Shadowscapes Tarot Review

I just received this gorgeous deck from a dear friend for my birthday.  She wanted to get a deck I probably didn’t have and that was beautiful.  It was recommended to her from the owner of the store where she bought it and it certainly hit the mark!

This deck is in my favorite colors…soft pastel lavenders, silver, greens, yellows and blues. Metallic silver borders make them feel rich.  Very appealing to a Cancer!  At first, I thought all the images looked the same but when I took time to really look, they are quite different and quite beautiful. I am spending a lot of time just looking at the artwork, which is quite beautiful.

I’ve had a lot of gorgeous artsy decks but the question is always, “Can I read from them?”. Many of them don’t cut it for me, but this deck does.  I think it has to do with the gorgeous artwork and that I resonate with the colors.  It’s also inoffensive to clients, who are sometimes put off by the Rider Waite Death, Devil and Tower card.

Another friend who has them suggested that they would be better if they were a little bigger. I would like a little thicker card stock but it’s adequate.

They come in a very beautiful and usable box with a great book to help you learn the cards.

The deck is by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and Barbara Moore and available on Amazon.

Grab a deck if you can.  You won’t regret it.

Reiki, Now More Than Ever

I first learned Reiki way back in 1993.  I was going through a terrible time in my life and I happened into a metaphysical store and met some wonderful people.  The owner of the store was a Reiki Master and talked me into getting my first attunement.  Without really understanding the incredible impact Reiki would have on my life, I took the attunement and proceeded through 1997 to take all the levels of Reiki. Since I took my Reiki Master I have been teaching Reiki and have attuned hundreds of students.

Over the years I learned many metaphysical modalities but Reiki was the one that really got me through life.  For many years I worked as a dog groomer and a retail manager, trying to raise my kids and learn as much as I could about alternative healing of body, mind and spirit.  Those were hard years and for many of them I had no health insurance. Even when I worked for a big box type pet store, they didn’t offer health insurance.

Working those types of jobs took a terrible toll on my body.  I suffered pain in my wrists, back and feet.  I got so bad at one point with Plantar Fasciitis that I could barely walk.  It took me awhile to realize that I could in fact use Reiki on myself, as I was very focused on using it for my clients.  After about of week of daily Reiki, my foot healed and I never had it again.  There were many aches and pains over the years, but Reiki never let me down.

My point is that we are not totally helpless in the current healthcare situation.  I find what is going on with healthcare in the US appalling, but I do know that there are many things I can heal on my own, or with the help of other alternative health practitioners. Reiki has gotten me through and I’m sure it will continue to help.

So don’t just sit and let all this happen.  Take your power.  Learn Reiki.  Learn alternative healing. It’s one of the many ways we can FIGHT BACK.

Love & Light, Georgia

www.georgiavlahos.com

 

Spiritual Etiquette

I love to visit different places of worship, from Orthodox Churches to Hare Krishna Temples.  Probably because I have a rising sign in Sagittarius, the sign of religion and philosophy, religion and spirituality intrigue me.  Before I visit, however, I consult Google to see what the customs are.  I think it’s very important to respect cultural rules and mores.

Lately however, I’ve found that in spiritual not religious circles, people are disrespectful in events I have facilitated.  I am assuming it comes from ignorance, so that’s why I’m writing this blog.

Most often encountered is tardiness.  Recently, I participated in a Full Moon Circle.  We created an energetic Circle.  The Circle is created in order to intensify the energy that is raised for our purposes. In this case we were letting go of negative belief systems that held us back.  So it was pretty intense.  In the middle of the Circle, during out meditation, a person came 40 minutes late and was banging on the (glass) door.  I motioned to her that I couldn’t let her in, and she became quite irate.  A few months ago, we were in the middle of a meditation during Reiki Circle and had the same issue with a late comer. In this instance, she told me how RUDE I was and was quite angry.

So the lesson here is simple:  if you want to attend a spiritual event, any event, BE ON TIME.  To come late is to be very disrespectful to the people facilitating the event and to the participants. To come late is to disrupt the flow of energy, the concentration of meditators and to simply disturb the the event in a way that is rude.  So be ON TIME!

Another no-no is not to touch someone else’s sacred tools without asking. This includes crystals, wands, Wiccan tools, drums, rattles and etc.

Dress properly and respectfully.  I once had someone come to a serious event with her breasts quite literally hanging out.  Also, don’t talk out of turn or laugh loudly.  Don’t interrupt when someone else is talking.

So next time you go to a spiritual event, be courteous and respectful.  If you have any questions at all, contact me.

