I'm not really sure the WHY of all this – but if your want to read more about it, you can here.
It just made me laugh, and want to go watch Monty Python đ
Have a Great Day!
Light and Love
Sister Bridget Corfield
I'm not really sure the WHY of all this – but if your want to read more about it, you can here.
It just made me laugh, and want to go watch Monty Python đ
Have a Great Day!
Light and Love
Sister Bridget Corfield
Hey there!
Ok, so here we are – back in the blogging saddle again! hee hee ;-) I am always looking for things on the net that can be potentially helpful to clients. I know I havent been blogging much in the past month or so – but that is all about to change! Now, I have this stack of stuff I thought was cool and helpful and Im going to make the time to pass it along to you all. It would be really awesome if my blog could be more interactive with you all. Please do feel free to comment – good or bad – as comments start discussions, and from discussions we can ALL learn !
A little while ago I came across this article on http://www.relationship-institute.com and I must have read it four times over. I thnk there is alot of good advice in this article. Many times, I hear from clients who are expressing alot of anger or frustration – some of it is from processing of spellwork, some of it is brought about by an HD who is processing spellwork, or it can be a carry over from a bad break up or negative experience that happened in the past, but has not yet been let go. Magickally, certainly there are things that caseworkers can recommend to clients to help them deal with – ideally heal and release – their anger. things like a Milk of Damballah White Bath, or a trio of white image candles, or even a Lady Samantha Hex Removal Kit (for longstanding anger issues) can all be helpful. But as you know, following up magickal work with changes in the mundane world can support the magick and allow you to really get great healing and feeling better. I like alot of what this article has to say about dealing with Anger. The part about communicating directly with the person who angered you – well, run that one by your caseworker first if your HD is the one you are angry with!
I hope you enjoy the article and find some helpful info here.
Light and Love
Sister Bridget Corfield
——begin article——
Dealing with Anger
Everywhere you look in todayâs world, we are hearing about people expressing anger, often in a destructive, inappropriate way. "Rage" used to be a term reserved for strange, out-of-control people, but now we have road rage, workplace rage and even airplane rage. Violent outbursts are commonplace on TV talk shows. Gun rampages in public places have become a typical news event. Whatâs going on?
American culture has a bizarre relationship with the energy of anger and its inappropriate expression as violence. In our consumer lifestyle, we know that violence sells. The promotion of violence is a multi-billion dollar business, affecting virtually every aspect of our lives. Think for a moment about the expressions of violence on TV, movies, video games, professional sports, and many forms of recreation. We dare not show a single naked breast or penis on TV, but we can show hundreds of horrible, bloody murders every day of the week. A startling statistic is that by the time they finish elementary school, the average American child (who watches just 3.5 hours of TV a week) will have witnessed 12,000 murders and more than 150,000 other acts of violence on TV.
We teach our children to not hit their siblings and then roar in delight at the vicious fight at the hockey game or the bone-crushing tackle at the football game. The top stories on our local news are often nothing more than a review of the most sensationally violent acts in our community in the past day. By virtually any measure you use, American society is the most violent society in the history of recorded civilization.
This is some evidence that we are modeling what we learn through the media, where violence is often presented with few realistic consequences. The National Television Violence Study in 1995 found that 47% of the violent acts shown resulted in no observable harm to the victim; only 16% of violent shows contained a message about the long term negative repercussions of violence; and in a whopping 73% of all violent scenes, the perpetrator went unpunished. The study found 44% of the shows on network stations contained at least some violence, compared with 59% on basic cable and 85% on premium channels. Itâs interesting to note that the more money people pay for a television service, the more violence it contains! Studies by George Gerbner, Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that children who watch a lot of television are more likely to think that the world is a mean and dangerous place; they become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others; and they are more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways toward others.
