What You Do, You Be! Do-be-do-be-do!

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." ~Maya Angelou

"Things do not change; we change." ~Henry David Thoreau

"Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow." ~Dan Rather

I was thinking to myself earlier, this seems to happen on occasion! ;) And if you've read my earlier posts Minding Your Thoughts or Minding Your Words, you'll see this one follows along the same lines! Anyways.. It's sometimes easy for us to get caught up in the monotonous feelings that can be there. I mean, sure.. who doesn't want to be happy all the time for the most part?! And usually we're pretty happy with the way life is going, but then there's always something that gives us a little "what if"? What if I decided to quit my job and pursue my hobby as a career? What if I took the jump of singing in front of people? But if you don't take the chance, you would never know the opportunity. Because the opportunity is there... they'll always come around. But what you do, is what you'll be...

And this works in a lot of ways! It's the same with what you say. If you're always complaining and it's coming out of your mouth; it's coming out, because you've already thought it, it's been processed. Uh-oh. And now you're feeling like you've got a big 'ol F! So then you're grumpy throughout the day. It's what you're doing is what is going to determine what you'll BE doing while you continue down the path. What you say is what you think and what you think is what you'll do and what you do is what you'll be... see the cycle? Too many times we stand in our own way! It is easy to make excuses for why we do this as we'll rationalize it out to where it becomes acceptable to what we think and feel. But then after a while we are upset at ourselves for letting the time pass by! There needs to still be the understanding and acceptance that things happen for a reason.. whether or not we decide to take that leap. But the opportunities that present themselves are there for the taking. It is only up to us to make the decision on what we want to DO, for what the future will BE!

Here is a great meditation to help with mental clarity and allowing for new experiences!

Items Needed; 1 blue candle, 1 orange candle, 1 white candle.. place in a triangle with the white candle at top, blue to the left side and orange to the right.

If possible, make an essential oil blend with the following; 4 drops of Lemongrass, 2 drops of Bay, 1 drop of Basil, 1 drop Ginger, 1 drop of Nutmeg; anoint your third eye before beginning meditation.

Begin by sitting and gazing at the candle light. Watch as the candle flames dance and flicker. See the energy within the flame as golden energy as each day begins the blazing sun crests the horizon. Feel how that energy is a new beginning and eternal as it is there for you to take at any time, every day. Either continue to sit upright or lie down in a comfortable position. Take a few deep breaths in and let them out and begin to steady your breath. As you begin to slip into a light meditative state, let yourself feel light and airy... visualize yourself laying on a BIG, WHITE, FLUFFY cloud.. feel how soft and relaxing and carefree it has you feeling. Sail through the sky and enjoy the relaxation it brings. When you are ready, feel the cloud bring you to a clearing on the top of a mountain. There is a lush meadow filled with many wildflowers. Step off the cloud and walk through the meadow to a giant tree. The only tree that you can see. Feel it's strength in the adversity of being on this mountain by it's lonesome. You notice there is a desk with a journal on it under the tree. You see this journal containing thoughts on situations you've wondered about being different. As you sit reading though them, you realize that some are things you no longer wanting to worry about.. mark in the journal underneath the entry how you are done worrying of this and move on to the next. There will be some you won't be able to go through at this time and that is ok. Then you will notice the blank pages that are still there. Now is the time to journal what you are feeling of your "WHAT IF"... After you are done, re-read the journal entries you may want to revisit and also your WHAT IF entry. Close the journal knowing you are going to work on what it is you want to be so as not to have that feeling you didn't try. Climb back on the cloud and let it take you through the sky and back to the beginning of where you first found it. Let your body adjust to coming more into the physical. And slowly open your eyes.

When you come out of this meditation you should feel relaxed, but SUPER motivated and released of any failing negative feelings!! :)

If you have any questions on how you can connect with your soul's purpose, you can send me a message at my email or at facebook and feel free to leave comments as well!

Namaste!

Ask Andi Witchy Wednesday

I LOVE helping in any and all metaphysical and spirituality questions you have! You can send me your questions through email or Facebook any time! :) Here's this week's question...

Blessings Andi!

I have been working with my guides lately and have been looking more into my animal guides. I feel kinda weird though about mine.. Since I was little, I have always had a pet rat! And I found out a few years ago I was born in the year of the rat!! I do love them so much and I understand my affinity to them. I just am not entirely sure what it is I'm supposed to learn? Do you have any ideas for me to try? Thanks for your suggestions!

Macy

Rats are pretty cute Macy, though I know what you're saying about people's misconceptions about them! I like all sorts of little critters too! And actually, one of my totem animals is the mouse! But there is a difference, so let's focus on rats.

In Chinese and Japanese Astrology, rats are the first animal in the zodiac. Rats have attributes such as charming, humorous, honest, and meticulous. The Chinese say those born in these years make wise advisors, yet they can never make decisions for themselves and change directions in life constantly. Sometimes, Rats struggle for power and money, leading some to gamble and others to be manipulative or deceitful. Another problem is that they can worry needlessly, especially about their health, which creates stress and may manifest actual health problems. Rats need their space and independence, but also crave love and companionship.

Meditation focusing on these conditions may help you find more of the knowledge you have inside yourself! :) This can simply be achieved that while in a meditative state, consider the qualities of a rat, pull those emotions into your self and in the ways it is manifesting in your life. Are you being indecisive? Are you worrying about things that you KNOW you can't control or change at this moment? Are you letting that money burn a hole in your pocket any time it's there? While the rat may be one of your totem animals, you didn't happen to mention which position the rat was in for you. So we will need to discuss this a little more off the blog!

