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A Day in a Life: On the Road to Mindfulness

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The world has grown larger in the past couple of centuries as we have gone beyond our villages and towns, beyond our states and countries, as we have sailed and flown to foreign parts and discovered other villages, towns, and countries. Hopefully, we have learned that the people in those other countries are just like us; flesh and blood, with feelings, emotions, likes and dislikes; that they also love certain things about life; that they love their children, husbands and wives; that they too are fallible and make mistakes just as we do. Hopefully, we have gained a broader view of humanity as a whole and now understand the greater interconnectedness of all things and that we are all responsible for what happens on our planet no matter where we live. Hopefully, we have learned that we are all the same in so many ways, because now may be the time for us to return to our villages and towns and countries, taking with us all that we have learned. Now may be the time for us to utilize what we have learned, for all humanity.

With the crisis in Japan the world has changed. We must accept this fact. We must figure out how we want to live now that we can no longer rely on trade with Japan to support our abundant lifestyles. Our cars must come from within our own borders, our food must be local, our responsibility to the entire world rests on us all making changes that are good for the Earth. We must not only change our personal lives, but we must pressure our governments to change as well, to be a part of the greater world without a doubt, but to make decisions that take into consideration the larger global picture that we have a greater understanding of now that we have all become world explorers. But it is time for the explorers to take what has been learned and, with that new knowledge firmly grasped, return home and change.

So how can we personally change? How can we as individuals make progress toward changing the way things are done? We can start with mindfulness. In the Buddhist sense, mindfulness is staying present in the moment, in as many moments as possible throughout the day. It is being mindful of how we walk, how we eat, how we talk. It is being mindful of how we drive, how we spend our time, how we think. It is being mindful of how we love, how we give, how we receive. It is being mindful of what we choose to look at, read, and allow into our bodies. It is being mindful of our thoughts, judgments, criticisms of our self and others. It is being mindful of our intents, our prayers, our desires. In essence, being mindful is being aware, and being aware of ourselves in the world is how we can be mindful of how we can change.

In practical terms, we must first accept that we are all living in Japan now. Our world has changed. That is the first thing we must take into consideration as we turn and study our personal responsibilities to this changed world. How can I mindfully be present and aware?

“Most of the time, we are lost in the past or carried away by the future. When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment, our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be filled with acceptance, joy, peace, and love.” So writes Thich Nhat Hanh in The Long Road Turns to Joy, A Guide to Walking Meditation.

I propose meditation in everyday life, in constantly reminding the self to be present, as the means of gaining greater awareness of ourselves in the world and greater awareness of what we must do to change and flow with the energy of nature, now guiding us in this process of change. This does not have to be anything more than reminding the self to focus on each task that we do, to do it mindfully. Personally, I try to be mindful from the moment I wake up. I am not always successful, since it is impossible to be mindful every moment of every day, but the more often I pull my thoughts back to what I am doing the more I am able to be present. Each one of those tiny moments of presence, of awareness of the moment, adds up. Being mindful throughout the day is really very simple.

When I get out of bed and put my feet onto the floor, I say to myself: I am putting my feet onto the floor. I feel the floor under my feet. I am walking, walking, walking. I am waking up with each step. I am noticing the morning darkness or the morning light. I am walking.

When I make my morning coffee, I say to myself: I am making the coffee. I am running the water, measuring the coffee, thanking the earth for the water, the coffee plantations for the delicious coffee beans. I am staying mindfully focused on what I am doing, turning this process into a mantra as I awaken to a new day mindfully. When I drink my freshly brewed coffee, I say to myself: I am drinking this coffee. I am drinking and feeling each sip I take. I am mindfully drinking my coffee.

As the day goes on, I continue to remind myself to pay attention to what I am doing. When I eat, I say to myself: I am eating now. I am eating this delicious food that someone else has grown and tended and I thank them for it. If I keep thanking and focusing on what I am doing other thoughts easily leave, but they come back quickly, so I must again remind myself of what I am doing. This is practicing mindfulness.

In accepting that we are all personally responsible, as citizens of the world, we can turn to the small things in life as the place to begin making the most changes, having the most impact. As we mindfully go about our day we may discover where we are sloppy with our time and thoughts. We may discover that, as we pay attention to each task, we slow down considerably and in so doing gain not only peaceful moments of calm, but discover that we don’t really need to hurry at all, because we see that in slowing down mindfully we have plenty of time for the things that really matter. And that is the crux of what our world is asking of us now. What really matters?

