A Life Well Lived

I often put myself in my adult kids’ shoes, who are experiencing similar situations to when I was in my 20’s, and thinking, “How can one make a living, still enjoy their abode, stay creative, and feel like life has a quality feeling, all while still being able to pay bills?”

In my first decade after leaving my mother’s home I thought playing music would be the answer. Work at night, sleep in, enjoy my lovely little apartment and companionship of pets. Little did I know that in order to maintain a steady income I would have to be on the road full-time, traveling across many states, figuring out who I trusted enough to pet-sit my fur babies, never seeing my apartment, paying for car repairs, band equipment repairs, and all the while gigs weren’t paying us more for traveling across state lines. We also had no health insurance, no bonuses, no paid vacations – it was do or die.

I see similarities in the current economy. Young people in service industries working 60+ hours a week to afford the ever-rising costs of utilities, food, rent. Heaven forbid they took out student loans. If they didn’t get vocational education there is no time left in their days now to get an education. The cost of living continues to spiral out of control, leaving people in depression, poor health, leaning into substances to ease their suffering, and caught in the vicious cycle of addiction.

Over the years, as the individual breaks down they’re eventually prescribed terrifically expensive pharma meds with loads of harmful side effects. This leads to more pharma meds to offset the effects of the first meds. Eventually invasive surgeries are recommended. All the while no one talking to them about how to repair and restore the body/mind.

The health of the individual keeps the family & community strong, which strengthens each state, and collectively creates a strong backbone to support a nation. Our country is losing its integrity and vitality because it cannot collectively agree on how to support its foundation, which is the collective individuals – the cells of this country’s body. Outside of empty promises, no one in political office seems interested in putting caps on rising costs of living. They’re too busy sleeping with the lobbyists.

We have friends from Europe who told us their country pays each person $1000 per month living wages, outside of their work income. How the individual spends it is entirely on them. I noticed a comment made my one of my kids who said that more money was made through unemployment in 2020 than in all the jobs they’ve ever worked. That speaks directly to why no one feels they should work 60+ hours a week to afford living. They’ve tasted what it was like to relax and receive money, if only for a short while.

Is the European model superior? I’m not certain of that. We’re already doing something similar, as it is. If an individual works part-time they’re eligible for food stamps and Oregon Health Plan, all of which is paid by us taxpayers anyway, so to me it’s the same diff. Give money to people as a monthly stipend, or give it in the form of food and health services. The most important end goal is to turn tax dollars into support for each individual to retrieve their health and maintain quality of life.

It is true we are not put on this Earth to work, pay taxes, then die. We are beautiful, sacred beings with so so much to offer each other and this planet. We deserve to have time for rest, proper nutrition, a feeling of safety, a purpose in life that nourishes the mind, heart and body so we can be intelligent stewards of this amazing planet, and vital support networks for the vulnerable in our society.

That’s my thoughts on this matter. I welcome your input.

Art: The oil painting featured at the opening of this blog was made a very long time ago by my maternal grandmother, Evelyn. She never saw Oregon, only the arid, flat deserts of Texas. I think she painted this from a postcard, dreaming of a land with trees. I feel very blessed to be living in the lands my maternal ancestors could only dream about.


❤🌷❤

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🌠 The Child Who Remembers Herself

Perhaps it is the destiny of the first-born child to live their life in reverse, to be an adult while physically a child, then become the child while adulting. Through years of trying to keep up with an ever-changing, fast-paced world my deeply buried child dreamt continually of magic and wondrous realms of creative imaginings. Her adult body, however, has required endless hours for mental, emotional, and physical rest and reset, for having to become an adult too soon.

On the bright side, delightful memories of childhood summer afternoons have kept my spirit alive and well. Being with the daisies and telling them how my day was going, trekking the field out back like a stealthy feline, playing gently with garter snakes then returning them to their home. I imagined many treasures buried in those tall grasses that I would someday unearth. Our family cats were my confidants, and the trees my steadfast friends. Stars would lull me to sleep at night, while the sun and moon followed me everywhere like faithful pets. Nature became my true mother / father, my source of inspiration and reprieve.

