healing

Let Us Give Thanks for Times of Uncertainty

Posted by Barbara Techel

This week is beginning hot and steamy and expected to last at least through the weekend. I think about how I used to thoroughly enjoy this type of weather when I was younger, but now on the other side now of 55 years old and soon to be 57 in about three weeks, well, let’s just say I am very grateful for air conditioning.

This week’s cards are Chaos and Conflict and Turkey Spirit.

Even though I’ve been using oracle cards as a personal empowerment tool and also doing readings for others for quite some time now I can still feel a small tug of angst when I pull the Chaos and Conflict card. How often we just want life to be all peaches and cream, right?

As I went for a walk early this morning I made plans in my mind to go at a much slower pace this week. With the July 4th holiday on Saturday and warm summer days now upon us, I’m feeling the need to slow down and savor.

So when the Chaos and Conflict card presented itself I felt a bit let down and went right into wondering what it is that might “interfere” with my plans. But it was only a matter of seconds that I snapped out of it and remembered that it can be a good thing. Next, when I pulled an animal card to help guide us with Chaos and Conflict, I smiled, because yes, of course, we must give thanks for it all.

I also just saw in my mind the Go the Distance card as I feel that with what our world is experiencing right now that we must be in this for the long haul. The Chaos and Conflict are something that is going to take time to work through. But if we can remember to give thanks for what we can control in our lives and what we do have, perhaps not focusing on what we think we may be losing, or what it is that we can’t control, we can move through this time with more ease.

We can let fear gobble up our energy or we can allow fear to be our motivator to take a stance for what it is we wish for ourselves individually and as a world. Whether you choose to strut your stuff by carrying that belief in your heart or making a loud call out into the world about your stance, either will help make a difference.

Notice the Zebra on the card isn’t black and white, but rather brown. Nothing right now is black and white and it is my belief that it is this and that. I believe the conditioning of seeing things as black and white is what we are being called to move away from. There is a middle ground and that begins with each of us tapping into the center of our hearts and living from that truth.

So this week, let us be in gratitude for times we are shaken as a gift that will lead us to a deeper understanding and that this planet is made more peaceful by each of playing our part by living within harmony within ourselves so we can encourage that in others too.

xo,

Barbara

Wisdom in the Paws Reading – For Your Pet and You

Wisdom in the Pause Reading – Just For You

Today You Pick! Which Animal Has Guidance for You.

Posted by Barbara Techel

Today you pick! Think of a situation/concern you’d like some guidance on.  Then pick the card you are most drawn to – #1, #2, or #3. Today’s cards are from three different animal decks. 

Once you’ve chosen which one speaks to you, scroll down to reveal the card…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CARD REVEAL

While each card has a message from the creator of each of the decks, I’m sharing what came up for me as I turned each card over. Perhaps the message I share will resonate and maybe it will be the author of the deck and their insight that resonates, or perhaps it will be both mine and the author’s that will ring true for you and you will see them as working in conjunction with each other. All is good, no matter what! It’s all about feeling into what feels right for you and jumping off from there to expand on how the message(s) will serve as your guide around your particular situation/concern.

#1 Blue Heron (Card from Messages From Your Spirit Animal Guides by Dr. Steven Farmer)

Blue Heron invites you to stand still, appreciate what it is you need to let go of, listen to your own internal guidance, and move forward with intention but thoughtful and deliberate steps. Herons are very much their ‘own bird’ and perhaps there is a message here for you to be more assertive in what it is you wish for your life.

Interesting to note that the back of each of the cards in this deck is the image of a blue heron also. Just an extra nudge to pay attention to the message.

 

 

 

#2 Cat (Card from The Ark Animal Tarot and Oracle deck by Bernadette King)

Cat invites you to curl up in the sun. Give thought to where you need or are wishing to assert your independence. The cat’s tail curled in front of him/her may indicate that protecting yourself as you move forward in your independence is important. While others may have well-intended from the heart advice for you, Cat wants you to remember that you’ve got this. Listen to your own inner compass which will save you in the long run on time and needless stress of falling into the pattern of following the advice of others.

