Tuesday, February 21, 2012

What's in your bucket list?

New Moons allow us to plant seeds, to think what we want to manifest in the next cycle and to create. Today, with the New Moon in Pisces, I started thinking about the concept of the bucket list. Yes... those things we would like to manifest in this lifetime. What are those things you want to do before you pass? What marks you want to leave in this land? Do you want to be remembered when you are gone and for what?

Things in this list can be as simple as traveling to a foreign land, to writing a book, to having a child, to infinite possibilities. It's up to us to decide what things are not negotiable and we do want to manifest in this lifetime.

It may sound silly but since I got to this country, I've always wanted to go to Disneyland. Growing up in Argentina, Disney always seemed like a paradise, wonderland, a place of magic. Next weekend, I will get to do two things that are in my bucket list - going to Disney and visiting the Goddess Temple of Orange County. These two things have been in my wanting to do for a long time and finally the time has come to manifest them and bring them to fruition. As the days pass by and the date comes closer, the excitement grows and the happiness fills my heart to know that I will manifest some of my dreams. What dreams you want to manifest in the next cycle? What is your heart yearning to bring to life?

I know many of the items in my bucket list are long term goals but manifesting small goals helps me grow confident that I can manifest it all. That when the day comes, I know I have lived to my fullest trying to accomplish all those dreams and things I wanted to manifest.

Sometimes, we believe that others need to help us achieve our goals. Take the Disneyland example for me, I've always thought my husband would be the one taking me to Disneyland but as time passed and things did not come to fruition, I understood that I could manifest that on my own, that I was not attached to depending on others to make my dream come true. Even when I thought I was going to go alone to Los Angeles, I thought I would go alone to Disneyland. Lucky enough, my Priestess Sister and Queen Friend is coming with me and she has never been to Disneyland either so my trip is turning out to be an amazing adventure. Are you waiting for others to help you accomplish your goals? Do you place responsibility on others to help you reach your dreams?

During this New Moon, meditate on those things in your bucket list and plant the seeds for manifestation in the next cycle.

Many blessings,

Lady Carolina

Monday, February 20, 2012

Women's Rites and PantheaCon

Sometimes we are faced with situations that don't make any sense to us and even thought we try to make sense of them, they are so out there that we can not even comprehend them. Yesterday I went to PantheaCon for the first time and one of my goals was to participate in Z Budapest's Self Blessing Ritual. This ritual was a women born women only ritual or how they will call it... what was it? Genetically women... something weird like that - end meaning, women who have bled, bleed or will have their periods. Yes - to be a women means that you experience your blood mysteries with your period and you are able to sustain a baby in your belly. I apologize if my oversimplification is upsetting anybody but that's essentially what Women Mysteries mean in a simplified form - fool proof definition if you want to quote me.

As I arrived to my Priestess Sister's house to pick her up, I found out that some women identified women (I think that's the term) were going to be protesting outside our ritual because the rules said you had to be born a woman to participate - not born a man who is a woman now - and that was very upsetting to some. My question to those people is why it was so upsetting to them, what they had to probe if anything. I don't see people protesting outside the Christian Church because they don't allow women to priestess a ceremony or a mass. I did not see women in PantheaCon protesting outside male only rituals. It is ok to be selective. It is ok to write the rules. Nobody complains about the Bible, nobody complains about the Koran, but yes, when it comes to Women's Mysteries we have protests outside our Rites and Ceremonies. Why is that? Why is it ok to protest when we choose to celebrate our mysteries - our sacred blood? I really don't get it and I think there is much to be thought from those groups that were protesting. What do they need to probe? Do you really need to be part of our Rites? Can you leave us have our Rites alone and create your own? Nobody tells you how to be or do, you can write your own book, your own story, your own spirituality. Why fight with those who wrote the book that is specific to one type of spirituality? One thing I like about the USA is that there is freedom of religion, you can find anything you need to practice your spirituality. Don't waste your time trying to change others, focus on yourself and find your path and if you don't find it, just create it.

