Author: Beth Page 6 of 12

Aka Dua: Days 9 – 11

On 2017-02-05

This is an ongoing diary of my 14-day initial practice since receiving the Level I Transmission of the ancient healing energy known as Aka Dua.

First Entry
Days 3-5
Days 6-8

Day 9

I have yet to do much with the Aka Dua today. It has been a busy day! I actually met with a friend and received a lovely Reiki treatment which I felt was long overdue and which helped me release some very stale energy. It was a powerful session that made some things very clear to me about my life. I won’t go into that here, but I will say that it was made clear during the session that what Aka Dua has provided me is a stability with my own energy. It has been not just a transmission of energy received, but an empowerment.

Oh, and I received an email today from Sadhaka, an energy healer with a youtube channel that has a nice library of Aka Dua-related videos. He had made two videos in which the watcher was supposed to receive and guess the AD energy transmitted; you have to email him for the answer. I had sent him an email saying what I believed he was transmitting in the first video, and he affirmed my answer! That felt good. But he went on to say he stopped making videos in that series because the energy hit people in different ways and people had different experiences of it that he didn’t want to discount.

I watched another video of his in which he takes us through the chakras with the various frequencies. I may have mentioned it in an earlier entry. Anyway, I plan on working with it again. I’ll report back tomorrow.

Day 10

Last night, I worked with the Vitriolum/chakra practice I wrote about. I was curious about the meaning of the word “vitriolum” which comes from Alchemy:

“The acronym V.I.T.R.I.O.L.U.M., used in alchemical literature, is formed by the Latin expression “Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem Veram Medicinam”, what means “Visit the interior of the earth, and by rectifying you will find the hidden stone which is the true medicine”.

Soul-Guidance.com

I love the video, and the practice is powerful, but I’m not sure I’ll do it at night again. It may be coincidence but it sure hasn’t helped me sleep!

Today, I decided to work with the energy earlier in the day, as so far, I have found it incredibly stimulating. I think nighttime practice is best suited to certain frequencies and not others. I’ve been noticing with some consistency now that I tend to get a cold rush when I activate the energy. My eyes also water. I also noticed that some frequencies still run more palpable for me than others…the others still touchable but oh, so subtle. Solar, for example, is still very subtle, which surprises me because a few days ago when receiving solar energy from someone else, it nearly knocked me over. Atmospheric, Lunar, and Oceanic are the three most consistent for me now. Volcanic and Obsidian both create that prickly sensation for me, but I don’t quite “understand” them yet. The Unnameable energy is the most familiar and the most powerful.

Day 11

The day got away from me, so before bed, I did my usual chanting practice, did some mirror work around some limiting beliefs I realized are no longer serving me, and then activated the AD with the intent of it helping me to release any remaining fragments of those beliefs and help me to anchor in the new replacement beliefs that arose during the mirror work. I felt a very nice, strong pulsing in my fingertips and a short moment later, an unwinding and ever-so-small shift in the area of my assemblage point, a sort of “projection room” to the film of our individual lives, which to me felt like a positive affirmation or confirmation that the energy was performing as requested.

Do you want to learn more about Aka Dua? Join the new Aka Dua Network on Facebook!

Carl Jung

By Beth

On 2017-02-03

In Blog, Mirrors

“He who looks in the mirror of the water, first sees his own image. He who looks at himself, risks to meet himself. The mirror does not flatter, it shows accurately what is reflected in it, namely that face that we never show the world because we hide it by the persona, the mask of the actor. This is the first test of courage on the inner path, a test, which is enough to frighten most people, because the encounter with oneself belongs to those unpleasant things, one avoids as long as one can project the negative onto the environment.”

Carl Jung

Aka Dua: Days 6 – 8

By Beth

On 2017-02-01

In Blog

In my last post about the Aka Dua, I said I would write this time about how Aka Dua is transmitted. The person who brought Aka Dua to the West, a man known as Koyote the Blind, received the energy from his teachers on the Toltec path. Originally, he was the one who was attuning people, disseminating the energy. Now, there are many people all over the world who have received and can transmit the Aka Dua energy, and in fact, many have put their own unique spin on it. As it is meant to be an evolutionary energy, this is expected, whereas there is a different philosophy behind something like Reiki, where lineage and purity of form is typically held to be of more importance. There are currently five levels of transmission, but only the first three are available to the public, so I’ll just write briefly about the first three:

Thanks for this unforgettable photograph, Bruce Omori. I’m using it as my screensaver. Check out his other incredible photography at Extreme Exposure!

Level One Transmission – one receives the substance of the Aka Dua which may present itself as one or more of the frequencies: solar, lunar, oceanic, volcanic, atmospheric, obsidian, and unnamed. It takes 28 days for this energy to settle, but his must be supported by 14 days of intentional daily practice.

Level Two Attunement – after the 28 days, one can receive this attunement of the Aka Dua energies. Here each of the 7 frequencies becomes fully accessible.

Level Three Mastery – this level of mastery allows one to combine the energies for healing purposes and also to transmit Level One and Two to others.

Day 6

Yesterday, I got the feeling that I’ve been trying too hard with the energy. So last night, after my mantra practice, I approached more gently. I simply made a ball of energy between my hands and sat with it quietly. I felt lunar and atmospheric. I am confident with those two frequencies. The others I am still not confident with, and I don’t want to force anything…just take it as it comes. When I was done, I placed the energy at my 3rd eye. I went on at night to dream of an anatomy book of sorts complete with pictures and diagrams being downloaded to me page by page at rapid speed.

I agree with what others have said/written about the Aka Dua. It is like an antenna or amplifier in that it seems to have impacted all my other practices. I feel it when I do my morning yoga. I feel it when I chant and meditate. I feel it underneath my intent, reinforcing it.

Day 7

Wow! One week already!? I received my copy of Aka Dua: An Ancient Healing Energy for a New Era by lead Aka Dua instructor, Arlan Cage. I was floored when I read the exact same two words I used yesterday, “antenna and amplifier”, to describe the energy! Maybe I saw it somewhere else and subconsciously applied it. So, last night, I practiced some techniques from the manual while listening to a brilliant advanced chakra balancing piece of music by Shapeshifter called Odyssey Empowerment. I practiced opening to the energy, holding the energy, moving it around my body, feeling for different frequencies, just being with it, taking it slow. Afterwards I drifted into lovely visions with the music, entering a temple where I was purified and cleansed, honored and welcomed. It was beautiful and magical there. It was home. It made me cry!

I’ve been thinking a lot about how this AD energy might be applied outside of individual or even group healing. I feel like there’s so much more that can be done with it, but I keep feeling that it will take a community. For me, that community isn’t built yet, so I just keep visualizing. For example, I see a group of willing practitioners gathering on Skype from all over the world to build bridges of energy and connect very intentional anchor points across the globe. I also see groups of us gathering at places around the world that need to be cleansed and purified of past traumas (work I’ve done with other groups years before)…a sort of seeping into and breaking apart of ancient densities so the energy that is reinforcing the darkness can be freed up and rechanneled.

I worked with the Aka Dua twice today, once briefly outside hands in the grass and then in the same way as yesterday, with music. When working with the earth, I felt as if my hands were two suction cups. It was very difficult to disengage. But the exchange was incredibly sweet and made me teary. And when I say exchange, it felt that I wasn’t the only one giving energy. I was receiving back. It was a peaceful circle.

I used a technique from Arlan Cage’s book again to get the energy going a little later in the evening. Again, I didn’t try so hard, just let things flow. I intend to flow each of the frequencies, but then it either comes or it doesn’t. I don’t force, just pay attention. I had an interesting unwinding in my right palm right off. I also had what I believe to be oceanic energy…vast and deep. I also…well, I turned my hands a certain way, and all of the sudden, I felt something quite different and unusual…like a weight. Actually, it is quite hard to describe what I felt. Honestly, the closest I can get is to say it felt like pure power. I actually exclaimed “holy shit!” This I offered up to the angels because it didn’t feel prudent to do anything else with it.

Day 8

What a night last night! I couldn’t sleep. My mind was racing. Around 2am, I’d had enough, so I pulled out my lavender essential oil and starting running some AD energy. Technically, I’m not supposed to be able to create combinations with the energy yet, but I intended to anyway, out of desperation. I asked for Lunar and Oceanic energies and christened that “Lullaby”. It did indeed help to quiet my mind, but something was missing. I added Atmospheric and that helped me relax more deeply. Before I feel asleep I started to wonder about adding a 4th frequency that would take me from “lullabies” to “sweet dreams”.

