We had a brief discussion tonight on Rosie's radio show regarding animal souls.  I believe animals have souls, emotions, and intelligence.  You see their fear, their love, their inquiring looks, the whole range of emotion.  You also see them learn things, like tricks, words, what certain motions mean (like pulling out the catnip container!).  Boy, do I get kitty squalls when I go for the catnip.  Or I get drooling dogs when I reach on top of the refrigerator for the treat bag.  And their souls you can see right though their eyes.  I've also seen them on the other side or had them show me what they would be doing on the other side after they pass on.

 

I also believe they are so much more in tune with Mother Earth and the Spirit World.  There are many, many examples of animals reacting long before natural disasters strike.  My German Shepherd, Macy, knows a storm is coming hours before it arrives.  I've also had mine react to discarnates and such in my house.  Even the TAPS guys on Ghost Hunters are using a cute Cattle Dog this season in their investigations.  Their senses are hightened and they live with awareness of the now.

 

Well, with all that said, I had to share a funny story of intelligence and wisdom with my Lab, Hunter.  In talking with my fur kids through a gifted pet psychic friend, the 3 kitties and Macy have pretty basic needs and wants.  Cat grass, more accessible site lines to the bird feeders, glucosimine & chondroitin for Macy's hips, nothing out of the ordinary.  Sassy loved her lime green mouse she got for Christmas and she wanted to try the blue stuff in the blender (blueberry smoothies that we make).  Yea, she didn't like the smoothies too much but she gave it a shot.

 

Then there's Hunter, my farmer dog who only had one thing on his mind.  See, we grew our first garden last year.  Hunter was upset because we were upset we lost some plants, particularly the zucchini, cucumbers and melons.  So, he decided to let us know what to plant.  We are to plant watermelons, squash/zucchini, tomatoes, melons (he loves musk melon), pumpkins, pansies (which I love) and marigolds.  The pumpkins we are to give away to kids around Halloween and he wants to help so he could see the kids.  Yes, he does love kids!  I had no idea why he wanted us to plant marigolds though, I don't even really like marigolds.  Well, in researching what pests killed our zucchini, melons and cucumbers, I found that marigolds act as a natural deterrant, as well as radishes.  They actually attract the pests and keep them away from your plants.  Smart dog, huh?  So we will be planting marigolds and radishes around the garden.

 

The intelligence and wisdom of animals never ceases to amaze me.  Their loyalty knows no bounds.  Hunter knew we were upset, wanted to see us happy so shared what he knew about gardening.  Does anyone else have any stories about their amazing animals they'd like to share?

Sometimes my co-workers will come to me for insight, particularly on dreams.  One mentioned the other day that she had a dream that her daughter was sleeping and a spider crawled out of her ear.  She wondered what it meant.  Just so happened I was again reading my Practical Guide to Psychic Self-Defense by Robert Bruce and had just completed the chapter explaining spiders and snakes.  In his view, spiders and snakes represent low-level negative energies or entities, usually easily dispatched.  Since first reading the book during Reiki training, that's what they've come to mean to me.  And as we know there are no coincidences, so I asked her if her daughter ever had nightmares.  Well, she has nightmares every night, around 2am.  Seems to be a little interference going on there.

 

So, I gave her my Sage oil that I always keep handy and told her to put a few drops on her hands and rub down her daughters bed.  I also told her about white light and asked her to use the white light to shield her daughter and herself before bed.  The last instruction was to call upon her daughter's Guardian Angels and Archangel Michael to protect her daughter while she slept.

 

Well, four days later and no nightmares!  Her daughter even instructed her cousin how to call upon AA Michael and use the white light before bedtime during a sleepover.  I just think that is so awesome!

 

Love and light,

Shannon

I had a vision this morning of Big Ben and the British Parliament with smoke pouring out of everywhere, including the face of Big Ben.  In my little psychic world, smoke means a release of some kind.  I then got up, poured my coffee, went to msnbc.com and saw the headline n"Swiss banker vows to hand secrets to WikiLeaks" with the story coming from London.  Tomorrow (Monday), this banker is supposed to hand over information on multi-nationals, politicians and private individuals using Swiss banking secrecy laws to hide money and avoid paying taxes. 

