Soul Navigations

Soul Navigation Card of the Week: CREATIVITY

Definition:  The ability to create; bring into existence; engaging in an activity of an artistic nature; originality; expressive nature.

Creativity is the ability to generate something new through skills of the imagination.  Feeling creative is often experienced as a richness of ideas and feelings, which can generate original thinking and urges for expression.

One’s creativity may take the form of an artistic project, a new solution to a problem, or an innovative way of thinking.  To approach something creatively usually requires flexibility of mind to innovate and combine things in ways they may not have been combined before.  We benefit from being able to think outside of the box and in some ways be able to - as a child in play - transform objects from one thing to another, and see with fresh eyes.

We usually think of artistic pursuits when we think of creativity; however, creativity is important in all areas of life.  From our daily routine, to various fields of study - architecture, economics, science, or art, creativity infuses each area with innovation and expands possibility.

Humans have often been described as “co-creators”.  One does not have to look far to see civilizations the human species has built – past and present.  Metaphysically speaking, some say we create our present and future from the very thoughts and feelings we entertain. In either case, we are responsible for our creations, both as individuals and collectively, which requires us to pause and ask what we are generating in any given moment.

If you have pulled this card, you may want to ask yourself where in your life are you experiencing creativity. What would it take for you to increase creativity in your life?   Is there an area of your life that would benefit from innovation?  Perhaps you are feeling a surge of creative expression.  What are you creating now?

© 2011 Leslie Helen Bambic Ciechanowski

Every week I shuffle and draw a card to write about and represent the week ahead.  My only rule is that if I draw one that I have already written about, I draw another.  In this way I am using the spirit of the cards themselves.  If you would like to purchase or view the full deck visit www.fuzionhealingarts.com/products .

 

I Love Questions!

It seems that I always have…I asked a lot as a kid, and still do.  Questions – mostly open-ended ones – are very much a part of the work I do.  They are like flashlights helping illuminate our lives and taking us on adventures of explorations of self and the world around us.  Wonderfully, there are more questions than answers.  If you have run out of questions you may want to ask yourself “What am I not seeing here?”.

I once heard a Nobel Peace Prize winner talk about what influenced his journey to get where he was at that time.  He thanked his mother whom he said asked him every day after school not what he learned, but whether he had asked any good questions that day. Though someone can assist you with your questioning, ultimately questions are your creation, and an opportunity for exploration bringing you to your own deepening.

 In this video, I present to you a magnificent teacher’s discussion of the importance of “big questions” for herself and her students.  She is an amazing expert facilitator of learning and questions. Even better, she is my sister! You can connect to her wise musings on her blog at http://yourlearningcurve.com.  I am sure she would love any questions you have for her!  Thank you Daryl, for your inspirint work in the world.

 

 

Soul Navigation Card of the Week: INSPIRATION

Definition:  Stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling; something that moves the intellect or emotions or prompts action or invention; a sudden creative act or idea; the quality of inspiring or exalting; divine guidance or influence exerted directly on the mind and soul of humankind; the act of drawing in, especially the inhalation of air into the lungs.

To be inspired is to feel bursts of creativity, motivation, flashes of insight or ideas that propel us forward. Inspiration can come from something that moves us deeply. It motivates us towards creative endeavors,and elevates our spirit. Inspiration can help us regain motivation when it is lost, bringing the breath of new ideas to life. 

The word inspiration literally means to “breathe in”, or “breathe upon”. Historically, it has been associated with a form of divinely-directed, inspired, or mystically-imbued “communication”. The Greeks called upon the muses and gods for inspiration. Jung saw inspiration as coming from the personal and collective unconscious - the dwelling place of racial memory and archetypal schemas.

If you have pulled this card, be open to inspiration, and notice when you are inspired.  You may either already be in touch with your inspired self or something that is motivating you, or you may need to delve deeper to reconnect with what moves you. If your are already duly inspired, this card may suggest it is time to take notice of this state, and allow it to grow. To follow one’s internal inspirations is to follow one’s bliss.

Are you living your bliss? When was the last time you felt inspired? Where did you feel this inspiration came from? What inspires you and how can you bring more of what inspires you into your life?  Is it time to act on your inspirations?

 

© 2011 Leslie Helen Bambic Ciechanowski

Every week I shuffle and draw a card to write about and represent the week ahead.  My only rule is that if I draw one that I have already written about, I draw another.  In this way I am using the spirit of the cards themselves.  If you would like to view the full deck visit www.fuzionhealingarts.com/products .

Please note:  Soul Navigation Cards will be available for purchase in mid June 2011.  Should you wish to reserve a copy for the next printing, please email leslie@fuzionhealingarts.com.

Soul Navigation Card of the Week: COMPLETION

Definition: The state of being complete; culmination; closing; concluding of an action; winding up; “bring to a head”; fulfillment.

Completion refers to the end of a cycle, the natural conclusion or fulfillment of the course of something.  Completion does not necessarily indicate a full finish or ending, but rather the close of a cycle or phase.  Natural cycles have phases which over time “come full circle.”  Completion in nature is seen in natural cycles such as: sunrise to sunset, spring until winter’s end or birth until death. 

