I loved this post by Kathleen Verigin and

I loved this post by Kathleen Verigin and she gave me permission to reprint it.

 

STUFF I KNOW BY ME    Doing It the Hard Way © Kathleen Verigin

     I wonder sometimes why I choose to do things the hard way. Yesterday I found myself again struggling with popping open that day’s pill dispenser. (I take numerous supplements.) The plastic tab hurts my finger. I’ve tried using my thumb. I’ve tried using a towel as a cushion. Finally I tried tipping the whole container upside down. That’s when I saw the word push just below the tab. Sure enough, I pushed and the tab popped right open, without frustration or pain. You would have thought I discovered fire! The embarrassing part of this is that the pill dispenser is not new. I was opening it the hard way for three years.

      I recall a time in college when I was sharing an apartment with two other girls. We shared one bathroom, all preferring to take showers over tub bathing. One day we noticed that the bathtub drain was plugged. We all had long hair so we assumed our lengthy locks were causing the backup.  We tried pulling hair out by hand. We tried putting a hanger deep into the drain. We pulled out the big guns and tried Drano. No such luck. Finally we called our landlord. It was another one of those discovery moments. We watched in awe as our landlord turned the faucet that tells the drain to open or close. Yep, it was closed. We were trying to unclog a drain that wasn’t clogged.

      I ponder today, under the influence of the full moon and lunar eclipse (this post was from a month ago), where in my life am I trying to do something the hard way. Is that a natural human trait, or unique to me? I’d love to hear your short story about doing something the hard way and the moment when you watched in awe as a simpler way was revealed. My intention is to gather and share the stories, for humor and inspiration, and to remind us that We’re All in This Together!!!

 

Email me your short story: info@anamcaraconnections.com  

or to  connie: gmnite@yahoo.com

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June 6 Email Newsletter

“I tell people to stand in their power. Knowing what you want is so critical in having a vision. If you focus on how you can give and help others  instead of falling into your fear, step by step, day by day,  you will accomplish what you want. You will get there!” Joanne McCall, Money Stories  

Hi Friends

      As a child did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? I know, we all wanted to be ballerinas or superheros when we were really little. But was there something else you wanted to be, something you felt strongly about when you were ages 10-14 that you have forgotten about?     Last week a friend interviewed me for her art blog (click to read her interview) and in the course of our interview she asked me about my childhood. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to come up with anything important, but our interview was like two friends talking about our lives, and I remembered that between 11-13 our youth minister who was a charismatic guy, talked about missionaries and their work. I was bitten by that bug and dreamed about going to work with Albert Schweitzer.Alas, I didn’t get to know Schweitzer, but in the interview, as I was talking about what I do now and my book, Cathy asked me if what I do now had any relationship to that “calling” to help people back in my pre-teens. I was totally amazed when I began to realize that I had moved unconsciously toward that calling or mission over the years. Maybe I was not working with Schweitzer, but whether through astrology readings, drumming, drum making, or through my book, my goal is to help people find their true path.

Also, in last month’s email I talked about the 19 year cycle of eclipses and looking at what we want to let go of or begin or continue working on. I just realized that this “calling” was three 19 year cycles ago! And now 57 years later I’m living that “calling”!

What did you want to be when you were 10-14? Give it another look. Maybe that is what you are really supposed to be doing, and maybe, like me, you are already on that path!

Several other things:
*  This past Sunday was the first Dark Moon Drumming Circle and it terrific. Thanks to all who attended. See below for upcoming dates.
*  I’ll be the guest on Pam Oslie’s Radio Show on KZSB July 1 between 5 and 6 pm! See a link to listen on the web in the events section in the middle of this email.
*  On Sunday, July 21st I’ll be offering a Self-Publishing How-to workshop. If you’rewriting a book you want to publish I’ll share lots of tid-bits. Check the events section  for detail.
*  Fourth, visit my blog: gmnite.wordpress.com. You can sign up for an email each time I update by clicking on the Follow button in the blog sidebar.   And Click here to read Cathy Breslaw’s interview with me.

