Birds vs Windows

While working on some writing I heard a loud "bang" at the window. I knew immediately it was a bird, they do tend to smack into these big windows.  I turned and noticed the bird bounce off the glass and then zoom right back and grabbed the screen with his little feet and just hung there.  I found a great solution to keep birds from striking the windows last fall, and I knew I just needed to refresh it, (I'll show you my trick) but first, I was worried about the bird!

So I grabbed my phone figuring it would fly off soon, and I started snapping photos. The closer I got, I realized that the bird was really stunned. It was blinking it's little eyes and it beak was hanging open. The little chickadee allowed me to get really close.

Mouth open, eyes half closed, poor baby....

I was shocked, this bird must have really been seeing stars.  So I decided to Reiki the little sweetie through the glass.  Reiki is a specific kind of energy healing method that originated in Japan.  It allows you to channel universal life energy through your hands in order to heal people, animals, plants, and even situations, it's very soothing and works amazingly well.  I've been a Reiki Master/Teacher for years, but this was a unique situation that I've never had come up.  I sat with my hands against the glass for 3-5 minutes and the little bird just sat there soaking it up! I was just amazed. Finally, it closed it beak and the eye blinking slowed down as it began to turn it's head left and right looking around like, "where am I, what the hell happened?!"  It sat there a bit longer enjoying the Reiki, and then finally fluttered away.

Some Reiki energy for my feathered friend, I can't believe it sat there for that long!

Last fall when I noticed that birds do fly into the windows a lot, I've added some UV stickers to the windows, and I also dot  the windows with transparent UV liquid, both products help the birds see the window. To them, they just see the trees reflected in the glass and they think they can fly right on through, but the UV really stands out to their little birdie eyes so they know somethings up.  The UV liquid lasts awhile, but it's not permanent, and I knew after the experience with the stunned bird, it was time to refresh it.

THIS is the stuff! I found this last fall online on a website called Window Alert, I bought two bottle and some of their stickers too.

This is really cool, it's like a bingo marker, but it has special UV liquid that's designed to help keep birds from striking windows. I ordered two bottles of it last fall long with some UV leaf shaped stickers.

One of the leaf stickers, these are transparent and still are UV visible to the birds.  I didn't want to cover my windows with stickers, so I put them on the panes where birds were striking hard last year, and then I add dots of the less visible to the human eye liquid to the rest.

The stickers are pretty transparent so they don't mess up your view, I bet you never noticed them in my previous blog posts, but the birds can see them and the liquid very well, to the birds, they actually glow! Just so you know, I'm not getting paid to write this post, I'm just sharing it because it works.

Just dot it on, I do the middle of each square and the center of where the white lines on the windows meet.

They suggest you can use the marker in shapes too, if you choose to, you could make hearts, or magical symbols for healing and protection.  The stuff is slightly visible to the human eye, I just kept it simple with dots but applying magical intention and Reiki as I went.

I find that our birds strike the screened part of the windows too, it's a little more bouncy, so they probably don't get hurt as badly, but I like to treat that area too. push the screen against the window with one hand and apply the liquid right through the screen.

Here's the view out my studio window, it's quite jarring when I'm sitting there working on art or writing and a bird bashes into the window! I jump out of my skin, and then I worry about the little guys. You can see the difference between the stickers and the liquid here, it's really hard to take a photo of the liquid dots.  Visitors don't notice them unless I point them out.

You would think sun catchers in the window would help...

...but their little birdie eyes just see the trees reflected off the surface of the glass window!

I do have to add new liquid UV dots from time to time, I know when it's time because the birds let me know with a few big "bam" sounds.  If you love to feed and watch the birds the way that we do, and have a window or several that they seem to be smacking into, this stuff really works, it's affordable, and doesn't ruin your view.  Here's the link: http://www.windowalert.com/

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions, I've been using this stuff for about a year.

Blessed Be!,
Mickie

Listening to Canyon Storm by Gwain Nighthawk with Blake Octavian Blair

I love music!  I really do, and when I'm not watching a magical movie while I work at my old wooden art table I love to have some great tunes playing.  Many people don't know that I spent a great part of my art career creating CD, cassette and stage artwork for St. Louis area bands and local art for national touring rock and metal bands.  Music has always been an important part of my life and my tastes range from crunchy Metal, Ska, Jazz, Classical, New Age, Steampunk, Classic Rock, and one can occasionally catch me getting funky with that 70's groove.  Music speaks to your heart and soul.

One of my favorite new CD's that takes me to that chill place I need to be when I'm writing is Canyon Storm by Gwain Nighthawk with Blake Octavian Blair.  Described as "World Fusion featuring the Native American Flute," this is a CD full of spirit and personally I love listening to it while writing and creating art.  It's so obvious that creating this CD was a labor of love and that comes out in the music. 

Gwain Nighthawk plays a hauntingly beautiful flute, the ethereal melodies transport the listener to a place of harmony and peace.  Gwains partner, Blake Octavian Blair is a Llewewllyn author that you may know from his articles in their popular periodicals and is the percussionist for this venture.  He brings in world instruments to compliment Gwains peaceful flute such as Tibetan bowl, Native American frame drum, Udu, and rainstick.  They also have guests that appear on several of the songs adding new levels to the tunes and melodies.  The production sound is clean sounding, very pure as if you are sitting on a rock in the desert at sundown listening to the music in a ritual.  Sounds of nature have been added with just the right balance so as not to come off over edited but in the perfect balance of man made and nature made music and rhythms blended in a soothing sound scape.

