Colds and flu this winter?  Perhaps it’s time to try an alternative approach

I hope you and your family have escaped colds and flu so far this season, but often they are hard to avoid.

Sick people still go out and about in the USA, mainly because they have to work (and unlike Japan for example, don’t wear masks when they sick).

I’m beginning to think that’s a sensible idea!

My alternative approach to helping the healing process with colds and flu

My oldest, Callie, is home sick today and it occurred to me as I’m treating her that my tips and tricks for treating colds and flu could be useful for other moms and dads (not to mention for yourself), so here goes.

Step 1 of my approach for colds and flu

I use Oscillococcinum, a homeopathic remedy, I always keep some in the cupboard over the winter season.  I just do what it says on the box to help relieve symptoms of colds and flu.

You can now buy ‘Oscillo’ in Target (latest 1 box price $9.49).  It’s also available in Dillons in Wichita – my local town – but a bit more pricey.

The new Natural Grocer in Wichita also stocks Oscillo and the price is really good, I bought double the amount than from Target and it was $13.49!

I notice it’s now available on Amazon, too if you can’t find it in your local grocery store or health food store.

The key with a homeopathic remedy is to take it often, which is different than you may be used to with longer lasting colds and flu remedies from the pharmacy.

Thing is, the pharmacy remedies reduce the symptoms, whereas a homeopathic remedy stimulates the immune system to work through the disease or illness (in this case colds and flu) more quickly.

Step 2 of my alternative approach for colds and flu

Bed rest or one quiet day on the couch if possible.  I know this is hard for a lot of working people, especially if you have to take a day off work to take care of your child, but you are making much harder on your immune system (or your child’s) if you give them a dose of symptom suppressant cough or flu medicine and send them straight into school.

Not to mention the fact that you are risking making everyone else sick too by giving them colds and flu!

Step 3 of my approach for colds and flu – some kind of vitamin or mineral booster – here’s an example

Take an Airborne.  Maybe two.  They really do work to help boost your immune system in my opinion.

I also think it’s a good idea to travel with these – and they now come in a new, chewable pack so that you can use them on the go instead of the soluble kind which require a glass of water.

Step 3 of my alternative approach for colds and flu – essential oils

Diffuse appropriate Essential Oils or have the person inhale them, either on a tissue (very quick and simple for younger children) or in a bowl of very hot water with a towel over your head (useful for older children and adults).

Today Callie slept for an hour this morning, I put my diffuser by her bed and diffused a combination of Thieves® and Lavender.

She didn’t eat much for breakfast and complained of body aches.

It’s now lunchtime and she’s watching TV and eating her lunch, her eyes are looking much clearer.  That’s a big sign that her immune system is kicking in.  I’m hopeful she’ll be back to school tomorrow.

Benefits of an alternative approach for colds and flu – save money in the long run and improve health and well-being in your family

When I mention my alternative approach to people, many are open, but others cite cost as an issue.

My question to this viewpoint is – how much is a co-pay if your child gets really sick?

And what if you could save yourself a co-pay, maybe more than one, by using this approach?

Just as an aside, my oldest has (so far thank g-d) never had an ear infection, chest infection or had to take antibiotics.  She’s 9 and we travel a lot (4 states in 10 years so far).

The younger child had antibiotics twice, and I was glad of them – she caught a really nasty virus after a transatlantic airplane ride and the infection came back – twice.  That’s when antibiotics are so great.

And guess what – she’s stayed well ever since – I carry Thieves, Airborne and Oscillo on our journeys now to make sure.

Something to think about next time you feel that tickle in your throat.

Disclaimer: I am a Young Living Distributor.  Feel free to contact me if you’re interested in an essential oil consultation.  I’m also an essential oil intuitive – readings given!

I have no business connection with Boiron or the makers of Airborne, I simply like the products and use them in my alternative approach.

The photos on the page link to Amazon – mainly because it’s the only way I can show photos that I don’t own, as an Amazon affiliate.

I hope you find something in this article useful and resist colds and flu.

