The Fire Within – Relating

~Relationship is surely the mirror in which you discover yourself~ Krishnamurti

Since February seems to be the month of love and relationship, with Valentine’s Day and Family Day occurring, the concept of relating has been on my mind. Let’s dive into this topic and give it a bit of a hashing out!

In Astrology, relationships are revealed in oppositions. This occurs when one planet is looking at another planet across the sky. Each planet holds its own view, which appears contrary to the other. However, in reality, each planet simply reflects the other in some way. Oppositions represent a different side of the same coin. The same is true of relationships.

As a person born under a Full Moon, relationships are a going concern for me, and an ongoing life theme. Going back to the concept of oppositions, a Full Moon occurs when the Sun and Moon are in opposing ends of the cosmos. The Moon picks up the Sun’s light and reflects it back. This is really a mirroring effect that often occurs in relationships. To read more about moon phases, click here.

We see in others what we like, dislike, reject, want and disown about ourselves. Whether we realize it or not, others provide a perfect mirror to who we are. In some Native and Mayan cultures this was called the “Great Smoking Mirror”, or, “I am another one of Yourself” teaching. (1) This is the concept that we all come from the same source or Creator, and therefore are one and the same. We reflect each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The Great Smoking Mirror reveals that the mirror of truth lies just beyond the smoke of illusion.

We all carry illusions and delusions about ourselves. We all have a Neptune in our Birth Chart! Sometimes we prefer the smoke to the mirror. We are human beings after all, and we are learning. Part of working out the oppositions in relationships is to balance the opposing forces. This requires looking in the mirror and being honest about what you see being reflected back.

There is a term in psychology called “projection”. This occurs when a person denies something about themselves, and instead, ascribes it to the outside world, most often another person. This is finger pointing and blaming. What we really need to do is turn the finger around and see what we are reflecting, and what we are ultimately dis-owning.

In relationship, both sides and inclinations need to be taken in, accepted and integrated. This means taking the other person’s view and holding it as your own. This is the dance of intimacy in relationships. This obviously requires a bit of work from both bodies. It takes two to tango after all.

But what if the two sides are just too different? What if Pluto issues of power and control are involved, what then? What if you feel someone is just not allowed into your space for whatever reason? Well, that is okay too. Not everyone has earned the right to be in your sacred space. If others cannot see your truth, it is more than okay to set boundaries. This is part of the learning in relationships too. Not all are meant to carry on.

But oppositions, like relationships, offer a gift. This is the gift of illumination. Just like that Full Moon, we are able to see ourselves really clearly when in relationship. If you keep meeting others that try to control you, consider where you are denying your own power. If your relationships keep repeating themes of guilt, manipulation and abuse, consider where you victimize others. Be willing to see the ugly truths.

This is confronting the Shadow, a term we can thank Carl Jung for. Shadow and light exist together, as one would not be without the other. To bypass the fact that we can behave horribly, meanly, abusively is denying the truth of who we are. If we are standing and looking at someone across from us, what are we hiding behind ourselves? What shadows are we casting?

The best way to integrate and balance the shadow and opposition is to look outwards, see the reflection, and accept it without judgment. The person you are relating with will then feel acknowledged and understood. Even if this means you turn and walk away, the balance of conflicting forces is achieved. It can also balance karma. But let’s leave karma for another day, that is a whole other relationship matter!

So what about love? Of course we need to talk about love when considering relationships and relating, we all have a Venus after all! Love is not discriminating. Love happens even when the shadow appears. Love occurs in the opposition, in the smoke, and in the mirror. This four-letter-word is thrown around a lot but it is really what everything is about in the end. Even if you choose to turn and walk away from someone, that is love too.

It is in relating to others that we learn about who we are. This can be painful and blissful. The key here is to accept what you see. In accepting the mirror, you allow yourself to exist. In the Great Mystery of life we are all reflections of the One. Everyone is the Sun, and everyone is the Moon. We are merely working out our own position in the cosmos with our fellow stars.

To learn more about Astrology or to have your own Birth Chart interpreted, please visit www.EarthSkyJourneys.org for more information.

To learn more about relationships and relating, consider “Creating Healthy Relationships”, a course offered by the Canadian Academy of Therapeutic Arts. Visit HERE for more information.

(1)From Jamie Sams’ Sacred Path Cards, p.291.

The Fire Within – Rebirth

Rebirth is an appropriate theme to write about for a new year, although this happened quite by chance. I received the Bat card today in response to a question I had. Then I was inspired to write.

