Category: Energy Healing

The Open Channel

On By Alethea KehasIn Energy Healing, Memoir, Reflections6 Comments

This morning, while walking the dogs along the autumn roadside, I thought of my son. Last night the air was fierce with wild wind and rain, and I was walking through the aftermath of a storm. Maple leaves and golden pine needles carpeted my path, and the words of my son when he was 2 years old returned to me.  “Look, Mom,” he had once exclaimed with delight, while pointing to the ground beneath his feet “It’s Halloween Hair.”

Halloween Hair
Halloween Hair

We had been walking together in October, near our former home in Hudson, NH. The ground, much like it is today, was littered with pine needles, making it look like the scatterings of clipped, orange hair. My son had seen a poetic beauty in a scene many adults might have missed.

On another day, also when my son was 2, we were playing in a park and he pointed up to a maple tree with dark purple leaves (I believe they’re called Crimson Maples). “Look, Mom,” he said that day, “It’s a chocolate tree.” I thought for sure I had given birth to a little poet. You can imagine my delight!

Perhaps I had, we’ll see, but my son’s words were not in the realm of extraordinary. Have you ever listened to the language of a young child? Mixed with the stumble of syntax, you will often find incredible beauty and wisdom. A young child still holds onto the secrets of the soul, a young child is still an open channel to the world of Spirit.

This is why young children see colors, or auras, around people, play with “imaginary” friends (fairies, spirit guides, etc.) and live blissfully in the moment. Many of us spend our lives trying to retrieve this connection to source. Fear has a (not so) funny way of shutting off the light-switch.

You have probably heard some of the stories of “genius.” Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem  “Kubla Khan” coming to him in dreamy lyrics while he slept, and which he recovered hastily the next day onto the safe permanence of the page. The invention of the sewing machine, again emerging from a “dream” in the night. There are countless more.

I have a friend who channels messages from Ascended Masters during the night. She wakes to their words, grabs a pen and paper, and retrieves their messages in the fog of not being fully “awake.”

When I write, my best words emerge from an uncluttered mind. When I practice energy healing, the strongest effects occur when I let go of my fear. When we strip away the trappings of our fears and close off the chattering voice of our ego, Spirit comes through in that open channel of light. This is how masterpieces are formed, great inventions are made, and “miracles” occur.

One way to practice being an “open-channel,” is automatic, or channeled writing. I do this sometimes when I am experiencing writer’s block, or need an answer to a life-question that is troubling me. No doubt there are many ways to practice this form of communication, but it really is quite simple.

The key to channeled writing is to let the mind drift into a meditative-like state, where one is conscious, but not actively thinking. I like to use the computer to write, as my hands work faster on the keyboard. You might prefer to go outside with a pen and pad of paper, where the energy of nature will help you clear the clutter of your thoughts.

Once you feel relaxed and “open,” write, or mentally think your question. I suggest writing it, this starts the flow of writing that you will not stop until you feel finished. You can pause after your question, or you can simply start writing and see what comes up. Again, the key is not to let your ego’s thoughts enter into the space, which they might initially (the ego can be very stubborn). Don’t worry, you will see what is ego when you are done, and you can simply erase, delete or scratch out those early words. Think of it like clearing away the dustballs under the couch. It’s a necessary step to achieving a clean space.

Then write. Simply write. Without stopping, write whatever comes through your hand. Since I am empathic, I feel the energy of Source, or Spirit, come though as a tingling sensation in my hands. You might too, or you may see images, hear the voice of Spirit,  have a heightened sense of smell, or some other sense, while you write.

While you write, don’t worry about grammar or syntax, don’t worry about a coherent sentence, you can edit later. Stop when you feel ready. Again, there are no “rules” or right way to do this. I like to thank the source of the words after I feel finished, then I read through what I have written.

If you get discouraged and cannot seem to open the flow of communication, don’t worry. Try again later. Change your scene and method. Try it immediately after waking, or right before sleep. Find what works best for you. Perhaps you will only have a few lines, or a paragraph at first, don’t get discouraged. I find automatic writing to be fun and healing, and it often leaves me joy-filled, as I have connected to that energy of source, which is also referred to sometimes as “bliss.” Like anything else, the more you “practice” channeled writing, the easier it gets.

Letting Go: A Path to Inner Peace

On By Alethea KehasIn Energy Healing, Memoir, Reflections2 Comments

On my Inner Truth Healing Facebook page I asked my audience for blog topic suggestions, and a friend asked me to write about the energetic freedom of “letting go” of the expectation of a certain type of relationship with someone else, in particular with a family member. This is a multifaceted topic, which I feel ultimately reduces to those first two words: “letting go.” First, let me clarify that when I say “letting go,” I do not mean you should, in anyway, let go of your personal power, quite often this is what is creating the imbalance or perceived difficulty in the relationship.