      And may your path be filled with love, peace, and mindfulness as you walk into the great and wonderful unknown.                             Connie Hill/Grandmother Knight

Third Eclipse, May Drumming Circle, & More

Hi Friends
Friday night at 9:25 pm is the final eclipse in in a series of three spring eclipses. This one is in Sagittarius which is about opening up, new philosophies, travel, expansion, independence and restlessness. If this eclipse aspects any of your chart’s planets then you can expect changes. At the drumming circle this Saturday night (5/25) we’ll drum to open us up to possibilities. And of course we will send out energy to the planet, to those around us who need healing energy, and as well, send energy to each of us. I hope you’ll join us.   Wednesday night, May 22, I’ll be leading a short workshop in North Plains (info below). We’ll be talking about your money story and how to work with it to increase your abundance and flow.Third, on Sunday June 2, I will be leading a Dark Moon Drumming Circle in Tigard at 6 pm (please note the time has been changed). The Dark Moon time is about ending one cycle and getting ready for a new one to begin at the New Moon. Bring any personal issues that we can help you release with drumming, also bring the names of friends we can drum for.

Fourth, my book, Money Stories, is available as an ebook and paperback on Amazon, and at New Renaissance in NW Portland, Jacobsen’s Books in Hillsboro, at Toad Hall and Mari’s Books in Yachats, and at Crystal Wizard in Glen Eden Beach. I’ll be signing books in Yachats at the end of June so let your coastal friends know.

Fifth, if you’ve read my book, I’d love it if you’d post a review on Amazon and/or at Powell’s website. It really helps sales to have comments. I can’t tell you how much I’d appreciate it. And I’d love it if you were to purchase a copy as gifts for friends or family.

If I don’t see you Saturday at the drumming circle I hope the Sagittarius energy helps you open to your next steps. I send peace and healing to each of you.

Connie Hill/Grandmother Knight

Upcoming Events:

Discovering Your Money Story & Change Your Life 

Wed. May 22  7-9 pm 

Where….10215 NW 313th Ave, North Plains, OR 97133

When: the 4th Wednesday of each month.
What: Potluck 6:30 pm, Guest Speaker at 7 pm

Suggested donation $5.00

What is your money stories and how does it influence your emotional, spiritual, and material life. We will look at our money archetypes, how they influence our present financial reality and help or hinder changing our bottom line. I’ll use stories from my book to illustrate how struggles with money can become guidelines to greater balance and healing, and how to our money archetype can actually help us manifest abundance.

Full Moon Drumming Circle: Drumming for Love, Light, & Well-Being         Saturday, May 25      6:30-8 pm    $12        at New Renaissance Bookshop

Drumming clears, shifts, and releases stored energy in our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual bodies. We’ll drum for our personal healing, then, we’ll act as conduits for planetary healing. Bring drums, rattles and/or other musical tools. A few instruments will be available. Call New Renaissance at 503-224-4929 to register for this circle.     **Copies of my new book will be available to purchase.**

Dark Moon Drumming Circle

Sun. June 2     6 pm     Suggested donation  $5 

Drumming clears, shifts, and releases stored energy in our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual bodies. We’ll drum for our personal healing, then, we’ll act as conduits for planetary healing. Bring drums, rattles and/or other musical tools. A few instruments will be available if you don’t have one. Email me at gmnite@yahoo.com for directions.

So You Have a Book You Want to Self-Publish: Let me show you how!

July 21  1:30-4 pm  $32    in Tigard

Do you have a book you want to self-publish and don’t know how to do it? Even if you do you’ll learn something new! We will talk about some of the best options to self-publish and go through some of the points you need to know as you make your decision. I have just gone through the process and it is CLEAR in my mind and I’d love to share what I’ve learned with you. Self-publishing is much easier and less expensive than I had ever imagined. Email me at gmnite@yahoo.com for directions.