Bat medicine is that of the shaman’s death. This type of experience involves an initiation of sorts: a death followed by rebirth. In some way, a part of the Self is challenged to die, in order for a new part to be reborn. It is the letting go of some old identity, habit, or energy to make space for something new. Regardless, that which no longer serves the soul experiences a dying to make way for a becoming.

I feel like the change from 2012 to 2013 has brought this exact energy to me. I got quite sick just after Christmas and literally was inert for 5 days. Now that I am on the other side, I feel completely different. Purged, purified and wiped clean. Like I experienced some kind of death and I am in an entirely “new” space. I really honestly feel different. Like I am in rebirth mode.

I realize some habits need to die. What I did before does not apply now. 2012 is dead and gone, as are many people, places and things from it. My mind has to completely shift its thinking and challenge my old perceptions. I literally can’t think the same anymore. This is required and necessary and I am okay with that. The old no longer belongs. It is quite a remarkable feeling.

What I know, is that I cannot think my way through life anymore. I have to feel it. A dear friend said this exact thing to me yesterday. And I know it is true. I need to anchor into my own sense of intuition and feel my way through decisions and challenges. This is key. Because if I feel it, I can’t be wrong. Ever. It is about honoring the guts which know what the truth is. As one of my favourite quotes of all times says, “the body does not lie”.

So, I pose the question: what is the rebirth for you right now?

2012 was a “5” year, one of challenge, change and crisis. 2013 is a “6” year, one of balance, inner harmony and peace. I really feel I experienced one last challenge and crisis by getting sick and having my slate wiped clean, so to speak. So I could enter 2013 and know what I need to do to really have a sense of balance, inner harmony and peace. For this, I am very grateful.

The whole point of entering a new calendar year (and new numbered year) is to experience a shift. That is most likely why resolutions are made. To honor the newness of a new year. I think it is important to honor whatever process you are going through during this time. From crisis to peace. That is what I wish for this new year, for each and every one of us.

The Fire Within – The Journey to Power

Writing is such a catalyst for me, and I haven’t done so in awhile. This post has been brewing for about a month, and oh, what a month it has been. 🙂

Power issues are a constant theme in my life. As a person with a Sun-Pluto opposition in their birth chart knows, struggles to reclaim power, own power, and not project power onto others is a back and forth deal. My fall-back is to feel powerless most of the time. My dreams are full of this very theme. Let’s just say, this is one of my mountains to climb in this lifetime.

My soul is getting a bit weary of this, even though it signed up for it! Lately, I have been feeling crusty. A bit feisty and ferocious. “Whatever” is my line to drama. I thought there was something wrong with me, but then I realized, hey, maybe I am getting a handle on this power-thing. Maybe I am full of my power, and this is what that feels like. A bit snarly. Like a wild cat!

Power is a funny thing. Let me say from experience that power does not come from any thing. It does not come from money. It does not come from a title or position. It does not come from other people. It does not come from what you know. It does not come from what you do or what you own. Power does not really exist outside of the self at all.

Power is a force within, an energy, and a connection. If you are full of your own power, you cannot get sick. Nobody can take your power away. You can lose your power, but this is of your own volition. Power is a personal responsibility and it is up to you to take care of it. True power comes from the heart.

What I have learned about power, I attribute to my studies and practices in Shamanism. By far, these practices and beliefs have helped me more than anything. I attribute my discovery and ownership of my power to Shamanism. It has brought me into a deeper connection with all of life, my guardians, and the greater cosmos and universe. It is through Shamanism that I have discovered that I am not alone, and this discovery has brought me power.

What does true power feel like? Like a strength that comes from the deepest core imaginable. It comes from a place of silence. It does not come from anger or anxiety but from a feeling of peace. Ferocity is power, but it is controlled, directed and focused. Power is not running roughshod over everyone and everything. It is picking your battles and leaving the rest behind.

I believe we all can access our power. We are all innately powerful. Why would we be here on Earth if we weren’t? The problem is, is that people either don’t believe they have power, or that people abuse the power they think they have. The media and society have given us the entirely wrong message, that power comes from how you look, how much money you have, and how you fare on the “material” level in the world. This is all wrong my friends. Stop believing these lies.

Let’s use the media to help us here. Think of the movie the Lord of the Rings. There is a line in there I love, that Galadriel says: “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future”. Those little hobbits defeated the most evil person! What they had was power, the power of heart, and the power of doing what they were called to do. Even though it seemed very hard and impossible. They did it and it had nothing to do with physical resources, strength or title.

