Tag: Inspiration

Monday #Motivation #Meditation #TarotReading Root Chakra

Published on by Jan Sikes31 Comments
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Over the next few weeks, I am going to focus on each of the seven main chakras, starting with the Root Chakra. Each week I will offer inspiration to expand and clear all our chakras so we can function at our highest capacity! I hope you love this meditation as much as I did.

Now for our weekly Tarot Reading.

Tarot Reading 5-9-21 Jan Sikes

The Hanged Man always represents a state of limbo. He is literally hanging around, not stressed or worried, but waiting. And because he is hanging upside down, the card indicates that perhaps a different perspective is needed. Both The Hanged Man and The Justice cards come from the major arcana which affects deep life lessons and karmic influences. So they are both very powerful cards. The Justice card represents truth, fairness, justice, and the law. It often appears when you need to make an important choice with the potential for long-term repercussions. Be aware of the impact your decisions will have on your well-being and the well-being of others. At its core, Justice is about seeking the truth of a matter and doing so with perhaps a different perspective and fairness. The Five of Pentacles can represent hard times, particularly in a career, job, or financial stability. It is somewhat of a warning. Embracing a “lack mindset” can indeed bring it to fruition. What you give energy to flourishes. If you think you don’t have enough, guess what? You won’t. So, with the other two cards in front of it, what I get is that with a different perspective and seeking truth, you can avoid some hard times.

I hope you’ve gotten some inspiration from this week’s post. Here’s to a wonderful perspective that brings truth and abundance!

Monday #Motivation #Meditation #TarotReading

Published on by Jan Sikes31 Comments

Happy Monday and happy start to a new week!

And now for our Tarot Reading for the upcoming week.

Photo Courtesy of Jan Sikes 5-3-21

There is a lot of energy floating around out there this week, starting with the Knight of Wands. As you can see just from the horse’s demeanor, he is raring to go! This card indicates energy, passion, motivation, and enthusiasm. Sounds like a good start to me. However, be mindful that the Knight of Wands can express himself as an ‘act first, think later’ type of person. In your pursuit of action, you may be impulsive and impatient, expecting everything to be done yesterday. Me? Never! 🙂 The Page of Swords is all about new ideas, a thirst for knowledge, or new ways of communicating. Along with the Knight of Wands, the Page of Swords is also a huge energy and passion card. When this card shows up, you may be bursting at the seams with new ideas or plans for the future. And, as Swords can relate to communication, it can suggest that you are finding a new way to express yourself and are excited to try it out. Then, the Queen of Cups reins it all in with her beautiful sense of calm and balance. In this reading, she is encouraging you to take the energy of these new ideas, projects, or new ways of thinking and find a flow. You are being asked to trust your intuition and pay attention to your feelings and emotions. Lead with your heart, not your head. Be open to receive the intuitive messages flowing to you, be it through your dreams, meditation or visualization. And ‘feel the feels’, even if those feelings are tricky or challenging. You are stronger than you know. Wow! I don’t know about you, but this reading really resonates with me. I’d love to hear from you.

Thank you for joining us for another positive start to a new week!

My Persistent Muse

Published on by Jan Sikes47 Comments

MY MUSE

D. Wallace Peach put out a call on her Myths of the Mirror blog site challenging authors to write about their muse. I wasn’t going to write anything and then this happened. 🙂 True story!

Image courtesy of Pixabay

“Jan. Jan. Wake up.”

Someone taps on my shoulder.

I burrow deeper under the covers.

Louder this time. “Jan. Wake up.”

I groan and roll over with one eye open. “What do you want? I’m sleeping.”

“Yes, I know but wait until you hear this.”

I rub my eyes and yawn, then glance at the clock.

“It’s 4 am. I’m tired. I work hard and I need my rest. Can I just take some notes and get to it when the sun comes up?”

“No! If you do, you’ll lose it. Come on.” He reached out a hand and I took it, regretting that action.

Now on my feet, I shrug into a robe, slip on my fuzzy slippers and glance longingly back at my warm bed.

“Can I at least get a cup of coffee first?”

Deep sigh. “You humans. Yes, I suppose.”

I pad into the kitchen and flip on the light, blinking at the brightness. He taps his fingers impatiently on the kitchen counter while I set the magic elixir to brew.

I turn to face him. “Okay. Spill it. What is so damned important that you’ve dragged me out of bed away from my dreams?”

His face lights up. “Imagine this. A man has been cheating on his wife. She’s found out, and they’ve had a huge fight. Now, he’s left the house and driving around, angry and feeling a little remorseful. He spots a small rundown bar on the outskirts of town with a neon sign blinking off and on. He decides he needs a stiff drink. So, he goes in and some other stuff needs to happen, then he tries to leave only to find that the door opens one way – in. He’s trapped in a honky-tonk hell. What do you think?”