Completion may also refer to a conclusion of a project, or a phase of a project.  Psychologically, completion may refer to a need for internal resolution of an emotional matter.  Often there is  “unfinished business” being resolved within us personally - or in our interpersonal relationships – that require completion. 

When completion is reflected as a state of being, it may be accompanied with other feelings such as peace, tranquility, or wholeness.  In this state nothing needs to be added to or subtracted from yourself or the moment.  All is well, whole and compete as it is.  One can say that each and every moment holds within it its own completion, completeness - its own wholeness.  This is true “perfection” – the perception that everything is as it should be at every given moment.

If you have chosen this card, reflect on natural cycles and sense of completion within you and the world around you.  Is there something that has run its course and needs to be completed?  Has something ended its natural cycle?  Is there some nagging emotional residue that needs corrective emotional conclusion?  Are you feeling a growing sense of fulfillment within?

 

 © 2011 Leslie Helen Bambic Ciechanowski

 

Every week I shuffle and draw a card to write about and represent the week ahead.  My only rule is that if I draw one that I have already written about, I draw another.  In this way I am using the spirit of the cards themselves.  If you would like to view the full deck visit www.fuzionhealingarts.com/products.

Please note:  Soul Navigation Cards will be available for purchase in 4-6 weeks.  Should you wish to reserve a copy for the next printing, please email leslie@fuzionhealingarts.com.

Soul Navigation Card of the Week: EARTH

Definition: The third planet from the Sun; the loose soft material that makes up a large part of the land surface; the ground forming part of an electrical circuit; according to Empedocles, one of four elements composing the universe.

Earth is the substance of life itself, - the rocks, clay, sand and soil from which emerge the trees, plants, and all creatures.  Symbolically, it is the substance from which matter emerges into manifestation.  Some cosmologies see earth as the clay from which our physical bodies were formed. Mother earth, Gaia, and Demeter are all associated with archetypes of the Earth Mother.

Earth holds the qualities of nurturing, strength, steadfastness, and creativity in that it supports and nurtures growth.  It is connected to the physical dimension and the realm of the senses.  In our language we have sayings such as: “down to earth”, “earth mother”, and “earthy” that reflect our perceptions of a practical, level-headed and caring person.

When you pick the earth card reflect on the deeper meaning of earth for you in your life.  It may be time to tune into your body, to pay attention to your physical needs, to slow down, and perhaps become more grounded.   It may be time to “get your hands in the soil”, to practice patience and honor the growth of whatever you are nurturing.  Perhaps it is time to contemplate your connection with the web of life on this planet, become more aware of and honor all the ways this earth sustains us, and reflect on the spirit of true stewardship.

Are you needing to ground your energies?  How do you connect with the “groundedness” of your own being?  How do you feel when you spend time in nature? How to you listen to and honor your physical body?  How do you listen to and honor the needs of the biosphere of our planet earth?

 

 © 2011 Leslie Helen Bambic Ciechanowski

For a beautiful Essene blessing for mother earth visit http://humanityhealing.net/

 

 

Every week I shuffle and draw a card to write about and represent the week ahead.  My only rule is that if I draw one that I have already written about, I draw another.  In this way I am using the spirit of the cards themselves.  If you would like to view the full deck visit RODUPCTS on the navigation page of this blog.

Please note:  Soul Navigation Cards will be available for purchase in 4-6 weeks.  Should you wish to reserve a copy for the next printing, please email leslie@fuzionhealingarts.com.

Soul Navigation Card of the Week: WATER

Definition: A molecule that at room temperature takes the form of a clear colorless liquid; according to Empedocles, one of 4 elements composing the universe; a liquid necessary for life; a major component of the earth’s surface.

Water is a very powerful and important substance.  It sustains all life and is more important and precious to us than all the gems, minerals and gold in the world.  Symbolically, water represents emotions, feelings, and the unconscious - its properties are seen as formless and limitless.  In alchemy, water is required for the first stages of transmutation.  Some cosmologies see water as the preserver of life circulating throughout the whole universe, and where all life is born.  Chinese tradition suggests that all life comes from waters, the abode of dragons.  Ancient Mesopotamian peoples saw water as symbolic of unfathomable impersonal wisdom.

When you pick the water card reflect on the deeper meaning of water to you in your life.  It may be time to go inward and tune in to what is going on for you emotionally.  Perhaps it is time to be more present to your feelings and just allow them to be, without controlling or analyzing them.  You may need a good cry and to allow feelings to flow through you as waves on a shore.  It may be that you are experiencing overwhelming emotions.  Honor them, as they will teach you great lessons and eventually balance with time. Like water, emotions can be very cleansing and purifying as we allow them to flow through us.

It may be time to reflect on the “fluidity” in your life – is your life moving too slow, too fast, do you need to be more fluid and allowing?  How can you be more in the flow?

How can you honor your feelings?  How do you allow waves of emotions and feelings to move through you?  What is your relationship to your emotions and feelings?  Do you welcome your feelings, dam them up or become quickly flooded?

 

 © 2011 Leslie Helen Bambic Ciechanowski

Every week I shuffle and draw a card to write about and represent the week ahead.  My only rule is that if I draw one that I have already written about, I draw another.  In this way I am using the spirit of the cards themselves. 

