You've Gotta Play to Win

It's been awhile, I know. Dealing with family and friend illnesses the past couple weeks and it's difficult to be introspective when you're busy. Now I know why Buddhist monks live such quiet lives - staying in tune with one's soul requires it.

So, just another quickie today.

I bought a Lucky 7 Raffle ticket. There will be only one million tickets sold for a chance to win 777 prizes from $70 to $700,000. Those are better odds than usual and my family could surely use a little luck in the financial area of our lives.

The ticket number is interesting. It has the number 7 (part of the Lucky 7), the number 2 (and anyone who has read my blog knows the power of 2 for me), and it also includes my birth year. Even if I don't win anything, maybe something else good will happen as a result of buying it.

I've read that God does not help us win the lottery. But, I thought it can't hurt to wish good things, so I kissed the ticket for luck and placed it below my computer screen where I can see it and actively think on it. At the very least, as in anything in life - you've gotta play to win!

Method to the Madness, Part 1

Life is ironic. And in the irony are life’s greatest lessons. Think about it.

When the Dancer Becomes the Dance

It will be three years in June since I returned to dancing. Dancing not freestyle in a club or an aerobics class, or a ballroom. Dancing as in ballet and jazz when we were kids. I’m not that motivated to maintain an exercise program although every year, I make an attempt. I’ve tried home videos, yoga, aerobics, tai-chi, zumba. While I like each of these to some degree, for one reason or another I failed to keep it up. Finally, after a twenty-year pause, I re-found my thing.

I started with an intermediate jazz class. The class is difficult. It is taught by a former professional dancer and attended by other professionals and/or dance teachers. I wasn’t quite up to snuff, but didn’t care. I liked the teacher and her choreography, the music,the company of like-minded women, more than enough to keep me going.

One year later, I added a ballet class. Fumbled a lot at first, couldn’t remember the sequence of steps, and hid in back of the line when we had to dance across the floor. Although it was a struggle, again, I didn’t care. The teacher wonderful, fellow dancers supportive, music relaxing, and the dancing pure joy.

When the whole psychic thing kicked in, I was having trouble learning how to switch on and off, knowing what to listen to and what to block. Being able to quickly discern and sort through my senses became of utmost importance. If I was going to continue with my “training,” I needed help.

Following ballet, is an intermediate/advanced jazz class taught by a principal instructor of the school. It is filled with children – teenagers 14-17 years of age who can slide into the splits and sit there forever - they probably watch tv in that position, take flying whirling leaps through the air, all without an ounce of jiggling body fat. Intrigued, but dubious, I tried the class under the suggestion of my Guides. They felt it would be good for my reflexes.

Well, I humiliated myself. I felt ancient around these young girls, they move so fast. In a combination where we had to slide across the floor on our knees, I just stood there, my mouth agape, while all around me bodies dropped to the ground with ease, nothing bruised or broken in the process. No way was I doing that!

During this particular challenge, I began to doubt myself. I just didn’t think I was good enough. I considered dropping out, but my Guides insisted that I needed this faster workout.

At my lowest, a Spirit – an African dancer by the name of Rommuel came through. I could see a tribe of African dancers moving behind him - strong, tall and quick. I thought more to myself than him, “Let me take a guess. I was an African dancer in a prior life, right?!” Rommuel never answered that question, but he did say, “Your teachers can see the dancer in you.” He encouraged me to stick with it.

Rommuel never came back, but I took his advice and continued with the class. I decided just to tackle the first half – the warm up. It would round out my morning with emphasis on different parts of the body, loosen up the mind with loud club music and add strength with sit-ups and other muscle building exercises.

Shortly after, I was reading John Holland’s "Psychic Navigator". He encourages dancing to balance the root or base chakra. This class was perfect for that. Soon, I began to see progress with my psychic work. I became stronger and quicker in my sensing. Quicker to identify what was happening, quicker to block when I wanted, and gained confidence as a result.

I still show up for class every week. I look around at all that young blood, feel their energy pulsing, and draw upon it to muster up some of my own.

To be our very best, all parts of us need to be in good health – mind, body and spirit. These parts work in tandem, benefit in one area leading to good things in another. And sometimes, what we think we don’t have time, energy, or confidence for can be what actually keeps us going.

