Things Happen FOR You...

Today in yoga class, the instructor said something that I really want to meditate on.

In India, the God "Ganesha" is pretty well known as "The Remover of Obstacles". 
But he is also known to put obstacles *in* your way, to sort of "cause you to bobble a bit" on your path; to help you stop going in the wrong direction & begin moving toward the "better" path for you.

She said that nothing really happens TO you. 
Rather, things happen FOR you.

The Universe is conspiring FOR you; to help you learn what you need to learn, and to help you accomplish what you came here to accomplish.

I thought that was pretty profound.
It's been on my mind all day now.

It's something to really think about.  To ponder over for a few days.
For me, anyway...


Here's to a Beautiful Day!
Cheers!
=-)

My Epiphany through Crow Pose

So, you know what Crow Pose is?
If not, this (images, crow pose yoga) should help you out.

Well, a year or so ago, I *had* it!
I could do Crow Pose like I can do Mountain (basically just standing erect).

...but then...

Then I lost it.

Somewhere along the way, I realized I couldn't get into Crow anymore.

I decided I thought I was gonna face-plant... or something.

I just... sort of... had a little freak-out-moment and decided I was now scared to do Crow.

So for about a year, I've attempted Crow pose when my instructors offered it, but decided I didn't want to fall, so I didn't "fully" try doing it.

Well!
Last week, I had a REVELATION!
An Epiphany, if you will.

The instructor, Tammy, was being very gentle with us in her attempt to get us to try Crow.  She was teaching to the beginners in the room, and saying, "Maybe just *try* it.  If you don't get it, that's alright.  If you only get one big toe off the floor, then you can congratulate yourself!"  
So I went into it with an open mind.  
Then I began thinking about how and why I'd been having "trouble" with Crow for the past year or so...

Just as I was attempting to "attempt Crow" (yet again), I began to realize that I wasn't really scared of doing a face-plant...

And suddenly I drew in a gasp of breath because I realized
"I'm not scared!  I've just been comparing myself to others!"

About a year ago, I started looking at pictures of others in Crow pose, and realized that the majority of them kept their butts down a lot more than I did...
So I started trying to do Crow with my butt down more...
And this is about the time I "lost" my Crow!

I realized the other day with Tammy that I'd been comparing my Crow to others' Crow, and decided that my Crow was "inferior" or "wrong".

But I had been doing Crow!
How can MY pose be "inferior" to someone else's pose?!?!
My knees were on my upper arms, and my feet were off the floor.  Isn't THAT what Crow is supposed to be about?!?!  Balancing on your hands IS Crow!

So now, with this revelation, I have found a new Peace.
A Peace where I STOP comparing my pose to the poses on the covers of magazines.
A Peace where I stay out of my head and fully in my body.
A Peace where I stop worrying about what I look like, and continue to realize how I feel.

...
I didn't get Crow pose last week, but I did get it for a fraction of a second.  
So that's progress!  =-)

I'll continue to try it, 
and I'll continue to be soft with myself, 
and I'll continue to remember to FEEL how Crow pose feels in MY body as I attempt "flying" in it.  
Because as Tammy said, "Just because you can get into Crow, doesn't make you a better person."

So I'd better go get my yoga clothes on and head to class.   =-)

I hope you're having a Beautiful day, and remember:
Stop comparing yourself to others!  
Because there is no one like you!!!
=-)

<>< <>< <><   ><> ><> ><>

Spiritual Gifts and Money

So...
With this Energy I've been feeling "coming on me" for the past eight or nine months, of course I started wondering what I'm "supposed to do" with it...

Well, after the "I'm here to Love Others" statement, naturally I feel I'm supposed to help others with this Gift of Energy Healing I feel is coming to me.

So when I talked with Boyfriend about this, he assumed I will do this as a job and charge people for my services, so that's the direction I began to take.  We began talking about fees for services; worth vs value; a website; the value of time; how much reading and studying I've been doing; the cost of all my books, not to mention the new massage table Boyfriend bought me for Christmas; etc, etc, etc...

