Bathing Ritual to Renew Your Spirit

I just came across this charming post at the simple-living blog "Down To Earth" which encouraged its readers to share a photograph and to explain a bit about it.

The one that I chose was this picture, which I'd recently taken and had been meaning to add to my blog for some time now.  This past year, I had recently discovered how wonderful it was to take a long, luxurious soak in the tub.  One of the awesomest things about taking a big ole' bath is that anyone can do it.  Doesn't matter if you're old, young, rich, or poor -- if you have access to a tub and some water, you can make it an amazingly sensual experience no matter what other accoutrements you choose to add.

There's a joke that goes something like, "You know you're ghetto when you break out your best dish detergent when it's time to take a bubble bath," but really, who cares?  It makes no difference if you bathe with a 3-for-99-cents bar of soap from the dollar tree or a pot of $140 Russian Amber shampoo by Philip B., you can make your tub time truly luxurious with only a few little additions.

I like to add a few candles on the edge of my tub; they need not be expensive (and if you can make your own candles out of leftovers and an old spaghetti jar, so much the better!) but they certainly can lend an air of tranquil pleasure to your bath.  You can even find an artificial candlelight generator app on your Android phone (if you're so blessed), which I've done more than once.  The one I have (which I downloaded for free) even gives you customizable flame colors -- purple flame, anyone?

And bubbles are nice, but not always necessary -- by the way, I recall a few times where my own mother broke out the Ivory or the Palmolive dish liquid when, as a child, I craved bubbles in my bath.  If it's not going to harm your skin, who really cares?  No shame in being creative.  These days, I save my pennies for the luxury of something special from the Lush store when I can get it (and use it carefully).  But even bubbles from your dollar store or local pharmacy will do the trick wonderfully.

You can also add specific herbs and items to your bath to cleanse your soul and enhance positivity.  A bit of rose oil or dropping in rose petals for love, some sea salt to purify your energy levels, lavender to relax, rosemary to energize, or a sachet of fresh or dried basil to attract prosperity and positivity... these can all replenish your spiritual energy and give you a whole new lease on life!

Some folks choose to do their entire beauty regimens in the bath -- shaving legs, deep conditioning hair, even wearing a facial masque while splashing away in the tub.  And some people bring a cocktail (or in my case, a nice cold can of soda) into the tub, sipping their cares away.  Or, you can just relax and allow your tension to melt away, enjoying the sights, sounds, and scents of your spiritual bathing experience.  The bottom line is that your bathtime rituals can be fully customizable and specifically tailored to your needs and wants.

So grab your rubber ducky, and your favorite towel, and enjoy!

Hooverphonic: Mad About You (Lyrics & More)

I love this song by Belgian pop group Hooverphonic.  It is really meaningful to me, because it so hauntingly and accurately describes the nature of toxic relationships, codependency, and addiction issues.  People can indeed become addicted to drama, and feed off of one another's unhealthy energies.  Sometimes, the feeling of being in love with someone that you know is bad for you -- feeling out of control because you want someone so bad -- can be exhilarating even while poisonous at the same time.





And here are the lyrics:
feel the vibe, feel the terror, feel the pain
it's driving me insane
i can't fake
for god sakes why am i
driving in the wrong lane

trouble is my middle name
but in the end i'm not too bad
can someone tell me if it's wrong to be so mad about you

mad about you
mad

are you the fishy wine that will give me
a headache in the morning
or just a dark blue land mine
that'll explode without a decent warning

give me all your true hate
and i'll translate it in our bed
into never seen passion, never seen passion
that is why i am so mad about you

mad about you
mad about you
mad

trouble is your middle name
but in the end you're not too bad
can someone tell me if it's wrong to be

so mad about you
mad about you
mad

give me all your true hate
and i'll translate it in your bed
into never seen passion
that is why i am so mad about you

mad about you

Pic by Ph.Viny and shared with Creative Commons license. :)

Prayer to St. Theresa

This particular entry is actually a chain letter that's been going around; you don't have to use it as a chain letter, though.  It's provided here just to give you a bit of background on this interesting saint.  I may do a bit more research on St. Theresa and add more information to a later entry.  :)



Saint Theresa is known as the Saint of the Little Ways. Meaning she believed in doing the little things in life well and with great love. She is also the patron Saint of flower growers and florists. She is represented by roses. May everyone be blessed who receives this message.  Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of reward.




May today there be peace within.
May you trust your highest power that you are exactly
where you are meant to be.....
May you not forget the infinite possibilities
that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and
pass on the love that has been given to you....
May you be content knowing you are a child of God....
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow
your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is
there for each and every one of you....