Please note:  Soul Navigation Cards will be available for purchase in 4-6 weeks.  Should you wish to reserve a copy for the next printing, please email leslie@fuzionhealingarts.com.

Soul Navigation Card of the Week: SENSITIVITY

Definition: responsiveness to external stimuli; the faculty of sensation; the ability to respond to physical stimuli or to register small physical amounts or differences; sensitivity to emotional feelings of self and other; the ability to respond to affective changes in one’s interpersonal environment.

When you pull this card you may be more perceptive, receptive and responsive to what is happening around you or within you. Your five senses - your perceptual abilities – and perhaps more importantly, your “sixth sense”, or intuitive faculty, may be heightened beyond the normal range, and you may be able to sense more subtle realms.

When a person has heightened ‘unconscious awareness’ it may be a recipe for feeling a little “crazy”, for one’s perceptions are not easily validated. Some people have such strong sensitivity to others that they take on their emotional or physical pain.  They are often referred to as “empaths”.  You may be an empath, and your empathic abilities may be heightened now. 

Trusting your senses is primary. However, what you are sensing may be subtle, so it is important to tune in to your center, and seek more clarity about what you are sensing and what you are responding to. From this “still point” you will be better able to differentiate between your sensitivity and your personal response. You have entered into reactivity when external events, situations, or people activate a strong emotional response that dominates your feelings and clouds your ability to see clearly. This does not discount what you are sensing. At these times it is important to carefully filter, identify and separate your personal emotional responses to help provide clarity.

How do you experience your sensitivity?  Do you use your sensitivity to navigate through the world?  Do you find yourself overwhelmed by strong emotional undercurrents? How do you determine when your sensitivity is over activating your own emotional charges?  

 © 2011 Leslie Helen Bambic Ciechanowski

Every week I shuffle and draw a card to write about and represent the week ahead.  My only rule is that if I draw one that I have already written about, I draw another.  In this way I am using the spirit of the cards themselves. Should you wish to view the whole deck vislt www.fuzionhealingarts.com/products, or youtube 

Please note:  Soul Navigation Cards will be available for purchase in 4-6 weeks.  Should you wish to reserve a copy for the next printing, please email leslie@fuzionhealingarts.com

 

Soul Navigation Card of the Week: BOUNDARIES

Definition: A line or plane indicating the farthest limit or extent of something; border; perimeter; the greatest possible degree of something; the marked limit of the playing area; parameters; threshold or dividing line demarcating one thing from another.

Boundaries are the limits and guidelines that we set for ourselves. Their development involves multiple psychosocial factors involving physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of self. They mark the edges of our comfort zone and define us as individuals, but they are also the places where we come together and meet each other. Without boundaries we would not be able to tell where one thing starts and another ends. 

When psychological boundaries are too soft, we may give in too easily in situations or find ourselves taken advantage of. We may continually give in to something that intrinsically feels wrong for us – we may lack the self-esteem to say no. When psychological boundaries are too rigid, on the other hand, we may be cool and “walled-off”, unapproachable, and not open to the influence of the world around us. We may also be unable to accept another’s well-meaning support, because we may lack the self-assuredness to tolerate differences.  The happy medium is having selective and flexible boundaries, that allows both protection and interaction.

Trust is the psychological membrane that holds the boundaries together. When trust is misused, through abuse, dominance, disrespect, neglect, or when one is taken advantage of by another, the container of mutuality and safety where relationships grow is breached and requires repair.

When this card is picked it may be time to examine your boundaries. Take a moment to reflect on your boundaries. Are they ever infringed upon?  Perhaps you are saying yes, despite feeling no.  Is it time to firm up your boundaries and to start exercising your right to say “no”, or “maybe”?  Are you infringing on someone else’s boundaries?

© 2011 Leslie Helen Bambic Ciechanowski

 

Every week I shuffle and draw a card to write about and represent the week ahead.  My only rule is that if I draw one that I have already written about, I draw another.  In this way I am using the spirit of the cards themselves. 

Please note:  Soul Navigation Cards will be available for purchase in 4-6 weeks.  Should you wish to reserve a copy for the next printing, please email info@fuzionhealingarts.com.  To view all the cards go to http://www.fuzionhealingarts.com/products.html.

Soul Navigation Card of the Week: UNIVERSE

Definition: All matter and energy, including the earth, the galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space, regarded as a whole; macrocosm; cosmos; the entire aggregation of items from which samples can be drawn; the sphere or realm in which something exists or takes place.

The universe is vast.  To begin to comprehend its vastness, with our rational mind is beyond our abilities, and yet we are a part of this amazing universe.  By taking a “transrational” perspective we can begin to embrace all that is.  You are in the universe, and the universe is in you.  Perhaps it is time to honor your place in this universe and take your place in this vastness, no matter how big or small you feel you are.  

It may also be time to take a broader perspective of your current situation.  When you take some distance, the intensity of any emotional charge around your concerns may change.  The further out you get, the less problematic your situation may seem, and the more facets of your situation you may see.  If you were as far away as the Milky Way how would your situation look?  This is not to dismiss your concerns, but to find solutions from a different, perhaps more objective perspective – even when things may seem chaotic, confusing, or filled with uncertainty.

