The Ant’s Tale

June 24, 2016June 24, 2016 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

Fire

The ant’s world was ablaze. Flames towered over the ant as it scampered back and forth. I saw the ant in peril on a piece of firewood in my camp fire. With compassion, I placed a stick next to the piece of firewood that was ablaze at one end. The ant rushed onto the stick.

The ant crawled half way up. But then it frantically jumped off the refuge-stick I offered and dashed back toward the flames.

Again, I placed the stick right in front of the ant. This time it got back on the refuge-stick, and I swiftly lifted the stick and placed it on the ground some distance from the camp fire. The ant was safe.

Sometimes we make bad decisions despite God’s and Goddess’s warnings. The Gods, in their compassion, save us from our own stupidity.

Earlier today, I drove on the freeway. When a large truck cut me off, I slammed on the breaks. My car slid down the freeway until the wheels regained traction. With fast reflexes and the Gods’ grace I was safe!

Sometimes we are given intuitive guidance to go into a new direction, but our fear sends us back toward the flames. Some people stay in a bad marriage or in a bad job because these are the flames they know. Uncertainty seems to be too much to bear.

We, Wiccans, can call upon the Gods to guide us. They are present. They walk beside us on our journey through our lives. (I wrote a book on this: Goddess Walks Beside You.)

The Gods try to be as supportive as possible. All we need to do is ask for help and then step forth on the new, better path. (It’s better than getting burned.)

Blessed Be,
Moonwater

P.S. To sign up for our E-Newsletter click here.

Looking for gifts?

See my designs at Redbubble. For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Reveals Your Enchanted Light: Peace, Prosperity, Possibility Along Your Wiccan Path

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

Goddess Walks Beside You: How You Can Listen, Learn and Enjoy the Wiccan Path

Call Upon the Goddess and God

May 8, 2016 / Moonwater / 2 Comments

The Goddess gently held my left hand, and I could feel Her loving energy flow into my hand. Then the God took my right hand in His.

I felt so comforted, and this is when I knew in the core of my being that Wicca and my connection with God and Goddess were absolutely real.

Today, I was surprised. A dear friend asked me how often do I recall this experience that arose in one of my meditation sessions.

“Not often,” I replied.

“You don’t purposely reconnect with those feelings and that memory each week?” my friend asked.

“No, I don’t. Usually I find life too busy,” I said.

Wait a minute! Is this how I want my life to be?

What would I like my life to be? Less chaotic!

It seems that many of us are searching for that.

My friend asked, “When, during your week, is your life less chaotic?”

Recently, I have not made space for the experience of peace and connection on a daily basis.

I share this with you as an invitation for both you and me to find our simple ways to access our inner peace.

Just today, my friend and I went to Barnes and Noble, and she bought an adult coloring book Atlantis and some tinted pencils. “I’m going to see if this does relax me,” she said.

For us, Wiccans, we could simply set aside five minutes to deep breathe and call upon the Goddess and God.

Isn’t that possible?

Blessed Be,
Moonwater

P.S. To sign up for our E-Newsletter click here.

Looking for gifts?

See my designs at Redbubble. For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Reveals Your Enchanted Light: Peace, Prosperity, Possibility Along Your Wiccan Path

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

Goddess Walks Beside You: How You Can Listen, Learn and Enjoy the Wiccan Path

In Just One Moment, Connect with Goddess

March 26, 2016 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

Lily2

“I was so happy a day ago,” my friend Anna said.

“I hear a ‘but’ coming up,” I said.

“But then I found out my project is going to cost three times more,” she said.

“That sounds tough to hear,” I replied. “What were you happy about?”

“Our project had a new donor,” she continued, “But now, we’re stuck.”

I empathize with Anna’s situation.

The strange thing I notice is that Anna did not immediately invoke her Wiccan knowledge. Why did that happen?

You see, your ordinary, daily life is NOT separate from your spiritual life.

What could Anna do—in just a moment or two—to help her feel the Goddess’s love?

Turn Your Thoughts to Goddess

Shift to your feelings and thoughts about what you’re grateful for. Use this chant:

Gracious Lady of the Moon,
I thank you now for this boon.

