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We at the Enchanted Forest are honoured to support and host the live chats
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Four ways to Reprogram your

Subconscious Mind
Posted by Maya S'''

How to Shift Negative Thought Patterns

Recently my 16-year-old son bought a bunch of new music on i-tunes and because we share
the same account, all of his new music ended up automatically downloading onto my phone.
Next day when I jumped into the car and hit play, instead of acoustic surf grooves I got heavy
UK rap. I quite enjoyed it for the morning, but got to thinking how he would feel if I loaded
his phone up with all my music. Imagine if 95% of the songs on your player were actually
downloaded from other peoples playlists without you even knowing it? And what if the vast
majority of those came from your parents? Would they match the music you want to hear and
create in life?
In a recent conversation with cellular biologist Bruce Lipton, he drew this same comparison
when speaking about the subconscious programs that each of us take on during the first seven
years of our life how these patterns and beliefs shape (and in most cases limit) our reality
and how we can shift, change and re-write these programs to become more powerfully
conscious co-creators of our life.

Conventional belief was that your life to a large degree was determined by your heredity.
The new science of epigenetics (above the genes) says, no, your life is a result of your
participation and your minds influence on whats going on. Bruce Lipton
Imagine if the songs on your player were downloaded from other peoples playlists.

The Human Petri Dish and Our Mind as the Master Chemist
The stem cell science Bruce worked on in the 1960s revealed that the environment the cells
were in shaped the genetics and behaviour of the cell. Put identical cells into three different
petri dishes, and by changing the chemistry in the culture medium they are sitting in, you
change the actual genetics and behaviour of cells (for example, one becomes muscle, one bone,
one fat cells).
According to Bruce, the human is like a giant skin-covered petri dish of 50 trillion cells. The
culture medium in our body is the blood and the chemist who controls the composition of
the blood, by adding and taking things away, is our mind. The cells receive their information
about whether to grow, contract, live or die, based our minds perception and interpretation
of reality.
The challenge is that each of us see and perceive the world in a different way. If two people
are watching the same sunset, one looks out and says, This is a friendly wonderful place that
supports me and I am a healthy happy human. The other one sitting right next to him says,
This is a scary place and I have no idea what my future holds. Im afraid. Theyre both in
the same environment but their liver cells are receiving totally different messages ultimately
affecting the behaviour and genetic activity of the cells!
Whatever I am perceiving out there I will manifest a physical complement to it in here. So
if I have a healthy vision, my minds chemistry converts my body into health. If I live in
fear Fear causes 90% of the illness on the planet. And its all generated by the
perceptions of the mind. The picture you hold in your mind creates the behaviour and
biology you express in life. Bruce Lipton
The challenge is that each of us see and perceive the world in a different way.

So Who Controls the Mind?

In simple terms, according to Bruce the mind is divided into two main aspects the conscious
and the subconscious mind. The conscious mind is made up of our surface thoughts, wishes,
desires and aspirations. The subconscious mind is the realm of our automatic and habitual
thought patterns and beliefs the stuff we do when we dont even know were doing it.
Right behind your forehead is the pre-frontal cortex the centre of consciousness. Your
identity versus anyone elses identity. This is your conscious mind. The other 90% of the
brain was there before the conscious part evolved, thats the subconscious. In the
subconscious, things happen below your awareness, below (or sub) consciousness.

If were driving along the highway talking to a friend in the passenger seat, our conscious
mind is the one engaged in the conversation. Our subconscious mind is the one who keeps
automatically doing everything needed to drive the car. While your conscious mind is reading
this article, your subconscious mind is taking care of everything else breathing, blinking,
taking a sip of tea without burning your lips.

The pre-frontal cortex the centre of consciousness.

According to Bruce, when we are fully present, focused on what we are doing in the moment,
the conscious mind is driving the bus. But as soon as we start thinking about something other
than this moment right here, our subconscious programs kick in to keep things moving and
keep us safe.
Now heres the crazy part. Because of how much time we spend thinking about something
other than the moment we are in, science suggests we are running our default programs
about 95% of our waking life. And while some of these programs are positive, empowered
and helpful, psychologists believe that majority of the default programs most people run are
disempowering, self-sabotaging and limiting.
We are running our default programs about 95% of our waking life.
Where do these subconscious thoughts and patterns come from?
Most of our subconscious programming comes from the first seven years of our life. From the
last trimester of pregnancy to age seven, we exist mostly in Theta brain wave space (a.k.a.
hypnosis), which is the most receptive space for our subconscious mind. We are essentially
sponges.
Our model of the world is formed by how we experience our reality, and how we see our
parents and other key influences respond to life. We learn subconsciously how to act when
were happy or angry, what it takes to make money, how best to express love, when its safe
to laugh, to sing, to shine and when its not. We take these messages in from our
surroundings and they become our automatic, under-the-surface view of reality.
We will continue to form new subconscious patterns as we grow in age (think of any habitual
movement or skill you have mastered) but the undercurrent of these patterns and beliefs are
mostly set when we are young.
The best way to identify what subconscious programs youre running is simply to look at
your life, because, as Bruce explains, it is made up of the program 95% of the time. Your
life is a printout of the program. The things you have in your life that you love are because
you have a program that allows you to accept those things into your life. Anything you work
hard at, struggle over, have to put a lot of effort into and its difficult, is because your
programs dont support that in your life. Your conscious mind is reaching for it, but
something in your program is holding it at bay. The effort and struggle you feel is in trying to
override a program. Youre working hard because you want it, but the undercurrent of belief
says, Its not going to happen.

