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Several years ago I asked a friend to design a logo for me for a special project. The logo was fantastic, the project bombed. It started with Sacred Self; that’s all I really knew…the double S’s appeared to me in a DNA double helix design and was light filled. Paul, my magic making logo designer, […]
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Every year in the days around the autumnal equinox, in the mornings, around 10:12 precisely, the trees around my house fill with hundreds of small little black birds very excited to tell me of their journey thus far. They jump about, twitter and call and talk and jabber for about 1/2 hour and move on. […]
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When I was 5 years old my parents moved us from Toronto to Markdale, ON, a rural community some 2 hours north of the city. They had discovered a relic of an abandoned and ‘haunted’ house on an overgrown 10 acres of land out in the country that filled their hearts and minds with starry-eyed […]
About 25 years ago my husband and I found ourselves having to start new lives. Our lives had taken a sharp turn for the worst in the late 80’s and we quite suddenly found ourselves broke with a new young family; one 16 year old boy and 3 babes under 2 to provide for. We were quite shell-shocked, disorientated and struggling our way through every day. Our losses and 3 difficult pregnancies had taken a hard toll. We had moved to an old Ontario farmstead to lick our wounds in peace and through a weird twist of events decided to give herb farming a go. We had both been raised on farms and were at this stage of our lives desperately longing to find a simple way to be in the world. We also needed a way to be productive and earn a living while we tried to rebuild and restructure our lives. At some primal level we also knew that we needed to get our feet into the dirt; literally get back to our roots. We were starting over.
Making a Living
Our choice was to focus on growing many varieties of heirloom vegetables, herbs and perennial flowers suitable for drying, selling the produce from the farm and at farmer’s markets and craft shows. These were high density crops that could survive and hopefully thrive with the meager assets we could provide. Our land and our lives had specific inherent challenges that we had to get around if we wanted to realize any kind of success. First and foremost was that we had no money nor slush fund to work from. Secondly, we had really crappy land to work with. Half of our gardens were on land that was seriously depleted from dozens of years of being a badly kept lawn, and the other half of the land was stolen from the adjacent corn and soy bean fields that had been repeatedly sprayed for years on end with chemical herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers. A serious challenge for an organic herb farm! We also had a minimal water supply – enough for the house only. The area was further challenged in that it had no shelter therefore it experienced full sun, wind and rain exposure leaving it prone to erosion and drought. There were very little native resources on site. Thankfully we were extremely resourceful, had great support from family and close friends and we had neighbours that were very willing to help the new crazy people on the block if only for the giggle value.
Growing, growing, growing!
We were already committed to working organically, utilizing raised beds, mulch, compost and manure fertlizer. As we researched various gardening methods and techniques to help us deal more effectively with the site issues we stumbled into and started experimenting with biodynamic gardening and permaculture techniques. As we grew and developed our ideas, we brought in more and more species and created more and more gardens and increased our biodiversity exponentially. Eventually we had created 19 20’x20’ plots for experimental/demonstration gardens plus a “Tea” herb garden, a 30’x40’market herb garden plus a 50’x50′ english/medicine wheel/labyrinth garden for wandering in, meditation and ceremony. We also renovated one driving shed into a drying storage barn and another into a flower workshop and gift shop. A lean-to verandah became a makeshift greenhouse, a lean-to shed was stripped of it’s inner and outer coverings and became another greenhouse/chicken coup and finally 3 4’x20’ cold frames were dug out of a south facing slope. We were holding guided gardening tours, various educational and crafting workshops, and selling exclusively from the farm year round. These were some of the physical successes we had. Today I would do things almost the same way, tweak some ideas, and hopefully be able to invest in certain aspects of the farm better than I could in those days but all in all it was a great experience, my kids grew up grazing and it served us well for over 7 years. Because we were deeply immersed in the process we barely noticed the really spectacular achievement of those years. The really important value was that as we healed the land it healed us, we transformed, we came back to life!
