Valentine's Day Giveaway!

Yes, it's that time of year for my 

Valentine's Day Giveaway!

To enter, simply do the two following things

before midnight, 2/14/2016:

1. Sign up for my newsletter either here on my blog or at dianejreed.com (OR if you've already signed up for my newsletter, just do #2)

2. Shoot me a quick email at banditsranch@gmail.com stating your name & that you'd like to enter!

That's it! What might you win?

GRAND PRIZE is a $25 Amazon Card, 

a psychic love reading & chocolate!

SECOND PRIZE is a psychic reading

(For more information about my magical readings, go here) 

Winners will be chosen at midnight, February 14th, 2016 among those who

emailed their entry by a random number generator app

(each email will be assigned a number, and you'll be notified by email if you win!)

Wishing all of you a wonderful Valentine's Day 

full of love for yourself and for your passions 

in whatever forms they manifest! 

~Diane J. Reed

Holiday Hush

All right, I confess--I tend to get a bit overwhelmed by the holiday season. As beautiful as the month of December is, all the purchasing of presents & wanting to make others feel happy & dearly loved can sometimes leave me bedraggled. I mean, does it really matter if my gravy's lumpy or I don't tie ribbons particularly well? Probably not! Like most of you, what matters most to me is that my family & friends are healthy & happy. So this year, I had a radical thought: what if the best gift I could give to others is ME? A sincere heart & joyful spirit who surrounds others with peace & kindness? Who loves others for their authentic selves--not for what they can do for me or provide under a Christmas tree? Yet to do that, I realized I needed to first find that peace & authenticity within myself. So rather than running around like crazy trying to make everything "perfect" this holiday season (& God knows, I'm guilty of that in years past!), I decided to take time out to truly appreciate the simple joys of December & to allow a hush to settle into my bones.  

For me, this means stopping long enough on a ski slope in Colorado recently to notice how the clouds look like Angels over the mountain tops. When I lifted my eyes, honestly, I could almost hear them singing! And I wondered if this wasn't just mental fancy on my part--if there really IS something in the universe that rejoices when we take time out to notice the beauty & wonder all around us.  

And a few evenings ago, while I was out jogging during a light snowfall, at one point, I simply had to stop, clutch at my heart, and gasp. Why? Because as the snow filtered through the sky, the setting sun shone through the spiraling flakes, making each one flicker gold. The sight was so heart-stoppingly beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes. Even though I tried to capture it here (rather badly) on film, nature's poetry still left its mark on my soul in the form of a deep peace. And that silence, that sacred hush, is the true gift that I think December can bring. Within its quiet chill are moments that allow us to pause & appreciate something I can't even quite articulate--but that I believe has something to do with the eternal inside the temporal. A beauty that is at once fleeting & yet so piercing that it can endure in our hearts for all time. 

If we can relax long enough to feel that "sacred hush" during the holiday season, and let it replenish our souls, then we actually have more to offer other people! We have the gift of ourselves that can truly love & cherish those around us.  So as you make your way through this happy, hectic, harried, & hustle & bustle month, I hope you can also give yourself the opportunity to take long walks, to gaze at the sky, to allow snowflakes to fall on your tongue or notice shapes in the ice & patterns in the snow. In other words, during the midst of the holiday rush, don't forget the hush. Because long after the lights come down & the decorative trees have been turned into kindle, it may well be that these quiet moments are what you remember most.

Like the sweet message from a precious child left for you in the snow . . . 

(Photo credit note: All images on my blog are either my own or were gleaned from pictures in the public domains of popular social networks like tumblr, facebook or pinterest. If you own the copyright to any of these images & do NOT want them used publicly, please contact me & I will take them down immediately! : )

Gratitude

The holiday season, particularly Thanksgiving, often causes us to reflect on what we're grateful for in our lives. Health, family & good friends usually top that list, along with a roof over our heads & food on the table, and an overall contentment with how our lives are progressing. Like many people, I try to make it a practice to "count my blessings" during this time, especially to balance the near-constant demands of our material-driven culture that insists we buy every shiny new object & technological toy. But for this holiday season, I've decided to ponder a different nuance of gratitude that I rarely hear people talk about: Space.

"Space" of the spiritual variety is what occupies the gaps in our hearts when unexpected changes happen in our lives. We didn't get the job we wanted, or the romantic partner we'd longed for, or the house we had our hearts set on. Instead, we're left with our dreams still throbbing in our hands, struggling for breath, searching to find a new goal or object to pin our cherished hopes upon.

And what we suddenly have before us, whether we like it or not, is a blank canvas. An open horizon. A new path ahead with no road map to go by or compass to provide direction. 

And that, in itself, can be an extraordinary blessing, if we allow it. How often I have been grateful for the road less traveled by! Did I deliberately choose it? Heavens no--I can count many times when I was left dizzied & gasping after the whirlwind of change, wondering what the heck I was going to do with myself once the dust & debris finally settled. But luckily, there's always been an inner voice inside me that said, "Don't be in a rush to fill up this space too fast. Set your table and put out your chairs, roll out your best china & finest wine, and let the next things that are supposed to be a part of your life gently come to you. Be grateful for the space."

