August Full Moon 2010. Photo Copyright by Lorna Tedder
The next time you find yourself getting all stirred up over something someone else is doing, ask yourself, “What does it matter? How does it affect MY life?”
For example? How about “for examples”? Here are a few conversations I’ve noted in the last week:
1. Two discussions of how people focus on the commercialism of Christmas and forget its “true meaning” (which varies according to the person). One woman got really wound up over the Christmas shopping and gift-wrapping and how awful it is that people spend their time on the commercial aspects of Christmas. Personally, I’m thinking that maybe they’ll help the economy, but really, what does someone else’s focus on the commercial aspects of Christmas matter? How does it affect me? I’ve made personal choices not to stress over the Thanksgiving to New Year time frame and focus on what I want to focus on, so if someone else focuses on something differently, what does it matter to me? I’m free to choose what I want to focus on—and do—so I won’t get pulled into drama over whether someone is getting up at 3AM to shop the day after Thanksgiving or spending an evening in a prayer vigil or braving the cold to serenade their neighbors with carols.
2. Two different discussions over whether someone can be both Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Christian Wiccan, Christmas, gay marriage, gossip
Full moon over a windmill on a sweet evening stroll…..
When I spotted the CNN headline, More teenagers adopting ‘mutant’ Christianity, followed by “Author: More teens becoming ‘fake’ Christians,” I inwardly groaned and wondered if someone else was making the connection with eclectic spirituality. Instead it was a pitch for Kenda Creasy Dean’s book, Almost Christian, and a story that read like a scare tactic for parents of teens who fear their children will grow up and leave the Christian faith. There’s a lot of blame placed in the article, with the conclusions drawn from the author’s “in-depth interviews” of teens who were indifferent about being Christians. I also read the article as a call to parents to get tougher on their kids.
Two points I’d like to make, both based on my personal observations and in-depth conversations with people of all ages over the past decade.
1. You should be passionate about your beliefs. If not, then don’t call yourself by that religious affiliation. If you’re not passionate about your beliefs, it’s tantamount to fraud.
Maybe these teens are indifferent about their faith because Christian has become the expected way to classify oneself when an American is asked about religion. It pops up everywhere—not just in conversation but in write-ups for awards at work and on dating sites. The same people often will talk about not ever going to church or the social aspects of church and not seem to make the connection with spirituality…which we assume one would find at church. Idle talk at a water cooler about what happened at church last Sunday will more likely include what someone wore and shouldn’t have, who was there with whose ex, or some particularly detestable drama that should have its own reality TV show, “The Real Christians of the Local First Baptist Church.” Sometimes there’s mention of Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Christianity, teens, Wicca
The watch-shrub in my neighbor’s yard. Hope it doesn’t escape from that leash! Photo copyright by Lorna Tedder, all right reserved.
I’m taking my cue from friend Maggie Shayne and doing a “seasonal review.” As this long, hot summer of 2010 fades away—the first hints of Autumn cool are on the horizon—I don’t want to remember the passing season as the one that was blemished by the BP Oil Spill here on the Gulf or by a serious but temporary illness that resulted from a bad reaction to allergy meds. To make the best of the season, I’m looking back at its most satisfying moments.
Summer 2010 was the season of working on my core after a turbulent, off-kilter spring. My core, my foundation. And not just physically.
My most satisfying times were hours I spent with
Tags: abraham-hicks, audiobooks, health, Maggie Shayne, P90X, Positive Thinking
Lorna, in high school and out.
For 9 years and 11 months, I looked forward to this high school reunion. On the last night to turn in my paperwork, I decided not to go.
It was a surprise, mostly to me.
There are lots of tales of people who go back to high school reunions to put ghosts to rest. I’m not one of those. I put those ghosts to rest at my first high school reunion. They haven’t bothered me since.
