SACRED TRAVELS…I’m in Love with a Lake!

I woke up on the morning of July 14th from a ‘Crush-Dream’.  I was all warm and cozy in bed thinking how fantastic it was to be in love, how much I couldn’t wait to see my Beloved again, and then I realized I was dreaming about a lake.  In truth, it was not just any old lake, but the Great Mother herself; Lake Superior.

I must admit the stage had been set perfectly for me to meet the majestic queen of lakes, for I had traveled by car, plane, the kindness of a stranger & then caravan to get to her.  In short, there is no easy or quick way to travel from the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont to the Upper Pennisula of Michigan.  That being said it was worth it.

I have been traveling to the Mid-West (Wisconsin in particular) for the last 4 years, as a teacher and guide,  my teaching focused on the development of Psychic perception and expansion of consciousness. I have worked primarily with the same group of women, with additions and subtractions to the group as life demanded.  The Virmond Crows; as they call themselves (the name was chosen for the closeness in name of one of Milwaukee’s many parks ‘Virmond’ to my home state of Vermont) has grown to become kindred to me, they are my Mid-West Tribe and I look forward to my time with them each year.

Last year two of the women from the Virmond Crows spent some time in the sacred wild camping with my sister and me, while visiting Vermont; bonding in a way that can only take place through the use of a sacred container.  Sacred Container refers to time spent in deep connection, in which the group stays in contact with each other for the duration of the study; eating, sleeping, and playing together while exploring mystical studies.  This is my favorite way to learn & teach, for it takes us out of our everyday habits, rocks the boat of our subconscious programming and allows us to become more deeply ourselves.  After spending the weekend with us in New Hampshire, the visiting Virmond Crows said “We want that!”, and so our magical journey to the Upper Penisula and Lake Superior was birthed into being.

One of the Mid-West Tribe lives in the U.P. and became my host and partner on the ground.  When doing this kind of work, in which I must travel to teach my partner on the ground is of utmost importance, for they take care of the logistics with an eye that only a local can have.  She picked our location, arranged lodging and chose the places we would be working from.  I came with the teachings for the weekend set in my mind like a sailor on the water; strong and loose at the same time, ready to bend and bob when needed.

 

We arrived at ‘Black Harbor’ as the sun was setting, after spending most of  our day working with nature on the Black Harbor River.  We saved our introduction to Mother Superior/Lake Superior for dusk for the times of Betwixt & Between are particularly powerful when it comes to magical workings.

Dawn & Dusk are times of betwixt & between as they are neither day nor night, but somewhere in between.  Places and times in the Betwixt & Between hold the magic of becoming and carry a certain level of enchantment that even the novice can perceive.

Arriving at the lake the sky and water were ablaze with reds and oranges; the water reflecting both the sun and the iron in the sand of the supporting hills and embankments.  We had come to the lake to perform a water ceremony; an offering of thanks and an energetic blessing for the water and those who step into her embrace.  It was a magical experience from the start, the colors that welcomed us as we walked from the parking lot to the water were outstanding from the start, and only got better when we were blessed with seeing ‘the Green Flash’.

The Green Flash is caused by light refracting in the atmosphere, and it is hardly ever seen…It can be experienced by the lucky at sunrise and sunset when the light travels through more of the atmosphere.  For the viewer, the Green Flash is more like a green strobing line along the horizon.  It is such an amazing color; a technicolor sea-green strobe light that lasted for about 3 minutes.  I tried to take pictures, but could not do it justice…so I stood in awe capturing the image in my mind.

Driftwood @ Black Harbor/Lake Superior

The beach that we found ourself on was like something out of a hobo-beach dwellers dream.  It was covered in large pieces of driftwood, which had been deposited on the shore by the long hard winter of the following year.  The sky was starting to darken and the shore was alight with fires, and small make-shift shelters the locals had made for fun.  I felt like a child who had stepped into a magical park and allowed myself a few moments of fantasy; in which I imagined I would see Peter Pan and the Lost Boys camped out at one of the fires.  But soon I was back in focus, remembering that I was here to do magic that did not involve flying away into a fictitious world.  We were here to give our thanks and honor to the life-sustaining water of Lake Superior.

Lake Superior is known as ‘Gichi-Gami’-the big liquid or great sea to the Ojibwe/Chippewa who lived along her shore.  Lake Superior is the largest fresh-water lake in the world!

Although the beach was alight with fires, they were spaced far enough from one another that we were able to get a relatively private spot for our working without much effort, and the people who were there were respectful, seeming to understand that we were there for deep work with Spirit.  As the sky darkened we gathered wood and I easily started a fire (super easy when you are carrying charcoals to burn incense on…just saying). 

 

 

When darkness finally settled upon the water, we gathered close and began the evenings magic with a personal attunement to water; something I developed after a profound experience I had with water while visiting a spring on the side of Mount Shasta (more about that in the book I am working on).  The attunement process came to me partially through channeling and partially through my personal study of Structured Water.  Structured water is a molecular arrangement of water molecules that exists when water is near hydrophilic (water-loving) surfaces, such places are available in nature and in our bodies.  It is the belief that under ideal situations; which can be created, water is more viable and more easily programmed/blessed.  With the group circled around me, I opened their energetic bodies with sound and movement and first gave them the water blessing, that the waters in their own body may become energized.  This was a profound moment, in which I felt like we had stepped out of time and space, existing both in the present as well as in a timeless state of being that traveled through the sands of the beach connecting us to the past and future.  I love that liminal space, for it is perfect for magical workings.  We then gathered ourselves in sacred sovereignty and walked to the water where I shared the movements and words of the water blessing/attunement with the group.

Standing in a line along the shore, in water up to our knees we stirred the water with hand and wand creating spirals and infinity waves.  Our voices rang out in a shared song as we Toned the words of attunement.  The feeling of being between worlds was strong, as I heard the sound of Native women singing along with us in the Spirit world.  I soon found myself overcome with a knowing that I must go into the water after the blessing was done.  I needed to completely submerge myself in the dark waters of the lake.  The more I stirred, the more I sang the deeper the knowing sank in.  I did not have a choice in the matter.

Now, this was a bit of a dilemma for me as I was wearing leggings and a long-sleeved shirt.  I had not brought my bathing suit, as I was sure I would not go into the water for a swim until the following day.  Things I should point out-I am not one for skinny dipping.  I am not ashamed of my body, I simply am not much of a naked in public kind of gal.  But I had limited options…I could go into the water naked, or wear my undergarments, something that was at a disadvantage as I only had one bra with me on the trip.  So I stripped off my clothes and went into the water.

When my head was fully submerged I felt a great awakening come over me.  I found myself surrounded by what for lack of better words, an embrace.  It was not a physical holding, but an energetic cocoon of love.  It was so deep and all consuming that I felt like my paltry offering of a blessing had been but a peck on the cheek when compared to the level of love that was offered back to me.  I stayed in the water but for only a few minutes, the rocky floor of the lake feeling unstable beneath my feet in my altered state of mind.  I knew that I had been greeted by the Spirit of the Lake herself, and I knew I would be called back to her waters many times in my future life.

As we gathered our belongings and left the beach it was powerful to see how others had responded to our doings on the waterfront.  When walking by the large group of locals, we noticed that they all bowed their heads slightly when we walked by.  This to some seemed as it could be more of a ‘holy shit, don’t make eye-contact thing’, but in truth, I believe it was more of an acknowledgment that they had just witnessed something sacred.  Whether we share the same beliefs or differ in our faith, the sacred is recognizable to all.

