To Miss Tonia

Something's wrong with the comment section of my blog so here's my answer to your comment to my previous post

Look who's talking! I having been visiting your blog quite a lot and to be quite honest I am just outright JEALOUS! I've seen those gorgeous pictures that you have taken both inside and outside of your house!

The stew was quite delicious thank you and I have the ingredients to make another batch. But I think that stews and soups go great with this time of the year. And I love the smell of it cooking in the house. And I think that it really has to do with the process/journey of making the stew itself. All that talk about cooking being relaxing - I'm starting to believe.

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Miss Tonia's blog is called Kitchen Witch and a link to her blog is listed on the side of my blog but her blog is sooooo good that I'll post the URL to her blog again. Its:

http://kitchen-witch.blogspot.com/

Another ? Experience?

So tell me, what do you think of this experience?

I'm determined to go to the store to get a few necessary items. The store is within walking distance. I was going to put it off but the news talked about bad weather for the next two days so I decide to go to the store today. I didn't know it at the time but it had started raining lightly but I was still determined to go so that I could avoid being out in the more worse weather that was yet to come. So I go to the store, buy my couple of items and when I got home I find that I'm missing $5 in change! Of course this is upsetting to me and I will admit that I got a little obsessed about it. I could have backtracked my steps but remember it was raining and cold so I decided not to do it. Of course I kept digging in my pockets hoping that the money would "magically" turn up but it hasn't. I start to lament about this when the mail comes. Guess what I got in the mail? A digital camera! No it didn't come out of nowhere. I had actually filled out one of those rebate/offer forms for this digital camera and mailed it in. But guess what? I mailed the form EXACTLY ONE WEEK AGO! I didn't know that I would get the camera so soon - in fact I thought that there might be a problem with the forms.

So I'm bummed (actually obsessed) about not finding the $5 but quite tickled that I got the digital camera (and got it so soon!). So I'm wondering about the message in all of this. Its like I got both a negative and a positive experience both together at almost the same time. I also have this problem with being obsessed about money (which I am continually working on). Its like the message is saying bad things can happen but good things can happen too. I also get the feeling that obsessing too much about money will bring about "strange" money experiences that will happen (like this experience).

I have done a few "money" spells in my short time as a witch and one of my most successful spells was a money spell that consisted entirely of my visualization and my focused state of mind. I think that this is one of the keys that I have to remember and that is my state of mind (and also my focus). As far as the $5 is concerned I'm taking the advice that I heard mentioned and that is that it is a test, something to throw me off track and take away my focus (which it has). Now what matters is me getting back on track with my life!

A Dark Cloud Of Negative Thoughts!

Today was a very unusual day for me. It started off like it usually does with me getting out of bed (actually me not wanting to get out of bed and then convincing myself with the saying that Dr. Phil has said about "I want you to get excited about your life"). Today I was going to make a stew so that meant some leisure time in the kitchen while watching TV. Well first was breakfast, consisting of eggs and bacon and coffee - Breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day and I should really (and so should everyone else) eat breakfast at the start of the day anyway. One of the things that I am working on is to take my time and not be so stressed and stop trying to do everything in one minute and one movement which means enjoying my breakfast at a leisurely pace and then cleaning up at a leisurely, relaxing and "not rushed" pace - which is what I did. OK now thats done so now its time for me to make my stew. My ingredients:

• some beef cubes (I got from the supermarket specifically for the stew)
• salt & pepper
• onions
• garlic
• potatoes
• lima beans

I start chopping vegetables (while watching a soap opera) and the power goes out! "Okay", I thought. "I know I paid my bill so that can't be it", I thought. It was very windy and rainy today so that must be it. Okay, no problem because its daylight and I don't need the kitchen light any way. The burner is already on with the meat in the pot already so I don't have to worry about stopping and hey I don't need anything electric to cut up vegetables because I was just using a regular kitchen knife. So I thought "Hey, I can continue to make my stew and look out my kitchen window which provides relaxing scenery - and with the wind blowing and the rain coming down and the leaves blowing everywhere it is quite a relaxing scene. Besides the quiet of not having the tv on will give me a chance to meditate (while I'm preparing my stew) on the kind of life that I want. This was a perfect opportunity for me to do some "grounding" and "centering" - just like I mentioned in a previous post. Its almost like this situation was set up explicitly for that purpose since this is one of the things that I am having the most trouble with. Hence the dark cloud! Negative thoughts! The just seem to take on a life (and power) of their own - at least in my case! Is it a simple matter of just getting rid of the negative thoughts? Its not so simple for me and the bottom line (I know) is to MAKE it simple. Its just as simple as that but when it comes time for me to practice it the negative thoughts creep in and take hold - sometimes to the point of me having anxiety attacks!