But as I travel this path, I truly get the Feeling... the Message, that I'm really NOT supposed to charge when giving this Gift to others...

This feeling has been moving through me for a couple of months now.

Well, I *finally* got up the nerve to talk with Boyfriend about it.
He shocked me!
His attitude?
"Whatever, Babe.  I don't care what you do.  But if I get laid off (his company was very recently purchased by another company), you'll have to go get a full-time job.  Other than that, you can do whatever you want."

I could not believe the Relief that rolled through me.
I was surprised at the weight that left my shoulders as soon as he said that.   =-)

So now I need to back up and re-group.
To "re-adjust" my thought processes.  
To stop being "shy", and start offering my "services" to anybody and everybody.
To start handing out my "business" card.
To get the word out.

But that's not gonna happen today because it's snowing its butt off out there!   =-)

This picture is from last year.

There's a LOT more snow out there right now.

(Well... a lot for our area!)   =-)

So this gives me time to sit and ponder.

To meditate on things.

To take time to consider things.

I hope you are having a WONDERFUL day!   =-)

Love the ones you're with!

<>< <>< <><   ><> ><> ><> ><>

Love and Energy Healing and Love

So, last year I began feeling led to do "Energy Healing".

If you'd have told me 2 years ago that I was going to be doing this, I would have looked you straight in the eye and said, "BULLshit!"

'Cause 2 years ago, I totally didn't believe in this type of thing.

But I've been on a slow journey.  (Slow 'cause, apparently, I'm resistant to change.)

Yoga opened up my mind to a lot of "unexplainable" things.
Breathing helped me to stand aside from my ego, and listen to mysteries and ask questions for a bit.
Meditation answered curiosities and whispered epiphanies to me.

And now, here I stand on the other side.

Feeling it's my Duty to Love Others.

To Love EVERY SINGLE HUMAN BEING on this Planet.


That's a VERY tall and almost-impossible feat.
I know this.

I know this from the very heart of my Heart.

But it's my Directive.

This past Summer, those words escaped from my mouth without my even knowing I was going to say them, and AS SOON as I said them, I knew them to be the Truth of Truths.

Sitting here now, I can only assume an Angel made me say them...

So I decided "I Choose Love."
And the Gift of Energy began to come to me...  Unasked for.  "Un-thought-about."  "Un-decided" about.

So, after I began "feeling something", I began to read.
Read a lot!

"Healing with Crystals and Chakra Energies" by Sue & Simon Lilly
"Energy Healing for Beginners" by Ruth White
"Healing Visualizations: Creating Health through Imagery" by Gerald Epstein
"The Healing Energy of Your Hands" by Michael Bradford
"Wheels of Life" by Anodea Judith
"Energy Medicine" by Donna Eden
"Energy Healing" by Ann Marie Chiasson, MD
... and I think there's more, but I can't think of them right this minute.
And I have more to read!
I'm currently in the middle of reading:
"Energy Medicine for Women" by Donna Eden
and I still have waiting for me:
"Energy Medicine" by C. Norman Shealy, MD, PhD
"Energy Tapping" by Gallo & Vincenzi
Plus (!) I still wanna read:
"The Seven-fold Journey" by Anodea Judith
and a BUNCH of stuff by Caroline Myss!

(!)
That's a LOT of reading!
Plus, I've done lots of reading on the internet, and I've watched plenty of YouTube videos about this subject.
Sure, some people are pretty far out there, where this Energy thing is concerned.
But there's a lot of "credible" stuff out there too.

...
So, what am I talking about?
Well, perhaps you've heard of "Reiki"?
That's Energy Healing.

Or, better yet, perhaps you've heard of Acupuncture?
That's Energy Healing!

I know. Right?  I had no idea *that* had anything to do with Energy, but it *totally* does!  It's all about Meridians, and Meridians are "simply" Rivers of Energy, if you will, that run over, around and through your body, governing/helping your organs and your whole body.

Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on Energy, as well.  Again, it's based on the Meridians.
Acupuncture, acupressure, Chinese Foot Reflexology, Traditional Chinese Medicine; ALL work on the premise that your body is full of, covered with, and protected by Energy.  

