Monday Message from Merlin 11-30-09

Greetings to you all today. I am called Merlin, and I am the Master Teacher of the one called Rose who holds this sacred writing space. I am very pleased to be with you today and to have the opportunity to connect with you in this fashion. It is always a privilege and an honor for those of us in the spirit world to interact with those of you who have chosen to take on a physical existence on the earth plane at this time. It is a hard path you souls have chosen, make no mistake, and we, your spirit guides and helpers, admire and honor you for knowing that the work you do in your physical lifetime will help you to advance in your spiritual journey. Those of us who are your teachers also advance as we work with you and guide you in your life. This is, how you say, mutually beneficial to us both! You advance and learn; we advance and learn. I am blessed to have been brought many important lessons essential to my own spiritual journey by working with Rose. I learn and grow even more by bringing you all messages in this way, and this work becomes part of my progression. Isn’t that amazing, how  so many of our experiences shape us into the spiritual souls we are? We are ever-evolving beings of the Light, each and every one of us. Yes, Master Teachers still have things to learn! We are not all-knowing and all-powerful. We seek only to serve the Divine, and in this quest, we take on students that we know will help us to learn all we can in our journey. I am thankful every day for the opportunity to work with Rose. Rest assured, beloved of Creator, that your own Master Teachers feel the same way about you! They want to work with you; they long to interact with you in your personal lives.

“But how?” I hear you say. “I do not know my Master. How can I interact with him?”

You must seek your guides in the quiet of meditation, my beloved friends. If you have any hope of making spirit contact a constant in your life, you must make this a priority, something that you seek every day. Do you not seek the company of your close family, your spouse, your children, every day? Is this not how you maintain an intimate and compassionate relationship with these cherished loved ones? You must also do this with your guides. We cannot help you, counsel you, or sustain you in any way unless we have your permission to be active forces in your life. We want nothing more than to be your best friend, the one who listens to your problems and helps to find solutions, the one who celebrates your accomplishments with you with a light and proud heart. Seek your guide in the quiet of your mind. Set your intention: that you wish to connect with the spirit guide closest to you at this time, the one who most wants to work with you right now. Breathe deeply and slowly, and let all other thoughts go. Keep bringing your mind back to this intention if other thoughts intrude. And then, say to yourself, “I open the door to the spirit world and invite in my spirit teacher now.” Look! Hear! See! Feel! Understand! What do you experience? Everything is important! Your guide wants to communicate with you, but some will send messages through visions, some through inner thoughts and auditory sounds, some through feelings, some through emotions. None are right and none are wrong–they simply are, and you only need to notice everything you feel, hear, sense, see, or experience. Tell yourself you will remember everything. Allow these sensations to wash over and through you, and know that you are in the presence of your teacher. You can and should return to this meditative experience every day. The more you try to connect with your teacher, the stronger your abilities will become, and the more you will learn about your spirit helper. Write these things down in a notebook–record your experiences so you can revisit them if you need to. Above all, trust what you receive! It is all pertinent to your development. You may not understand it at first. Write it down anyway, then go back later with a clear mind and see if you can decipher what the message is. Many times, we speak in symbolism from Spirit, for it is easier and quicker. You will figure the message out–ask for our help in deciphering it, if need be! Do you see? There is always help for you–we are right here, waiting!

My partner in this work, Rose, often is busybusybusy. She sometimes forgets about me and doesn’t have time to sit in meditation. Although this disappoints me, I am never angry with her. Your teachers do not get angry with you! They understand that you must do many other things in the course of your lifetime, and it is hard sometimes to remember things you cannot see with your physical eye. No matter what, we will remain with you until you exit the earth plane–and then, we will see you in the spirit planes!

Try this today. Connect with your guide. It doesn’t matter if you know your guide’s name or anything about him–simply set your intention, and trust the information that comes to you in your quiet time. What have you got to lose? It could be the best and most important meeting you ever attend!

And now, my friends–I leave you in peace and love. Be well, be happy, and know you are infinitely loved!

Merlin

What’s in the Cards for Tarot Tuesday?