People go back to reunions because they feel they have something to prove. I’m Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: abraham-hicks, high school reunions, Law of Attraction, self-assessment
For some reason, empaths and narcissists have become hot keyword searches for this website, no doubt because I’ve so often talked about my dealings with empaths (the real kind that feel others’ feelings) and narcissists (the real ones who’ve been diagnosed by a professional, not people who are thinking of themselves and not you). If that’s what brought you to this post today, then perhaps I can shed some light on the two and their differences, based on my own experiences and observations. And yes, my experiences and observations–because anything else would be hearsay or someone else’s experience.
Real empaths feel too much. Real narcissists Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: emotions, empaths, feelings, narcissists
I’ve started a supplemental blog over at The X in Sexy, focusing on health, exercise, and the more physical aspects of life. You’re welcome to join me there, too. It’s a little too physically focused to incorporate into The Spiritual Eclectic.
Aislinn’s latest wedding shoot.
Photo copyright by Aislinn Bailey.
At the beginning of 2010, I paused one night in ritual to think ahead to the next year and what it would bring me. In a moment of clarity, I caught a “whiff” of things to come. Many have come to pass–beautifully–but some, I couldn’t see happening. Two in particular, I did not understand.
I was very certain that I would be focusing much more on Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: men, photography, weddings
Tonight we at The Spiritual Eclectic and Spilled Candy Books are lighting a candle to honor the passing of Isaac Bonewits, truly an elder and leader in the Pagan community.
The Lauren Hartford writing team has been especially touched by his work, including Issac’s checklist for determining if a religious group may be a cult. The Advanced Bonewits Cult Danger Evaluation Frame was a critical tool used by the High Priestess in Celebrating the Tower Card: Third Degree Challenges, Shielding, Witch Wars, and Cult Detection and has been instrumental in changing the direction of spiritual paths to safer surroundings.
He will be missed.
Tags: Celebrating the Tower Card, cults, Isaac Bonewits, Lauren Hartford
Photo credit by Digital Explorer; creative commons license
The quickest way to shut down or shut out trash talk is to know precisely who you are and have confidence in your own vision. If your confidence is the least bit shaky, someone else’s negativity or just plain mean behavior can send you scrambling for solid ground.
I was with someone recently who was momentarily thrown by an anonymous (pronounced KOW-ward-lee) communication that was a direct attack on her, both personally and professionally. She was stung, thrown off kilter. Yet, when we stopped to think about what the person was really saying and the only reason for the remark, I found myself chuckling. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: confidence, insecurity, jealousy, Positive Thinking
Photo of a package of glasses on a store shelf.
It’s said that there’s a reason that people from your past didn’t make it to the future. Sometimes, in hindsight, you can see that the reason was a very positive one.
I lounged in a hotel room over an hour from home, waiting to hear back from my daughter and glad that, with the heavy thunderstorms and late hour, we’d decided to stay the night rather than drive back home. I was waiting for her to call after a project related to her high school graduation project–photographing a wedding with Jessica and David Marshall of Beachbum Photography–and to find out when I needed to pick her up. If she loved her new mentors and they loved her, she’d be spending an extra hour picking their brains at Starbucks. I’m not sure why I had to pick her up–she was so elated that she could have floated back to our hotel.
It was a life-changing weekend for her, Read the rest of this entry »
The only friends photo from my trip that turned out. This is Sharyn, one of the most upbeat manifestors I know! Photo credit by Aislinn Bailey of AisPortraits.
I love being able to set my intentions and watch things unfold. I’ve gotten quite good at it, and the only thing I love more is setting intentions with my daughters and seeing them come to fruition. I guess I’m something of a manifestation junkie when it comes to that.
This past weekend was one of those that flowed like magick. Everything we wanted, we got—and then some. Some of it was instantaneous…some of it took a bit longer. Some of the things that manifested were small; others meant an exciting new path.
Several months ago, I expressed interest in Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: abraham-hicks, Disney, Lauren Willig, Law of Attraction, Maggie Shayne, romance writers of america, rwa
We happened upon this little reminder at Disneyworld. Photo by Lorna Tedder; all rights reserved.
The three of us Law-of-Attractioners were talking about how people who aren’t good for us, when we choose not to be with them any longer, just seem to not be around so much. The transition to the “not-so-much” usually takes more than a few minutes, though. In some cases, it’s months. In other cases, even years.
