Creating a Home Altar 

Posted on June 20, 2022 by Diana Rankin

An altar is a focal point for your daily meditation and prayer. It is for the placing of sacred objects that have meaning to you and will aid with your devotion by holding the energy of your intent. Your altar does not have to be large, but it should be in a space that will be respected by all family members and where you can sit quietly and undistributed.

What should you place on the altar?

I have three altars, one in my home, one in the Eagles’ Nest where we hold workshops and gatherings, and a traveling altar for Sacred Circle and other away programs. My home altar is a small table on which I honor the two sides of my heritage-Celtic (Irish and Scottish) and Native American (Delaware). In the center I have a candle that represents fire, flanked by representatives of the wind (a feather), water (a small decanter of water from the sacred well of Glastonbury), stones from Ireland and the sacred land where I live, and a deer to represent those who live on this land and all animals. Placed around these objects, there are various items that hold special meaning.

For your altar, you will want to find those objects that are sacred to you. For example, if you are a Christian, you might place a photo of Jesus or a statue of Mother Mary on your altar. If you are a devotee of a guru, you would have a photo of that person; a Buddhist might have a statue of the Buddha. You could leave mala beads, a rosary, or other prayer beads on your altar. You might add a medicine bag, tobacco, and sage if you follow Native American tradition or a sword, Celtic cross, or Bridget’s cross to honor the Celtic tradition. You could add stones that came from sacred land, crystals, and seeds. A shaman’s altar includes replicates of the power animal(s). If angles guide and protect you, place statues or photos of angels on your altar. Whatever items you place on your altar should be used only for this spiritual purpose.

You may choose to cover your altar with a cloth of natural fiber. I use a piece of leather for two of my altars and leave one without cover and use the natural wood of the table. Burning incense or sage cleanses and adds a focal aroma to your meditation.

Once you have your altar set up, you may wish to spread tobacco over it, burn incense or sage and ask the Divine Spirit to bless your altar. As you sit at your altar in meditation and prayers allow your heart to heal any sorrows you hold in your heart, whether private sorrow or that of the world.

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Are the Words You Say to Yourself Helpful?

Posted on June 16, 2022 by Diana Rankin

Words have a powerful effect on us, especially those words we either use against ourselves or to show love and acceptance of ourselves. To be loving to, and accepting of, ourselves begins with the words we say to ourselves. Do we use kind words or harsh ones? Do we tell ourselves how well we’re doing or are we always berating ourselves for not being enough?

To use words in service to yourself –

  1. Listen for any words you use to beat up on yourself and change them to positive words.
  2. Every day make a point to give yourself positive reinforcement. Tell yourself how pretty/handsome you are, how perfect your body is, how bright you are, how helpful you are to others, how successful you are, what a positive influence you have on the world, etc.
  3. Let the last words you say to yourself before falling asleep and the first words you say when awakening be, “I love me, and it is/was a beautiful day!”
  4. When angry or disappointed with yourself, stop and breathe, and then ask yourself, “Are these the words I want to say to me?”
  5. When you hear another’s hurtful words, remind yourself that the other is speaking from his/her world view. Refuse to allow the other’s words to hurt your heart. Keep strong boundaries, but do not respond in kind or defensively. Instead, respond firmly and kindheartedly. For example, you might say, “Although I respect your opinion, I feel hurt by the choice of words.” Make a point to speak to all others with kindness, even when disagreeing.
  6. Make sure you don’t take in any harmful words others may say to you. Just rewrite their words in way that reinforces how great you are.

Compassion for others begins with compassion for ourselves. Watch what you’re saying to yourself and let the self-love flow.

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Phillip’s Wisdom on The Power of Words

Posted on June 16, 2022 by Diana Rankin

A word, or phrase, chanted over and over imprints on the human brain and becomes the person’s reality and truth. This takes place at a subconscious level, so the person is not consciously aware of the programming of the brain that is taking place.

