TAROT READING VERSUS PSYCHIC READING: WHICH IS BEST? Neither one is better than the other. It really comes down to the person giving the advice and how skilled they are at their craft and what you are personally comfortable with. Some people are not comfortable with tarot cards; others like to see the cards because it helps them feel involved. Others don’t like psychics because it can seem too vague. The tarot has more structure than a psychic reading. There are layouts and meanings and archetypes to the cards that give the advisor a clear path to follow while delivering information. Much like an irrigation system directing the water to a field. Different cards and spreads are like one of those channels directing the water only they direct the information towards the answer of your question. Tarot readers often will also have intuitive and psychic abilities, but choose to use the information they derive from the cards to formulate the information into a clear picture for the client. Tarot readers will often have a favorite deck because as you spend time with the cards it becomes a working relationship and you will see that one reader will read the same cards differently from the next. That is because though the cards technically mean the same thing, the human experience of that meaning differs with each of us and as the reader develops their relationship with their deck they also develop their own language and understanding of the cards. This strongly enhances their ability to interpret the cards. Almost like a secret language between the reader and the cards themselves. Psychic, clairvoyant, intuitive and empathic readers work more with unseen as far as mainstream reality. They are able to read energy fields and have fine tuned their ability to interpret their gut instincts to where they can also see or sense different levels of information that are held in the mass consciousness. I use my own deck THE WORDS TO THE WISE ORACLE but I also read... Read More

Just wanting to wish all of the Mothers and Mothers to be a Blessed and Happy Mothers Day God Bless you all!!!

I would like to wish each one of my callers, past present and future, a very happy New Year. I wish you the very highest and best for the New Year. I treasure each one of you. I consider medium and psychic readings sacred work and it is a privilege to be able to read for you. A few months ago I started the weekly practice of lighting a candle and blessing each caller, those in the past, those in the present and those in the future. I will continue this practice in 2011, and would like you to know, that you are included in this ritual whether you had a reading with me ten years ago or last week. My wish for you for the New Year is that the very deepest desires and wishes of your heart will be granted.

A psychic/medium reading is truly a joint collaboration. The psychic is listening to both the caller and to her guides and angels and must be careful to hear both accurately. The job of the caller is not a passive one, as the caller must be careful to hear what the psychic is actually saying. If the caller is not open to listening and considering what is being said, then there is no way the reading will work. You will get a better reading if you think about what you what to know before you make the call. Before I get a reading, I sit down and make a list of questions to which I want answers. I highly recommend this practice to you.

One frequent question callers have asked me is how I work. Before I get on the phone, I make certain I am grounded and centered. You deserve the most accurate and best reading available, and that is what I deliver to my callers. I make certain I am in a frame of mind that I give you my complete and undivided attention. Compassionate and nonjudgmental listening is a requirement in this line of work. To prepare for a session of taking calls, I pray and meditate, light a candle, thank my guides and angels in advance. I also think of my late... Read More

Okay. Summer’s gone. So is vacation time. Halloween is looming, you need to get away, and you only have the weekend. I have the perfect recipe, the perfect landscape, and the perfect haunt for you and your mate, especially if you’re here in California.

Back in the mid-eighties when I first learned to drive, my pals and I spent our autumn evenings and weekends exploring the California coastline between our hometown of Santa Cruz and the bustled peaks of San Francisco. The object was to catch the most intense sunset, and to delve into the cacophony of haunted beaches along the coast. Most beaches along the stretch of Highway One between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz, California, are fierce and isolated and were once notorious for attracting and destroying clipper ships. These majestic beaches define mystical with gnarled Monterey pines and weathered purple sage that leans into the hard wind as if to try and stop it. There is nothing short of postcard beautiful with craggy rock cliffs and foaming combers clearly marking the edge of western civilization. If you stand on the cliffs just right, no one around but you, you’ll clearly hear music-box chimes from times gone by, the wails of lost loves and women who wear black veils.

Wanna bet?