It is interesting to see that the central topic of PantheaCon was Unity through Diversity. Yes! We are Diverse! We Pagans come in many forms, many shapes, many different traditions and we do not need to try other traditions, we can stick to our own or build our own. "Do as you will as you harm none." That's the rule. If you are ready to protest because you find a boundary, just think again. It's ok to specialize in one area. We are not everything to everyone and if we were, it would not be right. Just find your place and if you don't find it, create it. You have the power. We have enough wars in this world as it is. Let's just have peace and create the world we want to see in the future.

Many blessings,

Lady Carolina

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Walk your Talk

Nothing is more irritating to me than somebody telling me they will do something or that they will not do something and then do the opposite. When somebody promises that they will do one thing and then they break that promise it really crosses my boundaries in a big way. This applies to simple things like saying "I will pick up X on my way home" to "I will not go to X and then go." Words have power and when we break them it creates a sense of flakiness, a sense of broken agreements and lack of trust that is very hard to get rid of as time goes by because you will always see that person and think is she going to do what she says this time or will she break the promise again? Can I trust her or will she hurt me again?

How many times have you experienced this situation with friends or family? It hurts a lot when you have an expectation and then it disintegrates in front of your eyes and you are left with nothing but a broken promise.

The same principle applies to those people that pretend to do something to then turn around and stab you in the back. This week, I was at work and after working really hard reading some paper I decided I needed a break because I reached the level when I couldn't comprehend what I was reading anymore. I went to visit a friend for a minute and talked to her. While I was there, a Senior Leader came by and he started talking to us. It was interesting to see that nobody was really wanting to talk to him but we did because what are you going to say.... This person played it friendly and chatty when in reality, he was just there checking stuff out. After the conversation, he went and talk to my friend's manager and said that people were not working there, people were chatting, and you can imagine the rest. How can you trust this person in the future if he is that way? How can you trust his word or his vision to carry the company to the next level if he can be that fake? In my mind, I thought next time he came around I would say something like "oh I am sorry, please don't talk to me, I need to focus on my work...." This is another way of walking your talk for me. I would have had much more respect if he had said "what's going on here? Why aren't you working?" and I could have said I was taking a break but not instead play like a friend and then get people in trouble when he instigated the conversation felt dirty and shameful.

People may not realize the power of a promise or a word. When broken, it makes us look bad as if we can not walk our talk. We say something to make others like us, be friends of us, accept us, but if you don't mean it, then it creates more issues. It creates trouble. It creates lack of trust and uncertainty. It is better to be honest and come from a place of the heart knowing that we would prefer to do this and have the courage to stand by what we decide even if it means hurting somebody's expectation. In the end, it may create more anger and distrust than if we say what we want from the get go. It will have more power to be able to stand up and say what we really feel or want. Like this guy could have said it as it was and it would have generated more respect. Make sure you walk your talk because you are as worthy as your words and actions are. Make sure your words match your actions to avoid misunderstandings. Don't do things from a place of guilt or to be liked, do thing and promise things from your heart and let the real you shine. People will trust you and accept you more if you do what you say. There is power in promises. There is power in words. There is power in actions. Use it wisely!

Many Blessings,

Lady Carolina

Sunday, February 12, 2012

What would the Goddess do?

There are weekends that have a theme for us to work on. For me, this weekend was about "what would the Goddess do?" It started when I began reading the book "The Triple Goddess Tarot by Isha Lerner." In this book, this author had a phrase that really called my attention: "What would life be like if I lived each day as if I were the Goddess?" This phrase really resonated with me in a deep level. I thought about all the times that I felt the victim of things happening to me, the other times when rage led the way, the times when I would just want to scream but instead I would say yes and bottle up my emotions. I also thought about the times when I would look at myself in the mirror and think I was not enough - not beautiful enough, not intelligent enough, not powerful enough, not strong enough- and the list can keep going as you can imagine.

Would the Goddess look at herself in the mirror and not accept herself for who she is? I don't think so. She would look in the mirror and know she just is. She is perfect. Nothing missing, nothing extra, just so.

Would the Goddess have a pity trip because things are not going according to plan? No! She would sit down and vision her realm again. She would not dwell in being a victim. She will just plan and execute.

Would the Goddess overextend herself without taking care of her own needs first? I don't think so. She would make sure that she is compassionate and giving but would never burn out or run out of energy because she has given too much. Harmony is part of who the Goddess is.

