On Spirit Guides by Joy Star

An excellent, excellent article about Spirit Guides by my friend and psychic reading mentor Joy Star, who is a genius at Soul Astrology!

Namaste.  Welcome to Thoughts Along the Path by Psychic Joy Star.   Have an Amazing Day! Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.  Astrology Course  (coming in the future)  Details TBA

August 17, 2013 Spirit Guides and Subtle Energy by Joy Star Working with Spirit Guides is just that – work! Just like any other relationship it is not fair for them to do things for you at your bidding, to become overly dependent upon them, to be there to alleviate feelings of loneliness or to show off for the benefit of your ego. Human and Spirit Guide Relationships are Not That Different Some people tend use other humans in these same ways and we shouldn’t expect Spirit Guides to fulfill those types of roles any more than we should depend on other humans to be our servants, healers, pride possessions, cheerleaders etc. Spirit Guides are not there to do things for you; they help, assist and guide you in reaching your own goals—the will not give you the goal or hand you a mission. The Work What about the work that I mentioned?   Set aside a time and a routine to be open to your guides and work on being sensitive so that the contact can be perceived.  How does one become sensitive? One way is through practicing being in the present moment, becoming aware of subtle energy. While some individuals are born very sensitive and possess a natural inclination to be sensitive to surrounding energy, others can develop those abilities.  As I’ve mentioned before in previous newsletters, there is a caveat and admonition—it is sometimes very difficult to be in close quarters with many humans. My Recent Energy Experience I had such an experience yesterday as a matter of fact in an old home that was converted into an extremely crowded and busy hair salon with high strung and different types of people than I’m accustomed. As a matter of fact, if you’ve followed my life at all you will recall that I’ve lived alone in a quiet rural mountain setting for over 15 years, just haven moved here a little over a year ago.  I’m getting accustomed to the crowded city and can barely handle a locker room full of women for 10 minutes, not to mention downstairs neighbors in a poorly sound proofed building. Needless to say, if it had not been for my daughter who is getting married next month who sent me there for a hair trial… well, it was horribly difficult to be with so many humans in one small space for that extended period. Let's just say that one would like to not be so sensitive at certain times and one tries not to be, but as I wrote above, when one is sensitive to energy and not accustomed to being in close quarters for extended periods, it can be highly disturbing and distressing. Creating a Welcoming Environment for Spirit Guide Communication Which brings me to another point which is that to welcome Spirit Guide communication it is recommended to provide an environment that is conducive—in other words, a place that is completely opposite from a crowded hair salon where there is barely enough room to move and human shouts and laughter bounce of the walls.  You get the idea.  Registering All Encountered Energy Becomes a Psychic Habit  Working with Spirit Guides involves learning to register everything that is encountered.  It is not always easy to switch that off and on again once an individual who has been working in these realms for a number of years has become accustomed to this level of sensitivity. When one is naturally open to registering everything one encounters, one must use wisdom about the environment one subjects oneself to.  And that is something I’d forgotten until quite recently. Natural Sensitivity Most people who are practicing using their intuition and trying to become psychic close their eyes and withdraw from the world around them on order to enter another realm. Those who are naturally sensitive and psychic walk in that world and the human realms at the same time and are always in that altered state of consciousness.  Therefore, when in a small crowded area one is picking up energy and feeling it pass through and around their field continually.  That can be disorienting and sometimes it takes a day or so to process and clear the energy.  Salt baths help and reconnecting with nature, if that’s practical, helps too.  (I'd love to walk in the woods to clear that energy today, but its been pouring rain all day here; not that I didn't consider a walk in the rain.) Anyway... Everyone Possesses Psychic Senses Psychic senses exist within us all but for many people those senses lay dormant unless they have been awakened and used in previous lifetimes.  I will mention a few things here (as I conclude thoughts for this week’s newsletter) that you can do to increase your psychic sensitivities. Diet.  Foods such as fish, white meat, vegetables and fruits like pineapples, papaya, lemons, and oranges are high vibrational foods.  Essentially, eating lightly before a psychic session is usually recommended since our energy is taken up digesting foods. Increasing water intake helps us to be able to work with the high energy levels that are required with spirit communication since water is a conductor of energy.  Decreasing salt intake is also recommended for this same reason. Exercise.  The stronger and more vibrant our energy field is, the more sensitive it will become to subtle energy.  If you find my weekly newsletters helpful to the path of your psychic and spiritual journey upon the earth, would you consider a one-time donation to assist with my survival?  The donate button should be in the footer of this email, but if not, there's a button on the top of my blog page here: http://psychicjoystar.wordpress.com/  ( Or you can use your pay-pal account and send to: joystar777@gmail.com ) Other Posts:    07/08/2010 - Common and Uncommon Meditation Experiences 07/01/2010 - Getting REAL about Relationships and Intuition Quick Links: Soul Astrology             http://www.psychicjoystar.com/SoulReading.html Psychic Readings         http://www.psychicjoystar.com/ThankYouPaymentPage.html Psychic Class Online                                               http://www.psychicjoystar.com/PsychicDevelopmentClassesbyPsychicMediumJoyStar.html           Psychic Articles Browse List of all previous newsletters CLICK HERE

Today's Tarot - Five of Coins

Our true possessions only exist within our heart and our mind. Compassion and authenticity are two of the greatest treasures there.