Spiritual Gifts for Valentine’s Day and some history and faction around Saint Valentine

Valentine’s Day, or St Valentine’s Day, honors an early Christian Martyr, Saint Valentine and only became associated with love and sharing gifts with a loved one in the High Middle Ages.

There are several stories surrounding Saint Valentine – in life, he may have been a priest who married lovers secretly against the wishes of a Roman Emperor, or that he was an imprisoned man who sent his lover a ‘Valentine’ – a note declaring his love.

Either way, we choose to open our hearts on February 14th and show our loved ones how much we care.

Here are some ideas for spiritual gifts for Valentine’s Day – something a little different for the loved one or family member on a Spiritual Journey.

Spiritual Gifts on Valentine’s Day – send a free E-Card

Beautiful Image of the Heart Chakra - choose from many other card types, too - click the image to visit Isha's site

I’ve loved Isha Lerner’s site for a long time and it’s a great place to visit for a free card reading, or to send an E-Card.  I have two of Isha’s card packs and very much like her Flower Essences also.

You can also visit her site to buy flower essences or get a partner astrological reading amongst other things.

The card decks can be purchased also – I have the Triple Goddess Tarot which I very much like, which comes with a very comprehensive book if you are new to using Tarot or divining cards of any kind.

The art work on this site is unique and beautiful, definitely a spiritual gift for Valentine’s Day.

Angelic Spiritual Gifts on Valentine’s Day – Doreen Virtue’s collection of work

If you are looking for a gift for somebody interested in learning more about the energy of angels, or angelic healing work, then Doreen Virtue’s books and CDs are an excellent place to start.

Here are two of my favorites.  My children very much enjoy the the Angel Numbers 101 book and the app is now available for the iPhone.

I refer to the Archangels and Ascended Masters book a lot should I receive some information when meditating or working with clients.

It’s also a great introduction to working with angelic energies, no need to be a practitioner to gain benefit from the deep messages in this book.

Visit www.chocolatreecafe.com to order online

And last but not least, even for the spiritual person – even Spiritual Gifts For Valentine’s Day are not complete without chocolate!

My personal favorite (only had them a few times and still remember them!) Chocolate L.O.V.E Cups from the ChocolaTree in Sedona, AZ.

Their site refers to these as ‘Live Organic Vegan Euphoria’.  That about sums it up…

You only need one, it makes you happy all day (raw chocolate) and there is absolutely no sugar spike!  L.O.V.E. Cups!  And you can order them online! 

Hope you enjoyed my list of spiritual gifts for Valentine’s Day.  I wish you an open-hearted day.

The World Wide Web, one manifestation of our collective consciousness, or group mind

Synchronicity and the New Age

What is synchronicity and why do people talk about it?

The concept of synchronicity was first described in this terminology by Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss psychologist, in the 1920s.

Carl Jung believed in the concept of a ‘collective consciousness’, putting forward to that synchronicity is the tip of an iceberg, that is, synchronistic events are the result of underlying patterns in a group network of consciousness which ties us all together.

Pretty revolutionary New Age thinking from a psychologist in the 1920s!

How can I become more aware of Synchronicity?

In my opinion, to get in tune with synchronicity,  it’s a question of learning to notice patterns as they occur.  Here’s a simple example.

Yesterday morning, as is usual, my alarm went off before my husbands did (I play Doreen Virtue’s Chakra Clearing (Book & CD) in the morning, much to my husbands chagrin!).  I switched it off and stayed abed a little longer.

My husband’s clock alarm came on and he switched it off, too.  (It snoozes for 10 minutes).  Then, half-asleep, I started thinking about an episode of American Idol I had been watching with the children a few days before, when a young  woman about to become divorced (and with small children) sang a great rendition of ‘You’re No Good’ and made it to Hollywood week.

Noticing synchronistic events can be a sign of opening to the concept of a grid, lattice, or energy system that connects us all

Then my husband’s radio alarm clock switched on, played one chord and went silent.  The DJ said “And that was You’re No Good by Linda Rondstadt”.  Up until that point I didn’t even know that she sang that song originally!

