“I had to talk to some officials about my father,” my friend, Fred, said. He looked shaken. His elderly father was continuing his violent ways.
“They want me to sign some paperwork. But I don’t know what the hell my father will do next,” Fred continued. Fred’s father had attacked another resident at the facility. The police were called, and Fred’s father had to face a judge. His father was barred from that facility.
Fred was triggered. And why not? His father had physically and emotionally abused Fred as a kid. Until he left home at 17 years old.
Are you triggered now?
I have three insights for you.
1. You need steps to handle being triggered.
Every time Fred talks with his father, the conversation goes bad. So, Fred sets up a phone call with a friend to occur immediately after such a conversation. They talk a bit about the call. But better than that, they shift to talking about something good. Fred is able to make a shift in thoughts and emotions.
Do you have a pattern so you can feel better after some triggering situation?
2. Focus on doing “a shift.”
Sometimes, the way to stop emotional pain is to shift out of a worn pattern. Something triggers a person, and then they go into a negative spiral. Fred calls a friend to do a shift in thoughts and energy. You can also meditate, pray, and/or go for a walk in nature. The idea is that you avoid losing a whole day to feeling bad.
A person can get value by venting during a chosen time. My husband and I take walks together. I remember my husband saying, “I’m going to vent about the problem until we get to that traffic light. Then let’s talk about something else.” That became our signal to do a “shift.”
Do you have a pattern of making a shift?
3. Consider a “Meditative Walk” to help you release pain.
I have learned to take a certain kind of “meditative walk.” It works better with nearby trees.
As you walk you can say something like:
I thank you my friends, the trees, I thank you grass and shrubs. Help me dissipate the negative energy within me. Negative energy flows downward. Out of my feet. Into the ground. Into Mother Earth. Such energy is now harmless. I am clear. I am safe. So Mote It Be!
“Every time, in every phone conversation, my father cuts me down. Every conversation is torture,” my friend, Nicholas, said.
“It sounds like shielding might help you,” I replied.
“I don’t know about that. My father won’t change,” Nicholas said.
“It’s about you. Keeping you strong. Helping you have healthy boundaries,” I said.
Nicholas agreed, and I led him through a shielding meditation.
About a half hour later, Nicholas called me.
“It was so different. Maybe, it was the energy I was expressing,” Nicholas said. “For once, my father and I had an ‘okay’ conversation. And when he started to go off the rails, I said, ‘We have had a good conversation. It’s time for us to complete this. Take care.’” Nicholas then ended the phone conversation with his father.
“That worked!” Nicholas said.
Sometimes, it seems that we, witches, lose our way for a time. It is almost like we need to “keep proving that Wicca works.” For Nicholas, the personal shielding meditation and good results reminded him vividly that Wicca works.
Personal shielding can be a valuable addition to your life.
One of my favorite exercises is to put up The Cosmic Egg Shield.
The Tree of Life Meditation/Cosmic Egg Shield
Meditation Exercise–“The Tree of Life”
Slowly breathe in and out. Breathe in the energy of love and peace (envision this as white energy). Breathe out all stress and negativity (envision this as black smoke). Keep taking deep breaths in and out. Concentrate on the white energy being breathed in and filling up your body with loving energy. Then let go and breathe out the negative energy you see as black smoke. As you do this, release the stresses of the day. Repeat this breathing cycle at least three times until you are comfortable and relaxed.
As your body and mind begin to relax, continue deep breathing and focus on this image:
Envision roots made up of energy sprouting from the bottoms of your feet. With each breath, extend the roots farther and farther down toward Mother Earth.
Extend them down through the floor, down past the plumbing of the house, and down, down deep into Mother Earth’s body. Go down to her core, to the center of her heart.
Once there, with each breath in, pull up the energy from Mother Earth. Breathe out the stress, and breathe in the blue-green energy of Mother Earth.