Chi.  (Chinese)
Qi.  (Chinese)
Ki.  (Japanese)
Lom.  (Thai)
Prana.  (Indian)
The Great Mystery or The Great Unknown.  (Native American)
Universal Life Energy.  (American)

Throughout history, all indigenous tribes around the World had a "medicine man" (or woman), many times called a Shaman, who not only took care of the tribe's health and well-being, but also of its Spirituality.  Energy was a part of both.  A part of all.


According to *every* book I read, EACH of us is capable of feeling this Energy, and of helping each other by using this Energy.
Most of us, though, tend to let this "feeling" or "knowing" die down until we don't really even notice it anymore.

And now, most of us are so far from Nature, and we have so much technology, that we don't even want to believe such a thing exists...

...
And with that, I must go for now.
I have a floor to vacuum,
and a bathroom to clean,
and supper to cook, 
and soon, a husband to greet at the door.

I'm still Me, even if I am "a bit loony"-er than I was yesterday.   =-)

Hoping you have a Beautiful Day today and tomorrow.

Love,
Wendy
=-)

The new massage table Boyfriend got me for Xmas...

My Year In Review (Sorry, but it's really long)

Let me tell you, it's been QUITE a year!!

BOTH of my daughters got married! 
Did I happen to mention that?!
BOTH of them!
And only ONE MONTH APART!!! 

But wait.  I'm getting ahead of myself...
I should start at the beginning of the year...

We knew ahead of time that 2013 would be a big and busy year, but it started off with an unexpected death that nobody foresaw...  Boyfriend and I attended two funerals within the first 5 weeks of 2013.  That was really difficult for him.  
The first was a friend and mentor of his from work.  It really, really affected him.  So much.  It's almost time for the 1-year "anniversary", and he's still not over it.  (And I don't mean for that to sound insensitive.  I just honestly don't know how else to word it...)
The second funeral was for his ex-father-in-law.  The man who lived next door to his parents.  (Yes, he married "the girl next door" the first time.)  The man who taught him all about carpentry work.  The man who gave him his first job.  The man who introduced him to triple-x movies.  =-)
Also in January, I was still teaching Yoga once a week, on Wednesday evenings.

In February, Boyfriend had to go to Knoxville for 2 days for work, so I went with him.
Then He had to go to Sylva and Asheville (NC) for 3 days, so I went with him then too.   =-)
And on February 15th, Boyfriend had surgery to have his Gallbladder taken out.
A week and a half later, he needed to go to Chattanooga, TN for 2 days, so I went with him there, too.
And, just for good measure, since I was turning 50, I had to have an Upper and Lower G.I./colonoscopy done. Oh boy.  Thrilled...

In the first full week of March, Boyfriend had to go to Gainesville, FL for the week for work, so I went with him.
On the way back, we stopped in Beaufort SC to visit my Mom for the weekend.
On the 30th, we went to the wedding of one of Bunny's best friends, Sarah.  Bunny's been friends with her since the 5th grade.  It was a beautiful wedding, and Sarah did EVERYTHING for it all by herself.  Beautiful!  And she cried the entire time.   =-)
Then the next day, Boyfriend hit the milestone of turning the "Big Double Nickel".

In April, I stopped teaching Yoga and started working the front desk at the studio.  It wasn't my idea to stop teaching.  The owner decided to stop having the Basics class, so I was sort of "forced" to quit.
Also in April, Boyfriend needed to go to Nashville for work for a week, so I went with him there, too.  We traveled a lot last year, but really mostly for his job, so we didn't have to pay for these trips.  Win-win.   =-)

Then on April 23rd, Daddy had another motorcycle wreck.  Boyfriend was in Bristol, TN, and for "some reason", I hadn't gone with him.  It was a good thing because Daddy had broken his thumb, toe, face, etc, and wasn't allowed to drive, so I had to take him to multiple doctors' appointments.

April is also when I started realizing that I'm being led to do Energy Healing.  I'm not really comfortable yet calling it "healing", but I'm growing into that...

