Disconnecting from the Matrix

                                                            

I don’t know why it is that during the Christmas holidays, when there is so much happiness for us all to share, I find myself pulling back a bit. It’s not depression, because I am happy doing Christmas activities. It has something more to do with my empathic abilities and overload.

                                                                  

I find that the spirits are more open to discussion at this time of the year, and for me, this openness is much stronger than it is during the Halloween season. My father and mother have been visiting more with messages for me to share with the family, and sometimes, the world.

You could imagine my surprise when they stopped by with a former prisoner of ISIS. They had to translate, but the man showed me a vision of how he died and he gave me a warning. I don’t want to get political about the refugees and, I have no love for Donald Trump...but for now, maybe we should be very careful who we let into our country from war ravaged countries. Not permanently, mind you, but just for now.

                                                                  

I feel people’s emotions and sometimes I need to shut down to keep myself from getting physically ill. I’m good at doing this and know how to protect my aura from negative spirits, but even the positive spirits can drain you with their needs. I know how to protect myself, but not everyone does.

Do you know how to stay focused while controlling what the matrix sends your way? Here are a few suggestions that may help the sensitive empathic person survive the holidays.

1.    Do what you can during the holidays. Don’t stress over what you can’t get done. Check out a post a good friend of mine wrote in her blog. Thank You so much, Jessica. 

                                                          

 

http://blog.crackingnut.com/2015/12/giving-presence-for-christmas.html?spref=fb

 

2.    Get rest. Yeah, I know, how can you rest when you have so much to get done? Delegate, Delegate and while your little elves are helping out, get some meditation time to yourself. 

3.    Don’t place that heavy cloak of family drama upon your shoulders. I always ask myself this, “If I died today, would they have to learn to solve their own problems without me?” The answer is yes. Surprisingly, the world still turns without us; the sun rises in the east; life goes on.

4.     Let go of the small stuff. If your family or friends are acting weird, it might be that they are overwhelmed and don’t know how to handle the stress. Don’t add to it by acting the Prima Donna and demanding their immediate attention. Let it go!

                                                           

5.    Don’t watch the news during the holidays because: politicians get dumber for some reason as the holidays get closer; wars still happen; the economy still sucks and, our sports teams still lose. Don’t watch the news, don’t talk politics and don’t engage in any type of negative behavior.

I told my mother and father that they are not to bring any more victims of ISIS to my home. I can’t do anything to help these poor souls, but maybe the dead can. The dead can go after ISIS. Just a thought, but I don’t think the universe will permit it.

                                                           

     I am spending time with friends that I haven’t seen for a while. I’m spending time with the grandkids. I’ve lowered my vibrations to keep the spirits from dropping by and telling me their stories. I don’t want to hear them right now. I’m blocking all negative energies from my space. I’m feeling energized by doing this. You should try it.

  

                                                              

                                                         

 

Happy Holidays, and for me...be happy

 

Keeping Drama Out of Your Life

Drama: a composition in prose or verse presenting in dialogue or pantomime a story involving conflict or contrast of character on stage or play. I love this photo of Greta Garbo, an actress who did drama, royally.

Drama: Letting ego control our lives; allowing others to influence our lives by participating in situations that are better left alone. Translation: an event or situation that should only be wrangled with a ten-foot-pole, like the ones they use to snare a wild mountain lion or a dog with rabies.
                                                        

Drama: is connected to negativity and I’ve already covered in an earlier post how one should protect one’s self from negative people. When we are around negative people, we lose some of our power. It is a dangerous and toxic form of entertainment. So why do we do it? Why do we allow ourselves to become involved in other people’s “Drama”? Are we bored? Do we feel obligated to help? Are we practicing for canonization into sainthood?

To Speak or not to Speak

We are not the Dali Lama, or the Pope, or Stephen Hawking. We don’t know everything! We certainly don’t know what’s in another person’s heart or mind. We’re not Judge Judy and since we’re not, it’s not our place to pass judgment on a situation that does not involve us. The only proper reply to give, when someone tries to drag you into an ongoing battle by asking your opinion is and, I’ve listed three:

1. “I don’t know what to say.”

2. “I don’t want to give an opinion or advice until I hear both sides of the story and, it’s been presented to the United Nations delegation.”

3. “I don’t know what to say.”

Advice

I’ve learned over my many lives (Yes, I feel that I’ve been here before in the role of teacher. And, I don’t care if you believe me because I’m not into drama) that the only people who will actually listen to your advice are people under the age of seven. After a person passes the age of seven, unless they’re grandchildren with whom you have a close relationship with, they basically don’t want your advice.
                                                           

Now, if someone asks for your advice, you can hold up a poster board detailing a list of do’s and don’ts which I’m pretty sure would go over like a lead balloon, or...you can tell the person asking for advice what you did when faced with a similar problem and, what the end results of your decision were. Then you keep quiet.