With adults, people who cannot deal appropriately with their anger teach their children that violence is an acceptable way to deal with conflict. Men who have witnessed their parents' domestic violence are three times more likely to abuse their own wives than children of non violent parents, with the sons of the most violent parents being 1000 times more likely to become perpetrators of violent acts toward women. During each year women were the victims of more than 4.5 million violent crimes, including approximately 500,000 rapes or other sexual assaults. In 29 percent of the violent crimes against women by lone offenders the perpetrators were husbands, former husbands, boyfriends or former boyfriends.
So why as a culture do we teach, promote, and model destructive, inappropriate, unrealistic expressions of anger? We are fascinated with anger and violence because we are terrified of and uncomfortable with our own power. As a culture, we try to make nice, to make believe that we are not angry people, and harshly judge others that are. Our anger is the shadow side of the positive, upbeat, prosperous American psyche. Violence sells because it is tapping into a deeply repressed aspect of the American psyche. We tuck our anger away in the darkest, most shameful recesses of our minds and hearts, and then are horrified and surprised when it comes blasting out. Yet it is a fundamental principle of psychology that whatever we disown, cut off or otherwise repress in our psyche becomes stronger than it actually is, and eventually will force us to recognize its existence by coming to the surface in a distorted, exaggerated or impulsive manner.
So if there is an answer to this issue of anger and violence, it is that we all must recognize, befriend and own our own power, our own potential for anger and even violence, and come to terms with that energy. Anger is an energy that can be harnessed and channeled in any number of ways, some of them very constructive. But that can only happen if weâre willing to look our own anger straight in the eye without fear, denial or minimization. Anger is the elephant in our collective living rooms that no one wants to talk about other than in harsh, judgmental terms about other people.
Anger Management
Anger is a natural, adaptive response to threats; it inspires powerful, often aggressive, feelings and behaviors, which allow us to fight and to defend ourselves when we are attacked. A certain amount of anger, therefore, is necessary for our survival. On the other hand, we obviously can't lash out at every person or object that irritates or annoys us. So expressing your angry feelings in an assertive, not aggressive manner is the healthiest way to express anger. To do this, you have to learn how to make clear what your needs are, and how to get them met without hurting others. Being assertive doesn't mean being pushy or demanding; it means being respectful of yourself and others.
The goal of any type of anger management is to reduce both your emotional feelings and the physical arousal that anger causes. While you canât always change the situations or people that upset you, you can learn to control your reactions. Here are some great tools to try:
1. Relaxation – simple relaxation tools, such as deep breathing and relaxing imagery, can help calm down angry feelings. Books such as The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson and Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabatt-Zinn are excellent sources for instruction in meditation and relaxation. Once you learn the techniques, you can use them in anywhere to quickly calm down.
For additional help with relaxation, practice breathing deeply from your diaphragm; breathing from your chest doesnât tend to elicit nearly as deep a sensation of relaxation. Picture your breath coming up from your diaphragm while you slowly repeat a calm word or phrase such as "relax," "take it easy." Repeat it to yourself while breathing deeply and putting attention on your breath. Use imagery: visualize a relaxing experience, from either your memory or your imagination, with as many senses involved in the visualization as possible. Hatha yoga is also a great method for relaxing your muscles and making you feel much calmer.
2. Change Your Thoughts – Angry people tend to think negative, critical thoughts about themselves or others. When you're angry, your thinking can get very exaggerated, overly dramatic and irrational. Try replacing these thoughts with more positive and rational ones. Remind yourself that getting angry is not going to fix anything, that it won't make you feel better (and may actually make you feel worse). Also, when angry, people often feel victimized. So itâs helpful to reflect on whatâs happening and take responsibility for whatever you are doing to partially create the situation that frustrates you.
3. Communicate Directly After you Calm Down – when angry, people make assumptions that may not be true about othersâ intentions. So slow down, calm down, and speak clearly about whatever it is that is frustrating you to the person(s) involved. Talk about your feelings and perceptions rather than blaming others. At the same time, listen carefully to what the other person is saying and take your time before answering.