I have made a decision as of late, and the picture and this post reflects this. I am owning who I am. I am owning what I am here to do, even if it is different. I feel my power and I am keeping it this time. While my life on the outside, (nor my bank account!) may not reflect my power, I know I have it. I know where it comes from and who is helping me with it. I can do what I feel my heart wants me to do, and I am worthy of this. I have the Red Heart of courage and power, and my guardians with me.

I challenge you to get in touch with your power. Where does it lie? How does it feel? And how can you express this in the world? Get on this task. It is the journey that is truly worth it.

“To be a warrior is not a simple matter of wishing to be one. It is rather an endless struggle that will go on to the very last moment of our lives. Nobody is born a warrior, in exactly the same way that nobody is born an average man. We make ourselves into one or the other.”  ~Carlos Castaneda~

Jodie Cara Lindley

Visit my new website and check out my offerings in Astrology and Shamanism: www.earthskyjourneys.org

 

The Fire Within

The Fire Within – Death

There is a bit of a theme brewing today, which I felt the need to write about. It’s all about Death today. Let’s just say, it’s in the cards for me to talk about!

It started with a Big Dream I had last night. In it I lost everything of value to me. In one moment I felt a fullness and the next empty. My dream focused around the loss of three things. And for sure it was my past-life coming up for review and healing.

In my dream, one day I had the guy of my dreams, a cell phone, and a new car. I went to sleep with all these things in tact, and woke up to my cell phone gone and replaced with someone else’s phone. My new car was gone and replaced with my old car that was unreliable. The guy was gone too. I had no way to contact him, because with my cell phone went all my connections with others, including him. Everything had been taken away. Everything that had made me happy had “died”.

There were others in my dream, but they were strangers. They didn’t really care what had happened to me. I felt really lost and alone. I felt sabotaged, pushed aside and sad. I felt a small death inside, as everything that gave me connection was stripped away. This is a familiar theme in my dreams, and obviously it wanted some attention today. Oh Death.

Then I pulled the Shaman’s Death card this morning for my daily card reading for everyone on Facebook. Obviously it applied to me too. Here is what I wrote about this card:

41 – Shaman’s Death – Death & Rebirth
It is time to acknowledge that you are in a “death cycle”. This simply means a time of endings, transition and transformation. You need to look at what is dying before a rebirth can take place. Consciously allow the old to leave. Let go so the new can come in. What is dying does not serve you anymore. And remember, there is nothing more alive than death. A rebirth awaits.

Okay. Then I wrote the following about today’s Astrology and planetary action:

Where’s the Moon at? Now in Scorpio, the most intense sign of the zodiac. Emotions are deep and real with this Moon. Add a square with Venus in Leo to the mix, and there may be some old wounds coming up to your consciousness, about a time when you weren’t approved of by someone you valued and loved. Feel the feelings and discomfort and release what you need to. They are being called for acknowledgment.

Throw a little Uranus-Pluto square into the mix and watch the break-ups and break-downs! This is an intense square affecting all of us personally and collectively. This causes the breakdown of old structures and awakening of the warrior within. We may feel impelled to do something about our pain and what we feel is no longer applicable in our lives.

Further, Chiron in Pisces is sextile Pluto in Capricorn. This gives us the opportunity for a real healing of our deep collective wounds. We all have had times of rejection. We have all been victims. We all hurt at times, from our own hands and others.

The planetary energy is asking us to look at ourselves, so we can heal. This is to our benefit and to that of humanity.

Got it. Death is knocking. And I don’t mean literally. I mean symbolically. Obviously there is some aspect of loss and letting go I need to be aware of and confront. When I woke up this morning, I realized that I do need to let go of certain “things” in order to move forward in life. As always, that requires a dropping of attachments and plunging into the unknown.

In order for something new to come into my hands, I need to first open and drop what I am holding onto. What made me feel “safe” and loved in my dream were things that could break down, die or leave. I felt I was nothing without those things. This is so untrue. It doesn’t hurt less, but I am much more than a person who has a cell phone, car, or boyfriend. We all are. Why are we all afraid of death and losing? It for sure is a human condition.

I ultimately need to be okay with Death. We all do. Life is about cycles…things are born, they grow, they deteriorate, and then they die. This is not morbid thinking, this is nature. Death is natural.

Healing requires death. For something to heal and transform, something has to die. Even a scab that covers a wound falls off in the end. What is under that scab is tender new skin that is growing. As I said with the shaman’s death card, nothing is more alive than death. But we want to hold onto the scab! Maybe we think it gives us a sense of realism or being?