My host Jamie and her daughter Nina.

I did return the next day, after waking from my crush-dream, I had no choice.  I needed to see my lover one more time before I departed her lands.  Returning in the daylight I collected rocks and driftwood (which I mailed home to myself).  I have always been a fan of nature given souvenirs, for they hold far more memory in them than some plastic trinket bought in a souvenir shop.  We lounged around the beach taking in the beauty of a space that is still seen as sacred.  In my personal thoughts I was already planning my next trip to Mother Superior/Lake Superior, knowing that I would be back.

Keep your eyes out for more information on Sacred Travels to Lake Superior by visiting my website http://Salicrow.com (be patient, stop by often, the site is going to be transforming in the next month or so/under construction).

I ended my trip to the Upper Penisula with a trip inland with my host & her daughter.  Where I got to take in the beauty of the many lakes and waterways that make up the U.P.  We repeated the water blessing at the little lake on my host property.  It was a powerful (and buggy) way to finish up my short stay.

Sacred travel can happen anywhere and everywhere.  It is more of a conscious switch of how you view the world and your place in it.  It requires the ability to take a step back from the hub-bub of our electronic world and choose a slower pace.  It is not a superpower, but something we all have innately inside of us.  We can all recognize the beauty of nature, connecting with it in a sacred way is to take it one step further and see that nature is also sentient.  The water, like the trees and the stones, is alive.  It has consciousness, and if you are patient enough to listen you will hear the love story that she is speaking to you.  I am thankful to be so blessed and love sharing this knowledge with others, I can feel my ancestors watching over me with pride when I do.

spreading love-salicrow

Virmond Crows in the U.P. (I love these ladies!)

 

Wake up Calls…

I feel tired today.  I feel like I want to cry.  The tears welling up inside me cannot be pushed down or told to go away, for they are made of deep, lonely, heartbreaking things, filled with fear, confusion, and grief.  The emotions that fill me are not mine alone, but the coagulated smeg of a culture staring at its own poor decisions.

I don’t feel this way often, as for the most part, I am an optimist.  I believe I knew what I was getting into when I signed on for this ‘tour of duty’ or ‘life’ as it is more often put, but there are days when even my sunshiny viewpoint is obscured with ‘what if’s’ & ‘what the fucks’; times when I wonder what the point of it all is and whether we can change anything or are just here to watch the ship go down.

I know this is not the usual inspiring words you are expecting to hear from me, the ones that put you at ease and make you feel like things will turn out ok in the end.  But it is important to see all sides of the story, and in a sense feel all sides of it.  We can’t deny our fear for denying it is a fool’s game, it keeps us from seeing what we are truly up against.

We are living in changing times, we have reached a point where you have to be a complete idiot to not believe in Climate Change/Disruption.  I mean today 5′ of snow, hail & ice fell in Mexico…in July!  We see signs of it every day on the television, the internet and in our own worlds, and on a shared emotional wavelength we are all scared.

So what do we do?

In moments of my life when I feel afraid I hear my fathers voice speaking to me in my head.  He is usually saying one of two things…“Bravery is going forward in the face of fear”, or “You don’t want to go down like a punk”.  The first has a response saying “Having no fear makes you a fool”.  The second statement was my dad’s way of saying ‘we don’t give up!’  I think about these things often, and know that I chose my father well even if some of the lessons were less then pleasant.  He taught me what it meant to be a warrior, to be a person of strength, and how to stand tall even when the odds were against me.  After all, if you’re going to go down, go down knowing you did everything in your power to stay up.

We are not living without hope, for the thing about impending doom is that it creates genius!

Along with all the horrific things flashed through our news feeds each day there are other less noticeable things happening, things that are not getting as much attention as they should. The news channels don’t want to cover inspiring stories, because the advertisers won’t get as much compulsive spending out of viewers watching pieces on  how oyster farming is growing in popularity; due to the amount of carbon they pull from the water, or how they are extracting carbon from the air in Iceland and transforming it into Basalt (rock).  The truth is, fearful things unsettle us to the point that we seek comfort in whatever way we can, often through unhealthy choices such as drug use, excessive shopping, gambling, etc.  Fear is big business…

When we focus our lens on what we can do…reuse, reduce, recycle, conserve, grow, share, educate, pray, meditate, etc.  we stop feeling quite as hopeless.  On the days like today where I feel like I don’t want to look at the positive, I sit with it, acknowledge my feelings and then ask myself what I plan on doing with those fears.  I then remember my father’s stories of standing up with half his face blown off, fighting his way to a helicopter and safety.  I remember stories told by my grandmother of living through the depression; lying under piles of blankets with her children when there was hardly any food and not much for heat.  I remember moments in my own life when I thought I would lose my house during the housing market collapse, and I remember that in all of those moments there was nothing to do for any of us, then keep on doing our best to survive, have hope and thrive.

My husband is a stoic kind of guy, and his view is also comforting in its own way.  He often says ‘God doesn’t care about our comfort, he/she is more concerned with our character’.  This quote is another I repeat when I feel the weight by hard times.  I focus on the character of a person I want to be.  Who do I want to be remembered as?  If I were a fictional character in a book, how would I want to act, do, be in any given situation?  It helps me get out of feeling sorry for myself and makes me realize I am living in exciting times, times that will be hard no-doubt, but times when wonders can be made and our actions matter.  Seeing myself as a hero/heroine in my own story empowers me.

Do not give up hope, do not turn to vices that make your life harder.  Yes, it’s hard, but there are things we can do to help us regulate our emotions and thoughts far more efficiently than habits that create more problems.  This is the time to pick up all our old tricks; go back to our yoga mat, sit in meditation, walk in the woods, sing, dance, create sacred art, tell stories, create daily rituals that keep us aware in this time of change.  We must focus our minds, create networks of like-minded people, get to know our farmers, healers, builders, thinkers, and spiritual leaders.  We need to become the co-creators we were intended to be, for that is where our salvation truly lies.   We are powerful beyond our belief. If we were to focus collectively on healing ourselves and our planet, we would see miracles.  We need to become unified, not torn apart by our ‘differences’, for the truth of the matter is we all share one thing in common, we are Earthlings.  WE NEED TO WAKE UP!

Becoming a co-creator in one’s own life starts with focusing our mind.  We need to really think about what matters to us, what world we want to see, and then put ourselves into it whole-heartedly.  Quantum physics has proven that thought matters, that what we focus on we draw to us.  I like to put it this way…when we spend our time thinking about what we do not want to happen, it’s like we are standing at the lunch-counter of life ordering it.

Right now, most of us spend many hours a day with a low-level feeling of fear and anxiety, often fueled by the media.  Looking at it this way, it’s easy to see how we feel hopeless, defeated and doomed.  We are telling ourselves this every day, enforcing it with the help of media every time we turn on the television or look at our newsfeed.  We should not blind ourselves to the truth of our world, but we need to make sure the ‘truth’ we are viewing gives us the whole picture, not just the profitable one fueled by fear. We also have to stop using convenience as an excuse not to do our part.  If you’re not recycling, reducing, reusing because it’s too much work, you might want to think about how much work we will have if we don’t start doing our part.  This is the kind of procrastination we cannot afford.

