A Ritual for Self Lovin's

Today I am going to share with you  a wonderful ritual to help you enhance your love for yourself.

The first step of any ritual that I do is a cleansing of myself. This usually involves a relaxing, candlelit, bath full of lavender smellies accompanied by a cup of my favorite tea. This allows me to not only cleanse myself physically, but mentally as well. It allows me to wash away all of the gunk that I am holding on to so that I can start my magical practices all bright and shiny. This also goes into allowing myself to ground and center, which connects me to the earth, as well as empties me of all of the things that are not serving me.

I am a fan of simplicity when it comes to ritual. I'm not really into the elaborate stuff. I believe that as long as you have the will to accomplish whatever it is that you want to accomplish, that is the most important and essential part of any magical working. For this working, all you need is a pen/marker, a piece of paper, and a tealight candle. I also have the Aphrodite Card from the Ancient Feminine Wisdom Oracle Deck, as well as a circle of rose quartz and aventurine, stones that are both great for creating an atmosphere of self love all around yourself.

Once you have yourself a nice atmosphere of candles lit, incense burning, and that hum of potential flowing through you, take the pen and write down all of the things that you love about yourself and all of the things that you want to love about yourself but don't. For the things that you are struggling with, write it in a way that reinforces that you already love that part of yourself. Stay away from the negatives. Even if you don't like your thighs, but you want to, then write down "I love my thighs." You want to manifest it into being the truth. If you write it down as truth, then it will become truth.

When you are done writing down those things, keep the piece of paper somewhere safe and allow the small candle to burn out. I put my piece of paper in the circle of stones and then set a chunk of quartz crystal on top of it to amplify my intentions. Then I let my candle burn out. Keeping the paper allows you to chart the path you're on. Read that paper out loud when you feel called to and allow the words to sink into your skin!

The misconception about ritual is that it does the work for you. What it really does is signal your intention to the Universe. It's like standing up and saying "Hey there Universe, I am ready to do this work, want to smoothe the way a bit?"

When we help ourselves, the Universe helps to clear the way.

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Embracing the Masculine Side of God

For all of you unfamiliar with Wicca (which was my religion of choice growing up) Wiccans believe in a God and a Goddess often called the Lord and Lady or the Moon Goddess and Sun God. I believe that there is a Universal source of energy, The One, The All, The Great Spirit. I believe that this energy is both masculine and Feminine and presents itself to us in the form of the God and the Goddess.

I love them both equally.

When I first started out I was drawn to the Goddess much more than I was to the God. I identified with the feminine energy, it was something so new and exciting, especially after being raised in a religion that was dominated by men. My soul sung to be able to look at God and see myself.

When I embraced Wicca, I shunned the masculine for a very long time. I was an all out Goddess-Worshipper, and found that most other women in the religion tended to be the same. It was a bond of sisterhood. After a few years, I realized that I wasn't feeling as nourished as I did in the beginning. I had my loving, comforting, soothing Mother Goddess, but something was missing. Something strong and wild, something feral and masculine. I was missing the complete package. The one-ness, the greatness, of loving and accepting both sides of Deity. God and Goddess. Male and female. It took a lot of work to accept God into my life all over again.

I had to learn how to relate to a God that had a very different personality from the one I had grown up with.

Growing up I felt like the Christian God was a loving but stern, distant, and not very interested in me father-figure. Most of the stories I read in the bible were about men doing great things, I felt like there was no place for me.

In Wicca, the God seemed like much more the approachable type even though he held an air of mystery and wilderness. He was the kind of God that traveled through the forest, enjoying the smell of the earth, the sound of the animal life. He sat there and told stories of hunting, of the mysteries of nature. He was bawdy and open, passionate about the life-blood of the woods, the circle of life, how every beginning had an ending which created a new beginning. I was shy at first, but then we connected with each other.

I couldn't imagine how anyone wouldn't want a presence like that in their life. A strong, masculine, protector. The father figure that I never had growing up. I had a pendant that I wore for years as a reminder that God is with me, in all of his aspects. Wiseman, hunter, warrior, lover, son, and husband. Finding balance within my religion was one of the most nourishing things that I've ever done and a huge awakening experience for me. It's truly like having  a good relationship with both of your parents.

Do you easily embrace masculine and feminine aspects of yourself? How about in your spirituality or religion?

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I'll show you mine... If you'll show me yours!

Show you my altar of course! This week is all about Magic and the purpose that it has in my life. Having a sacred space, is such an important part of my practice. I've had an altar of some sort, since I was fifteen and it has always felt like such an important part of my space. Something that I don't just want, but that I need as well.

Today's card comes from the Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards by Doreen Virtue and is Nemetona: Sacred Space.

"Your Sacred Space is within you now. By creating an altar or visiting a sacred site, you connect with the symbols and energy that have been infused with meaning and prayer."

This would be a great time to build an altar in your home, magically cleanse your sacred space, seek healing in a calm, quiet, place, and figure out what spirituality means to you!

Your altar can be anything that you want it to be. If you aren't familiar with magical practices, an altar might feel like a confusing concept. The easiest way to explain it is that an altar is a special place where you put things that have a spiritual or religious meaning. You might even have one already!