The amazing thing is that I experienced two very distinct NEW frequencies upon falling asleep. One I think I may now have a false memory for; I can’t be 100% certain this is what it was, but I think it could be likened to Quake. When it came into me (or out of me), it started shaking things. It was a density-buster. Again, there’s a small niggling I don’t remember this correctly. But the next one I do. What came next was electrical or starlight…it was pure white…and it pushed through and poured out from all the space created by the previous energy. It was truly a magnificent thing to witness. They were both completely amazing experiences. Now I wish that I forced myself awake to journal about them both immediately.

I practiced with the energy this morning again in meditation. I was back to experiencing it as simply “Aka Dua” and not anything in particular, just a nice pulse of energy. It did, however, have a lovely affect on the overall energy of the room and my meditation.

Want to learn more? Join the new Aka Dua Network on Facebook!

Previous Aka Dua Posts:

First Entry
Days3-5

Aka Dua: Days 3 – 5

By Beth

On 2017-01-29

In Blog

So here’s Part II of my Aka Dua practice digest. I didn’t talk much about the history of Aka Dua last time, so I think I’ll open briefly with that.

I mentioned in my last post the Aka Dua was passed down by the Toltec but its origins predate that civilization. It is said that the energy originally referred to as “the power” was brought to them via “Atlantis”. I put this in quotes because it is nothing historically confirmed nor part of my personal experience. I do believe, of course, in ancient civilizations that were able to do things and who had knowledge that we today can’t even imagine. One only has to look at the Great Pyramids, Stonehenge, or ancient glyphs referencing alien life and technology to know our ancestors knew something we no longer do. Suffice it to say, Aka Dua is an ancient energy.

It is also said that the Aka Dua came from another substance known as Sro; it is one of many fragments of this Sro, given to and preserved by the Toltec priests and passed down on the QT until such time as now, when it is most needed for our evolution.

I’ll share more about what Aka Dua initiations entail in my next post.

Day 3

I worked with the Aka Dua off and on throughout the day in small doses. Then in the evening, I did a concentrated practice and meditation with it during which it came through very strongly and with slightly different qualities which I attribute to the frequencies of lunar and atmospheric. Lunar feels very soft to me, just like the light of the moon. It is slightly hazy. Atmospheric feels very wide and fresh. It imparted a clearing away. I played with some Aka Dua videos on youtube, and when I experienced receiving solar, it came in a rush that was almost like being knocked over but at the same time, being held or supported from falling over. There was a strength to it. So far, I’m really just sensing and guessing. After only three days, I simply can’t be sure I’m accurately reading things. No matter. I will simply continue to explore the energy and intend to integrate it completely. The prickly sensation wasn’t as strong today. However, turning on the energy is definitely palpable to my palms. I am feeling an initial sweep inside my body and a coolness too which seems to shift or fade after a while. I consistently feel better after practice.

Day 4

Didn’t sleep very well last night. Don’t know if I can attribute it to any one thing. It happens. I meditated after doing some work online, and then eventually ran some Aka Dua (AD) around 3 AM, and it was very palpable from head to toe but soothing. Actually, I felt it’s presence during the meditation too. I eventually drifted off. When I woke up, I understood that AD is like a new operating system. So, even the meditation I did earlier made use of it. I am learning to find my way around this new operating system which has made files run more smoothly and take up fewer resources, enhancing “user experience”. I can still run old programs on the old system; they are obviously compatible. Not that I want to! I sort of have to until I fully integrate things. Eventually, the AD will become the only operating system I use.

Day 5

Rough night! Last night, I watched an “assemblage point shift with light language” video that was very powerful; it had me spinning. Then I practiced some chanting and worked with one of the Aka Dua chakra videos before bed.

All night long, I dreamed fear-based end-of-world type dreams; then I’d become slightly lucid and hear myself say, “That was all bullshit. That’s not true.” Then the cycle would repeat. All night long. It felt like a purification, which is great, but it wiped me out!!! Fear, fear, fear and all the physiology it provokes and then strength, strength, strength and affirming Truth. I feltl burned and slightly energetically crispy! Chanting when I woke up has helped alleviate that feeling.

That chakra video I mentioned worked through each chakra with the respective frequency. Guess what I came to realize? The prickly energy is Obsidian! I thought it might be volcanic, but it isn’t. So, I’m sensing at least Lunar, Atmospheric and Obsidian. Possibly Oceanic and Solar. I’m unclear with Volcanic and Unknown still. But that’s pretty good in less than a week!

Want to learn more? Join the new Aka Dua Network on Facebook!

Dependency vs. Co-dependency

By Beth

On 2017-01-28

In Blog, Guidance & Inspiration

I recently heard that the energies we’ll be dealing with in this coming month (Feb. of ’17) relate to our issues with co-dependent tendencies. It made me curious to know more about how this may play out in my life. I’ve always been the reverse of the co-dependent. I’ve been fiercely independent…up until recently anyway when life decided to give me an opportunity to experience new levels of dependence as an expatriate.

I grew up in a home with two male alcoholics, so I am all too familiar with what co-dependency actually looks like. I’ve since spent my life rigorously defending myself from living out the self-sacrificing womanhood I was demonstrated growing up. But, I have the feeling that my thoughts on this topic are as outdated as the late John Bradshaw (sorry, John).

So, instead of indulge in a bunch of stuff that’s already been written elsewhere about the topic, I thought I would consult something that might give me a more up-to-date perspective…my Devas of Creation deck!

Before I share the results, I think it is necessary to at least define the relevant terms. So bear with me while I share the following three definitions. In everyone’s life, a tension plays out along the dependency continuum in the various realms of daily life…health, finances, work, friendships, etc. Whether it is you or the other displaying an aspect, it is helpful to have some awareness of the dynamics. If you want to know more, you’ll have to do a little research.

Dependency: the heart of any relationship. It is a human necessity to rely on and interact with others.

Co-dependency: reliance on “other” to such an extent that one relinquishes inner authority and self-esteem to maintain the status quo of the relationship. It can also be needing the other to need us, to everyone’s detriment.

Interdependency: the formation of healthy partnerships and connections. It’s mutual benefit without one-sided sacrifice. Each person enters a symbiosis with the other to utilize one another’s strengths and resources but without losing self- sufficiency.

Now that that is out of the way, on to the reading.

I asked the deck for examples of healthy and unhealthy dependency. I shuffled, cut the deck twice, and selected three cards for each question. The results felt profound, at least to me.

What We Can and Should Rely Upon

Spirit:

We are dependent on the blueprint of life and its fundamental elements: space, water, earth, air, and fire. We belong to Spirit. We are, as the cliche goes, a spiritual being having a human experience. We cannot separate ourselves from this, no matter how vehemently we may try…or believe it to be that we are. In realizing this, we free ourselves from so much unnecessary suffering. It’s understanding that we are never not held by Spirit.

Mineral Kingdom:

Like the various minerals of the earth, we are dependent on certain conditions to be just so in order to allow our growth and development. Spirit is what provides everything we need in it’s time, not ours. And like the countless types of minerals that come from our earth, each of us is as unique, able to flourish when we know who and what we are. We are mistaken when we “try” to be anything other than what we are in the moment. We are dependent on the natural timing of evolution; it’s nothing we can force. And when we impose our structure upon others, we deprive ourselves of the gifts they came to provide us.

Venus:

We are dependent on the perceptions and experiential phenomena of life that influences our emotions, the physical realms, and the elemental realms. As defined in the terms above, relationship and therefore dependency is necessary, but what Venus can teach us if we listen is that love is not personal. It is an impersonal force that is working upon us and in us constantly. Without it, our lives would be devoid of joy and the lightness of being. Love is what makes it all worthwhile, but our experience of it must come from inside rather than external sources. This is typical human confusion, to depend on love outside of ourselves.

What We Mistakenly Rely Upon

Spacetime:

We are codependent with our sense of our physical self and physical reality as the ultimate reality. Yes, we are physical beings. We live in a 3D reality. But we are unhealthily attached to this being the only reality. We dismiss what can’t be seen or proven, often contrary to our own experience of it. This attachment to space and time results in a fear of death and loss. And as the definition of codependency states, we sacrifice a great deal of our power to the “almighty material”. We rely on material goods for our sense of worth, satisfaction, and comfort. We use it all as a measure of success only to discover we can’t take it with us the moment death arrives.

Desert:

This continues and reasserts the theme of the spacetime card. Like the person who bears unresolved issues of codependency through overcompensation, proving how independent and useful they are, this card shows us how we fight what we know to be necessary to survive and thrive spiritually. As stated in spacetime, we identify with our riches and comforts (or lack of them). We alternate between our desire for the familiar and the novel, creating an inner desert by seeking everywhere but inside…where things are too unknown. Ironically, we each need to spend our time in the desert in order to overcome our ideas that there is anything lacking in life. Our co-dependency on “desert mentality” is the doorway to our interdependence with it.