What a harsh twist to return time and again to the human world of unpredictability, violence, and neglect, intermixed with moments of tender appreciation. Humans were strange creatures to me that I admired but could not trust.

On one minute, off the next, there for me, then gone. Lovely and supportive ones I cherished, like the lovely, blue-eyed, second grade teacher who let me sit at her side at lunchtime. There I felt safe. I told her she was my other “mom” and I loved her. She returned my sentiments with a tender smile. Years later a fellow classmate would inform me that our beloved teacher had committed suicide. Confounded. How was it the tender souls, so needed in a weary world, always leave too soon?

As a child my badge of honor was to be adept at following commands and wearing a veneer of self-control. At school the focus became pleasing my teachers, completing assignments on time, all the while stealing M&M candies from their coat closet when everyone went to recess. Taking what was not mine as rewards for life accomplishments gone unnoticed. Those colorful candies allowed me to taste the sweetness of life so I wouldn’t forget, because my child mind was replete with “what if” scenarios. Such a heavy little brain, forecasting into the future how I would handle imagined or actual situations well beyond my grasp or control. And the plethora of self-judgment scenarios if I did the tasks wrong. Proving my worthiness became routine in hopes I could exist without being harmed. False programs that many decades later I am slowly learning to dismantle.

As the eldest child, to assure love for me would be forthcoming, I adopted the role of caregiver. Easing the suffering of another seemed the mightiest and most rewarding call to action I could imagine. In helping them, I was helping myself, or so the programming told me. Being female was an additional piece, as the cultural indoctrination led us to believe we are the primary nurturers and caregivers. It is a lie, for I have witnessed time and again the most compassionate acts of care, attention, and nurturing towards other humans and animals from my son and husband. Men are very capable of being tender, as much as woman are capable of being the “breadwinner” of the household. Roles are much more pliable than ever before, which should give us all a sense of relief. At last, we can each feel into who we really are and how we wish to evolve ourselves in this world.

So here I sit, my inner child and present adult, pondering where to go from here. SO many dreams to fulfill, art to make, hugs to give, photos to share, cards to send, trails to hike, faery houses to build, gardens to nurture, and inspirational naps calling me to explore nether worlds. Creativity levels are bubbling to the surface like never before. I’ve purposefully limited my work hours as a “caregiver” so I may have time to focus on me. Less monetary income requires living a simpler lifestyle, but the exchange is an increased income in the form of time to breathe, contemplate, explore, and flow with the Great Spirit’s desire to express through this little vehicle.

There is a lovely dance now between the child who adulted too soon, and the adult who wishes to re-member the child. This is my new career path, full of inspiration. I hope it will inspire you as well. Give yourself a ginormous hug. You’re doing amazing! 🎉❤️

🎉❤️🎉❤️🎉❤️🎉❤️🎉❤️🎉❤️

Daisy and child image:
Regina Chanté

Stock images:
kansasmckay, pngmart, clipart-library, vecteezy, PNGtree, webstockreview

Moss Hair Priorities

Work: “Can you come in early today?”
Me: “Uhhhhh … no. Prior engagement,” as I assist my forest friend who’s decided to try out a new moss hair-do. 😀

There are priorities in life. The inner child’s happiness comes first, then the adulting. Otherwise, the brain goes through the day fighting with inner tantrums, yelling, and a lot of whining.

How do you take care of your inner child? ❤

The Inside Job

As astrologer Molly McCord titled her recent video, the new moon on 11/13/23 is indeed full of “Volatile Changes, Shake-Ups”, with an opportunity, to “Move Forward With A Deeper Sense of Power”. But accessing one’s internal power means removing the debris field that’s stands between you and your relationship with self.