Energy is able to flow freely when we let go of attachments or constrictions. This, in the broader sense, is the concept of letting go. The ability to allow the universal life-force energy to flow in and out of you without the limiting factors of fears. Easier said, than done, I know.

Most of us come into the world with past-life fears bundled into our soul energy, and in our present lives our fears are wrapped-up in different forms. A pattern develops, and it is up to us to find out how to unweave the threads and set the energy free. We are, like my friend Karen Kubicko (who is writing a book on her past lives) likes to say, living in a classroom called Life.  When we master a lesson, or fear, we let go of the restrictions it creates. Sometimes this takes many lifetimes.

For example, I have had several lifetimes (I currently know of at least 4), where I have experienced disempowerment on a fairly large scale. In one of my earliest lifetimes I was a male healer in a clan where my abilities were a threat, and jealousy also arose regarding my love interest. I was murdered by a severe blow to the head. Later, I had a life as a male eunuch, literally emasculated via castration. In my most recent past life (that I am aware of), I tried to flee from, and was eventually caught, and likely killed by the Nazis in WWII. The trauma of this ordeal used to haunt my childhood dreams in the form of a reoccurring nightmare of trying to flee from an unseen monster in a dark forest of pines. In my child-mind, I formed new characters based on my present life fears.

In one of my lives as a writer, my written words were used against me. In this current life, it took me years to garner the courage to write and share my words, and, to this day, I have no urge to keep a daily journal.

We carry not only our past lives with us, but also the lives of our ancestors. I come from a lineage of women (and some men) afraid to speak their truths, unsure of their voices because they have learned to doubt them, and have often been harmed when they have tried to speak with the conviction of their hearts.

With just this information, you could hardly be surprised to learn that one of my challenges in this life is using my voice/personal power with assertion and confidence. I chose as a young child to err on the side of silence, and still try to avoid conflict whenever possible. Yet, despite my best efforts, I still sometimes attract what I most fear. We all do.

Bullies have appeared in my path since before I was born, happy to take the power that I too freely give away. We get back what we send out. If we live in a state of victimhood, people projecting an over-abundance of masculine energy will cross our path and happily take away our power. They may not project this “bully” behavior towards everyone, but they will when they meet someone who is an energetic magnetic to this energy.

I’m not such an easy target as I used to be, but this stepping into my personal power has not occurred without effort and much healing work. In this process of healing, I have learned to look at people differently.

Most of us, at some point, or at various points in our lives, have a desire to change another person so that s/he will love or like us more, or vice-versa. When I am honest with myself, I can think of few people whom I have not wanted to change in some way, and at some point during my relationship with them.

When we have a desire to change someone else, our soul is really asking for us to change, or heal, something within ourselves. This relates to the idea that those who live peaceful lives of acceptance, like the Buddha, have no need or desire to try to change the world around them, including the people they encounter. Peace comes from within.

So how do we let go of that need/desire for change in others? Usually what we want to change in one person is repeated in another form in someone else. A pattern develops, and just when we think we’ve rid ourselves of a particular type of person/problem, that person/problem appears in another form. This happens because you have agreed to work on that challenge in this life, and it will not disappear until you have mastered it.

Often, those people who are triggering a negative reaction in you, have made a soul contract with you to help you over-come, or release this challenge, and your contract will only be released when the lesson is learned, and the energetic attachment is set free. Sometimes you both need to learn from each other.

This idea has helped me immensely, and has caused my perception of “difficult” or “challenging” people in my lives to change. I, in essence, view everyone as a teacher, sometimes I know I am their teacher, and accept this as my role in their lives, but most often I see how I can learn from my experiences with the energy they project that is challenging for me. Now, I ask myself what the lesson is for me, and how can I garner the most learning from a particular experience or interaction.

When I react impulsively, in a way that I will later regret, I look at the fear-based energy that is restricting the flow of freedom within me. Why is it still resisting this flow? Usually, more internal work needs to be done, but I have been given a gift. The gift of another try. We need not beat ourselves up when patterns repeat, instead we should remember the difficult challenges/lessons we have agreed to take on in our lives.

What happens when you have a family member who serves as a difficult teacher for you in this life, causing your relationship to be strained. It can be like a constant reminder of your fears, which isn’t always pleasant for both parties involved. I have two children, and, if you ask my daughter, my eldest, who I favor, she would tell you her brother. Perhaps not an easy concept to admit as a parent, as I believe most of us like to think we love and treat our children in an equal manner.

Although my love for my daughter knows no bounds, she is, without a doubt, one of my greatest teachers in this life. We made a soul contract going into this life, she didn’t have to reincarnate again, but she did, for me, my husband and my son. She is an incredible gift. Yet, she is infinitely challenging for all of us! Her power center and voice are strong and sure, she speaks her mind with conviction, often relentlessly. She tests my patience and my strength daily. I need her in my life, and she knows it. I can’t imagine a greater gift of love.

