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Newsletter for the Spiritual Seeker |

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Copyright © 2007 - 2014 Rich Associates All rights reserved. No portion of this site or the information herein may be reproduced in any way without written permission. |
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Note: this top spot will be for our Featured Article in all future issues of Wicca Spirit… |
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Updated July 28, 2011 - watch for new articles! |
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Shielding for Empaths by Dale Power
One of the biggest problems that psychics have is getting unwanted information that is disruptive to their daily lives. This is especially difficult for those that resonate most strongly to emotional data. We know them as Empaths. People that feel other peoples emotions. This is such a big problem that I have been asked by several people, in the last two days, to explain some techniques they can use to find a bit of peace! First I want to clarify what is going on with Empaths, as opposed to say, Telepaths, or Clairvoyants. It makes life much easier to deal with when you understand why a specific type of psychic phenomenon happens to you all the time, and other types hardly happen at all. At this point in time it seems that we have only one psychic “organ" which is our brain. Most specifically it seems that the actual sensing organ in the brain lies in the more primitive regions near the base of the brain. We don’t have a special organ, like eyes or ears, for each psychic ability. Rather empathy, telepathy, precognition, post-cognition, remote viewing and a whole host of other abilities seem to be a perceptual difference of the same sense. A different approach to the same thing, if you will. It would be like being able to see in all colors, but only noticing red, lets say, or blue. You still have the equipment to see them all, only you focus on the one type of color, ignoring the others. So it is with psychic abilities. We tend to pay attention to certain kinds of data and disregard, on a subconscious level as often as not, all of the other information coming in. This seems to be a kind of protective mechanism. Without this natural tendency to disregard most input we would be bombarded with a vast flood of psychic data. So much so in fact that it is likely that no one could function for any length of time. Another part of our natural defense mechanism is a field of energy and information that surrounds our bodies. This protective quality seems to be one of the primary jobs of our aura. It acts as a natural filter for incoming data and energy. We can strengthen this field using various methods, which will help to control how much we have to deal with on a deep internal level. For now, we will work with these two key components, as they can be brought to bear fairly easily in an emergency situation. From these two essentials we get several ways to protect ourselves from outside information.
1. Distract yourself from emotional thought patterns and psychic information that resonate to these thought patterns. This can be done in several ways. You could try and do complicated math problems in your head, for instance. Another popular technique is to visualize an object in between you and the incoming information. Try a red rose or the face of a popular movie figure. This is a fast way of finding some relief, but far from the most effective.
2. Strengthen your natural defense field and distract yourself by visualizing a wall or force field around yourself. A glowing egg of energy works well, pick you favorite color! The more vivid the shield you imagine, the stronger it will be. You can set this field to keep out any kind of information you wish. In fact with a bit of practice you can allow in only one type of information, which will allow that info to make itself known on a far more powerful level, as it will have no competition for your attention. This is perhaps the most common technique of shielding. You can also ground yourself, let excess energy flow off of you, by imagining a link or cord that goes from the base of your tailbone to a point deep within the Earth. Some find this helpful, and if nothing out requires more concentration to visualize, which may help you find relief.
3. If you are ready for something a bit more challenging, but very effective, you can generate a protective field of information in concert with your subconscious mind. Instead of visualizing a shield around you, try to feel the field around your body strengthening on a fundamental level. Do this without using mental images or words for best result. You can control the type of field you generate by holding a deep meditative state while keeping the concept without distraction in as pure a form as possible. You can use this field to perform any shielding task you wish. This type of shielding is very powerful, but really only needed if you are actively under a strong mental assault. (For more information please read the article “The Greatest “Secret" of the Mind." By Dale Power)
Now these different ways of shielding will only work against non-physical intrusions into your mind. For physical threats you have to use a more advanced technique, Aversion Shielding. An article on this topic will be coming soon. For now you will find that you have to concentrate on shielding at about a 1 to 4 ratio. One minute of concentration to 4 minutes of shielding, as the effects tend to linger for a bit. As you gain confidence and solid technique you will get far better results. With more advanced methods you may only have to reinforce your shielding once every week or so. (More on this later too.) All three of these techniques are useful for different things and you will find that learning to use them all can be of great benefit. If you are having trouble with psychic intrusions into your mind, you can trouble shoot by using them all in the order given here.