Well, folks, you’re probably shocked to see a blog post from me. I should apologize for not diligently updating lately. Honestly, I just haven’t been feeling very enthusiastic about much of anything. I’ve been trying to prep workshops for next year, and I’ve been thinking about possible book projects for the future. But I haven’t had much energy for anything else beyond going in to my office and working with clients in that capacity. I think perhaps the summer is catching up to me, a time when I really tried to get two days worth of work in one 24-hour period on a regular basis. Right now, it seems the Universe is telling me to ease up, to lean back in my chair and to appreciate the softness of the cushion, and to just stop trying to live up to all of these false deadlines that I myself have imposed.

So, to that end, I’m contemplating what I should do from here on out with the blog. I don’t think I’ll be doing Tarot Tuesday any longer, but I still want to occasionally feature Tarot and its mysteries and meanings. The Monday Messages from Merlin will continue, I know, but they may not come every Monday. I think Spirit is leading me to be less structured about the blog and more fluid with the postings.

I hope you all will continue to read, no matter what comes up and what topics Spirit impresses upon me to address. I mean, honestly, if it weren’t for you, why would I blog in the first place?

*****

On another note: I do want to take this opportunity to wish all of my American friends a happy, safe, and blessed Thanksgiving. I don’t need to ask you all to think about what you’re grateful for–I know each of you already does that, because you’re all wonderful people who appreciate the good things in your lives. I do want you to know, however, how much I appreciate you spending some of that quality time here with me.

Image by Charles M. Schultz

Victory of Light Expo This Weekend

For those of you in the Greater Cincinnati area, I’ll be working all weekend at the Victory of Light Expo. The Expo is open on Saturday and Sunday from 10 am until 7 pm.  I will present “Quick and Easy Tarot,” a two-hour workshop where you can learn simple and fast ways to read Tarot cards and receive accurate, inspirational messages. The workshop is $20, and it will be interactive and a great, fun experience for beginners or more advanced Tarot enthusiasts. “Quick and Easy Tarot” will be presented at 11 am on Saturday, November 21. On Sunday, November 22, I will channel my Master Teacher, Merlin, in a one-hour presentation called “Messages from Merlin.” This begins at 11 am., and a love donation will be accepted for this demonstration. I will explain the trance process and then open myself up to accept Merlin’s energy and allow him to speak and answer questions posed by the audience.

I will also be at my booth space on Saturday and Sunday, selling and signing my books. I will be doing a limited number of private readings at the festival as well, mostly in the afternoons. If you’d like to get a reading, please stop by my booth early and sign up for a time as slots tend to fill up quickly.

For more details about the fair, please keep reading. I hope to see you there!

Victory of Light Expo
November 21 & 22, 2009
Sharonville Convention Center

The Victory of Light Expo comes to the Sharonville Convention Center
November 21 and 22, 2009, 10am-7pm each day. One of the country’s
largest metaphysical conventions for the general public, the expo
features the world of parapsychology, psychic development and holistic
healing. This is Cincinnati’s premier body, mind and spirit event.

The expo showcases a large variety of intuitive and holistic
practitioners who will provide personal readings and healings. Over
200 tables of merchandise such as jewelry, crystals, clothing, art,
books and spiritual and wellness products will be available for
purchase.

Over 50 seminars will also be offered including several free public
demonstrations of psychic abilities such as soul mate readings,
mediumship, psychic handwriting analysis, past life readings, angel
messages, clairvoyance and channeling.

Internationally recognized holistic physician and author Lewis Mehl-
Madrona will present the seminars, “Native American Ceremony & Ritual”
and “Narrative Healing: Change the Story, Change the Person.” Mehl-
Madrona is author of the best-seller Coyote Medicine as well asCoyote
Healing, Coyote Wisdom, and the recently published Narrative Medicine.

Live New Age music will be provided by keyboardist Lighthawk Mark
Kenworthy, New York’s The Gypsy Nomads who will perform their
trademark French Gypsy Celtic Folk Rock, award winning Native American
flutist Douglas Bluefeather and singer Terri Rivera Piatt. Belly
dances will be performed by Emerald Breeze Dance Ensemble.

