Where Energy Flows

Creating an abundance altar in your home or on your property is a great idea during these times of recession.

When creating an altar intention is very important.  Begin by identifying what abundance, wealth, and prosperity means to you personally.  This is a definition beyond Webster’s dictionary.  Once you have a clear meaning for abundance, wealth and prosperity, you can begin to clarify your intention for your abundance altar. The time and energy that you take to define abundance, wealth, and prosperity is worth the effort as you will begin to accept that your definition may not mean abundance to another person. Identify what kind of life do you want to live. Identify what is important to you in your life.

Once you identify your definition for abundance and what kind of life you want to live, look for symbols that will hold these definitions for you.  For instance the energy of Buffalo (the American Bison) is a symbol of abundance for many Native American Nations.  I have a statute of a Buffalo with her calf on my abundance altar.  (I am Prairie Band Potawatomi and my Nation takes the stewardship of the Buffalo so seriously that we have a herd on our reservation to stay connected with the Wisdom of Buffalo.)  The symbol of Buffalo means health and vitality, life force, to many Native peoples. Not only did it provide sustenance but Buffalo also provided shelter - a home, clothing and luxuries.  The Annishabe Nation, you may know this Nation as the Ojibiwa Nation, may use the symbol of wild rice in their definition of abundance.  Your symbol of abundance needs to mean something to you in order for the symbol to have power.

Consider placing your abundance altar in the Wealth area of your home for the maximum assistance from your home to support your intentions, life goals and desires.

As you place thoughtful items on your abundance altar, consider including a symbol of your personal business or career.  This symbol of your personal business or career may be your business card or a brochure. You may even want to write out your intention on a beautiful card to place on your altar. 

As you receive payment for service to your clients or have your paycheck automatically deposited, place the payment or your payroll receipt on the abundance altar for a few days so that you may show your gratitude and also bless the payment.

I would also suggest placing a candle of your favorite color and scent on the altar. You may want to research the energetic qualities of colors (see Deborah Redfern’s IA blog articles about color) and the energetic qualities of certain flower essence or essential oils scents to add another layer of intention to your abundance altar.

On my abundance altar, I have a candle with the essence of Angel Wings, a lingam stone placed in a red glass bowl filled with sand so that the lingam can stand upright. I also have citrine stones which are known as the merchant stone for abundance. And, I have my business card in a prominent place on the altar as well. 

Each time I light the candle I have in my mind and heart all that I am grateful for and that I am open to all the positive abundance and prosperity flowing to me from Spirit.

May your abundance altar energize your home and hold the intentions for your life as Chi or life force energy flows through your home, may your altar receive the attention from the Universe. 

© Copyright Yvette Neshi Lokotz, August 2008, All Rights Reserved.

When filling your vehicle with petroleum, gasoline, means paying substantially more than this time last year, we have to wonder how can we approach these times of recession in a more positive way. As Interior Alignment™ practitioners and teachers we have the ability and tools to assist our clients with supportive feng shui and space clearing techniques to achieve this goal.

How can feng shui and space clearing help me pay for my full tank of gasoline?  Well it starts well before filling the gas tank. Now more than ever we need to be clear about our thoughts and intentions. Having a clear intention about what kind of life do we want to live and what is important to us in this life is the foundation for creating that life we wish for.  It is times such as these that help really identify what is important to us, such as being financially secure or having a fulfilling peaceful life. Once we are clear about our intentions, then it is our emotions behind thoughts that support or rather fuel the intentions to bring them into the physical world.  This is also the basis of the Law of Attraction. When we have this clear intention, emotions and thoughts then we turn to feng shui to help turn our homes and work spaces into areas that can support these intentions.

First we ensure life force energy is invited and welcomed into our home-mouth of chi which is our front door. Second, that life force energy can flow through each of the rooms of our home and energize critical areas that hold our intentions and spend more time and energy there (abundance altars). Third, we ensure that the natural elements (fire, air, wood, earth, metal) energy is balanced to be in harmony with nature. Fourth, that yin and yang energies are balanced so that those opposing energies in nature are balanced in our home. When we have these items in balance, then our home is ready and able to help us to create what we desire.

