Comfort Zone

Dear Goddesses,

Monday evening, I went to a Soul Yoga class with my dear friend Dana. Although the class was mainly in Spanish – and unfortunately my Spanish skills are, well, not where they need to be – it was clear what the intention of the class was and so although I understood little of the words, I was clear with the intention. I decided to take a look at my relationship to abundance and my ability (or inability) to attract at this moment. And while we were doing the yoga movements, I noticed how incredibly stiff my body was, as if I was stretching from being in one position for too long. I looked at my body’s reaction to the movements and what it was that I wanted to transform, and I saw just how rigid my life has become – and so has my body. I saw how I was living in the box – of my own design. Another thing I recognized as we went into a pose resembling a frog, I was really struggling and I looked around and it seemed that with that particular pose everyone seemed at ease. I looked at their feet and I felt like I was doing the exact same thing, but then I happened to look down at my feet and while my right foot was solid on the ground, my left foot was totally crooked and my stance was completely narrow, where everyone else had this wide balanced stance. I couldn't help but see how this also connected to abundance - that I am not allowing myself the foundation, the ease in which to open and attract - again, I put myself into this very tight pose, expecting the same ease that everyone else was experiencing.

I thought it fit perfectly with the theme of justice – and how sometimes we set our lives in such a rigid way that we end up rebelling, or finding that according to our rigidness, we can’t “win” or experience success because we’re living by these harsh rules.

I was reading a little of Jack Canfield’s The Success Principles yesterday and chapter 10 is about releasing the brake. He used the analogy of driving with your parking brake on and when you realize that it is on, you don’t put your foot harder on the gas to go faster, you simply release the brake. And most of us are driving with a psychological emergency brake on and wondering how come we’re not getting to our destination fast enough. He related – my rigid box analogy as our safety zone.

I want to share with you a little blurb…

“Think of your comfort zone as a prison you live in – a largely self-created prison. It consists of the collection of can’ts, musts, must nots, and other unfounded beliefs formed from all the negative thoughts and decisions you hgave accumulated and reinforced during your lifetime…

A baby elephant is trained at birth to be confined to a very small space. Its trainer will tie its leg with a rope to a wooden post planted deep in the ground. This confines the baby elephant to an area determined by the length of the rope – the elephant’s comfort zone. Though the baby elephant will initially try to break the rope, the rope is too strong, and so the baby elephant learns that it can’t break the rope. It learns that it has to stay in the area defined by the length of the rope.

When the elephant grows up into a 5 ton colossus that could easily break the same rope, it doesn’t even try because it learned as a baby that it couldn’t break the rope. In this way, the largest elephant can be confined by the puniest little rope.

Perhaps this also describes you – still trapped in a comfort zone by something as puny and weak as the small rope and stake that controls the elephant, except your rope is made up of the limiting beliefs and images that you received and took on when you were young. If this describes you, the good news is that you can change your comfort zone. How? There are three different ways:

1. You can use affirmations and positive self-talk to affirm already having what you want, doing what you want, and being the way that you want.
2. You can create powerful and compelling new internal images of having, doing, and being what you want.
3. You can simply change your behavior.

All three of these approaches will shift you out of your old comfort zone.”

The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.”

Albert Einstein

I’ll leave you with this blurb today – there’s another related one that I will share tomorrow.

Patty’s Challenge: What is your comfort zone and how is it imprisoning you? What is one thing that you can do TODAY to begin to expand your comfort zone? (you’ll know you are heading to the edges of your comfort zone when you begin to feel uncomfortable!) Your comfort zone dictates where you eat, where you shop, where you live, where you travel…If you see a store or restaurant that you would normally never shop at, never eat at because you think it would be too expensive, too trendy – take a step inside. Have a cup of coffee and a pastry at the restaurant perhaps, or buy something small at a gourmet food store. Start breaking the rigid box we have placed ourselves in…

Love to you,
Patty

To Justice with Love

Dearest Goddesses,

I read Maat’s message today – about Justice – and it reminded me of something I heard in Denise Linn’s Soul Coaching Program – that where you are in life is sometimes less important than the judgments we have about where we are. Inner peace can be reached only by allowing yourself to be where you are in the moment.

I’m sure in your world, there are experiences that you have where you were in fact treated unfairly or unjustly and need Maat’s help to find justice – or to find peace – but if you’re anything like me, it’s how we treat ourselves that can be considered the most unjust!

Sometimes ranting and raving into the computer helps me process something that I’m going through – most times I just delete them, sometimes I save them but I happened to leave it up on the computer and John read it and he couldn’t believe the amount of suffering I went through in certain situations, about where my head went from one topic to another. He told me he couldn’t believe how I torture myself!

