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Good Magical Hygiene: Essential Personal Energy Management for The Spiritually Gifted, by Tess Whitehurst

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

One of the most interesting conversations I ever had was with a professional dancer who had been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder at a young age. She described how frightened and out of control she felt...until she discovered dancing. Then, her mind's obsession with ascribing patterns to things, and her body's compulsion to move in prescribed patterns, had an outlet, and while she still noticed symptoms occasionally, she finally felt comfortable in her own skin. Additionally, while she regularly practiced dancing to a degree that some might consider obsessive, she soon became quite happy in her life and successful in her chosen profession.

The main reason why this was so intriguing to me was because I quickly recognized a similar pattern in my own past. For many years my mood was a roller coaster of highs and lows. I generally felt dis-empowered and I alternated between anxiety and depression more often than not. In retrospect, I realize that it felt sort of like I was driving a car but I couldn't see out the windshield.

Although I had been reading about and practicing magic and metaphysics for some time, a big turning point for me was when I cleared a bunch of clutter out of my apartment and suddenly felt so much lighter and more joyful. It was then that I experienced firsthand the connection between the seen and the unseen realms. I realized that the so-called "mundane" world and the so-called "magical" world were not separate, but two sides of the same coin.

Once that occurred, it wasn't long before I looked at everything from both perspectives (energetic and physical) simultaneously, and constantly worked with the principle that seen and unseen realms are not only inextricably linked, but that they constantly interact with and affect each other. I began to put this principle into practice through things like space clearing and daily visualization rituals to clear my chakras and protect my energetic field (like the one below). I also went to feng shui school and began practicing feng shui and energy work professionally. During this time, my life momentum turned around and I began to feel more consistently happy, joyful, safe, and empowered.

So, after considering the dancer who had danced her way out of the most painful aspects of OCD, as well as my own personal healing experience, I started thinking: I wonder if what we call "mental disorders" could sometimes actually be latent talents? In other words, what if talents are like electric wiring, and until they are located, grounded, and properly directed, their power flies around our lives dangerously, creating unpleasant and challenging conditions in their wake?

Thinking back to a number of people I have known or encountered who suffered from things like anxiety and depression, or even more serious conditions like schizophrenia, this hypothesis began to make even more sense to me as I saw a pattern of especially creative, gifted, and intuitive people whose spiritual talents may have remained largely unfocused because they were devalued or overlooked.

As a result of all this philosophizing, I have concluded that for sensitive and spiritually gifted folks like us—and I can't believe you would have continued reading this article for this long if you weren't sensitive and spiritually gifted—consciously managing our considerable supply of spiritual energy is a must if we are going to feel happy, joyful, and empowered on a regular basis. Since it keep our energy clear and flowing in an ideal way while helping us manifest positive conditions in every area of our lives, I sometimes call it "good magical hygiene."

In The Good Energy Book, in addition to good magical hygiene practices, I provide a whole system of personal and environmental energy management for people like us, so that we can retain all the desirable aspects of our spiritual sensitivity while setting healthy boundaries and deciding what types of energy we do and do not want in our mind, body, spirit, personal energy field, and home environment. Additionally, the practices included in The Good Energy Book can help us focus and direct our significant spiritual power toward healing ourselves, healing others, consciously releasing the conditions we don't desire, and consciously manifesting the conditions we do desire—not just during rituals, but all the time, no matter where we are or what we are doing.

The following meditation is an example of one of these practices. In fact, it is perhaps the most vital aspect of my spiritual practice when it comes to staying positive and directing my spiritual/magical energy in constructive and life-affirming ways. It gets all the compulsories covered and keeps my energy as clear and focused as possible throughout the day, so I do it (or something like it) almost every day. You might want to commit to doing it every day for a week or two, and then, once you experience its benefits firsthand, ease yourself gently into the habit.

Please note that as you begin to practice this meditation, you might find that variations on the theme work better for you—if this happens, then definitely go with them.