Franklin Point is located in the Año Nuevo State Reserve, San Mateo... Read More

How do you see yourself? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What role do you play in your family? What role do you play at work? Is what you see reality, or is it illusion? Most people tend to be a bit hard on themselves – they see themselves in a certain way, and the focus is usually more negative than positive. So … how do we “reinvent” ourselves in a more positive light?

The first thing that we need to do – indeed, the most important thing – is to stop, take an inventory, and recognize how exactly it is that we see ourselves. Make a list of what you feel are your strengths, and your weaknesses, and the qualities that you feel you need to develop. Are you seeing a picture of yourself from long ago – a picture that in reality you have outgrown, but in your mind is very real?

Now look at your achievements, and the skills that helped you manifest those achievements. Don’t stop at the small stuff – list every major accomplishment in your life, and the skills/abilities that it took to manifest them. These are your real strengths!

Find the common denominator in your successes, and you will have found a key to your passion in life. You will begin to see yourself, and what you can accomplish, in a different light. The “new you” is the real you that was there all along, waiting to be acknowledged!

Self-confidence and decision making – the two seem to go hand in hand. Making and implementing decisions is the backbone for creating the life that we want. What tools do we have at our disposal to make this a more streamlined, effective process?

1. When we make a decision we should spend the necessary time to get all the facts, look at the pros and cons of all of our alternatives, and be prepared to take responsibility for the consequences.
2. Once we have made a decision, we need to implement it. If we second guess ourselves, or allow the opinions of other people to sway us, we lose our authenticity (and our self-respect).
3. Once we have implemented a decision, we need to commit to it. Second guessing ourselves will get us nowhere.
4. There is a difference between getting a decision right (which is a value judgment), and doing the right thing (which is living according to our own personal code of ethics). Bottom line – do the right thing!
5. In making a decision, weigh what is going to be the most effective. There are many factors in looking for a “best” decision, and most of them are very ephemeral. The factors that indicate how effective a decision will be are much more easily defined.
6. Go against popular thought and consider yourself first when making your decisions. This is not an ego issue, it has to do with authenticity. When you make your decisions according to your beliefs, you are acting in an authentic manner.
7. Remember when you make decisions in any area of your life that you need to balance work/family/personal time and goals. The primary focus will fluctuate with personal needs/issues, but there always needs to be a balance.
8. Make your own decisions, and take responsibility for them.
9. When it becomes apparent that a decision is not working, review the issue and make another decision. If oyu let the situation go on, it will only get worse.
10. Future... Read More

Joy is a big factor in our lives. Without joy, we feel lost, we feel as if there is no meaning to anything that we do. So, do we need to invent the joy in our life – perhaps pretend that it is there when it is not? Or is it really there all along, and we need to realign our thinking to recognize it?

Finding the joy in our life simply means taking the time to look around us, and appreciate what is there. It means living in the present, giving thanks for the abundance and prosperity around us, enjoying the small things in life.

Make the effort to get outside as often as possible. Take a walk, no matter how short. Note the colors, the scents, the people – note what makes up your environment, and what your reaction to it is. Become an active part of your environment.

Remember that you are the person t hat sets the tone for your environment – both at home, and at work. And that tone involves both your attitude, and the physical tings around you. Stay in the present, and react only to that which is in the present. Hold the most positive thoughts that you can – you draw people and things to you that match your thoughts, so think positive, and make the effort to interact with those around you. A smile, a compliment – these go a long way towards building trust and good relationships.

Know that you are in control of the “things” in your environment. This includes the amount of “things” that are there, how they are arranged, predominate colors – you have input into all of this. Make the effort to cut through the clutter and present an environment that is calming, relaxing, and supportive of you. Make your environment a place where you want to be, where you feel welcome, and where you can welcome others.

The joy factor – it is all around you! Accept it, allow yourself to smile, and feel t hat smile all the way through to your soul!