If our teachers were always kind and compassionate, would we learn to over-come our deepest struggles? Although my daughter is still a child, she knows, in the way she can understand, that she is a teacher for me. It can be frustrating, I realize, when the other person does not remember their soul-contract with you in this life. I have those people around me too, and sometimes my contract with them has been filled, but they have not fulfilled their contract with me.

Should this change how we perceive challenging people, or how we interact with them? Probably not. We have two logical options: we can free them from their soul-contracts in this life by cutting our energetic cords with them, or we can keep them as teachers. Ending our present-life contracts often result in ending our present day relationships with these people, and we should not view this as a failure, as our soul will know that this is what is best for both parties involved. We have simply done enough, it’s time to move on, it’s time to release the strained energy.

Or, we can choose to continue to teach and learn from them. Even though I have fulfilled my soul-contract obligations with some of my family members, I still learn from them, and I am hoping they, in their way, learn from me. They still serve to remind me of what I need to heal within, and where my energy tends to constrict.

I believe that when we learn a life lesson, the triggers for it abate. A pattern of “challenging” encounters with people either go away, or the effects they have on us change. When the peace within us is bright enough, nothing can take away its light.

Please feel free to share your own thoughts and experiences, and if you have a healing-related topic you would like me to blog about, please let me know.

The (Healing) Weight of Water

On By Alethea KehasIn Dreams, Energy Healing, Gaia & Elementals6 Comments
Healing Waters
Healing Waters

I fell asleep to water. Outside the walls of my home, a storm of thunder and lightning raged its energy, working to cleanse the atmosphere of the heavy humidity from the day. On the shelf beside my bed was the just closed book by Sue Vincent and Dr. G. Michael Vasey, The Mystical Hexagram. My left hand rested on the arm of my husband, as I silently sent energies to lift the heavy weight of water I felt within him, knowing as I did, that what one sees or feels in others, one also has within.

There is a reason that water is both heavy and healing. It is the element that both stores our emotions and releases them when we are ready. Have you ever noticed how some people appear heavier than others, not just physically, but emotionally. That idea of “carrying the weight of the world,” on one’s shoulders, or at least the weight of the past. An imbalance, or (dis)ease, within the body is usually the result of stored emotions.

We are made mostly of water, that element of emotions. So is the earth. Just like us, Earth needs to cleanse and release when density builds. Sometimes, like last night, she cries fierce tears. It behooves us to do the same. Sometimes we need to weep, or have a “good fit,” of release, in order to heal and rid our bodies of our stored emotions. When we do, we feel better, we feel lighter. After Earth weeps, the air we breathe is less dense.

In my dreams, I was standing inside my house with my husband, watching lines of water pour through the roof. A discouraging dream, you might say, but it became one of empowerment. There was the tiger who leapt from the shelf, filling the room with the energy of creation and power.  Out of the emotional element of water, we can create. Sometimes this takes a spark of fire – the element that overlaps the triangle of water to create the “mystical hexagram” that Sue and Dr. Vasey have written a book about.

In Tarot, the element of water is often portrayed with the chalice – a symbol of feminine wisdom and creation. The Queen of Cups in the Rider deck is one of my favorite cards, it shows us that anything is possible when we go within and create from those sacred waters of the soul.

Rider Queen of Cups
Rider Queen of Cups

To do this, we need to release, to bring forth those energies stored within the water of our emotions, and us them to create our individual gifts, such are writing, art, music, etc. This is where life emerges out of stagnation. Consider a vernal pool holding winter’s melt. The life that is birthed within those still waters does not stay for long. Compare this to a lake continually fed by the moving waters of a mountain river. Here, oxygenated life flourishes and cycles repeatedly through the phases of birth, death and rebirth.

Close your eyes and imagine standing near, or in, a stagnant pool of water, then a lake, a river, a waterfall and the ocean. The energy of water changes profoundly. What is the water in your body like?

When I woke at 2:40am, I needed to pee. Quite literally I had the urge to relieve myself of the water held inside my bladder. You could also say that I was clearing the water of that leaking house in my dream. Although I have done a lot of healing of myself, with the help of some wonderful healers, I am not wholly free of the clutches of water. Sometimes it builds and calls for release.

We not only carry the water of our own emotions, we literally carry the water of the World’s. Our bodies are made from Earth’s elements, we require these shared energies to sustain our existence, recycling our waste to be reused in another form, in another body that shares our home. Water cycles through bodies, it travels through the ground and is expired into the air as vapor. The element collects into clouds and comes back down with gravity. Water remembers where its been, it can only exist when it joins with other water molecules.

In this way, water carries both weight and wisdom. When we learn how to work with the emotional element of water, we become gifted creators and healers. We rediscover, or release, hidden truths and wisdom. Water can carry us to the fiercest places within, and it can also cleanse us of our sorrows and fears, especially when we add a little light.

