A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING

A New Awareness

As 2016 begins, we face many more challenges as spiritual beings. Our awakening can at time be tumultuous and disheartening and yet it can also be a time of wonder, joy and grace. The energy shifts will still cause some angst and some upsets. Emotions will run from one extreme to the other and yet in between will be times that will bring our spirits the respite and rest that is needed for each new shift. As we embrace the new understandings of ourselves and our world we will continue to grow and support each other.

Healer's Guilt

We talked once about guilt and yet with events that have unfolded another form of guilt has come to mind. It is a guilt that is a little different from other guilts. This is a guilt that runs deeper and through the spirit of all healer's, sensitives and empaths. It has been easy to help others how to deal with guilt, to see the changes needed, and the potential paths that are open. Yet dealing with an injured and now ill elderly parent has brought to light a guilt that runs deeper and tugs harder at the healer's spirit within.

As a bit of background - my mother is a feisty 5 foot, 91-year young woman who still thought she was far younger. A woman who looks in the mirror and wonders where the wrinkles came from. Unfortunately, just before Thanksgiving she fell down the stairs at home and fractured a vertebrae in her neck. Unsure if she would survive we all went to the hospital day after day. We went through her bouts of delirium, pain, frustration and disillusionment even with our own health issues worsening. With doctors sedating her, her weight and ability to move became restricted. Being told that she wouldn't see Christmas the decision to move her to palliative care was made but she wasn't ready and isn't ready to leave this life. Between hospital care and now continuing care, the need to step back and allow those caregivers to do their work brings into focus how deeply and ingrained the healer's guilt can be. The point of letting go and letting others care for that family member adds to the guilt that the healer is already experiencing. It's easy to say don't go all the time. It's easy to say take time for yourself. Doing that ... is a whole other matter unto itself and for healers it is an act that goes against every grain and fibre of their spirit.

Healer's guilt consists of a deep, driving need to be involved in all steps of a loved ones healing and care. Sometimes this is to the dismay of those who have the job of caring for them. It is a true inability to let others have care over that loved one. We will worry when no one is with them that they are being neglected and are in some danger. When we are present with those loved ones and those caregivers are not around or don't seem to notice or care or have seemingly neglected another patient, the fear that due care isn't being given can send a healer into an emotional meltdown. Unfortunately it is a meltdown that won't look like a meltdown. It instead becomes an all consuming need to be there, to be observant, to be more than their spokesperson. It basically become a new mission but it is a mission that carries with it a heavy burden that most bodies and spirits are ill equipped to deal with. It interferes with the progress of the person healing and will continue to take a toll on the healer and their journey.

As a healer, one point that always seemed to be stressed was that we never healed or opened our spiritual light fully to our families. In its encompassing state we know that these healings are not always successful and the reason is that we have far more difficulty separating our need to heal others and the emotional connections do more to muddy already uncertain waters. Even those who are spiritual masters feel the need to stay apart from the path choices their loved ones make and the illnesses that are encountered. No matter how logically or idealistically that this kind of situation can be dealt with by healers, there will always be an undercurrent that will interfere with the healing that is available. This is also the reason that many healers have difficulty or are unable to deal with and treat their own illnesses. The emotional undercurrent in any healing art will eventually take its toll on all involved.

The separation of our emotional attachments with living breathing beings is also seems contrary to our spiritual calling. We are left to struggle to understand the strange and powerful eddies of emotion that run through our family connections. Healers and sympathetics without strong family connections can find themselves caught up in this type of healer's guilt when they start to transfer the emotional attachment to those they are treating. Finding a new patient that has similar traits, appearance or age of the missing family member connection can create a sense of family and again the healer is prone to the guilt.

So as healers, sympathetics and empaths what are we to do. It is important that we acknowledge our limitations, both physically and spiritually, especially where family and loved ones are involved. We need to learn to set strict boundaries within our own spirits as to the flow of our energy. If this means that we close down the sensations and channels while visiting we do so. If you find that you leave such places or people drained and in pain then we need to re-examine our emotions and deal with the frustrations and connections differently. Unfortunately there isn't a simple easy answer for any healer that experiences this guilt. It is only through trial and error and loving continuance that we eventually find our way out of the guilt and into balance once again. Most healers do find balance and many more carry the scars of past healing guilt but it is still the path that lies ahead and one that once we've begun we are unable and unwilling to leave.

I bid you peace as you grow within your spiritual healing path. Blessings.

CRYSTALS

Obsidian (Revisited)

Obsidian is very common crystal that has a long history of use. Obsidian is widely available and can come from any of the earth's volcanic regions. Obsidian is a volcanic rock that was rapidly cooled before crystallization could occur. Most obsidian is easily recognized by its opaque, glass-like texture. The most prevalent colour is black however other colours are sometimes available; brown, blue, green and red-black. During the Stone Age obsidian was used to create weapons and blades and at other times it has been used in magical and divination rituals. Obsidian is a master healing stone. Obsidian was used as a mirror stone and there is no way to hide your truth when using this master stone. Using Obsidian in any spiritual work can bring about quick changes.

As a tool for physical healing, Obsidian helps reduce pain and is very beneficial for arthritis, joint-pain and other injuries. It can also aid in releasing pent-up frustrations and energy. Obsidian is very useful for granting insight into the root causes of illnesses and dis-eases. Obsidian can aid in digestion and in dissolving blockages and tension within the circulatory systems. Obsidian supports the body's circulatory system and will help those who experience cold hands and feet. Obsidian has also been used to staunch the flow of blood from injuries and has shown some success in shrinking prostates.

Spiritually, Obsidian is beneficial in dealing with long held trauma that has been buried in memories. These traumas would best be handled in a professional forum as Obsidian can release the traumatic emotions quickly and violently. It's nature is that of a volcano and once the long held trauma is released it can be shocking and unpleasant but also cathartic. Obsidian is a very protective stone that can form a shield of protection from any negativity. Obsidian is a grounding stone for the base chakra and holds a deep connection to the centre of the earth. Obsidian will absorb negativity from all environments while strengthening its own protective energies. Sensitives and empaths will find Obsidian very beneficial for it's protection and its ability to block psychic and negative spiritual influences. Larger pieces of Obsidian can also aid in cleansing environmental pollution and stress. Obsidian also promotes and broadens the feelings of compassion, strength, and mental clarity.

Obsidian should be cleansed monthly under warm running water. Allow Obsidian to rest in full sunlight until dry to recharge.

Black Obsidian

Thoughts for April & May

Winter has finally left our thoughts if not our regions. The desire to get moving and be out in the sun and garden calls to a desire we've hidden from. It is the earth and the universe that seek to have our presence and become a unified force, to cultivate our gardens and our dreams. While we know that not every plant or every dream will come to fruition at this time we have the opportunity to start many small seeds of possibility. We have the time and desire to try new things and new ways of accomplishing our goals. Spring allows us the ability to start many and cull those that don't seem to have as much merit at this time. It allows us to play with our concepts of must, should, and have to until we come to our understanding of these forces in our daily lives and how best to use them. We move into a time of small, quick actions that will lay the ground work to this year's potentials and how our souls love the idea to bring us into our nurturing energies.

MONTHLY MEDITATION

"Solitude"

"Today I seek to be alone, alone within my thoughts.

The urgency of self is calling and I realize how much I haven't done.

Yet there is no need to rush, I simply needed to be alone with me.

I am in need the tenderness of thought and compassion that I show to others.

I am in need of the light within my soul that has been hidden.

I am in need of the joys of simply being alive and one with myself.

Even in a sea of people I can find this safe haven of solitude.

It is within and my need is met."

April 2016