wisdom of the oracle

What I Missed Most Being on Vacation

Posted by Barbara Techel

What I Missed Most Being on Vacation

This past Monday we returned from a ten day trip to South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. I’ll write more about that adventure soon which we did in our Vamper – our Chevy Cargo Van converted to a camper. It was quite the whirlwind!

While I took along my journal and oracle cards on the trip and planned to meditate, I never did get around to doing my daily ritual while away. Though honestly, I really did miss it. But with adjusting to being in a van for ten days it just never presented itself in feeling right to take time to do this inner work. And that’s okay, really.

But I was thrilled to return to it Tuesday morning. You know how they say when away from someone you love it makes the heart grow fonder? Well, that’s what I realized about this practice I have in place, and how much I value this time to center and ground myself.

Adapting to getting in and out of the Vamper often I also found that when I returned to my first yoga practice since being gone, along with my journaling and consulting with my oracle cards, how thirsty my body was for the stretching and my mind for the expansion. Just visualize both drinking it all in with gusto!

It felt incredibly good to get back to starting my day in this way. I enjoyed vacation, don’t get me wrong, but it was confirmation for me that being away from these practices is something I truly do value as part of my self-care routine. And this is a good thing. It made it all the sweeter to return.

XO,

Barbara

P.S. While our beds in the vamper are pretty comfy, oh, how I welcomed sinking into my bed at home too. Everyday since, morning and night, I’ve been telling it how much I love it!  🙂

The Moon Called and I Listened

Posted by Barbara Techel

7:12am and the moon was still visible. I must have looked at it one hundred times last night. And I’ll even admit this, even though I feel a bit embarrassed to say so, but I howled. Called the wolf moon, well, how could I not?

But here’s the thing. I want to continue to embrace all of who I am. And I felt like letting out a wee little howl. No harm in that. But much gained in loving all those parts of myself.

I wanted to soak up every bit of the energy of that moon last night. So I kept the blinds open on my side of the bed. And waking early I immediately went to the kitchen window that faces west and threw open the blinds.

My daily ritual since October has been meditating for ten minutes and journaling with an oracle card from The Wisdom of the Oracle deck.

But the moon was calling me and I didn’t want to miss out on it before it sunk into the west, so I grabbed my oracle deck and journal, and headed back to the kitchen.

Standing next to the kitchen sink gazing out at that moon – oh that moon(!) – I did what I’ve been doing for three months now and asked Dear Spirit what message I need that will guide me through my day and picked an oracle card.

Today was Loyal Heart. All about loyalty to myself and that Spirit is always loyal to me (and you, too!). And something I need to be reminded of often as I can get distracted easily and feel frustrated when I put a time restraint on certain outcomes. So this message today, perfect to begin this year to be loyal to what matters to me and to keep strengthening my faith that Spirit truly does always have my back.

And the moon? Well, it just reminds me of how magical this world can be if we choose to see it that way. Not that it is always easy, but nature reminds us how spectacular this universe really is. That super wolf moon was certainly full of exquisite beauty along with a depth of insight that there is truly something bigger than us at play and that we can be part of it just by pausing and taking the time to appreciate its amazing gift.

Much love and gratitude,

Barbara

At the Heart of What Matters

Posted by Barbara Techel

It feels incredibly good to get back to a structured day. I do love the holiday season, but as Christmas Day drew to a close yesterday I found myself anticipating with excitement getting back to a routine – to rituals, to projects, and back to being among my tribe.

While I completed the personal mastery level of Oracle School in November, I kept up my daily practice of meditation, asking a daily question, and choosing an oracle card to journal with. And I’m super excited to go on to the next level, Shared Wisdom, which begins in February.

The days leading up to Christmas I didn’t have this ritual in place thinking I needed a break. Perhaps I did in some ways as coming back to it this morning has me even more appreciative of how much it means to me. And how much it helps me feel like me. 

While in the past, it would have taken me quite a few days to find my center again after the holidays, this year felt different. I was eager to get back to my daily practice. And ready to dive into new projects and intentions I have for the New Year.

It felt like I was getting together with a loved and trusted friend early this morning after doing a 10-minute meditation and then getting out my oracle cards and my journal, and asking Spirit what it is I need to think about as I move into the New Year.

I kid you not…as I was shuffling the deck, thinking about this question and mulling over the last few days I heard in my mind, my tribe. The card that presented itself? Yup! The Tribe.

And this is the at heart of things for me. Connecting with my tribe because it’s truly what feeds my soul and it’s a value that I have in making a difference in the lives that I can. Like all of you, and so many of you I heard from lately with my blog posts, and my newsletter and how you look forward to what I share.

My Tribe, is also my connection I have with how I define Spirit and how I am a part of Spirit. As I understand that more and more, the more deeply I am connected to my definition of Spirit, which is a part of me, the more I truly am living the life I’m meant to live, because this is how I see a meaningful life.

So I’m feeling my heart full with being back to what matters to me – here in my special space – my zen writing cottage – thinking about ways in which I’ll stay connected with you in the New Year and what this year will bring.

In early January I’ll be doing a free webinar, and you are invited! I’m still working out a title for it, but it will be all about opening to the gift of transitional periods in our lives, sharing ways in which you can tune into your intuition, and how you can begin to live a life that is meaningful to you. I hope you can join me. Stay tuned for date and time coming soon.

And lastly…I’ve been tweaking many pages of my website for quite a few weeks now and invite you to take a peek and my new home page, which I think is more simplified and inviting. I hope you think so, too!

Hoping this day after Christmas has you coming back home to the center of what matters most to you…

With love and gratitude,

Barbara