Taurus Eclipse Newsletter

 

“There comes a point where peace does come and I know that whatever is happening in my life is for my highest good.”  Quirina Kryger, Money Stories

Hi Friends

        We are smack in the middle of 2013’s spring eclipse season. Thursday is a New Moon/Solar Eclipse, which means the sun and moon are in the same signs: Taurus. And that means a bit of a slow down from the frantic pace of Aries and Scorpio Moons (the last New Moon and the 4/25 Lunar Eclipse).     So more about the eclipses. They come in 19 year cycles. As I write this I’m thinking back to 1994 to see what was going on in my life back then. I had just begun my job at New Renaissance Bookshop. My issues back then were pretty much what they are now: resources, energy, time, money. But now I feel on the verge of changing that. In the introduction of my book Money Stories I say it’s not a how-to-book, and it’s not, but since publishing it my whole energy around these areas has changed. Some of the change is due to the process of publishing but at least half is due to the major shake-up aspects that we are and have been experiencing: Uranus square Pluto, Neptune conjuncting Chiron, the three Eclipses, Saturn opposing into these eclipses. These are causing me and us to look at life in new ways.

Uranus and Pluto are shaking things up like a Mt St Helens eruption, helping us to release old issues and make room for new beliefs and ways of viewing the world. Neptune and Chiron are dissolving old patterns and view points, and making space for healing. The eclipses are helping us
1. look deep (Scorpio Lunar Eclipse) and “muck out” old stuff we have carried for years, and lifetimes;
2. love and value our lives and those around us (Taurus Solar Eclipse on 5/9); and
3. let go of old beliefs and push boundaries out so we can see the world with open eyes and an expanded heart (Sagittarius Lunar Eclipse, 5/24).

With Saturn touching the first two eclipses we can either become the authoritarian, pessimistic side of Saturn or look around and begin to manifest and see differently. I choose the later. And a Solar Eclipse is a great time to begin new processes.

Each of us will experience these energies, just from different areas of our lives. For me, my money and energy houses are being activated, as well as my vision and belief houses.

     My book has been eye opening for me. When I got the first copy I couldn’t believe it was done. I even felt mixed up and almost depressed for a minute or two: it seemed anticlimactic. But then came feelings of pride and joy and a sense of accomplishment. Last month I predicted that the eclipses connecting with Saturn could bring “either a struggle or a manifesting of money, and the struggle could bring the seeds to manifesting.” It feels like the struggle (the time and energy it took to finish my book) is in fact bringing the seeds to manifest better money karma.

     What have these aspects brought up for you? What are you ready to release as this cycle ends and the new one begins? If you need help figuring that out please email me and we can look at your astrology. But no matter what, I hope you will join me with the intention of opening our lives up to possibilities.

Several other things: Last month I said my book would soon be available as an ebook on Kindle, and now it is, check it out (Amazon). And I’d be very grateful if you would write a review for my book on either the Amazon or Powell’s website.
Second, this coming weekend I’ll be in Yachats taking copies of my book to Toad Hall and Mari’s Book Store. Please let any friends down there know they can get a copy in either of those places.
Third, beginning on Sunday, June 2, I’ll be offering a Dark Moon Drumming Circle on the Sunday evening closest to the balsamic moon. It will be in Tigard at the Eldorado Villas Club House. We’ll start at 7 pm. If you are interested, email me for directions. Other Dark Moon Circles are scheduled for July 7, August 4 and September 1. 
Fourth, visit my blog: gmnite.wordpress.com. You can sign up for an email each time I update by clicking on the Follow button in the blog sidebar.

      And may your path be filled with love, peace, and mindfulness as you walk into the great and wonderful unknown.

Connie Hill/Grandmother Knight

More/Less/Enough

So, since my post on 4/10 lots has happened. First, I have spent time contemplating more/less/enough.

* What would enough look like in my life and what could I rearrange now to have what is there now be enough? I’m still working on this rearrangement, but think that maybe I can use the upcoming Lunar Eclipse to let go AND manifest. This Lunar Eclipse is in the sign of Scorpio which always takes me deeper than just surface: if I give up this particular thing how am I going to feel afterwards or what can I learn about myself.

What I already know is that if I try to make huge changes all at once, I’ll feel deprived, angry, unwilling, the changes will not last and I’ll fail. It took me several years to make exercise a willing part of my life (sometimes I still feel unwilling, but that happens less often).

* The more vs less: One of my favorite blogs is zenhabits written by Leo Babauta. His blog–and his books are full of ways to look at these concepts. His book The Power of Less talks about the joy of limiting ourselves and how we can have more by actually having less.

