Channeling

Channeling can basically be defined as the process of receiving and relaying information from an outside entity while in an altered state of consciousness. The consciousness level varies from individual to individual, from deep trance to a very light meditation-like state. It appears that the channeler must go into this altered mental state to get in "synch" or reach a compatible vibrational level with the entity to be channeled. Entities that people claim to channel are as varied as the channelers themselves - angels, demons, spirits, aliens, higher dimensional entities, dead relatives and friends, and even living people in some cases - the list is long and quite individualized. As virtually all of us have some psychic abilities to some degree, most of us are perfectly capable of channeling with a little bit of practice if we are so inclined.

Channeling can take many forms and is not just a trance-like state with someone lying on the couch and talking in a foreign language - which is how most of us picture it. Many of the psychic tools we are familiar with are actually forms of channeling, including psychic healing, automatic writing, séances, and ouija board usage. As anyone who has heard a ouija board horror story knows, channeling by inexperienced people can be a dangerous proposition. Having said that, a primer on how to prepare and seek out an appropriate entity is in order here.

To begin, there are two main types of channeling. The first is Trance Channeling, and involves basically going to sleep, relinquishing control of the body, and letting an outside entity take control, usually by speaking through the body and voice of the channeler. Upon awakening, the channeler has no recollection whatsoever of what transpired while he was out, and for this type of channeling to be effective, a 3rd party or a tape recorder should be at hand to record the material. The material that comes out of this type of channeling is generally quite clean and elegant, as there is little ego on the part of the channeler to interfere with the information being presented. Edgar Cayce provided us with a remarkable long-term example of trance channeling, as did Carla Rueckert, whose work resulted in the fascinating Ra Material.

The second and most prevalent type of channeling is Conscious Channeling. This is the origin of the Jane Roberts/Seth material, a compelling modern-day example of channeling. With this type of channeling, the channeler remains conscious and allows expression to be processed through his body. This is not the cleanest of ways to channel, as the material can be edited at will by the conscious channeler, but it is certainly safer than Trance Channeling, especially for beginners. Ouija boards, psychic healing, most seances, and automatic writing all utilize this type of channeling.

An important note here is that there are a lot of ways to connect with a spiritual higher plane. Anything you love doing and find that you are good at could be a form of channeling. Who is to say that Michelangelo or Einstein weren't tapping into some higher consciousness as they worked in their fields of expertise. If you love playing music, by all means try music as your way to communicate. If you love reading, try automatic writing (computers and keyboards work just as well as pencil and paper). If you love dance, cooking, sports, painting, crafts, gardening, or any other creative endeavor, feel free to modify the guidelines here to fit your situation and open yourself to a higher plane while you enjoy the activity of your choice. There are as many ways to channel as there are individuals on this earth, and we have all experienced the feeling of "drifting off" as we go about our daily lives. This is the stuff of channeling!

As with all worthwhile endeavors, channeling takes a little time and practice to produce results, so don't expect to get a Seth or Ra quality right out of the gate. Your goal is to put mind, body, and soul into a peaceful meditative state in order to "connect," and this does take some practice. Once you have read the general guidelines below, try to go to your place every day at about the same time and devote at least 15 minutes - this is to establish a ritual, much like your cup of coffee in the morning or brushing your teeth every night. If you have to miss a day here and there, that's perfectly okay - you want this to be a short, pleasant break - not an annoyance.

Start by finding an quiet area in which to relax and prepare. This can be anywhere inside or out, but it should be the same every day. You can sit on the floor with legs crossed meditation style, or on a comfortable chair. It is not recommended that you start practicing by lying down on a bed, especially at first because the relaxation techniques are a recipe for falling asleep. Take a hot bath or shower before starting for cleansing and relaxation if desired. Go to your place and light a scented candle or incense stick to set the mood. For the first few days, just go sit in your place and try to clear the mind as much as possible. Breathe in deeply a few times, mentally pushing out all the clutter with each exhalation. As thoughts try to creep back in, focus again on your breathing to dispel them.

Once you are comfortable with the above procedure, you can start trying to contact others through channeling. A little known rule for all channeling is that you have to agree to let the entity in before it will come in and start relaying information. If you are not comfortable with what you get, you can ask the entity to leave, and it must do so upon request. A common mistake with Ouija boards is that the users get so rattled by what is coming through that they never demand that the entity leave, opening the door (and leaving it open) to all kinds of weird occurrences. The same thing can happen with channeling, so do remember to close any session and listen for a like response.

So, you are sitting in your quiet meditative place, and you have practiced clearing your mind for a few days. When you are ready, watch for the signs. You can either ask (mentally or aloud) for entities to speak, or you can listen for them to ask you for a connection. Believe it or not, this will come once you have got your basic relaxation techniques in place. You can ask for someone specific or just ask for the highest beings of light you are capable of communicating with and see what you get. Again, if you are not comfortable with what you get, do not hesitate to ask the entity to leave.

When you do connect with an entity, you will know it. You might feel a numb or tingling sensation - or you may just be dimly aware of a "presence" and get messages and images telepathically. You will be aware of your own body and surroundings in varying degrees day-to-day. Until you become practiced, many of these messages received will be muddy, broken, and even inaccurate, but with time they will become much clearer. The key is learning how to get into that relaxed state and recognizing and acknowledging the input when it does come knocking.