So I'm cutting and chopping vegetables and trying to keep myself grounded and centered. Its a 50/50 thing with my mind going back and forth between the positive and negative. It started to become overwhelming so I decided to have a complete meditation session after I finished cutting the vegetables and while letting the stew slowly cook. I went in to my livingroom, lit a "relaxing" candle and sat in the big comfortable chair and closed my eyes so that I could focus on grounding and centering myself. I thought and focused only on the things that I wanted and how I wanted them to be. No negative thoughts (for the most part). My state became relaxed and while I didn't fall asleep I was just a step above it meaning that I was very relaxed and calm. I continued to do this for an hour and a half and as always doing this kind of thing always relaxes me. Then guess what? The power comes back on!

But this is not the end of the story! After the power came back on I went back into the kitchen to check on my stew and this overwhelming power came over me to take a nap! More specifically it felt like my body and mind and spirit were saying to take a rest from "it all" - meaning the stress and the things that I was worrying about. And that is just what I did. I took a nap! It was dark by now and I just closed myself off in my room and lied down specifically with the purpose of not being in any other state than just total relaxation. After I woke up I felt more better, more relaxed and ready to take on the world! Guess how long my nap was? 1 Hour!

Grounding & Centering

I found another informative blog online and I wanted to post a comment to it but the Internet wouldn't let me do it so I'll post my comment here along with a link to the blog:

I believe that grounding and centering are the foundations that have to be done first before going on with any "witchy" magik. I just wish that I could always remember this in my haste! A previous poster was right when they mentioned the hectic pace of one's day and all the feelings of stress - which is the time when grounding and centering is needed the most. But even though we know this we don't always practice it (and by "we" I am definitely including myself:roll:
It's true what you said about those that are new to the craft in that they want everything fast but I found out that it just doesn't work that way - not if you are serious about the whole craft!

I was out in the rain today waiting for my bus and it was late! So I'm standing in the rain for an hour and the thought occurs to me that "hey" its due in the other direction" - so I waited for it in the rain. As cold and wet and windy as it was I was fairly able to manage an air of serenity as I watched the weather before me. I just enjoyed taking in the view and I was reminded of how good this rain would be for my garden. This calming thought - along with others - made my bus's arrival seem like it took no time at all!

So in the midst of stress try the opposite which is calmness and serenity. And what also helped was the fact that I reminded myself why I was out there in the first place and the joy I would feel in returning back home! (Which is where I'm typing from now-LOL!

Grounding and Centering one's self are good things to remember when you find yourself in stressful situations.

"Grounding & Centering"

Counting My Blessings......

I went to my local store today - actually I walked because

1. I really should walk more
2. the convenience store is only a few blocks away

There were just a few things I needed and besides I had a letter to mail and the mailbox was along the way. Nice, autumn day outside with leaves blowing from the trees and a little windy - with is just the way I like it!

As I was coming back I ran into one neighbor who's husband had died earlier this year. We started talking and she told me that she didn't have much of an appetite since her husband died. It was just after noon and she told me that she hadn't eaten yet. This made me worried about her. It also kind of made me feel guilty because I had had a hearty breakfast a few hours before. I told her about the stew I made and she seemed quite impressed but I wondered in the back of my mind whether or not she was still cooking like she used to for her husband. One good thing is that her family and the neighbors are always checking on her (even the mailman checks on her). By comparison my appetite has been quite hearty as of late. I have been cooking meals as opposed to just whipping up something fast.

Another neighbor passed away and his family is having a hard time getting his "affairs in order". They live in another state and have to come back here in order to get things straightened away and it is a strain on them. By comparison things have been more manageable for me after my mother died. It wasn't easy and there are still moments but I haven't gone through as much as they have.

So my little journey today has made me think to count my blessings and be grateful for what I have!

Lots Of Things To Talk About.....

First I just wanted to thank the people that have posted comments. I have recently approved some of the comments that have been left on my blog. It may have taken me a while to get to you but I finally managed to do it.

Secondly I posted about a group that I wanted to join but couldn't because of my computer. But I'm happy to say that I have a new computer (Yippeeeeeee!) and I have put in my request to join the group. I have also recently updated some of my webpages and will update the rest of them as well. Some of them haven't been updated in a year!

Now on to more "witchy" matters! I haven't created any new spells but that is only because I have come to realize that I have to work on my manifestations. I try to keep my goal/objective in mind but I get anxiety attacks worrying about negative results. Therein lies the solution and that is to maintain my positive thoughts. I am getting better at it though. As a matter of fact there is a message forum that I love because it has posts with positive messages. I'm going to post the link here but I want to post it on the side of my blog so that it will always be on the front page. If you click the link and go to the forum you will LOVE all the positive messages - as a matter of fact I don't think that negativity is allowed-LOL!

In my learnings I have come to know that its not just the spell itself that is needed but you also have to be in the right state of mind! I'm fine when I do the spells and I am in the right state of mind - its just afterwards that I will get one of my panic attacks.

I had a very nice meditation session a few days ago. You know that as the months progress it gets darker earlier. So I sat in my livingroom in the big comfy chair with just the faintest hint of light, got myself comfortable and only focused my thoughts on what it is I wanted to achieve and manifest. No negative thoughts - just positive ones! Afterwards I felt more relaxed and more focused on what it is I wanted. So I think that this will be a good practice to follow when I am feeling particulary stressed. Even just thinking about it now makes me feel more relaxed!