Gratitude Exercise for Thanksgiving

Bowl of Crystals

Would you like a fun exercise to express your gratitude at Thanksgiving?  This is a fun, new way to share what you are grateful for when gathered around the table for Thanksgiving.  It is quick and easy to prepare and doesn’t require a lot of supplies.  The exercise provides a great way to increase bonding and an increased understanding of abundance and gratitude in our every day lives.

 Supplies:

• Wine Goblet
• Crystals, Stones, Pebbles, Marbles, Coins
• Pitcher to pour water (maybe colored with food coloring)
• Plate or bowl for overflow of water

 Preparation Steps: 

1.  Test to see how many stones your goblet will need to overflow with blessings (water).  When I had performed this exercise in a group of 7, it took about 10-12 stones for each person in a wine goblet. The larger your party, the fewer stones each person will need to take.
2. The stones should be of varying sizes and shapes to provide interest.  Any color will do.  When I had performed this exercise with a group, I used mostly clear crystals with some darker colored ones thrown in.  The clear crystals represented all of the blessings we don’t always see in our lives, smaller crystals the small drops of happiness and darker crystals were easily seen or large blessings in our lives.
3. The goal of the exercise is to place as many stones into the goblet until the water overflows.  In a group of 5-6, that will take about 10-12 blessings a piece.  Larger groups may not need to take as many stones or if you have larger stones, it may take fewer blessings being shared. 

 Day of Exercise:

 Place the empty goblet into the overflow bowl and have the filled water pitcher and bowl of stones ready. 

 Say a few words to your family and friends gathered around the table to explain the exercise: 

 For example:  At this time of Thanksgiving, let us share the blessings we have received over the past year and express our gratitude for everything that is positive in our lives.  Within this pitcher is the water of life.  This water flows through each one of us and surrounds our lives in blessings of prosperity and abundance.  Watch as I pour the water of life into the goblet.  Some of you may say that the cup is half empty; others of you may say that the goblet is half full.  However, when we all share our blessings together, you may notice that all of our cups are overflowing with blessings of prosperity and abundance.  Please take 10-12 stones from the bowl as it is passed around. 

As the bowl is passed, you may explain the different types of blessings, by having some clear stones, small stones and colored stones for you to place in the cup. 

 Place a clear stone in the goblet:  Many times blessings fill our life’s cup and we hardly notice that they are there.  This could be a blessing of the sunshine, a safe commute to work or a smile on a loved one’s face. 

• Place a small stone in the cup:  other times we may feel that the blessings we receive are so small, they are hardly worth counting at all.  Though even with how tiny this blessing is, it raises the level of joy in our lives.
• Place the dark colored stone in the goblet:  other times, blessings are easy to see like this dark stone.  Such as a new job, a new car or a new friend in our lives. 

 

Speech to start sharing:  At this time, let us go around the circle and share one blessing at a time.  Together our blessings will overflow the cup with the water of life until we see the infinite blessings of abundance and prosperity in our lives.

One at a time, we will share what we are thankful for, what blessings we have received this last year and what we are grateful.  It doesn’t matter if someone else shared a similar blessing.  What matters is how much the blessing means to you.

 Continue to share until either, everyone’s stones are placed in or around the goblet or until the water has overflowed.  If your group gets into sharing, continue until no further blessings can be found. 

 Once the cup has overflowed, offer thanks and gratitude for all of the blessings you have received, share a prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude.  Acknowledge that in the future you will continue to receive infinite prosperity and abundance in all of your lives.

 Simple gratitude prayer:

 We lift up our praise for all of the infinite blessings of abundance and prosperity we have received in our lives.  We are grateful for every day that is filled with love, joy and peace.  We feel honored that we will continue to receive all that we need every day of our lives.  We are grateful for the infinite abundance and prosperity that surrounds us every moment of every day.  Amen.

Autumn Equinox Ritual for Prosperity and Abundance

Autumn Equinox Crystal Grid

 

Amazing energies surround this year’s Autumn Equinox! These vibrations work with us to remove the blocks that keep us from receiving abundance and increase the opportunities for prosperity, gratitude and harmony.  With the full moon, Jupiter and Uranus almost in perfect alignment, it is an ideal time to send your intentions out to the universe.   

The Autumn Equinox is a time for celebration to observe the harvest and celebrate the abundance of the summer. We come together to offer gratitude for the prosperity received and the abundance that is yet to come. We celebrate and acknowledge the abundance that is found within our lives: spiritual, mental, emotional and physical abundance. Each area of our lives is blessed with infinite abundance. As we offer gratitude for what we have received, we open our hearts to receive infinite blessings every day of our lives.  

