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Wait! There’s More; Patty’s Recipe for Everyday Spirituality Continued |
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Written by Patty Shaw
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Monday, 09 January 2012 00:00 |
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 As I
promised last month, FULL disclosure.
Yes, there are times and (loong stretches
of time) when I completely abandon my cute and cuddly spiritual practice.
That’s when my faithful companions stress and depression remind me that life is
better for me when my ego is aligned with my spirit. In my struggling I typically find that I have
become ungrounded and have started to wander off the ranch. It’s my classic
reaction to my challenges even though I know staying in “in by body” and
connected to earth and my co-creating relationship with god is a better way to
face my life. At times like these I
light a Blessed Herbal Stability and
Self Esteem candle.
I’m
not saying that the path is super obvious and easy when co-creating with god,
there are still bumps in the road, disappointments and trials. It’s just that I
can focus better and tap into my creativity much easier. I have clarity, and can see the hints and
help that are placed right in front of me. No, I am not being told what to do
and when to do it; I am shown potentials and options. Be assured that they are
not as black and white as I write about here, but maybe that can be as a benefit
of being enlightened, we’ll see. Here’s the scenario; if I go this way I will
find joy, success, co-operation, enthusiasm. If I don’t, I may be in for
another round of disappointment. Each
choice comes with the challenge to decide how happy I want to be. You can imagine which direction I go when I’m
still married to the need to be punished or sabotaged.
Kathryn
(Yarborough of Everyday Spirituality on Blog talk radio) is very much into full
disclosure and asked me where I am still a work in progress. I have to say, I haven’t quite mastered
feeling worthy of success, and that what I have created, others would find
value in it for themselves. I admit
there is a certain amount of rebelliousness that happened around my book. I
chalked it up to being protective. I wasn’t prepared to shoulder criticism or
rejection. Looking back I see where I went overboard with that and walled
myself off and ignored my beautiful book to save myself from facing my fears.
Yes that’s a little nutty. If you struggle
with this, spark up a Coventry Creations
Success Affirmation candle
This
attitude pushed me into isolation, and that is not a natural way for my spirit
to be. That choice caused me pain
too. Now I am willing to be a little
more vulnerable where my book is concerned, and I’m learning to do it without
sacrificing my individuality. I can be
soft and have a sense of humor about myself and embrace the knowing that not
everything I make graduates from hanging by a magnet on the refrigerator door
to a frame in a gallery. I don’t have to
take that personally or feel like I’ve failed because of it.
Of
course the next question is what’s easy and what’s hard in doing my everyday
spiritual practice? The easy thing for
me to do is find beauty and joy in at least one thing every day. Even on the crap days I can find something
that will soften me up, and I am eternally grateful that I can do that. What has been harder for me to do is stay
light hearted about myself, especially when I have to stretch and do something
I really, really am scared to do, or tangle with something in the self worth
department. Loving myself and accepting
myself (warts and all) gets a work out every day.
In
closing I’d like to share what I have learned so far on my spiritual journey. Love heals everything, as over used as that
statement is; it is the basic truth that we can fall back on every time we are
sick, in grief, angry, betrayed. You
name it. The key to that statement is to
learn what it means to you and where you are lacking love. Ultimately it will boil down to a lack of self
love and self acceptance. Even though that
is at the core of most of our wounds, start the process with learning the
meaning behind how others have hurt you.
All of the pain you have experienced by the hand of another was called
to you by what you believe about yourself.
Light a Blessed Herbal Heart
candle to support you and help you get into the space of forgiving.
In
other words, everything in your life, you had a hand in creating. All that chaos both wonderful and painful,
you are partly if not fully responsible for.
If you dare to love it, all of it, you will heal your life. So be
patient with yourself. Learn how to love yourself again, and do it every day,
though forgiveness and letting go. If you can make loving yourself your
spiritual practice you will re-create yourself and your life. You will be very
happy with the results.
