Time to Unlax and Rewind!

Is this what you think whenever a Reader tells you, “well you know, you do have to take free will into consideration”, you think “what a cop out!”  Well guess what my friends?  It isn’t a cop out, on the contrary it is a Universal Law.

A psychic should not tell you what choice you will actually make, their job is to tell you what choices there are for you to make.  It is very much the way our Guides work.  Your Guides will NEVER tell you what you should do, they will show you your options, but YOU still have to make the choice.  That is the whole point of free will, otherwise the entire human race would be at a complete standstill while we wait for someone else to make decisions for us!  It would take away a most basic human right; freedom.  Just imagine if you called me and asked me, “Margaret, what will I decide to do about this job?” and I tell you “well you will decide to pass on it”, then another Reader tells you “you will decide to take the job”, this back and forth will put you squarely in the land of confusion, doubt and mistrust. 

We have a wonderful internal guidance system called intuition.  Every human on this planet has it whether they can express it or not, it comes with the whole human experience.  My belief is that part of our job as spiritual beings having human experiences is to use each experience to grow in our spiritual-ness but we can’t do that if we have others making choices for us.

So, the next time a Reader tells you that the reason so and so didn’t contact you was because of free will it, no matter the other extenuating circumstances excluding death, it is the truth!  However, it is important that we also tell you what else is going on around that person so that perhaps we can try to understand why he/she made a different choice other than what was seen based on the path they were on at the time of your reading.  Our job and at least my goal, is to give you as much insight as possible to assist you in making your own choices regarding the situation with much greater clarity.

Blessings to you all for peace, harmony and tons of laughter!

Margaret

Working from home sounds so luxurious and freeing, but quite frankly, it can be very unbalancing.  When I worked in corporate America for too long, it too became very unbalancing but it was easier to spot and therefore make a correction. So try to keep this in mind when you roll out of bed in the morning, do the half awake prison shuffle into the bathroom, then to the kitchen to get your first cup of sunshine.  Change things up a bit, even the littlest bit of variety helps change the balance of your day, even your life in a positive way.  If you normally put your pants on one leg at a time, go crazy and try putting them on both legs at a time!  Force yourself to slow down and write your kids’ names on their lunch sacks with your left hand or non-dominant hand.  You know that street you pass by every day but turn away from because you’re in a hurry? Well take a 2 minute detour and go down that street and see what’s down there!  The Universe has many gifts for us, but sometimes we have to help bring them to us by creating a little out of balance in order to find the balance we need! 

As an Advisor, you know you’ve been logged onto Keen too long and need some balance when:

1.   You press the pound (#) key when ending a phone call with your mother.

2.   You answer a question from the boss of your “regular” job with “…well my Guides are showing me…"

3.   Someone at the grocery store asks what time it is and you reply “within 1 to 3 minutes of  5".

4.   You yell at your misbehaving 6 year old “now you go to the corner and meditate on it!”

5.   You say to your husband (significant other) who just went out and financed a new car for you, “what were you thinking?!  Don’t you know that we are in a Mercury Retrograde?! Geeze!”

6.   You walk into your doctors office and inform him that your throat chakra is blocked.  He disagrees and tells you that you have a sore throat from talking too much!

Bringing balance into your life actually helps you find the joy in your day everyday!

Keep dancin’ and never forget to smell the roses!

-Margaret

Ever wonder if anyone actually ever reads the multitude of resumes received for a particular job?  Well it wasn’t until I slipped into upper management in the corporate world that I found the answer; it all depends on the resume or story that stands out the most!  There were many I couldn’t even get through, they were way too long and instantly rejected.

Many people make the mistake of writing down their job history rather than being a bit more brief about it.  You have to have something to talk about in the interview don’t you?  As a matter of fact, I quit calling my resume a resume and renamed it a Job Qualifications Brief.  It was after all a short story outlining why I was qualified for the job in question.

The following is an excerpt from a larger work I will be publishing.  This is an overview and should help get you started on a great resume, or Job Qualifications Brief:

List the job title, employer and employment time, e.g. “Lead Supervisor, ABC Widget Company, 1/10/05 thru 7/12/08”

Never include more than 10 years worth of history and never include work history that does not pertain to the job(s) you are applying for.  While it is great you were a grocery store clerk for 3 years in 1979 and it does show longevity and likely great customer service skills, but what does that have to do with being an electrical engineer today?  If the job history is a bit spotty, there is a way to summarize all of it which I will cover in a separate section at a later time. 