Most of our subconscious programming comes from the first seven years of our life.
So how do we change the programs weve been given to create more of what we really want?
Bruce shares four specific methods and one overriding principle:
1. Hypnosis We can recreate our Theta state of receptivity and use it to re-program our
mind in a more conscious way. And the cool thing is that each of us have access to this
state of being two times every day where we can effectively hypnotise ourselves just
before falling asleep and just as we are waking up. As we are drifting off, the mind
moves from its active Beta state into Alpha and then Theta before eventually dropping
into Delta as we sleep. The Theta window is our most receptive state and responds well
to the visions and suggestions we hold in this space. Listening to subliminal tapes at this
time is one way to begin overwriting limiting programs with the new beliefs and
behaviours we want to experience.
2.Repetition Heres an interesting fact: the subconscious mind doesnt know the difference
between whats vividly imagined and whats real. The second method for reprogramming our
subconscious towards positive change is to practice new thoughts and actions, with feeling,
and to repeat this throughout the day as though you are learning a new skill or building a
new muscle. As Bruce says, This cant just be sticky notes on the mirror. This must be felt
and experienced. This can be difficult if we are experiencing great contrast to the thing we
want (i.e. a cancer patient saying, I am healthy.). But even if it looks very different than
your current life, repetition works if we can harness the ability to bring ourselves into a
feeling space connected to the end result of what we really want. Motion creates emotion,
and weaving movement and feeling together is one of the best ways to build the energy of a
vision.
3.Try hypnosis or repetition
4. Energy Psychology Human civilization on this planet has the necessity to rapidly
change our behaviour because our current behaviour is leading to mass extinction. Energy
psychology is a form of belief change that provokes super learning the ability to
synchronize the hemispheres of our brain and download something into the subconscious
rapidly. Bruce shares information about many forms of energy psychology on his website
(Psych-K, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), Theta Healing, Holosync to name a few)
and suggests that different modalities and approaches work for different people so its
important to find what works best for you. He says that while many of these approaches
were initially passed off as new age, science is now revealing rapid, measureable and
lasting results.

5. High Impact Events every once in a while something happens that completely pierces
the bubble of our subconscious mind and creates a powerful window for holistic change.
These events can come in the form of apparent crisis (a critical illness, loss of a loved
one, major emergency) or even a blessing (the birth a new child, meeting a soul mate),
and the impact of these moments are so profound that they call forth a completely
radical departure from our normal programs and ways of being. I remember being
utterly propelled to quit my unhappy job about one month after my son Josh was born.
A totally irrational decision, but one which completely shifted the path I was on and
ignited a massive wave of new creative opportunity in my life. The power to create a
spontaneous remission of any sort is available to each of us when we tap into the
power of our subconscious mind.
Globally we are at this moment of diagnosis on the planet. We are standing in front of
the doctor and he is telling us we are entering the sixth mass extinction. The shock of
this has the potential to have humanity dig deeper than imagined and write a
completely new program, unleashing a rapid healing response across the globe.
Some things can completely pierce the bubble of our subconscious mind.

The Golden Key Being Fully Present

Bruces book the Honeymoon Effect shares a compelling argument that there is one time each
of us consistently step out of the program and into full conscious co-creation of our life the
moment we fall in love. The reason is that when we are first in love we are completely,
undeniably, undividualy present. This pure focus on this moment merges with a deep desire
to bring forth our very best and for a time we are fully expressive of our highest self.
When we look at children immersed in play, athletes or artists completely in the flow of what
they are doing/creating, we can see that all of these moments are expressions of being fully
present in the moment. When we are completely here in this moment, we are consciously
creating our life. We can each cultivate this magic and train ourselves to develop these
muscles.

We are not victims of anything other than the programs we are operating from. Change
the programs you are operating from. If your subconscious programs match the wishes
and desires of the conscious mind, your life will be one continuous honeymoon
experience for as long as you live on this planet. Bruce Lipton

A Spiritual Journey
Posted by Miss Crafty

Tomorrow i leave with my daughters on a spiritual Journey. My eldest since she was very
young has been tormented by a past life. So we are taking this trip, in order to help bring
some peace to her memories, so that she can put the past behind her. She says that all she
really wants is for the police to find her other body, and until that happens she doesn't feel
like she can move on. I thought that if we could go to her old home town, and finish out the
plans that her old self never got to do, then it will help. She gets her memories a little bit here
and there. Two years ago we discovered the story she had been telling me since she was little,
matched the same story of a girl that went missing in Missouri back in 1992. She knew the
year she was kidnapped, and that it happened right after her high school graduation. One of
her strongest memories, was putting make up on in her bathroom, and listening to Whitney
Houston's "I just want to dance with somebody"... when we saw the crime scene photos, the
image of the bathroom was exactly as she had described it, even down to the radio on the
sink. So many details were right on to the story we found on the internet. Plus her Birthday is
the exact same.
Some times we dream together, we have since she was little... and i had even had dreams
about her taking me to her old house, the pictures we found online matched the dreams we
had.
It will be a long road trip, New Jersey to Missouri... but i really think that this trip will help
her spirit heal. We had gone to a medium, that confirmed that she was who she thought she
was. She told us that this trip will help a lot, but she when she turns 19 (the age her old self
was kidnapped) her dreams and visions will start coming stronger and more vivid to help her
solve the crime, because her soul can't rest until the forensic evidence is found and her
kidnappers caught. She also said her visions will stop when she's 23 years old, which is the
year that her old self died.
BTW, the only reason why i'm cryptic in who the identity of who she was is, is because my
daughter isn't comfortable with people knowing... because her old self still has family looking
for her and that misses her, and she said they would never understand, it would hurt them
too much to hear that someone claiming that she was reborn... they wouldn't believe it.
I don't want to watch my little girl go through such tournament anymore, i want this life to
be put behind her. But i'll help her any which way that i can, by letting her do the things that
her old self missed out on, i think that will help. I also understand, that you can't just say
"put it behind you" and expect to move on... the mind doesn't work that way. Things take
time, the mind body and soul all need real time to heal, and to heal in their own time. Its
foolish to think you can rush such a thing. So this process will take as long as it has to, and i
will be there to help her through it.