4. Take Time for Yourself – make sure you have some "personal time" scheduled for times of the day or days of the week that you know are particularly stressful. One example is the woman who has a standing rule that when she comes home from work, for the first 15 minutes "nobody talks to me unless the house is on fire." After this brief quiet time, she feels better prepared to handle demands from her kids and husband without yelling at them.
There are some excellent self-help books available on the topic of dealing with anger. Two of our favorites address specific gender issues that men and women face: The Dance of Anger: A Womenâs Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships, by Harriet Lerner and Beyond Anger, A Guide for Men: How to Free Yourself from the Grip of Anger and Get More Out of Life, by Thomas Harbin.
Anger is an expression of our life force. When manifest in an appropriate manner, it can be an intelligent expression and reaction to the circumstances of our lives. When we befriend our anger, we tame its impulsive expression and give ourselves a valuable tool to create constructive change for ourselves and the world. We encourage you to start wherever you are, with compassion and love for all parts of yourself, and begin to explore your own relationship with this powerful and necessary life energy. And be honest with yourself in the process: if you cannot understand this energy, if it feels like a wild beast or a scary monster, seek out help from those who can guide your journey of healing and discovery in a safe and constructive manner.
Hi There,
This article came across my blogreader the other day, and I felt it was just too important not to pass along. Most of the references in this article are about how a positive attitude effects us in disease. But just imagine how much better we would feel if we tried to keep out attitudes positive when we are healthy!
I hope you all find some aspect of this article helpful đ
Light and Love
Sister Bridget
***begin article***
Studies show that having a positive attitude could make you less likely to suffer heart attacks, strokes, and pain from conditions like arthritis.
But what if you have already gotten the devastating diagnosis?
Can an upbeat outlook make a difference?
"It's hard sometimes when the doctors come in because they look at my scans, and I know they don't look good," explains Kristin Kettle.
This 36-year-old mother of two has stage-four, metastatic colon cancer.
"I've been through 13 rounds of chemotherapy within the last seven months, I think," Kristin says.
Instead of crying, she laughs with friends at her "chemo parties." Each one has a theme, and it has nothing to do with cancer.
But can a positive attitude affect the outcome of disease? In a
Johns Hopkins study, researchers followed nearly 600 people with a family history of heart disease. Those with a positive outlook were half as likely to experience a heart event.
"Attitude is all the difference in the world, and think about it: attitude is a choice," explains Dr. Robert P. Shannon, an assistant professor at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.
While scientific studies on cancer show mixed results, one found breast cancer patients with feelings of hopelessness are less likely to survive.
Marilyn Wattman-Feldman says her upbeat outlook may not cure her stage-four breast cancer, but it's made her physically and emotionally stronger.
"I had to look at everything, even the chemo treatments, and find something funny about what was going on, as hard as that was," she says.
They are strong-minded women who haven't forgotten how to have fun, even during the fight of their lives.
A recent study of healthy women found optimistic women had a 14-percent lower risk of death from any cause after eight years compared to those who were more pessimistic.
More cynical women had a 16-percent higher risk of dying than more trusting women.
OPTIMISTIC HEALING
REPORT #1576
BACKGROUND:
Many medical experts believe that positive thinking and a positive attitude are beneficial when it comes to your health. While it has long been conjecture, in recent years, scientists have been gathering statistical proof that the mind-body connection can improve more than just mental health.
Once the purview of New-Age books that claim to show the path to healing, the evidence rests in the rise in clinical trials.
GENERAL HEALTH:
Women who are optimistic about life live longer and are healthier than those who are pessimistic, according to a new study presented at the American Psychosomatic Society's annual meeting.
Another report in the Boston Globe reports that women who tend to be more trusting of others also live longer than those who are cynical. The study conducted by the Women's Health Initiative looked at more than 97,000 healthy women ages 50 to 74.