The Autumn Equinox is the balance between light and dark, between summer and winter. We give thanks for the abundance that the long days of summer have provided and take this time to prepare for the growing cold and dark. At this time, we balance, rest and simply BE with ourselves. In this moment and season, we remember who we are and who we would like to be. In this way, we prepare ourselves for the dark months of reflection that gives way to rebirth ourselves in the spring.  

Ritual Steps:  

1. Create sacred space by clearing with incense and intention.  

2. Bless each other with smudged sage and holy water.  

3. Open the circle by calling in the directions, elements and invoking Mother Father God.  

4. Offer the food that was brought forth for the feast and bless it for infinite abundance we have in our lives.  

5. Reflect on the blessings of this past year. We will perform a chant to raise our vibrations, release gratitude to the universe claiming infinite prosperity and abundance.  

6. Create crystal grid filled with our intentions for abundance, prosperity, harmony, balance and peace. Each person will help to create the crystal grid, placing their intentions into the crystals they place.  

7. Bless and share wine for connection to the oneness we all share.  

8. Thank Mother Father God, all of the directions and elements for their presence and close circle.  

    

    

Prosperity Crystal Grid

 

Blessings Fall on Everyone  

Alicia Crystalus  

As summer turns to fall,  

We thank God and Goddess for it All.  

The gifts we’ve received.  

And the wisdom we’ve perceived.  

The winds of change that blow  

That transform the Earth above and below  

The power of will and desire.  

The creative spark that stokes our fire.  

The rains of healing and harmony.  

The good Earth that brings forth prosperity.  

As summer turns to fall,  

We offer gratitude for it All.  

Blessings fall on every one  

For now at last our work is done.  

(Repeat as Power Rises – 3 or more times)  

As summer turns to fall,  

We offer gratitude for it All.  

Blessings fall on every one  

For now at last our work is done.

Feast for Goddess Brighid and Saint Brigid

Altar for Feast for Brighid and Saint Brigid

 

This week, we celebrated the Feast of the Goddess Brighid and Saint Brigid. Saint Brigid is believed to be the incarnation of the Goddess Brighid. Both have been attributed with being patrons of higher spiritual activities, creativity, healing, art and keepers of the eternal flame. Some call the celebration day Imbolc for the return of the Ewe’s Milk in Ireland. This is the halfway point between winter and spring, a time when the darkness of winter is starting to lighten for spring to return. The celebration is a renewal of hope and faith that the light will return and with it the abundance that comes with spring. In the past, many did not have much sustenance for the winter months, the return of the ewe’s milk was an awesome addition to the diet that provided great relief. Many ways to celebrate and honor Goddess Brighid and Saint Brigid are to offer foods that are made with milk and cheese. Don and I baked a Tres Leches Cake for the first time. We added hazelnut and almond extract and it was delicious!
As part of our celebration, we set up an altar for Brighid and Mother Mary. Brighid is sometimes said to have carried on the work of nurturing the world from Mother Mary. There are many wonderful stories that can be found about Brighid and many of them seem to interweave between Druid, Celtic and Christian celebrations. We wanted to celebrate Brighid as she helps with healing, protection and keeps the eternal flame going.

We lit a candle for Brighid and then during the ritual we lit one for Mother Mary. From Mother Mary’s candle, we went on to each light a candle for ourselves and one for the angel, spirit guide or loved one that we wanted to communicate with during our Automatic Writing Practice. Even after our group members left, Donald and I let the candles burn until the wee hours of the night. It was interesting to watch to see which ones burned out first and which ones stayed on long after the event was over. The final candle burned out around 2AM. We figured that the person needed special love, healing and care and relighting of their inner flame.

Never underestimate the power of ritual in your life. Even the simplest ritual can have a profound effect on your spirit and a deeper connection to what is truly sacred in your life.

Below are the prayers that we used for our ritual. One I found on a website about Imbolc and felt it was a great little chant to use. The others, I wrote especially for our celebration.

Beginning Prayer for the Feast of Goddess Brighid and Saint Brigid said by leader.

We call upon the Goddess Brighid and Saint Brigid to be with us tonight. Please surround us in your eternal light of healing, protection and inspiration. We offer this bounty of food and wine for your celebration tonight. Please bless these offerings with healing, wisdom and hope for the renewal of spring so that we may be filled once more with the joy that springtime brings. We ask that you watch over us tonight and stay with us as we explore the sacred arts and expand our spiritual gifts. Bless each of us with wisdom and grace to raise our vibrations and reach to the realm of light for healing and communication of our highest and greatest good.