Briefly list your responsibilities in that job, not every single one.  E.g. “Trained, supervised Team of 8 production line employee’s; maintained production records; verified their accuracy; implemented company policies and procedures….” 

Now this is the most important part.  Explain why you are worth hiring in as few words as possible, adding to the previous paragraph.  E.g. “was responsible for 30% growth of the Satin Widget Line, accomplished 45% with the use of Team Management skills thereby increasing profitability by 12% to 15% for 3 years…”  Ask yourself these questions: “Why am I better than the guy/gal behind me? How did I contribute to the bottom line and to what degree did I actually contribute?”  Nowadays, employers are more concerned about what you can do for them than they are rewards, awards and in some cases even education!  While all of these are important, it is imperative you are able to answer these questions and that the information is verifiable, that is where some of the awards and recognition will come in handy.

USE YOUR SPELL AND GRAMMAR CHECK!  There is nothing more frustrating as an employer than to see someone put so much time and energy into a great presentation and then misspell a word or use the wrong tense or even just the wrong word, it does not send the right message!  I have been in sales, banking and mortgage for many years and I must say, I was very hard nosed if I saw someone who bragged about their perfection but somehow failed to use all the tools in their toolbox like spell check or grammar check, or even just another set of eyes.  Face it, if writing is not your strong suit, then work on it, take an English class, what have you got to lose – except a job??  Here are some no-no’s:

The wrong use of the words their and there.  Their is possessive, they own  it; it is theirs.  The word there is a noun, it is a place, a destination it is also an adverb, “there, there now, don’t cry”, or it is an intensive “wow, that Bob there is a good looking guy!”

The complete improper use of the words, then and than.  They mean completely different things and yet they are mixed up all the time!  The word then is an adverb, it refers to a point in time, “first we do step one, then we do step two”.   The word than is a choice or a qualification between 2 things; “Chris is much taller than Susie”, “I would rather have chocolate than vanilla”.

The most misused words I have ever seen is your and you’re.  Your is a possessive adjective, it describes who it belongs to; “it is your sandwich”.  Whereas you’re is just a conjugation of two words; you + are = you’re.  Here is an example of the proper use of both words in a sentence: “Your soup is getting cold, you’re going to eat it aren’t you?”

Better yet, invest $15 bucks in yourself and get a good dictionary.

Remember, no one is perfect although many will try to convince you that they are.  You only need to be concerned with what you want and sometimes writing a good resume that will stand out is just like dressing the part for the job you want.  No one is saying you have to be an English major, but you do want to come across as the competent and intelligent person you truly are.

While this is just a jumping off point to help get you started, stay tuned!  Next time I will cover the extreme importance of a great cover letter.

Good luck!!

Margaret

Callers, first of all thank you for your patience with me and other Advisors who have seemingly been on calls for hours on end while you wait patiently in line!  Sometimes Keen experiences "technical difficulties" where the Advisor shows as being busy and on a call when in fact that isn't the case, thus making it impossible for us to take your calls.  I am confident that Keen will get this handled promptly so we can once again take your calls; until then, thank you for your patience!  I look forward to chatting with you and getting your weekend readings underway!

Blessings to you on this magical day 8-8-8,

Margaret

This is an excerpt from an article written by Doug Copps a Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager for ARTI (American Rescue Team International).  This was sent to me and I thought it very important to share.  I am a native Californian and have survived many, many earthquakes in my time and based on the information in this article, I am a little surprised that I have!  All I can say is that the information he shares in this article will surprise you.  Please pass this information on.  Blessings, -Margaret

EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON THE: 'TRIANGLE OF LIFE'

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the
American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced
rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams
from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a
member of many rescue teams from many countries..

I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I
have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for
simultaneous disasters.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City
during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child
was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by
lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and
I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time
know that the children were told to hide under something.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings
falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a
space or void next to them. This space is what I call the 'triangle of life'.
The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the
object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that
the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next
time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the 'triangles' you
see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see,
in a collapsed building.

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

1) Most everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position.
You should too in an earthquake.. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during
an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake.
If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created.
Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick
buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but
less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply
roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a
much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on The back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out
the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to
a sofa, or large chair.

