Month: August 2012

Me and the Butterfly

For some reason I have been obsessed with butterflies this past week. I have been trying my hardest to capture a photo of a butterfly. I have no idea why I’ve been so obsessed with this lately, but I have. Watching out my office window, looking for the butterfly to pass by, running outside with my camera, trying to capture just a moment with the butterfly. It has been driving me crazy that I’ve not had the opportunity to get a photo. Every time I stepped outside for a moment without my camera… there would be that darned butterfly fluttering around all over the place. I have seen big white ones, yellow ones, and some others… but the opportunity for a photo never came.

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So, I’m sitting here at my desk and decide to take my camera outside for a  short break. I notice a feather laying in the grass and move toward it to take a pic, it’s not a butterfly but hey.. it’s a feather! When I moved toward it, up from the grass flew a little Earth colored butterfly/moth. I thought, yep… typical.. flutter on off so I can’t get a photo you little stinker! Just then, the butterfly/moth circled back and landed right at my feet. Camera in hand.. snap snap snap. Whew! Okay, so it wasn’t the butterfly I hoped for but it was a butterfly/moth none the less! I took his photo and moved around to the side of the building to see if there was anything else to photograph before going back inside.

I noticed a bright yellow flower all by itself  about 20 feet or so away. I thought, oh it’s

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probably just a dandelion and then I thought, who cares, it’s bright and beautiful anyway. I moved closer to the flower and bent down to take the photo and as soon as the camera was up to my eye and I was about to click the shutter button… look who followed me there and landed right on that flower. hahahahahhahahahaaaaaa

So, I got the bright, vibrant color I was looking for and the ever so elusive butterfly!

How about that!!!

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It just goes to show that sometimes we get what we are looking for.. just not the way we thought we wanted it.

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

True or False?

Yesterday afternoon on my way home from work I was pondering beliefs in general and those who believe and those who don’t. I didn’t ponder for long before I came to this final conclusion:

The non-believer will ask you to show proof of existence and then most likely still question what is right before them.

The believer doesn’t need proof. However, I would say in reply to the non-believer: show me proof it doesn’t exist…. and then wait while my fairy friends sprinkled them with glitter and  my pet dragon then gobbled them up…. LOL

My point is: What does it matter what anyone else’s belief is.. it only matters what you believe in. It is a personal matter belonging to you and only you… having others validate your belief is not needed… there will always be naysayers  – no matter what the conversation is about.

Enjoy your life and worry less about what others think or believe in.

Trust yourself!

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

My wings, you may not see

My wings, you may not see
But I can fly just as pretty as you please

I drift among the clouds and float upon the winds
I soar over the fields and dance atop the trees

My wings, you may not see
But I can fly… just sit back and watch me

The body feels what the mind can see
I am strong like the eagle, gentle as a butterfly, yet as swift as a honey bee

My wings, you may not see
But I can fly across the ocean or over the top of a mountain range

When I’m flying, my visions come clearly into sight
I know to some, this seems quite strange

My wings, you may not see
But I can fly, quick like any dragonfly

For when I soar, be it day or night
The winds of life lift me up and set me free

My wings, you may not see
But I can fly…. just trust me!

Many Blessings, 
Raventalker

Day Dream Journal

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Here’s a new twist on the old fashioned journal. We have our every day journals… and then we have dream journals… how about a Day Dream Journal??

This is a journal that would log in all thoughts random thoughts and visions that come to you throughout your day. This isn’t a standard log of your daily activities.. this is more of a log to keep track and look back on previous messages, thoughts, visions, etc that seem to randomly come into mind through your day.

Why do this? This is a great tool for those who often doubt their instincts and those first thoughts about this or that. Use this journal to write down those gut feelings, those random messages that sneak into our minds, those visions of something unexpected. Later, you will be able to look back and see what came true, what didn’t…. you’ll see when you were spot on and when maybe you were on the right track but slightly off.

