Patience, young grasshopper ...

Remember the vintage TV show, "Kung Fu", when the main character, played by David Carradine, was learning the ancient ways from his teacher?  Probably the most quoted phrase from the show was when the mentor would remind Carradine's character, "Patience, young grasshopper." Though the show aired about forty years ago, I can still recall how that phrase, when uttered, pulled me into a state of calm and serenity.  Yep, even as a little kid.  Even back then, I knew it was important.

These days, it's been a challenge to lock into that sense of patience.  Just writing this blog post makes me itchy to get to the point of it, keep it interesting, keep ME interested, wonder how people will take it, how it will affect them, and on and on, blah, blah, blah - ad nauseum.  I'm getting impatient just re-reading what I just wrote.  "Get ON with it, Pam!"

It is oft said that patience is a virtue.  Indeed, that hackneyed phrase is from a poem entitled, Psychomachia, or Battle/Contest of the Soul, written by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius.  Patience is one of the Seven Heavenly Virtures (Chastity, temperance, Charity, Diligence, Kindness and Humility being the others).  To practice them meant you'd arm yourself against the Seven Deadly Sins (the nasties wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony).  Yes, I'd say the seven virtues are something to emulate.  And I'm not doing too shabbily with most of them.  But Patience is eluding me.  It's a battle I've been losing as of late.  And I hate that.

Maybe it's due to having a Smart Phone, wherein everything is at my fingertips and, after having that sort of convenience, I'm inwardly baffled that the rest of the world isn't that zippy-quick.  Maybe it's having so many irons in so many fires all at once (my voice-over career, my book stuff, my spiritual stuff, social stuff and, oh, yes, how about my wonderful hubby?).  Sometimes I'm seven different people simultaneously.  Sometimes I work to have all things line up succinctly so that I can actually sit back and relax on occasion.  But then I feel guilty about relaxing, growing impatient with myself for not being in activity.  I don't think it's undiagnosed, late-onset ADD.  I think it's overworking and overstressing about being everything to everyone - sometimes including myself.

So I become impatient with my lovely hubby when he's not spinning at 100 MPH the exact same way i am.  I become impatient with the lady at the coffeehouse you wants a quick fill-up on her coffee because she's doing a "no, after YOU" to me and, really, I CAN WAIT (because I came in here to practice patience today), but I finally snap and say, "This is silly.  Just go ahead. Geeze - It's like a Mexican stand-off!" which upsets her but, hey, I can't stand people when they waffle.  Make up your mind, take a stand, or go home.  Stop.  Wasting.  My.  Precious.  TIME!

(cleansing breath)

So, I own the fact that Patience is a hard-fought, difficult-to-grasp virtue for me.  I think the first person I need to be patient with is myself.  My daily morning meditation practice is sporadic, at best.  But I know the value of taking those 15 minutes each day, how time seems to slow down and thicken and deepen, allowing for stillness and calm.  It's like I'm David Carradine and I can sit in stillness that bolsters me for my day ahead (although I do not take part in martial arts practices due to my bad lower back and due to the fact that I'm as graceful as one of these: )

So, I forgive myself for being so gosh-darned hard on myself for NOT meditating.  Yes, I could beat up on myself, because I should "know better", being a "big deal Chopra Center meditation student, fer cryeye".  Things happen.  Life happens. Things speed up and they often blind us to the softer, slower, gentler things.

I hiked today and prayed for patience, for focus and for stillness.  The fact that I'm owning my impatience issue is huge for me.  Owning it, recognizing it's a problem, is truly my first and greatest step in allowing myself the gift of stillness, of not having to be perfect, of not having to be Everything.

So, the next time I lose my patience, I'll slow down, breathe, look in my pocket to find it.  Because I carry it with me always ... and it's never completely lost.



From angiechan.com

How to make a "Bewitched"-themed wreath for Halloween!

Just look at the awesomeness.  I did it all by myself (with the exception of Ben printing out the photos, because my printer is wonky.  Witch's honor).

 

So, how did I go about making this fantabulous wreathic ode to my favorite Mid-Century TV show?  How did I get the idea to do it?  WHY did I do it?

 

Well, I was tired of walking through Target, speciality stores, quaint antique shoppes, trolling around online,  and just not finding the perfect Halloween-Samhain wreath.  I wanted something that stood out from the rest, wasn't orange and black, and had no owls. Or bells.  I can't tell you how many Halloween wreaths I found that had black, metal bells.  What's with that?

 

Also, I wanted something witchy, something magickal to pay homage to my new-found leanings.  It had to be a perfect reflection of what I think of when I think of witchery: positive, mystical, celebratory, and maybe just a tad purple-bluelicious.

 

So, one I day, while viewing some clips of "Bewitched" on Youtube (because I do that), I came across the segment from "Serena Stops the Show".  You know the one. 

 

Where she sings, "Blow You a Kiss in the Wind", the song that Boyce and Hart then perform at the Cosmos Cotillion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3cFkXSgfjg

 

Ah.  The Cosmos Cotillion.  How I always wished I could attend it.  Or any of the Witches' Balls.  Or stop in for a visit at Witches' Council.  Ethereal, smoky-yet elegant, and definitely otherworldly.  And every picture I found online didn't quite match the picture I image I had in my mind's eye.  Because, since childhood, I would dream about what lay beyond the scenes of said councils and balls and cotillions.  Those were the times when I hung around with Samantha and Serena and we sipped bubbly potions, feasted on the vast array of delicacies only found in that world between worlds, cast spells, and played practical jokes with Uncle Arthur.