His principle 6 is about starting small. We usually think we have to do it all or as muc as we can crowd in, but he says “Choose something so small that success is almost guaranteed. Sure, a small success is not as satisfying as a big success, but it’s only small in the short term.” He also says that “gradual change is longer-lasting.”

So tonight is looking at the expenses and then I’ll see where that takes me.

* Also, over the weekend I spent some time making a couple of new vision cards. ( I take 8 x 5″ pieces of matt board that one of my daughters cuts for me. Then I cut or tear pictures out of magazines that represent a topic I want to focus on.

In my book, Money Stories, Pam Oslie talks about visualizing money falling from the sky all around you. I’ve been having trouble visualizing this so I decided to make a card that represents this. Look at what I cane up with:

Tried to make this image my screensaver, but it didn’t fit well. I did find a photo I’d taken of a pile of money and it makes a fabulous background. Let me know what you think of my card.

Connie/Grandmother Knight

My Story of More vs Enough

I have spent many years wishing I had more, more time, more support, more energy, more money. In the process of writing my book, Money Stories, a couple of those I talked with talked about more vs enough. Jennifer Louden talked about a bookmark she had which said “What is finally enough?” Jennifer continued saying “To me the connection between story and enough is really intimately connected.”

“In my book The Life Organizer, part of my goal is to offer questions that crack open your story in different areas of your life. “What is finally enough for you ” is a great question to crack open your money story. So often our money story is linked to a sense of  “If I can just get more then I will have enough.” As we know, that is a never-ending chase for “enough” that never arrives. I call it “filling the God-shaped hole.”

Take a minute and think about what enough means to you. Have you ever had times that felt like you had enough of anything? What did that feel like? For me, I have felt that feeling of enough  at times and what it feels like is that I’m satiated after a good meal. Or like I’m content where and as I am. That feeling doesn’t stick around, but I think my personal work right now is keeping that feeling around more of the time.

My Book: Money Stories

March 8, 2012

Hi Friends,

I just sent out my March New Moon email and have added the message below. It’s about Mercury Retrograde and also the first event for publicizing my new book. I’m amazed at how much you must do to sell books. At New Renaissance I watched authors doing this process. And I have talked to authors who hate it, but I’m, at least at this point, excited at the prospect of doing what needs to be done to publicize this volume of inspiring words about money.

I guess what amazes me the most is how vulnerable one feels putting something like this out for others to read and share and hopefully enjoy. I’m also amazed at how little it feels like it’s mine. It feels like I’m only shepherding this product out for others to appreciate and hopefully love.

My newsletter message is below      Connie

__________________________________________________

“There are traditional stories about the powerful Zen Roshi who is paddling his boat across the river taking passengers back and forth. People asked him how he could do such a mundane thing. He says that each trip across the river is unique in itself, and this is a great approach for life.” Stan Madson, Money Stories

Hi Friends

        Have you heard Mercury retrograde referred to as a bad time

 or a time when you can expect lots of issues? Have you experienced problems when Mercury was retrograde? Do you think that astrologers are immune to Mercury retrograde issues?

   Confession time: I, as an astrologer, have been known to do things I suggest my clients not do, during Mercury retrograde. I once bought a car during this cycle–and the car was a lemon! I had thought that since the person selling the car was (I thought at the time) a friend, that the car was good and he would take care of me. Wrong! And that time I didn’t even check Mercury’s position until months late

Mercury went retrograde last month on the 23rd. In January I planned a trip back to visit my mom while my sister and her husband were on vacation. At the time we were planning the trip I realized I had a short window of time for my return trip. I needed to be home no later than Sunday, February 24 and my sister was gone until late Friday, February 22. I needed to stay in Iowa until my sis returned in case our mom needed something and, I needed to be home before Monday, February 25 for a drumming circle at New Renaissance. Also, the airfare practically doubled on Sunday, so my return trip had to be on the day Mercury went retrograde.

     Mercury rules communication and connections. The day before my sis got back, the area I was visiting got 6 inches of snow. Next fear, was this going to keep me from getting to the airport for my flight (2 hours away in Omaha). Was Mercury retrograde going to block my on-time return?