Optimistic women had a 14-percent lower risk of death from any cause after eight years than those who were more pessimistic. More cynical women had a 16-percent higher risk of dying than more trusting women. The study does not prove that attitudes affect health or cause illness, but researchers say the association is worth further study.
HEART HEALTH:
A study shows optimism is good for heart health, at least among men. University of Rochester Medical Center researchers found men who believed they were at a lower-than-average risk for cardiovascular disease actually experienced a three-times lower incidence of death from heart attacks and stroke.
Another study out of Johns Hopkins finds people with a good attitude were half as likely as their less optimistic counterparts to experience a heart event such as sudden death, heart attack or chest pain that required surgery.
Researchers observed the power of positive thinking even after adjusting for traditional risk factors for heart disease, including cholesterol, weight and cigarette smoking.
"It's possible that the people with the positive attitude produce lower levels of stress hormones, which helps protect them from disease, " Diane M. Becker, Sc.D., M.P.H., senior author of the study, was quoted as saying.
***end article****
for those of my beloved clients who are struggling with waiting…..
"All great achievements require time."
~~~Maya Angelou
Light and Love
Sister Bridget Corfield
www.spellmaker.com
This has always been one of my most favorite poems. Life is a journey – spellwork is a journey – the theme of Journeying can be applied to our lives in many ways over and over again. I read this poem for the first time when I was at a very low point in my life, and found it very empowering. I hope some part of it strikes a cord with each of you as well.
Light and Love
Sister Bridget Corfield
www.spellmaker.com
Light and Love
Sister Bridget Corfield
www.spellmaker.com
**begin article***
by Judith Orloff MD
Watch your diet. Notice what foods feel good, which do not. Your body will
tell you what it requires. Usually, denser foods-meat, chicken, fish–have
more of a grounding effect than grains, vegetables, or fruit. I'm not a big
meat eater but if my body announces, "I need a hamburger," I will devour one.
Listen to your body's signals. Notice how they fluctuate.
Do mundane tasks. Mindfully focusing on everyday chores can bring you back
to your body. Grocery shopping, going to the bank, paying bills, washing
clothes, taking out the trash, or cleaning the yard can be grounding. These
activities anchor you in the here-and-now by drawing on the luminous nature
of the ordinary.
Practice Anonymous Service. Do something nice for someone without taking
credit for it. Hold the elevator for a little old lady. Let someone go
before you in line. Serve food to the homeless. Give a charitable donation.
Anything that shifts the focus from you to helping others. No deed is too
small. The act of giving–especially when you're most frazzled–opens your
heart, is regenerative.
Spend Time in Nature. As poet William Wordsworth put it, civilization can be
"too much with us." People, cars, the news, telephone cables matting the sky,
all can keep us from our bodies, divorce us from what is natural. Regularly
take at least a few hours out from your routine. Visit the beach, a forest, a
canyon, a river. Choose a spot that moves you. Aboriginals seek out windswept
plains for purification. Native Americans go to fresh streams to clarify
their inner vision. (Any water source, including a bath or shower, can
cleanse and purify.) Tibetan monks pilgrimage to mountaintops. Allow yourself
to draw on the earth's primordial forces. Savor the beauty of a twilight,
sunset, or dawn. Let them nourish and restore you.
Meditate. Sitting in meditation is a life-line to your center, to the
earth. By calming the mind, you can re-align with your essence. Close your
eyes. Focus on your breath. Then gently extend your awareness downward to
strata, bedrock, minerals, and soil. From the base of your spine begin to
feel a continuity with the earth's core. Picture having a long tail that
roots in that center. Allow the earth's energy to infuse your body and
stabilize you. If you meditate for five minutes or an hour this is sacred
time.
**end article**
more articles can be found at Dr Orloff's website drjudithorloff.com
Hey Gang!
I have been working my way through this great book – Emotional Freedom by Dr Judith Orloff. And I do mean working – its an awesome book with exercises to work thru. I am really enjoying this book! When I saw this article it seemed perfect to pass along, and I am sure some of us can identify with the topic here.
