TRUST your Angel signs & symbols!

So what is it for you?
 Your sign, your symbol or type of message that you 'connect' with? 
I think every single person on this planet has something in this regard that pulls at their heartstrings and reminds them of a single moment or a time shared - a symbol that whenever you see it or feel it or hear it you are reminded to be in the present moment, to really BE in that moment and also to FEEL supported in time - a message that when heard or felt or seen is a gentle reminder that you are NOT doing this alone, you have help, you have support, you are being thought of at this moment and your hand is being held, an arm around your shoulder.
After you see, hear, feel this signal you feel surprised then an understanding comes over you and then gratitude and also sometimes, relief. I am not forgotten, I do have help, I am still connected.
This connective feeling might be a deep understanding of being led by your guides or by your Angels or maybe it is a signal that you feel a loved one has left for you to let you know that they are still with you in Spirit.
For me, it is dimes. I find dimes and lately over the past year or so I also find pennies. Actually, growing up I ALWAYS found pennies (and have the collection to prove it) but then around 5 years ago it switched to dimes and NOW when I see a dime I look around for the penny .... and it usually isn't too far, a few inches maybe a foot away  :) It makes me giggle and a sense of strength comes over me also as I do the 'inner wink' at my Angels. I also 'get the nod' when I see a rainbow, sun rays, lights flickering, certain flocks of birds (I think they are swallows) etcetcetc.

TRUST IN YOUR SIGNAL. If your intuition, gut feel, instinct is telling you that this is a message or a sign from a loved one/your Angels/your guides....know  KNOW  that this is indeed the case....and accept the gift as your CLEAR INDICATION that you are supported, loved and cared for on your Journey moment by moment.
Keep shining YOUR Angel Light brightly today :)

Stacey MacDonald is a Certified Angel Therapy Practitioner in Oakville  Ontario 

"Dismiss what insults your soul" - LOVE it!

I love this message of Walt Whitmans :) When I came across this jewel....I instantly started my standing ovation inside my head!!  (hear! hear! Bravo!!! and the like)
and OF COURSE this is SO true! Not to say that we are to DISMISS everything for sure. SO much of what we are told, shared with, discussed with, what we absorb through osmosis in the informational overload of 'stuff'  that surrounds us (if we let it) on any given day is so true and helps us along our Path exponentially.....and then there is 'the other stuff'....

There is 'stuff' that people say, infer, body language, describe, argue, defend, insult etcetcetc that absolutely stops us in our tracks.  period.
Other stuff is not so 'in your face' - the subtle 'stuff' that is either spoken or just happens  - that I call the 'side door slam'.  You are ticking along quite well through the day then come into contact with a person, persons, or situation that is interesting and a little 'different' and then you move on....you feel fine for the most part but some of the situation is 'sticking' to you, you are rerunning the conversation again and again on a loop in your head as you continue on your day (some of this is done subconsciously) until you realize with CLARITY....HEY! what this person(s) said/didn't say/inferred was very HURTFUL to me! and THAT'S why I am having problems moving past it!! (side door slam!! in action)
It's very difficult, if not impossible to move PAST hurtful situations until we acknowledge that YES! that was hurtful. period.
Acknowledge it. SEE and FEEL that situation as having taken its toll on your spirit.
and then ..... take a deep breath in?.....and...
DISMISS IT.
yes, send it packing. Visualize that hurtful emotion as packing its bags, (buy it a train ticket if you have to and drive it to the station!!) and SEND IT ON ITS WAY.
It was NEVER meant to live with you anyway. Just because someone else said it or did it.....you made a meal for it and fixed up the spare room???!!!
NO!!
Just because someone said it does NOT MAKE IT TRUE. It just means that someone said it or did it or didn't do it.....that IS ALL. and so.....
dismiss it.
Don't be afraid to "Re-examine all you have been told"   Go back, take a good hard look at what you have been told :)  and FEEL FREE to KEEP WHAT HELPS AND SUPPORTS YOU  and "DISMISS WHAT INSULTS YOUR SOUL". 
and then you can SHINE even brighter!!!

I am.....

what? what! WHAT ARE YOU? you don't know, you are not sure, you can't decide, so many choices really and then...not many choices at all.....what you feel? drrrr.....you CAN'T quite put your finger on the EXACT feeling...is there a word for it?  well, really it's just that you don't want to commit to any one thing because if you say you are one thing and then things change......then you won't be THAT thing anymore you'll be something else again....and things are ALWAYS changing aren't they really, so you see the quandry.....

or ARE they always changing. ARE you always changing. or ARE you pretty much the same. pretty numb? pretty glum? pretty 'stuck in that rut'? pretty 'shut down' (maybe with brief moments of 'AWAKE' but otherwise plodding along on the treadmill? 