Light a Candle per day

You can light a candle as an offering to express your gratitude for what you do have.

On the first day, Anna could have lit a candle to express her gratitude for the project donation.

On the second day, Anna could light a candle for Goddess’s Guidance.

Use this chant:

Goddess,
I don’t know what to do.

Grant me strength to find a solution.
Guide me with Your Divine Inspiration.

So Mote It Be.

The third day would be time to do an offering after what you want has manifested.

Find some humor.

When we do things, we’ll face some resistance.

I was talking with a friend recently and we came up with this little phrase:

Goddess,
I thank you now
I thank you later
Do what You will
to straighten out this hater.

My friend and I laughed about this one.

Remember, you can connect with Goddess in just one moment.

Blessed Be,
Moonwater

P.S. To sign up for our E-Newsletter click here.

Looking for gifts?

See my designs at Redbubble. For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Reveals Your Enchanted Light: Peace, Prosperity, Possibility Along Your Wiccan Path

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

Goddess Walks Beside You: How You Can Listen, Learn and Enjoy the Wiccan Path

Support Your Inner Peace in a World of Voices Arguing Over Deity

March 12, 2016 / Moonwater / 2 Comments

Have you caught a bit of broadcast news and heard about someone’s cruelty to another person—and it bothered you?

Or maybe you’ve wondered about how some extremists use religion as a justification for terrible acts.

Recently, just as I was drifting off to sleep, an idea blazed across the expanse of my mind.

Picture this. Deity is water. Each human being is a vessel.

Imagine that Deity’s essence as a large infinite ball of water.

Let’s say you’re a bowl and you grow up among bowls. All you know are bowls. In fact, you might say that bowl people have “bowl Gods” because they see themselves in what they picture to be Divine.

On the other side of the ocean are goblets. And they only know themselves as goblets. So they have “goblet Gods.”

But Deity fills ALL bowls and ALL goblets. Deity is ONE. Deity is in everyone.

Water will take the shape of any vessel it fills. The vessels may differ dramatically, but what fills them is the same.

Ideally, we Pagans get a glimpse of the essence of Deity. All who see Deity, see the Source and realize the Source is just dressed in the garb inspired by various cultures.

(We’re talking about the form water. Certainly, Deity can take any form: water, vapor or solid. By the way, we Pagans know that we can relate to Gods and Goddesses that we choose. In essence, Deity has different forms and we can connect with the form that moves our heart.)

Our problem—that is human beings’ problem is that we see ourselves as vessels—as bowls or goblets.

Do we humans get caught up in looking at vessels? Sure we do. Research reveals that tall people and “pretty” people get treated better than others. They get the jobs and the promotions.

You could even extend this metaphor of Deity as water to other galaxies.

Astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson once said, “My great fear is that we’ve in fact been visited by intelligent aliens, but they chose not to make contact, on the conclusion that there’s no sign of intelligent life on Earth.”

My point is that this metaphor of Deity as water applies to the thought that Deity is in such possible aliens. Instead of goblets or bowls, such aliens could be buckets. I’m just saying.

My metaphor of Deity is water applies to all life and all matter.

Neil Degrasse Tyson has talked about dark matter which relates to 85% of the gravity in the universe. “Dark matter. I get asked what it is. And my best answer is we haven’t a clue. We don’t know what it is,” Tyson said.

I will suggest that Deity is dark matter, too.

In any case, when you hear about someone who is ignorant about Paganism spouting dumb theories, see if you can allow that Deity is water. There is some Deity in that other person. What is the big difference? That person is probably shut down in some way. He or she does not hear the inspiration from Goddess—which is that person’s loss.

So maybe you can muster a bit of compassion to send in that direction.

Some spiritual paths suggest: Love everyone.

I do like the idea that it’s sometimes good to love toxic people from afar!

Blessed Be,
Moonwater

P.S. To sign up for our E-Newsletter click here.

Looking for gifts?

