Camping & Animal Signs

My favorite thing about Camping is the animals. I have a great camera that can snap pretty detailed pictures even at a short distance away. Here are some shot's I got while out at Crane Prairie Reservoir. For fun I like to look at the animal meanings and assess what they may be trying to tell me. This trip was on August 12 - 15th. A Lot has changed.. Lets see what they were trying to tell me... Shall We :)

Snake in The Grass... : Wisdom / Awakening / Rebirth / Transmutation



Snake means you're about to go through some significant changes. You're about to resolve a long standing issue, one that has required a great deal of your attention.
(For the record... I quit my Job September 1st - Snake Was trying to prepare me!!)

Osprey : Prophetic Insight / Acute Vision / Truth / Fearlessness / Destiny




Osprey means This is an opportune time to immerse yourself in your creative energy, channeling into a form of artistic expression that suits you. Eat certifiably organic foods as much as possible as your system is delicate right now.
(So after I quit my day job, I've decided to give my art, painting, children's books, totems etc... My full attention!! Now looking into Osprey I should start to eat better, I have felt sluggish!)

Chipmunk : Scattered Energy / Prudence / Bravery / Enthusiasm



Chipmunk means Trust that you're well protected and that there is no real danger you'll have to face. Once you've completed a creative piece or project, keep it to yourself for a few weeks before revealing to others.
(This is some good advice for me while I'm out now on my new adventure.)

Dragonfly: Maneuverability / Illusion / Mysticism / Swiftness / Gentleness / Beauty / Luminance



Dragonfly means be on the lookout for any falsehoods, deceit, or illusions that are clouding a current situation or relationship.
This is a time when magic and mystery of life is reawakening for you. It's important now to recharge your psychic energy , which you can do my regularly mediating. More than simply a change, you're going through a major transformation, so enjoy the process!!
(Boy is this ALL so true. Work and why I left, my New Path for my art and totems!!)

BTW .. I took this picture and a testament of how awesome the camera is, it caught this dragonfly mid-flight!! WOW!

Beautiful Gems

I went to a Gem & Crystal Show last weekend, here in Portland. I bought one, Stibnite, for myself to help when I work on animal totems. Then Carl had snuck off and bought a few others that had caught my fancy while we looked around. He surprised me later with a Malachite egg, a tiny raw Peridot, a big chunk of Black Tourmaline and Cool piece of Rhodochrosite. Here are some of the great things about these stones.

Black Tourmaline - Astrological Association: Libra / Chakra: All



This stone is great to use when you are being subjected to a lot of electromagnetic disturbances & psychic attacks. It would be a good one to keep with you in an office space especially if there is turmoil with co-workers. Also after using a cell phone at length it can help repair your aura. I have been using it when I do energy reading and totem work, it definitely opens me up and clears my chakras for clear and concise readings.

Malachite - Astrological Association: Scorpio & Capricorn / Chakra: Heart



This stone is useful for physical balance and detoxing on a cellular level. Aligns DNA & cellular structures. It has antiseptic qualities. Will help with tissue swelling. This one was egg shaped and I did not want to put it down when I found it. Not sure why I need the egg shape, but I have always liked egg shapes and hearts and if I have a choice I'll choose one of these shapes first. The egg shape is great for detecting and healing blockages in the body. The pointy end is good for working pressure point therapy.

Stibnite - Astrological Association: Scorpio & Capricorn / Chakra: Crown



Until recently I had never even noticed or paid attention to this stone. I was totally surprised to find that this stone is great for working with animal totems & reading animal energy. It is the main reason I went to the gem show in the first place. It's good for meditation, protection, helps when teaching. Will help with clingy relationships. It also brings, endurance, money and loyalty. It has a bit of weight to it and is really shiny with a metallic glisten. If you give it as a gift it will promote loyalty. It is also great with decision making.

Rhodochrosite - Astrological Association: Leo & Scorpio & Taurus / Chakra: Heart



I am not sure why I wanted this one, but I've always been very attracted to the coloring of this one. Probably because I have a special love of pink. According to my research this stone is great for memory, passion, sex and making music. In healing it will be good for spleen, heart, circulation and kidneys. Also another good stone for yin / yang balance. Since balance has been a theme for me lately, I suppose that explains why I instinctually wanted this stone. For those looking for more active sex life this is the stone for you!! Wink, Wink, Nudge Nudge ;)

Peridot - Astrological Association: Leo, Virgo, Scorpio & Sagittarius / Chakra: Heart



I LOVE the green color in this stone, especially when it's cut and polished into gems for jewelry. It's interesting that I got 3 out of five stones for the heart chakra, not sure what thats all about, except that I do many things from my heart. This is considered a "feel better" stone and will be great for releasing negative patterns. Will alleviate jealousy, anger, reduces stress, motivates growth, necessary to change. For physical health and healing this stone is good for the colon, heart, lungs, spleen, pancreas, intestines, liver and gallbladder. Helps in digestion and detoxing. If you place peridot around your home you will stimulate activity and ward off laziness.

