Walks With Thunder

Sounds easy sometimes- to just let things happen as they should. And yet… we want to jump in and “help” things along for ourselves and those we love. I do that. In fact I’ve always thought I should step-in when someone I love needs a hand with relationships, healing, and life in general. But the miracles happen when I just let the old ego and agenda of self fall away- come what may…
A dear friend of mine told me, “Just bless the situation for the best outcome for everyone and let it be.” At the time I wanted to say “Easy for you to say!” I thought about the advice though- it sounded strangely like that releasing technique I teach for addictions, habits, negative self-talk, etc. Having a warrior spirit, when family or friends are wronged I instinctively get out my spiritual war gear and get ready to kick some serious behind. But the Angels have been telling me Not so fast… “Choose love in every thing.” Talk about not easy! I have been doing my best to switch gears and choose love, even in those difficult moments where I feel I should come to the rescue. When I can choose to respond with kindness (or love) instead of power and command, I am practicing love. It’s a conscious shift for me… I’m a work in progress.

My apprentices have noticed this difference- some of them are used to the warrior spirit kicking butt or calling in Grandfather and Thunder Spirits’ discipline, so they see it as a sign of weakness… I say it’s a sign of power to consciously choose love, though this should not be confused with indecision (been there). In fact, to choose love is powerful and good for everyone. I admit- being a warrior is the only choice when you’re faced with irrational, unreasonable, emotionally unstable, or just plain mean people… Yeah baby, my lightning bolts are ready!

The folks that listen to my blog talk radio show have noticed too, saying Walks With Thunder seems softer now, more approachable… It’s true- most of the time. I don’t do so much of that discipline stuff anymore- the Angels have begun to change me. It’s a time of self-discovery and spiritual re-invention for me. I admit, for a while there my mind was going north while my spirit headed south… My usually confident self was confused and it was difficult to make a decisions. I found myself in the Land of Waffling (that’s that place of indecision I warned you about earlier).
Looking at my own life as though it were someone else’s put everything into perspective- to let go of my feelings and personal interests and remind me that this work is not about me. The free energy I tap into heals folks in 5 minutes or less and sticks around to keep them healed- it’s not my omnipotent power, I’m just the conduit. This transition in my life is an important reminder to get out of my own darn way, cut that which does not serve me, look at my life from the outside, and take time to listen to Spirit… It’s all good. And you know, those same apprentices now say that Walks With Thunder is back!

May you be blessed to make the decisions that make sense in your life- to let go of the judgments that you perceive others hold for you so that you stop saying “should,” “can’t,” “won’t,” “never,” and “always.” May love for yourself and others bless you with clarity of Spirit.

Walks With Thunder
253-350-5755
www.walkswiththunder.com
www.blogtalkradio.com\walkswiththunder

Freedom is a word we use and see often in America. Freedom of speech, religion, lots of that going on around here. We have songs with the word Freedom in them…’ Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.’ The word is in Famous Speeches, Free at last, thank god almighty free at last. Ok so I stretched a bit there but I love that quote.

As a veteran, I know that we pay for that Freedom with our American service men and women. Last year I had a guest on my Radio show that said she was putting together a peace really to protest the war in Iraq. My engineer Gary gave me a strange look as I told my guest what I thought of this peace rally. ‘I think that’s fine to have a little peace rally. As long as you know that your right to have one is paid for with the courage, sweat, blood and lives of our American service men and women.’ Had no idea I felt so strongly about that. My poor guest was a bit shocked too as I normally don’t verbally smack them around like that. Felt right to me though.

I am thankful that we have a strong military, there are a few folks that have some strange ideas about who Americans are and what we stand for. Being Native American I don’t like that there are terrorist out there that think it’s a good idea to kill Americans as I feel you can’t get more American than a Native American. Most of the Americans I know are fine people, ok there are a few that are nut jobs out there but by and large we are a wonderful people. Home of Mark Twain, John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Julianne Moore ( just love her), and so many other nice people.
Its my choice to go or not go to church. I can read any book I like, watch TV shows that have no educational value what so ever. I can eat junk food all day long and its ok with our government if do. I experience freedom by being able to write what I like and have it published. A woman’s Freedom to choose to have a baby or not.

How can we as a Nation help our people? Is just sending good thoughts to them going to do anything at all? The power of will and intent does have a result. Lets do a simple visualization together. In your minds eye imagine some one you know that is in the Armed Forces. Where ever they are what ever time it is, see them as being protected by Angels or Spirit Warriors. Those spirits are looking out for the safety of our people here and in far away lands too. Ask those spirits to keep them all safe in a good, fast modern world way. Then open your eyes. What you have just done is attach spirit warriors of protection to an American Service man or woman. Easy ya? I love that. Now give that spirit some instructions. To follow that person in a good but protective way. Now your done.
In some of our states folks even have the right to have same sex marriages. If you have ever been married you all know it’s the same sex in a marriage. Heard that one from Robin Williams. What I really love out about Freedom is its mine. Of course we all have to live by the laws of our land and I like those too for the most part. When did it become out of style to be happy to be an American. Ok so the early Americans really screwed the native people over here. We gave you tobacco and you gave us alcohol, I see that as being even. We as Native Americans have the Freedom to have Casino’s on Reservation land! For those that go them, thank you for your kind and generous donations! Come on back real soon.