So…I could dismiss it as coincidence and not synchronicity, but after this many years on my spiritual journey I know better.

Half-asleep, I was ‘tuned in’ to group consciousness and picked up on the song while it was playing on the radio, and I was snoozing…by virtue of a thought!

This is just one way that group consciousness or the collective consciousness is making itself known in the New Age of Enlightenment.

Some simple ways to become more aware of Synchronicity – it’s one of the keys to shifting awareness

• Do your best to stay in the moment
• Notice events that connect to each other – e.g. “I was just thinking of that person and then they called me” – that is a sure sign of synchronicity
• Be open to the fact that synchronicity is the tip of the iceberg and one of the keys to connecting further to group mind or Unity Consciousness
• Start to think about connecting to a higher consciousness or widening your perspective on any given subject when something grabs your attention
• Notice the ‘law of three’.  When I have somebody mention a subject, book or person three times in fairly quick succession, like a few days or a week (it’s been a day, sometimes) then I believe that I need to learn more about that subject, book or person – the collective consciousness is answering a vibrational question I have.

Synchronicity – some light reading

Quite a few years ago now James Redfield bought out a series of books about spiritual ‘insights’ – ways to move forward on your spiritual journey and become more self-aware.

The first one is called The Celestine Prophecy and synchronicity is one of the first insights discussed in this book, further books and a movie have followed.

The Celestine Prophecy is an easy read if you’re interested in noticing more about what you notice.

Oh – and once you’ve read something about synchronicity, you’ll start noticing it.  It’s just the way it works!

Busy last week or so on my Spiritual Journey – experiencing the Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique (or Past Life Regression)

A Cloud Angel I captured a while back - enjoy!

Just like life, the Spiritual Journey can be totally surprising and catch us unawares.

I attended a Past Life Regression meeting with a great group of people recently.

The energetic work I participated in there gave me lots of food for thought and some very surprising and enlightening information.

I’ve had this experience before when studying to become an EMF Balancing Technique® Practitioner and it’s always a surprise when it happens.

So back to the spiritual journey…

A Past life regression (using the Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique) at Atira Moon with Candace Craw-Goldman

I’ve had the good fortune to connect with Candace Craw-Goldman at New Earth Journey.  She practices the Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique in Austin, Texas and also at her Atira Moon property to the east of Wichita, KS.

This was my third time heading out to Candace’s property for a meetup with like-minded folks on our mutual spiritual journeys.

We discussed a new healing technology from Russia that people are starting to practice in the States relating to new knowledge about our DNA, Candace shared some of the work she is learning with this technology, we all ‘hung out’ and chatted and laughed about life in general.

And then Candace generously facilitated a group experience of the work that she does in her practice, it’s called the Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique – you may have heard the more common term of ‘Past Life Regression‘.

What is Past Life Regression – and why undergo a technique like this on your spiritual journey?

Past Life Regression techniques are a way to let a person have a ‘daydream’ using hypnosis, where the person is safely guided to a place and time in order to relive an experience that is in their subconscious.  Reliving the experience releases the energy from it and frees trauma from the body and mind.

Many psychotherapists use this technique to help release traumas in this life – people that ascribe to the belief that there are past lives (and I’m one of those) also find themselves having ‘daydreams’ or journeys into other lives that were apparently their own.

An example of a  well-known past life regression practitioner in this field is Dr Brian Weiss, who appeared on Oprah show in 2008 to demonstrate his approach to this technique.  He uses a past life regression technique to assist with phobia release and other fear-based issues.  Here’s a link to the article on the Oprah site from 2008.

Past Life Regression and sometimes Future Life Progression – heading into the future!  All part of the spiritual journey, apparently

I had previously attended a workshop with Candace where the experience was so intense and weird that I felt I couldn’t share it.

Still, I went away and ‘bit down’ on the experience, read further on the subject matter that came up and it’s definitely added to my spiritual journey.

(Instead of experiencing a ‘past life regression’ and going backwards in time…I experienced a ‘future life progression’ of seeing into the future, even into other dimensions).

