How Families Affect our Energy -- and a few tips for staying sane this holiday season

Every Sunday, my boyfriend and I do our weekly grocery shopping at the local co-op. Today was no exception, except that it seemed like all of Seattle agreed to meet at the co-op at the same time. Cans of pumpkin were hoarded into cards, along with cranberries, organic turkeys, potatoes, yams, pecan and pumpkin pies and lots and lots of wine.

Obviously, people are preparing for Thanksgiving. And my guess was that the more wine in the cart, the more they're spending it with their family.

Don't get me wrong -- I love my family with every ounce of my heart. I call both my parents and my sister weekly to talk about the trials, tribulations, successes and joys of each week. I feel blessed that my family is an integral part of my life and one of the only regrets I have about living in Seattle is the large distance between us.

My family also creates some of my most difficult spiritual and energetic challenges, and it is the energy that is most difficult for my clients to work through as well.

Raise your hand (come one, humor me) if you've experienced something like this: the holidays come around and you get really excited to see your family. You can't wait for mutual show and tell, the family traditions and rituals, and spending time together. For the first couple of days, everything feels amazing and you're so happy you made it. Then, after a little while, a melancholy sort of feeling sets in -- you start to feel a little down, perhaps frustrated, and maybe you start to question some of the choices you've made that aren't the same as your family's. For me, the overall feeling I get is of feeling stuck and confused for no reason that I can pinpoint.

Sound familiar? (If not, you're more rare than a unicorn underneath a rainbow of miracles. Good job, you).

When I read clients who have just spent a lot of time with their families, I often notice that their energy field is clogged with family energy. This is energy that says, "These are our family norms/belief systems/standard operating procedures. You've deviated from this program. Here is a reminder to get you back on track." Clients feel stuck because this energy is laying on top of their own innate energy and acting like a control.

You can think of it like a computer virus. You've got all of your energetic programs running smoothly, exactly the way you want them. You're creating your own way in the world, setting your energy high and manifesting your dreams, then all the sudden your software starts to act a little weird. Everything slows down and before you know it, you're not controlling your computer anymore -- the virus is.

Our energetic field is responsible for our whole reality. It is an intricate and elaborate system created from our belief systems, karmic patterns, past time information, present time thought patterns, emotions and creativity. We can compare our energetic field to a computer system -- a healthy energetic field is running completely on its own energy in order to create its reality, just like a healthy computer system is running only on the programs we chose for our operating system. An unhealthy energy system is one running on pre-programmed ideas or lies hidden as truths, just like an unhealthy computer system is stuck or inefficient because of crap software that we don't really use, viruses, spy ware and malware.

So, back to how family energy can act as a virus.  In order for a virus to be effective, the person planting the virus must intricately understand the system, and the system must have a weakness in order for the virus to be successful. When we are born, we knew very little about how to survive in the world. We looked to our parents to supply us with information about how the world works. In essence, we actively allowed our families to program our energetic system for us. We had to -- our survival depended on it! But it doesn't any more. Part of becoming an adult is separating from ideas and beliefs that we don't resonate with, which often means a continual separation from the energy that was pre-programmed into us and a move to reprogram our energy system with our own ideas and values.

This is how energy healings work. When I work with a client, I'm basically helping them wipe their energetic hard drive of anything that's contributing toward ill health, feeling stuck, or otherwise not serving them so that they can replace those energies with their own creativity, beliefs and personal power. When we stand in our own energy, we feel better, more ourselves. Our self esteem increases and we are able to have more certainty about our life path.

It's relatively easy to clean the energy body of foreign energy, especially of co-workers, friends, acquaintances and even romantic partners. These energies are more like extra programs that you download from the internet -- they may benefit you in the short term, but eventually they can start to cause problems. When they do, you can just uninstall. But family energy works more like a virus because that's the energy you started your life with. Family energy understands your system completely because it created your first belief systems, emotional patterns, thought patterns, and the basic, underlying story you have about your life. That story creates energetic pictures about who we are at a base level. Family energy recognizes these pictures and says, "Haha! You're still mine! You have my blueprint! You've deviated a bit, but it doesn't mean you don't recognize me! Match me, match me!"

I am in no way saying that our beloved families are consciously malicious (at least, mine aren't -- you can decide that for yourself). The impact of family energy is unconscious on the part of the family members -- it's more like their love, hope, worry and fear are more easily channelled into our sensitive systems. Family energy just works differently in our bodies than the energy of others. As one of my psychic colleagues said the other day, "You can learn and grow as a psychic, and move more and more energy and become less and less reactive to people and situations around you. But when family is involved, all bets are off."