6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is
killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or
backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of
frequency' (they swing separately from the main part of the building).
The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each
other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get
on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly
mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the
stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the
stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when
overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety,
even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible
- It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than
the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the
building the greater the probability that your escape route will be
blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls
in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened
with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway.. The victims of
the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were
all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or
lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had
been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the
crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had
columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices
and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact.
Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

Spread the word and save someone's life... The Entire world is
experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!

'We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly'

In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be
correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul , University of
Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific
test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten
mannequins did 'duck and cover,' and ten mannequins I used in my
'triangle of life' survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we
crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the
results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under
directly observable, scientific conditions , relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck
and cover.

There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using
my method of the 'triangle of life.' This film has been seen by millions
of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe , and it was seen
in the USA , Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV"

At what point in our society did we learn that having a conversation, a.k.a. a Reading while engaging in the act of emptying our bladders or bowels was acceptable? Was it kindergarten? First grade? 12^th grade? College?  Whenever it was, I apparently was absent that day.

I know that some people consider it to be just fine and hunky-dory to share those intimate details with me as if we are best pals, but really, I am fine without the direct knowledge that “everything came out okay”!  I am really okay with not competing with the sounds of air escaping your body while imitating a herd of mice, or the “rrrhhhhh” of the toilet paper holder and the clink of the toilet handle or the distinctive “shhwoosshh” of a flushing toilet.  However, what I would like to hear after that heart pounding, concentration breaking reverie is the gentle rush of a stream of water as you wash your hands – with soap, because when you don’t I feel so dirty.

I am afraid the honeymoon is now over.

It is amazing how thoughts really are things, as the saying goes.  Just this morning I was doing my morning meditation and was reminded to write in my Gratitude Journal again.  I finished my meditation, grabbed my coffee and went to read the day’s blogs so far (see how well I listen?).  What is one of the first blogs I come upon?  You guessed it, a lovely blog written by Alura about having an Attitude of Gratitude!  I kept saying to my Guides, “okay, okay, I get it!”.

I just wanted to share with all how helpful it can be to write daily in what I refer to as a Gratitude journal.  Every day I would write in my journal, “things I am grateful for today…” and I would write a simple list.  I never had a set number of things or topics that just had to be covered.  I just wrote about the very first thing that came to mind when I wrote that leading sentence.  I got into this habit at the very beginning of the year and I wrote at least once a day, sometimes at the start of the day, sometimes at the end I would write my list of things I was grateful for.  It became such a habit that I was almost a gratitude journal junkie and I always knew that my day would be better if I got my gratitude writing fix!   It was a wonderful time because everything in my life seemed to almost magically fall into place for me.  Then things changed…

I changed my schedule; I added a few more tasks to my day and started slacking off on writing daily in my Gratitude journal.  After about 2 weeks of only writing about 3 times a week, I noticed that business started slowing a little, favorable mail (rebate checks, notices of bills I had accidentally paid ahead, etc.) became less and less.  Things were certainly not disastrous, but that magical feeling of universal well being was starting to fade.  Soon I had gone one whole month without 1 entry in my journal and I noticed that things all around me had slowed down considerably and I was beginning to feel very uncomfortable and disconnected.  It finally dawned on me what the missing link was – I had stopped actively being grateful!  I had stopped reminding myself of all the wonderful things I had to be thankful for.  I had stopped sending written blessings to others.  I had stopped the flow of that beautiful energy that had become such a huge part of my life that I had created!  Definitely not the most brilliant move I had made.

As you probably have guessed, I have since started using my Gratitude journal again and while the flow of the energy isn’t quite as strong yet as before, I feel very confident that I will be back where I was and better in no time at all.

It is all about energy.  I had created such a positive energy around me it was like a beautiful force that needed to be fed, once I stopped feeding it, it started to wither.  We all have ultimate control over our lives in so many ways it is just fascinating.  It is all about the energy we put out there.  What we put out there, we will definitely get back; like does attract like.   Well, it is time for me to get back to attracting more for me to be grateful for – I think I hear my journal calling!

Have an awesome day!

Margaret

Even in a lake that is over 200 feet deep!

