• ~~A Prayer for Forgiveness~~

    I came across this while looking for something else. It so moved me that I have printed it out and put it on my night stand so I can read it before sleep every night. I hope you find it as moving as I have….

    Sister Bridget

    A Prayer for Forgiveness

    Today, Creator, grant me the courage and the will to forgive the people I love the most. Help me to forgive every injustice I feel in my mind, and to love other people unconditionally. I know the only way to heal all the pain in my heart is through forgiveness.

    Today, Creator, strengthen my will to forgive anyone who has hurt me, even if I believe the offense is unforgivable. I know that forgiveness is an act of self-love. Help me to love myself so much that I forgive every offense. Let me choose forgiveness because I don’t want to suffer every time I remember the offense.

    Today, Creator, help me to heal all the guilt in my heart by accepting the forgiveness of everyone I have hurt in my life. Help me to sincerely recognize the mistakes I have made out of ignorance, and give me the wisdom and determination to refrain from making the same mistakes. I know that love and forgiveness will transform every relationship in the most positive way.

    Thank you, Creator, for giving me the capacity to love and forgive. Today I open my heart to love and forgiveness, so that I can share my love without fear. Today I will enjoy a reunion with the people I love most. Amen.

    ~~~don Miguel Ruiz 

    Angelpray

  • What does the New Year hold for you?

    Happy day after Christmas everyone!  I hope you all had a peaceful and safe day.  So another Christmas – good, bad, or indifferent  – is behind us!  Now it is time to look forward to brand new year.  2008 is upon us!  Now is the time to decide what you want in 2008 and what steps you will take to insure that you get it.

    Obviously this is the time of year that we all make those "New Year’s Resolutions."  But I would urge you to take that a step further and make a list of what you want to happen in this New Year.  This is not so much a matter of "I am going to go on a diet and stick to it" or "I will stop smoking."  Those are "resolutions" that put a burden on you and then if you fail at them, you end up feeling guilty, depressed, and about two or three months into the year you can start to feel like this is another year that is a bust for you.

    What I am talking about is making yourself a mini Life Plan for the year.  Let’s say you want to purchase a new car in 2008, lose weight, and move into a better apartment.   Don’t just make yourself meaningless resolutions!   Instead, start to make an actual plan.  Do it on your computer or in a notebook; use something in which you can keep a record of your progress.   Start with your first goal.  Let’s say "Get a New Car in 2008."  Then list underneath that goal the things surrounding that goal:  The price range, the type of vehicle you need, makes and models you are interested in.   Can you afford it?  Will you do extra work or get a part time job to pay for it if necessary?  Cover all the details of this goal and HOW you can manifest it for yourself.  You can even decide if you will use magick to help you!!  Will you use some green candle magick kits or other money/luck magick products to help yourself out with the money needed to make this happen?   Set a schedule of what you will do when!  When you are satisfied with the plan for that goal – go on to the next one. 

    Once you are finished, the true resolution you need to make to yourself is to refer to your plan often.  See where you are with each goal.  If you feel you are not attaining those goals, see what you need to do to perhaps rework your plan or even change your goal slightly.  When you have a true plan for getting a goal, you really don’t need to constrain yourself completely in a timeline.  Using the getting a new car example, let’s say that you chose June 2008 as the time you wanted to have the new car by.  June rolls around and you are looking through your goal planning book, and you find that new car isn’t manifesting itself yet.  However, you see that you have saved $1,000.00 towards the goal and you are still working towards it.  That’s fine!!  Don’t give up just because you didn’t get the car by June!  Keep at it, keep working your plan.  Maybe you need to change the plan a little bit:  Maybe you need a different make or model or price range.   Give yourself a break by being a little bit flexible on that goal.

    Hey, no one’s plan is perfect!  You may or may not reach all the goals by the end of 2008.  But even if you don’t, you can easily carry your plan over until you do reach those goals!!

    So get out those pens and papers or word processing programs and start to plan a great 2008 for yourself!