 

Prayer for Lighting of Center Candle for Mother Mary said by leader.
Dearest Mother Mary, I call upon you to be with us tonight, I light this candle in your honor, as a flame of love, mercy and compassion. May each light be built from your flame so that we may be blessed with your mercy and grace and Brighid’s gifts of renewal and abundance.

Chant for Brighid said by everyone 3 times.
Holy Water, Sacred Flame
By Anne Hill

Holy water, sacred flame
Brighid, we invoke your name
Bless my hands, my head, my heart
Source of healing, song, and art

Candles for the Ritual

 

Invocation for Lighting the Candle for Healing and Protection said by each person as they light their candles.

I will light this candle
From the flame of Mother Mary.
May the eternal flames of Brigid and Mary
Guard my hearth, guard my home
And guard all who dwell within it.

Ritual for Releasing Negativity and Claiming Positive Energy

 

Sacred Tools used in the Ritual

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight in our Spiritual Gathering we performed a ritual for the release of negativity and the claiming of positive energy.  We started off with a smudging of each other with sage and created our sacred space.  We then moved into the Release of Negativity Ritual.  It was a fairly simple ritual but had profound results on everyone as we went through the process.  The ritual involved charged salt, water and wine.  We called on Mother Father God, the Arch Angels, Spirit Guides and our Higher Selves to help bless the tools we were using and help us to perform the various parts of the ritual.  After we blessed the sea salt, we released all of our negativity, fear, blocks and pain into the salt as we held it in our hands.  The salt was cleansed away by holy water that had been charged with essential oils and crystals and the water had been blessed to insure complete release of all that was not of our highest and greatest good.  The ritual was closed with a charged cordial of wine that was blessed for abundance, joy of life and positive energy; we held the wine in our hands to imbibe it with our intentions for our journeys.   

 

 

 

      

Charged Salt and Ritual Tools

 

 

 

 

 

Blessing of the Salt

 

Dear Mother Father God, we call upon you now to come and aid us in our rituals tonight.  We call upon your Holy Spirit to rain down on us and fill us with fire to burn away the negativity within us.  Help us release all ties that bind us, release all pain that continues to wound us and release all fears that block us.  With hope and fear in our hearts we celebrate a new beginning.  We call upon all of the Arch Angels to come and heal all wounds.  We call upon our Higher Selves and Spirit Guides to come and release all ties that no longer serve us and help us release any fears that block us.  Let us create a space within ourselves so that we may be filled again with light and positive energy. Amen.

 

Prayerful Intention for Releasing Negativity – For each Person to repeat.

 

While holding this salt within my hand

I let go of all that is not within my plan

I strip away all that is negative

Leaving room for the positive.

All that is not of my greatest good

Will now leave my life as it should.

 

Close up of the charged water and wine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blessing of the Water

 

Dear God, Goddess, All That Is, bless this water with divine love and light.  Let it be a living crystal that carries away all of the negativity that is held within the salt in our hands.  Fill the water with purity and let it cleanse us of all that is not of our highest and greatest good.  Bless this water with hope and joy for the new beginning that is upon us. As we leave the past and look forward with hope for our future, bless this water with clarity and discernment to know where our journey will take us and the guidance to know what steps to take along the way.  We call upon the Arch Angels to come to us and fill us with positive energy; let all places that are now free of negativity be filled with divine light and love.  We call upon our Spirit Guides and Higher Selves to assist us in receiving all that is of our highest and greatest good now. Amen.

 

Before washing away the salt, each person was asked:  Do you freely release all that is not of your highest good from every level of your being and all that is negative in your life at this time?

 

Blessing of the Wine

 

Dear Mother Father God, please bless this wine so that it overflows with abundance and joy for life!  Let this wine remind us of the sweetness of life and the possibility of what even a small change can make in the creation of our lives. Bless this wine with love, joy, and peace.  May it fortify us to make positive changes in our lives and fill us with courage to live for love and not fear.   We ask that you bless us and help us to shine as the powerful beacons of love and light that we are.  We thank you, all of the arch angels, higher selves and spirit guides for working with us tonight.  Amen.

 

After the blessing, the wine was poured and each person was asked to hold their glass in their hands. 

 

As we hold the wine in our hands, let all of our positive intentions for our journeys flow into the wine.  So that our individual thoughts and prayers are taken within us, become part of us and fill every cell of our body. 

