March issue of AP Magazine has arrived!

Another great issue of 

AP Magazine! 

Check it out here!

Check Out This Article!

Chimney Rock & Its Companion - A Spiritual Outpost

Book Release!

I am so excited to announce the release of my first book!

Colorado Anomalies: Ley Lines, Earth Mysteries, or Cosmic Coincidence

It is a book about my home state of Colorado and the Anomalies found there. I write about why and how the majority of the Anomalies are found in certain areas. It is now available as an eBook from Amazon. Click Here!

Melting Shadows

Well here is the new look. And a new name.
If you have this blog listed on your website and/or blog, please make note of the name change. Thanks!

I have wandered down another path. 

I have begun writing more seriously. I am actually getting paid for articles, albeit peanuts, but it is pay. I have steered away from the art which once was my creative outlet. I still dabble but not to the extent I did. There is a reason for the term, "Starving Artist". Most artists don't make enough to live off of and I was one of those. So I am channeling my creative outlet in other ways. Hopefully ways in which I will make money. (trying real hard to pay off bills and finish construction on our little abode)
This blog will still have posts about odd and unusual things, the occasional post from Gomez, and thoughts on the esoteric. But the Sunday art feature will be no more. 
I do hope you'll stick around. One never knows where the path will lead. Or what the Shadows will do.

Do You Have an STD?

*** this post originally appeared in An Irie Life***

No, I’m not referring to that kind of STD. I’m referring to a Spiritually Transmitted Disease. Yes, there is such a thing. Though it may not necessarily be found in a medical journal.

Spiritually Transmitted Diseases are very real and come in a variety of forms. While these diseases can affect a person’s life, they can be cured and a person can get back on track with their spiritual development. Let’s take a look.

1. Chosen Ones - People afflicted with this have the mentality that they and/or their group are spiritually superior to all others. They feel that the path which they are on is the only path, all other faiths are false. There are a myriad of spiritual paths which can be traveled. And truly spiritual people will not condemn another’s path or beliefs. A person needs to follow that which resonates with them. If a person wishes to join a spiritual group, then that person should look into the true thoughts and beliefs of both the members and the leaders.

2. Spiritual Mimics – This is a person who acts like those who are further along on the path to enlightenment. A Spiritual Mimic will talk, act and even dress as a Spiritual Master would, but a Mimic hasn’t been through the training or teaching or soul searching. Mimics will do this for various reasons – laziness, feeling that the schooling isn’t necessary for them or simply because they feel the need to belong. Mimics do themselves a disservice by skipping the ‘hard stuff’.

3. Fast Track Spirituality – Becoming a truly spiritual person takes time. A person can’t ‘read all the books’, ‘see all the movies’, ‘hear all the lectures’ and expect to become enlightened. Following a spiritual path is a continued evolution of the soul. A person will encounter both the good and the bad. The tough times help a person better understand themselves and helps them grow spiritually. Anything worth having takes time.

4. Spiritualized Ego – When a person obtains too much information and doesn’t do the necessary introspective work, they begin to think they have attained spiritual enlightenment. That person then feels superior because of the abundance of facts and information they know, but they lack the knowledge and the wisdom necessary to progress on their path, let alone instruct others.

5. Fluffball Spirituality – This is the refusal to deal with the negative emotions and thoughts which a person will experience in any given day. These people do not like to think, or talk, about Life’s harsh realities. These people simply do not acknowledge that there is anything bad or evil. This refusal to acknowledge the darkness which in-veritably occurs in the world is also reflected in how they deal with their own dilemmas. The dark days help us grow as individuals. It also teaches how to take charge of a situation and turn it around into something positive.

While they are all different, these STD’s also all share similar traits. And they can all be detrimental to a person’s spiritual path. Remember, anything in Life worth having is worth taking the time to do right. Empires weren’t built over night and their is no escalator on the road to enlightenment.

The Power of Words

What we say can define us. It can also define our world. Words have immense power. Not only because of the frequency at which they vibrate when spoken but because they have the power to create or demolish. Have you ever heard the phrase, 'don't give a breath of life to something by speaking of it'? There is more truth to that statement than one might imagine. When words are spoken out loud, they help the energy around them to manifest.

Let's begin by looking at how you Think. Are you always berating yourself? Or do give yourself little pep talks and mental pats on the back? The tone in which we think not only impacts our words but also influences our actions. Consciously thinking of what we want to say before it is spoken can help change a person's tone of thinking. When we change our thought patterns in a positive way, we soon get a lilt to our step and a smile on our face.

How do you use Spoken Words? Do you speak using positive words in positive tones? Or are the words can't, don't, and won't used quite often? What we say not only defines us as a person but defines how other people interact with us. When we frequently use words with negative tones, our way of thinking will reflect those words. We can become depressed which can lead to much worse things. Or we become the person that no one wants to be around because of our negative attitude. Then there are those that lash out at others using the very same negative words. If we use positive words, we will find happiness, love, and joy entering our lives. Children and those who are sensitives are especially affected by spoken words and the power they carry.

The Written Word is the most powerful. It has the power of longevity. We must not be frivolous when using the written word, for its power can last through generations and eons of time. The written word can educate and enlighten those who choose to look between the pages of the tomes. The written word can find its way through the webs and sieves of those who would constrain it. The written word can heal wounds both seen and unseen.

