Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Stand still

Dear Angelic Blog Buddies;

I can remember when I was a little girl and I wanted to go outside and play in new fallen snow, my mother would have to repeatedly remark to me to stand still while she was attempting to get a snowsuit on me or some sort of protective clothing.

Over the years, I have come to realize that standing still is something that my brain has a hard time computing. I do not do standing still well. Additionally, I have come to recognize that standing still is a very powerful form of healing.

In the Bible in Psalm 46:10, we read the words, "Be still and know that I am God".

The first spiritual divination tool I was introduced to by the angels was the Runes. I was inspired by the angels to create my own set of Runes made from broken pieces of sand dollars that I had collected at the beach. To this day it is my own personal belief that the Runes are one of the most intimate and personal of all divination tools.

There is a Rune that is called Isa. Of the 25 Runes it is No. 23. The Rune Isa looks like a lower case letter l. It is a single straight vertical line. It is a messenger of standing still; being patient. I always look at this Rune as the icicle Rune. It is filled with the power of the element of water. It has all the energy of a rainfall, waterfalls, an ocean; yet it is in a frozen or standing still state.

Sometimes in the past, when I had a question and wanted to know what I was to do, I would use the Runes and Isa sometimes appeared. I remember thinking, "Oh great, I am to do nothing." I really didn't like drawing that rune. The are many times I want to be flowing like a river and the Divine sends me a message that I need to stand still with the energy. Spirit tells me to chill out like an icicle.

Since the beginning of the year I have received inspirations from the angels as to the importance of rest in my life. There's so much change going on that it is overwhelming at times and it can be exhausting. In order to be nurturing to ourselves, we need to give ourselves permission to rest, pause, take naps, relax, chill out.

A good friend of mine gifted me a book by Macrina Wiederkehr: Seven Sacred Pauses - Living Mindfully Through the Hours of the Day. "Wiederhekr helps readers ...devote themselves to pausing - whether once a day or more frequently - the wisdom of living in the here and now and moving more harmoniously with the rhythm of day and night." The book is "an invitation to pause, pray, and live in tune with the spirit of each hour." I am certain that my angel team whispered to my girlfriend, "Give Jayne this book on sacred pauses; she needs the healing of the pause in her life."

I love anything that is connected with spiritual devotions aligned to the hours of the day. I recently attended a symposium at the Walters Art Gallery that was a gathering of brilliant researchers on the Book of Hours. However, I came to realize that I was reading and researching about the calling to pause; I just wasn't living it. I laughed at myself when I again looked at the title of the book: Seven Sacred Pauses. I wasn't allowing myself one pause let alone seven.

In contemplating how to help heal myself through pausing, resting, standing still I came to recognize how serious an imbalance this is in my life. Even though the sun sets at the end of each day, I wasn't. I'm the energizer bunny that keeps on going.I want to be constantly beating on that drum.

The angels were encouraging me to balance my life by taking a sabbatical or going on a retreat. For my solar return chart my Sun is in the 12th house. The 12th house is the house of giving oneself the gift of being invisible at times. The word sabbatical means to give rest at regular intervals.

I came to recognize I didn't understand what the Sabbath was all about either and how it was a gift of healing from God. The word Sabbath in Hebrew means the seventh. It was a consciousness that whatever was "the seventh" conveyed an energy of a time designated for repose and rest and rejuvenation. Every seventh year, fields were not to be tilled. They were given a year of rest. In Jewish law, the seventh day of the week was a day no one was allowed to do any work.

The Sabbath is a day of the week in certain religious practices, i.e. Saturday is recognized as a Sabbath day, and Sunday is also recognized as a Sabbath day. That is an abundant spiritual practice; however, for me I came to recognize that the Sabbath is the conscious choice of giving up constantly being in a doing/getting something done consciousness and entering into a stillness of being with God. It is a time to place ourselves in the lap of the divine and rest.

I remember in my childhood of growing up on a farm, my Mom and Dad both honored Sunday as the Sabbath. It was a day of going to church, coming home and sharing a special meal (there were certain foods that were for Sunday dinners only). Sunday was a day of resting. Life was lived at a slower pace on Sundays. I grew up when the Blue Laws were enforced. There was absolutely no shopping on Sundays. I remember many conversations in my home that the world was going to you know where because of having stores open on Sunday.

