The Affirmation Coloring Book by Louise Hay (Review)

I turned thirty six last week! My third Jupiter Return is something to celebrate and hopefully it will send me into the future with a lot more oomph. My favorite presents this year were the goodies in the picture to your left: an Affirmations Coloring Book by Hay House, the Chrysalis Tarot deck and a neat little tarot bag with a yin-yang sign on the cover. 

The tarot deck I was expecting and I love it; the past couple of months I had been using the iPhone app so I already knew how beautiful the cards were. The coloring book was a complete surprise and I have already spent at least a few hours filling in the mandalas while reciting the affirmations that go with them. The coloring book was created by Louise Hay, author of You Can Heal Your Life, and Alberta Hutchinson, a mandala artist and author.

The funny thing about coloring books is they take you back to childhood, when things didn't have to be perfect to be beautiful (This might be the Virgo in me speaking up). At first I was stressing, yes stressing, over the colors I wanted to use and if they would match. My first task was to color in the border around the affirmation, I Breathe in Love and I Flow with Life. Blue is one of my favorite colors so I used that on one of the threads that weaves all around the page. Then I wanted to use a second color to interweave with that one and I reached for purple. I colored in one link, decided I didn't like it, and reached for green, then red, then turquoise. Eventually I decided to alternate between the lot of them, and the final result was even prettier than I had imagined. Mistakes can be beautiful too, and art (if you call coloring art) doesn't have to be perfect to be your very own masterpiece. This whole time I went on repeating the affirmation while consciously breathing in love and breathing out stress. The end result is one that I was pleased with.

Anyhooo, I thought I would share my experience, if anyone wants to work with mandalas or affirmations. Until now I had only done repetitions, following the suggestions on the popular psychic blog A State of Mind. I have to confess that I prefer the coloring book because it is more fun, and it feels like you are coloring the affirmation into your subconscious. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience!

Here is my Finished Mandala! =)

  

 

***

Regina Chouza is an energy healer, angel medium and the author of A Personal Guide to Self-Healing, Cancer & Love and Chakra Healing & Magick. Blogging at Diary of a Psychic Healer since 2010, her passion is bringing the qualities of love, joy and empowerment to healing pursuits. Read her books to unlock your intuition. 

Instagram ~ Facebook ~ Youtube

> Español: @AngelMedium33

 

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (Review)

OK, so I started following Leonardo DiCaprio's Facebook Page a few months ago and it's not just that I like his movies - even though I did love Catch Me If You Can and at least a half-dozen others. 

Believe it or not, most of his posts are about environmental topics and this is how I discovered a documentary called Cowspiracy, which in my view, does away with the myth of sustainable fishing and animal farming. There is no way to sustainably farm enough meat, chicken, fish or dairy for the 7 billion people on this planet - at least not with our current dietary habits.

Download the movie for $4.95 at Cowspiracy.com, or watch it on Netflix. The movie advocates complete veganism and to be honest, that is a tough sell. Graham Hill's Weekday Vegetarian proposal may have better chances of success. So from Cowspiracy, here are a few good reasons to go mostly vegan or vegetarian: 

• "Animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation." And  those emissions come from methane in cow farts. It would be funny if it weren't so serious. And I never thought I would say cow farts on this blog... 

• We're also doing away with the rain forests at an alarming rate, as land is cleared to make room for all those cows. Of course there are free range farms but those "animal friendly farms" require even more land, and as Cowspiracy shows us, we'd have to quite literally clear all of the land in the US to make room for the farms needed to "sustainably" feed America. 

• If you've been taking short showers for the past 20 years, know this: a huge amount of water is used up by animal farms. On average, 2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce a pound of beef. This includes the water the cows drink and water used growing their food supply. To put this in perspective, showering uses up approximately 2 gallons per minute.

• All of the above is true for the dairy farming, which puts a damper on my vegetarian plans. I quite like oat, coconut and almond milk so I don't mind abandoning milk though I would miss cheese. We could probably due with having dairy less often anyway, especially if its full of hormones ...