Sankalpa
Posted by hippiechic

How to Create a Sankalpa

The yoga tradition offers a profound formula for realizing your heartfelt desireswithout
asking you to change who you are. Its the practice of sankalpa (resolve).
Almost every New Years resolution starts with two words: I will. We summon our
willpower and pledge to change not just what we do but who we are. We set goals and
imagine how happy we will be when we get what we want.
But if theres one thing yoga teaches us, its that theres a world of difference between I will
and Thy will. Most New Years resolutions spring from the misguided desires of the ego,
senses, and conditioning. They almost always fail because they start from the assumption that
who you are is not good enough, and reinforce the mistaken belief that your happiness
depends on acquiring what you want.
The yoga tradition offers a refreshing alternative to the New Years resolution: the practice of
sankalpa, or resolve. A sankalpa practice starts from the radical premise that you already are
who you need to be to fulfill your lifes dharma. All you need to do is focus your mind,
connect to your most heartfelt desires, and channel the divine energy within.
Sankalpa: Going Beyond Resolutions
Rod Stryker, founder of ParaYoga, explains that the chief architect of life is the mind. To
create the life we are meant to live, we must draw the mind again and again to our dharma,
our deepest intentions, and the qualities of the Divine within.
A sankalpa is a statement that does this for us. Stryker explains that kalpa means vow, or
the rule to be followed above all other rules. San, he says, refers to a connection with the
highest truth. Sankalpa, then, is a vow and commitment we make to support our highest
truth. By definition, a sankalpa should honor the deeper meaning of our life. A sankalpa
speaks to the larger arc of our lives, our dharmaour overriding purpose for being here.
The sankalpa becomes a statement you can call upon to remind you of your true nature and
guide your choices.
While the typical New Years resolution is abandoned within weeks, if not days, as
enthusiasm and willpower run out, a sankalpa requires none of the ego-driven willpower we
typically summon to make changes. According to Richard Miller, PhD, a clinical psychologist
and teacher in the Advaita Vedanta and Kashmir nondual traditions, a sankalpa arrives with
everything needed to fully realize it. This includes iccha (tremendous will and energy), kriya
(action), and jnana (the wisdom of how to deliver that action).

These are all aspects of the Divine, and they live within us. When the true sankalpa comes
in, we awaken these three qualities of the Divine, Miller says. You dont have to ask where
youll find the will to do it. The energy and will is already there. The sankalpa informs us of
the action were willing to take into the world.
Two Types of Resolve
A sankalpa can take two forms. The first is what Miller calls the heartfelt desire, a
statement that reflects your true nature. This type of sankalpa is far more all-encompassing
than a New Years resolution, and requires no change or action. It is literally and simply a
statement of who you are, such as I am already whole, and already healed, or I am peace
itself. According to Miller, it doesnt come from the intellectual mind. The resolve comes
from deep within us, directly out of the mystery of who we ultimately are. It then informs our
mind of a particular direction that we need to take, or are taking in our life.
A sankalpa can also take a second formthat of a specific intention or goal. Brenna Geehan,
a certified ParaYoga instructor in the San Francisco Bay Area, explains, When you discover
your purpose, not everything happens all at once. To live your souls mission, you need to
reach milestones. Setting specific intentions can help you align your moment-to-moment
choices with your heartfelt desire. Geehan suggests looking forward into the next year and
asking yourself what specific things need to happen to move you forward on your path. Your
specific sankalpa will describe what you need to do, and where you need to direct your
energy, to make progress on your larger life goals.
How to Discover Your Sankalpa
Discovering your sankalpa is a process of listening. Your heartfelt desire is already present,
waiting to be seen, heard, and felt. Its not something you need to make up, and the mind
doesnt have to go wildly searching for it.
Miller describes three stages of the listening process delineated in the Vedanta tradition. The
first, sravana, is the willingness to hear the message of the heartfelt desire. It can take
courage to listen to the heart, and a quiet, settled mindone cultivated through meditation
will best be able to hear this innermost call. The second state, manana, is the act of turning to
and welcoming the messenger in. When you hear the call, you must be willing to sit with it,
feel it, and deeply reflect on it. The final stage, nididhyasana, is the willingness to do what the
heartfelt desire requires of you. It will call you into action, into the world, says Miller.
You must be willing to respond.
What if you sit down to listen, and dont hear anything in response? Or what if the answers
you hearnew car, new job, better relationshipsound more like the endless desires of your
ego, senses, and conditioned mind than like the wisdom of your heart?
Anne Douglas, a yoga therapist in Banff, Alberta, specializes in navigating her students
through the sometimes difficult process of answering the question, What do I really want?
She encourages students to simply start where they are. Douglas has found that any goal can
be an entry point, including a typical New Years resolution. Even a desire that might be
interpreted as simple or shallow can lead you to the hearts desire.