Somewhere where you will not be disturbed, sit comfortably with your spine straight. Close your eyes, take some deep breaths, and relax. When you feel relaxed and centered, feel your weight upon whatever you are sitting on. Consciously connect with the comforting and supportive earth beneath you. Then, visualize/imagine/feel that you are growing roots of light. Send these roots down into the earth. See them going down and down, past layers of rock, water, and dirt. See them looping and spiraling as they continue to reach down further and further, toward the center of the earth. Eventually, when it feels right, visualize/imagine/feel these roots entering the core of the earth. See this core as a blindingly bright, golden-white sphere of concentrated, magnetic light. This light gently yet powerfully tugs you down, anchoring your body even more securely in the earth via your roots.

Now, see this golden, magnetic light traveling up your roots toward your body. Drink it upwards at a good pace. Now, see it enter your root chakra, the area at the base of your spine where your body connects with the earth. As the light reaches your root chakra (which is a horizontally spinning wheel of ruby red light), your chakra spins faster and gets brighter, any and all stagnant energy or debris spinning off and immediately dissolving. See this light continue upward until it reaches the vertically spinning wheel of orange light halfway between your bellybutton and your sex organ. This chakra—the sacral chakra—also spins faster and gets brighter as it is immediately cleansed of all energetic debris. Visualize this cleansing action continue with each chakra progressively, in this order:

Solar Plexus: Yellow, vertically spinning, halfway between your sternum and bellybutton

Heart: Green, vertically spinning, in the center of your sternum

Throat: Blue, vertically spinning, in the center of your neck

Third Eye: Indigo, vertically spinning, in the center of your forehead just above your eyebrows

Crown: Violet or white, horizontally spinning, at the very top of your head like a small hat

Now, see a column of light continue upward, past the top of your head, as if you are growing a tree trunk of light. See this light move up and up, until it exits the earth's atmosphere and connects with the cosmic realm of pure light, where it branches out like a tree soaking up the sun. See this cosmic light as blindingly bright white light with rainbow shimmers or sparkles, and drink this light in. See it moving down your trunk, back toward your body at whatever pace feels right. Then, see it enter the crown of your head and fill your head completely with this light. See/feel it continue to move down to your neck, shoulders, heart, arms, hands, belly, organs, legs, and feet. Visualize/imagine/feel this cosmic light merging with the earth light within you, and feel at once grounded in the earth and inspired by the heavens.

Next, visualize a glowing vacuum tube of light moving through and around your energy field, removing any and all lingering heaviness, stagnant energy, fear, guilt, and negative attachments. When this feels complete, see yourself bathed in a sphere of very bright, glowing white light and then a sphere of glowing indigo/violet light. Charge this indigo light with the intention that inside of it, only love remains, and through it, only love may enter.

Finish by setting intentions and consciously directing your spiritual energy toward creating the conditions you desire. For example, you might like to invoke divine help for protecting your home, vehicle, and loved ones, and visualize the successes you'd like to experience throughout your day. You might also like to take some time to feel the feelings and see the pictures associated with the things you'd like to manifest in your life: your dream car, job, or relationship. Or you can get creative: if you'd like to manifest more prosperity for example, you might visualize a fountain of sparkly gold coins moving throughout your entire energy field. Or, if you'd like to call in more romance in your marriage, you might send a waterfall of rose petals through the roof of your bedroom.

As you can imagine, getting in the habit of performing a meditation like this before you begin your day can really lend itself to a beautiful and successful life. It not only clears you, grounds you, and connects you with the realm of all possibility, it also gets your energy moving in the right direction with regards to your mood and general life conditions. And, once you do get in the habit, it doesn't have to take much time at all. Even five minutes can do the trick.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2012. All rights reserved.

Is there some way I find out who my guardian angel is? Are there processes I can learn for consciously interacting with and calling upon my guardian angel for help, guidance and protection?