Altars come in many shapes and sizes and purposes. If you are Christian, you might have a special place to keep your bible, statues, and crosses. If you've lost someone, you might have a bookshelf dedicated to pictures of them and mementos that remind you of them. Or maybe you just have a special place to pray and meditate.

An altar is any place that you make for yourself, that spiritually nourishes you.

My altars have consisted of flat rocks, set outside in a hidden place. Bookshelves dedicated to my favorite deities. The top of my dresser. The top of an old desk with a wobbly leg. My kitchen counter. An old microwave cart. Currently my altar, which you can see in these pictures was a do-it-yourself kinda thing. Actually it's comprised of two, old, cardboard boxes of the same size, with two sides from an old bookcase laid on top of the boxes to make a flat surface. That's my altar table and it has been for years, and it's perfect! It's just the right size to sit in front of and relax, speak, pray, meditate, and most of all, be cherished, because that's how it makes me feel.

When I sit at my altar, I feel like I am wrapped in a bubble of awesome. I feel so many things all at once. A lot of it, I can't even put words to. I feel safe, I feel powerful, I feel in awe, as if I am sitting at the base of some huge, majestic mountain, staring up at it, mesmerized. I feel like I am the only person in the world that matters and it feels good. Everyone should be able to feel like that.

I have a challenge for you. 

If you don't have a sacred space in your house, make one today. If you do have an altar, spend a few minutes of your day there. I'd also love you to blog about it, or post a picture on facebook or twitter so that I can see it!

I really love being able to take a peak into your magical practices and see how you do your thang. Spirituality is so sacred and unique, different to every person. I love seeing the differences and similarities between me and you!

Do you have an altar or a sacred space where you like to go to reflect? I'd love to hear about it!

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Fall Wishes of Magic and Mysticism

Happy Wishcasting Wednesday to yooooou! May all of your beautiful dreams come truuuuue! Today's prompt from the lovely Jamie Ridler is

What's your Fall Wish?

I took a look back to last year, what I wished for Fall then, exactly one year ago. I wished to share my gifts. I didn't really think that I had much going for me, other than sharing my journey. I think I've proved myself wrong. In a year I have managed to create a well of  knowledge and wisdom (and massive amounts of love) inside of myself. I have shared that with others and it has made a difference, more than I ever thought it could. That's magic right there. There are all kinds of magic in the world I want to share that with you too.

My Fall wish is to share the magic.

As I've talked about before, I've traveled a very spiritual path, and a rather magical one. I practiced Wicca for the entirety of my teens and my spirituality evolved from there. My spirituality is no longer something that I use to label myself or something that I do. It's melded into a comfortable part of who I am. Right now it's singing to me that the leaves are falling, magic is in the air, and it wants to be talked about and experienced, fully. This week I am going to listen. This week is going to be a week of sharing my magical practice.

What do you wish for Fall?

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The view from the Vortex of Suck

Have you ever been happily moseying on down your path and then a bit of a breeze whooshes by, unexpectedly, and you find yourself  stumbling? You collect yourself, carry on, and then it happens again, and again, until the next thing you know, the wind is swirling all around you while you're a wailing mess in the center, wondering why it just won't stop?

Yeah, that's been me. The last few weeks have felt like a series of Unfortunate Events. This post isn't going to be all happy and fuzzy, and it doesn't really serve any point other than to allow me to whine (something we all need to do occasionally). It's going to be long (probably epic long) but I also think it's going to be very needed. When people come to me with problems, one of the things that I recommend is writing it all out. So here's my attempt. Also further proof that no one has it together all of the time!

Last month, right around my birthday, I wrote a blog post about how I felt like I had been trying on different mantles in an effort to discover who I really wanted to be, both personally and blog-wise. When I started Blessing Manifesting at the beginning of 2011, I was in the midst of a huge transformation. I was going from a self-loathing, verbally-abusive, drama-inciting, bitch to something better. It turned out I was trying to shove a square peg into a round hole. Oh don't get me wrong, I'm no longer those things, but I felt like I had to go to the extreme. I had to be this super-mindful, perfect being of light, love, and good intentions. I had to meditate, I wasn't allowed to be mad, I wasn't allowed to be hurt,

I had to be this robot who only felt and experienced good things because only then would I be a good person.

I'm an all-in kind of girl, I rarely do things half-assed. After a few months of trying to be those things, I realized that it wasn't any fun, it wasn't nourishing to my passionate Leo-esque nature, and at the end of the day, it was boring. So at the beginning of this year, I made the decision to be me, and I was, and it felt awesome. I still hadn't figured out how to blog from that place of me-ness. I felt like being in the self-help, self-love, field, people expected me to be a certain way, have a certain attitude, and basically, be all light, love, and fluffiness. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

I found myself censoring how I wrote, trying to make it 'professional', trying to make it fit into this niche. Telling myself that funniness wasn't appropriate. I felt embarrassed to let people know that I play World of Warcraft and read romance novels, because I'm not 'supposed to'. I'm supposed to do meaningful things, I'm supposed to do big important things, like go on retreats, and travel, and be all zen all of the time. (I know this is all my twisted perception, I've never denied being a loon)

A few days after my b-day this year I wrote in my newsletter about how I was done with holding back, I was going to be funny and goofy and dorky and I was going to be *more* of who I am. You've always seen real Dominee, just not all of her. So I wrote posts about my favorite TV show Lost and about Lord of the Rings and I used the phrase "Quite yer bitchin'" in a blog post, and it all felt good, and real and me, and I felt so nervous, so fearful that I was going to be judged and people were going to decide I just wasn't their cup 'o tea.