Mindfulness is awareness of the present moment

“The First Noble Truth,” writes Thich Nhat Hahn, “taught by the Buddha is the presence of suffering. Awareness of suffering generates compassion, and compassion generates the will to practice the Way.” If we are to practice the Way, live mindfully in balance with nature, inner and outer nature, we must be aware of suffering. Right now there is suffering in Japan, in the Middle East, and in our own countries there is suffering every day.

We can mindfully remind ourselves of this by saying: I am aware of the suffering in Japan. I am aware of the suffering as the wars in the Middle East are waged. I am aware of the suffering in my own backyard. I feel this suffering. I accept the truth of suffering. I know what it means to suffer too. I now turn my heart outward and send compassion on the wings of intent. I am mindful of my power to change and to change the world by my intent.

This is mindful living. Try it.

Thanks for reading and passing these blogs on to others! Sending you all love and good wishes.

In mindfulness,
Jan

If you wish to correspond, please feel free to post a comment below. And don’t forget to check out our facebook page at: Riverwalker Press on facebook where we post daily comments and quotes.

Quote for the Day

Quote for the Day: Tuesday March 29, 2011

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And Jesus answered: “Seek not the law in your scriptures, for the law is life, whereas the scripture is dead… In everything that is life is the law written. You find it in the grass, in the tree, in the river, in the mountain, in the birds of heaven, in the fishes of the sea; but seek it chiefly in yourselves. For I tell you truly, all living things are nearer to God than the scripture which is without life. God so made life and all living things that they might by the everlasting word teach the laws of the true God to man. God wrote not the laws in the pages of books, but in your heart and in your spirit. They are in your breath, your blood, your bone; in your flesh, your bowels, your eyes, your ears, and in every little part of your body. They are present in the air, in the water, in the earth, in the plants, in the sunbeams, in the depths and in the heights. They all speak to you that you may understand the tongue and the will of the living God.”
–From The Essene Gospel of Peace

Messages from Jeanne, News and Notes

Japan Quake: Shift in Earth Mass

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Here are a couple of links to articles that seem to be what Jeanne is referring to in the message posted today, March 28, 2011, when she suggests that “Subterranean caves will collapse as this happens inside and outside the earth. The shape of the earth may slightly shift and become oblique, so that perfect planet will be slightly askew, and the resulting revolutions of the planet will be a-kilter.” (Originally from a message channeled on July 1, 2006)

Apparently this also happened in the Chilean earthquake of 2010, as you will read.

dailygalaxy.com

ibtimes.com

Messages from Jeanne

#752 Become Again A True Walker Upon the Earth

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Written by Jan Ketchel and including a channeled message from Jeanne Ketchel.

Today, I present a few earlier messages from Jeanne. In 2006, over a period of months, her messages warned of coming change, of many natural events that would force mankind to rethink how he lives and the necessity for all of us to simplify our lives and realign with nature in the wake of these natural phenomena. At the time, we did not have a forum for presenting the channeled messages. I was still in the learning process, trying to figure out how best to utilize what I was receiving from this sentient being once named Jeanne Ketchel.

Chuck and I took the guidance we received to heart, as I gradually accepted the challenge to more fully embrace it as a way of life. Shortly after that, by the end of December that year, we did begin to send the messages from Jeanne out into the world. We have repeatedly seen how accurately she portrays mankind and the truth of where we now are. So, in light of recent events, it feels appropriate now to present some of these earlier messages, mostly in an effort to underscore that we are indeed in changing times. Jeanne’s mission group is concerned with reawakening the ancient spirit of knowing in mankind, but she often mentions other groups oriented toward enacting other awakenings, including a group whose mission is the environment.

On June 28, 2006 Jeanne said the following:

Watch as things begin to slide away and disappear, as towns and villages tumble down into the mouth of the angry earth. Watch as hunks of land drown in the thirsty ocean and the balance that is so upset turns upside down… This time on earth is crucial for all… This is not just going to happen in nature. It will also happen in the hearts of man. Be aware that nature reflects in its turmoil the inner turmoil of mankind. There is a need for abrupt change and although man is perfectly capable of enacting this badly needed change, he has waited too long, so it will be done for him. Too late to have control now; await what happens.

