In this Issue:
Featured Video
Article
Art Pick of the Month

Art Room Video: Powers Angel -Mental Healing

From video: “We are all beings of energy…this next demonstration shows how that energy can be manipulated, for example, by electricity…

Very much in the same way, when we are mentally suffering, the Powers Angels use an electrical charge that disperses from their wingtips and runs throughout us, within the perimeter of our body.”

Heal Your Heart to Heal Yourself

“Heal your heart to heal yourself.” That is the message I received from my master teacher, infusing me from the Other Side. He gives me messages during my prayer time in the garden, usually for higher understanding regarding life challenges. This message however, was in response to reflecting on my client who was struggling with a chronic injury. He was forty-something, a writer, and very thoughtful and friendly. But on the inside, he was plagued with worry over an injury, he himself created, and there were no medical measures that could make it better. So he turned to holistic remedies, energy healings, natural “miracle cure” pills, and everything he could think of, spending great amounts of time and money…still nothing.

I really felt for him. He was so kind-hearted and it never feels good to see hopeless desperation on  anyone’s face. So we set his guidance appointment and while the date approached,  I couldn’t help but think of him while “praying” in my garden. I saw his eyes in my mind and that’s when I received my Master Teacher’s message, “Heal your heart to heal yourself.”

As thoughts are things, we manifest from what we think and believe. We manifest physically in our body, in our relationships, and in every aspect of life. Emotional traumas also manifest physically through illness, disease, even injury. Traumas like experiencing a tragic event, being abandoned or rejected, or sacrificing our betterment for another who we later discover, is not worthy of our sacrifice. Giving our  power away in that manner, has many varying physical results, and those issues left unresolved, become chronic pain which lingers…the old pain that has not gone away.

The part of our body, the type of relationship, or aspect of our life in which the issue has occurred, gives us more insight into exactly how we internalized that pain, fear, guilt, or anger. For my client, I knew it was pain from his relationships, like a repeating pattern in his search for love. To feel love and loved is so important to us all, that often we’ll do so much for it, even that which hurts our self.

Gaining understanding helps us to take a more objective approach, like an eagle flying high above the situation, looking down on all that happened with a bird’s eye view, rather than in the emotion of it. Spiritual knowledge through understanding the “life lesson” underlying our experiences, I know has helped me greatly. The difficulty however, is taking that knowledge and applying it. That is how we empower ourselves over our fears. It’s true that knowledge is power. Yet, to take that power and direct it, is when we begin to utilize it. This is how we activate to lead a self-empowered life. This is how we heal our minds, our bodies, ourselves, and our lives.

It’s not as hard as it may sound and people do it all the time. They hear a profound spiritual wisdom or have a deep realization in regards to them self, their past, a relationship, or a challenge, much like we do when we learn the underlying life lessons behind our issue. While others struggle with that shift and the healing they seek because of their belief in “blocks” they’ve created. Mental blocks which stem from the reason the pain lingers, like unresolved issues and fears. No amount of miracle cures heal them because in their heart, they are still hurt.

We are all powerful creators and from our thoughts and feelings, we create. So how can we fix this? How can we align our thoughts and feelings with our subconscious desire to heal and not have contrary thoughts hold us back?

Insight into the true cause of our issue is what begins that healing process because this understanding of the subconscious is what we need for empowerment to direct our conscious intent and make it be so. Hypnosis and self-hypnosis helps us to gain this insight. This is what my “prayer-time” in the garden really is. Meditation helps greatly too, which is also what I utilize in my Guidance sessions, helping my clients to find the answers within themselves, and that is what leads to true healing on all levels. To find resolution and reconnect with that inner power we all have to manifest our deepest intent within our self and our life.

As heartbreaking as it is to see hopeless desperation in someone’s eyes, is as glorious it is to see true hope because by the end of our session, he looked like a man who saw the way to a new life and that is more than any guidance instructor could ever want.

Many blessings to you all; be well in your thoughts!

Christina

Featured Art: Powers Angel

Powers Angels are healers and are relegated to peace. It is the easing of mental suffering they are recognized for.

In times of mental anguish or for acuity, the Powers Angels can bring you balance and peace of mind.

Ask a Question: Do you have a question about a personal life issue? I’d like to help. I answer one or two selected subscriber’s questions within my monthly newsletter. Submit a question here.

* If you would like to recieve my FREE e-newsletter in your inbox monthly, please register here.

* Christina is not a licensed medical or mental health practitioner, or licensed  family counselor. Her guidance and suggestions are based on spiritual philosophy, her own experience and  years of research.

In this Issue:
Featured Video
Article
Art Pick of the Month

Art Room Video: Master Healer on the Other Side

From video: “In your mind’s eye, you may see the Master Healers on the Other Side, there to attend you. Or you may just see colors…like the golden orange of the sun for rejuvenation.

We are inherently renewed through the natural world so they utilize it to help us. Most all, however, the healing they generate really all comes from channeling God’s love  for us.”

Spring Season, Inner Rejuvenation

Welcome to Spring everyone! Spring is a time of renewal, rejuvenation, rebirth and resurrection of our mind, body and spirit. It brings new life after the cold winter months. Just as a hibernating bear awakens hungry after a long winter slumber, we too, often find ourselves wanting more in our lives, than what we’re living. Routines, if practiced enough times, can feel like ruts as we do the same thing, day after day. Routines are not necessarily bad. Ruts, however, drain our spirit, and lead to restlessness, listlessness and fatigue.