Admission: $12 one day, $20 two days. Seniors and students $2 off.
Children 12 and under free. Parking is free.

The Sharonville Convention Center is located at 11355 Chester Road,
Cincinnati, OH 45246. (Exit 15/Sharon Road exit on I-75, west to
Chester Road, right on Chester. The Convention Center is on the left.
Look for the bright pink banners.)

Complete details about the expo including links to presenters’ and
exhibitors’ websites and a detailed seminar schedule are available at the website.

Monday Message from Merlin 11-16-09

Greeting to you all! I speak to you tonight from the realms of Spirit, learning, and love beyond measure! I am Merlin, the Master Teacher of my beloved Rose, who writes here for me as I speak through her. I am honored to come to you tonight in this blessed energy of the Dark Moon. This is a time of spiritual rest and recuperation, the Dark Moon, when the magick of the cyclical monthly energy ebbs and curves inward so that we may all examine what is within ourselves. It is a time to revisit desires, wishes, and goals. It is a time to hibernate, as the animals do, to rebirth our energies once more when the moon begins to wax. In the darkness, we confront the deepest parts of ourselves: our fears, our frustrations, our anger, our human desires. We recognize the sides of ourselves that make us the most human, the aspects we most need to work on in our quest for richer and better spiritual understanding. We confront our demons, so to speak, in the stillness within ourselves, knowing that the Light burns brightly even in our darkest corners. We do not fear this darkness, for we know we are never, ever alone. We are united with the One, the All, the Infinite, and this is the way we become friends with the darkness. This is the way we accept the lesser aspects of ourselves, the qualities which need improvement. We come to the understanding that we need all of these parts of ourselves to be truly whole, and truly human. We embrace the darkness; we sit quietly within it, blessing it and the lessons it brings to us. In the Dark Moon phase of the month, we rest in silence and appreciate stillness, for it brings us in tune with our soul. It aligns us with the Void, and it is no longer frightening.

Tonight, be still. Sit in a dark room, a dark place, and be at peace with the darkness around you. Know that it is similar to the void within you. Do not judge your feelings about this darkness, but be serene in its presence. For within the Dark Moon, within the black void, there is Light, always. No matter how large and overwhelming the darkness seems, the Light always returns. That is Natural Law and the universal cycle of energy. Sit, sit, sit. Breathe in and breathe out. Be.

The darkness is nothing to fear. You are a divine being. Nothing can harm you. Know this, and know peace.

I send much love, honor, and many blessings to you all!

Merlin

*****

For those of you in the Greater Cincinnati area, I will be channeling Merlin in person at the Victory of Light Expo on Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 11 a.m. The Expo is held at the Sharonville Convention Center on Chester Road. I will also be doing a workshop, “Quick and Easy Tarot,” on Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 11 a.m. at the Expo. After each presentation, I will greet people, sell and sign books, and do a limited number of personal readings (for a fee) in my expo booth space. I would love to see you at the fair! For more information, please visit the Victory of Light website.

Mistakes and Falls from Grace

A few days ago, one of my favorite clients came in to see me for a massage. I’ve been a licensed massage therapist in the state of Ohio for nearly 14 years, so by now, most of my massage clients know that I am also a minister, a medium, and a published author. Many of my massage clients have even decided to receive a reading at some point. For some of them, it was a brand new experience, something they had never done and were very nervous about trying. Some have gotten one reading and have never scheduled another; some have come over the years for several readings. I never read anything into any of these decisions by my clients. I always ask Spirit to bring to me the people that can be most helped by my work, and I trust that this is what will happen.

Anyway, this particular massage client has had readings with me and other people before, so she is no stranger to the intuitive process. She is also very intuitive herself, and we often discuss these matters during her sessions. At her last appointment, she’d shared with me that she’d bought tickets to a celebrity medium’s local appearance, and she was going to take her dad. She was excited to take her father because she was hoping he’d hear from her mother, his wife, on the Other Side. I hoped the same thing–it’s such a blessing when someone who really wants to hear a message from a departed loved one is able to have that experience!