Atom:

Again, this card reiterates our codependency on the physical, on matter, on “the old physics”. We need to open our minds and embrace the power of thought to alter reality, of the placebo to heal, of waves to be particles, and of the unknown to hold unlimited potential. We are so codependent on the contracts we’ve signed to our constructs; they have become our prison. But our constructs have no more substance than dreams. Yet the way it’s been done is the way it has continued. Why are we creating the same things over and over again? Where is our creativity? The answer rests once more with Spirit, in the space between, the source of our inspiration, if we are brave enough to express that which it creates in us.

On Art: “Amulet” Oil Painting

By Beth

On 2017-01-27

In Blog

This is an oil painting on MDF (medium-density fibreboard) rather than canvas. With several coats of gesso (a gluey-white paint mixture), it provides a very fine, smooth surface over which paint glides quite easily, which in this case made it easier for me to achieve the ribbon-like and underwater effects. It measures 102 x 35 cm.

Though I didn’t set out to do it, now that this is finished, it reminds me of the Nazar or “evil eye” amulet one often finds in Turkey or Greece. These amulets are believed to reflect the ill-intentions of others, protecting the person or household from which the eye looks out, seeing all. Though they can be found in different colors, I’ve always loved that deep cobalt shade of blue one traditionally expects.

One can scarcely tell for certain whether this charm is being pushed up from the bottom of the ocean floor by some force or wave, or whether it is floating to the bottom where it will lay buried in sand for all eternity. Either way, I hope that it may serve the same purpose as the Nazar, warding off evil and acting as a lucky charm wherever it hangs.

On Art: “K’uychi” Oil Painting

By Beth

On 2017-01-27

In Blog

My latest abstract is titled K’uychi which is Quechuan for rainbow. Quechuan was the language of the Incan civilization (and before that, of the Chincha peoples of the area of Lima) and it is still spoken today in areas of Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. I was fortunate to spend time in Peru several years ago, a land of so much color, so rich in Spirit, that it still inspires me.

The double rainbow is an auspicious symbol in many cultures. Here, I’ve created the effect of a double rainbow using a palette knife technique over a gentle wash of background colors.

There are Hopi and Navajo prophecies concerning the rainbow, as well as legends in Buddhist and Hindu mythologies. There is a promise held in these stories, links to the divine. Some of them tell of a family of beings who will live in peace with one another and in balance with all things. I hope this painting helps to channel the energy of that vision until it becomes reality.

On Art: “Elements of Dreams” Oil Painting

By Beth

On 2017-01-27

In Blog

I was surprised recently to discover my favorite symbolist was on exhibit at the Bordeaux Galerie des Beaux Arts. They had some of Redon Odilon’s landscapes, which were lovely and unique enough, but some of his more “spiritual” works as well that I could have stared at for hours.

He seemed to always have a unique eye for color and light. I do wonder what it was that happened to him at some point in his painting career though; it’s clear he had some kind of awakening, to have been able to diverge so completely from the mundane.

He is quoted as having said, “My drawings inspire, and are not to be defined. They place us, as does music, in the ambiguous realm of the undetermined.”

Odilon and Klimt both inspired by latest work titled Elements of Dreams shown below.To view more of the beautiful works of Redon Odilon, please visit: http://www.odilon-redon.org/biography.html

And if you’re in the Bordeaux area, he’ll be on exhibit through March.

On Art: “Canoe” Oil Painting

By Beth

On 2017-01-27

In Blog

Late last year, in meditation, an unfamiliar word came to me. It sounded something like wakatewa. I had no idea what the word meant, at the time.

Intrigued, a quick Google search later revealed that the word is Maori and means ” war canoe“, spelled waka taua but spoken exactly as I’d heard it. It is an important word for the Maori who consider the waka taua to be sacred.

Once I knew what it meant, I fell in love with the symbol and started looking for signs of it in my daily life. It still came as a surprise, though, when one appeared in my latest painting which came about after coming across a quote from the late Carrie Fisher:

“Take your broken heart and turn it into art.”

I took it as a challenge and decided to reach into the depth of my own history and feelings around a broken heart and turn it into something beautiful.

This expressionist piece is what resulted. I did not set out to paint a canoe or a solitary figure even. I choose my palette based on feeling and added paint to the canvas with nothing but emotion guiding me. I was so excited when I saw what was developing.

So, here it is. A broken heart made into art. I call it…surprise…Canoe.

I investigated the dream symbol meaning of “canoe” recently and discovered the following quote:

“Canoes require a lot of strength to maneuver, so in dreams they often show us something about our ability to handle our emotions. Because canoes are man-made, dreams that involve a canoe also show our ability to handle emotions which are inflicted by other people.”

From http://www.auntyflo.com/dream-dictionary/canoes

So perhaps in turning my broken heart into a canoe, I was declaring my inner strength to be with that emotion and to sail into calmer waters. It’s a comforting thought.

Aka Dua: An Ancient Healing Energy

By Beth

On 2017-01-26

In Blog

Today, I received my Level 1 Transmission of the Aka Dua energy of the Toltec. I’m so excited to be adding this energy to my healing repertoire!! It’s an amazing energy. It’s a completely natural fit for me having been deeply enmeshed with the Toltec since 2000, having met the more traditional requirements to receive the energy, ‘tho such requirements are no longer required by those wanting to be attuned.

Aka Dua is not well know…yet. I can’t remember how I came across it. Perhaps it came to me. When I experienced it for the first time online, from an angel on youtube in fact, I knew it was for me…or would be someday. Although in truth, I think I’ve already been supernaturally exposed to it on one particular journey I took several years ago to Teotihuacan in Mexico. There I received a download of sorts I’ve never been able to explain. Somehow, I feel the energies are related.

As a new initiate, I have a 14 day practice with the energy. I thought I would blog about my experiences since I want to journal about it anyway. So that’s what I’ll be doing…sharing my experiences and some background for you over the next 14 days. Maybe I won’t post every day, but I will make notes everyday and post them in a digest.

I’m not new to energy work. I’ve had two levels of Reiki and three levels of Reiki Tummo. For the last few years, I haven’t been able to feel much of the Reiki energy myself. I thought perhaps I needed a tune-up, which I received, but it seems I have just acclimated to it. I don’t mean to insult any Reiki practitioners out there! I’m not saying Reiki isn’t powerful or that some people perhaps aren’t able to take it further than I have, nor saying that I haven’t been accessing it on a regular basis with clients. I’ve certainly been using the symbols and tapping into it. But I’ve grown so used to it that has stopped giving me much feedback. Already, the Aka Dua is giving me a whole new experience and feedback for which I’m very grateful.

DAY 1

During the transmission, at first, I just felt warmth and tingling. We had a few technological challenges using Facebook chat to bridge California, where lineage holder Arlan Cage is, and France, where I am, but that didn’t affect the energy. It came through as a familiar warmth and tingling. Now it has become a prickly sensation, but it is perfectly comfortable. I shared the energy with a friend who was able to feel it pulsing between our hands. He noted the prickling and felt the energy moving into his right leg. After sharing it with him, it seemed to strengthen in me and the prickly sensation hasn’t diminished.

DAY 2

Last night was interesting. I kept getting postcards in my dreams from the Aka Dua to help me integrate and understand the energies. There are 7 sub-frequencies to the Aka Dua: solar and solar jaguar, lunar, oceanic, volcanic, atmospheric, obsidian and unknown. The postcards I received were of oceanic and atmospheric images (and I think of lunar and volcanic also, but that is foggy) each encoded with information for my psyche.

This morning, my practice was done in the sunshine. As I focused my intention to cultivate the energy, I was washed over with a wave. Then the prickling grew. I also had a strange and very pinpointed sensation in my left pointer finger. It felt as if a spiral was winding or unwinding. I’m not sure which.

In meditation afterward, I was guided in how to approach a client with the energy. As I “rehearsed” what I learned in my mind’s eye, the energy once again grew for me, so I invited the angels in and asked them to receive it and send it wherever it was most needed.

If you’d like to know more about Aka Dua, join the new Aka Dua Network on Facebook!

Mirror Meditation: 12 Steps to Allowing and Nonattachment

By Beth

On 2017-01-24

In Blog, On Meditation

As author Paolo Coelho writes, “If you’re afraid — don’t do it; if you decide to do it — don’t be afraid.” It’s great advice for anything, but especially applicable to mirror meditation. Mirrors get a bum rap, made notorious in horror films and touted as tools for narcissism or platforms for self-hatred. It’s unfortunate, because I have found mirror work to be a most powerful form of communion.

Vak Shuddhi: Cultivating Sound That Heals

By Beth

On 2017-01-24

In Blog, Sound & Vibration, Vocal Toning & Meditation

Teacher Sadhguru shares the importance of sound, language, and speaking with intent:

“Whatever sound you need to utter, utter it in such a way that it is beneficial for you. And whatever is beneficial for you will naturally be beneficial for everyone around you. If a sound is doing wonderful things to you, it will definitely do the same things to everyone around you.”