Well, today ...

YOU ARE JOY.

We will not leave it up to you and you alone then - the 'team' decision for today is that WE ARE JOY. This is so easy to be. and there are so many kinds of joy. Go ahead, you can simply decide in your head and your heart that you want to play, you want to join the team....c'mon, join the team!! There are no tryouts, practise time is 'all the time' and 'game time' is all the time also!!  We need more players and we promise that EVERY BODY gets equal playing time!! There are NO benchwarmers on the JOY team - it's FULL GO all the time - Go big or go home!! It's full-on JOY!!

 While you are playing, make sure you are also recruiting new players -keeping in mind that some of the players you attempt to recruit might not be ready to play the game yet - THAT'S OK! don't let a non-joiner dim your light! just keep playing. Eventually they'll want to see what it is that is 'shining you up' all the time and be desparate to join...and we'll have their uniform and number at the ready!! Because it's tiring playing the game ALL THE TIME when your players are limited - the team needs more and more and more and more players to also be playing - that way the game is MUCH EASIER to enJOY! The game of JOY! Awesome.

So if you are a 'jump up and down' kind of joyful, a 'I am focused on the task at hand and content that I am allowed to be' joyful, a 'sit on a bench and gaze quietly at the clouds' joyful, a 'help someone across the street' joyful, a 'share a cup of coffee with me?' joyful...........etcetcetc.   It's all the same team and we are glad you are on it.

WE ARE JOY. Shine into it :)

Breathing 101

and YESyesyes....we all breathe - in and out, breath after breath, from our very first second of this journey to our last....it is a natural process and we do it automatically, effortlessly ...... but do we do it WELL? Are we MAXIMIZING the effect of what proper breathing can do FOR us ? Yes, we are exsisting and maintaining but ... are we BREATHING optimally?
Think about it. We practise everything. We learn something new - we practise. Things that we have been doing since our formative years, (speaking, walking, running, relationship building, sports and fitness activities, creative endeavours) WE PRACTISE. Why? because we want to DO IT BETTER. By doing it better, we are growing, learning, there is a sense of accomplishment and a sense of steady growth that keeps us firmly in our foundation while we are here on this Path.
Breathing? we don't practise as much.....until now.
There are all different kinds of breathing - the 'things are melting down around me' DEEP BREATH IN WITH LOUD EXHALE - eyes glaring, nostrils flaring, usually hands over head or out to the sides.....haha!-generally precedes masses amount of action to correct 'said devastation'!! :) but there is also the fearful breathing - when we breathe little 'panting' breaths, the 'normal' breathing punctuated by moments of holding our breath? what is THAT about?! (generally we somewhat realize we are doing this when we are on the computer or working on a project or the like...), or the 'no breathing at all' really - just 'numbness breathing' of shock and/or a grief period...(knowing and REMEMBERING to focus on breath at ALL of these times helps our connection to our Self and makes EVERY situation more manageable and results more effective.)
When we are stressed/focused/apprehensive/'pushed' we breathe with little half breaths, just enough to keep everything working inside but NOT ENOUGH to keep everything FLOWING (if you catch my drift here). Yes, the heart is pumping, the blood is oxygenated, lungs are filling (kind of) and emptying (kind of) but we are only HALF breathing - we are not CONNECTED and therefore are not able to apply all of our resources within our Selves to the task and matter at hand.  We are AT BEST working at 50% capacity.
Are you ok with that?
 If you were writing an exam and your prof handed back a 50% grade....are you ok with THAT?
 If you asked your associate employees to finish a task by the end of the day and at 5pm they were merely finished HALF of it.....is THAT ok?
 if you asked your family to spend a Holiday meal  with you and cooked enough to feed an army and then only HALF of them showed up.....wow. not cool.
and so it is.
WHEN we breathe fully in through our nose right down to our toes and let it fill us and sit with it for just a moment before breathing out fully letting the shoulders, diaphragm, chest lessen and relax as every last bit is exhaled and then we relax and sit with this for just another moment and then beautifully we allow ourSelves to enjoy another deep breath in appreciating every little bit of energy and relaxation and cleansing that comes along with our ability to tune into this wonderful resource and relaxing and fulfilling process that is available to all of us....
.as we take the time to turn our attention to the IMPORTANCE of this...
.the great need we have intrinsically and energetically to ALLOW this energy to accompany our Spirit and buoy us up in times of joy and gratitude, times of despair and frustration, times of 'just floating along enjoying the moment'.... :)
Breathing properly gives our physical bodies an opportunity to connect with our emotional body and then connect with our Spiritual Self.....3 in one....mindful breathing to connect mind, body and soul.....breathe in.....yes.....breathe out.....SO good!!
Shine into your breathwork today and FEEL CONNECTED :)

What is Reiki?