In
meditation I would ask god, what do I need…to do? And I always hear, love
yourself. Finally I asked, what does
that mean; because sitting here saying over and over “I love myself” is not
really working. The answer I got was to
see myself as god sees me. That took
some time, and some practice and some conversations with god to find out how he/she/it
saw me so I could then see myself that way.
It was quite an eye opener, and that worked for me – Now I ask god, how
do you see me today? So far I have not disappointed
god one iota and that makes me feel like my low self worth is really a waste of
my energy and time and kinda silly. I
invite you to let god show you how much you are valued.
Doing
this kind of healing is not something you can do exclusively on your own. There will be times when you can’t see a way
out of your darkness. Please, please,
please, ask for help sorting out your myths from your truths. You can change your life, you can be happy,
you can heal. The foundation of Coventry
Creations is all about being a resource of help and encouragement. Both Jacki
and I are skilled and trained spiritual healers, and happy to be of service to
you. My website is www.HealingWithPattyShaw.com.
You can find Jacki through www.coventrycreations.com.
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Patty's Recipe for Everyday Spirituality |
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Written by Patty Shaw
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Monday, 12 December 2011 00:00 |
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 Last
week I was on Kathryn Yarborough’s blogtalk radio show “Everyday Spirituality”
and I must say that I really resonate with the idea of everyday
spirituality. What a simple yet profound
way to tune in to the big picture for some well needed unconditional love’in. For me, my spirituality needs to be
comfortable like a well worn pair of jeans and woven right into my life style. It
needs to be something I do automatically, like waking up before the alarm goes
off. It’s just natural.
My
spiritual practice has to include grounding and being here now. I tend to
wander in my life an let it just happen.
If I want to be a good little co-creator and stay the course, I have to
get my head out of the clouds and watch where I’m walking. This means being
present in my mind and body as much as possible with everything I do. Even the boring stuff. It’s a discipline that strengthens my ability
to focus. And focus is very important when the situation calls for sorting
through the distractions and get things done. I light a Blessed Herbal Energy
and Will candle to help keep me on task.
The
other part of my spiritual practice is to love and appreciate the beauty all
around me, even the things that I don’t find particularly beautiful. Gratitude
is a deep and healing experience for me.
It pulls me out of self pity, doubt and worry and helps me reconnect to
god and my spirit and I’m rarely without my Inner Beauty Affirmation candle. Being out of touch with those things leaves
me adrift like a boat without a rudder. Practicing gratitude can be as simple
as complimenting the sky on the wonderful job she did arranging the clouds
today. And that sunrise…it’s to die for!
Also,
during meditation, I bring light and color into my chakras and aura to strengthen
and balance me. I get spiritual healings
and see a chiropractor once a month who does amazing energy work for my
body. You see my spiritual practice
includes taking care of my body, and doing the healing work I need to do to be
who I truly am. And that is a project.
Kathryn
asked me where I am on this journey of integrating spirituality into my day-to-day
life and I am proud to say, I am opening up the flow of spirit into my career. I’m undoing all the compartmentalizing I’ve
done in my life. Where I had only invited god into the parts that were “spiritual”,
like when I meditated, or prayed, or was with a client. Now I am ready to co-pilot with god in making
strategic marketing decisions, creating new streams of revenue – yes – god and
I are making plans to create more money for me and doing it in a way that is in
alignment with my spirit. Apparently
that is ok with god. Being prosperous without
guilt is a novel idea for me. This is a
perfect product placement for Motor City Hoo Doo Crown of Glory Candle and Oil. Put some oil on your pen, presentation and
pulse points before a meeting so you will close that deal.
