A user on the Aeclectic Tarot forum asked me to do a Good News reading, and I got the idea for this spread which I used for that reading.

1 2 3 4

—5—

1 – Good news for today

2 – Good news for the week

3 – Good news for the month

4 – Good news for the year

5 – Good news for your life

I got the idea from a journaling exercise I’ve adapted from a book called 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself (click to read it for FREE on GoogleBooks!) — the exercise has you draw 4 circles (“today”, “this week”, “this year” and “my whole life”) and draw something to represent your goal or something you’re wishing for in each of those time frames. I like to add the fifth “this month” circle because “this week” and “this year” feels like too big of a leap.

So, there are two ways (and maybe more I haven’t thought of!) that this spread might be used. One would be to predict the good news, by drawing cards from the deck as usual. The other way would be similar to how the journaling exercise works — you would choose cards from the deck deliberately to represent your goals or wishes, lay them out before you, and then you could focus on the images, using meditation or journaling or whatever practices you like to use to manifest your goals/wishes. So if my goal for today was to start cleaning my apartment (HA!) I might choose the Ace of Pentacles, or if my goal for the month was to take control of a particular situation I might choose the Emperor. The exercise as presented in the book suggests that you can choose different goals every day if you like, or if your goals never change you can keep the same ones. Personally I like to choose new ones every day.

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The Solar Plexus Chakra is about self-esteem and personal power. It is sometimes thought of as the “seat of emotions”. I usually locate this chakra about an inch or two below the base of the sternum, but it can be found as low as the bellybutton sometimes. One way to tap into the energy of the Solar Plexus is to stand up tall, as if you were a superhero strutting down the street, and then notice where in your upper abdomen sticks out when you do this. That’s how the Solar Plexus feels when it’s at its strongest. For an idea of how it feels when it is weak, try curling or slouching into your body like you might do if you were anxious or “on your guard”. You’ll notice this causes it to fold in on itself, like it’s retreating and hiding.
Physical issues traditionally associated with the Solar Plexus relate to the health of the stomach, liver, intestines, and particularly the pancreas – diabetes would be likely to manifest here. Issues related to the muscular and integumentary (skin, hair, nails) systems are associated with this chakra as well. In practice, I have found that when physical issues have been manifesting in the body long enough to have become deeply emotional issues – or vice versa – the emotional issues will frequently manifest in the Solar Plexus regardless of where the issue originated. Its primary function appears to be about self-esteem, which seems to be at the core of just about every energetic imbalance I encounter. As I noted in my description of the Sacral Chakra, menstrual cramps seem to manifest here in the Solar Plexus instead of in the Sacral area where one would expect, which I believe is because of the self-esteem issues many sufferers of menstrual cramps develop after years of struggling with cramps due to constantly being told that it’s “all in their head” and that they are weaker/lesser beings somehow. The muscular issues that will manifest here also tend to be self-esteem-related: if you’re not holding your body as if you’re proud of it, your muscles naturally weaken right along with your self-esteem!
The Solar Plexus is associated with the color yellow. I often envision a bright yellow sun emanating from this area when mine is strong and healthy. When it is imbalanced, typically it will feel like the energy flow in the whole body has stagnated when I’m doing an initial scan, and then once I get to the Solar Plexus I will find that sure enough, there it is plugging up the whole works. Everyone’s is really unique – I’ve seen Solar Plexus imbalances appear to me as everything from hardening yellow plaque to a bowl with a hole in the bottom leaking yellow “fluid”.

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The Sacral Chakra is about creative energy and social relationships. It is a natural convergence point for sexual energy, and its physical location in the body is between the genitals and the navel. Mine is usually closer to my genitals, but sometimes it moves around. I haven’t figured out the significance of this yet. Issues relating to sexuality are the most frequent issues that I see manifest here. Often, issues relating to creativity will manifest here too – repressing a desire to be creative, inner child issues that are more creative in nature than the survival-type issues that will manifest in the Root Chakra. It is also connected with the kidneys and the urination process, so issues where someone is holding on to something that needs to be released will often show up here. Emotional issues such as depression may hit here too, although I find they usually tend to originate higher up before they end up in the Sacral area. It corresponds with the color orange, and I experience the smell of orange sherbert both as an indication of a healthy Sacral Chakra as well as when it needs attention, but I do not have a smell I associate with it when it is unhealthy or imbalanced. The “orange sherbert” smell will come when it’s excited about something or wants me (or the person I’m working on) to try something new.  Physical issues include sexual issues, as well as issues related to the body’s urination and drainage processes. However, one would expect that menstrual cramps would also be located here, and actually I almost always find those connected to the Solar Plexus instead.