This is a very long story, but I am relaying this story to all who may think that Angels don’t exist or that they are the things of legend or an over active imagination.  Let me tell you why they definitely exist:

Yesterday (Sat. 6/28) my friend Martin (okay, technically some would label him a boyfriend) decided that he wanted to take me out on his boat.  We live in Northern Nevada and there are numerous beautiful lakes less than an hour’s drive of us.  Keen was slow that Saturday afternoon so I decided, sure why not go for a boat ride?  I had not enjoyed the out doors for many months.  So about an hour and a half later he pulls up in front of my house with his beautiful 24 foot pleasure boat loaded with all the amenities, brand new, only 1 year old, he used it only one season last year and it was just beautiful.  I hop in the truck and off we went!

Now it has been years since I have been on a boat or assisted in getting one off a trailer and into the water.  Luckily for me Martin is a mechanical genius and knows everything he needs to know about such things – all I had to do was back the boat down the ramp a little further than he already had, then pull the trailer up out of the water and go and park the truck, all which I did as if I actually knew what I was doing.  I get out and lock the truck and walk about 20 yards back to the dock where Martin is bobbing in the water waiting for me.  I notice there is water coming out of the bilge hole (where the bilge pump water exits), I make a mental note, “good bilge pump is working”.  I ever so gracefully – NOT climb into the boat.  I get all settled in, take my sandals off and feel the plush carpeting under my feet.  We started heading out to the other side of the lake.  This lake is like 8 miles wide and 24 miles long and over 200 feet deep in some areas.  We are having a blast getting a little airborne, the stereo is blasting, and we are watching regal pelicans glide over the water, little ducks bobbing around in the wakes and a few eagles soaring over the spot we were heading to.  It was just a perfect moment in time; all was exactly as it was suppose to be.  Until…