Choosing Your “Psychic”

I define my reading style as an intuitive Tarot card reader who is also clairvoyant and empathic. I can also admit that I change that definition from time to time to address new skills I work with. I am also a Certified Life Coach and Astrologer.  But what does this actually mean?  There are many types of psychics and readers and as potential client you should know the difference.

“Psychic” is a catch all phrase that can mean many things. I am using it in this blog as such.  I’ll go into more detail below.

Starting off is the Tarot reader.  This person has mastered reading the Tarot cards (or Oracle cards or Runes).  Many do not boast of any extrasensory powers, they simply read the cards. This can be very effective because for some strange reason, the cards work.  We don’t know exactly why they work, but they do work through the principle of synchronicity, which is defined as the simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection, i.e., the cards and the events in your life.

An intuitive reader will also have feelings about the reading.  If the reader is experienced, he or she will know that the feelings are usually right. For example, if you ask a question about your lover, the reader might get a very strong feeling about your relationship. Moving into a more intense knowing is the clairvoyant. The clairvoyant has an inner knowing that can be quite strong and persistent. She may experience clairsentience, meaning she can actually sense and feel what is going on. This is also known as empathy, the ability to feel what another is feeling. People who feel the emotions of others are known as empaths.

Clairaudience is the ability to have a little voice in the head that guides you.  It’s not the little voice that tells you to do bad things.  That is psychosis and needs medication! The little voice may be your Spirit Guide, angel, higher self, etc. The  “little voice in my head” has saved me many times throughout the course of my life.

Claircognizance is the ability to just know something without facts.  For example, you might be about to drive somewhere and a little voice in your head says don’t get in the car. This is because you would have had an accident.  How many of you ignore that little voice in your heads?

There are other skills too, such as mediumship, which is the ability to communicate with the deceased.  This can be dramatic like you might see on television or it can be a simple inner knowing.  Palm reading is the ability to read the map of the the client’s life from the lines on the palm. Channeling is the ability to bring through the words of another entity. It’s important that the entity always be from the Light. Channeling astral plain spirits who give negative messages is to be discouraged.  Make sure your channeler is experienced and working through the Light.

Often your “psychic” will have a combination of skills.  I know I experience all of them from one time to another.  But the ones I experience most reliably are Clairsentience (Empath), Clairvoyance and Clairaudience.  I am an occasional medium, though I don’t advertise that because I don’t do the very dramatic trance mediumship, which is actually allowing the dead to speak through you.  People seem to be conditioned from TV to expect the drama.

In order to get a good reading from a psychic, go in with an open mind and heart. There are some clients who come in and say nothing and expect you to know everything about them. I tell them I’m not a mind reader, nor would I want to be. And why would you pay someone to tell you what you already know? My best readings come from clients who are open and communicative.

I am also a Certified Life Coach, so I feel that part of any good reading is to find a solution to the problem.  Sometimes I’ll integrate Astrology to better understand my client. My goal is to have my clients leave with workable solutions to their problems as well as some hope for the future. As a Life Coach, I can help you set and realize your goals, get clear on what you want, and basically straighten out your life!

Beware the psychic who promises to remove curses, karma or bring back old lovers.  These are scammers, because there are no such things as curses, and only you can balance your karma.  I’m not saying that it can’t be done, but bringing back old lovers is a form of Black Magic and is not without karmic consequences for you. Black Magic involves the manipulation of another person without their permission.  These psychics charge huge amounts of money, scare the daylight out of you, and offer to burn candles and what not.  Often your initial visit is quite inexpensive, but when you are there they will give you some tidbit of information that will frighten you and they will tantalize you with just enough information to make you keep coming back. When people are in a vulnerable place, they are more open to this in their desperation. Some people have been taken for thousands of dollars, and many of these readers have been arrested.  There’s an interesting Hulu series about these “psychics” who are really part of a large, nationwide crime family.  The series is Shut Eye, and is available with a Hulu subscription.  It really does give psychics a bad name, but you should know that most of us are honest, talented and want only to help you.  You should leave your reading with hope, not fear! And remember, no one can balance your karma for you.  Only you can do that.

And I’d also like to advise you that peering in too deeply into another person’s life or feelings is not ethical.  I am comfortable talking about how that person relates to you, but I’m not comfortable telling you all sorts of personal things about them.  How would you like it if someone went to a psychic and they told him or her all your personal stuff?  It’s very invasive.

I also feel that diagnosing illness and predicting death are unethical.  Diagnosing illness is actually against the law here in California and predicting death is better left to God. Doctors predict death all the time, and I often wonder if they hadn’t done that, would the person live longer?  That is a self fulfilling prophecy.