 

 

 

 

#3 Peacock (Card from Spirit Animal Oracle deck by Colette Baron-Reid)

I can’t help but hear in my mind, ‘strut your stuff’ when I see peacock! Or perhaps this is a call to reveal your true colors that you’ve been hiding out of fear. See the light emanating from the center of Peacock? Time to stretch your heart in all directions too. Allow your vibration of light to move out around you in order to attract what it is that you need in order to help serve you in the best possible way.

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Did the card you chose resonate or help in your situation/concern in any way? I’d love to know so feel free to leave me a comment below.

As always, if you’d like additional support, I offer personal one-to-one readings where I  can help you expand on a particular area you feel stuck. The cards are an amazing tool that reveals insight and perspective to help you gain clarity and move forward with more confidence. I also now offer readings for your pet and you!  More info below.

P.S. Just after I finished writing this post I jumped onto Facebook and the first post I saw was a photograph of a flying Blue Heron. Looks like Blue Heron may be my personal messenger today, so I shall have to ponder in that some more for myself.

xo,

Barbara

Just click on either graphic to learn more and/or to book a reading.

          

 

 

 

 

Dove Guides Us this Week to Grace In the Stillness

Posted by Barbara Techel

It’s a week that Dove is encouraging us to make sure we set aside time for self-care. Just like anyone else, I too fall off track sometimes and this week’s message from Dove speaks to me. I hope it will be helpful for you too.

I really appreciate oracle cards and animal wisdom as tools for my own self-care. It’s a way to open to perspectives I might not consider, and both have helped me time and again with shifting my awareness and gaining insight I’d not have in any other way.

To journey alongside the message from an oracle card or the wisdom an animal shares always helps to shift me from a stuck place to a new opening and seeing something I’m struggling with in a way that guides me to be proactive instead of spinning my wheels and not getting anywhere.

It’s hard not to see a Dove and feel a peaceful shift come over you, don’t you think? While birds, in general, are symbolic of connecting earth to heaven, whenever I see Dove I feel that even more deeply because there is just something so spiritual about the dove.

This week I asked the question, what will be of help to us this week?

Toward the end of last week, I was carrying a heaviness on my heart because of so much that is going on in the world. Talking with a few friends, they too, have been feeling the same. Many said they feel helpless and aren’t sure what they can do to help change things. For me, I didn’t listen to the news at all over the weekend or check any online news sources. I just needed a break to clear my head and connect back to myself.

I see Dove as such a beautiful guide of reminding us that the way to true and lasting peace begins with each of us. I’ve said this time and time again here on my blog and in my general readings and one-to-one readings because it is what I believe at my core. And it’s something I continue to practice also. Even though again, I sometimes also fall off track, but now that I’m more aware of that feeling that comes over me, I am able to jump back on track much quicker these days.

When we feel helpless it’s good to also ask ourselves why that is. So much of what comes up during challenging times as we are experiencing in the world right now are actually clues for us to look within and why it is that we are feeling triggered – and not to make light of what is transpiring in our world as it is some tough stuff to witness. But where is that coming from for each of us as individuals in our own lives that I see as what we need to ask ourselves?

Dove guides us to go within and to not only connect with our wise inner self but to also connect with that energy of the divine (no matter how you define it). Take time to really listen to what your heart is trying to convey to you – even if it is hard to look at or hear because it may feel painful. But just allow whatever that is for you to be heard or seen. Perhaps write it down in a journal or speak it out loud to yourself. So often just doing this is all the release we need to become aware and then begin to let it go.

The world is being shaken up, that there is no doubt, but it’s also helping to serve as a reflection of what we need to heal within ourselves when we feel scared, angry, helpless, etc. I see Dove as the great encourager to find grace in the stillness within ourselves – that this is where we can receive the message we need to hear in order to move forward. The more of us that can do this, the more positive vibration that puts out into the world, and the more chance we have of shifting our planet to a more peaceful place for all.

Dove – the symbol of peace – just being with her energy as I sat with the image on the card and then writing this post I already feel a shift of serenity within myself. 

Wishing you each a peaceful and gentle reflective week…

xo,

Barbara

I recently gave my one-to-one oracle readings a name: Wisdom in the Pause. If you are in need of support and someone who will gently hold space for you to explore what is on your heart, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

Card from The Ark Animal Tarot and Oracle Deck