Pull the energy up through your roots, up past the plumbing of the house, past the floor, and into your feet. The energy feels clean and refreshing.
Breathe in deeply. Pull the blue-green energy up into your legs and past your knees. Pull it up, up into your Root Chakra at the base of your spine. Let it fill your body, going up, up into your Sacral Chakra, and continuing to your Solar Plexus Chakra. Breathing in deeply, draw the energy up into your Heart Chakra. Let the energy flow down your arms and into your hands. Feel your body relax as the energy fills it.
Breathing in, draw the energy up into your Throat Chakra.
Concentrate on the blue-green energy filling your body. When you are ready, with another breath in, breathe the energy up into your Third Eye Chakra.
Using your breath, draw the energy up into your Crown Chakra. Feel the energy flow throughout your body.
With another breath in, pull the energy up and out of your head. The energy forms like branches toward the Sky above you. Continue and let the branches flow up to the universe and out into the cosmos.
Draw down the golden energy of the Sky and universe into you. Continue to let the Sky energy intermingle and mix with the Earth energy that is already there. Pull it down through your body and into your arms.
Continue breathing deeply, mixing and pulling the energies down to your Heart Chakra.
Breathe in again, pulling the energy of the universe down into your Solar Plexus Chakra.
Continue pulling in the energy. Let it flow into you. Pull it into your Root Chakra. Breathing deeply, pull it down your legs and down to your feet.
Feel the energy from both the Earth Mother and the Sky Father that is within you.
Now focus on pulling this mixed energy out from the top of your head once more. But this time let it cascade down all around you like a waterfall until it completely surrounds you.
With a deep breath in, take the energy and push it out in all directions into an egg shape around you. This is the Cosmic Egg of Protection.
Keep breathing and as you do so, push out more and more energy into your egg.
Your egg gets stronger and stronger.
And when you are satisfied with the strength of your egg stop and relax.
In a moment or two, slowly start to pull your branches back within you, pulling them in with each breath.
Let any extra energy dissipate through the roots that you had placed into the Earth from your feet, keeping the egg intact.
Now breathe the roots up, and back into your body just like the branches that were above you. Give yourself over to the total relaxation you now feel.
In a moment or two—and when you are ready—open your eyes.
[Please know that you can record the above meditation and then listen to it later. Or you could invite a friend to read the above script and guide you through the meditation.]
You have now made the Cosmic Egg Shield. This shield will protect you from absorbing negative energy. It will repel any baneful energy thrown at you.
“What do you want more of?” my friend, Cindy, asked me.
“Peace,” I replied.
A lot runs through my mind. Am I taking good enough care of my elderly parents? What are the results of my latest health-related tests? Did I listen with enough attention to my husband and friends?
Some days it would be nice to have the feeling of peace and calm … for once.
I have three insights for you.
1. You do not have to pick “this or that.”
Focusing on gratitude does not mean you need to let go of making progress to have more and better in your life. In his book on the subject, the author Tom Marcoux wrote: “It is an AND-Universe.”
“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” – Eckhart Tolle
You can have both gratitude for what you have and a desire for more. Abundance is about more than enough. You can have an abundance of friends, family time, money, and more.
2. Consider “gratefully going for more.”
Being grateful is a powerful source of energy. With our magickal skills, we can achieve the bigger and better facets of our cherished dreams.
The Gods want us to be happy. They want us to have what supports us in creating meaning in our lives.
People use whatever source of energy they can. I know someone who uses anger-energy to jump into action. Okay. And, it can be good to shift away from that energy once one is in motion.
Gratefully going for more is positive, healthy … and often fun.
3. Ask Goddess to soothe your feelings about lacking.
I like this phrase “Send lacking packing.”
How can you do that?
Connect with the Goddess. Use a prayer like this or something similar.
Gracious Goddess, Ease my feelings of lack. Grow my abundance of _______. So that I may be at peace with myself, And the world around me. So Mote It Be.
GoddessHasYourBack.com 