My client told me during her recent session that they’d gone to see Celebrity Medium. Now, I’m not going to mention any names here because I think it’s unfair to do so. I wasn’t at the large group session that was conducted, so I didn’t see the proceedings with my own eyes. But my client was very disappointed in the manner in which Celebrity Medium (CM for short) conducted the readings for the audience. She said that CM was very accurate in the readings, which is usually easy to gauge by watching the reactions of those receiving messages, so this was not a disappointment. The thing she really disliked about the experience was CM’s brash and negative way of talking to the audience members. She said that at the beginning of CM’s appearance, CM told the audience members not to shake their heads or say “No” in response to a piece of information given. CM warned the audience that this broke down the communication process and wouldn’t be tolerated. Then my client told me that when an audience member did this during a message from CM, CM said, “What did I tell you at the beginning? You suck! I’m not working with you. Sit down!” The reading was ended right then and there, and CM abruptly moved on to someone else. Apparently CM berated the audience several more times during the appearance, creating a negative energy and a bad taste in my client’s mouth.

I listened to this recounting of events with a heavy heart. I have no reason to believe that my client would make up this story. I told her that I was sorry to hear this, that maybe CM had had a bad day and was in a particularly agitated mood, that it happens to the best of us sometimes. But I couldn’t help feeling that I was apologizing on behalf of my chosen work for someone that made us all look bad. To actually say, “You suck” to someone in your audience, someone who has spent hard-earned money hoping to see you and to hear a message from a loved one (and believe me, these CMs get a heck of a lot of money for appearances like these)? To belittle someone publicly for not following your orders? To me, this sounds like “bullying mediumship,” where an overbearing medium almost forces a sitter to accept a piece of information by wearing the sitter down verbally. And honestly, it broke my heart to hear it. This CM is someone I’ve admired in the past, someone I’ve tried to emulate in my own work. Yes, I do believe CM could’ve had a bad day, and that bad mood permeated CM’s work in an unfortunate way. I like to give the benefit of the doubt. But as much as it upset me to hear it, I know it was brought to my attention so that I could work on it in my own mediumship.

I tend to be tenacious in public mediumship demonstrations. If no one in an audience takes a particular description that I get at the beginning of a message, I tell them, “Yes, someone here DOES know this person. You do. Think!” I do this, though, in what I consider to be a light-hearted way. I am not trying to belittle someone in the audience for not remembering his dead people. We all have moments where we can’t remember someone who’s passed, or we don’t recall a particular trait about that person. It’s OK. The medium may have to work harder to find where the spirit goes, but she will succeed in getting the message to the person who needs to hear it. But throwing a fit in a public demonstration and telling an audience member that you’re not going to work with her isn’t going to solve anything. It’s only going to create a more hostile energy, which is going to make your job as a medium even harder. And what about working from a place of love? I know we all get frustrated with our fellow human beings sometimes. But love is the vibrational link that makes mediumship work. If you can’t maintain an energy of love while you’re doing this work, you’re going to lose your link–at least, that’s what happens to the mediums that I know. How did CM stay connected to Spirit after throwing that little tantrum? I don’t know. Maybe CM knows some tricks that I don’t. I can say, though, that I’m sure CM didn’t make any more fans that evening. In fact, CM may have lost some, which is unfortunate.

I think the bottom line is this: no matter what our profession, we need to treat others with respect and love. Sure, it can be frustrating to work with others sometimes. If you’re a medium, you may be annoyed that your sitter can’t remember her Uncle Frank, who is telling you everything about himself while she shakes her head no no no. It is still your job as the medium to deliver the information and the message and to allow that sitter to mull it over in her own time. And it is part of your job to be as patient as possible and to stay focused on the love vibration that you need to perpetuate. Your ego about being right doesn’t matter one iota. Spirit and the person you are serving are the things that do matter.

Sending you love, peace, and blessings. xox

Tarot Tuesday 11-3-09

This is a different kind of Tarot Tuesday post, because I’m in a different kind of mood.