See my designs at Redbubble. For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

Goddess Walks Beside You: How You Can Listen, Learn and Enjoy the Wiccan Path

Pagans Overcoming Fear

March 4, 2016 / Moonwater / 2 Comments

anitHarmNone

“Sometimes, it just gets to be too much to bear, you know?” Merla said. At PantheaCon, we were taking a break. She told me about how she still had to hide her pentagram necklace at family gatherings. Her family held to a strict Christian point of view. If they knew her Pagan faith, she’d be denounced and disowned.

“I could put up with losing some family members. Hell, if my father never talked to me again, that would be a relief. But losing my baby sister. That would hurt. Really bad.”

I listened closely. I kept quiet mostly so that Merla could talk herself out. Merla feared losing all contact with her sister. I could relate to fear.

Have you noticed how fear can keep us stuck?

Will Merla ever come out to her family? Is her relationship with her sister strong enough so she could come out just to her sister?

These are tough questions. Maybe not coming out to her family is the right decision for Merla. I don’t know.

I do know that if you run your whole life by fear, it can really screw you up.

In my own journey, moving through fear has been truly important. Recently, I gave a speech. Here is the text of that speech:

* * * * * *

“Have you ever been so scared that fear stopped you cold?

I have!

At 15 years old, I wanted to be a writer, but I had dyslexia.

Writing scared me.

Why? Because I never had regular English classes. I was in the Special Ed group. I never learned how to break down a sentence. Or to write a “proper paragraph.”

Writing scared me. So I shut down for over 20 years and didn’t do my dream.

I have 3 Big Ideas to share with you tonight.

The first one is: “You don’t have to believe. You just have to act.”

Let me share how this worked in my life. I have a friend who knew an Acquisitions Editor at a top publishing company. I knew the books that came from this publisher. I really wanted to write for this publisher.

This is the dream for a wannabe writer like me. The one big opportunity. So I went to their website to find out what I needed to submit to the publisher. Under the tab “submissions” it said that I had to submit a complete manuscript of the book.

Write a whole book?! Are you crazy? I can’t even write a paragraph.

But then I had an idea. “Just one step.” Did I believe I could write a book. No. What could I do? One step. Write a paragraph. Another step. Write a second paragraph. Then, write a short blog post. One more step. Write a second blog post for the second week of the blog.

One year later. 52 blog posts done. Now, I had most of the material for a book.

What did I learn? “JUST ONE STEP.” Just one step at a time is all I needed.

You don’t have to believe; you just have to act.

Here’s my 2nd Big Idea for you tonight.

I have dyslexia. Can I polish my writing on my own?

No.

So I came up with this idea–my 3rd idea for you tonight: The Power of Me Expands to the Power of We.

In my case, “We” means that I write the first draft. It’s all my ideas, my content—what comes from my heart.

Then I bring in my editor. Then I had other team members like a fact checker and a proofreader. So let’s go over those Big Ideas:

1) JUST ONE STEP and
2) The Power of ME expands to the Power of WE.

Now, I invite you to think of something you want. Something you want to try. Something you want to experience. Think of One Step in the direction of what you want.

Yes—Doing a Google Search counts!

JUST ONE STEP.

Say that with me now. All together: JUST … ONE … STEP …

I know this works. I’m living proof. The dyslexic who has written 4 books.

And let’s all remember: “The Power of ME expands to The Power of WE.”

Look around. We’re all gathered tonight. We’re supporting each other. During the networking time, you could meet someone who can help you – and you could help that person in return.

What is possible? More than you think. Remember: Just One Step and the Power of WE.
Thank you.”

* * * * * *

In my above speech, I talked about how I dealt with fear by taking small steps forward.

In your spiritual path, what small steps can you take forward? Do you wish to connect with more Pagans? You might go to Cog.org [website of Covenant of the Goddess].

Another valuable website is witchvox.com

You could also connect with me at askawitchnow@gmail.com

If you can find your way to California, usually in February, you can attend PantheaCon.

I invite you to find other Pagans and build your own circle of support.

Blessed Be,
Moonwater

P.S. To sign up for our E-Newsletter click here.

Looking for gifts?