This chanting effect increases in intensity when done in a meditative state when the mind is quiet and receptive; when chanting in a group where the group energy increases the intensity of the chant; and when spoken aloud because audio input is perceived more strongly by the human mind than is thought alone. This is true regardless of whether the human mind perceives the word or phrases to be positive or negative as judged by your society.

Each word or phrase carries within it an energy vibration that seats within the human at a cellular level and is passed along via the DNA from other life experiences and through family lineage. To change the energy of the vibrations of the words that are already seated requires transformation at a cellular level. The body and brain must be rewired, which requires a conscious desire, a spiritual reawakening, and a cooperation between the human and spirit. All three must be undertaken by the human in a conscious effort to improve the individual’s life awareness and the collective’s. What this requires is an awareness of one’s self, an acute appraisal of one’s thought, and an honest monitoring of one’s words.

This undertaking is not easy for many individuals but eventually at some point within the eternity of the multiple life span the task will be taken on for this is the way of evolution if the human species is to receive the full spectrum of the human experience.

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Living Life as a Prayer

Posted on June 9, 2022 by Diana Rankin

For years my prayer was to live my life as a prayer. It took many more years to come to understand what that meant, and had I known, I just might not have prayed so hard . .  . or even prayed that prayer at all. Yet I’m deeply grateful I did.

Although I can’t say that I live my life as a prayer all the time, what I can say is that I’ve come to some glimpse of understanding of what it means to live my life as a prayer, and in those precious moments of grace, I feel the beauty and experience the divine ecstasy of Being, and it brings me to my knees in gratitude.

What does it mean to live life as a prayer? It means seeing the Beloved in everyone by looking beyond the human flaws and seeing the other’s spirit. It means knowing the other is there because we have called them to us to help us heal worn-out patterns and move into a greater self. It means having reverence for all nature and respect for all beings. It means finding sheer joy in the simple movement of every day and living with gratitude for that which is. It means living with compassion instead of anger, trust instead of fear, and truth instead of drama. It means living and breathing and being Love.

It means living fully the human experience from the deeper spirit with a profound knowing that all life is unfolding as it is to unfold, and although we may not understand the bigger story and may even suffer in our not understanding, we know, we know there is something so much greater than we are at this moment and we are content to sit quietly within this great mystery and just be full and complete.

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Calming the Violence

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Diana Rankin

Violence is erupting as you read this, and violence will continue to explode today, tomorrow, or the next day. There is a seething anger, fueled by fear across the US and the people have had enough.

What does this have to do with me? you ask. It’s not my community. It’s not my neighbors. It’s not_____.Yes, it is. We are all connected. We are all human beings, and we all have a responsibility to help stop the violence and just as importantly to stop the cause of the violence.

What can I do? you ask.  I am only one person, you say. One person. You are enough.

Following are thoughts on what you can do. Not one person is to do them all. Find the ones you are to do and get started on creating peace; get started on creating fairness among all peoples; get started on adding to everyone’s life. Your act may be simple and it will be enough if done with heart.