So there it is, my newest stones to my collection.

Being in Balance

This week I made an amazing discovery. The things in my life have been trying to tell me something; for a very long time actually. It was hard to ignore them, they have been very noisy. The ceiling fan in our bedroom was making a click click click sound. The Turn Signal in my car would keep clicking clicking clicking when I turned the signal off. My knee would click click when I ran or walked up stairs. I just ignored them.

I'm a firm believer that all things are energy and thus everything is effected by everything around it. I also believe that each person is it's own source of power and energy. Our power comes from our thinking and beliefs. Over the past year I've had a rough time, several moves, several jobs, and a challenging financial situation which brought on some depression and insecurity about my future. So I knew the things in my life were onto something, but I did not know how to get myself out of this spiraling downward rut. So I kept ignoring those annoying noisy things.

The one thing that was keeping me sane was running. When I am running, I am all by myself even if I'm in a group. My mind stops worrying and I am just inside my body feeling every step forward and hearing every breath in and then out. It was the most empowered I felt anywhere in my life. Each week I'd add more miles to my running and achieving something so hard made me proud of myself! Of course you can imagine having something like that in ones life could become addictive. It did, I began running more and more and more. If I was sore, so what I'm tough I can run through it. Eventually my body decided to stop me cold in my tracks. I could not keep "running" figuratively and in reality until I worked out the problems in the other areas in my life.

It was a "Stress Fracture" in my upper thigh on my left side. The doctor said no running for a month, no working out, no gym, NOTHING! I decided to listen these "things" were all telling me to stop. Even my beloved I-Pod had fried a circut and was out of commission and I would not have it for weeks. Since my financial situation was so desperate, it was the thing I worried about day & night and I felt helpless to change, so I decided that is what needed to be fixed most.

I made a list...
1. Budget my financial situation and get a clear picture of the issue. (There is no room for denial in this circumstance)
2. Finish my Real Estate Study so I can take the Real Estate Exam and Get my license (Thus creating a skill to bring more money).
3. Paint the Chalk Boards My Brother Commissioned (More Money In).
4. Promote My Totems (More Money in).

It's been over a month since my life changing revelation and I've done all those things on my list.
My leg is healed. I am running again, but slower, training more deliberately and with a clear attainable goal in mind. I'm also handling my finances with the same approach, slow, deliberate, with a clear goal in mind!

Ironically all the other noises stopped too, the Fan, the Car and my Knee!

Now I am in Balance!

Animal Totems

I have a special gift. It’s unusual and I’ve never met anyone else who does it. I can see people’s animal energies; Their Animal Totems. I learned I had this ability three years ago. A wonderful friend and Theta Healer (Theta Healing is a type of energy healing. I will have to write about that on another post) saw this ability and lovingly nurtured it out of me in a fantastic and useful way. If you’re familiar with chakra energy, you will understand this easily. In each chakra center is an animal energy, which is part of your being. After I read someone’s animal energies, I then use my artistic abilities to paint their very personal animal totem. It’s been a wonderful learning experience for me. It started out that I could see these animals in people’s energy fields, but I did not really understand or know what they meant or symbolized. Everyday is a new learning experience for me. There are a few totem books out there that I use as a reference and the more knowledgeable I become the more I am able to offer comprehensive information so each person can enjoy the experience of learning about the animal energies and how they may help through out your life.



Animals have always come to me easily in the physical realm. I grew up in a rural part of California and if you ask my parents I was like Noah collecting animals with the vast number of “pets” I collected over the years! Looking back a couple of incidents stick in my mind that were early sign’s that I had this ability, but did not recognize their significance.