The Power of Our Intentions

I dream of hiring someone to clean the house. I actively wish for it. At least once a month, I say to my husband “Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone come in just to scrub down the bathrooms and mop the floors?” As our financial situation does not quite allow for this luxury, he just laughs. And I always reply, “It could happen, one can dream.”

It’s just a dream.

Then recently, I changed my wish slightly from desiring a housekeeper to merely wishing for a cleaner house.

Almost instantly, I started to see a difference. I find myself sweeping the bathroom floor at odd hours; wiping down the kitchen counters more so than usual. Last week, my husband created a cleaning routine for our daughter which is working. And today, he helped with the laundry. My daughter’s bedroom stayed fairly neat after two playdates back-to-back. What is up?!

The Secret is probably one of the most popular books on the power of intention. I think the secret is in not only making your wishes known and channeling your energy towards fulfilling those wishes. The secret is also in knowing what to ask for!

Maybe at this time of my life, asking for a maid is a bit unrealistic. I could be wishing for a long time. But wishing for a cleaner house and then watching myself and my family become our own maid service – now that’s what I call progress!

The Proof of the Pudding Part 4 – Tying it All Together

Synchronicity is pretty neat. Little moments when looked upon individually seem small and insignificant, yet when tied to other similar events, they become awe-inspiring and miraculous.

So far, my psychic training has consisted of reading, lessons from my Spirit Guides, and first-hand experience. Often, I will read about a new concept in a book and then find it playing out in real life. I thank my Guides for providing me with these experiential lessons.

Case in point: John Holland, James van Praagh, and Rebecca Rosen all mention Spirit’s ability to manipulate coins as symbols of communication. If coins appear in re-current patterns or combinations, take note! Rebecca Rosen says the coins tend to be new and symbolize prosperity. This made no sense to me. Although, I secretly wish magic were involved, how can Spirit make coins appear out of thin air?! Well, within the past week I’ve picked up 3 shiny new pennies. The weird thing is that I once complained about never getting new pennies! Mine are always dirty and old. My daughter noticed the first one laying on our car’s front passenger seat. The second one came to me through change given by a cashier. And the third was found sitting by itself on the coffee table in our living room. I vaguely recall the first one coming in with a batch of change at a drive-through. I saw the second one as it landed in my hand. And the third must have been lying on the floor of our living room and found during clean up. Light bulb goes off in my head – pennies are made of copper that is a metal that is a conductor of energy! Spirit must be able to manipulate coins using energy – of course!!! I’m hoping more new pennies will show up, but wouldn’t be surprised if that’s it – after all, we’re working with the number 3 these days (see past posts for details).

A couple days ago, I marveled at the size of our growing mangoes. This is the first year for our tree to bear fruit so we are super excited. These babies grow exponentially every day! We’re not exactly farmers so maybe this is how all fruits and vegetables grow, but I’ve truly never seen anything grow this fast. On a whim, I decided to count the mangoes, only including the ones that are bigger than buds. Guess how many? 32 or 33 – there’s that number 3 again!!

Our baby doves are doing so well. They still feed in our front garden, but like to spend their day hanging out on the telephone line above our driveway. Yesterday, my neighbor and I were in the church gift shop browsing when she looked up and saw birds that reminded her of our doves. I agreed they were dove garden sculptures and then she noticed how many there were – yes, there were 3!!

Pure coincidence? Not one to make assumptions, but finding such delight in making all these connections.

Shortly, after blogging about the doves, my Spirit Guide Serena, showed herself (in my mind’s eye) gently placing the doves in our garden. Then after I counted the mangoes, she showed herself again, but this time standing next to the tree touching the fruit as if blessing them. The last image I received was of a sales clerk pulling the dove statues from their box and Serena nearby nodding when the correct number was placed on display.

All I can say, is Spirit has a really fun job! Finding all these cool ways to communicate and get our attention. In my eternal lifetime, I so want to be a Spirit Guide.

What this valuable lesson has taught me is that we are never alone. Here I was given this nail-biting message several weeks ago about a letter from a publisher that was due to arrive in “3 days” or at least, that is what I thought. And instead of Spirit leaving me hanging to tough it out on my own, I’ve received numerous signs of encouragement. Hugs from the Universe, if you will. Gentle and subtle reminders that are tied together, their truth waiting to be revealed. Pay attention to the small things in life – you never know what you’ll find.

Today’s Message from the Universe:
Open your eyes to the wonder that is life