nature

Magical World of Healing

Get outside into nature and soak up some of that vitamin D from the sun.. plant your feet on the ground and allow the Earth help you in many ways. The Earth’s energy brings healing, grounding and balance. Whether you go on an adventure with others or just get out and adventure on your own.. either way .. get out there and explore and have fun!!!

Many Blessings,
Waya

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Cummins Falls

This morning I got up at 4 am so that I could drive 80 miles to Cookeville to then climb down to see Cummins Falls as the sun was coming up … it was a looooooooooong way to that waterfall but it was well worth the trek! My day started out driving while it was still dark and then the joys of watching the sun come up and paint the sky in beautiful colors. I went straight from beautiful painted sky to nothing but fog and then finally just as I came out of the fog bank I arrived at my destination. Hmmmmmm… the gate is closed. Check website for hours.. crap, I’m an hour early. Well, now I have time to get my backpack ready. I’m on the phone with my bestie laughing about me driving out so far and the park being closed when I guy clad in flannel steps out of the woods… I was like.. stay on the phone with me… LOL. He walked right past me and opened the gate! Thanks! And I was on my way. The sign said <– that way to Overlook and –> that way to downriver shortcut…. I’d hate to see what the long way looked like. After hiking down the side of the mountain I ended up in a very wide creek bed. Started hiking toward the waterfall and had to cross over the creek several times … and I kept walking .. and walking … wondering where the heck is this waterfall!!!

Finally I rounded a bend in the creek and it was heavenly!! So majestic and beautiful!

We won’t even think about talking about the hike back up!

Have a look!

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Natchez Trace Parkway – Jackson Falls

Jackson Falls and the Double Arch Bridge on Natchez Trace Parkway.. there is something quite mystical about this waterfall.. You’ll see that in the photos.

Here’s a video of my drive down the first few miles of Natchez Trace and photos below:

 

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Appreciating the Breeze

This morning I dragged my butt out of bed before 5 am and made my way to the lake with camera in hand. One of my biggest loves is capturing the beauty of nature on camera and sharing it with the world. This morning I found myself complaining A LOT! It went something like this:

What the hell was I thinking?
Why am I out in this heat this early in the morning!
My feet hurt
What’s that pain in my side, I don’t like that …
I’m hot
I’m covered in sweat
OH God, what am I doing
Too flippin late to turn back now
Where are all the animals, even they know it’s too hot for this shit
I’m exhausted already
I can’t breathe … where is the air????
God, it needs to rain!
I can’t wait to get back to my car and the bottle of Gatorade in the console
Oh, this is painful

And then something beautiful happened… I topped the ridge and a breeze came soaring through the trail. That moment when I first felt the breeze upon my skin was nothing less than heavenly. All the things I had been complaining about where non existent for that moment. There were no negative thoughts rushing through my mind any longer… just the wonderful sensation of that cool breeze and a thankful mindset. I made it back to my car with just a handful of photos to share but with a whole new appreciation for something else.

There is nothing more refreshing and beautiful than a breeze when you have been far too long in the stale air. 

Cardinal
Downy Woodpecker
Titmouse
Titmouse
Green Heron
Cardinal

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Lost in Nature

This morning before work, I took a nice long walk around the lake with camera in hand and I got lost. Not lost in a way that I needed to be found…but lost in the most beautiful way. Honeysuckle and jasmine filled the air and I was taken away.  The canopy of trees  overhead, the animals all chattering away just like when everyone gathers around the office in the mornings but so much better. The sights, the smells, the sounds … I was absolutely lost in this world and for a good while I wasn’t the least bit interested in being found. It’s a wonderful feeling to step away from the busy hustle and bustle of life and enjoy the tranquility of nature. I walked roughly 3 miles around the lake at a quick pace this morning but instead of feeling tired and drained, I am refreshed, excited and full of new found energy. My thoughts were not of worries about work, life, bills, projects or anything else of the sort… instead, my thoughts drifted from the pure pleasures of my surroundings like when a breeze would sweep through the trails and  suddenly I found myself drenched in the scent of honeysuckle and jasmine. I walked along and looked at everything I could possibly fill my eyes with. The way the clouds and the sun danced in the sky, the way the trees moved with the wind, the silhouettes of wildlife in the distance, the way the trail would seem to disappear and come back again as I made my way, the way the water sparkled in the sunlight and the colors that painted the Earth. I was lost and it was the most wonderful feeling ever.

Here are some photos of my walk this morning: (For more of my nature photos visit my photo blog http://natureblessings.wordpress.com )


Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Through Their Eyes


Tonight I leave you with something to ponder.

Take a moment if you will.. maybe even a few and think about what the world looks like through their eyes. What does the forest, the lake, the spring, the meadow and the field look like through their eyes?

What we see and what they see is different…even though it is also the same. It’s the same meadow but to the mouse, it’s home and to the deer it’s dinner, to the butterfly and the bee it’s sweetness and to the birds, a free place to soar.