Then I took my first stumble.

I had a well-meaning reader send me an e-mail telling me that they thought that I was mis-guided on what my public persona should be. That I have my goofy, funny side, but it's not my true strength or my true essence, it was just another trying-on, another cloak to wear for a time until I wised up to who I really was. That I was very multi-faceted so it might be hard for me to see my true self. They said that they believed that I was serious, deep thinking and had a light-filled sensitivity to joy. That my greatest asset was my kindness and when I brought that to my work then it would be authentic.

To be honest that e-mail pissed me off and hurt me more than anything had done in a very long time.

I felt like I was being judged, I felt like I was being criticized, I felt like I was being told that I wasn't smart enough to know my own self, that I wasn't good enough being me. It felt like a stranger had come up to me on the street and said "Hey you, *this* is how you should be." I know it shouldn't have bothered me, but I had just made this big step in embracing my me-ness, and here was someone telling me that it wasn't really *me*. I felt like I was now coming across as fake, un-authentic, not funny at all, and a loser. Is kindness one of my greatest assets? Absolutely! I believe that's something that I've always shown, acknowledged, embraced, and put into my work, so I felt so confused as to why someone felt the need to point out what I already knew that I was. Wasn't it already showing? It was like one of my fears coming true, how the public sees me vs. how I see me not being the same thing.

After a lot of work and obsessive thinking, I finally let it go, saw the message in the helpful spirit that it was intended, and moved on. At the time, I was spending lots of time working on my latest project, Inner Journeys, so I turned my attention back to that. I was having a terrible time at the pays-the-bills job, just general crabbiness and discontentment, so I called in sick for three days (shhh.... that's our little secret), just to give myself a bit of a break. All three days I spent working on the Inner Journeys, I had 56 e-mails to design and put together, and honestly it was exhausting but it was good times. When I was done

I decided to do beta-testing for the first time, this created my second stumble.

If you've subscribed to the newsletter then you know about the Guinea Pig Clause, which basically means when I launch new things I extend an offer for a few people to try them out so that I can get some feedback. I'd never done it before, but figured it was win-win, after all, a few people would get to try my stuff for free, which is meant to create a positive difference, and I would get some much needed feedback, as well as a few testimonials.

I had tons of people offer (for which I was so grateful!) and I picked seven to beta-test for me and answer a 5 question survey at the end as well as give me a testimonial if they felt called to do so.

Only one person sent a testimonial and a total of three people filled out the survey. I started thinking that I must really suck. That nothing I do makes a notable difference to anyone, you know how that goes... Then launch day happened and I sent out an e-mail to the newsletter folks and I had 11 people unsubscribe from the newsletter that morning. On top of that, there wasn't much interest in the Inner Journeys anyway, and I took it as another sign that I was just fooling myself by thinking that I'm a life changer. Basically my attitude sucked, I'll admit it.

I also suffer from Post-Project-Blues which means whenever I launch something, I get depressed afterwards. It's just part of my spiral, something I'm used to, and something that I've come to expect. I expend a lot of energy and time working on projects and then when I'm done, there's this bit of emptiness and uncomfortable-ness and exhaustion surrounding it. This time I was smart and took five days off of the pays-the-bills job a few days after the launch, just to have time for myself.   Post-Project-Blues along with everything else that was going on in my head did not a happy-me make.

So I threw up my arms and walked away.

From the start of Blessing Manifesting, I've had highs and lows, I've had moments of doubt, I've wavered, but I usually bounce back fairly quickly, and even if it takes a few days, I still work during those days, I write blog posts, I still reply to comments, answer e-mails, set up posts on social media, all of the day-to-day things that keep things running smoothly.

This time, I did absolutely nothing. 

I watched lots of episodes of Sailor Moon, my favorite childhood anime. I bought three romance novels and spent lots of time in bed reading. I got the Sims 3: Supernatural expansion and spent time making families of fairies, werewolves, and vampires. I played World of Warcraft and ate lots of ice cream.

And then I missed this. And I realized what was wrong. I was letting my ego get in the way. My job is not to be popular, my job is not to make massive amounts of moolah, my job is to show up, put my words out there, and hope that they find the people that they need to at the times that they need to.

Nothing else matters. No one else says what I say in the way that I say it. No one does what I do in the way that I do it. There's something infinitely special about that. What I do, in the truest form that I do it, honestly nourishes me in a way that nothing ever has before.

So I'm getting back on the horse. 

I am doing "the work". It makes my Inner Wise Woman happy, it gives her the space to speak, to sing her song, to be divine.

So here I am, showing up. I did some Autumn Cleaning to the website, gave it some lovin's, fixed it up a bit, and I feel good about it. I hope that you do too. If you read through all of this, you are awesome and I owe you a cookie. /Brain vomit over.

No comments are needed although hugs are always awesome!