Martin stands up out of his seat and starts staring at the gauges with a look of “hmmm, that’s funny” which made me nervous because he wasn’t laughing.  Then the boat slows.  He turns around and walks to the back of the boat where all the comfy bench seats are and lifts the “tanning” deck that leads to the engine compartment.  I am watching with fascination until I see water spraying out furiously.  He looks at me and say “that’s not suppose to happen”.  I said “what about the bilge pump?”  He walks back to the driver seat and see’s that the bilge pump is on – but apparently not working.  We are now at least 5 or more miles out from shore, the engine is running but he can’t for the life of him figure out where the water in the engine compartment is coming from.  Meanwhile, I tell him, “lets start heading back to shore, now!”  He turns the boat around, but suddenly the power decreases even more, he goes again to the engine deck, lifts it and put his hand over something I can’t see and the water stops spraying, silently I cheer.  I had gotten up and started steering the boat as we were now driving at about 15mph, more like drifting.  It dawns on me that I will have to steer the boat while he stays in the back, just behind me with a tourniquet of some sort over the area that is spraying.  He is turned ¾ towards me on the bench seat looking confident and calm as I quietly fight the waves and wakes that are sloshing us about.  Martin says “honey, just go straight, aim for the shore”, I wanted to say “no sh*% Sherlock”, but I refrained.  So there we are miles from shore limping this beautiful boat back to shore as I am running through different swimming strokes in my head to fight fatigue in case we had to ditch.  This boat does not have a radio, we had our cell phones, but decided that we would just keep with getting us back to shore.  I kept steering looking straight ahead, once in awhile looking behind me to see a handsome, confident guy with his arm in the engine compartment, just smiling at me saying “keep an eye on your steering, try to keep it straight”, quietly through gritted teeth I said “I am!”.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to steer a boat that is losing power, and taking on water? – which I was unaware of at the time.  Little did I know at that time that he was purposely keeping my attention away from the engine compartment because he didn’t want me to see how much water we were taking on.  Finally after about 40 minutes we get close enough that Martin leaves his post and comes to the captains chair and I can see his hands trembling as he takes the wheel.  I decide, I better get my tennis shoes on and ditch the sandals I threw in the boat.  I go to sit on the seats he was on and put my shoes on when I see a tennis ball floating past me.  I look at the bottom of the bench seat I am on and see water starting to seep into what we could call the cabin area.  We are still 3 or so miles from shore.  I did not panic, I requested that any and all Angels come to our rescue right now!  As soon as I released that thought, I heard Martin furiously honking the horn on the boat and waving his arm and I looked up to see 2 completely sunburned but handsome Angels in a smaller boat come up along side as Martin says in a rushed voice, “hey can you tow me, we’re taking on water!”  Without a moments hesitation they hook a rope to an outside grip of some sort then try to maneuver themselves out of the way of the bigger boat that has now “tapped” their smaller boat several times, I watched in amazement as I had visions of holes in the hull of our boat and us going down in what was at that time 152 feet of water.  They got free of us, got out in front and put as much power as they had in that little boat to tow us closer to shore.  As they did that I started to walk towards the back of the boat and Martin yells at me “honey! No! stay here, we have to sit up here, no more weight in the back!”  I watched helplessly as the entire ass-end of the boat was submerged in the water then I looked at Martin to see the color start to drain from his face.  Our rescuers got us within 100 feet of the shore, Martin was visibly shaken, I stand up and land in about 1 1/2 feet of water that is now in the boat.  Our Angels threw Martin the rope and said “we’ll be right back!”  Meanwhile, Martin jumps in the water, takes the rope and is trying to swim and pull the boat closer to shore ala Jack Lalane style on his 80^th birthday about 15 years ago!  I started laughing like a nervous hyena, but at least he was trying to save his boat.  Then right when I am about to ditch and dive overboard, another Angel comes up and pulls us a little closer.  Martin now is safely on the dock, exhausted, but the boat is momentarily safe in about 15 feet of water.  Martin smiles finally and I toss him the keys to the truck that are still with me in the boat, thankfully he catches them.  I am there in the boat while our 2 original rescuers come back to hold the boat steady while Martin, is out of breath, running up the ramp to the parking area to grab is truck and trailer.  Meanwhile, I am in the boat that is still taking on water!  I see Martin whipping his truck and trailer into position with such precision I was impressed.  He backs the truck and trailer down the ramp, while our new best friends guide the nose of the ever quickly filling boat onto the trailer.  They get it on the trailer enough to hook the pulley to it and used every ounce of muscle they had to turn the crank on the pulley to haul the now water logged boat (and me) out of the water.  It is at this time that one of our rescuers slips and falls on the slimy, moss covered ramp, pops back up as his friend laughs at him, apparently he had consumed enough alcohol to not feel the fall or the raging sunburn I saw.  I decided that I would gingerly hop out of the boat.  Martin gets out of the truck and I toss him my purse and anything else I can find for him to safely store in the truck.  I jump over the side of the boat kind of sideways with both legs tucked to the side but as I am in mid-air I reflect in horror that I will very likely land on the slick as snot ramp and fall and crack my head open – in a split second I strengthened my grasp on the side of the boat and prayed!  I landed a perfect 10 as if I had planned it that way!  Meanwhile the boat is now secured to the trailer and Martin gets in the truck and starts revving the engine.  The trailer does not move, as a matter of fact the truck starts to slide backwards towards the water, but just a little.  I am amazed that we’ve now come this far and cheated immense danger and possibly death and can’t get the damn trailer up the ramp because the boat is so full of water!  One of our 2 original Angels says, “be right back!”.  Martin is in the water, trying to see if he is hung up on something, there is nothing!  He is trying to see if a plug came out of the engine compartment, nope, all plugs are in place.  Next thing I see is a group of completely sunburned guys about 9 of them, no shirts, lots of tattoos, just trunks and tennis shoes or flip flops coming towards us – “we were told to come and help, what can we do?”  I wanted to cry!  More Angels!!  Martin was losing traction, so all of these guys as many as could fit, just stood on the trailer hitch and trailer putting more weight and thus more traction.  Martin gave it one more shot, and literally inch by inch that damn trailer and boat came out of the water and up the ramp, when it was finally out, there was a huge round of applause!  He pulled forward as far as he could to get out of the way of other people launching or docking.  Meanwhile, all of those wonderful Angels surrounded the boat and all were astonished at how much water was actually in the boat!  But there was another Super Angel there too, one of our rescuers happened to be a boat mechanic!  He and another guy and Martin spent a good 45 minutes feeling around in submerged engine compartment for a cracked hose, anything, could find nothing. The overflow under the propeller was not draining either.  Finally the mechanic went to the back of the boat and loosened something and voila a huge stream of water, at least 2 or 3 inches in diameter started pouring out of the boat.  Now mind you, we were there while all the guys were jokingly offering Martin cash for his boat as it is a very nice boat (nearly $45,000 brand new which it was!), for over 45 minutes, all the while water is pouring out of the engine.  Finally it is decided that the rest of the water has to be pumped out and we just have to get it home.  At that point I kept asking the guys (my Angels) what kind of beer they drank, anything to show my gratitude, Martin even offered money!  Not a single one of these guys would take anything other than a thank you.  One touched my arm and said “this is just how it is at the lake!  I know in my heart that if we were in trouble, you guys would help us too!”  I smiled and said “you are absolutely right, without a moments hesitation!”.  Finally the water slowed down to a small stream, but there was still about a foot or so in the cabin,  we all said our good-bye’s as Martin started up the road to the main highway – or so we thought!