What do we look like through their eyes? How does it look to them when we invade their space without care or thought of where we walk and how? What does it feel like to you when you think about someone doing the same to your space, your home, your safety?

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Why Nature?

This afternoon while I was out taking photos in the great outdoors I came to a few realizations. Nature does a lot of things for us but here’s a few of the lesser known or at least probably the most overlooked.

why nature

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Reflections in Nature
morning dew

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There is just something about this photo I took this morning that I feel drawn too…. hmmmmmmmmmmmmm whatever could it be?

Maybe its the quiet of an early morning.
Maybe its the tranquility that resonates within while out in nature.
Maybe its the light.
Maybe its the reflections from within.
Maybe its the sparkle!

There is something in nature that we can all identify with. Take time in your days to sit and reflect for a while. Connect yourself with the source of Mother Nature and allow the peace to fill you. Spending time outside brings about balance, rejuvenation and peace within.

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Guided

Have you had that feeling that you are being guided to do something particular for some unknown reason?

I get that feeling all the time. I never know how it will turn out until it does 🙂

So today I am sitting at my desk at work and I am drawn to get up with my camera and go outside. I walk out the front door for a moment and it didn’t feel just right so I walked toward the back of the building and just as I stepped outside .. I looked down and found this staring back at me .. waving hello!

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Instead of picking it up I just took it’s photo and whispered a little thank you.

I walk on over to a stone retaining wall and saw this dandelion standing all alone it’s it bright and beautiful glory. My thought

was… how great it is to take pleasure in ordinary things like this lone dandelion. 

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I stepped back for a moment and as I looked down … here was another clover waving hello 🙂 … again I just took it’s photo and whispered my thank you. 

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I could hear some birds in the distance making a bunch noise. I figured it was young ones wanting to be fed. I stepped down toward the end of the wall to see what else there was to see and I looked up to find this Red-Tailed Hawk being bullied by a Mockingbird. He must have been too close to the Mockingbird’s nest.

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Uh oh .. I’ve been spotted! hawk 2

Here’s the following photos that I was lucky enough to capture.

 

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When you follow that inner guide.. you just never know what experiences await!

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Clearing Energy

candleHave you ever had one of those days where everything seems to get to you? It feels that everything that got added to your to-do list was a burden and with each task you felt more and more weighed down. You can feel the negativity building inside you. How do you get past this and how do you clear yourself of this bad energy?

I use a few techniques: 

Smudge  – Smudge is a mixture of herbs that are used just for their properties of clearing away bad or negative energy. You light them and let them smolder.. swirling the smoke around your space.. clearing away all that mad mojo.

Light a Candle – As I light the candle I imagine all the negativity inside and around me burning away and as the candle burns it continues to burn away all that bad, icky stuff.

Meditation – Take a few deep breaths… close your eyes… let go of everything … imagine all good energy taking over as you breathe in and all bad energy leaving you as you exhale.

Step Outside – Nature is a great way to get away from bad energy… just stepping out onto the ground  – taking in fresh air can be very helpful.

If none of the above work… SCREAM! LOL… seriously if you are able to do it .. sometimes a good shout out can release you from all that pent of negativity.

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Beauty in Odd Places

So I was working in one of our other offices today .. across the parking lot is a weed infested bank. I grabbed my camera and said .. I’ve got to go take pictures of those weeds… I believe I then heard the words “You’re crazy” …. was I?   Beauty is every where … our world becomes what we see right in front of us. We can look at something and see it’s faults and short comings .. or we can see the beauty that is born in all things.  Trash or Treasure… You Decide!

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Many Blessings,
Raventalker

The Birth of a New Day

How to start your day with magic: Rise before the sun and behold the wonders that reveals themselves before you.

A co-worker said to me yesterday, “You see things the rest of us miss”. She had said this after I had sent her a photo I had taken yesterday afternoon of a cloud with a silver lining and a rainbow effect.

Life is what you open yourself up to see. You can walk around with your eyes focused on the ground, watching your every step.. or you can lift your eyes to the wonders that are around you. It’s a choice… a conscious effort.

What choices will you make today?

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Magical Mondays – Where Do You Go?

Often, when I go to bed I meditate before going to sleep. In my meditation I always go to the same place, I guess you might call this my happy place. I had never given this place much thought until recently. The other night as I made my way to that familiar place, I paused for a moment and gave more thought to that place and why I go there and how it makes me feel. I’d like to share with you now, my thoughts about my own happy place.

My happy place is a creek bank on the edge of a large field. Behind me is a row of trees that separates the bank from the open field. The bank is slightly sloped and filled with tall grasses. I can hear the water softly rambling just below where I lay in the tall grass. It’s always a sunny beautiful day with the random fluffy cloud that may pass by as a gentle breeze flows through the air. The smell of nature fills my senses and the warm sun gives me that cozy feeling of love and happiness. The birds sing their songs and fly overhead, often landing for a moment in the trees…. butterflies flutter across the land and I am at home.