The “Celebrations of Love” oracle, by Eva M. Sakmar-Sullivan (Schiffer Books, 2009) is a beautiful deck of sixty gorgeously illustrated cards that act to engage our sixth sense – our intuition. Working with these cards is based upon the theory of the “Law of Attraction” – you will draw to you the answers that you seek, as well as the wisdom of what you need most to know.

The card backs set the tone for working with this oracle – they show a male figure standing behind a female figure, with their arms around each other. They appear as part of a tree, with what would be their lower bodies as he trunk and root of the tree. Behind them is a beautiful rainbow, with the moon in the sky above. A white dove is in front of the figures, with its wings wrapped around the tree (indicating Divine love and protection).

Each card is presented with a discussion of the energy of the card, an act that the reader can take to honor this energy, and a special message concerning why this energy was brought to the reader. For example, one of the cards is entitled “Sharing”. The figure on the card is the Light Priestess. The energy of this card is that of the celebration of myth and legend. The focus is on ancient thoughtforms, and how they rode the threads of time.

The action to be taken with “Sharing” is that of extending joy to a stranger. For the reader to take time in their day to do something nice for someone else, expecting nothing in return. The Special Message for “Sharing” is that the reader needs to stop allowing others to control their life. Send them love, and joy, and release them,and thie hold ove your life.

In her introduction, Sakmar-Sullivan notes that we need to live each moment in appreciation of and gratitude for all the Creator has given us. Part of what the Creator has gifted us with is oracles such as this that help us to ground and center ourselves, and live in accordance with Divine principles. Go into your day with... Read More

Hello Readers,

 How are you? I hope well. I want to talk to you about something that I know everyone has a hard time with, especially in the relationship spectrum of life. That is knowing when to speak up and declare NO to a situation that you know is not only bad for you but unhealthy. Oftentimes we enter into relationships knowing in the backs of our minds that it is not the best thing for us. For many, we do not give up on the situation for the fear of begin alone or failure. What we don’t realize is that giving up is actually a strength. When you come to a point where saying no is the best thing you can say, it says to that situation that you’ve done everything you can do in your own power and now you just have to walk away.  Take for instance, you and your special someone have been together for a while and despite everything, you cannot get him to truly show affection. You’ve tried to get him to talk, flowered him with more  affection and nothing works. That’s when you may come to the decision that you have to say no. Say no to someone not showing their feelings, not talking and no to not begin loved the way you deserve. We all have gone through this believe me, I know I have. Saying no is a part of life. We just have to figure out when and why we’re saying no. Remember, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Ask yourself, When should you say no?, What are you saying no to? and Why are you saying no? Think about it.

Love, Leo

“Wisdom of the Hidden Realms” (Hay House, 2009) is a wonderful set of oracle cards by author Colette Baron-Reid and artist Jena DellaGrottaglia. The cards act as a bridge between the physical and the spiritual worlds, allowing the reader to enter into a magical dialogue with the Divine. N doing so, the reader will tap into their own personal power, become more self-aware, and be able to fulfill their highest purpose.

Magical beings from myth and legend inhabit the world of this book. They act as allies to the reader, helping them through whatever difficulties they are facing. These allies include the Rainbow Prince, the Sun Dancers, the Alter Princess, the Dream Walker, the Lady of the Mirror, the Web Weaver, the Lady of the Gift, the Mapmaker of Destiny, and the Hungry Ghosts.

Each card has its title across the top, with the issues that it addresses under the title. The pictures are framed in a golden arch, and have a very mystical feel to them. They invite you into their world, which is a healing world. The “Rainbow Prince” addresses compensation and perseverance. The Sun Dancers addresses joyful activity, celebration of life, and abundance. The Dream Walker addresses dreams, the collective good, and illusions.

In her introduction, Baron-Reid advises the reader to invoke the power of the cards carefully, and use their power well. There are instructions on how to become familiar with the cards, and how to use them in a reading.

Each card is presented with an ally and a challenge position. For the Lady of the Mirror (reflection, nonjudgment), she is both ally and challenger. She asks th reader to see themselves through the actions and events in their life. She is the force of the Law of Attraction – you attract to you that which you are. Observe how you are responding to life, and alter your responses to create the life that you want.

