So Mote It Be

 I have neglected my blogs and instead been relying on Twitter for Sashas Tearoom. It's just so fast and easy to share, with the added benefit that Twitter does not require you to be very erudite. I spend a lot of time counseling my clients during readings and as a result, my energy for writing has diminished a bit. These days I have been spending my free time knitting and geeking out. This week my friends and I went to the Miyazaki Madness event at our local Alamo Drafthouse, to see "Princess Mononoke". The Druid got teary eyed at the end, as did I, when the forest spirit sacrificed himself to save the land. One of my friends has tickets to two more of the movies while I am trying to decide where I can fit more in. We are looking forward to March when the new Miyasaki movie will be released. I am still amazed at how my friends can knit and watch a movie in a dark room!  Next up is another game day next weekend with another set of friends where we will finally be playing "Arkham Horror". Following that with will be a Lord of The Ring Nerdgasm day where we will be watching the LOTR trio of extended edition movies at my house all day and into the night. The exciting part is planning the menu since it has been decided that we will need 7 meals. We want to theme it around the movies a bit. I am doing the first breakfast, and a stew for dinner. There is also talk of tea sandwiches and savory mini pies (the druid is an awesome baker) One of the participants is going to draw up a schedule so we can organize this right! Yes, geek. In the world of World of Warcraft, we are leveling our little guild pretty well by running dungeons with our level 90 characters. This week  I have been focusing my efforts on "Love is in the Air" and managed to get "Peddlefeet" the companion pretty quickly. I am addicted to WOW. Lastly, the geek in me MUST watch the Olympics. Not only is it a great time to get some serious knitting done, it is incredibly inspiring to me to see people achieve some lifelong dreams. Some of the back stories are heart wrenching and inspiring all at the same time.

Last week we got home from a week in Sin City (Las Vegas). While we didn't win any money, we did enjoy the warm weather (mid 70's), incredible food and elegant hotels. Vegas is an adult playground and I love it! Can't wait to return. So glad it's so close, easy and cheap to fly to! I played a lot of poker which is relaxing and fun. I like chatting with new people while the cards go round and round. One fun conversation at the table:
guy next to me: so what do you do for a living?
Me: I'm a tarot reader
Guy next to me: what's that?
Me: I'm a psychic, though you wouldn't know by the way I play these cards.
Guy across from me: do you make any money from it?
Me: not as much as my husband would like

When we got home to Denver, I was refreshed. While it was great to be running around at all hours with all of the noise, crowds and excitement that is Vegas, my pagan self was glad to be home. I crave the quiet and wide open spaces that surrounds me here in Colorado. I do all of my rituals outside these days so that I can gaze into the sky as I make my intentions known. In the Winter, the quiet rustle of the trees, or the silent snowflakes coming down, add a dimension to my rituals that cannot be captured as fully inside. It's no surprise that there is such a big pagan community in this state. Being surrounded by mountains is in itself inspiration. Driving home from running some errands last week, we stopped the car in our neighborhood to watch a fox who stood there and let me take many pictures of him. One of the messages of fox as a spirit animal is to eat healthy. I wonder if that includes martinis? Since I drink them with olives, I'm sure that fits just right. The next day a deer was just about at my front window looking in at me, probably wondering what else there must be to eat that might taste better than my scrawny bushes.
 We all find what is right for us. The right place to live, the people we feel at home with, the work that calls to our souls. We do this by listening to our souls." Everything -- absolutely everything -- that happens in our lives has a spiritual cause. Events on all other levels -- mental, emotional and physical -- are only effects". A person cannot reinvent themselves, though many try. Reinvention is something that the personality does to change things on the surface while the true self remains the same. Madison Taylor says " many of us don’t take the time to determine what’s right for us; we simply do what most of the people we know are doing. In this way, our decisions about life are made by default, which means they aren’t what we call conscious decisions.  This may be the result of feeling overwhelmed or pressured by family, peers, and humanity at large, to do things their way, the way things have always been done. Regardless of the cause, it is important that, as often as we can, we decide for ourselves what to do with our lives rather than just drift along on the current of popular opinion. It is not always easy to make decisions that go against the grain. Many people feel threatened when those close to them make choices divergent from the ones they are making."  When we get caught in the trap of worrying about what other people will think, we become their servants, because we have given up our personal power. "If I change direction now, what will people think? " is usually followed by one of the following answers starting with the phrase, they will think: I am weak, crazy, stupid, a failure, indecisive, wimpy, and any other negative adjectives one can think of. Indeed, it takes courage to make the decisions that are right for us. However, it takes more than courage to follow our own desires, it take evolution of the soul.  Evolution of the soul comes about through work such as meditation, journaling, and spiritual study. As the soul evolves we come to better understand that love, compassion, forgiveness and loyalty can give us much more satisfaction in life than living for the opinions and approval of others.



 Quote of the Day:

 "Only love can heal the rifts caused by a hurtful deed. Forgiveness holds immense power because it mends separation. It moves us towards the unity and love that lie at the core of our being. It is a fundamental part of the healing process"