Our Journey with Self-Sustainable Living

It all started a few years ago when my husband took up hiking (up mountains) as a sport. It gradually turned into an even bigger interest of how to do things "naturally" in the wood like in the old days. Now, this type of information has always appealed to me. One of my favorite books as a child was Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen and that was followed by Brian's Winter. Even as a child, any book that revolved around living in the wild got me completely absorbed in it's story, I loved them!

Through our research of self-sustainability, it led us to learn more about the environment, society and food in general. I was more focused on the environment  food, healthy eating, and natural healing  as it all tied in together. Well, truth be told, the self-sustainable living also has an extremely strong foothold in all of this as well.

We lived the typical life in the city at the time and never had any money. Everything went to bills and constantly working, there was never any living and we were tired of it. We were tired of feeling like puppets for the government and society, we wanted to live OUR way.

After about a year and a half of researching, we decided that we were going to go off-grid. We didn't have a set plan of how we were going to do this, but darnit, we WERE going to do it. First thing we did was move out of our house. We bought an RV and this year we bought our 16 acres of land in MO. From the point we fully decided we were going to do this, it took us one year to find land, buy it and move on it. Not even a solid plan of how we were going to get to where we wanted, but we just believed it was going to happen, and it is!

This next year will be spent on building an eco-home. There are so many options from earthship, to earthbag, cinderblock, cob, haybale, cordwood and many more...

Eco home, solar panels, rain catching, donkeys, chickens, goats, garden, green house - oh my, I can't wait!

~*Spirit*~

Tis the season to be jolly!

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~*Earth*~ offers natural soaps and lotions as well as some beautifully made wood signs.

~*Fire*~ offers bath salts, pendulum readings and spiritual card readings.

~*Water*~ offers oracle readings and some humorous vinyl decals.

~*Spirit*~ offers an oracle reading and dream interpretations.

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Lots of varieties for all the needs of your friends and family this holiday season. We hope the rest of your 2012 is BLESSED!

~*Spirit*~

Poseidon, God of the Sea

Poseidon, also known as Neptune, is God of the ocean and is also known for his hand in earthquakes.

Zeus, Hades, Demeter, Hestia, and Hera are siblings to Poseidon.

Symbols for Poseidon are, the trident, dolphins, horses, and bulls.

According to Plato, Atlantis is Poseidon's chosen stomping ground.

After the defeat of Cronus, the three brothers, Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon divided up the seas, sky, and underworld, and all three rules the Earth and Olympus.

There are many who believe that Poseidon, and other brothers and sisters were swallowed by Cronus and that Zeus saved them. Others believe that Rhea tricked Cronus into believe she's given birth to a colt to save Poseidon, and hid him.

Legend has it that Poseidon was married to Amphitrite. Yet, was quite busy lusting after others including mortal women and having children with them also. A few of the more popular children of Poseidon are Atlas (one of the first rulers of Atlantis), and Theseus.

If choosing Poseidon as your Patron God, just remember, he can be tricky. Be patient and listen, or you might get serious emotional tidal waves! I would suggest having things that are oceanic in nature, like salt water, shells, etc. Poseidon is an amazing one to work with, and having a connection to the ocean, he is one of my all time favorites! :)

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Aconite, Wolfsbane & Monkshood

Aconite's are perennials and grow to about 4ft tall on average. The colors vary, depending on the species of Aconitum, however the most common are yellow, blue and purple.

All members of the genus Aconitum are poisonous, as are all parts of the plant, including the sap. Wear gloves when handling and wash hands afterwards. It should never be grown around children or pets.

Lore

This is the plant that was used by witches as their "flying ointment" as it causes hallucinations. Arrow tips were dipped in this so they became poisonous. Most notably, said to protect from werewolves, hence, where the term Wolfsbane was derived.

Spiritual Correspondences

Gender: Feminine

Planet: Saturn

Sign: Capricorn

Element: Water

Deities: Hekate, Medea

Uses: Cleansing ritual space, cleansing away negativity, invoking Hekate

Medicinal Correspondences

Lowers the rate and strength of pulse, used for pneumonia, feverish colds, croup, and heart conditions.

Also used for rheumatism and arthritis as well as many others. A common herb used in homeopathic preparations and Chinese medicine.

CAUTION: Poisonous Herb

Aconitum vulparia; Wolfsbane

photo courtesy of: http://srucha.sweb.cz/foto.htm

Aconitum napellus; Monkshood/Aconite

photo courtesy of: http://www.outsidepride.com/seed/flower-seed/aconitum-napellus.html

Aconitum anthora; Yellow Monkshood

photo courtesy of: http://www.plant-world-seeds.com/store/view_seed_item/2808?actionName=view_flowers&itemname=ACONITUM+ANTHORA+

Blessings,

~*Spirit*~

Past Lives, Reincarnation, and Past Lives Regressions

I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in a workshop hosted by a local metaphysical shop and given by Bobby Sullivan.  My dear husband (DH from here on out for the purpose of this blog) tagged along since past lives and reincarnation isn't something he had heard about until he and I got together.