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Mabon Musings

Happy Autumn Equinox (aka the first day of Autumn)! Also called Mabon in the Pagan Tradition! The Autumn Equinox is a time when the length of day and night are equal. This is a time when we stop and allow ourselves to contemplate what has happened over the year, what we've done and where we've been. The harvest is winding down, the seasons are changing, and we're looking around wondering what's going to sustain us through the cold of winter. What things have we learned this year, what do we have dwelling inside of us to carry us through?

Mabon is a time when there is a balance between day and night. We say goodbye to the Sun and we welcome the coming Darkness. This allows us to really focus on seeing both sides of everything going on within us right now. It is a time of celebration and a time of mourning. A time of joy and sorrow. A time of sleep and awakening. I know that a lot of my friends and readers here aren't of a witchy persuasion so I really wanted to give you non-denominational ways to observe the start of the season.

Bless and cleanse your hearth and home.

There are so many ways to bless your home and make it sacred. You sleep there, you love there, you live there, it deserves to be shiny and sparkly on a metaphysical level. Energies build up in our homes. Have you ever been around someone who is angry and you can just feel it radiating off of them before they even say anything? That kind of energy can linger. You can use a bundle of sage and herbs (or incense), allowing it to burn, and the smoke to enter your space, cleansing away the negative juju. You can also use salt, or salt water, (salt is uber purifying) and sprinkle it around the edges of your rooms. When this is done, offer up a prayer to whomever you wish, asking them to watch over your space and protect you.

Do charity work.

This is a great time to give back. Start a canned food drive, offer to give your time or energy to those in need. Autumn going into Winter, is a tough time for a lot of people, physically and emotionally. You might be surprised to see what you have to offer to someone in need. There is so much that you can do for other people that has nothing to do with money. You can give your company, you can provide healing, and you can give nourishment (spiritual, emotional, and otherwise) to those that need it.

Make a hearty meal.

Autumn Equinox is also considered the Witch's Thanksgiving. It marks the end of the year and naturally our thoughts are drawn to the bounty we have received throughout the months. Make a hearty meal. This is a great time for soups and stews so pull out your crock pot and experiment with being a Culinary Goddess. You can also make a Thanksgiving feast, you can never have too much giving of thanks.

Let go.

Look back on the year and think about all of the yucky stuff that happened. Are you still holding on to anything? I don't know about you, but I still haven't mastered the art of letting go and often times it takes me awhile to really let go of the bad stuff. One thing that has helped me is taking a piece of paper and writing it all down, all of the suck, and then burning it (in a fireproof container of course). Me and you, we gotta work on this together. (Well maybe not you, but me.)

Give thanks.

When you let go, you make more space in your life for the good things. Acknowledge those good things! Thank the Universe for all of the wonderful and beautiful things in your life. They are there, they might take a little bit of digging, but they are there. Tell the people that you love that they are loved. ((p.s. I love you))

Embrace darkness.

What is your dark side? What aspects of yourself are considered "dark"? Do you accept them? There is nothing wrong with that side of you. We all possess it. The difference is whether or not you shun that. Ignoring that side of yourself is not accepting who you really are. Learn to love it.

I'd love to hear how you are celebrating the Autumn Equinox! What things are you going to do? Have you ever celebrated it before? What's your favorite thing about Autumn? Let me know!

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Take the first step, start your journey now.

“Your outer journey may contain a million steps; your inner journey only has one: the step you are taking right now.”― Eckhart Tolle

I am so excited to announce the release of my new Inner Journeys! As a special early bird special, your first Inner Journey is 50% (if you use your newsletter discount code) so it's only $10 per journey until September 27th! One thing that I believe in whole-heartedly is that there is wisdom inside of you. Massive amounts, oodles and oodles of wisdom, just waiting for you to connect with it. Waiting for you to discover it.

I want to be your guide to that. 

I want to lead you to that wellspring of wisdom inside of you. It's not my job to tell you that doing *this* or doing *that* will make you into the person you want to be. I can't ever know what is right for you, but I can help you find that voice within you that does. I can encourage you to listen. I can support you in listening to your own heart. That is what I was made to do.

I've come up with Inner Journeys, these Journeys will help you find your own inner wisdom and listen to it. 

Everyday for a week you'll get a special note of yumminess in your inbox created to help awaken you to your wisdom. Each day you'll get a journaling prompt, a homework assignment, print-out-able worksheets or posters, an affirmation, crystal/aromatherapy/chakra/animal guide tips, and relevant links to my past blog posts for you to read and soak up. (Want to see what they look like? Click here!)

Sounds yummy right?

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6 Ways to love the job you hate

If you've followed me for awhile (and I love you for that) you'll know that I have a job other than this purty, shiny, website. I work overnights (10pm-7am) at a Walmart, stocking whatever they want me to stock. (Not glamorous, I know.) I've maintained that I enjoy my job and plan to continue to work there for the foreseeable future. There was a small hitch in that plan.

I began to hate my job.

I had a bad night, which turned into two nights, which turned into a week, which led to me calling in for three days (which I never, ever, do!) just to save my sanity, and the time off was nice, and then I came back and things still hadn't changed. I was grumpy and annoyed and my job, that I usually took so much pride in, became this thing that I did half-assed. It didn't get better, if anything it got worse and I began to just seethe with I-hate-my-job vibes all of the time. This went on for a good month and then I had a revelation:

Nothing at my job had changed, except for my attitude.