When I was around seven or eight my best friend, “Big Boy” a wonderful German Shepherd that my dad rescued from starvation went missing. The unfortunate part of living out in the country was that our pets disappeared often. I suspect most ended up road kill or coyote fodder. Big Boy had been a member of our family for several years and we were all devastated when he went missing. Every night the entire family called out his name across the fields and orchards hoping he’d come home. I cried every night when he did not come home. After a few days and nights missing my friend, I had a dream, which I now realize was a visitation. Big Boy came to me in my dream and walked me out to the location where I could find him. When I woke up I told my dad that I knew where he was. (I never told him about the dream, because I didn’t think he’d believe me.) It was a foggy morning and there were apricot orchards all around our home. Directly across the street was where Big Boy showed me his location. I looked in the direction directly in front of the house, I pointed and said to my dad, He is WAY out at the end of the orchard. We could barely make out a shape that looked like a pile of branched on the ground. He squinted and walked to the edge of the trees, then said that’s just a bunch of sticks, it is not him. But I begged him to go out and just LOOK!! After relentless insistence, he walked out there. A few minutes later he came back and said, yes it was him. Later he and a neighbor drove out and took him to the vet to find out why he died. They never really knew why. I already new he was dead, because in my dream he took me to see his dead body. I did not cry any more because after he had visited me in my sleep I knew he was ok. Because of that experience, I do believe our beloved pets will be waiting for us in the afterlife.

As I grew older I had very close relationships with my pets. I was very shy and insecure, but my pets loved me as I was and I had great adventures with the many dogs, cats, geese, chickens, a cow, a pony and a horse that came into my life. All these animals were teaching me great lessons, but I never saw my abilities as clearly as I do now.

For years animals had attempted to show me that I needed to “pay attention” to their presence and my abilities to see them in way most can not. The most blatant attempts came from birds! When I started driving, birds decided to launch a full force ambush! It all started about a few months after I first got my drivers license. I had stayed the night at a friend’s house, but had gotten up early to drive home. It was foggy and as I approached a bridge the fog got really thick and as I was slowing down, suddenly a mamma duck and a whole bunch of her babies appeared in front of my car and I could not stop or swerve, it was too dangerous. So I ran them down. A quick glance in the rear view mirror and all I saw were bodies before they disappeared in the fog. I was devastated and I cried all the way home. After that incident the birds were relentless. For the next 4 years, I was “attacked” by birds in the most bizarre ways. I had every type of bird launch themselves at my car. (There were many of my high school friends present and I soon earned the nickname bird killer). I had sparrows, robins, crows, chickens and hundreds of tiny little unidentifiable birds sacrifice themselves in an effort to communicate to me. I’ve hit, ducks, peacocks, pheasants and on a dark windy night a very large WHITE barn owl that scared the crap out of me causing me to scream out lout and nearly pee my pants! But seriously the most bizarre moment came one day my senior year in high school. My friends Don & George and I were driving to my house and way off in the distance we could see a big bird in the road, so jokingly they said, AJ hurry up and kill it. So I put my foot on the gas, but we were pretty far away, so it was just a joke, then we got closer and closer and the bird did NOT move and suddenly there came a point of no return where I and my friends realized that the bird was not going to move and I had to SLAM on the car breaks, which caused the car to slid into a screeching halt a mere inches from the beast, which upon closer examination was a Vulture. He had been munching on road kill and we had stopped so close that at first we could not even see the bird until he lifted his head and turned and looked right into my eyes. We all sat in the car frozen as we watched this bird decide it was time to fly away, which as if in slow motion he spread his gigantic wings and slowly lifted off the ground. We sat there motionless as he faded off in the distance.


I was so dumb; of course that was an amazing moment and a message from one of my now favorite birds. I believe it was a sign that I needed to stop everything, and look at the messages from my animal friends and I will be able to make a difference in the world. Vultures are wonderful birds that clean up the filth and toxins in our world making it a clean healthy place to live. One of the things I hope my totem reading & paintings will do for people is help them shed old toxic patterns and come to realize their own strength and special gifts. This is the gift my vulture encounter gave to me.

A Cluttered Home is Symbolic of Cluttered Thinking

It's time to clear the clutter. We are going to have a yard sale!

I have been toying with this notion that the clutter prevents the right sort of energy in our life and within our thinking patterns. We are poised now for some BIG and amazing changes for the better. I can feel it in my CORE! I believe to facilitate this new growth and a long with it ,new, clear and fresh thinking, we need to clean the garage. The Garage (literally) is packed and (symbolically) is also packed with past beliefs, past dysfunctions and OLD outdated stuff!! We are on a path to new and better things thus the "Baggage from our Past" needs to opened, examined for usefulness and discarded appropriately!!!

I am going to spend the rest of this week going through the garage boxes and stuff in the house (With the main goal of clearing OLD unused items & beliefs) and have a garage sale on Saturday & Sunday July 24th & 25th!!