This is from June 30, 2006:

As humanity faces the most devastating of human disasters worldwide in the times to come, there will be a replacing of many values with true spirit, and this true spirit will be the one who shares sameness with others. This sameness will be unspoken for the most part, for it will not have adequate words in which to describe itself, but there will be acknowledgement of it.

There are other forces, other mission groups that wish to return the earth to its original state of pristine balance with ecosystems in total acceptance of each other, functioning properly, and with man’s place among them accepted as visitor and not as owner. If man can get to this point and treat the earth itself as the greatest phenomenon in perfect functioning order, needing no interference, no tweaking, no taking from, and no destruction, then perhaps that ideal planet could possibly exist.

In order to alert the many who are asleep and unable to awaken, our mission is being enacted in combination with advanced systems (missions) on many fronts: spiritual, biological, physical, ecological, and emotional. Do not discount any of the signs that are around you. Do not dismiss the facts that daily are presented in the dismal state of affairs of the world, of the Untied States, of the Arab world, of the wars between lands, between religions, between races, and between peoples, both one or two or hundreds. These things—interspersed with greed for power and money, for wealth that has no bounds, for amassing larger and larger fortunes, of unstoppable desire—is not at this time anything more than the enormous sign that change is being forced upon you all. Because change is what the earth, the air, the universe desires. Accept this fact and then see what happens…change will cause new insight. New insight will awaken new truths and thus will there be hope; and when there is hope there is possibility.

On July 1, 2006 Jeanne said:

Household wise, each household must be prepared for outages of electricity and times of isolation and devastation, so be prepared for lengthy times of unavailability of the staples of life… This is the beginning of a new independence that will be forced upon mankind… It will present a new way of life and the skills of the forefathers will be necessary to study… The potential for natural disaster to overtake the best proposals of man to hold back the waters will happen around the world.

She went on to say that it could not be stopped for the following reasons:

It is wild in its process once begun and it has no cause to stop. It is planned now to further along the evolution of man and earth, and the swirling waters will be the first step. After that many things will change and there can be no saying what will happen as people react. My impulse it to instill goodness in man, so that there becomes not greed and not fear, but true spirit awakening and caring for all mankind.

Aside from the flooding waters there will be famine and widespread death. Masses of people will perish as the earth undergoes rigorous changes and shifting of plates. Subterranean caves will collapse as this happens inside and outside the earth. The shape of the earth may slightly shift and become oblique, so that perfect planet will be slightly askew, and the resulting revolutions of the planet will be a-kilter. This will have further impact upon the life of the planet and a new age will be upon the physical earth.

Apparently, this happened with the earthquake in Japan that caused the tsunami, the shape of the earth changed. I will try to find the reference to this later.

Jeanne then went on to say the following:

Man will survive, but in a greatly diminished fashion. He will not rule in order to gain power, but will be forced to live upon the earth as a grateful guest. This is the only way he should live there. This should begin now being the way of man. Do not destroy anymore that lovely place full of such potential. Do not inflate the possibilities of man, but instead allow man to sink down to the level of the animals and the knowing creatures of earth and become again a true walker upon that earth. To seek empowerment over nature will never win out. To seek instead involvement with nature as the guide is to begin a process of becoming once again the visitor that man really is.

As a visitor, one stays only briefly and then moves on. As a visitor, one must abide by the rules and regulations of the host and hostess. Mother and Father earth are the host and hostess and their rules are dear. Do not injure, do not take more than you need, do not stay too long, do not take control, do not steal the power that does not belong to you, the visitor. The earth belongs to the earth. The water belongs to the water. The air belongs to the air and the sun belongs to the sun. We humans are merely allowed to utilize them for the short time we are there and if we learn the right way to live and we learn why we are there and do our job of life well, then we have been good guests and the earth will thank us for being there. To take little, yet to fully enjoy the fruits of that life and to be capable of distinguishing between that which is available and ready for our use and that which is still in incubation for another generation is our challenge. There can be no other generation at the rate that man now consumes and uses up the foundations of earth’s stores. Man has become a poor guest...

If a return to the beautiful garden is to take place then the hands of man must be removed from the soil and all that he has put there as well. Nature will replace itself in its own fashion and this will be the way that the garden will return in all its beauty. Then will man have to learn again what it means to be a guest.