After The Storm
After A Storm

“Say What You Need to Say” #speakyourtruth #thyroiddisease

On By Alethea KehasIn Animal Messengers, Dreams, Energy Healing, Memoir, Reflections6 Comments

I turned off the light the other night after reading the following passage spoken by Agnes Whistling Elk in Lynn V. Andrews’ book Jaguar Woman, “‘Children are told to speak when spoken to. We as women are taught that to speak of our power is to be shunned by most of society. When you listen to the voices of many men and women you hear a strangled sound. And it’s no wonder. Women’s voices are often weak or a monotone or barely audible. Voices need to be open and free, so that energy can flow through the throat center. We hold our enlightenment there. If energy is trapped in the throat, it can’t move up into the crown of the head. That’s why we get sore throats, thyroid problems, or diseases such as throat cancer. Whenever you have an energy knot like that, it will eventually cause disease.'” (70)

Agnes and the narrator go on to discuss how this concept of trapped energy pertains to disorders in other areas of the human body, but this is where I ended my reading for the night. It was the message I needed to “hear.” After closing the book and placing it on my dresser, the lyrics “Say What You Need to Say” by John Mayer played over like a stuck record inside of my head.

The message from Spirit was clear and obvious, but the concept itself is complex. When I was about 24- years-old, I was diagnosed with thyroid disease. To be more precise, hypothyroidism, which means my thyroid was under-active. I was not surprised. Thyroid disease, after all, runs in my family on my mother’s side. She has it, her sister has it, my sister has it, and the list likely goes on. I have an old photograph of great aunts, five sisters posing in pretty dresses that hug their enlarged, goitered throats.

At 24, I thought my thyroid disease was a cause of bad genetics, I neglected to consider the environmental triggers. I didn’t realize I was holding a knot of energy trapped in my throat. All I knew was that I was destined to take a hormone to supplement my deficiency for the rest of my life, and that if I had children, especially daughters, it was likely they would suffer the same fate. This is what I was told, this is what I believed to be true.

I was wrong, thankfully. Over the past several years, I have witnessed the breaking down of the truths that were the foundation for my early life. Not a day goes by that I am not thankful I set foot on this path to spiritual truth. As Agnes states in Jaguar Woman, we heal ourselves, sometimes through the facilitation of others. Awhile ago a psychic told me I would cure, or heal, my thyroid disorder. I’m still getting there. I’ve lowered my dose, but not a lot. I wrote my memoir, but I still have not sent it out wholly and fearlessly into the world. And, I still don’t always “say what I need to say.”

What does that mean? How does the individual who is used to being silenced, often through many lifetimes, clear the trapped, stagnant energy in her throat? It’s not about avenging past wrongs, it’s not about anger or rage and it’s not a matter of turning into a person driven by aggression. I have lived most of this life trying to avoid conflict, assuming that if I were to speak my truths at certain moments, especially when dealing with aggressive people, I would face a verbal battle or worse. Silence became a way of life for me; a life, it seems, not so easy to change.

I still have moments when I flee a room in tears, unable to form the words caught in the web of energy inside my throat.  Sometimes we heal “miraculously,” sometimes we heal by small steps with a few leaps and bounds. In Jaguar Woman, Agnes cures the beginnings of disease in the narrator’s throat by using shamanic healing to help her free the image of a black crow Andrews sees trapped in her throat. The crow tells Andrews, “You need to remember the importance of saying what you need to say.” (66)

The words that we need to say come from that place of truth inside of our soul.  As Meyer sing, “from a heart wide open.” Our true voice is the clear, bold, yet compassionate voice of the spirit, stripped of the fears of ego. It is the release of constriction from fear’s hands at the present moment, for it does little good to move back to the past in an attempt to alter a situation that has already occurred. The energy has already been lost, or wasted. The moment cannot be fully recovered.

Later in the day, while driving my children into town, I turned on the radio at the moment “Free Bird,” by Lynyrd Skynyrd was playing. Spirit likes using this song as a call to action for me. It’s not an accident that a healthy throat chakra vibrates in the color of a cloudless blue sky, the color of a robin’s egg in spring. And, yes, I saw a robin when I walked out the door of my house in the morning, boldly baring its orange chest to the world and pointing its yellow beak to me.

Salamander, Tarot and the Element of Fire #tarot #salamandersymbolism

On By Alethea KehasIn Animal Messengers, Energy Healing, Gaia & Elementals, Reflections, Tarot/Oracle Readings32 Comments

salamander

Those of you who study Tarot will know that the image of the salamander appears on 3 cards of the Rider deck, all in the suit of wands – representing the element of fire. The salamander, though, is shown only on the “royalty” cards, and not on all 4.
Rider Page of Wands
In the Page of Wands, we see a young person contemplating the growth that is sprouting from his wand, which he holds like a staff, ready to embark upon a journey.  He wears a yellow tunic (symbolic of the 3rd chakra – the power center),  which is covered in salamanders curving toward circles. Under the tunic, the Page has on orange leggings, the same color as the lining of his cloak.