Walking into the workshop I was a bit leery because of my preconceived notions as to what was going to happen. Bobby opened with introductions and made me feel very comfortable. He started out with, while he had his own ideas as to things, we were welcome to share our own thoughts with him too. Admittedly, the following blog is based on notes I took and they're a bit scrambled since we jumped around a bit. So bear with me while I try to make this into a cohesive blog from notes!

Here are some of Bobby's thoughts:

• Souls are energy and can be here and the other side of the veil at the same time.
• Souls being energy, can have multiple present lives at the same time. 
• Souls can Astral Travel at night to change charts, soul contracts, and possibly make new exit points. (I'll go into charts and soul contracts in a bit.)
• Fears are the #1 way that past lives show up in present lives. 
• We run parallel lives of conscious and un-conscious at any time. 

Souls

Souls are energy, right? So if they're energy, who says they can't divide that energy into multiple places at the same time? Well, this is a theory I haven't ever heard or given thought to, but I am now!  If souls can divide energy, then they can have part here, part on the other side of the veil. Or, here's a mind-bender, souls can have part here in multiple present lives and still have part on the other side of the veil!  

Bobby explained it like this, what if you were you but part of your soul was also here as a firefighter in Denver? Or if another part was a 90-year-old lady in Japan? What a mind-bender that is, huh! I admit, when Bobby first started talking about it, I was floored and thought he was completely crazy! But the more I think about it, the more I'm believing that it could and does happen! 

Now, more than just the energy divided, we started talking about souls traveling to the other side of the veil (which I'm calling Astral Travel for the sake of arguments). We talked about how at night, during sleep cycles, our souls travel back to the other side of the veil to rework charts if need be and to negotiate soul contracts too. A very interesting concept!  

Charts and Soul Contracts

Now, since we can Astral Travel back to the other side of the veil to rework charts and soul contracts, I should explain a little more about both.  

Charts house the lessons, paths we're meant to be on, and significant life happenings throughout a soul's present life. There could be multiple charts for some souls if they have multiple present lives at once. Something that is major in these charts is exit points.  These points are put into our charts as an "out" should this get to be something we didn't bargain for.  Typically we place five to six of these throughout our present lives.  The first exit is more likely than not within the first year of life. Bobby also explained that when we exit our present life, we start working other charts for a new life.  

The question came up, "what about suicide?"  While he was not trying to down play suicide as it is something that can be prevented most of the time, he also believes that it is our one floating (free will) exit or "get out of jail free" card during a present life.  He also stressed that sometimes, suicide is a mean to rectify a chart that went horribly wrong. It could also be in a soul contract with another soul to help your soul or someone else's with a lesson in this life. Or it could be completely Karmic (i.e. in a past life you bullied someone to the point of suicide and in this life your soul's lesson is to know what that other soul went through) for one reason or another. And then again, it may be used as an exit point because the soul is in a repeating pattern that they can not get out of and "need to start over". Again, neither he nor I are making light of suicides.  If someone is suicidal and you know it, please get them the help they need! 

How Past Lives Show Up in Present Lives

Fears are the number one way that past lives rear their heads!  Think about it, have you ever had an irrational fear of crossing bridges, being in large bodies of water, choke if someone touches the back of your neck, or any number of things? Sometimes that can be attested to cell memory from a past life. If you have a fear that is inexplainable, try a past life regression to try remember that cell memory. It might help you get past that fear. 

Other ways past lives come out is in places, foods, and smells.  Ever look at some place like a ruined keep in Scotland and think, "I've been there, don't know when since I've never been to Scotland, but I've been there"? Or maybe you've liked East Indian food your whole life but don't know why since you were raised in Minot, North Dakota? Maybe you've smelled a fragrance that you KNOW you've never smelled before but recognize it anyways. Everything is linked to cell memories from past lives that we carry into present lives. Most times, with past life regressions, you can help those cell memories leave if you want them to, like the fears.  

Parallel Lives

Bobby had another interesting theory. We run parallel lives during a present life so that we can see how life would've been had we chosen the red pill over the blue one.  Well, you get the gist of that. It's real simple, we have opposite lives during present lives to see how it would change our life to choose one decision over the other.  We stop creating these parallel lives when we are making every choice in our life completely out of self love. We still have the ability to choose our lives, and choose our endings. 

My Thoughts and Experiences

Spending two plus hours with Bobby was incredible.  He gave me a lot to think about and I tend to agree with his take on past lives and reincarnation.  

I did have a question for him about my oldest son though when we were talking about soul dividing and being here but being on the other side as well.  I have always felt, and have been told by numerous Mediums and Intuitives that my Bubba has one foot here and one foot beyond the veil.  I've been told that it's going to be a chore for me to keep him in this world because he yearns to be on the other side so very badly.  