The same thing happened this time, only more so – but this time I decided to share my experience with the group and it was very validating, since some of the other people in the group had ‘otherworldly’ type experiences too during their past life regressions…my sharing my strange journey enabled the others to feel safer and share their experiences too.

What I’ve noticed as a result of this session is that I’m having very clear ideas and ‘views’ of the future from perspective of where to take my writing work and how to focus my abilities with energetic bodywork.  Whether you believe in Past Life Regression work or not, my experience has shown me that it is a very powerful way to clear limitations from the mind.

The Digital Mom Handbook or “How to Blog, Vlog, Tweet, and Facebook Your Way to a Dream Career at Home”

Definitely a comprehensive guide for bloggers

The Digital Mom Handbook by Audrey McClelland and Colleen Padilla recently caught my eye at our local library.

The Digital Mom is a relatively new release so it was in the two week loan section, which is good since I’ve read it quickly and found a lot of useful information in there for anyone interested in working at home as a blogger, mom, dad or otherwise.

It contains some great information about blogging, and you don’t have to be a ‘mommy blogger’ to benefit from the contents.

If you have Problogger on your shelf then you’ll definitely want The Digital Mom Handbook too

Problogger - Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett

I’ve only been blogging for a year or so but learned so much on the journey so far!  Initially I started writing to learn more about WordPress and building websites, partly for the intellectual challenge but also from the perspective of keeping my technical skills current whilst being a home mom shuttling my kids to school and back.

I’ve worked in business in the past where I’ve been on the road a lot, and since my husband currently takes that role, I’m the person that needs to be around for our children.  Blogging and writing (and plans for online workshops…dare I say even writing a book) seem to fit the bill for me perfectly – and that is how I’m becoming a Digital Mom!

Then there was this ‘logical’ aspect to learning to blog, to grow a small business where I could practice from home some of the time.  And then there was the emotional and spiritual aspect of the journey.  The Digital Mom Handbook pays credence to all these aspects of blogging, whilst remaining a very practical and grounding read.

Blogging has helped me to grieve my mum’s passing, whilst also sharing her message.  Big surprise to me how therapeutic this writing journey is, especially when I get to share wellness tips (one of my passions) and help other people along the way.

I believe that many Digital Moms start this blogging journey for many different reasons – so a handbook is a great help!

Audrey and Colleen’s The Digital Mom Handbook will definitely help you along on your journey if you find yourself deciding to go deeper into

• networking with other bloggers – (finding your ‘tribe’ – like minded people who are willing to give AND receive in order to help circulate your message and theirs)
• thinking about getting paid for writing reviews
• thinking about making blogging a side-business or a full-time business
• wondering where Facebook, Twitter and ‘all that’ fits in
• working with brands and PR companies/people
• finding good websites that will help you along the way
• should you blog, vlog (video log) or something else too, like attending conferences as a speaker or becoming a brand representative?

…and more besides.  The stories in the Digital Mom Handbook are direct from active (and successful) bloggers and are an excellent resource.  This book will help you think through what is a good fit for you and how hard you really want to work on this type of career.

Good to know before you put a whole lot of time and energy into something that may not pay off unless you’re well-informed.

The Digital Mom Handbook makes 7 excellent recommendations and successfully delves into the ‘how tos’

1. Find your passion
2. Hang a Digital ‘shingle’ and start typing
3. Find your tribe
4. Make opportunity knock and learn how to answer that door
5. Manage the Benjamins (money!)
6. Don’t forget the children!
7. Live happily ever after by living your values.

As I’m returning The Digital Mom Handbook to the library…

By Danny Iny, co-founder of Firepole Marketing

How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars

…I’m thinking I’ll just need to buy a copy!  Also have a couple of other books I’m starting to work through which look great to for the beginning to intermediate blogger (again, digital mom or otherwise).

I’ve listed them here for reference – have only worked through both of them partially so far, but wanted to share – all part of networking, as I’m learning!

OK, back to helping the girls with their homework this afternoon.

Some properties of turquoise the gemstone – while making friends on my new BlogFrog Community Page!