 

In less than 2 hours, the number of public comments on the story went from 56 to 212.  This is the piece I think is important and why I had the vision.  There is so much anger building against government and the elite, I just hope it doesn't explode.  But chances are this may be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

 

Love and light,

Shannon

Hello all and Happy Holidays!  I have not posted in a while because, well, my full-time job has me more than hopping and my psychic work took a back seat.  My psychic gifts usually only predicted things in my life but with energy shifts, I guess my psychic self has decided to take on the world.  I've had some visions and feelings about recent world events that have come to pass but NOTHING like this past weekend.  So, I'm throwing this out there to see if anyone else is picking this up.

 

I had a very clear dream about a major California earthquake.  There was complete devastation and I was helping people climb over rubble.  They just wouldn't listen to my warnings about the aftershocks.  The next morning, I had a vision of Santa on a ladder taking down Christmas decorations and the earth started shaking, he almost fell.  Then, I basically, physically swayed a good part of last night.  I just can't shake the feeling that something big is coming for Cali and soon.  This is all new to me so I'm still trying to make sense of my heightened awareness.  Anyone else feeling, seeing, sensing anything?

 

Love and blessings,

Shannon

I just got my hands on the new book by Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford and Marianne Williamson titled "The Shadow Effect: Illuminating the Hidden Power of Your True Self."  I had been getting some crazy messages from my guides, found this book, started reading and there on the pages were the words and symbols my guides were giving me!  I have only made it through Deepak's part so far but it is a powerful read.  Some of things I already knew but never knew how to practice and his words really resonated with me.  If you are being asked to do any sort of shadow work at this time, this could be the book for you.  I use examples from my life to hopefully give someone who is guided to the courage to face their shadow.  As Deepak puts it "The shadow isn't a fearsome opponent, but a worthy one" although we often see it as fearsome...lol! 

 

We all have that dark, shadow side and it creeps up at the most inopportune moments.  The anger, the hurt, the fear, the societal labels, us vs. them attitudes, the everything negative we suppressed or had put on us as part of the collective unconscious becomes part of that shadow.  Facing it, taking responsibility for it, and owning it are the hardest things we have to do in our spiritutal growth but yet it's necessary to become the whole person we were meant to be.  To be free of the effects of the shadow and the fear, judgement and anger that comes with it is living life as we're supposed to, being our true selves and liberating beyond imagination.  I think we've all had those moments of bliss and accepting ourselves as we are but many of us (like me!) go back to beating ourselves up, not feeling worthy, taking anger out on someone who didn't create it, etc.

 

I know I have alot stuffed down in that unconscious part of myself, my shadow.  Job loss and an abusive marriage are just part of what colors my world today.  The key is being present in the now and noticing when those feelings of fear and inadequacy are creeping up from down below.  Those aren't me but their mine and I can identify from where they came.  I can then own them, feel them, heal them as they are a part of me that needs help.  Currently, the job loss is coming up to be felt and healed.  This has created some feelings that nothing I do is right and paranoia.  Man, never knew that was there so strongly!  This opens up a whole new compassion for myself and, ultimately a compassion for others.  So not only am I healing myself of the fear and paranoia, but I'm finding a way to deal with other's bad behavior knowing full well where it's coming from.  There anger and fear is not about me, it's about their shadow.  On the flip side, it doesn't mean I allow it either but there are healthy ways of dealing with that which is really a topic for a whole different blog on healthy boundries.  It's really a delicate balancing act.

 

Another big challenge presented to us by our shadow is the need to morally judge which is caused by hate, anger and fear.  The hate, the anger, the fear of what others are doing should be our trigger that the shadow is at work.  Whatever we morally judge, hate, fear is a part of us that needs to be healed.  Say someone having sex outside of marriage angers you.  Guess what?  Having sex outside of marriage is part of your shadow and something you've suppressed.  Deal with it and don't judge it.  For all you know, the person having sex outside of marriage needs it as part of their soul growth so heal it within yourself and let them have their journey.  For me, I can't stand grandiose self-promotion so I know that grandiose self-promotion is part of me and something I suppressed.  I've always been told it was wrong to shout from the mountaintops how great you are.  So working on that will alleviate that anger.  In fact, just writing about it and feeling it helped me feel better and removed some of that need to judge.  It's amazing the way this works.