This journal is meant to help you begin trusting yourself and the inner knowing that you are always second guessing 🙂  It’s also a great way to become more aware of your thoughts and processes.

If you start keeping a Day Dream Journal.. let me know how it works for you .. I’d love to hear your stories!

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

All it Takes is Effort

A kind word, a smile, loving gesture or a little consideration can go a very long way. Please remember that… in all that you do. For any kind of relationship this is extremely important. Whether it’s be a friendship, family or a romantic  partner/spouse… you need to make sure that you have put forth some effort. Little actions, speak volumes and whether you think it is important or not .. it is!

Most relationships have one person that tends to be the giver and the other the receiver… if you are the receiver in the relationship it is ever so important that you not forget the giver and that although the giver may not “seem” like they NEED anything done for them, given to them, etc…  they in fact DO NEED some effort from you. They need to also feel loved, admired, needed, wanted, appreciated or just cared for in general. As the receiver you will never know the true efforts of the giver each day. You will never fully understand how much thought and preparation goes into everything that the giver says and does for you. Effort in return is all that’s needed. That’s all …. just some type of effort to let them know you care.

People come into our lives and we like to keep them there for whatever reasons…. we WANT them in our lives versus NEEDING them in our lives. Life may not be the same without them .. but it will go on. We will adapt and life will change but it always goes on. If you want to be in someone’s life make sure that you are also wanted because needs change.

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Daily Insight: Powers of the Moon

Today I pull the Moon card from the Vision Quest Deck and how fitting is it that at the end of this week we have a Blue Moon!! Yep, that’s right a Blue Moon! No, the moon won’t really be blue, as in the color blue… a Blue Moon is when we have 2 full moons in 1 month.. the Blue Moon is the second full moon of that month. They don’t happen very often, so that’s why the phrase “once in a blue moon”.

Understanding the moon cycles and the effects they have on us can help in many ways. Paying attention to when the moon is full or new is a start. You will notice how people change during these times. It’s not just the full moon that effects us… all phases of the moon have different effects on every person. When you keep track of the phases and watch the people around you.. you will begin to see how indeed the phases do take their toll.

Understanding how the phases effect you are even better. If you tend to become more emotional during a specific phase, you can then alter your thoughts and emotions a little bit better knowing that part of what you are feeling has more to do with the moon phase than anything else going on at that moment. Same goes if you tend to get happier, angrier, quieter or whatever the mood. Knowing why can help you far more than one might think. It allows you to step away from your emotions and see more clearly what’s really going and why you feel the way you feel so intensely.

As the moon cycles around the Earth and moves closer an further away, we know that the ocean is effected and the ocean is what?? WATER! What are we made up of??? Approximately 60% of water and our brain consists of 70% water.. and we wonder how on Earth the moon effects us so drastically… LOL

There is magic to be found in all things… the Moon, just another giant sphere of Magic!

Take the time to understand it, get to know it and then go with the flow of it!

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

The Keeper of Happiness

Question of the day:  Who’s the keeper of your happiness?

The answer should be: YOU!

I know through all my years of living that the above answer has rarely, if ever been “Me”. All too often I have allowed others to be the carrier of MY happiness. Why the heck have I done that!!!!! How many times do I have to do this to know that this is not how it works. Someone else should not determine how happy I am at any given moment. Easier said than done. I know many of you will nod your head and agree with me on that.

Whether it be that we just want to be equally liked, loved, admired, wanted or needed, we tend to place our happiness on others and usually without even telling them that we have done so. We do this with the pretense of thinking that they should just know that what they say and do effects YOUR happiness. Silly us… what are we thinking???

Many times we have done this and many times we end up in tears or just plain ol’ unhappy in general.  Yet we continue doing it, over and over again. Why oh why?

How do we stop this train wreck? Again, this is easier said than done… but we must find our own happiness. We have to stop handing it over to someone else and take care of it on our own. I’m really not sure how this is going to work and how effectively I can pull this off, but what I do know is that I have to try.  I have to start making a conscience effort daily to find that happy place inside myself and breathe in, breathe out and be content with each moment. I have to stop worrying if someone else likes me, loves me, admires me, wants me, cares for me, values me, or any other way someone interacts with or feels about me.