So what can we do about it? Before I go into a family situation, I take extra time to get grounded, set my energy, hold my vibration and take extra self-pampering tools with me. I check in with myself throughout the visit to notice if I'm still holding my vibration. I set up extra energy readings and healings with my colleagues.  And I always try to employ the two best tools of all -- neutrality, and lots and lots of amusement. This holiday season, I suggest you read through my old posts that include these tools and try them for yourself.

If all else fails, at least you've got the wine  :)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Tool #4: The First Essential Step to Healing: Havingness

As we start to move into the holiday season, we often start to think of all the things we're asked to give. Give thanks, give presents, give time, give energy, give give give give give. Don't get me wrong, giving is great! When done in the right attitude, it helps us cultivate gratitude, which helps us find more contentment and ultimately, joy.

The work I do is mainly with highly sensitive people. Those of us who are sensitive know how to give -- it's part of our nature. Being sensitive often means that you're very aware of the emotions of others and often feel uncomfortable around negative energy. Because the sensitive body is so affected by the energy of others, sensitive individuals often avoid conflict in order to shield themselves from energy onslaught. Often times, this creates a sensitive person who has learned to give or accommodate under almost any circumstances.

But one thing that these clients often lack is the ability to receive and to own something simply in order to have it for themselves. Instead, everything they allow themselves to receive is because it will somehow benefit someone other then themselves. They feel a tremendous amount of guilt when it comes to having something that is just their own, a secret jewel just for them, just because. In healing, we have to be able to HAVE and receive healing in order for us to heal.

Sounds simple, right?

For so many of us, we practice giving on a daily basis -- that is, giving to others. What we don't do is practice giving love, affection, or attention to ourselves. One of the primary reasons I see clients struggle with healing is a failure to allow themselves to have it. This often manifests as an underlying belief in their deservedness to have or to receive.

What if we were all allowed to have everything we wanted, as long as the desire was manifested in our hearts and fed by Source energy? Guess what, we do! Our deepest desires and fears are reflected to us in our reality. The spirit knows it can have whatever it needs to learn and grow, plus the things it wants to keep the body comfortable while achieving growth. But so often, our bodies and minds have been programmed into believing that we have to be deserving of something in order for us to have it.

The spirit world doesn't work that way. It is human to say that something is right or wrong, good or bad, or that someone is deserving or undeserving. The spirit world doesn't see good or bad, right or wrong, it just sees what is. I'm sure we can all think of someone who is a total schmuck who has everything they want. That person may have a sketchy moral character, but they also have high havingness.

Havingness = our ability to have.

Think about how much you really let yourself have. I know that in my life, I have high havingness in learning experiences, good cars, keeping good friends and living in beautiful places, to name a few. Where I'm constantly working on my havingness is in my ability to receive and believe praise and in my finances.

Our level of havingness affects our health and healing, too. If you've been struggling with your health, take a moment to check in with yourself and notice how much you're able to let yourself have healing. Be honest with yourself. I check in using a psychic tool and visualize a gauge out in front of me, but you can also simply ask yourself how much you let yourself have your healing and trust the first answer you get. Maybe it says, "40%." Ouch, but you can work with that and raise it up.

In a reading, I can help you look at your havingness and help you discover what is keeping you from having your health and healing. From my experience from working with clients, I find that it often comes from a feeling of not being deserving, not being good enough, not knowing who you would be as a healthy person and being afraid to find out, being afraid of losing the attention that being ill attracts, and believing that you are a victim of your own body.

You are none of those things. You are an infinitely creative spirit in a body that you created.

Our body puts out signals to alert us that something is wrong. In order to fix it, we first need to tune in and try to figure out what our body needs from us. Next, we need to seek a treatment that resonates with us. We also need to identify and release the energy, belief systems or programs that made us ill in the first place. But in order to all of that, we must first believe that we can have our health and healing. We must first believe that we truly own our bodies.

How do we create havingness? Raising our havingness is a practice that involves understanding that we are inherently deserving of having the life and health that we desire and that when our health is off, it is our choice whether to stay a victim or take action. Taking action means more than going through the motions of healing -- it means digging deep and noticing whether there are beliefs you have about yourself that need to change and then making a commitment to changing those no matter how uncomfortable or ego-compromising it is.

When I notice my havingness is low for a particular area in my life, there are two ways I deal with it. First, I ask myself why my havingness might be low. Usually, I notice it's because it deals with an area of my life that I'm not completely comfortable in, have been hurt in, or haven't wanted to look at. Next, I ask myself, "What's my first step to raising havingness?" Usually, my body asks me to release an old belief I have. As I work on releasing it, I replace it with a positive, concrete affirmation. For example, if I have low havingness about finances and my spirit tells me it's because my belief says that making money isn't spiritual, I might use the affirmation, "When I prosper in my divinely-inspired mission, the world prospers with me."