See my designs at Redbubble. For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

Goddess Walks Beside You: How You Can Listen, Learn and Enjoy the Wiccan Path

Protect Yourself: Always Cast Circle

February 26, 2016 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

Skull

“The God of Death won’t leave,” I said, really concerned. My mentor nodded; she understood. This was years ago around the time of Samhain. The God of Death has many faces. The one I kept seeing was the corpse-face of a deer on a man’s body.

“The God of Death wants to talk to me,” I said. My mentor suggested that we do a meditation so I could find out his reason for a conversation. My mentor and I settled down in her living room, and soon I went to the astral plane to talk to the God of Death.

Once I was done and had received his message, I came back to the mundane world.

But I didn’t come back alone. The God of Death clung onto me and wouldn’t leave!

I ended up doing a ritual in the woods and appeased him with a gift of a pomegranate. Finally, he left me. What a relief!

The Big Lesson

I learned something of vital importance. It’s necessary for us to Cast Circle BEFORE we do a meditation.

I repeat: Cast Circle BEFORE, you do a meditation.

In essence, I was fortunate. I learned a big lesson without having to pay a big price.

If I had Cast Circle, then the God of Death would not have returned with me from the astral plane.

Okay. Lesson learned.

Blessed Be,
Moonwater

P.S. To sign up for our E-Newsletter click here.

P.P.S. I’m pleased to invite you to a Free Event that I’m co-hosting “Discover Your Enchanted Prosperity” in Sunnyvale, California — March 9th at 6:30 pm.
For details, go to Meetup.com when you CLICK HERE

Looking for gifts?

See my designs at Redbubble. For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

Goddess Walks Beside You: How You Can Listen, Learn and Enjoy the Wiccan Path

Depression, Suicide, and A Wiccan Path to Healing

February 6, 2016February 7, 2016 / Moonwater / 4 Comments

Tulips

He had been tossed out of a branch of the armed forces. Why? Poor performance of his duties? No! It was his sexual orientation. A couple of years later, he killed himself. Often, every month, I remember my dear friend.

None of this is a theory to me. I’ve attempted suicide myself. The first time—when I was 8 years old.

Wiccans acknowledge that winter is the season of death. Death does not always mean the end of life. In the Tarot, the card “Death” also means change.

I know from my own journey that feeling the urge to kill oneself is a call for change—and a call for love.

During the winter, a significant number of people struggle with seasonal affect disorder.

For many of us who are enduring difficult times now, here is a meditation from my book Goddess Has Your Back to help you.

Self-Love Meditation

Close your eyes.
Breathe in and out deeply . . . Relax.
Keep breathing.
Breathe out the stress of the day.
Breathe in relaxation and peace.

(Pause)

You are still aware of the light that is in the room.
Now the light begins to fade.
As it fades you feel total comfort. You feel safe and secure in the darkness.

(Short Pause)

Now, a new form of light blossoms. It surrounds and wraps you in its loving energy. This light is the light of the Gods.
It is a light of love and compassion. Take it in.
As you take this light and understanding in, you can now see with the Gods’ eyes.
You can now see yourself as they see you, pure, beautiful, whole. You are a masterpiece of their creation. You were made with love, and you are a manifestation of their love. You are love.
This understanding fills you.

(Pause)

With this new understanding you are now ready to return to the physical world.
You know that even though you may leave the light at this time it is never truly gone.
It’s a gentle transition as the light begins to fade around you.
Slowly at first. It gets darker and darker.
As it fades you feel total comfort. You feel safe and secure in the darkness.

(Short Pause)

Then a familiar light returns, the light in the room where you started.
It gradually gets brighter and brighter.
You are back in the room. You have brought the calm and peace and happy feelings back with you.
Now, gently open your eyes.

I hope you find comfort with this meditation.

You can also meditate and ask the God and Goddess for help. Meditate on what the Gods see as a helping answer for you. Remember, the God and Goddess are always on your side.

If you’re in distress, please call the Suicide Hotline at: 1 (800) 273-8255

Yes—I have attempted suicide more than once. But now my life is good. It’s really worth it to endure the pain because life CAN get better.

Blessed Be,
Moonwater

P.S. To sign up for our E-Newsletter click here.

Looking for gifts?