In a way my folks were right, we are experiencing Sabbath Deficiency Syndrome. We are lacking the goodness and healing we receive from stopping all the constant action and take regular intervals of rest. The Sabbath is about letting go and let ourselves fall into the arms of the divine. I think this is why I love Psalm 91 so much. It is a message that says if we place ourselves under God's wing, God will take care of everything. Words of Psalm 91 convey the message: God is my refuge; in God I trust. However, when I keep on doing everything from sunup to sundown, I am not embodying my belief in those words.

I do recognize that times change; however, I have been thinking to myself recently what a terrific idea God had in creating day and night and having the sun as the light during the day to support activities and having darkness at night in order to support rest and going to sleep so our bodies can rejuvenate. I am giving myslf the gift of going to bed earlier.

And an equally abundant idea is this idea of the Sabbath; a consciousness where we stop the doinginess and be with God. I have taken my appointment calendar this year and given myself Sabbath days;days of rest and rejuventation. I have to be truthful, some months I have really accomplished this and feel so happy about the healing in my life and some months I have resorted to old habits of being the bunny with the drum and I keep on drumming.

I also asked myself how I could give my physical body a rest, and I am doing days of fasting so my body isn't constantly having to be doing the bodily functions of digesting and eliminating. Some of you may know I was a pretty sick puppy the month of June from an on-going bout of bronchitis. Bronchitis affects the air passages of the lungs. I truly believe my body was telling me that I was sending air out through my service and healing activities, but I wasn't stopping and being still and letting air back in which would be a healing to me.

I have also given my mental and emotional bodies a Sabbath healing,too, by unplugging from newspapers and the television and computer news. I found that mentally and emotionally I was responding to all of the news and my body was constantly "doing responses" to where was Michael Jackson's body, who would be Michael Jackson's children's guardian, and how could Tony the football star dump Jessica the singer star via email the day before her birthday.

I am striving to find a balance of living in this world and still staying conscious I am not of this world. My world or reality is one of striving to achieve the balance of going out in the world and doing work and service for God and being a blessing, and then keep my own life in healthy balance by having an equal amount of time to rest and rejuvenate myself and be blessed by being still.

Love in Abundance, Jayne

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

JUST KEEP LOVING

Dear Angelic Blog Buddies:

On the morning of Tuesday, June 30th, my husband, Chuck called from our kitchen for me to come downstairs immediately. He said I needed to come quickly as something was terribly wrong with our 19-year old Jack Russell Benny. I flew down the stairway to the kitchen to find Benny in the midst of a grand seizure. His entire body was quaking and he was breathing intensely. He does take daily preventive seizure medicine and I gave him an additional pill in an attempt to help calm his little body. His body slowly returned to a state of calmness, but because of the seizure he was now experiencing the loss of his back legs. It was very sad watching his inability to get himself up. He repeatedly struggled to stand up, but couldn't.

We called the vet immediately and made an appointment to take him in as soon as possible to determine what was taking place. The appointment was in the afternoon.I sat with Benny in the morning and just couldn't stop crying thinking about what the prospect might be. I would carry him outside, and once again he would try to stand up on his own, but just couldn't.

Additionally, I was dealing with the emotions of knowing that on this same date - June 30th, two years ago in 2007 - my precious Jack Russell Jackie had gone home to God.

Prior to heading out to the vet, Benny started to slowly regain a little energy in his back legs. I scooped him up in my arms and Chuck drove us to the vet's office. As we were getting Benny situated in the back seat of the car, our 13 year-old Jack Russell female, Riot was watching us and thinking this was an ice cream run. As Riot is the Queen of our house and runs the place, she wasn't about to be left behind, so she jumped in the car and refused to get out. It becomes a game with Riot as she leaps from the front to the back of the car, always out of our reach. She won the game.

So Chuck was the driver with Benny, Riot and Jayne as his passengers in the back seat. (We left our three-year old Jack Russell, Pinky at home).