All else we need can be found there, too.


My friend and mentor Joy Star points this out in her reading about communicating with spirit guides. Even when we look for guidance comes from within...


I see this inner answer as happening one of three ways:

• You recognize information as being true, valuable, and applicable...even if the source of that information comes from outside yourself. If your inner wisdom doesn't recognize the truth and value of it, the advice &  guidance goes unnoticed. 
• Your inner connection to universe guides you. You need a connections to the world wide web to get information from the 'net...the same is true for spiritual guidance. You need an inner connection to the abstract, subtle and esoteric aspects of the cosmos to connect with that kind of information. You spirit guides can only guide you if you are listening.
• Direct inner knowing...the "ah-HA" moment of genuine INsight.

Even when we look to outside for guidance, the connection to that guidance exists within ourselves. Our answers and our treasures are on the inside.


www.ModernOracleTarot.com

Q&A: Does my spirit guide have a message for me?

The short answer for this question is usually yes.


If spirit guides and messages and such are on your mind enough to ask the question, then my  hunch is they are using that feeling to get your attention. It is a little like the beeps on the tv when there is a weather warning...it is to get your attention before the message itself comes through.


Sometimes when I do a reading, I get a sense of 'someone' giving advice or some sort of message. Usually it is validation or reassurance. The messages that come through me are the beepy, "can I have your attention please" type or just a friendly "hello - I'm really here" type.


The language of spirit is so symbolic, and so personal sometimes it is hard to get a more specific message than that. "Spirit" and "spirit guides" speak in many, very personal ways. I like to compare it to dream interpretations. Sure, there are those general "dream dictionary" kinds of meanings that anyone can use as a start-point, but the real, specific understanding of a dream (or a spirit-guide message) comes from within ourselves. Context and past associations can have a big influence. If you think it refers to something, that is the message...not what the dream dictionary or the psychic says.


Symbolism and Synchronicity are the language of spirit. Spirit talks to us through tiny hints, subtle coincidences that are easy to miss if we aren't paying attention. When I say "spirit", I mean the widest possible definition of the concept:  crossed over loved ones, spirit guides, our "higher selves", our intuition, our imagination, the whole gambit.


Of course, talking about "spirit" as if it is a distinct thing, somehow separate or outside of ourselves is arbitrary, and a trick of language. It is part of living in a three dimensional world. The cosmos is a unified whole. For example, if we talk about last summer, we aren't talking about something separate from all time, we are just specifying a particular point in infinity. Say you want to meet a friend at a coffee shop that is at the corner of 5th Avenue and Main Street in Anytown. The coffee shop isn't separate from the city...it is still a part of good old "Anytown"...you are just using the language of street names to specify a particular place. 


The same is true of "spirit" or "spirit guides". They are part of you, you are part of them, and we are all part of the entirety of everything-that-is. But the me, them, you, us, spirit, intuition designations make it easier to understand things - just like "fifth and main" makes it easier to find your favorite cup of coffee in Anytown.


So does your spirit guide have a message for you? - yes. Can I tell you what it is? -maybe, let's see...no promises though. Can you get the message for yourself? Absolutely! 


Wishing you a day of good coffee and being in tune with the spirit side of life.






Modern Oracle Tarot

Psychic Q&A "Is it all my imagination?"