From my experience, loss brings a fair dose of reality really fast. It makes things really clear in the moment. We feel pain acutely and this brings us into our body immediately. Loss causes change on the inside, because whatever you have lost leaves an open space for something else to fill. It is like we are left with a void and have to look at ourselves and our innate vulnerability.

I think on a deeper level it is about vulnerability. For something to be vulnerable, it needs to be in its purest state. That means anything clogging up that connection to purity has to go. So the cell phone, car and guy had to go. So be it. I am okay with that.

Maybe my dream is alerting me to something new that is coming? Perhaps I am being called to clear out my consciousness in order to be open? Whatever it is, I am there. I am ready. I am pure. I am alive in my Death.

Jodie xo

The Fire Within

The Fire Within – Truth

Last night I had a Big Dream, in which Bear came with a message. I am choosing to share this dream, because it had an important teaching for me about truth, which I feel suits the fire within posts perfectly. After all, inner truth is the connection to our inner fire as well.

In my dream, I blockaded myself in my house, to keep from two very nasty characters. They were trying to get at me, because I prevented them from making changes to my house on the outside, and they didn’t like it. They were trying to figure a way inside, and that is where Bear came in.

This was a massive brown Bear. He too was trying to get at me, and the nasty people outside were enjoying this very much. I was terrified, because this Bear wanted a piece of me. But deep down I knew he just wanted to impart a message to me.

The dream transformed when I told the truth. I said I was smarter than this, and needed to return to where I knew I belonged, because it was more for me than this. The walls fell away, Bear disappeared, and the nasty people shrugged and left. Instantly, I was transported to somewhere I loved and wanted to be. No need to keep myself holed up in a house with cardboard walls anymore. My truth disarmed the outsiders immediately and they lost their power… in speaking my truth, I gained my power back.

Bear medicine is about introspection. It is about entering the silence to digest your personal truths. In order for us to accomplish the goals and dreams that we carry, we need to enter the stillness of our own space, and see, feel and hear the truth. It is connecting to an inner-knowing inside that Bear teaches.

I see Bear in my dream now as not trying to get me out of my house, but to keep me inside. It was inside my house where the truth arose within me, and I spoke it out. My house was my own sacred space, my intuitive mind, my place of silence. Bear scared me enough to go deeper into my house, away from the intruders trying to get in. It is there I saw, felt and knew my truth. Once I knew this, everything changed.

Truth is a concept that keeps repeating for me lately. So is stillness, retreat, and connecting to the inner self. How can I know the truth if I am not quiet enough to hear it? I am sure there are a few of you readers out there that can identify with this.

Our world is noisy. It is busy, conflicted, and aggressive at times. We are told to push, to achieve, to acquire, because those are things that will make us happy. I am not so sure. When I push too much, I pull the roots out from beneath me. I lose my ground. I forget who I am. I am miserable. I am much better when I can feel my way through life and through what I need to do. I am coming to the point where I am willingly foregoing the rat race. Bear has taught me this.

The two people in my dream were trying to change my house on the outside. I see that as others wanting me to do and be a certain way. I am not pointing any fingers, except to myself. Those people were symbolic of the outside world and my projections onto it. I often think I don’t have power in my life to do what I need and want to do. This is old nonsense I carry around with me. Bear medicine is also a healing medicine, and I believe this one is up for healing and transforming now.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32). Truth is freedom. It is deeply healing and can transform any lies. Like the fire within, the truth within can burn away what is no longer needed. Things become really clear with the truth around, even if it hurts. I often protect others from my own truth, because I do not want to disappoint or hurt them. But I am really hurting both of us then. Bear reminded me that acknowledging the truth within is a form of protection. If I honor that truth, I cannot be hurt by anyone’s lies, including my own. This is a powerful message.

I will leave you with a final quote on truth, by someone who knew very well about seeking the silence and truth within…

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.  ~Buddha~

Jodie xo

 

The Fire Within

The Fire Within – Intuition

I have been receiving repeated messages lately, only confirmed by today’s card. Here’s what I wrote about this card, culled from the Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams:

49 – Salmon – Wisdom/Inner Knowing

Trust your gut feeling and inner knowing right now. When you honor the wisdom inside of you, you will not go wrong. Salmon’s message is one of gathering information from all of life’s experiences, the challenging and easy ones, and knowing that wisdom is created from these situations. Honor your path and listen to your inner voice. Embrace and follow your authentic feelings. Connect to your own inner determination and instinct, and swim back to the place of your creation.