Martin pulls out onto the well groomed dirt road and there is a slight incline, I mean slight!  We got about one 16^th of a mile up the road and got stuck!  I am starting to get annoyed at this point.  He very calmly backs down the road, not once, not twice but 3 times to get a “running start”.  Finally we have success and we made it to the highway.  We get to a nice cruising speed and get about 15 miles down the highway and come to a stop sign to go onto another highway.  Now mind you, it is 100 degrees out and we are on an Indian Reservation with nicely maintained roads, but for the most part, we are out in the middle of nowhere! Think 'ghost town'.   We “stop”  only to feel the truck shudder roughly, and hear scraping metal on the blacktop, I look at him and say “Oh God please don’t tell me we lost your transmission or the boat!”  He said, “neither”.  Thankfully we literally have a straight shot home, 18 more miles of just straight highway, but better yet we are pulled up next to a little tiny, 1 pump convenience store, where there is someone getting gas.  We get out of the truck and see that the boat is still hooked to the truck and there is nothing dragging on the back of the boat, then we look closer and see that the weight of the boat with all the water still in it, has nearly pulled the bumper off of the truck and now the back end of the truck – which is already lowered, is now about 1/16^th of an inch off the ground.  Martin finally figured out that all the water in the boat came rushing forward like a tidal wave and weighted down the bumper, hitch and bed of the truck!  He said “I knew it wasn’t good when I saw a small wall of water come over the windscreen of the boat!”  I looked at him and said “ya think?!”  So there we are milling around the outside of the truck wondering what to do.  In the meantime, he notices that the bed of his truck is suspiciously pulled about 2 inches away from the cab of the truck, then upon further inspection we see that the whole bed is pulled down and away.  He has these things in the truck like balloons that raise and lower the with an air compressor in the bed of the truck for these kinds of occassions.  He thought maybe one of the balloons popped, nope!  The bed was gonna go!  So here I have visions of losing the bed of the truck, the boat and trailer the whole thing flying past us as we drive an empty truck chassis!  I make a recommendation, “how about we ditch the boat here at the little gas station, very carefully go home, get my vehicle (SUV), come back, get the boat and we’re done!”  He said, “ya know, I think if we just drive really slowly, we’ll make it home”, I looked at him like he had 2 heads and almost said ‘are you out of your frickin’ mind??!!’, but instead, I asked for more Angel power and said “well, I don’t have a good feeling about this at all!  But it is your boat, trailer and truck!  I just want you to know now that if we get stranded, you will not hear the end of it from me!” he smiled calmly and said, “I would expect nothing less”, I wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not, but I let it go.  So off we went with our flashers on as I watched like a hawk the bed of the truck raise a little higher behind me, meaning that the back end of the truck was getting lower.  I kept visualizing angels flying beside us, and guess what?  We made it home, barely but by the grace of God and all those Angels!

We made it to his house, he disconnected the boat from the nearly permanently damaged truck and there was water coming out of the little overflow hole beneath the propeller.  I hopped up on the trailer and was astonished to see how much water was still in that damn boat!  We got his 16 gallon wet/dry shop vac and emptied it at least 14 times – just the cabin portion of the boat, that is over 200 gallons of water!  Then he went and unclogged the hole that the overflow water is suppose to come out of and it went from a trickle to about a 3 inch in diameter stream.  We could hear the buzz of something electrical but the engine power was off.  Well the bilge pump was still trying to power on, which it is suppose to do as it pulls straight from the battery.  Finally when the water in the engine area got low enough, Martin reached down, loosened a nut, and shook the electrical plug on the bilge pump and lo and behold it popped on water starting pouring out of the bilge hole! Of course it works now, now that we are on dry land!  Just to give you an idea of how much water that poor boat had in it, we estimated at over 500 gallons due to the fact that it drained from both holes for over almost 2 full hours!  In weight, that is approximately an extra 2500 pounds that he put on that truck and trailer that wasn’t made to exceed an additional 500 that we had before we almost sank!  So, he was pulling, or trying to pull 2,000 more pounds of weight than he should have and by all rights, we should have flipped that truck, trailer and boat and been seriously injured or worse.  We were astounded to say the least.  I told him that we had lots of Angels that day and thank God we did because we were towing our own little ice berg and we were the Titanic!