See my designs at Redbubble. For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

Goddess Walks Beside You: How You Can Listen, Learn and Enjoy the Wiccan Path

Goddess, Why Did You Let this Break Me?

December 19, 2015December 19, 2015 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

Drift Wood

“That’s it. I’m done,” my friend, Sandra, said.

“Tell me more. I’m listening,” I said.

“How could Goddess let this happen to me?” Sandra asked.

Sometimes, life hurts so much we’re left a wreck.

We wonder how a kind Goddess and God would allow such terrible things to happen.

I’m not talking from theory. I have two things: clinical depression and dyslexia.

“Wasn’t just one of these things enough?!” I’ve asked the Goddess.

In the first year of college, I heard this idea: Some Japanese artisans repair a broken vase with lacquer mixed with gold. My first thought was “What a waste of gold.”

Years later, I learned of Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with powered gold, platinum or silver. Author Christy Bartlett wrote: “Not only is there no attempt to hide the damage, but the repair is literally illuminated.”

Doesn’t this seem counter to what we’re taught to do? If we’re imperfect, aren’t we supposed to hide our flaws?

Flaws make us who were are. They make us unique. Just like the broken vase, each crack is a badge of honor and forms the unique composition of ourselves.

Wicca is the path of uniqueness. It molds to each practitioner’s needs. We can worship whatever pantheon we want. We can make our own rituals, tailored to ourselves and our uniqueness.

Dyslexia makes it hard to read so I was taught Wicca in a truly one-on-one, mentor-to-student manner. This was a traditional approach. I find great value in that.

It’s hard to say what value I’ve gained from dealing with depression symptoms every day. Then I think about my connection to humor. The first thing that popped in my mind is Monty Python’s song “Always Look On the Bright Side of Life.”

I’m often quick to thrown in a humorous comment.

Humor has a healing experience for me.

I invite you to consider:

When we get broken, the healing is what fills the crack. And that’s a gift.

Blessed Be,

Moonwater SilverClaw
P.S. To sign up for our E-Newsletter click here.

Looking for gifts this Yule season?

See my designs at Redbubble.

For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

Goddess Walks Beside You: How You Can Listen, Learn and Enjoy the Wiccan Path

How Pagans Can Move Beyond Depression and Anxiety during the Holiday Season

November 27, 2015 / Moonwater / 2 Comments

Lights

“I’m feeling low,” Matilda said.

“I hear you,” I replied. “Something in particular?”

“We’re squeezed from all sides. All the Christmas music, the shopping, the happy couples, the family time. Hey, it was Yule!—before the Christians hijacked our season,” Matilda continued.

Ever feel, as a pagan, that you’re on a small island in the middle of “Christmas-focused people”?

The holidays often create depression and anxiety in Pagans. Seeing all the decorations and good cheer may be nice. Still, we Pagans know that one of our sacred Sabbats was perverted into a consumer holiday.

One holiday season, I was sitting in a knitting group at a yarn shop, when an older woman exclaimed, “What’s all this ‘happy holidays’ crap? It’s Christmas, damn it! It’s always going to be Christmas.”

I felt my hackles rise because I knew full well that in the group were a Jew, me and an Asian with parents from China. Through our diversity, we were already demonstrating that “happy holidays” was a respectful greeting at this time of year.
Why? Because in the USA, we have people of various cultures and traditions.

Long time readers of this blog know that I deal with depression symptoms. It’s true that outside things like all of this tinsel and tyranny of some people pushing their religion on others can exacerbate my depression symptoms.

Getting Past Feeling Depressed

I have learned to focus on the beauty around me and what it means to me. By this I mean, I focus on this present moment. If I see a Yule tree and I enjoy its beauty, then my depression symptoms “quiet down.” Who cares what others call the tree.

Pagans Feeling Anxiety during the Holidays

I have a number of Pagan friends who have to hide their faith from their Christian family and friends. Talk about anxiety! What if the pagan lets something slip like: “Oh, yeah. I had so much fun a Pantheacon”?

Here are some of things I do to lower my anxiety levels.