It might arise out of conditioning, but if you trust the practice and keep following the hearts
desire, it will take you to the essence of your being.
To get to that deeper yearning, work with whatever goal arises, but also ask yourself whats
underneath it. For example, one of the most common goals Douglas hears in our culture is, I
want to get fit or I want to lose weight. When working with her students, she asks them to
imagine how life will be, and how they think they will feel, as a result of losing weight and
getting in shape. Is it a sense of self-love, physical well-being, or freedom? What is the feeling
they are striving for? What is the longing in the heart that is pointing them in this direction?
Another common intention is to quit something, such as smoking, shopping, or eating meat.
To investigate the heartfelt desire behind this kind of intention, ask yourself what desire that
behavior is currently trying to satisfy. Are you seeking peace of mind, freedom from pain, or
the feeling of being accepted? See if you can find a deeper hunger, a longing thats asking to
be nourished, Douglas encourages. That hunger may point you toward what the heart really
yearns for. If someone starts with, I want to quit smoking, as they work with it, theyll
start to feel a deeper desire, such as, I want to take care of my body. Even further down the
road, the sankalpa might become, I love my body, or even I am love itself. Its an
evolution, but it still has that feeling of the initial intention to quit smoking.
State the Sankalpa
Its natural to identify a desire as I want and an intention as I will or I wont. But
these phrases lack the truth of the commitment that comes from heartfelt desire and
connection to ones dharma. A sankalpa isnt a petition or a prayer, Miller says, It is a
statement of deeply held fact, and a vow that is true in the present moment.
For this reason, your sankalpaboth the heartfelt desire and the specific intentionshould
be stated in the present tense. For example, rather than saying, I want to be more
compassionate, your sankalpa might be, Compassion is my true nature or I am
compassion itself. Rather than setting the intention, I will not eat meat, your specific
sankalpa might be, With compassion for my body and for other beings, I eat a vegetarian
diet. Stating your sankalpa in present tense acknowledges the tremendous will, energy, and
truth that arrive with the discovery of your heartfelt desire. It also reminds you that
whatever is required of you is already within you.
Plant the Seed of Your Sankalpa
The core practice of sankalpa is remembering. By bringing the statement to mind, you
strengthen your resolve and honor your heartfelt desire. But simply reciting the sankalpa is
not enough. As soon as you say you want something, a part of you recognizes that you dont
have it, Stryker explains. By repeating what you want, you reinforce the belief that you
dont have it. When the unconscious mind operates from a place of lack or perceived
inadequacy, the energy that supports your resolve is weakened.

Stryker points to the Tripura Rahasya, a tantric text which teaches that the quality of the
mind reciting the sankalpa determines its effect. To fully realize your resolve, the mind must
shift from dualistic thinking to nondual awareness. This is why meditation is the most fertile
ground for sankalpa practice. It returns the mind to a state of present moment wholeness.
The longer we are able to effortlessly rest in that place of oneness, the more rapidly we are
able to fulfill our sankalpa, explains Stryker. The mind becomes a more powerful agent to
help us fulfill our intentions.
The most supportive state of mind for remembering your sankalpa is the direct experience
that you are already open, timeless, and perfectwhat nondualism describes as the state of
pure being. If thats not in place, ego gets involved, Miller says. You will come at the
intention from a place of theres something wrong with me that I need to fix. You must
connect to the quality of being that is already complete and whole.
One of the most powerful practices for finding this state and planting the seed of sankalpa is
yoga nidra. While nidra means sleep, it is actually a process of awakening to your true
nature. Yoga nidra systematically relaxes the body and mind and guides you into deep
awareness. You are aware and awake, but you experience a disidentification from the body
and mind. In this way, the confusion between prakriti and purusha dissolves, and you come
to rest in the peace, wisdom, and love of your true nature. Anne Douglas explains, In yoga
nidra, we discover a profound level of openness. Our self-imposed limitations dissolve, and
we are pure being. When you recall your sankalpa in the waking state, it might trigger
doubts or the egos striving. When you recall your sankalpa in yoga nidra, the heartfelt
desire arrives as a felt sense in the body-mind. It is absolutely alive and true in that
moment.
How to Nourish Your Resolve
Once you have identified and planted the seed of your sankalpa, you can begin the process of
strengthening sankalpa shakti, the energy to take the action required by your resolve.
According to Geehan, every choice you make either supports or undermines your resolve.
This is true even for the decisions that dont seem directly related to your specific intention.
Lets say youre aware that sugar disrupts your energy and sleep. But time and time again,
you forget this awareness and eat sweets anyway. Each time you do this, you reinforce the
part of you that says screw it to awareness and intention. Youre giving power to the part
of you that goes against your consciousness.
On the other hand, every conscious choice you make is an opportunity to strengthen
sankalpa shakti. This is the basis for a ParaYoga practice called the departure point. The
instructions are simple: pick something nonconstructive that you do on a regular basis and
commit to not doing it for 40 days. Biting your nails, drinking coffee, watching televisionit
doesnt matter what you choose, as long as its habitual. It could be related to your sankalpa,
but it doesnt have to be.

This might sound a lot like the typical New Years resolution, but the departure point practice
isnt ultimately about the habit youre trying to break. When you come to that moment of
impulse, instead of following your usual instinct, bring your sankalpa to mind. In this way, the
habit becomes a reminder that points you back to your resolve.
In the space between the impulse to act and reciting your sankalpa, its important to pause
and invite the mind to settle into a state of oneness. Enjoy a few mindful breaths, and find the
pause between the breaths. Take a moment to remember your true self-nature. In that
statea place of wholeness and unity, not a place of confusion or lack or even hope
remember your sankalpa, Stryker says. This is the key to the departure point practice. The
sankalpa is not being reintroduced to a mind that thinks it doesnt have what you think you
want to have. It empowers the sankalpa in a completely different way.
Even instances when you forget your intention can be transformed into support for your
sankalpa. Anne Douglas uses the memory of these missed opportunities to prepare students
for future choices. Go back in time to a point where you lost it. Go back to that sensory
feeling of compulsion, reimagine it, and recreate the moment. Once youre fully in that
feeling, imagine not giving in to the habit. Pull up the power of your sankalpa, and let yourself
feel the heartfelt desire in your whole body. Then go back to remembering the feeling of
compulsion. Surf back and forth, making the feeling of the heartfelt desire stronger each
time.
You can apply the same approach not just to the behavior you choose for the departure point
practice but for all of your choices. Miller advises a daily review of your actions from the
perspective of your resolve. For example, lets say that your heartfelt desire is, I am filled
with divine compassion, and your specific sankalpa is In every encounter, I treat myself and
others with kindness. Looking back over your day, ask yourself: How was I unkind, meanspirited, or hard-hearted? Conduct this review not with harsh self-criticism but with a sincere
interest in seeing how it happened. What was the situation? What were your thoughts? How
did it feel? What did you say and do? How did that feel?
Miller doesnt refer to these missteps as failures, but simply moving away from yourself.
The momentary lack of compassion isnt who you are. The sankalpa really describes who we
are and how we move in the world when were in harmony with ourselves. Life just happens
to be the process of learning how to align with that true nature, which means we occasionally
lose our way.
Once you see how you moved away from yourself, imagine how you could have responded.
What might you have thought, said, and done that would be more consistent with your
resolve? What would that have felt like? See yourself in action and feel it in your body.
Envision this response until it feels as if you had actually done it. According to Douglas, this
practice helps dissolve the conditioning that keeps us from our dharma and from awakening
to our true nature.

