self improvement

Two To Go. Update on My Animal Reflections Oracle Deck.

Posted by Barbara Techel

I’m near the end of my  Animal Reflections Oracle Deck project. Well, sort of, as I’m almost done with the completion of this phase. First was creating the deck which I did collage and mixed media style. Then began phase two and writing a message for each card.

Each afternoon I’d randomly pull a card and have it waiting for me on my writing desk for the next day. I didn’t always write each day if I felt I needed more time with that animal that was up next or if other things needed my attention.

But there I was at the end of last week with two cards left to write the first draft for. I appreciated how it was Wolf and Firefly as the last two. I smiled at how it fell into place. I intuitively knew that Wolf would be the next message I wrote, which I did today. White Wolf came to me years ago during a guided visualization and then again when I asked her name one evening before drifting off to sleep.

She came to me at a time when my heart was in a great deal of pain. It was a time when I wanted to close my heart down for fear of being hurt again. But White Wolf reminded me that this is what stretches the heart and to close it down would shut me off from experiencing love again. This is the journey we walk having this human experience of feelings and emotions which helps expand our compassion and empathy not only for ourselves but for others too.

The last card left to write a message for – Firefly – is the culmination of the theme of the deck with each animal offering wisdom encouraging the importance of inner work – that each time we move through an experience of growth we emerge with a more confident sense of being and shine our light out into the world.

I’d been pondering whether or not to add one more animal to my deck, but now everything feels as if it has clicked into place so I won’t be doing that.

It’s time to complete phase two before I go onto phase three which will be going back through each message I’ve written and fine-tuning things. Then phase three will be sending the text off to my editor. Once that happens I will begin to scan and digitally add a word to each that represents that card/animal, while also exploring how I wish to publish the deck with two possibilities I’m giving thought to.

It’s fun to stop and look at how far I’ve come with this project. And I thought it would be fun to give you an update as many of you have expressed support for my deck, which I really appreciate! Thank you!

XO

Barb

                  

The Witness and Mountain Goat: Oracle and Animal Guidance for the Week

Posted by Barbara Techel

This morning I felt called to pull our weekly cards from two different decks than I usually use. I’ve also recorded this reading. So if you’d rather listen, than read the message, you have that option.

 

So what is it we need to be aware of this week for our highest good?

From The Mystical Shaman Oracle:  The Witness

Right away I feel called to share that one of the key things I learned in Oracle School is witnessing and observing my own patterns and behaviors. This isn’t always an easy thing to do because with this can sometimes bring shame, pain, and/or guilt.

The Witness card asks us this week to pay attention to those moments these difficult feelings come up. And it’s important to remember that when they do to be gentle and compassionate with yourself. Within these moments that can feel painful and difficult is an opportunity to get to the root cause and begin to make changes to course correct and feel better about ourselves.

To the right of the woman, there is an eye and what appears to be light shining from it. I see this as reminding us to take time in stillness or meditation when uncomfortable feelings come up and tune into our own intuition. I see the eye on the card as representative of the third eye chakra which is about intuition, imagination, thought, and self-awareness.

Additional insight from the guidebook provides this invitation: The witness that has been by your side all along is now ready to become your ally. You thought you were the doer, but today you discover that things happen when you get out of your own way. Witness creation unfolding before you. Change reality by finding stillness and letting your true intent reveal itself.

All answers lie within, even when those answers are sometimes hard to acknowledge. But once we can become aware of them we can practice self-care and forgiveness towards ourselves, which then can help us to not only be more compassionate to ourselves but to also witness others in a more gentle way and also extend that compassion.

What animal ally is guiding us as we learn to be witness to ourselves?

From Messages from Your Spirit Animal Guides Oracle: Mountain Goat

So, yes, it can feel like an uphill and difficult climb when we witness and look at challenging feelings. But mountain goat reminds us that in order to restore balance to our whole being and especially within ourselves, being witness to the why of these feelings, becoming aware, and then working toward change will eventually lead us to feel freer and fully alive and experience more joy.

A line from the song Lonely Goatherd by Richard Rodgers popped into my head – High on a hill was a lonely goatherd. I see this as a reminder of the importance of being alone with ourselves and practicing stillness in order to find more balance in our every day lives.

Additional insight from the guidebook provides this invitation: It’s unrealistic to expect your life to stay completely in balance at all times, as it’s continuous interplay between the various polarities. Even the seasonal adjustments of light and dark slowly and gradually shift in a ceaseless dance. Notice how you feel when something is out of balance, and then take necessary steps to adjust in ways that provide greater equilibrium.

