Lipstick Mystic

Mystic Blog Wednesday, June 29, 2005

*This blog will be on vacation until the Lipstick Mystic returns Monday July 4th*

What Is My Favorite True Ghost Story?

This just in from a reader:

Dear Lipstick Mystic,

You’ve mentioned that you have worked as a ghostbuster before. What is your favorite true ghost story?

---Curious in Memphis

Dear Curious,

Gee, ghost stories – it’s hard to pick just one that stands out. I’ve done so much work in this area over the years. And I don’t like to make light of the very real suffering of the various discarnate spirits I’ve encountered. It’s serious business.

I have a problem when people think ghosts are a "cool" thing to have around, treating them like you would a pet. Discarnates who are "stuck" in a location inevitably don't realize that they've passed on, and they are in a self-made hell. They’re neither here nor there, suspended between dimensions. They are often caught up in reliving the trauma they experienced at the time of their passing. It’s like the worst moment of their life is set on permanent “replay,” happening over and over again. Energy sensitives serve as witnesses to what has happened and many of us also learn how to intervene and put an end to the painful cycle the spirit is experiencing.

So a lot of my work has involved connecting with the deceased, giving them closure, invoking higher energy for their healing, and gently ushering them off to the Light. I'm not into sharing "spook" stories, because it seems disrespectful to the people who are going through this. I mean, there are a TON of people who do not make a clean passing at the time of their deaths...a TON. And, although the Halloween season always piques everyone's interest about death, often they're just looking for the cheap thrills of The Blair Witch Project. They’re usually not too interested in learning what really happens to the spirit after death.

I did do a couple of TV appearances trying to teach people about this. On a show called Sightings I worked to clear out a massively haunted house in northern New Jersey that sat on a major energy vortex. And I’ve written articles and essays about this for numerous publications.

Since this website’s launch last year, I've been receiving amazing emails from people all over the world who have their own mystical and spiritual stories to share. Some are ghost stories. Some are tales of people who learned how to remove other types of chaotic energies from their lives. And some stories are inspirational ones about connecting with the incredible healing power of the Creator, the angels, and the Great Ones like Jesus.

Look for these stories and more to appear in my forthcoming ebook, The High Spirits Handbook: How to Banish Bad Vibes for Good. If you’re interesting in moving beyond the superficial Blair Witch Project approach to understanding the spiritual realms, this book is for you! You’ll learn how spiritual energy operates in your life, how it affects your environment, your relationships, and even your dream life. Most importantly, you’ll learn how to take charge of the energy you experience and to enhance high spirits in everything that you do! I can’t wait to share it with you. You can read more about the ebook here.

*Note: Read a free trial issue of Spirit of the Stars Astro-Newsletter!
Click here to read astro-trends for all the signs for week of June 24 - June 30th

Mystic Blog Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Do Women Become More Psychic After Having a Child?

Today a reader asks about motherhood and its effects on the psychic senses. Are all moms psychic? Does women's intuition really exist?

You can read my response and learn all about the unique spiritual bonds loved ones share by clicking here.

*Note: Read this week's Spirit of the Stars Astro-Newsletter as a free trial!
Click here to read astro-trends for all the signs for June 24 - June 30th

Mystic Blog Monday, June 27, 2005

Tigger No More - Sniff!

Paul Winchell, the actor and ventriloquist who provided the voice of Tigger in the Winnie the Pooh movies and TV specials, has died at the age of 82. Sniff!

I was reading his bio, and he was a very interesting fellow. Apparently, in addition to doing lots of voiceover work over his long career in show biz, Winchell was a kind of Renaissance man. He was an inventor who obtained a patent for a prototype for an artificial heart back in the 1960's. He also invented a flameless cigarette lighter and an "invisible" garter belt, among other things.

You can read more about this talented man here.

The wonderful thing about tiggers
Is tiggers are wonderful things!
Their tops are made out of rubber
Their bottoms are made out of springs!
They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy
Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!
But the most wonderful thing about tiggers is
I'm the only one!