I found these cards to be gentle, beautiful, and very easy to work with. You... Read More

There are many different oracles out there that we can use to empower ourselves. One of my favorites are the “Saints & Angels” oracle cards by Doreen Virtue, Ph.D. (Hay House, 2005). This is, by nature, a very gentle oracle. It is, in essence, wisdom from Spirit, coming through the Saints and Angels.

The messages in these cards are a comfort, as they let us know here on the physical plane that help is always available from Spirit, and that we do not walk alone (however much that may seem at times). Among the voices heard here are those of Guardian Angel, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Agnes of Rome, St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Bernadette, St. Hildegard of Bingen, St. Michael (the Archangel), Mother Mary, Christ, St. Raphael (the Archangel), St. Mother Teresa, St. Mary Magdalene, and St. Christopher.

The face of the cards shows a keyword at the top, with the name of the energy speaking at the bottom. In between are lovely illustrations that can act as focus for personal meditation. The companion book expands on the meaning of each of the cards.

One of the cards is entitled “Speak Your Truth”. The speaker is St. Bernadette. The companion book expands on the keyword to focus on literally speaking your truth … speaking up, and making your voice known. Give your fears and anxieties about what the reaction to your words will be over to God, St. Bernadette, and your angels. Speak in a lovng way, but speak with integrity. Heaven protects us, and guides out words as we say t hem.

What type of oracle appeals to you? Don’t be afraid to place it in your life, and turn to it in time of need.

I love crystals – when I read in person, I have my clients hold a rose quartz crystal in their hand. This crystal will hold the essence of their reading, and is something that I gift them with at the end of the reading. Rose quartz is all about love, and heart energy.

Other crystals that can aid in healing, or simply in dealing with specific situations/issues are:

Amber: Dispelling negativity and allowing the individual to experience happiness.

Amethyst: Used for calming, it is excellent to use when meditating. It also acts as a gateway for connecting with psychic abilities.

Aquamarine: Assisting the flow of love and compassion.

Aventurine: Helps in dealing with anxiety, and cleanses mental, emotional and etheric bodies.

Carnelian: Helps with memory, acts as a gateway to the creative self, and can be used for protection.

Citrine: Helps to process energy work.

Coral: Used to assist in strengthening ones emotions.

Emerald: Used to assist with both physical and emotional healing.

Fluorite: Used for grounding and concentration.

Clear Quartz: Acts to balance emotions, and protects by dispelling negative energy.

Jade: Assists with relaxation, and helps induce calmness.

Malachite: Assists with bringing in harmony.

Mother of Pearl: Assists in protection.

Picture Jasper: Excellent crystal for both emotional and psychological healing.

Snowflake Obsidian: Helps to provide balance and acts as protection.

Sodalite: Enhances communication.

Tiger Eye: Connects the individual with their own personal power. Helps to ground and center.

I just got done reading an excellent blog on meditation techniques related to the Tarot. I found it to be very empowering, and it started me thinking about meditation in general – why we do it, and what we get from it. Meditation is a connection with spirit – whatever form we perceive spirit to take. It allows us to take a time out – a step back, for a few moments, from the everyday concerns and pressures of life.

Meditation allows us to see our lives with greater clarity, which allows us to make better decisions, and reduces the stress we are facing. We can take this one step further and meditate on specific issues, or to manifest specific things that act to enrich our lives. We can use meditation to help us problem solve, and we can use it to help us make the changes we need to make in the best possible fashion.

Through meditation we can learn to live from our hearts, to live in a state of compassion. We can learn to experience joy and peace on a daily basis, and make it an integral part of our lives. We can also learn to access our creative center, and become the people that we are meant to be.

There are many forms of meditation – work with the ones t at appeal to you, and you will see a significant difference in your life.

· Focus on your breathing – follow your breath in and out.

· Work with a mantra of any type.

· In a darkened room, use a candle as a focal point.