I’ve been accused of cutting people out of my life on a whim. To me, it isn’t a whim. It only seems that way to people who haven’t been observant enough to notice my efforts. By that point, I’ve usually exhausted all measures to get along or either discovered that the person I’m cutting out is so unethical that I cannot abide their presence any longer. When I’ve had enough, I’ve had enough and it’s over.
Sometimes, they don’t want to go. There’s nothing worse than deciding you are done with a relationship and want nothing else to do with it and the other party just won’t let go. They keep texting, emailing, calling. In short, they have to be in control and will do whatever it takes to be the one in control, sometimes even so they can get into control just long enough to be the rejecter rather than the rejected.
Eventually, the more you focus on new stuff, exciting stuff, Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: focus, Law of Attraction, Relationships
Whew! What a workout! Drenched after a very active hour-long session, exhausted, and yet feeling really, really good.
Whether you spend most of your days behind a desk and evenings lounging on a couch in front of the TV…or you’re dealing with way too much stress and drama….or you’re feeling dulled by depression, it helps to move that stagnant energy out of your body. Most people familiar with New Age and metaphysical tools know that Reiki and massage are good ways to move energy around in the body and get your “chi” flowing again.
Physical exercise can also routinely and regularly move energy within the body. Heart-pumping, deep-breathing cardio, active yoga poses, resistance training, kick-boxing, bellydancing, team sports–they can all stir you on a physical and cellular level.
Spiritualize your workouts by thinking of how the exercise of your body-as-a-temple is energy that is brought to life within it, purified, moved around, and charged. Get rid of your stiffness and sludgy feelings not just by moving your body, but moving the energy inside it.
Thinking in terms of “energy” and clearing it, getting it to flow? So much better than dreading a visit to the gym.
Though it’s usually the most recent posts at The Spiritual Eclectic that get attention, plus the perennial astrology favorites on Vertex conjunctions, occasionally some of the older posts of the 1600+ here suddenly become popular or timely again.
Here are the fastest rising older posts, in ascending order of popularity: Read the rest of this entry »
Badami Cave Temple Columns, photo by Mukul Banerjee; creative commons license.
For more articles on health, diet, and exercise, join us at The X in SeXy.
If the body is a temple, then we need to be aware of when we’ve let it fall into disrepair. Nothing makes its normal upkeep more difficult than lack of sleep.
For the past three years or more, I’ve had chronic insomnia. Rarely has there been a night when I’ve slept all the way through, and if I could get 4 to 6 hours straight on a workday’s night, then that was sheer heaven. Often, I’d have trouble falling asleep and then I’d wake every few hours. It became part of my natural sleep cycle…to not sleep. My energy would flag at the office, and then I’d come home every single day and crash on the sofa for an hour or so. No matter how tired I’d be at bedtime, even after a nap, I couldn’t sleep. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: diet, health, insomnia, protein powder
The crescent path into the “fairy garden”– my special place to hide from all the talk of oil spills, methane gas, and the apocalypse du jour. Photo copyright by Lorna Tedder; all rights reserved.
Today, I read with confusion that the rain that fell here on the Gulf Coast yesterday was black with oil and that I’m being prohibited from speaking out about the true conditions here in the Northwest corner of Florida because I’m secretly under martial law and some sort of lockdown. Really?
These words were spoken with authority by some guy who’s never stepped foot in the area I’ve lived in since 1985 and still live, work, and have the freedom to say pretty much whatever I damn well please. But he read it somewhere, or saw it in a conspiracy-theory website somewhere, and therefore it must be true. As my readers know, I have nothing positive whatsoever to say about BP or the oil spill (just search oil spill in the search box to the right). However, some of the spewing of Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: BP, conspiracy theory, disasters, end of the world, methane, Oil spill
Chasing rainbows with my mom and daughter. The view from the backseat of my car.
I had my first shaman-led chakra clearing last week!
As part of my spiritual “continuing education,” I like to try new techniques and tools when the opportunity arises. Sometimes, I’ve done them before. Sometimes, it’s something new I’ve heard of and want to see if there’s a benefit to me.