Picture credit: Price Photography.  Thanks, my friends, it's lovely! :)

How to Become More Psychic

Have you ever experienced occasions where something happened that seemed coincidental, yet you had a funny feeling that there might have been more to it than that? Perhaps your intuition was speaking to you... it’s possible that those feelings were the kernels of your own psychic potential, ready to be planted.

A person’s extrasensory powers are quite like the pieces of a puzzle. If you focus your attention on the puzzle as a whole, you can see the big picture every easily and clearly. However, if you zoom in, and focus only on a few pieces at a time, you will notice smaller details which may have escaped your attention before. This is very much the same way that your psychic ability can be cultivated; when you zoom in and take a look at the details on each small piece of any given puzzle, you will be picking up more information and insight from inside yourself as well.

There are also ways to cultivate use of your sixth sense in natural, healthy ways. The first way is to take the time to absorb the aspects of your other senses. Be sure to experience each and every part of the world around you -- what you see, hear, feel, smell, taste, and touch. If a feeling or image comes to your mind as you do this, be accepting of it,. Allow yourself to become immersed in these impressions. Try to focus on each image or feeling that comes to you; explore how these make you feel or what else they make you think about.

Another great way to enhance your psychic abilities is to take everyday activities, and learn how to do them in new and different ways. Try to concentrate less on completing those everyday goals, and more on flexing your mental muscles by doing those activities through unfamiliar or challenging new methods. Try something unusual and different -- this will stimulate your mind and allow you to use parts of it which may not be used to functioning in this way. It’s great mental exercise which can help your overall well-being as well as aid in the expansion of your extrasensory horizons.

And finally, another way to get those psychic juices flowing is to keep learning and be creative. Introduce yourself not just to new ways of doing your usual activities, but also experiencing new things in general. Theta waves, the brain waves that measure creativity and spirituality, can flow more prolifically when new and different scenarios are experienced. In order to harness the power of your theta waves, make it your business to absorb as much new information as you can. You’ll experience more creativity and clarity as well -- these things in and of themselves can skyrocket your psychic potential.

Remember that your brain is a muscle, and like all part of your body, needs exercise to function at its best. Here are a few more ideas to help you flex those mental muscles.

1. Meet new people. Talk to all sorts of new people, even if you believe that you may have nothing in common with them. Chances are that you’ll learn something interesting.

2. Travel. Feast your eyes on some new and unusual sights that you’ve never experienced.

3. Stimulate your palate with food that you’ve never tried before. A novel and exotic experience can be had on a plate right in front of you.

4. Listen to your instincts. Try to rise to the small challenges in life by way of your intuition or hunches. Trust yourself. You may just be right!

5. Chart a new course. Instead of going to work, school, or your favorite shopping area the same old way, try finding a new direction. Mixing up your routine will be freeing and creatively fruitful.

The development of your psychic abilities can be as natural as learning any new habits for your health. Just as the health of your physical body is important, so is the health of your mind. Each of these give you the skills to reach your highest capabilities, to forge ahead and to reach the fullest potential of your life. Cultivate your extrasensory abilities slowly and carefully, by just allowing yourself to experience each moment naturally through all of your senses. In this way, you will also gradually harness the power of that sixth sense as well.

More Rituals to Keep Negative Energy at Bay

In times of stress or grief, we are all particularly susceptible to negative energy.  Here are a few ideas to help yourself manifest some forms of psychic protection.  Try adding one (or more) of these to your favorite meditation rituals; they can help you "lock in" positivity and enable you to protect yourself from negative energy.

These were emailed to me from a friend

Meditation:  Force Field of Light

Step One.  Stand (or sit up) as straight and tall as you can possibly manage.  Keep your arms down comfortably at your sides.  Take deep, slow, cleansing breaths.

Step Two.  Mentally scan your body for all tense or uncomfortable points, and release the tension in those parts.  Make sure that every part of you feels relaxed and comfortable.

Step Three.  Imagine that your body is surrounded by light.  Visualize your body being outlined by a bright, shimmering blue or white light.  The light is a strong barrier between you and any negativity that comes near you.

4. Continue to maintain this image and visualize a globe of brilliant white light above (but not touching) your head. The globe is inside of your bright blue aura.

5. Concentrate on this bright white globe so that it becomes brighter, glowing white like burning magnesium.

6. Keep both images of the bright blue aura and the brilliant white globe and mentally aspire to the highest standards of morality, good, and love that you can.

7. Next, feel the white globe showering you with glittering white light filled with silver sparkles. This white light should permeate your entire being, coursing vibrantly through you.