Deal breakers in relationships also includes putting the brakes on listening to “unconditional crap” we tell ourselves on a regular basis. Through a program I’m studying we are learning to backtrack to their roots any trigger emotions felt from things people say or do in current time. Roots often embedded in childhood experiences, ways we’ve hurt others, things people said and did to us, and situations we misunderstood. Now when I see the mainstream headlines, and hear how people talk about the world (and themselves) it’s abundantly clear we have a lot of internal housekeeping to do, in the name of self-love. ❤

Our personal and world problems aren’t caused by some ‘other’ person(s)…. they are rooted in disempowerment from within. Feeling disempowered is rooted in fear… fear of not being loved, of losing one’s sense of purpose, of losing all one has acquired, even fear of complete annihilation, all of which equates to facing death in some form or other.

I used to equate death with failure – whether it was actual physical death, death of a relationship etc, and in my ignorance thought if I just tried hard enough and gave of myself endlessly, everything would get better, because I also equated suffering with failure. Ultimately though, death and suffering are not signs of failure, they’re just part of life on Earth; it’s the perception that matters. If all you perceive is a world suffering more than you can see beauty, perfection, and life in an ever-evolving state, then the person who needs the most help is you.

The more each of us takes the deep dive to clean internal closets and retrieve treasures long forgotten, the more our ripple effect calms, benefits and maybe inspires others who we interact with to begin their own inner journey. That’s really all one can do, and that’s totally ok. Feeling a need to constantly rescue others from suffering and potential death is a false program. It’s fine to assist if they ask for help, but people should not be denied their right to experience suffering. Trust them to have the strength of deep diving, of finding their own internal gifts. If they literally die from trying to make it in this world, no need to judge. A lot of hidden, global suffering is rising at this time, and will continue to rise, as part of our species’ evolutionary process. It can be overwhelming at times to see the extent of suffering that has been going on. Step back, recharge your batteries, honestly assess what can and cannot be handled, ask others to assist when you don’t know what to do, and learn to help only to the extent that it doesn’t continually deplete your inner resources. That is how, slowly but surely, a world is healed.❤🪶🌎

While on the topic of shadow work and loving lost parts of our self, let us not forget there also exists inner light. That Light is the radiant, infinite, ever loving truth of one’s soul, the greater part of you that keeps your heart beating, your lungs breathing, the earth spinning, the galaxy turning. It is the ultimate perfection of All that dances the sun to rise, the tides to turn, and prevents all of Creation from from crashing into itself and disappearing into oblivion. That, too, lives within every cell. Morning and evening, take a moment to say thank you, give yourself a big hug, and be in awe of the fact that you and all of this amazingness even exists !

Photo credits:
Shadow Self, Pinterest
Child, Vickirebeccaart.com

Helpful links:
http://www.Trust-Technique.com

Intuition.

The zen master shot an arrow in the dark, struck and split the first arrow in the bullseye. The student wondered how, without visibly seeing the target, his teacher could be so accurate.

“You believe you need your eyes to see because you believe the world is out there, beyond. You are the arrow, you are the bow, and you are the target. The arrow wants to return home to the target. The wise artist gets mind and senses out of the way and allows the arrow to navigate itself home.

“The years spent learning how to draw and release the arrow was you learning how to let it shoot. The archer is merely a channel for the art of zen. Achieving a target through the use of one’s visual sense is merely a good ‘trick shooter’.”

Likewise, this is how one achieves their life goals. Edgar Cayce, the sleeping prophet, reminded his readers that intuition is an inside job when quoting the bible, “Seek for the kingdom within, everything else will be naturally forthcoming.”

Our true nature is intuition first and, like water, it flows effortlessly. Modern culture, however, places the conscious mind as priority over intuition, leading us astray with incessent monkey-chattter and chasing exterior goals that leave the heart unfulfilled. The conscious mind is a helpful filter, but it assumes true knowledge and therefore meaningful existence must only come from without, not from within.

