As a child growing up in snowy Massachusetts, I remember hearing my mother repeating the old saying “April showers bring May flowers.” She lovingly encouraged me to be patient with the cold and rainy weather that followed the snow. She would often remind me that, yes, spring would definitely arrive.

March Forth . . . With Confidence!

Have you ever noticed the way animals in nature will snuggle together?

The New Year often inspires us to open to new possibilities and opportunities. Some of us may start an exercise program or begin a new hobby or interest. Some may choose to give up bad habits like procrastination or cussing.

Today I pulled an angel card called “truth.” I sat for a minute and reflected on what that angelic message means in my life right now. To be real, authentic, and truthful, takes courage and trust. I closed my eyes and asked inside to honestly know what area or aspect of myself needs to be brought into the light for healing and true transparency, both with myself and with others. The word “sparkle” came. It was then that I realized that today, rather than feeling like my inner light is dazzling and bright, I was feeling a little dull.

The month of October always invites my imagination to conjure up a new Halloween costume. I tend to stick to the light and happy costumes like angel, fairy or butterfly. I’ve never liked scary movies, haunted houses or ghoulish costumes. Yet, at this time of year, the darker side of life is summoned to emerge and find its expression. Perhaps there is some metaphysical meaning in the cultural habit of expressing the shadow side by embodying skeletons, werewolves, and other dark characters for one night in the year. On Halloween, some people don costumes of warriors, ghosts and demons as if to say “Look how powerful I am”. The dark costumes honor the aspect of death, destruction and fear. While, on the other hand, there will be many super heroes, ballerinas and kitties to represent the lighter side of life. I believe there is an existential battle we all fight between our loving higher selves and our fearful selfish selves that gets portrayed in the Halloween parades and fairs. When we learn and come to terms with the idea that perhaps we are all saints and villains in different circumstances, then we can embrace the darker side of Halloween. Our higher selves know that love is the most powerful force in the universe and does not cow down to negative or fearful energies. So enjoy the interplay between the dark and light this Halloween as you keep your focus on love.

Mercury, the planet associated with communication, went retrograde on Aug 31. This can often mean that plans get changed, or that technical devices used for transmitting electronic information can have glitches. Computers, recording devices and phones can be challenging during this period. For me, when I know that Mercury is retrograde for a 3 week period, I remind myself to be flexible and to be willing to adapt to schedule changes. I also try to be extra patient with myself if I double book someone or mix up an appointment time. Usually, I remember that there is a divine perfection in the universe, and if I can flow with unexpected changes, then I can maintain peace amidst the temporary chaos. A dear friend reminded me to stay positive during Mercury retrograde and to “Use the energies as best we can.” Oftentimes when something goes wacky with a piece of electronic equipment during a Mercury retrograde period, the device will fix itself when Mercury goes direct. The trick for me is to not panic when a necessary piece of equipment malfunctions. I am humbly reminded that there are big universal energies way larger than my small outlook on life that influence me and my world. What a blessing it is to get older and less reactive to Mercury's whimsical and mischievous energies!

Today in Maui, the children are all heading back to school. The year will begin with a review of what they have learned, and then new lessons will be added. I remember the sadness of leaving the freedom of summer behind and entering into the structured world of school. Yet, once at my desk, I loved learning new things! I was an avid reader, and the language arts was my favorite area of study. On the other hand, math was difficult, and I always felt challenged with mastering the lessons. The open-mindedness to learn, also known as “beginner’s mind,” was natural as a child. As an adult, I find myself filtering and judging and sometimes having a closed mind to learning new subjects. Then I remind myself to become more childlike and receptive and less ridged. As a teacher of psychic development, I help students learn to return to their beginner’s mind and open to the voice of their higher guidance within. We each have invisible teachers and guides that are assisting us to become all that we can be. When we become the humble students, then we learn all we need to know to be happy, healthy and on purpose in our lives. My Psychic Immersion retreat on Maui begins Friday August 5th through August 9. Give yourself the gift of returning to your soul.

July heralds in memories of childhood for me because both my parents were born in July, as well as my sister and myself. In remembering my youth, I recall being painfully shy and afraid of conflict, as well as feeling embarrassed to be overly sensitive to other’s emotions. As I grew into adulthood, I learned to find my voice, develop self-confidence and cultivate my gift of intuition. Inner freedom happened when I released those old limiting beliefs from childhood about not being good enough and feeling like I was faulty for being so psychically sensitive. But, these childhood patterns can rear up from time to time. As long as I am willing to overcome those fears and manifest my greater self, I know freedom. During this month of July which celebrates independence, I invite you to shake off any old beliefs that are keeping you small and come home to your truest intuitive, happy self.