“Maat says that the way to wholeness for you lies in accepting the loving nature of justice which seeks to right all wrongs by administering the lessons needed.”

Perhaps it’s that Catholic guilt in my subconscious, or the cancer in me that wants to take care of everyone else, perhaps I’ve watched too much Law & Order…I guess I never considered the “loving nature” of justice and see more of the punishment aspect! I think we all need to cut ourselves some slack – whatya think?

Where do you need to accept where you are in your life and let go of the judgments you have about where you are? Spend some extra time today and throughout the week sending warm, loving thoughts to that aspect of yourself. Give up your judgments of others, and especially those judgments of yourself.

Love to you,

Patty

Maat: Justice

The following is excerpted exactly from The Goddess Oracle by Amy Sophia Marashinsky and the illustrations are by Hrana Janto. For more information on their work, please visit the following websites:

Amy Sophia Marashinsky: http://www.amysophia.com/
You can download the meditations included in the ritual suggestions at http://deepspiritualnourishment.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2

Hrana Janto: http://www.hranajanto.com/

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I am the law of truth

the path of integrity

preserver of the code

and in my heart justice lives

I weigh all deeds against

My feather of truth

I weigh all deeds

And should they prove the heavier

Then I give the lessons

I create the opportunities

I open the pathways

I graciously bestow

that which needs to be learned

to right all wrongs.

Mythology

Maat (pronounced maht) was an ancient Egyptian Goddess of law, order, truth, and justice. With her feather of truth she weighed the souls of all who came to her subterranean Hall of Judgment. She would place her plume on her scales opposite the heart of the deceased. If the scales balanced, the deceased could feast with deities and spirits of the dead; if the heart was heavy, the deceased was turned over the Ahemait (Underworld Goddess who is pant hippopotamus, part lion, part crocodile) to be devoured.

Meaning of the Card

Maat has come with her feather of truth to assist you in bringing justice into your life. Are you in a situation that seems unfair, unjust, unreasonable? Have you used integrity, yet another or others have not, and now you are wounded and seek justice? Have you not been honest in your words, your deeds, your actions? Are you being unjust to others? To yourself? Perhaps your standards are so rigid that you find them impossible to meet and continually need to rebel? Do you have an inner judge who condemns you for any infractions in his/her rule? Now is the time to look at your life and invite justice in. Now is the time to repay all debts, to strike a fair and reasonable balance in all your dealings. Maat says that the way to wholeness for you lies in accepting the loving nature of justice which seeks to right all wrongs by administering the lessons needed.

Ritual Suggestion: Handing Over to Maat for Justice

Find a time and a place where and when you will not be disturbed. You may want to wear clothing that is different from your everyday apparel. You may want to light some incense and/or candles. Do what is most comfortable for you.

Cast your circle by calling in or becoming the elements earth, air, fire, water (if you need help with this, please contact me for more information, PK) Call in whatever you need or want to call in – power animal(s), the Goddess and the God, the Great Mystery, Grandmother Moon. Once you have cast the circle and called in what/whoever you cvhoose you are ready to call in Maat. You may want to put the card representing Maat in the center of the circle or include something that represents Maat to you. It is best when you are calling in a Goddess to use your own words and speak directly from your heart. It is not the words you use that matter, it is the intent, coming sincerely and directly from the heart. Close your eyes and call her in with drumming, chanting, dancing, singing, with words spoken out loud or in silence. Open to her and sense, see, or feel her presence. Now hand over to her what requires justice in your life. Feel the situation being lifted off your shoulders. Really sense, see, or feel that Maat is going to take care of it. It is out of your life, off your back, removed from your mind. Thank Maat for coming and release her with gratitude. Now release what you have called in. Allow yourself to feel, sense or see the circle you have cast disappearing into the air. Welcome back!

Allowing The Door to open

Dearest Goddesses,

Thank you for reaching out over the past couple of days – and Galina – thank you for sharing with the whole group what it is like to be the change you want to make in the world. It was certainly inspiring. Being complaint free is a definite challenge and if more young people took it on, I think middle & high school would be a very different experience for everyone!!