Wouldn’t it be great to get a "How To" manual on Fatherhood when you pick up the baby from the hospital? Kind of like buying a car… My son and I have been together for 21 years. He’s my constant companion who has lasted through two divorces and countless relationships. If you asked me what my greatest accomplishment is, I would say "My son." He has grown up to be a good friend as well as a great person with an agile mind and quick wit. His words of wisdom sound very familiar- usually my own words said with a grin. Yep- a Dad’s self-help book might have come in handy for both of us on several occasions…

Being a father is the toughest job we will ever have or love. Some fathers realize this in an instant, others only after their child has grown, but sometimes it is never realized. There are no paid vacations, no financial reward at the end of a job well done, and it may seem that we get criticized more than appreciated… So why do many of us become Fathers? Maybe it’s part of the divine plan to understand our Creator. A challenge sent to us so that we might begin to discover what it’s like to give unconditional love and acceptance.

In my mind, a great Father is a part of his Child’s life in every moment and lives by example. In the younger years, he uses any means available just to soak up time with his child- whether it’s going to school functions, kids’ parties, or the movies. He reminds himself every day that his child will only be that size on that day. Back then for me, it was all about going to Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Stow Lake, Green Lake, Seattle Center, and many other West Coast child-friendly places…

In the teen years, he might be watching from afar and waiting for his child to return safely… Or spending lots of time just hanging out and making pizza, playing video games, or watching movies. All along, thinking of what his child needs, wants, and what’s best while watching for clues on how to cultivate their new relationship. As good Father talks with and listens to his child, he reminds himself every day that his child is watching and learning from his example- even when it appears otherwise.

I know I watched my Father even though he created a very clear picture of what NOT to do. I’ve seen some Dads get paralyzed with fear and drown themselves in the bottle (or some other compulsive behavior), turn to being overly macho and competitive, or present an aloof sense of stoic calm. Can’t we show our boys that they can be "manly" AND express feelings of fear, hurt, and sadness?

Thankfully, like the character Murphy Brown says to Jake in the movie Murphy’s Romance, "…Take after him or not, it’s up to you…" And Murphy’s right- no matter how we came to the position of being a Father (whether it’s a bit of a surprise or a long anticipated gift) we are the ones who get to decide how good we’re going to be at it. And so will our children. What has your child seen you do or say in the last week? Month? Year? If it’s something other than stellar (I know I’ve made my fair share of mistakes)- what would you teach him by admitting you screwed up, saying "I’m sorry…" or showing vulnerability? As a friend of mine says in those cases, "… I made a mistake. I’m sorry. I guess it’s good I’m not perfect-that means you don’t have to be either…"

Listening is one of the skills my son taught me at great expense to him. The wisdom he had as a child to this day still amazes me. If there is a skill that will serve you well your whole life it’s listening to others. Your children, the ones who know you best, are the ones most parents do not listen to as well as they should. How do you do that? It’s easy, close your mouth and listen with your heart, mind and soul. You may even find that this skill will work well with the other important people in your life. The way to test how well you listen is to give a confirming statement about what you heard. ‘OK what I heard you say is…’ Give this a try. It’s one of the best things about being a father. You can astonish your child and the woman you love by showing them you can listen.

So Fathers- May we have the courage to see ourselves through our child’s eyes, the strength to admit when we’re wrong, the humility to know that we’ll need help along the way, and the integrity to be living examples in many (if not most) of those small yet defining moments. And may the Grandfathers and Grandmother Spirits bless each of us with all that we need but don’t know to ask for… including directions.

My world is filled with Psychic Fairs, Expos, and scheduling individual appointments. My work as a Non-Traditional Shaman is spiritual work; however, there is a necessary business side to that in order to live. I was doing a fair a bit west of Seattle. Even though I hesitated for 4 months before I actually participated. I started this doing this fair in 2007 (Guess I just wasn’t listening to my inner voice very well…) However, there was something about this fair that wasn’t quite right, but I told myself it was a new way to advertise and went ahead anyway.

