intuition

Let the Layers of Fear Fall Away-Animal Wisdom and Intuitive Oracle Guidance

Posted by Barbara Techel

Today’s reading is a deep one, but I feel very valuable, and I hope it will be of benefit.  After I pulled the two cards for today I journaled what I was receiving as insight. I also relate the cards to a deeply personal story because I felt it related on many levels and would be helpful during this time of fears arising for many. I then decided to record the reading as I felt that was important. I do share what I journaled below but also shared a bit more context in the recorded version.

What is it we most need to know now for our highest good?

Here in the United States, we are being told that the next two weeks are critical. We’ve been strongly advised to not even go to the grocery store or pharmacy.

And as I thought about this and prepared to do the reading for the week, it felt odd to even try and come up with a question. What question can even encompass the magnitude of these times, I wondered.

But I realized that asking what it is we need to know for our highest good, while it may seem somewhat simplistic, it also contains the depth of what we are being called to really lean into now.

So I pulled a card from Work Your Light Oracle by Rebecca Campbell because we are in the thick of this time that we need to all be holding the brightest light of love and hope and allow that vibration to flow out into the world.

For our animal guiding us, I pulled a card from The Spirit Animal Oracle by Colette Baron-Reid.

While the card I pulled from Work Your Light can be a difficult one to look at and feel scary, we must also remember to keep our hearts open and trust that there is a glimpse of what can, and I believe, will be, on the other side of all of this.

The card is The Crumbling and asks the question, What are you clinging onto?

As the messages we are getting are feeling more dire and can entice a sense of losing even more control, this is when we are being given the opportunity to not breakdown, but to experience a breakthrough.

I want to share here a bit about what I share in my new memoir, I’m Fine Just the Way I am, as I found myself at what I felt was my breaking point back in the early spring of 2018. I was completely drained of every ounce of energy after having made the decision that I was going to have my dog, Gidget put to sleep due to chronic health challenges and that fact I could no longer cope.

It was after making that decision that friend and animal communicator, Dawn, and I spoke via Skype. She was trying to urge me to reconsider my decision, but I couldn’t hear it. All I felt was a sense of losing control of what I felt was the best decision for Gidget, while I also felt deeply judged for my decision.

After an intense back and forth between Dawn and me she said, “I’m just trying to be an advocate for Gidget.” It was at that moment that the rage I’d held within me for most of my life came barreling to the surface as my throat clenched and through anger and tears I yelled, “But who was an advocate for me?”

I remember feeling stunned when it came out but also feeling relieved at the same time.

This was one of my breakthroughs – of finally releasing the fear, anger, and the loss of innocence and loss of control I’d experienced as a little girl and being inappropriately touched.

Though I’d experience yet another wave of fear about an hour as I went over and over in my mind that our conversation I had with Dawn that I hit the bottom and had the thought that I’d rather die instead of dealing with the pain I was experiencing.

And that was my second vital breakthrough. Instead of clinging to that fear, I realized if things were going to change, it had to be me who would take responsibility for my pain and begin to heal it.

So even though it felt like in those few hours that everything around me was about to crumble and I was brought to my knees, it was within the crumbling that I’d catch a glimpse of the fact I didn’t want to die and that I wanted to live….and more importantly, that I was capable of making my life better even though what had happened to me from my past was out of my control and wasn’t my fault.

And each step I took forward, I began to feel lighter in body, mind, and spirit, and the world around me began to be filled with hope and assurance that I was going to be just fine.

I share this story in hopes that if you are feeling the same way right now and a sense of losing more control, and your fear is feeling amplified, that this is where you have the opportunity to really look at your fears, face them, and understand where they come from.

It could likely be that little child within that needs you now more than ever to reassure them that you are here and will help them through this.

While it may appear that things around us are crumbling even more, looking at the card, we can see that the more it crumbles, the more the light has the opportunity to come through.

The animal guiding us is Pig Spirit and the words, Use your mind wisely. I pulled the card in reverse which is called protection in this deck.

Our mind can be very, very powerful and now is the opportunity to use it to the advantage of not letting the fear take over, but rather to help you remember that you can do this – you’ve got this. The image of the pig having wings and the saying comes to mind of “when pigs fly” I sense as that we can rise above this.

This is a time to call on that higher power we’ve always said we believed in and is now being put to the test. Move into a space of higher perspective that we will learn so much from this time and that together, we will thrive once again.

And to remember that within this time right NOW is that we can do the same.

Much peace and love to you.

xo,

Barbara

Trusting Our Intuition Led Us to Three Angels in Alabama

Posted by Barbara Techel

As I shared on my blog last Saturday, John and I were to be enjoying a three-week vacation mid-March through the first weekend of April. But after one day at our campsite and the fast-developing crisis with COVID-19 we left early Tuesday morning to head back home.