I do not want to leave you with a feeling of doom or despair, I want you to think about where your emotions and feelings really lie.  I want you to ask yourself what you are doing to make it better; no matter how small of an act, it all adds up.  I want you to join me in helping others wake up.  I want you to cocreate hope with me.  I want you to remember that like me, you chose to come in at this time and be a co-creator in a time when the world really needs us.  After all…who wants to go down like a punk?

 

spreading love-salicrow

I have never been known as someone who takes the slow road, but this year has me thankful for my dark-totem/Squirrel on Crack.  The fullness of my life has left me little time for blogging….my book ‘JUMP GIRL, the initiation and art of a spirit speaker’ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/562306/jump-girl-by-salicrow/9781623171926/was released in February and on June 1st I stepped into a grand-expansion at my studio {the Grindstone Cafe & Wellness Center}.    Things are moving along with ease and flow, but sometimes getting a few extra moments to write are looked over for sitting in a zen-like haze on my couch.

Where the construction/expansion of the Cafe & Wellness Center connects me deeply connected to my community, JUMP GIRL’s release has me traveling all over the country this year; from book signings to literary festivals, workshops, psychic readings & spirit communication, I am on the go.  This movement has brought many songs to mind of late, but one that sums it up is ‘On the road again’ by Willey Nelson.  For the Irish Gypsy in me loves traveling… I have also found myself very conscious of the words I use inside my mind.  For a short while, I was repetitively saying “I am crazy busy”, whenever I was asked about my schedule.  Then I started thinking about quantum-physics and quickly changed my response to “my life is abundantly full’.

Quantum-physics has proven that thought matters, that we are indeed co-creators of our reality, and that what we put our thoughts into we manifest.  With that in mind, it was quite clear I needed to change my wording, as I had no desire what-so-ever to be ‘crazy busy’ or ‘crazy’ at all…Changing my the repetitive wording I used in my mind gave me a deep sense of well being, a feeling that I was solid and grounded in my growth, instead of feeling like I was zipping around without plan or thought.  The truth of the matter is there was a lot of planning and thought that has gone into me being in the place I am at this moment.  My book took over a year to write/edit/produce and the growth/design of the cafe/wellness center was something I did over 3 years ago (the benefit of being Psychic, sometimes I know something has to happen and plan ahead).  Even the high energy flow of this year was something I knew to expect before it’s arrival.

About this time last year, I was sitting on my couch when I heard a familiar voice in my head, that of my own.  I do not mean I was talking to myself as myself in this present moment.  Instead, I was hearing the voice of Salicrow in what I perceived to be about 2 years in the future/2019.  This was a bit unusual; not the visiting myself from the future or past, but that I was being visited by an incarnation of myself that was so close in time.  Usually, my visits are by my deep future self or past, with more than 10 years difference.  The visit from my near future present had me curious, as this had never happened before.  What would spur such an event?  My future-self spoke to me briefly, informing me that my life was going to go from 10-100 (speed/fullness) within the year.  I had taken her words to pertain to my book alone, but as most things Gemini there is always more…the more, in this case, being the sudden expansion of my wellness center.  Sali of the future assured me that it would all be good and that I could handle it.  but that I must learn to take downtime when it presents itself.  I believe I have heeded this information well, and am pretty good at checking out when I need to.

previous adventures with Lavender

I have learned many things this year so far, and have gained a few unexpected allies…Hummingbird & Lavender.  Hummingbird came into my life with a bold message.  Literally showing itself within a foot of my face, when I asked the Universe what I needed to be working on.  It’s message…to enjoy the rhythm and flow, that constant movement does not need to be tiring if one moves with the vibration of the world around them.  I am practicing this, listening to my body and mind and allowing myself to be carried by the momentum of my ever expanding life.  Lavender has shown up on my playing field in a huge way.  I am teaching at a Lavender farm in Montana in September, and have been invited to teach at another Lavender farm in NY.  My randomly generated computer background has been showing up as fields of Lavender for about 2 months now, and I have been given cards, and greetings carrying the image of Lavender at all turns of my path.  The teaching of Lavender is one of balance, and calming to the nervous system, as well as Psychic protection.  I believe it is showing up as an ally at this time to help people make a gentler transition to spiritual opening.  I am looking forward to working in the fields of lavender and seeing how its energy infuses my work.

Life is made up of the experiences we have and the way in which we interpret them.  I am a constant student of the Universe and I see the road ahead of me as teacher.  I look forward to where this year’s journeys will take me.  Thank you for your patience, I really do appreciate all my readers.  I promise to be more diligent in getting my thoughts to writing.

 

spreading love-salicrow

 

SACRED TRAVEL…Down to the South I Go [Little Rock]

When you have lived in the North your entire life there are preconceived notions of what you will experience in the South, the biggest being racism and conservative values.  I am pleased to announce that my short visit to Little Rock showed me a different view of both.  I traveled to Litle Rock, Arkansas as a guest presenter/author at the Little Rock Literary Festival.  I went alone, as a snaffoo on the part of the organizers left me without my hotel or flight information until the prices per ticket were over $800.  As much as my husband likes to travel with me, we both agreed that $800 could pay for 2 plane tickets to a place of our choosing, and a trip longer than 2 days.

As I flew over Arkansas, approaching my destination, I couldn’t help but notice how the city was surrounded by open fields, winding rivers and greenery…trees, parks, and nature were everywhere.  The Arkansas River runs between Little Rock & North Little Rock; twin cities that together are about the size of Burlington, VT.  In fact, there were definitely aspects of the city that reminded me of the Queen City.  I was greeted in the airport by a sweet woman, holding a sign with my name on it.  Her kindness and charm were delightful, and upon talking a few moments I found out that all the authors were picked up and dropped off by volunteers.; local folks, who like literacy and thought picking up a writer might be a fun time.

My literary duties began an hour after landing, with a meet & greet, dinner & drink thing, in which the public could come and meet authors.  This was my first time as such an event, in which no-one really knew each other and we all had to interact by reading name tags.   However, as you all know, I am quite social and did not lack abilities on the introduction level.  The interesting part came when I told people what my book was about.  Here is where I was reminded that I was not in my liberal, cozy corner of the universe.  Most people were interested, but there was about a third of the people who responded by stepping back a step or two.  Curiously enough, 1/2 of those who stepped back, thought of Mediums as bullshit, the other half that stepped back were doing so for religious reasons.

My response to their back-step depended on the reason they were doing so (the benefits of being Psychic).  For those that thought of Mediums as hokie (this group was primarily other writers)…I made sure to let them know that I had a book contract before I had a book written.  My way of saying…”Hey, I am the real deal”.  The second group, those with religious leanings on the conservative level (mostly local), I made sure to tell them of my family background; being Irish Gypsy & Blackfoot Indian.  With this information, the local conservatives visibly opened to the discussion.

Happily caffeinated Salicrow

Things that were difficult in the south…coffee & food allergies.  I experienced the same thing while visiting Florida a month ago.  Northerners are way ahead of the curb on the food allergy spectrum.  In fact, the writer’s party/meet and greet had a lot of lovely food…all of it made with wheat and the majority of it also containing dairy.  Seriously not even a veggie platter.  But what the lacked in food options they made up for in free drinks.  LOL, so needless to say, I drank my dinner that night (I am a serious light-weight so it wasn’t much).  And coffee…well I believe Northerners are almost cultish about good coffee.  We will  (I admit doing this) walk block after block in search of a decent cup of coffee.  