My turquoise pendant hanging out on an amethyst cluster - wonder if I like it cause the dark part looks like a map of the UK?

Here’s some thoughts and information on the properties of turquoise, the gemstone and some thoughts on networking.  A lot of people find that they are drawn to working with crystals on the spiritual journey.

Now that the girls have settled back into school after Arianna’s allergic reaction and Callie and I going down with the stomach flu last week (won’t write about that just yet if you’ll forgive me!) decided it was time to get back to one of the other jobs on my ‘blogging’ list…networking.

Networking, the BlogFrog Community and the properties of turquoise – go with me, here!

Whilst joining a newer networking group in Wichita I found myself thinking ‘what IS networking, anyway?’

One of the people in the group who is technically minded asked me ‘what are you ON?’ and I replied with the usual, ‘Oh you know, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn..’.  And she responded with urgency ‘No, what are you ON?’.  This was obviously an important question to her.

I really didn’t know what she meant, but I decided to think about it later, as another part of the meeting began and we needed to listen.

Since I’ve started to ask the question ‘What is Networking’ and attended a second meeting…the answer is beginning to become apparent…

The properties of networking…

Oh.  I needed to connect with people in different ways to share the messages on the blog further.  Just hanging up my blogging shingle and learning a lot about Search Engines wasn’t enough – although it was a very good start.

Truth is, when I ran a business before, I was already ‘in’ the network providing services to clients, so when my business partner and I created a new service, we simply marketed it to our existing network.  Oh!

So as a start I joined BlogFrog, which is a community network for bloggers and readers of blogs alike who have information to share through forums, discussions and blog posts.

(It’s called BlogFrog because once you’re logged in you can hop from blog to blog).

Found a blog post from BlogFrog which talks about the love of turquoise

This got me of course to thinking about crystals and the properties of turquoise – why is turquoise jewellery so popular?

As you can see above I have a favorite turquoise piece that I especially love to wear when traveling – protection when traveling is one of the properties of turquoise.

Love Is In The Earth by Melody - one of my favorite crystal and gemstone reference books

And then while I’m linking and networking on BlogFrog (and thanks by the way to everyone who has commented on my blog so far from BlogFrog – you folks are awesome!) I come across a ‘linky’ attached to a post about the love of turquoise – so I can network and talk about the properties of turquoise at the same time – not going to pass that up!

So, is this list below about the properties of turquoise or the properties of networking?  You decide!

• Being protected while traveling to new places
• Making new connections with people by saying ‘hi’ and being able to make new friends/connections easily and in a relaxed manner
• Stimulates the throat, heart and navel chakras, opening communication skills, dealing well with emotional issues, creativity and intuition
• Valuable for grounding, staying present but accessing intuition at the same time
• Induces wisdom and understanding
• Promotes spontaneity

(These are models and no children were harmed in the making of this blog post - Arianna refused to have her picture on the blog with a rash - and who can blame her!)

What a week – a modern medical system breakdown affected me personally!  (And how to deal with a low grade allergic reaction)

On Sunday morning I woke up and Arianna (my 8 year old younger daughter) had a low grade allergic reaction.   She had a rash on her cheek…which grew, and grew.

By Monday (a non-school day) the allergic reaction had spread to her forehead…by Tuesday morning it was all over her eyelids, nose, and heading to the other cheek.

I had a feeling (call it momtuition) that it was purely an allergic reaction (she has a severe nut allergy) so on the way to the doctor’s office I mentally retraced my steps and thought about anything different I had done.

Our school had just posted a notice about strep throat, which can cause a rash, so I wanted to be careful and check all the boxes, plus, I was panicking a bit.

Practical help from the doctor with the allergic reaction – but a modern medical system breakdown

I really like my doctor.  She listens to me and knows that I ‘know my stuff’ too.  I feel blessed to have a doctor like that!

She checked for symptoms of strep and suggested a moisturizing cream for the rash plus a prescription steroid cream.

Did you know that steroid creams can thin the skin and only help with the symptoms of an allergic reaction, not the cause?

