Greetings!

Some of you may be wondering where I've been of late and so let me put your minds at ease. I've been busy with learning . . . just received certification as an Usui Reiki Master Teacher and I'm about to embark on another journey with 'Awakening Your Light Body'. This will prove to be an intensive period over the next several months and I'm sure I won't be the same coming out the other side.

I'm also moving my Reiki studio across the hall from where I am currently in order to accomodate Reiki classes in the spring. Another transition, but what I hope will be a good one.

My husband also accepted a position with Trek Bicycles in Waterloo, WI so we're looking at moving in the New Year. I'm excited, but apprehensive . . . into the great unknown as it were leaving behind the comfort of knowing what you do have.

Some of you may also be experiencing a great shift of energy all leading up to the Winter Solstice and 12-21-2012. This shift may be leaving you feeling discombobulated, out of sorts, unable to make decisions and just generally not yourselves. I myself believe it to be a great transition for humankind . . . going from the "me" aspect of ourselves to the "how can I be of service to you" aspect. An aspect I've been working with since opening my Reiki practice almost two years ago.

My spirituality is shifting and I no longer see myself as fitting into just one "religion" or way of being. I feel like a lump of clay that is being molded this way and that and not knowing what I will turn out to be once I come off the wheel. This I do know for sure . . . things are changing and while it may seem scary at first, if you dig deeper you will find aspects of yourself that you didn't know existed. You will find "YOU" and in the end I think that's all we're really searching for. To know ourselves better, to connect with ourselves and to trust that we know what is right and true . . . and that is something worth seeking and holding out for.

I leave you today with two books for your consideration, one being "Live Your Divinity" by Adamus Saint Germain, as channeled by Jeffrey and Linda Hoppe, and "The Magical Way" by Marc Allen. Both interesting and inspiring.

My wish is for you all to have a happy holiday season, no matter how you celebrate, and that you go into the New Year, not with resolutions, but with a resolve to get to know yourselves better . . . seek inside . . . and you will find what you've been searching for.

The Divine Mother

Where would we be without our mothers? Well, for certain we wouldn't be living in these Earthly bodies. The older I get, the more I appreciate my Mother here on Earth. The sacrifices she's made, the unconditional love (yeah, I raised hell in my teens), the values and morals she instilled in us and a belief in God, always respecting our point of view and however we view the Creator to be.

I'm a seeker. Always searching out the answers to questions most of us are privy to. Where did we come from? Where are we going? What is our purpose? And just when I think I've found the answers, more questions are raised. New ideas are layed before me making me rethink what I think I already know. Will I ever know the Truth? I suspect that when I transition, all will be revealed and I will be able to rest in Eternity in perfect love and perfect trust. Until then, I'm left to ponder these Universal questions.

I began my spiritual life as a Christian in the Luthern faith. Not strict church goers we were left to make our decision each Sunday whether or not to go to Sunday School. Sometimes my sister and I would board the Church bus and take ourselves, other times our mother would accompany us. My father was and is an atheist. Although, between you and me, I sometimes think he's actually agnostic. I searched for God in the churches of Luthern, Baptist, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Seventh Day Adventist and at one point or another I read about John Smith (Mormonism) and even Jehovah and Scientology. And while I've always been deeply spiritual, I found these churches did not fill my soul.

A few years ago, after feeling a deep, gut-wrenching emptiness, I discovered Paganism and Wicca. And, more importantly, I found the Goddess, the Divine Feminine . . . I found balance. Or rather, I should say, She found me working in the garden. I embraced the Divine feminine and came to know her as Green Tara and then, as She would have it, Mother Mary. I've developed a strong and undeniable bond with Mary (interestingly enough my Earth mother's name is Mary). She is the one I look to for spiritual support and growth, intercessor and guide in my Earthly life, and companionship in prayer. In short, she's my Go-To-Girl.

Lately I've been reading and learning about the Catholic faith. Don't laugh . . . or cry . . . it's all a process and I'm feeling guided in this direction. Yes, the Church definitely has its' faults, but there's beauty too. Will I become a member or a cherished parishioner? Highly unlikely. You see I also strongly believe in and practice Reiki, something the Church has officially banned. Ah, for closed minds . . .

But then there's also something called 'Science of the Mind' by Earnest Holmes (please don't confuse this with Tom Cruise's Scientology - and what's up with him and Katie, eh?). Religious Science is something that Louise Hay (you know her book 'You Can Heal Your Life') subscribes to . . . positive intentions and affirmations are her trademark. I find this fascinating.

And so you see, spirituality can't be labeled. No one authority holds the whole and complete Truth no matter what they say. I think we owe it to ourselves to explore, to question and to hold true to our own truths . . . I respect you and you respect me should be the law of the land. But then again, who am I? I AM . . . that's all. I'm a spiritual being having a human experience . . . and doesn't that say it all? I believe that my purpose is to learn, to grow, to experience, to question, to love, to explore where no man has (oops sorry, I digress) . . . to just BE as in BE still and know that I AM God.

And so what does all this have to do with the Divine Mother? It's because she's a part of everything and anything that I do. She's there to guide me, to comfort me, to make sure that I stay on the path. She's loving and compassionate and understanding. She doesn't judge, she doesn't chastize. She allows me to be me in all my fullness. She knows my heart. She's my intercessor and my greatest advocate. She never lets me down. And so I go forward in the knowledge that I do not go alone . . . that whatever I do, I have her blessing, because she KNOWS in the end that I will make the right and true choices for me. And so it is for you . . .

Like I said in my moniker . . . up, down and everywhere inbetween.