 

The real eye-opener came the following day when I met my moderator; the person who would be assisting my book-talk.  I met Russell in the author’s room half an hour before my talk.  He had read my book and was prepared to ask questions during the talk if needed.  Upon being introduced to him, I discovered that he was a Chiropractor and a leading member of the local Unity Christian Church.  He had stepped back from his work as a Chiropractor and was primarily working in ministry and counseling for his church community now.  This fact made my thoughts do a side-step, a Christian Minister in the South had been chosen as the perfect match for my work?  After a few moments of talking to him though I was delighted to hear that he practiced energy work, led meditation at his church, and that they believed that God consciousness resided within us all.  Holy Shit!  This was not the South I had prepared myself for.

When my book talk came about, I had a pretty full room & I was prepared to let it all hang out, as I always do.  I read from the early part of my book, speaking of my experience with Spirit in childhood, of communicating with myself and Spirits though mirrors, and I ended my discussion with speaking about ‘the November Incident’; my walking the line of crazy, spiritual opening.  It was generally well received, all of it…the only person who seemed put off by it was sitting in the back room with his wife, but he didn’t leave early, nor did he have anything rude to say.

I do not expect everyone to understand the path I walk or even believe in the experiences I have had, but respect and politeness are a lovely thing….and the South has that in accolades!

After my discussion, I was pretty much free to do whatever I wanted.  I decided I needed to walk, and chose to walk the downtown area, check out shops and get some food.  After eating, I was in a small art gallery/store connected to the library system when I ran into an older lady who had come to my discussion, and waited patiently in line to have me sign her book.  Mary, a spritely 80-year-old was truly delightful.  After talking to me for a few moments in the store, and my talking about how much I loved nature, she said “Alright then, let’s go walk the river walk”, and like that, I was off on a journey with a complete stranger.

As we walked along the river, Mary told me tales of her city, and of her life.  She had lived in Little Rock for the majority of her life, and apparently, I was not the first stranger she had hooked up with before.  She was a retired school teacher, with a keen mind, a strong intuition and a great deal of kindness.  When I walked her back to the library she invited me to come stay with her the next time I came to Arkansas.

On my voyage along the river, I was again delighted to see that my view of racism was also not completely true.  Now I am not saying that there is no racism in Little Rock, what I am saying is I was surprised by the number of mixed race couples I saw.  In fact, there were almost as many couples of mixed race or same sex as there were heterosexual couples  of the same race.  I found myself thinking on this, and questioning if this was the result of the ‘Little Rock 9’ ‘https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/central-high-school-integration.  The Little Rock 9 in short, refers to 9 black students who enrolled in a formerly all-white high school in Little Rock in 1957.  There enrollment was due in part to the Supreme Court ruling school segregation illegal in 1954.  It is a tremendous story of bravery that you really should take the time to read (see link above).

After my time with Mary, I attended a panel discussion featuring cartoonist who wrote about important political and ethical issues.  I was there primarily to see Trina Robbins; a prolific feminist writer, who I had met at the Authors dinner party the night before.  I had found a natural bond with Trina (also a spitefully, delightful senior) when we realized we were both carrying Wonder Woman purses. (Trina was the first woman to draw a Wonder Woman comic).  The other panalist were also waving their liberal flags…Erin Nations, a transgender man who bravely writes the comic series Gumballs, which speaks on transgender issues, and MK Czerwiec a nurse, who writes comics for the Journal of the American Medical Association.  Taking Turns: Stories from HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371 is about her time spent working with HIV patients in the 90’s.     Way to go Little Rock, for bringing in writers (and cartoonist) who are rocking the real word!

After listening to the panelist I headed out to the river walk again, this time to do some work.  I made my way down to the Clinton Presidential Park Wetlands, where I did a bit of earth magic.  Singing/toning to the wildlife and water itself.  If your interested in seeing what I did, go check out my Facebook Live video on my page Sali Crow.  I delighted in seeing the abundance of turtles in the water (I saw at least 50), and the biggest bat-house I have ever seen.  I continued down the river, stopping periodically to sing to the Earth and place crystals here and there (I placed some in other metropolitan areas as well).

All in all, my trip south was a refreshing view of Americans.  Almost all of the local Arkansasians said the same thing “There is a strong current that runs below the surface of most Arkansasians”.  They are in general, or at least the folks I met, more open-minded than I ever imagined, and genuinely interested in meeting people.  The highlights I will keep securely in my mind are those of meeting Russel, and his open-hearted soul, and of Mary taking me on a journey without even blinking an eye.   Thanks for shedding some southern charm on this Northern girl.

spreading love-salicrow

 

 

 

Stories of Spirit…Betwixt & Between & the Shared Dream [the ever evolving story of growth]

April in Vermont exist in the Betwixt & Between; it is no longer technically Winter, but looking out one’s window it is hard to consider it Spring.  Snow and mud cover the landscape, the trees are bare with only the occasional buds starting to appear.  On the warm days, sap is running from the Maple Trees, and steam pours out of the local Sugar Houses.  There is a feeling in the air akin to waking from a dream, as people, animals, and spirit begin to emerge from the deep slumber of Winter.

This time of Betwixt & Between, when things are neither one or the other is a magical time when the dreamscape of the mind is rich with ideas.  People begin planning their gardens and dream of sitting with the sun upon their faces. It is a time when I feel the woods calling me the most.  A time when I can feel the Spirits of Nature and the Ancestors energetically humming in a kind of precognitive trance.  This rich state of becoming is fertile ground for planting one’s dreams/intentions.  It is not the same energy as New Years, where we boldly declare our declarations of change…it is instead a time of groundedness and planned growth, a time when we lay the pathways upon which we imagine ourselves guided toward the change we envision.

As a Medium, I am aware that many of my plans, particularly the big-business ones; the ones that are important to my soul’s path, are worked on by more than myself.  They are shared dreams, dreams in which more than one person, and often more than one Spirit are actively taking part in creating.  This April, I have begun weaving the pattern of growth and collectiveness with others in a grand and holistic way.  Working with a blueprint I created with Spirit over 3 years ago, with roots much older than that.

Last fall I stepped up from renting a studio space @ the Grindstone Cafe, in Lyndonville, VT to sharing ownership/management of it.  This happened naturally and organically, and within a few months the cafe was transforming to include a wellness component, and as it evolved the shelves began to fill up with crystals, and cards, lotions, and potions, geomancy tools and more.  The studio I rented became a shared space, with other practitioners, until it reached a point in which I was starting to schedule myself out of a workspace.  I approached my business partner and said that I thought we needed to talk to the landlord about the possibility of renting another room (the building is large and maze-like) and she agreed….the next day Spirit intervened, to assure us that we were on the right path.

The day after our discussion, before my partner could reach out to our landlord, she reached out to us, letting us know that the people who rented the space next door had decided not to renew their lease and that the space next door to our cafe would be available as of June 1st.  You would have to be blind to not see this as a sign from the Universe, especially when I put it in context with the fact that I had envisioned a wellness learning center over 15 years ago when my Spirits told me that it would be so.  At the time I was overwhelmed with the information they gave me and scrambled to imagine how the hell I was going to be able to afford a big brick building…’How the hell was I going to build Hogwarts? (the problem with interpreting the visions of others).