Survival Tips

We all have that one family member or friend that suffers from Royalty Syndrome. Princess Lena wants to know why the other subjects in her kingdom are keeping secrets from her, or Prince Froggy wants to know why he’s not invited to the pond for a fun night of beer and football games with the other frogs. They call you up and moan on and on about how they’re not understood or loved by all, but while they prattle on, your blood pressure is rising and you’re now feeling depressed. Negativity drains your power.
                                                             

The World will not end if you can’t solve another person’s social ills. You can listen to your friend or family and be compassionate about their woes, but do not engage in their dramas: no advice; no gossip, and definitely, no interventions! We can’t save everyone.

When friends or family, over the age of seven, are fighting, you need to stay neutral and, this means in your words and your actions. I know nothing, I see nothing, I hear nothing.
                                    

Don’t take sides and don’t be manipulated because there are emotional vampires who feed on drama. They might not even be aware they are causing havoc in their circle of friends and family, but they are.

Learn to step back. It is not your battle. It’s not about you. Let the drama die a quiet death.

 

Smudging and Why We Do It

                                                        

                                                              

The first time I heard about smudging was when I worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. I was the manager of the Changing Exhibit Hall at the time and we were featuring the Lewis and Clark: Across the Divide traveling exhibit in our exhibit hall. This exhibit told the story from the point of the Native tribes that Lewis and Clark met and, many times, depended on when they were commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to go on this tour of discovery.

Out of all the exhibits that I took part in as manager of the exhibit, The Lewis and Clark Exhibit was my favorite.  While I was working in this special exhibit many representatives from the Plains Tribes visited and I learned so very much from them.

Smudging is a powerful cleansing technique of the Native American people, but the burning of herbs for emotional and spiritual cleansing was also practiced among many religions. It’s funny that it took me so long to connect that the Catholic priests using burning incense to cleanse the church during special holidays, was no different than what we do with smudging. While the church uses Frankincense and myrrh to chase away demons, the most common herbs used for smudging are Sage and sweetgrass.

Intentions

Everything has an energy field around it, including us. When we pick up negative energy that can cause us to become ill in spirit, mind and body, smudging helps to displace this unwanted negativity and restore our aura to a pristine boundary around us. Smudging can be used to cleanse people, places, and objects.
                                                        

Set your intentions before you begin to smudge. Smudging is an ancient sacred ceremony which should be done with the proper mindset and protection. Smudging is using the power of the sacred plants to restore balance. You must believe in the ceremony and its results. Sage drives away negative energies while sweetgrass attracts positive energy.

Smudging

Using a clay pot, shell or flat rock, light the dry herbs with a match and allow it to burn for a few moments. Using a large feather (I use a hawk’s feather and a large seashell) fan the flames out. It is the smoke that we will use.
                                                               

You might want to open windows to allow the negativity to depart. While you smudge, you walk around each room in a clockwise fashion, fanning the smoke into all the corners While do the smudging of the room, you should be praying for our Creator to keep you safe as you send the negativity towards the heavens where they will be consumed and turned into positive energy.
                                                             

When smudging a person, you want to follow the course of the Chakra. We are attempting to draw universal light into the body. Locate the point of origin of a person’s aura field. Each person is different. You need to feel their energy field. Fan the burning herbs towards each chakra, back and front of the body and from head to toe.
                                                             

Benefits

When we remember that all life is connected throughout the Universe, when we remember that we are part of nature; not above it, when we realize that there are negative entities; human and demonic, when we remember to hold tightly to the LIGHT, then and only then will we become enlightened and cleansed. I’ve included a site that sells Native American Smudging Supplies: http://www.horsekeeping.com/smudging/smudge-kits/smudge-kits.htm

and the site for the Lewis and Clark Exploration: Across the Divide: http://www.mohistory.org/node/223
 

Protecting Your Aura

                                                        

 

I spoke about psychic and emotional vampires in an earlier blog called Negative Energy. On this post, I want to give some examples on how you can protect your aura/soul  from negative energy. Our souls reside in the vehicle we call a body. The body and soul work on a symbiotic principle. Both must be functioning perfectly for you to achieve a state of wellbeing.

If you don’t keep your body healthy, it will eventually affect the spiritual part of you and, the soul and mind must be kept in the proper frequency or the body suffers. Mind over matter is not some old fable, but the natural order of creation.
                                                      

How we feel about ourselves and others sets the groundwork on how we deal with people on a day to day journey through this life. If we’re unable to love ourselves, how can we even attempt to love another being? We can’t. It is impossible to give to others what we are unable to give to ourselves. Emotional Vampires know this and they seek out the people who are in this category because they are easier to isolate and control.

Emotional Vampires drain your energy. They exhaust you because they come from a dark place. One example of an emotional vampire is the narcissist. You would be surprised to learn how many of these self-serving people exist. They are able to disguise themselves in order to present to the public an illusion of a caring person. They will never take blame for their actions, but instead, lay the blame on others. They will build you up, only to tear you down in public and then act surprised that you’re upset. The very fact that you’re angry makes them stronger. And, Heaven help the sensitive or empath that must deal with the narcissist. They have a tiger by the tail, but it is not hopeless.

