Part III - Profit like a Prophet - Reclaiming our Authority thru Ritual

the elephant never forgets ring

I am not particularly interested in who says something as much as I am in,

"does this message mirror my feelings".

My mother was very trusting of authority - if a doctor said to her, "do this" - she did it and it very often worked for her, but it was always her belief as much as the doctor's wisdom that created the healing.

She trusted politicians to run the world, the church to teach us about God, the schools to teach us everything else and the police to protect us.

What she saw as safety, I eyed with distrust and one hand on the doorknob.

We were both looking at what was true to us, but because none of this stuff was actual truth, we could only see what we were looking for.

When we read advice for our business we have to be thinking about this.

For example many business coaches advise makers to 'get their work out there - don't wait until everything is 100% ready' - a just do it philosophy right out of the old Nike ads. Now, this is really great advice for perfectionists and procrastinators. And many makers are perfectionists and need to hear this. But other makers need to put many, many hours into their skill set and get clear with their intention and focus before launching anything. There is no one shoe fits everyone with any of this stuff.

(I do a lot of study with north nodes in astrology charts and for every chart that shows someone needing to release that Virgo perfectionism there is someone else who really needs to embrace just that)

None of this stuff is actually truth - it is only what is true for us.

My friend had a job she really, really wanted to quit. She tried an Etsy shop for a year, but it wasn't taking off and it began to feel as heavy to her as her oppressive job. She decided to close the shop. She was just too scattered.

(many makers have these half-assed, empty for months and even years, Etsy shops cluttering up their life - spaces they have moved on from - if this is you, unless you have some really good reason for keeping it open and "maybe I will get back to this some day" probably doesn't count with this, you might want to close it - save the pics first - no one is going to clean up these loose ends for us, we have to do it ourselves - and if you are the kind of person who leaves cabinet doors open after you have grabbed a glass, left checking accounts open with $2.00 in them - which then proceeded to rack up service charges - you especially need to close that empty shop)

When she closed it, she did a release ritual I told her about and she said for the first time ever - she felt like she left something cleanly.

She celebrated the stuff it had brought into her life and released any need to look back at her shop with any unfinished emotions. It didn't become something in her past she had failed at (which it never was, but the subconscious is a tricky thing) or something she is going to get back to when she has more time (she may one day open another shop - who knows - but if she does, it will be opened with the enthusiastic energy of new creation it deserves).

She set her intention for her life to improve in very specific ways. She didn't worry about how any of this is going to happen - the "how's" are life's job, not ours - she just sets her intention, meditates to clear her mind, eats cleaner to clear her body, looks at emotions that come up to see where she is over-reacting, acts on things that make her feel good and ... well, I will report back - this is a process after all.

Our beliefs really do create our reality (what is true for us) but even most people who believe this think in terms of the big things, but the little things create the big things. We leave these little doors ajar here and there as we go through life ... just in case we need them, little escape hatches whose very presence (picture little open doors into the space you are now occupying) tells ourselves that we need an escape hatch - they suck the oxygen from the current moment and take up space.

There are centuries worth of unbinding and cord cutting rituals and the very simple paper release I talked about it in the last post that I always recommend (which she did on a full moon - she said she felt totally crazy and had to resist the urge to start howling - a very good sign I told her. I only wish she had actually howled).

Now cord cutting and unbinding (some tribes will imbue a cord with the symbolism of some restraint you wish to release, tie it loosely around your waist - I did this once with one of hub's neckties - raise your arms and let the cord drop to the ground) are not like "don't burn your bridges" - this isn't about releasing anything good; the good stuff is the stuff we get to keep.

Next Up Part IV- Profit like a Prophet - Reclaiming our Authority thru Ritual

Part II - Reclaiming our Authority; Rituals for Abundance - Profit like a Prophet

galactic abundance - polarity locket

I think my plants have started talking back to me.

(not in a bratty, teenager kind of way  - they are much too polite for that)

But, lately after I tell them how beautiful and strong and amazing they are for hanging with me during this hot and humid July - I am hearing little whispers of gratitude.

George Washington Carver talked to plants - he would ask them "what are you for little guy?" and they would whisper back - probably something like "I am a peanut and I taste great with jelly".

I've been telling my hanging baskets all about George in the morning while I eat my poached egg on gluten-free toast on the front porch.

(gluten free bread btw if you haven't tried it, tastes pretty much like any dense bread, except it costs twice as much and needs to be refrigerated)

This morning I slipped up and started talking to them about Luther Burbank (another famous botanist - there is a reason for all this plant reading I've been doing lately which I will report on in a couple weeks). Luther talked to plants, too. He grew plants that were edible without their spines simply by saying to them "you are perfectly safe here, you do not need your spine" - then he would grow these incredible spineless fruits - how amazing is that!