Light and Love
Sister Bridget Corfield
www.spellmaker.com
*****begin article*****
The Emotional Vampire Survival Guide: Emotional Freedom in Action
Adapted from Dr. Judith Orloffâs new book âEmotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself From Negative Emotions and Transform Your Lifeâ (Harmony Books, 2009)
To be emotionally free you canât remain naĂŻve about relationships. Some people are positive and mood elevating. Others can suck optimism and serenity right out of you. Vampires do more than drain your physical energy. The super-malignant ones can make you believe youâre an unworthy, unlovable wretch who doesnât deserve better. The subtler species inflict damage by making smaller digs which can make you feel bad about yourselfâfor instance, âDear, I see youâve put on a few poundsâ or âYouâre overly sensitive!â Suddenly theyâve thrown you emotionally off-center you by prodding areas of shaky self-worth. To protect your sensitivity, itâs important to name and combat these vampires. The concept struck such a collective chord in my book Positive Energy that in Emotional Freedom I illustrate how it applies to protecting your emotions and not absorbing other peopleâs negativity. In the book I discuss these vampires to watch for and ways to deal with them.
SIGNS THAT YOUâVE ENCOUNTERD AN EMOTIONAL VAMPIRE
(from âEmotional Freedomâ by Judith Orloff MD)
⢠Your eyelids are heavyâyouâre ready for a nap
⢠Your mood takes a nosedive
⢠You want to binge on carbs or comfort foods
⢠You feel anxious, depressed, or negative
⢠You feel put down, sniped at, or slimed
TYPES OF EMOTIONAL VAMPIRES
Vampire #1: The Narcissist
Their motto is âMe first.â Everything is all about them. They have a grandiose sense of self-importance and entitlement, hog attention, and crave admiration. Theyâre dangerous because they lack empathy and have a limited capacity for unconditional love. If you donât do things their way, they become punishing, withholding, or cold.
How to Protect Your Emotions: Keep your expectations realistic. These are emotionally limited people. Try not to fall in love with one or expect them to be selfless or love without strings attached. Never make your self-worth dependent on them or confide your deepest feelings to someone who wonât cherish them. To successfully communicate, the hard truth is that you must show how something will be to their benefit. Though itâs better not to have to contend with this tedious ego stroking, if the relationship is unavoidable use the above strategies to achieved desired results.
Vampire #2: The Victim
These vampires grate on you with their âpoor-meâ attitude and are allergic to taking responsibility for their actions. The world is always against them, the reason for their unhappiness. When you offer a solution to their problems they always say, âYes, but.â You might end up screening your calls or purposely avoid them. As a friend, you may want to help but their tales of woe overwhelm you.
How to Protect Your Emotions: Set kind but firm limits. Listen briefly and tell a friend or relative, âI love you but I can only listen for a few minutes unless you want to discuss solutions. Then Iâd be thrilled to brainstorm with you.â With a coworker, listen briefly, sympathize by saying, âIâll keep good thought for things to work out. Then say, I hope you understand, but Iâm on deadline and must go back to work. Then use âthis isnât a good timeâ body language such as crossing your arms and breaking eye contact to help set these healthy limits.
Vampire #3: The Controller
These people obsessively try to control you and dictate what youâre supposed to be and feel. They have an opinion about everything. Theyâll control you by invalidating your emotions if they donât fit into their rulebook. They often start sentences with âYou know what you need?â and then proceed to tell you. You end up feeling dominated, demeaned, or put down.
How to Protect Your Emotions: The secret to success is never try and control a controller. Be healthily assertive, but donât tell them what to do. You can say, âI value your advice but really need to work through this myself.â Be confident but donât play the victim or sweat the small stuff. Focus on high priority issues rather than on putting the cap on the toothpaste.