R.I.P. Paul Winchell 1922-2005

*Note: Read this week's Spirit of the Stars Astro-Newsletter as a free trial!
Click here to read astro-trends for all the signs for June 24 - June 30th

Mystic Blog Friday, June 24, 2005

Releasing Negative Thoughtforms and Energy Blocks

People often ask me about negative thoughtforms and how they affect our lives. Can our thoughts really have that much impact on what we are experiencing down here in the world of 3-D? Yes, they can!

Think of your thoughts and emotions as a frequency of energy that is constantly streaming out of you. You're broadcasting this stuff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Although there can be some fluctuation, most of the time we have a relatively consistent "tone" to the energies that we are putting out.

The "negative" thoughtforms are those loops of self-talk that are going on which have a self-sabotaging tone.

You know which ones I'm talking about. They run along the lines of "I'll never have enough." "I'll never be enough." "There's never enough to go around." "I'll never find a soulmate." "I'll never have a job that makes me happy."

While some of those negative feedback loops might only kick in strongly for a day here and there, when we're feeling especially tired or stressed out, we all have some ongoing self-sabotaging programs that are broadcasting negative frequencies. "I'm afraid of being hurt by someone, so I'm going to push that nice person away. " "I don't really believe I'm worth a lot of money, so I will sabotage things so the boss doesn't give me a raise."

It can be quite a challenge to uncover these self-sabotage programs and negative attitudes. But it's important to do so, because our nervous system is like a radio. If you're putting out a frequency that is screaming "Poverty! Loneliness! Despair!" that is going to drown out happier frequencies that are coming in all around you. You'll miss out on the Joy Channel or the Abundance Station because your system is locked into a more negative vibration.

Think of it this way. Have you ever tried to tune into your favorite radio station, only you're driving beyond that radio station's range? You might hear little bits of the broadcast, but maybe it doesn't come in very well. You're trying to listen to jazz, but all that's coming in is salsa music. Why is that? A competing signal from another radio station is overlapping that same frequency.

In our spiritual lives, if one frequency of thought or emotion is drowning out all other possible signals, preventing other "programs" from reaching us, we'll never hear all the cool stuff happening on the Happy Station. We're too busy spinning those "Death, disfigurement, and depression!" songs.

It's up to US to learn how to flip the radio dial and tune into an entirely new level of energy and possibility. The first step is to start being more aware of what station you're stuck on, noticing what frequency you're putting out all the time. Then you'll start experimenting with a different tone, and things will begin to shift and to break open.

Suzie Black contributed an enlightening article about how to shift frequencies and move through energy blocks in an archived 2003 issue of a holistic magazine called Edge Life. It's published in the upper midwest US, across such states at Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and North Dakota.

Have a look.

Shifting Patterns of Light Summer 2003

*Note: Read this week's Spirit of the Stars Astro-Newsletter as a free trial!
Click here to read astro-trends for all the signs for June 24 - June 30th

Mystic Blog Thursday, June 23, 2005

Put Lipstick on the Pig

I periodically check on the keywords and phrases people are using to find my site. In the vast black hole that can be the Internet, it's all about keywords. If you don't have your site optimized to reflect words people are searching on, visitors will never find you.

With this site, it's been a bit of a challenge. I write on so many topics, and this isn't really an astrology site, it covers many metaphysical and spiritual subjects. So I'm always studying how and why people have ended up at my site in case I need to tweak things in the keywords.

Yesterday, a sampling of data on recent searches which had brought people to my site included "Mercury retrograde" and "earth star chakra." Cool. I've posted articles about those things, so they should be showing up in searches.

Then there was "put lipstick on the pig." That search phrase brought someone to my site. Hmm.

I must apologize to that person. There is very little at my site about lipstick or about pigs.

But maybe I should cover these subjects more often.

Something to think about, anyway.

How do you put lipstick on a pig? Why was this person searching on that phrase? Inquiring minds want to know.

*Note: Read this week's Spirit of the Stars Astro-Newsletter as a free trial!
Click here to read astro-trends for all the signs for June 24 - June 30th

Mystic Blog Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Experience The Blissful Life

The Blissful Life is a groovy site with an upbeat style. You'll find easy-to-understand info about the chakras (the energy centers of the body,) simple steps on how to start living the blissful life, and information about connecting with your angels.

You can also order custom-made angel essences or chakra essences and even purchase an astrology report or angel consultation.