What an empowering message! It aligns perfectly with these “new” writings on The Fire Within. Intuition is a repeating theme for me right now, I even wrote an article about it for my dear friends at the Canadian Academy of Therapeutic Arts, for their August Newsletter and blog…check that out here. There is a course on developing your Intuition starting in the fall, which I highly recommend. Connect to that here.

Intuition is the connection to our inner fire. It is receiving inspiration from a deep place within us, a place of knowing and wisdom, as Salmon says. Intuition is that quiet inner voice that whispers to us, that communicates directly from our spirit and soul. Intuition is feeling-based information and so it is easy to disregard. But intuition is truth on a very energetic level that we have access to, if we listen.

Intuition is our personal guiding system and links directly to our greater purpose in life. It is unique, and special, and ours. Nobody can give you the right answers, they can merely sometimes guide you there. You know inside what is right for you, and this is intuition. This is the inner knowing and this is valuable information. Somehow the Universe is guiding me right back to my Intuition right now, for some reason I can only feel.

Personally, I try to live my life by my intuition. I have learned the hard way that when I disregard my gut, I lose. It is not always easy, especially when logically, what I am sensing does not make sense. But when did life ever really make sense anyway?

I have made a pact with myself to do this very thing that Salmon recommended to me and everyone this morning. To follow my inner knowing and wisdom. I have had a plethora of life experiences in my 41 years of life. I am not afraid to say I have some wisdom going on. Part of my purpose in life is to communicate that wisdom, and hope to inspire, help and console others who struggle on the path of life. This I know and I will not waver from it. The fire within me won’t let that happen.

Salmon are amazing animals. I have seen them swimming to reach their spawning place. These amazing fish swim against the current upstream, towards creation. Once they get there, they spawn and die. Salmon know who they are, and what they were created for, and have the determination to swim against incredible odds to get to their end point. This is a powerful lesson and I am thankful to Salmon to have a felt sense of this today.

So here’s to the wisdom of the fire within. Let us all swim where we need to go, along our own unique river.

Jodie xo

The Fire Within

The Fire Within – The Creative Core

In the past few days, I have been contemplating what writing I would like to take on next. I loved the Loving Mind series, but feel I need to change it up a bit. Self-worth will always be an undertone in my writings, as it is a subject so important to me. But I thought, tackling another challenge through writing might be in order instead.

So today I received repeated messages and figured they were pointing the way. All signs pointed to fire.

Fire is the element of transformation. Fire burns, it destroys, it chars things down to ashes. Fire is most associated with creativity, passion, inspiration, and energy. Fire is that initial spark of anything that is born, and it is what keeps us warm. Fire is that solar principle in our lives, the yang (active) polarity, and without it nothing would grow. Without fire, we most certainly would die.

In all honesty, I can deny my own fire. This is what I was contemplating today while walking in the woods. I have been feeling a bit depressed the last couple of days, and wondered what was up. Depression is often anger turned inwards. It can also be the denial or repression of anger. Anger is most associated with the element fire. Things started to fit together for me. Somewhere in my life I am denying my inner fire, and it is depressing me. The flame was ignited.

The seat of our inner fire is the solar plexus, or the third chakra. This is where our personal power sits, our courage and confidence, our inner driver. This is where our inner fire comes from. And when we deny it, the light within goes out. I know this from experience, and from working with others via Reiki or Shamanic Healing. When we are putting our energy into things that do not fuel our inner core, the energy works against us.

Of course the heart is involved. The heart feels but the inner fire moves us. When we are in touch with our fire, we feel alive. We feel passion and purpose. We have energy for anything and everything that fuels us. We are the little flame that never goes out, but burns forever. Consider how long a coal stays hot, long after the flames themselves have gone down.

I know what drives me. I know for what and whom I feel passion. I know what I love and what I want to create. I need to feel this or I feel myself dying inside, the light going out. I have been at burn out before and I intend to never go back there. Burn out happens not only from too much fire output, but the lack of fire within. And sometimes the flame never gets a chance to get any bigger, due to a lack of fuel. Been there, done that, not going back. Right now is the time for my fire to burn strong, and burn it will.

The fire is within each of us. It is our inner creative core. Despite the fact that fire can destroy, it is also the necessary element for creation. Without fire medicine, nothing would exist. We all have the right to burn bright, to feed the fuel of our own creations. The challenge is learning where to build our fire.

Jodie xo