Could that have been the Angels talking? I honestly think so. Because my natural inclination is to be a "fixer." Like many of you, I endeavor to have all my ducks in a row, to stick with a plan, to envision myself the way I'm "supposed to be" at this point in my life, including all of my imagined goals & glorious achievements. But what if the universe has a more interesting & soul-enriching idea?

So for this Thanksgiving, what I'm most grateful for is the gift of space--those odd quirks of fate that disrupted my plans & directed me to new paths I never would have encountered, which made more intriguing & creative choices possible. They say where one door closes, a window opens. And I believe that sometimes those windows lead to miracles we might never have experienced otherwise. Moments of serendipity where all appears lost--only to discover that there is a far more fascinating destiny awaiting you. But only if you can take a deep breath, relax, and allow the space to demonstrate its special brand of magic. If you can let yourself be content that space will do its gentle work in your heart & in your life, that is exactly the horizon that leaves room open for where your soul might really need to be. 

Oh, and by the way, did I mention I saw 10 turkeys on my jog in Colorado today? Truly wild turkeys are well known as the "ghosts of the forest"--the most elusive game animals of all. Like the gentle space I've been speaking of, they don't announce their presence with harsh, "gobble-gobbles". Rather, they move quietly, swishing the grass with their carefully placed feet & beautiful feathers as they move with the precision of seasoned ballet dancers. Their soft chortles are more like rhythmic purrs than "gobbles", if you stop long enough to listen. And they'll only remain in your presence when you pause in silence & allow them the grace to occupy their special kind of space, for they are very shy & dignified birds. 

And quite frankly, I couldn't help viewing them as a unique omen for the state of being I was inhabiting, one where I actually gave nature the room to speak in profound, non-verbal ways that are perhaps richer than all my well-laid plans. Like me, I hope you can take the time out to reflect on such moments of wild beauty & soul-opening space. Something tells me that if we allow these instances to affect us, they just might lead us to where our souls long to be after all. And for that, we shall be forever grateful . . .

(Photo credit note: All images on my blog are either my own or were gleaned from pictures in the public domains of popular social networks like facebook or pinterest. If you own the copyright to any of these images & do NOT want them used publicly, please contact me & I will take them down immediately! : )

Let Freedom Ring

I've always loved the phrase "Let freedom ring" from the lyrics written by Samuel Francis Smith in 1831 for the song My Country 'Tis of Thee. Of course, it's well known that Smith swiped this patriotic melody from England's national anthem God Save the Queen. And prior to that, there 's plenty of evidence to indicate the tune probably originated as a galliard (or dance melody) that reaches all the way back to the Renaissance. Yet the idea of dancing to this tune only reinforces the impact of Smith's phrase for me. When I hear the words "Let freedom ring," it makes me feel as though liberty is an echo that can actually be heard deep within the heart—it's ring so pure & strong that it might even compel one to dance. And during July, the month of our annual Independence Day celebration in America, my thoughts naturally turn to what that freedom really means.

Because one thing I've noticed, in between getting sparklers ready for the 4th of July & preparing the inevitable casseroles & gooey desserts, is that when it comes to freedom, the heart never lies. You know whether you feel truly free or not—be that in your work or political environment, in your relationships, or even in your chosen spiritual traditions. When something feels "right", it's because it opens your life to more experiences & possibilities rather than restricts you. The job or love interest may carry with it great responsibility, but ultimately the burden is worth it for the reward of adding more color & radiance to your soul or physical experience of this world. But when an aspect of your life is actually denying you freedom & the ability to grow, no amount of money can truly compensate for that stress. It's never a surprise that clinical depression & a host of physical ailments usually begin to  follow that coincidentally mirror the slow degradation of the human spirit. It's as though our hearts start to wither whenever we can no longer hear those notes of freedom that are always calling out to us—if we can pause long enough to listen.

So my wish for you this summer, as you watch fireworks burst in air & admire their magnificent colorscapes, is to take a moment to assess where you feel free & open to pursue possibilities in life—and more importantly, where you don't.  And in those areas that you realize might have become crimped by external forces that no longer serve you well, I hope you'll be able to drum up the courage to one day declare your independence. Why? Because it's my genuine conviction that the world is at its finest when every soul within it shines to their full potential. Call me naïve, call me a dreamer—but I truly believe that. So here's a toast to YOU & all that you bring to this world when you know you're aligned with what makes you feel truly open, creative, full of life, and free. Think of it as not just a fleeting moment for you to enjoy once in a while, but rather as your divine destiny. Surely your purpose here is to be as fully YOU as possible (and not just a cheap imitation of someone else's goals or dreams). So please grab that sparkler & be brave! Remind yourself that the first step to authenticity is to let freedom ring in every corner of your heart & life experience. And as you follow the path it calls you to, may your soul one day embrace the confidence to unfurl its unique wings. After all, freedom looks so good on you...

Photo credit note: All images on my blog come from either my own personal photo collection or images I have gleaned from Pinterest or other online public domains. If you own the copyright to any photo seen here & you do not wish for me to display it, please contact me & I will remove it immediately!