The Key to Fulfilling Your Dharma

When you first begin to work with sankalpa, the practice can seem full of contradictions. You
start by identifying what you want, but the only way to realize it is to acknowledge that you
already are it, and already have it. You set specific goals, and you commit to breaking habits.
But at every opportunity to act in line with these goals, you must first acknowledge that you
are already perfect and whole.
According to Rod Stryker, this apparent contradiction is the essence of both sankalpa
practice and nondual teachings. It all goes back to this idea that each of us is both being and
becoming. Theres the part of us, para atman, that is transcendent, inherently one, and
doesnt need anything. We also have a jiva atman, that part of us that comes into life with a
purpose and a destiny and is always becoming. Stryker explains that to fulfill your dharma,
you must find a way to integrate these two seemingly opposite aspects of being. Its vital for
happiness that you walk both paths simultaneously. Direct your energy with intention, but be
mindful that your nature is unchanged whether you achieve your goals or not. Live as
contentedly as possible in between the goal and realizing the goal.

Lammas Eve With Harobed

Posted by Harobed

Lammas eve I'm doing several projects one of which is making spell teas .The great thing
about this blend is it can be used as a tea ,loose smudge,organic potpourri or as a adjunct
used in making talisman bags.For beginners always start with thoroughly dry herbs.mine
have been drying for weeks ,some such as Rosemary and Cedar months.
This blend is 1/3 Fennel ,1/3 Mint (Kentucky blue mint) and 1/3 Sweet Marjoram /Mug
Wort/Lemon Balm mix.

Since I am making this on Lammas I've brought out my stone mortar and pestal .So for what
I make today I'm kicking it old style.This means I'll grind and sift at least twice before I'm
through .However there's no rule that says you cant break out your food processor and get it
done quicker .Once done I use this blend for several things this blogs about using it as a tea.
However you'll see me use this as a base in other projects.
as a tea it has a rich complex flavor. Brew it like any other loose leaf tea ,if you like it sweet
then honey or brown sugar is really the way to go.Its a great tea for morning sickness or for
settling an uneasy stomach.
If drank for spell reasons this blend can be used for many things varying things .The blend of
herbs invokes prophetic dreams, thins the veil between realms,It has healing energy as well as
invoking protection.It easily channels any magic concerning hearth or home.

Rogue Pack: The Next Generation

Posted by SunKat

After being removed from the endangered species list, gray wolves in Oregon continue to
rebound as the Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Thursday that two new litters of
wolf pups have been confirmed after they were caught on trail cameras.
The two litters one believed to be sired by celebrity wolf OR-7 in the Rogue-Siskiyou
National Forest and the other by his brother, OR-3, in Lake County mark the continued
proliferation of a species that once roamed the entire state in large numbers, but was
effectively eradicated in the mid 1900s in a government-sponsored attempt to appease
livestock farmers.
"It's incredibly exciting that Oregon's wolves are starting to find their way back to places this
remarkable species once called home," Amaroq Weiss, West Coast wolf organizer for the
Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. "The fact that individual wolves are
coming into this same general area tells us how important it is to keep wildlands available for
continued safe passage, and to keep legal protections in place for wolves at both the state and
federal levels."

OR-7, who got his name because he was the seventh wolf to be captured and fitted with a radio
collar in Oregon, was the first to establish a pack, known as the Rogue Pack, in the western
part of the state after more than 60 years.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife released details Monday of its annual wolf count,
conducted at the beginning of the year. Oregon gained 33 wolves in 2015, bringing the state's
total known wolf population up to 110.
His brother, OR-3, was fitted with a radio collar that stopped working and biologists assumed
he had died until he showed up on a trail camera with his distinctive ear tags. He ended up
pairing with OR-28, a female fitted with a radio collar, and the two were dubbed the Silver
Lake Wolves.
Their recent litter marks the first known pups for 8-year-old OR-3.
"When an 8-year-old wolf has his first-known litter of pups and when his 8-year-old brother is
confirmed to have had his third litter, it's a moment of awe and wonder," said Weiss. "Oregon
killed off its wolf population by the 1940s but state and federal protections have allowed these
magnificent animals to make a comeback, and those protections should remain in place until
wolves are fully recovered."
The gray wolf lost its place on the Oregon endangered species list in 2015 after the animals
reached a population milestone four pairs had bred for the third straight year which set
in motion a process to remove their protections.
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission on Monday voted to remove the animal from the
list in a move that changes little about current wolf management but opens up the possibility
for a controlled wolf hunt in the future.
Because of state's wolf program, it remains illegal to kill a wolf except under very limited
circumstances, but advocates argued that the removal of protections put the species at greater
risk to poachers.
A move to block the removal failed earlier this year, but the Center for Biological Diversity
and other groups have filed a legal challenge to the delisting.
Wildlife officials have said that the state can support up to 1,400 gray wolves, but Oregon's
population currently stands at around 150 who only inhabit roughly 12 percent of land
suitable for the species.
http://www.oregonwild.org/about/blog/rogue-pack-next-generation

Empaths can sometimes be

overwhelmed and feel drained.
Here are some tips
Posted by Charlene 'White Deer' Heathwood