Rider Knight of Wands

The next card in the line of royalty, the Knight of Wands, depicts a knight riding a steed, presumably towards battle. Again, we see a yellow tunic with salamanders, some of which are now forming complete circles, connecting tails to heads. The figure has moved from the point of contemplation that we see in the Page card, to action. The color orange, symbolic of the 2nd, or sacral, chakra, appears on the steed, as well as in flaming plumes emerging from the Knight’s back and head.

The 2nd chakra is where we house the energy of creation, both sexual and artistic. From this energy center, which exists between our tailbone and our solar plexus, we give birth to our unique gifts. When our 2nd chakra is healthy, we  glow with the fire of creation. We have a healthy and satisfying sexual life, and are manifesting our innate creative gifts.

The salamander has long been considered the animal symbol of fire.  Some species of salamander, the type we associate with the elemental symbol of fire, are a bright orange. Often we see them appear in the woods, or upon our walking paths, after it has rained and the earth is still damp. These silent, harmless creatures, look like curls of flame on the forest floor, and we must watch our step carefully so as not to tread on them.

The lithe body of the salamander also evokes the element of fire with its ability to bend and twist with stealth-like ease as it crawls across the ground.  Its moist skin reminds us that fire often needs the element of water to temper its heat. When we have too much fire energy inside of us, we can literally feel a burning in our second chakra. Sometimes this burning is a call to put our creative gifts into action, sometimes it reminds us of a balance lost.  When an individual has suffered sexual abuse, or is sexually obsessed (which can be a side-effect of sexual abuse), the second chakra will often appear over-inflamed.

With the second chakra, as with any of our energy centers, it is always a question of finding that healthy balance. An over-expressed chakra can create havoc, while a stagnant chakra can lead to lethargy. In the case of the second chakra in particular, a loss of appetite for pleasure and a lack of vibrancy in one’s aura can result.

When I opened up my deck of Rider Tarot cards I was initially surprised to see that the image of the salamander appeared on the Page, Knight and King (image later in post) cards, but not on the Queen.

Rider Queen of Wands

Unlike in your average deck of cards, the King in Tarot does not “trump” the Queen card. In fact, I often find that the Queen cards symbolize a more balanced energy representative of the suit. In the Queen of Wands in the Rider deck, we find a woman/queen sitting on a throne with her legs relaxed and spread out to the sides. Her “relaxed” posture shows us that her 2nd chakra is unrestricted.

The animals featured in the card include the lion, fox, and cat. Two of the three lions are yellow, as is the robe and crown of the queen, symbolic of the 3rd charka, the seat of our inner power. The fox is red/orange, evoking the 1st and 2nd chakras – another indication of the comfortable, fearless aura of the queen. In her hands she holds her wand (in bloom) and a sunflower – a symbol of the birth of one’s creative and sexual self (the fertilized seed’s growth into a flower). Then there’s the black cat, sitting at her feet. When I was at Goddard College, I took a tarot workshop with Rachel Pollack, and I remember her telling us that she associates herself with the Queen of Wands card.

Once, when Pollack was giving tarot workshops overseas, a black cat suddenly appeared and sat at her feet while she spoke, then, just as quietly, left when she was finished. The cat, especially the black cat, is associated with feminine mystery and magic. One can’t help but feel the feminine and creative power of this card, yet it is not overwhelming or threatening.Rider King of Wands

Now, maybe it’s just me, but the figure in the King of Wands card looks a bit disgruntled, and dare I say a bit angry. Although he is seated, he looks as though he is getting ready to stand, his gaze turned toward an unknown source that may be troubling him. His left hand (the hand that held the sunflower in the Queen of Wands), is partially clenched and the arm is pulled back as though prepping to support the king to stand.

The element of fire is everywhere in the picture. The King’s hair is a red/orange, as is his dress. His yellow crown bares tips that look like flames, and the salamander has reappeared. Instead of a cat at his feet, we see a salamander off to the side. On the back of his throne, and on the outer layer of his cloak, there are salamanders curled into circles. One can’t help but think that the king has not only mastered this element, but perhaps has over-mastered it to the point where there is an imbalance, or too much heat, in the second chakra.

Twice in recent days, an orange salamander has appeared on my path. Its small, flame-like body reminding me to go within and assess the 2nd chakra energies that are calling for balance, for voice, and for healing. It’s a reminder that sometimes  we need a bit of fire to burn off the emotional element of water, and to spur our desires into action. My salamander, after all, came after rain.

Robin: The Bird of (Re)birth #robins #robinsymbolism #robintotem #rebirth #sacralchakra #throatchakra

On By Alethea KehasIn Animal Messengers, Energy Healing6 Comments

Robin

The American Robin is considered by many to be a harbinger of spring. When the robin returns to its summer home in the spring, it gets to work building a nest with its mate and laying a brood of beautiful, sky-blue eggs. It is also one of the first birds to sing at dawn, harkening the new day with its melodious voice.