 

And then it came to me.  A wreath informed by those wispy, crystalline images dancing in my head for over forty years.

 

Here's what I amassed:

 

* a styrofoam wreath circle

* purple, sequined bendable ribbon

* lavender-silver glitter ribbon

* silver sequined craft paper stock

* fourteen wood circles (eight 2" ones, six 2 1/2" ones)

* purple glitter glue

* glue stick

* black tempera paint

* small craft pins

* hot glue gun

* small picture hanger

* photos printed from online search

* crystal decorative chains

 

First, I covered the styrofoam circle with the lavender-silver glitter ribbon. I needed three spools of it. I used pins to pin it all in place. 

 

Then, I took the purple bendable ribbon and made foot-long accordions of it, pulling it out and pinning it in place on the back of the wreath, so it makes a funky, witchy sunflower. 

 

Next, I pinned the silver paper stock the the back, trimming the excess so there wasn't a big, ol'  square attached to the wreath.

 

After that, I painted the outer edges of the circles black, then decorated the dried paint with the glitter glue (this doesn't show up in the photo too clearly, but adds some depth when you see it up close).

 

I sat and scoured photos online until I found a wonderful mix of all my favorite "Bewitched" characters, with a preponderance of Serena and Samantha, naturally.  I was giddy when I found one of Tabitha in mid-conjure.  And, of course, Uncle Arthur served tableside.  I had my hubby print them out (thanks, sweetie!) on photo paper in either 2" or 2 1/2" circles, which I then cut out and affixed to the wood circles with my trusty glue stick.

 

Next, the wooden photo circles were hot glued in place.  I made sure to not make the pieces look like a series of clock numbers, alternating larger and smaller circles in an unstructured way.

 

To gild the lily, I first pinned the crystal chains (used two) after weaving them around the photos, then hot glued them securely onto the wreath. It adds that perfect bit of glimmer and decadence (Actually, I told my hubby that I was assembling a "Bewitched" wreath that will look a little like a drag queen.  I think the crystal chains achieved that effect nicely).

 

Then, to seal the deal, I printed out the iconic "Bewitched" logo on photo paper, and hot glued it to the center of the sequin paper.

 

All that was left to do was nail in the small picture hanger on the back et voila!  The perfect purple-silver-whimsy-magic spell Cosmos Cotillion wreath.  My childhood dreams of hanging out with my TV family have come true!

 

Photo from Samanthashaven.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 









Ghost Hunting 101: A Few Tips (and common sense)

Not all ghosts you encounter when ghost hunting are this adorable. (image from disneywikia.com)

Okay, this is shaping up to be quite an October for the Mystic!  I've been employed to host two, count 'em, TWO ghost hunting expeditions.  Well, only one can be truly classified as an expedition - the other is to be held in one small store that is most definitely of the haunted variety.

So, how did I get so lucky?  Well, I let folks know I'm a sensitive, that I know how to ghost hunt, and things just sort of fall into my lap.  I feel I'm letting spirit speak through me when I do this work (not necessarily allowing ghosts to speak through me; I'm talking about more or less the guidance I get from my spirit guides in relation to how to go about the ghost hunting process).

Now, there are folks who make this their full-time business; I'm more of a very serious hobbyist.  Very serious.  I don't mess around.  I don't allow any spirits to bully me or my guests.  I simply go in wishing to connect, find out if there are any messages from the other side, and, hopefully, gather some physical evidence of the hauntings.  So, although the generic term for what I do is ghost hunting, I'd rather call it realm-to-realm communication: from the physical to the ethereal.

So what do I do when I hunt?  Basically, I keep it simple.  I have at the ready a classic EMF meter (electromagnetic frequency), an audio recorder, a camera, a dandy app on my cellphone called "Ghost Radar" (the pro version), divining rods, a crystal pendulum, and, most importantly, my sixth sense. 9 times out of 10, the hands-on equipment will back-up what I initially feel just by entering the space and "tuning in" to the energies present.

A variety of ghost hunting tools from the Creepy Cincinnati website: http://creepycincinnati.com/2011/12/14/the-truth-about-ghost-hunting-tools/  They have an excellent article here about the controversies surrounding popular ghost hunting tools.  Check it out!

When you do this sort of work, protect yourself, fer cryeye!  In several other posts, I've sung the virtues of not going into a haunted space willy-nilly!  Although (hopefully!) you're bringing positive energy into the space and looking for positive spirits, there are bullies on the other side, just like here.  Some ways to arm yourself include wearing a cross, carrying rosemary in your pocket, an amethyst in your purse, a St. Michael prayer card on your person.  But what's most important is to surround yourself with your spirit guides, with white light, with God energy.  And, the very first thing that should come out of your mouth upon entering the area is: "I come in peace, respecting your space, harming none".

Now, there are some shows on cable with "extreme" ghost hunters who prod and poke the air in order to agitate spirit. They challenge them, spar with them.  I highly recommend you not try that.  It might seem like fun but, again, you never know when a bully might show itself to you.  If you feel any sort of heaviness to the space, leave it.  Works with bullies in physical form, so it fits that it works in the spirit realm as well.

I'll be posting more info on my escapades as they occur.  Any questions or comments are most welcome!  We all learn from each other through sharing this stuff.

Blessings to you, during this highly-charged time of the year.