It doesn’t mean we have to make huge changes in our life. Sometimes small adjustments are just what we need to mix it up a little. We are amazing beings that can achieve great accomplishments with effort. Even giving ourselves a little variation can propel us toward growth and transformation, rejuvenation and renewal. It all stems from some form of change whether physical, mental or spiritual. On some level there has been a shift in our mental, physical or spiritual energy that helps to create the change we need. In the following case, it is rejuvenation…

Dear Christina,
I feel somewhat depressed for no reason, other than the unattained goal of wanting to loose weight. I have a good job which I pretty much enjoy. But I do work such long hours, I’m tired most all the time. And sitting behind a desk all day doesn’t help with loosing weight either. It’s not like I’m hopelessly depressed to get out of bed in the morning, but it feels like, just another day doing the same grind. I guess I feel “flat” and just kind of tired out. Any suggestions for this cubicle-dweller?

Thanks!
Candice

Dear Candice,
I think most all of us can relate to what you’re feeling! Haven’t we all felt this way at some point, the need to be rejuvenated? All transformation, all change that we want to have happen, first begins with changing our actions, our thoughts, our behavior, our routine.  So when our life feels flat or our spirit feels restless, there is an aspect of our self on some level that is unbalanced and must be replenished.

We are multi-dimensional beings with the mental, physical and spiritual aspects to take into account, or mind, body and spirit. So in reading your words, it sounds like it’s the physical aspect of your being that needs to be rejuvenated, though all levels are connected and will be refreshed. You’ve mentioned wanting to loose weight so let’s focus on physical rejuvenation.

Living in such a busy society with high stress and full time jobs, whether in an office or at home, leave us with little time to rejuvenate. However, there are a few ways that take minimal time out of our schedule, which can help us rejuvenate our self for a more positive, energetic day.

Let’s begin with a powerful source of rejuvenation we have all around us and can utilize on a daily basis…nature. The natural elements are one of, if not the greatest of all rejuvenators. People are refreshed by it every morning through the cleansing water of a shower.

Being in nature, breathing in fresh air, feeling the wind or sun on our skin, the earth and grass…experiencing and taking it in, is a great way to rejuvenate ourselves, connecting with our energy through it because we are a part of the natural world. It is a pure rejuvenation that nature brings us when we allow the wind to blow away our stress, the misty air to wash away negativity, the warmth of the sun to boost our energy.

Lunch hour and breaks are a  great opportunity to step outside of the office and rejuvenate your self. I recommend going for walks, perhaps around the block, with a friend from the office. I did this while working in an office for ten years and grew to look forward to it daily. It’s invigorating and stimulating to our body and mind to get out and see something different, and studies show that a positive mood is fostered by sunshine.

You can also use the colors, feelings, and elements of nature to rejuvenate your mind and spirit, as well as your body. In your mind’s eye, envelope yourself in the golden-orange of the sun for rejuvenation, the forest green of healing and the sky-blue for calmness. Close your eyes and focus on these visions, absorb yourself in each color and the feelings of those natural elements. As you do this, take deep breaths. Feel yourself breathing in rejuvenation and exhaling all stress and fatigue. Think of it like a mini-meditation in the afternoons that will revitalize your energy, mind, body and spirit!

To focus more on physical rejuvenation through your work day, it’s interesting to learn that the more we exercise, the more energy we have. People report having more energy on days they work out, as well as improved sleep at night. Yet, in our busy lives with long work hours, we often find ourselves too busy or tired to go to a gym.

A solution? Utilize your time at work to be more physically active. Create more opportunities to get up and get things. When we sit at a desk all day, we become sedentary. I know I was while working in an office for ten years, and in the afternoons as the two o’clock hour rolled around, I was regularly very lethargic.

Then a friend introduced me to sitting on an exercise ball at my desk in the afternoons, rather than a chair. Learning it was a trend in many offices, I did not feel so silly, and I loved it! I found that in sitting on it while doing my work I became more aware of my posture. Sitting up straight and focusing on tightening our stomach muscles is a great way to exercise and strengthen the lower abdominal muscles which are usually so hard to get to. It kept me alert. When we’re working our muscles, the blood and energy is flowing and pulsating throughout our body. No more two o’clock energy crashes.

Deep breaths, rather than shallow breathing is another great way to rejuvenate our energy. We don’t get enough oxygen through shallow breathing. Deep breaths got more into our lungs and cells. It lifts our energy when we’re dragging, and it’s a way to balance and center ourselves when feeling scattered or nervous. We can also stretch to get the blood and energy flowing in our body. It’s a great practice to get into, especially during the afternoons, to help boost our energy.

Lastly, if feeling stagnant in your life, do activities out of the ordinary, which you enjoy. Giving yourself permission to have fun, which brings joy into your daily experience, is the best form of rejuvenation!

Hope this helps! Many blessings,
Christina

Featured Art: Master Healer

Master Healer

Master Healers on the Other Side are often those who lived lives before and have attained great knowledge of healing, as this powerful healer who lived a life in India and has great command over the curing arts.

Master Healers are not only driven to help heal humanity  while they themselves are in life. They have the same passion on the Other Side and aid us from there in times when healing of our mind, body or spirit is needed.

