The Sidhe: Wisdom from the Celtic Otherworldby John Matthews

The Sidhe: Wisdom from the Celtic Otherworldby John Matthews

“I knew then that something was going to happen in Ireland. I had no idea then just what an enormous and irrevocable change it was going to make to my life.” pg 5, ebook

John Matthews received a call from a friend whose occupation is archaeology. The friend showed John into a barrow where he first saw the glyph that is on the cover of this book.

John claims that through meditation upon the glyph, he communicated with other beings whom he believes are ‘the Sidhe.’

“To truly know a thing is to become one with it. Just as to become one with it is to truly know it.” pg 27, ebook

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He shares the communications that he had through the glyph throughout the text. At the end, he includes six exercises that the beings gave him and encourages readers to try the practices for themselves.

Readers could potentially experience the connection John felt.

“Drawn by this feeling, I lay down beneath the branches of the old oak, and, as I had done countless times before, stared up through the branches at the patches of blue sky that showed through. As I did so a sense of stillness and peace descended upon me.” pg 36, ebook

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The Sidhe: Wisdom from the Celtic Otherworld reminded me of the multiple works of Abraham Hicks or Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. There’s probably a reason for that.

It could be that the channelers are tapping into a similar place. In this book, John calls it the “great net” of creation. I’ve heard it called, “Indra’s net,” among other names in other sources.

Whatever it may be, I find it interesting that the communications received are similar enough to draw comparisons.

“Among the greatest gifts we have observed in your race is the desire to know and to explore. This hunger has propelled you far along the path of the day and the path of the night. Hence, your journey is indeed one of exploration, not only in time and space, but in the dimensions of Spirit.”

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Of course, I had to try John’s method for myself. I’m always so curious about these kind of things.

Unfortunately, I fell asleep rather than having a memorable experience. I expect the fault was on my side, but perhaps I experienced something in my sleep- I just failed to remember it.

I do plan to give the meditation a try again in the future, when I’m not so sleepy.

I was fascinated with the way the glyph looks like a treble clef with multiple circles. When John began to describe the Sidhe’s connection to music, I felt that comparison made sense.

“Much of our time is spent in the making of music- though for us it is more serious than a pleasant pastime, since it is part of our creative process in more than an abstract fashion.” pg 69

Playing music is one of the few activities that put me into a flow state. Perhaps I should try meditating that way.

Anyway, I recommend this book for the curious or spiritual seekers. If you try the exercises within, please do share your results. Maybe some day, the world will have more answers than questions about these ineffable things.

Or, maybe, we’ll open yet another door for endless discoveries. Either way, I’ll be interested to see what comes next.

Thanks for reading!

The Astonishing Power of Emotions: Let Your Feelings be Your Guide by Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks

The Astonishing Power of Emotions: Let Your Feelings be Your Guide by Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks

“Beyond the five physical senses that you are actively aware of, there is another less-realized sense — the sense of emotion.” pg 20

Esther Hicks channeled this book from her “higher self,” an entity she calls Abraham. It is about how one can deliberately create their experience by being aware of their emotions. It also gives advice on how to focus on those things that make you feel good, because by doing so, Hicks believes it will “bring you into alignment” with your higher being. And, therefore, you’ll allow the goodness of creation to flow through you.

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“Allowing yourself to become what life has caused you to desire is not about action. It is about the aligning of thought Energies. It is about focusing your attention in the direction of your desire rather than looking back at the current conditions that have given birth to your desire.” pg 25

My favorite part of this book was contained within the first 45 pages in which Abraham talks in a general way about emotions and their latent power. The rest of the book contained examples of how to apply this teaching to specific questions Hicks received at her various workshops.

I didn’t find the second portion as helpful because, first of all, it felt like we were focusing on current conditions. Secondly, the answer to every question was to soften the emotions by looking for things that made you feel good about in whatever subject was being discussed. Then, roll with that until the emotions shift. Honestly, it felt repetitive after the first two or three examples.

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I suppose if one of the questions had applied directly to my life experience right now, then maybe I would have had a different view of this book. As it is, I prefer Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires to this.

Ask and It is Given deals with the topic in a more general way and I got more out of it.