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Retreating Wherever You Go By Jennifer Louden
When we think about retreating, we usually think of pristine spots in nature, secluded retreat centers, or perhaps even pampering spas. But truly we can retreat anywhere. How about a dentist's waiting room? A library carrel, in a church, on your commute home, a fountain in a park on your lunch hour, a friend's home when she's out of town, or a window seat in your favorite café will do as well. If you feel you must be in motion to be retreating, try a bike ride, or even a car ride across town. But anyplace where you can find stillness will do, and the list of spots is endless: a rooftop garden, in front of your favorite painting in a local museum, the back of the bus, a pier, a houseboat, treetop, or even in the kitchen with your teacup. A retreat springs from, and is guided by, your inner knowing. It means stepping out of your ordinary existence to listen and attune to your truest, most authentic self. We tend to think of retreats as experiences that begin with journeys, or that take place in a religious setting; oftentimes with a group, where obedience and discipline are an integral part of the retreat. But sometimes we need to create a retreat for ourselves, to use loving self-discipline to push past limiting beliefs, to instigate change, to bring closure. In writing "The Woman's Retreat Book" I found we need retreats that allow us to listen to and obey our own hearts. This kind of retreat need only take 10 minutes. Or you can make it a vacation of 10 days. However, or wherever, you do it, creating a retreat for yourself outside of a formal program takes some preparation, and concentration. Prepare Set an intention. Intention is what distinguishes your time off. "Retreat is not about a statement, it's about a question," says Christina Baldwin, author of "Calling the Circle." "Most of the work of giving yourself a fruitful retreat is in understanding what your question is. That question is an articulation of an inarticulate longing." It is important to understand what the longing is. Form your intention by identifying the most passionate, heart-rending, or irritating longing in your life and then frame that itch as a question. For example, "For the next 24 hours I intend to ask, 'How can I be kinder to myself?'" A loving, questioning intention gives your inner knowing something precious to gaze on, the illuminated essence of your retreat. "Why am I on retreat? Oh yes, because of this yearning question." Your intention is a still point of purpose to refer to. It helps you to concentrate your time in a way that has heart and meaning. However long you designate for retreat, intention helps you make the most of that time. Withdraw from ordinary life Withdrawal can take the form of symbolic action. By creating a safe space, physically or emotionally, to withdraw into, you signal to your psyche that you are entering altered time. "What I try to do is make sure everything I do matters," says Cynthia Gale, a ceremonial artist in Cleveland, Ohio. "So when I sit and have a cup of tea, I don't just have a cup of tea, I think about what tea I'm going to have, where I'm going to sit, what direction I'm going to sit in, how that ten minutes is going to be different." This effort at disengaging is especially important when you aren't able to go somewhere to retreat. You can go to your bed, your garden, a visualization of a place you love in nature, the crook of a tree. Take the phone off the hook and close your office door. Perform a symbolic ceremony to separate your retreat time from normal time. This ceremony can be as involved as a sweat lodge, as simple as a purifying soak in the bath, putting on a special shawl and staring at a candle, reading a poem you love and then stepping over the threshold of your front door to go for a walk. Listen in sacred space In our modern world, sacred, liminal space is perhaps the hardest part of the retreat to maintain. Yet it is where the work of transformation takes place. This can be done in a myriad of ways. Ask yourself thought-provoking questions. Write in your journal about how you are feeling or why you are retreating. Move to music or meditate on metaphorical words like poetry or the Psalms. Visualize your Divinity blessing you. Many types of relaxing activity can create sacred space: painting, walking on the beach, knitting, lying on your couch listening to music. But the end result is always to place you in your center, working toward a truer relationship with all that is within you. Silence and solitude have their place here. You can't contact your wisdom and come to accept your self without spending time alone in silence.
Another way you maintain sacred space is to push yourself out of your habitual comfort zone. This might entail hiking alone on a local trail or being alone at your home with no TV and no phone. By doing so, you shift how you view yourself and your life. Shifting out of your comfort zone often creates anxiety and fear. Encountering your fear, not running from it, brings great richness to the retreat practice. That doesn't mean put yourself in danger, but it does mean leave deadening comforts behind and be willing to take risks. Re-emerge into ordinary space and time Re-emergence into the world at a new place is the final part of retreating. It is fraught with the difficulty of leaving sacred space and returning to ordinary life. You must acknowledge what you have done and where you have been, that you have been changed, even when your retreat has lasted for only a few moments. You can simply say, "I am returning from my retreat. I have done this and this is why."
Give some thought to your reentry so that you don't lose the gifts of your retreat too quickly in the daily array of demands. Bring back a talisman from your retreat - anything from a small rock to a vivid memory. Give thought to how you will communicate your experience to those you love, how you will physically reenter your work or home life, what would make it easier. |
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HOW TO LIVE LIFE Be Calm. . . . Quiet. . . . Tranquil. . . Bloom as often as you can. Stay close to your family. Explore the world around you. Enjoy the relaxing rhythm of waves. Watch the moon rise. Spread your wings and take off on your own. Then enjoy the comfort of coming home again. |







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