 

I would be remiss if I didn't touch on positive thinking and the fear of karma from negative thoughts or actions.  Positive thinking is great and affirmations are proven to help rewire the brain.  But the danger is that we unknowingly suppress the negativity which helps feed the shadow.  Been there, done that!  I think the key is to not suppress but allow the feeling, own it, realize your human, heal it, then change the thinking based on what triggered the feeling.  The Universe and karma will love you for it!

 

Facing our demons or our shadow can be painful but the rewards are many on our spiritual growth path, not just for us but for others.  Ultimately, all of the work we do on our shadow helps everyone through the collective unconscious and collective conscious.  Deepak goes into a scientific explanation of the collective unconscious in the book but suffice it to say, it's just like the collective conscious.  I can't wait to get into the next two parts written by Debbie Ford and Marianne Williamson.  But my guides were at me to write this blog and share at this point in time.

Blessings to all!  Shannon

Hello everyone!  I have been away for a while dealing with my full-time job and some huge personal transformations, but should be making my way back here at the Ultimate Gathering Place, probably more focused on my Reiki than anything else. My work has helped with my personal transformation and alot of it had to do with fear, facing it and conquering it.  Last night, as we were sitting in the finance manager's office at a local car dealer completing the paperwork for a new car, I looked around and noticed his bulletin board.  On it, he had posted a written work titled "Our Deepest Fear", a piece I fell in love with when it was presented to me during my Reiki 1 class.  It was a wonderful reminder about how powerful the words were for me at the time and reading it again, it was a reminder of how far I've come.  Spirit is prompting me to share it again today.  "Our Deepest Fear" is credited to Marianne Williamson but it was also used by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 innaugural speech.  Enjoy!

 

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you NOT to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing snall doen't serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

 

Enjoy your day and blessings to all!

Shannon

Good morning!  I finally purchased a wonderful reference book that was recommended to me by my Reiki Master about 2 months ago.  The title is "Archangels & Ascended Masters: A Guide to Working and Healing with Divinities and Deities" by Doreen Virtue.  I know we probably all know Doreen Virtues work with angels.  But, this is the first truly comprehensive book that I've seen that covers all the divinities and deities, and which one specializes in which area.  Everyone is covered from Abundantia to all of the Archangels to Merlin to Pele to Yogananda.

There is also a chapter with prayers to invoke multiple deities at the same time.  I took the opportunity to say three of the prayers yesterday in succession and the energy flowing through me was tremendous!  I highly recommend this book if it resonates with you.  I plan to use it not just for myself but my clients as well to help them in their lives.

Much love,

Shannon

Last week I posted a blog about playing the mud, both in the garden and in your psyche.  Working in your garden is a healthy metaphor for mining the mud in your psyche for those limiting beliefs that create your reactive mind.   Every so often, we encounter stumps in the dirt that need to be removed.  Stumps are deeply ingrained beliefs and fears usually from our very early years or those we have given so much energy, they develop into large growths.  Just like the mud, these ingrained beliefs or issues fuel our reactive mind so we may respond to situations from fear and anger based on those beliefs or issues.

 

So how do we deal with those seemingly immovable objects?  In a real garden, we chip away at them until we get them out.  The same holds true for the stumps in our psyche.  Mine came to me in a vision.  I had cleared so much forest and overgrowth in my psyche but right in the middle of this field stood a huge stump.  I could not identify what the deeply rooted issue was so I went into visualization mode.  I got a huge chain, tied it around the stump, tied the other end of the chain to a ¾ ton pick-up truck, got iin the truck and gunned the motor.  The entire thing came flying out.  Over the next few days the issue came to light so I was able to face it and begin to heal it.  Boy, did I feel great after that!

 

If you want to start dealing with those stumps, just picture a dying tree and ask for the Universe’s help.  Take off the branches and notice over the next few days what issues come up for you.  This involves living in the moment so that is must so you can gauge your reaction to things.  Once you start shining the light on the issues, you will notice them clear up, just as Eckhart Tolle notes in his book “The Power of Now.”  It’s magical.  When you feel ready, go back to your visualized tree and prune it some more.  You will eventually get to the stump so you can take that thing out of your psyche.  If you need professional help in this process, get it.  You don’t have to do this alone.