  1. Stop supporting movies that glorify and perpetuate violence. We take in the violence we see and with surround sound and big screens we take in the violence at deeper and more destructive levels.
  2. Deal constructively with your own anger. Anger energy destroys if not dealt with constructively. Instead of stuffing your anger until it comes out in a rage, deal with angry feelings by recognizing them and voicing them effectively.
  3. Exchange living in fear with living in love. Fear is contagious and so is love.
  4. Don’t let children play violent video games and don’t play them yourself. For children especially it’s often hard to discern where a game ends and life begins. There are enough scaries hidden under the bed. Don’t add more.
  5. Reach out to others, especially if you notice a young person is lonely or is being bullied. If you do not feel safe reaching out, then don’t, but if you can, do.
  6. If you notice a person who is being approached by police and they seem frightened of the police, become a witness. Get your camera out and film if possible.
  7. Report to authorities, and teach your children to report, any suspicious activity you see or suspicious posts on social media. If the authorities don’t take you seriously, make the report again and again until they do. You can also report to another agency.
  8. Be aware of what you are posting on social media. Are you adding to the problem with angry posts or are you adding to the solution with informed, verified, helpful information? Is there a balance with your posts, or are they only angry rants?
  9. Stand up for peace. Attend peaceful rallies.
  10. If you own a gun, look at why you know you are able to take another life. Guns have one purpose—to kill. If you have a gun, you must know you are capable of killing another human being. Maybe it’s time get rid of your gun.
  11. Speak up. On social media or in person, when you hear/read someone spouting false propaganda that promotes violence, speak up/write. Use facts and truth to back your argument, and of course, speak up/write in an assertive but civil and respectful manner.
  12. Write, call, and write and call again and again each government official who takes money from organizations that promote violence. Voice your opinion for sensible gun safety laws or for police to stop racial profiling, for example. Speak, write in a strong, assertive, and respectful manner.
  13. Donate to causes and politicians that support peace and human dignity and fairness for all citizens.
  14. Vote with your conscious. Use your vote to put local and national people into office who care about human life and are willing to stand up to politicians who are name-calling bullies.
  15. Say a prayer, meditate, laugh. All are powerful energies that can add love to our world.

Violence is epidemic in the US and in too many other places in our world. And it’s up to each and every one of us to make a choice. Are we adding to the violence or are we doing our best to add peace to the world.

It’s our choice. It depends on what kind of world we want to live in and create for our children.

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3 Easy Ways to Spread Love

Posted on May 23, 2022 by Diana Rankin

 Here are three simple ways to add love to our world.

Mail someone a card. The art of sending a note or card to someone has nearly gone by the wayside, replaced by the ease of emailing, texting, and other electronic communication. Yet sometimes it’s nice to find a card or note in the snail mailbox. Take a couple of minutes to write to someone special just to say I’m glad you’re in my life. Then add a stamp to the envelope and drop it in the mail. They’ll be glad you did. So will you.

Say thank you. In the busyness of our lives, we may forget to say thank you – two simple words with such big meaning. Take a moment to say thank you to everyone who crosses your path today – your family members, the grocery store clerk who rang up your purchases, the waitress or waiter who brought your food, the teacher who teaches your children, the valet who parked your vehicle . . . you get the picture. Everyone wants to feel seen and valued. A simple thank you lets the other feel appreciated.

Listen. We are so often busy trying to be heard that we forget to listen. Show someone you are grateful for them by listening to what they say, really listening without judgment, really listening without forming your comeback, really listening with your ears and with your heart. You just might be surprised by what you hear.

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Phillip’s Wisdom on Respecting Our Differences

Posted on May 16, 2022 by Diana Rankin

You pull into your life that which you must experience. All that is within your life cooperates to give you the experience. This is not to say you control the experience or how another cooperates. Although we all are connected, we are also separate manifestations of the same substance. Your left hand may act independently of your right hand, or they may act in cooperation of one another. Either way they are both of the same body. A hand will act in the way of a hand while a cell that was organized as a liver will act in the manner of a liver, not a hand.

Why do you ask another who is a hand to act as a liver?

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My Voting Experience  

Posted on May 12, 2022 by Diana Rankin

There was no line at my polling place this morning. As I walked toward the door a volunteer held it open for me and greeted me. Inside, three women sat at a long table, with other volunteers behind them. Everyone was kind, helpful, courteous, the way it should be for every human being at every place where we cast our ballots for who we think is the best candidate for the position.

I handed the poll worker my driver’s license. She asked me my name, then held up an i-pad for me to check my party affiliation, and a few other questions. When I put on my rain jacket as I left the house earlier, I hadn’t thought much about its color, blue, or the cap I put on, blue. Guess my party affiliation was pretty clear. The mask I wore also marked me for a Democrat in a rural, red county. No one else wore a mask, only me. Still, there was no quarrel with me, only courtesy, and the desire to be helpful.