Space Clearing is the otherside of the Interior Alignment™ coin. Once the feng shui is in place, then a space clearing to remove unwanted energies that are no longer useful to us can be released. The template is set through the clear intention, the feng shui supports the intention, space clearing clears blocks to energy flowing to that intention. Space clearing brings all the aspects of the Universe to help support your intention through prayer and ceremony. Your home becomes a sacred space that supports the life you intend to live as you and your home are in balance with all of nature and Universe.

What is your intentions for your life and are what are you emotions around your intentions? Its time to seriously know what you want from life.

© Yvette Neshi Lokotz, August 2008. All Rights Reserved.

Moving into a new home can be unsettling. There is the confusion of unplaced furniture and boxes to be unpacked, and trying to work out how things work. You can feel like a guest or interloper.

To feel more settled you can perform a blessing ceremony for grounding. This will help you put down roots and firmly establish your intention for your new home. Your intention is the quality you wish to have in your life while you live in this house, such as feeling at peace, feeling focused while studying or revitalizing relationships.

To perform the ceremony, have the people living in the house write down their intentions on a small piece of paper. Place the pieces of paper in a heat-proof vessel, such as a stone bowl. Take the vessel outside and burn the paper to ashes. Tongs are helpful here. Take care if you live in an area with fire risk.

Allow your intentions to take root by scattering the ashes in the four corners of the garden. The ashes will be washed into the soil by rain, adding nourishment. Alternatively, scatter the ashes around a tree. Imagine the ashes nourishing the tree’s roots, and the roots growing deeper into the earth.

You can also call upon the tree to act as a mentor for your intentions. Spend time sitting under the tree in deep contemplation. Ask the tree the next step on the path towards your intended outcome. Notice any colors, sounds, feelings or images that come to you. You may also notice a sign, such as an animal totem, or someone mentioning something later in the day.

People without gardens may like to watch out for my future blog on grounding with crystals.

Copyright Helen Harvey, 2008. All rights reserved

Today is such a beautiful and glorious day here in Wisconsin. The final bits of snow have melted and we have a sunny blue skies day. In fact this is a Wisconsin kind of a day. We have 71 degrees with no humidity, the sun is out, the sky is cloudless and brilliant blue. Another good reason it is a beautiful day is I can actually open the windows to ask the Spirit of Air to freshen up my home.

For me the Spirit of Air dwells in the East. I think about how much I connect with the Spirit of Air. In the ascension courses I teach we spend quite of time on breath work and in my Interior Alignment™ Space Clearing work I use feathers, incense and sage bundles to assist as Spirit of Air. I love the smell of sage burning. In fact, each year the very first fire my husband and I have in our outdoor firepit, I give tobacco for all that we have and we are grateful for. I include pinches of cedar, sweetgrass and sage and smell the aroma of and watch as the smoke (the Spirit of Air) carries our prayers to the Creator.

When I perform space clearing ceremonies, my eagle feather, represents the Spirit of Air. I actually use two feathers (the name of my personal business) in space clearing ceremonies both are eagle feathers. One feather I use in the purification part of the ceremony and the other is my dance feather which I use when I dance in my Healing Dress for my clients at the end of the space clearing ceremony.  In my culture and in my clan, we believe that bird feathers carry the message and energy of the Creator. My eagle feather shaft is hollow which makes it is a clear conduit for divine energy. I pray that I too am the clear conduit for divine energy (the Creator’s energy) flow through me as it flows through my eagle feather.  My space clearing feather is simply adorned. I have only a deerhide leather tied on with a few beads. This simple adornment represents my belief in being humble as well as simple adornment means that the adornment doesn’t restrict my movement in a space clearing. 

Most times my primary space clearing tools are my elk hide hand drum, my eagle feather and my Healing Dress.  My drum breaks up stagnant and stuck energies (really shakes things up), my feather moves the stagnant energy remnants out, balances and smoothes out the positive energies.  My Healing Dress is to balance and smooth out the subtle energies and also gives a blessing to my clients.

