Wishing you and all your kin a happy Mabon.
When I first felt the presence of the God, time stopped.
I felt different. Empowered. With a whole new peaceful experience.
I was grateful.
As we get near the time of Mabon, it’s valuable to talk about gratitude.
Here are three insights.
1. Set a Morning Intention of Gratitude
My friend, Stephanie, sets an intention at night. “I am grateful, full of energy, and filled with peace.”
Then, when she wakes up, her first thought is her intention. After months of practice, this uplifting intention is a morning “reflex” for her.
What intention would empower you in the morning?
2. Transform your suffering into a gift.
At one point, my spleen was destroying my platelets. (In your blood, the platelet creates blood clots so you do not bleed out.) I found myself truly miserable for 30 days in a hospital. The solution? They removed my spleen. I’m grateful to be alive.
My husband was terrified. He did not want to show any uncertainty on his face. He wanted it to look like he had full confidence in the anesthesiologist and the surgeon. He wanted me to be in a strong, positive mental mindset of certainty. So, I would be sure to come out of surgery well and strong.
Yeah. Well. I thought it looked like he did not care. (That was such a wrong assumption!) He had so much fear in him. But I couldn’t see any concern on his face. I felt sad.
My husband said, “As soon as the doors closed, tears ran down my face. I was terrified.”
I later said to my husband, “Show me your tears!”
So, I suffered. My husband suffered. How the heck is there a gift in any of this? I am alive. I am healthy. My husband and I are still on this planet together. 25 years. I am very grateful.
Also, he has learned an important lesson. “Show me your tears!”
Has a moment of suffering later helped you learn a valuable lesson?
3. Ask the Goddess for help to shift to gratitude.
Here is a prayer you can use.
O Lord and Lady,
Help me see my gifts and blessings.
Shift my thoughts from fear
To gratitude.
So Mote It Be.
May these insights support your path.
Blessed Be,
Moonwater
Looking for gifts?
For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:
Check out my site MoonwaterSilverClaw.com for spells and more.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-qbpu5-16d58a2
Moonwater reveals secrets of Self-Initiation into a new chapter of life. You can find meaning and hope when life suddenly goes upside-down. Even when you endure a terrible loss, like the passing of a loved one. Self-Initiation helps you elevate your experience and even brings you rest and renewal.
“When have you felt happy?”
“I don’t like that question,” I thought.
Why do I have a problem with that question?
Let’s pause.
Do you clearly know what makes you happy? Are you getting it? Have you settled? Or given up?
Maybe, you’re similar to me. You just feel tired.
My cat just leaped into my lap. I’m hugging him. Okay, I’m feeling happy.
But that’s not the whole story.
For one thing, he just shoved his tail into my face. I sneeze.
I have three insights for you.
1. Shift from What can I get? to Why am I here?
“What can I get?” is often connected to survival mode. Have you noticed that kids sense the competition that’s going on?
You have to push to get what you want.
It can feel exhausting.
In 2012, I received from the God and Goddess the directive “start a blog.” What? With my dyslexia?
I started the blog anyway. I get a lot of help.
But at the beginning, I did not know how things would go.
Recently, I’m thinking about “Why am I here?”
My thoughts include: “I’m here to support others in their learning and their individual path.”
Some of my favorite moments with my blog posts and podcast episodes include:
When I’m doing my blog posts and podcast episodes, I feel connected to “Why am I here?”
How about you? When do you feel on purpose? This is part of your Soulful Need.
2. Sometimes, your Soulful Need is connected to release from something that shackles you.
At times, fear shackles me.
I find that I feel free of fear when I am doing my blog and podcast work, and I have a team member supporting me. So, my experience of freedom from fear is connected to “taking action while receiving support.” That’s a true revelation for me.
What do you need a release from?
Old ideas? Thoughts of limitation? An old identity? (For example, family members can try to hold someone as cemented to an old role of “the shy one.” … The truth is: You can be shy and still be an actor. I know someone like that.)
3. Have you given up a “positive expectation”?
I went to college because I wanted to be an animator using a computer. You know, someone who works at Pixar.
I am working with someone now so I can do some animated characters. (Groundwork is happening for that.)
I have not given up on the possibilities of animating material.
Have you become so tired that you have given up on having any “positive expectations”?
Your Soulful Need can arise as you answer questions like:
Your Soulful Need is connected to the divinity the God and Goddess placed within you.
Here is a prayer you can use:
God and Goddess,
Lead me to delightful discoveries.
Help me fulfill my Soulful Need with ease.
Show me the way to untold possibilities.
So Mote It Be.
May these insights support your path.
Blessed Be,
Moonwater
Looking for gifts?
For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:
Check out my site MoonwaterSilverClaw.com for spells and more.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-gsa8d-16cae95
Moonwater reveals an extraordinary process to shift out of daily concerns and pain—into an elevated level of true self-knowledge. You are one with the God and Goddess. Learn how to release yourself from the daily space of pain, anger, and emptiness. Rise to the level of your true magick. Additionally, hear the wisdom of Doreen Valiente and Scott Cunningham.
“She just wouldn’t listen to me,” my friend, Angie, said, of her coven member, Nancy.
I reflected on this. In a coven, both a leader and a member need listening skills. But more than that, they need something that reveals authentic care and concern.
Here are three insights.
1. Focus on Genuine Curiosity not only “Listening Skills.”
Have you heard this? “You need to nod, be quiet, and ask follow-up questions.”
Okay. That is helpful. But people can see past empty gestures.
Here is the Missing Piece to elevating coven members: Go to the place in yourself of Genuine Curiosity.
My friend, Stephen, deals with his father, who has no curiosity about Stephen’s life. His father asks no questions. His father does not know anything important to Stephen. Stephen grieves over the empty space between his father and himself.