The robin, in many respects, is a bird of beginnings, of birth, and of the rebirth of the true, creative self. Upon its proud chest, robin shamelessly displays the color orange. Although robins are considered to have a “red-breast,” the color is really a deep orange, the vibration of the second, or sacral chakra. Orange and the second chakra are symbolic of our creative and sexual drives. This wheel of energy stirs us into action, and when balanced and healthy,  enables us to live our creative truths without worry of how we will be received by the world.

When I see robin, the bird always inspires a sense of awe and reverence. Standing erect and confident on the ground, where it digs through the body of Earth for sustenance, robin appears a master of the self. The robin has no doubt who s/he is, unafraid to sing in full-throated beauty the first song of the morning.

The robin births eggs in the spring in the color of the cloudless sky, making the robin a creator of truth and a teacher for a healthy throat chakra. The throat chakra is the fifth chakra in the set of seven primary chakras in the body. It is closely tied to the second chakra. When we are able to create freely from that seat of orange energy, we need to be able to bring it up through our throats, where we express our truths with compassion and confidence.

Near the end of last summer, on the first day of returning to school for my children, I experienced a day of magical peace and communion with nature. It had been a difficult summer for me, not because the kids were home, although that presents its own set of challenges and gifts, last summer was a time of transition for me. I was emerging into the field of energy healing, and was getting ready to finish up my memoir and start sending it out to the world. I was feeling called to release old fears and habits that were no longer serving me. Part of this releasing was letting go of relationships that were no longer in alignment with who I was, and my upper back, neck and shoulders were suffering the struggle to unburdan an old, heavy load.

feather

That day at the end of August, after I sent my children off on the bus, I was able to decompress and live in the moment in a way I had not been able to for a long time. I spent the beautiful sun-filled day with my dogs walking in the woods and sitting outside. Many birds appeared to me, including a hummingbird, flicker, and robin. For a long time I watched these individual birds and took in the lessons they had to offer. Robin sat in a maple tree in my front yard, toward the middle of the afternoon shortly before the kids were due off the bus. I had my camera with me all day, and I captured the bird on the branch, then watched as it released a single feather, which swirled with gravity toward the earth beside where I sat. A gift, it seemed.

Spirit sometimes speaks to us with feathers, offering them to us as a gesture of hope and reassurance that we are a part of a great, universal love that is so vast and infinite we can hardly comprehend it in our human form. I am often reluctant to take feathers from the Earth when I see them, for there is also the belief that one should not take from Earth what one does not need, or belongs to someone else. Sometimes, though, the gifts are so overt one is pulled to accept them. That day, as I gently lifted the fallen feather, feeling the vibration of the robin’s energy still humming inside, I knew I had been given a precious gift. A gift of new birth and beginnings. It’s been quite a journey.

The Butterfly in the Heart #heartchakra #healing #unconditionallove #butterflysymbolism

On By Alethea KehasIn Animal Messengers, Energy Healing5 Comments

butterflyinheart

All of our healing comes back to the heart. The heart chakra is the seat of our soul, and our connection to the divine energies of the universe. When we have a healthy heart chakra, we radiate pure, unconditional love and open ourselves to the return of this love.

When we experience pain, betrayal, and fear, especially during our formative years when we are most vulnerable, we can learn to protect ourselves by closing off the heart chakra. When we are given love with conditions, or suffer abuse, we adopt the belief that we are unworthy of unconditional love, and that this pure, untethered love is obtainable. Instead, we look at love as something with limits, and build walls of protection around our own inner source of love so that we do not run out of its light.

This system of belief is not always easy to change. It takes security, trust, and faith. When we begin to live with a healthy, open heart chakra, we erase the fear of vulnerability and not being loved by another. We understand, with faith, that the energy we send out to the universe comes back to us in multiplied form. When we realize that we are worthy of unconditional love, we begin to see that love is limitless. From this place of heart-centered pure love, we attract the energy of joy, abundance, compassion and the gift of unconditional love from others. We become magnets for these energies, and are no longer an energetic match for fear, conditional love, and betrayal. This translates to the people we attract to us.

I associate the energy of the butterfly with the heart chakra. Often, during healing sessions, I will see butterflies emerging from the heart chakras of my clients as they shift into self-acceptance and let go of their conditioned fears. The energy of the butterfly is pure joy and freedom. It is beauty without limits. The butterfly teaches us that we have within us the power to transform ourselves, to shed the weight of density, and to grow our wings.

