Monday, December 19, 2011

The Winter Solstice

    
   The Solstice and Equinox dates mark the four major seasonal points of the year. These Cardinal points (cardinal means to bring into form) create four 90 degree angles to one another, forming a cross, the cross of matter upon which our earthly world is founded. It represents the Law of Love, the vertical part of the cross intersecting with our use of the Word, the horizontal part, to create in the world of form.

     The Winter Solstice occurs when the Sun enters the astrological sign of Capricorn, which will occur on December 21, 10:30 PM MST. Capricorn represents the door to spiritual birth and initiation, the release from the attachments to the material realm. These are the things that burden or limit us and keep us bound to who we are not. Letting go of them allows us to expand into who we really are.  Capricorn is significant of the ego persona beginning to fade, utilizing God’s wisdom to benefit the greater good. 

     At this time of year, the physical Sun is at its lowest point of manifestation, lowest in the sky at its Southern most declination, so we have the shortest amount of daylight, the longest amount of darkness of the whole year.  This represents the personality receding, so that the Spiritual Sun, the Christ in us, may be born.  In fact, although the Northern Hemisphere is tipped away from the Sun on its axis at this time of year, giving us the minimum amount of light all year, the Earth is actually closest to the Sun in its orbital path around the Sun.  What we experience with our physical eyes in the material world is that the light is dim, that it is the shortest amount of daylight all year.  Yet, in reality, we are closest to the Light.  This signifies that it is in the unseen Spiritual realm that the birth of the Light is taking place, no matter how things may appear. 
     And perhaps, some of us have had a challenging year, maybe even dealing with some of our deepest fears, grief, and confusion, experiencing a time of perceived darkness.  However, it is at this time of greatest darkness, that the Light is nearest and there is an opportunity to clean out the old conditioning and patterns to make room for the birth of the Christ Light within. This is especially true this year with the transforming energy of the planet Pluto within a few degrees of the Solstice Sun. It may be helpful to remember, “The darker and deeper the depths, the higher and brighter the Mountain.” While Mars in Virgo at the Ascendant in Denver provides much needed energy for healing purification and service, the Sun square Uranus in Aries offers the initiative needed for new beginnings and for aligning with the Higher Mind of the Christ. Just as all of nature is in a dormant state at this time of year, with seeds buried deep in the fertile stillness of the earth for the winter, so also must we go into the stillness within us to experience the return of the Light, and the birth of the Christ Light within us after the shortest day of the year. The sign of Capricorn rules the knees and it is on bended knee, in all humility and devotion, that we bow to the Christ at this time. 

     Capricorn is also an Earth sign and it is at this time of year that the Christ infuses us to a greater degree with His Light and Love, permeating every atom of the Earth with this energy.  The power of this illumination grows and increases up to the high point of Christmas Eve.  From Winter Solstice through Christmas, there is an opportunity, more than at any other time of year to open our hearts wide to the Light and Love of the Christ, and for participating in the great work of Christ Jesus in spiritualizing the entire planet to a greater degree.  In addition, the ecliptic, which is the apparent path of the Sun around the Earth, that belt of the sky containing the constellations, crosses over the Milky Way in the sky at an angle and forms a cross, the Cosmic Cross, the celestial Sacred Tree.  For the first time in 25,800 years, in these years close to 2012, the Winter Solstice Sun is at the center of the cross (at 27°Sagittarius), close to Capricorn.  So, there is an actual pathway open to the Heart of the Galaxy as the Sun in Capricorn calls us into the deep stillness that is so profound at this time of year.


Saturday, August 13, 2011


Don’t Buy Into the Bad News 

Recent economic reports have been flashing bad news everywhere about the economy, house foreclosures and unemployment. You don’t have to buy (excuse the expression) into it, which just gives it more power. Turn off the news and don’t keep thinking about it or worrying. It just gives more life to the doom theory. The truth is no one is a fortune (again excuse the expression) teller and we have no idea what the future holds. I’m not saying hide you head in the sand. Be aware of whatever you need to take care of without the attachment and fear involved.