I have to find the happiness within myself.. in the ways that I’m not happy with myself, I need to make the necessary changes so that I can be happier who I am. I’m not saying one should be vain or conceited about themselves… no one likes arrogance. What I am saying though, is that we cannot base how we feel at any given point or another on whether or not someone else feels that way about us. 

Today is a new day .. today I vow to be happy with myself and within myself.. it’s not going to be easy … but nothing worth doing, ever is!

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Daily Insight – Medicine Woman

Take a good look at this card … she has inside her a light ever glowing.. the sun although it sets, it’s light continues to shine. She also reveals to us an endless river, flowing from the heart this river is symbolic of her love. She holds in her hands, fire. Surrounding her is Spirit and Universal energy. She reminds us of what we each carry inside ourselves. We have the tools and the power to create whatever life we want for ourselves and we have the ability to heal with our own resources.

She holds her head up, proud of who she is and what she carries inside herself. She knows what power she holds and she uses it wisely and to the best of her abilities.

Know your own abilities, know that you have within you the necessary tools and resources to create the life you want. The Medicine Woman does not wait to become.. SHE IS.

Become aware of your own abilities, your own medicine inside… and you will see your world transform.

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Toast Wins and a Thank You

I am beyond honored to have won again this year for Best Blog and Best Visual Artist in The Toast of Music City. I had convinced myself that I may have won for blog but was certain that I didn’t win for Artist this year. I was sitting there at the awards ceremony waiting for my categories to come up and first came Best Blog, which since I had been interviewed by the Tennessean for it I was certain I had won and I did 🙂  …. and then the Artist category came up and I waited to hear my name called .. 3rd place .. wasn’t me.. I thought “Oh I made it for 2nd” … 2nd place was called .. it wasn’t me.. OMG OMG OMG.. The I heard my name called out fir first place .. I almost cried I was so happy and what a wonderful surprise!

You guys encourage me and keep me creating and keep me writing. You all are the absolute Best! I love you all!

Thank you everyone.. I really could not have done it without all of you .. this win isn’t just for me.. I share it with each and everyone one of you … it was a group effort and I am truly honored that you all took the time to vote and make this happen 🙂

This award will hang on my wall and every time I look at it I will think about all of you out there who participated and made this happen for me. It brings me great honor and great joy to know that so many of you took the time to cast your votes. I really don’t know what else to say but Thank You Thank You Thank You!

Many Blessings,
Raventalker (doin my happy Raven dance!)

Here’s the article they wrote about me in today’s paper 🙂

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Daily Insight – Participating in the Negativity of Others

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Speaking to a dear friend this morning, I thought this might be a good place to help shine some positive light 🙂 .

Let’s say you are in a situation where you are around a lot of negativity. It can be really hard not to let that negativity venture over onto you. It’s like a virus spread with emotions, actions and all too often terrible words. You have to find the joy of each moment for you and distance yourself from what is theirs.

Remind yourself that the other person’s thoughts, emotions, actions, words and energy are theirs and not your own. Just as smiles, yawning and happiness is contagious.. so is negativity, especially when exposed to  it often. You just have to know what’s theirs is NOT yours. You don’t want it… you don’t need it and you are not what they are!

Be you… stay positive and excuse yourself from the negativity of others.

Something else that helps me… I keep a quartz crystal on my desk or in my office…. it takes on the energy of others and keeps it away from me..  it helps neutralize my space and      makes me feel all the better when negative crap is going on all around me. 

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Daily Insight – Transformation

In order for us to grow, there will be many periods of transformation in our lives. These transformations can be subtle and at other times they may seem chaotic and overwhelming.

