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essential wellness digital magazine Twin Cities Wellness aka Essential Wellness 4270 Honey Tree Pass Danbury, WI 54830 PUBLISHERS Dee & Lynn LaFroth ADVERTISING Dee LaFroth sales@esswellness.com 715.259.3047 EDITOR Lynn LaFroth lynnlafroth@icloud.com ART DIRECTION Soleil Graphics
4 Another Version of Christmas By Rev. Alan L. Pritz
8 Wandering Spirits and Lost Souls By Annette Rugolo
WRITING SUBMISSIONS Click here to request Writers Guidelines RECEIVE ESSENTIAL WELLNESS BY EMAIL Send us your email to receive twice-monthly Celebrate Wellness e-news and Monthly digital Essential Wellness info@esswellness.com 2 www.esswellness.com
12 How Do I Know If I Am In A Relationship With A Narcissist? By Melanie Tonia Evans
16 The Spirit Warrior’s work is to transform darkness into light By Arriale Starbird
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Another Version of Christmas By Rev. Alan L. Pritz
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As most people know, December is a chaotic month blending shopping, socializing, Santa, and sundry religious observances. Amidst predominantly Christian rituals are sprinkled Chanukah and a variety of solstice celebrations. Not to ignore the latter, this article provides a broader perspective of the Christian Holyday and invites those who resonate with it to engage the season more mindfully, and, reverently.
Messiah in Hebrew. To be a Christ, or Messiah, is to be “the anointed of God;” one specifically chosen by God for a special task - often as king. Subsequently Jesus is viewed as a divine ruler. Traditional teachings also maintain that He came into the world to reconcile the fallen children of the Lord with their creator. The redemptive act - Christ’s crucifixion - was payment for the transgression of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Less visible but no less ancient is a body of esoteric Christmas signifies hopeful celestial foreshadowing belief that views Jesus as a spiritual master who yet is eclipsed by the celebration of Jesus’ redemptive attained oneness with God. In this instance, the term mission at Easter. This is understandable, perhaps, if ‘only begotten son’ or ‘Son of God’ doesn’t refer to one views the Savior motif as unique to Christianity. a physical body but, instead, to the consciousness of I assert that it isn’t. The birth of a Christ - in this case, God that permeates all creation. In Vedic scripture Jesus - is never inconsequential but must be viewed in the universal Spirit intelligence is known as Kutastha context of a larger ongoing commitment of Spirit to Chaitanya and is synonymous with “Cosmic Christ,” humanity. As such, it entails a deeper significance and the “Infinite Christ,” or “Christ Consciousness.” It merits greater veneration than is ordinarily given. is this oneness with God that was manifest by Jesus, Krishna, and other divine incarnations. What is the basis for my position? Let’s begin by exploring terms more fully. The reference to “other divine incarnations” implies The word ‘Christ’ may have different interpretations that Jesus wasn’t the only ‘Son of God’ nor the only according to frames of reference. In mainstream Savior to uplift humanity. Consider these parallel Christian belief it hails from Christos, a Greek word scriptures: meaning “anointed” and is equivalent to Mashiach or
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with holy beings, or prophets, like Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Moses, and Muhammad. Each infused new vitality or redemptive clarity into systems that were sliding towards hypocrisy or worse. Swami Shivananda added a personal and devotional element to the drama: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the “If God does not come down as a human being, how world; but that the world through him might be saved.” will human beings love him? That is why He comes to human beings as a human being.” John 3: 17 I. NEW TESTAMENT “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
II. BHAGAVAD GITA “Although I am unborn, the Lord of all living entities, and have an imperishable nature, yet I appear in this world by virtue of my divine power.
What’s the purpose of all this? The answer is twofold: First, every Avatar has a specific mission and message. In simple terms it may be said that Christ revealed the supremacy of God’s love over human selflimitation; Buddha rejected hierarchical systems and Whenever there is a decline in righteousness and an taught people to be lamps unto themselves; Krishna increase in unrighteousness, O Arjuna, at that time I preached spiritual balance and God-centered activity. manifest myself on earth. Each theme was relevant to the age in which it was given. Secondly, Avatars serve as saviors, i.e. bearers To protect the righteous, to annihilate the wicked, and of enlightenment, who re-establish virtue and spiritual to reestablish the principles of dharma I appear on this truth whenever the world has lost its way. No matter earth, age after age.” BG 4:6-8 where an avatar appears, their impact ultimately uplifts the world in a fashion governed by and in accordance Depicted here is the Son of God as Avatar. Throughout with God-ordained roles. history, spiritual illumination has come to humanity when God manifested in human form. The Sanskrit term, Avatar, literally means “descent of God” or “descent of divinity into flesh.” Religions originated CONTINUED PAGE 7...