 

To break away from an emotional abuser, you must realize that you have worth. You had worth from the moment GOD spoke your name. No one can take this from you. The outer shell, the body is only a vehicle. Race, religion, financial status, origin of birth, education, none of this concerns the soul. The soul is free. It is pure energy that was created with love. The soul can only be weakened by hating others or by evil deeds that you commit, or by allowing another to make you feel worthless.

To regain your power, the power given to you, you must walk away from the emotional abuser. It will be hard to do. You will need help from people who see you as the beautiful person that you are. In the end, you have the power to claim your worth back. You’ve always had the power. You were given that power when HE spoke your name.

Negative Energy

                                                            

Negative energy can come from the living and the dead. Over my lifetime, I’ve met my share of narcissistic and sociopathic personalities. So have you, but you may not have known what you were dealing with. I call these people “Emotional Vampires” because they are capable of sucking the very life from you. Emotional Vampires can be found in all kinds of habitats; work, home and even at church.
                                                                  

They don’t survive on blood, nope. If they were simply blood suckers, we would only need a sharp, pointed stake and holy water to rid ourselves of them. Emotional Vampires come in many guises: spouses, friends, bosses and sadly even our children.

How to know if you’re dealing with an Emotional Vampire

1.    You feel the need to protect your personal space.

2.    You feel emotionally and physically drained just spending a small amount of time with this person.

3.    Your happy mood changed to anxious and depressed after spending time with this person.

4.    You begin doubting yourself as worthwhile after being in the presence of this vampire.

We all know someone like this. If it’s someone that we only see occasionally, we can protect ourselves by limiting time spent with this beastie, but what if we can’t escape? What if they live with us? You need to know how to protect yourself.

Types of Emotional Vampires

Hell, yeah! Emotional Vampires can fit into several categories:

Narcissist: Me, me, me. It’s all about me. These vampires lack empathy and emotional growth and if you don’t or can’t do things their way, they become cold, distant and punishing. I bet you’re wondering how to handle this Ass wipe.

You can smack the shit out of them, but that might get you in trouble with the law. You need to remember to keep your expectations realistic. They will never change, so you need to change how you deal with them. Picture yourself in a room with a rattlesnake. If you don’t enter the snake’s territory, it doesn’t feel threatened and won’t strike. Talk to these people like you would to the snake. Tell them nothing that they can use against you. Never make your self-worth dependent on them. You have to trick them into doing something for you by letting them think it will benefit them. While the snake is valuable because it eats rodents that carry diseases, there is nothing valuable about a narcissist.
                                                           

The Victim: The world is always against them. It’s never their fault. When you offer a solution to their sorry lives, they come up with thousands of reasons why they would still be the victim. With this vampire, you need to set limits. Listen briefly, then say, “Unless you are willing to change, there is nothing I can do,” then change the subject or walk away...quickly.

The Controller: It’s my way or the highway! We’ve all met this control freak. Nothing you do is right, if you don’t do it their way. They will pick at your self-worth until you are unable to trust your decisions. I put this vampire on the same level as the narcissist, but more dangerous. Be assertive, be confident. Tell them, “Thank you for your advice, but I have this.” Stick to your guns.

                                                          

The Splitter: This is the ‘Dracula’ of emotional vampires. They are paranoid and may possibly suffer from borderline personality disorders. My siblings and I dealt with this type of personality when dealing with our mother. They try to pit people against each other and will attack if you don’t agree with them. My mother didn’t know she was sick. We didn’t know either as children, but as adults we began to see the signs. How do you protect yourself from this vampire? Don’t let them push your buttons. Don’t take sides. Walk away when their anger rears its ugly head.

I saved the least known emotional vampire for last. There are spirits out there, living in the space between life and death, that can attach themselves to you. These ghosts can literally drain the joy from your very core.

                                                             

Psychic Vampire: Another name for this creature is ‘Energy Vampire’.  When I go on ghost investigations, I make sure to surround myself with spiritual armor. Being an Empath opens me to feeling the emotions of the living and the dead. For the most part, this is helpful in understanding the spirit world and, for knowing when my friends need a hug or an encouraging word. I use my protective armor when I also do spiritual readings for people, but I also make sure to say a prayer after each reading and to cut the cord between the people that I did the reading for. Sometimes, I encounter an energy vampire that I’m not aware of it. This happened recently when I was at a large convention. This past week, I wasn’t myself. I felt drained, angry and unsettled. Where did this come from? Then I remembered.

I had met a psychic at a recent convention who happened to mention that he had many spirits living in his home. Some of those spirits were harmful. I thought I’d sensed a spirit with this man, but I wasn’t sure. I said my prayers, but maybe I hadn’t realized how persistent this spirit was. Now that I’ve identified the cause of my stress, I’ve sent the spirit away with prayers and good intentions to protect me and my home.

                                                          

 Conclusion

Sometimes, we can limit our encounters with people who go out of their way to make our lives miserable. Sometimes, we can’t; they’re family. You can survive these people if you know how to use their tricks against them. Think of this survival mode as mental Aikido or spiritual Kung Fu. It took me a long time to understand the emotional vampire and to avoid them. Be strong and know that you can overcome negativity.