Go have a look!

http://theblissfullife.com/theblissfulangel.html

Mystic Blog Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Happy Summer Solstice! Solstice Time 2:46 am Tuesday 21st

Today marks the summer solstice, a time of fresh starts and dynamic spiritual energy. The solstice is one of eight major "power days" that the indigenous peoples mapped out long ago. Their wise men and wise womyn knew that there were certain times throughout the year when dimensional doorways opened up and the "veil between realms" became thinnest. You can read my past article about the eight power days, which explains more:

How to Use the Energies of Halloween and the Eight Major Pagan Holidays

The eight power days were identified as incredibly strong times for prayer, meditation, and all forms of magic. These were also discovered to be great periods for making contact with loved ones who had passed over into other realms or for communicating with one's spiritual guides and angels, who were more easily reachable at these times. All forms of spiritual practice will be heightened and accentuated if performed around the summer solstice.

The exact time of the summer solstice was 2:46 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time Tuesday, June 21st. This will be accompanied by a practical full moon in the sign of Capricorn that trails along at 12:14 a.m. EDT Wednesday morning. Full moons tend to create a need for purging and cleansing, so this entire week will be a great time to access healing energies, have intimate chats with loved ones, and to release negative thoughtforms and attitudes which have been holding you back. If there is anything that has been preventing you from expressing your most idealized, perfected self, this summer solstice coupled with the spiritual punch of this full moon will prompt you to reach for the stars and to make miracles happen ---NOW.

The energy of the summer solstice is strongest three days before and three days after the actual solstice, so try to make time this week to focus on accessing these healing energies. If you're ready for a helpful boost or metaphysical kick-start from those healing angels and higher helpers and from God/Goddess/Great Spirit, now is the perfect time for a spiritual tune-up!

Mystic Blog Monday June 20, 2005

Subscribe Now to New Astrology Newsletter, Lipstick Mystic™ Spirit of the Stars!

Guess what? People have responded so enthusiastically to my past weekly astrology features that I have decided to launch a paid weekly newsletter. (When the fans are demanding something, it's hard to say no!) If you'd like to know how to better manage your energy, understand personal and financial flow, and gain insight about timing of decisions, this newsletter is what you're looking for. Lipstick Mystic™ Spirit of the Stars will help you harmonize your efforts with the planetary flow instead of pushing against it.

Think of this as your weekly cosmic weather report, delivered to your "in" box each Thursday. Each newsletter covers trends starting that Friday through the following Thursday, and I'm designing it so you can receive lots of info about how to sail into your weekend with the right frame of mind and start the next work week with just the right energy.

You can read all about how to subscribe and read my past sample issue by clicking here.

Mystic Blog Friday, June 17, 2005

Guest Interview with Author, Artist, and Self-Publisher Mary Bayliss -- Her New Book Nutlidge

Mary Bayliss is an energy sensitive, author, and gifted artist whose life in Australia has given her rich inspiration for her many paintings and writings about the natural wonders of that amazing continent. She's just come out with a marvelous new book called Nutlidge. This is one of those books that, while it's aimed at children, is really a classic for all ages of reader. Learn all about the world of Nutlidge and the mystical energies of nature in this enlightening guest interview.

Interview with Mary Bayliss About Nutlidge

Mystic Blog Thursday, June 16, 2005

Dannion Brinkley and His Three Near-Death Experiences

Dannion Brinkley has survived three near-death experiences and written several books about the insights he received. His latest book is called The Secrets of the Light.

His website is http://www.dannion.com. You can read more about his work and his writing there. He is involved with hospice work for veterans, helping them make a peaceful transition to the next world, and he also does psychic readings. His near-death experiences heightened his psychic abilities because he attuned himself to the higher dimensions.

I found this interview with him dating back to September 1998. He talks a little about what he went through and offers some great fuel for thought about death, spiritual evolution, and more. I like what he has to say about how we all go through a "life review" after we die and experience everything we've ever gone through, and then we experience it through ANOTHER person's point of view....getting to see up close how our actions and thoughts affected people around us throughout our lives. It's some intense and amazing stuff.

Have a read.