In May, the Yoga studio had our annual Open House.  I always enjoy myself at those events.  So many people show up, despite the fact that the owner is always afraid that nobody will.  She even has dreams about it.   =-)
In the middle of May, Boyfriend & I went to see my Mom again.  My brother and sister showed too, and we had cake on the 18th for my Mom's upcoming b'day & Mother's Day combined.  My mother's birthday is the 23rd, and Kitty (my "baby girl") has hers the very next day!  

Next came June, and I started planting sunflowers on a weekly basis...
Bunny, my oldest, wanted some to decorate with for her wedding in September, so I started planting a dozen or so each week, hoping that at least *some* of them would be blooming then.  
Then Boyfriend & I went to Myrtle Beach for our (what *used* to be annual) family beach trip.  Boyfriend's sister & brother-in-law, aunt, uncle, cousin, nephew & his boyfriend, Boyfriend's other sister, & Boyfriend & I were the "only" ones who went this year.  And Bunny & her fiance' came for the weekend.  ...I say "only" because usually it's a huge group of at least 13 of us, if not more, for an entire week.  But at least we went this year.  The same can't be said for *last* year...
Anyway, toward the end of June, we kept having rain, rain, and more rain, and almost *all* of my sunflower seeds got washed away!  I was sooo sad!  All my hard work, plus the fact that Bunny's wish for sunflowers at her wedding might not come true after all.  It just broke my heart!  I tried not to tell myself that it was a bad omen.  That shit happens, but it doesn't have to affect everything else.  But I was still heart-broken about it anyway.

Then in July, Boyfriend & I, along with our neighbors, W & C, our friend Eric, our nephew & his boyfriend, and a female friend of theirs, and Boyfriend's 2nd sister went on a cruise!  It was a 4-night cruise, and we drank and gambled and danced and laughed and slept in late and hung around the pools, and just had a very good time together.  Very relaxing and fun.  It was a spur-of-the-moment trip that W talked us into going on, and we were glad we did.   =-)

And I did my very first official Energy Session on July 22nd, the day of the full moon.   =-)  It went very well.  It was with my cousin, and we had a very nice time.  She told me I'm very talented and have a wonderful Gift.  That made me feel good.   =-)

Also in July, I hit the milestone of turning the "Big Five O".
No big deal, really.  I felt exactly the same on my Birthday as I did the day before.  (Which means I'm *still* just a kid inside.)

In August, Boyfriend & I went to Beaufort again to see my Mom.
Not a very good visit.  I made some smart-alec, flippant remark to her husband, and BOY! did he go OFF on me!!!  While I was sitting there listening to him yell at me, I decided then-and-there that I was NOT coming back anymore...  At least, not for a very long time.
At the same time, Boyfriend was sitting 5 feet away telling himself that he wouldn't "force" me to come down there again, either.
Funny, how we were thinking the same thing.
And funny, too, how we didn't really mean it.
Oh, we DID at the time!   =-)
Anyway.
When we got back home, my brother & his wife, Bunny & her fiance', & Kitty all came over to talk about the wedding.
Not my favorite subject.
I was already getting butterflies (or something!) in my stomach about the whole thing.
Both girls had already moved out, but somehow, this was different!
I wasn't ready!
I didn't want them to get married!
But I kept all my turmoil inside and didn't let them know that I was having a difficult time with "all of this stuff".

When September came around, I began to get "moody".
Boyfriend wasn't sure what was "wrong" with me.
I already don't talk a lot on a "normal" day (whatever that is!), but I just "couldn't" talk about what was going on in my head and my heart with this wedding stuff coming up...

And next thing I knew, it was here.
The rehearsal day was full of hustle and bustle, and people everywhere, and decorating and fixing up, and all sorts of stuff.
And then The Big Day arrived.
My first Baby was getting married.
And she was Beautiful!
I almost LOST IT when I helped her into her dress!!!  I had visions in my head of the day we brought her home from the hospital; her first bath; her first stitches; lots of little things we used to do when she was a baby.  (All while I was trying to help her into her dress and NOT cry!)
And here she was, "all grown up", and about to get married.
Nothing would ever be the same again...