We decided to trust the path that the Universe was presenting to us, and I put out the idea of turning all the small rooms in the next door space (it is currently a tanning salon) into work rooms we could rent out to other holistic healers.  We never had to advertise, people who we felt would be natural fits to our vision just started filling the spaces.  In fact, we had all of our space filled before we ever did a walkthrough of the space next door, something that will make our growth both affordable and comfortable.  After all, one of the things everyone involved agrees upon is the importance of community…

This is an exciting time in so many ways.  For one, I have an outline already…as I had planned on opening a center like this 3 years ago.  I recognize the Wyrd of it, I see how connected to Fate it is.  It is one of the things I have come to recognize as normal when one has the mind of a Psychic.  Often I know things I am supposed to do, right down to the details years before I am actually supposed to do it.  It comes to me in the form of Awen (the spirit of creativity), often consuming my thoughts.  I have notebooks upon notebooks with detailed ideas and designs, my mind fantasizing about it whenever there is space to do so.  I recognize it as being more than a fantasy, I know what I am experiencing to be a connection with Creation and it comes to me in the form of a download.  The downfall is I can often get so wrapped up in the experience of download to the point where I cannot see the timeline.

This particular dream I have is not mine alone, as I said above it is being shared and created with a group of people all of whom have a deep love of community, and want to share in responsibility and celebration of this center together.

In brief…the Grindstone Cafe & Wellness Center (where I have my studio) will be growing this summer.  In June we will be opening the wall between our current location & the space next door to us.  We will be adding 5 new holistic practitioners to the services already offered by myself and Michele Wildflower of Wildflower ImmunoTherapy.  My current studio space will be emptied out making it even better for the Yoga classes we offer.  We will be extending both our indoor and outdoor seating and retail offerings (holistic and magical goods, hand-crafts & more).  The Cafe offerings will grow to include food (soups/sandwiches/salads),  and light medicinal tonics.  We are excited about this growth, and cannot wait to share it with you.

This blog article started with me wanting to talk about the power of co-creation, and manifestation in the time of dreaming that exists in the Betwixt & Between, it is still such an article.  We are powerful forces of creation, especially when we get out of way and start thinking from the perspective of  ‘What if?’ instead of getting stuck in the reasons why something cannot be.  Our minds and souls are deliciously alive and we are here to be co-creators of our story.  Ask yourself how the story you tell yourself serves you?  If it doesn’t, perhaps it is time to start telling a different story.  Quantum Physics has proven thought matters, it is important to see our dreams, thoughts, and ideas as powerful tools of manifestation, and to remember that is true whether we like the story we are telling or not.

spreading love-salicrow

 

 

Stories of Spirit…Things that go Boo in the Middle of the Night {adventures of the scooby-doo detective agency]

I spent last weekend at the Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee, Vermont, doing Psychic Readings, Spirit Communication & workshops.  It’s a long weekend filled with work and play.  One of my highlights is playing in the Waterlot Ballroom in the dark of night.

I love the Waterlot Ballroom as there is a significant convergence of ley-lines that cross in the room creating a vortex of energy that is easy to work with and creates a lot of spirit activity.  Over the years my sister and I have taken groups of women there for extra events that are not on the schedule.  This year we decided to just go to the Waterlot with only the women who were there working with us.

We had just settled ourselves on the stage near the windows, the lighting was low; only one light to make it easy to get across the room if we wanted.  Holding Lemurian Crystals in our hands and listening to Norse music we were planning on doing Journeywork (trance dreaming) with a focus on our personal growth.  Shortly after the music started we heard the sound of the slightly intoxicated…a group giggling women, creeping down the hallway, in the search of ghosts.  The closer they got to the room, the more we had to hold ourselves back from laughing.  We were having a close encounter with the Scooby-Doo detective agency.  They were spooked, giggling, and egging each other on.   Suddenly, my sister looked over at me and said “I’m going to go turn the light out”, a look of mischief in her eyes.

She crept across the room trying to keep quiet as we all covered our mouths trying not to laugh.  Just as the Scooby-Doo detectives got close to the room the light went out.  This was quickly followed by a handful of screams, laughs, pushing, shoving and a clear announcement of  “I think I peed my pants”.  The women turned tail and hustled it down the hallway.   This alone was enough to become the highlight of my weekend.  We were all laughing so hard we too almost peed ourselves.  I could imagine a pig pile of bodies colliding in the hallways, legs moving but not going anywhere, and general chaos.

We settled back into our music and trance work, only to hear the same voices 10 minutes later.  They were braver than we expected, something that made me proud of the group of adventurers.  After all, they were truly just startled, not scared.  The spirits that reside at the Lake Morey Resort are not evil, scary or bad.  They are pretty laid back.  I have met an old man in the elevator, a young girl and a young man have visited my room multiple times over the years, then there is the young guy in his swim shorts who drowned in the lake years ago, a cat and a few other visitors…all of whom are pretty happy, friendly and generally well behaved.

When the ladies were in the hall just outside the ballroom I heard one of them say “Don’t try to scare us Paula!”.  I knew what group of ladies who were bravely stalking the ghost of the Waterlot, it was the Zumba Ladies from Connecticut.  Like me, they have been attending the weekend for years. I have read for most of them and even visited/done Seances for a few of them when I did my Gypsy Tour of Connecticut & Mass. a few years back.  Paula did not listen, she and one of her compatriots left the group and snuck into the ballroom from the other door and successfully managed to scare the crap out of their friends.  The whole time, me and my group of spiritual adventurers were over in the darkened corner of the stage, biding our time.  When they had recovered from their first scare, we were prepared to give them a second.

The lights came on, and we all shouted from our spot on the stage…chaos ensued, with yells, screams, laughing and great enthusiasm.  The Scooby-Doo detective agency had gone to the haunted Waterlot with the hopes of discovering ghost, but behind the illusion was a group of Witches grooving on the energetic vibes of the space.  The story could end there, but I would like to say that not only were they brave enough to go ghost hunting; even when lights went out, but they all enthusiastically joined us in our spiritual adventures, even when we told them that we were going to turn all the lights out.

With the lights out we began to chant and tone, something I am totally into.  I love the way sound can move people from regular reality into shamanic reality.  Our minds can get caught up in the sound and travel on it to places and spaces most never explore, except while asleep and dreaming.  The ladies laid out on the floor, holding the Lemurian crystals I had brought.  Not-coincidentally there were 8 crystals and 8 of them.  As they relaxed we rode the sound of our voices into the spaces betwixt & between.  When we finished, someone’s phone rang.  Not before, not during, but as soon as we finished.

The next day we laughed at breakfast with the Zumba Gals of the Scooby-Doo detective agency, I told them I was going to blog about it, and we all posed for a group picture (minus one Z-gal).  They shared their stories with us and told us it was the highlight of their weekend, as well as what the gist of the phone call that had come in at the end of the journey work.  Here is the phone call verbatim from one of the Zumba Ladies for your amusement…

Chant literally ends…
Ring ring (call from my 20 year old so ..after midnight)
Me (at a whisper) : dude what’s up I’m about to do a Seance’ with real freakin witches ..what do u need?
Spencer: What?
Me: dude you almost ruined the chant … what’s up????
Spencer: wait, witches? Where are you?
Me: yes real freakin ones!! I’m in a dark haunted basement …What’s up?
Spencer: Oh ok cool…ummm……Can you put some money on my card so I can buy some chicken nuggets I’m in the drive thru..
Me: WTF! Click (money added)

I hope this read helps you to remember not to take yourself too seriously, and that often things are not what you think they are.

