Balance weekly- breathing

Greetings blogfriends. This week's post is one day late but believe it or not i am down with a cold yet again. The weather in Greece is unbelievably cold for this time of the year and my whole family has either fever or running noses. Such a bliss! I am drinking hot teas with honey and rest whenever i can. I think i will get through this one without antibiotics. Fingers crossed!
This week's balance weekly theme is breathing. I challenge you to work with your breath for a few minutes each day so that you can feel revitalised and refreshed, more relaxed and calmer by next Thursday. We all know how important breathing correctly is, but most of us do not pay enough attention to this valuable body function. Controlled breathing can calm us down, low our heart bit, alter our state of conciousness, fight hypertension and cardiovascular problems.
I personally think that the best time to work with my breath is when i am in bed before sleep. Especially with the full breath. It is a breath from yoga than combines abdominal and thoracic breath. You first breath in and fill your belly with air and as you do that your diaphragm rises and you continue the intake of air to your thoracic area and that makes your chest to rise. Then you first exhale the air from your chest(chest falls down) and empty your abdomen last(belly sinks into your body). When you first begin this exercise you can not easily do it in one fluent motion but it becomes easier in time. Also, at the beginning the breaths are shallower and shorter, but as you get used to controlled breathing they become longer and more relaxing.
But there is also a breath that can energise you and get you going. It is also a yoga technique and it is called the fire breath. Here you mainly focus on the exhale that has to be rhythmical and sharp. This breath is similar to a dog's breath after running. We use it in classical singing to strengthen our diaphragm because the whole motion is based on this particular area. When you first try it you can do it for just a few seconds, but it also gets easier. It is best to do it in the morning after you wake up.
Another way to controll your breath is to count. You count the inhale 1-2-3 you count the pause 1, the exhale 1-2-3-4-5 once again the pause 1. This way you do not focus on an area in your body but to the numbers. It is an excellent way to silence your mind before meditation. You can change the numbers to this exercise to fit your breath, but the goal is to make the exhale longer than the inhale. You count at a pace that suits you and as you practice, it becomes slower. If you work with aromatherapy and essential oils this is a wonderful time to use them.
Breath in magic symbolises life and the element of air. In some traditions there are rituals of withholding breath to symbolise death and rebirth. As you inhale think of all the beautiful things in your life. Imagine that this air is life, energy, love and prosperity. As you exhale let go of fear, negative emotions and anything that holds you down. With each breath you feel more free and relaxed. The air you inhale is the energy of the Universe, the blessing of the Goddess that unlocks the power within you.
So, today i ask you to join me for a week of happy breathing, a week to honour ourselves and lives.
Be blessed and love yourselves for the wonderful and amazing beings that you are.

Georgina.

Balance weekly-Spiritual dancing!

Greetings blogfriends. Today i am super excited. I won one of Magaly's giveaways. You should check out her blog. She is awesome! You can find her here: http://pagan-culture.blogspot.com/ . I have to tell you that doing the last post motivated me to drink at least two cups of tea per day. I feel rejuvenated and lighter! I want to thank all of you that tried to do it too. You are the most supportive group of blogfriends. So here i am again asking for your participation in yet another week of more balanced habits.
For this week's theme i was torn. I had so many things in my mind that i could n't decide which was the one we should try for a whole week. After a lot of consideration i decided it should be 15' of workout per day. For those of you that already work out, well..your job is done. But for the rest, i believe that a quarter of an hour is not intimidating. It can be as vigorous as you want, or simply a walk with your dog. You can do yoga, kick box, walk, run, cycle etc.
But my suggestion is a little more spiritual and cleansing. Spiritual dancing! You can do it while listening to whatever you want. You can choose from Lady Gaga to shamanic drums. Whatever speaks to you. Just dance from East to West in some sort of circle, following the movement of the Sun. Do not worry about being cool, or sexy, or funny, or even interesting while doing it. You just do what comes to mind. Listen to music and get lost to it. While you do it, try not to get interrupted, so you can enter a meditative state . Hear the rhythm and just revel in it. Lose yourself in the moment.
At this point i have to confess that i am no dancer. Ha! Believe you me! But i put on the music that feels more "shamanic" to me, i make some room in the living room and just start moving. After a while i find myself hopping, diving and "flying". I check the clock and see an hour has gone by and i am not even tired. And i am no athlete either. Speaking to the Goddess in such an ancient way makes me feel a part of this world. And i do not see modern furniture and electronical equipment, and i do not see buildings and cities and cars. For a while, it is me, with my eyes closed dancing around the fire that burns inside me, chanting, floating, free in my purest and wildest of forms.
If you have never tried it please do. I swear you will not regret it. Light your candles, burn some frankiscence, empty your mind form everyday thoughts and allow yourself the luxury of 15 minutes devoted to just you. You deserve it!
I love you guys! Thank you for being there for me!
Be blessed, be happy, be loved.
Georgina.