BUILD VITALITY AND STOP ENERGY DRAINING:

by Judith Orloff, MD I learned to honor my energy needs the hard way. As a psychiatrist who specializes in intuition
I knew how important it was to listen to my body. Yet still I'd vacillate between intense weeks
of speaking tours to bouts of utter exhaustion at home. I couldn't turn down "irresistible"
opportunities. Here was my dilemma--I trusted my intuition, and was committed to living by
it. But I had a blind spot: Although I was quite successful at helping others at trusting intuition
and leading high energy lives I was ignoring my own energy crises. Finally my fatigue was so
profound I had to change.
I know first hand how important it is for us to cherish our precious energy so we don't
compromise our capacity for passion. I now believe that the most profound transformations
can only take place only on an energetic level. I've met many patients who've spent much time
and money on talk therapy hoping that intellectual insights will bring emotional freedom, but
they're disappointed. As much as I love the linear mind, my approach, which I call "Energy
Psychiatry," goes further to also facilitate a conscious rebuilding of a subtle energies, the most
basic life force in each of us.
Do You Get Drained by Other People's Energy?
Our bodies are made of flesh and blood, but they're also composed of energy fieldsthough
sadly I wasn't taught this in medical school. Each day we encounter a wide range of energies,
both positive and negative. Positive energy includes compassion, courage, forgiveness, and
faith. Negative energy includes fear, anger, hopelessness, and shame. We need to be experts at
dealing with energy so we don't get demolished by draining situations or people who're energy
vampires.
Like me you may be an intuitive empath, someone who's so sensitive to energy you pick it up
but you're also drained by it. This goes way beyond feeling sympathy for a distraught
friendwe actually take on their pain either emotionally or physically. To cope we take
refuge in solitude. We empaths are so attuned to others that we can feel what's going on inside
of them. This can put us on energy overload and aggravate everything from chronic fatigue to
overeating.

Growing up, my girlfriends couldn't wait to hit the malls, but I dreaded them. I always felt
overwhelmed, exhausted around crowds, though I was clueless why. "What's the matter?"
friends would say, shooting me the weirdest looks. All I knew was that crowded places and I
just didn't mix. I'd go there feeling fine but leave nervous, depressed, or with some new ache
or pain. Unsuspectingly, I was a gigantic sponge, absorbing the energy of people around me.
Thank goodness, as my intuition matured, I realized I had intuitive empathy. Once I learned
to protect my energy, empathy has become a gift enhancing my compassion. Here's how
empathy works: the more people per square foot, the more our energy fields intersect--thus
the tendency to become overloaded in high-density areas. This aspect of intuition is the most
neglected.
Empaths, unintentionally, can make even a good doctor's life hell. They manifest so many
"unexplained" symptoms, that frustrated physicians write them off as hypochondriacs.
Empaths are notoriously misdiagnosed. Patients have come to me with obesity who've failed
diets because they needed strategies other than eating to protect themselves from negative
energy. Others were labeled "agoraphobic" or with "panic disorder," having received only
minor relief from traditional treatments. Some were nearly house-bound. They'd all say, "I
dislike crowded places where there's no quick escape. Forget department stores, busy streets,
elevators, tunnels. I just avoid them." Sounded very familiar. So I decided to take a history of
how these people processed subtle energy in the world, something all health professionals must
be trained to assess. Voila! I found many were undiagnosed empaths. For me, this changed
everything. My job as a physician then became teaching my patients to center themselves and
protect their energy.
Energetic Survival Guide
Protect Yourself from Energy Vampires - You don't have to be an empath to experience the
fang marks of an energy vampire, though empaths are often hit the hardest. Relationships are
always an energy exchange. To stay feeling our best, we must ask ourselves: Who gives us
energy? Who saps it? It's important to be surrounded by supportive, heart-centered people
who make us feel safe and secure. It's equally important to pinpoint the energy vampires, who,
whether they intend to or not, leech our energy.
Positive energy in others can be rejuvenative. For instance, you're nervous about a job
interview, but the minute you meet your prospective boss you relax. He's so calm and
welcoming, you calm down too. Or perhaps you have a good friend around whom you always
feel loved. These are energy-givers, those we must gravitate towards.
In contrast, energy vampires exude negative energy that drains. Vampires range from the
intentionally malicious ones to those who are oblivious to their effect. Some are overbearing
and obnoxious; others are friendly and charming. For example, you're at a party talking to a
perfectly nice person, but suddenly you're nauseous or weak. Or how about the co-worker who
drones on about how she broke up with her boyfriend for the tenth time? Eventually, she feels
better, but you're spent. The bottom line is that on a subtle energy level these people suck you
dry.

There are many types of vampires to watch out for. The main ones I stress in my book are the
Drama Queen who wears your out with her dramas; The Sob Sister, who whines all the time;
The Blamer, who cuts you down with criticism and The Go-For-The-Carotid type who
purposely cuts your down without any respect for your feelings. Keep an eye out for these
types so you're aware of their methods, and stop them from draining you.
Strategies for Dealing With Energy Vampires
1.Take an inventory of people in your life who give energy, and people who drain. Specifically
identify the energy vampires, and begin to evaluate ones you'd like to limit contact with or
eliminate. Plan at least one complete afternoon with people who give off positive energy and
avoid drainers. Notice how this beneficially affects your physical and emotional well-being.
2. Set Clear Boundaries. It's crucial to limit the time you spend discussing a vampire's gripes.
When approaching her, remember: the difference between being a b**** and setting
boundaries is attitude. Instead of saying, "You're selfish and self-obsessed, I can't take you
anymore," which a part of you likely feels, take a breath and shift to your heart.
3. Meditate. Sitting in meditation is a life-line to your center, to the earth. it will ground you
when you've been struck by a vampire. By calming the mind, you can re-align with your
essence. Close your eyes. Focus on your breath. Then gently extend your awareness downward
to strata, bedrock, minerals, and soil. From the base of your spine begin to feel a continuity
with the earth's core. Picture having a long tail that roots in that center. Allow the earth's
energy to infuse your body and stabilize you. If you meditate for five minutes or an hour this
is sacred time.
4. Walk away. If you feel your energy being zapped don't hesitate to politely excuse yourself
from a killing conversation. Move at least twenty feet from the person, outside the range of his
or her energy field. "I have to go to the bathroom" is a foolproof line. Most people are
oblivious to how their energy impacts others. For years, reluctant to hurt anyone's feelings, I
needlessly endured these types of situations and suffered. How many of us are so loathe to
appear rude that a raving maniac can be right in our face, and still we don't budge for fear of
offending? In a spot, physically removing yourself is a sure quick solution.
5. Build an energy shield around you. When you're with vampires you can't get away from
visualize a protective shield of while light surrounding every inch of you. This lets positive
energy in, but keeps negative energy outparticularly efficient for vampires at family
dinners or social events where you're trapped.
I hope I've inspired you to be more fierce about asserting your energy needs. Never put
yourself down as being "overly sensitive." Sensitivity is an asset as long as you learn how to
protect yourself from negative vibes. Understanding how you react energetically in the world
is particularly important if you're chronically tired and want to build vitality. Knowledge is
power. Meeting your energy needs can balance mind, body, and spirit to create a vibrant life.