I get asked this all the time :) and let me begin by saying that Reiki is one of the most well known and respected healing modalities worldwide and generally I just ASSUME that EVERYONE knows and is aware of the amazing benefit of receiving a Reiki treatment and then taking the next step and learning Reiki themselves so that they are able to do their own Self Reiki healing session and also for others.

Anyway, here it is.....the 'drop in the bucket' explanation of the very powerful healing method - Reiki

Reiki is a generic Japanese word meaning Universal Life Force Energy or spiritually guided life force energy. 

 REI - pronounced 'ray' is Japanese for universal or spiritual consciousness/wisdom (God consciousness) or a  higher dimension of light and the soul; knows the cause of all problems and what to do to heal them.

KI - pronounced 'key' is Japanese for vital life force energy that animates everything: also called Prana, Chi etc.

Reiki is healing energy which automatically goes to the area in your physical body or spirit where healing is most required. Reiki practitioners act as a conduit for Reiki Light by invoking energy through their Crown Chakra, feeling it moving down to their Heart Chakra and allowing the same healing energy to flow through their arms and out of their Palm Chakras to you, the client. Reiki energy ensures that your entire spirit is in alignment by focusing on the elimination of blocks in your physical body and chakras. Your own energy is able to now move freely through your spirit and body. Reiki is totally natural and works on all levels of your life. It can relieve pain, discomfort in the physical sense and ease grief and/or anxiety as well as lack of self confidence and insecurities. Reiki will also will provide healing energy for cancer and other sickness and disease and has been found to be a proven healing modality in many other areas as well.
For more information please feel free to contact Stacey Macdonald, Reiki Master   Reiki in Oakville

What are you going to do with YOUR grain of sand??

Grain by grain, moment by moment, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, week by week.......ahhhhhhhhhhh! yes.....WE GET THERE!!

We CANNOT live this hourglass ahead of time. WE CAN NOT. It is impossible. We MUST flip it over and then watch....as grain by grain, minute by minute, moment by moment....etc....the minutes flip by and THEN when sufficient time has passed....it is done. We flip it over again and we watch as grain by grain, moment by moment.....well, you get my drift here.

THE TIMING IS NOT UP TO US. It really really isn't. AND it doesn't matter how much money we make (or don't make), it doesn't matter how many friends we have (or don't have) it doesn't matter what kind of house we have (or don't have) or what kind or car we drive (or hey!! don't drive!!) haha!!

THE TIMING -Divine timing - IS NOT UP TO US.

frustrating? YES. but at the same time....very levelling. and balancing. and a GREAT RELIEF in a way. This truly is NOT  a race. This truly is NOT a contest.

Our ONLY way to 'win' is to REVEL IN THE MOMENT and whatever that may bring us.  So!! what are you going to do today with YOUR grain of sand?

  I, my Self? and going to enJOY THE HECK OUT OF IT!!

Live in the NOW with me people and be the very BEST YOU you know how to be - THIS VERY MINUTE. Believe me, nothing matters more.

SHINE into this moment with me!

Can you keep a secret?

NO! I do not have a BIG SECRET to share with you today....well, not one that I haven't already shared in previous postings and who knows?? maybe I will have groundbreakinginly HUGE SECRETS to divulge tomorrow...time will tell however in the meantime....the question stands.

Well, can you? Many cannot. Actually, most CAN for the MOST PART however they DO tell one or two people....not the masses....just one or two. But what if one of THOSE people are the type that also have a secret?? and what if THAT secret is that.....they can't keep a secret??!! uh oh. 

It is a VERY special position to be in - when a friend, acquaintance, complete stranger trusts you enough to take you into their confidence, bring you into their circle and share an opinion, a tough situation, a 'monkey on their back' etc. and YES!!!! We have ALL been that person where we have been betrayed by a close friend (sometimes innocently enough but the betrayal stings just the same) after we have shared with them.

Our Angel Teams encourage us to 'be that Rock' for someone. (Notice I did not say 'be the sponge'....you don't want to 'take on' someone else's problems so that now YOU have their problems and THEY feel better ... there is a way to provide 'safe harbour' for others WITHOUT leaving your Self vulnerable to negativity and despair)

so no.....BE THE ROCK.  Someone who is drowning in the water needs a sturdy rock to climb onto - up and out of the waters of confusion and despair. BE THE ROCK. And stay 'being the Rock' for as long as you need to, as long as they need you to be. You can do it. You get a lot back by being that.   For the day might come round when you 'need a rock' ....and you know what??  There will be a 'rock' there for you too.   :)

so yes! Keep secrets for others (they are not yours to tell), keep a shoulder handy for others to lean on and walk proudly and strongly today as you offer assistance, security and confidence to any who require it.

Shine brightly!