I also want to thank John for the stand that he took for me yesterday in the email he sent to all of you. While at first I was a little embarrassed (even though his sentiment made me cry) I am so grateful that I have someone willing to take a stand like that for me. There is no mistake that after I made the request for everyone to respond to me once a month that I didn’t send out a goddess email for 3-4 weeks. I mean, there were lots of circumstances – but it is no mistake. I recognize my craving to receive but how difficult and uncomfortable it is for me and how I’ll actually set up situations where I either don’t receive, can’t receive, or dilute receipt! And I also think it’s perfect that John sent that email on the same day my mediation told me to focus on my heart chakra – and that the “emptiness” I felt yesterday wasn’t like there was nothing there – I’m a loveable person and have a lot of love to give – but I think what I felt was the safe door I put there to protect myself – allowing me to keep a little distance; allowing me not to get too involved, too attached so that it doesn’t hurt so much when I don’t get the response I’m looking for.

Phew!! Cerridwen is stirring her soup with me this week!

“I am open to transformation, I am willing to let go all that exists in my life that does not serve my greater good, I am willing to receive all the love and abundance that is available to me; I clear my eyes so that I can see what there is to see, I clear my ears so that I can hear what there is to hear. I allow love to flow freely from me and I am open to receiving all of the love that flows back toward me. And I send light and love to those parts of myself that don’t feel loveable…” (Thank you Nancy for your amazing meditation tapes and your inspiration…)

Well – thank you for allowing me to give and share. I welcome all of your thoughts and insights and miracles – please keep sharing with the group, with me, with your world.

If the mantra above works for where you are – I encourage you to be use it, change it, work it into your life. Sharing it with you certainly helped me to see the work I need to do to share myself fully and let people in.

Love to you,

Patty

Opening The Heart

Dearest Goddesses,

I got a temporary but pretty intense case of the blues last night. I had no idea what it was that set it off, but was glad that I woke up feeling a little lighter. I did a chakra meditation and it really was amazing. I simply sat silently going envisioning white light going down my body stopping at all the chakra centers. Each center had a very distinct feel and filled with its respective colors and in each of the centers I had a vision of a stick figure woman in different poses or with different movements – from yoga, to dancing – it was a lot of fun. When I got to my heart center though, dead quiet – like the twilight zone – abandoned. It took a lot of concentration for me to visualize a piece of grass (your heart center resonates to the color green). And then when I got to my first chakra at the base of the spine – I felt overwhelmed with the color red. So those are the two chakras that I need to work with. I did feel like it was Cerridwen’s way of helping me identify my fear – or give me a direction in which to focus.

I’ve included a brief chart below on the chakras, their location and their color so that you can also do a similar meditation and see if you notice any blocks to be able to then do some work on that particular chakra.

Because the heart center links the bottom three chakras with the top three chakras – and it was the one I needed the most work with – I’ve included some information on the heart chakra from The Chakra Handbook. Another excellent resource for information on the chakras and its link to Feng Shui is my dear friend Nancy SantoPietro’s book Feng Shui & Health: The Anatomy of a Home. It’s especially a must read for anyone who is experiencing illness of any kind.

The heart chakra information is attached in a word document – please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any other questions about any other chakras.

Patty’s Challenge: Find a time and a place where you will not be disturbed and guide yourself through a chakra meditation. All I did this morning was envision a white light at the top of my head coming into my body through the top of my head. I stopped at each chakra center, and visualized it filling with its respective color. I noticed the feeling of the space and whether it was open or not and the moving stick figures were an added bonus. If you are color blind or have difficulty visualizing color, I sometimes use associations – things I know to be a specific color – for instance grass or trees or a green apple for the heart center; a blue sky for the throat chakra, etc.

Chakra: Location: Color:

1^st Chakra / Survival Center Base of Spine Red

2^nd Chakra / Social Center 2 inches below navel Orange

3^rd Chakra / Will Center Solar Plexus (sternum) Yellow

4^th Chakra / Heart Center Center of Chest Green

5^th Chakra / Throat Center Throat Sky Blue

6^th Chakra / Third Eye Center Between Eyebrows Indigo

7^th Chakra / Crown Center Top of Head Purple

Blessings,

Patty

Transforming Fear

Dearest Goddesses,

I think if I had to think of one thing that I would want to have transformed, then I would have to say fear. But if I look at my fear – it seems elusive – like I can’t get a good look at it. Like the more I chase after it to dissect it, the faster and more elusive it becomes. When I stand still and ask myself what I am afraid of – very little concrete comes to mind. But when I look at where I want to be and where I am and the distance in between, if I ask myself what is getting in the way – I would unequivocally say fear.

So what I am afraid of? Success? Failure? Living full out? Responsibility? Being Vulnerable? Rejection? Acceptance? Getting Started? Following Through? Perhaps a little of everything? Maybe what I’m looking for is simply to transform my fear into something tangible so that I can recognize it and deal with it directly instead of spending time and energy wondering and analyzing what I’m scared of.