How I
do this is quite sophomoric. I come up
with a question like; how am I going to sell all these books? I have written a wonderfully inspirational
book and have many, many copies of it to share but, while I was writing it I only
had this vague idea that it would just sell. My “if you build it they will come”
attitude was very Zen of me, but not very practical. I love the book and figured so would lots of
other people right? So, to make the
needed course correction, I ask the question of god “how do I sell these
books?” Then I stay alert for the person
or information to cross my path that would show me an answer that would lead to
an action I could take. I’d then follow
through and see what happens. The flow
seems to be; Ask, then be present of mind to be to see the hints that say do
this, call this person or pay attention to that, etc. The next step is to take action. Taking action is just as important as asking
for help. My answer and action to take
was twofold. 1. Heal your fears. 2. Find
someone you trust who’s done it before and ask them to teach you. Piece of cake! Once you get into the habit of presenting the
situation to god, it’s easier to see the 2’x4’ when it’s heading for your head.
Continued
next week for full disclosure on my faux paus Read more: |
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Written by Patty Shaw
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Monday, 14 November 2011 08:00 |
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The big news right now is the release of Jacki’s first book Coventry Magic, with Candles, Incense and
Oils. This is not your typical magic
book with spells and a hefty list of ingredients, though you won’t be
disappointed in that category. It is
also an opportunity to get to know the person behind the candles, incense and
oils. In the pages of this book you will
learn in no uncertain terms why magic works and why Jacki has set herself down
to ‘splain it all to you using common sense, wit and her endearing charm. Be prepared to laugh, take note and do some
head nodding.
Every author has a story behind their story and without
Jacki’s permission; I’m sharing my story of Jacki here. I know, I like to live dangerously,
right? By the way, I wrote this while
she was out of town on her book tour. This
will go very well (note the positive affirmation here).
There is not much you
can bring to the table that Jacki won’t wrap her brain around (and her magic)
to help come up with a solution, a system or game plan to set things going in
the right direction. That is the core of
her magical practice and personal philosophy. Rule one: Never believe in your limitations!
She knows there is always another way to get where you want to go,
eventually. I wouldn’t say she’s
fearless, I’d say she’s clever and clever people don’t stay stuck for long, nor
do they subscribe to fail or giving up.
She’ll admit, at times, things didn’t go as planned or have fallen right
apart, but never will there be a total throw up your hands and walk away
defeated. No, instead you will hear her
say; let’s talk about what worked and what didn’t work. You will hear laughter after the tears and
know that the next round is beginning.
Even when I’ve seen her surrender – it was done at the right time for
the right reasons. (Because anytime
before that would have been all wrong, right?) That’s Jacki.
One of the endorsers of Coventry Magic wrote that Jacki is
the real thing – magically speaking. I
have to tell you that you are not getting smoke blown – ‘er anywhere. She is a very spiritual, in the flow, card
carrying member of the “I care about what’s going on here” practitioner. Nor does she sit on the sidelines shaking her
head saying tsk, tsk, that’s too bad.
She’s right in the game, willing to call the shots, take the heat, and
be the cheerleader, medic and coach. I
would say she can be called Jack of all trades, but that would a horrible
pun. Rather I’ll say, Jacki is willing
to take risks, influence energy and be influential. She’s willing to use magic and be the
magic. Do you know how many altars are
in our office, for Pete sake? I’ll list
her active gifts right here for you so you know what I’m talking about. She’s an entrepreneur, a psychic, a medium,
tarot card reader, seamstress, healer, and works with the Akashic Records oh
and she darns socks too (just kidding).
 Jacki is magical and
she uses her powers for good, you can count on it. Her vein of gold runs very deep and to
intentionally hurt someone makes her physically ill (I’ve seen it). She’s created many products for you to use to
empower yourself and she’s on the Downtown Development Authority in Ferndale
and gives a lot of time and energy to the community. When she needs support or help in any way,
she goes to her bag of tricks and her “peeps” and puts them to work. We even blessed the paint, added magical
oils, gold dust and positive affirmations to it before we slathered it on the
walls of our office to create a literal vortex of bounty for us and the
company.
Now Saint Jacki is a woman of her word and god knows she has
lots of words. We have yet to experience
the capacity of her vocabulary. Well I have, but again, at the risk of becoming
redundant, we do share an office. Many
of you already know of KIM (Keep it Magic), Jacki’s internet radio show with
co-host Storm Cestavani, on BlogTalk Radio.