The “deal” was the problem: The person who coordinated the fair (paid only a nominal advertising fee to run a paragraph advertisement and rent for the space) charged me and the other Readers 50% of each client’s payment for service. Not only that, she set my rate much lower than usual. I felt like I was devaluing myself. True, I agreed to this “sharecropper” status. Even worse, when I started marketing my DVD I agreed to another $25 fee, as I was technically a Vendor as well as a Reader. The person who put on the fair automatically made $25 more than I did every time I simply walked into the fair. As if that was not bad enough, all the while taking advantage of my personal advertising and name recognition in the area and not even listening to my request to change the system.
Yes, I am stubborn and outspoken (I have been criticized for the “sharecropper” terminology), but sometimes this works for me. Therefore, with very few regular fairs in my area, I had little choice in the matter if I wanted routine income. So, I put up with these state of affairs for about five months, otherwise the options were: Do these fairs or no fairs that month. Finally, I listened to my inner voice and stopped going. Something had to change.

Right about the same time, my dear friend had also started doing a fair put on by one of the spiritual publications in our area. Go figure- the person who put on that fair also subscribed to the same model (why people think its ok to take financial advantage of psychics because someone else does) makes no sense to me. My friend was upset at the way she was being treated, like a non-important person, whose ideas were insignificant. She was so upset, she didn’t want to do the fair any more however, she didn’t have another source of income for that weekend. I said, “We are just going to have to have our own fair.”

As a diamond is formed from coal, under intense pressure, our Magical Pathways Fair was born in much the same way. We hatched a plan to go to four locations and ask about renting the space for our fairs. In 24 hours we had four locations for our fairs. Now since Terri and I had both felt we had no say in the fairs we had participated in, it was important to us that each person in our fair have a voice. As a Co-Op, each of us owns the Magical Pathways Fair. Each of us is responsible for advertising (together we comprise a 1/3 page advertisement), each of us helps with setup, and each of us gathers Readers to our fairs. As with all good things, they take on a life of their own. In just four days we had 20 readers who wanted to participate.

Now the Co-Op efforts didn’t go unnoticed by the other fair coordinators. In fact, one of our members was sending our group’s private emails to them. Oddly, they didn’t contact me directly even though they had my phone number and email address from the emails (though they did say things directly to me in the email that wasn’t addressed to me). I later saw that they said they felt “slapped in the face” and “punched in the gut.” Since I had not sent them these emails but instead simply coordinated a fair with my friend, my response was, “Whoever is sending this information to them is sending them negative energy, as they feel slapped and punched. That negative energy has a way of sticking to a person, perhaps they should stop that.”

I share this because it’s important to know that doing your own fair creates challenges for others and they will respond in kind. For the folks around here who ran local fairs before we started Magical Pathways, it seems they felt a tad guilty and wanted a sort of hold harmless agreement. My use of “sharecropper” terminology inflamed a few to the point that there was a page and a half of response floating around for a while… I would have thought that someone who puts on a spiritual fair would have the moxie to contact me directly if what I said/did bothers them. Instead, this person actually tried to defend taking 50% of the Readers’ fees and setting the Readers’ prices- likening themselves to “realtors” and saying that we were really paying for a service (which by the way is typically 4% rather than 50%). They also contacted our advertisers and tried to discourage them from advertising our fair. Oh my.

It’s true, I use a steamroller when I create a path to get where I’m going. If you’re going to go do a thing, why be timid when you do it? Do it big. I see our Co-Op fairs as being a blow for psychic freedom. Psychics are a gift from the universe to our communities and should be respected and taken care of, not taken advantage of. A month after Terri and I promoted Magical Pathways on our show, blogtalkradio.com/walkswiththunder, we had an inquiry from New Jersey and New York asking about putting on a fair like ours over there. Again, good things take a life of their own!

Terri C and I offered to share all our information with them and be associated with them. We shared a few phone calls, looked over the process they had, fixed a few little problems, and advised them to remove a problem member who was slowing the whole process down to a glacial crawl (had they followed that person’s advice they would maybe had a fair by October even though it was late April). After cutting away the micro-manager, they now have a Magical Pathways Fair scheduled in June. That Group from New Jersey inspired another group in Sacramento and they too have a fair scheduled to start in June. And so on and so on…

Here’s a recipe to start your own Magical Pathways Co-Op:
1. Gather a need for more “fair” Fairs.
2. Mix Tarot Readers, Psychics, Energy Healers.
3. Vigorously sprinkle with financial equality and shared decision making.
4. Add 3T frugal advertising.
5. Stir 1c. (heaping) of creativity.
6. Pour in 8oz. of confidence.
7. Blend well and check for lumps that slow down the process. Remove lumps right away, or they may delay or abort a great outcome.
8. Add 7 large, warrior Thunder spirits to give it some backbone and kick some blocks out of the way, it’s what they do for me.

Our Fairs are like a Diamond in the rough. My vision for our Magical Pathways CoOp is to go Nation/worldwide in a good way. Each of our associate CoOp groups working with each other- throwing off the financial oppressors and (Can ya hear the national anthem here?) striking a blow for psychic freedom everywhere! We have a web site for our fairs http://www.myspace.com/magicalpathways.