You see, this is it for him.  This is his soul's last go-round and it was supposed to be an easy life.  Well, it didn't end up that way for him.  He was born at 26 weeks gestation (14 weeks too early), was hospitalized for the first 15.5 weeks of his life, ended up having brain bleeds when he was days old causing him to have cerebral palsy in his right side, had an MRSA resistant staph infection that almost killed him, and has ADHD on top of it all. He never signed up for any of this in his charts or soul contracts.  This was NOT expected at all when he decided it was time for his last stand.  Now, even though he's here and he's a well adjusted 9-year-old, his soul still isn't completely happy to be here. I've always felt that it was going to be a struggle for me in this life to keep him grounded enough to stay here.  Who am I kidding? It has been a struggle and lesson for me since the day he was born.  He had at least three (yes, 3) exit points, that I know of, in the first 15 weeks of his life!  He tried to take the first one, we pulled him back and fought with him to stay here, but he fought through the next two himself. I now wonder when an exit point is going to show again because I know for a fact that I'm going to have to fight him on taking it! 

So, the question for Bobby was, "do you believe that someone can have one foot here and one foot beyond the veil in a present life as a child?"  His answer was yes, definitely! He explained that he's seeing more and more children like this.  They have a hard time maintaining their vibration here and beyond the veil because they are higher beings. He recommended that we work on maintaining vibrations and grounding with Bubba.  I did ask too if he was able to help us with that in learning how to help Bubba accomplish maintaining vibrations and grounding.  He was happy to offer his help, so we're looking into getting Bubba with Bobby for a few sessions. 

Once we were done with the workshop we took a quick 10 minute break to feed the parking meters and made a quick potty stop.  When we came back it was time to do the mini regressions. 

The first regression took a little bit of time since he needed to get us into the "trance" needed for regressions to happen.  My first regression took me back to the life I had in Tudor Era England.  I was the sister-in-law of Lady Jane Seymour. I could see the high fields of grains, I could feel the dress I wore around my legs and ankles, I could hear the sounds of the area. We progressed into a happy memory. I saw my marriage to my husband in that life and the children we had together.  When asked to progress to a regret in that life, I saw myself along with my Earth sister (who also had a life at that time) hovering over the bed of Queen Jane as she lay dying after the birth of Edward. With seeing this my heart sank.  Now asked to move to our death beds, I saw myself drink out of a chalice and felt like I couldn't breathe.  We (Earth, Water and I) have always thought that I was poisoned in that life and did not die of natural causes as the information about me would have you believe.  This just confirmed that idea.  

DH said that in his first past life regression, he had just visited his childhood. No more elaboration than that. 

My second regression was a life in Scotland as a man.  I came from a very humble home, one built basically of mud and a thatch roof. The happy time was at home with my small family, I don't think I was married though as it looked like it was just Mum, Da, a brother and me at a table.  The death bed scene was dying on the field of battle because I stood up for the cause that I believed in.  Looking down I saw what resembled a MacGregor tartan like the thatch of the one below.  This life deserves some more research for sure!  

The MacGregor Tartan curtsy of  The Scottish Register of Tartans

DH said that his second past life regression ended with him coming up out of a tunnel or root cellar next to a home that looked a lot like this grandparent's homestead. Thinking about it more, he concedes that it quite possible had been a Civil War life that he had visited. Because he doesn't know much about past lives and was just exploring that he could have missed some important keys as to what time he was entering. He does know that he was male in that life too. 

I really hope that you've enjoyed this blog this week!  This is something that I am very passionate about and I am enjoying exploring!  If you'd like to see Bobby's website click here! There is a bio on him there, and you can see the services he offers.  If you're around the Minneapolis/ St. Paul, Minnesota area and wish to explore some workshops, you can visit Eye of Horus' website  to see more workshops that Bobby and some of the others are going to be leading. 

As always, we would love to hear from you with any thoughts, ideas, or discussion about our blogs.  You can always visit us at our Facebook Page too!  

Have a blessed Tuesday evening!  ~*Fire*~

Dia De Los Muertos

The Day of the Dead, November 1, traditionally the day after Halloween. All Saint's Day, Catholicism  being November 2.

This is a day where, traditonally, in Mexico, there is a huge celebration to remember the dead. They have in the past set up private altars, with sugar skulls, favorite beverages and foods of the deceased, marigolds, and some possessions to honor their loved ones past.

Usually this is a three day process, in which the grave is cleaned, decorated and those honoring are saying prayers, telling stories, etc. The idea is that by doing this, the souls of those departed will hear the prayers of the living and come visit. The veil is the thinnest around this time, which makes visiting easier.

Oft times here in the States, usually further south in Arizona, or Texas, there are parades and participants usually dress up! Much like children do on Halloween. This is honorary, and many dress up as skeletons.

I hope you all have a wonderful celebration for your loved ones past! As well as I hope you have a great Samhain! I really fell more connected now with this than I did in the past. Life is ever changing and we can't always predict how something will affect us.


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~*Water*~