“The Sanskrit language was consciously created so that just uttering the language will purify the system. But now, most of the time we speak languages which are no longer made like that, so it is best to handle it with intention…”

Why Trump? A Devas of Creation Card Reading

By Beth

On 2017-01-22

In Uncategorized

Last night, I decided to ask my Devas of Creation deck for some insight that might be helpful around the recent inauguration of Donald Trump. I asked three questions, shuffled the deck, and drew three cards. Here’s what resulted:

1st Question
Why is this playing out?

Card drawn: First Light

The First Light card is emergence and the dawning of new worlds. It is a revolution in thought because it helps open our eyes to what is possible; it is the flowering of awareness. Without the opening of first light, there would be no doorway into change, no new vistas to which we can aspire. Trump is certainly a call to what is possible because he has greatly disturbed well-entrenched energies in our government. He has drained the swamp, and now everything in the swamp is swimming around in plain sight. The veils have been lifted. So much is unsettled and many are in fear. But instead of fear, we can choose to see great opportunity. Sometimes it is only with a rude awakening and a crack on the stubborn head that one rises to new challenges.

2nd Question
What will the outcome be in four years time?

Card drawn: Eros

Eros is the Divine Masculine. Do you find it ironic that this card would appear in a reading about Trump? Realize that Trump is showing us contrast here. He is showing us exactly what needs to be healed in the masculine. This card is a reminder to reconnect inside with our inner divine masculine and source of strength. We are light bearers in whatever occupies our time. If we can harness a higher will within ourselves, overcoming our smallness and the fears that hold us back, we can not only manifest and become with more ease, but we will touch more lives as well. What is most important here is to be a representative of Ultimate Truth, to transcend the level of opinion, half-truths, propaganda, etc. If we can abide by the message of Eros, a world-changing healing of the masculine can take place during this presidency. Men and women can take their places as protectors and providers–of each other, our earth, and for our children.

3rd Question
What are the lessons we need to learn in that time?

Card drawn: Seed Void

The Seed Void is an “artery into a different reality”. It is deep space and mystery, what the Toltec would call “nagual”. Think of it as a well or birth canal connecting one dimension to another. It is the unseen aspects and new forces of nature that come into play. Fasten your seat belts, because this energy helps us to question our fear as well as our certainties about right and wrong, about “the other” and about ourselves. With courage, we can dismantle our false sense of self, an evolutionary necessity, and be born into a new level of trust. Indeed, this is a time to turn inward, to take back our projections, and to deal with our own shadow aspects. Those unwilling or unprepared to do the work will have an extremely hard time of it, and their resistance will cause trouble not only for themselves but for others. But if we open up and do the work, we may just find ourselves transported into a world that bears little to no resemblance to the one these others claim to live in. The opportunity to be free of the collective dream is there for those who dare to dream something new.

Dielle’s Healing Wizbits

By Beth

On 2017-01-22

In Blog

Here I offer short and sweet soundbites that I’ve gleaned on my path, learned from clients, or picked up from others along my journey. May they serve as inspiration on your healing path…

4/16/17

So you want to know how to spot fake news and/or concepts? Here’s the primer.

1) Ask yourself, do I believe or want to believe or not want to believe this because of some unexamined or deep-seated, possibly even generational fear? If the answer is yes, do not go to step two. Do your work here because you cannot see clearly. Period. Even if you answer is no, do not go to step two. Your task is to develop enough personal power to begin discerning fact from fiction. Simply put, we don’t know what we don’t know and there is grave danger in that because herein lie the blindspots. In fact, you might even be reading this thinking, “What fears? I don’t have any fears” or “I’ve dealt with all my fears, thank you very much.” This doesn’t mean you have to let others tell you what to think, though. It means you’ll need to be comfortable in the recognition that you don’t know…which applies at every step anyway. When you can admit that you don’t know, proceed to step two.

2) Are you believing or wanting to believe or not something for purely or mostly egoic reasons such as wanting validation for your beliefs, wanting to be right, wanting to feel superior, etc? If there’s any of that energy operating, don’t go to step 3. Instead develop a meditation practice of some sort or other that allows you to recognize that part of you which never changes. Once you’ve gotten in touch with the silence and have built the muscle required to drop your certainties and thoughts that you “know”, you may progress to the next step.

3) Made it here? Congratulations because it is all about to get a lot easier assuming you’ve actually done the work of step 1 and 2. Now then, observe your body. Does the news in question “ring” with truth or not? If it pings, it is true enough. If not, it isn’t true or true enough…not yet and maybe not ever. Withhold any certainty until more information or contrary information is revealed. Trust that when you do hear the truth you will know the truth because the truth is who you are.

4) Practice. Practice. Practice.

This came to me last night after being asked the question how to tell anymore the difference between real and fake news. And let’s face it…so many of the experts trying to help us sort this out ARE fake news. So, it is the crisis of our day, to be sure. It was only after receiving these three steps that I realized they mirror the Toltec masteries of Awareness, Transformation, and Intent. The spiritual warriors who mastered their intent became “seers” or clear mirrors. This world is in dire need of more seers. We all need to do our part to become one.

3/3/17

Humans tend to complicate things. We like juicy stories with plot twists and long…and even better, neverending, lists of things to accomplish. We like creating sophisticated systems and putting our very large, unique John Hancock on things. But what is most important is so so simple and so very unpersonalizable. Every day, I am astounded at how much more simple it is to live and love, and how all the things I thought were important to me and my sense of self seem to just melt away in that ocean of simplicity. All the complication is just a pillar of salt floating in an ocean. It isn’t going to last long anyway so might as well get used to the idea of dissolving.

2/20/17

The fact is, anything that has your full faith has the potential to cure you. That’s the power of belief. There’s absolutely no harm (though many would argue otherwise) in placing your faith in any story you choose. We all do it…all the time!!! Ironically, many argue that one story has more validity than another…more scientific evidence, more historical basis, more whatever. The only thing a more widely held belief has is a stronger collective faith behind it. When you reclaim the power of your faith, you can place it in the most beautiful story YOU choose and say to hell with every naysayer. Am I condoning pie-in-the-sky alternative fact drivel? Hardly. The thing is, what is true doesn’t need anyone to believe it, and I’m not advocating the reinforcing of a denial system. But I am, however, recommending the cultivation of a delight in the fantastical realm of possibility.

2/1/17

Dielle’s Healing Wizbit: Did you know that 98% of our brain doesn’t even use language. That’s right. Language only uses 2% of our brain matter. But almost all of our time is spent stimulating this 2%…over and over, again and again. BORING!!! No wonder we keep repeating history and making the same mistakes.Wanna break out into the other 98%? Ah, now for that, you’re going to have to take some chances, face some fears, make some mistakes, and be willing to look a little crazy to everyone else. Up for it?

1/31/17

Have you all seen the movie Pleasantville? My thoughts today reminded me of that movie. I was considering how my recent habit of calling things “pasty-white” is so descriptive but misunderstood. People think I am referring to race or something. But what I’m truly referring to is a narrow and fixated state of mind upheld by fear and ignorance. The “pasty-white” minds are like the black and white people in Pleasantville; they are too easily misled and defend their limitations to the death, imposing those same limits on everyone else. I much prefer “people of color”. And again, here I can be misunderstood to be referring to a person’s race. But I don’t really care one jot what color someone’s skin is. The people of color to whom I am referring are the one’s whose hearts have been opened by the fires of their Truth and inner power, who know how to create beautiful things that celebrate and help not just themselves but all creation, and who aren’t afraid to radiate with all the colors of the rainbow, even in a room full of pasty-white mentalities. They are the people who were sent here to help you radiate with all that color too. But you have to let go of your shame, guilt, fear and resistance!!! You are rainbows, my dears! Not pasty-white shadows.

1/26/17

We can walk a very similar path to others, so much so that we fail to remember that the exact same situation can hold two very different lessons for two different people. One person may need to learn to leave, the other stay. One may need to learn to step up, the other step down. One may need to learn to open and the other set boundaries. It doesn’t mean we are getting it wrong…or that they are!!All this to say, sometimes advice is best left upspoken. We are most helpful when we give space to the other to come to his or her own realizations and are not projecting ours. And we help ourselves when we don’t compare our path to another’s.

1/25/17

I recently saw a post about the late BobRoss, public television’s famous art teacher. Someone told him they couldn’t paint because of colorblindness, so Bob painted a beautiful picture in black and white. It’s no different with voice. Someone might decide he can’t sing because he’s tone deaf. But there are people who sing in black and white and others who sing in color. The point is, everyone has a voice with which to create things of beauty and healing. Know your limitations but never exaggerate them.