There is a psychic tool for increasing havingness that's a bit more simple if you have a regular meditation practice. After grounding and calling back your energy, you can imagine a bubble out in front of you. In the bubble, as a gauge to appear with your level of havingness. Notice the number. Now ground your gauge to the center of the planet and allow the grounding chord to release from the gauge any energy that's not allowing you to have what you want/need. See the energy move to the center of the planet. You may be able to identify it, but you don't have to. Watch your gauge, it may have moved upward. If not, take your psychic finger and move it up to 100%.

Sounds easy, right? It is!

Well, it is unless you're not ready to release the reasons keeping you from having your healing.

Havingness is also about ownership. It's about coming to the realization that this body was giving to YOU and YOU alone. The only thing that holds you prisoner in your own body is you. Once you realize that you create your prison or oasis you can take ownership of your creation and begin to create your own healing path -- no matter how many times you've been hurt by others, used by others, given to others, your healing path can be no one's but yours. Own it!

What diet are you on?

"You should definitely be on the Paleo diet," said, well, everyone in the last three years.

There is so much talk about which diet is right -- Paleo, Primal, Atkins, Flat Belly, Macrobiotic, Vegetarian, Vegan -- that sometimes, on information overload, I think, "Blah, blah, et cetera, ad nauseum, whatever."

Everyone is looking for foods that work for their body. Some people want to loose weight, others want to gain it. Others want to have more energy and vitality. Some folks want to cure long-standing ailments and illnesses, while others want nothing more than to look good naked. Hey, whatever blows your skirt up (or floats your boat). It's important that we eat healthy if we want to maintain health, right?

Right.

But why is it so hard to find what works for us?

When I was in college, I studied environmental science and became shocked at how much environmental degradation occurred because of factory farming and the meat industry. I decided that I would become vegetarian. Later, for the same reasons, I went vegan. And I thought everyone should be vegan. I read books that supported my views on how my chosen diet was the diet most "optimal" for human health and the health of the planet and felt very smug that I had all the answers.

And I was right. But not for the rest of the world -- for me. And only for a little while.

Four years later, I was having health problems and went to a naturopathic doctor. She noted all of my symptoms, took blood tests, and said to me, "You have a grain intolerance. You have to stay away from grains, wheat especially, and you need to start eating meat again."

That pretty much rocked my world.  I made the dietary changes, I knew she was right. Eating meat and staying away from wheat was really resonating with me -- my stomach problems subsided, I had more energy, and my brain fog went away. But it wasn't because I was on a specific diet. It was because I was eating the foods my body needed at that period in time.

Our bodies reside at a certain energetic vibration. This vibration is a result of our belief systems, family and cultural programming, individual experience and emotional health, to name a few. The newest, sexiest diet isn't going to work for everyone because WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT. We are also different at different phases of our life, given that our vibration changes as we move through life.

Whenever I hear someone recommending their newest fad diet or weight loss program to everyone they know, I cringe.  It's natural that we want to share our success with others, however, we must recognize that what works for us is working because of where we are in our life and how the energy of our successful program resonates with us.

In trying to battle a Candida infection, I gave up sugar, grains, caffeine, fruit, alcohol and vinegar and started eating a diet of vegetables, meats and healthy fats. This diet, while recommended by most health care practitioners for eliminating Candida, didn't resonate with me intuitively. There were components of it that made sense, but others that seemed counter-intuitive. Since I'd asked a professional for help, I took the advice.

I gained 5 pounds and my infection didn't go away.

Just because something works for one person, or a thousand people, doesn't mean it will always work for you. This is why learning to trust your own intuition is so important.

When we learn to be in communication with our body and what our body really needs, we often learn that our needs changed based on season, temperature, age, emotional climate, ailment, etc. Our body is an excellent barameter that constantly gives us feedback as to what is working and what isn't. Often, we meet signals of pain, weight gain, or other "negative" messages with frustration, when really, our body is simply giving us an answer. "What you're doing isn't working for me. Please try again."

In Ayurveda, there's a term used often in treatment called "Upashaya," which means "trial and error." Sometimes we need to try a few things before settling into a new diet or treatment plan. Intuitive counseling provides us with more information as to what's resonating with the body and which dietary changes can be most effective.

With all the diet and health advice out there, it's easy to start believing that you need to "do something" for yourself, or "fix something" within you. We are constantly told that we are too fat, thin, smart, sensitive, forward, timid, dramatic, weird, etc. We live in a society that tells us that we need to fix ourselves in order to fit in.