As the weekend kept going, the message became louder and louder. I participated in the class Goddess Rising with Yeshe Rabbit and in that class we went over what we would do if we were Goddesses. How we would react if we choose to react. That was a very key concept for me since we do have the power to choose whether we want to react or not to something. We are always ready but only if we choose to engage, we do so. We can also choose to not react and that's perfectly ok. When I thought about the past week - my husband crashing his car, work being crazy, life just getting in the way _ I couldn't help but think how those experiences would have been different if I would have taken from the point of the Goddess instead of my own. Would it have been different? Would I have reacted differently? Not sure. I just know that from now on I will always think "What would the Goddess do?" or "WWGD?" for short before choosing a course of action.

This is my new mantra "WWGD?" I am a divine being and I will live my life like one.

Many blessings,

Lady Carolina

Friday, February 10, 2012

The Power of the Queen

"Why don't you take the train instead of driving?" My dad said today when I told him I was traveling to Los Angeles to visit The Goddess Temple of Orange County at the end of this month. The conversation came about because my husband had crashed his car and I was telling my father we needed to resolve that situation before I left because I was taking my car with me. If anything, my husband would have to rent a car but that was the extend of my comment. I could feel the fear in his voice, the doubt, the wonder. Can she drive 7 hours alone? Will she be ok? Why isn't she taking a plane or the train? I know I will always be his baby because children are always babies in their parents' eyes but I also wanted to set up the boundary that I am an adult, a grown up woman, and a road trip alone can be very beneficial for me at this time in my path when I am making lots of decisions, visioning my realm and what I want to manifest in the next few years. It could be time to think, to draft, to plan, to draw. When I told my dad my friend and Priestess sister may come with me, I could feel the relief in his voice and he was like "well, if you are going with somebody is ok to drive because you will not be alone...." What is it about being alone that so many people fear? Can't we be with our own minds for a few hours without fear of breakdown? Topic for another blog...

I never told my dad "daddy, daddy, don't sail a ship, why don't you take a plane to go to Spain?" When he was traveling, he was the captain. Nobody would dare to contradict him, to tell him other way. He was the king, the one that drew the chart to follow, the one that hold the vision for the whole crew. It's interesting how at times he can not see I am very similar to him. I am an adventurer. I am a Queen. I am the captain of my own ship. I know where I am going. I know my destination and I trust myself completely to make it happen. I don't fear 7 hours on my own. I don't fear a long trip. I don't fear being with myself because I am my own best friend and I know I can do this. While he was questioning my trip because he was saying that it was too short and why I was doing it, he was telling me that next time he came to the US he was going to stop in Lima to see a friend... in my mind I was like ... "mmmm, so you will stop in Lima (Peru) to see your friend from work but it's too much for me to drive to see this amazing Temple and meet with the Grand Queen and her First Priestess." How is that different? So then I remember Rev. Ava Park's words when she said "just said... ohhhh you are so funny." and then move on. So that's what I did, I told him... "ohhh it's ok daddy, I'll be ok... I am still planning and visioning, don't worry."

To change the topic, I decided to start talking about my trip to Buenos Aires. Yes! I finally started visualizing a date and I think I will be travelling on May 24 for 10 days. Ohhh, I think you guessed it... At time my dad said "ohhh but I thought you were coming earlier, you always come in March or April..." "You need to look into Lan Chile and go through Lima...." He was planning my whole trip!!!! So again, I said "you are so funny.... I will go in May because I have many deadlines before that, I am going to take advantage of Memorial Day and I will check tickets soon." Once again, I set up the boundary that I can vision my trip, I can make my decisions. Mr. Captain Amor - Ms. Captain Amor-Boggs is on duty, relax! Funny enough, he was not so worried about my husband not coming. Somehow traveling to Buenos Aires alone is ok but going to Los Angeles is not. Double standards???? mmmmmmm, He is so funnyyyyyyyy!

This queen has her trips planned, visioned and now she will execute them. Clarity of thought. Clarity of communication. Clarity of vision, and people adjust.

Many blessings )0(

Lady Carolina

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Labels and Stereotypes

"Mmmmm I did not think you like Katy Perry" my coworker said the other day and I couldn't help but start thinking about labels and stereotypes. People have a tendency to place meaning on words and labels. If you say nerd, images of glasses, people on computers, very bright but not social come to your mind. Words have such an amazing power and sometimes we are not aware of the power they have.