Spirit Fest and Other Events

Grand Opening for the Center for Divine Light in Zephyrhills, FL.

 

On Saturday, 17, 2009 from 10:00am – 5:00pm, we will be hosting a booth at the Center for Divine Light in Zephyrhills, Florida. They will be having a Grand Opening Spirit Fest that will feature many vendors, jazz bands, crystal bowls, and other fun distractions.  We will be offering healing sessions, readings and art at the Spirit Fest.  If you are located near Tampa, this would be a great opportunity for you to meet us and sample some of our amazing work. 

 

Below is the schedule for tomorrow’s events at the Center for Divine Light.

 

 

9 am   Vendor Set up

9 am   Ribbon Cutting Ceremony with Chamber of Commerce

10 am           Vendor Market Open (some Vendor spots still available)

11:30 am      RBSMS Jazz Band Concert

12:30 pm      RBSMS Jazz Band Concert

1:00 pm        Jin Shin Jyutsu Workshop

2:00 pm        Elissa Wilds and Between Light and Dark Book Signing

3:30 pm        Crystal Bowl Demonostration

4:30 pm        Gemstone Workshop

6:30 pm        John Gold in Concert – Tickets $3.00 – Limited Seating –                       Advanced Tickets Available

 

The address is: The Center of Divine Light, 5221 8th Street, Zephyrhills, FL 33542

The phone number is: 813-782-8888

 

Weekly Offerings at Healing Incarnations

Spiritual Gathering for Self-Discovery

Wednesday January 21, 2009 from 7:00pm – 9:30pm

Healing Incarnations

Our Home
Jacksonville, Florida 32244

 

Healing Incarnations would like to extend a special invitation to you for our Spiritual Gatherings for Self-Discovery (every Wednesday 7-9pm) that we host each week in our home. Each week will focus on a different aspect of spiritual development from guided meditation, spiritual and psychic development, sacred art, Shamanic journeying and group discussion. Everyone is welcome to attend, regardless of religious background or experience, remember to bring a pen and notebook for capturing your experiences. We suggest a $10 love offering.

This week we will be releasing all negative energy, fear and blocks that are keeping us from moving forward with our lives. We will be performing a ritual and creating sacred objects for intentions.

Below is a list of the topics we have scheduled for the next couple of weeks for the Spiritual Gathering nights, though they may change as the group’s needs are discovered.

Healing Incarnations
Schedule of Topics For
Spiritual Gatherings for Self-Discovery
Wednesdays 7-9pm

1/21/09 – Mapping Your Journey – Sacred Ritual and Sacred Art – Release of Negative, Creation of Intentions and Manifestation of Positive
1/28/09 – Guided Meditation and Sacred Art – Journey to Your Soul’s Home and Spirit Guides and Angels
2/4/09 – Automatic Writing Practice – Receive messages from guides and angels
2/11/09 – Movie – Fireproof – Loving Unconditionally
2/18/09 – Discussion – Loving Yourself and Others Unconditionally
2/25/09 – Sacred Ritual – Forgiveness for Yourself and Others, Reconciliation
3/4/09 – Guided Meditation and Sacred Art – Meeting Your Inner Child
3/11/09 –Psychic Development
3/18/09 –Sacred Ritual – Pillar of Light – Working with Light and Energy
3/25/09 – Sacred Ritual – Celebration of Spring and Creation

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about these events. If you choose to join us, please bring along a notebook to record your thoughts and experiences. We are located on the border of Jacksonville and Orange Park. For further directions to our home, please email us at Vijarden@healingincarnations.com. If you know of anyone who might be interested in these events, please feel free to forward this onto them or direct them to our website: www.healingincarnations.com.

Ticket Info: $10 love offering

 

 

Healing Circle

Thursday January 22, 2009 at 7:00pm

Healing Incarnatons

our Home
Jacksonville, Florida 32244

 

 

This week we will begin working with the chakras and start off with a chakra balancing meditation. We will be hosting a healing circle in our home from 7-9pm every Thursday evening. Each week will focus on a different method of healing from prayer, laying on of hands, energetic healing including Vijarden and Reiki, crystal healing and discussion around
healing methods. Everyone is welcome to attend, regardless of religious background or experience, remember to bring a pen and notebook for capturing your experiences. Please call or email us for directions to our home.
We suggest a $10 love offering.

Cleansing Process ~ Heart Clearing ~ 10.29.07

 

Cleansing Process – Filling Your Heart with Golden White Crystal Light.