I still had the same co-workers, managers, and responsibilities that I'd had the month before and the month before that. I realized that if I wanted to like my job all I had to do was change my way of thinking and I could make it happen. p.s. Having a naturally sunny disposition doesn't hurt.

Think about what your job allows you to do.
If you didn't have your job, chances are you wouldn't be able to do a lot of the things that you get to do. No matter how much you dislike your job, it is serving a purpose! My job has supported me for seven years. It has enabled me to be independent, to take care of myself, and to allow Blessing Manifesting to grow at its own pace instead of something that needs to support me right now. I am very grateful for that.

Have a positive attitude about your co-workers.
Working with people you hate is the best way to suck the happiness out of you. There's probably going to be someone you don't like, someone you don't get along with, someone that is a complete drama queen, and someone that just doesn't work as hard as you do. Treating those people with kindness, being positive, and letting it roll off your back (in most situations) is the best way to deal with it. Give everyone your brightest smile and move on. One thing I've learned is that 95% of people will appreciate you for your positive attitude. Also, find something to like about your coworkers, become friends with them. I speak from experience that going to work and being among friends is the best thing ever.

Find a way to distract yourself.
If you don't like the work you are doing, distract yourself with happy thoughts. If you work in Customer Service, know that just being nice can have a huge impact on someones day. Find things to daydream about, bring a really good book to read on your breaks. Break up the monotony if you can. Listen to music, even if it's just in your head. Make fabulous plans, come up with stories, think about the things that make you happy. Find joy in unexpected places.

Know that you are lucky. 
In today's world, jobs aren't easy to come by, unemployment rates are up and people want jobs and are having a hard time finding them. Just the fact that you have one makes you lucky, it gives you something to be incredibly thankful for. Know that, appreciate that, be grateful for that. Knowing that you can contribute to taking care of your family is something that a lot of people are struggling with right now. Even if your job isn't perfect or giving you enough of what you need, at least it's there/

Take a break.
Make sure that you are taking advantage of your vacation days and your personal days. Try to spread them out so you get as much time away as possible. Work on getting your other life-obligations done during the work week so that you can actually relax on the weekend. Practice self care every day, it will help you de-stress and be a happy you, and above all else, don't underestimate the power of a five minute "bathroom break" which involves looking at funny websites on your phone.

Spread your wings and soar.
If none of that works and you're still hating your job, then leave. You can always try to transfer to a different place, find a new position, or try to move up in some way. Find something that doesn't suck. Find a way to get your dream job, if your dream job doesn't exist then create it! (I did, it's awesome) Look into taking classes, getting a degree, or getting certified, for something that does make your heart sing. You always have a choice. You always have an option. You're not stuck unless you allow yourself to be.

Have you ever suffered from the Omg-my-job-sucks Blues? How'd you get over it and what advice would you give? I'd love to hear from you!

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“Faith, trust, and pixie dust.”

“All you need is a little faith, trust, and pixie dust.” - Peter Pan

Last night at the pays-the-bills-job, I was thinking about Blessing Manifesting and I got lost in my daydream world of plans and ideas, of magic, of being sustained and nourished by what I do, and then it hit me so hard and so quickly.

This is my life.

Honestly, truly, completely, this is my life. This is me. I created this, I did this, I changed the course of my life. I became who I never dared dream I could be. It was a moment of complete disbelief that I am where I am. I am so amazed by everything that I am and everything that I do. I never would have imagined that I could be here, right now.

Five years ago I lived in a pit of despair, lamenting about why the Universe hated me, why I never got what I wanted, why everyone treated my badly, why I was born into this ugly body, why no one ever loved me enough to stick around. That's where I was five years ago, a gnarled, twisted, mass of hurt and bitterness that was slowly transforming into something sinister and hateful. This is where I am now, and I got here on my own. I had wonderful helpers, supporters, and cheerleaders, but I did the work, and now I'm sitting here writing this.

Miracle.

I was listening to my mp3 player and the song "I'll Try" Return to Neverland started playing and I realized that I finally believe. I finally believe that I can do this. I finally believe in myself.

If you've ever looked at yourself and thought that you didn't have "it", that you couldn't do it, whatever "it" means to you, I want you to know that you can.

You can do it.

Five years from now you're going to look back on this moment and know that this was a turning point.

This was when you were brave and crazy. This was when you made miracles and magic.

This was when you took a flying leap off of the cliff and you didn't fall.

You freakin' flew.

This is your moment.

This is your time to shine.

Have faith in yourself, trust in yourself, and the Universe will provide the required amount of pixie dust.

Know without a shadow of doubt that you can do it.

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A message from a very handsome faery!

When I picked this card for us this morning I did a little happy wiggle in my seat because this card is perfect and exactly what I need to hear this morning. Hopefully it's exactly what you needed to hear too. This faery comes from the Wild Wisdom of the Faery Oracle and his name is Acorn and he has an invitation:

Touch, exchange, connection.

