Thoughts on Values

It's 09/09/09 and spam texts (spexts?) about what a lucky day you will have by forwarding this message. "Luck is being prepared for opportunity when it comes" is what springs to mind, this Moon in Taurus and Mercury Retrograde Tuesday.

I started the day around 6:30 am posting on Twitter that now was a good time to re-assess all you value most. Health, time, money, possessions, resources or laughter? Send thanks.

At 7:30 am I began my Leads group by writing on the board "What do I value? In myself, in my business, in my clients?" and had the members meditate upon this during our 60 seconds of silence. At the end of the meeting, during our second promotional, members shared what it was they valued.

It was so powerful to hear these 20 women affirm over and over how much they valued being connected to their clients, for being in service, and for being able to give their gifts, whether the ancient art of acupuncture, sound advice on healthy nutrition, or the ability to bring ease and organization into someone's life.

Taurus rules the second house in astrology: our physical bodies, physical homes, gardens, possessions, money, all that we "have" in our lives. We hear a lot about "family values" as some sort of moral staging, but to value something means to take care of it, to cherish and tend to it. I'm getting ready to teach my class on Creative Abundance in a few weeks, and what came to me today was: "In order for your Assets to Appreciate—Appreciate your Assets." Just watch - it'll be my next tweet.

Mercury is just kissing Libra before sliding back into the arms of Virgo, who could be aptly named Sweeping Beauty. All of my appointments today had the theme of "cleaning house", those psychic cobwebs of the mind. What with Jupiter retro all summer, a lot of folks have felt stuck in a glut - Jupiter can be the gourmet or the gourmand. The gourmet wants the finest in life - the gourmand just wants to have his cake and then eat two. The opportunity for reviewing one's health and in particular one's habits is really up for grabs right now. Notice what used to be comforting is now just comfortable. It's time to stop medicating and start meditating. Value your body, value your personal space, and begin to make small gentle adjustments to ease yourself into a sense of well being.

So what do I value? Here's what I shared:

I value myself, my business and my clients.
I value the trust my clients put into me.
I value the stories that they share-It keeps me humble and it keeps me helpful.

I value being a helpful person.
I value being a resource.
If I can't help you, I probably know somebody who can.

I value sharing the tools that I have learned.
I know they have made a difference in my life
and that they create ease in the lives of others.

I value my education.
I value my 23 years of experience.
I value myself as a good listener.

I value my integrity.

Blessed Be.

And remember, you create your own luck!

I am One

From the Altar Egos Series:
"Positive Affirmations to Heal a Nation"
Copyright kgr 2004

Overflow with Hope

Romantic Notions Series
"Overflow with Hope"
Hand watercolored design
copyright kgr 2003

Googled Love Quotes Today

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two."

-St. Augustine

Circle

 By the earth that is Her body

And by the air that is Her breath
And by the fire of Her bright spirit
And by the living waters of Her womb...
The circle is cast.

We are between the worlds,
Beyond the bounds of time,
Where night and day,
Birth and death,
Joy and sorrow,
Meet as one.

The fire is lit, the ritual is begun.

In perfect love and perfect trust,
the kiss is passed around the circle...

We thank you
Guardians of the East, Power of air
Guardians of the South, Power of Fire
Guardians of the West, Power of water
Guardians of the North, Power of Earth

For joining in our circle
And we ask for your blessing
As you depart
May there be peace between us
Now and forever.

The circle is open, but unbroken,
may the peace of the Goddess
Go in our hearts,
Merry meet, merry part,
and merry meet again.
Blessed Be.

Home

The best part about
being home
is picking all the
cashews
out of Dad's deluxe
trail mix.

kgr, 1988

Thoughts on Construction

Discontent is the first step to progress
(Chinese Proverb)

The one thing I do know about construction: it always takes three times as long and costs three times more than you planned. Last April I first started some construction in my house, deciding to take out the old carpets in the bedroom and replace with laminate flooring. This decision stemmed from health issues, and deciding to look at how to clean up my environment as part of an alternative health program for asthma.

My mom was an interior designer, then an architect, and our house was constantly the show case or under construction. The running joke was: as soon as the Master bathroom was complete in any house, we moved. And moved we did. When I came to America at 15, my bedroom was framed, but lacked drywall. I started working on my mom's construction teams, adding tiling and landscaping to my budding resume.

Three planets in Virgo plus a Swedish mother has made me be the tidiest person on earth, and if there's anything I hate, it's mess. I picked the house I live in now for a reason: minimal construction. As far as I was concerned, my house was just a blank slate, waiting to be painted in, but I always loved the design, the basic structure of the place. It never needed anything major till now.

I hired a contractor to rip out the carpets & haul them to the dump, wanting to avoid the allergens, but quite willing to install the flooring myself. Or should I say, with the help of my mom. My dad & I do lunch - My mom and I do projects. It's the only time we seem to get along. Probably because she can tell me what to do.

But the contractor had worse news - termites. Now I had to hire an inspector and go through a few bids, and here was that extra time and expense so intrinsic to construction. But as I surveyed the raw wood of the sub-flooring today and contemplated the termite feng shui, I could really see in what stations of my life things were just bugging me. What had been eating away at me lately?

I haven't been blogging in a while, but I've been doing a lot of journaling that will eventually get turned into blog posts. I've been busy teaching my summer tarot class, and one of the requirements is keeping a tarot journal, so I've been sketching a bunch lately. I am constructing my reality, tearing down all that was damaged or decomposing, making improvements for more space, more light, and more ease in my life.

I also teach a class on the law of attraction and the power of desire, key word, desire. Without desire we would never improve, never change, never evolve as human beings. I'd put myself out on a limb quite recently, and while the part of having a crush that sucks is the crushed part, I discovered I was not willing to lower my standards. Instead, I am ready for better, ready for improvements.

I am the Source
of all strength and power

With every breath I take
The flames of zeal and passion
Burn brighter in me.

My body is a sacred temple
And my soul fills it
With song and laughter.

I make my dreams reality
With each day that passes.

My mind contains
The infinite blueprint
of my success.

My life, love and joy
Are unstoppable waves
Shaping the world
With every beat of my heart.

I choose to liberate
My power
Today.
(from Fierce Magazine)

As far as my house goes, in the end I decided to go green with Coast Termite and do an Orange Oil Treatment. The inspector was great, and the two technicians who later came were knowledgeable, friendly, and one even confessed to being a dungeon master at a go-go bar after seeing my framed print of kd lang and Cindy Crawford. What can I say - these are the moments I love my life.

I met my mom for a deceptively good morning at Ikea. Let's just say my mother could be a travel agent for guilt trips. After tacking down meters of foam padding and removing base boards, we have finally begun laying down the flooring itself. I have no doubt it will look beautiful - I have no doubt, it will be months more work and more money on my credit card as well.

The road to success
Is always under construction
(Chinese Proverb)