Inner Journey Events

The journey continues

This year, I took the usual summer hiatus in July and August to plan the fall and winter programs for Inner Journey Events - and to enjoy the summer - and a curious thing happened. As part of the planning and development review, I came to realize that the focus for this fall would be the reorganization and refocus of Inner Journey Events itself, along with a renewed focus on my own spiritual and intuitive development.

Newsletter subscribers who are also members of our Meetup group will know that I decided to discontinue that group. As our organization has grown so has the interest, experience and focus of the participants. Although the weekly circles have supported our practice for the last few years, many of you expressed a desire to "kick it up a notch" and noted that the Meetup format - a two hour session - no longer met your needs for a deeper experience.

I felt the best way to support that was to move away from the weekly sessions and offer workshops and events of more depth and focus to the participants. I trust that opportunities for regular practice will still be available to you.

Many of you have been in touch since that announcement, and it's been great to receive your positive comments and your dedication to continuing on your path of intuitive, spiritual and energetic development.

What's next for Inner Journey Events? I continue to develop workshops and events, as well as aromatherapy products in support of your journey. During the planning phase, I welcome your input - what are some of the topics you would like to study?

I am still available for individual readings, coaching, mentoring and Psych-K balancing. Click here to book a session.

 

Serenity Blend for a stress-free day

The fall can be a very intensive time with new projects, new classes, new stresses as well as decreasing light as our days become shorter.

Consider this essential oil blend for reducing your stress. Put a few drops onto a handkerchief or tissue and inhale gently, or add to a 25ml bottle of your favourite carrier oil to use as a massage or bath blend.

Serenity Blend Formulation:

• 9 drops lavender essential oil, for calming the spirit
• 3 drops lemon essential oil, for clarity of thought
• 2 drops of geranium essential oil, for adrenal support and as a general tonic
• 2 drops of bergamot essential , for uplifting the spirit 

Make it yourself or click here to purchase oils and/or bottles from Inner Journey Outfitters.

Please note that there are no shipping charges added in the Shopping Cart, as these are priced for pick-up. If you prefer the items to be shipped, email your order details to sales@innerjourneyoutfitters.com and I'll confirm shipping dates and costs to you (and can email an electronic invoice for payment through PayPal).

Essential oils for aura cleansing

Refresh and Seal

Consider using essential oils to cleanse, refresh and seal your aura. You may use them individually or combine them with other oils (this is typically called a synergy). There are many oils to choose from including bergamot, cinnamon, cypress, frankincense, geranium, juniper, lavender, lemon, lime, myrrh, patchouli, peppermint, rosemary, sage, sandalwood and vetiver.

In a diffuser: Put 2-4 drops of the essential oil into a diffuser for a gentle cleansing of the atmosphere. This method is particularly good for shifting the energy in a room, but will also work to cleanse your aura.

In a carrier oil: Put 5-12 drops into a 30ml (one ounce) bottle of carrier oil. Use in the tub, or massage directly onto your skin. Consider applying to the temples, wrists and ankles. Inhale the aroma directly from your hands, when complete.

In a mister: Put 5-12 drops into a 30ml (one ounce) spray bottle of distilled or purified water. Spray around your entire aura, from the crown to your feet.

Carrier Oils: Grapeseed, jojoba, sweet almond and/or light coconut oils are all excellent carriers. You may blend them or use them individually, depending on your preferences, budget and skin. Jojoba penetrates the skin most easily, but is also the most expensive.

Essential Oil quantities: The number of drops listed above is a general recommendation for dilution strength. Depending on the aromatic strength of the individual essential oil, and your own preferences, you may opt for either end of the range. Start with the smallest number of drops, then add one drop at a time (keeping the same ratios, if using a synergy) until you find your preferred level.

Cautions: Essential Oils can be very powerful and cannot be used by all. Read about a specific oil before using it; some - for instance - cannot be used by individuals with high blood pressure or other conditions.

Make your own blends: You can purchase a blend, or experiment on your own. Some sample essential oil aura-cleansing synergies (to be diluted in either one ounce carrier oil or one ounce pure water) that you can make yourself include:

Hippy-Dippy Blend (aka "Peace and Love")
3 drops each Patchouli and Sandalwood essential oils

Anti-Stress Blend
8 Drops Bergamot essential oil
5 Drops Lime essential oil

Balance Blend
5 drops each Lavender and Peppermint essential oils

You may purchase essential oils and carrier oils from Inner Journey Events. Email della@innerjourneyoutfitters.com for more information, or click here to download the current price list.

Shower of Light Guided Meditation

Wash, Rinse, Repeat!

