Category: Spirituality

THE POWER OF VISIONBOARDS

3/25/2020

Hello Magickal Beings!

Today I thought I would share a little video on my 2018 Vision board - yes I know this one is 2 years old, BUT I wanted to take some time today to show you what I put on it, and how many things I have manifested since I made it, because I did manifest some pretty big things on here, such as our house a kitten, and even some traveling! I also wanted to explain some of the other things on here which are a bit more of a daily process and struggle for me. But that is ok! Having a vision board serves as a daily reminder to get back to some of the things that you know you need to work on! It is also ok if you are not able to manifest some of the things on your board right away! Some things take time, and that is ok! But also, some things take proactive action! Vision boards are not just simply a wish list. They are things you want to WORK TOWARD! It is important to understand that not everything will be handed to you on a silver platter, but if you work hard enough at the things you want to earn, then you WILL earn them. You just need to be dedicated, and patient.

So as promised in the video - below is a blog post that I had posted on my Justina's World site shortly after I had made the board in the winter of 2018. In this post, I give you an account of my first hand experience taking the vision boarding class and the things that I learned like self assessment, meditation, and vision boarding techniques. I hope you find these resources helpful when creating your own vision board!

I will also keep you up to date with any future vision boards I make, or if I happen to manifest anything else off of this one! Life is just a work in progress :-)
Justina
xoxo

Vision Board Blog Post on JustinasWorld.com on January 19, 2018.
To see original blog post CLICK HERE.

So rolling with themes of the New Year and manifestation, I wanted to tell you guys about a Vision Board Workshop that I had attended last weekend at a small yoga studio in Clark, New Jersey. I had never attended a Vision Board Workshop before. I mean as a teenager, I was always cutting stuff out of magazines, plastering it all on poster board, canvas, or in my sketch book. I mean I would even do this in my sketchbooks well into my 20s. I did a majority of my collage art in my L.A. days, as a way to cope with being so far from home. I always did these collage exercises as a way to express myself and to make some cool art, but I never used it as a tool for manifestation. I feel like it was always something that was super intimidating because it forced me to attempt to figure my shit out and think about what I wanted.

This class was really helpful to me because our instructor taught us a few techniques that are very simple, but really help with getting a clear picture of the life that I want to sculpt for myself. First of all, there were 5 people total in this class, including our instructor. There were 2 other girls in the class besides myself, and my mother, who I dragged along (she enjoyed it though, lol).

Here are the little activities that our instructor guided us on, and you can do these at home, on your own as well, to make the most of your vision boarding experience.

HOW TO VISION BOARD LIKE A BOSS

1. FIND INSPIRING ANECDOTES
She opened the class with a little story about this young woman, who had caught the attention of news outlets for manifesting this dream she had. She didn’t know how she was going to obtain it, but she just knew that she could see it in her mind, she could FEEL it with every fiber of her being, and she promised herself that if the opportunity arises, she would jump at the chance to make this happen. What this woman had envisioned was opening up a book shop, but here is the interesting twist she put on it:

She would find a bookshop with a flat available for rent on top of the bookshop. She would buy the whole kit and caboodle, and rent out the whole thing (flat AND shop) to guests passing through, and whoever stayed there would be in charge of managing the bookshop, converse with the patrons, and get the whole experience of what it’s like to own a bookshop. One day she went on a trip to Scotland, and what do you know, she found her bookshop and flat situation, and she just knew that was where she needed to be. This Bookshop Holiday experience is now made possible by Air BnB, and apparently there is a waiting list to stay there and have this experience, about 5 years out. How crazy amazing is that! She held this dream for years, all in part to her vision boards.

Anyway, I digress, so that was the inspiring little example that our instructor had set for us to get us in the mindset that we can absolutely manifest anything we hold in our minds, and dream to be real.

2. YOUR WHEEL OF LIFE
Now I bet you’re wondering how to even know what kinds of things to put on your vision board? This next exercise helps a bit with that. She then gave us a sheet of paper with a wheel chart on it. The wheel was divided into sections pertaining to the different areas of our lives. We then had to rate each part of our lives on a scale of 1-10 (1 being depleted in that area, and 10 being achievement.) Then after we had filled out our wheels, and rated our lives, we had to connect the dots, and acknowledge the map of our life as it is happening right now.

This exercise kind of helped us physically see, which area of our lives that WE feel is lacking. We could then use those areas to figure out what we wanted to place on our vision board, so that we could manifest more of whatever we were lacking. This wasn’t something we felt glued to during our creative process – it was just an extra tidbit to help us along that journey.

Download and Print Wheel of Life PDF

3. GUIDED MEDITATION
The next thing we did in the class was an audio guided meditation that focused on the Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura). It’s located just above the naval and below the rib cage.
According to Meditative Mind:

“The Solar Plexus Chakra or Manipura is a center of personal strength, learning and comprehension. It guides you through life by creating a strong sense of self, setting personal boundaries and building self esteem and willpower. The ability to bring change into your life and to the world is born within this Chakra. It is where our Will Power comes from. our ability to achieve, raw emotions, and self-discipline are all governed by the this chakra. The Seed Mantra of Solar Plexus Chakra is ‘RAM’. The color associated with this chakra is Yellow.”

I couldn’t find the exact meditation that our instructor used in our class, however here is a good one. You don’t have to do it for a full hour, we only meditated for maybe 5 minutes just to get in the right mindset.

