Why Meditate?

Hello Fellow Seekers,

Anyone I have provided an intuitive reading for knows one of my first questions is, Are you meditating?  If I have read for you a second time the question is, How many times a week are you meditating?  It is my own personal, magical mission to encourage everyone I come in contact with to meditate at least one time a day.  Why...I really don't have the space here to discuss all the reasons, physical, mental, spiritual and on and on so I will stick to why it is relative to meditate if you seek spiritual advice.

When you enter into an agreement with an intuitive or other spiritual advisor, you not only agree to listen with your ears, contemplate with your mind and move accordingly, you agree to open a connection of vibratory realness, hmmm "vibratory realness".

This goes for any type of advisor advisee relationship.  This does not mean that you accept everything you are told, quite the opposite, in fact you should mentally question every word.  However if you take the time to meditate, while contemplating the advice or information you are given the advantages are multiple, just a few:

1.  There is a more clear connection each time you meet with the advisor.  This allows for a more complete flow of information and spiritual connection.  You will have a constant flow of energy with your advisor that is less likely to be polluted by outside static.

2.  Your spirit guides will be more attuned to the situations and realities of your discussions and will appear more clear in relation to your next steps.  Meditation is like having a follow up session with your intuitive.  Keeps everyone on the same page as it were. 

3.  There is less likely to be misinterpretation of the advice given.

Now for my advisor friends, please allow me this indulgence to say; if we are not mediating shame on us.  While we can never be 100% on all our advice, we are not the creator and we deal with free will, we owe it to anyone seeking our advice to be as spiritually attuned and connected as we can.  There are a few things in our daily walk that we can have `100% control of, and this is one of those things. What are the benefits to us? I'm glad you asked!

1.  Meditating helps to clear the way for a free flow of triad communication.

2.  Increasing our ability to focus

3.  Places us in a reverent state of mind and makes us more receptive to the spiritual messages we receive.

OK, I know most of us would love to be sitting on a mountain somewhere or on the beach contemplating the universal mysteries, for most of us that is not possible, so how do we balance our meditative walk.  Keep in mind Andrews Axioms in relation to Meditation:

• There is no right or wrong way to meditate.  The fact that you do it is the most important step.  The correct way will be revealed to you in time, the correct way for you! 
• If nothing else closing your eyes for three minutes in contemplation will be a start.  By doing this you activate your Pineal Gland to become receptive to light without the aid of your physical sight.  This gland is the closest physical representation to the spiritual third eye. 
• Complete quite and the proper posture is not essential.  I do believe they are preferable, but you will achieve your most complete meditative return on investment by meditating as you feel most comfortable.  In my mediation groups I tell everyone this...be comfortable. 
• Incorporate words, colors, sounds and aromas into your mediation when able.  

So there, three minutes with your eyes closed, simply that is it if your goal in improved spiritual communication and clarity.  

In my tradition there are multiple meditations for specific requests, I am happy to share these with you if you contact me.  Better yet consider joining me for mediation, email me for times and locations.  These meditation groups are guided and come from a southern folk magic tradition.  Email me with questions.

My you be blessed beyond your wildest dreams!    

Many blessings

Andrew Jaycen

Planting seeds during the time of harvest!

As we move closer to the season change, I am reminded of the smallness of our world.  It was the summer of 1969 and I was a young child staying with my grandmother on the banks of the Green River.  Usually by this time in the evening Grandmother would have put me to bed, notice I didn't say "to sleep". She knew that it was the darkness and night that brought the more interesting spirits around, and her little boy blue would not miss that.  

On this particular night she stood up from her rocking recliner and said, lets go out and see the men on the moon!!!  We made our way out the front door and down the wooden steps onto the yard already moist with dew.  The night air was cool and the view of the stars was crystal clear.  I still remember the way her hand felt in mine, soft and wrinkled and stronger than any beast known to man or God.  

She stooped down and said, "look, can you see them walking around?"  Never wanting to disappoint her I said, "I think so".  She then explained to me that even though our mental/physiological capacity did not allow us to register that we saw them, we indeed did. I was only around 3 years old but I remember those words, and having absolutely NO idea what she was talking about, but she smelled like sugar cookies so she had my undivided attention.   

We then went back in the house and her phone was ringing, two short rings and one long ring, she had a true "party line".  It was a lady from the next town over in distress.  "Now you go on to bed", she said "I have work to do, and don't forget your prayers".  

As I was told I went back to my small bedroom in her shack, laying on the tiny bed and looking out the window at the large backyard.  To the right I could see the reflection of the moon on the river, to the left the wood line that held mysteries and a world of opportunity.  Directly back from my window I could see the out house with its well worn path.  On this particular night there were at least a dozen rabbits running around.  I watched them for a minute th then off to sleep. 

My dreams were full of fantasy that evening.  Perhaps due to the conversation with my grandmother, or due to the work she was doing in the next room. 

Years later it dawned on me that she had taken me out on the night of the moon landing, she had used a mundane opportunity to instill a magical truth into my developing psyche.  She had planted a seed in me, one that would take years to come to fruition but one that was potent and true. The intent is every bit as important as the anticipated outcome and it does not matter what we see with our physical eyes, its what we direct with our cosmic consciousness.   

In our small worlds it can be easy to forget to plant those seeds.  We spend so much time hunting and gathering, defending and attacking and focusing on the lack in our own lives.