When I teach the space clearing portion of Interior Alignment™ practitioner certification courses, we cover the Spirit of Air in section called the Alchemy of Air.  My students have the opportunity to feel what it is like to space clear with an eagle feather as this may be the one and only time they are able to have such experience. I am told by some students that the eagle feather vibrates or moves in their hand. This is such a special moment to connect with the Spirit of Air and the essence of Eagle.

May the Spirit of Air bring good tidings to you.

All Rights Reserved. Copyright, Yvette Neshi Lokotz, 2008.

Pachamama - Incan for Earth Mother, our beloved planet.
As we in the United States are preparing to celebrate Earth Day Tuesday 22 April, let’s all give thought to what we can do to help grow an even more beautiful planet for us and all future generations. Honoring Earth Mother gives value to your own life and the lives of everyone who lives here.

Pachamama is the basis of sweetness - in your honoring of Earth Mother in little things such as remembering to recycle everything possible with the services of your community - you help to enrich her sweetness. If we dis-honor her sweetness, Pachamama will be no more! 

We are beginning to see more and more signs on store doors, especially grocery stores, “Did You Remember Your Bags.”  So do you bring your bags? A collection of canvas bags is easy and inexpensive to come by these days, and generaly pays you back in a token refund at the checkout.

I’ve been drinking bottled water for decades - then a friend sent me a video showing plastic bottles on the shores of an un-personed remote island. The bottles were piled on the beaches having floated there from places unknown and I thought “Did one of mine get away and get into that pile!” In response, I’ve purchased a simple water filter - it has made life easier.

Since we all love gifts on our “Day!” perhaps honoring Earth Mother by planting a tree would be a perfect gift for her.  It would be a great experience to begin with the young ones in the family who can pass it on to the young ones in their families and so on for generations to come.

Love and Honor Pachamama, open your heart to her beautiful gardens and she will open doors for you.

Happy Earth Day! - Let’s make everyday Earth Day….

© Copyright Roberta Binder, 2008. All rights reserved.

At this moment, I am in Santa Fe New Mexico and traveling with me is my friend and fellow Interior Alignment™ Teacher, Neshi Lokotz.  It has been a sacred and fascinating journey…  and it has reinforced the way we both view travel as a mystical adventure! 

As Interior Alignment™  feng shui teachers, we have been attuned to the spirits of the land and observing the way the energy changes dramatically from place to place.  We have also taken time to visit the sacred sites along the way. 
 
We spent one day at the Petroglyph National Park and another full day at Chaco Canyon. These two sites are sacred ground and as we entered, Neshi performed a traditional tobacco giving ceremony, asking permission from the ancestors and the spirts of the land to enter. 

It was wonderful to experience the energy of the land and connect with those ancient people who were here before us.  We could sense the ceremonies that had been performed there and felt the presence of the Ancient Ones on many occassions.  A few time we even heard the sound of drums or heard the Ancient Ones laughing or singing. 

From the designs of the petroglyphs and the alignments of the ancient ceremonial kivas, it was clear that the ancient people had a deep awareness of their environment and watched the movements of the heavens. 

Visiting the petroglyphs and the kivas brings the ancient knowledge that we all carry to a more conscious level - we know it is here and available to us, when we listen.
 
We are still on the road, but wanted to share with you just a tiny bit of our journey so far.. Visit my photo gallery here. 

© Deb Swingholm 2008. All rights reserved.  

Did you ever think about how much easier getting up in the morning and preparing to go to work would be if it was done with Sacred Intention? Life in the fast lane can be…well, fast, but it can also be Sacred and Blessed - both for you and all those you come in contact with in a day.

Waking up with a smile on your face is step one. Let your first few waking minutes reflect on the wonderous pieces of your life about which you are in Gratitude. Take a few moments to reflect on the Passions you hold in your Heart. Give Thanks for all the Loving People you meet each day. Yum. Don’t you feel better already? Aren’t you ready to roll out of bed and prepare for the Sacred Work you do each day? Haven’t you set a more positive Intention? Watch how the day sails by…walk in the Beauty of your Blessed Sacred Work, filled with Powerful Intention.

 Be Peace.

© Roberta Binder, 2008. All rights reserved.