oracle readings

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

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

Being at Home with the Dark Says Wombat Spirit

Posted by Barbara Techel

This Monday morning found me meditating in the corner of my writing cottage with the window to the left of me open a crack and the sun streaming in on the right side of me. I loved the feeling of the cool, soft breeze caressing one side of my body while the other half was being warmed by the sun on the right. 

As I closed my eyes the light I’d been savoring became darkness. I chose not to have any music to listen to today, but yet there was sound all around me from birds chirping, to the humming of cars on the highway in the distance, to the tick-tick-tick of a small clock on the table next to me.

There is a real sense of spring in the air today and as I continued to sit in meditation I felt like I was floating on a cloud.

Today’s animal wisdom comes from The Spirit Animal Oracle deck. After taking a picture of the card of Wombat and it came up on my computer appearing a bit dark I thought I should lighten it. But then I realized, no, the light in the background and the card shaded in darkness was perfect for the message today.

Wombat, a nocturnal creature is able to find their way in the dark and their livelihood depends on it. They are also solitary creatures and love to burrow.

So this week, Wombat is encouraging us to also be at home in the dark. Thinking about how the sun was streaming in through the window as I meditated today, I also was holding the space of darkness with my eyes shut and my time devoted to just going inward.

During the day and our eyes wide open paying attention to our to-do lists and where we need to go and what we need to do, can sometimes create a dizzying array of light darting around in our overly busy minds. At least that is how I can feel at times.

But it’s in the darkness, even in difficult times or challenging situations, that we give ourselves the opportunity to slow down, catch our breath, and release our mind from the lightening bolts of constant thoughts.

It’s in those times of slowing down and just being with what is our eyes closed and sinking into darkness, that if we trust that the light will still be there, it always is.

Time and time again I find that in the darkness is when the richest and most impactful wisdom has come to me. It is what sustains me, fills me with an abundance of understanding, and helps propel me forward in a more peaceful way.

Thinking of Wombat being solitary and one who also loves to burrow is our invitation to take time to do that this week. I’ve found so often that many are afraid of being alone with themselves – afraid of what they may feel or perhaps hear from their soul.

But Wombat reminds us that this is where the real sustenance is for living a fulfilling and meaningful life. And the more we can practice this in our every day lives, that even when far from home, this daily nourishment of our inner landscape will help us to feel safe and at home no matter where we are.

Have a beautiful week everyone!

xo,

Barbara

HAPPY TO HELP
It is an honor to serve as an intuitive guide and oracle reader for women who wish to embark on an inner expedition and evolve into living in alignment with what matters most to their soul and live a more balanced, gracious and peaceful life. I’m happy to help so feel free to reach out or learn more by clicking on the banner.

 

 

Card from: The Spirit Animal Oracle deck by Colette Baron-Reid