Quiz: Are You an Intuitive Empath?

Ask yourself:
*Have you ever sat next to someone at a dinner who seems pleasant, but suddenly you're
nauseous, have a headache, or feel drained?
*Are you uncomfortable in crowds, even go out of your way to avoid them?
*Do you get easily over-stimulated by people or prefer being alone?
*When someone is in pain, do you start feeling it too ?
*Do I overeat around people I'm uncomfortable with?
If you've answered "yes" to one or more questions, it's likely you have experienced intuitive
empathy. Responding "yes" to every question indicates empathy is draining your energy.
Tips for Keeping Your Positive Energy High
* 1. In crowds or stressful situations take a few deep breaths to exhale negative energy from
your body
* 2. Meditate daily to center yourselfvisualize roots going through you and planting firmly
in the ground
* 3. Take daily baths or showers to wash off negative vibes. Water is a potent purifier and can
get rid of the slimiest of energies.
* 4. Burn sage in a room to purify left over negative vibes. Sage is an ancient purifier. (Many
of my patients who work in the entertainment industry use this technique to clear the energy
in the room after back-to-back pitch meetings in their office.)
* 5. Eliminate energy vampires from your life.

Pets as partners on our spiritual

journey Buddhist wisdom
Posted by Ha-nu

Buddhism is well-known as a tradition of inner transformation. But great practitioners down

the ages have also emphasized that freeing ourselves from suffering depends on others.
Progress in our inner development goes hand and hand with our outward behaviour. It is no
coincidence that of the six perfections taught by Buddha, we practise the first three
generosity, ethics and patience mainly in relation to others, and the latter three joyous
perseverance, concentration and wisdom mainly in relation to ourselves.
Ensuring coherence between outer and inner behaviour is an important, challenging and
ongoing part of our journey of transformation. To illustrate with an extreme example, it is
unlikely that a bad-tempered, tight-fisted, love-cheat would enjoy a state of boundless radiance
and benevolence when sitting to meditate! It is also true that a meditator familiar with such a
state would be less likely to risk sabotaging it by behaving in a way inconsistent with what he
has discovered to be his own true nature.
The avoidance of harmful behaviour is one part of ensuring coherence. But so too is doing
good. In Buddhism, virtue is presented as having an energetic quality. It is a means by which
we propel inner growth, including the gradual development of meditative concentration. If we
wish to experience the most profound states of well-being ourselves, it helps to first give
happiness to others.
Which others? Lamas often emphasize the importance of starting with those closest to us. The
beings for whom we already feel some genuine affection. For many of us, this includes our
pets.
Just because a being is a dog, cat or parrot makes him or her no less valid a recipient of our
love and compassion than a human. This is how pets can be more than our cherished
companions we may see them as partners on a journey of transformation, because they
provide us with countless opportunities on a daily basis to practice generosity, ethics and
patience.

It is useful to recognise these opportunities for what they are. Instead of automatically
opening the can of dog food, it is helpful to think: By this act of generosity, may I attain
Buddhahood for the benefit of all beings. Stroking our cats tummy, we may reflect: By this
act of love, may I attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all beings. Such practices feel
contrived to begin with, but they utilise skilful psychology: the more familiar we become with
this motivation, the more it becomes a natural and spontaneous part of our thinking,
beginning to transform more and more of our everyday behaviour into transcendental
action. Theres no need to make a song and a dance about it. We should aim to be
undercover Buddhists working on inner growth all the while appearing to be engaged in
ordinary activities.
The Buddhist view of causation, or karma, suggests that the fact that a pet is part of your life
is no coincidence. Causes created in this or a previous lifetime have drawn you back together.
How wonderful that, as a human, you now have the power to help the being who is currently
your pet and not only by taking care of their worldly needs. By exposing the mind of your
pet to images of Buddhas, by enabling them to witness the regular practice of meditation,
and by repeating mantras, which resonate with a profound and timeless power, you can help
create the causes for very positive future effects in their mind-stream. There are a number of
case studies from Tibet of animals becoming reborn as people who went onto achieve great
realisations as a result of hearing mantras recited in their presence. My own Vajra Acharya,
Geshe Thubten Loden often recited mantras outside, so that the birds could hear them.
Pets not only provide us with a wealth of opportunity to fuel our inner growth through the
practices of generosity, ethics and patience. We can also help them. In this way, they can be
our close and special partners on our spiritual journey.
http://davidmichie.com