I originally heard this meditation from aromatherapist K G Stiles, who in turn heard it from psychic John Edward. There are many versions and variations, and I have also personalized it somewhat. Think about how you can make this meditation your own!

As with all guided meditations, start by minding the gap: grounding, attunement, protection along with simple deep and regular breathing. Your intention can be as simple as to cleanse and amplify your aura.

Imagine now that you have entered your Sacred Space, your Sanctuary. This time, there is something new: a warm and gentle shower glowing with a rainbow of light. Walk into the shower and stand under the glowing energetic flow of water. For an added treat, try this in a real shower with some lovely organic soap!

Allow yourself to be aware of the warm water cascading around your body. It soothes and grounds you. Create a lather of soap, in your mind's eye, and scrub over your entire body. Feel the soap as it cleanses your body and your auric field. The soap loosens and breaks up the grime from your aura. Watch the grimy suds beings rinsed away and flowing down the drain.

Repeat the process, lathering your body once again. Visualize the soap absorbing any remaining grime or soot, and once again watch it flowing away down into the drain. Feel your aura and your body bright and clean. Know that your auric field and chakras are completely cleaned.

Stand beneath the shower, feet apart, face upward, arms relaxed by your sides, eyes closed. Feel the cascading water, listening as it falls. Feel it on your body, soothing and balancing with each drop. Breathe deeply. As you exhale, imagine the temperature of the water is rising, is getting warmer and the light is getting brighter, becoming a pure brilliant white light.

The white light cascades down around your body. Allow it to relax you and amplify your auric field, charging it fully with vibrant white healing light. Your aura is strong, vibrant and alive with life force energy. Increase the intensity of the shower and allow it to seal the power of your auric field with vibrant life force energy. Continue to slowly inhale and exhale.

Step out of the shower and back into your Sacred Space, your sanctuary. Pat yourself dry, knowing each pat further seals your aura. When the process feels complete, open your eyes.

Tips and Variations:

You may further enhance your auric field by continuing the self-guided meditation with gold light or purple light. Purple one of the most powerful colours for protecting energies.

Consider using the colours of your chakras (e.g. red, orange, yellow, etc) to balance them as part of this meditation.

You may also seal your aura with a spritz of essential oils in purified water; peppermint, lemon, lime or lavender are excellent choices.

Click here for more information, or to purchase, healing podcasts from K G Stiles. (or copy this link into your browser: http:/www.kgstiles.com/cds.html).

Kaia's journey: animal rescue and communication

“I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”
~ Albert Schweitzer
(missionary, theologian, musician, philosopher and winner of the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize)

 

Each step in our path leads to another in a never-ending series of karmic choices, creating – or fulfilling – our destiny. One seemingly simple choice may lead to a future we had never imagined, or to discovering a gift we did not know we possessed.

I recently spoke with Kaia Howe, a member of the Inner Journey Events Meetup group, about her passion for helping animals. As Kaia says, “They are my life.” Her personal journey with animals started with a simple observation about neighbourhood strays that led to a consuming passion for supporting feral animals and to becoming an accomplished animal communicator.

About 14 years ago, Kaia moved to the Hastings-Sunrise area of Vancouver. As she explored her new neighbourhood, she noticed many stray cats and kittens roaming wild. Many of these had been abandoned by transient residents, leaving their former pets to find their own food and water in the streets and alleys of East Vancouver. Some of these animals were healthy but most were not, and they all had one thing in common: hunger.

Kaia started to take bags of food on her neighbourhood walks and soon she was also feeding the strays from her porch. As the strays learned to trust her, they would wait by her porch in the rain, sun or snow. Seeing their need for shelter, Kaia tarped the porch to provide a safe dry spot. Each need satisfied revealed yet another. Eventually the back porch housed a cat loft, with more than twenty “cubbies” (carpeted dens) on three decks with perches, ramps and tunnels for access and protection. Kaia now has a closed circuit monitor to observe the animals, which now includes raccoons, rabbits and skunks.

The majority of the animals are still feral and roam freely, but many of them continue to rely on Kaia for food, water and refuge. During her daily feeding routes, she takes photographs of missing animal posters and has been able to return many animals to their owners.

Through helping the animals, Kaia also discovered her innate talent for animal communication. One day a neighbour complained that the skunks had sprayed his dog and were eating his garden. Kaia decided to speak with the skunks, telling them it was dangerous to spray a big dog and sent the animals a visual image of the danger. The spraying stopped immediately.

She tried the same technique with one of the feral cats that had chosen to sleep in the road. Worried that it would eventually be hit by a car, Kaia spent some time with the cat and sent it images of sleeping safely away from the road. The cat very soon found a new place to sleep, and never returned to the road.