There is nothing to fix. You are perfect, and your body is a perfect representation of where you've been in your life and where you are right now. Maybe we want to take steps to find a higher level of health and vibration, and that's okay. Your body is giving you all the information you need to take the steps to be healthy and stay there. Once you remember that you are a spirit in a beautiful body and don't need fixing, this information will make itself available to you.

Psychic Myths Debunked

This week, Hay House Radio is hosting a "Best of Hay House World Summit." That basically means that they've taken some of their best authors, brought them together to have conversations about a wide variety of spiritual topics, and are broadcasting these talks all week long, for free. (If you're into all things spiritual and you're not sure what Hay House is, please check them out). On Sunday, I listened to a great talk between John Edward and John Holland, two well known psychic mediums, about psychic fact or fiction. The things they talked about are such common misconceptions about the work that I and other psychics do that I wanted to share some of their thoughts along with my own.

First, a little clarification of terms. Most of you notice that I don't use the term "psychic"very often to describe the work I do. This is because I feel like this term carries a lot of negative connotations. Psychics have long been cast as scary witches, crazy people, and those who have lost touch with reality. And, frankly, there are a lot of fakes out there who use the term to wield a false sense of power. The only place I use the term psychic in my business is when I'm speaking directly to that audience. Today, I'll be using that term a lot, so let me define it.

A psychic is simply someone who makes use of their innate intuitive abilities, which usually include a mixture of clairvoyant (ability to intuitively see pictures of information), clairaudient (ability to hear information), and clairsentient or empathic (the ability to feel information) abilities. As a move through this post, I'll try my best to explain some of the myths out there about psychics and provide the truth as I understand it.

Some people call themselves psychic. Others call themselves a medium. Others still use the term psychic medium. A medium is different from a psychic, and is a person who speaks to those who have passed over to the other side. Psychics can be mediums and vice versa. The difference is that, while some psychics can gain snippets of information from loved ones who appear during readings, they don't usually have the ability to have full conversations with passed spirits. In the interview I listened to, John Holland stated that he believed that mediums were born and not trained. After receiving much psychic training, I would tentatively say that I agree with him.

I am a psychic, not a medium. In my readings, I sometimes receive small pieces of information from passed loved ones, always in the context of what I'm reading, as if they want to add something. But I don't often see or communicate with the dead.

This leads me to Psychic Myth Number 1: Only some people are psychic

Everyone is intuitive, or psychic. Just like any other ability, you have to train and practice in order to develop it. And just like some people are naturally better at sports or writing than others, some people will naturally be better developing their psychic abilities. Just because I'm not naturally good at tennis (and I'm not, trust me), doesn't mean that I can't play. It will take me more training and practice to become a pro, but if I love it, I can get there.

Everyone has the ability to "listen to their gut," or "trust their inner voice." Doing this is following your intuition or being psychic. The first psychic skills you learn to develop are those that tell you more about yourself, your anatomy as a spirit, and the tools and concepts needed to navigate the intuitive realm.

That being said, if you want to develop your intuitive skills, it's really important that you choose a method that supplies you with tools to navigate the psychic world. I've been sharing some of the tools I use in readings because they are central to the work I do. When a surgical student starts medical school, they aren't handed a scalpel and told to start cutting someone else. Instead, they're taken through years of learning about physical anatomy, pathology, and how the body works. Then they practice, practice, practice, before they start performing surgery on others. It's the same with psychic skills. You first must learn to ground yourself in the knowledge of spiritual anatomy before you start learning to work with others.

I've really enjoyed learning through several psychic schools that share similar teaching principles -- the Berkeley Psychic Institute, Spirit is Calling and, locally in Seattle, Psychic Awakenings. All have beginner meditation classes and workshops for beginners to start to play with your intuitive skills. But just like there are several medical schools or sports programs, these aren't the only schools out there. Like anything else, do some research and see what resonates with you.

Psychic Myth Number 2: Psychics are Always "On"

Just because you play tennis for a living doesn't mean you carry your racket with you into a restaurant, right? Similarly, just because I conduct intuitive sessions for a living doesn't mean that I'm reading you intuitively while we're out for coffee. I'm not.

Keeping with my tennis analogy -- when you're on the court, there's a lot you have to field. You have to estimate where your opponent might hit the ball, what kind of spin there is, where your shot should land, how tired you are, etc. It's exhausting work! Good thing you can walk off the court when the game is done!

As a psychic, when I'm in a reading, I have to be aware not only of the energy of the person I'm reading, but of my energy -- I need to keep my emotional and survival energy low, I need to stay grounded and keep the readee grounded. I need to keep the reading space free and clear of outside energy. I have to shield myself from outside energy and the energy of the readee so that I'm not not "taking on" their energy or being influenced by it. This can become exhausting, too! Just like any other profession, we have the ability to turn off the psychic screen when we're finished with our reading.