If you like the idea of having your own CoOp send us an email, give us a call. We would love to help you get started! It’s easier than they want you to know…

walkswiththunder@msn.com
253-350-5755
Walks With Thunder

Lions and Tigers and Bears- Oh my! What do we give our power to? It’s a choice we make all the time. Some give their voices to another, others allow themselves to be controlled or manipulated by a partner or spouse. Have you caught yourself saying “He won’t let me…” (or) “She’s so controlling…” (or) “I am so stressed” (or) “I just never have enough time…” If so, be careful what you power since what we believe powers everything in our lives.

Karma is a good example. If you believe in it then those rules become real for you. For myself it’s not real. I don’t believe it has power for me, so it doesn’t. On the other hand, I talked with a woman who was abused as a child. Her “advisor” said it was her lot in life because of a past life punishment. What a load of hooey! Children are not responsible for what adults do to them. I told her if you give that idea your power, then what they told you becomes your truth. I say- Why buy into something that does not serve you? If you don’t give it power, then you can release your guilt and heal. Same with spirituality, looking forward, and how folks think the Universe/God/Destiny or whatnot has omnipotent control over my life so I am just along for the ride. Scary. What about your free will and intent and your own moral compass that steers that? Yes, there are a few givens you signed on for before you even came, does that mean the outcome of how you do this life is preordained? Again, more hooey.

And we fear change- fear of the unknown, disbelief we are strong enough, capable enough, smart enough, or lovable enough to make scary changes. Self-doubt and “what ifs”- What if it doesn’t work? What if I make my life and others’ worse? Fear gets a lot of power because we decide not to decide- which is like deciding to stay stuck.

Who’s the wicked in-law of fear? Control. W hen do you let go of your need to “control” everything and everyone and every outcome or emotion or response of another? Did you ever really have it in the first place? I think not. A big part of unlearning this is knowing when to empower others to do what they do best! Each of us does not have to do everything to perfection- we just need to be discerning on who is worthy of our trust in their talents and abilities on their own or our own behalf. If I need energy healing, then I definitely empower the energy healer so they can effectively work on me. As everyone knows, I am picky about that though- have to feel results in five minutes or I have wasted my money. Giving your power to someone who is an expert in what they do can be good. My lawyer Mike is another example- he is so good he gets an embarrassing amount of money for what he does. People give him the money he expects because he gets the results they need. Not a talent of mine. I hire Mike.

There’s a fine line too where people go overboard on powering something that happens “once in a blue moon”- literally- and diminish their power in doing so. I was talking to Cameron at Contact Talk Radio the other day about what we give our power too. If we buy into the power of only certain phases of moon, then we are only powerful at the full moon or the new moon. Instead, what if we could power every day with some thing that boosts our power?

Be creative about what you give your power and you can make each day powerful- no matter what. What about a lucky pair of shoes or a shirt? Maybe you have a rabbits foot that is lucky or you have just rubbed the Buddha’s tummy… Perhaps both.

Mix, match, change things around and empower yourself to power every day with something that boosts our own personal power! What about powering your birthday, birth date, birth year, or even the time of day you were born? Those number combinations will happen every day of the year! My birthday is 01-26-1958- that is my personal power day. Every thing I do that day is more powerful than other normal days. Even the year can be helpful to me. In military time, 1958 is 7:58 PM- comes by once a day. So if I wait till that time to start a blessing or what not, then I get an even more powerful outcome. Then the 26 th comes 12 times a year and January is a powerful month for me as well. See where I am going with this? Also fun- I love thunder storms, those come along many times in the year. My favorite numbers are 4 and 7, so 4:44 a.m. is a powerful time of day for me- as is 7:00 (which comes around twice a day). If I work this right I can even power this on the 4th second- another boost. So if I could get a day with my birthday, a thunderstorm, at 7:58:04 PM and a full moon, well then how good is that! You get the idea… My advice- listen to your inner voice about what you power and be careful about shooting yourself in your own foot. If it doesn’t serve you (and often) then why power it?

Bottom line- most of what we do is in our thoughts, words, and beliefs- uncontrolled, unchecked, unquestioned, and habitualized. That’s what’s scary to me- I meet people all the time who’ve trained themselves and everyone around them about how they should be treated and they have no idea why they get what they got. It’s that lack of awareness that keeps them stuck, unfulfilled, and fearful. So now it’s time for them to wake up and realize they’re not in Kansas anymore and the hokey Wizard is not going to fix this even after the longest walk up that yellow brick road. And while fancy, sparkly shoes and the Good Witch Glenda might help a bit- the best idea yet is to discover you had enough courage, heart, and brains all along. Now pair ‘em with that spirit within and use ‘em.