I’d like to add to this a quote I learned from my mom which is “this too shall pass.” When we are in a state of feeling dark, fearful, guilt or shame, it’s a signal to pause and just be with ourselves while also trusting that as it always does, it will eventually pass. Even when we may not have complete clarity of a challenging time in the moment, clarity often comes when we trust we will move through it, and insight will be revealed to guide and help us at some point. So staying in awareness is our friend (along with mountain goat!) to have beside us as we journey forward.

I hope this reading was helpful. Enjoy your week!

XO,

Barbara

Book a private reading with me here.

Cards used for this week’s general reading: The Mystical Shaman Oracle by Alberto Villoldo, Colette Baron-Reid and Marcela Lobos and Messages from Your Animal Spirit Guides Oracle by Dr. Steven Farmer.

An Opened Heart Finds Peace and a Special Offering: A Love Letter to the Part of You in Pain

Posted by Barbara Techel

An Opened Heart Finds Peace and a Special Offering: A Love Letter to the Part of You in Pain

I’ve been reflecting on 2018 as this year begins to come to a close in less than two months.

While personally I started out the year going through intense emotional pain, and my coping skills that almost became nil, I’m happy to say I’m now in a space of deep gratitude for what I learned, and how far I’ve come.

Walking through this dark period, there were times I honestly wanted to run the other way. At my rock bottom point, the thought crossed my mind that I’d rather die than deal with the pain I was going through.

That startled me! But the blessing is that it was a wake-up call.

Step-by-step with support from many, I moved through this difficult time, and eventually came to experience an opening of my heart unlike anything I’ve felt before.

From this journey, I’ve created a special offering for others who are going through an emotionally challenging time also. It’s something I sat in many hours of contemplation and with careful thought I wrote:

A Love Letter to the Part of You in Pain. (if this resonates, you will find a link below to download a copy)

It’s my hope it will give others just that, hope. And to trust that there is freedom and peace to be had on the other side of emotional pain.

Recently I heard what is described as the “Sacred Wound,”coined by Jean Houston, Ph.D., author, scholar, philosopher and researcher in Human Capacities, and who began the human potential movement.

The idea of the Sacred Wound as Jean writes is, “Looking back on your own betrayals, you may notice how they’ve given you the necessary shove, the unwelcome but needed kick in the pants to invite you to get on with it, to release patterns and attachments that need to die. The key to redeeming our betrayals is forgiveness.”  

This is exactly what I faced earlier this year – forgiving where I felt betrayed in my past – and most challenging of all, was forgiving myself when I experienced unfamiliar and very uncomfortable feelings of resentment and anger toward my sweet and loving dog, Gidget. She was my reflection to finally see the part of me that was broken and was desperately calling to be healed.

This is something that has taken me years to understand because I often thought if I just read this or that book, or took this or that class, I’d be okay.

But it was dedicating myself to digging into my inner world and really looking at my own story, that I was able to see how that affected my insecurities and struggles. Being a gentle witness to this helped me to make a welcome shift. 

I’ll be sharing more about this journey in my new book I continue to work on, I’m Fine Just the Way I Am —and how Gidget lovingly and unconditionally walked beside me as my soulful guide.

Not only did I move through a metamorphosis, but I’ve been witness to the gift of a beautiful change and a new sense of peace within Gidget, too.

I’ve come to understand that my sacred wound was a spiritual lesson I needed to go through in order to embrace on an even deeper level not only empathy, compassion and love, but that I was never alone (even though I often felt that way).

For the first time in my 55-years on this planet, I felt the undeniable love of Spirit embrace me as I took the necessary steps forward in healing.

It was by reaching out for help from animal communicator Dawn Brunke, pet counselor and coach, Joe Dwyer, Depth Psychologist and Dream Analyst, Tayria Ward, Transformational Breathwork® practioner, Parnee Frederick, a session of Emotional Freedom Technique with a therapist, my monthly Women’s Mastermind Circle, and last but not least, my dear mom and husband, that I found the courage to do the inner work I needed to do.

Also the fact I was enrolled in Oracle School during this time, working with oracle cards as a tool for self-reflection I was able to gain perspectives about myself I’d not have considered.

It enabled me to see what I could change, while being compassionate with myself, which helped me move forward with more confidence. 

I continue to be committed to my personal growth so that I can move through my little corner of the world from a place of love and peace and be of service to others who also seek more inner peace through my oracle guidance sessions.

And so it is I present this offering, A Love Letter to the Part of You in Pain….because you matter and you are worthy just as you are.

Just click on graphic to be taken to link to sign up to receive a copy:

Please note the link to the love letter includes receiving my newsletter.

XO,

Barb