Now I was pretty desperate because it was a nasty rash, so I agreed to the cream and thought if any of my other remedies didn’t work I could at least use it minimally.

I was wary of these creams though, since as a child I had watched my brother suffer with eczema and put steroid cream on his hands for years, which really didn’t seem to make any difference to his condition.

I was already using lavender essential oil to reduce the pain and stinging, and it was working well for that, but the rash had not abated with just the application of the oil.

How to help your kids with an allergic reaction (some other ways to think, especially if you’re panicking, like I was)

If (as in this case) the allergic reaction doesn’t merit a visit to ER (been there, done that) and another known cause like strep throat has been ruled out – then it’s important to think about anything you might have done differently.

Did you…

• feed your child any different foods
• take them to a new location or one that you don’t visit regularly
• buy any new household products

Pickle wondering if she has enough toys in her bed - she's also very sorry!

What I realized as I was thinking this through at the doctor’s office was that I had been in a hurry the week before and bought different dog food!

That was it!  Arianna likes to roll and play with our dog Pickle and allows the dog to lick her face!  The new dog food had caused the allergic reaction.

I knew this was right because I then remembered Arianna having a similar allergic reaction at a friend’s party the year before (when their dog licked my child) and her whole cheek immediately came up in hives.

The doctor was reassuring and a great help – then medical system breakdown!

So off we went to buy the previous brand of dog food (either not containing nuts or not made on a machine that also manufactured nut-based products etc. etc.) and then to collect our steroid cream.

We got the dog food OK but the steroid cream wasn’t available at that pharmacy.  Or the other two they tried on my behalf.  I was then told they could order the cream in by 2pm the next day.

Standing there with my itching, uncomfortable child I decided to take us both home and spend some time focusing on this.

Kinesiology, essential oils and homeopathy saved the day – but I had to get focused first!

I take the world very literally on my Spiritual Journey.  So I took the fact that I couldn’t even get the steroid cream until the next day as a sign that I should really go home and help my child.

I went through all my remedies and picked 4 or 5 that I thought could help with hives.  (I did check a couple of books, too, my favorite is The Complete Homeopathy Handbook: Safe and Effective Ways to Treat Fevers, Coughs, Colds and Sore Throats, Childhood Ailments, Food Poisoning, Flu, and a Wide Range of Everyday Complaints by Miranda Castro.

Then using kinesiology Arianna and I selected the right remedy, which in this case was two different ones.

This involves using a technique in kinesiology called ‘muscle testing‘, which can be easily learned, practiced and used by adults and children alike.

Once we found the right remedies, Arianna took them and we stood in front of the bathroom mirror watching the redness disappear in less than 10 minutes.  We were just standing there laughing!  What a relief.

The bumps from the rash have pretty much gone…so what about the steroid cream?

Alternative remedies can help your kids stay well – especially when the modern medical system only offers a certain number of options for allergic reactions

I got a phone call from the pharmacy later the same day – telling me the cream would take another day.

The next day, I got another call from the pharmacy saying that this particular cream was no longer available…and they would return the prescription order to the doctor so that she can prescribe a different one.

Still don’t have the cream!

I’m comfortable with the outcome though, since I know that the homeopathic remedies helped Arianna’s immune system to complete it’s work reacting to the dog food.  She’s now back at school.

Raising Your Frequency – 365 Ways to Raise Your Frequency

Introducing a guest blogger, Melissa Alvarez, a published author who is releasing her new book – 365 Ways to Raise Your Frequency: Simple Tools to Increase Your Spiritual Energy for Balance, Purpose, and Joy -  this month!

Melissa has researched and written 365 ways to raise your frequency and in this article defines two of the basic elements required to raise your frequency.  Here she discusses them in further depth.

Melissa writes…

Why Raise Your Frequency on Your Spiritual Journey?

Your individual spiritual journey can take you down many paths of enlightenment.

We all have days when we feel like we’re stumbling along, especially if there are a lot of stressful situations which occur.

If we take control of just one aspect of ourselves in times like these, we can almost instantaneously change feelings of negativity to positivity. You do this by raising your frequency, also called “personal vibration”.