  

Sometimes clearing the heart can seem like a difficult process if there is a lot of pain built up over past challenges, however, it is extremely helpful and useful to clear out all the old stuff that has been held onto. 

 

The steps to go through for this cleansing are to set some time aside, whether in meditation, prayer or even in a relaxing bath with candles lit.  It is a journey within yourself to see what is truly going on within your heart from a spiritual viewpoint and not just a physical one. 

 

It helps if you have a good imagination to be able to work through this process as the mind can block you from being able to truly experience or ‘see’ what is going on. 

 

The reason I suggest being in the bath is because of the healing way water can take away and cleanse you from the inside out and the outside in.  This is especially true if you put essential oils (like lavender, frankincense, myrrh, sandalwood or rose – rose is especially good for working with the heart) and sea salt in your bath water. 

 

 

So either in a bath or in bed set the tone for a special quiet time alone. Turn off the phone if you can or wait till you have a moment to be by yourself without distraction from others, tv, work, etc.  Light some candles, put on some soft music that speaks to your heart and calls to your soul, light some incense if you wish.  Anything that helps to calm and relax you, and invokes a feeling of sacred space.

 

 

Once you are laying down, call upon God to come and help you through this process, also call upon your angels, spirit guides, power animals, guardians and anyone who you feel has helped you on your spiritual journey. Ask them for help in guiding you through this process, providing healing energy and light and most of all reassurance, comfort and love to gently move you through clearing your heart.

 

Ask for God’s help in drawing down the Golden White Crystal Light to fill you, pouring down over your head and over your entire body. Let your body begin to feel lighter, warmer and enveloped in the light. See it surround you, helping you to glow and shine brighter. State the intention that you will be traveling within yourself to cleanse and clear your heart, that you truly wish to see within yourself and let go of all that is blocking you from opening your heart and trusting all that is.

 

As you lift yourself up from your body in spirit, feel yourself travel deeper inward, traveling down through your body and into the center of your heart. Journey until you see a large door standing before you, this is the door to your heart and is waiting for you to open it and walk inside. Be brave and know that nothing can harm you and you are safe to enter your own heart, for God and all of your angels are with you, helping you on this journey. Maybe you feel that you have to knock before entering or you feel the door is locked. Knock on the door and state that you are entering your heart and wish to view it truly as it is, ready to open your heart and trusting that you will be safe to see and experience what has been locked away.

 

Journey within your heart, beyond the door and look in each room you come to. Some rooms may have doors that are open and others may be locked, not yet ready for you to enter. Enter the rooms one by one, seeing the color of the walls, the state that the rooms are in. Are they dirty, filled with darkness, filled with dust? Are they clear and bright, feeling open and free? In each room, work to clear away all that is not clean and bright, clean all that is not light.

 

Some rooms you may have to work with a bucket and sponge to wash away the darkness. Do not be alarmed, but let the golden white crystal light to flow into the room with you, helping you to wash the darkness away. Let God’s love to flow in and fill the room, washing away any pain, anger, sorrow, guilt or shame that is held there. Ask that all that is not of your highest good be released back to God. God will take away all that is not of love and light.

 

Continue to work through each room, diligently and deliberately. Going over every inch until your entire heart is bathed in Golden White Crystal Light and filled with love. If you feel sorrow or pain, let the emotions wash over you and release from you. Let the tears fall or cry out. If you feel a need to stop and write your feelings and memories out, please take that time. This is not a race to finish up as quickly as possible.

 

This is a gift for you, to take time and cherish each moment, no matter how hard that moment is. For the moments you are washing away and cleansing have made you who you are. They are part of you and you would not be the awesome amazing person you are today without them. Those moments that have been trapped and held in darkness, also no longer serve you and they no longer protect you by being locked in your heart.

 

In fact, those trapped moments and locked doors in your heart are hurting you in ways you cannot imagine. They block away true feelings of love and self worth. The locked doors block you from God and all that you are, keeping you from trusting yourself and trusting God to lead you.

 

This process may only take on time to go through or it may take you several sessions to get through all of the rooms. Sometimes it is helpful to go back after several days or weeks to walk through your heart with light and love to keep it clear and free of blocks, free of stored pain and memories.

 

Do as much as you feel you can, there is no rush. Ask God to help, ask your angels and guides to help and ask others that you trust to help. You are not alone in this process and always loved. Just taking the first step is a big step! Know that you can do it!

 

 

If you have any questions please let me know and I will help you as best you can.  I will be creating this process into a CD so that people will be able to meditate to it.