The volunteer handed me the paper ballot, which we still use in my rural Ohio district. Earlier this week, I used Google to study who was on the ballot that I might not know about, so marking the ballot was easy and quick. Next, I headed to the machines where the ballots are stored, touched by no other hands until delivered to those who will count the votes.

Next line was to check off my name to assure no one with my name voted again. The one man in front of me was having a friendly conversation with the two volunteers at the table, so I had a moment to relive the last five minutes of my life. It was gratitude I felt, gratitude that I can vote blue in a red county/state without fear of repercussions or unkindness toward me. And I felt sadness, sadness that not every person in this country can feel this safe or have this kindness shown to them, or to not have to stand in line in inclement weather for hours just to exercise their right—and obligation—to vote.

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Learning Patience

Posted on May 9, 2022 by Diana Rankin

In the Western/US culture in which I live, we are impatient. We do not like being in the space between what was and what is to come. Sitting in the Irish mist, I call it, because it reminds me of time spent in Ireland when I could not see around the next curve in the road or in my life; those time after something has ended and before the next begins. We want it now and we want to know the whole picture, not just the beginning. But life is full of those spaces between here and there, and seldom are we shown the second step until we actually take a first one, which we are only shown after patiently spending time in quiet of the mist.

“When we last spoke, you suggested I read poetry,” a friend writes. “It reminded me of our talk about the Irish mist.” I beg you, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer. ~ Rainer Maria Rilke Letters to a Young Poet

Rilke’s words speak elegantly to spending time in the Irish mist, moments of needed reflection that help us let go of that which was and grow into that which is to come. Where I live, in a rural wooded area, patience comes easier for me than it used to when I lived in the city. Perhaps it’s age as well that allows me to sit quietly and watch the morning mist rise from the farm fields on the other side of the trees, still bare from winter’s winds. Perhaps even, it’s a bit of wisdom that allows me to reflect on that which was, to heal and clear my wounds and un-attach from life’s past joys, so when the time is right, I can move into the next phase of my life, allowing the next creation to unfold in Divine time. If we are able to do this—allowing our lives to unfold naturally rather than pushing at them—that which comes is ready for us, as we are ready for it, created by our dreams and built by our patience.

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Phillip’s Wisdom on Sorrow

Posted on May 2, 2022 by Diana Rankin

Why Do We Have Sorrow in Our Lives?

Q. Do we only create part of our reality? If we manifest what we want, why the sorrow?

Phillip’s Wisdom:

As a soul while in Spirit World, you decide the greater picture of that which you want to create when you enter human life. Your choices will reflect that which you have experienced in lives lived and that which you want to create in the new life.

Once in human form, you pull into your life that which you are to experience. All that is within your life cooperates to give you the experience.

Your desires will cooperate with the experiences you are to have to fulfill your soul’s mission. This is not to say that all will be easy or without sorrow. The sorrow comes from experiencing that which we judge as bad or painful or too hard to do. Patience is required to bring into form that which we are to manifest, as is the intention, the work, and the requirement to surrender.

That which you create does not mean that you control the experience or how others cooperate with you. Although we are all connected, we are also separate manifestations of the same substance. Your left hand may act independently of your right hand, or they may act in cooperation of one another. Either way they are both of the same body. A hand while a cell that was organized as a liver will act in the manner of a liver, not a hand. You cannot ask a liver to act as a hand any more than you can ask a human to act differently than they are. Each individual has their own journey, and the choice of their chosen experiences is up to each individual.

All humans have free will. This is to be remembered and respected for one’s individual life and for the lives of all. One cannot inflict their will upon others to fulfill their wished experiences.

There is always more than one way to complete the desired soul mission. It is also to be remembered that which is not fulfilled in this life will be waiting for the next.

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