Lots of lessons here, tons in fact.  However, the most important one is, there are Angels all around us every, single day, we need only to ask and they are there working as hard and fast as they can, and sometimes, they come with tattoos and sunburns!

Thank you Angels, thank you!

There is so much in this life that we can all learn from, but there are even more things that are never questioned in the course of our life.  Why do we not question certain things? what things am I talking about?  We'll just call them "life lessons" or as a teacher of mine would say, "the writing on our walls".  That writing is the "stuff" that we learned from our parents, or authority figures as children, like "don't talk to strangers!", "if you keep making that face, it will stay that way!", "don't be a quitter!", "look! you colored outside the lines, you can do better than that!", "you better be nice or I'll leave you here by yourself!", "children should be seen and not heard!", "yes, I see you got 4 A's, but what about this C? what is wrong with you? it is simple math!..." "I do this because I love you even if it hurts!" And the  list goes on. 

All of these statements come from a place of fear from the people who ingrained them into your parents heads as well.  In other words, it was the writing on their walls too.  A positive good example of that is the little girl who was sitting watching her mother make a pot roast.  Her mother cut off both ends of the pot roast before putting it into the pan.  She said "Mom, why do you cut the ends off of the roast?"  her mother replied, "I don't know, that is just what grandma always did so now I do it".  The next time the girl saw her grandmother, she asked the question, "grandma, why do you cut the ends off the pot roast before cooking it?" grandma said, "I don't really know! That is how my mother taught me! Let's call her and find out".  Upon calling great-grandma, the question was asked and great-grandma said to her daughter, "oh my dear! I did that during the Depression, the roast wouldn't fit into the pan and I didn't have enough money to buy a bigger one, so I just cut the ends off!".  See how we believe what we're shown or told?  It isn't always a bad thing, sometimes it is a very good thing.

Sadly, as innocent children we have no judgement and we believe everything we are told because we have this unconditional love for those caring for us.  However, as life goes on and we grow up, those words begin to really have an effect on us and pretty soon we are into adulthood and we've completely bought into that writing hook, line and sinker.  And so begins our journey into straightening ourselves out.  These writings for some become incredibly damaging, resulting in extremely low self-esteem, poor self-image, anxiety and fear, you name it, it is likely there.  Sometimes people don't have the courage to step out from behind the shadows of the writing on their walls and it turns them into victims who constantly blame others for their lot in life.  Since we can't change the past and our power lies only in the present what can we do?  Forgive!

When I tell a client that in order to separate themselves from the emotional baggage or pain of a lost relationship so they can move on, they must forgive the person they are mourning, most think I've lost my mind!  I know it sounds utterly ridiculous to forgive someone who may have cheated on you, abused you, or hurt you in some way, but it is not for them that you are doing it.  It is for YOU and only you!  Another very important step is to forgive yourself.  Forgive that 7 year old (or whatever age) who didn't know any better and trusted the adult.  That 7 year old is part of you, you must forgive her/him and love them so once again they can become a part of you.  If you insist on living in the past and reliving the hurt and pain and wanting to seek revenge, then you will indeed be a prisoner of your choices and you will only deepen the writing on your walls which has now allowed you to slip into victim mode.  Don't give your power away by blaming someone else for your unhappiness, fear, guilt, resentment, etc.  As hard as it is to hear, the only person you hurt is yourself, which is why it is imperative to understand why you forgive someone in the first place.  Don't confuse forgiveness with agreement or acceptance.  By forgiving someone you are NOT condoning their behavior, you are simply setting yourself free.  The forgiveness is not for them, it is for you.  You are releasing yourself from the negative energy that you have chosen to hold on to.  It is time to reclaim your power and your truth and to put new, joyous writing on your walls.  It is time to let go of the past and move into the present where choices you make will have the most effect.

As a child of abuse I found as an adult I was harboring a lot of fear and resentment toward many people.  My father was one who I always felt abandonded by, and was the first one I set free.  Here is a simple phrase that will help you in your journey to forgiveness (my example): "Dad, I forgive you for not being the father I needed you to be by protecting me when I was small.  I now see that you did only what you were capable of.  I release you and set you free".  This didn't take the first time I tried it, there was a lot of pain there!  So, what I did, is every time that feeling came up, I repeated that phrase until those feelings of anger turned to compassion.  You may not be able to go quite that far, but simply releasing those feelings and that energy will get you on your own journey to self-acceptance and joy.