4. YOUR VISION BOARD
So after we came out of our meditation and intense visualization, we slowly came back to the room, mentally. Then it was time to dive into to her array of magazines, washi tape, sticker books, scissors and glue sticks, and start looking for images and words that inspired us. There really are NO rules for your vision board, other than to have fun with it, and don’t feel pressured to make it look perfect, or “what if I can’t find anything in the magazines that pertains to my life”… Trust me, I felt the same way… but once you start looking through the magazines, you just get into this really therapeutic zone, and images start to jump out at you. It might even be stuff that you never even thought you wanted in your conscious mind, but subconsciously you do. You might not recognize it until you happen to come across an image that sparks it. Cut it out, slap it on your board!

So there really is no technique here, however, if you’re a bit anal like me… I like to cut all of my photos out first, I just got a really good bunch that I felt good about, and I didn’t glue anything down until i figured out the placement. Then once I had a good idea on how things fit on my board, then I started glueing. Once all the magazine cutouts were placed, then I started embellishing with gel pen doodles, inspirational quote and mandala stickers, markers, buttons, and all that good stuff.

– MY 2018 VISION BOARD –

MY PERSONAL GOALS FOR THIS YEAR

Some of the things to note here – the top left is a sticker that says GET STUFF DONE. So, I definitely want to do more of THAT this year. “Do What You Love” – Yes please! A black kitten, always wanted one, maybe I’ll get one someday. A new house, to travel more, to make time for playing my instruments. I really miss songwriting and recording, so that’s something I’d love to get back into this year. The reminder to “GET UP AND GO” – sometimes you just need to say FUCK IT and book that vacation. I still haven’t even taken a honeymoon.

So THAT’S a priority this year. I want to eat better, I need to exercise… and to explain those macarons. I bought a book on baking French Macarons that I took one look at, and felt way too intimidated to attempt. As I was telling this story to our instructor, she was flipping through a magazine and landed on that macaron photo. She handed it to me and we laughed hysterically about it! This is the universe’s way of nudging us! MAKE THE MACARONS! So this year, I will attempt to make those macarons… hopefully in the new kitchen in the new house that I am manifesting as well.

There are definitely some things that I want to achieve this year that I did not put on my vision board, because well, I didn’t find EVERYTHING in those magazines, and also I ran out of space. But there’s no rule that says you can only make ONE vision board.

ONE LAST TIP...

MAKE MANY! Make them as frequently as you need to. If you need to buy a sketchbook and do daily collaging exercises to help keep you inspired and going after your goals, then have at it!

The best part of the whole class was really just talking to some new people and learning about their lives as well. The 2 other girls in our glass were professional wine connoisseurs. How cool is that?

So that was my vision boarding class in a nutshell… I hope you enjoyed some of these exercises and tips and I’d love to see your vision boards as well! You can follow me on my Instagram @JustinasWorldOfficial , post a photo of your board, and tag me in it! Also use the hashtag #JustinasWorldVisionBoards so I can find them all easily 🙂

If you have any comments or questions, find me in my Justina’s World group on Facebook!

Til Next Time…

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Sea Magic | Sandra Kynes (Book Review) - feat. Mermaid Kailin Jade

7/29/2019

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Bohemian Magic Studios Presents Sea Magic
Sandra Kynes (Book Review) - feat. Mermaid Kailin Jade

Hello Magickal Beings!

Here is the last official video in this July's Magickal Mermaid Series! I had SO much fun celebrating the ocean, the sea, and all of its magick this month, with all of you! I really hope you enjoyed exploring the ocean's mysteries, as much as I have, and will continue to do so! Is this something you'd like to see me return to for next year? Please let me know in the comments below, or email or DM me on my instagram page to send me any requests or feedback.

Email: Info@bohemianmagicstudios.com
INSTAGRAM

Anyway, here is a video about a book that was just too lovely to not talk about. It's called Sea Magick by Sandra Kynes. The video is a bit lengthy, so please follow the timestamps below to jump to the parts that interest you the most!

Also, this video is in collaboration with Mermaid Kailin Jade!
SUBSCRIBE TO MERMAID KAILIN JADE'S CHANNEL!

SEA MAGIC SYNOPSIS:

INVOKE THE POWER OF THE SEA AND TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE

Purifying mesmerizing, transformative ----- The sea has long been celebrated for its beauty and mysterious power. By connecting to the ocean's energies you will deepen your experience of the natural world, and enrich your life.

Whether you live near or far from the coast, Sea Magic takes you on a unique voyage of spiritual rejuvenation. Explore various types of shells and sea creatures, both real and mythical. Call upon sea deities and saints to amplify your spiritual practice, and try a wide array of relaxation exercises and meditative techniques:

* Set up a sea-themed altar o empower your intentions
* Center your energy with a cosmic ocean-moon meditation and a conch-hand mudra
* Release emotions with an ancient practice known as ocean breath to attune to the tides
* Use shells for divination and positive visualization
* Select a sea fetch (totem animal) to take you on a shamanic journey

Dive into your inner world of emotions, imagination, and creativity --- and let the sea's timeless wisdom guide you on your life path.