This very handsome faery man is inviting us to touch the world, to fall in love with ourselves and the world around us. He wants us to experience the vitality of the life force that exists all around us, including in ourselves, and our bodies. Your body is a sacred expression of Spirit and an essential part of you. Connect and nurture your body, celebrate its sacred-ness.

Acorn also wants you to know that all of us need physical connection. It's just a natural part of being human. Something as simple as a hug can have an amazing effect on us, especially when we're sad!

Hug someone, hold hands, give a back rub, give or get a massage, be affectionate with another person. Hug and cuddle your pets, sit next to someone and allow yourselves to touch. Touch is healing, it can lift us out of despair, comfort, soothe, and bring bliss into our lives. Experience your body as the beautiful gift that it is. It's the only one you've got.

Wise wisdom from the faery hottie.

How are you feeling about your body today? Do your feelings about your body keep you from connecting with other people? What are you going to do today to physically connect with someone else?

P.S. Is anyone else in a Savage Garden mood? No? Just me? Well I love this song!

P.P.S. The free Sacred Journey Through Journaling is going away at the end of the month so sign up before then!

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Follow Your Moon Oracle Reading Give-a-way!

So happy to announce our winner: Alia!!!

Hello sweet Blessing Manifesting tribe!! I want to to thank Dominee sooo sooo much for all of her hard work on this beautiful site. I have been following since her very beginnings, and it has been such an inspiration watching Blessing Manifesting grow!! And she is so so sweet for hosting my giveaway for my new Follow Your Moon oracle reading!

For the launch of my new readings, I am giving you one for free! This journey takes you through each phase of the Lunar cycle helping you to connect with the Moon in your own personal way. I have been reading cards for over 5 years now and I have found so much joy and healing with the cards I work with. I wanted a reading that would embody the feminine cycle and flow of the Moon, so I created my own!

This reading will be for the Lunar cycle starting with the New Moon of September 16th! There are 5 cards:

1. The overall theme for your Lunar cycle

2. New Moon. What seeds need to be planted, or what new step is emerging on your path.

3. Waxing Moon. As energy builds, what is the best next move/step for your situation/project.

4. Full Moon. The peak of manifestation and celebration. 

5. Waning Moon. What you need to let go of to complete your cycle.

You will be sent a PDF in your inbox the week of September 16th! 

You can choose from one of these 4 decks below. All of them are so grounding and feminine; perfect for balancing the Moon energy! You can click here for more details.

To Enter:

1. Like Blessing Manifesting's Facebook Page

2. Follow Moondaughter

3. Leave a comment telling us what your favorite phase of the Moon is!

!!For Bonus Entries!!

1. Share this on your blog/website

2. Share on your Facebook

3. Tweet about this!

Please let us know in the comments below!!

We will announce the winner on September 15th!

Love and Blessings,

Marissa Moondaughter

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5 Ways to Be Happy

Happy Self Love Sunday! What are you doing today to give yourself some lovin's? Me? I'm sitting here with windows open, enjoying the cold Autumn air. HEAVEN.

All the time, people ask me how I am so happy, how do I stay positive, and why am I so damn cheerful?

The easy answer is: I choose to be.

There's nothing spectacular about my life (except that it's all mine and I love it) and if you really looked at it, there'd be tons of reasons for me not to be happy. I mean, I work at Walmart and I'm a spinster-crazy-cat-lady-without-cats. I could go on about all of the things that are wrong, all of the people that have hurt me, or been mean to me, and I could unpack all of my baggage right now, but the thing is, the bad stuff, it's there, but it's not worth ignoring the good stuff. My fab friends, my online pals, my soul-work, the Autumn wind blowing fresh air into my cozy, lil', apartment. There are so many things to be happy about that the not-so-happy stuff is just a few drops in the bucket of a good life.

So here are 5 ways to be a happier you!

Roll with the punches or punch back.
Some things you just have to roll with. On any given day, there's a 50/50 basic chance that things are going to go your way. You have plans with a friend and they cancel on you last minute, instead of being annoyed or angry about it, think of what things that glitch in your plans is giving you the opportunity to do. Learn to adapt. Let things roll off your back and go with the flow. If that isn't working then stand up for yourself and make change happen. You always have two options, take it or leave it.

Stop worrying about other people.
I can not stress this one enough. It's basic human human-ness to let other people affect us but we can dial it down, if not turn it off. We can choose not to play with the drama-llamas. We can choose not to participate in their drama. (You really can!) I see so many passive aggressive posts on facebook about so-and-so and karma, karma this and karma that. Let it go. Don't even bother yourself enough to perpetuate the negatives and post negative things, karma will do it's thang without your Facebook post pointing it in the right direction, I promise. Staying away from crazy-makers is one of the #1 rules to happiness.

Stop yer bitchin'. 
I know, I know, that's impossible. Bitching about stuff is good for us, it really is. A good bitching session can lead us to figuring out what the 'eff we're going to do about something, as well as give us the ability to get perspective from someone else. I call this constructive bitching *nods*. What you don't want to do is complain about everything just because you can, that the happiness does not make! If you aren't willing to change it, don't constantly complain about it because it won't do you any good. Embrace the positive!