Was talking with my friend, the talented psychic Joy Star, about her latest newsletter. The topic was a question that she has heard from some of her intuition development students who want to know how to tell if their psychic impressions are "real" or "just my imagination". I've heard that question a lot too.
It isn't easy to answer, but I think J.K. Rowling said it best in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". It was something on the order of "Yes, Harry, this is all in your head. But why on Earth would that mean it isn't REAL" (caps mine). I don't know if that is an exact quote,  but you get the idea.
Harry was unconscious, possibly dead, and we see his conversation with the now dead-and-buried Professor Dumbledore. That makes it a particularly potent example, especially at Halloween, when death and the after-life are such prominent themes. We all have some level of conviction about life after death, or at least some deep curiosity about it. It is an idea closely tied to the idea of intuition, psychic ability, spirit guides, guardian angles and so on.
Was Harry imagining the whole thing? Are we just "making stuff up" when we tap into our intuition? Is it just elaborate imagination? Maybe. My question to you is what difference does it make?
My answer is NONE. It makes no difference at all, simply because our minds...AND our imaginations...are part of the seamless whole. We, our minds, our emotions, AND our imaginations are all part of the universe, part of the great big cosmos, the all that IS...not to mention the time-space continuum that connects all that IS to all that was and will be to boot...
I think we draw lines in the sand between ourselves and the larger whole because of very old, very ingrained social customs. To get along, we distinguish between ourselves and other people. We know the difference between ourselves and our reflection in a mirror.  This duality is projected to abstract ideas too.  We distinguish between the material and spiritual - and "intuition" becomes the bridge between the two. That is normal, and necessary to function and survive. The problem comes when we put extra qualities on one or the other.
The religion-driven perception that the 'spiritual' or godly is somehow perfect or good while the physical is somehow tainted or flawed still persists. It is hard to shift to a more holistic, unified way of thinking. It is hard for some to realize that the spiritual, etheric, intangible, intuitive and emotional are part of the same unified WHOLE as everything else.
That includes your imagination. Even if you imagine it, the lessons that you learn from using your imagination are as real and valid as lessons you learn from "spirit" or anything you think to be separate or outside yourself.
Just ask child psychologists. Children learn from imaginative play...we adults can learn from flights of imagination too, if we are open to it, and keep it in perspective.
Your imagination is part of you. You are real. Your emotional response to what you imagine is real. The lessons you learn from your imagination are real too.
Other people can't see, react too, or have feelings about what you imagine...but you can. Just because something isn't tangible or "real" to the outside world doesn't mean it isn't valid to your inner experience of life.
Just like Harry gained understanding from his encounter with Dumbledore. It was all in his head...AND it was real.
So is intuition just your imagination? Yes - but that is what makes it real.

www.modern-oracle-tarot.com

Is my brother talking to me from spirit?

Q. My brother passed away several years ago. I've been working with meditation and improving my own intuition. At first I could feel his presence and wrote the messages he gave me in a journal, but now I don't feel him or have any sense of him. One psychic told me his spirit is around me. Do you see him near me? Am I doing something wrong? When will I sense him again?

A. One thing I've learned is that "spirit guides" and deceased loved ones work on their schedule, in no way ours.Treasure the interactions you've had with your brother...don't become dependent on them, or expect more. Be glad for it when it happens, but don't demand it, or feel bad if it doesn't happen...the spirit world just doesn't work that way.
The way my guide put it is this...think of a room with a party going on. You, being incarnate...part of the three dimensional world, can only sit on a chair with a hood pulled up so you can only see straight ahead...you can't move around the room or see all around you. For spirits...they CAN move around. All time, all places in the room exists for them all at one time, because they have a high-dimensional frame of reference.
For the people in spirit...they can go anywhere, anytime. They see the whole room all at once with an easy glance around...all time is open to them. They are free to move anywhere in the room...all space is open to them. A moment now, and a moment ten years from now are both equally accessible to them...just like someone at that party can take a few steps. For you on your chair with your hoodie on, it is ten looooong years. And ten is just a made-up number for the example by the way...don't latch onto that.
Same is true of place as for time....sometimes they are across the room out of sight and we can't hear them over the chatter and noise of everyday life. Sometimes they are close enough to whisper in our ear.

We can't get up and chase deceased loved ones across the room. We can only listen.

As for so - called "psychic gifts"...we all have intuition, we all can connect on some level with our loved ones. You will know when he is near and talking to you, and when he isn't. You don't need anyone to tell you that...the key here is to have realistic expectations, and not get hooked on the feeling that comes from his closeness. You have a life to live...if her were alive, would he want you to be sitting around worrying about your 'psychic gifts' and pining away for him or would he want you to be living a full, happy and well balanced life? Why would his love for you and desire for you to be emotionally healthy change now just because he is in spirit?
I suggest keep journaling...but not just about him. Write a little every day...about your typical day to day thoughts. That will keep the channel open - but don't worry about if and when he speaks to you again. If you are open you will hear him. If you are focused on "psychic gifts" and whether you are hearing him or not...you'll be so up tight that it will be harder for you to hear if/when he does speak again. The best thing you can do for him is to live well, keep a balanced emotionally healthy attitude toward this. You'll hear him better, and he will have an easier time making himself heard.
Also, I strongly suggest you read these books by some real experts in the field...they are really super helpful...LEARN from them while you wait to hear from your brother again.

A Journey of Souls: Case studies of life between life by Michael Newton, Ph.D.

Psychic Protection by Ted AndrewsOne Last Time by John Edward

Crossing Over by John EdwardHello from Heaven by Bill and Judy Guggenheim
Best wishes to you

www.modern-oracle-tarot.com

King of cups: mentor, advisor, spirit guide, divine muse

The winds of spiritual guidance are always blowing. All you have to do is open your mind to raise your sails and get a nudge in the right direction.

In gratitude to my spirit guides

Baihu

www.modern-oracle-tarot.com