SANDRA KYNES (Maine) - describes herself as an explorer. She likes finding underlying similarities and connections in our world, then crafting new ways to interact with them. Her investigations have resulted in eleven books, including Star Magic and Whispers From the Woods. She is also a yoga instructor, massage therapist, and Reiki practitioner. https://www.kynes.net

__________________________________________
CHAPTER 1
04:29 - Introduction
06:27 - Currents & Waves, the 9th Wave, Wave Trains
07:16 - How to do a Ninefold Sea Blessing
08:29 - Sea Centering Technique
09:38 - The Oceanic Realm of Emotion
9:50 - How to do an Ocean Breath
10:14 - JOURNAL SELF REFLECTION QUESTIONS

CHAPTER 2
10:48 - Myths, Dieties, & Saints
11:14 - Yemanja
12:15 - Pantheons
13:08 - JOURNAL SELF REFLECTION QUESTIONS

CHAPTER 3
13:49 - Altars, Tools, & Divination
14:22 - Using Seashells to represent the Cardinal Directions
15:00 - How to do a seashell cleansing & blessing
15:33 - Moon Blessing of Salt
15:45 - How to create a sea circle of energy
17:01 - Oracular Guidance & Signs/Divination w/ Cowry Shells
19:10 - JOURNAL SELF REFLECTION QUESTIONS

CHAPTER 4
19:56 - Seashells
22:02 - JOURNAL SELF REFLECTION QUESTIONS CHAPTER 5
22:30 - Sea Fetches, Totem Animals, & Mythical Sea Creatures
24:10 - The Sea Journey (Meditation Script & Technique)
25:43 - Mythical Sea Creature Glossary
27:05 - JOURNAL SELF REFLECTION QUESTIONS

CHAPTER 5
27:22 - The Moon, Meditations, & Everyday Life
29:03 - Cosmic Sea Centering Technique
29:42 - Equinox Tide Call
30:58 - Different Meditations to do (Seashell, Heart Chakra, Mudra)
31:46 - Ocean Displays in your home
32:16 - Sea Magick for health (Ours & the Ocean's)
33:10 - JOURNAL SELF REFLECTION QUESTIONS IN CONCLUSION
33:42 - The Ebb & Flow
35:21 - Mind Mapping Journal Technique
36:01 - Runes & Ogham
36:31 - Other Books by Sandra Kynes

37:53 Mermaid Kailin Jade Outro
________________________________________________________

BUY SEA MAGIC BY SANDRA KYNES THROUGH MY AMAZON AFFILIATE LINK

WATCH MY COMPLETE MERMAID PLAYLIST

SIGNUP FOR MY MAILING FOR MORE MAGICKAL VIDEOS!

*This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase any of the products using the Amazon links below, I will receive a small commission and you will be supporting my small business :-)... I greatly appreciate it!

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STURGEON & HARVEST FULL MOON RITUALS WITH SAGE GODDESS

9/10/2014

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So for the past couple months I have been taking part in these Full Moon rituals courtesy of Sage Goddess. My good friend Dena Miller invited me to my first one this past August (the 10th), to celebrate the Sturgeon Moon in Aquarius. This full moon is ideal when trying to manifest abundance in your life, and going through a transformational stage, letting go of any of those fears that you may have in your life, in order to become a more abundant version of your former self.

Athena (Sage Goddess) has you light your candles, white sage, cleansing your space of any negativity. She usually sells a ritual kit on her etsy boutique (they are pretty pricey at about $70 a pop), I mean it does come with some very beautiful goodies, including a candle with beautiful original artwork, a crystal set geared toward the purpose of the ritual, and also an anointing perfume oil, but if you are on a budget as am I, then don’t be discouraged from listening in and just being present in the moment with her guided meditation. You really don’t NEED tools, you just need your visualization and the magic of the beautiful full moon.

She calls the quarters, our directional elements (North, Earth; East, Air; South, Fire; West, Water) for guidance and protection during the meditation. At this point she has you do some deep breathing and then has you ask your elders and spirit guides to join you on your meditative journey. They should provide you with the answers that you seek, to help you get on the right path in your journey of finding yourself. In this specific meditation, she had you arrive in a magical forest and happen upon a river.

She has you acknowledge the texture, the temperature, the sounds, the visuals of all of your surroundings. She has you meet your elders & spirit guides upon the shore as they pick you up in a boat. She even mentions to acknowledge any animals you may have lost. I thought of my dog Scout and my grandparents, and Nana all meeting me here… During this boat ride you can ask them questions that you wish to get answers to. She has them deliver a word to you as well. After you go on this journey with your guides, they bring you back to shore, and you come back to the real world and become grounded again.

It really was a beautiful meditation, and I feel like I did connect in a sense. I feel like when you cry, that emotional release alone is connection to spirit. I do have trouble with visualization, which I definitely am trying to work on. But I did emotionally connect even though I did not feel like I received any valid messages from spirit. I had no tangible messages to take away with me, from this meditation, but I did emotionally release, so that to me was enough… especially since I am a bit rusty and have closed myself off to any form of spiritual practice for the past 15 years or so.

To top all that off, I charged my crystals under the moon for the first time ever. I had found a handful of random stones in a potted plant downstairs in my house. I am not sure how long those stones have been in that plant, I am pretty sure my mom put them there ages ago… but I thought they would serve a better purpose if I took them out, cleaned them off, and actually put them to use. So that’s what I did.

Then I admired the beautiful moon for about an hour with my binoculars. I really would love a telescope… the night sky is so amazing… It’s amazing, and it’s very scary… to think we’re the only ones living in the whole universe, among the millions of galaxies out there, is a very very ignorant thing to assume.