Ask a Question: Do you have a question about a personal life issue? I’d like to help. I answer one or two selected subscriber’s questions within my monthly newsletter. Submit a question here.

* If you would like to recieve my FREE e-newsletter in your inbox monthly, please register here.

* Christina is not a licensed medical or mental health practitioner, or licensed  family counselor. Her guidance and suggestions are based on spiritual philosophy, her own experience and  years of research.

In this Issue:
Featured Video
Article
Art Pick of the Month

Art Room Video: Babylonian Queen -Elevate Self-View

From video: “She symbolizes what rules us all…and it lends to how we thrive or struggle with any life challenge we face. It is our self view.

It is to control our thoughts rather than allowing negativity to control us…we can control it with the power of self and the power of our mind by implementing our self view with the truth about our self, rather than fears.”

Overcome Fears Amid Misunderstandings
Happy St. Patrick’s Day Everyone! I’d like to share a letter with you, we all inevitably feel at some point, which is…misunderstood.

Dear Christina,
Don’t mix friendship and money. Should I have listened to that adage? I always thought we were too close for that, and now here I am, very saddened by a misunderstanding between myself and my closest friend. I’m a middle-aged widow and am beginning a business venture with my husband’s sister and her partner. We’re all financially stressed and had a misunderstanding of the expectations regarding profits, which has been resolved by a compromise. What hurts, however, is that ever since, it feels like our relationship has changed. Even though I explained myself, I pick up on obvious innuendos and feel I’m being perceived as self-serving or greedy because of my initial reaction, which was one of strong surprise that stemmed from not having prior business knowledge of the issue at hand. I still fully intend to go forward with them, but I feel hurt and misunderstood, fearing our relationship has been damaged. How do I move forward, feeling like this?

Sincerely,
Gin

Dear Gin,
I sympathize with your feelings. It’s painful when those who we’re closest to, jump to conclusions, not recognizing our true intent and good will. It’s hard enough when others in the world don’t see us for who we really are. But when those who we’re emotionally attached to misunderstand us, it feels even worse because we fear our relationship is in jeopardy or has been damaged. As difficult as it is, it helps to remember that we can’t control how others perceive us, only how we perceive our self, even with those we love most.

The closer they are to our heart, the more we fear we have to loose, and fear is exactly what pulls us out of our “god-center”. Our god-center is our core—the core of our being—where we know exactly who we are, and don’t give into our fears. It’s where we know the truth of our soul. We realize our good qualities and don’t question our goodness. Fears do not affect us when we’re completely in touch with our god-center, even fears of loosing the relationships we cherish most. We’d simply know that if we explained our self and our true motive to the best of our ability and they still don’t see the truth, then it helps to remember that sometimes people see what they want to see. No matter if it’s true or not, if someone is convinced that something’s there, they will find it.

Take into consideration too that often people project outwardly what’s going on inwardly, especially when it comes to fears. If you’re entering into a business together and they’re still behaving as though you are self-serving and greedy, then it may actually be their fears over money concerns that are coming through. In other words, they may be concerned they won’t have enough and their behavior towards you is the manifestation of that fear. Unfair as it is, it could simply be they are releasing and/or being affected by fear.

What I would recommend is to do your best to stay in your god-center, knowing who you really are, and not absorb that negativity as truth or allow it to affect you. The amazing transformation which occurs is that how we see ourselves is picked up on by others. Focusing on who we really are, rather than focusing on fears and untruths about our self, not only re-enforces it within, it sends out the message or perception to others on a subconscious level. By focusing on your positive self-image in this manner, your actions and words will naturally show who you are.

This is the truth of our self-perception being the most significant, even more important than our best friend’s perception of us. Our self-image is the only image of us that matters, because it shapes our life and our experiences, being that our outer world reflects what’s within. By retaining a positive self-image, we’re able to remain in touch with our god-center. We gain more inner strength, while negativity, like that caused by misunderstandings, will affect us less. In your defense, you may want to address issues that arise with logic and reason, but you will loose the desire to emotionally over react because you won’t feel threatened that negatively defining words or actions could be true, proving once again, your shining qualities.

All my very best and many blessings to you!
Christina

Featured Art: Immaculate Queen of Babylon

Like the powerful essence of her majestic leopard energy which symbolizes her qualities, this Babylonian queen alone, must govern her kingdom. She worshiped the Goddess Ishtar whose legend tells of a divine Queen of Heaven, who led us by the hand from terrible chaos and brought life and harmony by the law of love.

Emulating Ishtar’s divine example, this Babylonian queen ruled with compassion and reminds us that there is no other who can have control over us. Our own heart and mind is the only control that can rule us, and for happiness we must rule with self love.

Ask a Question: Do you have a question about a personal life issue? I’d like to help. I answer one or two selected subscriber’s questions within my monthly newsletter. Submit a question here.

* If you would like to recieve my FREE e-newsletter in your inbox monthly, please register here.

In this Issue:
Featured Video
Article
Art Pick of the Month

Art Room Video: Guard & Princess -Soul Mates

From Video: “This Princess illustrates piercing the veil of darkness which her Varangian Guard has lived behind. Not darkness from battle, but what he received off the battle field, in the battle field of life. The darkness that grew in his mind about himself…

…Love is the strongest emotion that can bridge any condition, no matter how far or how deep we feel we’ve lost our selves, and self love will always be the strongest of all. Sometimes it takes another, like his Soul Mate in this image, to help us find it.”