As a Reiki Master, I've noticed that the resonance of the music seems to actually lift the vibrations of the room where it's played, not surprising since both Gwain and Blake are  Reiki practitioners.  Since I first received this CD it has on more than one occasion been salve to heal my spirit and fill my home with vibrations of peace and love.

You can listen to samples to their music on CD Baby, you can also download the MP3 or order a copy of their CD. 

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/gwainnighthawkandblakeoc

Thanks guys for creating many moments of Zen!

Bright Blessings!

Sandalwood and Smelly Socks-World Peace Meditation Challenge: Day 2,

I challenged myself to thirty days of meditation using the Reiki World Peace Cards yesterday.  Click here for the original post explaining this challenge. 

Day One, Yesterday:
I started the challenge last night, and I have to say working with the Reiki crystal grid cards on day one was really powerful.  I plumped up the pillows on my bed, lit some saffron incense and hit the relaxing wind chime sound effects button on my alarm clock and laid out the cards in front of me.  I gazed at the cards for a bit, then I drew the Reiki symbols one by one over the cards.  I placed my wrists on my knees so my open palms were over the cards and I sent Reiki to the grid.  I could see them all in my head, so I closed my eyes.  I reached a meditative state and saw my usual purple swirls of energy.  At one point during the meditation I could actually feel the metal of the grids, it was really cool, my hands were vibrating with energy, and I had visions of the grids pulsing and rippling energy outward.  Wow!  I was impressed.  I felt very relaxed and balanced when I was done and propped the cards up on a shelf in my bedroom.

Day Two, Today:
I had a pretty good day, felt pretty relaxed and happy and got a lot of things done.  This evening I set out to repeat my meditation, closed my bedroom door, set everything up as before and focused.  I closed my eyes and it went something like this,  "Mmmm...world peace, world peace...do I smell socks?  Someone left socks on the floor.  It's not my feet, I had sandals on today...definitely socks.  Focus, world peace, world peace...Sandalwood, I like sandalwood, but maybe I should go back to the saffron...sandalwood and socks, hmmmm.  Focus, world peace, world peace, crystal grid, I'm sitting too far from my pillow, scoot myself back, sit up straight, better.  It's Soma's birthday today, wish we could have made the party, but I'd hate to pass Dans cold on to anyone...Focus, world peace, crystal grid, I see the North Pole and South Pole grids bringing energy to the world, poles, poles, did I set the pole cards up differently than yesterday? Reverse the poles?  Reverse Polarity?
Cue the music in my head:
"A tired mind become a shape shifter,
Everybody need a mood lifter,
Everybody need reverse polarity. Everybody got mixed feelings
About the function and the form.
Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
No, no, lyrics from Vital Signs by Rush are not good for focusing on meditation!  Focus, focus, world peace, crystal grid, Gods, this bra is really digging in, maybe I should loose the bra..."

So yeah,  one amazing meditation experience, one not so much.  What's the lesson here?  I believe that it's this; the thing you're trying to do but you're having trouble, that's what you need to do more of.  The more you do it, the better you'll get at it.  I used to be really good at dropping into a meditative state with ease, but I'm a bit out of practice, so it's good that I'm doing this.  I gathered up my cards, held them in my hands and quietly send Reiki energy to them.  It's all good.  Anyone who does Reiki could do it that way and it will work just as well as meditating through it.  I really want to do the meditating because I know it's good for my peace of mind and well-being as well as the rippling out effect.  \So tomorrow, I'll be back at it again.

Blessings,

Visualize Whirled Peas, *ahem* World Peace Actually

I've decided the meditate on World Peace for at least 15 minutes every day for thirty days.
How did all this all start?  Well, it all started with Barbara Moore, author of many Tarot decks and books including the upcoming Steampunk Tarot.  She posted the following video on Facebook and challenged her friends to try something new for thirty days as well.  I thought the idea was intriguing.  Here is the video...http://www.wimp.com/somethingnew/

So earlier this week I had signed up for a Reiki newsletter. For those who don't know, Reiki is a energy healing technique in which the practitioner channels universal life force healing energy through their hands to heal mind, body and spirit.  I've been a Reiki Master/Teacher for years now and I thought it would be a good way to keep up to date on all the new Reiki stuff out there.  Shortly after I read Barbara's post, I checked my email and the newsletter was there, I had found my new thing to do for thirty days! William Lee Rand of the International Reiki Center has had these really cool Reiki crystal grids made and has placed them all over the world, even at the north and south poles.  He has taken photos of them when they were placed, and created downloadable cards that you can print out. 

Some of the World Peace Grid cards I printed, front and back.

The idea is that if loads of people meditate on the cards each person become part of the World Peace Grid.  What a cool idea! By simply opening to their energy, you’ll become a channel for love and peace which will flow through you to all the people on Earth. To do this, hold the cards in your hands or place them in front of you. Then simply meditate on peace.   The cards are also supposed to create peace in the environment they are located in and healing within you when you meditate with them.  Bonus!  Send good things into the world, good things come back.

The inscription on the grids read:
"May the followers of all religions and spiritual paths
work together to create peace among all people on earth."

All of the cards fronts, with the Triple Goddess looking on.  I'm going to go meditate now.

So I decided, why not?  I need to be meditating anyway, so I decided to start using the cards for at least a 15 minute meditation every day.  I printed them out, they're really pretty!  If any one else is interested, it's a free download, so far there have been nearly 250,000 downloads of the World Peace Cards.

Here's the link to download the cards and print your own set and join me.

Additional World Peace Cards
http://www.reiki.org/WPCM.html

Blessings!