How does one return to a healthy balance between intuition and conscious mind while living in a hardcore, left-brained culture? Play games!

Sheryl Wagner’s website (link below) offers a variety of easy games to help one dial in. She has an interesting background story that returned her intuitive gifts to the surface. By the time she reached her 30’s, after experiencing the loss of her dear childhood friend, PTSD from a medical trauma resulting in her own near-death-experience, and corporate world burn-out, she finally had a nervous breakdown. Sheryl returned to her parent’s home, realized her combination of high sensitivity and ADHD needed to be channeled in a healthier way, and committed herself to mediumship training. She spent long evening hours talking with her deceased grandmother which truly helped reopen her inherent childhood intuitive abilities.

Granted one does not have to experience so much trauma to restore their inherent gifts of insight and flow, yet most of us are in trauma state because of the cultural programs and severe imbalances that exist.

I hope you enjoyed blog and will explore the links provided below. Best wishes to your health and happiness.

– Listening to your intuition | The Channel of your Guardian Angel – Edgar Cayce
https://www.realityrevolution.com

– Edgar Cayce
https://www.edgarcayce.org/

– Intuition Games
Sheryl Wagner, https://www.sherylwagnermedium.com/blog/20-psychic-exercises-to-develop-your-intuition

art credit:

  • “Blindfolded Yogini” (vrschikasana II), pinterest
  • “The Kingdom Of God Is Within You” by Heather McLean, pinterest

Book Recommendation: Life Is Always Smiling| Stories from My Life


I don’t typically recommend a book before reading it, but in this case I’ll make an exception. Professor Chen is a powerhouse of a woman who brought the medical qigong form, Soaring Crane, to the U.S. From there she taught at the local college where my instructor picked up the lineage, and I learned from her. Many variations of Qigong exist, as anyone perusing youtube will find out, but this particular form has been a saving grace for rebalancing me on the physical, mental, emotional levels. I am grateful and delighted to see Prof. Chen wrote a biography about her life!

Here is a mini description of her life from her book:
Chen, Hui Xian, now eighty years young [as of 2014], recounts with astonishing clarity stories from her remarkable life. Born to parents who were both physicians, Chen was one of eleven surviving siblings. It was a privileged beginning, but shortly, the family found itself fleeing from the invasion and subsequent war with Japan. After the war, Chen being fluent in English became, at age twenty-three, a translator for Premier Zhou, En Lai until the government quietly labeled her ‘an unannounced Rightest’ and, just as quietly, she no longer had the important job of translator. Instead, she was transferred to teach English at various institutes, colleges and schools. And, being an intellectual under Chairman Mao’s leadership, she was sent to the countryside to be re-educated by the peasants. That’s when health issues became a problem. Two unhappy marriages, two babies to care for and feed during an epidemic famine and an unmanageable workload added to Chen’s poor health. Then, in 1981, she was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer! At this point the universe took charge of her life and the person we know as our much-loved Qigong Master was born. First, the practice of Soaring Crane Qigong healed her of her cancer. And, finally, with the help-and-encouragement of many Grand Masters of Qigong, the Dao revealed to her, her true life’s mission: Go and spread the healing, transcendent powers of Qigong throughout the world. It was a gigantic mission she has magnificently undertaken and accomplished.”

Healing Land of Trauma

Each day I take a glance at the mainstream news headlines to know who or what could use some prayers. Yesterday I learned that two lives were swiftly lost in a flash of anger, and the event occurred outside of where a favorite family restaurant once existed.

As the saying goes, “We all live downstream,” which in its origin was referring to physical pollution, but it also refers to energetic influences. Just as smoke from a distant fire drifts for miles and lands in your nose, so too does the emotional and mental frequencies emitted by your neighbors from near and far drift into your space and potentially affect your mood.

