Spiritual PFM: Cricket and more: Leaping over Hard Lessons

Photo courtesy of here

the end of the summer into early fall was a rough transition for me.  i had a lot of good things going on but, at the same time, i was being faced with some hard lessons about life.  i was totally overwhelmed with all that was expected of me. ...so much so that it didn't seem like there was any relief in sight.  while some areas were moving full speed ahead, the areas that i wanted to move forward were at a complete and utter standstill.   it left me feeling uninspired, down in the dumps and just plain ol' unhappy.  then, it seemed like all of a sudden things started to move forward.  what happened exactly?  well, that's what i have been wondering so that i can create a formula so that i can repeat it for when life decides to be a pain in the a$$ (which i know is inevitably going to happen again).  here are a couple things that stand out in my mind:

1. Cricket appeared - this summer in my house, we suddenly kept finding crickets.  we had no idea how they were getting in but, they were.  it drove us insane!! there is nothing like heading to your kitchen to get a drink and being greeted by a cricket in the middle of the floor.  arrrrgghhh!! at the time, all i could do was add this to my frustration list.  now that i have had some time to reflect, i am confident that spirit was trying to send us a message.  i looked in my Animal Speak book and according to Ted Andrews, crickets are a sign of growth.  ...not just your average growth that happens incrementally, but  growth that literally jumps ahead. an additional google search on the web led me to this site that states, "The crickets’ hind legs are modified for jumping. They leap over difficult situations effortlessly always choosing to land in a more pleasing environment and can teach us how to do the same. A powerful ally that embodies the qualities of faith and trust the cricket serves us well. All we need to do is follow its lead."   all of this made total sense!!  ...not only in regards to the situation at hand, but also to my entire life.  for example, after years of  living with my in-laws and feeling like i would never move, the opportunity came up to purchase my house!  just like that, i became a homeowner!  while most people make gradual changes in life, it definitely feels like i make changes in sudden leaps.
2.  Saturn moved out of Libra - even the stars suddenly joined on my side.  the planet saturn is known as the task master, the planet that rules over hard lessons.  it takes saturn 29 years to travel around the sun and it makes its slow, painful trip taking two and a half years to get through each sign.  October 5th marked the date that Saturn left Libra and moved into Scorpio.  wooohooo! (sorry, Scorpios!)  i am a Libra and, boy, do i know first hand how hard the last 2.5 years has been for me.  i have learned a lot about myself and questioned just about everything that i believe in during this time.  although i know that i am a stronger person from it all, i am glad for a little relief any way i can get it!!
3. Working on me - once i accepted the hard fact that there was nothing that i could physically do to make my life get easier, i started working on me.  i added more juicing into my diet, upped my prayers, and started focusing on giving myself extra love.  it was super easy to focus on everything that was going wrong so i made a point of turning my focus inward.  after all, the only thing that i can control is me.
4. Enlisted my prayer warriors - when things started to get crazy, i started speaking to the people i knew had close connections with the Most High.  i requested that they add me and my family to their list when praying.  i believe in the power in numbers so, in addition to my prayers for help and breakthroughs, i knew that having others praying for me would only increase my chances of success.  i hope that you are blessed to have prayer warriors in your life; if you don't, you need to enlist them now!

though i can't force breakthroughs to happen when i want them, i have definitely learned that when i need them to, they happen.  i'm hoping that continuing to be open to signs from spirit as well as connecting to my spirit within (and to others who are doing the same) will help keep me from feeling blue the next time life throws me for a loop.  i sure hope that it will be quite a while before it happens again #fingerscrossed lol, xo Sesheta

Spiritual PFM- Dragonfly: Unveiling Illusion

Pic courtesy of Animal Theory

life has been particularly stressful for me recently.  i have been feeling like i'm being pulled in a million directions while keeping a hundred balls in the air.  that being said, i've been known to exaggerate - blame it on my theater background lol.  regardless of the actual details - exaggerated or not, life has been throwing me for a loop.  most times i can attribute things and people being weird to a phase of the moon (look at that - there is new moon coming up).  ...but this all started last week.  i consider myself to be a spiritual person.  not the kind that goes to church every week, but the kind that feels a distinct connection to spirit - my inner spirit as well as to "god" (whatever you may call it).  i also believe that spirit talks to us and tries to guide us in small ways and, if we ignore the small ways, spirit will try again, bigger and in a way that we can't ignore.  though it's hard, i really try to be in tune so that i can be aware of the small, subtle messages; i'm not always successful, but this particular time, i have been looking for any kind of guidance i could get, to help me get through.  ...and after i asked for help, dragonfly appeared.  

i don't know if you believe in animal guides, but i do.   i believe that they are sent with the messages from spirit to help us.  i also believe that every person has their own particular animal totems but every animal or insect can show up depending on the message spirit wants you to get.  ...so dragonfly appeared to me.  as i was about to step outside my door, i saw a dragonfly was sitting on my step.  i didn't open my door because i didn't want to step on it and i also didn't want it to fly inside.  i watched it sitting there and waiting for it to move but it didn't.  i had to open my door and make a noise to startle it away but i couldn't ignore that i was being sent a message.  

the main symbolism of dragonfly is illusion.  they can symbolize that things are not always as they seem and that life itself is not always what it appears to be.  dragonflies are also associated with lots of movement as they flit about as well as the ability to hover while in flight- all due to constant movement.  i have been feeling like, while time is flying by, i have been stagnant in many different areas or at least that is how it has seemed.  i've also felt like i  have been handling a lot on my own with no one to help but i know that is also an illusion.  other  qualities associated with dragonfly are skill, relentlessness, refinement, and creativity.  in addition to reminding me that things aren't always as they seem, i feel that dragonfly was reminding me that i need to be relentless and find creative ways to force things to change.  just like i had to figure out how i was going to make the dragonfly get out of the way, i will have to find a way to force the obstacles to get out of the way in life.  i already feel like there has been movement in one area, specifically because i found another way to approach it.  i am thankful for dragonfly's message and for being open enough to receive it.

if you would like to learn more about animal guides, besides doing a google search, i suggest checking out the book, Animal Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small by Ted Andrews.