All week the TV news predicted a dire consequences of the storm: “It’s gonna be terrible. Watch out; be careful! Plan to stay at home! Don’t even think of going out!” the news people shouted.

I got more nervous as the time for the snow got closer. Then it hit me. What can I do to stop it? Nothing. How was the nervousness and worry helping? The answer: it wasn’t. I decided to put my mind on other things. Since I had brought my computer I worked on things that I did have control over and I became mindful of how the worry was not helpful and healthy for me. Just that stopping and focusing on something else took my mind off the fear and worry, and calmed me

Six inches of snow did fall, but those Iowan’s know how to handle that kind of weather and in about 3 hours the roads were cleared–I was amazed! By the time my sis was back that night the roads were no problem and we made it to the airport easily the next morning. In fact, all legs of my flight were exactly on time or even a bit early. The landing in Portland was one of the smoothest I’ve ever experienced. I got my luggage and picked up my car and was home in less than two hours after the plane landed! For a day that Mercury went retrograde this was one of the smoothest and easiest flights I had experienced!
Now I have another confession to make: Most of you know that I now have a book called Money Stories. Well, I’m having my Book Launch Party this weekend and Mercury is still retrograde. When I was picking a day for the party I looked at several potential days, but after lots of contemplation, meditation and consciously looking at astrological aspects I decided Sunday, March 10 was by far the best of the potential days.

What I realized (again!), was that Mercury retrograde does not say stop doing everything, it says be mindful, be prepared, look at what you are doing diligently and carefully. It asks of me no less than I would like to be doing any day. My big realization was that Mercury retrograde is all about being mindful and conscious and aware of what one is doing and not being unconscious, as we often are.

I’d love to hear any Mercury retrograde stories you have that you’d like to share. And remember, mindfulness is the key to Mercury retrograde.

     And may your path be filled with love and peace and mindfulness as you walk into the great and wonderful unknown.

Connie Hill/Grandmother Knight

PS Email me (gmnite@yahoo.com), call 503-224-4929 (New Renaissance Bookshop in Portland) or 503-681-8243 (Jacobsen Books in Hillsboro) or go to Amazon to purchase a copy–it’s $12.95 per copy. And let me know what you think.

Drumming Article

January 20, 2012

HI Friends

Here is a great article about me. It was published in the

January 2012 issue of NW Boomer & Senior News,

Portland/Vancouver Edition. Click on the pdf’s below to read it.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Hugs    Connie

Drumming

Standard time tonight

Saturday 11/5/11

I have been trying to stay conscious about how this whole time change thing works this year. I feel like I’m not that upset by the change this year, but I’ll let you know tomorrow when the impact hits. Connie

Back to Standard Time

This coming Sunday, 11/6, is the end of Day Light Savings Time for 2011. I wrote about this in my monthly email for November. I added a list of suggestions for dealing with how the time change makes us feel.

One of the most important of these points for me was to get a full spectrum light and see if that helped. Instead of a lamp I got a full spectrum light bulb which I put in one of the living room overhead fixtures I don’t use often. Now, each morning while sitting on my couch and working I have the light on for 20-120 minutes.

I have done this every day for the last week. I don’t know if it has helped me feel better, but it has helped me be more focused on being mindful and exploring what’s going on with me rather than fighting the change or feeling victimized, angry and out of control because of it.

I have had times of discomfort, but for the most part it has been a time of meditativeness and internal exploration. I’ve taken time to work on my book and to be more focused on that. So, I guess what I’ve felt the most is that I’m back in charge of my life.

So the other points I put in my last email were

1. to change the way I viewed the time change

2. to journal about the time change

3. to make sure I had some packages of soup in my freezer

As I was writing this, I realize that I have done all of the points I suggested. I haven’t changed the fact that the time change will happen, but I have, for right now this minute, changed how I feel about it. I’m no longer dreading it. I’m seeing it as an accompaniment to the color changes outside!

Oh, and one other thing I’m doing. I upped my dose of vitamin D that I take daily. My doc had suggested 4000 units of vitamin D. I’ve been taking 2-3000/day, but I raised it up again to 4000 units. All of these things seem to be helping me overall. I’ll keep journalling about this as the time changes this weekend and after to see what happens.

On my path       Connie/gmnite