All is happening within a natural order of the universe, which is not always comprehensible from our perspective.  It may be that there are many other things falling into place without your knowledge.

Where are you in your universe?  How are you co-creating your universe?  By pulling back from your situation, how does it change as you get further away from it?

“…You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.” (Desiderata -Max Ehrmann)

“The Human being is a space, an opening where the universe celebrates its experience.”  Brian Swimme

“There is no universe outside this mind.” – Zen saying

NOTE: Every week I shuffle and draw a card to write about and represent the week ahead.  My only rule is that if I draw one that I have already written about, I draw another.  In this way I am using the spirit of the cards themselves. 

Please note:  Soul Navigation Cards will be available for purchase in 4-6 weeks.  Should you wish to reserve a copy for the next printing, please email leslie@fuzionhealingarts.com.

Oracle Card of the Week: COURAGE

Definition: The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger or fear,  with self-possession, confidence and resolution; acting in accordance with one’s belief despite criticism; bravery; valor.

When we have courage, we have strength of heart that enables us to continue on despite our fears - real or imagined.  It does not mean we move forth senselessly or mindlessly, but that we simply do not let the fears of the mind, or override the spirit in the heart.  The etymology of the word courage comes from the Latin word “cor” meaning heart.  Following the truth of the heart is often a brave act, though some may feel it is all we can do. 

Our heroes throughout history and in myth, acted from what they believed in at their innermost core, despite fears or how the odds may have been stacked against them.  Their valor derived from listening and acting according to their innermost integrity.   

When fear dominates, move into your core, into your heart, and strength of conviction, and let this hold you up.  Embrace your fear and sooth it as a gentle, caring parent would a small child.  Every step out of fear and into the heart is a hero’s journey of self. 

Perhaps it is time to remember the strength of your inner convictions and let them guide your next steps, or your next thoughts.  Be gentle with yourself and remember who you are.  Move forward, despite fear.  Garner strength from the heroes you admire, well-known heroes and everyday ones.  

I think about Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and many others for the courage and strength they inspire, but more recently I am in admiration of the Tunisian and Egyptian people who gathered together with unified strength of conviction and instigated change.

Where do you need to bring more courage into your life?  How will courage change your current situation?  What are times you have acted  despite fear? 

© 2011 Leslie Helen Bambic Ciechanowski

NOTE:

Every week I shuffle and draw a card to write about and represent the week ahead.  My only rule is that if I draw one that I have already written about, I draw another.  In this way I am using the spirit of the cards themselves. 

Please note:  Fuzion Oracle Cards are no longer in stock.  Should you wish to reserve a copy for the next printing, please email leslie@fuzionhealingarts.com.

Oracle Card of the Week: PATIENCE

Definition: good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence; calmly or diligently enduring.

Whenever I get this card, I sometimes notice a twinge of irritation arising in me that usually means I need to stop pushing, slow down and allow myself and/or others to move through their process of unfolding.  In short, I need more patience.

Sometimes we have a lot of patience in certain areas of our life and not in others.  Some people may have copious amounts of patience teaching complicated material, or caring for the young, and yet none while driving.  Often we have the least amount of patience for ourselves. 

Regardless of our level of patience, there are usually situations or places where we can apply more patience.  I have never heard anyone ever say, “That person has too much patience.” Patience is not a resignation to the endurance of pain or discomfort.  Patience is the belief or expectation that everything will eventually work out and change for the better, that “this too shall pass.”

When this card shows up, you may want to ask yourself where you need more patience for yourself, others or in the world around you.   Where do you have the most patience?  Where do you have the least?  Imagine what it would feel like to extend patience to yourself. 

© 2011 Leslie Helen Bambic Ciechanowski

NOTE:

Every week I shuffle and draw a card to write about and represent the week ahead.  My only rule is that if I draw one that I have already written about, I draw another.  In this way I am using the spirit of the cards themselves. 

Please note:  Fuzion Oracle Cards are no longer in stock.  Should you wish to reserve a copy for the next printing, please email leslie@fuzionhealingarts.com.

Oracle Card of the Week: AGITATION

Definition: a mental state of extreme emotional disturbance; turbulent change or development; the feeling of being agitated; the act of agitating something causing it to move around.

When you select this card it may bring attention to areas of your life where you are experiencing agitation.  You may want to ask yourself if your agitation comes from an external or internal source, or both.  Your internal desires may not be in alignment with your external environment.

Agitation may be internally felt as frustration, irritability and anger - perhaps your will or desires seem to be continually frustrated.  Externally, you may be experiencing your environmental circumstances as not cooperating with what you are trying to do.  No matter how hard you try to control, organize, or push through it, things seem to not be working out.  This card may also bring awareness that someone near you, or in your environment is affecting you in a similar way, or that they are in a state of agitation.

If you are experiencing agitation, it may be important to ask yourself, “What are you resisting?”  How is your idea of what you want, or your view of how things should be, interfering with your ability to enjoy the moment?  What do you need to release in order to come back to your center? How is your resistance to “what is”, creating frustration and turmoil in your life

© 2011, Leslie Helen Bambic Ciechanowski

NOTE:

Every week I shuffle and draw a card to write about and represent the week ahead.  My only rule is that if I draw one that I have already written about, I draw another.  In this way I am using the spirit of the cards themselves. 