    Love, Mambo Sam

  • ~~ Merry Christmas ~~

    And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling
    and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without
    tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled
    ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t
    before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store? What if
    Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?
                           ~~~~ Dr Seuss
    Wishing you all a whole lot of a little bit more this Christmas.
    Much Light and Love,
    Sister Bridget

    Snoopychristmas

  • Happy Holidays to Everyone!

    Christmasletter Hello everyone,

    Let me please take this opportunity to wish you all a safe and peaceful holiday season.  I apologize that I have not been able to keep up with my blogging as well as I would like to.  However, I will begin to do so in 2008.  🙂

    In the meantime, let me take this opportunity to thank you all for being in my life.  I really appreciate the feedback and friendships developed this year!    Look for even more exciting events and teachings coming in the new year! 

    Much love, Mambo Sam

  • ~~A Prayer for Yule~~

    A Prayer for Yule

    May the log burn,
    May the wheel turn,
    May evil spurn,
    May the Sun return.

    ~~Author Unknown

    • Yuletreee 

  • First Day of Winter.

    Happy Winter Everyone!

    If we had no winter, spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not
    sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome
              -Anne Bradstreet

    While winter is by far NOT my favorite season, this quote reminded me of something I say to clients all the time….. That the only way out is THROUGH! What waits on the other side makes it all worth while.

    Happy Solstice Everyone!
    Light and Love
    Sister Bridget

    Images

  • Sheer Goddess website up and running!!!

    Hey Guys!!!

    Awesome news! The Sheer Goddess Website is up and running! Check it out!

    www.sheergoddess.com

    Be sure to read the great information about the ingredients, and fair trade products, and the philosophy of the Sheer Goddess lines. My two favorite products are the Day Dreaming Nights Moisture Cream and the Phaedra’s Tea Rose Lotion . But everything is great! (trust me, I have tried them all!)

    Those of you  doing some kind of spellwork, please remember these are consectrated products and can be used as adjunct work on your case. Please email your caseworker (or me, if you like) for suggestions.

    Light and Love

    Sister Bridget

    Daydreamingcreme4oz

  • The Reiki Ideals

    Hi!

    I have been wanting to start a series of entries about Reiki for a little while now. So, tonight I thought I would start with a little introduction about Reiki.

    Not many of you know this, but I have been trained in Usui-Tibetian and Karuna Reiki. I have taken all of my classes thru the International Center for Reiki Training. The center has extremely high standard in teaching, and I highly recommend anyone considering taking a Reiki class to look for a class taught by an ICRT teacher.

    From the International Center for Reiki Training (www.reiki.org):

    "Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one’s "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

    The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words – Rei which means "God’s Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."

    Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.

    An amazingly simple technique to learn, the ability to use Reiki is not taught in the usual sense, but is transferred to the student during a Reiki class. This ability is passed on during an "attunement" given by a Reiki master and allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of "life force energy" to improve one’s health and enhance the quality of life.

    Its use is not dependent on one’s intellectual capacity or spiritual development and therefore is available to everyone. It has been successfully taught to thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds. "

    So, there you have a brief explaination of what Reiki is.

    Next, here are the Reiki Ideal that founder Dr Mikao Usui set forth:

    The Reiki Ideals

    Just for Today, Do not Anger

    Just for today, Do not Worry

    Just for today, Be kind to your neighbour and every living being

    Just for Today, Do your work honestly

    Just for today, Give thanks for your many blessings.

    So, there you have it. These Ideals look simple enough….but is it really that simple to live by them? I personally think living by them would really make our lives simpler 🙂 In the coming weeks, I am going to discuss each ideal seperatley. I hope you will join me with comments as to what each Ideal means to you.

    Light and Love

    Sister BridgetHol


  • A Few Minutes of Peace

    I was looking for something else, and came across this really nice (and brief) meditation for Peace on beliefnet.com.  Check it out. It takes only a few minutes, and it will refresh your day.