Tags: abraham-hicks, Chakras, clearings, Energy
A bluebird and mate (inside the box) at the lake near my home. Photo copyright by Lorna Tedder; all rights reserved.
If we get what we focus on, then it’s time to refocus on some our projects and activities, isn’t it?
I closed down a new project I’d barely started. I’d paid the fees, written the material, and prepared to launch it when I closed it down before it ever saw daylight. It was a definite money-maker, so for some friends of mine, shutting it down before it launched did not make sense, specifically after I’d put a good 6 months of effort into it.
What convinced me to change was a spiritual lecture I was listening to on the Law of Attraction. Did I really want so much focus on this new project, which was based on a unique personal struggle in the health realm? Was that what I wanted to concentrate on?
I noticed other people with issue-based websites, blogs, and businesses. I noted how the issue seemed to consume them, whether it was Lupus, conspiracy theories, thriftiness, the End of Times, or whatever. They were all financially successful but Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: focus, Law of Attraction
An ambitious little bluebird at the lake near my home. Photo copyright by Lorna Tedder; all rights reserved.
One of the hardest things for me to do, up until recently, was to relax and enjoy the moment–something that greatly hindered my happiness quotient.
Sure, I would see all the beauty around me, but instead of enjoying it, I would immediately find something to worry about and skip ahead to what I “needed” to do. Perhaps I would see an Eastern Bluebird–a rarity–and instead of marvelling at it, my mind would skip back to people who interfered with my mom’s bluebird trail 15 years ago or skip ahead to wondering what might kill off this little bird’s fledglings–snakes, ants, drought, predatory birds, ignorant kids, you name it.
Perhaps I’d notice the blue hydrangeas beginning to bloom in my back yard and instead of glorying in their beauty, I’d Read the rest of this entry »
Photos here used with permission from Gregg Hall and True Reporting on Gulf Oil Spill. Photos show oil on the white beaches in nearby Pensacola, Florida (currently being covered up–WTF?–by yellow sand brought in) and the notice given out by the local National Park Service, even though the health advisory signs have been covered over with black bags. If you’re curious about what’s really going on here on the Gulf Coast, forget the mainstream media and get the scoop direct from the locals. Click on the photos for a larger view.
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of the Teachings of Abraham and believe that they make a fine template for most religious thought. I’ve been in the presence of Deity, both as a devout Christian and later as a devout Wiccan, and it’s the same to me as what Esther Hicks and Abraham refer to as Source or The Vortex—but that’s another post on semantics and universality of the human experience. I’ve gotten quite good at being in a highly positive mindset all the time. Where I’ve had trouble recently is with the Gulf Oil Spill and pivoting from my anger and irritation—and feelings of contamination and toxicity.
I’m one of the Abraham-Hicks “gluttons.” For those who are familiar with their subscription program, you can download unedited versions of their workshops, which are 4 to 10 hours, depending on whether the audio is of a regularly workshop or one of their cruise workshops which are much longer. These are great for me because I consistently always hunger for new perspectives and use these downloads to augment my spiritual work.
Since the oil spill on April 20, 2010, I’ve listened to at least 5 or 6 of these lengthy downloads and, every time, a question either comes up about the oil spill or Abraham addresses it directly. It’s clearly heavy on the minds of workshop participants. The Abraham perspective is always useful to me, but it’s only now after 74 days and seeing the snow-white beaches 5 miles from my home become contaminated and toxic that I am finally beginning to shift to a better mindset. That’s evident in my health over the past 2 months.
In the beginning, when the Deepwater Horizon oil spill first occurred in April, I was annoyed, irritated. And that grew with every news story. I don’t normally have allergy problems after the end of March or the first week of April when the pine and oak pollen have subsided, but by Mother’s Day, I seemed to be allergic to everything—and very sensitive to the fumes occasionally blown inward from burning oil in the Gulf of Mexico. My allergies induced asthma and a severe respiratory distress, and every time I walked outside into that gods-awful smell, my throat closed up. That’s honestly very scary, as I happen to like breathing and my throat closing sends me into an automatic, primal panic. There was a definite physical connection between my allergies and the oil spill.