And I think, if I were Cerridwen, listening to this, my response to me would be “Knock it off Kennelly! You’re great, stop wasting time with this silliness.”

And so, since I’m channeling Cerridwen and if you find yourself fearful, I deliver her message with love, compassion and laughter…”Knock it off! You’re great, stop wasting time with this silliness.”

Love to you,

Patty

Cerridwen: Death & Rebirth

The following is excerpted exactly from The Goddess Oracle by Amy Sophia Marashinsky and the illustrations are by Hrana Janto. For more information on their work, please visit the following websites:

Amy Sophia Marashinsky: http://www.amysophia.com/
You can download the meditations included in the ritual suggestions at http://deepspiritualnourishment.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2

Hrana Janto: http://www.hranajanto.com/

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I give you life

I give you death

it is all one

You travel the spiral path

the eternal path

that is existence

ever becoming

ever growing

ever changing

Nothing dies that is not reborn

nothing is born that does not die

When you come to me

I welcome you home

then I take you into my womb

my cauldron of transformation

where you are stirred and sifted

blended and boiled

melted and mashed

reconstituted then recycled

You always come back to me

you always go forth renewed

Death and Rebirth are but points of transition

along the Eternal Path.

Mythology

To the Welsh, Cerridwen (pronounced ker’rid-when) is a triple goddess – Maid, Mother and Crone – whose totem animal is the great white sow. She is associated with the moon, inspiration, poetry, prophecy, shape-shifting, and life and death. Cerrdwen had two boys. One was beautiful and one was ugly. Because she wanted the ugly one to have something of his own, she made him a magical brew. The brew took a year and a day to complete and would make him inspired and brilliant. She set Gwion, her assistant, to watch the brew and bade him not to drink it. Accidentally some drops of the brew splashed onto his hand and he put his hand in his mouth. Instantly, he knew everything, including the fact that Cerridwen would seek his death. He ran away and she ran after him. After many shape-shiftings, he was swallowed by Cerridwen who gave birth to him nine months later.

Meaning of the Card

Cerridwen’s appearance in your life heralds a time of death and rebirth. Something is dying and needs to be let go of, so something new can be born. We know the earth’s dance of death and rebirth as the seasons. Matter cannot be created or destroyed, but undergoes transformation. So do we. To live fully and in wholeness we need to accept life in all that it is, which includes death and rebirth. Let go of what does not serve you and your wholeness.

Perhaps you have reached the end of a cycle, a relationship, a job, and you fear letting it go. Or feel that you are dying, when only a piece of you needs to give way to the new. Perhaps the idea that there is death and only death is too painful for you to accept. Living in a patriarchal culture has deprived most of us of the Goddess’s way of death and rebirth. Wholeness is nurtured when we become conscious that every step on the path of life is also a step toward death and rebirth. Wholeness is achieved when we can say yes and do our dance with death and rebirth. Cerridwen says you will always get back what you give to me. It will be changed, it will be transformed but you will get it back.

Ritual Suggestion: Cerridwen’s Cauldron
You can download this meditation at the following site for $1.75
http://deepspiritualnourishment.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=37&zenid=c636244961ac59cbabec57082d290766

Find a time and a place when and where you will not be disturbed. Sit or lie comfortably with your spine straight. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath and release it again to a count of ten. Take another deep breath and release it again to a count of ten. Take a third deep breath, and as you release it, see, feel or sense a tunnel. It can be a tunnel you know or one you imagine. Stand outside of the tunnel and run your fingers along the entryway. Smell it. Enter the tunnel. It is warm and comfortable, well lit and pleasant, and you go down, down, down, deeper and deeper and deeper. Down, down, down, feeling relaxed, comfortable, until you reach the end of the tunnel. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, the light of the Otherworld.

You step out into the Otherworld and are met by Cerridwen. She takes your hand and leads you to her cauldron. It is enormous and black. Cerridwen stirs the cauldron. She asks you to put in the cauldron whatever needs to be transformed or let go of, whatever needs to die. You put it in the cauldron and watch. Cerridwen stirs the cauldron.

Cerridwen finishes stirring, puts down her staff, and reaches into the cauldron. She takes out what you put in and places it in front of you. It has been transformed into exactly what it needs to be. You thank Cerridwen and she asks syou for a gift. You give it to her freely. Ready to return, you walk back to the tunnel, taking with you what has been transformed in Cerridwen’s cauldron.

Now you are going up, up, up, feeling refreshed, energized. Up, up, up until you are back at the entrance of the tunnel. You walk out of the tunnel and take a deep breath. As you release it slowly, you come back into your body. Take another dep breath, and if ready, open your eyes. Welcome Back!