· Work with meditative music.

· Taking a moment with your morning cup of coffee to admire the sunrise/sunset, the flowers in your yard, or just to watch the animal life around you.

· Taking a walk in nature – on the beach, in a park, or even around your neighborhood. The key here – pay attention the whatever crosses your path. Remain in the present.

Meditation is a wonderful tool of empowerment. Choose to empower yourself!

Webster defines hope as “To cherish a desire with anticipation.”, and “To expect with confidence.” We often feel that we have little hope, or little encouragement in our lives. Where we will find that hope is not outside of ourselves, but within. Int hat spark of Spirit that resides within each of us, we will find hope.

Find the hope within you, and nourish it. Many people and/or situations will act to crush that hope – do not allow this to happen. Keep the hope for whatever you wish to see in your life alive by believing that it can happen, and by believing that you can be part of that happening.

When we have hope, we can handle anything, make our way through anything. Our hopes and our dreams are energies that need nourishing – place your focus, and your intention, on your hopes and dreams.

What are some of the ways in which we can nourish our hopes and dreams?

     1. Honor yourself – treat yourself with respect.
     2. Treat others with the respect that you would like to be treated with.    
     3. Make the conscious choice to look at situations and people in the most positive light.
     4. Listen to your heart – choose to believe that there is hope.                  
     5. Live in the present – be aware of your thoughts, words and actions in the present.
     6. Acknowledge that the thoughts, words and actions that you express in the present create your future.
     7. Align yourself with others that share the same hopes and dreams.       
     8. Know that you are the only person that needs to approve or disapprove of your words and actions.
     9. Learn to... Read More

What’s in your dreams? It is summer – a lovely time of year, where the pace slows for a moment and we have a chance to enjoy ourselves. The suns is shining, the flowers are reflecting their bright colors and friendly nature, bodies of water are calling us, and we are given the opportunity to live life to the fullest.

We have just passed a partial lunar eclipse, and are headed for a solar eclipse. We are being asked to release attachments to the past, and use our innate/inborn skills and abilities to move into the future – a future that is perhaps a bit different than we thought it might be.

This is a time when we are being pushed to rethink our priorities, re-define our life goals, and be willing to take the (calculated) risk of pursuing them. One of the most important gifts that we have been given in this lifetime is that of dreamtime. Normally we think o dreamtime as being when we are asleep. Dreamtime can also occur when we are in a waking state, but in between full consciousness and sleep.

In dreamtime we are able to shut off the (sometimes limiting) voice of our conscious self and connect with our creative, subconscious self. This is where we receive answers to questions that trouble us during our waking hours. This is where the “Aha!” moments take place. Pay attention to your dreams, and you will be able to create a whole new world around you!

Note the images in your dream, and your reaction to them. In what manner do they relate to your waking life? What colors are predominate, and how do you feel about them? What emotions are you feeling in your dream? What message(s) is coming through to you from your dream? Listen to your intuition, to make best use of dream messages.

Take time this summer to give time to yourself, to further your wishes, your dreams, and your goals!

We all, at times, find ourselves in some very dark places. I am talking emotionally dark places here, not physical ones. We have the choice to not walk down a dark alley, to not walk the streets alone after dark, to not put ourselves in places where we don’t feel safe. Emotional dark places are very different, as we often don’t realize how we got there, or how we can put the experience behind us.

This is why we are here as readers – to help you, to the best of our ability, deal with the darker side of life. Sometimes other people act in ways that we just don’t understand, or that hurt us. Sometimes situations come up that we did not see coming. We become overwhelmed, which can lead to feeling a lack of self-esteem and depression.

The first thing you want to ask yourself is “Why am I feeling this way? Why am I feeling hurt? Where is this coming from?” We have to be brave enough to ask these questions, and we have to be brave enough to hear the answers. The answers lie in the shadows of our being – the things that we fear, whether we realize it or not. We have to face them, embrace them, and allow them to become part of us.