Please note:  Fuzion Oracle Cards are no longer in stock.  Should you wish to reserve a copy for the next printing, please email leslie@fuzionhealingarts.com.

Oracle Card of the Week: (Blank)

Definition: Empty; void; the unknowable; the divine; spirit; limitless; unbounded.

When you choose this card it is a reminder of your limitlessness, of the place where you create from and the unending possibilities that come out of this place.  This card can also be interpreted as being about the void, emptiness, and nothingness.  There are no conditions about what you can or cannot do.

Perhaps it is time to let go of preconceptions about what you feel you can and cannot do, or even what you expect. Move into your quiet center within and expand into your own spaciousness.  Remember the possibilities of unbounded and unconditional creation.  You have a blank canvas.  You are the artist.  What will you paint? 

Within emptiness comes a freedom - freedom from limitations, from definition, and from any ideas of perfection.  How do you react to this emptiness, are you fearful of nothing to attach to, or can you just be.

Can you see yourself as limitless?  If anything was possible how would you create your life, your world? 

 

NOTE:

Every week I shuffle and draw a card to write about and represent the week ahead.  My only rule is that if I draw one that I have already written about, I draw another.  In this way I am using the spirit of the cards themselves. 

 

Please note:  Fuzion Oracle Cards are no longer in stock.  Should you wish to reserve a copy for the next printing, please email leslie@fuzionhealingarts.com

Oracle Card of the Week: CHOICES

Definition: options or things that one may select from; the power or opportunity of choosing; the determination of the mind in preferring one thing to another.

Choice is one of the most important cards in this deck.  On the path towards meaningful growth, choice enables us to change and keep changing towards authentic self.  It is a necessary component of free will.  Without choice we live in a prison, of our own or someone else’s making.  Without conscious choice we maybe doomed to repeat things in our lives again and again.

Every time we make a conscious choice, we take a step towards where we want to be.  Every choice we make affects us, and the world around us.  The more consistent our choices are towards what we want, or believe in, the greater the potential for alignment with self.

If our choices turn out to be detrimental to us, we can shift our course and make different choices.  If our choices are reflexive, or rooted in habit, outdated beliefs, or motivated by being accepted by others, our choices may not be aligned with authentic self.  In this case, one is not truly choosing but is directed by external factors and, as a result, less connected to true self. 

Sometimes it appears we have few choices in our lives, and this may indeed be so.  However, at the most basic level, we can choose how we react to something or not, to let it go, breath through it, or explore different perspectives.  By increasing our self-awareness, we increase our range of choices.  Sometimes deep-rooted psychological patterns may lead to choices that come from our unconscious motivations and which are not always in our best interest.  It is important to reflect on the consequences of these choices in our life, to take stock, and examine the conscious and unconscious mechanisms behind the choices we have made.  By being more self-aware of our choices and any consequences, we become more-and-more aligned with our deeper nature.  The greater our awareness, the more conscious our choices can become, down to the level of choosing what thoughts and feelings we entertain in the moment.

What choices are you facing now?  How conscious are you of the choices you make on a day-to-day, moment-to-moment basis?  Are your choices reflexive, following group consensus, or stemming from authentic self?  What ripple effect do your choices have on those around you?  How do you accept the consequences of your choices?

 © 2011, Leslie Helen Bambic Ciechanowski

NOTE:

Every week I shuffle and draw a card to write about and represent the week ahead.  My only rule is that if I draw one that I have already written about, I draw another.  In this way I am using the spirit of the cards themselves. 

Please note:  Fuzion Oracle Cards are no longer in stock.  Should you wish to reserve a copy for the next printing, please email leslie@fuzionhealingarts.com.

Card of the Week: INCUBATION

Definition:  Maintaining something at a most favorable temperature or state for its growth; the gradual development in some interior environment, until fully formed; the act of keeping an organism, a cell, or cell culture in conditions favorable for growth and development.

When this card arises there may be something “brewing”.  It may not be visible yet, for it is in its beginning phase.  There may be alchemical stirrings of unconscious energies within you that are percolating and forming a new aspect of yourself for discovery, or a new creative project. 

The incubation phase is an important part of how we grow, change and create. Jung refers to it as an alchemical process towards individuation.  It can be a vulnerable time and how we move through this phase may be critical to what comes forth in our life.  If we have difficulty being with ambiguity and uncertainty, we may push too soon and let what is incubating out into the world before it is fully formed.  Opening the chrysalis of a butterfly in any part of its process may stunt its ability to fly.  Yet, if we are fearful and too cautious and stay in the incubation period too long, what is to come forth may suffocate and never experience the joy of its birth and life.

When a woman is pregnant her body prepares a perfect environment within her womb. This period of incubation is accompanied by nesting urges, wherein the environment is prepared to receive the new child.  When we incubate an idea, or project, it is important that we nurture the new growth.  We must prepare ourselves and our world around us for the changes, and listen deeply to the small voice of what is incubating within.