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The significance of this is paramount: God has an ongoing benevolent relationship with humanity. Paramahansa Yogananda taught that when Avatars incarnate, extraordinary amounts of spiritual energy flood the ethers. There is also an annual recurrence of that sacred infusion on their birthdays. To enhance receptivity to the Christ consciousness, Yogananda instituted an all-day meditation tradition at Christmas time. This practice - and ones like it - deepen awareness of the Sacred Presence and help one derive uplifting benefit. Let this also be a reminder that God repeatedly seeks to awaken the sleeping divinity in humankind and usher its return Home. As stated in Psalm 82:6, “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.” Realize this, in addition to the natural import of the season - however you commemorate it - and rejoice in the caring love of Spirit eternally demonstrated by the Incarnations who bless us with their illuminating Presence.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rev. Alan Pritz, Interfaith Minister and disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, has trained in and taught inner sciences for 40+ years. Author of award-winning book, Meditation as a Way of Life: Philosophy and Practice (Quest: 2014), he provides meditation instruction and spiritual counseling-coaching for individuals, couples, and corporations.
Click here to visit www.Awake-in-Life.com
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Wandering Spirits & Lost Souls By Annette Rugolo
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IT HAPPENED AGAIN this week. I received a phone call from someone asking for help. Her mom had passed away three years ago and she recently moved into the family home to take care of her aging father. After moving into the house, she started feeling depressed with bouts of anger. She called to ask for help as she had run out of options for feeling better. As I tuned into the house, I informed her that her mom’s spirit was still there. She immediately told me that a neighbor had seen her mother walking up and down the driveway a few weeks before but she wasn’t sure if she could believe her. After I confirmed what her neighbor saw, she had so many questions! Why was her mother still here? Why couldn’t she see her? Was her mom needing something? Was she OK? When I asked some questions about her mom and her end of life, I found out that Hospice had been with her for the last three weeks. Her mother had been very angry much of her life and the last three weeks, she lay in bed not speaking to anyone. She died angry and disconnected from the love and support that surrounded her. I have seen these types of situations since I started releasing spirits. Strong emotions such as fear, anger, grief or shock prevent a spirit from leaving this dimension after they leave their body. The spirit continues to exist in this dimension and those open to
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seeing spirits will start being aware of their presence. I feel it is a good thing that more and more people are beginning to see them, just like my client’s neighbor was able to see her mom. If we can’t see them, we can’t help them. FEAR REACTION Over the years of doing this work, I have seen several different kinds of responses for those who do see spirits. The first and most frequent is the reaction of fear. As I have taught others about spirits and how to release them, I have heard numerous stories of adults who were able to see spirits as children. When telling parents or other adults in their life about them, the adult either went into fear, disbelief or simply telling the child it was just their imagination. The adult in their life absolutely did not know what to do with the information that the child was giving them. The child then either took on the fear of the adults or closed off to seeing them because it was too much for a young soul to deal with and to process. Many of these children, once they understand who these spirits are and that they can be helped, open up to seeing them again. Some who see spirits simply send them away. They have learned, at some level, that you can communicate with spirits and by forcefully telling them to leave,
As we begin to open up to this realm, it is important to know that the soul of a person never dies, it simply leaves the body they chose to inhabit during a lifetime. The soul’s purpose is to continue to learn and to evolve and it cannot do that while it lives in this dimension. While some spirits are ready to leave, others need some help. They need help releasing whatever emotional trauma or energetic attachment is keeping them stuck. Some spirits I have helped over the years exist in a kind of limbo, not even aware they are stuck. There is a method that I use that allows me to feel safe while doing this work as I consciously open NEW BOOK: SOUL WHISPERER: a doorway for them to leave. It is my passion to share RELEASING LOST SPIRITS this information and to help others understand who After hearing all about all of these different situations these spirits are, what we can do to help them and over the years, I decided to write a book to help others why helping them is important for the evolution of understand who these spirts are and to know that humanity. there is something we can do to help them leave this dimension. CONTINUED PAGE 11... they will go away. In these instances, the spirits will continue their search for someone who can help them. Not all spirits can leave, however, because of an attachment, or energetic cord, to the house, the land or someone who lives in the house. The people trying to communicate with them become frustrated and confused about why the spirit doesn’t leave. Another response people will have to spirits in their house is again communicating with them but this time to let them know they can stay as long as they are quiet. They create an arrangement where both incarnated spirits and disembodied spirits can live together in peace. And finally, there are those who know how to release a trapped spirit and they will send them to the light. These are people who have done this kind of work in a past life and understand that when a wandering spirit comes to them, they are asking for help in moving on from this dimension.