Vampire #4: The Splitter or Borderline Personality
Splitters see things as either good or bad and have love/hate relationships. One minute they idealize you, the next youâre the enemy if you upset them. They have a sixth sense for knowing how to pit people against each another and will retaliate if they feel you have wronged them. They are people who are fundamentally damagedâinwardly they feel as if they donât exist and become alive when they get angry. Theyâll keep you on an emotional rollercoaster and you may walk on eggshells to avoid their anger.
How to Protect Your Emotions: Stay calm. Donât react when your buttons get pushed. Splitters feed off of anger. They respond best to structure and limit setting. If one goes into a rage, tell the person, âIâm leaving until you get calmer. Then we can talk.â Refuse to take sides when he or she tries to turn you against someone else. With family members, itâs best to show a united front and not let a splitterâs venomous opinions poison your relationships.
About Judith Orloff
Judith Orloff MD, an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at
UCLA and intuition expert.
www.drjudithorloff.com
**end article**
Hey
Incase there are any of you out there that may have missed Mambo Sam's emailing or blog, June is Pap Legba month at Spellmaker.com!
Check out www.spellmaker.com/legba.htm to get the low down on all the activities, free rituals and deep discounts on all items Legba!
Have a great weekend!
Sister Bridget
May
15th is a special day â it is the feast day of our beloved Cousin
Azacca, as well as St Isidore the Farmer, who Cousin Azacca is syncretized with.
You
can read the free Spellmaker.com newsletter about Cousin Azacca here :
http://www.spellmaker.com/SpellmakerNewsletter/Issue2.htm
Isidore
the Farmer, (Spanish: San Isidro Labrador), (c. 1070 â May 15, 1130), was a Spanish day laborer.
Isidore was born to very poor yet very pious Catholic parents in Madrid, Spain.
His parents were unable to support him when he was a youth and sent him to work
for a wealthy landowner, John de Vergas (He ended up working for him for the
rest of his life). St. Isidore loved to attend the
Holy Mass before going to work in the morning. Because of this, he usually
arrived late at work. His fellow workers complained to their master Juan de
Vargas who investigated the matter by himself. He found out the truth that St.
Isidore went to mass daily and arrived at work late. Moreover, he discovered
something â that while St. Isidore was praying in the church, his angels plowed
the field for Him. He also discovered that while St. Isidore was plowing the
field, two angels plowed with him at his sides so that his work was equivalent
to the work of three farmers. From then on, they respected him. He was
known for his love of the poor, and there are accounts of Isidoreâs supplying
them miraculously with food. here was also an
occasion when one snowy day, when going to the mill with corn to be ground
which his wife had gleaned, he passed a flock of wood-pigeons scratching vainly
for food on the hard surface of the frosty ground. Taking pity on the poor
animals, he poured half of his sack of precious corn upon the ground for the
birds, despite the mocking of witnesses. When he reached the mill, however, the
bag was full, and the corn, when it was ground, produced double the expected
amount of flour. He had a great concern for the proper treatment of
animals. He died May 15, 1130, and was declared a saint in 1622 with Ignatius
of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila and Philip Neri. Together, the group
is known in Spain as âthe five saints.â
Patron
Saint of farmers, field hands, day laborers, ranchers, livestock, rural
communities and asking for rain.
Saint
Isidore the Farmer is invoked for the concerns affecting livestock,
agriculture, and good weather and is even invoked for picnics.
From the Spellmaker.com newsletter: No matter what you are trying to
grow in your life, May 15 is the perfect day to offer a feast to Azacca! Set up
a small altar using his colors and offerings: A piece of denim makes the
perfect altar cloth for him, yellow and green candles, a container of dirt,
small gardening tools, etc. Spend some time thinking of what plants need
nurturing in your life garden and ask Azacca to nourish them and help them
grow! Ask him to renew and rejuvenate any wilting plants and cut out all the
weeds!
Have a great day and a wonderful weekend! Get out there and play in some dirt!
Light and Love
Sister Bridget