8. The outer shell of your aura should be an intense bright blue filled with the vibrant, sparkling white light. Concentrate on this complete image as long as you can, fully believing in its reality. Feel your outer auric shell as a hard, sharply defined blue as you feel blissful and alert.

9. As you close, let the image fade slowly while believing that it is not fading from reality.




Chakra Spin Protection




This powerful technique unites the chakras to create a shield fully embedded with all aspect of your will and energy. Begin by visualizing performing the Psychic Center Visualization as detailed in the Energy Techniques document. A quick rehash: Charge the crown chakra, and draw a line down to the 3rd eye chakra. Charge the 3rd eye before drawing a line to the throat. Charge and continue to the heart, charge this chakra and draw a line of white light to the solar plexus chakra. After charging the solar plexus you move to the sex chakra, charge it and then onto the root chakra. As mentioned before, this is an adaptation of the traditional chakra system to have a center between the two feet so draw one more line to the ground center and charge this area. Create two lines of light from this center that swoop to each side of you in an upward curve before connecting with the crown chakra above your head. Begin cycling your energy through the lines through breathing.

Instead of stopping at this point continue cycling but move your focus to the curved lines at your side. We want to move these two line simultaneously clockwise so that they being to spin around the body. Let them put of energy as they continue to move faster and faster until their light forms a solid wall of energy that surrounds you. Spin this wall of energy around you for a few moments. When you feel ready, let the image of the chakras fade from your mind, and let the spinning motion end, but hold onto the image of all the energy the chakras surrounded you with.




Burning Flame




The Burning Flame is best used in situations that may be dangerous or that you require a great amount of protection over a short period of time. If you are entering a place/meeting/situation with a terrible amount of negativity you can perform this technique. Some people visualize their shields as a fire surrounding them at all times which is fine, although the method presented here is geared toward an emergency situation or on a temporary basis since it uses high amounts of energy.

Stand perfectly upright with your legs together and your arms flat against your side. Go deep inside yourself to the center of your being. Approach all of this with a confident intensity, your mind focused on your need for protection. Find your center and know that in your center is an intense source of energy, the very energy that all your magical abilities come from. With your consciousness in this core of your being, create an eruption of energy within yourself. Like a volcano building up pressure, cause your energy to rise and expand from your center out. As the energy reaches the outside of your body have it burst into a blue flame that surrounds your body. The curved base of the flame should be at your feet and the tip of the flame above your head. The intense energy flame will burn any outside vibrations before they can reach you. This flame won't harm you physically since it's a spiritual flame, but it will stop any other spirit or energy from touching you. Once the flames surround you, try to keep part of your mind focused on it as you proceed through the situation you felt required extra protection. Imagine more energy fanning the flames stronger and higher as you exhale.

As with any of these techniques, practicing first in a safe place is highly recommended




Mummy Technique




The visualizing of specific shapes forming around your body piece by piece adds focus and resolve to your protection magic, and this is the basis of the mummy technique. Begin by creating the image of a ball of white light glowing just above your head, where the crown chakra or higher-self psychic center is located. Focus on the energy here, increasing its intensity as you focus on it. Visualize white light sweeping down from this powerful sphere in the shape of a wide ribbon that begins to wrap around your head. You may want to leave some space between the energy ribbons and your physical body, perhaps 3-4 inches. Have the ribbon continue to wrap around your head, overlapping itself and creating a solid sheet that surrounds your head in protective energy. Don't stop at the head though. Let the ribbon continue to spin around your shoulders, torso, hips, legs all the way down to the feet, making sure to cover every spot so that you are entirely and safely wrapped. When you work your way down to your feet have it wrap underneath them completing the blanket surrounding you. When you are completely wrapped, hold the image of what you just did in your mind for a few moments before opening your eyes. This exercise is a great way to improve your skills with energy manipulation while benefiting yourself.




Bubble Technique




The most basic technique for protecting oneself magically is to simply imagine yourself inside a ball of white light that turns away any energy before it can touch you. When you visualize this ball of light around you, you want to make sure it appears opaque and solid in your minds eye. This bubble should probably extend about a foot above your head, and at least 6 inches below your feet. It doesn't have to be a perfect sphere; just make it fit around your body in whatever shape seems most comfortable or appropriate. You want to enforce the energy in the areas above and below you to be just as strong as the area in front and behind you. Rest assured that even after you come out of your concentrated state, this bubble will move with you without problem. Any vibrations that touch it will simply pass over and around your shield like the wind moving over your car. In the rare circumstance that your shield comes up against someone else's, it will bend to compensate, but not break. Much like two balloons pressing together. You need to hold the image of an impenetrable force field in your mind for at least a good solid minute or two, before returning to your everyday life.