 

spreading love-salicrow

 

STORIES OF SPIRIT…Best Friends with my Spirit Guide [soul-friends]

My book has been out for 3 weeks now, and people are starting to share their experience of reading it, with me.  Most of the feedback has been in regards to similar personal psychic experiences people have had, and how they gained intuitive insight from reading how I navigated my own Psychic development.  The other sharing I have experienced is that people recognizing the people & places in my story.  This is not all that unusual as I have lived within an hour radius of the Connecticut River for the entirety of my life (minus a few months in Maryland here and there).  Vermont & New Hampshire are my home; particularly the areas of the Northeast Kingdom, and the White Mountains.

Last week one of my community friends brought up Adam when she spoke of my book and how the reading of my relationship with him affected her.  She recognized Adam, she remembered him, she loved him and as she spoke of him tears welled up in her eyes.  At that moment I could feel Adam standing in my space, I looked at the tears in her eyes and I could feel his heart filled with love.  This, of course, made me want to reciprocate with tears of my own.

I changed some names in my book, but not Adams, he insisted that his name and story be mentioned, after all, Adam’s story and my story have been woven together for the last 15 years.  Anyone who has ever done a Seance with me knows who he is.  For those of you who have not, Adam is my doorman; the spirit guide who holds the job of watching my back and organizing traffic in the spirit world.  I call him my doorman because I use to own a bar, and the job is pretty similar.  He decides who come in, who is not welcome and delivers messages for spirits who need a bit of help communicating with me.  Although I knew him briefly in life, our friendship is something that has developed after his death.  I love Adam and consider him one of my dearest friends.

When my friend spoke of Adam she mentioned how tragic it was that his life was cut short.  I understood what she meant for he was a remarkable soul, but I couldn’t help but smile.  My immediate response was to say “He still is making a difference, he is still working toward a goal.”  I often refer to Adam as the ‘hardest working spirit I have ever met”.  He goes to work with me every time I do Spirit Communication, which means he is working a full-time job in the afterlife. Like me he is a healer, helping people to find peace in knowing that their Beloved Dead are ok.

Adam has taught me so much in the years we have been connected.  But the most important lesson he has taught me is that older spirits, ones who have been around for awhile, often continue their work between death.  He has shown me the dedication that spirit guides can carry and how much they are willing to be present in the world of the living. They care about what’s happening here, and the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is getting thinner.

I appreciate all the feedback, and love hearing your experiences through reading it.  I hope that you are all fortunate enough to gain the peace of connecting with your Beloved Dead.

spreading love-salicrow

Stories of Spirit…The Power of Intention & Community Kindness

A couple of nights ago I reached a breaking point, in which I found myself sobbing uncontrollably like a toddler behind my steering wheel as I sat in my driveway, my emotions were so overpowering that my husband had to take my coat off me when I got in the house and hand me a cup of tea.  I was not crying out of despair, I was crying as an emotional release; letting go of all the backed up fear, and chaos that I had been wading through the last few weeks.  The catalyst for my emotional warble was receiving back to back hugs from 3 of the most solid people I know.

Many of you know that my sister and her family have been going through a lot…illness, surgeries, near death experiences, infections, ambulance rides to Dartmouth, and emergency surgeries.  While most of the acute issues have been experienced in the last month, the journey has been much longer than that.  Now that the water seems to be clearing and we can see the shore, I find that the heaviness of emotion; particularly fear, is too much to carry any longer.  It is no longer needed, yet it still must be released.

Being Psychic does not mean you never experience fear.  In fact, fear is something that can blind Psychic sight.   If the fear is strong enough a Psychic can actually generate false answers for themselves.  I did this once when I was much younger.  My husband; who is pretty good about communication and being on time, was suppose to meet me after work.  When he didn’t show up, I was surprised.  When he still wasn’t home by the time we were supposed to be meeting friends, I became alarmed.  The later he was, the more I became convinced something had happened to him.  When I looked at my cards, they quickly confirmed my fears, and by the time he rolled into the driveway I was running across the yard crying, as I had believed him dead on the side of the road somewhere. In reality, he had a beer with the people he was doing work for at the end of the day and had no cell reception.  Because of this experience, I learned how important it was to center myself before searching for psychic information.  But from time to time I need to be reminded.

When my sister called me to say that both she and her son were facing life-threatening situation her crying triggered me.  We are so deeply connected, that even though we have a year and a half between us, we consider ourselves twins.  After getting off the phone with her  I found myself floundering, in a quick and powerful spot of fear.  It wasn’t until my husband said to me “Have you looked at your cards?” that I even considered scrying.  Moments after being reminded I was able to calm and center and know that all would be well.  That being said my body still experienced an adrenaline dump, it had gone into fight or flight mode before I was able to center.  This type of energy does not simply dissipate, it requires a release.   When we do not release this emotional sludge it affects our health and well being.

Most people go through a crisis like a horse with blinders on; focusing on that which must be done, the goal at hand.  We deny ourselves the luxury of wading in our emotions for there is no room for them.  When the crisis is over it is not uncommon to find ourselves exhausted, and emotionally sensitive.  This is because our vessel is full.  We can not just go on with our lives, we must first release our burden and fears.  This must be done for true healing to begin.  Whether we are the one experiencing the trauma or the support for others going through it, the emotional heaviness of the situation must be addressed.  My release often comes in the form of tears.  In fact, whether I am happy, sad or angry tears are likely to show up.

This read is about community, intention, and kindness so I will spin you back up to my opening paragraph…The catalyst for my emotional warble was receiving back to back hugs from 3 of the most solid people I know.  

I had not had a day off in almost a month, that I was not in a hospital holding space for surgery, sitting with my sister as she recuperated or going with her to a doctors appointment.  The emotional roller coaster of the month had finally seemed to slow and I was looking forward to time off when my husband got sick.  As we run a cafe/wellness center someone had to take his shifts and that someone ended up being me.  After the second day of doing his job and my job, I was truly feeling beat.  At the end of the day, I hoped that no one would show up for my sound meditation class, as I really wanted to go home.

The first person to show up was a friend of mine who is solid as the earth and has blood that runs a bit gnomish.  I told her if it was just her and I that I was going to cancel, then another of my regulars came in; who lives on a family farm and is a solid, salt of the Earth kind of person.  I decided to cancel and the three of us just stood around talking for a moment, me giving them the update on my sisters family.  Then my farm-guy, plow-man neighbor came in, another solid, reliable, kind person.  When I explained we were closed and he walked over and gave me a hug.  Then came another from my salt of the Earth woman, and then finally from Gnomie.

I was OK, until about 5 minutes into my drive and then it hit me.  I think it was their solidness, that reminded me of all the love and support our family has received during this stressful time.  Their hugs represented all of the prayers, reiki, and love that people had shared.  I was overcome with how lucky I am to live in such a community, where people genuinely care about one another.  All too often we are shown the terrible things that human beings are capable of.  It is so refreshing to be reminded of the beauty and kindness that we are also capable of.

The power of intention is an amazing thing that can be used for good or bad.  It is also something made stronger by group belief.  The more people believing in an outcome, the more likely it will come to be.  With this in mind, I encourage you to start monitoring your thoughts.  What goes through your mind on a regular basis, are the things you are thinking about what you want to see come to pass or what you fear?  If your mind wanders toward fear, hate, and anger, redirect it.  Give it a different focus. Focus on the good you want to see in the world…make it so!

spreading love-salicrow

 

Stories of Spirit…Celebrating the Harvest [Lughnasadh & the Warrior Bitches]

I love the company of men.  I find them as a general rule to be straight forward, outwardly competitive, and less likely to engage in drama.  That being said, there are times in which I truly crave the isolated company of my lady friends; the warrior bitches and sacred mamas, who have seen me covered in my own tears and snot.