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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9... To gain a deeper understanding of wandering spirits and lost souls, I invite you to read my book Soul Whisperer: Releasing Lost Spirits. The book can be found on Barnes & Noble.com, Amazon.com as well as my website www.AnnetteRugolo.com. If you are interested in learning how to release them, please check out my events page for upcoming Space Clearing classes. There are many souls ready and waiting to be released. I invite you to join me in this important service to humanity.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Annette Rugolo is the author of Soul Whisperer: Releasing Lost Souls. She has been transforming homes though dowsing and space clearing since 2005 and has been teaching classes since 2006. For more information about a class or having your home energetically healed, call 612-605-8608 or visit www.AnnetteRugolo.com. For more tips on how to become more aware of energy in your environment: Annette@AnnetteRugolo.com.
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How do I know if I am in a relationship with a narcissist? By Melanie Tonia Evans has started to crack. Narcissists are hugely insecure and react on a hair-trigger to things that average adults simply don’t get upset about. Their over-sensitivity is extreme. When narcissists erupt into a narcissistic rage, their anger is a reaction to a perceived threat to the narcissist’s fragile self-esteem or self-worth. This type of threat is known as ‘narcissistic injury’. Perhaps you spoke appreciatively about a colleague – and all of a sudden, the narcissist is ripping your head off for being disloyal, or even accuses you of having an affair? If the narcissist doesn’t receive enough attention in a group setting, he or she may stir up trouble or exit the scene, only to chastise you later and degrade you and anyone Five Major Signs of Narcissism Having worked with thousands of else perceived to have stolen the limelight. people around the world, I have found This insecurity may be so extreme that it provokes that, irrespective of age, race, gender, incredible jealousy and envy that can’t be assuaged. It race, religion, sexual preference or who doesn’t matter who the narcissist is in your own life – the narcissist is (such as a spouse, lover, you will painfully experience their insecurities in the family member, friend, colleague or boss), narcissism is form of accusations directed at you. Taking it out on narcissism. If you are having any doubts about whether you is just something that narcissists do. or not you are involved with someone with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), take a look at the following: 2. An extreme sense of entitlement If you share your life with a narcissist, you will quickly discover they have an unreasonable sense of entitlement 1. Emotional insecurity Despite the commonly held belief that ‘narcissists are full – it truly is all about them – and very poor peripheral of themselves’, the experience of living with a narcissist vision when it comes to anyone else’s needs. A narcissist’s shows us a completely different reality once their mask self-absorption, which is an integral part of their inner A NARCISSIST IS someone with an extreme sense of entitlement, blames you for their problems, is manipulative and has no empathy. Narcissistic abuse may be mental, physical, financial, spiritual or sexual. If you have been through an abusive relationship with someone who has Narcissistic Personality Disorder, you will know that no one understands what you are going through unless they have personally experienced it. In this excerpt from her book, You Can Thrive After Narcissistic Abuse (Watkins November, 2018), Melanie Tonia Evans describes the five ways you will know you are in a narcissistic relationship…
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wiring, means they believe they deserve preferential treatment over and above all others. They will push people’s boundaries without hesitation and go for whatever they can get away with, while their real agenda remains cloaked in charm, flattery and feigned care. No matter how good it looks to others, any deal brokered by a narcissist is underpinned by a desire to obtain the best of the spoils, regardless of who else might suffer in the process. Without conscience or as much as a backward glance, a narcissist will throw all and sundry under a bus when the time comes for them to collect, including their spouse, family and even their children. If you grew up in a narcissistic family, this kind of behavior constitutes your ‘normal’ version of life. When it comes to boundaries, you will be used to the idea that whatever is yours is the narcissist’s; and as for your rights – what rights exactly? However, if connecting with a narcissist later in life, in all likelihood you didn’t see this coming, because initially the narcissist made you believe they had your back; that they cared for you and loved you genuinely, and that they saw, heard and valued you. After trusting and allowing someone in to your life at the deepest level, it can be devastating to realize this person is actually gobbling up your space, energy, attention and resources, and emptying you out, without any remorse while doing so.
3. Circular arguments that don’t make sense One of the surest ways to identify an NPD sufferer is the way they argue. Over the years, I have identified numerous ways in which narcissists use diversionary tactics when in conflict situations. Their defense mechanisms range from being subtly manipulative to displays of downright nasty, out-of-bounds behavior. These tactics are so common among narcissists and the expressions they use are so consistent word for word that it is almost eerily uncanny; frequently used phrases include refrains such as ‘you didn’t let me finish what I was saying’ and ‘just because I didn’t say what you wanted to hear’ and ‘you are the only person I have any problems with’. (Believe me, there are so many others!) Long before you have identified what is going on during these sorts of conversations, you may well feel CONTINUED PAGE 15...
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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13... terribly anxious and traumatized, and wonder if you are losing your mind. You will probably be bamboozled as to why you appear to be arguing over and over about basic points with someone who apparently refuses to get it. It’s like disagreeing with an angry five-year-old who won’t remain on topic, or be held accountable, or learn from previous behavior. Finally, perhaps after hours, days or even weeks, you think you’ve won the debate and the narcissist really does understand your point of view, only then to discover evidence that, shockingly, nothing was resolved in the first place – and now you are back at square one.
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Melanie Tonia Evans is a healer, author, and radio host considered to be the world’s leading online authority on narcissistic abuse recovery. As a survivor of Narcissistic Abuse herself, she is the founder of Quanta Freedom Healing (QFH) and the Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Program (NARP). Through her programs, Mel has helped thousands of people worldwide—there are now over 20,000 graduates of the Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Program who are presently Thriving in abuse-free lives. To find out more visit: melanietoniaevans.com
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The Spirit Warrior’s work is to transform darkness into light By Arriale Starbird
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A STATE TROOPER stopped me yesterday, and I thought ‘Oh no, another $45 just went down the toilet.’ But he didn’t give me a ticket. Instead he told me to turn my headlights on. The sun was setting and it was still light. But he was being exacting about the time of day, after which the lights should be turned on. After a certain specific time of day, (which changes based on season and length of day) lights must be turned on. He was actually helping. When stuff like that happens, I always feel like there is a spiritual lesson there. The universe or my unconscious self is sending myself a message. So as I pondered that, the series of thoughts that came to me are: during the dark night of the soul, or when dealing with dark forces, you always have your own light to illuminate your way. As long as you recharge your battery, you always have this light (your own answers). So it comes to this: It’s critical that you recharge your battery. People in the rat race never get to do that. People’s lives are so busy and stressful nowadays, we rarely get to truly recharge. I think the total depletion of our inner resources, which leads to all sorts of diseases and disorders in persons and the society as a whole, is unfortunately a hallmark of the modern lifestyle. For shamans and mystics, we recharge only in solitude in nature anyway. Big cities become no go zones 16 www.esswellness.com
for those who are deeply devoted to cultivation of their personal power and do not want anyone interfering with their spiritual way of life. Being an intuitive empath, other people’s energy affects me a lot. And as I grow on my spiritual journey, I become even more sensitive, even though I was already ultra sensitive from birth. I am so sensitive in fact, that if I’m around people who are drinking, they may not be bothered by their drunkenness, or not think they are drunk, but I will feel their drunkenness, and the toxicity bothers me a lot. If I’m around people who did bad things in the past and have not made their amends, their ‘inner demons’ will come to me for help, they will want to be exorcised, and they will keep bugging me until I either tell the person to deal with this already, or I can’t be around them. I saw roadkill on the road one day as I was jogging in the neighborhood, and that night the soul of that animal came to me and wanted me to help it to transition to the other side. These kinds of things happen all the time. You can imagine that crowded places are akin to torture for people like me. Shopping, like most things I do in the world, require a sniper approach. I run in, get the exact items I need, and get out. Shopping areas are designed to make people buy a lot of items they don’t need. Psychology and sorcery are actually used to create mind control systems, to make people think they must have items they actually don’t need or want. No one “needs” an $800 Gucci purse. Probably 70 percent
of items being sold are overpriced garbage. The less things I have the better I feel. I’m much like a monk in that way. Some monks just own their robe and a bowl. If I could realistically live like that, I’m sure I’d be happier. Things hold energy and if they are not in alignment with your higher purpose, they drain your battery. Declutter regularly! I bet most of you could get rid of 70 percent of your stuff and never miss it. I can’t allow anything that detracts from my mental clarity, in my life. Other people’s low frequency thoughts, their unhealthy interests and habits, their dark force entities, their festering unhealed wounds from the past, their projections, etc — this is all chaos and noise that drains my battery and gives nothing at all of real value in return. Only people who have already achieved a certain level of mastery on the path of purity/ integrity, energetic, spiritual, mental, etc, can be allowed in my sacred space. I’m not saying I’m perfect and that I don’t have my own problems. Quite the opposite, I have devoted my life to healing myself and solving my problems, and making myself of true value in the world, and that is precisely why I need the purity of my sacred space to heal my own past wounds, and the cultivation of my own energy, without interference of other people’s
B.S., stuff that they really should be working on themselves. People have to do their own inner work at all times. That too recharges the battery. Being called to be a Healer, Counselor and Teacher, I would never give up being of service in the world. It’s part of my sacred mission, my dharma. And to do that effectively, I have to fiercely guard my sacred space, in which I recharge my battery, and do my own healing and integration. I’ve been on the path of transformation for a long time, so obviously these thoughts were not new. But the state trooper, I feel, was a messenger of Archangel Michael, and gave me that reminder. Because I do all my work with Archangel Michael, and he is the patron of the police force. It was a reminder to bring my light to a dark world. This is what Spirit Warriors do. Although it directly benefits me, it also benefits everyone around me whose paths also get illuminated by my light. Why would the universe bother sending me a trooper to remind me of this, someone might ask? Because it highlights the importance of this. That this process of bringing light to darkness is a cosmic law. And if we don’t do it, we will inevitably be penalized for our inaction. Just being positive is not enough. CONTINUED PAGE 19... winter 2018-2019
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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17... To be truly positive, you have to extend your light to others in darkness. And if we don’t do this, our own lives will become darker, and we will become a danger to ourselves and others. And those ‘light workers’ or anyone not doing that have no place in my life. No matter what kind of trauma a person has had in the past, only people who do their own internal work, continuously, can reach a level of spiritual and emotional maturity, that they are truly safe in and for the world.
Whether you win or lose a battle, if you are paying attention you will learn a lesson, but you pay for the lesson with your energy. So reinforce boundaries around yourself and your sacred space, so that you always have an untainted unconditionally supportive space to return to for rejuvenation and recovery after every battle. Allow no one into that sacred space, not allies, not enemies. It is for you alone, and to commune with the Divine. I believe in this mission so much that I named my business after this concept: Pure Hearth Center. The
Shamans go further. On the Shamanic Medicine path, you transform your wounds into sources of personal power. The shadow becomes the fountain of living water. Sounds cryptic probably. To put in colloquial terms, all of your experiences, traumatic or otherwise, once reflected upon and processed through compassion, become a source of wise guidance for yourself and others. Another reason for this cosmic message is so I would write about it, and remind all of you to do your inner work, of bringing light into your own dark places. Release and transform your demons and your shadows, and all other impurities. And by extension bring your light to the world. Fiercely guard your internal batteries. Don’t let anyone or anything waste your energy, your time, your health, your skills. Be very selective who you allow into your sacred circle. Strategy is superior to direct battle, and one strategy that the dark forces use on humans (very effective in the world if you look all around you), is to drain a person through distractions, shiny trivialities, drama, emotionally charged lies in the media, toxins and parasites in things we consume, meaningless busy work, etc. Combat that strategy with laser like focus on your dharma.
hearth, in the spiritual/ psychological sense, is the sacred place in your heart, where you transform darkness into light, impurities (lead) into wisdom (gold). On Jan 19-20, I will teach a Shamanic Energy Healing workshop with focus on Deep Spiritual Cleansing, Purification and Protection. I will present the philosophy, principles and practices of the Spirit Warrior Way. All work is done with Archangel Michael, and other supportive and compassionate spiritual beings, and the entire Angelic realm. To learn more about the workshop go to: https://psychicselfdefensetraining.com I’m also available for private Spiritual Counseling and Healing sessions. To learn more or to schedule a session, go to: https://purehearthcenter.com
Click here to visit purehearthcenter.com
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Live Well.