These messages are meant to alert the many who are ready, to tell you that it is time for global caring and global kindness, but first you must give those gifts to your self. Break down your own internal earth and allow the devastation of that which inside you prevents you from actively addressing all the issues you hold yourself from. Do not be afraid to crumble the old walls that block you from your own truth. First this must be undertaken. Then, from this new place, can you begin to pare down and simplify the life you each lead and find your true needs, keeping only that which is necessary.

In this way, you will be able to conscientiously become a part of the movement that will, in fact, be a gathering of spirit energy that will know the rightness of every move and be able to engage far-reaching compassion and caring, so that all who walk upon the earth will have access to that which remains to be carefully divided and used properly. On the other hand the extremists will perish, for there will be no need of them… and their demise will eventually free the planet and the ability of nature to reinvigorate and give to those who have learned the lessons it teaches… Man must learn to react (to the changes) with heart rather than hardness; this ability will be tested.

This morning I asked if she had anything to say now, as many of her predictions have begun to unfold. Here is what she says now:

My Dear Ones, as I have spoken of many times, the world cannot, by its very nature, remain static; it must by its very potent process of birth, death, and rebirth, constantly evolve. Mankind must learn to evolve as well. The first challenge to humankind is to become one with nature rather than assume superiority over that which is far more evolved and brilliant than the mind of man.

Look, as I have said in the past, to nature for your answers as to how to proceed now in life. Nature holds all you need. Even compromised nature rejuvenates and evolves, adapts so that life may continue. Man must adapt, first by acquiescing to the truth that nature now presents: that it is unstoppable.

Water, so soft and caressing, carries also the power of destruction. A few drops upon a baby’s body are a gentle and peaceful experience, and yet that same water has the ability to cut through mountains and wash away villages.

Man too has proven his ability to both love and destroy, synonymous with nature. Yet he holds his future in his hands. Man has choice and that is what must now come into play if man and nature are to preside in symbiosis, in right alignment. Man must choose to turn now to nature, not only for the sustenance she offers, but for the guidance she offers as well.

All things reside in your knowing, My Dears. You just have not woken up to this truth yet. Wake up my sleepy ones and find within your ancient minds the truth of where you have arrived and know the truth of where you must go next. Ancient mind knows.

Listening Intently: Buddha in the Bardos

Here is a picture I took of Buddha. Often referred to as the sleeping Buddha in this lying down pose, he is actually dying, in the bardos between life and death. This is where we too are now, in the bardos, being asked to wake up and be aware of everything that is happening to us. These moments of awakening are the moments when we can reach enlightenment; with awareness we can truly evolve. This is what we are being challenged with, right now. Happy waking dreams!

Thank you to Jeanne. Please feel free to post comments or respond to this message in the post/read comments section below. Also note the new button icons for easier sharing of the messages and our Facebook badge in the left sidebar. On our Facebook page we post daily quotes and comments and invite discussions on the discussion board. Please feel welcome, and thank you for passing the messages on!

Most fondly and humbly offered.

Jan's Blog

A Day in a Life: Asking for Guidance

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I dreamed all night about writing this blog, achieving many aha moments as ideas and thoughts came together, as I connected with the bigger picture of who I am, where I am, and what I have to face ahead of me. All of this converged into a big interconnected web of awareness that we are all facing the same issues, the same challenges, the same inner and outer dilemmas. And so it feels right that I explore some guidance I received earlier in the week, as I turned to the Tarot with some requests.

Request for guidance number one was as follows: Please may I pick the card that is most meaningful and important for me to receive on this day as I seek balance and calm knowing in my life. Please direct me to pick the card that is in alignment with my heart’s intent.

Here is the card I picked: The Magus

The Magus

I use the Tarot as a daily guide when I feel the need for clarity, if I am swimming in inner discourse that I cannot quiet, or if I just want to center myself. On Monday, when I sought advice from the Tarot I was mostly interested in grounding myself, in beginning my week fully present. The Magus or Magician “represents the universal principles of communication. The golden figure of Mercury, the winged messenger from Greek mythology, represents communication that is inspired, resilient, and well-timed,” Angeles Arrien writes in The Tarot Handbook: Practical Applications of Ancient Visual Symbols. In addition, the Magician is surrounded by ten tools, each one of them representing a means of communication, suitable for different situations and contexts; the challenge is knowing which tool to use when.