Balance weekly theme- Green Tea

Greetings blogfriends. I have been gone for so long. I hope you have n't forgotten your wacky, witchy, greek friend. It was a bit difficult for me over here. I had various health issues but nothing really major. I was down with tonsillitis, ear infection, asthma, pneumonia, fungus infection from all the antibiotics(twice), the flu... All that, made me realise i was out of balance, and although i am completely healthy for some time now(knock on wood!), i have been away from blogging and other activities i enjoy so much because i was trying to find harmony in my life! I have been visiting your blogs but i did n't leave any comments. I did n't go out much either. It felt like walking down an introvert spiral towards my core to strenthen again. I eat better, exercise almost regurarly, use only natural sweeteners and the most difficult of all... i try not to stress out. I have been working my magical ass off over here all this time, and there were so many things i wanted to share with you. I really missed being here.
I want to ask you to join me on my path trying to find balance. I want to make a weekly theme of exercises, routines, healthy or spiritual habbits and dedicate a week to one of them. See what can stay and what has to go. How do you feel about that?
This week's "obsession" is green tea. It has so many health benefits because of the powerful antioxidant substance it contains(catehins). It fights cancer, arthritis, heart disease, high cholesterol, infections, and it helps with dieting. After you have made your tea you can use the leaves stir them with some water in a cup and concentrate. See what images comes to your mind. Tasseography is a wonderful method of divination, but it is also very energy consuming, so do not forget to ground yourself properly before you begin. You can also dry the leaves and burn them as incenses, or use them in sachets for money, strenth, and health spells since tea has Sun properties. Although, tea is wonderful by itself it blends fantastically with lemon, mint, orange, peach. You can make a pitch with ice and hydrate yourself all day long. But do n't forget it contains a bit of caffeine! Most importantly, since we will do that for our health while you make it do n't forget to state your intention. For example, cleanse my body, cleanse my spirit...
So, who is going to join me with a cup a day for a week? Or who is doing it already?
Brightest blessings to all the blog land!

Elemental magic on full moon!

Greetings blogfriends. How are you? I have been trying to fight off a cold without antibiotics for over a week now, but since i got worse and worse today i will give in! I did it all. Herbal tea(oh so many herbal teas!), aromatherapy, cough medicine, ear medicine, lots and lots of fluids and nothing worked! But because i have n't written here for a while i will not be a nag. Okay, more of a nag!
Did you know that TipToeChic has posted a new video on Youtube? That was a wiccan delight for my sick heart! Sorry, i forgot! No nagging!
Tonight is the full moon. So today i am going to dry the red rosepedals from my Valentine's bouquet. I will lay them on sugar. Not only the harmonics are great but they dry faster. I am also going to make a dust-insence to sprinkle and to burn for light in my life. It is mostly for matters of the heart because it has afrodisiac properties but i usually use it for light in general and wishes. It contains:
red rose pedals(dried on a previous full moon), lavender, damiana, mandric root (all powerfull afrodisiacs so far), St John 's wort, a bit of candio which is a resin that can substitute sugar, and jasmine essential oil. Today is Friday and the full moon is in Leo so make sure to seek your heart 's desire. A beautiful day to celebrate the Esbat. I will cast an Elemental wish spell that i love. The idea is to call upon the Elementals and ask for your wish to come true.
Elementals are creatures that correspond with one of the four elements. They are spirits of nature so it is easier to incorporate them in an outdoors ritual, but you can access their power if you have a represantation for each element on your altar. It is also useful to remember that East correspons with Air, South with Fire, West with Water and North with Earth. To mark the four points on the horizon aka Watchtowers you can use a yellow candle at the East, a red at the South, a blue at the West and a green at the North corner of your altar. Here is the spell for my few greek readers.

Αερικα της Ανατολης,
Στοιχειά του Νοτια,
Νηρηιδες της Δυσης,
Πνευματα του Βορρα,

Το καλεσμα ακουστε της φωνης μου,
Τ' ονειρικο ταξιδι της ψυχης μου,
Εγω, παιδι του Ηλιου και κορη της Σεληνης,
Μαγισσα του Φωτος, της Σκιας και της Σαγηνης,

Ιερεια της Θεας, πριγκιπισσα του κοσμου,
με μαγικη γητεια φορω το φως μου,
Δυναμεις του Συμπαντος και παλι σας εγειρω,
Τη λαμψη την αποκοσμη για να σκορπω τριγυρω,

Σε φλογα κερινη αφηνω την ευχη μου,
Χαρα να μου χαρισετε ζητω μες στη ζωη μου!
Ετσι ας ειναι.
Brightest blessings blogfriends and happy Esbat!

