Decisions, Decision,What's a Person to Do?

Decisions, Decisions - What’s a Person to Do?

by Sandy Penny

There's so much stress these days that I thought this would be a timely topic.

When I was in New Zealand, it became very apparent to me that having fewer choices can be a good thing. In the U.S., we think having choices, lots of them, is absolutely necessary. But, think of the stress and time it takes to even choose a breakfast cereal.

A few years ago, the following scene was my life. I have greatly simplified it since then, so I thought perhaps some of you would be able to relate to this little scene (try reading it in one breath to get the feel of the stress)...

“Mom, what do we have to take for lunch, and what’s for breakfast?” she yells from the bedroom. “What am I supposed to wear today?” he yells from the bathroom. “Sandy, what are you going to do about that press release problem?” the voice on the phone begs for help. “Ms. Penny, have you decided which house you want to lease, or do you want to buy?” the realtor asks looking pointedly at her watch, after we’ve looked at umpteen different locations. “Now, which bills get paid on the first of the month?...What day can we work on the newsletter?...Have you chosen a topic
for your article?...Are you going to teach another class? (Should I ask the runes?) Are you leaving your full-time job? (Should I check my astrological chart?) What business are you going into? (Should I call a psychic?) Are you still doing regressions? (Should I meditate, pray or I-Ching this one?) Did you decide? Have you made up your mind? We've got to have a decision - now.”

Stop!!! Please!!!

Take a deep breath, say three oms, and run screaming out of the room. (Hey, I’m human too.) It's only Monday noon, and I've had all the above to think about. I don’t know about you, but my ability to make decisions has been used up for about the next twenty years in the last three months. I’ve made so many major decisions that I’ve almost decided to hire out as a decision specialist. If you have a decision to make, come to me, I’m an expert, I’ll make up your mind for you! (It would be more fun to decide for other people anyway - I wouldn’t have to live with the consequences.)

Unfortunately, we do have to live with the consequences of our decisions, and no matter who makes the decision, ultimately we are responsible for our own lives. We cannot escape our karma by letting someone else take over our lives. Psychics cannot make our decisions for us - because no matter what they tell us, we decide to listen and follow their advice or to ignore it, and that puts the deciding factor right back in our own laps.

Many people go to psychics for that very reason, they want to absolve themselves of being personally responsible. They want to be able to throw up their hands in a crisis and say, “He told me to do it...I would never have done it unless she said to...Now look at this mess they created.” But that’s only a mind game - a cop out. [Besides, no psychic worth their salt will tell you what to do or not to do - they will simply give you a broader view of the situation, and possibly foresee the consequences of a particular action. Any psychic who does tell you what to do ties up their karma with yours, and shares the responsibility for the outcome, so it’s a risky business, this power
and control stuff.]
Whether you ask the Universe, God, the runes, cards, I Ching, astrologers, psychics, pendulums or flip a coin, your life still belongs to you.

It is up to you to make it wonderful or miserable, stressful or relaxed, fruitful or empty,
exciting or boring.

And that’s the really wonderful thing about it - because if it’s really up to you, then you can
make it anything you want it to be - and I want it all - happiness, friends, love, success, peace and joy. And I decree that it will always be so because, in my life I am queen, and the queen rules!

Take control of your life - and be free - it is your Western heritage to accept the responsibility of freedom of choice.” [It is your group karma by virtue of your birth in this country, or even if you chose to move here.]

If you abdicate your responsibility, then you will live with the consequences of that decision. Remember, no one has your interest closer to their heart than you. Seek your guidance; make your own choices; accept your successes - and all is well with the world.

For more Sandy Penny Musing, check out all her blogs and sites:

What are Your Hugs Saying?

by Sandy Penny

Hugging seems like such a simple act, what can be complicated about it? You put your arms around a person and pull them close, isn't that about it?? Actually hugging can be a very significant ritual, appropriate in some places and taboo in others.

There was recently some news on hugging in the workplace where it was considered too familiar, too intimate and bordering on sexual harassment. A hug is a way of connecting, and the connection can be on many levels. A hug can send a message of "I feel like we're friends," or it can send a message saying "I'm not willing to get that close to you."

And it's not just whether you hug or don't hug that sends the message. The type of hug can get the message over loud and clear. Leaning forward so you hardly touch another person when you hug may indicate a reluctance to connect with that person, or a reluctance to connect in general. Sideways hugs can indicate a feeling of distance or a desire to distance yourself from that person, or it can just mean you're in a hurry. It can be a perfunctory social requirement.

How long you hold a hug, whether you move your hands while you hug, how you position your arms when you hug, all mean something, all communicate something about your relationship with that person and with people in general.

What are you communicating when you hug? Take some time to think about whether you really want to hug someone, if you don't, extend your hand in a handshake. That gives a message too.

Lots of archives on this site. Explore and Enjoy. Check out more spiritual journey stories on my writing site: http://writingmuse.com. If you have any spiritual questions, email me at sandypenny@live.com. If you want writing tips, visit my writing and marketing blog: http://writeandmarket.blogspot.com. Check back often or subscribe to updates (button on the right).

Thanks.

What Creates Success?

What Creates Success in the Aquarian Age?

By Sandy Penny

In this time of shifts, changes and re-creation, it’s no longer time to go it alone. One of the requirements for success in the Aquarian Age is the establishment of community. I notice it happening all around me now. People are creating groups for all kinds of endeavors. We’ve always known that networking helps build success, but now, more than ever, it’s absolutely necessary.