You may be surprised at what your shadows represent – where they originated, and how they are currently functioning in your life. The person or situation that took you to your dark place may have nothing to do with what that place means to you – it was simply the trigger that took you there.

As readers, we can help you look at your current situation, help you to put it into perspective, and help you develop actions that you can take to resolve it. We look forward to hearing from you!

Let’s talk about intuition for a moment. Intuition is many things – it is that tiny voice in the back of our head that will not go away, it is that immediate feeling, walking into a room, that something is either “good” or “bad”. It is signs and images that keep coming up during the day – perhaps even extending into dreamtime. It is the feeling that we must “do something”, without knowing why.

Many lives are saved by listening to and acting on these feelings. If you are about to get on a plane (or any mode of transportation), and feel strongly that you should not do that, then rebook for another flight. Something is wrong, and you are not meant to be part of that wrong.

Intuition can also be the “Aha!” experience that we have in waking hours, or the precognitive vision of an event that is yet to happen. It is someone coming into your thoughts, only to pick up the phone – and there they are! It is having someone come into your thoughts, only to find out that at the time they did, they were in crisis. It is that sense of déjà vu – knowing with a certainty that you have been somewhere, or done something before.

Why do we want to develop our intuition? Because intuitive thoughts come from spirit. They are meant to help us live better lives, to become whole people, and to interact better with all of the forms of life around us. It is our connection to our sub-conscious, which is where all of our answers lie.

What is one way that anyone can develop their intuition? By taking our problems/issues into dreamtime. Take whatever issue/problem you need help with a solution on, and form a short, concise question a bout it. Hold that question n your mind as you go to sleep. You will receive an answer in the form of a dream. Immediately upon waking, write down your dream so that you do not forget it.

All of our answers are already within us – we simply need to access them!

When I think of what is the most important area of my home, in terms of feng shui, I think about my front door. This is literally where everything enters the house, so I want it to be as strong as I can make it. I want to provide a welcome environment for abundance, blessings, harmony and prosperity. It is through this literal and figurative doorway that we fine-tune the vibration of the energy that enters our home.

Go outside, and view your front door from the street. Is the path to your front door clear? If there are stepping stone, make sure that they are flat, so no one will trip. Move/remove anything that appears to block or constrict the flow of energy to your door. If you have plants on your porch, make sure that they do not block the view of the door, and that they are not “crowding” the space.

Make sure that the front yard in the area of your front door is well maintained, and that it is not a repository for toys, bikes, shoes and any of life’s other necessities. There is a place for these things, but it is not on your front porch. Do any repairs that need to be done. Make sure that your porch is bright and clean – paint it, if necessary.

For a light touch, you might want to think about adding wind chimes, sun catchers, or mobiles of some type (just make sure that they do not take over the porch). You might want to add small statues of some kind – they are there to greet your guests, as well as to protect the house and its occupants from any sort of negativity. These statues can usually be found in any garden or plant store. Hold the statue(s) in your hands before you place them, and think about the energy that you want them to portray. Send that energy into them, and then place them where you would like them to be.

Even if you live in an apartment, or a rented house, do the best that you can to make your front door and doorway hospitable to you and your guests. Intention is a very important, and a very real thing.... Read More

"Wisdom Walk", by Sage Bennet, PhD, is a compilation of nine practices that can be used for creating peace and balance in our lives, using the foundation of the world's spiritual traditions.

* From Hinduism - Create a home alter.
* From Buddhism - Meditate and fnd peace.
* From Islam - Surrender to prayer.
* From Christianity - Forgive yourself and others.
* From Judaism - Make time fo the Sabbath.
* From Native American Spirituality - Let nature be your teacher.
* From Taoism - Go with the flow.
* From New Thought - Catch God's vision of your life.
* From All Traditions - Offer yourself in service to others.

This gentle, gracious book acts as a guide for individuals from all backgrounds to empower their own lives with basic rituals from diverse spiritual traditions. In her introduction, Bennet notes that while the reader may choose to read specific chapters that they are drawn to, the book has actually been set up so that each chapter builds on the previous one, so that the most benefit will be gained from reading the chapters in sequence.