1/22/17

There will be those in your life…family, friends, complete strangers…who just like to start something. Out of boredom, fear or suffering, they will strike out at you and offer you their poison. There are different stages to dealing with such challenges. At first, of course, we are prone to be sucked in, giving them exactly what they want…our energy. First, we must learn to set boundaries, especially with those we love. Sometimes, we have to spend less time with someone. We often have to learn how NOT to respond. After some time, we must learn to witness and take responsibility for our reactions in our interactions. As we watch ourselves, we learn to deflect the poison arrows that come at us. And when one lands, we clean up within ourselves the places that resonated and allowed us to become entangled. At some point, we may even be able to accept the poison out of love in a tantric act to alleviate the fear or suffering of other. That, of course, is pretty high level stuff. Aim high.

1/17/17

Is is true that most of us already know enough to be free. We simply don’t apply what we’ve learned. So we reach for the next book, the next guru, the next self-improvement workshop. We feed on intellectual stimulation and fail to integrate those ideas into action. How do we start to integrate what we’ve learned? Often by letting it all go. Be willing to empty out all that knowledge and let it be replaced with knowing.

1/15/17

Anything we bury or swallow, the things that would otherwise arise spontaneously in us, will eventually turn toxic to the body if we refuse to deal with them. What we press (be it through repression, oppression, depression…) becomes compacted and stagnant, making it harder and harder the next time to go with the flow. It becomes a lifelong game of chicken. How long can one avoid one’s truth in order to feel safe before disease strikes? The path to healing requires us to become warriors of our truest expression. No one said it was easy. It does however have an incredible payoff called liberation.

1/13/17

Today, I introduced sound healing meditation to a small group of yoga students. A few were familiar with what I offered. The others were not. The ones who were more familiar were able to really let go into it and later talk about what they felt describing the subtle sensations they had experienced. The ones for whom it was a new experience had more difficulty talking about it afterwards. Energy is like that. I remember the first time I was exposed to a gong bath. I didn’t know what to expect. I left that room feeling completely altered, but I had no idea what just happened. That night, I kept hearing the gong in my head all night long. Was it good? Was it neutral? Was it detrimental? It was the weirdest experience of my life at the time. Now, I’m used to the powers of sound to shift states and energy. All this to say, when it comes to energyhealing, we don’t always (and often can’t) understand or rationalize what we are experiencing. Fortunately for us, we don’t have to. The healing happens anyway. I can’t tell you the number of times people think nothing significant happened, until a week or so later, when they realize they no longer feel a certain ache or are no longer reacting to life in habitually ingrained ways, doing things they previously were afraid to do without a second thought.

1/11/17

I was working with a client yesterday, and we talked about how the body, loyal servant that it is, takes on our unprocessed emotions. While the body is certainly capable of helping us process emotion, through movement such as dance for example, it is not meant to be the warehouse of them!! If dis-ease is manifesting in the body, signaled by discomfort or even pain, it is a clear signal that the body is being asked to do more than its fair share. Time for us to own whatever it is we’ve been resisting and let the body know it isn’t responsible for storing and stuffing what we haven’t wanted to feel. Healing is a path of owning up!

The Artist Statement & Bio: Q&A

By Beth

On 2017-01-19

In Blog

What’s the difference between a resume, a bio, and an artist statement?

Basically, your resume is a skeletal look at your training, background, education, accomplishments, etc. Reading a resume is like reading a phone book–boring! It serves a purpose, though–a very specific purpose…to get you that position or job. You want to include everything pertinent.

The bio, on the other hand, is a concise and well-constructed summary of things like education, influences, background, techniques, and overall message or artistic viewpoint, but it should be captivating and infused with your personality. This can also include where you are from, credentials, significant recognition… It’s the most basic facts about you as an artist. Include what you most want people to know.

It should be written in a flowing paragraph and be infused with your personality. A bio isn’t meant to explain your entire background and all the details. It’s impossible to do that in so few words and most bios run about 200 words or so. Instead, it should paint a picture. You get to choose how you say everything and/or whether to leave something out entirely.

The statement is a one page overview of your message as an artist, why you create what you do, your methods, your techniques, your influences, your inspiration. That sort of thing. It’s your story and your message. You have to read what you wrote and feel “Yes! That’s who I want to be!” with your statement. The clearer you can be with that message, the more likely people will want to engage because they sense and resonate with its integrity. The statement is your chance to really share your message with the world and explain who you are as an artist and what it is you want your art to say.

I don’t even know where to begin. Where do I start?

A great place to start is with some questions to help prime the pump of your creativity. What is your message? What makes you different? What are your achievements? I also highly recommend visiting other artist sites and having a read through their bios and statements. It will help you know what is possible, what you want to emulate, and more importantly, what you don’t! It might also be helpful to start a conversation with a friend and simply talk about who you are as an artist. Record the conversation or have him/her take notes you can refer to later when writing.

I tend to ramble when I write. How am I supposed to write something that’s only 250 words?!

If a person has a tendency to go on and on, the best place to start might be doing just that. Purge everything onto paper. Then go back in and find the highlights…circle the most important points and start narrowing and zeroing in. Learn the art of combining your sentences so you can say as much as possible with as few words as possible.

I’m concerned about coming across as big-headed or fake. It’s just so hard to toot my own horn!

Everyone I know who has ever had to write a bio had to overcome the feelings you’re talking about. It’s a rite of passage! We have to get over the idea that we are shameless promoters when we share our gifts. That construct has got to go! Unless you can afford to hire a crackerjack publicist who’ll talk you up, you’ve got to learn to do it yourself. Don’t be afraid to own your amazing and unique talents and proudly share them. No one ever got anywhere from hiding their light. Writing your bio in 3rd person would be a good way for you to break through this block. In fact, as a writing exercise, you might even try going purposefully overboard with the self-aggrandizement just to get that fear out of your system (or the opposite…write a pitiful paragraph about how much you suck compared to others and then consider if even you would want to buy your own art!). The fact is, we have to self-promote. We have to believe in ourselves.

What’s 3rd person?

Writing in 3rd person is writing your bio as if someone else was writing it. You don’t refer to yourself as “I”. You use your name…Joe Smith was born with a paintbrush in his mouth… I recommend artists have a 3rd person bio and a 1st person bio (in which you do refer to yourself…I was born with a paintbrush in my mouth…) because you’ll find different uses for each. I have a 1st person, a 3rd person, a 50, 100 and 200 length bio at the ready at all times, and even these I have to adjust to fit every occasion.

What are some bio don’ts?

Don’t get complicated and wordy. Too much information is just going to overwhelm your reader. Here’s a great article by Phil Johnson on some don’ts.

My background is all over the place, and I’ve only been painting for a little while. How do I write a bio?

Don’t sweat your former jobs as a waitress or gas station attendant. And don’t worry if you haven’t had a dozen exhibitions or awards. These things are not essential ingredients. Don’t see a diverse background as a liability; they can actually inform your art and inspire your artistic eye. You can really use your unique life experience to pull your audience in.

What makes a good bio or good artist statement?

Keep things to the point, combine your sentences to say more with fewer words, get constructive feedback, check for grammar and spelling, keep track of where you’ve posted or shared your statements in case you need to update them, and have several versions and lengths at your disposal for different purposes. Remember, the bio is factual but personable. The statement can be more flowery and poetic (but not too much).

What makes an effective artist statement is that it fits its purpose. The statement on your website might be different than the statement you use at an exhibition which might be different than one you use when entering a competition. They’ll all have common root elements, of course: your message, who you are as an artist.

Keep your statement to one page. Any more than that and you risk pontificating and losing some if not all of your audience in this day and age of soundbites and short attention spans. The thing is, make that one page SING. I abhor confusing language and things that try too hard to sound important or intellectual. It’s far better to write from the heart and clarify/distill your message as an artist.

Overall, with both the bio and statement, the message is what matters. Words are our power to influence and open minds. They are our means to say what is truly important. If you focus on that and let the rules and contradictory suggestions go, you’re going to have something special.

Any final tips?

Before you post, print or send your bio or statement anywhere, have someone (or several someones) read it, fellow artists if possible. Friends can be helpful but sometimes, they are overly positive and love everything. Find people who can lend a constructively critical eye.

Remember, you may have written something interesting, but if it is full of misspelled words or run-on sentences, it’s not going to make the impression you were hoping for. So always proof your work.

Forget the Resolutions! Let Your Values Be Your Guide

By Beth

On 2016-11-13

In Guidance & Inspiration

I recently had an acquaintance on Facebook ask whether her followers made New Year’s #resolutions and why. Not surprisingly, most people answered with a resounding no saying that it was a waste of time. I responded that I don’t make New Year’s resolutions but spend time near the end of every year to set myself some guiding principles instead. What’t the difference?

