#energy sharing

[mollydyerpodcast]

New Episode available on your favorite podcast platform! Or click here to listen! 

[amsterz14-blog]

Sexuality

Your sexual self starts between the ears. If you can't do certain things with your body, at least you have your mind, your words, your hands, your lips. Society puts too much focus on genitals and needs to rejoice in human experience.

[erinautin]

I got to attend my first press conference! Today (on Texas Independence Day!) Gridmates announced their official launch with words from founder George Koutitas, pilot project partner and Mobile Loaves & Fishes founder Alan Graham, and Austin Mayor Steve Adler.

Gridmates is a peer-to-peer energy sharing platform. They aim to end energy poverty by allowing people to share energy. For example, if I want to help a family struggling to pay their energy bill, I could donate a few kilowatts of energy so they’re able to keep their lights on for a few extra days.

The pilot project is a partnership with the Mobile Loaves & Fishes Community First! Village, an impressive and inspiring initiative. The village is a 27-acre master planned community designed to empower Austin’s homeless population by supporting them with community. It’s not just getting people off the streets, but providing them an entire network for rebuilding their lives. People will live in microhomes, for which they’ll pay rent, and have access to a workshop for building and art projects, a medical facility, a community garden, an outdoor movie theater (from Alamo Drafthouse!), a CAP metro bus stop, and wifi. I’ve heard Alan speak a few times now, and I’m still in awe of how much he’s done for the homeless and the Austin community in general.

Gridmates’ role in this project is to provide electricity to the village for the first year. They’ve launched a crowd sourcing campaign, and with the help of some corporate sponsors, have reached about half of their goal. What they really need are individual Gridmates (like you! or me!) to donate $10 - $20. 

I’m so excited for Net Impact Austin to be a Gridmates promotional partner and be able to contribute to this project. We’re planning a volunteer day to work at the village for sometime in May. Updates to come.

[nymeriasong]

Energy Sharing

It has been quite a while since my last post, and I apologize for that. I have been busy with work, friends, family, and a little thing called GISHWHES, which stands for Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen, run by Supernatural actor Misha Collins.

Before I get into this post's spiritual element, I would like to tell you that GISHWHES was probably the most ridiculously fun week I have had in a long time. I got to meet some amazing people (as half my team was made up of people from Illinois), and I got to spend some time with, and become closer to, many of my friends at home.

We did things I did not think I would have ever done (180 clothes pins pinned to my body, for example), made some incredibly fascinating pieces of art (condiment painting of Jean Luc Picard, anyone?), and of course, much kale was abused.

I would without a doubt recommend participating in next year's hunt to anyone of any age, whether you are a fan of Supernatural or not (very few items have anything to do with the show anyway). A portion of the entry fee goes to Random Acts, a charity that promotes random acts of kindness, and also helps build orphanages and schools in third world countries.

OK. Now that that is out of the way, on to the spiritual part of the post! This week, I would like to talk to you about energy sharing.

Since I was quite young, I knew that I could feel the energies of those around me. I always knew if someone was happy, sad, angry, or frustrated, and their feelings affected me in ways I could not understand or explain.

When I was in high school, I was helping a friend through a rough breakup. She was over at my house, and we were going to sleep. I could hear her crying quietly, and I felt compelled to reach out to her. I put my hand on her shoulder, and instantly, I felt my heart sink. I felt the pain and sorrow she was holding within herself. I took a deep breath and allowed the pain to flow from her to me, and then out of me (I did not yet know where it went, I just knew I didn't keep it). Within minutes, my friend was sleeping peacefully, and seemed much better in the morning.

I did not know it then, but that was the beginning of my spiritual healing journey. I had connected to dogs in similar ways in the past (helping them calm down when they were stressed) but that was the first time I had done it to a human.

A couple of days later, I told my mother about what I had done, and with her help, I learned how to control it, and how it worked. She told me to be careful who I touched, and when I did touch people, she taught me how to control how much, if any, of their energy I allowed into myself. She also told me to always say a little prayer before I tried to heal someone, and another afterwards, to thank God for helping me.

I am now able to help people without actually touching them, but physical touch is always better for deeper pains or stresses. I have made witches bottles for friends who need them, that allow them to be connected to me in times of extreme need.

I recently helped a good friend of mine alleviate some of the stress he had been carrying for quite a while. He had not allowed anyone to take on his worries for many years. I was able to convince him to let me take some, and when he finally relaxed enough for me to get in, my heart sunk the way it had the first time I had ever taken on someone's pain. That was only the second time I had felt that way after healing someone. Shortly after I did this, he fell asleep, and I was able to take some more pain from him (in smaller quantities, as he was not giving it to me the way he had the first time).

When I heal people's spirits like this, I always connect myself to the gods first. I call upon Freya and the Valkyries for strength, and I visualize the many Wells and Rivers, into which I let the pain flow to be purified and absorbed by Yggdrasil. Once I am done, I ask Freya to wash my spirit with the water form the Wells, so the other person's pain does not stick to me.

Some kind of physical touch is always useful for the more difficult “cases”. Hand holding, touching foreheads, hugs, etc. For those I know well, and whose spirits I am familiar with, slight touching (toe to toe, fingertips, etc) are sufficient, but not always necessary (I often give them rings, pendants, or witch’s bottles).

I hope you have found this post to be interesting! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to let me know!

If you have any suggestions for future posts, please let me know.

Have a blessed week!

)O(

Raguel

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