Make yourself a priority.
I talk all of the time about how self love can improve your life. This is a proven fact, I've had so many women tell me how making real time for themselves has helped improve their feelings about themselves as well as how they relate to their spouses and children. When you do things for yourself you make so much more happy space in your life. It's a great buffer against the bad.

Be grateful.
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't. It's very rare to find someone that is perfectly happy and content with their life, there's always something that we want, that we're reaching for, that will make life better. Be grateful for what's in your life right now. At one time in the past, what you have now is what you used to reach for. Appreciate it! Be especially grateful for the people in your life that lift you up. Remember that the Universe owes you nothing so be grateful for the gifts that come your way.

I'd love to hear what your #1 happiness tip is! Which one of these really resonate with you?

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Oracle Reading Give-a-way!

And the winners are... Linda, Jjinqueens, Michemon05, Deanna, Tabetha, and Ssenicar!
As a huge thank you, I pulled a card for everyone that entered and posted it under your comment!

Mornin' you!

I've totally been geeking out about my new Oracle Card Decks. I have  Ancient Feminine Wisdom: Of Goddesses and Heroines, Gaia Oracle Cards, as well as Angels, Gods, and Goddesses, and I've been itching to use them! I've been doing readings for myself every day to get acquainted with the cards and now I want to do a reading for you!

See that picture and the tiny green fairy to the left? Magic I tell you! (Secretly I believe the fairy is a bit of glitter but we're going to close our eyes and believe!) I love sharing the love, the magic, the wisdom, and the beauty of the cards. Especially these ones because they are absolutely gorgeous! This give-a-way is going to be sweet, easy and to the point! I'm giving away SIX one card readings, two from each deck, you'll totally be helping me out by entering because I need some bonding time with these beauties!

How to enter:
Post a comment here telling me what the greatest obstacle you've ever overcome has been.

That's it, that's all you gotta do! I'll announce the winners on Monday and then I will email you with the details. See, easy! I hope that you will all sign up, it's a great opportunity!

Thank you big huggles!

 

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A Message of Love

I love ya, ya know? I have the best online tribe that ever was, that's simply fact. You all are just fantastic and you give me ze warm fuzzies all over. You just needed to know that!

 Last week I treated myself to three new oracle card decks for my birfday, among them the Gaia Oracle Cards deck, which I'm totally in love with already. (Psst... tomorrow I'm giving away six free readings so check back!) Today's oracle card reading o' the week comes from that deck.

Sacred Earth Mother: A message of love.

This card is all about loving the essence of who you are. You are so much more than you achievements, your successes, and your failures. None of that has nothing to do with the humming of your soul, the essence of what makes you the wonderful you that you are.

You are an eternal spark of pure creativity and unlimited potential that yearns to be expressed and fulfilled. Your potential is your destiny and it just waits patiently for you to direct it. Trust your heart and apply love and wisdom in all that you do, you'll get to be exactly where you are going. Always be true to yourself.

Lately I've been having a bit of trouble with this. You can read my post from yesterday about how I feel like each time I start to "get it", something happens and I realize that I do not have everything as figured out as I thought I did. This mainly happens with my business. Do I want to be bigger or do I want to stay the same? I have a wonderful following, a comfortable following, and I'm so happy with my tribe, being able to distinguish you all from each other, knowing who you all are and being able to remember previous comments and e-mails when I see your name.

I really don't want that to change! I love having a sense of "I know you" With everyone who hangs out here on Blessing Manifesting. I TRUESTORY like each and every one of you. There's no one that annoys me or who I feel like I don't mesh with, and for someone with such anti-social tenancies, that's really a gift! So lately I've just been thinking where I want things to go for the future and all that jazz. I'll let you know when I've got it figured out!

Anyway, what you should know is that you are loved, both by me, Sacred Earth Mother, and (hopefully) yourself! You are a bright, shiny, being and I see the light in you!

Luvvles!

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One step at a time...

It's Jamie Ridler's Wishcasting Wednesday and I felt like participating this week, it's been awhile! Today's prompt is:

What step do you wish to take?

Lately I've been going up and down spirals. With my business, with life. One of the things that I love (and hate) about life is that it always changes. Just when I reach my stride, I stumble and I have to start all over again. That's the frustrating part but it's also the part that I need, ya know? If I didn't have to stop every once and awhile with an "Am I on the right path?" then I'd get terribly lost. Those stumbles are my compass, allowing me to realign myself to where I need to go.

"Thank you Universe for pushing me to the ground while you stand there laughing. Even though I often want to punch you in the face, it's kinda like in kindergarten, when you pull my hair and then push me down, just to show me that you like me."

My wish for this week is to take the first step, each and every time I stumble.

This prompt made me think of the song You Can't Go Back Now by the weepies. "I can't really say why everybody wishes they were somewhere else. But in the end, the only steps that matter are the ones you take all by yourself."

Happy Wishcasting Wednesday! What step do you wish to take?

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Open Thy Throat Chakra!

I was getting ready to write this blog post, which is about the Throat Chakra, which is all about communication, speech, and writing. Upon thinking about this I realized that I don't see myself as a writer *horrified gasp* I mean, I write a lot, I've always written a lot, I started my first fantasy novel when I was 13, I've written a gazillion fanfics, I write blog posts and work on e-books every single week.

Holy crap, I'm a freakin' writer.