The vet did all types of tests including the test where Benny's legs were "thumped" with a teeny, tiny medical tool (just like the one used on humans to test reflexes- only a fairy size thumper). Benny's reflexes and responses were excellent. When the vet put Benny's legs in an incorrect position, Benny reoriented them in the correct position.

All types of tests were done and blood work was taken and the next day the results came back. I received a personal phone call from the vet. The vet told me how amazed she was with the results because Benny is 19 years old. She just couldn't get over the results. She stated that quite frankly, Benny's condition is miraculous. Benny's heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, red blood count - everything is in abundant good condition; in fact, downright unbelievable for a 19 year old dog. There were no large growths or tumors. Granted, Benny is almost totally blind because of cataracts and is very hard of hearing, but he's a walking miracle.

Even the medications Benny has been taken for seizures have had no negative impact on his organs. The vet indicated that if there was a grand seizure like the one the day prior, we would be able to give Benny an extra dosage of the medication as I had done. The vet felt that Benny's seizure just triggered old-age arthritis and that Benny's body (within the last 24 hours) worked the pain in the joints out to where he was now up and about again. What we were dealing with was arthritis and periodic seizures.

The vet concluded the assessment of Benny's health by giving me the following medical advice:

Just keeping on loving Benny the way you have been loving him.

I am sharing this with you, because sometimes life is downright overwhelming, stressful, zany, crazy,harsh,and unpredictable. Sometimes we just don't know what to do or how to handle what comes our way. I found such a comfort in the vet's words in how to care for Benny. It reminded me that when we are hanging on by a thread (which seems lately to be every day), to simply remember to just keep on loving. Loving God, loving ourselves, our pets, our families and friends. Just keep on loving.

Over the past week I have heard two quotations that I really love. The first is:

Meaning is not something you find;
Meaning is something that you give.

From the recent Benny Goes to the Vet experience, I recognize that the meaning I am striving to give to everything in my life is love.

The second quotation was stated last evening by a woman in an astrology class I attend. She said in so many words that OM/AUM is the primordial sound for this life and then said, "Imagine what the sound will be for the next life."

I love that inspiration because it stretches our mind to think about the evolution of sound. Imagine the sound for the next life or next expanded consciousness/reality or dimension of existance that we will encounter and experience. What comes to mind when you think about sound in the future?

Well, I thought about that. I thought of how the sound would be for me in some way equated with the continuation of love. Just as the vet's words inspired me, I was inspired in thinking that sounds of the future would be a way to keep on loving. And then I contemplated sound that keeps the love flowing for me.

Whenever Chuck and I go out to runs errands without the dogs with us and return home, as we are unlocking the house door, the most joyous sound to me is the distinctive barking of 3 Jack Russells. Benny, Riot and Pinky each have their own happy bark when we return home to them. It is so comforting to hear all 3 of them because I know in that instant that all 3 of them are a.ok. With the acapella barking, my heart overflows with love and joy. The acapella happy barks keeps the love flowing.

For Julie Andrews, maybe it's the hills that come alive with the sound of music. For Chuck and Jayne, it's our house and our hearts that come alive with the sound of barking of 3 Jack Russells welcoming us home.

Our pets truly are angels with fur. I think if any of you who are goofy like me about your pets, could have a choice between hearing a concert of a Celestial Choir or hear the purring or barking of a beloved pet in heaven, it would be a no-brainer on what we would choose. You can keep the Hallelujah Chorus. As for me, I want to be reunited with the Happy-lu-jah sounds of my beloved pets.

Just keep on loving.

Love to all, Jayne

Sunday, July 5, 2009

SPIRITUAL TOOLS

Dear Beautiful Blog Friends:

For the past two years I have been facilitating a monthly angelic message circle known as the IN THE LOOP group. We gather together the first Thursday night of each month via the telephone in a teleconference room. It has been a healing, blessing and enlightenment experience where earth angels and heavenly angels commune together. There are approximately 30 people from all across the USA who registered for this year's experience which will end next month. Each of the participants receives a personal message of upliftment and inspiration from the angels.

Prior to each teleclass gathering, I am inspired by the angels to sit at the computer and I become an scribe for the angels and bring a message to each person.