I can understand the criticisms of Hicks as a life philosophy: that she teaches people to ignore their problems, to be selfish, to be utterly self absorbed. But wasn’t it a teaching of the Buddha that the first love you should attend to, before you can offer unconditional love to others, is self love. You build a base of love and everything else flows from that. I see Hick’s teachings as the same kind of thing — self love first.

I think another point to bring up before closing the discussion of this book is the idea that the Law of Attraction, so beloved of New Age teachers and authors, functions rather like gravity. You don’t have to teach someone how to utilize gravity because it just works. The Law of Attraction is the same kind of deal and isn’t that nice to know.

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So, no matter what you’re doing, thinking or feeling, you’re not going to float off into outer space because gravity has got both of your feet safely planted on the ground. I like to approach any teachings about the Law of Attraction the same way. I can play with ideas and techniques, but at the end of the day, it’s going to do its thing whether I’m paying attention to it or not.

Recommended for readers who like New Age materials or love the teachings of Abraham Hicks.

Money, and the Law of Attraction: Learning to Attract Wealth, Health, and Happiness by Esther Hicks

Money, and the Law of Attraction: Learning to Attract Wealth, Health, and Happiness by Esther Hicks

Esther Hicks channels the wisdom of her inner being, called Abraham, to write these books. It sounds kind of far out there if you’ve never been exposed to that type of teaching before, but I have to say, I like it. If you’re in to self help and new age books, you may want to give them a try.

The majority of her (their) message seems to be to find joy. They teach that the purpose of life is to do what makes you happy as often as you can. Interestingly enough, that was the same lesson my grandfather taught me before he passed on. “Whatever you do in life, Heidi, be happy. The most important thing is to be happy.”

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Maybe it is in memory of him that I connect so easily with these teachings. I don’t know.

I’ve really taken to heart her encouragement to start out your day in the proper mindset. Lately, I’ve been chilling in bed for a few minutes rather than jumping right into my day. I don’t really have the words to explain why this is making a difference, but it is. I take a second to think about something awesome, even if its as banal as, “My pillow is so soft.” Try it and let me know how it works out for you.

“So as you awaken, open your eyes and say Today I will look for reasons to feel good. Nothing is more important than that I feel good.” pg 37

Also, she’s a big proponent for imaging and living your own life to its fullest and not comparing yourself to others. In the new age of social media and twitter where it seems like everybody is into everybody else’s business, it’s refreshing.

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Do not write your story like a factual documentary, weighing all the pros and cons of your experience, but instead tell the uplifting, fanciful, magical story of the wonder of your own life and watch what happens. pg 81

Overall, these teachings have changed my life. I can’t really say enough positive things about her books, of which there are several best sellers. She also does a bustling business of hosting workshops, which she does across the United States and on a few different cruises.

Last month, I went to an Abraham Hicks workshop for the first time. I’ve enjoyed her videos on YouTube for a long time and thought I might shake things up and see what she’s like in person. This was kind of a production because Esther doesn’t come to the St. Louis area. So, I went out west and heard her speak in Phoenix.

The papers for the workshop registration encourage attendees to write down questions about life, whatever comes into your mind that you’re curious about. I brainstormed with my husband and came up with about a dozen different things I’d talk about if I got to the “hot seat”. (That’s what she calls the chair up front.)

I arrived about 15 minutes before the whole thing started, which seemed like ample time to me, only to discover the auditorium was nearly filled! That was fine because I wanted a seat towards the outside anyway. If things gave me a weird vibe, I wanted to be able to get the heck out as fast as possible.

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In the moments before Esther emerged, this music started up about “Joy, joy, joy. Joy is the key” and almost half the crowd got up and started dancing. I nearly bolted. It felt rather cultist in those moments.

But then the music cut and there she was and things settled down somewhat. What followed was a lot of laughs and learning about topics ranging from relationships to illness to someone’s dog. The whole day ended with a marriage proposal from one of the attendees to another. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I’m kicking around the idea of going again next year.

I never made it to the hot seat and felt rather disappointed. But, later, as I was reading over the questions I took to the workshop, I found, to my surprise, that she had directly addressed every single one of them in other people’s questions. And then, that night, I dreamed I was back at the workshop. I was sitting in the chair and asking any question that came to my mind.

So, that’s my personal experience with this author and the “magic” of Abraham. I know these teachings aren’t for everyone. But they’re for me. And that’s pretty cool.

Thanks for reading!