Stacy

Astra:

There are many great books that name the Angels. One great one is A Dictionary of Angels by Gustav Davidson. It's very old and out of print now, but you can probably find it in your local library. My mother did extensive research into Guardian Angels for many years, and this was her favorite book on the subject.

There are lots of other books available now, and in any dictionary of Angels, you can find the Archangel or Big Angel in charge of you based on your date of birth. Your Little or Messenger Angel can be found in the same section.

The book I recommended has good descriptions and lots of alternate spellings. You'll also find your Guardian Angel assigned to you by the day, hour and minute of your birth. For instance, given the month and day of my birth, my Archangel is Michael and my Messenger Angel is Sizajasel. These are the same for all Sagittarians.

There are four Archangels who work with the four elements and twelve Messenger Angels who work with the individual astrological signs. If I have a problem, supposedly I should take it to Sizajasel, who will give busy Michael the message. Then if the request seems worthy of Him, Michael will pass it along to God.

Now that you have a scholarly start, ask your Messenger Angel to ask your Archangel to point you in the right direction. It could be that the Angel whose name you found by the day, hour and minute of your birth IS your Guardian, or it may be that your Guardian had thousands of people for whom He was responsible, and you were assigned an angel without a person to look after. (This usually works out better for us for a number of reasons.)

Ask for the first letter of the name, and then go back to your book and go through the names (yes, there are thousands) until one of them hits you right. When you see the name, you'll know it.

As you're praying in your own way for this information, remember that many Angelic names sound the same but are spelled differently, and vice versa; sometimes they sound different but are spelled in a similar way.

There are many Angels who share names too, and use the Arabic or Hebrew word for 'born of' even though many Angels aren't really 'born' as we humans are. Also, don't expect to know if your Angel is male or female, because sometimes they're neither or both combined.

If you keep at this for at least 90 days, praying every day for the answer, the name will come to you. Once you know your Angel's name, you may be able to have long conversations, or you may just feel more of that Angelic presence in your life and grow closer to it over time.

*****

Susyn:

It's a wonderful experience when you're able to identify, connect and build a relationship with your guardian angel, and you've already taken the most important step. Because you realize the power, protection and guidance your guardian angel can provide and are open to it, the rest should be relatively simple.

For starters, you may want to learn more about your guardian angel through a psychic reading. With a psychic as mediator, you'll be able to make an instant connection. Working together, the two of you will be able to identify, name and converse with your special protector, which will make it easier to achieve a connection yourself the next time.

Set aside some time each day to build a relationship with your guardian angel, for just as with a new friend, this is a process that takes time and commitment. Dedicating regular visits to sit with your guardian angel in quiet meditation will encourage this connection to grow and prosper.

Start your meditation with a few minutes of quiet, allowing your thoughts to clear and your body to reach a state of peace. Once you are centered in your meditation, call out to your angels and ask them to show themselves. Then allow images and words to form in your mind.

If you're artistic, you might sketch a likeness of what comes to you. Some people like to have an icon, such as a painting or statue that represents what they imagine their guardian angel looks like. With all the wonderful angel icons available at stores these days, I'm sure you can find one that resonates with you.

Talk with your guardian angel by sharing your day and acknowledging the moments when you felt they guided you or kept you from moving in the wrong direction. Thank them and then sit silently to see what they have to say. Don't get frustrated if you don't hear anything at first. Usually after two or three attempts, your ability to hear will improve.

Another way to stay aware of your guardian angel's presence so you can remember to ask for their help is to wear a special bracelet, ring or necklace that reminds you of them each time you look at it. Silver jewelry or adornments containing indigo stones like sapphire or lapis lazuli will also improve your ability to hear and recognize your guardian angel's messages.

If you think of your guardian angel as someone you care about who lives far away, it will be easier to maintain a conscious connection with them. Like your loved ones at a distance, you know they are there even when you can't see or touch them - the only difference is that you can call on your guardian angel at any moment and you'll never get a busy signal!

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.