Words and how they are used can be even more important when manifesting. Imagine a word as a note, a sentence as a song and a story is a symphony. Imagine yourself as a composer of music when composing a spell. The words should flow together as notes flow into one another in a song. The vibration of each word impacts the ability of that thought to manifest into reality. When penning a desire to paper, follow not only your gut but your ear. Does it 'sound' right? Do the words seem to 'fit' together? The color of the words written down also have an impact on the manifestation being sought. The vibrations of the different colors influence the vibrations of the words, either helping or hindering the energy in manifesting. Be mindful of the color of the paper upon which the words are written. To add a bit more power to the spell, coordinate the color of the paper and the color of the pen or pencil with the thought which you desire to manifest.

Not only are, "We Are What We Eat". But "We Are What We Think, Say, and Write."
 

Honoring Our Mothers

Mother’s Day is a holiday celebrated world-wide, though on various different dates. It is a time to honor and show our love for our mother. But in truth, we all have many mothers.

We are all a compilation of the Mothers who came before us – our mother, our mother’s mother, and her mother and so on. It doesn’t matter whether you are a man or a woman, the Mothers who came before all had a hand in the making of who we are today. But a mother isn’t always someone who is related by blood but can be someone who nurtured you or had a great influence on your life. And thus, that woman’s mothers will also have become a part of you.

We possess all the knowledge of the women who helped shape us. This knowledge can manifest in our intuitions, our thoughts, our feelings, our dreams. It is part of our very essence and while it may be buried deep within our souls, we may access it through meditation and dream work.

Even the Goddess(es) who we revere are present in our being as well as the Goddess(es) of the women who came before. Brigid, the Earth Goddess or Morrighan, the Goddess of War from Celtic lore. Freya the Goddess of Abundance or Frigga the Goddess of Marriage of Norse origins. Or perhaps the Goddesses of your past are Venus, Isis, or Athena. We honor that connection, that remembrance, with an altar or shrine.  

While we all feel especially connected with a specific woman or deity, Gaia is the mother of all. We connect with her every day; with every drink of water, every bite of food we eat, and every breath we take. Our connection with Gaia is essential to a happy, healthy life. We need to feel her heartbeat, to connect with her life giving essence in order to feel complete and whole. 

Our mothers wanted us to be happy and healthy and to lead a life filled with laughter and love. And what better way to honor this than by loving ourselves. The love of self is not an ego-oriented love but one which connects us to the Divine. We should all embrace each phase of the journey of our womanhood, from Maiden to Mother to Crone. We all have a part to play in the creation of our world. We are needed to nurture and love and embrace those of the world who are in need. We need to pass on the knowledge and beliefs to the next generation lest it be forgotten.

A special ritual held at this time incorporates a white candle, an empty bowl and a handful (or two) of small stones or marbles. Light the candle while meditating on the divine feminine. As the candle burns, place a stone (or marble) into the bowl for each woman who has filled your life with knowledge, love, and laughter. While doing this, speak a short affirmation for each woman. Don’t forget to retain a stone for yourself. And speak an affirmation for yourself. Because we all are the embodiment of the Divine Feminine. We all have the wisdom, power and mystique of the Women and Goddesses of yore.

Originally published in The SundayStew

Summer (?) is Here!

Where has the year gone? We are already into the second half of May! Summer is rapidly approaching. But if you listen to the media, Summer arrives this weekend here in the U.S. Seems that Summer now runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Not from the Summer Solstice to the Autumn Equinox. Hhhhmmm....somehow I missed that memo.....

hail - not snow - from a brief shower earlier this month

But if I were to base my opinion of Summer being right around the corner on the weather, I would have to say that we have a month or two to go. There has been a fair amount of precipitation here in Colorado - rain, snow & hail. But I'm not complaining! At least we're getting moisture.

Over the course of the next few months, I am going to be posting some of the articles I have been writing for various publications. (one of these days, maybe I'll get paid to write....) I'll post links to the publications so you can read some of the other contributions. I'll check in periodically, just to make sure everyone is behaving themselves. I know how rowdy y'all can get ....

Enjoy your Summer!

Welcoming a New Year!

A new month and a new year is staring at me from the calendar on the wall. January 2015.  I have yet to pencil in the already growing number of commitments, appointments, and deadlines. I think I'll just put them in my day-timer and keep the calendar clean. It looks better that way.

This month finds me now a contributing writer for the Imramma magazine. Click here! I'm excited about this new journey. I will be writing a column from the Crone's perspective. Funny. I never really thought of myself as a Crone. I never really wanted to think of myself as a Crone. But we all reach that point sooner or later. And I have to say, it's not too bad. I now get senior discounts, though if I was carded, I probably wouldn't but graying hair does have it's advantages. And I have reached an age where I don't really care how people take something I say nor do I care what people think of me. If you know me, then you know my quirks and love me for them anyway. **wink-wink** 
So expect some "Cronish" sorts of posts here every so often.

This new month also brings about a minor make-over here at The CCC. I freshened my pages section (still a bit of a work-in-progress) along with dusting off the sidebars. I also plan on starting a new series about "The Physics of Magic" - where science meets the esoteric. I feel that understanding the 'how' might help with the actual process. Knowledge should be shared. Not kept hidden away in a dark broom closet.

So hang on folks! We should have some fun this year!

Can't get enough.......

Of my writing?  Then you might want to check out the Halloween Artists website.
I compile the monthly newsletter and am a contributing writer for the Gothic Garden section along with the occasional Featured Article. Click here to visit! (there is also a marketplace filled with all sorts of wonderful art!)

This month's featured article is about Today's Art ... An Investment for Future Generations