Anyway not to get too off topic here, but I’d like to talk a little bit more about the Harvest Full Moon which had just passed last night (September 9). I was a bit more prepared for this one. I had my new Joie de Vie Tarot Deck, which I had cleansed last week, which I might do a separate post about. Anyway, I laid out my Strength card in the center of all of my stones. I used my rainbow moonstones for clarity and enhancement of intuition during the full moon, my tiger’s eye for protection, my small amethyst point which encourages inner strength, and my citrine for healing and protection. I put them in a little circle around the card as she talked a bit in the beginning about the meditation she was about the take us through.

Cleansing Crystals For the Sturgeon & Harvest Full Moon with Sage Goddess 2014

As prepared as I was for this, I still feel like I was way distracted to stay completely focused during this. I didn’t connect on an emotional level like I did with the first meditation she took me through during the Sturgeon moon. I felt very fidgety, often getting up to go find another stone, or another candle, or this or that. As prepared as I was with all of my tools, I wasn’t prepared mentally or spiritually to get me into that zone of complete vulnerability. I felt like I had my guard up during a lot of this. I did some of the solar plexus exercises with the breathing that she had us do, but I feel like I wasn’t fully able to tune out the amount of stuff I have on my plate this month.

In this meditation she had us meet our elders in a beautiful garden as we came to a well. We were to look over the edge of this well to see it full of water… We were then asked to visualize what we saw inside.. for some reason I heard the word “Rainbow” come to me. I am not sure what that means, but I am going to look into it. We were then told to take some of the water from the well, to FEEL it in your hands, and to picture all of the things that your elders and guides have infused this water with, whatever it is that you need healing with…we were then told to visualize tasting this water, drinking in all of its healing powers. Then we held our crystals in one hand and covered with the other hand as if we were holding them in this magically infused water, charging them to vibrate at their highest. I did this meditation and I felt like I was in a daze for some of it. I’m not sure if I connected completely,

I did not FEEL any sort of shifts or surges of energy… I really do think I was not in the right state of mine to fully let my imagination run with it… After the meditation, she talked a bit about the upcoming October Full Moon Ritual where she will help us “Cross the Veil” and communicate with our ancestors which would be super spooky and magical with Halloween right around the corner. I hope I can attend that one, we shall see…. After this ritual, I once again laid out my stones to bathe in the not so moonlit sky, for New Jersey had decided to cast a cloud filled sky last night. I was so disappointed I wouldn’t get to enjoy the beauty of this Full Moon, but I put my crystals out just the same, because the clouds have no effect on the pull of the moon. The moon vibrates and pulls the earth just the same, so I put my crystals and my dreamcatchers out to charge anyway.

Charging Crystals for the Sturgeon & Harvest Full Moon

So back to my not being able to focus this meditation, I told my brother about this, since he is a highly spiritual person (he’s been getting guidance from a spiritual healer lately.) I told him about my difficulty with the meditation and focus, and he told me I need Chakra healing, and that he did some Chakra healing on himself before he did his own Full Moon Ritual. I said Oh, well how do you do that… He said, “There’s a phone app for that”…

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MUSINGS OF A SPIRITUAL PONDERER

9/10/2014

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*This post is not meant to offend any one of any religious background. These musings are based solely on my personal experiences and spiritual journey through this weird thing called life. All negative and disrespectful comments will be deleted.

So I’ve been toying around with the idea of making a spiritual blog for quite some time now. I dunno, maybe it’s the fact that I am 30 and still feel completely lost in life. I have neglected any sort of spiritualism all throughout my adolescence. I grew up Catholic, went through about half of the Holy Sacraments as a young kid, not even fully knowing why I was taking part in these rituals…. I just went through the motions, cuz that’s the path your parents wanted for you. The thing is, religion can’t really be TAUGHT. I mean, yea it can… you can read different books that were written by man, including The Bible, The Kabbala, books on Paganism, Wicca, Shamanism, VoooDoo, HooDoo, You-do??… or any other book for that matter… but ironically enough, It’s kind of like putting a science to this thing you’re supposed to not see, but believe in.

Now before you assume that I am agnostic, that is very FAR from the case. I guess what I am trying to say, is that I have always looked at church as some kind of obligation. An obligation that you feel like you HAD to do, or you would be looked down upon, from family, peers, the church, etc. These people look down upon you and fear for your soul, for where you would end up after you died, because you didn’t go to church on Sunday. I can’t help but laugh at that notion. I would be punished because I didn’t show up to “God’s House”, a man-made building, every Sunday at the “Ungodly” hour (pun intended) of the ass crack of dawn? Yea. right….

I do remember one instance when I was about to make my confirmation in the 8th grade. First things first, they make you do an “interview” with the priest to make sure you know enough about the 7 sacraments, The Bible, the Church, The Religion, your Beatitudes, Commandments, who the Pope is, who the Archdiocese is, etc. etc. etc. You’re questioned, Interrogation Style… Like a cross-examination… and if you failed, you weren’t supposed to make your Confirmation. So I went to this interview a couple weeks or so before my confirmation ceremony. It was a very intimidating process, and if you ask a 13 year old those heavy questions… they’re either gonna spit out answers that they studied, without any inclination as to how religion should not work, but FEEL like… OR they’re gonna do what I did, and look at the priest like, “Um… I left talent show practice for this?” (which was exactly MY situation). So I left there feeling less than enthused about moving on with my peers to the next stage of “spirituality”. I didn’t get my grade right away either…

So a week goes by or so, and I was in my regularly scheduled CCD class on Wednesday afternoon, and our teacher decided to take us over to the church to practice and go through the motions of the ceremony. I don’t remember exactly how it came up, the kids were bugging him to give them their grades or something. He said something along the lines of, “I can’t tell you right now, but I can tell you that only one person in this class has failed”. Of course now the kids wanna know, so they bugged and bugged him a bit more and then finally he goes, “Ok Ok”… he looked in my direction and said, “Justina You Failed”… In front. of. the. whole. class….. Who does that? Who just picks out one person from the bunch and discloses their personal information. That information should have been confidential, especially in a group of kids who have NO respect for feelings, and poke fun at other people’s failures.