• Cowspiracy also addresses the myth of Sustainable Fishing and how we  need to give the oceans a break, but I'll let you watch the film and find out for yourself. Suffice it to say that "the world's stock of seafood will have collapsed by 2050" if we don't change our habits now (via the Telegraph)

Watch This Video for Details
http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/ 

***

Regina Chouza is an energy healer, angel medium and the author of A Personal Guide to Self-Healing, Cancer & Love and Chakra Healing & Magick. Blogging at Diary of a Psychic Healer since 2010, her passion is bringing the qualities of love, joy and empowerment to healing pursuits. Read her books to unlock your intuition. 

Instagram ~ Facebook ~ Youtube

> Español: @AngelMedium33

Do Healers Take on their Client's Energy? (via OM Times)

I have great news! This week I joined the team, volunteering at OM Times Magazine as Metaphysics Editor (it’s part of a charity) , which basically means I'll be reading article submissions on anything related to angels, astrology, intuition, psychic development and other fun metaphysical topics. I'm really excited, yesterday was my first day. I'm also teaching informal workshops on Energy Healing with Astrology this month, so I haven't had time to write on my blog. Hopefully that will change soon. 

In the meantime, I thought I'd share links to the articles that I have published with OM Times in the past year. Just click on the titles to read the articles, and share your thoughts in the comments below.


Do Healers Take on their Client's Energy?

Healers work in the Human Energy Field, helping their clients release stress, tension and stuck emotions. While this creates harmony and balance, people often ask where that energy goes. Does the Healer absorb it and is there anything we can to do "protect" ourselves? This article shares some basic energy management techniques. Try it out!

7 Ways to Make Your Guardian Angel's Job Easier

We all have two angels, one that looks out for us and another that is said to take notes on what we do with our lives (I like to ask that second angel for reminders when I'm about to forget something). These angels look out for us, but is there anything we can do to help?

Psychic Development 101

I had the pleasure of studying at two wonderful schools where we learned how to activate our Chakras in a gentle way, unlocking our intuition in the process. In this article I look at some of the basics, including grounding to give yourself solid energy foundations, and the role played by each of the seven chakras. Hint: They're all important, we need more than our Third Eye to see clearly.

10 Creative Meditation Techniques

I'm a huge advocate of meditation and mindfulness, but I also know that learning to quiet your mind can be challenging. The secret is to find a technique that you enjoy so that it's not a chore. Here you'll discover some of my favorite meditation techniques. Enjoy!

Self-Healing, Cancer & Forgiveness

Here we look at the relationship between the mind, body and spirit, especially where shock, grief and cancer are concerned. A follow-up to my book, A Personal Guide to Self-Healing, Cancer and Love, this  builds on a key piece of  research that was published by Peking Union Medical College indicating that "women with striking life events were at 1.5-fold higher risk of developing breast cancer than women without." To me, this  highlights the importance of therapy and healing as we all have setbacks and its how we cope that matters.

***

Regina Chouza is an energy healer, angel medium and the author of A Personal Guide to Self-Healing, Cancer & Love and Chakra Healing & Magick. Blogging at Diary of a Psychic Healer since 2010, her passion is bringing the qualities of love, joy and empowerment to healing pursuits. Read her books to unlock your intuition. 

Instagram ~ Facebook ~ Youtube

> Español: @AngelMedium33

My Year of Magical Training

I didn't blog about it, but 2015 was my year of magical training. If there is one thing I learned, magick and Energy Healing are not that different. Both involve directing Earth or Universal Energies for a specific purpose. With healing the focus is on restoring balance to the mind, body and spirit. Magic can accomplish this too, whether we use crystals, candles or words to quantify our intent. I'm now a huge fan of charging crystals with specific purposes and taking them with me everywhere I go. 