One of the most effect seed planting methods is meditation.  There is no right or wrong way to meditate, it is the intent and focus that is important.  It is also important for us to be in contact with nature.  The manner in which we achieve this contact is irrelevant, it is that we do.  It can be sitting watching your goldfish, your puppy or just looking out the window at the sky.  Do this consistently and with intent to connect.   

As always if you have any questions send me an email or message and I am happy to discuss.  I wish you blessings and light.    

A happy puppy and memories of the Fruit Moon

While it is certain we will have many hot and muggy days ahead, this August in Kentucky has been mild and beautiful.  If you sit perfectly still and allow your senses to engage the magic of season the change is almost palatable.  The trees seem a bit more sleepy and the animals a tad more intense, all in anticipation of the  dark cool days of Autumn.  For me I think of this time of the year as the beginning of the "season of the witch".  

I was sitting in the park yesterday watching my silly Cocker Spaniel puppy play with the other dogs, he rolled down the hill then up he would jump only to be knocked down again.  As I observed his play, my mind wandered to things of the mundane such as: my health, bills, the many projects I could be working on, and other issues.  I noticed my body had become tense, breathing was increased and the happy smile I had possessed just a few minutes earlier had been wrestled from my face, thrown to the ground and had its butt kicked by a worried scowl…YUCK! 

After many years of meditation and spirit work I know that to fight these emotions and thoughts are vain, we must flow with the river not against it.  So putting my focus back on the pups running up the hill I thought again about how they seemed to have no worries, no cares.  Total focus was placed on fun, movement and in the case of my dog, determining who else on the hill had dog treats!  

The full moon for August will occur on the 20th, in my tradition it is known as the Fruit Moon and will be in Aquarius.  Now is the time to take every opportunity to plant seeds for the coming year.  For my family and community this was the time of the year we would acknowledge the relationship and dependency between the animal kingdom and human kingdoms. 

I am reminded of spending time along the banks of the Green River as a child. Every August around the full moon my Grandmother and I would go out to the River, just a few steps down a steep bank  and across some ancient stone steps.  She would carry a big bag of cornmeal and bird seed.  I would wait every year for her to tell me the story of the animal kingdom changing courts and rulers during this season.  It would begin;

Today, today, today

The royal wedding is

Was this why you were born,

Destined for joy by the Gods.

                                    And unto joy of the Gods Designed?

Pointing up at a squirrel she would determine where in the process our furry friends were in choosing a King and Queen.  If they were lazing about that meant they were still in the process of choosing a new king and queen,  If they were scurrying about they had just chosen the rulers for the coming winter and were busily preparing for the long cold nights ahead, sure to have plenty to eat for their new leaders.  

Each time she would excitedly and dramatically proclaim, "The King and Queen have been crowned Long Live The Royals"!!!  When I was young, though it may seem silly, I would get so excited about this.  We would then reach into our sacks of seed and meal and place them respectfully around the banks and bushes.  It was our intention to help the animals around our house to bring an impressive bounty of treasured food to their new King and Queen!  It was a recurring theme with her that we were and are our brothers and sisters keepers.  We should and must look out for each other.  To Grandmother our brothers and sisters included all living things.  The Gods help anyone who would mistreat an animal and my Grandmother found out about it.  My skin still gets bumpy and the hair on the back of my neck stands on end when I think about the Magick she reserved for those who would do such a thing…but that is for a different day!   

The August Moon, while in my tradition was known as the Fruit or Mulberry Moon, later become known as the Dog Days Moon by the early settlers in this land.  Though we now are more European in lineage than native, to my Grandmother and myself it is still the fruit moon and I still believe there is a rabbit, snake or deer out there somewhere waiting to be crowned King or Queen!   

The world in which I lived some 40 years ago, was much different now when one thinks of our relationships to animals.  Many household pets never came in the house, and would never see a doctor.  Our dogs held a purpose, to hunt for food and to stand watch over our home.  This has changed for most of us, I hold to the notion that as we moved from the piscean age into the aquarian age, from a masculine note to a more maternal feminine cosmic note our relationship with animals became more emotional and less utilitarian.  

So in honor of her memory and in the memory of our animal friends who have crossed over the previous 12 months, I ask that you take a couple of steps to honor those beings in our realm who live for the moment. 

1.  As you are able donate your time and/or money to non profit groups in your area who work with animals.  

2.  Go outside to a place you feel connected with spirit and repeat the following words as often as you wish.  While this has been paraphrased a bit, the words, phrases and intentions can be traced back over 200 years in my family.  My Grandmother would recite this (to the best of my memory) every year at the Fruit moon.  Usually spoken in a mixture of Kant and a native tongue.   

Most exalted and illumined ones, 

you who run through the Forrest and meadows with abandon.

You who live in our homes standing guard over our sleeping selves and possessions. 

You who journey with us in spirit as we walk among the realms, ensuring we find our way home.  

You who swim in the waters and fly in the heavens. 

We/I acknowledge your divinity and your realness, we offer our respect and reverence, for you allow us to partake in your worlds experience.  

Oh elevated spirit, I ask that you remove any discomfort, any pain, any fear that may attempt to intrude upon our animal friends.  For we know to live as a creature of the wood, water or air is to climb the ladder to enlightenment.  

So it is So it is……

Many blessings to all and continued bliss!
Andrew Jaycen 

  

Offered in honor of Chief, Fallon, Magnolia, Bubbles, Hannah, Sadie and any and all others who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge in advance of us.  Run, play and eat we shall see you soon.