(of course, he would then proceed to eat them which is maybe the reason so many plants have stopped listening to us)

We all have rituals and our rituals are very powerful. Even the most simple tasks, actually most especially and maybe only the most simple tasks, when done mindfully, invoke the power of ritual.

We can sweep our floor or we can sweep out the past along with our dust bunnies.

Rituals are the way God/the Gods/the Universe, our Higher Self (choose your comfort zone) know we are asking for help. Life is a collaboration.

I don't know what Webster or Wikipedia would offer up, but for our purposes we will define ritual as any act imbued with invisible intention. 

In Astrology, Saturn is the part of us that sets our intention - he gives us the power to focus and define our boundaries, our terms and our purpose. With intention and ritual we begin to grow the form in which that intention will be realized from inside out, rather than having it externally imposed.

Either we step into our responsibility and become the author of our own lives or we give our authority away - there is no in between place. Fear is a symptom of loss of authority - we can find the places in our life where we have not honored Saturn by the things we are afraid of.

And when we give our authority away, we should be afraid.

Saturn moved into Scorpio last fall for a two and a half year visit, then went retrograde a couple months later and just turned direct again last week. So, this is a great time to work with this energy (there is never really a bad time, but some times are better than others). Next Monday we have a full moon, which is an excellent time to set release intentions and to practice release rituals.

A really simple release ritual which utilizes the four elements (earth, water, air, fire) is to speak your intention of release, write it down by hand on a piece of paper, burn the paper and release the ashes into moving water (stream, river - once I used a flushing toilet in a bar bathroom; it worked).

The power of our results will directly mirror the power of our intention.

Challenging circumstances always drive us inward - where we get to use our Saturn to author a new chapter. Saturn asks us "how do you want your story to proceed?" - if we don't go inward willingly Saturn reaches up and yanks us down forcefully (which is why he has gotten such a bad rap) - this yanking is often experienced as depression, but it is really a reminder to step into our responsibility for our life; to not live life by default.

We really are on a quest here and ritual connects us to the bigger picture.

Last winter I was very focused on connecting with other people thinking these connections had to come in a certain way - forgetting that we set the intention and let life work out the 'how's'. Life showed me very quickly that crowds and people are no cure for loneliness; that maybe we need to be alone to find out what supports us. Solitude is the cure for loneliness; like cures like. Life was offering me a space for reflection because without reflection we can become as vulnerably off balanced as if we are sleep deprived. Insight must be earned, I guess. It's crazy how often I can know something and then act like I don't know it ...

Next up - Reclaiming our Authority; Rituals for Abundance - Profit like a Prophet Part III (some specific rituals for our business)

whatever we take an interest in, takes an interest in us - reclaiming our authority with ritual and systems part I

jennifer johansson locket - pull up a chair and relax

I had someone write me this week, a very well meaning someone, to ask why my blog has such a mystical bent these days

and it got me thinking that

# 1 - I really liked the sound of that

and # 2 - it is probably good for everyone to have an interest in the invisible (ie the unconscious) right now since everything is getting all mixed together - better a dance than a battle after all!

Astrology isn't a science or a religion or anything like that - it is more of a language.

(so just pretend I am talking about the French language here unless you are French in which case maybe try thinking Dutch)

I don't do predictory (I guess that isn't a word or I have spelled it wrong, whatever the word should be for that, let's just pretend I said that) things with astrology - which has the same root as predicament btw and that certainly doesn't sound good.

Astrology is more about prophecy - patterns, mythology, collaboration - it is totally an invitation to experiment and engage - our real life purpose is always to co-create (with the heavens and with each other) in the most interesting, ingenious and loving ways possible.

That's really all there is to everything - of course there are gazillions of ways to do this which is where the fun comes in.

We work on grounding ourselves - (which yes, is stuff that I totally need to learn which is why I totally write about it) loss of balance is no small thing.

Loss of balance topples dynasties, folks.

Remember that 20/20 episode (Dateline?) years ago where they showed muggers videos of people walking down the street and asked them which people they would choose to mug and the muggers always chose the same people - the ones with the non-rhythmic, uncoordinated manners.

These victims weren't staggering down the street or anything, it is way more subtle than that.

And, there are many ways of getting mugged.

We can be mugged in a conversation, in a relationship, at work - there are as many ways for muggers to take away our authority (authorship of our life) as there are ways for us to allow it .... I think the off-balance thing is where it starts. We probably start tipping around the age of 3 or 4; maybe a sturdy few of us get to puberty.

(I think by the looks of the extremely oversized head I had in my baby pictures I was surely tipping over at birth)

Grounding works. Rituals (mystical) and systems (practical) work, too - so let's talk about that this week.