As we came back to health and our family thrived, life took another turn, my husband was ‘called’ back to working with heavy equipment and I had been ‘called’ into energy work and by 1998 Reiki had taken over all my time. We left the farm and moved into new career directions, the gardening principles persisted however but this time in an entirely new dimension. Today I am once again walking my crooked path and have come full circle. With some wisdom gained through review and hindsight I have decided to get certified as a permaculture designer. All my previous career paths are coming together into one – I feel whole and full.
Why Permaculture Today
The reason I mention all this today is that almost 25 years ago my husband and I chose permaculture as a way to live and work in the world; not because of climate change, not because of the world water issues, not because of imminent oil or financial industry collapse but simply because we needed to get well. We needed to heal. We needed to get our feet in the soil and get in touch with our souls and re-connect with nature again. During those years on the farm we received hundreds of visitors as our guests. I became deeply aware of the pain and suffering people were experiencing in their daily lives. They were struggling with health and unhappiness issues. They came, drawn in by the herbs, and they sat in the gardens – sometimes for hours. I recognized the need for the garden as a healing energy in people’s lives. A deeply restorative place in which we can sit immersed in primordial order. In a natural well designed garden we are held and supported, nurtured and healed.
Permaculture offers us a permanent natural culture that is built on year after year on any scale in any situation. It naturally supports us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. We are healed and revitalized energetically as well and it doesn’t depend on us becoming avid gardeners with glowing green thumbs. In “permacultural” living we work and live together with nature harmoniously, neither tries to override and dominate the other, we don’t become slave to each other and we naturally nurture each other with food, energy and peace. Nature and we relax – together. Our garden becomes a living sanctuary for all species of life. We listen to each other and enjoy a symbiotic natural relationship.
I’m mentioning this today because permaculture is one of those things that is just right and good for you to do for you today on whatever scale you choose. If any of this appeals to you I would be happy to discuss and help you design your permaculture home sanctuary.
Man meets Destiny!
7 the year of the Chariot, a time to get moving in the direction of your dreams – no excuses any longer! You will find this year will offer boundless support for whatever your heart/mind desires; the difficulty is that we mere humans tend to get all balled up trying to figure out what is going on between our hearts and our minds. We feel too much and we think too much. In our attempts to be conscientious human beings we feel our way through a wide bevy of emotion ranging from starry-eyed love to debilitating fear and think our way from logic to worry and everything in between. It can leave us in a place of unresolved conundrum, with time slipping through our fingers.
The energy of the number seven will bring you to your destiny, and while we fantasize and quietly, fervently hope that there exists some master plan and divine purpose that is personally chosen for us, we never seem to quite know how to trust that we’ve actually found it or even the path toward it. We struggle in this dualistic world to consider all mitigating factors weighing everything against our wavering feelings and long for a heaven sent message via anyone; guides, angels, friends or strangers who can say they know what we ourselves do not.
The problem is that you and only you can and in fact must determine your own path and purpose. Only you have the insight and wisdom that is needed to face all your weaknesses with all your strengths.
Light and Dark; Strong and Weak
The energy of 7 affirms our inner sense of victory, of alignment and validates that we have achieved a true awareness. And for a moment we feel crystal clear and positive that we are on the right track. In the next moment however we begin to wobble. There is a surreal quality to the energy this year where reality and fantasy seem to overlap and present us with doubts and confusion. You will face your demons this year – the ones that steal your success and power right out from under your nose.
7 is a number of creative power and wholeness. 7 encompasses the whole of our spectrum of living, 7 musical notes, 7 chakras in prismatic colour, 7 days of the week, etc. In the energy of 7 we are blessed with knowledge of the whole of a situation and are presumably thereby able to make informed decisions and take decisive action. However, with hard work comes avoidance, with vision comes blindness, and with survival comes challenge. Ultimately this will be a stressful year, rife with equally grounded arguments for opposing points of view.
To overcome this year of contradictions you will have to master your willpower, your self-control, be patient as never before and driven as though steering a chariot through the gates of hell toward your dreams.