By now the coffee pot is beeping and I pour a big cup, then add a spash of cream. “It has potential, but it sounds like a horror story. I’ve never written anything in that genre.”

He’s practically jumping up and down. “I know. You can’t ever grow if you stay in your comfort zone. What do you have to lose?”

“A few more hours of sleep,” I reply grumpily.

“You do know that the hours between two and four a.m. are the most creative times in any twenty-four-hour cycle. Remember I told you that?”

I nod. “I remember.”

I settle in front of the computer and he paces behind me. My fingers fly across the keys.

I suddenly have the feeling of being alone. I turn to look and my muse is no longer in the room. I go in search of him and find him snuggled under a soft blanket on the sofa, snoring.

“Fine,” I say, and stomp back to the computer with a second cup of coffee.

Guess I’ll be writing a horror story after all, thanks to my persistent muse.

Photo courtesy of Pexels

A Little Inspiration

Published on by Jan Sikes

I am traveling the next few days and will be away from the computer. So, I want to leave you with a little inspiration that I hope brightens your day and perhaps causes you to smile and walk a little taller.

Enjoy!

Make it a great day! I appreciate you!

I’ve turned off comments since I won’t be around to respond.

Confidence #NewYear #Shadorma

Published on by Jan Sikes28 Comments

As I always do at the beginning of each new year, I seek a word for the upcoming year through meditation and self-reflection.

For 2019, the word I received is CONFIDENCE!

While many who know me may wonder why I would need that word, to me it made perfect sense.

Confidence to keep pressing forward, to keep pursuing a publisher and to keep writing is exactly what I need! If I can believe in myself and my work, then it is a thousand times more likely someone else will also believe in me.

So, to honor that commitment for 2019, I made a list of goals. Trust me, I never do that, but somehow I felt the inspiration this year. The goals are not earth-shattering, but instead simple.

However my #1 Goal is: I will publish a new book in 2019.

There. I’ve said it, now I must follow through. 🙂

I’ve learned so much about poetry from Colleen Cheeseboro and while I didn’t make it into the timeline last week to submit this Shadorma, I’ll post it here and credit her for the challenge.

Basically a Shadorma is a six line stanza with the syllable count: 3/5/3/3/7/5

So, here goes!

 Confidence
Time to let it flow
Let it go
Let it show
Trust the Universe, it knows
Your best way to grow

I’d love to hear from you how you approach a new year!

Seeing Through The Eyes of the Heart

Published on by Jan Sikes43 Comments

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We all have filters that affect the way we view different people, situations, and circumstances in life.

And, when the Universe sends me a message in multiple forms, I take it as a sign that it is something I need to pay attention to. And that is the case with the title of today’s blog.

Listening to the radio yesterday, I heard a song that caught my ear. The man was singing about two lovers and the lyrics went like this: “He didn’t see her through his eyes, he saw her through the eyes of his heart…”

I loved that line.

Our physical eyes are very related to our conditioned or filtered thoughts. You’ve heard the saying, “Seeing is believing.” But this is actually totally inaccurate. Instead, scientists have discovered that ‘Believing is seeing.” We only see what we believe we are seeing. Our conditioned thoughts filter and re-arrange what we see to fit our beliefs.

So if we want to see the world as it is, we can’t rely on our physical senses. They are much too distorted by our conditioned beliefs. Instead, we can learn to see through our heart. We can learn to see the world through feeling.

The Oglala Lakota Chief, Black Elk, said, “We can all see in the day, and this seeing is sacred for it represents the sight of that real world which we may have through the eye of the heart.”

This morning on Annette Rochelle Aben’s Attitude of Gratitude blog, I found the same message about looking through the eyes of the heart, and how different things appear.

So, I felt compelled to pass along that thought.

I recently found myself in a social situation where there was this perfect woman. She had the perfect body, blonde hair, straight shiny white teeth, fashionable clothes, the latest trendy shoes, and she exuded money and social perfection.  As any other woman would do, I felt intimidated and small next to her.

I don’t know about you, but I hate that feeling of inadequacy. I know it goes back to my childhood and being an outcast in school because of the religion forced on me,  but I fight it with every ounce of my being.

As soon as I could do so with appearing obvious, I slipped away and went home. Did I feel down? Heck, yes. Should I have? Heck, NO!

Because at the end of the day, our physical appearance is not the reality of who and what we are. The physical body will disintegrate into dust (or ashes in my case) and what remains is the heart and soul of the person.

