A Spiritually Enlightening Online Magazine. November's Theme: "Celebrate"
Volume 4 Issue 1 ISSN# 1708-3265

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Illuminations Aleesha Stephenson About the Cover Cheryl Haggard The Bookshop Chapter Two Jennifer Kusz Crocodile Hunter; Much More than just a Showman David Suzuki PhD Celebrate Your Resiliency Rev. Cheryl Jewett Gifted With A Feather Heart Dj Brown Celebrate Nature Jennifer Danner Celebration! Dr. Jean Hofve DVM Velvet Christmas Jennifer Kusz Lifetalks Dawn Baumann Brunke Wyrd Lynx John Sacelli Technically Tarot Jeannette Roth Tales of a Country Vet Dr. Bruce Burton DVM Walk Your Talk Aleesha Stephenson Meditate a Moment Featuring: Aleesha Stephenson Medicine Buddha Jonathan Goldman The Llewellyn Tarot Anna-Marie Ferguson Rolfing in Motion: A Guide to Balancing Your Body Mary Bond When I see the Wild God Encountering Urban Celtic Withcraft Ly De Angeles Tarot of the Spirit World Roberto De Angelis

As I sat, pondering the theme for this issue, I realized I learned in the last few weeks truly how to celebrate. How to celebrate life, love and my path.

I have very high standards which I set for myself. People tell me I expect too much. But I explain to them what I expect for myself I don't "make" others live up to as well (although I do hope they'll strive for their own personal best within their own values and choices each and every day).

Since my back injury back in March of this year I have been able to do little. Very little. I needed to get others to come and clean my home, watch my yard go into disarray and struggle to get this magazine done each issue as sitting and working was painful.

As days turned into weeks, and weeks into months… I discovered what it feels like to have chronic pain. Every day was painful. Some days were less painful than others and in that moment of "less" I would immediately jump up and do something which needed to be done and set myself back into a place of pain. What self-defeating behaviour!

Last week my friend Lynn came over and we were exchanging readings. The words which came out of her mouth surprised me. Completely and totally… and then… they changed my life!

"Forgive yourself Aleesha."

Forgive myself? Why would I want or need to do that? Forgive myself? For what, I wondered. As I sat there… the moment stretching on into eternity within my thoughts, I began to see how angry I've been at myself for not doing all the things I believe I should be doing every day. Cooking, cleaning, caring for our pets and yard. Homeschooling the kids, working on my magazine, making the kids' summer memorable. Teaching classes, writing reviews, watering the plants, grocery shopping… These are all the things which I found difficult or impossible to do because of my back injury… and Lynn's words to me were indeed powerful and life changing… forgive yourself Aleesha, forgive yourself.

Later that night I put on Medicine Buddha by Jonathan Goldman as it's a very healing piece of chanting/music - and I laid in my bed and began to talk to myself. I explained to myself that it was time for me to forgive myself for all my perceived shortcomings, for all my "lacking". I affirmed to myself how much I love myself, love my life and love the people who are in my circle. How much I appreciate all those people who have assisted with my healing in the past months. Whether they are part of my healing circle, my Chiropractors, the kind friend who cleaned my house and helped me to care for my fish tanks, or the people at the grocery store who carried my purchases out to my car for me as I couldn't lift the bags myself. I thanked my family for supporting me, stepping up to the plate and doing more (like picking up stuff off the floor - arrgh it's amazing how much stuff gets on the floor when you can't pick it up or clean it).

I thanked them all. I thanked myself for asking and accepting help. I spent most of the night, affirming, Reikiing, chanting and in the morning I found I had moved through the last of the darkness, the shadows of my injury and moved into a place of light and acceptance.

Today I feel lighter. My anger has gone away. My resentment towards my injury is gone and instead I feel alive again. I still can't do some things, as my physical healing isn't complete… but my spiritual, emotional and mental healing is - which is a great step forward!

Sometimes life sucks. Sometimes it blows chunks! But through it all, if we can love ourselves… then the light from that love will dissipate the clouds and allow us to have a better perspective and a calmer existance as we walk through the mud to get to our island paradise.

Celebrate your life. Every moment. Don't waste a single one because we never know just how many minutes we will get in this lifetime!

Aleesha Stephenson is the Publisher, Editor, Graphic and Web Designer as well as a Regular Columnist for Timeless Spirit Magazine.

A Reiki Master Teacher, who lives her Buddhist, Shamanic, with many eclectic Pagan beliefs, she home-schools two of her three spiritually enlightened children as her eldest has graduated and moved on to the school of life. Friend (and mother) to them all, she is also a life-partner to her husband David. Her life truly is filled with light.

Aleesha teaches classes in Tarot, Meditation and Reiki. For more information, please contact Aleesha via email or visit her personal web page.

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