Lahuna Huffines, who wrote, Healing Yourself with Light, talks about fear infections on the planet, composed of people who are creating a kind of mass fear. The more people think about it and feel afraid the easier it is for others to get the “infection.” So, let’s not contribute to it. Think about something else. If something needs your attention, take care of it in a small timef rame in your day without continuing to worry or be fearful. Because were all connected on the level of thought and mind, it will help others feel lighter too!

Find more information about how to deal with stress and anxiety of any kind at my website
www. soultranceformations.com.


Friday, May 6, 2011

“Judge Not” … A Wonderful Way to Live

     Two years ago, in the summer after I moved into a new home, I decided I had to do something about an old abandoned bird’s nest above my entryway door. Although there were some finches around the house several months earlier and this was definitely a finch nest, since then I hadn’t seen or heard any birds around. Hatching season was over, and let’s face it, bird droppings aren’t particularly attractive. So, I cleaned and scrubbed and finally cleaned up the mess that seemed like it must have been there for years. 
     About a month later, I found a small cracked blue colored bird’s egg on my front porch that had obviously been dropped from on high. I immediately judged myself as a baby bird killer. Obviously, I had upset the balance of nature and interfered with the bird’s habitat so that it was an unfit place to nest. I imagined the momma bird flying to the nest she thought was there, finding it gone, and in an act of anxious desperation, dropping her egg on the ground. Guilt and self-blame consumed me. I rationalized, made excuses and battled with an inner critic that had me by the throat.
     That autumn a strange thing happened. The finches returned to rebuild the nest. In the fall? That seemed odd. But I made sure not to touch it or disturb it in any way. The next spring, I was hoping to be redeemed and forgiven for my foolishness of the previous year. And yet, even though I did nothing, I found another cracked blue egg on the front porch. There were no bird chicks that year, but I had begun to question whether I had anything to do with the cracked bird eggs or if they were even finch eggs at all. Perhaps, I had judged myself too harshly. 
     This year, after much finch activity and the sound of chirping from above my door, I climbed up to see three baby birds sleeping in the nest. Off to the side, out of the nest was a discarded egg that apparently hadn’t hatched, so I got to see what a finch egg looks like. It was soft cream with brown speckles and much smaller than the blue robin sized eggs that I had found on the ground in previous years. They were not finch eggs. Evidently, I had perceived things incorrectly.   
     All this brings up how ridiculous our own self-perceptions and judgments can be. You may have even had the experience of complaining about a situation that you thought was bad for you and then later found it had a positive result you had not foreseen. If you are looking to indulge in the misery of self-criticism, the universe will probably oblige you with the circumstances to accommodate such an experience. However, if you go through life without judging in this way, you will stop creating more of the type of experience you are negatively focused on and find an inner peace you have never known before.      
     A Taoist story by Liu An illustrates this point. An old man lived with his son on a hillside in a dwelling that was an abandoned fortress. Their one possession of value was a horse and one day, it ran away. All the neighbors came by to offer sympathy to the man expressing what a terrible thing it was saying, “That’s really bad!” The old man simply said, “How do you know?” The next day, the horse returned and brought with it several wild horses, which the old man and his son put inside their gate. The neighbors hurried over to congratulate the man saying, “That’s really good!” Once again, the old man asked, “How do you know?” The following day, the man’s son tried to ride one of the wild horses and fell off and broke his leg. As soon as they heard what had happened, the neighbors came by and said, “That’s really bad!” “How do you know?” the old man repeated. The day after that, the army came through the area forcing all the local young men into service to fight a faraway battle against the northern barbarians. Many of them would never return. However, because the old man’s son had broken his leg, he couldn’t go…. You get the point. The truth is that we never fully know what is happening from a divine perspective. However, if you refrain from judging at all, you can experience freedom from the chains of the thinking mind and the material existence that binds you.   
     As the joyful chirping of life and rebirth blesses the doorway of my home, I feel grateful for this entire experience. Bird chicks above my door. This has got to be good Feng Shui.. or not!  For more help with transforming patterns of self-criticalness and judgment, visit my website. www.soultranceformations.com