Is There Love After Pain?

“Do you want to get into another relationship after everything that’s happened?” He asked me, knowing all the shades of my colorful relationship past of abuse, manipulation and betrayal by long term ex-boyfriends. “After all that, do you really want to go there again?”

He wasn’t asking to pry or be pessimistic. He was really asking himself in his question to me because he had been through traumatic relationship experiences with mentally and emotionally abusive women who were manipulative and dishonest.

He is a dear relative of mine with a heart of gold, so kind and generous, yet unassumingly handsome, and it was heartbreaking to hear that he just didn’t know if he believed in true love anymore, questioning if it can really exist on this planet because of his past experiences with those women.

His question encouraged me to ponder how I felt, and I searched my heart for the truth, “Did I or didn’t I see myself ever wanting a relationship again?”

Remembering back in the past, I had always put so much into what a relationship was going to bring me and do for me. I greatly wanted to feel loved, needed to feel valued and worthwhile, sought to be filled up in my heart. The attention I would receive from another seemed to fill those voids. I felt important, like something special, because this person wanted to be with me. Even if he began treating me badly, I was still trying to prove my worth of why I should be loved, instead of just knowing it within myself.  This is a good example of always looking for what I was going to receive from the other person, rather than meeting those needs myself, through self-worth and self love.

So much has happened since that time, so much releasing and self-work, growth and discovery…then finally self-love. Now I know how I deserve to be treated. I’m not seeking for all these needs to be met by someone else anymore, which can sometimes lead to accepting lesser-than treatment and unacceptable behavior by those in a relationship who might not be the healthiest for us.

I’m not overshadowed any longer by the negative self beliefs which once plagued me, leading to mistreatment. Now when I feel my own essence in my heart and see myself in my mind, I am emanating a great light from within. This illumination is our soul’s light when our being is filled with love. It is self-love which then radiates outwardly upon others. This is the love we have to give. Instead of what I can receive from others or another in a relationship, I’m now focused on what I can give. I was always  giving before, and actually too much, but this is a different form of giving. It is the light and love from a person who is filled from within. When we are fulfilled inwardly, that love shines forth and overflows on to others, which in turn brings us joy.

This happiness which fills us, releases the need to find it outside of our self, whether through money, possessions, or other people. Being complete and whole unto our self, takes the fear away and the allowance for manipulation in our life fades.

So in reflecting on all the relationship troubles  gone by and to where I’ve traveled within to discover how I feel about me now, my answer to his question, “Can I see myself in another relationship? Absolutely yes.” As for his answer to the same question? That story is to be continued…

Many Blessings and much love from my heart to yours!

Christina Simonds

Art Pick of the Month: Guard of the Princess

 Even when light and feelings of love seem to have forsaken us, our Soul Mate may appear in our life to show us the way. They show us the truth about our self, our true nature, that we are not only worthwhile but worth loving as their greatest treasure.

They help us to remember who we really are, and all the darkness that once engulfed us becomes nothing more than distant memories of shadows which hold no power. Just as this mighty Varangian warrior and his Russian Princess discovered, the power of love always prevails in the end.

Ask a Question: Do you have a question about a personal life issue? I’d like to help. I answer one or two selected subscriber’s questions within my monthly newsletter. Submit a question here.

* If you would like to recieve my FREE e-newsletter in your inbox monthly, please register here.

In this Issue:
Featured Video
Article
Art Pick of the Month

Art Room Video: A New Beginning 

From Video: “In truth, there is nothing blocking our way. If we could just take a step out of the emotion of it and see how much personal power is within us to do what we want with our life, we could easily see a way out. That way would be to stand up for what we want and step out.”

It’s Never Too Late To Start Again

Happy New Year!

With all the hope for a new beginning that the New Year brings, I wanted to share this letter with you, in looking on the dawn of 2012.

Dear Christina,

I am miserable in my job. Everyday feels like the same drudgery that I’ve lived for years now. It pays very well and even though I hate it, I’m afraid of not having the money I’ve grown accustomed to. I’m considering changing careers but the field I want to enter, which has been an old dream of mine, pays much less. Even though I yearn for this change, I’m afraid to leave where I’m at. Can you offer some insight?

Sincerely,

JW

Dear JW,

The best insight I can offer is my own experience which sounds like a page from the same book you’re living. In what now seems like another lifetime, I’ve walked in similar shoes. I had a good paying, highly stressful job, and from it, I could afford the experiences of a whole different lifestyle than how I grew up on the farm or on my waitress salary for the ten years that followed. I enjoyed international travel, nice clothes, expensive clubs and providing for loved ones.

The only drawback was that my job description and work environment grew progressively difficult, then unbearable. For many reasons I felt I had no choice but to stay, though the stress began affecting my health. After nearly ten years, the lifestyle I had grown accustomed to lost its appeal. I didn’t care anymore about what I could gain from the money and ever-pending promises my boss dangled in front of me. All I wanted was my happiness.

It’s hard to start over again, to build a new path and leave the one we know so well. Even if we’re unhappy, we grow comfortable in our unhappiness because at least we know that well-traveled path. It’s scary to face the unknown as it looms before us, and we tend to withdraw from it, focusing on all we may loose rather than what we could gain. Yet, that is the fear which binds us to the past and situations we’ve outgrown.