For the month of July it was getting pretty close to the time of the class on the first Thursday of the new month, and I had not been given the signal from the angels to sit down and take dictation. Needless to say, my spiritual self is trusting and obedient; however, my ego was starting to do a little dance called: The Freakout.

The morning of the actual teleclass, I was awoken by the angels and told to gather together all the decks of spiritual divination cards that I have purchased over the years. From the many decks that I brought together from the four corners of our home into my office, I was then inspired by the angels as to which spiritual deck was to be used for each of the IN THE LOOP members. A unique deck was chosen for each member of the sacred circle. Once the deck was chosen for each person, I was given a mini angel reading of 3 cards by the angels.

I am sharing this experience with you in my blog for a couple of reasons. The first is that I think that many of you reading this blog probably are like me and have a lot of decks or sets of spiritual divination cards. It was really wonderful revisiting them. In fact, it was downright joyful. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the artwork of the decks of cards; some of which I had totally forgotten about. It felt like a reunion experience with some dear friends from the past.

There are saints, crystal deva, mermaids, dolphins, Mayan, Toltec, fairy, tree, flowers, animal spirit,crystal skull, Runes,inner child, ally, dream, Celtic, sweet dreams/bedtime, tantric, goddess, crone, Avalon tarot, DaVinci tarot, alchemical tarot, templar tarot, kabbalah, I Ching card decks. There are Karma Angels, Angelic Messenger, Kabbalah Angels, Angel Blessings, Archangel Oracle, Angels, Gods and Goddesses, and my own SPIRITUALS deck - and this is just to name a few of the many, many decks and sets of spiritual divination cards on the planet.

Hallmark and the American Greeting companies have nothing on any one of us. We communicate with cards. I am honoring you as I write this blog to you for keeping the lines of communication with spirit open through the use of divination cards. There are times in all of our lives where we feel blocked and stagnate and we think we aren't hearing the divine. And even in those times of frustration, we have reached for a deck and drawn a card to inspire us on our path. We have invested in our spiritual growth through purchasing spiritual divination tools that envelop us in the beauty of the art and the inspiration of the messages.

We have listened with the ears of our heart to spirit through the inspirational cards that we keep near us on our nightstands. We have them in our cars. We keep them close to us on our desks, in our briefcases and pocketbooks. And some decks can be found on kitchen counters so we can take a card from a blessing bowl in the center of the kitchen table as we head out the door to work. We grab a piece of fruit for nourishing our body and a spiritual message card to nourish our soul.

We keep them in velvet or silk pouches or wooden boxes. I was as amazed as to the containers that I have chosen for the decks of cards as I was in remembering the decks. I delighted in being reminded that throughout the years I have been drawn to use items such as little girls' purses as sacred card containers.

Years ago during my angel lectures, I would take a deck of my SPIRITUALS and pass the deck around the audience at the beginning of my presentation. I asked everyone to draw one card and read the message and then put the card back into the deck as the angels might want someone else to read that same card as a message. I was speaking to a large audience and as the cards made their way to the back of the room, a gentleman spoke up and said, "Jayne, I don't think you have a full deck." That was one of the funniest moments ever. I responded by saying, "Sir, I hope that isn't a message you are channeling from spirit, but rather telling me about the status of the deck of SPIRITUALS.

I am sharing with you the 3 questions that I was asked by the angels to use in the
3-card reading so that if you are inspired to do so, you will get out a deck of cards you haven't used for awhile and have a reunion experience, too.

The questions are connected to Matthew 7:7 - Ask and ye shall receive; seek and ye shall find; knock and the door shall be opened.

1. Ask for a message from your I AM Presence with the first card drawn. The first card is a blessing to help you know yourself as your I AM Presence.

2. Seek to find your Divine Identity through the second card drawn. The second card will bring a blessing of an activity you can do to be closer to your divine identity.

3. Knock and the door of opportunity shall be opened to you. The third card drawn will reveal information about this door of opportunity that will be presenting itself to you shortly.

Here's wishing each and every one of you blessings of uplifting and inspired divine dialogue with your spiritual divination cards.

Love in abundance, Jayne