Kaia is now formally developing her gift through studies with noted animal communicator Georgina Cyr. And if Albert Schweitzer was correct, then Kaia must indeed be happy!

Although Kaia seeks and receives occasional support from charities such as the BCSPCA (BC Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), VOKRA (the Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association) and Aid to Animals (now defunct), she is committed to supporting these stray animals 365 days a year, paying for their food and veterinary care from her own pocket.

Inner Journey Events supports our local community through both the local food banks and Christmas toy appeals. We have now added animal rescue to our charitable efforts. You may support animal welfare in very many ways, such as donations to recognized charities such as the BCSPCA, VOKRA (Vancouver Orphan Kitten Association) or SARS (Small Animal Rescue Society).

You may support Kaia’s efforts by donations of animal food (suitable for small animals such as cats, skunks, raccoons and rabbits) or coupons for animal food discounts. Bring along to our events, and we will ensure your donations get to Kaia.

 

 

Sonia Choquette's Four decisions for the Inner Journey

I recently read Sonia Choquette’s The Psychic Pathway and wanted to share her “four decisions”, the intentions you must make in order to develop your psychic abilities, to open your third eye... to take an Inner Journey. It is one that begins with a contract you make with yourself, based on these four decisions:

I am open to psychic guidance. Intention drives what we manifest. If you are not open to intuition, can you expect to receive any? Psychic energy can be repressed by the closed mind. This first step allows you to be assisted by divine energy, guides and Spirit.

I will expect psychic guidance. This decision moves your intention up a notch. Not only are you open to it, you expect to receive it. This moves you from being a passive receiver to being actively attuned to your Higher Self. You are now learning how to respond to life, not just react to it. Ask yourself:
• How often do I check in with my intuition when faced with a decision?
• Do I expect my intuition will be available to me when I need it?
• How do I react when I experience a psychic feeling?
• How do I receive the information?

I will trust psychic guidance. This can be challenging because many of us will automatically question the information, filter or dismiss it, or even suppose the message is something we do not want to know. Your intuition is a gift, the collective voice of your Higher Self, your guides and Spirit/the Divine. It is gentle and will guide you. Reflecting on your past psychic experiences, consider:
• Were the messages or intuition(s) accurate?
• Did the message or information help you?
• Did you trust it? If yes, what happened as a result?
• If not, why not? What did you trust or do instead?

I will act on psychic guidance. Acting on your intuition is an act of faith – and for some a leap of faith. It is also a conscious choice, a decision to act from spirit rather than from ego or fear. When you act from intuition, you reaffirm to Spirit that you trust the wisdom and information you receive and that you are serious about understanding your gift and that you are in the dance / in the flow with Spirit. That being said, you still have choice, free will and responsibility – choose wisely!

This book - originally published in 1994 - has become a classic and is now on our recommended reading list, and can be found at most major retailers, used books stores and on-line.

Support the Japan Earthquake / Asia-Pacific Tsunami Appearl

Supporting our community 

 

Inner Journey Events has consistently pledged support to our community in the Greater Vancouver area through donations to local food banks, Christmas toy drives and so on. 

Now we must look at our larger community. In support of relief aid in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami of March 11th, I have committed to donating 10% of gross income from March 11-April 11 to the Canadian Red Cross, earmarked for the Japan Earthquake/Asia-Pacific Tsunami appeal. 

If you are interested in supporting the relief efforts with a donation, please visit the Canadian Red Cross website for more information.

Make your own divination tools

Scrying Mirrors

Last week, Carmen Markey led an introduction to dowsing ("Spirits to Saints") using the third eye and everyday objects such as pots and pans, scrying mirrors, etc.  I made several inexpensive scrying mirrors for the participants, and wanted to share a simple technique for making your own.

Purchase an inexpensive photo frame with a reflective surface of at least 5" x 7", matte black paint (liquid or spray) and a black mat.  If you want to go the "cheap and cheerful" route, visit your local dollar store, consignment store, used furniture store, craft stores, etc.

Spray paint can be messy and not good for the environment. I used dollar store acrylic craft paint. If you use spray paint, use in a well-ventilated area and ensure you cover the spraying area with a plastic cloth or newspapers.

Instructions:

• Remove the back of the frame, the mat and the glass. Clean the glass and ensure it is lint-free. Let it thoroughly dry.
• Apply one coat of black paint in even parallel strokes from the top of the glass to the bottom ("north-south"). 
• Let the paint dry thoroughly and follow with another coat going from left to right ("east-west").
• Repeat with coats on the diagonals (upper left to lower right, followed by lower left to upper right)
• Inspect to make sure the glass is completely coated (hold it up to the light if you're not sure). Apply another coat as needed.
• Place a black mat (basic construction paper is fine) on top of the glass, then the photo frame backing.
• Consider personalizing the frame itself with images, script, glued on objects, etc.