I was immediately struck by this card showing up in my hands, for personal reasons, as well as for our times; for all of us. I have been personally challenged for the past ten years with using language and my personal abilities to communicate in many different ways in the world, to use communication in all of its many forms as a means of growth. On a universal level, I immediately noted that in the time we are in now communication is so easily accessible, we all have so many tools available to us, and lately we have been using them to great advantage. Take the revolutionary situations in the Middle East, largely orchestrated and carried out through the use of modern tools of communication: cell phones and facebook. The fact that we all have these tools puts us in a unique position but also a rather precarious one as well.

We must be more thoughtful than ever, I believe. We must be careful in how we express ourselves and selective in what we say. In order to fully embrace the meaning of the Magician in all of us, we must be in proper alignment with our times, the energy of Mercury that is flowing and firing through us all, asking us to change, to revolt, to grow now beyond any stage we have previously achieved, but it also asks us to do so from a new base, from the spiritually interconnected, heart-centered place we all have within. We all feel the energy of revolution and the speed with which things are happening, but we must stay in alignment with the far greater truth that this kind of energy can destroy us as well as evolve us.

We must be in balance—our timing must be right. Our sense of purpose must be clear and well thought out, from the proper perspective, in alignment with the greater interconnectedness of all things. This is what Chuck and I have been trying to write about in our blogs, what Jeanne conveys in her messages, that we are at a crucial time in the history of the world, that we have more tools available to us for communicating now than ever before, but we must use them wisely, for the right reasons, with commitment to endeavors that evolve us now to a place of understanding, kindness, compassion and love for all human beings and the planet as well.

This is what Arrien says as well: “The Magician organizes communication patterns by picking the appropriate tools or content and combines it will well-timed delivery. Blunt communication is communication which lacks correct timing. Confused communication is communication which lacks appropriate content, yet may be well-timed in delivery but poorly organized. The wizard-like quality of the Magician is to artfully combine good timing with clear content and appropriate context.” I believe this is the challenge for all of us now. The truth must be spoken, the revolutions must be waged, the world must change, but all of this must be done properly now. We may not have another chance to get it right.

My second request was for guidance related to all of us, especially the readers of these blogs. I asked for clarity on how what I personally write is being received and what I must be aware of as I continue to express myself in this very public forum. I asked that this guidance show me where we all are now, as we take in the truths of the world and as we grasp the deeper meaning. What must we be aware of next?

Here is the card I received: The Five of Wands: Strife

Strife

Strife, as Arrien writes, “is the symbol of the state of strife, anxiety or frustration. Anxiety is an energetic experience caused by holding back… It is the state of having abundant energy but not knowing what to do with that energy, or it’s a lot of energy that’s being contained or held back, which will produce anxiety or the state of strife… The astrological aspect that’s represented on this symbol is Saturn in Leo. Saturn is the planet of discipline, of knowing what your limits and boundaries are and being able to set limits and boundaries. Saturn is the planet that reminds us to do things step-by-step. Leo is the astrological sign of creative power that does not want to be limited, restricted or restrained, and desires full expression.”

So here I see the direct correlation to the Magician card in the energy that is now present, the energy that is revolutionary, in us all, asking to be expressed, allowed to live. Yet we are also held back by old patterns of behavior and what we have yet to face about ourselves, personally, as a nation and a world. We are asked to set limits, which in one sense can offer us the sobriety of thoughtfulness, leading to proper timing, yet also adds frustration to the mix. In holding back we build up anger and tension, which may block our availability to our true knowing, to awareness that is growth-oriented for all of us.

We must be careful as we go into the next five weeks and months, as we face our truths and the world’s truths, as we release old patterns of anxiety and frustration within ourselves and in the revolutions now taking place outside of us. In addition, our energy may get stuck in the frustration of this tension, which sets up the potential for problems and we must be aware that we can easily fall back into old patterns and old complacencies. Even while we bask in this energy, it may be difficult to fully access its power properly.

As Arrien writes: “Any holding back or self limitation will move you into that state in alchemy which was known as leaded consciousness. Leaded consciousness is symbolically represented by the greyed-over areas of this symbol. The lotus blossoms are grey, which means that in states of anxiety you have difficulty in opening or unfolding.”