From a metaphysical viewpoint, there was also a definite connection between the spill and my allergies. The emotion related to the symptoms? Irritation. I’ve always been very irritated by people who don’t take responsibility, by people who make a mess and don’t clean it up, by people who destroy something through intention or negligence and then expect me to deal with it. And I really get irritated (agitated is the proper word, I know) when someone makes a mess of things and LIES about it. BP certainly triggered a lot of anger and annoyance in me but irritation is the best way to describe both my feelings about the oil spill and the symptoms of my illness.
The worst of it came as I began to see the reports of the beaches I love becoming contaminated and toxic (with chemical dispersants like Corexit) as black oil washed ashore in nearby Pensacola, an hour west of here. My illness became much more serious as a new infection took hold while I was already weak, and yes, it was life-threatening. I understood the metaphysical connection but still couldn’t shift it that quickly. I was still feeling irritation but now, I felt vile and violated, poisoned, out of balance, impure, contaminated, toxic…pretty much my emotional connection with the waters and beaches of the Gulf.
My new medication is working now, though I may be on it for another month. I’ve made a significant shift in distancing myself from the toxicity and irritation. It’s taken 74 days to get relief and get to a point of looking forward again. I don’t know that it’s acceptance or resignation, but my empathic nature requires me to find some way to shield myself emotionally from the tragedy that’s hit home.
Tags: abraham-hicks, Oil spill
Yoga pose, Prayer Squat, with legs together. Photo copyright by myyogaonline; creative commons license.
Don’t you love how an unlikely conversation can be enlightening? While chatting with 4 acquaintances outside a bookstore—a happenstance meeting—the conversation turned from spirituality to Law of Attraction to … shhhhhh… urinary incontinence in women and occasionally in children. I guess I’m lucky that it hasn’t really been a problem for me, except for times of extreme illness, like when I was 6 and 7 months pregnant with bronchitis and the docs urged me not to take any medication because I kept going into labor. Four random women showed me that losing urine is a much more widespread problem than I’d imagined—but I also learned a technique to keep my own self healthy and strong, as well as relieve stress. It’s all about the first chakra, that energy center at the base of the spine. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: first chakra, incontinence, kegels, squats, stress, yoga
I’m all alone for a few weeks. You’d think something terrible has happened.
Honestly, the worst of it is trying to figure out how to make both a movie date and a yoga workout in the same evening. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: alone, empty nest
Partial lunar eclipse, view from Australia. Photo copyright by wiccked; creative commons license.
This trio of articles covers finding out how the partial lunar eclipse of June 26, 2010 might affect you astrologically by looking at parallel and related eclipses, house placement, and planets in conjunction or opposition to the eclipse.
How the June 2010 Full Moon Eclipse Might Affect You (Part 1 of 3)
How the June 2010 Full Moon Eclipse Might Affect You (Part 2 of 3)
and Part 3….
“This is the equivalent of a Pluto-Pluto conjunction, which we humans will experience around the moment of birth!”
Tags: conjunction, eclipse, full moon, June 2010, planets, Pluto
The June 26, 2010 partial lunar eclipse. Photo copyright by dcafe; creative commons license.
This trio of articles covers finding out how the partial lunar eclipse of June 26, 2010 might affect you astrologically by looking at parallel and related eclipses, house placement, and planets in conjunction or opposition to the eclipse.
Part 2 Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Astrology, Capricorn, eclipse, full moon, house, June 2010
For about 15 months, I offered regular Full Moon and Eclipse Rituals as part of this blog. If you’re interested, check out the Astrology category and read some of the posts from 2008 and 2009.
For those of you looking for rituals, prayers, or meditations for the Full Moon eclipse on June 26, 2010, I’m not providing a full-length ritual but I do have some powerful suggestions that you may wish to incorporate into your spiritual work. I realize that many of you are doing work specifically for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and for health issues, so I’m focusing on those here today. I think you’ll like the imagery. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Astrology, full moon, lunar eclipse, Moon in Capricorn, Oil spill