Voila - you have made a scrying mirror!

If you'd rather not make your own, ask me about purchasing a 5x7 or 8x10 simple black framed scrying mirror (prices range from $5 and up).

 

We've expanded - now in Vancouver (again!) and New Westminster

With your help and suggestions for a new venue, I've been scouring the Broadway and Commercial Drive corridors for a new Vancouver location for our events. 

There are lots of great places out there but not all met our criteria: great location, private for our events and cheap! I definitely wanted to keep the costs down for participants, and luckily we are able to keep it at $10 for drop-ins with the addition of our new Vancouver venue.

Our Monday events will remain at Renaissance Books in New Westminster. This has proved to be a great location for us, and has attracted a lot of new members from the tri-city area. It's still convenient for folks who use the SkyTrain as there are two stops just a few blocks away.

Starting on Tuesday, April 5th, we'll also be hosting events at Tanglewood Books,conveniently located at Broadway & Granville with access to major bus routes,the Canada Line and street parking. Like Renaissance, Tanglewood Books has a great reputation for quality used books and for supporting local authors. No coffee bar - but there are easily a dozen or so within walking distance!

My intention is to offer all our events at each location, so do note the location when you RSVP through either Meetup or EventBrite.

I hope you can join us at the new location. Visit our Meetup home page for events dates and details.

Tuning Up - the next step in your journey

Inner Journey Events used to host an Advanced Circle for folks who wanted a more intense practice than what we could offer through the Open Circle. Due to timetabling conflicts, that Circle was shelved for a while but many of you have asked for its return. 

We've tweaked it a little, renamed it, and have scheduled our first Tuning Up Development Circle for Thursday, April 14th (7-9 PM) at Tanglewood Books in Vancouver. The Circle will meet alternate Thursdays, at a drop-in fee of $10. Although not yet scheduled, we do plan to extend Tuning Up to to the New Westminster location. 

The goal of the Tuning Up Development Circle is to create a place for those with more experience to hone their existing abilities, to develop new modalities and create a forum for discussion in various topics of interest.

Individuals who have developed their abilities beyond the beginner level are encouraged to come to Tuning Up and are, of course, all are still welcome to participate in the Open Circles.

With our theme of holding the light for your growth, we encourage you to participate even more and develop not just your abilities but your leadership potential: consider leading a session focusing on your modality of choice, leading a group mediation, sharing your abilities during a session or leading a discussion.

Folks who attend Tuning Up are very welcome to continue attending the Open Circles. And if you're not sure if Tuning Up is right for you, call me at 778.893.2433 or send me an email.

Carmen Markey comes in as co-organizer of the Tuning Up Development Circle. Carmen is amember of our group, and recently lead the "Spirits to Saints" event. For those of you who missed that event, we do plan to schedule this again in Vancouver during May-June.

Click on the links below to register for Tuning Up:
April 14th    April 28th

Choose Joy

Many of us choose to make resolutions at this time of year. Often we set lofty goals, things we "should" do....and often by the end of January are already feeling guilty about not exercising, not eating well, not.... ! I heard Ellen DeGeneres comment today that she makes three resolutions each year, knowing that she will be able to keep at least one of them: drink less, exercise more.....and eat more!

Maybe I am a child of the sixties, but I choose to think that new beginnings can happen at any time. "Today is the first day in the rest of your life". I choose to use this time to reflect on the previous year on how I chose to live: What challenges did I face last year? What successes did I have? What did I learn from those experiences? Did I live a life of integrity? Did I act and speak from a place of love, a place of compassion, a place of non-judgment? Throughout the year, I continue to review and reflect, correct my course and start afresh, learning from each experience. If I live a life of integrity, I also live a life of intention co-created with the Universe.

I gave many "new year" readings this week at Reflections in Coquitlam. For one client, I heard a clear message  from Spirit: Choose Joy.  I shared the message with the client and realized it was also for me and maybe for some of you. No matter what happens, celebrate your life and your choices, be grateful for what you receive - even those events or circumstances that at first appear challenging or negative. There is a reason the Universe has given you that gift or that challenge. 

The true gift in graceful living is learning to respond to the unexpected, to the challenging, by acting from our core integrity. We can choose to be a victim, or we can choose to create a thoughtful and intentional life. 

We can learn to choose joy.