I don’t know this woman on a personal level. I only judged her through my mind’s eye, not from my heart.

So, even though this powerful message was for me, since I am compelled to share it, I am to believe it may be for someone else as well.

We know who and what we are on the inside. And, when our earthly journey ends, that is what will remain. Perspective is everything.

Try looking through the eyes of the heart for just one day and see what a difference it makes.

Big Hugs and thank you for taking the time to read this message. I hope it inspires one person today!

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The Bed

Published on by Jan Sikes33 Comments

THE BED

BY JAN SIKES

 If you’ve read Flowers and Stone, you know that it was a big scene and turning point in the story when Rick (aka Luke) took me (aka Darlina) to his house in Brownwood for the first time.

One of the things I noticed right away was the bed. Made in the 1800s, its black and gold ornate metal frame caught my eye. He told me he had bought it at an antique store in the early sixties.

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The second thing I made note of was a holster hanging from the centermost point of the head frame with a pistol stuck in it and a leather sheath that held a bowie knife.

For Rick back then, these were simply standard every-day items. He played a street dance in Round Rock every year in celebration of Sam Bass, and he wore that gun belt, as did many others, to the event. Obviously, gun laws were quite different in the sixties and early seventies.

At any rate, after he was incarcerated, I often wondered what had happened to the bed and figured his parents sold it.

When he came home in 1985, one of the first things he found in his nephew’s house was the bed.

It had survived and remained in the family for all those years!

He promptly brought it home, gave it a new coat of paint, a new mattress, and it became OUR bed.

I still have it. Of course, it had several new mattresses over the years, but I sleep on it every night, and this is a tribute to The Bed.

I first knew love on this antique iron bed.

Indescribable heartbreak found me on this bed.

Young and dumb, I lost my way on this bed.

And then I lost the bed, but not my dreams.

It wasn’t until many long years later that the bed returned. Still pristine, still intact…waiting. How ironic that it had not disappeared.

So, over the years, I loved on the bed, laughed on the bed and soaked my pillow with tears on the bed.

It knew all our secrets, all our pain, all our dreams.

I remember one night I awoke in the early hours of the morning, to find Rick awake as well. I told him of a dream I had been immersed in, and as I related it, he interrupted and told me the ending. He had been dreaming the same dream. Bizarre? Well, yes, I suppose, but it happened.

And then Rick became ill. He no longer had enough strength to get back to the bedroom. A hospital bed sat in our living room, and our bed remained empty and untouched, for I would not leave him to go sleep in it.

The first night after he had passed, I slept in our bed, on his side of the bed. It has taken many years to adjust to sleeping alone in our bed, but now it is my comfort, my solace, my refuge and I still sleep on his side of the bed.

I wonder what will happen to it when I am gone. Will my children recognize its significance and preserve it, or will they sell it because it bears no meaning to them? Perhaps I should make my wishes known ahead of time. But, on the other hand, does it really matter what happens to it? I think not. It served its purpose for Rick and will serve me until I am gone. Perhaps I will get to leave this earth on our bed. Who knows?

At any rate, this is a tribute to an inanimate object that holds so much meaning and memories for me — THE BED.

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Jonah – Part 10

Published on by Jan Sikes23 Comments

Last week, when we left Jonah, he’d just faced a memory that both frightened and horrified him – his first kill. We left him exhausted on the sand and Tidus had dropped a leather pouch at his feet and ran after Jonah yelled at him. Let’s check back in and see what’s inside the pouch

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He pulled the strip of leather that held the pouch closed and peered inside. A lump filled his throat.

Wasting no time, he grabbed his clothes, shoved his legs into his pants and ran after Tidus. “Hey, Tidus. Come back. I’m sorry, kid. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

He caught up to the boy when Tidus stopped and turned around. Tears streaked down Tidus’ face. “I’m sorry, Jonah. I only wanted to help.”

“I know. And you don’t have anything to apologize for. It’s me that’s being an ass. I just have so much going on in my head, and I all I want to do is go home. It’s obvious that ain’t gonna happen, but this?” Jonah dumped the contents of the pouch into his palm. “What am I supposed to do with these?”

Tidus shrugged and swiped his nose. “Plant ‘em.”

Jonah gestured at the tangled twisted landscape. “Where? Look at this.”

“We can clear a spot. It just takes a little work.”

“What are they?”

“Sunflower seeds.”

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“And this?” Jonah held up a triangular piece of black onyx outlined in bright red.

“It keeps away bad thoughts.”

“Hmm,” Jonah studied the shiny black triangle. “Guess I could sure use that.” He clapped Tidus on the shoulder. “Come back to camp with me and help me figure out a place to plant these seeds.” He funneled them back into the pouch and pulled the string.