Also, reading people without their permission is psychic attack. Just like a tennis pro wouldn't go around hitting people with tennis balls to try and get them to play, an ethical psychic won't go around reading people without their permission. On the show "Long Island Medium," Theresa Caputo regularly goes up to people on the street and tells them what their loved ones are communicating to her. The show always shows these happy, sappy responses that probably are heart felt. While I enjoy her show, I think that style of "attack reading" is unethical.

So next time we're having coffee, remember that I may be picking up information about my surroundings intuitively. Intuition and spirituality is the lens through which I see the world. So I may notice that the barista is hiding some greif, or that I feel uncomfortable by the couple arguing silently in the corner because my sensitive shell picks that up. I may notice that you feel aggravated or joyful or whatever it is that you're feeling. But I'm not reading your thoughts or trying to pick up more than I need to in that moment. That would be truly exhausting.

Psychic Myth Number 3: Psychics Read Your Mind

Psychics do not read minds. They read energy. Psychics have the ability to read your energy field as it is currently. If your energy changes, which it does constantly, a psychic can read that, too. Sometimes, your energy field is projecting a question that you've been throwing around in your mind. I remember once during a reading, I looked at the third chakra of my client and inside was a big question mark and the word, "ego." I said, "It looks like you have questions about the ego." She replied, "Oh my god, I've been thinking about that all night!" So it may have seemed like I read her thoughts, but I really just read her energy, which at the time was a reflection of her thoughts.

Psychic Myth Number 4: Psychics Predict the Future 

.....in movies. They predict the future in movies with a crystal ball. But like I just stated above, psychics have the ability to look your energy as it exists now. It's like John Holland said on Hay House Radio, that psychics have the ability to tell you about the highway you've been on, the twists and turns you've taken to get there, and which exits are available to you. I would add that, in times of transition, I can help you look at the energy of those "exits" to see what challenges or opportunities each would present. But we all have free-will -- you ultimately choose your own destiny.

A bit more about predicting the future -- there are a lot of psychics out there today who claim to know future events. Many of these psychics use the help of spirits that they channel into their bodies. I call these psychics "Transmediums," as they are inviting the spirit of another being into their body and then gathering information. While I believe that transmediumship can be a valid form of gathering information, it is a skill that takes a lot of practice and a very solid foundation in psychic skills in order to stay protected and receive valid information. I tend to take channeled information with a grain of salt, especially as it pertains to future events, but you are always free to make your own decisions about such information.

Our current reality is based on our thoughts, feelings and perceptions -- our energy. I've described before my thoughts on fate and destiny -- your fate is the deck of cards you are dealt. Your destiny is how you play your cards. Similarly, the current state of humanity and our world is based on the overall energy of humans at this point in time. Thus, our future is changeable and predicting it is like trying to throw a lasso around the wind. The more we each work with our energy to create the reality we want for ourselves and for our world, the more that future worldly events will reflect that.

Psychic Myth Number 5: All Psychics Want To Be Famous!

There is a certain power to any profession. We live in a culture that values fame, fortune and power. Being psychic, or being in any field that claims to "have answers," tends to attract a lot of attention from others. Some attention is good, other attention is not so good. People today want answers. They want reassurance and validation of their choices and their existence. What you'll find in a true psychic reading are simply the answers that are inside of you. In a true psychic reading, the psychic reads just your energy field and the answers you have displayed there. They do not tell you what you should do or judge you for past mistakes. They objectively show you what IS, and let you decide what to do.

I "came out of the psychic closet" in order to help people. Understanding my energy field has been a tremendous help in understanding my world and my relation to my world. It's been a gift in my life that I want to share with others. I have always been drawn to intuitive arts, and how the health of the energy body reflects in our physical body more than any other thing I've done or studied. This field of self inquiry has been a gift in my life and I simply want to share it with you.

The more I put myself out there and gain new clients, the more energy I have to be able to handle. I am a highly sensitive person, which allows me to do the intuitive work I do so naturally. However, it's a double-edged sword. As I grow into a bigger business, my ability to handle the attention, admiration, questions, concerns, resentment, jealousy and any other energy thrown at me by my clients must grow as well. It requires a lot of personal work, skill growth and meditation for me to keep up with it. Most psychics I know feel the same.

With any amount of power comes responsibility. A responsible psychic is not one who wishes to be famous, but rather to help people. Helping people at a psychic level requires that the psychic be grounded firmly in their own practice of skills and knowledge, and that they monitor their level of business growth equal to the amount of energy they can handle.