Try to choose your psychic for the skills that would be of the most benefit to you.  For example, if you want to talk to your dead Aunt Zelda, choose a medium.  If you want to find out what will happen in your marriage, choose someone with claircognizance.

I would be happy to answer your questions about psychics or give you a reading.  You can contact me at sacredim@hotmail.com or call me at the Myztic Isle at 619-465-3005.

 

 

Ego and Reiki

Ego has no place in healing.  It is possible to accomplish greats feats of healing with Reiki, but taking credit for the healing promotes the growth of ego.  Ego creates blocks in the Chakras.  A Reiki practitioner must present as a clear and open channel for the energy.  When ego intrudes, judgment enters and there is no place for ego in healing work.

The biggest error Reiki practitioners make is believing it’s them doing the healing and not the energy. It’s not you; it’s the energy.  The energy exists in perfection and will go where it needs to go, no matter what the practitioner does. I’ve seen practitioners waving their arms around and doing all sorts of dramatic movements, but the truth is that Reiki can’t be done wrong and it can’t be controlled.  The practitioner is merely a channel for it.  Try to be a pure and open channel.  Reiki energy is Divine in origin; it exists in perfection.

Reiki mastery should never come from ego.  As I tell all my students, “I don’t care if you raise the dead, it’s still not you.”  And so it is true that the healing comes from the energy both within the client as well as the Ki that exists in the universe and is channeled by the practitioner. The practitioner is merely a channel, “an empty bone”, as the saying goes. So the ego has to die; if not by willing it away then by uncomfortable situations that the Universe (or God, or Goddess) will throw at us to make us learn this difficult lesson. The Universe ever conspires to do battle with the ego. These are our “lessons”, uncomfortable to downright miserable events that come into our lives to help us to learn and grow. And thus, the need to “heal the world” comes from compassion, not ego.

 

Love, Georgia

Broken Hearts

Everyone remembers the phrase, “He’s just not that into you”. I think it became a book and was featured in an episode of Sex and the City. It refers to the pesky little fact that perhaps that guy or gal who is not calling and answering your texts really isn’t that interested in having a relationship.

At least twice a week I get a person who comes in for a Tarot reading asking about a former lover who is long gone.  They can’t quite get the person out of their minds, and they cannot move forward to a new relationship.  They believe in the hearts that the person is coming back, but most times the card reading indicates they will not.  I’ve actually had a person get mad at me because I did not confirm that the lover was indeed coming back.

I have a lot of compassion for these people because I was once one.  It took me many years to get over a former lover, and no relationship I had afterwards lasted because he took up too much space in my heart.

In my pain, I looked everywhere for relief.  I learned Reiki, energy healing, Tarot reading, Astrology, and more, just trying to understand it.  And I learned something valuable from the experience. What I learned is the subject of a book I’m currently writing on soul mates.

I’m not going to give away the contents of my book, but there is a lot more at play here. These people who we can’t seem to forget are more than just not being that into you.  They are soul mates, people who come into our lives move us forward on our spiritual path. They aren’t necessarily meant to stay.  Sometimes they are catalysts, coming to wake us from our negative lives.  Sometimes they come to alert us to something that is out of balance within ourselves — ego, closed heart, low self esteem.

But I would say nearly almost all the time they come from our past lives. They come with unresolved karma that leaves us feeling like we are uncomplete without them.  Once the karma is complete, we can move on.  I’ve done many regressions that have helped people to move on from these types of relationships.

For more information, you’ll just have to wait for the book.  Or book an appointment!

Miracle Cures

Yesterday, I read that soy is being reconsidered as beneficial.  It was originally touted as such, then not.  From time to time, various items become the “it” miracle cure, such as turmeric, certain mushrooms, marijuana, etc.

Though I think some products have merit in our diets, I don’t think that any one can be the “magic bullet” that is a cure-all. I think this kind of thinking comes from the discovery of the original “magic bullet”, penicillin, which changed the course of humanity. Previously, diseases such as a strep throat or an injury could cause death.  Penicillin came along and saved millions of lives.

Today we are always looking for the “miracle cure”, the instant fix that will solve all our problems and heal all our diseases.  As a healer, I know that true healing comes from many places:  Reiki, energy healing, allopathic medicine, alternative medicine, spiritual maturity, positive thoughts, appropriate diet and weight, and a meaningful life.

I call the instant cure, “McSpirit”.  It’s the American mentality of wanting everything instantly, like a McDonald’s meal.  Yes, you get instant gratification, but in the long term you destroy your body.

What we really need is balance in our lives.  Balanced chakras, balanced emotions, balanced meals, balanced thoughts.  True healing takes work and must occur on all three levels: body, mind and spirit.