Next up Part II - Reclaiming our Authority; Rituals for Abundance - Profit like a Prophet .... xo all

what all this groundwork means for our biz part II or part VI or part XLCV (is that anything?) or why what works for one person may not work for someone else

a head full of blooms

So, we set in place some practices to ground ourselves.

(this isn't something we will finish and then move on to something else - these are practices - they need to be practiced)

Putting energy into these things will change other things. If you, like me, are one of those mental people who look at things from a million angles before putting any new practice into place - skip that step.

(trying to see what will happen when we take a certain action doesn't work anyway because our taking the action changes what will happen)

Just set in place some practices to ground yourself emotionally, physically and mentally (the spiritual is always grounded). See what happens.

The last word I have on this grounding stuff is that although the general steps I outlined in this series I think will work for most people - everyone is different. 

(and this everyone is different thing is something we all give lip service to - we all nod our heads and agree that yes, it is our differences that make us stronger - then we encounter someone we do not agree with and get annoyed with them for being ... different)

Everyone. Is. Different. I don't mean this flippantly. Everyone really is here to experience different things. And even when we experience the same things we will experience those things differently.

Some of us need to spend more time alone and some of us need to get our asses out there. Some of us need to climb onto that stage and some of us need to get the hell off that stage and cede space to someone else.

The moment we inhaled our first breath - we took ownership of our life. We signed a contract with that breath. Our astrological chart (the skies at that very moment in time) represents that soul contract. This doesn't mean we do not have free will - we think thoughts, hold beliefs, set intentions and take actions with total free will and, of course, we wrote the chart after all.

So, what might work for YOU?

Well, I did some north/south node charts for some brave readers a few months ago? last summer? when was that?

and promised some Goddess charts, but never delivered.

(I am kind of like the Pizza Hut delivery girl except I often get lost and distracted and sometimes I show up empty handed and smelling of pepperoni and vodka)

The word warrior has been coming up for me all week and so I think it's time to see what my favorite warrior - the brave and wonderful Pallas Athena - has to say by her placement in a few charts if there are any brave volunteers.

If this doesn't sound completely nuts to you either drop me a line in the comments or hit the let's chat link.

(and remember a lot of people thought Copernicus and Galileo were nuts which is a good reason to always keep an open ear to the mad drunk in the corner! of course I am not Copernicus or Galileo, but I have a feeling neither of them would be quite as fond of Athena as I am)

Don't worry about giving me your birthdate (I will forget it 45 seconds after seeing it) or me discovering any secrets about anyone (I am simply not that good at this) - also I should warn you that this will be kind of a summer project so might take a bit .....

xo all - enjoy a wonderful summer weekend no matter what the weather!

what all this groundwork means for our business ... the part I which is really part V

nan lawson's latest locket - you are deeply loved

There are the obvious ways all this grounding helps us as a maker with a maker business -

we can build a much stronger structure on solid ground than shifting sand after all.

But there are some less conspicuous ways grounding ourselves as human beings (as we become the human-doings this 3rd dimensional world still requires us to be) makes this whole thing run smoother.

1. Grounding Creates Focus

When we take care of our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual spaces we are not running around trying to figure out what we should be doing - we are not running around trying to figure out what our business should be doing either.

The people who get what they want, take the time to figure out what they want first.

The process of grounding ourselves creates the space for us to get clear on what we want.

This is how we do it. We practice grounding actions. It is virtually impossible to ground ourselves and end up with splintered thinking. This doesn't guarantee a "happily ever after" for every decision we make - expansion requires conflict after all - it does guarantee a "happily in the moment"which is the space of real happiness anyway.

This "not knowing what we want" thing is an epidemic. One reason I think is an overall societal lack of contrast (a really big reason we have to allow our kids to fail; to not have too much - getting what we don't want creates the space for us to figure out what we do want) plus the unending choices. It's a first world problem - no one going to bed hungry tonight has any problem knowing what they want.

Without a clear focus for our maker business - an intention for why we do what we do and what we want from this experience of creating and growing a business (and by growing I don't mean getting bigger and bigger and unsustainable - I mean expanding and changing and living - think tended garden, not overgrown yard filled with weeds here) - without this clarity we will not be able to make the clear decisions we need to make as a business owner.

If we are asked to fill an order that would require an entire weekend of work, a weekend we had family plans for, we will make a different decision depending on whether our focus with our business is paying our electric bill or being able to work at home to spend more time with our children.

And we have to allow this stuff to evolve - our focus and intention for our business will change. Sometimes the space of time when things are changing can make even grounded people feel very out of balance - that is perfectly OK. It's like the space when we shift from one foot to another, that shifting space (which is actually a great metaphor for the times we are living in, too) is the very space that allows us to expand. 