For years now, I have found myself congregating with my wise-women, during the heat of summer; for powerful, soul-moving work.  Work that is not filled with deep planning and bullet point schedules, but is instead more of a wild-rumbus of magic, emotions, and intoxication.  We come together to let our hair down, (or plate it into viking braids), have late night conversations by the light of a campfire, and to engage in the wildness of magic…the kind that oozes from one’s soul, when we are truly in sync with the universe and the natural world.

When it comes to magic of manifestation, I am not one for large crowds, and find myself put off by the glut of retreat weekends offered up.  Not because I think they have no value, but more because I struggle to let down my guard when the numbers are high, and the people are not intimately connected.  As a Psychic I often find myself overwhelmed in large groups, and immediately switch into the role of teacher/facilitator/counselor, making such weekends feel less about myself, and more about others.  I feel the people who are holding back,  the ones who are trying to hard, and the ones who are just barely holding themselves together, and I step into the role of caretaker.  This takes away from my ability to focus on myself, and my personal work.

We must take time to know ourselves, and to cater to the needs of our soul.  Lughnasadh for me is such a time.

Lughnasadh is the first of 3 harvest holidays in the Celtic Wheel of the year.  (The Celtic Wheel of the Year consist of 8 holidays, equally spread out through the solar year) Celtic Wheel of the Year.  Lughnasadh on a personal level is a celebration of the abundance of life, and the hopes and wishes of what is still in store.  It is a time to step boldly into ones dreams, and reach for ones desires, while consciously being aware and thankful for all that we have received thus far.  It is time of high-magic and potent manifestation.

I want magic to be tangible, titillating, and filled with wild abandon.  I want to release myself to the Spirits of Nature, and be ridden by the bliss of an open Kundilini (complete chakra system).  I want to know without a shadow of a doubt that the person standing next to me has my back, knows the value of holding secrets that are not theirs, and is also willing to ride the rapids of their dreams.  I know it seems like a lot to ask, but it is not impossible.

It begins with intention, with the thoughts and desires to find and create such a community for oneself.  The feeling of trust is necessary, for how are we to speak of our desires, goals and dreams while they exist in the vulnerable place of becoming, if we do not trust those we work with.  Just like a newborn child, we must be careful who we entrust with the safety of that which we seek to manifest.  We do not need know them for years on end, but we must know in our soul that they are worthy of such a duty.

Finding deep friendships, and feeling secure enough to let your wyrd out, is invaluable.  In truth it does not require that participants should or shouldn’t be of the same sex as you.  It has nothing to do with that at all.  I just happen to like the feeling of empowerment that a group of ladies generate, when they come together as their bad-ass selves.  Specially since I am a person who prides myself on not-doing manual labor.  This is where I make the exception.  I put up my own tent, I carry my own shit, I do all the things I prefer to let my husband do, and I do it in style.

When we step outside of our every day self…the self who likes a soft bed, and appreciates cooking in a kitchen with running water, lights, and a nice stove, we invite ourselves to become more.  We are ignited by the flame of adventure, and find we are capable of more then we believe possible.  The chill of the air, the layers of clothing, the roots poking up lightly under our yoga mat/sleeping bag, are all reminders to not get ‘too comfortable’, to stay aware, and to open our mind to the unseen.

This years weekend was all that I needed, and hoped for.  The group has changed over the years, expanding and contracting to accommodate those who can and cannot make it.  But the work remains essentially the same.  We gather in hopes of fueling our dreams, and expanding our consciousness.  We gather to support one another, and to step intentionally further onto our paths.

As a Druid and priestess of the Earth, much of my time was spent hugging trees, melding into rocks, and traveling astrally into holes in the ground & openings in the rock.  I go into the forest to meet with the Fae Folk, the Spirits of Nature whom I consider friends and teachers.  This weekend gave me ample time to do so, as we explored path ways in the Notch (Crawford Notch) that I had never been on.  I found myself preparing for my trip to Northern Ireland, by meeting with stone beings/giants and reacquainting myself with those I had met before.

I know the idea of talking to Fairies, Trolls, and Giants can seem a bit far fetched.  But only if you are imagining with Hollywood eyes.  These beings exist in different dimensions then we do.  They vibrate on different frequencies, and one must be open to experience them.  Over the years my ability to do so has expanded, just as my ability to speak to the Dead has done so.  The longer I do it, the more places I wonder, the more magic I see present in the world, the more beings I come to know as friends.

I find this to be important, as we are living in changing times.  Times when the old ways of magic, and divination are returning.   Expansion of consciousness is not just happening to those who seek it, but to those who stumble onto it as well.  In truth it is far easier to assimilate to if we believe and accept.  Our struggle with the term ‘reality’ can cause many a problems for the masses.

In the light of dusk on the last night of our weekend, we found our way into a cave in the rocks.  It is a cave I have visited many times, one that has expanded physically over the years.  What once could hold only two people close together, now holds 5 comfortably.  Its expansion has been a thing of wonder to me, for it truly has grown both energetically and physically with use.  In the darkness, and light of a small fire we spoke that which we meant to manifest into becoming.  We connected to the nature beings that surrounded us, and opened ourselves into timelessness…we surrendered to the universe, got out of our way and became co-creators of our reality.

The rock walls around us vibrated, and pulsated with the energy generated by our voices and the solid beat of the drum.  We became one with the moment of becoming, and let go…knowing that we had just impregnated something fantastic.  We had seeded our dreams.  The days leading up to the moment in the cave, were as important as the moment itself.  For they were the building blocks, the invitations, and the call to arms necessary to step onto the path of the Spiritual Warrior.  It was an exceptional moment of Spirit, and we were ready.

I know that which I have planted, must be tended.  I cannot now forget it as it is still in need of tending.  But that being said, I have full faith that my work is potent, and that which I seek to create is beautiful, powerful, and filled with integrity.  I give thanks for the blessings of Lughnasahd, the first harvest.

LUGHNASAHD actually takes place on August 1st, so you have not missed the deadline.  For those of you looking to create something magical yourselves this harvest here is a quick do it yourself idea.

YOU WILL NEED- a small fire (candle, campfire, raging bonfire, etc), a piece of paper and pen, any sacred items you like (crystals, feathers, holy symbols, etc), your voice.

Start by creating fire, as you do so welcome in your ancestors  and imagine you are surrounded by a white light of protection. Sit comfortably in front of it and pick up your paper and pen.  Make a list of that which you are seeking to become.  If you are seeking self empowerment, examples may be…more confidence, find my voice, stand tall, value my intuition, etc.

With the list in hand, begin chanting your own name.  You can elongate the vowels and turn your toning into more of a sacred song, or keep it short and sweet, building momentum over time.  Hold onto your paper as you do so.  Gaze into the fire, and let yourself relax into its light.  Keep your vision soft, paying attention to that which appears in your peripheral vision.  Continue chanting your name for at least 10 minutes.  As you do so, imagine you are charging up the paper which you hold in your hands, charging up the dreams you hold.

When the energy feels full, stop…hold onto the energy and speak the words written on the paper aloud, with the force of fact.  Then burn the paper, letting the words and intention go to the universe, where they begin their becoming.

Thank your ancestors, and close your protective circle.