Is there something brewing within you? Do you have a sense of something that needs changing? How do you honor your places of ambiguity? How do you nurture your changes when they are in their infancy 

 

NOTE: Every week I shuffle and draw a card to write about and represent the week ahead.  My only rule is that if I draw one that I have already written about, I draw another.  In this way I am using the spirit of the cards themselves. 

Please note:  Fuzion Oracle Cards are no longer in stock.  Should you wish to reserve a copy for the next printing, please email leslie@fuzionhealingarts.com.

Card of the Week: STEPS

Definition:  a way of access (upward or downward) consisting of a set of steps; the course along which a person has walked or is walking in as in: "I followed in his steps”; a line or route along which something travels or moves; a move, act, or proceeding as toward some end or in the general course of some action.

When the ‘Steps’ card shows up it is a reminder that there is a process involved in all that we do.  There is a natural order to the way things unfold. A needs to happen before B and then C can follow.  It is not necessarily a linear sequence, but whatever parallel or multifaceted sequencing is involved, there are stages and steps, some of which need to happen before other things can. 

The Steps card may alert you that you may need to pay attention to processes and procedures. You may need to map out your trajectory, or pay attention to the steps required and determine where you are right now.  It may be a reminder that you cannot automatically arrive where you want to be.  The acorn did not immediately become a tree though it may have felt the possibility of the tree it is to become.

We often need to take time to breathe and remember what path we are already on.  Remember to explore and appreciate the steps.  We are on a journey and a path of becoming. 

What steps are you taking on your path?  Are you trying to skip steps?  Perhaps you need to just take the first step?   How do you embrace the process?  Do you follow your own steps, or do those of another guide you?  What makes your path uniquely yours and yet common to the human at the same time.

NOTE:

Every week I shuffle and draw a card to write about and represent the week ahead.  My only rule is that if I draw one that I have already written about, I draw another.  In this way I am using the spirit of the cards themselves. 

Please note:  Fuzion Oracle Cards are no longer in stock.  Should you wish to reserve a copy for the next printing, please email leslie@fuzionhealingarts.com .

©Leslie Helen Bambic Ciechanowski

 

Card of the Week: CHANGE

 

Definition:  To alter or modify; to become different; moving from one state to another, to alter the position, character, or appearance of a thing; to transform the countenance; to alter by substituting something else for, or by giving up for something else, e.g. to change one’s clothes, to change one's occupation, or to change one's intention.

When this card comes up, change is in the air.  True, change is always in the air and life is always in a state of flux.  We however, are creatures of habit and thrive on stability, routine, and ritual.  These things help us make sense of our world; as such it is at times difficult to make the changes we need to bring more ease and harmony in our lives.  This card suggests that an internal contemplation of change is best pursued, or perhaps it is time to pursue change outwardly and/or increase one’s actions towards change. 

When we resist change by ignoring our inner promptings, clinging to that which we know, or blocking with fear, we cause more stress in our lives.  This resistance may crystallize into such fixed patterns that only drastic external events can shatter them. 

This card may also suggest external changes are afoot, requiring you to adapt and change for your well-being.  Changes may be monumental – creating great ripples through your whole life – or they can be minor such as disruptions in routine or expectations needing to shift. 

Notice how you move through changes.  Do you resist and find yourself grumbling and complaining?  Do you adapt quickly, finding quick solutions?  Perhaps you invite change as though it was a welcomed breeze. Are you resisting a change that is calling you, or is it time to prepare for change?

One of my favorite Greek philosophers Heraclitus’s statements of truth follows us to this day, over 2500 years later: ”You can never step into the same river twice.”  Some truths are universal, like the natural order of things whose mystery we are still discovering, and do not change.

NOTE:

Every week I shuffle and draw a card to write about and represent the week ahead.  My only rule is that if I draw one that I have already written about, I draw another.  In this way I am using the spirit of the cards themselves. 

On the “eve of the Solstice” and concurrent lunar eclipse, I find the change card very propitious.  This astrological configuration has not occurred in 400 years.   It perhaps is a harbinger of change. 

May we welcome change that brings in the light of truth

into all levels of our being and our world.

  May we know the light of our own true nature.

May Peace and Joy be with you.

 

Wishing you a wonderful Holiday Season.

Leslie

 

© 2010 Leslie Helen Bambic Ciechanowski

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Card of the Week: COMPASSION

Definition: a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering; the humane quality of understanding the suffering of others and wanting to do something about it; tenderness, mercy, clemency, commiseration, deep sympathy and caring

Having compassion is about pure open-heartedness, a witnessing and acceptance of what is without judgment. Compassion is felt in the heart and expands our heart as we let go of attachments to stories. It is not a projection of our pain onto another nor is it an expectation based on our assumptions.

As with sympathy or empathy, compassion implies the ability to feel what the other is feeling - however, compassion moves even deeper.  It is experienced in the present moment not as a feeling for, but feeling with another that at its most profound level has the capacity to heal the spirit, for in this place of deep tender witnessing one is not alone.

We may have compassion for an animal, another person’s pain and suffering, even the earth.  However, it is often most difficult to have compassion for ourselves.  There are parts of ourselves that we wall off through fear, shame, and guilt or through indoctrination, patterns from early childhood experiences, or through group mind.  When we are able to extend compassion to self - dropping the judgment and experiencing the feelings without condemnation or recrimination, but with tenderness and caring - we heal a part of ourselves, not only the wounded part but also the part that judges ourselves and others.