Everything has a frequency, an energy that vibrates, from the tree outside your window to the dinner table.

The word frequency is also used to describe the way your personal internal energy vibrates within you, thus the reason it has often been called personal vibration.

How do you know whether you’ve been successful in raising your frequency?

When your frequency is low you may feel that you’re off center, out of balanced and that things in life seem more difficult than normal. When your frequency is elevated you feel fully alive and life flows with ease.

If you make a conscious effort to raise your frequency you’ll find the journey to be much easier, your strides strong and focused as you move forward on your path. Two of the basic elements when raising frequency are attitude and intention. Let’s take a look at each one.

Raise Your Frequency – Using Your Attitude

Your attitude is how you feel about and view the world around you. It is how you emotionally react to situations and people, the type of attitude you have, and how it affects their reactions to you.

Have you ever met someone who was so pleasant to be around that even though you were in a bad mood prior to encountering this person, you found yourself smiling and your bad mood dissipating?

Sometimes the opposite is true too. You’re in a great mood and then suddenly someone else’s bad mood has your world turning sour.

The next time you find yourself being affected by someone else’s frequency in a negative way, or if you realize that you’re being negative in your own thinking or actions, make a conscious effort to raise your frequency.

Close your eyes and visualize your internal energy, imagine the atoms within it moving faster and faster as your spiritual being becomes lighter and brighter. Once you feel that your frequency is elevated, now you’re going to add intention.

Raise Your Frequency – Using Intention

Your intention is the purpose behind your actions.

It is the reason you do what you do, why you make the choices you make and it is the most powerful way to raise your frequency because every intention also has its own vibration.

As you’re raising your frequency, do so through love.

Give yourself specific intentions such as,

“If I encounter a negative person today, I will feel love for them and this love will act as a catalyst to my own frequency and make it soar.”

Or, if that’s too long for you try something like,

“Today I will be positive and happy.”

Now let’s get back to that exercise. Before you open your eyes, give your frequency, your personal vibrating energy, a specific intention and purpose.

Now, go about your day filled with love, light and joy.

By making an effort to increase your frequency not only are you able to find balance within yourself, but you’ll also discover that you feel more joy because you’re working from a place of focused purpose.

When your frequency is elevated, you can spread your joy and light to others, and this, in and of itself, will raise your frequency even more.

Author Bio, Melissa Alvarez, author of 365 Ways to Raise Your Frequency

Melissa Alvarez, Author

Melissa Alvarez is an internationally known spiritual intuitive coach and an award-winning author of metaphysical nonfiction and paranormal romantic suspense, published under the alias Ariana Dupré.

She has appeared on several radio programs as both guest and host, and has written numerous articles in her previous position as the original paranormal expert at Examiner.com and as the Guide to Romance Fiction at About.com.

Formerly the owner and publisher of the small press New Age Dimensions, Alvarez has been a freelance editor, graphic artist and website designer.

She conducts workshops teaching others to connect with their intuitive abilities and spirituality, and has done intuitive readings for over twenty years.

Alvarez and her family live in South Florida.

She and her husband breed champion KFPS Friesian and ECHA Barock Pinto horses, as well as German Shepherd dogs. Melissa Alvarez can also be found online at www.MelissaA.com or www.APsychicHaven.com.

Thanks to Melissa for submitting this insightful article and for sharing some of her tools with us!

Her book is now available on Amazon – here’s a link 365 Ways to Raise Your Frequency: Simple Tools to Increase Your Spiritual Energy for Balance, Purpose, and Joy – it’s great to see books published like this that can give all of us practical ways to raise our frequency and learn how simple using energy work can be!

How to allow emotions to be my guide

What is the benefit of allowing emotions to be my guide?

It’s easy to misinterpret this approach as being ‘overly emotional’ or ‘impulsive’.

From the perspective of the spiritual journey though, what is meant is that a person allows themselves to become more in touch with their own emotions.

They will gain a number of benefits from this in spiritual practice, from growing their psychic intelligence to becoming more body-aware and thus experiencing better health and wellness.

