Spirit Bear by Guest Writer, Cappy Sue

Some time ago I had a loss of faith. My soul was longing to reconnect with the spirit of the world and I felt estranged from my spirit guides and their guidance. I found myself wishing for clarity and in need of signs. So for the first time in a long time I meditated with my crystals, feeling sure that I would have to pay for my lack of diligence and be forced to work really hard to get back into the zone, but I was lucky, my body relaxed and my mind free-fell into that dizziness that signified ‘the zone’.

I could smell the pines and nature and slowly my eyes became clear as if I had washed a window and watched it dry. Suddenly my feet felt snow and a cool breeze fell upon me while ahead of me was a bear, a large brown bear.

The bear appeared non-threatening, like a friend. It looked at me from over its sizeable shoulders and rump with what appeared to be a smile on its face. Then it turned around and walked toward the edge of a forest while standing up on its hind legs. It raised its paws at the large full moon that had lit its path against the snow and then slowly made it’s way into the woods. It seemed to be saying, "Come see me any time…I'll be watching you” and somehow I was comforted by this.

This image has stuck with me because it was the first time I had seen my spirit guide as a bear. While mulling over this image the artist in me finally came out and I made a charcoal and watercolor drawing of the bear that always brings me peace and I realized that I needed a good name for this drawing, not just “The Bear” so off I went to look up synonyms for the word ‘bear.’ This is when I realized that Ursa was the name for bear.

When my parents were first married they had a child by the name of Ursula and she passed away within a few hours of being born. Now when I meditate I feel a kinship with this sister I never knew as if she's right here with me.

More about Cappy Sue:
Well my real name is Cathy but I like to write under "Cappy Sue". I am thirty-one and married to a lovely man and I am a mama to a house full of furry babies. My dreams keep me up most nights and often become stories or paintings. I truly believe that we all make choices, but that some things are pre-destined, and that if we keep our ears open and listen, there is always a divine voice whispering and offering us help along the way.

You can find more of Cappy Sue's artwork and writing here:
www.cappysuecreations.blogspot.com
www.cappysue.etsy.com

To read more metaphysical articles by Guest Writers please go here.

Scent Awareness & Using Your Search Engines by Guest Writer Cindy S.

You don't need me to tell you about aromatherapy. Type it into your search engine and you'll get something like 189,000,000 hits telling you all about it. I'm no scent expert, but I am always astonished at people who can identify top, middle and dry down notes.

What I am is a scent addict. I'm also betting that you have some strong, personal opinions about the smells with which you surround yourself. Quick, look at the time, give yourself a minute and think of your top five favorite smells.Go ahead. Write them down or hit reply and type them in. I'll wait - sings badly, Tori Amos's - 'Sweet The Sting'.

Did you choose a floral scent? Outdoor smells? Food smells? Sweet? Sharp? Musty? An idiosyncratic scent - something that is meaningful to you, but not 'mainstream'? Did you choose a variety of scents? (You can also find out what kind of scent personality you are online - there really is a quiz for everything online!) My favorite smells are, in no particular order: the smell of my childrens heads when they were babies, good cooking smells, how it smells outside after a rain or snow storm (oh yeah, snow does have a scent), lilies, and lemon.

One of the best surprises for me this year was discovering I love scented oils that smell heavily like cookies or candy. For years, I had been associating those smells with some dolls my daughter had: cloying, overly-fruity, overly-bakery. Those smells have grown up now.

There are perfumiers performing all sorts of alchemy with what appears to be unlikely pleasant scents: smoke, pepper, dirt, and ozone and they are coming up with some rather magical combinations (Like how it smells outside after a rain or snow storm). Type in the 'scent of ___________ (whatever you want)' above and chances are someone has it in oil form or mixed with something else. And a lot of places offer reasonably priced samples.

Now here are some aromatherapy hints I can't resist passing along!

1. Can't get your kid to do homework? Try giving them peppermint candy or gum. Or you could dribble lemon oil or spray a lemony perfume about. Both of these scents are wake up and work scents.

2. Can't get your kid to calm down? Try a vanilla candy or putting a vanilla scented something near them. Lavender is calming too, but some kids are really put off by the smell. Vanilla is more fun anyway. (You can buy pencils with these scents too. Type it into your search engine above!)

3. We might appear younger when wearing a pink grapefruit, vanilla or baby powder scent.

4. We might be perceived as thinner by wearing a zingy floral scent or something like a mens aftershave! I can partially attest to this. I once accidentally bought the mens version of a very popular perfume. I have never received so many compliments on a scent, turns out it had tobacco in it!

5. If you test a perfume and the first thing you smell is alcohol, pass on it. There's very little actual scent in there and what is there will disappear quickly.

6. And if you can't sleep, dab a dot of your favorite scent or perfume on each wrist. Just a dot will relax you. Are you looking up at the long, blank space above and thinking, "Hmmmmm, I wonder if there's something that smells like...." This is all for fun. Go for it.

Write me here with all YOUR favorite scents, please! One of my favorite online places for scents is Possets.com


About Cindy S.