While crossing the street from the post office today, I was shocked when a big gold Hummer almost hit me. I was in the crosswalk and the “walk” sign was lit. I got half way across the street when suddenly I felt the wind from a vehicle and heard tires screech. I quickly jumped forward and turned around to see a thirty something couple (probably tourists in a hurry) careening off down the road. They came so close to hitting me as they turned left, directly towards me, that their bumper brushed by me. I got to the sidewalk and said a prayer of thanks for another day to be alive. I know it is kind of trite to say we never know when our time will come, so we should live life fully, but truly, this experience today awakened me to the beauty of the moment. I thought about my four kids and how much I love them and how grateful I am to be here another day for this amazing journey through life. My hope for the world is that we can let go of anything on your hearts that is impeding our aliveness. In that open hearted freedom, we can see that life in this very moment is precious- just as it is.

I’ve noticed as I’ve gotten older and seen some of my friends retiring that there is value to living a balanced life. The friends that worked too much seem a bit lost in retirement mode, and the friends who always took time to travel and have fun seem to be adjusting to the lack of work quite well. Up until recently, I have been a bit unbalanced with the number of hours I work, leaving little room for play and relaxation. Luckily, I love my work and feel very blessed to be doing it. I especially enjoy the feeling of presence and peace I experience when I do psychic readings. Yet, the other part of my work: marketing, record keeping and booking appointments requires a much different energy and focus. This is where things can get overwhelming. I see now that it is beneficial to leave more room between my activities and balance the “doing” with “being”. There is a very great gift in stillness. Stillness must be cultivated regularly, not just in the morning with meditation. By simply checking in with myself throughout the day, I feel my heart beating in stillness, and in that moment, I remember what it feels like to “be” in my center. While I am in no hurry to retire, I do see that balance is a key element to living a fulfilling life now and in the future as well. Excuse me, as I am going to the beach!

April showers bring May flowers! This is true if you have planted seeds ahead of time and cultivated the garden. Give some thought to what kinds of seeds you have planted in your mind lately.  Are they thoughts of hope, beauty and gratitude or thoughts of worry, fear and indecision? Positive thoughts are like flowers that bring delight, while negative thoughts are like weeds that choke one’s life force out. Spring is an excellent time to set new goals and nurture loving acts of kindness towards others and yourself. Every time you choose love over fear a rainbow triumphs over a rain cloud! 

Tomorrow begins my Psychic Immersion Retreat on Maui from 4:00pm Friday, March 4^th until Tuesday, March 8^th at noon. A special vortex of energy will be created and established to clear away the veils of separation and connect all who participate with their Higher Selves, spirit guides and angelic helpers. I feel so blessed to be a facilitator of this sacred union of Self, Souls and Spirit. 

When I was 6 years old, I discovered a special little book in the school library called “Love is a Special Way of Feeling.”  This sweet book taught me that love is felt in the very simple acts of kindness that we show each other and in our appreciation of nature. Delicately drawn pictures complemented the endearing text.  Love was simple and uncomplicated. Then I grew up and love became dramatic and intense. Attachment, expectations, rejection and betrayal colored my thoughts about love.  Now as I enter my prime years, I have come full circle to the truth that love really is in the simple things in life and in the splendor of nature in all her glory.

My guides often remind me that I see things as good or bad because I'm seeing the world through ‘third dimensional’ lenses. Whenever I can step back and allow myself to see the larger picture, I am often humbled by how much my higher self loves me and offers me "lessons" so that I grow in love.  Recently, I had a soul lesson while I was out to dinner with my grown children. I commented on how poorly our waitress was serving us and my youngest son said "How does that comment benefit our family connection?"  BAM! I got it! I had forgotten to just love what is and not try to change it to my standards or satisfaction.  I immediately thanked my son and then said a little prayer inside for both the waitress and for myself.  I prayed for acceptance and forgiveness for all the times I may not have been at my stellar best. This journey of life is filled with both praise and blame. When I can remember that my essence is beyond either of these extremes, I can surrender and come to rest in the middle.  My soul dwells in the dimensions beyond all polarities, especially the duality of right and wrong. Resting in this neutral world of the Spirit, I can be at peace.  Through this peace I can look at life through the eyes of my soul. I can see my life through the lenses of love.

Holiday time is here! For some of us, we have happy memories from childhood and look forward to these festive times. And yet, for others the holidays bring back sad memories from our youth. Instead of excitement, we may feel anxiety or depression at this time of year. I've been guilty of living with the "perfect family" fantasy where everyone is warm and fuzzy during the holidays and all is cheerful and well. In reality, my family of origin was highly dysfunctional and the holidays often ended up with drunken rages and me feeling very small and invisible. I've always secretly been jealous of happy families at the holidays. Healing comes when I can accept that I have received some negative programming from childhood and I need to make a conscious effort to be positive. One of the ways I do this is to extend a hand to people in need at the holidays. Helping others always brings me back into the present time. If you are finding the holidays challenging, try to remember that you may be reacting to feelings originating from a much younger age. Find a way to do something nurturing for your inner child this year, such as going for a walk with a friend, getting a massage or watching some funny videos while eating popcorn. Remember that this too will pass and lighten up. It's the season of light!