The 2 Main Obstacles to Meditation

& Why they arent Real
Posted by SunKat

It really makes me mad when I see people perpetuating the myth that meditation requires a
completely still mind.
That myth puts meditation in an elusive realm.
It causes many to believe meditation isnt for them.
Meditation is called a practice for a reason. We practice quieting our minds every time we
notice how busy they are. And, for most people, the mind will continue to be busy throughout
a meditation.
It is the nature of our minds to think. Meditation is a process of gently releasing our
thoughts, but it is not a thought-free process. If it were thought-free, what would there be to
release?
Thoughts continually interject our quiet time and many people misinterpret these
interruptions as a sign that theyre not meditating correctly, or that it just doesnt work for
them.
That is not the case.
The moments of mindfulness in meditation arise when we notice that our minds have
wandered off to other distractionsand we choose to bring them back to our point of focus
(such as mantra or breath).
The expectation of some profound experience of complete stillness sets us up for
disappointment, can make us feel like a failure and, ultimately, can deter us from continuing
the practice.
So lets just bin that expectation right now.
Its more than okay to notice that our minds have wandered off; its an opportunity to bring
ourselves back to the present moment.
During meditation, we do that repeatedly. Its a time to sit with ourselves and consciously
quiet our mindsover and over. It provides multiple opportunities to bring ourselves back to
the present, a time when we have nothing to do (even if our minds tell us otherwise) but
notice our thoughts and let them go.

That is the process of meditation and, despite its seeming simplicity, it brings benefits on
many levels. It may not feel all that profound when were practicing it, but when practiced
regularly, it can facilitate profound changes in our mental, physical and emotional
wellbeing.
The other main obstacle to a regular meditation practice lies in our beliefs around time.
Namely, the belief that we do not have enough time to meditate. We are simply too busy.
Again, that is not the case.
We can always find time to meditate, because even a few minutes a day is worth doing.
Granted, the ideal is a minimum of 20 minutes each morning and evening. But, if we can
only find five minutes once a day, it is still worthwhile.
And lets not pretend that its impossible to carve out five minutes a day. Skip a scroll
through a Facebook, Twitter or Instagram feed, and we have a slot for a little meditation.
Skip a TV program, and we have a slot for a 20 to 30-minute sit.
The lack of time isnt the real problem.
The real problem is resistance to prioritizing meditation. (We could call it self-sabotage.)
Meditation is a self-care practice.
Of course, there are many ways to practice self-care, and it is up to each of us to discover
what works best for us. Meditation may or may not be it.
However, the only way to know for sure is practicefor a while, not just once or twice.
Practice it with an open mind, without the expectation that our minds be completely still.
Practice it for just a few minutesif that is all we haveevery day (or most days).
Dont worry about having thoughts, or about only having a few minutes. Just do it, a little
each day, and allow it to take effect incrementally.
Practice it with non-judgment, waiting a while (at least a few weeks) to observe what
difference it makes when we do build it into our daily lives.
Forget about all the reasons why it wouldnt or couldnt work. With a little practice, theres
a good chance it will be of benefit to you, too.

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2016/08/the-2-main-obstacles-to-medi...

Kitty Cats Peaceful Purr Charm

Posted by SunKat

Its said that cats purr for one of two reasons- one because theyre happy, or two because
they are upset and trying to calm themselves down. Some experts even think that the
frequency that cats purr at is a method of physical healing That being said, this little charm
will help you imbue a helpful kittys purr into an object for you to have with you when you
might need a calming purr of your own!
What Youll Need:
The sound of a purr (You can get your own kitty/familiar to help out or pull up one of
the many videos of kitty purrs on YouTube and the like.)
An object to charm. (this can be a piece of jewelry, a crystal, or anything else you
think would be beneficial for you when youre stressed)
Step One: First you need to listen to the purr with all of yourself. If youre using a real kitty,
be sure to ask for their help when you know theyre up to it and if possible hold or pet them
to elicit their happy purrs. For those queuing up a video, make sure the sound is such that
its a low rumble of a sound- not too loud or soft. Just that comforting frequency.
Step Two: Listen and focus on the rhythm of the purr, feel it in your bones, let the peaceful
calm it brings wash over you. You are safe, you are loved, you are happy. These are the
feelings you want to put into your charm.
Step Three: Hold your item to be charmed in one hand and close your eyes, focusing on the
purring. Feel the vibrations of the sound through your other hand (either by having it on the
purring kitty or on the speaker emitting the sound). Chant/Think the following:
Kitty cat, kitty cat, purr purr purr
Make all the bad a blur blur blur
In this object may you stay stay stay
And drive my fears away, way way.
Step Four: Now visualize the object emitting the feeling the purr brought you. Hold it tightly
and let that sensation flow through you, bringing you calm. This item now holds a kittys
purr for you to use to calm you when you need it.
Step Five: If you were working with a kitty/familiar- give them thanks for helping you out.
(Treats are definitely in order according to my kitty boys). Now when youre starting to
stress or freak out, just hold the object and replay that purring sound in your mind to bring
you peace again.
http://booksandtails.tumblr.com/post/98516462485/kitty-cats-peacefu...

Animal Candle Protection Spell

Posted by SunKat

1. Find or make a candle with the image of the animal.

2. Carve the animals identifying information.
3. Anoint the candle with protection oil and burn.
Protection Oil
Ground cinnamon
Galangal root
Ground peppermint leaves
Dried Rue
Ground vervain
Ground vetive
Add ingredients in olive or sunflower oil.
- Via judika illes

How to Make a Homemade

Mosquito Repellent That Works

Here's a super-simple formula for a bug repellant using essential oils:

1) Fill a clean spray bottle (that has never been used for toxic chemical sprays) to half-full
with distilled, boiled or filtered water.
2) Add witch hazel to fill almost to the top.
3) Add 30-50 drops of essential oils that have been found by scientific research to have either
insecticidal or bug repellent action (or both). Choose from one or more of the following
essential oils:
Peppermint
Catnip
Cedarwood
Citronella
Clove (well known insect repellent)
Cyprus (reported in a scientific paper to have action at least equal to DEET - a common
ingredient in commercial insect sprays that can cause harm to humans and is also toxic to
birds and aquatic life)
Eucalyptus
Lavender (also soothing and disinfectant to bug bites!)
Lemongrass
Rosemary
Tea Tree
Source: herbs-info.com

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