The thing with New Year’s resolutions is that they generally arise out of something about ourselves we cannot accept. We’re trying to “fix” ourselves. We think we’re fat, so we resolve to lose weight. We think we’re lazy, so we resolve to exercise at the gym. We know smoking is killing us, so we resolve to quit. We all know how the story ends. Give it a few good weeks or even a couple of months, and our initial motivation dies out. We meant well, but instead of reaching a goal, we end up judging ourselves for our perceived failure. No wonder people have given up on making resolutions!

This year, why not try something completely different? The difference with creating New Year Guiding Principles is that is arises out of your values. There’s no end goal, so the energy guides you all year long. And instead of you having to control anything, you just have to let life takes its course, offering you the lessons and opportunities that align with those guiding principles. The wonderful thing about this practice is that at the end of the year, a quick review will reveal to you all the ways you actually did manifest the things you said were important to you. In my 10+ years with this practice, it never fails.

Here’s a quick guide to writing your own guiding principles. Of course, there are no rules here, so do what works for you. Be creative. The one thing I do strongly suggest, though, is that you take this seriously. Make it a ritual. Give it your undivided attention, get quiet and centered beforehand, play some nice music, light a candle. You get the idea.

STEP ONE:

Consider what you value. Begin by taking an inventory of things that matter most to you. I don’t mean material things; I mean standards of behavior. Do you value creativity? Truth? Family? Service? If you need some inspiration, Steve Pavlina has a great list to refer to here. Pick one or two things. One is enough. Any more than three and your focus will be too divided throughout the year. Now open up a journal or Word document and add your two words at the top of the page. I like to be very decorative with these.

STEP TWO:

Describe these values with a few words and how you intend for them to become fruitful in your life.

I usually write a brief paragraph explaining my choices:

This year, I am choosing “Clarity” and “Forgiveness” as my guiding principles. May all that keeps me from being clear, from being in my knowing, become apparent. May the choices and decisions I make come from a place free of confusion, blindspots, and self-doubt. May I come to forgive anyone or thing in my life that I continue to resent. May I free myself from the bitter poison of holding on to past hurts and misunderstandings. Most especially, may I be quick to forgive others in the year ahead and learn to forgive myself for past actions.

STEP THREE:

Add some specific things you’d like to do or accomplish that are inline with these values and will help you cultivate them.

For example, if you value clarity, you might decide that you’d like to focus more on meditation because that will help you gain the clarity you desire. If you value justice, maybe you’ll spend some time with the concept, deciding what it actually means to you and by paying attention for examples in your daily life of what it is and isn’t. If you value creativity, perhaps you’ll pick up some new mode of expression be it writing or painting or learning an instrument. It isn’t about anything too specific, like learning the piano. It’s about exercising your creative expression when opportunity arises so it’s free to take many forms. If you value health, maybe you’ll cut back on sugar or try new superfoods.

The important thing in step three is to keep things as “resolution free” as possible. This isn’t about reaching an end goal. You may or may not, for example, cut out sugar, but I guarantee you, will, by the end of year, be astounded at how whatever you value has come into your life in unexpected ways. You’ll be more forgiving. You’ll be more creative. You’ll be more adaptable or wise or joyous.

If you find yourself writing a list of things that sound more like resolutions, try this. Make a list of things you’ll spend less time doing and more time doing:

I will spend less time griping about what I can’t control and more time letting things roll of my back.
I will spend less time zoning out on social media and more time actually socializing.

STEP FOUR: Put it away.

That’s right. Unlike a resolution that you think about constantly and use to feel rotten, don’t think about your list. Yes, the words will be in your awareness, but you don’t have to take any action. Trust life to fulfil your order and take notice when it does!

Oh, and feel free to edit at intervals throughout the year. After all, things change. Go with the flow!

STEP FIVE: End of Year Review

Come November or December, it is time to revisit what you wrote. Reflect month by month all the ways your values were expressed (or not) throughout the year. There’s no failure here. Everything is a gift, a lesson. If you just couldn’t forgive someone, you’ll now have a better understanding of how aligned you are with your values and the work that still needs to be done, if any. But more likely, you’ll be astonished at all the ways you allowed forgiveness, or whatever you value, into your life.

Most importantly, instead of berating yourself for failing to “improve” yourself by reaching some unattainable goal that you never really wanted to reach in the first place, you can feel good about living a year living in the direction of what you value. #HappyNewYear!

Navigating Transformation Part IV: What’s Happening to Me?

By Beth

On 2016-09-09

In Blog, Guidance & Inspiration

Throughout history, everything that lives has undergone evolutionary change over time and what have appeared to be significant growth spurts on occasion. With the human, these periods have been post-marked with the ushering in of stages such as The Great Enlightenment or The Industrial Age. We now find ourselves in The Information Age, but despite being inundated with knowledge, believe it or not, there are still plenty of things we don’t know…about ourselves, the natural world, and the Universe at large. The worst part about all this information is that it gives us the illusion we know it all. So when we find ourselves experiencing the inexplicable or inconceivable, we try to fit it into our existing framework and fail miserably. Or worse, we deny what is taking place, shutting our eyes to opportunity and growth.

Photo by Stuart Davies

Right now, I have a string of clients all complaining of some of the same things, which I’ll get to in a moment. I’ve no doubt that many of you reading will discover that you are experiencing some of the same symptoms for which my clients sought me out. They thought that something was desperately wrong with them. They feared they are losing their minds. What I am about to explain I hope will put you at ease and give you a new frame of reference through which to view what you too may be experiencing. I will attempt to keep it as simple, clear, and free from unnecessary jargon as possible.

You see, we are on the cusp of one of some pretty big evolutionary growth spurts!

This article will be merely an introduction to the symptoms affecting a greater and greater portion of humanity. The special thing about these symptoms is that your doctor will find no conceivable explanation for you having them. He’ll either tell you they are psychosomatic or want to push some pill on you to make you quiet and happy. You can decide for yourself what to believe about this list and how it might apply to you, but make no mistake: if you (or someone you know) are experiencing these, you are not alone.

But first, let me explain that we are vibratory beings. By that, I mean that if we could see at the atomic level, we’d discover we are primarily space and that the atoms that “form us” are in constant, jostling motion. We are also highly sensitive to other vibrations or energy…music can alter our moods, foods can cause allergies, winter can darken our mood. Many other subtler energies also affect us constantly.

In fact, jus as we are outwardly affected by changes in weather, enjoying a sunny day or dealing with the catastrophic results of a hurricane, we can also be inwardly affected by another type of weather we can refer to as Human Weather. You’ve probably heard about the idea that “we’re all one,” whether or not you believe it to be true. It doesn’t matter, really, if it fits your current belief system or not. It is perhaps more accurate to say that we are all connected. In other words, when mass amounts of people are being slaughtered in the name of religion, we all feel it on some level. When mass amounts of people are afraid or hungry or destitute, we feel that too. And when our brothers and sisters turn against one another in racial hatred, that hatred affects us all with a deep and irreconcilable sickness of spirit. Have I gone too far? I hope not. Stay with me.

There is another type of weather, a Universal weather signified by planetary changes including those of the sun. These too have an affect on the sensitive instruments we are. Make no mistake. There are many changes going on, from climate to pole shifts to solar flares. These all have an impact on the human form from our physical bodies to our emotional and mental bodies, even our spiritual selves.

So, if you are suddenly experiencing any of the following symptoms for the first time in your life or for the first time in a long time or perhaps on a more regular basis (in other words, it is out of the ordinary for YOU) , take heart. You are not necessarily “sick” in the traditional sense and you are definitely not losing your mind. Your body and mind is either reacting to the various weather patterns out there or you are experiencing very deep level changes that will resolve with time, not with pills or addictive substances!

Diet

You may be experiencing rather unexpected dietary changes, from being sensitive to certain foods all of the sudden to having strong cravings for others. You might be eating far more or far less. You might be experiencing weeks of nausea or you might be eating all day long while still feeling hungry. You may not want to eat at meal times, but rather at very unusual times. Many report changes in the body’s ability to digest either certain foods or even everything one eats. Life long vegetarians, for example, may have to eat some meat. Life-long meat eaters suddenly can’t look at meat anymore. Some report (myself included) that food no longer tastes the same. You may have sudden weight gain or loss that cannot be attributed to diet. Again, what’s important here is how it is presenting itself for you…that it is out of your ordinary.

Sleep Patterns & Energy Levels

Many people are experiencing waking between the hours of 2 and 4 AM. Others are having all out insomnia while others need more and more sleep or naps during the day. You may have spent your life happy with 8 hours of sleep, and then, suddenly, 10 hours is never enough. Or exhaustion comes on so suddenly, you have no choice but to drop wherever you are. You might find yourself on a three night streak of creativity that can’t be ignored, keeping you up. Or you might feel the need to do nothing but sit around all day long watching total fluff. Motivation will seem to have disappeared overnight even on a project that you were excited about just a day ago. If you roll with it, these periods will pass on their own, but if you stress over the changes, you’ll find them a source of anxiety and worry.