We can program a crystal with what I would call an external goal, for example: to manifest a book deal, find a new home or a new job, etc. But I find it much more interesting to work magick on ourselves, transforming our own energy so we can become the best possible version of ourselves. I also discovered that we can work with our natal charts to facilitate the process. For example, I have virtually no water or fire in my chart. If you have read my post, Healing with Astrology, you'll know that all four elements are vital. Ideally we'll have an even mix, though many of us are astrologically lopsided. Magick and healing can help us find that balance. 

What I enjoyed most were the daily meditations. Nothing too elaborate, a small altar with a candle, a crystal to represent the element of Earth, a silver bowl with Water, a chopstick wand to represent Fire and finally, a pen to represent the element of Air. I know we are supposed to use a ceremonial knife but as a writer, I felt that we need more pens and fewer weapons. Not to mention the fact that the element of Air is linked to thought, logic, writing, learning, etc. The rituals were limited to connecting with the planets, the angels and the Ascended Masters, same as I have always done, so the protective circle was all I needed to keep the space clear and safe. 

I read a ton of books this year, practicing only the techniques that resonated, mainly those related to archangels, planets, and the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. I also went into space clearing and working through my unconscious in a lot more depth. In no particular order, these were some of my favorites. I think it's time I wrote a book on healing, magick, planets and maybe angels. Sounds like fun!

• Practical Magic for Beginners, by Brandy Williams 
• The Tree of Life: An Illustrated Study in Magic, by Israel Regardie
• Sane Occultism, by Dion Fortune
• Magical Qabalah for Beginners, by Frater Barrabas
• Ascension Magick, by Christopher Penczak 
• I’d already read The Magick of Reiki, by Christopher Penczak 
• Buddha, Christ, Merlin: The 3 Wise Men of our Time, by Christopher Penczak
• The Wizards Tarot, by Corrine Kenner
• Wicca Crystal Magic, by Lisa Chamberlain
• Wicca for Beginners, by Lisa Chamberlain
• The Secrets of Planetary Magic, by Christopher Warnock
• Modern Magick by Donald Michael Kraig
• A Few Books of Occult Philosophy, by Cornelius Agrippa.
• Tarot and Astrology, by Corrine Kenner.
• Picatrix - An Astrological Grimoire 

If I had to choose, the coolest thing that I have discovered the past year has been Astral Projection and how we can use it to travel through the Tree of Life (see here). So that was my recap for 2015! 

I am not done learning but it's time to greet the New Year with a new project, one that is long overdue. 2016 is going to be the year that I finally go green. It has been a while since I expanded my definition of healing to include our relationship with the planet and I am afraid to say I don't know where the "big wins" are. What can we do as individuals to help, and where do we need urgent intervention by governments? This next year I am going to make it my business to learn about Sustainability. 

An Interview with Christopher Penczak ... 

 

***

Regina Chouza is an energy healer, angel medium and the author of A Personal Guide to Self-Healing, Cancer & Love and Chakra Healing & Magick. Blogging at Diary of a Psychic Healer since 2010, her passion is bringing the qualities of love, joy and empowerment to healing pursuits. Read her books to unlock your intuition. 

Instagram ~ Facebook ~ Youtube 

> Español: @AngelMedium33

 
Image Source:   www.amazon.com/dp/0738706612

Crystal Healing 101: Choosing Your Crystals

I’ve been collecting crystals for years; the first was a celestite egg that I found when I moved to London. I was drawn to their light, energy and the variety of colors. My favorite had always been Amethyst but I now prefer the clear quartz variety, especially when we put them in the sun to charge their energy. I love how light sparkles through the shadows in clear quartz. 

The more we connect with crystals, the easier it is for us to sense their vibes. You can hold crystals during meditation, though I have also noticed that just admiring them for a few minutes activates their energy. It's worth mentioning that new crystals should always be cleansed, regardless of their vibes, before we start working with them. Crystals are quick to absorb energy from their surroundings, whether it’s a shop or a previous owner's home and family.