“In the next five weeks or in the next five months would be a good time to move towards creative endeavors where you feel that you can express yourself fully instead of binding and restricting yourself in any way… This symbol reminds you that in the next five weeks or in the next five months, you are no longer willing to be the lineage bearer of family anxiety patterns.”

This then becomes the challenge to all of us, as the weeks and months unfold, to notice our old patterns of frustration and how we handle them. Are we going to truly change now, embracing this energy in a good and heart-centered manner, or are we going to let the old status quo return and bury us in our inner tensions? Are we truly ready to embrace the power of the energy of these times and change ourselves too, while we watch the rest of the world embrace it, dealing with the strife in all of us?

My third quest for advice revolved around how to deal with people in the world outside of me. How do I apply the energy of the Magus and the power of Strife properly, so that I do not fall into old patterns of personal behavior as regards the people I meet as I elect to change, to take this journey that the energy of this time I live in guides me to take? How do I deal with what comes at me as I seek to transform myself?

Here is the card I pulled this time: Ace of Wands

Ace of Wands

Arrien states: “The Ace of Wands is a symbol of spiritual self-realization, awakening, and is associated with the principle of truth and authenticity… the torch of fire, a symbol of the uncontainable life-force that’s within. The lightning bolts are a symbol of awakening to the spiritual truth and authenticity of who you are… you’ve awakened to the unconscious and irrepressible inherent Being within.”

This card, for me, wraps up the challenges suggested by the two previous cards: we must all stand in and speak our truths. We must be honest and authentic, upholding what we have learned about ourselves as we have journeyed through our lives. We must not hold back who we have evolved into. We know who we are now, and we must fully embrace and become that person. Especially, we must embrace the energy of our times to fully mature into who we have worked so hard to become, but we must balance that energy that wants to burst forth, and declare itself, with the pragmatism and sobriety of the great communicator that resides within us, our ancient spirit self, our knowing wisdom mind, as the Buddhists call it.

As the seers of ancient Mexico will remind us always: we are beings who are going to die, so the question to ask, as we face our death is: How do I want to live?

I feel that these three cards, The Magus, Strife, and The Ace of Wands offer us the balance and guidance we need now, for the times we live in. They offer sobering and at the same time invigorating guidance, encouraging us to stay connected to the energy of life, to plowing ahead, accepting and resolving what we have buried in our pasts that so frustrates and angers us, while we fully embrace our greater potential and our inherent truths. It is time, I believe, for all of us to become more than we have ever dared to become before, but we must do it right.

The tools of communication are not in question; the means are available to all of us. But what we say is of utmost importance, how we say it, and where we elect to speak our truths. We must, I believe, stay in our heart-centered truths, but at all times be mindful of where others are, of the impact our actions, thoughts, and language have. In the media now we hear and read such vitriolic and hateful language, strife between the talking heads, but does it really have any meaning? The same thing can be asked of the language of “the experts” regarding the nuclear disaster in Japan; are they speaking the real truth, or are they “greyed-over” platitudes in an attempt to keep the energy from fully empowering us all now?

We can use these examples by questioning our own speaking tongues, both in our inner world and in the outer world. Are we caught in old patterns of inner and outer strife, in lies that no longer serve us or the energy that is boiling inside us all? It is indeed time to revolt, but it must be done right, both within and without. And you know what, it can’t be stopped. We are in it, we are all responsible for the outcome, as Jeanne mentioned in the most recent message. So the question is, are we going to get it right this time? Everything is available to us, everything is in alignment, everything is already in action.

I awoke from a dream the other morning hearing this: “Yes, good, good,” I heard a voice saying. “You get it, you understand how energy works, you know what you are talking about, but now it is time to not only embrace it and to become it, but to go beyond it.” It’s time for all of us, and the entire world, to go beyond now.

If you wish, feel free to share or comment in the Post Comment section below. And don’t forget to check out our facebook page where we share pertinent quotes, photos, and comments, from us and others, at: Riverwalker Press on facebook.

Thanks for reading and passing these blogs on to others! Sending you all love and good wishes,
Jan

References: The Tarot cards I use and that are pictured in this blog are Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot Deck and the book referenced is The Tarot Handbook: Practical Applications of Ancient Visual Symbols, by Angeles Arrien. Both are available through our Store.