I have a particular family member who works with some people who are not open to hearing about the pagan path. So I make sure to guard my own energy before an event with that particular group. I prepare to listen and talk about things that this group is comfortable talking about.

Most importantly, I make sure to devote time with like-minded pagans so I feel safe and nurtured—and renewed in energy.

About dealing with the consumerism of the season:

I didn’t participate in Black Friday. I did not run around and attempt to get big bargains. That activity has nothing to do with the true meaning of the holiday Yule, which is about honoring the birth of the God, and the return of the sun.

Pagans and Wiccans know what Yule really means.

I practice being gentle with myself about gift-giving. Sure, you can give close ones gifts. Just go easy about it.

The way to deal with depression and anxiety is to nurture yourself.

Focus on being in the present moment. Find the beauty you cherish and create your own meaning.

Blessings,

Moonwater SilverClaw

P.S. To sign up for our E-Newsletter click here.

Looking for gifts this Yule season?

See my designs at Redbubble.

For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

Goddess Walks Beside You: How You Can Listen, Learn and Enjoy the Wiccan Path

When Tragedy Strikes – How You Can Use Magick and Meditation to Ignite Your Inner Peace

November 21, 2015November 21, 2015 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

FrenchFlag

In light of the recent attacks on the people in Paris, France, I feel overwhelmed with sadness and anger. I mourn deeply for the people who were murdered.

For a number of days I have been thinking about what to write. What would I discuss: Sorrow, rage, wanting justice, even the desire for some form of revenge?

Still, the idea that keeps arising in my mind is:

“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”— Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi invites us to move beyond anger and vengeance.

Still, as I feel deeply about the situation, I realize that to maintain my own health, I need to get beyond pain, anger and sadness.

For you, I offer this meditation-exercise to help you maintain your own health and ability to take action in daily life.

Before I share this meditation-exercise, I realize that it is valuable for me to discuss two different forms of strength. These ideas arose in my conversation with one of my editors:

The Strength of Anger – in the short term, this can get us moving and it can be a channel for our own pain. But in the long term, it can lead to faulty decision-making. It is short sighted. Further, it can cause significant health problems.
The Enduring Strength of Inner Peace – Inner peace is an ever-renewing source of energy.

As my editor suggested, “If you get your inner energy right you can do more right. Inner peace can help you get past the sorrow and the anger so you can be in the present moment and have all of your resources.”

The below meditation-exercise is not about denying the need for justice and more protection.

The below meditation-exercise is designed to empower you to stay in a place of awareness and strength.

Meditation Magick Exercise on Letting Go and Finding Your Hidden Strength

You will need:

a blue candle
extra virgin olive oil
boline
incense
salt
water

Cast Your Circle in your usual manner.

Cleanse your blue candle with the elements Earth and Water. Then consecrate the blue candle with your incense smoke.

Use your boline and write (on the blue candle) the name of the event that is causing your pain.

Use the olive oil to “dress your candle.”

Concentrate on the blue color, which is for healing.

Light the blue candle and focus on its flame, representing the healing truth of love and strength.

Meditate on the flame. In your mind’s eye, see the flame burning away all the negativity in your aura and the space around you. Once you feel your space/aura is cleansed, go to the next step …

Now imagine the pain of the event in your life. The event may be a personal experience or a public one like the Paris attacks. Create an image (in your mind) that represents the event. See the image floating above the flame. Concentrate on the image until it is a solid image above the candle. Feel it; know it is there.

Breathe deeply in and out, in and out. In your mind’s eye, lower the image into the flame and watch it burn away. Feel the heat in your heart as the image and related pain is transformed into the purity of peace and strength. As the image vanishes, see that all that remains is a phoenix of peace and strength.

Do the Cakes and Wine Ceremony.

Close Your Circle in your usual way.

[When you’re done with the exercise, have the candle continue burning. Make sure that things are safe so that the candle can burn until it goes out on its own. Never leave a burning candle unattended.]

I hope this meditation-exercise supports you in your personal journey of healing.

Blessings,

Moonwater SilverClaw

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For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

Goddess Walks Beside You: How You Can Listen, Learn and Enjoy the Wiccan Path