That was the very moment that I knew the Catholic religion was not for me. I was at the age where I was able to start forming my own opinions, and my opinion at this point was that I shouldn’t have to feel bullied in my beliefs… Beliefs and religion are a VERY PERSONAL THING… Which is why I was debating to even start up a blog in the first place. I’m a pretty private person when it comes to pondering things like this, and I only talk about these things to people who I know can handle what I have to say, and RESPECT my beliefs, even if they don’t agree with them.

Now I am not knocking what other people believe at all, and if THEY want to believe that’s what will happen after they leave this earth, then by all means… Believe what makes you FEEL right, and at peace. I just don’t agree with the preachy nature of such structured religions. I do respect them, and I will never knock someone else’s beliefs, or try to convert ANYONE to MY personal beliefs… I just wish some (I realize not all behave like this) members of other religions would have the same respect. But I guess that’s why this is world is as crazy as it is. No one will ever believe the same thing, and no one will ever agree to disagree… Which is why there is so much violence and death over what everyone else believes in, which is so unbelievably sad and disgusting to me.

If these people who are so offended at the THOUGHT that there are people different from them in the world, could just get past their personal prejudices, the world would be such a better place. Now I am not pointing the finger at Catholics for the suffering in the world, that is not what I am doing AT ALL… I am merely using them as an example in my own personal experience… but I am recognizing that there are prejudiced people from EVERY religion/race etc. Being bullied in a religion that was supposed to be my safe haven, it was so contradictory to me for the church to even behave this way. Now I did end up making my confirmation after my mom told off my teacher for embarrassing me like that, in front of my peers… but that was the end of my time with the Catholic Church. After that my mom had us try out a smaller chapel of the Protestant religion. I’m still not really even sure what that means, but it definitely was a lot more engaging to me to be surrounded with such loving people. They welcomed us with open arms, we attended bible school and went on retreats, etc. It was a lovely atmosphere. This church really welcomed people from all walks of life, and they still do.

However, such a structured practice of the church on Sundays deal, still did not appeal to me as I grew older, so eventually we had stopped going. For ME personally, I feel like religion starts WITHIN yourself. Praying is not something I feel comfortable doing around other people, so a congregation type of atmosphere is not ideal for me. It’s the same reason I hate going to the gym… I feel like when I am engaging in something that should be to better myself, it’s a very personal thing, and I don’t like feeling like I’m being watched, or judged for doing things the “wrong way”… and there are always those hardcore zealots of any religion who have SOMETHING to say about the way things SHOULD be done… Anyone who thinks they know it all about any one religion or belief system, and anyone who thinks they know where we go when we leave this earth because of what a man made book tells them, I just personally can’t buy it… Cuz here’s the thing… NOBODY KNOWS! Yes there are accounts of people having near death, out of body, gone to heaven and back experiences, but at the end of the day, nobody truly knows anything… we are mortals, still in our life on earth. No one can sit there and tell you that you’re going to heaven or hell, or that you’re not going anywhere, or that you dissipate like dust into the many farticles of the universe, or that you’re going to come back as a butterfly, or another person in your next life. There accounts of ALL of these things… but no one REALLY knows for sure…

Maybe different things happen to everybody? Maybe some people go to heaven, some go to hell, some come back as butterflies, some come back as other people, some disappear into the oblivion of the galaxy of some crazy 5th dimension. Whatever you believe in, it’s all very possible. Believe in whatever makes you feel whole… whatever gets you excited when you think about it, whatever makes you excited enough to talk about it with other like-minded individuals. Save your arguments and your waste of breath hashing it out with people who don’t respect what you have to say. It’s more than okay to have deep philosophical conversations with people who believe in other things, but only when they can be open minded enough to see things from another’s perspective. There is a difference between healthy philosophical debate and flat out ignorance and closed minded argumentative personalities. Don’t get too caught up in those fights that leave you feeling negative, bullied, or judged. Engage in conversations that leave you feeling uplifted and curious. Study other religions or belief systems, don’t close yourself off, you are only doing yourself a disservice.

It’s just important to find a path that’s right for YOU. I consider myself eclectic, and for the longest time, I thought I was just not religious or didn’t believe in anything at all because I couldn’t just choose any one religion that I completely and whole-y believed in.

Did I abandon the Catholic and Christian beliefs that I was raised with completely? No, not completely… I was raised with it, and no matter how much I move forward with other beliefs, it will still be a part of me. I still go to church when there is need for it, and sometimes there is a need for it… I also grew up studying earth based religions such as Paganism & Druidism which have been around centuries before the Catholic religion had even formed. The Catholics had actually taken a lot of their practice from those older world religions and passed it off as their own, giving the earth religions a bad wrap.. accusing people of witchcraft or satanism, which is not what Paganism, Wiccan, Druidism, Shamanism, etc. are about at all.. They are solely about your love and respect for Mother Nature, and using the natural earth around you to heal yourself and others, or manifest things you may need more or less of in your life…The negative connotations of these Earthy religions still exist today, which is very unfortunate, because they have nothing to do with devil worship, which is what most uneducated people assume. I also identify very much with more eastern philosophies like the idea of reincarnation and karma.