I may never publish a book (funny fact here, if I did ever publish a book I'd want it to be a romance novel :P) but I am still a writer and I love it. Maybe the reason I haven't run into writer's block is because I refused to call myself one, oh noes! Speaking of Writer's Block, working with the throat chakra is a great way to overcome it.

The throat chakra is located at your throat and represented by the color blue.Physically it governs the thyroid, mouth, teeth, jaw, and the respiratory system. The throat chakra is also where we communicate with others from. In this chakra we hold our self expression, it is where we speak from, dance from, sing from, write from and create art from.

Our truth comes from the throat chakra.

When this chakra is open you can communicate easily and effectively with the people around you, you embrace your inner truth and creativity and you are able to believe in your artistic abilities! People will be able to see you as open, honest, and someone that they can trust. In the aspect of self-love it governs how you talk to yourself, so make sure you're being nice!

When your throat chakra is blocked you might have a lot of difficulty expressing how you feel. You might feel like your feelings and emotions don't matter so you won't often voice them. You might feel like you aren't "authentic" because you'll have trouble embracing the core of who you are. You also might lie because lying is easier than speaking about how you truly feel. Not speaking up for yourself when you need to might also be a sign that your chakra is blocked.

On the reverse side your chakra might be over-active, which means you gossip all of the time, you don't know when to listen, every conversation is about you, and you don't know that there are times when a little bit of tact to get your point across.

You can unblock and rebalance your chakras with oils, crystals, meditation, reiki, and a few other ways as well.  You can use crystals like turquoise, lapis lazuli, and chrysocolla to embrace the qualities of an open throat chakra. You can hold the stones in your receiving hand (usually the left one) and while breathing deep, let their energy flow through you. You can also lay down and meditate with the crystal placed over your throat or make a necklace that hangs around your throat.

You can also experiment with essential oils like chamomile, which can help you speak your truth, geranium, which helps you express your self and myrrh, which will help you regain a sense of your own voice. You can make these oils into a massage oil and rub it over your throat. You can wear it while meditating or going about your day, you can put it in a bath, add it to candles or diffusers, or put it in spray bottles with water to anoint your space with, especially if you have a workspace where you get your creative thang on!

Are you able to embrace your truth and you inner-self? Do you find it easy or difficult to speak about your feelings?

If you are interested in chakras you can also check out the other posts and relating to the throat chakra, the Voice of Truth worksheet!

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Let's write some vows!

So something about me, I love making speeches, not in public, not in front of a lot of people (eeeek, stage fright!) but I really like to talk, especially about my feelings. If I reallyreallyreally love you then I've probably given you a long speech about why you are the bestthingever and all the reasons why.

You should totally tell the people that you love that you love them. Throw in something like you are the Samwise to my Frodo... the peanut butter to my jelly... the cheese to my macaroni. Let 'em really know that they matter.

Life doesn't last forever, it's to short to waste it not saying those things. Okay, maybe not those things exactly, but you get my meaning.

Want to know who else needs to hear that you love them? *Holds up a gigantic mirror* You! So you might already love yourself (and that's totally fantastic) but do you say it out loud and often? There's a point to saying it, it reinforces those feelings, it lets them sink in, and it helps you to really believe it. I've gotten in the habit of writing vows to myself, especially when I'm feeling a little bit low. It reminds me that even when I'm having a crappy day, those good feelings about myself still exist.

Write vows to yourself. Feel them, speak them, believe them.

I talk about having a love affair with yourself. Make it real. Make a promise to yourself right now. Promise to take care of you, to love yourself, cherish yourself, and treat yourself better than anyone in the world has ever treated anyone else.

You can stand in front of the mirror and say these things to yourself. You can go to your sacred space and create a ritual around loving yourself, you can mind-whisper sweet things to yourself as you fall asleep. (Mind-whispers are those sleepy thoughts that quietly float through your head when you're approaching dream land).

What are your self-love vows to yourself? What promises have you already made (and kept!) to yourself? Make one promise or vow right now!

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Autumn's here and so is my e-book!

My favorite peeps!

Guess what, guess what, guess WHAT?! It's almost Autumn time! *flails around like a crazy person jumping up and down*

Technically the first day of Autumn isn't for 22 more days but I say, why split hairs on my favorite season EVAR? I feel it in the air.

Last year I was so excited I wrote a blog post about it 23 days early. See, I'm getting better!

Anywaysies, I am so an Autumn fanatic. It makes me fall in love every day. The first time I ever fell in love was in Autumn, the first time I did a spell was Autumn, my first kiss was in Autumn, I released my first e-book in Autumn, everything good happens in Autumn. It makes me giddy.

As a Happy-it's-Autumn Gift for you I'm going to give you monies off of my Autumn E-book for today, tomorrow, and Monday only! You get an automatic $5 off (and if you use you special Newsletter Subscriber Code another $5! That's 50% off, ahhhmazing. Buy it now! ) So go check out my Autumn baby, share it with everyone you know, and have an Autumn full of love for yourself and your journey!

I loooooove you!

Mwah!

P.S. If you lost the link to the Newsletter Subscriber's Only Page which has your $5 off discount code, email me at Dominee@BlessingManifesting.com and I'll send you the link

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