meditations and candles on the web

Over at Spotted Wolf Wisdom, spottedwolf (who visits here) is very generously offering to share some wonderful guided meditations. Scroll back to his July 2 post for the first one and you will find where he offers suggestions for how to use the meditations. I will be recording these myself, I love the first one. Thanks so much for doing this, spottedwolf.

And if you are stuck behind a computer all day and really need 5 minutes to light a candle and meditate or offer a prayer, Debra at She Who Seeks found this wonderful free site created by a Benedictine monk, all spiritual seekers welcome at Gratefulness.org
After you light a candle you can open a minicandle and a tiny screen with your candle will appear on your desktop. Thanks for finding this, Debra.

the gold puppy

My blogging friend Reya Mellicker at The Gold Puppy
is saying goodbye to the gold puppy today. Jake has had a long and good life and it is time to let him go.
As pagans, most of us believe that this physical form that we inhabit is just one phase of a cycle of life that goes on and on, but that doesn't seem to lessen our sorrow as one by one our loved ones, human or otherwise, leave this plane of existence.
Good journeys, Jake.

solstice

I woke up this morning thinking that I needed to do a ritual. No real plan, just a vague feeling. My brain doesn't kick in until my second cup of coffee so this was just an impulse. I lit a sage candle, cleaned my little glass plate that I use for an altar, lit some incense, a candle to the Goddess and realized I had no real intent or motivation for this ritual, but I had lots of good energy.
So I invited the Goddess to just hang out for a while this morning. I chatted with her while I checked email, got dressed, had coffee. I offered the day to her and asked for her guidance.
I felt at peace and very content. Put out the candles and went about my morning.
Later in the day I remembered that it is Solstice and that I had not planned a formal ritual like I had been meaning to.
Sometimes, even though I love ritual, an informal connection with Goddess, or the Elements, or Spirit Guides is exactly what I need to make sure that this path is a daily one, and not just for special occasions.
Happy solstice, take a minute and say hello to the divine that you offer your path to.

let yourself hear

My once quiet life as a hidden daughter of the Goddess seems to have imploded beneath my feet.
My calm beliefs that had basically led me no where and were not required to be a shining beacon have led me to this current path of discovery and play and knowledge and people with great wisdom coming into my life.

I think that the most important thing that I have learned so far is that you don't have to "believe" to be touched by the goddess or gods or spirits or whatever is trying to help you along.
You just have to stop for 5 seconds, quit analyzing and questioning and proving to yourself that it isn't so...just stop it.

And your intuition, the OTHER side of your brain (that we are trained not to use), your spirit, your soul, your natural connection to the universe ....will speak to you. Maybe in whispers, maybe in shouts, maybe in song, or pictures or a beautiful dream....but it will speak to you. Just be quiet and listen.

you have to let go for pathworking to work

I did a guided meditation a few evenings ago that gave me some good information.
I got to the point where sometimes I turn the meditation off and see what happens. Instead of the room that I usually visualize, there was a dark curtain that I couldn't see through or find a way around. I just waited, tried to keep my mind as clear and calm as possible and waited to see what would happen. Bast appeared again and told me to walk with her, away from the curtain. As we walked away hands reached out through the curtain, reaching for me. I asked her what was happening and she said that those were my fears...I have let them get so strong that they are controlling where I walk. I need to stop thinking about them and instead think about my goals and the good things about the work to reach these goals. We walked to a doorway and watched over a beautiful meadow for a while and then went back through the hallway, past the curtain with the hands, back up the stairs and to the end of the meditation.
Afterward I felt calm and focused and the next morning got a lot of things done that I have been putting off or obsessing over.

dithering and meditation

I have been dithering for days. Slowly working myself into the kind of panicky feeling that vibrates your entire body. Just life, accumulated problems, how things pile up, not enough sleep....all those things that try to gang up on us. I have not experienced this is a very long time.

Meditation practice keeps me grounded in a way that keeps unfounded disaster scenarios from playing over and over in my head. I used to live this way, a roller coaster ride of good and bad times....not over the edge, but sometimes unsettling. For many years now, walking this path has let me enjoy the good times and not get sucked into the bad. This time was very frustrating and I found myself questioning everything, my path, my practice....talk about letting that negative energy take over.

With some help from Ariel's meditations....love them....and a sudden awakening of a sense of the ridiculous, life is getting back on track.

I looked at people in the grocery store and watched faces that are stressed, worried, fearful, anxious, rude and wondered how many of them are just having a bad day and how many are living in that state.

Then I came home, sat down for a moment, lit some incense, lit a candle and gave heartfelt thanks to Goddess for kicking me in the ass some time ago.