Psychic Myth #6: All Psychics Are Fakes and Shouldn't be Trusted

There is a lot of pressure in our culture to laugh at any information that doesn't have a firm foundation in science. However, science itself is simply a belief system. I am a scientist -- and I have two advanced degrees to prove it. But I firmly believe that there are other ways of knowing and understanding the world.

Some psychics are fakes. And unlike tennis pros, it can be harder to tell if a psychic is faking. Trust your gut. If the psychic is playing on your fears rather than reading your whole energy, asking general questions to gain answers, or claiming they see your future clearly, they're probably a fake. If they've done no training and have no skill set or qualifications, they may either be a fake or an amateur without proper training. We all get to have our own thoughts, feelings and opinions about the world. Let your inner voice guidance tell you what is real and truth for you.

Please let me know if you have any questions about this topic or the spiritual world in general. I will answer to the best of my abilities. Like anyone, I am still learning and I do not have anywhere near all the answers! I am having fun on my own journey and through the process of helping others. Thanks for reading.

Get Well and Stay Well, Even When Everyone Else is Sick

Autumn is around us. I can tell because the leaves on the Seattle trees are changing colors and starting to fall, sweeping around streets and trails with the wind. Mornings are chilly and crisp, and it smells cold. I've brought out the space heaters, stocked the tea cabinet, and my stomach asks me for soups and heated foods instead of raw salads. Also, all around me, people are getting sick.

I took a three day vacation a few weekends ago and when I got back to work my co-worker said, "Oh, by the way, watch out -- everyone's sick." She was right. Our office manager had a cold that lasted two weeks. Some clients were calling in sick and others were coming in sick. When I asked them how they were feeling, so many of them said, "Oh, you know, I've got this cold that's going around."

There is lots of science out there about germs and how germs are spread. I know my aunt watched some Opera special on germs and became almost OCD about public bathrooms. How was it that she had been in public bathrooms all her life and hadn't caught some terrible disease? Oh my, better protect myself with toilet liners and hand sanitizer and not touch door knobs or shake hands or look at people too closely...can I contact disease through eye contact? 

I exaggerate. A little.

I'm not arguing that science has been able to show how germs, viruses and bacteria travel between people, places and things and have the potential to make us sick. But what makes some people sick and not others? Science says the immune system, and I agree, but I want to add another layer to that. Not only do we have a physical immune system that relies on our diet and lifestyle for strength, we also have an energetic immune system, and its strength relies on the information we have about how we get sick, how we stay well, and what belief systems we have in general about health and wellness.

Sickness, like everything else, is essentially a vibration. Whether or not we get sick depends, in large part, to whether we match the vibration of sickness.

When I was in graduate school I got sick a lot. I was under so much stress that my poor immune system was shot. I was also at the beck and call of my graduate professors, my thesis, and to my fellow students. I'd feel myself start to get sick and I'd say to my body, "No! Not now! I can't afford to be sick this week/this semester/until after this test!" I'd drink tea and exercise and go on with my busy-ness and stress. But I could feel that vibration of sickness working to pull me down. Eventually, when the test was over (or the project, or the thesis) and I had no energy left to fight, I'd get sick. It was usually over a holiday or a long weekend -- you know, during some time when I could "afford" to be sick.

I'd given up my fight -- and matched the vibration of sickness. I know I matched the low, icky vibration of sickness because of that feeling of it pulling me under, into its depths, and taking over.

There are some things in life that are inevitable. Like death. Some day, we each of us will die. But how we live until that point is almost entirely up to us. How we choose to set our vibration of health and vitality is up to us.

Sickness is essentially an attack on our vitality.  Sickness means that something is attacking our inherent right to health and vitality. Whether caused by poor diet or lifestyle, by belief systems that do not serve you, or by accidents, it's all still blockage. Remove the blockage and you restore vitality.

In this day and age, improper diet and lifestyle routines are one of the major reasons so many of us become sick each year. We can change what we eat and how we take care of ourselves pretty simply. The other reason I believe so many of us get sick is by running energetic belief systems that keep our immune system from functioning fully.

One of the main blocking beliefs I already mentioned, "A cold is going around." If your body is running off of the belief system that there is a "cold going around," then a belief that probably follows is, "so I could catch it at any time." This is a belief system that opens the door for the vibration of sickness.

Another is the belief that "I always get sick in the fall/winter/spring." You just affirmed your reality. The universe is there to give you what you ask for.  This belief system opens the door for the vibration of sickness.

A third belief is an unflinching belief in the science of germs. As we discussed, science shows how germs can make us sick. However, science, just like anything else, is essentially a belief system. It's belief that the scientific understanding of germ theory is the final word on disease transmission. That belief limits you by putting you at the mercy of that scientific theory.