Stories are emerging of beautiful acts of kindness as we all come to grips with what is transpiring in our world. They sure are uplifting me. 

So I wanted to share what happened to us on our brief travels south as it was truly a blessed intervention.

Sunday around 5 pm we’d made our last stop for gas at a small gas station off I-65. After filling the tank of our van, John jumped back in the driver’s seat. When he turned the key in the ignition the dashboard lights lit up and the van wouldn’t start.

He realized that the shifter was loose and wouldn’t go into drive, park or reverse. It was like a wet noodle that wouldn’t shift into any gear.

Now what?!

John went inside the station to ask the clerk to call us a tow truck. As he did, I sat in the van, folded my hands in prayer and said out loud, “God, we could really use a miracle, please.”

When John came back out he fiddled more with the shifter and said, “It must be the linkage that broke.”

We weren’t quite sure what to do at first, but then John came up with a plan. We’d have the tow truck pull us to the nearest wayside where we’d boondock for the night. For those not familiar with boondocking, we’d have a place to sleep in our R-pod, but no electrical or water hook-up—we’d kind of be like truckers who pull over to get some sleep before heading out on the road again. In the morning we’d call a tow truck to take us to the nearest mechanic.

I felt comfortable, well, as comfortable as I could be with that plan. Just then a white pick up truck pulled into the gas station parking lot. I didn’t say it out loud, but I thought to myself, I wonder if that man is a mechanic?

It was only a few seconds later that John said, ” I wonder if that man is a mechanic?”

I looked at him in surprise and said, “He just has to be since we both just thought it!”

A few seconds later another man pulled up in a red pick up truck and walked inside the gas station. When John entered the station again the two men were conversing. John interrupted them to ask if the one was a mechanic.

He indeed was. The other guy owned a tire company and they were buddies. When John  told them what was wrong with the shifter they both said in unison, “It’s the linkage.”

Soon enough they were all standing outside our van. The mechanic crawled underneath and took a look and said the coil that held the links together appeared to have rusted through. We needed a welder.

So, I’m not kidding you. As he discovered this, another man pulls up in a pick-up truck. 

You guessed it. He was a welder and he was buddies with the other two men.

And it gets better… the man had a shop which was only about a mile away. He was willing to fix it for us and said it wouldn’t take long.

So the mechanic got the linkage to work just enough and actually put it in drive which meant we couldn’t stop once we got moving and we couldn’t shift gears or it would break the linkage again. But it would be enough to follow the welder down the road to his shop.

As it turned out, the pin was missing to the coil that held the links together. The man just happened to have one in his shop. He had it fixed within less than a half-hour. All the time he never made eye contact and said very few words.

When John asked what he wanted for fixing he said, “Just a few bucks is fine.” Though John gave him more than that and we were on our way.

I realized as we drove away how both John and my intuition served us well and how had we not followed it the situation would have turned out far differently and cost us so much more.

As we drove down the highway amazed at what unfolded we gave thanks for our prayers being answered and how we were sent three angels disguised as a mechanic, a tire guy, and a welder.

After writing this for my blog, I let it sit before publishing it as I sometimes do.

It was then during the night when I woke thinking about how those three angels could also be called oracles. And oracles being symbols and signs in the outside world that help guide us to our highest good. One never knows how oracles will appear or present themselves.

Typically when I do an oracle reading for myself or a client I do a three-card spread. We begin with the question that the person is pondering.

Then drawing three cards each represents an aspect of the question to guide us to an outcome.

The first card represents the current situation, second card the next right action step, and third card the possible outcome should they follow the suggestion of the next right action card.

Every day our lives are playing out as a story in motion. So thinking about the three angels from Alabama or a.k.a. oracles, here is how I saw it unfold as our story in motion via an oracle reading. Note: I purposely chose three cards from “The Wisdom of the Oracle” that I feel represented each aspect of the unfolding.

Card one – our current situation: Fork in the Road

Our situation was that we were stuck at a gas station on a Sunday evening at 5 pm in a state where we didn’t know anyone and we were in need of a mechanic. We had to come up with a plan of which there were many avenues we could consider.

Card two – Next right action step: Deep Knowing

This is when we’d be asked to be still and tap into our intuition, but most importantly, follow it as it does not always show up as an obvious sign or like a flashing sign saying, “This is it!”

Both John and I had the same thought when a man in a white pick-up pulled into the parking lot – was he a mechanic? We trusted that ‘knowing’ which led us to discover he indeed was a mechanic and that he was also with a man who owned a tire business, who would be another link to what unfolded next.