I believe that whatever you put out into The Universe, you’re only going to get back… What goes around comes around, and I’ve seen it happen time and time again. I also believe that we do come back in another life, maybe not right after we expire, but maybe if we haven’t fulfilled our soul’s purpose in this life time, maybe it will be in a next, whenever your soul decides to re-manifest in another human being, animal, tree, etc.,

Eastern beliefs appeal to me very much so, I’ve dabbled in studies of Buddhism which touches more on principals of spirituality and thought & meditation as opposed to a set of rules or principles like that of a structured religion. Also Hinduism and the aspects of being Polytheistic is intriguing to me, looking to different gods & goddesses to aid you in your workings and prayers toward the different areas of your life. And it doesn’t even stop there, there are tons and tons of religions to delve into, to really educate yourself about, and that to me is a beautiful thing.

I just needed to figure it out for myself. Upon all of my research and experiences up to this point, I seem to mostly identify with principles of Pantheism. I don’t believe in any one supreme being…I believe that The Universe as a whole is responsible for how things carry out in our lives… ( I have had instances with receiving signs from The Universe, but I will delve into those occurrences in another post at another time) … But I also believe that we are also responsible for creating our own lives within that Universe. So this year for me, has been me coming to terms with my Spirituality, and acknowledging that it does in fact exist, that it does beat in my heart, and pulse through my veins. I don’t need a set religion or list of rules to follow, or an expensive list of tools to help me carry out these crazy rituals (although it is much fun to collect beautiful crystals or tools of divination). All I need is the earth, myself, and the power that I hold within.

I do believe in the afterlife, in spirits, spirit guides, and all of that fun stuff… So I do believe that there is some weird higher and beautiful power out there controlling this weird thing called life…. Is it God? I don’t know if you can give it a name.. maybe it is God… but I can tell you it’s probably not some Man with a white beard sitting on a fluffy cloud.. is it even a man? Maybe it’s Morgan Freeman in a white suit? Maybe not.. Is it a woman? Maybe not… I think it’s all encompassing… it’s greater than anyone will ever know….

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AM I AN EMPATH?

8/14/2014

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So, I felt compelled to write about my latest discovery about something called an “Empath”.

What is an Empath?
Well there are tons and tons of articles, websites, blogs, youtube videos, etc. that go into depth about what the traits of an Empath are. There are some traits which are pretty out there that I don’t really identify with, but for the most part, some of the major traits are totally there, and I never knew that there was a name for this before.

An Empath is someone who FEELS the emotions of someone else as if they were their own… and sometimes you can even FEEL the PHYSICAL pain that someone else around you may have. Some Empaths can walk into a room and right away feel if the vibes are wrong, or take on someone’s pain if they are in a room with them. Most empaths seems to attract people, even complete strangers, to confide in them, often telling them their whole life story. Empaths are healers, and we generally want to help everyone we come across, and we often have a lot of trouble SAYING NO. This has been something that I have become more aware of doing in the past year or so, even before I became aware of this new term “Empath”….

So how do I know that I’M an Empath? Well for as long as I can remember, random people would always come to ME for advice, or help with situations… even people I don’t really talk to or know all too well. I have even had strangers come up to me in stores, etc. Naturally as an Empath, I want to help… everyone… with everything… and I often tend to forget that I end up leaving myself on the back burner. Sometimes I feel taken advantage of, and ultimately I’m left feeling drained as if I don’t have enough energy left for myself to enjoy the things I love about life. I’ve had numerous amounts of “depressed” friends, and I put depressed in quotes, not to take things lightly with that word, because I am aware that depression is a VERY serious disease and should warrant a call for help at the first sign of any type of potential self harm… BUT.. there are some people where you just know they are doing it for attention, and these people are called narcissists … everything revolves around THEM… them them them. I mean, I didn’t really use these experiences to diagnose myself as an empath by any means.. I just thought that people were drawn to tell me all their bullshit, because I just thought I was a weirdo magnet, lol. This wasn’t the part that engaged me to seek out these qualities about myself… this was just a bonus to my aha! moment that made all of these pieces fit together for me.

What really made me curious as to think that there was something “special” about me was a few strange things that happened to me, which seem way too coo-coo and crazily creepy to be just a coincidence. Now I never really grew up with any sort of notion that I had any sort of special gift outside of the artistic/musical realm. Nor was I ever very religious. I was always pretty drawn to all things metaphysical, but I wouldn’t categorize myself as having psychic powers or clairvoyant/medium by any means. It was usually my brother who saw the spirits, or had the prophetic dreams, etc. I always considered myself to be pretty normal, outside of your normal anxiety attacks every time I visited a doctor’s office. Now not to get TOO sidetracked, I’d like to tell you about the first event that made me really wonder if there was some kind of gift that I possessed, that would enable me to tap into the psychic realm.

