables are also known for their great medicinal purposes.  However, they may be poisonous to some like me.

I also did some research on Apples and found “Apples - apple seeds like the seeds of some other fruits in the rose family such as peaches and bitter almonds, contain cyanide.  It's part of the apple's way of protecting its offspring.  The level of cyanide is quite low, but if you store up a whole lot of apple seeds and eat them all at once, you can ingest enough cyanide to hurt or even kill you.”   Did  I mention that in one life, I seemed to die of cyanide poisoning?  It seems that the different types of peppers also can do a number on my system.

In the karma clearing, I asked for all reactions to all of the fruits and vegetables that I reacted with to be healed across all space and time and that the healing be brought into the present moment now and for all time to come.  So far, I am okay with green peppers and potatoes.

May you enjoy your food whole heartedly

Many blessing,

Judy

(Reach me at lightstationwisdom@gmail.com)