Friday, March 4, 2011

You are Energy – Tips for Auric Body Housekeeping

     In addition to our physical world of material reality, there is also an unseen realm of energy. All matter is composed of this energy which manifests physically as it vibrates at a denser frequency. Surrounding our physical bodies are layers of this vibrating light energy which form our auric field. It’s important to remain aware of the boundaries of your energy field, especially if you feel drained, irritated, or ill in group situations. Intuitively sense if your auric field seems over expanded and dissipated or perhaps defensively constricted.  Through affirming intention or creative visualization, breathe into the energy space around your physical body and adjust your auric boundaries to about two or three feet all around you or to whatever feels appropriate for you at that moment.  Don't forget to sense the energy behind and in front of you, as well as below your feet and above your head in addition to either side of your body. To ground yourself, feel energetic roots from your feet into the earth. 
      If you take in negative feeling energy from a certain situation or someone's thoughtless remark, imagine a column, radiant sunbeam, waterfall, stream, or gentle rain of liquid light pouring down all around and through you.  Feel it permeate your entire energy system, washing away the negativity, or energy that is not your own, down into the earth. You can also imagine a net or mesh of light or a fiery ball of light coming up through your whole body and energy system from your feet up out your head. Ask Spirit to transmute the released energy and return it to its right place in Creation.  Clear the negative energy that you flushed out of your physical body and auric field from the room and building that you are in by sending it skyward, imagining it dissolved in a violet flame of Love and Light.
     If you need to further clear your energy field or really feel slimed by someone and experience the physical or emotional heaviness of this kind of contamination, take an Epsom salt and baking soda bath as soon as possible. Use one to two cups of each in a warm bath for 20 minutes, then rinse. (Pregnant women or people with blood pressure problems should be careful not to make the water too hot and may have to bathe for shorter periods.)
      Your auric field should feel energized, clear and vibrant.  To charge your energy field if it feels weak and enhance your vitality, imagine that you are sitting in a vibrant ray of sunshine.  Feel the sunlight pour into and around your whole body.  As the sunlight comes streaming in along your spine, see, sense, or imagine it forming a ball of light at your solar plexus.  As you feel the warmth and energy of this radiant orb, allow its light to expand, so it becomes brighter and more charged with energy, until it enfolds your whole body.  As you sit in the vibrant warmth and radiance of this egg of light, let yourself soak in its nourishing, revitalizing energy.  This can be very beneficial at times when you need to strengthen and define your energetic boundaries or when you are more psychically vulnerable to taking in other people's energy.
     For more tools and processes for keeping your energy system clear, contact Pam Welch at http://www.soultranceformations.com/

Friday, January 28, 2011

Hypnotherapy and Self-Hypnosis

There is nothing mysterious about the hypnotic trance state. People enter it all the time, relaxing after a good exercise workout, while listening to soothing music, or even driving on a long road trip.  Hypnotherapy is simply a way to intentionally relax your body and calm your mind. In this way, you can access information that is usually kept hidden below the level of conscious awareness by the incessant chatter of the thinking mind. For therapy purposes, hypnotherapy is best facilitated by a certified hypnotherapist so your particular issues can be safely addressed. For relaxation, self healing processes, and stress management, hypnosis is something you can learn to do for yourself.

Self-hypnosis begins by finding a place you won’t be disturbed by phones, children, etc.  Lying down is preferable – a bed, couch, or recliner works fine. Start by taking a few full breaths into your abdomen and as you exhale, have a sense of sinking deeper down into the chair as you let all the tension dissolve and release right out of the body. Follow the inhale and exhale of your breath for awhile, allowing your breathing to be soft and easy as you sink deeply into your body. You can then begin a process of progressive relaxation. To do this, tense and then relax the muscle groups of your body from your head to your toes. Start with the scalp and forehead muscles, tensing and then releasing them in relaxation. Next, squint the eyes and then relax them, including the eyelids and muscles behind the eyes so they feel very soft. Continue with the jaw, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, chest and abdomen, thighs, calves, and finally the feet and toes, tensing the muscles of each body part and then totally releasing them. Allow a softening of the whole body, letting go of tension more and more as you progress. This process can also be done without tensing the muscles first by just going through your body in the same way from head to toe, giving suggestions for each part of your body to become soft and relaxed as you do.