With this in mind I felt compelled to offer an act of love and ask forgiveness from the spirit of place where the land suffered this recent act of violence. An open wound was left, as well as in the hearts and minds of people who work in nearby stores, where children sat close by in a car, all of whom are now living with some degree of PTSD wondering how safe their neighborhood is. Not to mention, what a swift exit for the two souls who suddenly found themselves permanently out of body. Did anyone say a prayer to ease their shock and assist in their crossing?

While talking with a friend today we discussed how often these traumas are taking place and how overwhelmed people feel, leaving them in a state of fear at a time when unity is greatly needed. Moments like these are opportunities for the collective to practice bravery, compassion, and act on balancing the scale as often as possible, in whatever manner feels befitting.

I remembered buying some tiny, clay-shaped angel “seeds” years ago. While we toured one house after another, searching for the perfect abode, we would leave an angel at each residence, as a thank-you token. Today, however, the angel seed would be used as a healing gift, along with a prayer for all involved. It would be a symbolic gesture to place a guardian angel who would oversee the area, preventing further trauma while the wound healed.

If you find this idea welcoming and wish to get angel seeds from the Sophia Center please see their website link below. Or, perhaps you’ll be inspired to create your own gift of healing to offer the land, water, air and spirits who dwell in the region. Whatever you choose to do will be perfect and most welcomed.

Another item in the making is compiling a small journal of prayers and poems from any number of sources and different cultures. Keeping such a journal nearby to draw upon as needed is a fun, heartfelt way to touch base with spirit whenever the occasion calls for some inspirational words.

❤️🦋❤️🦋❤️🦋❤️🦋❤️🦋❤️🦋

Sophia Center is a non-profit organization also known as Sophia’s
Gifts of the Spirit. It’s mission is to inspire a shift in consciousness
through educational opportunities and products that invite fuller
expression of the Sacred dimension of our lives and our ever
evolving human family.
https://www.sophiacenter.org

Honoring spirit of place when buying a new home:
https://reginachante.org/2019/02/15/small-acts-of-gratitude-in-buying-selling-homes/

Tabbouleh!

🌿”Rejoice in the green fire of life!”🌿

Fiona MacLeod

Yes, indeed! As the wheel of the year turns we finally seemed to have arrived at (a late) spring. Excellent time to clean house, internally and externally.

One doesn’t have to wait for spring to indulge in parsley, a powerhouse plant known for its high vitamin/mineral content, but tabbouleh is such a pretty, “spring green” dish to make. Today’s blog is a version with almonds replacing the bulgar wheat traditionally used. If you don’t have a food processor no worries, just prepare for some extra chopping.


Ingredients:
* 1/4 cup almonds
* 2 cups chopped parsley
* handful of chopped mint leaves
* 1 heirloom tomato (or regular tomato)
* 1/2 chopped red onion
* 1/2 tsp lemon juice
* 1 tsp olive oil
* salt & fresh ground pepper (to taste)

Mix all the ingredients together except parsley and almonds – leave those two off to the side. Once all is well blended stir in the parsley, almonds, add salt/pepper to taste.

A fascinating background of parsley’s magical influence includes placing a sprig of it on plates of food to prevent contamination, a cultural habit that is quickly fading away in most restaurants. According to author Scott Cunningham, parsley may used in baths to “stop all misfortune”, and “worn on the head to prevent inebriation.” Try explaining that to your local pub friends when you don parsley on your crown! 😄

Other delightful ways to enjoy tabbouleh is to mix it was avocado and spread it on toast, put it on your eggs, or mix with a salad. Perhaps you have other ways to enjoy Tabbouleh which I hope you’ll share in the comments below.
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🤓💗 Thank you readers for taking time to read and share my blogs.
💐 A special thank-you to my Patreon supporters. Much love and appreciation! 😘🥳
👉 If you would like to make a one-time gift contribution to this blog page, please venmo: @Regina-Chante

sources:
book: Medical Medium Life Changing Foods.., by Anthony Williams.
book: Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, by Scott Cunningham