Generating a clear space for emotions to be my guide

To truly allow emotions to be my guide, I’ve noticed I need to do at least three things during the day to ensure clear connection with my emotional feelings.

The first three are…

1. meditate, even for 10 minutes
2. play music of some kind and move it to if possible (again, even if only for 10 minutes)
3. write something daily to express myself – anything from a note in my journal, even a short chatty email to a friend can do the job.

Does anything come to mind for you whilst reading this, to help clear your mind and sense your emotions better?

What are E-motions?  According to Candace Pert they are energy in motion E-motion and are part of our unconscious mind

Candace Pert, a leading brain researcher and author of Molecules Of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine goes so far as to say that the body is the unconscious mind, and that mind doesn’t dominate the body, its’ experience become part of the body.

From her research, she believes that our experiences are recorded at the cellular level in the body and the mind – that traumatic experiences are locked into our muscles and body responses at a very deep level often causing disease.

Opiate-receptors in our cells indicate that we are hard-wired for bliss, that is, we are naturally meant to feel bliss through our experiences whilst alive using our peptides and opiate receptors – and feel them all through the body-mind, not just in the head or right side of the brain if we are being ‘intuitive’ or the left side if we are being ‘logical’, which is the way science used to interpret brain function.

The way I interpret this in the New Energy is that our feelings are expressed by our whole body and that they are there for a reason to tell us something – hence I can use my emotions to be my guide

So the latest science tell us we use both side of the brain when generating emotions, not ‘just’ logic or ‘intuition’, left or right brain respectively…and science also tells us that it physically impossible to activate ‘logic’ without activating emotions first. Hmmnn.

So, the more we connect with our emotions, the more we get in touch with our own bodies and our own wellness, develop our psychic intelligence and deepen our spiritual practice.

I continue to pay more and more attention to how something feels, not just the ‘gut feeling’, but throughout the entire body.  Allowing emotions to be my guide.

An Energetic Reset for the New Year – different to a New Years’ Resolution?

An Energetic Reset?  When our family lived in Southern MD over 3 years ago now, I would often take my children onto the Naval Base there and down to an area where there was a playground, a natural beach and a great view of part of the Chesapeake Bay.

My husband asked me one time “Why do you always go there?”  I replied “Because it gives me an Energetic Reset“.

Something about the combination of the location, the natural state of the beach (rescued an ancient mariner there once – a horseshoe crab who was upside down! ) and the wide open views would clear my head, my mind and my energy.

I would often go to the beach and meditate after I dropped the children off at school and come away refreshed and reset, energetically.  I went there specifically to get my Energetic Reset!

Refreshing the energy – an Energetic Reset is always good for our state of mind

However you go about it, I believe an Energetic Reset is an important part of spiritual practice.  Watching a few more of Oprah’s Life Classes on OWN over the holiday season, I noticed her talking about it – she calls it “Restoration”.

A short version for her is to sit under a tree and read a favorite book or poem for half an hour.

I think even half an hour is important and contributes to our overall well-being and ability to manage stress.

Three simple ways to create your own Energetic Reset – long or short

You don’t need the New Year to create your own Energetic Reset, but sometimes it’s nice to ‘ride on the wave’ of all of our good intentions and new energy around this time of year!

Here are three simple ways to create your own Energetic Reset, or restoration.

I’d be interested to hear of any others you may already be practicing and if you have any other terms that you use.

Often different words will resonate differently with other people and they will notice their own moment of truth.  (My words for Oprah Winfrey’s term of the “Ah-ha moment”).

• (My favorite) go to a place in nature that is meaningful and peaceful to you.  Quiet the mind and take time to tune in to your surroundings, the sounds, activities – even simply the wind blowing.
• Clear some clutter from your house or location.  It doesn’t have to be a big clear out – simply rearranging a drawer that you use everyday will start the energy moving.
• Burn sage and use the smoke to clear your energy field.  If you’ve never tried this it really does feel nice!

Interested in other forms of working with your energy?  You might find my Using Energy Work page useful.