Our action step was that we needed to move from our current location with help from someone to get our vehicle fixed. The man who had the tire business was symbolic in that he would get us ‘rolling or moving’ to where we could receive the help we needed.

Card three – possible outcome: Blessed

For our situation, the tire man who just happened to know the next man that showed up at the gas station who was a welder. As the mechanic temporarily rigged up the linkage that put the van in drive, we put in place our faith that all would unfold and would help get us on our way as we followed the welder angel to his shop about one mile down the road.

Considering our options (Fork in the Road), following our intuition (Deep Knowing), staying calm, asking for help, and trusting the three men that showed up as our oracles made for a very happy outcome (Blessed).

Seriously! Isn’t this so cool how the universe guides us if we just get out of our own way?

P.S. Perhaps you are wondering about the clerk who called a tow truck? Did the tow truck show up? Turns out when I went inside to ask him to cancel the tow truck he told me did never made the call. For a moment I felt annoyed that he hadn’t but realized soon enough it was all part of the plan. 🙂

xo,

Barbara

Tapping into Our Breath and Purifying Our Hearts. Guidance from Beetle Wisdom.

Posted by Barbara Techel

How are you doing? Know that I think of you often and I’m holding a place of love and peace in my heart for each of you.

So today I pulled two oracle cards for us asking the question: What do we all most need to know right now as we continue to navigate this time of uncertainty?

The first card I pulled from The Wisdom of the Oracle is Breathe and it came out in reverse. In this deck when in reverse it means protection.

I meditated longer than usual this morning and pulling this card I felt myself move to another level of calm and peace and actually let out a sigh when I turned the card over. It’s such a beautiful reminder that we must take time to really breathe right now. When uncertain and afraid, it’s a natural tendency to forget to breathe or breathe shallowly.

So this card is a reminder to check-in with yourself when fear arises. When we take time, even for two minutes to check how we are breathing and stop to take some deep inhales, it helps to settle our nervous system, which at times of fear and uncertainty as we are currently experiencing, puts us into fight or flight mode.

We tend to want to hold our breath when we feel fear as a way to control a certain outcome or situation. More now than ever, we are being called to go within and one of the best ways is through slowing down, tuning into our breath, and listening to our soul. This requires a great deal of trust at times, but I’ve found time and time again how beneficial and helpful it is. Remember to have patience with yourself and that this is a practice. One day, one hour, one moment at a time. We can do this.

When we connect to our breath, we connect to something far greater that is supporting us. It’s something we can tend to forget in times of stress. But our breath brings us back to that connection to how we define our higher power and helps us remember we aren’t alone.

The animal guiding us as we remember to breathe is a card I pulled from Animal Kin Oracle and it is Beetle with the word purity. Did you feel another shift to a more calm place within with that word purity? I sure did.

The symbol above the Beetle is representative of Spirit. When we tap into our breath and slow ourselves down we are cleansing our hearts of fear. When we do so, we can more easily feel that we are protected and being taken care of by an energetic force we can’t see, but can feel if we tap into moments of stillness and taking deeper breaths more often.

Sarah Wilder, author of this deck says this of Beetle: “These curious creatures have the ability to tunnel and burrow to chambers to store food.”

I see this as a message for us that in order to refill our reserves that may be feeling depleted during this time, it’s vitally important right now to take time to journey inward and look at what needs healing for ourselves personally. This will add to the collective in a transformational way as we each do our personal work.

I can’t tell you how often in the last week I’ve thought about the deep healing journey I took two years ago around this exact time as I healed a childhood wound which I wrote about in my newest memoir. I have felt such gratitude for having done that inner work. I feel certain it is what has helped me move through these challenging times with much more ease. I still have my moments of fear as I’m human just like anyone else, but the tools I’ve been practicing and tapping into for the past twenty years have been so helpful to me.

Beetle reminds us that we are being asked to clear out what no longer works, get out of our own way, and open to something far greater than we can even imagine right now.

While the Beetle has a hard shell, it’s wings open to the most beautiful of translucent colors and is such a sweet reminder that we will each experience this too as we stay connected to our breath, focus on healing, and tapping into what most matters. This is what will give our wings new life and together we will bring about a new and better world.

I’m Here to Support You

If you are struggling with how to cope through these challenging times, I’m here to support you with my oracle readings and intuitive guidance sessions. In my own life and the clients I’ve worked with, I’ve been so moved many times at how this simple, but profound tool, often guides us to see a perspective we’d not considered and how that can move us to a space of peace.

So please feel reach out to me if I can be of service to you. I’ve reduced my rates to help during this time to $60 for an hour session. You can email me through my contact page here or barb (at) joyfulpaws (.com) to set up a session.

Much love and peace to you.

xo,

Barbara