I am a Pisces (engaged to a Scorpio), live in a Chicago suburb, have 2 grown children (son aged 26, Aquarius and daughter aged 23, Pisces). I have been a Special Ed teacher for a very long time. I am interested in astrology, familiars and aromatherapy. I have also been collecting 'rocks', gemstones, charms and crystals since I was a child. I am not an expert on any of these topics, but a very willing student. I also write and love to read. I believe we are sent here on earth to help each other---things you do come back to you---even in seemingly the smallest ways.

You can read more posts by Guest Writers here.
To submit your own metaphysical stories please go here.

Spirit Bear by Guest Writer, Cappy Sue

Some time ago I had a loss of faith. My soul was longing to reconnect with the spirit of the world and I felt estranged from my spirit guides and their guidance. I found myself wishing for clarity and in need of signs. So for the first time in a long time I meditated with my crystals, feeling sure that I would have to pay for my lack of diligence and be forced to work really hard to get back into the zone, but I was lucky, my body relaxed and my mind free-fell into that dizziness that signified ‘the zone’.

I could smell the pines and nature and slowly my eyes became clear as if I had washed a window and watched it dry. Suddenly my feet felt snow and a cool breeze fell upon me while ahead of me was a bear, a large brown bear.

The bear appeared non-threatening, like a friend. It looked at me from over its sizeable shoulders and rump with what appeared to be a smile on its face. Then it turned around and walked toward the edge of a forest while standing up on its hind legs. It raised its paws at the large full moon that had lit its path against the snow and then slowly made it’s way into the woods. It seemed to be saying, "Come see me any time…I'll be watching you” and somehow I was comforted by this.

This image has stuck with me because it was the first time I had seen my spirit guide as a bear. While mulling over this image the artist in me finally came out and I made a charcoal and watercolor drawing of the bear that always brings me peace and I realized that I needed a good name for this drawing, not just “The Bear” so off I went to look up synonyms for the word ‘bear.’ This is when I realized that Ursa was the name for bear.

When my parents were first married they had a child by the name of Ursula and she passed away within a few hours of being born. Now when I meditate I feel a kinship with this sister I never knew as if she's right here with me.

More about Cappy Sue:
Well my real name is Cathy but I like to write under "Cappy Sue". I am thirty-one and married to a lovely man and I am a mama to a house full of furry babies. My dreams keep me up most nights and often become stories or paintings. I truly believe that we all make choices, but that some things are pre-destined, and that if we keep our ears open and listen, there is always a divine voice whispering and offering us help along the way.

You can find more of Cappy Sue's artwork and writing here:
www.cappysuecreations.blogspot.com
www.cappysue.etsy.com

To read more metaphysical articles by Guest Writers please go here.

The Foot Angel from Vietnam

The Foot Angel from Vietnam by Guest Writer, RuthAnn Dickinson

Okay, I broke down today and had a pedicure...alright alright, I went for it and had the mani/pedi combo pack. It used to be that my feet were naturally polished and shiny from being a beach bum at the Jersey shore in the summertime. Now that I live in the Midwest, the broken seashells and sand are impossible to come by.

My daughter is my Thursday Pamper-Self-Partner-in-Crime and we were after the perfect summer color for our feet and there it was - Flamingo Pink! Heather and I stood in front of the color counter, barely able to contain our shrills of happiness at finding the perfect color at the exact same time.

We eagerly scurried over to the recliner chairs and plopped our feet into the warm bubbly water. I turned on the chair and enjoyed a deep back, neck and buttocks massage while getting my feet scraped, trimmed, buffed and polished. The Angel that was caring for my feet ( she had to be an Angel to tackle my poor old neglected feet) painted a pretty shiny design on my big toes and I was amazed when I finally peeked at the finished result.

Next was the mani part of the experience. I decided to go with the same color on my fingers, just because I could. My Nail Angel had just spoken with her aunt back in their home country of Vietnam who was having a problem with her old motor scooter. My Nail Angel wanted to buy her a new one, but her aunt refused, instead wanting to fix this twenty-five year old scooter. I asked my Angel how long she has been in America, to which she replied five years. I commented on how well she spoke English and asked if she knew any English before coming to America. She said 'a little', but that it sounded different once she got here, but watching TV and listening to customers had helped her a lot. She and a few other family members came to America to find work and to make the lives of those left in Vietnam better.

My Angel said that she tried to soften her tone since coming to America because of the sharp sound of words spoken in her native tongue and I complimented her on her cute accent and beautiful tone and she giggled and thanked me. Before I knew it, we were finished and I had the prettiest tootsie toes and fingers around. My Angel told me that she was going to send her aunt enough money to purchase a new scooter and her eyes welled up as she thought about her homeland and how much she missed her family.

When I left the salon, I knew that I had been graced with the best Pamper-Myself-Thursday ever, thanks to the Foot Angel from Vietnam. She pampered not only my feet, but more importantly, my Heart. I am so grateful for all that I have and no longer feel guilty for pampering myself, because I knew that an elderly woman in Vietnam is a bit closer to getting a new scooter. Apparently new scooters cost about $300... American dollars. What I received today was priceless.

You can read more of RuthAnn's stories on her blog at RuthAnnsJourney.