In the fall of 2011, and my grandmother Joan had been diagnosed with Lung Cancer. She had been a long time smoker, so this did not come as a shock to most of us in the family… That doesn’t mean it was any less upsetting. The doctors only gave her around 6 months or so. We went to visit her soon after Christmas in North Carolina and I spent time feeding her and watching TV with her, knowing I would probably never see her again after this trip. That was just heart wrenching to me. She was just as much of a smart ass sick as she was when she was well, so that made me happy to see her spirit still alive and kicking ass. I went home after a few short days that I got to spend with her. My mom would fly back and forth from NJ to NC here and there, to be by her side and help out with what she could. During that time, I had come down with the Respiratory Infection from hell. I was sick all through January, and come February, it was time for my mom to go back to be with my grandmother again.

My mother left, and I went about my business, but I guess subconsciously I was hurting so bad because the day after, I had noticed that my feet felt like pins and needles. I didn’t think anything of it, thought maybe I had pinched a nerve, and went about my business. Over the course of the next few days, the sensations started getting MUCH worse, and eventually I felt like there were tiny electrical shocks zapping all of my nerve endings all over my body; in my feet, my legs, my arms, my fingers, and worst of all my head. These sensations sent me into full blown anxiety mode and I had panic attack after panic attack. At time I felt sensations in my chest that caused me to think I was having a heart attack. My boyfriend was driving us home from band practice the one night, and I had an attack so bad, that he had to pull over and I contemplated making him take me to the emergency room. I begged him to stay over with me that night. I couldn’t bear to be alone, it was the scariest feeling I had every experienced in my life. I literally thought I was going to die.

I remember the night before having a really really hard time during the night. It wasn’t just your normal bought of insomnia… it was full on anxiety ridden, I literally felt like my heart was jumping out of my chest, and I could not let myself rest. Every time I would try to doze off, I would feel a pulsating sensation, and explosion of electrical shocks in my brain that would jolt me awake and make me think I was dying. I didn’t know what to do… I had no health insurance at the time, so any sort of diagnostic test would have cost me half my life savings. I had friends reach out to help and give me advice and suggestions on clinics I could go to to get blood work done and such. I ultimately ended up not going because I wanted to find a better option, or at least apply for some government aid for health insurance. During this time I was on and off the phone with my mom and she would give me updates on my grandmother, and at the same time try to control my situation all the way from NC. I felt horrible for taking her attention away from my grandmother, I just didn’t know who else to turn to.

By this point, my father and my boyfriend were both sick of hearing me and dealing with my anxiety attacks. The night of February 12, 2012 I talked with my mom on the phone and she was debating on whether or not she should come back home. I didn’t want her to, I really wanted her to stay with my grandmother, but she insisted that grandma would want her to come home and be with me. So my mom came home and the next morning I woke up to my mom coming into my brother’s old room, which is now the guest room, where I was sleeping. Sometimes when I have trouble sleeping in my own bed, I’ll switch rooms once in awhile. The change in environment sometimes helps… So she came in, and was crying and told me that my grandmother had passed. At this point I still had my shocks, pains, electric pulses.. they were making it really hard for me to even function during the regular day to day activities.

I was walking around like a zombie because I was barely sleeping. Every time I’d fall asleep, I’d get jolted awake again. It was horrible pain, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I even thought at one point that I had Fibromyalgia. I looked into every possible symptom I could have had. Well the weird thing about this was… after my grandmother had passed, and she was buried… the pains stopped.. miraculously…. The weird thing was, that my mother told me that before she had passed and the doctors did chemo, they had found lesions on her brain… That freaked me out, because of the majority of the pain and lack of sleep stemmed from the brain spasms I was having, made me feel like my head was imploding. I truly feel that I was channeling my grandmother’s pain somehow. And maybe that seems coincidental… I mean the thought had crossed my mind that maybe I felt her pain, but eventually I let the thought go, thinking maybe I was being a bit crazy.

I would also like to note that shortly after my grandmother had passed, it took a lot out of me financially, but I actually ended up putting myself under a very costly independent health insurance plan. I did go to the doctor, had blood work done and a routine physical just to make sure everything was in check. I had also explained to my new doctor the issues I had been experiencing prior to my grandmother’s death. I had also explained that I had been having chest pains during the episodes as well, and also I had been experiencing these chest pains quite frequently for the past 3 or 4 years or so. She gave me a referral to a cardiologist and I went on my way.

All of my blood work from my dr. came back normal and it was such a relief to me, considering how bad shape I was in, while my grandmother was sick. I decided to hold off on the cardiologist for now since I hadn’t really experienced the chest pains in awhile.

That wasn’t until I had another occurrence. It was a normal fall evening in October 2012. I had been getting ready for bed, I think I may have just finished a cup of tea and I went downstairs to my cup in the sink. As I was heading back upstairs, I reached for the light switch to turn it off and out of nowhere I felt a blow to the chest. I grasped my heart and fell to the floor in pain… I thought I was having a heart attack. I tried to make my way upstairs, but with each step I took, I kept feeling this tightness in my chest followed by additional blows to the chest… It was the most pain I have ever felt in my chest. I made my way up each step in a keeled over position.. practically crawling up the steps because it was too painful to even get up and walk the right way. I finally made it to the top of the steps and collapsed in the hallway. I called out to my mom for help, screaming in agony. I was lying chest down on the hallway floor and I couldn’t get up, and when my mom tried to move me, I screamed in excruciating pain. The only way I felt comfortable, was to lie chest down and flat on the floor.