A great reward takes a great risk. Having the courage to not relent to a financially comfortable, yet miserable life, by believing in our self enough to reach for our star, whether it’s a long held dream, new found aspiration, or the belief in a happier, more fulfilling life, creates a new beginning for us which ultimately always brings self-growth.  Learning our life lessons, like valuing the quality of our life and how we feel inside, is exactly why we’re in life. It’s spiritually rewarding when we follow our path, as difficult as it is to face our fears. Doing just that is what leads us to overcome them and find our great happiness waiting for us.

Our shared experience JW, reminds me of living in a “gilded cave” (rather than cage), which rests on the side of a cliff. As beautiful as the treasure and gold is in the cave, there’s no happiness because gold and treasure is all there is. For all it’s luster, it feels only limiting and confining.

Being so bold, as to face our fear in leaving the cave behind and step out on to the ledge of the mountainside, inching our way up the cliff brings us to the summit of the mountain. It’s not always easy to climb up, but once over the peak we come to our paradise on the other side; the green plush valley below, flowering and expansive. It’s only the beginning for our spirit, now freed from the confinement of our fear. We gain our reward of true abundance in finding our happiness through facing and overcoming those fears.

Whether it’s beginning a new career, entering into a relationship, or a lifetime dream we’ve longed for, we’re never too old, it’s never too late, and things are never too far gone for a new beginning in our life. Believe in your self enough to take that first step on to that path your heart yearns for, work hard for what you want, and enjoy the happiness of living your life for you!

God bless you on your path JW, and to everyone throughout the New Year!

Christina

Art Pick of the Month: Angel of New Beginnings 

New Beginnings

It is never too late for a new beginning in our life or simply releasing of old habits.

When we find our selves afraid to change for fear of the unknown, we must remember that our fears are far worse than reality could ever be.

To follow your truth takes bravery, yet it creates a happier and more spiritual life.

Ask a Question: Do you have a question about a personal life issue? I’d like to help. I answer one or two selected subscriber’s questions within my monthly newsletter. Submit a question here.

* If you would like to recieve my FREE e-newsletter in your inbox monthly, please register here.

In this Issue:
Featured Video
Article
Art Pick of the Month

Art Room Video: Jesus & Mary Magdalene

From Video: “We couldn’t paint subject matter such as this and get away with it back then because depicting any concepts opposing the ruling church at the time, would get us killed for heresy. So as artists, we’d hide symbols within our paintings to preserve secret knowledge, such as the belief that Mary Magdalene was more than Jesus’ disciple…”

Gifts That Last A Lifetime

Happy Holidays!

One of my favorite holiday seasons is upon us and I enjoy this time of year because of the feelings it can create within us. Of course there are stresses too that come with shopping and schedules, baking and buying, and all the hustle and bustle we find ourselves in. But the feelings I’m referring to are those of light: of giving-ness, sharing, coming together and loving kindness.

I enjoy a warm fire in the fireplace, the smell of sweets baking and the pine of a Christmas tree, but most of all I enjoy the spirit of Christmas. Showing our love and appreciation toward those we care for, spreading a message of good will, caring for humanity, and feeling that good spirit within.

Through it all, by far the most cherished gifts are those of the heart. When we do kind acts for others, we seldom realize how much it helps them or how far the ripple affect goes, not knowing how a simple gesture may just be what they needed most. So to remind us it’s not what we buy but who we are and how we are to others which can be the best gift of all, I want to share a few gifts of the heart I’ve received, which ended up being treasures for a lifetime.

The gift of Levity: As a young person, I felt very despondent one Christmas Eve morning because of an intense verbal attack from my father. I sat on our doorstep with a sunken heart, when my brother joined me. We were always so close, having had each other to lean on, so to cheer me up he gave me his Christmas gift early. It was pig head slippers with their mouths around my ankles, as if they ate my feet. They looked so funny with their big bulgy eye-balls, I had to laugh. His sense of humor has been one of the best gifts in my life that was a light for me during dark times. His funny impersonations and physical comedy brought levity which helped pull me up from despair when I needed it most.

The gift of Joy: There are children in my life who bring me so much joy, doing nothing more than being themselves. Whether it’s taking me to their “secret hide out” which is a backyard shrub, trying to persuade me to eat their prepared gourmet meal, also known as dirt, or having a long conversation about a cloud or a bug, their child perspective and imagination warms my heart. Even the names they call their pets, like their bunny rabbit Bun Bun, or Turdy the turtle, brings me joy. One of my all time favorite gifts is child art. I find their pictorial interpretations of us and the world around them as priceless. Here’s one from my collection which children have given me, titled “Winking Angel”.
 

 The gift of Appreciation: I believe that viewing works of art can stir feelings and emotions deep within us, which can contribute to healing, empowerment, consolation and such. With this belief, I was pleased to learn that a woman who purchased my entire Angel series, would be displaying them all in her center for addiction and substance abuse.

Nearly a year later, she contacted me again explaining how she placed them in several box-windows along the street. Before then, the windows were consistently broken and vandalized. But since she put the angel pictures on display there, not one had been vandalized. She believed they brought grace which was left undisturbed, as if the angel images spoke to a side of people deep down which knew what was right. To hear that my work has made a difference in the lives of others is also a priceless gift to me.