On the other hand, you can go beyond “shallow listening skills.” You can choose to truly care about the other person. How? You nurture a curiosity about that person’s experience on their life path.
Do you focus on the wants and needs of the other person? Do you have genuine curiosity about that person’s experience in life?
2. Ask yourself questions.
Research reveals that we can guide our thoughts by asking a few powerful questions.
If you lead a coven, you need the skills of a good leader. A good leader stays strong and focused. How? Good leaders ask themselves questions to change their personal state of being.
Here’s a useful question: How can I quiet myself and turn the spotlight onto their feelings?
Often, many of us cannot get past the distraction of our own unmet needs.
First, you can ask: “How can I quiet myself?”
Here is something that is connected to this process: “How can I take care of myself so I’m not distracted by pain, anger, or emptiness?”
Are you taking good care of yourself?
Do you have space for the concerns and feelings of another person?
3. Ask the Gods “How can I take better care of myself.”
Many times, to take care of others we need to first take care of ourselves.
If your needs are met, you can be free of distraction. Then you can truly listen to another person.
Here is a prayer you can use.
Great Lord and Gracious Lady,
Help me experience my calm self.
Guide me to nurture that self for my benefit and the benefit of all involved.
Soothe me in this calm place within.
Give me the key to go there whenever I have need.
So Mote It Be.
May these insights support your journey.
Blessed Be,
Moonwater
Looking for gifts?
For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:
Check out my site MoonwaterSilverClaw.com for spells and more.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-yusib-16bedf1
Moonwater reveals the hidden reality of Your Divine Self. Unfortunately, many of us get stuck in our “human story.” This is when we feel broken and stuck. Moonwater reveals how she gets unstuck. She provides a powerful prayer you can use to invite the Goddess to help you know Your Divine Self.
“I don’t understand prayer. With some people I know, it sounds like they’re trying to use God as an Amazon products order form,” my friend, Amanda, said.
“I hear you,” I replied. “I think of it as a dialogue. I know that God and Goddess want me to blossom into my full destiny.”
“But I don’t get it. Why does God allow us to suffer so much?” Amanda continued.
That’s a big question.
Here are three insights.
1. Acknowledge that something has arrived as a problem that you did NOT want.
Some people try to put a smiley face on a problem. They call it a challenge. It works better for me to acknowledge that it really is a problem.
How about you? Do you feel irritated about putting the “nice” label of “challenge” upon something that bothers you?
2. Make the shift from wanting something just for you to seeing a different kind of opportunity.
Let’s go back to Amanda’s comment about wanting Deity to merely give us what we want.
Sometimes, what we get is something we would NOT have asked for. Migraine headaches? No! I don’t want that.
But I get something else. I have compassion for anyone facing health troubles.
Sometimes, we have experiences that feel like suffering, but they give us opportunities …
– to expand our understanding, our compassion, our empathy.
– to perhaps, serve and support others who experience the suffering we have endured.
Here’s another thought. What do we want? To feel “alive!” For many of us, feeling connected and having a purpose can provide a truly good feeling. For example, when I did volunteer work at The Peninsula Humane Society, I felt part of a team that was helping animals. I could make a difference. For the first few months, I felt on purpose.
Have you experienced something difficult, and later you could support someone facing something similar?
3. Ask Goddess for the Shift and the Strength.
Here’s a prayer you can use.
Goddess,
Bless me to shift out of self-focus.
Guide me to know that my suffering can serve
To help me grow in strength, compassion, and empathy.
Empower me on my path.
So Mote It Be.
May these insights support your path.
Blessed Be,
Moonwater
Looking for gifts?
For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:
Check out my site MoonwaterSilverClaw.com for spells and more.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-2zs8j-16b1b73
Moonwater reveals ways to handle a big disagreement with a friend. She even discusses how to handle when emotions run strong in one’s coven. Learn how to help the other person feel heard. Then, they are more likely to cooperate with you.
My friend, Alfonso, found himself in a big disagreement with a friend.
As he described the situation, I realized that both friends have a different “personal rhythm.”
Here are three insights.
1. Be observant.
Some research points to different VAK Learning Styles. That’s Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic (touch or doing actions). Some people lean toward watching videos. Others listen to audiobooks.
Alfonso ran into the situation that he is “visual.” His pace of talking is like a music video with the rapid cutting together of shots (images).
His friend, Julie, is an auditory person. She talks slower. She enjoys the sound and tonality of voices.
When Alfonso quickly changed topics in a conversation with Julie, she felt rushed and offended.
Have you noticed that you have a different style or personal rhythm than a loved one – in conversation?
2. Be flexible.
Alfonso can be flexible and take responsibility for his own conversation patterns. He can choose to call Julie when he has a day off. Alfonso is just too frantic at work—even on a 15-minute break.
Some people say, “A friend would just put up with my quirks.” Maybe so. Maybe not. Why sow seeds of discontent?
We, Wiccans, look to the natural world.
Who is wrong? The hummingbird with a fast pace, or a tortoise with a slow pace?
The natural world has space for different creatures and different attributes.
So, we can make space for different people with different rhythms.
Are you too tired to be flexible?
(A side note: Do you know who are the comfortable people at which event? Speech therapists at their own convention. Why? They demonstrate patience… and they listen.)
3. Ask the Goddess for strength and insight.
Here is a prayer you can use:
Goddess,
Give me Your grace and strength,
To see the good in people and not just write them off as difficult.
Give me Your insight,
To see their view on things and not be stuck in my own opinion.
Guide me, teach me, show me a new perspective of my fellow beings.
So Mote It Be.
May these insights support your path.
Blessed Be,
Moonwater
Looking for gifts?
For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:
Check out my site MoonwaterSilverClaw.com for spells and more.
GoddessHasYourBack.com 