Last Friday, my best friend's kids came to my house and they both go to a Christian school so witches are bad for them. As you can imagine, I don't like the idea of the evil witch is going to come and do something to you if you don't behave.... So I decided to show them one of my favorite movie ~ Kiki Delivery Service ~ This movie portrait a young witch going out in the world to find ehr skill and learn her trait. Nothing bad about her, nothing evil. Just a cute girl flying on a broomstick trying to make ends meet. After the movie, you could see how conditioning had worked. The girl who has been in the school for over two years did not like Kiki. The other one who has only been in school for a few months was in love with Kiki. She was jumping on my broomstick and pretending to be Kiki. It was crazy to think how conditioning works, how ideas are placed in our minds and how we buy them because we just follow the system. How at times we live the life they want us to live but not the one we are meant to live.

Children are so transparent in their conditioning. You can definitely see through the standards placed in their minds. For example, my friend's daughter asked me the other day "Tia Caro, are you and tio Ryan married?" And I was like "yes, we are" and she asked "why don't you have a baby then?" So innocent, so pure, in her mind all married couples have children..... or you need to be married to have a baby and if I am married how come I don't want to have a baby..... Stereotypes! I told her gently that Tio Ryan and I may have babies in the future but there is more than being married to make you decide to have a baby.

What are your labels? What are the stereotypes you play? Do you have any? I know people always get surprised at the wide range of likings I have. I can listen to Metallica or Britney Spears depending on the day, depending on the energy. Some people may not know I am a Priestess although I always behave like one. There are so many things people may assume about me that are not what I think of myself but only a few people get to go deep enough to see that, to see me without any masks or veils.

Next time you use a label or you think of a stereotype, think again! Think the power that goes into making that word a manifestation and make sure it is what you really want to manifest and not another societal concept. Think first! Don't follow! You have the power to change the meaning of societal roles and stereotypes and words. Words only have the power we give them and we do have the power to take it back and assign a new meaning. Future generations will know the meaning we give to words.....

Many blessings )0(

Lady Carolina

Thursday, February 2, 2012

The Power of Choice

Two paths... which one to take..... right or left. The decision is yours and yours alone. What will it be? You are the only one that can decide. They can show you the door but you are the one that has to walk through it and after that, you will be facing your demons alone.

This week has been that type of week for me. I was thrown into the fire, hit, punched, bit and left for dead. Dramatic? Yes, you can say that but for the purpose of this blog, just follow along. My week started with explain your thought pattern when you made this decision to setting up a training session in the wrong time zone... I guess my head is somewhere else! That explanation did not cut it for my boss so I had to come up with a better excuse of why I had set up a training session she really wanted to attend an hour later and we just got in to hear the "that's all folks..." Yes, I have felt stupid, I have felt silly, I have felt like I can't do anything right this week but then my Queen self was coming out and saying ... Relax my child, I am here for you.... This is not who you are, these are just stones in the path to push you in the right direction, to help you get thicker skin, to help you build the strength necessary for the future.

This week was also the week I was faced with a big decision in my life... Do I continue studying Chinese or do I follow my Priestess path? These paths are not opposite but at the time being it's either one or the other. The college I was taking my class in was very demanding and if I studied Mandarin I would only be studying Mandarin for the next six month. No ritual planning, no ritual attending, no teaching, no fun stuff... no no no. You can imagine my Priestess self was screaming out loud saying... What are you doing? Do you really want this????? So after a lot of debate and a heavy heart, I decided to drop my class and fully immerse myself in my Priestess path. With 6 students in my class, I really need time to devote to them while leaving me space to have some fun, work out, be in nature, travel and all those fun things I want to do! You can imagine my Priestess Self was jumping on one leg doing the happy dance after I made this decision. It was hard. I had to battle my demons because there was that part of me that said, you can do it all and this is a small failure, you should not be quitting but in the end, I know I followed my heart and my passion. I have peace of mind and I know I made the right decision for myself. We are always in control. We can always choose. It's just up to us to listen to our hearts and choose accordingly. In the end, the power of choice is all we have.

Many blessings,

Lady Carolina