Waterfall Purification Meditation #waterfalls #waterhealing #healingmeditations #naturehealing

On By Alethea KehasIn Energy Healing, Gaia & Elementals, Meditations4 Comments

waterfallreleaseme

Have you ever stood beneath a waterfall? If you have, you will understand that there is something both sacred and powerful about the energy surrounding you. Waterfalls are portals for purification. The soul seeking light is drawn to the waterfall to release fears. Three years ago, on a trip to Oregon, I took these photographs. You will see that two of them are filled with orbs. Some of these orbs are souls in transition, seeking out the purifying energies of the waterfall to cleanse and release the fears accumulated during their lifetimes before they make the transition into Light. We, in human form, are drawn to waterfalls for the same reason, to cleanse and release our emotional bodies, whether we are acutely aware of it or not. When you look at these photographs, you will also see orbs bringing healing light energy into the space (often in rainbowed hues), while other orbs are working to absorb this energy (notice the dull colored orbs that are not fully round).
transmutemyfears

You do not need to stand under a waterfall to feel its energy (although I highly recommend doing so when you have the opportunity), instead you can enter this healing portal through meditation. A great time to cleanse your emotional body is during the waxing, or full moon, whose energy works naturally with the rhythm of the tides and the water element. Many people, as they become aware of the cycle of the moon, will notice a pattern to the cycle of their emotional bodies. As the full moon builds, you may feel the pull to release fears that no longer serve you, and this waterfall meditation will help you to do so.

As you prepare for meditation, find a comfortable place to sit, lie down, or if you have the privilege of working with a waterfall directly, you may wish to sit or stand underneath it. Wherever you are, find a safe place to go within and connect to Earth and the element of water.

Close your eyes and take three deep belly-breaths. With each exhale, allow your breath to come out in a long, drawn-out “Ahhhhhh,” or imagine this sound if you do not feel comfortable uttering it in your space. With each breath you are bringing your fears to the surface and exhaling them with the “Ahhhhhh.” You need not dwell on what these fears are, just allow your body to release and prepare for meditation.

After your three releasing breaths, allow your body to relax into a meditative state. Your breathing is now calm and quiet as you enter the portal of your waterfall. You may use these images, or allow your own waterfall to materialize inside of your mind if you are not meditating beside or under one. Know that you are in a sacred place of healing. The water spirits and angels in this portal are here to protect you, surrounding you with their protective energies of light, as well as working with you to release and transmute your fears.

Draw upon all of your senses to enhance your experience. Imagine that it is a warm day. Your body is bare, yet it is warm like the air around you. Gently allow your emotions to come up, and without judgement allow them to pass through your body and make their way to to the surface of your skin where they are lovingly washed away by the falling water.  You might see your emotions manifest as scenes so that you understand where they originated. Allow each one to appear in form, and as it appears feel the cooling drumbeat of the waterfall on your body. Hear its rhythm. Smell the fresh, cleansing body of water as it falls on your skin. Each drop, each drumbeat, is taking your particular fear, or unwanted emotion, from the surface of your body, where you have brought it for release to carry it down to Earth.

While you are standing under the waterfall, cleansing, you might want to visualize the transmutation of your fear(s) into an emotion or scene that brings you joy. As you do this, you will feel the energy shift and become lighter. Stand in your waterfall for as long as you feel drawn to, allowing whatever emotions that need cleansing to surface and be released. Know that there are both divine energies as well as Earth energies working with you, along with the water spirits, helping you to take way your fears. Some fears will release effortlessly into the light, lifting into that divine energy of the universe, while others may be draw with the droplets of water into Earth to be mulched and recycled into new growth. Imagine these fears finding their new life as they are broken down by the powerful, unconditional love of Mother Earth, who is willing to take their energy and transform it into new life.

Inside her womb, Earth is filled with crystals caves, where healing is enhanced. Perhaps you will find yourself drawn into one as you use these powerful energy center to cleanse and recharge your cells. Imagine your cave filled with the crystals of your choosing. Perhaps your cave is studded with purple amethysts, or the soft hues of rose quartz. Maybe it is filled with clear crystals. Whatever you imagine is right for your healing at this moment. Reside inside this cave for a few moments, soaking in the healing energy it offers.

When you are ready, bring your awareness back to your body. Feel the Earth or floor firmly supporting you and slowly move your body and gently go on your day.

sacredpurification

Next time you are fortunate enough to find yourself in the presence of a waterfall, do give yourself the gift of its energy. Take time to be beside or under the falling water. Breathe and release. Notice the shifts you experience, notice the energy around you. Chances are, you will not be alone, and what a wonderful gift to share with other souls seeking rejuvenation.

Updated August 25, 2015

Crow – A Trickster Totem? #crowtotem #crowsymbolism #crowmessenger

On By Alethea KehasIn Animal Messengers, Energy Healing2 Comments

Frequently, during healing sessions with my clients, animal energies will appear as messengers or totems. Recently, a crow made its presence known by appearing on a woman’s left shoulder. I felt a chuckle escape from my mouth, clearly this one was a bit of a trickster.