In all honestly, I’m not sure what kind of mood I’m in. For the last several days, I’ve been feeling very out of sorts. I am distracted and edgy, and I can’t seem to concentrate for long periods on much of anything. I feel restless, like I need to be doing something, but I can’t put my finger on what it is I need to do. I have tons of things that I should be doing, but that is an entirely different matter. I have these bouts periodically, and they usually herald a significant change in my life. Sometimes it’s a new project or a new direction. This time, I’m not sure what it means–or, if it means anything at all. Maybe this particular full moon energy is just making me crazier than normal (I’m a Cancer–full moons usually effect me quite a lot in many different ways).

So tonight, I’m in a Hanged Man kind of mood. So instead of doing a reading, which may or may not have been especially on-target due to my unexplainable erratic energy, I thought it might be a good time to do a Tarot Meditation. I like to use the Tarot as a meditation tool. One way to do this is to select a card from the deck that you feel drawn to at this particular time and move into the card’s energy and pictured scene in a meditative experience. Let’s remember what the Hanged Man, Major Arcana 12, looks like in the Rider-Waite deck:

There he is, hanging by his one ankle, upside down. Notice that on either side of the tree branch (bar? wand? stave?) from which he hangs, there is a huge crop of new, growing leaves. He hangs easily from his ankle, not seeming to be in any pain or discomfort in this position, and his hands are behind his back, signifying submission. Around his head, we see the glow of his aura, or perhaps a symbolic representation of higher consciousness or wisdom, much like in famous paintings of saints and other great masters. What is happening here in this image? The Man hangs on his tree, content in his place, still, silent, contemplating. He is not bound or held there by anything but one small knot of rope and his own choice; he can release himself from this position at any time. And yet, he waits, silent, and we understand that enlightenment is what he seeks. He already has spiritual knowledge (the halo), but there is something else he seeks, and he goes within himself to find it, where the Divine dwells, patiently waiting.

Take a few moments yourself to look at this image. What speaks to you here? How do you feel as you gaze upon it? Notice your feelings, where they are in your body, what they feel like. Don’t analyze them; simply breathe and feel them, and allow them to be with you.

Now close your eyes, and see the image of the Hanged Man in your mind. As you watch, the image comes alive. Breathe and be with the Hanged Man in his position of supplication and acceptance. What in your life do you need to accept? Keep breathing, and find the acceptance of your own self in the quiet serenity of your mind. Be in this silence; be comfortable within it. There is nowhere else you need to be right now except in your own place of peace.

Now, as you stay in this peaceful place, see light within your mind. It may just be light, a calm, beautiful light. It may be another image, a picture or a word. Whatever it is, this is something you need right now in your life. Just notice what you see and know that you will understand it at a later time. Be present and do not allow your mind to wander away; give yourself the gift of undivided attention. Know that whatever you see, sense, hear, feel, or experience, you will remember it. This is the gift of the Divine, and the Hanged Man is the portal for you to receive it at this time.

Now…slowly open your eyes. What gift did you receive?

As I sat in the Hanged Man’s stillness tonight and saw the light, I also saw the prow of a huge ocean liner cutting through the light, coming right toward me. I don’t know yet what this means, but I feel I am moving forward somehow, whether I can see it or not. I am reminded of how, on the cruises that I’ve taken, you are in the middle of a vast ocean and can see nothing around you for miles and miles, yet you are moving speedily through the water without any sense of that movement at all. I think this is the Hanged Man’s message for me tonight.

What’s yours? What does he have to say to you?

Monday Message from Merlin 11-2-09

Image by Julia Guthrie. Used with permission.

Greetings to all of you on this fine day. I am Merlin, the Master Teacher of this lovely being called Rose, with whom I work and serve. It is my pleasure to interact with you all today since I have been absent from this space for awhile. Rose has been busy with so many things in her everyday life, as I know many of you are busy with your own priorities. It is nice, however, to take some moments every day to go within, to find the still point of peace that is the Divine, and to honor it by sitting quietly in a state of blissful be-ing.