The gift of Compassion: As a little girl, I was a gymnast in a daily program ran by a physically and verbally abusive coach. Most parents pulled their daughters out of his gym, but my father liked his style and forcibly insisted I continue. I dreaded going and used to pray for a natural disaster that wouldn’t hurt anyone, but would close the gym for the night…which by the way, doesn’t work. My father usually took me, but one night, my mother did instead. She could see my dread, so rather than arriving at the gym, she stopped at a pay phone and called me in sick.

We went to a restaurant which was like Heaven that night, and my mother was my angel. Sitting at the counter, smiling and loving our time together, we enjoyed the best soup and bread I ever had. Times like these with her have given me fond memories of another cherished gift –my mother’s loving kindness. It’s just one of those special gifts of the heart, which are those that last forever.

These are only a few of my favorite gifts of the heart. What are yours? I would love to hear, if you’d like to leave a comment below. Whether you’re cherishing family, friends, children or clients, fond old memories, or making new ones, enjoy all the gifts of your holiday season! May they warm your heart from the inside out.

Many Blessings,

Christina

Art Pick of the Month: Love of the Lord

Peter told Mary, “Sister, we know the savior loved you more than any other women.”  -The Gospel of Mary (Magdalene)

All souls were created with a counterpart, a mirror image of themselves, just as God created everything in nature as male and female. Being our other half, we can pull great strength from their love, and we come into life together for great tasks at hand. God has created special souls like that of Jesus and sends them to us to light the way; yet, even His Highest Son was created with a feminine counterpart, a Soul Mate of his own.

Ask a Question: Do you have a question about a personal life issue? I’d like to help. I answer one or two selected subscriber’s questions within my monthly newsletter. Submit a question here.

* If you would like to recieve my FREE e-newsletter in your inbox monthly, please register here.

In this Issue:
Featured Video
Article
Art Pick of the Month
Recent Quotes

Art Room Video: Angels of Love & Mercy

From Video: “Judging our selves is based on someone else’s standards or views…It helps us most to embrace our self and our uniqueness, like the ways we shine and our individual life path. Gaining that self love unbinds us, and only we have that power.”

Holiday Storm of Family Adversity

With the approaching holidays, I received a question I thought needed addressing because this is an element of the season which can influence our holiday experience greatly. It is…our family.

Dear Christina,

I’ve chosen to visit my family this year for the holidays. It was a touch choice because I don’t get along with my sister. She and her husband are so criticizing and judgmental, that I feel I always have to defend myself which puts a strain, not only on my mother who just wants peaceful family get-togethers, but it sets the mood for the day –not fun.

I missed last year and it really hurt my mom’s feelings, so I’ve made up my mind to go this year and bear with it because I want to see the rest of my family this Thanksgiving. I want to be a part of the occasion but just not let my sister and her husband “get my goat” like they always seem to do. Can you offer me some advice?

Sincerely,

SK

Dear SK,

I understand what you’re going through. I have a large extended family clan who are wonderful. Yet right within my immediate family circle, there is conflict. Isn’t there always? It seems that no matter who I talk to, there is always a rub. This is just another reason I believe life is meant to learn spiritual lessons, overcome obstacles, and often with the same people we’ve faced before in other lifetimes. When they come into our family in this life, we ensure ourselves the opportunity to finish things off with them once and for all.

Not always are our family relations difficult. Of course, we will also have those who are best to us, who’ve stood by us with kindness, and who we love most. Those are the people we wish to honor over the holidays, to reconnect with, give love to and enjoy each other’s company.

The difficult feat sometimes can be balancing that dichotomy of being around those who bring us joy, as well as those who are so negative. Why? Because it brings two opposite emotions and it’s hard to stay in joy when we’re feeling the negativity of someone attacking our character and such.

Many times the stress alone of feeling we must visit ridiculing relatives, physically manifests in our body through injury or illness. We may have a relapse of unhealthy symptoms or new physical issues arise.

A dear friend, who was dreading a trip to see her family because of her criticizing sibling, broke out in a severe, painful rash which physically kept her from going, forcing her to cancel her trip.

There is no need to do this to our self. We can give our selves permission to lead our life separate from certain individuals, even if they’re in our family. That is another subject however, because if we have decided to be in their company, like you have, we can still do that without feeling like we’re loosing energy or power to them, even if we’ve felt that every time before, they “got our goat” so to speak.

This is because it really isn’t a physical issue, it’s a mental issue. In other words, it doesn’t really matter what’s going on in the physical environment, in whether we choose to be or not be in their presence. What matters is what’s going on within our self and if we choose to allow them to affect us or not. Even when not in their presence, if we still give them a lot of mental attention, it increases their importance in our world. So we can be or not be around them, and be affected in our thoughts, or remain unaffected. The true power struggle lies within our self.

Of course we should never allow ourselves to be in abusive situations but often in these types of circumstances of family get-togethers as adults, it’s usually verbal or mental jabs that people feel they are subjected to.

How to deal with it? Focus on your “light”, your feelings of good will, your loving kind nature and ignore them. Is it hard to do sometimes? Absolutely. It is because we want to defend our self and our good character. But sometimes in doing that, we’re only giving them more energy which increases their significance. Ignoring those who are negative, negates their importance and frees you up to only focus all your attention where it deserves to be…on you, on enjoying yourself and those loved ones who you enjoy. That’s what is worthwhile.