I just flew back to Maui from an outer island five-day trip. As the plane descended from the wispy clouds to the clear blue sky below, I gazed down at the translucent turquoise ocean and then looked over to the emerald green mountains. The beauty of Maui’s coastline captivated me! I then found myself reflecting about the end of my Waikiki trip and coming home and getting back to work. My gratitude for living in the place of my dreams filled me again and I smiled with the knowing that I am surrounded by beauty living in the graceful chain of islands we call Hawaii.  How very fortunate I feel to have my family close by, friends I love and work I am devoted to. I invite you to reflect on the place that you call home and check inside to see if it really feels like a match to with you are now. When you come home from a trip are you excited to be back or do you dread the routine you have created for yourself? The answer will reveal to you insights about your current life situation. I am attending a memorial service for a friend tomorrow and again, I am reminded that this life is precious and short and it's important to live my dreams now. I'm happy to be back in Maui and to celebrate the blessings of this sacred place. All the best to you!

I just returned from a weeklong retreat at beautiful Omega Institute in New York. The red, yellow and orange leaves on the trees glistened as the rain came down, renewing the earth with the freshness of life. I too, feel washed clean and nourished by the autumn rain and crispness in the air. I attended two programs. The first was with psychic healer, John of God, and 1,000 fellow participants.  Next, I was with Pema Chodron, a Buddhist Nun and 550 other eager students. My favorite teaching from the entire week is from Pema. At the end of one of her long talks, she stood up, draped in her burgundy robes, clasped her tiny hands together and looked lovingly at the audience with a little smile on her humble face. She spoke with eagerness, as though she really wanted to emphasize this point, “As long as you think of things in your lives as obstacles, then they we will be. But as long as you think of things in your lives as the pathway, then they are no longer obstacles.”  She was referring to her discourse on opening to what life brings and becoming friends with your mind. I learned a lot about opening wide, and simply being. Just as the fall trees drop their leaves and become barren awaiting the buds of spring, I too entered the stillness of life and befriended all extraneous thoughts, words and actions to dwell in the root of my being in a place of acceptance and non-resistance.

Most of the time, I am very happy and content. Occasionally though, a vague feeling of sadness creeps in and I try to rid myself of it through meditation, prayer, exercise and service to others. However, when those methods don’t work, I remember to consider if there are any losses that I have not grieved fully enough. Sure enough, I usually have stuffed some unwanted goodbyes under the rug and not dealt with the underlying feeling of abandonment or grief. This week as I felt into my grief, I realized that in this last year, I said goodbye to my mother as she transitioned. Five of my close friends moved away from me off the island of Maui. Another dear friend is facing her death soon. Instead of avoiding the sadness, I let myself cry and open my heart to the energy of grief moving through my body. As I sobbed, I felt myself becoming smaller and smaller until memories of being alone as an infant in an incubator for five weeks, flashed through my mind. I revisited that awful feeling of loneliness. How horrifying it was to have left the comfort of the oneness of existence before birth, and then be isolated from human contact. My perspective then changed, and I was compassionately looking at that little baby from my Higher Self. In the next moment, there was a loving guardian angel standing by my incubator singing to me. I immediately felt the lost baby inside me quiet down. I was reminded that separation is a part of life and I chose to be here on Earth to fully experience human love and human loss. This deeper childhood grief was triggered to remind me to connect more fully with the Presence of the Divine and the invisible angelic realms which surround me now, and will never abandon me.

It’s time for school again. Here on Maui, the children go back to school in August and the start of a new cycle of learning begins again. Young students know they will be learning new material and they don’t fight it. At this time of year, I pause and reflect on what new skills, lessons and abilities I am learning. As an adult, I don’t pass from grade to grade or take exams the way students in school do. And neither do most of my adult friends. So how can we know we are still expanding ourselves and developing new skills? It’s easy to become complacent and just settle for what “is,” rather than reaching beyond our limitations and challenges. I catch myself resisting change, like upgrading my phone software for fear of having to learn a new operating system and fumbling in the process. How would it be if I got excited about the new features and technology and took it upon myself to study them and master them? This courage to learn new things is how I grow, to reach beyond my known world and step boldly into uncharted territory. Perhaps you have been considering a new learning adventure: dance lessons, a new language or new computer skills. Whatever it is, I encourage you to be like children, open yourself to learning and let yourself grow!