On a last note, you can only channel what you are capable of channeling. If you tend to be money-oriented, greedy, or dishonest, expect your entities to be of like mind. If you try to be honest, loving, and live life in an ethical way, you will attract the same sort. Your inner strength in either case is what determines how high in the realm you can go, and there is a limit for most of us.

Happy Channeling!

Feng Shui

Feng Shui (pronounced Fung Shway), in its simplest terms, is an ancient practice originated by the Chinese as a way to live in harmony with nature. Translated into English, Feng means wind, and Shui means water. Bear this in mind, because everything in Feng Shui is directly related to flow, or movement, such as in wind or water. Energy is a term you will also hear often in Feng Shui, and this relates to Chi, or the energy that permeates everything around us.

Alrighty then, the question arises as to whether Feng Shui really works. The simple answer is that it does seem to, although the reasons for why are debatable (more on that later). At its core, Feng Shui is a environmental discipline that emphasizes cleanliness, orderliness, and harmony with nature in and around the home and workplace. Clean house, clear mind. We've all heard it. The first rule in Feng Shui is to declutter - which will in turn supposedly declutter your mind. Fair enough, but what if you have 5 screaming kids and the house is a wreck all the time and you work two jobs trying to keep food on the table? You need Mary Poppins, not friggin Feng Shui. I get it. So a good portion of this section will be devoted to you, the harassed, the overworked, the disorganized, and the exasperated people who are actually the very people who can benefit most from Feng Shui. But don't misunderstand. These are principles that can and do apply to anyone who lives or works in a man-made box commonly called a home or office.

The very first step in harmonizing with nature using Feng Shui is to assess your surroundings. Very few of us live in a home with naturally great Feng Shui, and a lot of the concepts of Feng Shui involve just plain old-fashioned common sense. It's better for your house to be above street level than below street level because of careening cars, heavy rains, and such. It's better to have a hill behind you than have a yard that slopes steeply in the back for safety reasons - criminals can more easily sneak up on you from below grade and it's dangerous to enjoy the backyard when there's a cliff out there. Inside, bathrooms are a big deal in Feng Shui because of all the nasties that go on in there, and placement in the center of the house is not considered a good thing. In fact, it seems that placement anywhere is never really optimal for a bathroom in Feng Shui. The good news is that whatever horrific Feng Shui scenario your house or office endures, there is a Feng Shui remedy that will negate the bad and enhance the good energies.

Look around for a few minutes. I mean really look around. How do you feel about the space you are in? Is there a really good feature to that room, such as architectural moldings, great windows, or a cool nook? Is there a terrible feature such as a horrible light fixture or rusted vent cover? How you feel in your core about your space is what you have to learn to listen to. You can fill your space with new stuff, but if it doesn't sing to you, it's all just stuff. Learn to listen to yourself and modify your space accordingly. If your problem is that you are just overwhelmed with stuff such as toys, find creative ways to either put it to use or store it in an attractive way. And please get rid of what is not usable anymore and teach the kids to put stuff away if they want to keep it! Even if you don't have much money, there are resources available for creative storage ideas. Search for pieces of furniture that do double duty.

Coffee tables with lift up lids, end tables with doors and drawers, ottomans that open for storage, beds with dressers built in underneath - there are a lot of ways to cram stuff into a small space, and it doesn't have to be expensive. Thrift stores, flea markets, Craig's list - all are good sources for really cool storage. And for those with a few basic power tools and a tape measure, you can make shelves, rework closets, and make boxes to hold stuff for a big return with little investment other than time. I've done all this stuff at my house, so don't give me that crap about not being able to do it yourself. We have internet, people - and there are videos and web pages filled with wonderful information on basic do-it-yourself projects - use them!

Once you get the clutter under control, the real Feng Shui fun begins! For one thing, if you have followed the instructions above, your life is undoubtedly a good bit better than it was before. Nothing like a creative, useful project to make you feel better - especially when visitors notice! As referred to above, one of the reasons that Feng Shui works is that it is a vehicle by which you take back your life and feel more empowered. For those with kids, jobs, and no time or money, just this unprecedented mastery of your environment is empowering and invigorating. Even if you just spray paint that rusty vent cover, DO something to make your living space more appealing to you!

Author Unknown

-The Crafty Witch

Smudging & Clearing

Threw the site and from individuals in general I have been inquired about what smudging or a sage-ing is. Well let me first clarify what it is done for and what is being done.

“Smudging is the burning of certain herbs to create a cleansing smoke bath, which is used to purify people, space, ceremonial tools and objects. There are many different herbal mixtures that can be used as well as varied ways to smudge according to cultural beliefs. The herbs are burnt on their own or in mixtures, depending on tradition and required effect. Sage is used as a cleansing and purifying agent, the effect of the smoke is to banish negative energies. The powerful cleansing vibration it emits when burned is used to purify the subtle energies.”

What I do as a spiritual healer is I will come to you, your house, and so on it is you need done and perform a clearing/smudging of your space and what that does is remove stagnant energy. I also clear the space of leftover vibrations from a previous owner, tenant, or any negative energy to begin with.

Many people believe in different things like vibes, chakras, energy flows and much more. When you burn the sage it is within a spiritual aspect that you are cleansing you or your space. It’s all about cultural beliefs but even beyond that it’s about the acknowledgment of the existence of such things.

If you are left with any questions are invite you to visit our Cosmic Seekers site to find out more about Smudging or even send us and email at c.seekers@aol.com so we can clarify any questions you may have

-The Crafty Witch