So how do we strengthen our energetic immune systems? First, by looking at blocking belief systems that might be contributing to getting sick and clearing those out. It takes shifting our perspective from believing in being the "victim" of yearly sickness to being the owner of our own bodies.  Second, we work on holding our highest vibration of health and vitality even amidst the pressure of lowering our vibration to match the sickness around us.

(There's always pressure to match energy -- matching energy is natural for us. It's one way we can relate to the experience of others. There's energetic pressure to match the vibration of sickness, even if the afflicted person doesn't want to spread germs. Part of this pressure is from the strength of a very large societal agreement that we have about belief in germs and germ theory that says if one of us is at the mercy of germs, we all should be. Disagreeing is like energetic rebellion.)

If you're not sure about what your belief systems are or how to remove them, Intuitive Wellness Coaching can help. We can do exactly what I'm describing so that you can have a vital year of health and wellness!

What happens if you still get sick? Learn from it, and don't beat yourself up over it. Gather information about how you got there, what you were feeling, what the beliefs were that you or others around you held, and then practice wellness. Pull in the vibration of wellness and allow yourself to truly have it. Ask yourself what wellness practices you can do to get well and stay well, and see what responses you get. In my meditation, I was told to drink lots of broth, add green juice to my mornings, and to eat lightly. Listen to your body.

Wellness is a practice. Practice well.

Releasing the past; right and wrong.

Sometimes, I get in a bit of a funk. Do you ever feel that way? Like something isn't quite right, and you're not sure what it is, but you just feel kinda stuck? I've had that feeling for the last couple of days.

I really don't like having that feeling.

It makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong, because this is what I help people do for a living -- I'm intuitive and should be able to figure things out, immediately, right?

But I'm also human. Thankfully.

This thing that was bringing me down felt arduous, felt heavy like pregnant clouds, but ever out of my reach of understanding. My analytical mind was having a hay-day trying to figure it out.  It's amazing to me the myriad of ridiculous thoughts my analytical mind (ego) can come up with to justify me feeling down. I swear, if the only way of knowing things on this earth was through analyzing them, I'd go crazy.

Luckily, there are other ways of knowing.

Last night, I had a dream that I was being denied access through a gate that lead to this beautiful mountain top. I was being denied access until this person from my past came back and allowed me to move through the gates. I was furious, because I wanted to hike into the beauty of the mountain, to access the healing available there, and to gaze back at the view. I was also furious because I didn't want to wait from this person from the past to catch up to me and to interact with him -- not because I had anything against him, but because I wanted to move forward.  I felt torn -- part of me wanted to just blow through the gates but another part of me was fearful that if I did, something bad would happen.

I woke up with a feeling of unease. It reminded me of the feelings I'd had when I suspected I might get fired that day, or be broken up with, or be reprimanded for something. It was a feeling of failure.

I immediately put on my hiking shoes and drove out to my favorite forested park for a walking meditation. As I started walking, I realized two things that my dream seemed to represent to me. The first was that my past was haunting me and keeping me from enjoying the dreams and aspirations I have for the future. And second, the reason that the past is haunting me is because I've been stuck on ideas or energy in my space that want to affirm that there is a right and wrong way for living in the world.

There have been several instances just this week where counseling others included the spiritual truth that there is no right or wrong in the spiritual world -- there is just our experience. Right and wrong are concepts that our analytical mind create (don't get me wrong, moral judgements can have a place in society, I'm not here debating that).  When we get stuck not wanting to make the "wrong" decision, we are essentially stuck in fear -- fear that if we "do it wrong," something bad will happen and we won't be good enough. Our actions just have consequences, that's it. Some consequences we will like better than others, but essentially it's trial and error, learning and growing.

As I walked through the beautiful, rainy morning, I practiced turning off my analyzing mind of focusing on my breath. As I watched the morning unfold, I had the realization that everyday, nature lets go of the old and moves forward. Sometimes, like during the change of the seasons, letting go takes some time -- leaves dry out, drop, and trees release excess wastes and waters and prepare for the winter. It's a process. Sometimes, it happens quickly -- like during a big storm, when a branch just isn't strong enough and snaps off the tree. Either way, the tree keeps on living and the forest finds a new way to support the change.

Sometimes, letting go of our past takes time. Sometimes it's a process. But the more we keep ourselves within the limited mindset of right and wrong, the longer that process will take. Today I remembered to be gentle with myself, to keep practicing the miracle of being in the present moment and accessing the joy that is found there.

Spiritual Tool #3: Filling up with YOU!