Emotions

Emotions can run hot and high. Things that ordinarily you could control are inciting you (or your loved ones) to react in uncharacteristic ways. You may find yourself crying right there at work in the middle of the day or laughing out loud for absolutely no good reason. You might be quick to impatience, irritation or anger…or even bouts of spontaneous joy, wondering “where that ” just came from.

Thought Patterns

You may find that your thoughts seem excessive. You may be hearing yourself think more and more. These thoughts can be odd, as if the thoughts of someone else entirely, or they can be disturbingly dark. The mind can race and put a negative spin on everything provoking other symptoms such as anxiety or depression. Or, if you’re one of the lucky ones, maybe you are finding things very quiet in there for the first time. This may or may not be disconcerting depending on your interpretation of it.

Relationships

Perhaps how you relate to others is changing. Maybe you suddenly don’t really relate anymore to a lifelong best bud. Or maybe you find yourself looking at a stranger when sitting across from your beloved. You might even see a stranger looking back at you in the mirror. Let friends fall away. New ones will come. Let toxic patterns fade. They will be replaced with more functional patterns. You may find yourself not wanting to hang out with people at all, even if that feels lonely. Or, you might be a life-long introvert who suddenly can’t stand being alone. You might feel sadly disconnected from everyone and everything, and this too can be disconcerting. With this often comes a longing to connect to your true tribe.

Life Changes

Lives are changing in more and more dramatic ways and within quicker timelines. Circumstances outside our control step in in order to shuffle us around. Jobs are lost, evictions take place, relationships crumble, money troubles challenge. Yes, of course this is always happening to everyone anyway. So I’m talking here about extraordinary changes…multiple changes in multiple areas. I’m talking about challenges to one’s sense of safety, identity, and place in the world. These changes often provoke deep questions such as “Why am I here?” or “What do I really want?” You may be in a period of having no answers and this can cause great inner turmoil. Stay with it. These changes are meant to open new doors and new possibilities more fitting to your truth and path.

Memory Loss, Confusion and Spacey-ness

Not being able to remember simple things like a deeply ingrained password can cause concern, especially if it happens out of the blue. Some days, it may be hard to think straight at all. The head is in the clouds, and sorting through even a run-of-the-mill problem is just too much to take even if normally you’re king or queen of detail. It might be harder to make decisions or know which path to take. This generally passes in a few days or even after a couple of weeks…sometimes leading to intense periods of productivity and creativity.

Changing Dreamscapes

You might be having some very troubling dreams as of late, perhaps a streak of nightmares. Maybe your dreams are more colorful or full of images and characters you barely recognize, as if you are dreaming someone else’s dreams. You may be more lucid or have intensely beautiful dreams, too. Or you might be experiencing some unusual activity before falling asleep…hearing voices or seeing images that are more than dreamlike and more akin to messages from somewhere.

Suicidal Rumination

The most important thing about this symptom is that the person having them generally knows they wouldn’t actually act on them. They just happen. This is perhaps one of the most disconcerting symptoms for many people. All I can say is, you’re not alone and you’re not losing it. Something is definitely affecting the weather! Try not to take it too personally when you find yourself fantasizing or planning a quick exit. Detach from the thoughts, as best you can. Shake them off in each moment you have them. If they return, don’t pick them up. If you fear you’ll act or these thoughts are very convincing, then you need to seek the appropriate help. We don’t want to lose you!

Other Oddities: Out of Time/Space, Out of Sorts

You might find that on certain days you wake up, turn around, and find it’s time for bed already. You might have the weird sensation of timelines merging or alternate realities tugging at your sense of the real…as if you’re dreaming all day long. You might just find yourself in a grand funk…unable to put your finger on why you just can’t seem to function at all in any way, shape, or form. Strange synchronicities may occur also, things you just can’t ignore.

Depression/Anxiety/Loneliness

These are perhaps the most obvious and therefore the most common symptoms being reported. Is one out of every three people really depressed? And if those statistics are true, then maybe depression is a normal part of life and not some kind of mental illness! Regardless, if you are feeling depressed for the first time in your life or having panic attacks and anxious feelings for no apparent reason, it doesn’t mean there’s something you need to be medicated for. You may just need to learn to be with these feelings as they pass through you. They may be asking you to look deeper. Seek help if you need it. Take medication if you think it will help, but realize that you can’t get away from the root causes of these feelings until you actually face them and deal with them.

And now for some of the more physical Symptoms:

Headache

Frequent, intense, and constant headaches might occur, as may visual phenomena like seeing colored lights or flashes. Pressure or soreness around the bones of the skull can also occur. Again, this can signify something more tangible, so follow your instinct and get checked out by a doctor if you want. But when he tells you he can’t find any possible reason for it, that you’re 100% healthy, and that it is all in your head (no pun intended), don’t let that shake you. You’re going to be okay. What’s happening runs deeper than anything any doctor could ever diagnose. It’s all part of a bigger change taking place.

Flu-like Symptoms Including Muscle Aches & Joint Sensations

Many people report what they lovingly call “ascension flu”. They don’t really have the flu, but they are experiencing all the symptoms of the flu from feeling terribly run down with no appetite to even having a bit of a fever. The muscle aches and joint pain associated with flu are also present, and of course, these can appear on their own as well. The thing that lets you know something unusual is taking place is how unusual the symptoms tend to be and with no apparent cause. It’s just an all-over malaise, though it can also be as specific as a bizarre sensation in the left elbow or right tip of the little toe where something is stored in the body and being worked out.

Chills & Sweats

Temperature sensitivities are common as many report either waves of chills or sweats, either all over or centered in one specific part of the body.

Heart Palpitations

Is your heart racing madly for no apparent reason? This is also a commonly reported symptom. I’ve been sure I was having a heart-attack numerous times, but I never was. Was is stress? Chalk it up to whatever you want, there are days when something might play with your heart rhythm leaving you feeling panicked or thinking you need a heart specialist. Don’t be surprised when the heart specialist tells you everything checks out hunky-dory. While that brings a sigh of relief in the moment, when the symptoms returns, that relief quickly fades. It helps to know others are experiencing inexplicable changes in the heart center as well.

Dizziness

Finding it hard to walk a straight line? Join the club! There may be days when you are suddenly having to catch yourself from toppling. Some people even have to spend the day in bed until this feeling subsides. What is it? Who knows? Changes in gravitational pull?

Sensory Perception Sensitivity

Many are reporting tinnitus-like symptoms of high frequency buzzing in the ears. I used to get a flapping wing sensation in both ears. Increased sensitivity to noise is also common. Even what is usually pleasing music can be too much as a deep need for silence takes over. Are your eyes wigging out? Going blurry? Seeing things like flashes of light in dark corners? Sensitivity to light can also occur. In fact, any of the senses can experience shifts…from taste as discussed in diet, to touch with people reporting strange strokes or pricks upon the skin, to smell and the sudden perception of inexplicable odors.

This is by no means a complete inventory of the bizarre symptoms affecting a wide range of people. What makes these symptoms unusual is that they cannot be linked to any physical manifestations of illness. They are inexplicable, at least according to traditional paradigms. They often pass or shift on their own fairly quickly. But if one isn’t aware that this is happening on a global scale, if one starts to think something is wrong, the problems can intensify with the resistance and fear. Then when a doctor says, “It’s all in your head,” (or worse, shrugs and writes an unnecessary prescription) you think you’re going nuts. I assure you, you’re not. You’re in good company. We are changing. Our bodies are purging lifetimes of antiquated traumas, beliefs structures, and stagnation.

Finding ways to deal with these symptoms is beyond the scope of this article, but there are plenty of healthy ways to do so, from taking on a regular exercise program, to getting plenty of rest, to drinking more water, and taking up a meditation practice, to name a few. But if you are experiencing them, you are urged to take any necessary steps to support yourself. There will be those who resist and they will have the worse time of it. Embrace and lean into what is happening. Trust it. Trust yourself. Turn to those who have an understanding of what is happening and who can offer you tools to cope. The times, they are a changing, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. The only other option is to be left behind.

Peace, Joy, Love

By Beth

On 2016-07-28

In Uncategorized

For a long time, the question, “What do you want?” would fill me with angst. I never knew what to answer. I always had a sense that if I did, I would be forever limiting myself and excluding something important. In a way, that was true because my perspective itself was limited to things I wanted to be, achieve, do or have.

Photo by Stuart Davies Used with Permission

Now I realize it never was meant to be a trick question. I just needed a broader perspective.

