"Guidance comes from all sources - look and listen to all that you see and hear."
I have created this page as a forum for an explanation of my spiritual beliefs, because many people who know me (and a lot of people who don't, I suppose) find them very interesting. I've been told on more than one occasion that I have some very odd and curious beliefs, ones that mix Christianity, Paganism, Eastern religions, and Native American ways. I guess that's because I was raised to believe that all things are possible, and that religion and spirituality are a personal thing - not something you read from one book and say, "That's all there is!"
I'm going to try to make this in digestable chunks, so that you don't go blind or crazy trying to get through it all. I know that there's a lot here, so take your time and come back as often as you'd like!
Spirit Guides and Astral Travel ("Travelling")
One of my core beliefs is that each of us has a Spirit Guide, someone who is 'out there' watching out for us, giving us guidance, and teaching us the things that we need to know in subtle ways. My personal spirit guide's name is Elizabeth. The picture at the top of this page looks very much like her - which is why it's there! :)
Elizabeth was introduced to me well over 10 years ago now, as I was learning to do Astral Travel. This involves doing out of body experiences (OBEs) and practicing mental exercises while you let your spirit and body disconnect from one another. She has been the one who has taught me how to build worlds for myself on the 'other side', how to lucidly dream, how to control things here (to an extent), and many other interesting and cool things (including how to fly on the other side, but that's another story!). She also is the one who gave me the Spirit Animals that are with me all the time - the White Cat, who I carry with me always, the White Owl who flies above me, and - most important of all - The White Wolf. He is another chapter entirely, as well. If you want to know about him...well, you'll have to write to me. *Smile*
There are other Guides out there, too, who I communicate with. Jeffrey, The Master, and Diana are but three of them. There are others, as well, some newly met, others who are old friends to me. I get asked, often, "How do you know that you aren't just fantasizing this or creating it in your own mind?" and I tell them - "Because others have shared my visions. Shared them from miles away and across the years, and - most importantly - shared them before we met." This last item - sharing dreams before we met - has occured with at least three people who are currently in my life; the most significant episode can't be revealed yet, but is something that has altered my life drastically.
Tarot
For nearly as long as Elizabeth has been a part of my life, I have been reading Tarot cards. I am currently reading with The Enchanted Tarot, as well as doing some readings with the Crow's Magick Tarot. I have also used the Rider-Waite deck (my beginner's deck, and the one I believe everyone should learn with), the Witches Tarot, the Imagination Tarot, and the Dream Power Tarot. The latter caused me to have nightmares and hallucinations - so I don't work with it anymore! *Grin*
Tarot is a very misunderstood thing, I find. Many of my friends still believed (until I sat and explained it to them) that the appearance of the "Death" card in a reading meant that they were going to leave my house and be run down by a herd of stampeding cattle (or other similar tragedy would befall them). They also believed that the things that the Tarot revealed in the "future" positions was a granted - it would definitely happen, and there was nothing they could do to affect it. But neither one of these things is true!
The death card DOES represent death - but not in the physical "lay down and die and be buried" sense. It is more a death of a current situation or relationship. It can be a breakup, a change of residence, even a marriage - all a death in a certain sense (marriage is the death of your single-ness, isn't it?). And the Tarot simply tells what COULD happen - if you stay on the path that you're currently walking. We each have the option of walking a different path from the one that we're on, of changing our direction, our step, our rest-stops. And in doing so, we can change the path that we are on, we can change our final destiny, and we can change our lives!
Herbal Remedies and Crystal Healing
**First of all, I need to put a disclaimer here, merely because I'm not much interested in having a lawsuit filed because someone wandered onto my site, saw a recipe for something and thought it would cure them, took it, and got sick (or worse, Gods forbid!!). So - if you think you might be allergic to something in one of the recipes that I post, don't take it! And if you're crazy enough to try to cure everything that ails you from the little bit that I tell you here or with other herbal remedies - then you deserve what you get, I suppose! I mean, peppermint tea for a bellyache is fine...but if you're bleeding, call 911!!**
I believe that part of the gift that we received from the Higher Powers that Be is the wide variety of herbs, plants, and other items that can be used to heal the things that go wrong in our bodies. A book that I highly recommend is called, "Healing Yourself" - by Joy Brown. It is a lovely book that is full of some really great recipes. I have included a couple of my favorites here, ones that I use on a regular basis, ones that I've found to work.
One of my favorites of all time is what I call Sinus Tea. It's recommended for colds and sinus problems in the Healing Yourself book, and I've recommended it to a number of people who have all been impressed and happy with it. The ingredients make it sound like something that would taste horrible, but in reality it has kind of a lemony flavor. Simply mix (in a large coffee mug) 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (the brownish stuff) and 2 tablespoons of honey. Then pour in boiling water, and stir until the honey dissolves. That's all there is to it! Drink as many cups a day as you can stomach, and within a day or so your sinuses will start to clear up and drain. One woman that I recommended this to was able to stop taking her sinus medication that she'd been on for 10 years! I can't promise that for everyone...but I can tell you that it works well for those I know!
Another favorite of mine is Peppermint tea (and variations thereof) for stomach ailments. Peppermint calms the stomach, and additions to it can be made for various effects - catnip (yes, really!) to calm the nerves, for example. Peppermint tea is readily available at most local grocery stores, and the catnip can be the very same kind you feed your kitties! Just put a loose teaspoon (for an average adult - less for smaller adults, and none for kids - I don't want to get myself in major trouble here!!) in a cup, and add the hot water to that and a teabag of the peppermint tea. When it's as strong as you'd like, strain it so that you get all the loose catnip out, and drink with honey. Honey is a natural antibiotic, by the way - so it's a good choice to sweeten your drinks.
There are a number of other remedies out there, and a thousand different herbs for a million different things. Just read through books, and look for one that uses herbs and remedies that are readily available and simple to dose. If it means making a tincture that needs to be steeped a week, then drained, then re-boiled, then steeped more, then added to....do you REALLY need it that badly? Or would your local pharmacy be easier??
These items are just a few of the things that I believe, that I put under the umbrella of spirituality. I have a number of other things, and will be adding to this page periodically. I'd love to hear from you. You may mail me by clicking here: Amythyst88 or you can go back to the main page and click on the link there.