Know that you must continue to tend your dreams, in order to grow them.  Your magic is simply fertile ground, it aids in growth, but work is also necessary.  We must care for and nurture that which we aspire to.  We must believe in our dreams and work toward them, if we want to see them ripen.

I hope you enjoyed the read folks. Now go out and embrace your wild self, and make some magic!

 

spreading love-salicrow

STORIES OF SPIRIT…Crying on the Couch

Owenegaut, the cave of the Morrigan.

I sat on my couch in the early hours of the morning, and cried.  I cried for the state of our nation, I cried for the lies that are spoken, I cried for the hate mongering and xenophobia.  I cried for the Muslims, and I cried for the under-employed youth of our nation.  I cried for my friends who are Queer.  I cried for Black Mothers who fear for the lives of their children, and the Native American who fight for their lands.  I cried for the water in Flint Michigan, and all the waters of the world.  I cried for the living, and I cried for the dead.  I cried for those who have no dreams in sight, and for those whose dreams have been washed away in a haze of disdain.

I cried for the world, and the world cried with me.

There is a heaviness to our world right now, and many of us feel overwhelmed by the weigh of it.  We are emotionally exhausted, and many are living in a low level state of fear; wondering what is to come next, how far will this craziness go.  We know that the outside world is looking at our country like we have gone completely bat-shit crazy.  We keep hoping that we will wake up and this will all be a nightmare, and we can go back to life as normal.

Well we cannot go back to life as normal, nor could we stay in the sedated place of non-action we have existed in for the last few decades.  There is a sickness in our nation, and often as it is will illness, it must get worse before it gets better.  Like a body fighting off a virus we must rise to the occasion, utilize our antibodies and take action against that which is causing us harm.  This sickness is not something that came out of no where.  It has been there for a very long time, under the surface, running us down.  It was inevitable that we would come to a moment in time such as this, for a people who feel hopeless will often make rash decisions, and often those decisions will lead to crisis.

We are in a time of crisis.  But crisis is not all bad.  Crisis sheds light on that which we have kept festering in the dark.  Crisis brings opportunity.  Crisis demands action, pushing us off our fat rumps.  Crisis gathers our neighbors, friends, and community to our side.  It bolsters us, and melds us into a force of unity.

When a natural disaster hits an area, people come out in the masses, neighbor stands by neighbor, lending a hand where needed, getting the job done, without the regular bullshit of “I have things to do”.  There is nothing more important at that moment then the crisis at hand.

We are living in such times.  For some of us the storm has not hit close enough for us to get excited yet, to prepare ourselves for action.  But it is only a matter of time, before even the sheltered hermits among us, must descend from the forest to see what the fuck is going on.  Such times are meant for community to stand together, to unite as a force bigger then any one man or woman ever could be.

I do not ask you who you voted for, I do not ask you to march or to protest.  I ask you to consider your life, and the life of your neighbor, and your community, and to ask yourself “What do I stand for?”  I ask you to come together with your neighbors, and friends, and to start a discussion on that.  “How do we stay strong together in these times of struggle”.   “Will I wait until they are coming for someone I know?”  “Will I hide my head in the sand and say nothing, do nothing, while the country I love becomes less?”

I believe in America!  I believe in the people of America.  We are a nation that has been made stronger because we are a melting pot.  We are a like a good mutt, stronger and smarter for the mixing of our bloodlines.

My Ancestors knew persecution.  My great grandmother had to hide her Native blood as a child, for fear of being taken away to an Indian school.  My Irish relatives from my fathers side were Traveling People, or Gypsies.  They knew what it was like to be scorned and discriminated against.  I myself am a Psychic and a Witch.  We all know how I would have been treated a few centuries ago.

I am sure that each of us has a family story in which our Ancestors experienced persecution for one thing or another, from their nationality of origin, color of their skin, religion, sexual preference or simply their economic status.  If we take a moment to sit with ourselves, and connect with our Ancestors, we will see that this fight for equality, and justice is something that is personal to each and every one of us.  “There but for the grace of God, goes I”.

The first step to overcoming this calamity, that has beset our nation is to stop letting FEAR run the show.  Fear is the soul eater, it causes us to run scared, bury our heads in the sand, shove Ring-dings into our mouth, drink too much and pace endlessly in the loop of our mind.  It has no value, other then to let us know that something is not right.  It is an alarm, and like all alarms, once they have alerted us to the situation their job is done.

DO NOT FALL BACK ASLEEP!  Fear gave us the alarm, it alerted us to the fucked up situation that is around us.  Now we must take action, we must get moving, get organized, and come together.  I am not asking you to picket, I am not asking you to march.  I am asking you to become a supporter of your community.  It makes us feel good to help others, it takes our mind off of fear, and gives us purpose.  Look at the situation at hand and ask what you can do.  Whatever it is you choose to do, please, please, connect with your community.  This alone will help you to find your spot.

GET CENTERED…understand that mixed into this slurry of chaos is the fact that we are going through a Psychic Evolution.  We are changing as a species, becoming more attuned to the world around us.  We are becoming EMPATHIC as a people, developing the ability to sense the emotions of others.  This adds a lot to the mix, for it means that the fear, and anxiety we are feeling is not just ours.  It belongs to the guy sitting next to us on the bus, and the co-worker who is sucking down sugar like a feen; trying to feel something other then worry.  It belongs to our mother, our kids, our husband, and our friends.

Empathy is an interesting thing, for it works both ways.  Those of us, who are the most Empathic, are also the best at sending our emotions out.  In this way, the Empaths are broadcasting emotions out into the world.  The problem is most Empaths don’t know a thing about how to control it.  So we sit there absorbing the pain and suffering, and then we turn around and amplify those feelings, before sending them out like a wave around us.

What if we, the Empaths decided we were going to utilize this knowledge and choose what we were going to broadcast out?  What if we chose to send out Love instead of Hate, and Bravery instead of Fear.  After all they are simply opposite ends of a pendulum swing.

Just for today, choose to be an ambassador of Love.  Whatever lands in your lap, whatever news you hear, whatever approach you take to the situations of your day, choose love.  Choose your words to support, and strengthen, not to degrade and breakdown.  Even when standing against apposing forces we can choose to do so with love.  We can choose to see that what we stand against is already broken, and that by embracing hate we are perpetuating that which we do not want.  Because hate destroys us from within.  It consumes us, torments us, and leaves us empty.  Love gives us hope, love supports us, strengthens us, and pushes us to be more.

Do not stick your head in the sand, stand bravely and with purpose, but do so with love and kindness.  Do not sink to the level of name calling and trash talking, that gets us no where.  Move with purpose, act with forethought, and find your center.  When we choose bravery and love, we are no longer victims, we are crusaders out to make a difference in whatever way we can.

Know that you do not walk alone in these hard times, our Ancestors are walking with us.  Not just our personal Ancestors, but the Ancestors of our country.  Those proud Americans who have fought for this country we call home.  I am proud to be an American, even if I am not proud of the state it is in at this moment.  I love this land, I love it’s people, I love my community, and my neighbors, and my sweet loving family.  I love you, and I believe in you.

Finding my words stops my tears, and my fears.  I too have moments when it feels overwhelming, and I want to go back to bed and wake up when it’s over.  But then I remember I was made for such times, I chose to come in at this moment and in this place.  So I will put on my mud boots, and get ready to clean some shit up.  I hope you decide to join me, I hope you decide to replace hate with love, and I hope you see just how powerful you are.

spreading love-salicrow