Focus on your joy within and let others focus on whatever emotions and thoughts they choose. You only have control over your own internal world, and your experience this holiday season can reflect just that –your inner happiness with yourself, despite any winter storm going on around you!

Many Blessings,

Christina

Art Pick of the Month:

These angels are sisters of each other and embody the true quality of Love and Mercy, which is to be loving towards others, but especially to unconditionally love and forgive our self, for we are quicker to move to guilt than self forgiveness, even though our motive was pure. Do not let anyone tread on your soul, but keep love and mercy in your heart for those who truly deserve it.

Recent Quotes:

“Art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self.” -Jean Luc Godard

“A calm sea does not make a skilled sailor.” -Unknown

“Grief is like a long valley, a winding valley where any end may reveal a totally new landscape.” -C.S. Lewis

“Never give up. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts.”    -Unknown

Ask a Question: Do you have a question about a personal life issue? I’d like to help. I answer one or two selected subscriber’s questions within my monthly newsletter. Submit a question here.

* If you would like to recieve my FREE e-newsletter in your inbox monthly, please register here.

In this Issue:
Featured Video
Article
Art Pick of the Month

Art Room Video: Gratitude Angel, Life Lessons

From Video “…through hypnosis I learned that these Life Lessons began several lifetimes ago. Now I’m grateful for the opportunity to have faced it and overcome it once and for all; feeling that strength…that we all gain through the many hardships we experience.”

Storybook Fable for Adults
There’s a dear little girl in my life, a very loving child, who is nine years old. She’s been home schooled up until now and recently started public school, which has been a difficult adjustment for her. Soon after her mother leaves, she has panic attacks and asks to go to the bathroom, from where she does not return, but hides in the playground.
       It’s difficult to approach any subjects with helpful advice because her parents are strictly religious and intolerant of any suggestions that come from a philosophy other than their own.
       Of course I would never interfere on parent’s wishes, yet it’s difficult to not want to help in some way, as she’s looking up at me with tears in her eyes, depressed like I’d never seen her before, from her struggles. I had to try to give a little disguised help. And really only because of her back-story which is one of being so judged that of course now, she judges herself as not good enough in many ways; afraid of failing school tests on paper and in personality on the playground. So we had a good long talk about ducks and swans.
       “Allie,” I told her, “I think I know what is bothering you…you’re a swan, not a duck! Have you ever seen a swan? They’re elegant, graceful, beautiful; and they’re pure white as if light is emanating from them! That’s when they’re grown up. When they’re babies, they’re cute like you.
       The problem is that you’ve been around a lot of ducks in your life that have told you, “You’re not a good duck! You don’t quack like a duck. You don’t fly like a duck. You don’t even swim like a duck. You’re just not a good duck!’
       The baby swan will fly here and swim there, all the while thinking, “I’m not a good duck! I’m not flying or swimming right!” But the voice in our head that we think is our own, really isn’t. It’s actually what all the ducks who were around us before had quacked at us.
       The funny thing is that when baby swans grow up, they are the most beautiful bird in the lake. All the ducks sitting on the shore wish they were swans. They say, “I wish I could fly like a swan, swim gracefully like a swan, and have beautiful light that shines like a swan!”
       So even if we think to our self every once in a while, “I’m afraid I won’t do it perfectly like a duck!” It gets better because then we say to our self, “That’s okay, because I’m a swan.”
       Her spirit seemed relieved, like a weight had been lifted –the burden of self-judgment. Soon after, her mother reported less anxiety in the classroom, no more hiding in the playground and the smile return to Allie’s face.
       Allowing ourselves to relax and just do it our way and not some perfect way in whatever aspect of our life, loosens the reins to free us from gripping fears, so as to enjoy our experience, not judge it. It gives us permission to really be our self, and that is the only way we can ever really soar as the swans we are!

Moral for Adults:
Self-judgment is debilitating. It is one of the top, most frequented fears that people visit and it bars us from shining. We can’t be in fear and shine our light at the same time. Considering the amount of negative programming we receive, which is negative input from other people, religion and society, we can grow to accumulate many fears about who we are, what we are, and how we deserve to be treated. One of the most common fears of all is that of not being good enough. There are none of us who have not experienced this vast lesson of self-worth in some form and it’s so easy to limit our selves based on how others have others have judged us as lesser-than, in the past.
       The fear of not being or doing something good enough is judging our self as lesser-than who we really are and it’s that self-judgment that can become the replaying criticisms in our mind, like a tape of our worst fears.
       However, once we turn that self-judgment to self-acceptance by acknowledging that, yes it might not be the “perfect way” but it’s “my way”, we shift toward embracing who we are. The flaws we saw within before, become endearments because we begin to accept our self. Just like our soul’s higher mind—our “higher self”—accepts our human persona, the way we accept and embrace children despite their supposed “flaws”.

Many Blessings,
Christina

Art Pick of the Month :

Angel of Gratitude

The Angel of Gratitude graciously reminds us that not only is it the blessings but also the struggles in life that our soul is grateful, for it’s from the difficult lessons we grow spiritually the most.
It helps to be strong during hard times, realizing that our strength emerges most through our great challenges, and what before were obstacles, become our specialty in having overcome them.