Dannion Brinkley Interview in The Monthly Aspectarian September 1998

Mystic Blog Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Julie Mars on Spirituality and Death

I caught an interesting discussion this Monday on Dr. Dan Gottlieb's radio show on Philadelphia station WHYY 91 FM. His show is called Voices in the Family, and he always has wonderful conversations with his guests about healing and the meaning of life.

His guest was Julie Mars, author of a new book called A Month of Sundays. It's all about the spiritual quest she took while she was living with her terminally ill sister and trying to understand the nature of heaven, hell, and the afterlife.

Their conversation raised a lot of fascinating points, and I wrote up some of what surfaced in their talk in the new article I've just posted today. Check it out!

Julie Mars on Spirituality and Death

Mystic Blog Monday, June 13, 2005

I'm a Hippie, You're a Hippie

Here is what we were up to last Friday. This is why I didn't have time to make a blog entry. I was busy attending a la-di-dah fundraising benefit for an area hospital.

Last year when we went to this event, all attendees were dressed in elegant evening attire. So I just assumed that this year we needed to dress up, too.

When we got there, I saw all of these casually dressed people in tie-dyed shirts and long skirts wandering around. I thought, "That must be the staff who is helping set up the event."

It turned out that those were the attendees.

Unbeknownst to us, the event had a groovin' hippie theme this year, so people were dressed in Sixties attire.

Fortunately, we were able to borrow some wardrobe elements. Here you can view the results of our transformation.

I'm not sure if it worked or not, but it was fun being hippies for the day.

Mystic Blog Thursday, June 9, 2005

Hippie Crap Saves the World - Article by Mark Morford

I think I'm in love with Mark Morford. He's a columnist for SFGate, and I just found a classic essay of his. In it, he talks about how hippie crap really can save the world.

The world vision of us peace-lovin', sometimes vegetarian, always big-hearted New Age types is too often poo-poohed these days.

But you know what? Caring about others, promoting peace, and giving a $%& about the environment really DO make a difference, as Morford passionately expresses in his essay.

After reading this essay, I may have to ask Morford if I can move in with him. Here's a man whose socks I would be happy to darn (if I knew what darning was - I'm more likely, when confronted with a sewing needle, to use far more colorful language than "darn.")

Of course, my life partner/soulmate/husband type unit might have something to say about it. And it wouldn't be fair of me to leave him to tend to eight cats all by himself. It's so hard being a single parent to massive amounts of felines.

Okay, so maybe I won't move in with Morford. But I DO adore what the man has to say, especially in this particular piece.

Have a looksie:

Hippie Crap Saves the World

Mystic Blog Wednesday, June 8, 2005

Karma Karma Chameleon or the Lighter Side of Karma

I just discovered the website of a comedian named Gerry Thompson who sometimes posts wacky mystical thoughts in his Guru Chikkentikkenanda persona.

Read what the Guru has to say about the lighter side of karma (and yes, there is a lighter side:)

The Lighter Side of Karma

Mystic Blog Tuesday, June 7, 2005

Oh Dear! More Than Half of Americans Will Develop a Mental Illness at Some Point in Their Lives

Or so researchers have found, as quoted in last Sunday's New York Times.

The Lipstick Mystic has a few thoughts on that.

Click here to read her juicy rant.

Mystic Blog Monday, June 6, 2005

Happy New Moon! New Moon in Gemini 5:55pm Eastern Daylight Time

Today is a true Gemini day with the new moon happening in Gemini at 5:55pm Eastern Daylight Time. The moon and the sun will be conjunct in Gemini. Meanwhile, Mercury is still completing its run through the sign of Gemini. So there's a whole lot of Gemini going on!

Gemini is a breezy yet complicated Air sign, a brilliant sign filled with grand ideas. This new moon will be a great time for welcoming in creativity, wisdom, and intelligent decision-making. The energy of the new moon lasts for another couple of days, so make use of this power time to set intentions, spend time in prayer, meditate or do affirmations. The angelic and spiritual realms are very close during a new moon. This is your "New Year" for the month, so enjoy it!

And don't forget to write yourself a new moon abundance check, because personal rituals and power prayer are on the menu. You can read my past articles about new moon abundance checks and how they work by scrolling down my home page or looking at my articles index.