In the spirit of community, I placed an ad in the upcoming issue of the Horse Fly ButerFly section that I write to invite healers and spiritual practitioners to unite with me to provide a monthly gathering to demonstrate their skills and talents to the public. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, and now’s the time to launch it. Taos has so many of these wonderful helpers, but it’s a little on the QT here. Now it needs to come to the forefront. The energy is supporting all kinds of mutually beneficial endeavors.

A New Way to Look at the Challenges

Every time you see an old paradigm business struggling or failing, energy and money is being released to be reinvested in businesses and systems that better serve the greater good, the people who support them. Systems that no longer serve the public but expect the public to serve them cannot remain in this new age energy. They have to either make radical shifts in the direction of the people they serve, or they must go away.

The old ways do not depart quietly though. They hang on by their fingernails and fight for their turf, but we, the people, must not allow them to continue their usury practices. This goes for the financial institutions and the automobile manufacturers. And how does that change occur? The public has to vote with their dollars for what they want to survive. They also have to voice their opinions to the people who represent them to those larger institutions. I am not a politically oriented person, but at this time, if you want your desired changes to occur, you must take the action (even if it is only in the other dimensions) to visualize and create the positive changes you want.

Spirit of Community

In the spirit of community, it’s also a time to remember that you can call on those you love and those who are your supporters to hold the energy for your success at whatever it is that you are trying to create. Do not forget this. Sometimes it’s difficult to ask for help, but the truth is that by just asking others to help your envision your success, even if they do nothing, just the reading of your email or your speaking your request strengthens the response from the universe. Communication is another prime directive from the Aquarian Age energy.

Many people hesitate to do this, as they do not want negative feedback from the people to whom they reveal their goals, and that’s a valid point. Choose wisely those you ask for help. Choose those who understand the power of positive confirmation of your goals. I will always hold the energy for you if you ask me to. I will hold it cleanly and powerfully in the way that you ask for it.

And, if you’re experiencing the sense of being done with whatever you have been doing, now is the time to reinvest your time and energy in something that feels right for you. If you don’t know what that is (but most of us really do, we just may not think we can have it), begin with a confirmation: “I now know exactly what I want to be doing with my life.” Repeat that until it feels like you’re done saying it; then leave it to the universe to bring back the highest and best vision of that reality. And you can ask friends to support you in drawing that to you as well. The more you vibrate with the frequency of the knowing, the faster it comes back to you. This is a time of amazing aha moments.

And, constantly check in with your heart, your feelings, to see if you’re on the right track. Don’t be led down the path of what you “think you ought to do.” Also, redefine success for yoursef. Make it your own vision of success. Don't use someone else's measure for your dreams.

Go for the gold. St. Patrick’s Day is coming up, find your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that you are. Onward and upward with ya, now Laddies and Lassies.
Sandy Penny, Writing is My Passion
Taos, NM HM/OFFICE: 575-751-1456
"Doing what you love opens the doorway to magic in your life,
opening the doorway to magic creates more of what you love."

BLOGS:

http://writeandmarket.blogspot.com/

http://writingmuse.blogspot.com/

http://www.writingmuse.com/

http://taosbutterfly.wordpress.com/

What's that Sickness About?

What’s this Sickness About?

By Sandy Penny

In Taos, and I’ve heard all over the country, people are having terrible respiratory and sinus infections or viruses or some sort. It comes on fast, lasts a couple of weeks, and sometimes even comes back for another round. I had it myself for two weeks, fever, coughing, gunky drainage and general exhaustion. I’m better now, thanks.

What I learned is that this is a symptom of what people are feeling in the U.S. With all the economic difficulties being touted on TV, the challenges laid out for the country, and the relief and fear of major change, no wonder it’s affecting us. Difficulty breathing, releasing toxins, and having to take a break after all the tension. We have been a people living in fear, fear of war, fear of economic loss, and a general malaise. Now, it’s time to let all that go, and the letting go process can result in physical symptoms. It doesn’t have to, but it can. I’m not trying to spread it by talking about it, but sometimes we need confirmation that we are not the only ones experiencing a phenomenon.

The good news is that, once you figure out what's going on, you can begin to shift into a more positive way of releasing those toxins. You can choose exercise, healthy organic cleanse products, and then replenish yourself with positive confirmations, healthy food and supplements, and a good dose of doing what you love.

My latest motto is, “Doing what you love opens the door to magic, and opening the door to magic brings more of what you love.”

Now’s the time to re-vision what you love and take new steps toward that vision. Isn't that interesting, the word revision, a change made is also re-vision, see it differently. Whether you know it or not, you’re living the life you’ve imagined. Perhaps it’s time to consciously choose to imagine something new. One conscious thought picture is more powerful than 100 unconscious thoughts that flood your mind every day.

One of the powerful experiences I had while I was sick was the recognition that I had been countermanding my own confirmations, unconsciously. I realized that the things I had been programming for were not actually what I want. I had been asking for high-paying writing projects. That sounds good, but the truth I have to admit is that I want to be rewarded for my own writing. I’ve always wanted that, that’s my passion, however, I was asking for what I thought would pay the bills. What I thought was acceptable to the world as a way to earn money. Contained in that skewed program is the fear that I can’t be supported through the spiritual writing that I love. I was putting myself in a small, uncomfortable box. During this time, I was offered a technical writing project, and I declined it. I was so proud of myself for declaring what I really want and refocusing my energy on making that happen.

I find, if I’m experiencing a huge aha moment like that, others are too. How about you? Time to reimagine your life? Time to get out of that box? Time to bring back the magic? As my friend, Margarethe Rustan taught me, fear is faith in a negative outcome. Turn that faith around and put it where you really want it.