2. Grounding Creates a State of Allowing

Negative emotions always mean that we are thinking a thought that has us in a state of resistance. Positive emotions always mean that we are thinking a thought that has us in a state of allowing.

Grounding which is really all about self-love (knowing the way we handle what appear to be the unimportant things in life is the exact energy that creates the important things) creates a space for the positive emotions to expand.

A state of allowing doesn't mean we get played by life like a knight on a chess board. People are always saying things like "well, I guess the universe wants me to do this or that" as if we have nothing to do with it. We are the universe. There is only one of us here.

Allowing isn't a state of inaction. It's the opposite of that. It's a state of inspired action and deliberate focus. Forget the "life is a school" metaphor (although there will certainly be lessons). We are here for experiences.

Life is a playground.
If we are not playing our part -

there is no momentum -

 we are not giving the universe any energy to play with.

It's like we are holding the ball

and waiting for life to throw it back to us.

Allowing isn't a stagnant energy - it's a very forward moving energy.

People sometimes say that whatever happens is meant to happen. And while it's true that we can definitely know what should be happening by what is happening - there is no way to make a mistake here after all - sometimes, though, this way of thinking is used as an excuse to back away from being the creators of our own lives; to step away from our responsibility.

When things are going wrong this way of thinking can be a comfort to us and can help us to release resistance (a good thing) - turning a negative thought or situation over to the universe is exactly what we should do with it,

but if we live our lives in a place where this way of thinking makes us feel powerless - we are forgetting that we are extensions of this very universe.

No one else is deciding what we get and what we don't get. It might appear that someone has to choose us (or our work), but this is only because we have set it up this way - we can choose ourselves. The only reason we are here is God/Life/The Universe (pick your comfort zone) knew the universe would benefit and expand by us being here which leads us to ....

3. Grounding Creates the Space for Us to Be Ourselves 

Authenticity is a powerful word; living authentically is a powerful place to live.

(how do we live there? ground ourselves emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually and take action from THERE - it's a space that feels like home - and even if we have not had a wonderful homelife in this lifetime, trust me that we have magical roots and are familiar with this energy - we will know this space when we feel it)

Younger people who know more about the things that change can feel the truth of it and older people who know more about the things that do not change can feel the truth of it, too.  It's taking root and it's changing everything.
 
I went to a Chamber of Commerce meeting back in my banking days and actually maybe it wasn't a Chamber meeting but a Women in Business meeting because it was all women and the Chamber meetings were mostly men.

Anyhoo, the topic of Oprah Winfrey was brought up and women were talking about Oprah's accomplishments (which are many) and her skills (which are many) and the gist of the conversation was how we could all be Oprah if we worked hard enough - look at her beginnings, everyone said, "if she can do it, we can do it".

There are some problems with this way of thinking about other people. Someone else having done something actually doesn't mean we can do it - we are all here for different things.

(and I'm not meaning that some people get the BMWs and some people get the Chevys - because our soul work has nothing to do with what we get and everything to do with what we are here to give)

We can be inspired by other people and some people are certainly here to be catalysts for others in exactly that way, but our real job is just to be us, comparing ourselves to other people doesn't work.

And you don't have to resonate with this, but maybe you do, Oprah didn't really start out as a poor girl in Georgia - she is an infinite being (just like the rest of us). We don't have the lifetimes and experiences she has had - we don't have the soul contracts, we aren't Oprah.

(As an armchair astrologer I have an obsession with north and south nodes and Oprah's north node is in Capricorn which means she chose a career focus for this lifetime - this puts Cancer in her south node which is the symbol of the mother - this is her been there, done that energy. She was no doubt a mother in many lifetimes. Choosing not to be one in this lifetime and taking the gifts she has accumulated with this mother energy and applying it to career - focusing on positive Capricorn stuff and releasing negative Cancer stuff allows her to get the gifts of both signs)

If we are trying to be someone else or doing something in the way someone else has done it - we don't create the space for what is authentically ours to emerge.

Imagine before we came to this planet we were shown a chart of the history of planet Earth.

(picture a beautiful vintage scroll being unwound in front of us)

The space on the left showed a world with alot of problems, the kind of problems that seemed insurmountable to the people living in that world. 

Next we were shown the space on the right of the chart - a beautiful, joyful utopia and we were told this space is the planet's future

then an area right in the middle of both these places lit up - a transition period - and we were told

"this, this space, this is where you come in." 

Next up the part II that is really part VI - OK, so I'm not Oprah - where do I come in.

Also Saturn has moved direct so if you know which house this is in your chart or if any area of your life has been at a standstill since February, it will start moving forward now - putting the focus squarely on us!

a quick look at some females stepping into their responsibility to enjoy with our lunch today! - xo

1