Mystic Blog Friday, June 3, 2005

Creative Schizophrenia and Time Is Too Damned Short!

Okay, I know I've been talking about offering a weekly astrology newsletter called Lipstick Mystic Spirit of the Stars. I've been trying to balance the production elements on that with creating my upcoming ebook, coordinating guest interviews for this site, and doing all of the other editorial work and site redesign. Guess what? Time is not being cooperative!

I don't know about you, but time is not behaving normally in my reality. Many energy sensitives report the sensation of time "burps" or moments when time appears to either speed up or slow down. Lately, time is flying by SO fast for me that even though I'm working all the time, I'm overcommitted with projects. I wish they'd perfect that cloning business. (Or release the info to the public, anyway.)

I looked at my calendar today and suddenly it was June. And I clearly remember flipping my calendar over to May like, just yesterday.

Tuesday is garbage day here at the farm, and it's always a big event because we have this incredibly long driveway and have to haul all these bags out to the curb. Not our favorite day.

Well, now I swear Tuesday is happening every five minutes.

Do you know what I'm talking about?

It's finally getting through my thick yet optimistic head that I need to focus on one (or two or three) things at once, not five hundred.

So, please bear with me. I am going to continue to focus on creating fun stuff here in my blog and on my site, including new guest interviews and articles and essays. And I still encourage you to sign up for my free e-newsletter, Lipstick Mystic News, which goes out about once a month. It has fun healing tidbits and essays on spiritual energy. You can register through the Bravenet box below.

And stay tuned for the arrival of my forthcoming ebook, The High Spirits Handbook: How to Banish Bad Vibes for Good. I know you'll love it! You can get a taste for what the content will be like in my new Books section: http://www.lipstickmystic.com/books.html

The weekly astrology feature is going to have to go on hold, although I will still be making posts about major planetary movements. Just yesterday I wrote about Jupiter coming out of retrograde and how this is creating some feelings of wooziness and motion sickness in all of us this week. This Sunday Jupiter will finally go direct again after four months of being in retrograde, and this will give us all clearer heads and happier dispositions.

You can read that article here:

http://www.lipstickmystic.com/astro/astro060205.html

In the meantime, you loyal astrology fans, be patient! I'm still committed to beefing up the astrology aspects of my site and I'm also working on what I hope will be a groundbreaking series of e-books about astro-healing for each of the signs - available later this year. If you want to learn how to express the "enlightened" side of your sign instead of drifting into the "jerky" zone, these e-books will really help you. Stay tuned!

Mystic Blog Thursday, June 2, 2005

Lie Down And Give It a Good Think!

One of the advantages of working from home is that an afternoon nap becomes a much more realistic proposition. Many times, I'm engaged in such intense writing work at the computer that I need to step away from the monitor for a bit and get my thoughts together outside my office.

Quite often, a cat will be involved. I'll lie down for a quickie brain break and one of our household felines will decide this is the time to snuggle.

So there are two parts of the equation - cat and lying down.

I don't usually nap during the day, but I have found that lying down for just a fifteen minute break does seem to clear my head. It really seems to banish the mental cobwebs, this lying down business.

Well, researchers are now confirming that lying down is actually a great way to banish stress. They're not talking about sleeping. They're just talking about getting into a prone position.

Apparently there is a stress hormone called noradrenaline that is released in the body whenever we stand up. Lying down for a few minutes lessens the production of this hormone. This is why we find lying down to be so relaxing, whether we take a nap or not (and whether we cuddle with a feline or not.)

I've long felt that if corporations conducted things the way kindergarten teachers do, we'd be a lot better off. Remember in kindergarten class or nursery school where there would be a break in the afternoon? At my school, the kids would pick out a little piece of carpet, and we'd each curl up for a brief afternoon nap for maybe a half hour or so. It was enforced quiet time, but nobody really objected to it. Some kids snoozed, others just relaxed. I usually daydreamed.

Well, scientists have verified that the benefits of lying down are real. So if employers are truly interested in improving staff morale and functionality, maybe they should invest in some carpets or couches and initiate an afternoon lie down time.

That's one form of corporate reform that I could get behind.

Read all about the benefits of lying down:

Why Lying Down is Good for You

Mystic Blog Wednesday, June 1, 2005