Often, our bird totems will perch themselves on our shoulders and travel with us throughout our days. They offer us guidance and wisdom even when we don’t know they are there, much like our spirit guides do. In fact, I view them as spirit guides specialized in the energetic characteristics of the particular animal they represent. As I told my client, sometimes they come and go as needed, sometimes they are with us for the span of our lifetime. I think crow, in her case, was what you might call a primary totem animal. Her shoulder was even fatigued from its weight.

Although she could not “feel” the fatigue and muscle strain the way I could, it was significant that it was there. Crow as a totem animal guide can be a bit complex and mischievous, much like its counterpart appears in nature. They are smart survivors, and will go through any means of trickery needed to get to their desired goal.

Watch for crows in nature. You will often find them perched on the top of trees as sentinels, looking for opportunities. Their black, feathered bodies evoke the energy of mystery and magic. Their piercing eyes mirror wisdom. They are adaptable birds. Crows find the means to survive in any situation they encounter. When needed, they work together to locate food sources, even if it means stealing from another animal. Their diet is not limited, they’ll eat pretty much anything at hand. They’ll even turn on each other, if a circumstance threatens their individual survival.

At other times, crows act together, using sentinels and messengers to relay information regarding food sources and danger. Listen to the crow’s voice and you cannot help but feel its power. It is not a pleasant sound, like a songbird’s, but it holds an undeniable strength. When a crow passes overhead, even if it is silent, one may feel the impulse to shiver. Yes, there is mystery in the crow, which often pulls us to the place of magic and secrets.

Black is considered the color of creation, and the feminine energies of the universe. As Ted Andrews points out in Animal Speak, black represents the womb where new birth occurs. The crow, as a totem animal, can help us with this aspect of ourselves, showing us how to go within to find our inner magic and to pull out hidden gifts.

In the case of my client, the crow on her shoulder had been with her for some time, helping her to survive, but not always ethically. It was time to shift the crow’s energy, and I urged her to shake the crow off its perch from time to time, and let if fly around, switch shoulders, etc. Since she has already done much healing, I have no doubt my client will start working with crow in a new way, using its energetic gifts to delve into the truths of her soul, and use her intellect in ways that will bring light to not only herself, but to others.

Crow can draw us into the mysteries of the womb and stir it to life, but we must take care to ensure that we bring those gifts into the light in a means that will offer more than personal gain.

Love

On By Alethea KehasIn Energy Healing, Memoir, Reflections4 Comments

It’s one of those words that is as complex as it is simple. Love. Last night, in the moments before sleep, I thought about love, and what it has meant to me in this lifetime. Overcome by a sudden wave of emotion, I realized my soul was asking me to release still more of the dense energy that I have accumulated as a barrier to allowing a complete, unobstructed flow of love energy.

Although I work with the energy of love to heal others, I am also still healing myself. Even though love is the ultimate state and expression of the free soul, many of us carry with us the energy of fear. We are, quite simply, afraid to open up completely into what our egos tell us is the vulnerable state of love. We fear rejection. We fear that we will give love unconditionally and it will not be returned, or worse, we fear we will be betrayed by our love. Our fear creates patterns that are hard to break.

As a child I accepted that love was something that must be earned, even at the sacrifice of my inner truth. I wanted, like all children do, to be loved at all costs. To whom I gave my love to was a choice that I thought was not my own. As a result, love turned into a concept that was muddy and confusing. Love, for me, was complex and dangerous, and it often resulted in pain.

I traded love in for loyalty. I traded love to survive. Yet, still I loved in my desperate and silent way, sacrificing my inner-self along the way. I found myself loving the “wrong” family members, the “wrong” pet, the “wrong” friends and the “wrong” boys, and as a result I welcomed in the greedy energy of betrayal and pain. I was an easy target. When we consistently send out the message of, “I love you, but I must not deserve your love in return,” or “I want to love you, but I am afraid to,” we cannot fully receive the pure energy of love without the trappings of fear.

Through fear we impose a complexity to love that does not exist when love is in its pure, unconditional form. Although love is the highest, purest frequency of energy that exists, it often takes great courage to live in it fully. We, as humans, have complicated our world with fear and all its restraints and conditions. Breaking away from them can make us feel vulnerable, when, in reality, it opens up our inner strengths. It frees our trapped voices. It leads us to our pure, divine, essence.

When we embrace the truth that love is our truth; that love is our divine right to give and receive in pure form, we open ourselves to all of its gifts. Through the family I have created I have learned (and am still learning) this lesson. Love ripples back. It attracts to equal frequency. Pure, unconditional love, frees the soul’s truth. When we get there, we realize there are no constraints. We realize that there is no rejection or pain. We realize that it does not matter that our love cannot always be “returned” to match our frequency, not because we are unlovable, but because a fear exists that may not be our own.

Love, in reality, opens doors, it breaks barriers. When we live in the frequency of love, we free not only ourselves, but raise the collective energy of the world, helping to release the sticky web of fear.