The bottomline is that we tend to forget that we have a choice because we don't ask the question, we simply believe and do what we are told.  Forgiveness is a very powerful tool, it pays much greater dividends than anger, guilt or resentment.  So make the choice - it has always been yours to make.

Always live in love, grace and gratitude!

Margaret

Recently I had taken a few days off for the Labor Day holiday and was offline for 4 days.  I felt it would be a nice thing to offer my clients a couple of free minutes for sticking with me and being understanding of my time off.

While I was enjoying my time off, I ran across a TV story that struck me to my very soul.  This is the story of Charlie. (a true story)

When Charlie was an infant, he and his parents were involved in a car accident, sadly both Charlies mother and father were killed and Charlie suffered minor brain damage.  Charlie's brain damage made him a little slow and he showed signs of mild autism.  Interestingly enough, Charlie seemed very aware of his capabilites and incapabilities.  For instance, it took Charlie 2 years longer to graduate from high school than the other kids his age, but he worked at it and did it.  Following graduation Charlie got a job as an assistant cook at a local restaurant.  Even though he had practiced and could pass the test, Charlie decided not to get his drivers license as he recognized that his reaction times were just a little slow and he didn't want to take the chance of hurting anyone with a car.

One day Charlie was on his way to work using his preferred method of transportation; his bike.  He was pedaling down the quiet road as he had done numerous times before in the bike lane when he was suddenly struck from behind by a speeding vehicle.  Charlie hit the windshield and then flew over the car breaking his neck.  The driver made the decision to leave the scene.

Soon it was discovered that Charlie would live but would be a parapalegic, losing the use of his arms and legs.  Several months later Charlie who had been raised by his aunt since the death of his parents, came home from the hospital to learn how to live without the use of his limbs.  His aunt spent many afternoons just reading to him and talking to him.  One of the things Charlie wanted his aunt to read to him was the case file from his accident as his memory of it was still rather foggy, he felt it was important that he know what was going on in the investigation of the guy who hit him.  Months went by and finally his case went to trial and his aunt attended.  It was there that she learned that the man was convicted of a felony hit and run and was sentenced to 7 years in prison.

Upon her return home, Charlies aunt followed their routine and read Charlie what the final outcome of the trial was.  She was pleased that now at least that part could be put behind them as the man who caused Charlies paralysis was now going to prison for 7 years.  Charlie's aunt rose from her chair to put the file away when she heard a noise and looked over at a smiling Charlie who said "Aunt Liz? I sure wouldn't want to be that guy!"

So, as I was fuming about the 30 or so "free-loading" clients I had given a couple of free minutes to and that they were ungrateful because they called me and used only their free minutes and often hung up in the middle of a reading, I remembered Charlies story and chuckled and said "I sure wouldn't want to be that guy!" as my frustration quickly softened to unbounding gratitude.

Practice an attitude of gratitude when things seem impossible they suddenly get very, very, small!

Blessings to you all and seriously - thank you from all of my heart.

Margaret

Okay, okay, a medium, a clairvoyant and a tarot card reader walk into a bar...the clairvoyant ducked - since she was the only one who actually saw it coming! ta-da-dahmp!  (that's an original joke I'll have you know!)

See? even the worst joke can make you smile - it got your mind off yourself for just a second right?  Well that's what I think we as Readers have an opportunity to do for our clients.  Equally important are the gifts that our clients bring us without even knowing it.  I have had the benefit of speaking with a client who has a potentially deadly illness who calls to check on me!   I have another whose life is just totally upside down and god love her for knowing that better days are coming! When I get the opportunity to chat with these and many other wonderful clients, it simply reinforces the fact that we really are 'all in this together'.  It is for this reason that I choose positivity, compassion and laughter whenever possible.  I figure if we all focused on those things often enough thereby drawing more of that energy towards us individually, I think the entire world would start spinning in a much more positive direction! So, here is my first shot at making the world spin in a more positive, loving, humorous direction - I would be honored if you would add a funny one liner, joke or cute story and just keep the energy going to see what happens!

Confuscious say: "Man who stands on toilet is high on pot!"  (old plumbers joke I am sure)

Okay, I went first - and not with my best material, now it's your turn - see if you can make us laugh!