    Light and Love

    Sister Bridget

    Peace

  • 10 Tips to Tackle Holiday Stress and Sleep Well

    10 Tips to Tackle Holiday Stress and Sleep Well 

    ~

    It seems like even those of you who generally sleep well most nights can often experience occasional, transient insomnia during the holiday season. As we move into Thanksgiving and Christmas, there is all the stress, strain and tension surrounding getting it all done.  Gifts to buy, extra food preparation, making that special dessert, having company, throwing a part, attending parties and that’s on top of all the regular activities of job and family responsibilities.  All add up and can often wreak havoc with your circadian rhythms.  We’re burdened with thinking it all needs to be perfect and you try to make it all happen.  Your system gets overloaded with stress, not to mention extra food and beverages.

    The following 10 tips are offered to help you maintain your sanity:

    ~

    1. Normal Routine.  Try to keep to your normal routine as much as possible.  That means going to bed as close to your regular time and rising at around the same time each day.  Of course, this will be challenging on party nights, but try to keep these to a minimum.

    ~
    2. Plan Ahead.  If you’ve got company coming, try to alleviate some of your ‘last-minute stress’ by purchasing groceries, gifts or even doing advanced food preparation ahead of time.  Get the gifts wrapped.  That was always my job and mom loved it that it was one less thing she needed to do.

    ~
    3. Regular Exercise.  Exercise is one of the precursors to achieving good sleep.  Besides, it’s just simply healthy for you.  Try to maintain your regular routine.  Hit the gym or at least get out for a walk.  You mind will be refreshed and your body thankful, and you will sleep better.

    ~
    4. Ask for Help.  The holiday festivities don’t need to be your total responsibility.  Ask family members to assist in the preparations.  If you don’t ask, they may not know how stressed and burdened you feel.  And, there is a very good chance they will be very receptive to pitching in to make this ajoyous time for all.  Enlist your family to clean and decorate the house, wrap the gifts and prepare the meals.

    ~
    5. Reduce Caffeine.  Keep your caffeine intake to a bare minimum or not at all.  Caffeine can have a very long half-life, particularly in those who sleep lightly to begin with.  Adding caffeine to increased stress levels is a sure-fire way to disrupt your sleep even more.

    ~
    6. Watch your Alcohol Intake.  Alcohol, even in small quantities, can induce a false sense of sleepiness.  But falling into an alcohol-induced sleep state will be anything but satisfying.  Your slumber will be restless and it is doubtful you will enter deep delta sleep, which is needed for that energized feeling the next day.

    ~
    7. Water – Drink Lots.  Dehydration can be your worst enemy, particularly if you are having more than your usual amount of alcohol.  Make sure your body is well hydrated with at least 8 – 10 8-oz. cups per day.  Water makes up 85 of your muscles, and 75% of your brain.  Make sure you don’t dry out.

    ~
    8. Be kind to Yourself.  Before your shoulders end up bunched up into your ears, seeming never to get unstuck, reward yourself and take a break.  Plan a relaxing massage, facial or manicure.  A massage is great for you guys too.

    ~
    9. Breathe Deeply.  Diaphragmatic breathing is an excellent way to induce relaxation throughout your entire body.  Test whether you are a chest or belly breather by putting one hand on your chest and one on your belly.  Look down as you breathe (normally).  Whichever hand rises first indicates your normal breathing pattern.  Most people are ‘chest’ breathers by habit.  Just for 5 minutes focus breathing letting your diaphragm rise first.  Your breathing will be slow and deeper.  Even 5 minutes of deep belly breathing will induce relaxation.  Plus it simply relaxes you and feels good.

    ~
    10. Talk to your Brain.  After you’ve done some deep diaphragmatic breathing (this really helps to relax you), then have a chat with your brain.  Tell it you will sleep soundly tonight.  Tell it you deserve a restful peaceful night.

    ~

    The mind-body connection is really significant.  Make use of this amazingly powerful tool. Practice these behaviors and you will sleep soundly and have pleasant dreams of sugarplums and Christmas Kringle making everything just right and come visit http://thespiritofsleep.com for more useful information on sleep.

    ~

    Author and Sleep Coach, Glenda Sparling, can help you address and overcome the challenges you face around sleep issues and insomnia. Her e-book, The Spirit of Sleep, which offers effective natural tools, techniques and behaviors for eliminating sleep anxiety and insomnia.