I’ve been asking myself the “what do you want” question a lot lately. What do I really want? And the answer is so simple, it’s astonishing. I want three things. With these three things, I’m assured a happy life. What are they?

Peace

I want to be peaceful. What does that mean? What does peace look like? Firstly, it requires acceptance of what is. I can’t be fighting against reality and wanting things to be other than how they are. I have to learn to be with what is, no matter what. It doesn’t mean I can’t take action to change something, but I have to let go of expectations and outcomes. Secondly, it means I have to cultivate peacefulness inside myself. I cannot afford to harbor ill-will toward another. If I do, I will lose the thing I most want out of life. I have to be willing to choose peace over being right or justified. I have to choose peace over thoughts that would instead bring me disharmony.

Joy

I want joy in my life. To be joyful, I have to appreciate life. Luckily, there’s so much to appreciate: color, fresh air, sunlight, flowers, trees, clouds, rain, animals, art… I also have to allow myself to create and be spontaneous. There’s no room for inhibition in joy. Joy is a natural spring that must be allowed to bubble up and express itself. There’s no room for holding back in fear. Joy is exhuberance. It’s playfulness. It’s willingness. Joy opens itself up to life and says, “Yes!” Joy if full of gratitude and generosity. Joy tries new things and isn’t afraid of being a little silly.

Love

I want to live a loving life. I want to be more loving toward not only others but myself. What does that mean? It means I have to be willing to feel all of my feelings. It means I have to respect others for who they are. It means I have to exercise forgiveness on a daily basis. To be move loving, I have to remove all the barriers I’ve built up to love. It means I have to reexamine my beliefs about love. It means I have to be vulnerable and gentle when I want to protect and defend. Love is compassionate and open. There is room for everyone and everything. Love even has room for fear, but love has the wisdom to know that fear has no real power.

This is all I want out of life. With these three things, I have everything. So, it doesn’t matter how they arrive or what they look like. Whatever manifests, and regardless of what doesn’t, I’d have it all.

Transformational Voicework: What the Heck Is It?

By Beth

On 2016-07-06

In Sound & Vibration

I’ve been on a quest since the beginning to aptly name my work. I’m still searching for the right words to describe what Transformational Voicework is…and isn’t. It’s one of those “you have to experience it” experiences. Finding the right words to explain what must be experienced to be known is and will probably always be impossible. But I keep trying! I even wrote two books about it.

It has always been challenging describing and defining my work. Use the word “voice” and people think of standing in front of a room shaking or standing in the back of a choir shrinking, and worse yet, screaming…as if that’s all the voice had to offer us. They think of words and lyrics, yells and squeals.

At first, I called my work Shamanic Voicework because the practices developed out of my experiences with Toltec shamanism and the exercise known as recapitulation. Forget the fact that it also combined elements of Creative Drama. After all, I couldn’t very well call it Shamanic Creative Drama Voicework! But the word “shamanic” was a trigger for a lot of people while others just felt is was too woo-woo, so I changed the descriptor to “transformational” since when people engaged in this work, that’s what was happening. They were transforming. They were losing inhibitions and tapping into buried creativity and expression. But while this describes the result, it doesn’t really explain the purpose or process.

THE PURPOSE AND PROCESS

The voice is a powerful tool for healing, but few people think about the potential of the voice beyond speaking and singing. They take the voice for granted instead of realizing the incredible magic if offers. But I couldn’t very well call it “healing voice” or use more technical types of words because there were already too many associations with speech therapy, another common mistaken association. And I couldn’t call it “voice yoga” because my friend Kara nabbed that one! 😉 But actually, even that didn’t quite reach the heart of the method I’d created. For years, I’ve been making due with Transformational Voicework.

But now that I’ve left a city where every other person is a yoga teacher or massage therapist to live in a country where few people even know what Reiki is, let alone something called Transformational Voicework, I’ve had to rethink things again. I’ve had quite the brainstorming session, and words like “metamorphosis”, “catharsis”, “unwinding”, and “opening” came up. So did “evolution”, “revolution”, “rapture”, “genesis”, “deconditioning”, “purification”, and “reprogramming”. But some of these are already in use in a different way. For example, there are musical artists that call themselves “Vocal Revolution”. Besides, some of these words are no less “woo-woo” that “shamanic”.

Other words came to mind, like “primal”, “divine”, “sovereign”, “instinctual”, and “reflexive” …along with plenty of silly phrases like “Voice Hurling” and “Vocal Roto Rooter”…along with nutty mash-ups like Evocalvox. There were also words like “authentic”, “pure”, “satisfying”, “archetypal”, and “heartfelt”. “Imaginative”, “creative”, “uninhibited”, “liberating”, “adventurous”, “natural”; each of these words plays such an important role in the type of voice work I share with clients. But how do I get that across in three words or less? So many words, each of them saying something important about the techniques I offer, but no one able to encapsulate the energy-moving, life-altering processes.

While I thought I was onto something with the word”release”, a major aspect of the work that has to come first to get to the juicier parts, it too presented problems. Short and sweet, but associated with screaming, it was perhaps too easily misinterpreted. Alas, “Vocal Release” is already in use to describe a singing method anyway.

Another word I really like is “intuitive”. The head has to be removed or the sounding isn’t natural and indigenous to the body; it is still far too conditioned. The voice (or the mind that controls it) requires deconditioning. But while I would be referring to mental deconditioning, voice therapists already use the term to describe degenerative states of the vocal mechanism, and I certainly don’t want that connotation! I love the word “intuition” which reflects that the sounding isn’t about following a sheet of music or trying to sound a certain way. But using “intuitive voice” alone connotes channelers and psychics.

I recently came up with “Intuitive Vocal Release” and tested it with a small audience. The usual connotations arose: singing, screaming, shouting. Some people thought it was downright wordy and empty. Granted, they have nothing experiential with which to relate it…nothing but singing, screaming, or speaking. The usual. But that’s not what I teach. Transformational Voicework is a series of processes that take a great deal of coordination with attention on very subtle changes, utilizing breath, movement and the full palette of the voice to move emotion, energy, stagnation and pain. Tranformational Voicework is a way in and a doorway out.

AND SO…

Transformational Voicework will have to stand for now. Regrettably, I am aware that misunderstandings of my work continue. Most clients who show up for the first time at workshops tell me, “I have no idea what this is. I just know I have to try it.” Such brave souls and always ready for the experience. With others, for example random people who ask me what I do, there are always assumptions more so because there are no concepts other than singing or speaking with which people can relate. Sometime, I just give in exasperated, “I’m a vocal coach.” At least they can wrap their heads around it. Someone suggested the word “experimental” and while it requires a sense of exploration for the person going through it, I don’t like the connotation that there is no method to the madness. I know where it all leads…to the “exalted voice”…something I’ve seen and been blown away by time and again in my clients who are fortunate enough to allow themselves to go that far.

I’ve been trying to label all of this, to develop a phrase that narrows in on the most essential elements of this amazing work, but maybe it is the heart alone and not a name that needs to call people to this path. I’m okay with that.

Some Thoughts on Growing Up

By Beth

On 2016-07-05

In Guidance & Inspiration

I had a dream not that long ago. I was with a group of children rolling around and playing. We were laughing and having such a silly time of it. When it was time for me to go, I felt I had to say something. I told them all how much I appreciated playing like that again and watching them too and that I had no doubt of the importance of allowing ourselves to play. I encouraged them to keep playing, keep laughing, keep having unbridled fun for as long as they could in life, for these things could save the world.

This dream sort of came true for me recently when I taught a group of expat kids a creative drama workshop. It was a joyous day for me because the kids were so uninhibited and alive. Their eyes still shone with the light of their hearts. They weren’t afraid to act silly, take a chance, or imagine something that wasn’t real. They gave me hope…and fits of laughter.

I’ve never thought myself all that unusual, but the more I engage with random folk and not just friends, the more I see myself as an oddity. So many “grown ups” seem so happy to argue for their limitations believing they can’t do this or that, that they are too old, too tired, too inflexible, and too late. They are terrified of making a fool of themselves, to try something new. What an excruciating way to live! If there’s something you love and you want to do it, go after it. You might not be the next Picasso or Barbara Streisand, but so what? You might never sell your book and perhaps no one will ever hear your song, but if it is inside of you, for heaven’s sake, let it out! Who cares who’s watching? Who cares who’s judging?

I think we have “growing up” all wrong. For so many people, the act of growing up stole their essence. They exchanged wonder for skepticism and their favorite toy for their favorite addiction, numbing themselves to the pain of a joyless life. Growing up isn’t meant to be growing away from ourselves. Growing up is growing away from and beyond all the bullshit we’ve been taught to believe. Growing up is remembering how to be childlike without being childish. Growing up is a remembering, not a leaving things behind. Only then are we truly alive and wonder-full, a creative force to be reckoned with. Go play!

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