 

Obviously, there will be roots to the stump left in this process.  The roots are the downhill side of dealing with the issue.  Never fear, once you start on this path, the roots will show themselves when you’re ready but the challenge will not be as great as dealing with the stump.  They’re making sure you’ve learned your lesson so be grateful!  Sometimes the roots may just rot away depending on how deep them are.  My roots just showed up in a vision as a black worm being dislodged from a purple asteroid (yes, my visions are a bit wild).  Since then, the same issue has come up to a much lesser degree and I dealt with it from love instead of fear.  Roots are gone….woo-hoo!  What an awesome feeling.

 

This is tough work and I won’t kid you into thinking it’s not.  I try to take everything in this process with a sense of humor and that has helped tremendously.  I like laughing at myself now, especially those beliefs brought to the light that no longer serve me.  Maybe that’s why my visions are so wild and crazy, although I know they all have symbolism.  Have faith, trust yourself, the Universe and your guides.  You’ll love how much lighter and healthier you feel.

 

Much love and light,

Shannon

We did a lot of yard work yesterday.  My boyfriend hasn’t really done anything with his house in 10 years and now that I’ve moved in, he feels the need to get ALL that work done in 10 days.  He’s an Aries, need I say more??  We extended the beds with the tiller and had to take out a little stump that was now going to be part of the beds.  What I forgot about working in the yard is just how therapeutic it can be physically, emotionally and metaphorically.

 

The obvious benefit is getting in touch with mother earth and just playing in the dirt.  Working in the dirt is very grounding as you’re in direct contact with the earth itself.  It also helps take your focus away from the worries, stresses and fears of everyday life.  Your mind is focused on the work and it can become a practice in meditation.  It’s also great exercise.  Between the tilling, swinging the ax to get the stump out, and the shoveling, you get a complete body workout.

 

The metaphors were taught to me by one of my first advisors.  She insisted that I had to start playing in the mud, my mud, the mud of my psyche.  The mud is that stuff that accumulates throughout your lifetime.  It’s the stuff that you suppressed because it was uncomfortable to deal with for whatever reason so it sits there gumming up your inner works.  It creates the reactive mind or how you react to similar situations in the future through fear, anger or feeling hurt.  Therefore it prevents you from moving forward to a better life and realizing your true self and your true dreams and desires. 

 

For example, I came from an emotionally abusive marriage.  I have a wonderful new man now, good as gold.  However, there are times when my reactive mind comes into play, like preparing dinner.  The ex had to have dinner at a certain time and got mad when it wasn’t there.  My boyfriend could care less about dinner and is totally capable of figuring it out himself.  But there are times when my reactive mind kicks in and gets nervous about having dinner ready, not wanting to take the abuse if it isn’t.  I am aware of this now and the incidences of this happening to me are less and less.  It’s like magic and I’m at the point of not even caring about dinner unless I’m hungry.

 

It’s not easy to face that mud and what’s in there.  I continue to do it everyday as situations present themselves to me and continue to take notice of my reactions to them.  I simply ask “where did that come from?”  It never fails that it came from something in my past.  Being aware of what is going on with you and how you are reacting to things at that second is the first step in clearing out that mud.  When you find yourself reacting emotionally to something, ask yourself where that emotion came from.  Once you shine the light on it and accept it, things instantly being to get better. 

 

Eckhart Tolle based his book “The Power of Now” entirely on this concept.  It’s a simple read, very straightforward and I highly recommend it.  If you feel your mud is just too thick or to painful to get through, seek professional help.  There are times in our lives when we all need help and this is one of them.  Once you start clearing things out, you feel so much lighter and new wonderful things begin pouring in.  As the saying goes, you must clear out the old for the new to arrive and that includes old beliefs, fears, hurts, etc.  It’s an amazing process.

 

I love playing in my mud now.  The wisdom I have gained from my muddy psyche is invaluable.  It took me a long time to appreciate it but now it’s very liberating.  I even played a bit yesterday while literally playing in the dirt and by the end of the day was in a much more peaceful state.  As for the stump that I cleared out, I’ll save that metaphor for another blog 

 

Have a wonderful, peaceful day!!

 

Shannon