How many times have you come home from a day and said, "I feel so drained!"? If you're like me, it happens regularly, especially when around lots of people, when helping lots of clients throughout the day, or when intense or stressful situations present themselves. This post is about helping you call your energy back, which makes you feel more grounded, yourself, and literally gives you more physical energy!

In my post about grounding, I talked about how our energy bodies can be like little sponges, picking up energy from other people -- people we talk to, care for, or interact with. That entry talked about the importance of clearing or grounding those outside energies away after each day.  But just as we pick up other people's energy, we often give our energy to other people, events, or projects. Sometimes we leave our energy there, in the past, where it really does us no good. In order to keep our energy levels high, we need to fill back up with us!

The only moment that we have to work with is the present. When our energy is in the past, or the future, or with mom, or with your latest craft project, or planning dinner, we don't have as much energy available to work with in the present moment. I'm sure we've all experienced it before -- we are excited about a new project, or we have a family member or situation we're worried about, and so our energy is focused there while we try to move throughout our day and complete our day-to-day tasks. We find ourselves becoming sloppy, unable to concentrate, and feel completely wiped out by the end of the day.

It doesn't do us any good to keep our energy anywhere but right inside our body and aura. It's been said that worry is a misuse of imagination. I say energy directed anywhere except the present moment is a cheat to ourselves and the lives we're creating.

So many of us in the healing field struggle with this. We worry about our clients, or we continuously try to problem-solve other's situations while we're going through the motions of present day activities. Even those outside the healing field can relate -- we've all experienced a loved one who is going through a tough time, and often we feel emotionally connected or responsible for their well-being.  Often, we keep our thoughts or prayers with them and forget about the quality and importance of our own attention in the present moment.

Guess what -- that doesn't serve either party.

If my energy is with one of my sick clients, not only is it not with me, but it's also clogging up their space and keeping them from being able to find their most authentic self and their own healing solution. It is always best to keep our energy with us so that we can use the power of the present moment to direct all of our energy to the focal point at hand.

Our attention is the most powerful tool we own. If we can gather up all of our energy and direct our attention at just one thing, the rest of the world falls away. We've all experienced this -- maybe in a yoga class where you observed your thoughts rather than listening to them, or when you become so focused on a project that you lost track of time and created your best work. As a healer, I know I can help my client best by focusing on them and only them in a session, or when I'm doing extra research to help them -- not by focusing on them while I'm blogging, making dinner, or listening to my partner.

So how do we practice calling our energy back to us and keeping it there? (Because, remember, it's ALL a practice).

It's simple. Sit in your meditation space and ground yourself. Use the grounding meditation listed here. Start by clearing away all those energies that you might of picked up during the day -- your client, that stranger on the bus who gave you the eyes, that cute barista who drew a heart in your cappuccino, -- all of it! Once you feel clear, start to imagine all the places you might have left your energy that day. I usually start with my dream space, which is generally very active. Then, I call my energy back from clients, from my mom, from anyone I might be healing inadvertently, from my boss, from that person on the bus I gave the eyes to, from my enjoyment of my (decaf) cappuccino, and from any other situation or project that keeps stealing my attention.

Imagine that energy collecting into a big ball of golden energy above your head that is as big as you are. Let that golden ball of light fill all the way up with your energy in present time. When it's full, pull it down around you and let it fill up your whole body and aura with your energy. Do this several times until you feel full of the live that is YOU. You can't have too much!

Often with this exercise, I get asked if calling energy back will hurt or affect the people, projects or situations where your energy was left. Calling your energy back will not hurt someone you've been helping -- like I said before, your energy of worry or healing, while fabulous in the present moment, can create confusion for that person once you've moved on physically. Your heartfelt intention of help or healing, when used in the power of the present moment, is beneficial. Once you move on, if your energy doesn't move with you, it can create the same energy of confusion and clogging that we clear out of our own spaces.  Similarly, your projects can't keep moving forward if you're working on something else, so it's more effective to always have your energy in the present moment. The same goes for situations or interpersonal relationships -- focus on the task at hand while it's at hand and communication will be smoother (that doesn't mean you can't procesas and reflect later, just make sure that's you're intention at the time).

Have you ever heard someone say, "I'm running on a quarter tank today?" This is often how full our bodies are of our own energy, but it doesn't have to be. Fill up with the golden light of your energy several times per day and keep your energy gauge at full all the time.

You always deserve to be full of YOU. This isn't about ego, it's about spiritual energy. In the spiritual world, you can't get enough of yourself, so fill up! When you are full of yourself and clear from other energies, that is your quiet, soft space where you can hear the clear voice of your soul. This is where you'll make your best decisions, heal yourself, and start to have an effect on others because you're brave enough to fill up and be your own creature. Here's to being YOU!