In this state of deep relaxation, you can make positive affirmations for your health, successful outcomes in your life or for staying calm during the day. For example, “I give thanks that I am experiencing more and more love in my life each day.” Doing this process before bed can help you unwind and prepare for sleep. If you do it during the day, give yourself time to come all the way back up to conscious awareness. To make sure you’re out of trance; simply tell yourself you’ll be alert and awake on one. Then count yourself up to the waking state saying, 5-4-3-2-1. The more you do this type of self-hypnosis, the easier it is to eliminate stress and access this calm relaxation whenever you need to throughout the day. For more information on the effectiveness of hypnosis go to http://www.soultranceformations.com/ or http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_statistics_on_the_effectiveness_of_hypnosis?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d1793cdcf2ee960,0

Monday, January 17, 2011

The Truth About Your Zodiac Sign

Well here it is. I finally did it. I’m doing a blog and it will be available on my website. I plan to write on a variety of subjects; healing, spirituality, astrology, hypnotherapy and perhaps even current events as they relate to the great evolutionary changes taking place on the planet at this time. I plan to make it fun and informative.

Imagine my surprise when I got a call a few days ago from Fox News 34 in Lubbock, Texas. They wanted me to comment on the changed signs of the “New Zodiac.” (What, there aren’t any astrologers in Texas? Are they all in the closet?) You may have noticed the buzz last week on the internet, news and social media about people’s zodiac sign changing. Astronomer Parke Kunkle of Minneapolis stated that the Sun was not in the same position that it was 3,000 years ago when the study of the stars began, so individuals weren’t the same zodiac sign as they thought they were. So I’ve decided to set the record straight and clear up any confusion.

There are actually two zodiacs that astrologers use, the more common Western Tropical Zodiac and the Sidereal Zodiac used more by Eastern astrologers. No one’s sign is changing in the Western Tropical system. It’s based on the seasons and the Sun’s movement along the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun in the sky. In the spring, the Sun moves into Aries. In the winter it is in Capricorn.  This doesn’t change. Here are the general dates for that system:

Aries – March 21/22 – April 20     
Taurus – April 21 – May 21      
Gemini – May 22 – June 21/22       
Cancer – June 22/23 – July 22/23   
Leo – July 23/24 – August 23/24       
Virgo – August 24/25 – September 23
Libra – September 24 – October 23/24
Scorpio – October 24/25 – November 22/23
Sagittarius – November 23/24 – December 21/22
Capricorn – December 22/23 – January 20/21
Aquarius – January 21/22 – February 18/19
Pisces – February 19/20 – March 20/21  

However, the Sidereal Zodiac is based on the constellations of the fixed stars. Because the Earth wobbles on its axis a bit, the position of the fixed stars in relationship to the Earth changes, moving about 50 seconds a year or one degree every 72 years. This is known as precession. Two thousand years ago, the Tropical Zodiac and the Sidereal Zodiac were exactly aligned and the signs of both zodiacs were based on the constellations. However, after two thousand years of precession at one degree every 72 years, the constellations have backed up about a whole sign. So, basically, if you are an Aries in the Tropical Zodiac, you’re probably a Pisces in the Sidereal Zodiac, although this is only a generalization and it’s best to see an astrologer to have a chart drawn up to know specifically.

Now, where the problem really came up was when Mr. Kunkle showed another thirteenth sign based on the constellation Ophiuchus (Nov. 29 – Dec 17) after Scorpio and before Sagittarius. This had people confused and in some cases upset. In reality, the ancient Babylonians dropped this sign to have the constellations fit into a 12 sign year and it’s not used in charts unless you are specifically looking at the influence of the fixed stars themselves. The fact is there are actually 88 constellations available to us, but we only use twelve, not 88 and not 13. So, the thirteenth sign is a bit of a hoax. According to astrologer Sandra – Leigh Serio, this thirteenth sign business was put out several years ago by an astronomer and keeps resurfacing. It was a slow news day.

So, never fear, your sign is still the same. For a professional astrological consultation, either in the Tropical or Sidereal Zodiac, go to http://www.soultranceformations.com/ If you want to hear the Texas News interview, go to http://www.myfoxlubbock.com/search/sitesearch.aspx?q=zodiac and click on “The stars have aligned” above the zodiac. There will be an article and video screen come up. Just click on the video screen. However, don’t get confused. The anchor woman makes an error in saying the Sidereal Zodiac has 13 signs!