This question actually came about while I was mid draft through 2 articles that I'm working on.. totem animals and animal magick! It just seems to happen that way sometimes! So I will address Macy a little more off site, and please everyone check back very shortly when I will have the post of totem animals finished up and posted!!

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Wednesday!
Andi

(p.s. Keep sending those questions!!)

Ask Andi Witchy Wednesday

I FINALLY received a question for Witchy Wednesday that I wanted to address on here.. It's one that I can relate to as well, so definitely seemed as though it was something that was coming through to me for a reason! So, on to the question!!

Hi Andi,
I wanted to ask you a quick question about meditating. I've been trying for months now to practice meditating so that I can do some astral projection. I don't think I'm any where near being able to project!!! My problem is that every time I try to start meditating, a few minutes later my nose is itching, then my leg, then my foot! It's just annoying, it breaks my concentration and then I have to start all over! :( How can I find any easier way to ease myself into the meditative state the first time??

Thanks for your help!
Donna


Ok Donna.. here goes. When those itches start happening.... SCRATCH THEM! ;) It didn't fail with me either. I remember I was in group meditation and was just really starting to get good and then all of a sudden I felt this tiny string in my sock rubbing against my toe. I tried ignoring it.. and then I started hearing everyone else kinda rustling around too. Then my eye popped open! And I immediately felt "great, I'm falling behind in the meditation!". Then all of a sudden our teacher says "STOP!! All of you are fighting things. Itch your itch, adjust your back, do what you have to do to get comfortable. The more you fight it the less you'll be focusing." Which is true.. your body is fighting that state of relaxation for whatever reason. Maybe you're just naturally someone who doesn't sit still for very long... does anyone these days?? So here's my quick advice steps..

Don't try to start your meditation until you've gotten past those itches. Take a couple minutes to focus on your breath and generally relax yourself. Adjust anything you need to to make sure you're comfortable.. If you're sitting upright, try laying down. Feet cold? Put on socks. Just make sure to address whatever it is that's causing the distraction.

Start at your toes.. curl them under and hold them tight for a moment, then let go and feel them slowly relax. Then move to your calves, flex and hold the muscles and let them go. Move to your thighs, then buttocks, and abdomen. After those muscle sets you should gently feel the next body parts relaxing on their own.. After your abdomen, you'll move to your shoulders, you should feel them drop and relax along with your arms. No need to flex the biceps! ;) Then move to your face; feel your mouth relax, cheeks, eyes, forehead and then scalp. By this time your body should be feeling GREAT!!

Focus again on your breath. If you want you can move into your own meditation. At this time I would go through and do a chakra cleansing and balancing before my meditation. But that is going to be another post at a later date! ;)

Just those few things have really been able to help out immensely in my meditations!! It's really tough once you get it in your mind you're doing it wrong. But it's just a natural reaction in your body, and once you train it to NOT feel those itches and distractions as much, you'll be able to hit a meditative state almost instantaneously at times!


☆☆☆With any $25 reading in June receive a FREE MP3 meditation!!!☆☆☆

I hope that helps you and anyone else that might be struggling with meditating!! Everyone remember to send me your questions at my email or facebook. Have a great day everyone!

Many Blessings!
Andi

The Magick of Mudras

Yesterday I went to a book store I've been meaning to go to for a while. Haslam's has been family owned and run for many years and boasts a large used, and new, book selection. I definitely was impressed and scored myself some books that had that nice old, musty smell to them! While I was there I looked through just about every section.. thankfully they have 4 cats in the building, so the kids were even more amused. I was in the Buddhist/Eastern Studies area when I saw a book with a pretty cover.. Oh yes, I'm a very visual person.. I have had limited experience with mudras with some yoga and meditations, but never really looked into them too much. So while standing there thumbing through the book, I can only imagine my look with my jaw dropping more and more as I realized just how many mudras there really are and how much I do them unintentionally at times!

Mudras are a symbolic or ritual gesture and can involve the entire body, but most, and the more well known, are performed with the hands and fingers. They can be seen in many artworks and statues across many Eastern cultures and have been practiced and in use for thousands of years. Within yoga, holding a mudra while practicing pranayama (rhythmic breathing), you may stimulate different parts of the body while affecting the flow of prana in the body. There are many uses for mudras, as a form of spirituality, but also within healing practices as well!

When using a mudra, you will want to hold the finger positions with both hands. This will provide a more powerful effect, and will be more "balancing" than just using one hand. Also, try holding the mudra for as long as possible for the best results! However, we might not always have an hour a day to sit aside for a meditation. Especially when you might feel you need it at around 2 PM but you have deadlines to meet, kids to feed, and you know it'll be more like 10 PM when you get to meditate without an upset! You can also try spacing them out throughout the day for a 10-15 minute break! Sometimes those short "mini-meds" are just as good as the long ones!

There is a gentle beauty found within the mudras. Some are so simple you can do them inconspicuously right in front of people! I hope you will explore their influence and see what magick they can bring into your life! You may already be experiencing them, without already knowing it! I know I was pleasantly surprised at what I had read and even MORE surprised by the prompt I received with my $54.54 bill!!! Spirit works in some wondrous ways! I welcome any questions at facebook or email that you may have on the information I've found on mudras, meditating, spirituality or anything metaphysical!