Ask a Question: Do you have a question about a personal life issue? I’d like to help. I answer one or two selected subscriber’s questions within my monthly newsletter. Submit a question here.

* If you would like to recieve my FREE e-newsletter in your inbox monthly, please register here.

Art Room Video, Mother God

From the video:  “The background is a porthole of light to the Other Side, but really it is the light that shines from Her.

The sword in Her hands is a symbol of Her power and Her protection to pierce and deflect the darkness which surrounds us in times of despair and fear.”

The Image of God

Welcome to my Premier Newsletter!

In this first edition, I would like to feature one who is endless love and comfort… Mother God, the Goddess. I chose Her image as the Featured Art of the month and wanted to answer one of my most frequently asked questions, people want to know. Do I “see” what I draw? Particularly the image of Mother God, Azna. Is the image I drew of Her, how She really looks?

My response is it’s as close as I could come to depicting Her visage I saw during a hypnosis session through which I traveled to the Other Side. At the time, I was going through what felt like one of the darkest times in my life. I was seeking some solace, any peace at all, through hypnosis and what I found was a far greater glory and comfort than I could’ve ever hoped.

She was more exquisite in all Her divine beauty than I could possibly recreate with pencil and paper; yet, I was filled with passion and purpose to try. I began drawing for hours outside on our cabin’s deck in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. I always appreciated the great beauty of my surroundings, deep within a thick redwood forest, but the quiet beauty seemed even more amplified. I believe nature is God’s church because I feel God so much easier there. Yet, as I drew Her image on a large illustration board, I could feel Her more than ever before. I felt Her in attendance, like a strong, undeniable presence around me, just as She is with anyone of us who honor Her in all our many different ways.

All the love I felt for and from Her in my heart, I poured into Her image while I created it. The type of energy we feel, we can transfer into our creation as we form it. This in turn can be felt by others, whether: viewing it as art, tasting it as food, hearing it if song, or feeling the truth of written and spoken words. What ever form we’re creating, the energy we put into it comes across to those who experience it.

This we know from much information out there. A well-known example would be the study in the movie “The Secret” which discusses scientific observation in focused mental energy and thoughts of love toward a bottle of water. This produced molecules seen through a microscope, which resembled a crystal snowflake, pure and pretty looking. From the same batch of water, another bottle of water was concentrated upon, but with thoughts of focused hate. When studied, the molecules looked rotted, like decomposing.

Though I could write a book about the energy I focused on for every picture and the circumstances from which I created them, my Mother God, Azna drawing is one of my most commented on images. Perhaps so many people have expressed their love for that particular image because Mother God is by far the strongest, most powerful embodiment of love. Father God is most assuredly just as all-loving and powerful. The difference is that, as the Divine Masculine, He’s pure intellect and ever-constant, holding everything together. Therefore, He is stationary and does not move.

Mother God, however, being the embodiment of the Divine Feminine, is pure emotion which moves. She shifts in and out of this world to help us as Her children. Whether physically manifesting as the Blessed Mother in Lourdes and Portugal, and as the Lady of Guadalupe, or coming to us from behind the veil of the Other Side, to stand before us unseen. Even if we don’t see Her, we can feel Her love and presence. We may know it only as great peace that comes to us, but acknowledging Her, amplifies our sense of well being and makes our prayers stronger. It brings us greater comfort because we can feel more powerfully, Her love which protects. She is always there to protect and help you. Calling on Her to intercede in your hardships, brings Her to you without fail, with mighty sword in hand to pierce and deflect the darkness of fear and sorrow.

It is my hope that my Azna depiction and my other Goddess images, (because Mother God comes to us as we individually see Her), will resonate within the viewer’s heart, stirring a memory of what they’ve seen before and know deep within their soul. I have several more illustrations of Her to create for there are so many races and cultures to depict.

In my endeavor to bring more to the world of how the knowledge and experience of Mother God can miraculously heal us and help us daily, I’m developing classes and a card deck book, designed to bring the Other Side into our daily life. I discuss how to access the love and power of Mother God for the love we want to feel in our heart, the answers we seek in our life, and the power we need to reconnect with inwardly, to overcome any physical, mental and emotional hardship.

God is the greatest power source of all and I’m excited to share everything I can about who She is to all of us on a personal level, to experience feeling Her for ourselves!

For more information on upcoming classes, view my Schedule of Events. To view my Goddess series including the Mother God, Azna image, please visit my Goddess Gallery.

I wish you all the best on your journey. Many blessings to you,

Christina

Featured Art for September:

Mother God, Azna

Mother God, Azna
Among several names different cultures have used for the Goddess are Asherah, Ishtar, Isis and the Blessed Mother. In ancient Gnostic text, She is referred to as Azna.

She is our all-loving, compassionate Mother-God, who intervenes in our lives and creates miracles. She comes with sword in hand to pierce and deflect the darkness.

Recent Quotes:
• “Only those that can see the invisible, can do the impossible.” -Unknown
• “Art enables us to find ourselves & lose ourselves at the same time”……Thomas Merton
• “Be what you wish others to become” -Unknown
• “When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.” -John Ruskin

Ask a Question: Do you have a question about a personal life issue? I’d like to help. I answer one or two selected subscriber’s questions within my monthly newsletter. Submit a question here.

* If you would like to receive my FREE e-newsletter in your in-box monthly, please register here.