Those more severe moments of our transformation tend to throw us for a loop and can send us off balance … there is reason for this. Once we lose our balance we must work to regain that balance. We change our position, our footing… and we readjust ourselves where we stand. Once we have regained our balance, the world around us has a different look, well it doesn’t look any different really, but we see it differently. Our vision comes then from a new perspective.

Remind yourself, when going through a seemingly chaotic situation that transformation is taking place and that soon you will have a new outlook on life. It doesn’t always change drastically.. but it does change.

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Daily Insight – Trusting Yourself

Trusting Yourself…. yeah … ok … this one is a HARD one!

I’m not sure about everyone else… but I was taught to question everything and that included myself. No one ever said to me that I shouldn’t trust myself but no one ever said I should either.

Looking back at my life so far.. I wish that I had someone to teach me to trust myself and my innermost feelings. Soooooooooooooo many things could have been avoided, had I gone with my instincts instead of questioning what I already knew and felt.

I cannot tell you exactly how to begin finding your own self trust… all I can say is that once you start believing in your own abilities and trusting your inner knowing.. life will start to come together as it has never done before. We all must find our own way down our individual path in life… my goal here is to be a flashlight in the night to help you see what is in front of you when all seems to be cloaked in the darkness of getting by.

I am here to tell you that it is well worth the efforts to stop doubting yourself, your abilities and your own knowing. I can tell you that when I have followed my instincts, I have found a much happier, healthy and enlightening trail along my path. The rewards are far more than just being right… the rewards go much deeper. Choosing to trust your intuition and following that knowledge, fills you with something that I cannot describe.. I only wish that you too will be able to experience the same.

Start out with small steps and pay attention to that stirring inside you that whispers.. turn this way … follow this road… stop… do this.. do that… or that whisper that tells you .. run … go the other way…. don’t travel that particular path. Whatever that whisper is inside you .. listen to it and trust it. The more you begin doing this.. the more you will start trusting and understanding who you are and where you belong and where you are going.

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Daily Insight: Fire

Today’s card: The Son of Fire

This card speaks of courage, strength, vitality and creativity. The image we see if a young boy sitting with a piece of hide on his lap and a bow in hand… What I see is untamed passion. A soul ready to take on the world. A heart willing to love without the worry of cost.

When we are young the world looks so different then when we age. In our younger years, anything is possible. The world is ours to change and mold any way we wish. As we age we find the obstacles that can get in our way. Some allow these obstacles to stop them and some battle until they overcome all gets in their way.

Today’s message is to find that youthful fire inside yourself and go at life with that same wild abandon. Obstacles are nothing more than what you allow them to be. The world is still yours to shape and mold how you would like it to be. So  smack those hands together.. warm them up and get to molding!

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Oh the Torment

What torments us can vary from huge assortment of issues that life can bring to the table. What torments us most however, is ourselves. Yep, we are the bully as well as the victim.

Take a good look at your way of thinking and doing and take note of which are not needed in your life. At some point there may have been a need for particular thoughts and behaviors, but are they still needed in your life today? Take another look at those thoughts and behaviors and why and how they began. Were they created solely from fear? Were they really needed then and are they needed now?

Well that’s all the food for thought I have for you today…

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Our Inner Medicine Man

Shuffling my cards this morning to see what message Spirit brings and straight away the medicine man card flew right out of my hands. A sure sign that we need to pay extra attention to the message this card brings us.

Ahhhhhhhhh yes… this message is very clear. You are already what you seek. Step away from “Wanting to Become” and dance in the reality of “What Is”.

This is something we all struggle at different points in our lives. We over think situations, over think our own thinking, over think our own knowing and our instincts… we over think everything . If we can find that place in ourselves where we can just allow things to be as they are and trust what we already know, feel and believe .. that’s where the magic happens.

We are already who we are suppose to be and we already have the gifts we wish to have… we just have to stop fighting with ourselves to allow ourselves to be just that and to use and trust those gifts that are already inside us.

So the message today is: There is a Medicine man in every one of us.. we just have to trust that knowledge and allow it to be so.

Many Blessings,
Raventalker