Any attempt at other movement and I’d feel like my ribcage was being torn apart at the sternum like a wishbone. The pain had subsided enough for my mother to help get me off the floor and relocate me to my bed. I would get spurts of pain here and there, trying to lie normally, so I laid flat onto my chest again… this was the only way it felt comfortable enough for me to not feel any pain. I felt paralyzed. I was lying that way for a bit as she lectured me about going to the cardiologist with the referral that my dr. had given me during the Spring. It was weird, because I knew something wasn’t actually wrong with ME, which was why I was not in a rush to go.

But I did however know, that something was wrong… very wrong… I just couldn’t figure out what it was at that moment. Finally after an hour or so of this whole episode, my mother helped me get my head on the pillow, as I was lying paralyzed toward the other end of the bed. I put on some show or movie on my laptop propped up in front of me. It was around midnight, and I had fallen asleep with my mom rubbing my back. Around 2 or 3:00 in the morning I was awoken to my cellphone ringing. I looked at the phone and saw the call was coming from my boyfriend Avi. He usually goes to bed around 10:00 or so since he has to get up so early for work in the morning, and this was so out of the ordinary for him to be calling me at this hour.

Sometimes you just know when somethings not right, and this was one of those feelings. I answered the phone with caution and instead of a greeting, I think I just said “What’s wrong?!” He went on to tell me that his dad had a heart attack at work a couple hours prior, and that he was at the hospital. I nearly dropped the phone in shock, and my mom and I just looked at each other like WHAT!? I told Avi about the episode that I had a couple hours prior as well… I had felt that blow to the chest, about the same time that his father had his heart attack. I was completely freaked out. Avi told me his dad was stable but they were gonna have to keep him there overnight and run tests, etc. He stayed there at the hospital with his father and family all night. The next day I remember my chest being extremely tender and sensitive. I had faint pains that seemed to have dwindled from the night before, but it was nowhere NEAR the pain I had felt then. The next day was a bit of a whirlwind for my poor boyfriend, and I did what I could to be there for him. They had actually found major blockages in his dad’s heart, and they did in fact have to perform an emergency open heart surgery.

His dad ended up making a speedy recovery and was back in shape in no time… shortly after his surgery the tenderness in my chest went away, but I took my mom’s advice anyway, and went to the cardiologist. They did a checkup, and also ran a test, did an ultrasound and actually showed me my valves on screen, of my perfectly normal, perfectly fine beating heart. There was nothing wrong with me… I was however diagnosed with Costochondritis which is a very painful inflammation of the tissue around the sternum. From time to time I get this pain during times of HIGH anxiety or when I feel uneasy or stressed about something. In my last episode’s case, I was stressed about something I didn’t even know was happening yet… and that’s what’s so weird to me. The dr. gave me a regimen of taking an aleeve whenever I feel the pain, and sent me on my way.

I don’t remember exactly what led me to eventually piece all of these strange occurrences together, but I do remember exactly when I knew that there was a name for what I had. This past August, I had gone to a family gathering with my parents, and my dad’s cousins and sisters are quite the crazy bunch. They have all had their dose of paranormal happenings, and to hear about their experiences first hand, it really gives you the validation that weird things that are unexplainable, are in fact very possible. We all traded our stories that day, and I told them mine… They were in absolute awe about my ability to somehow feel others pain on multiple occasions, and told me that I’m not going crazy. I got home that night, and decided to do a little research and found the word “Empath”. I read article and blog after article and blog, and watched about every video I could find on Youtube. This discovery really gave me something to identify with. Now whenever I feel pain, I really wonder if maybe it is not my own… if it’s not my own, then who’s is it?

I now know that being an empath is like being an energy sponge, whether it’s good or bad energy, I suck all of it in. That’s not always a good thing, so I have to learn when to retreat and bring myself back to , well, myself. I have learned to cut the negative energy suckers out of my life, and also to say no when I absolutely need to say no to people who expect way too much of me. Sometimes there is not even enough of me to go around for myself. People often look to me as this grand problem solver, and while that’s flattering… the older I get, the less tolerant I am getting for this tactic.

All in all, I am very happy that I am now enlightened enough to know that there is this thing about me… some may think I’m crazy, or that it’s in my head… but you know what… The doctor’s told me this physical pain was in my head, for the longest time. Only YOU know your own body and mind. If you are feeling like this, seek spiritual healing. Do your research. Unexplainable things happen, and they are possible. No EKG, or ultrasound would find this excruciating pain I was carrying around… for YEARS. Anxiety is a build up of spiritual tension, I do believe.

So there is my story, take it for what it is worth… If you are an empath, and would like to share your story, please do leave a comment! I’d love to talk…

Also, please check out this Empath Community Online, it has many great resources for fellow Empaths:
http://empathcommunity.eliselebeau.com/page/empath-survival-guide

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THE POWER OF VISIONBOARDS

Vision Board Blog Post on JustinasWorld.com on January 19, 2018.To see original blog post CLICK HERE.

HOW TO VISION BOARD LIKE A BOSS

Download and Print Wheel of Life PDF

– MY 2018 VISION BOARD –

MY PERSONAL GOALS FOR THIS YEAR

ONE LAST TIP...

Sea Magic | Sandra Kynes (Book Review) - feat. Mermaid Kailin Jade

STURGEON & HARVEST FULL MOON RITUALS WITH SAGE GODDESS

MUSINGS OF A SPIRITUAL PONDERER

AM I AN EMPATH?

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Vision Board Blog Post on JustinasWorld.com on January 19, 2018.
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