Bennet speaks directly to the reader, using her own life as a backdrop throughout the book. She makes use of general commentary, as well as specific examples from her own life, and the lives of her students. In this manner, the reader can identify with the shadows, or issues that they might be facing when working with the energy of any given chapter. They will not feel alone.

In fact, the information in this book acts as a gateway to connect people from  various backgrounds and traditions. This book is a gift, a true blessing, in that it offers actual practices that anyone can do to connect with spirit and live an authentic life.


"Wisdom Walk", Sage Bennet, PhD., New World Library, 2007, ISBN #978-1-97731-582-7. 

“Time out” – We all need to learn to take little “time outs” in our schedule to reconnect with ourselves – throughout the day, and throughout the week/month. Life has a tendency to move fast – and 2010 as a year is filled with energy and intent, and is keeping a pace that is difficult at times (at least for me) to keep up with. All is good – but there is so much good to pay attention to and nurture that we can get lost in the process.

Stop where you are several times a day and take inventory. How do you feel? Are you letting stress build up? Move your shoulders, arms and legs to release it. Are you accomplishing what you set out to do, or are you getting side-tracked? Set aside blocks of time to accomplish given tasks – the e-mails and voice-mails will still be there when you can get to them. If you can take a few minutes for a short walk outside – do so. I once worked in a hospital where there was an indoor seating area with plants and trees – a wonderful space to distress for a few minutes.

Try planning short getaways – perhaps a three-day weekend to a nearby area that interests you, or that connects you with something you have a passion for. Perhaps you want to plan a dinner out for you and your family (or significant other) in the middle of the week – “just because”. Maybe a day off in the middle of the week is in order – a spa day where all of the attention is on you, and you can relax and unwind.

A time out can be whenever you want it to be – whenever you need to be refreshed and refocus. Time outs are fun – take advantage of them!

 

"When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the creator."
-- Mahatma Gandhi

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." -- Anais Nin

In every corner of the world, there is one question that can never be definitively answered, yet stirs up equal parts passion, curiosity, self-reflection, and often wild imagination: What is God? Filmmaker Peter Rodger explores this profound, age-old query in the provocative nonfiction feature film OH MY GOD. Frustrated with religious turmoil, fanaticism, and fundamentalism, he set out on a global quest to understand why the concept of God has become politicized. The result is a stunningly beautiful film featuring inviting faces and personalities who are a touching reminder of the melting pot that we call humanity . . . and the mystery that we have given many names.  (A significant portion of any proceeds generated by this DVD will be donated to World Charities.)  Available at Amazon.com or view the trailer and purchase at Hayhouse.com.

Today is Friday, and we are looking at the weekend ahead. Is there magic in your day today? What magic are you looking for in your weekend? Do we need a magic wand to create this magic? We do indeed need a magic wand – the magic wand of our creative core, combined with intent and purpose.

Think, for a moment, about what makes you happy. Is it time spent alone? Time spent with family? Time spent with a significant other? Is it pursuing your dreams –whatever they may be? Is it taking a class? Is it taking a walk? Is it listening to music? Is it writing the music? Is it dancing to the music?

We need to add magic moments to our day – every day – and we need to give ourselves permission to enjoy them. These moments can be savoring the first cup of coffee in the morning, taking a few moments to watch our children/grandchildren at play, watching a movie instead of doing the dishes (the dishes, believe me, will be there when the movie is over!), or planning a day trip (or a weekend/extended weekend) either alone or with your partner or family (or a friend).

Magic moments refresh us, recharge us, and allow us to get a better perspective on life. When I was working a 9-5 job, we had what we jokingly referred to as “mental health” days. (Some companies now actually offer days off entitled mental health days!) These were days when we called in sick because the stress had become too much. It came off of our sick leave, but it was worth it. We all knew what was going on, and no one abused it.

Where is your “magic”? How are you placing it in your life?

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson