Byron Bay - Day 8

I have been out of Sydney for awhile now, thankfully, and have been camping out at The Arts Factory in Byron Bay, which is one of the most spiritual communities in Australia. There are so many more awakened individuals here, which is a breath of fresh air. I've met several amazing people in the three days I've been here. I feel like I can be myself and talk about the things I want to talk about and not only will people not think I'm crazy, but they agree and have things to add to the discussion. Deep connections are made very quickly. I had a great time hanging out with two new friends, Kirsten and James, and it seems strange to think that I only hung out with them for two days considering the depth of the connection that was made.

I led a yoga session down on the beach yesterday morning with six friends. I told one of my friends at the front desk about it and she said it might be possible for me to teach a few yoga classes a week at the Arts Factory in exchange for accommodation. That would be so beyond awesome because I love yoga anyhow plus I can be directly responsible for spreading light through my classes. I already have lots of ideas for meditations to incorporate but I'll have to refresh myself on more asanas and practice leading people on the beach before I'd be comfortable leading a real class.

I should just go ahead and get this out of the way but I've been really sick lately. I seldom ever get sick, especially to this degree, so I'm a bit surprised. I have been sleeping a tremendous amount ever since I arrived in Australia and I thought that was due to jet lag but after arriving in Byron Bay I came down with a fever that just got higher and higher. I have been having hallucinations and really odd nightmares. Every time I go to sleep, I am brought back to a very specific dream world. The best way I can characterize it is chaotic. It's really dark and confusing and incredibly hard to navigate. I keep trying to find my way through it but keep getting lost. I have been making plans to meet up with people who I've never met and I've been hanging out in strange places that don't exist. I was so out of it when I was awake that the line between the dream world and real world was blurred so that I didn't know what was real and what was illusion. In short, it was terrible.

At Burning Man, I received a large garnet as a gift from a new friend. Without knowing the energetic properties of garnet, I knew it would be very important for me to have on my travels. I should have taken it with me but I left it in the states to be made into a necklace. I'll tell you the properties of garnet in a bit but first, a story about a friend that keeps coming to mind in light of my recent circumstances.

A friend at college had a spiritual awakening all of a sudden. He used to engage in a lot of hedonistic activities and an angel came to him one night and told him he needs to change his life and to be of service to God. Now, this is the last guy you would have expected this from. I definitely trusted his word and everything he said about his experience. Soon after he started walking in spirit and being of service, he started being attacked at night by malevolent spirits. He said he woke up with his whole bed shaking back and forth violently. He thought it must have been an earthquake, which don't really happen in Chico, but nobody in the house felt anything. The attacks went on night after night until a friend told him how to ward off the spirits. Visualize white light around your body and room and say aloud that the spirit isn't welcome there, that you are stronger than it, and that it needs to leave you alone.

I am fairly certain that I'm being attacked by something, especially since I've come here to be of service. It keeps taking me to that terrible dream world, confusing me, and draining my energy.

Garnet
Protection
Provides a protective influence and a calming stable vitality during use.
Monitors and adjusts the flow of energy, providing for a balanced energy field around the physical body.
Aligns the emotional and intellectual bodies with the perfection of "All That Is"
Extracts negative energy from the chakras and transmutes it to a beneficial state
Brings the love of others to expressions of love.

I bought some garnet today and it's hanging over my heart. I have been trying to ward off the spirit energetically but I have been feeling like it's stronger than I am. The lady at the crystal shop reminded me that saying the intention aloud makes it more powerful and that we are more powerful than malevolent spirits but we need to use our powers correctly in order to be successful. I felt absolutely terrible this morning but I'm feeling much better by now (4:30PM) and I get the feeling that I'll be ok tomorrow. If you'd like to send healing energy my way, I'll gladly accept the help.

Other than all that, the amazing people in this place are keeping me energized. I know jack diddily about crystals but my favorite store so far is that crystal shop where I bought the garnet. The people who work there are fully awakened and vibrating at a high level. At the Arts Factory, I brought out my tarot cards to do two readings, which turned into eight once people saw what was going on. It's nice to be able to bring spiritual guidance to people through the cards. It's also quite the test to read for people I've never met. The message is quite specific so it feels like stepping out on a limb but the people always report that it's quite accurate. Ever since returning from Burning Man, readings have been much easier for me due to a stronger intuitive voice. I typically read one card at a time and then tie the global message together at the end. I have had several readings where I get halfway through the cards and then my intuitive voice starts speaking and I start going off in detail. When I finish my spiel and look down at the cards to see what's next, I see that everything I had just spoken from intuition is in the last half of the reading. After talking with people about tarot, I remembered that people have a lot of misconceptions about it which I'd like to clear up quickly.

Tarot is not a dark art. Tarot tells you the state of a current situation and then gives you positive direction so you can get past your obstacles. It never tells you that you're doomed. It will always give you a positive suggestion for what to do next. The death card does not mean you're going to die. Death symbolizes the clearing of something old to make way for something new. The death card can be a good thing if it's referring to the death of an old negative habit to make way for the birth of a new and positive habit. Each card can mean different things depending on its placement in the reading. The messages are very specific and personal to each person. Readings are not vague and a reading for one person will only have meaning to them and no one else. I used to have these same misconceptions before I studied tarot myself so I understand.

Once I recover fully, I will be implementing a spiritual routine for myself to insure progress and success. Yoga in the morning, meditation every day, care for the body with proper diet and lots of water and rest, and interactions with high energy people. Many of the goals I'm setting now are goals that I've had for years but never fully committed to. I feel really thankful and grateful to finally be able to give my full focus to these goals.

Thanks again for sending me light and love. It means the world to me. I am doing quite well. Even though I'm sick and may be being attacked, there is no fear in my heart. I'm dedicated to walking this path and can't be scared away from it.