If you have not, you can connect with it through www.keepitmagic.com. This show has really helped Jacki come out of
her shell. YOU do remember how reserved
and retiring she used to be right? I’m really going to get in trouble for that
one. Seriously, Jacki thought she was an
introvert, but after shrugging off and healing from the childhood and young
adult repressions and wounds, this caterpillar shed her cocoon and grew a pair
(as Jacki is fond of saying).
Being the mature of the two of us (sometimes chronologically
only) I can say confidently that Jacki does her personal work. She has had her trials by fire and only
complained a little. Nah, no one is going to believe that. Ok, she bitched like a banshee, but always,
always came back to the truth. (Remember
rule number one?) Never believe in your
limitations, with the addendum, I
agreed to/created this three ring circus and it’s my job to bring down the
tents, if that’s what it takes. Being a
reader of the Akashic records has its advantages and she has access to a lot of
truths. Having the courage and will to
face the truth does also. Jacki doesn’t
just read your records and tell you about yourself only to go home and sip on a captains and coke
while curled up with her favorite paranormal romance novel (yea yea, I know
Jacki, you’re over them). She puts
herself to the litmus test and faces her own demons, shadows and cranky inner
children. I know this because I’ve been
there with her as she railed against the unfairness of it all and then worked
diligently to let it all go so her life can become her dream or her dream can
become her life. She does this so she
can teach you how to do it for yourself.
It’s totally a win win situation for all of us.
None of this serious growing up business would be possible
without Jacki’s outrageous vaudeville style of humor. It starts with her sharp wit to call a spade
a spade so to speak and rolls right into laughing at her own antics. She may seem forceful, loud and a mite (oops
sorry for the reference Jacki) callous to the unlearned in the ways of the
Jacki, but after a few minutes everyone is laughing. Her open hearted charm is what gets her
customers to buy more candles, her clients to see a higher vision for
themselves and her employees to believe that making candles is the best thing
since sliced bread. (ok I’m really taking creative license here). Point being, Jacki knows and uses the healing
power of laughter. Some days we don’t
get enough done on our “to do” lists because of all the fooling around (hell
we’re the bosses, we don’t have to make excuses). Maybe we should put a wall down the middle of
our office, nah.
Join me in celebrating Jacki just for the pleasure of
singing her praises and celebrating her first published book Coventry Magic.
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Put on your party clothes Its The Day of the Dead Time |
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Written by Patty Shaw
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Monday, 10 October 2011 22:35 |
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By Patty Shaw, VP Coventry Creations, Author Healers Almanac, Wisdom of the 21st Century Goddess
Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a traditional Mexican celebration of their ancestors and has its roots deep in the Aztecs and other Meso-American civilization. This custom is spreading like wild fire across the continent and for good reason. We all get a lot out of honoring our ancestors and making it into a party takes the taboo and fear out of reconnecting with our loved ones who are on the other side. The celebration is loud, colorful and can last for a few days or as long a month. It’s a time when dead relatives, both young and old, are allowed to return to the mortal world for a visit to comfort us and let us know that death is not the end but part of the journey. This is based on the Aztec belief that life is the dream and only in death do we become truly awake. So you can see why our ancestors come back to us during this time with partying on their minds.
Instead of hearing blood curdling shrieks, rattling chains and low moaning families welcome the spirits of their ancestors with their favorite foods and libations and let the laughter begin. Tasty candies decorated like skulls and toys are brought for spirit children, altars are built, candles are lit to guide the loved ones home again and gravs eites are cleaned and decorated.
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Last Updated on Friday, 28 October 2011 03:50 |
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“When you want something, cast a spell for something; it does fill your own sphere. You send out fishing lines of energy to see if anyone responds and can help manifest this energy. It’s not like you took out a billboard on the side of Route 66; you are not recruiting for Amway. The energy of your spell is looking for a response and a way to manifest so it will test what and who you know first. Any intention you create needs the connection or influence of another body to manifest.
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