She had us both walk her down the aisle, Boyfriend and I. 
I thought that was the Sweetest Thing!
I don't know how I kept from crying my eyes out the entire time!

But after the ceremony, the toasting and cheers, the pictures, I went into my bathroom, sat down to pee and talk to myself...
"See?  It's alright!  She still loves you!  Everything's gonna be okay."
And even though it was a solid WEEK before my period was supposed to start, I had a gush of blood, and then everything was "normal" again.
Wow!  I knew I was stressed out, but I didn't know I was that stressed out!
(There were sunflowers there.  My wonderful brother & his spectacular wife brought them!  Just in case you were wondering.)   =-)

The next morning when we woke up, Boyfriend and I just sighed and realized that we were gonna be alright.  He said he didn't realize just how much stress he was feeling until that morning.  I was like, "YA THINK?!?!"  
Sometimes men are so clueless!
(But I don't mean that in a bad way.)

Sigh...

Next came October, and Boyfriend had to go to Chattanooga again, so I went with him for a 3-night stay.
Then on that Saturday, I did the Komen Race with Bunny in honor of one of the doctors she worked for.  We walked it, 'cause I don't run!  But that was a good time.   =-)
The next weekend, I went to my sister's in Seven Springs, NC.  Wonderful visit!

And then on October 24th, my other Baby got married!!!
I honestly wondered for a time if they were trying to kill me!

Hers was a beautiful wedding too.
She made the decorations herself, and the 3 wedding bouquets.
She's very talented like that.
Gets it from her Mom.   =-)  jk

Also in October, I quit working the front desk at the Yoga studio.
I was just ready to move on.
Actually, I almost gave up on the studio all-together.  I had almost quit going entirely.  I was ready to do something else somewhere else.

But then November came, and I went back to it.
I also sent out an email to my Yoga friends and started doing Energy Sessions out of my house.  I wanted to get 25 "Practicums" (that's what they call it in the Medical field) before I started giving out my business card to "just anybody".
I'm almost at my 25.   =-)
I had 3 sessions the first week, and 5 the second week!
And then the Holiday Season began, and people weren't really able to work me into their schedules very easily, so things began to slow down.
But that's okay, 'cause this is a new year now, Baby!   =-)

Anyway.  The girls and their boys spent Thanksgiving with us.
That doesn't exactly explain it...
We all went to my brother's in Greensboro on T'giving Day, and then we went to Boyfriend's Mom's the day after T'giving.
Then Bunny had her birthday the next day, and we went out for Sushi at her favorite Sushi place!  It was a very good time.   =-)

And the next day was December.
I went to my sister's for a 3-night stay.  Came home in time to go to a gallery opening for Bunny that evening and took Daddy with us.
Had a movie night at Kitty's the next night.  Boyfriend didn't go.  He doesn't really like it there 'cause she has 2 cats...

Then, on Dec 11th, Kitty had a wreck and totalled her car!  She's okay!  But her car...?  Not so much.  So the next day I had to take her and her husband to work and wherever.  Then they got a rental the following day.

Then that Saturday I did an Energy Session on a total stranger.
It was a VERY good session!  I saw things, I felt things, and she even felt some tinglings and saw colors.  Very Good Session.   =-)  At the end of it, she said, "I don't know why people poo-poo this stuff.  They should try it before they put it down.  That was really awesome!"   And I felt good.  

And she's absolutely right.  You should try something before you put it down.

The next Saturday, the Girls, my (female) cousin, & I went to see The Nutcracker.  Cousin said she thinks that'll have to become a tradition:  Girls-only going to the Nutcracker before Christmas.   =-)
Boyfriend & I spent Xmas Eve & Xmas at his Mom's.

And that was my year in a (VERY BIG) nutshell!

How was your year?!



I hope you can wake up in the morning, breathe deeply and say aloud, "It's gonna be a Beautiful Day!"

=-)