I am alone, there on the creek bank and yet not afraid, not worried, not lonely, never sad or upset. When I go to that place, that little creek bank I am whole, I am happy and I am at peace. I lay there taking in the warmth of the sun, the nurturing feeling of the ground beneath me and the bliss that nature provides. I lay there first thinking of my breathing, slowing my pace and getting myself settled in for whatever journey Spirit wishes to bring my way.

In the past I would go to my place, do my thing and then on into the meditations, but in this moment I took the time to fully appreciate the entire process. Appreciating my happy place and all that it offered, how it made me feel and the content that it brings me.

So, now that you have heard all about my happy place… give a little more thought to your own… where do you go and why?

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Morning Muse

I hate waking at 5am only because my bed is so soft and comfy in the mornings, it’s hard to pull myself from that comfort… but ….. Just have a look at what I would miss if I didn’t rise so early.

Below are a few photos I captured this morning as the sun was beginning to rise.

The moon before it fades into the daylight sky. – click to enlarge –

The sun as it rises above the horizon – click to enlarge –

The doves sunning in the trees – click to enlarge –

 

the new light bouncing off the color as the fall leaves begin to change – click to enlarge –

the beauty of the sky as night now becomes day – click to enlarge –

 

photo opportunities for my artwork – click to enlarge –

 

morning dew glistening off the spider webs – click to enlarge –

 

Many Blessings for a wonderful day,
Raventalker

 

 

 

 

 

Magical Moments

I am having a really odd.. yet wonderful day today. I just have to share my experience this morning…

So,  get this.. first off right out of my house I see the 2 deer in my back yard..

As I am typing up my daily blog .. today about the deer.. I finish the blog.. turn to look out

my window and 2 rabbits are out there

along with about 6 or more different birds..

lol.. I have meditation music playing in the background …  I grab my camera and snap a couple of pics of the rabbits … so I plug my camera back up to the computer to upload the rabbit photos off my camera and I hear this crow sounding off.. I thought … hmmmmmmm is that in my music? so turned around to double check and nope there are 2 crow cousins out there now! I’m starting to feel like snow white in the magical forest this morning!! lol..

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Oh and lets not forget this Mocking bird that popped in to say hello as I was taking pictures of the Crows

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and one last note: while I was typing this story up… I paused to tell my story to a co-worker friend and right as I started my story a dove flew onto my window ledge looking right inside .. straight at us.. lol.. my friend stopped in her tracks to say.. “well hello there!”

Giggles… looking forward to what’s next!

Many Blessings,
Raventalker 

Get Out!!

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Get out this weekend and enjoy a bit of the great outdoors… connect in some way with nature…

Let the wind blow through your hair …. let go all your worries and stress..

Dip your toes in a mountain stream … follow a path less traveled and take in all the natural wonders around you.

Enjoy Creators gift to us all… and let your heart be filled with love.

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Common Things

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I was out in the yard taking photos of just random stuff …..

My daughter walked over to me and asked..”Mom, what are you doing?”

I said.. taking pictures of this …. she said.. thats JUST A WEED !

I said … but it’s a beautiful weed… she said.. you are so weird…

So today my wisdom is about finding that beauty in the common things that surround us everyday …

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Have You?

>sun, moon, raventalker

The Wind..
have you stepped outside and stood still just to feel the wind .. how it rushes by you and wraps its translucent arms around you .. have you allowed it to wipe clean all the negativity from your being .. and allowed it to take all that is not good away from you have you taken in the beauty of the wind and the freedom that it symbolizes. Have you?

The Rain
have you stood out in the rain lately and just allowed it to drench your soul.. let it wash over your body and wash away your worries.. your fears.. your sadness and your grief have you felt the rains watery embrace have you felt the beauty of the rain .. have you allowed the rain to fill you with love and nourishment have you taken in all that the rain symbolizes and gives .. have you?

The Sun
have you laid upon a bed of clover on a sunny day and allowed the suns rays to fill you with light.. from the inside out have you felt the suns warmth .. have you felt its warm embrace hold you and comfort you have you seen the beauty of the sun and all that it gives.. have you allowed the sun to help you grow like the flowers in the field .. the trees in the park and the roses in the garden .. have you?

The Moon
have you sat beneath the full moon and seen its beauty have you felt the magic .. the power the moon holds.. have you allowed the moon to embrace you and hold you within the dark night have you felt the moons love .. have you been witness to the many gifts the moon allows.. have you?

Have YOU?
Have you felt what the world around you gives? Do you know of the magic that surrounds us all? Have you listened to the world and have you heard the secrets the earth whispers in your ears .. ? Can you feel its energy? Do you know the love?

Even tho so ignored by most .. the Earth , she still gives.. she still loves..
many take and take and take .. and yet never even think of giving back or even to say thank you .. She has no breaks no vacations.. no pay and no acknowledgment .. but yet she continues to give.. continues to care and continues to take care of all the children that play upon her surface..

Today take a minute and think about what you do .. think about how you would feel if so mistreated and ignored

Just think about it ..

Many Blessings,
Raventalker