What brings up feelings of deep compassion?  When do you have most compassion for others?  When do you have compassion for yourself?  Where can you expand this level of compassion to yourself, others and or to other places in your life?  If you could feel “with” another, how would that change how you are with them?  If we could all increase our capacity to feel compassion, how would it change the world?

 

Please note:  Fuzion Oracle Cards are no longer in stock.  Should you wish to reserve a copy for the next printing, please contact email leslie@fuzionhealingarts.com .

 

© 2010 Leslie Helen Bambic Ciechanowski

 

Listening to Spirit - Whatever the Holiday

New Spirit Journal is a great online and print Journal here in the Pacific Nowthwest.  They just published the December edition which has an article I wrote.  It is worth checking it out at as there are lots of interesting article. http://www.newspiritjournal.com/  It is also below for your reading ease.

How often have you said to yourself, “I knew that was going to happen!” or “I should have listened to my intuition!”?  It is very easy to dismiss our intuition.   Intuition is our soul speaking to us.  It most often speaks in whispers of feelings, hunches and inklings, images, sometimes they are difficult to hear and interpret.  I have a number of instances where life would have flowed more easily, if only I would have listened.  Listening to our intuition or “spirit” is listening to our soul, wise self or higher self.  When we listen to our inner promptings, our life tends to run a little more smoothly, timing of events seem to synchronously coordinate without our attempts to manage all the details.  And sometimes when we listen, we help someone out in ways that are unimaginable.

  These days when I discount my inner promptings, it is usually because their warning triggers fear, and sometimes I purposefully ignore these inklings, not wanting my life to be directed by fear.  That is why I discounted the vague apprehension I felt when I thought of our up coming trip.  I chalked it up to my worrying mind.  I may have discounted my intuition, but someone else was listening to his.  This is a story of someone listening.

It was Christmas Eve.  We had been driving all day to our friends in Nelson, B.C.  We were on the last stretch before the Canadian border.  Our car was packed with bags, presents, and our two girls who sat enthralled, listening to books on tape.   It was now very dark.  The weather conditions had been good, but the temperature was starting to drop.  We stopped for gas, and in the interest of time, my husband asked at the station about a shortcut that would reduce our travel time.   We took recommended road, but soon discovered that it was not well used, nor well lit.  It was curvy and hilly, and now becoming very icy. 

            My husband drove more and more slowly.  My focus joined his on the road.  Sensing our attention to what lay in front of us, our two young daughters also became more silent, and then began to scream as we suddenly slid into the other lane and stopped just before the rail and the descending hill.  I could hear the blood pumping in my ears.  It was a close call. 

My husband and I both carefully got out of the car to check the conditions.  We needed to put on chains, but could not from the down slope we were on.  Of the few cars that passed only one gentleman in a truck stopped, just enough to make sure we were not injured and then left quickly without another word.  After all, it was Christmas Eve and everyone was trying to get somewhere. 

            My husband was looking for flat ground and a flatter surface to put chains on.     We slowly restarted the car and inched our way back to our side of the road, but could not make it down without sliding into the ditch.  We had to stop.  At least this time it was a more controlled stop. 

            By this time our girls were very quiet, occasionally asking for reassurance, which I amply gave them despite my concern.  And then I sat quiet for a few moments and sent out a prayer, a request for safety, protection and guidance.  With a heart that pulsed strongly for the well-being and safety of others – my children, I sent out a strong call.

            Barely 2 minutes later a car pulled up and actually stopped.   Out of the car came a short, bearded man.  He brought his flashlight, as we had been fumbling around in the dark trying to put chains on.   He helped us put on the chains in no time and offered to guide us out of the icy area to the juncture where the path was well trodden.   He told us that though he lived in the area, he rarely took this route, but felt directed by spirit to take it this evening.  I thanked him for listening, for helping, for the light he brought to us, and the flashlight he gifted us that evening.  We shook hands good-bye, and exchanged names. 

            As we followed behind him off the icy road, my husband kept reciting his name, and since he has a penchant for palindromes, he reversed his name.   With glee he exclaimed “NOEL, Noel! Leon is NOEL backwards!!”

To this day I feel deep gratitude for this gentle man who listened to spirit, who helped us out of a difficult situation, and brought peace of mind.  When we listen to the whispers of spirit, we strengthen and deepen our connection to our soul; we become more centered, whole and an integral part of all life around us.  My distress call was heard, and for this I am grateful, not only to Leon, but to spirit, to that which connects us in this web of life.

 In what ways do you listen to your own inner guidance/spirit?  How do you feel after you follow these promptings?  How has listening to intuition assisted your community at large? 

 

© 2010 Leslie Helen Bambic Ciechanowski, M.Ed

 

 

Card of the Week: Dark

Definition:  absence of light; absence of moral or spiritual values; an unenlightened state; causing dejection; showing a brooding ill humor

Dark is a place we all need to dive deeply into once in a while to find our luminescence deep within. Dark is quiet and empty and without pulse.  Its gripping silence and emptiness can be frightening.   In this silence we may hear our thoughts whirling, and feel the grip of strong old pain, or perhaps old beliefs, habits, or ways of thinking hampering our ability to feel joy or our inner peace.  When we dive in, if we hold our breath and struggle, we may be resisting and fighting against ourselves and the very essence of our being.