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You’ve come to earth, to this universe to learn teachings that are only available here. Specifically, you have come to learn how to manage the power plays that are created in a dynamic of opposite energies. You sit here on our little emerald planet as either male or female and hold a particular perspective that […]
Many, many years ago when I consciously first decided to embarked on my own healing path I had a very “strange” healing session with a woman who believed in some things very “strange” to my very left brain way of thinking at the time. But I liked her so I did what she told me to do. I also knew that all the ‘normal’ things I was doing to get on a better life path weren’t working. It was time for some ‘strange’ medicine. Her medicine included chanting, long purifying baths infused with specific essential oils and crystals, and repeating long affirmations that she gave to me. I had nothing to lose. My life needed a kick in the pants and I wasn’t going to let a little weirdness get in the way!
The thing that strikes me these days about those days is how I ever thought those things weird – they’re not anymore! I’ve seen the light! I found my way! Scented purifying baths are marvelous, as is chanting, as are affirmations! But more than just feeling good – they work!
Today in my own healing practice and energy classes these elements are essential to the work my clients do for themselves at home. In fact when we are trying to restructure a belief pattern or long-standing habits affirmations are the surest way to get there.
The main idea of using affirmations is to replace a negative belief pattern with a positive one. By changing the belief pattern we in effect re-program the way we think and feel about a particular situation. Affirmations are more than just positive thinking though. Specifically, they are a way to vibrationally attach to the truths hidden within the most Sacred aspect of ourselves. In using affirmations we appeal to the Divine, using truth to trigger positive responses in our unconscious psyche.
When working with affirmations you are not communicating with the illusion part of yourself that believes in fear and your weakness. You are learning to establish a vital relationship with the divine you that hasn’t forgotten your truth. This may, in some case, only be a small spark, but it still exists none-the-less. Affirmations appeal to higher truths – DIVINE TRUTH not PERSONAL TRUTH !
We live in a fear based illusory world that is constructed in finite ways to solve finite problems. The ever niggling and corrosive problem to this way of solving problems is that we are not finite…we are infinite. We human beings are dynamic expressions of infinite, unparalleled power. When we begin to believe in our small determined boxes of life we quickly become stalemated. Our bodies begin dying and decaying. Our minds become smaller and more rigid. And we become dull, emotionally bitter and disappointed. It is our evolutionary purpose to grow and flourish. The body is designed to regenerate and survive. When we limit our potential expression the soul becomes anguished expressing itself through painful bodies and heart brokedness!
The energy of the creative forces of our universe are positive, dynamic and light filled. Every molecule enabled by positive energy creates more life. To step into a cycle that affirms life, creates health and presents possibility we must learn to open doors and build pathways, in fact neuro – pathways. The brain hard wires where it fires. Only by allowing new thought and new solutions will the brain stay flexible and healthy.
Positive and affirmative words align us with the forces of creation, and as such they claim and appropriate all that is yours by Divine right. We have unfortunately been conditioned to believe that there are ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ in society and that we fall into these groups more by chance than by planning. In truth we have a choice on how to approach life and further how we can attract and experience the life that we want.
Be clear on this; you – by your words, your actions, and belief systems are already creating the life that you have. Therefore if you don’t like what you have and think you would prefer something different then you must choose to express yourself differently. It’s that simple. We determine the quality of our life by the way we align ourselves with all that is possible, good and bad, positive and negative. Remember that everything is a matter of vibration, and like attracts like.We exist in a dualistic world. There is equal unbiased possibility and opportunity of living life either in a positive expression or a negative one. To transcend our dualistic world is a matter of choice of influence. Our thoughts, words and actions will determine to which end of the spectrum we will gravitate. It is easier and more natural than you might assume to become positively orientated. It is our natural state of being. The human organism is a creative machine. It’s entire physical function creates and recreates on a second by second basis. It is really quite astounding to realize that we are more likely to get in our way than go with our natural flow. Shifting towards a positive expression is like lighting a candle in the darkness. Affirmation is the match that initiates the flame of our inner candle. Once lit, the way becomes clear.
Through repetitive affirmation man gains conscious awareness and insight to innate intelligence.
An affirmation is a statement that expresses life, health and wholeness. By using affirmation we stimulate a positive consciousness in the body; arousing the power of the mind in the body and calling it into action. As the positive mind becomes established in the body, healing is moved into action and immediately begins to rectify any imbalances in the physical.