Tidus grinned and fell into step beside Jonah. “Okay. I have lots of them growing on my side of the island. I wish I could take you there.”

“Me too, kid. Me too.”

His mind raced. Was this all part of his lesson? Instead of fighting the place he’d landed, maybe he needed to help turn it into something more pleasant. Would the simple act of planting Sunflowers help?

He glanced at Tidus. This kid was a mystery. As soon as he thought he had him figured out, he presented something new. What he wouldn’t give to see the other side of the island. Tidus made it sound like the Land of Milk and Honey.

Once they reached the clearing where Jonah’s hut sat, he stopped and scanned the area. “What about over there, Tidus?” He pointed to his right. “Would that be a good place to plant?”

Tidus studied the spot. “Too many rocks.” He turned in a semi-circle. “Maybe up there.” He indicated an area up a hill behind the hut.

“Whatever you say, kid. Do you have any tools we can use?”

“Yes. I can go get them and come back.” He hesitated. “That is, if they let me.”

Jonah ran his fingers through tangled hair. “I wish we knew who “they” were. I’d sure like to talk to them.”

Tidus shook his head. “That isn’t possible, Jonah.  They are everywhere.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Are you telling me “they” aren’t human?”

“Well, sort of. It’s hard to explain.” Tidus turned. “I’m going to get tools and I’ll be back.”

“Okay, kid. I’ll be here.”

As soon as Tidus left, Jonah ducked inside the hut. His gaze landed on the open book and journal. Maybe he’d skip the exercises for now and just read the book. He flipped it shut and stacked the journal on top of it.

He stretched out and stared up at the grass roof. The memory that had sent him plunging into the water lingered. He reached into the pouch and pulled out the cool black stone. He noticed something about it he’d missed at first glance. A tiny hole at the top of the triangle streamed sunshine. He looked closer at the leather string holding the pouch closed. After he unthreaded it, he was not surprised to find that it fit perfectly around his neck.

He slid the black onyx onto the leather strip and tied it. Now, that ought to keep bad thoughts away. Could it be as simple as that?

The books he’d been reading talked about shifting old habits and perspectives, clearing out negative thinking to make room for positive. The next time he’d give it a try. Cancel, clear, delete, echoed in his head.

Courage

Published on by Jan Sikes35 Comments

May you find the courage to follow your dreams.A New YearA Clean Slate

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. To me, they are only rules you make for yourself that you end up breaking, then feel bad because you weren’t able to stick with it.

Instead, I choose a word at the beginning of each year that is my theme or go-to for the year. For instance, last year, my word was “Believe.” Looking back over the year, it was amazing how many times that word got tested and/or validated. Here’s a synchronicity that pretty much blew my mind. Shortly after the beginning of 2017, I was at my daughter’s house and she said, “Mom, I got a Young Living order in and they sent me a free bottle of oil. Do you want it?”

She handed it to me and I had to smile. The name of the oil blend was – yep, you guessed it – “Believe.”

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So, for the entire year of 2017, I put a drop of “Believe” on the bottom of my feet every morning.

I said all of that to say my word for 2018 is “Courage.”

I am attempting to find a publisher for a new series I am writing. I need Courage to pursue that and not give up. I need Courage to spread my writing wings, to write in a genre I’ve never attempted, Courage to try new things I’ve never before tried, Courage to step into my own personal power.

My power animal is the Puma or Cougar and they are the symbol of Courage or Bravery.

I have a feeling I will be calling on my power animal a lot through 2018.

I’d like to share with you the blurb I wrote for my new book, which is Book 1 of the White Rune Series – When Two Worlds Collide.

Caught between a strong mind and fragile heart, Rena Jett vows never to let anyone in. The horrific abuse she suffered as a child has left permanent scars. Jag Peters doesn’t realize anything is missing from his near perfect life until he almost collides with Rena on her candy apple red Harley.

Rena’s brother, protector and only friend, Sam Jett, died in Afghanistan. A final letter from Sam delivers a mysterious White Rune to her. Jag is able to see and communicate with Sam’s ghost creating a triangle of souls. And when life-threatening danger comes to call, the two join forces to save Rena.

Could it be possible for two worlds so completely opposite to find a common ground and perhaps even love or a happily-ever-after?

What do you think? Does this pique your interest and make you want to know more? Give me only honest opinions, please. 🙂

Of course, I hope to attract a publisher who is willing to take a gamble on me. In the meantime, I am working on the second book in the series where the White Rune gets passed to a soldier desperately in need of his own happily-ever-after.

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