When we encounter the dark card it may be telling us that it is a time to turn inward and look deeply through the darkness to find the light and strength from within. 

It may come at a time when you are moving through some deep or painful issues in your life where you encounter your shadow or another’s shadow side that may be moving you off your center.  When in this phase, it is important to remember that out of the dark seasons of our lives much growth and light can come. Though the dark is the absence of light, you are never completely in the dark as there are always tiny specks of light. 

How do you move through the dark phases of your life?  When you are in a negative cycle are you overpowered by your negative habits or addictions of various sorts to get you through? Do you run, hide, fight, or accept where you are?  Where is your shadow casting itself?  Are you being affected by someonelse's dark cycle?

 

© 2010 Leslie Helen Bambic Ciechanowski

Overdoses in Roslyn: the call, the challenge, and the choices for transformation

 

It was late when we drove up to our mountain getaway in Roslyn, WA.  We were having one of those increasingly rare family weekends.  About one mile from town we pulled to the side to let an approaching ambulance pass, but thought nothing of it.  By the time we arrived at our destination, we were greeted by a kaleidoscope of strobing lights.  Ambulances and police cars littered our small block and the next street.  There was a bustle of activity that this small town of 900 rarely sees.  The authorities were checking in on an out of control party.  Though drastic and shocking, it is not that unusual in the world of our youth to have a  “party disaster”.  This one was more than usual.

 

The story of this party unfolded throughout the day and into the evening, and it is still unfolding.  It goes something like this:  It was homecoming night, an occasion for celebration; there was a dance, and then an “after party” where the young gathered at a local rental house that the renter’s son was using.  Not that uncommon of a story yet.   Here is where it gets unusual.  Someone had put something in the drinks that (predominately) the girls were drinking.   Cups were apparently color-coded to determine who got the spiked drinks and who did not.

 

The party was brought to the attention of the authorities by a young woman calling on behalf of her friend, who had been sexually assaulted and had passed out in the back seat of a car in a nearby grocery store parking lot.  When the authorities arrived at the scene of the party, there were numerous others in semi-consciousness and unconscious states.  Yet another woman was found semi-conscious in the process of being sexually assaulted.  The alleged sexual assaulter was arrested and has since been released.  Reports say over 12 people overdosed in total, 11 of whom were women.  One young woman was in critical condition for several days.  The authorities have not isolated the drug used, nor had they found drugs at the party.

 

So many lives were affected by this event: the people who overdosed, the people or person who organized it, the families immediately involved, the nearby university which was now strengthening their policy on student drug use.  And women in general now need to pay a different sort of attention to their personal safety.  The ripples continue. 

 

Women and men are both being called to change.  Women have had many freedoms and liberties gained over the centuries, more in some parts of the world than others.  However, women are not yet free from fear.   This event though has the potential for positive transformation. 

 

I am going to step back and take a broader psycho-spiritual perspective on the event.  Without defining masculine and feminine in terms of gender but rather as “archetypal principles” at play in our world, I make the broad generalization that we are sadly out of balance – individually and collectively.   We need to dig deep within ourselves both personally and collectively to make change.

 

This is not an us-versus-them, male-versus-female perspective, but rather principles of the masculine and feminine - yin and yang if you will - that some would suggest have been out of balance for millennia. The yang energy (masculine) is a natural strong, assertive, outward-moving energy associated with the power of action, whereas the yin energy (feminine) is seen as receptive and inward-moving, with the power of yielding.

 

When the masculine is out of balance, we use force to get what we want, mistaking it for “true power”.  We take without asking, without discriminating, or without attention to who or what we are taking from – and we are left with strip mines, clear cuts, and gulf oil disasters - and with lost souls.  When the feminine is out of balance we use a more passive indirect use of force to get what we want.  We yield without discriminating, and accept so easily another’s worldview, belief system, propaganda, mind-numbing TV, and endless consumption of junk food, alcohol and yes, drugs.  We have managed our chaos, or Koyaanisquatsi (Inuit for life-out-of-balance) by becoming, in the words of Pink Floyd, “comfortably numb”.

 

I have witnessed many Internet comments on this particular news report.  Some blame the kids, some the drugs, some even blame Obama. One reporter even questioned whether the women were, in fact, targeted.  Eleven out of twelve receiving spiked drinks is statistically beyond any probability of it being chance.

 

Blaming is not useful.  Examination of what went wrong and how we can change this on all levels, internally and externally is a call to transformation.  How can we make changes in our busy daily lives to correct our own internal imbalance?  How can we be better models to our young and leave them a better legacy of a life of hope, joy, peace and yes, love?

 

Every event in our lives, every moment in our lives, we have the power of choice.  It may not be a big one, but it is our choice.  What choices will you make to transform the world around you?   What choices will you make towards right speech, right thinking, and right action in your life?

 

© 2010 Leslie Helen Bambic Ciechanowski