Spellcrafting

Greetings my wonderful blogfriends. How have you been? I am recovering from a bad case of tonsillitis, for which i can only blame myself. Well, you see as i have mentioned before i am trying to make a bit healthier choices in food. On this important quest i have discovered a few foods i love. One of them and perhaps the simplier of all, is a smoothie of frozen strawberries, milk and vanilla protein powder. The ending result for those of you smoothie virgins out there, is something between an icecream and a milkshake, very satisfying and fulfilling. So a week ago i made this delicious treat and because i had an appointment and had to hurry up i ended up inhealing the damn thing and came down with, you guessed it, tonsillitis. What was i thinking in the middle of the winter? I had to stay at home, miss a bunch of classes and work. But since we focus on the upside of things, i also had a blast watching my favourite shows and i cleaned and organised various places in the house, which made no difference what so ever since my home is a complete and total mess. At this point i have to apologise for the mouthy rant-update-whining and move on to things that might be more interesting.
No matter how you started walking this path, whether it was a Cunningham or a Ravenwolf book or you learnt from your mom, aunt, girlfriend, boyfriend, a movie or a show at some point you have felt or will feel ready to make your own spell. This is the time where all the hard work you have done pays of. If you have a well rounded knowledge of the basics you are able to write your own spells and come up with your own rituals. They can be as elaborate as you want but at the beginning it is better to be as simple as possible.
If you do not know where to begin and what your first spell should be about, you can start with the elements. There are a lot of elemental spells out there, but with making your own, you will be able to attune yourself with them easier and quicker. You want it to rhyme, because it helps you connect. You want it to call on as many senses as possible for the same reason. I have noticed that as sensual the spell the more successful it is. You can concentrate on time and space especially if it is a full moon or a Sabbat, or if you are on sacred grounds. You can call on your ancestors if you come from a magical family or you feel one of them is by your side, protecting you. But most important of all you have to be very specific about the intent, otherwise you will not be able to connect. Let the words come from your heart and you will not fail. Let the wisdom of the Goddess and the God fill your soul. As always visualise and create clear thoughtforms.
Whether your spell is for protection, prosperity, luck, health, blessing or it is just a prayer let the words flow through you and the Gods will be with you. You are made of Them after all.
Brightest blessings,
Georgina.

Superstitions

Greetings wonderful blogfriends. These days are difficult and powerful all at the same time for me. How have you been?
With the coming of the new year i begun thinking about superstitions and i found out i am an extremely superstitious person. I mean i do not care about going under a ladder and i do love black cats, but there are some superstitions that i am always careful about. Like the ones about spilled salt and broken mirrors. But the superstitions that i do care about the most are those about beginnings. The beginning of a year, a season, a month, and sometimes a day i always want them to be extremely positive. So, on beginnings i do not see clients i consider "negative" first and i try to begin with persons that i know they love me and want the best for me. If on a beginning i have to give money and i have n't yet worked and got paid i make Petros give me a coin.
On every beginning i cast a prosperity spell and a spell to bring light. I try to have fun, laugh and enjoy myself. I meditate and eat well. I remember to work out, lol. I try to clean the house a bit. I take care of my plants, and practice on my music. As you imagine on beginnings i am always exhausted!
How about you? Do you have a superstition you believe in?

The power of thoughtforms and a black and white ritual

Greetings friends in all the blogland. I am sure you are all living in hectic mode doing chores, planning gatherings, or trips. I am in a similar mode while trying to prepare in a spiritual manner for the Solctice. Yule is just around the corner and since it is the time to acknowledge, accept and finally fight the darkness within i was thinking the power every thoughtform carries, especially the ones that are tied with strong emotions. Those change and form our realities.
Shadowy thoughtforms do not just hold us back in our lives psychologically. If they are powerful enough they can create themselves out of thin air. Like people that no matter how much they weight, or how much money or friends they have, they feel fat, poor or alone. Those people tend to become fat, poor or alone. I was one of them. I had a bad body image and then my fear became reality. I gained weight. When i rediscovered the well hidden shadows i begun losing weight again. This was a powerful lesson for me. To accept myself completely in my case meant to forgive certain people and to let go of anger i no longer thought i felt. When memories haunt us we need to find the strenth to relive them from a different angle. The only way to let go is indeed to forgive. The process although freeing can be painful. Noone enjoys being vulnerable, but a strange power is hidden in this vulnerability.
But it is not enough. In order to create the reality we want, releasing negative thoughtforms although necessary is not enough. We have to accept the positive as well. Exchange the bad with the good. Visualise the things we want. This powerful combination can really bring harmony and balance.
If you want to let go of any shadowy thoughts, you can assist yourself in this process by burning over a black candle a piece of paper with your fear or bad memory written on it and another piece of paper with your hope or desire over a white candle. You can burn an incense of myrr,frankicense, lavender and rosemary that are cleansing and a combination of other herbs that will correspond with your ultimate goal. Do it while centered, grounded, and concentrated. You can do it with other people too...
Remember to affirm yourselves daily. Love and soar.
I wish you all a blessed Yule.
Georgina.