As we cozy up to the enchanting embrace of winter’s solstice, let’s embark on a musical journey like no other. We’ve got not one but two incredible renditions of Vivaldi’s ‘Winter’ that are guaranteed to send shivers down your spine, leave you on the edge of your seat, and fill your soul with awe.
Get ready to be mesmerized as we explore these riveting performances! Which one will steal your heart and whisk you away to the winter wonderland of music?
Stay tuned for the showdown of the season! #VivaldiWinter #MusicalMagic”
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Or…..
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Enjoy this time of hibernation, dreams and “tearing it up” a little!
However you like to celebrate, remember to spread the love and do what you can to lift someone else up.
As I walked into the dimly lit room, the smell of incense filled my nostrils. There, sitting in the middle of the room was a small, unassuming woman. She introduced herself as a Reiki practitioner and claimed that reiki incorporates the secret of natural healing. Naturally, I was skeptical, but I had heard rumors of this woman’s abilities and decided to give it a shot.
She asked me to lay down on a table and began placing her hands over various parts of my body. The energy moved slowly, crawling like the sun over a desert landscape. I could feel a warm, almost electric sensation, coursing through me. The woman explained that this was the energy, or “ki”, that she was channeling through herself into me to promote healing.
As she worked, she began to explain the history and philosophy behind Reiki. She claimed that it was a natural healing technique that originated in Japan in the early 20th century. She also explained that Reiki works by balancing the energy within the body, allowing it to flow freely, which promotes healing.
As I lay there, feeling the energy coursing through me, I couldn’t help but wonder how this all worked. Was it simply the power of suggestion, or was there something more to it? The practitioner explained that Reiki was not a belief system or a religion, but rather a natural healing technique that anyone could learn.
As the session came to an end, I couldn’t deny that I felt a sense of calm and relaxation that I hadn’t felt in a long time. Whether or not Reiki truly has the power to heal, I couldn’t say for certain. But what I do know is that there is something undeniably powerful about the human touch and the energy that we all possess. And perhaps, in the end, that is the true secret of Reiki natural healing.
Since I was a girl, wandering the waterline at the beach after a storm’s moved through was one of my favorite things. Walking in deep meditation or deep conversation, it is always special when nature places a gift for us. Oh, the treasures! Each of my treasures keeps a story for me.
A hag stone, (or shell – like this hag abalone), is one in which time and elements have created a natural hole. Don’t you wonder how long it takes for these holes to form?
People all over the world are attracted to these stones and collect them from beaches, lakeshores, riverbanks; virtually anywhere there is or once was water. That has got to be everywhere on Earth.
One of the facebook groups I follow posts a lot of pictures of hag stones and the stories are fun to read. Hag stones can be used in artistic creations, like being hung with string in mobiles or as part of a wind chime. Or, like I enjoy doing, collecting them into ‘mermaid piles’ and placing them in my garden and around my home.
Do you ever wonder what it is that attracts us to these stones (and shells) with natural holes? I’ve been pondering that awhile now. I picked up this cherished abalone hag ‘stone’ out of it’s shell in my home today and sat down to write.
Hag is another word for Crone. Years keep creeping by me and I feel myself finding radiance as an Elder, though I don’t feel ready. These stones are what I am becoming, a reminder to ‘never, ever forget who you are’. They may even be a reminder that there is always a way.
A hag stone represents the miracle of space being created in matter.
It seems so impossible when you look at the hole to imagine how it came to be there. Through generations of time, water and elements have worked to create an opening. We celebrate that opening in our life when we cherish a hag stone.
Hag stones remind us that we, (even the stoniest among us), have access to the light.
To faery realms.
To magic.
To life itself.
Over time, particles from this little stone or shell were released from itself and cast into the void of creation. Somewhere, bits of this stone make up the ocean floor, or valley floor nearby. That thought makes me happy for some reason. It helps tie my world together when I think in an overview of Earth as its own living thing.
There I go again… okay. Back to hag stones.
That little hole represents the space where life exists. We are that space; that beautiful hole that exchanges life energy with every other living thing.
Hag stones are an example of solid being not solid.
That’s us. Humans walking the Earth; spirit draped loosely in matter.