It is not necessary to believe an affirmation when you begin. In fact the really important faulty believe systems that you are challenging will fight tooth and nail to maintain their position of strength in your mind. The purpose of using affirmations is to reprogram a faulty thought pattern gently, unobtrusively, slipping under the wire appealing to your higher, finer divine self. Like a weak muscle you will gently coax strength back into a forgotten truth and bring it back to conscious mind. Initially you must fake it ‘til you make it. You are not lying to yourself, you are just side stepping the false programming you hold.
Persistent positive affirmation will uplift consciousness out of negativity to allow for health filled patterns to take root. As the subconscious shifts towards light so will the body. When the heart mind consciousness becomes infused with light it will finally realize its sacred power.
I AM a Sacred Divine being with unlimited potential! And So Are You!
Several years ago I discovered that I needed a blueprint that I could follow on a daily basis to build my spiritual growth by. Some of these things I was already easily doing, others I needed to remind myself of. I put them all in a list, pinned it up on my wall and read it many times a day! I promised myself to follow my list. I noticed that the days I felt low and crappy were the days I wasn’t following my promise. And I also noticed that following my ‘promise’ list would pick me up out of any depression and immediately shift my mood into a happy, stable place again. Try it for yourself!
Today I will…
~ meditate 10 minutes in mindful awareness and silence.
~ journal one thought, idea or feeling.
~ express gratitude.
~ notice one beautiful thing.
~ appreciate someone else for something.
~ receive a blessing.
~ let go of something.
~ meet another with compassion.
~ do something kind for me.
~ pray for the wellbeing of one other person.
~ have faith that everything is in good hands.
Every year we witness the cycles of growth and decay through which life on earth expresses its self and every year we excitedly experience the inner surge of rising energy as new dreams blossom within our own consciousness. Just as the sap rises and falls, so do we feel the natural ebb and flow of spring energy deep in our own bones. Our own inner rhythm enlivens us once more with the life generating vital forces that are needed for new life to erupt. As human beings we are destined to feel Spring’s fever pulsing within our own systems stirring our creative energy out of its long hibernation.
Deep down in the frozen soil a new magic has begun as the earth prepares to germinate new life. As spring eases into our lives and begins to mature fully into longer days, budding flowers and sprouting greenery everywhere remind us to bear in mind the careful preparations that will be needed for the successful growth of new life during the next several months. This is the season for conceptualizing. We may now effectively flip the ‘what–if’ possibilities over in our minds and consider the consequences of our intentions. But remember this is all still happening internally, in the mind and in the heart.
In spring we are reborn. The push is on for letting go of the old and allowing a new fertile season to take hold in our lives. Resurrection is at hand. Be clear on what you wish to bring back in to your life. Patterns are stubborn; they survive for the sake of themselves. They can be powerful assistants to our dreams and they can also be the destroyers. It is your choice how you allow them to hold power into this new year of possibility. Be conscious of what you truly wish to empower and see prosper. Ensure you have the proper conditions in place to support the dreams you are building.
It is time to stretch and yawn, release the toxins of the long night of winter and move toward the morning light of spring. With the passing of the Spring Equinox we become quickly aware of the lengthening daylight hours. Encouraged by the sunshine and longer days we are eager to bring our visions out of the nebulous dream state and into reality. But dreams are not strong enough to survive on their own in the harsh dualism of reality. They need to be coaxed along with proper attention and care to details.
Spring is the time to begin a walking, yoga, or other movement program if you haven’t already done so. Be aware of your changing health patterns. Are you providing yourself with enough fuel to move into a new season? The demands of spring are different from those of winter. You need more high energy foods and less comfort food. It’s time to peel back the layers of blankets and waddling to be able to move about more freely. Encourage your inner need to get moving but do it sensibly. Build a meditation practice into your new movement plans. This will help ensure that your foundations are strong enough before you try to build dream mansions. All mansions will fall if the underlying intentions aren’t strong enough to support them. Take the time to know your true heart and mind.
Hold your dream for your life in your mind’s eye as a holographic model; see the world as a surging place of dynamic energy ready to be recreated into the world of your choice.
Andrea Thiel Connell 
Written
on October 27, 2015