There are crystals for just about any purpose: courage, prosperity, love, luck, grounding, intuition, relaxation, astral travel, the list goes on and on. We can also choose crystals according to our star signs, or even by Chakra. If we are at a loss, clear quartz are a good place to start because you can program them for any purpose. Beyond that, I like to choose a crystal, cleanse it, and work with it for a few weeks before looking up its purpose. This makes the process a bit more intuitive.

Below are some of the crystals that I work with on a regular basis:

Amethyst. This lovely purple stone happens to be my birthstone and it’s always been my favorite. It’s said to boost our intuition, heal and protect by transmuting negative energy. Maybe that's why we often use violet light to protect ourselves during meditation. I also find that amethysts help us wake up magically, so we can work with energy healing, intuition and  Intention to create positive change in our lives.

Orange Calcite. I discovered my Orange Calcite sphere by chance, while looking for the white variety that's known to boost our ability to sense and channel messages from the angels. Instead I was  drawn to the orange variety and I later discovered that it’s meant to replace fear with enthusiasm, making it easier for us to find the necessary courage as well.

Citrine. I can only describe this one as cheerful, it makes me feel downright giddy. We can connect with this yellow stone to boost our self-esteem and replace negative thoughts with positive ones. It's also linked with my rising sign of Gemini, maybe that's why it resonates.

Clear Quartz reminds me of Superman's Cave, the one he goes to when he wants answers from his galactic family. Quartz can be programmed for just about any purpose but it’s especially useful when we want to activate our intuition and connect with your angels, guides or to get a sense of other dimensions. I have a beautiful quartz sphere that I use for meditation, but I find that small tumbled stones are just as effective when we want to activate our clairvoyance. Hold the quartz in your hands and peer into it with your Third Eye Chakra.

Green Aventurine makes me feel lucky and why wouldn't it? Green Aventurine is a prosperity stone that is often associated with Jupiter, the planet of good luck and expansion. It is also a Heart Chakra stone which makes perfect sense, as my intuition tells me that we receive through the Heart Chakra. Work with Green Aventurine to manifest opportunities for yourself, while opening your energy and your Heart to receive all of those wonderful blessings.

Lapis Lazuli doesn't look like a crystal, is a solid blue stone with gold flecks. Lapiz is an intuition booster, working on our Throat and Brow Chakras to activate our psychic skills. In all honestly, I find it beautiful but the stone's energy has never resonated with me.

Rose Quartz amplifies the vibrations of love, it's a great Heart Chakra crystal. A few months ago I started using it in energy healing exercises, holding a big rose quartz in my hands and intending for its lovely energy to flow up my left arm, through my Heart and down my right arm again. This circle of energy boosts our ability to give and receive love and abundance, because as mentioned above, we receive via the Heart.

 

Red Jasper calms me down quite a bit. I found a piece that fits in the palm of my hand, wonderful for meditations. Red Jasper activates and heals the Root and Sacral Chakras. I am new to this one as well, so that's all I have to say for now! It has lovely energy. 

While it's easy to become a crystal shopaholic, I should mention that we can connect with the energy of crystals and healing in meditation without having one with us. We do this by incorporating crystals in our grounding meditations: simply visualize tree roots growing out of the bottoms of your feet into the ground, cutting through layers of rock, dirt and concrete until they wrap around a huge quartz in the center of the earth. Let your Intuition fill in the blanks with a specific color. Let your roots wrap around that crystal, drawing its energy up through the earth to your body. We can also visualize crystals on each of our Chakras. End by placing a bubble of protective light around your body.

👉🏻 Update: Read my book, Chakra Healing & Magick, to work with crystals, tarot and spirit guides: Amazon HERE.

Reiki hugs, 

Regina 

 A Judy Hall Interview (The Crystal Bible)

***

Regina Chouza is an energy healer, angel medium and the author of A Personal Guide to Self-Healing, Cancer & Love and Chakra Healing & Magick. Blogging at Diary of a Psychic Healer since 2010, her passion is bringing the qualities of love, joy and empowerment to healing pursuits. Read her books to unlock your intuition. 

Instagram ~ Facebook ~ Youtube

> Español: @AngelMedium33