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Over the next week or so, I’ll be doing a series of posts discussing each of the 7 chakras. Each will give a little background info on each of the chakras, and some “field notes” from me — stuff I’ve learned about the chakras from working with them. These posts are the “raw material” for what will eventually be an educational resource for me to use when teaching classes, and/or for people to read and learn more on their own.

Please jump in with any questions you might have!

The Root Chakra is about groundedness and getting our basic survival needs met. Issues relating to stability, the home environment, one’s childhood, and digestion/eating may manifest here. Physical issues most commonly include digestive issues (such as constipation or diarrhea) or eating disorders (although these will frequently show up in higher chakras, especially if they have manifested for a long time – I find a lot of overeating issues end up in the Solar Plexus.) It corresponds with the color red – I find that mine appears anywhere from bright firetruck red to a rich burgundy when healthy, and more like a goopy blood clot or a brownish color when I’m having issues there. Sometimes I’ll get flashes of a red ball oozing and expanding out of control when my Root Chakra is not doing well. I associate the smell of wet wood or fresh dirt with the healthy Root Chakra, and often the smell of an unpleasant bodily excretion such as vomit or feces will show up when I encounter a significant Root Chakra imbalance. More frequently, though, the smell I’ll get when an issue at this chakra needs attention is the smell of blood, which goes with the “goopy blood clot” image generally.

Money is a powerful energy with its own unique ways of manifesting in our lives.

Like the other forms of energy I share, I feel strongly that the energy that is money is not really “mine”…I just get to use it, and with that comes the responsibility to use it wisely. Energy needs to keep flowing in order to be useful, and money is just the same.

My commitment to energywork is to keep the energy flowing where it needs to go — not just where I need it to go. Of course I need to eat and sustain myself, but I also need a reason to keep doing those things — a world worth living and eating in!

In order to do my part to create that world I will always give at least 5% of the income I receive from healing work to support the work of others who are helping to create that world. This holiday season I would like to offer the opportunity for you to suggest where YOU think might be a good place for me to direct that money-energy. I will announce, by the end of next week, who will receive this season’s contribution.

Thank you for helping me to do good things!

Miracles are what breathe the life into my dreams.

This week, I got a great big deep breath: one of my classmates had a massage table that he decided he didn’t need. So he gave it to me.

It’s a beautiful, top-of-the-line, Living Earth Crafts massage table. It is extra-wide, so I can comfortably accommodate clients of all sizes. It is portable…but goodness, it’s a miracle in itself that I can lift this thing! Six months ago I would not have been able to. It is sitting next to me right now, eager to be packed up and meet new people.

Are you interested in receiving a healing session this holiday season? Would you like to give a friend or family member (or a random stranger!) the gift of a healing session? My new table and I will be thrilled to travel to any location in the Indianapolis area for you. Arrangements may also be possible if you would like a healing session but don’t have a location for me to bring the table to you…please ask for what you need and I will do everything I can to make it possible for you!

Through the holiday season, I am offering Reiki and/or massage therapy sessions for $50-70/hour (depending on location). As always, I offer a $10 discount for referrals — so if you give someone a session as a gift, you get the discounted session for yourself, and if you give 5 gifts you will receive your own session for free regardless of location.

If you’ve never experienced a healing session before, the best way to find out what it’s like is to try one! I am always happy to answer any questions you may have about massage therapy, Reiki, and energywork…so please feel free to ask. May peace, blessings, and all kinds of good energy be with you as we keep each other (and ourselves!) warm this winter!

This website is a work in progress! Please check back for updates, or email oliverenergywork@gmail.com to receive an email (no spam, I promise!) when more info is available.

If you are interested in scheduling a Reiki/energywork healing session, or would like more information about the classes I offer and the work that I do, please contact me directly at oliverenergywork@gmail.com.

I am also able to offer massage therapy sessions at the student massage clinic at the Indiana Therapeutic Massage School, as part of my educational training to become a certified massage therapist! You can contact me directly about scheduling a massage therapy session with me at the student clinic. Alternatively, you can contact the clinic to schedule an appointment, either with me or with another student massage therapist, using the following contact information:

www.indianamassageschool.com
indianamassageschool.gmail.com
317-439-4448

I’m excited for the opportunity to support you on your journey to comfort, wholeness, and empowerment by offering these healing services.

I am interested in setting up a system of face-to-face and internet-based networking for healers (energyworkers, massage therapists, chiropractors, counselors, readers, therapists, veterinarians, nurses, doctors, people who put bandaids on their family’s boo-boos…) in the Indianapolis area to support each other’s work. If you are interested in helping with this project, please contact me (oliverenergywork@gmail.com)!