Aloha,
I'm Reverend Cindy Paulus and today I want to talk about something a little different.
I want to talk about spirit guides.
You know,
All Native cultural practices include some forms of spirit guides.
And here in Hawai'i,
Where I've been living for the last 30 years,
We call them amakua.
And they're taken very seriously in Native American traditions.
They are spirit guides.
Amakua in Hawai'i can be many times a traditional animal that is part of your tradition in your family,
Such as even sharks and owls,
Pueo.
I remember reading a beautiful book by Nona Vare,
Change We Must.
And she was a wonderful,
Wonderful Hawaiian kahuna.
I knew her daughter,
Emma Vare.
But Nona Vare talked about when she was a child,
She'd swim out with the sharks and they would help her catch fish and they would be her guides.
A very deep connection with them.
No fear,
Just a sense of awe that there is this spiritual connection that we have.
And it is an alignment we have with other spirit energy and other forms.
In fact,
It even can be a rock.
It can be a cloud.
It can be many things in the Hawaiian mythology.
But it's taken very seriously.
I have this beautiful dragonfly that comes out every time I go swimming in my pool.
I have a very deep connection to cardinals and birds.
I feel like birds are my amakua.
And they'll come and connect with me and I have just a deep,
Deep love and know that they're there.
And I feel very much attuned to that amakua.
It's spelled,
I'll spell it out for you.
It's amakua spelled A-M-A-K-U-A.
And you've learned to over time appreciate them,
Right?
It can be a sea turtle.
It can be a hawk.
It can be many different things here.
An eel even,
An octopus.
It can be a dog.
It can be a caterpillar.
It can be a plant,
Right?
They're spirit helpers that can help you in many times be your guardian as well.
And the Native American also have spirit guides and they have vision quests to find their spirit guide.
And they believe that the spirit guide will find you actually.
And of course with the Native Americans there's different animals associated like the wolf,
The bear,
The eagle,
The horse.
I've had a very deep connection with spirit guides being horses as well.
And if you remember Carlos CastaƱada,
He had,
Remember those trips he would take to be connected to his spirit guides and how he'd fly like a raven and be able to connect with that spirit energy.
But we can't also underestimate the power of our,
What I call our spiritual guardians,
Which can be our beloved pets.
And pets has really become a word that we don't use much anymore.
Our friends,
I like to call them our guardians because they are,
You know,
The dogs we have,
The cats we have,
The horses we have,
The birds we have.
They're our beloved companions that are there to bring out the love in us and to there to,
I mean,
So many times supply support.
And they have wonderful animals that go into special care hospitals and actually find that they ease the blood pressure.
There have been animals that know when someone's in need.
I interviewed a lady once who had care dogs and she had a dog that would go into the halls of a special care place for seniors.
And she let that dog pick the person that needed to be loved at that time.
And she said she didn't know,
But the dog knew right when that person was in need and would go there.
There was a story of a hospice place that had a cat and the cat knew before the person was getting ready to move on,
Would jump on their bed and be there before they transitioned on.
So we can't underestimate this part of our life that is so powerful,
Sometimes deeper than friendship,
You know,
Many times deeper than friendships that we have with our beloved guardians and our beloved guides.
I wrote a poem this morning that includes also our spirit guides and angels.
To all the angels who stand by and keep a watchful eye.
To all the servants of the way who seek to help each and every day.
To all you winged ones who fly,
The blessed messengers on high.
To the cardinals who stop by and the flitting dance of butterflies and the bright light of fireflies and the ever-flirting dragonflies.
To all the amicua and spirit guides.
To all the ones who remind us that our life's a dream and watch over us when we are asleep and when we go inside.
These lifetime guardians who are there reside.
We deeply thank you for the spirit you bring,
For the messages through us you speak,
For the guidance and the many blessings that through our life you bring.
So we cannot underestimate,
Nor should we ever underestimate,
Our lovely guardians,
Our lovely spirit guides,
Our amicuas,
Our angels,
And indeed there are spiritual guides that we have throughout life.
It's a part of us that a lot of people may not talk about much but it's very,
Very,
Very deep in connection.
And we sometimes have to go into the silence inside.
Now,
Some people do believe in doing vision quests and connecting with that energy and finding out what and who their spirit guides are.
And think about it,
It's not just an ethnic thing.
I mean,
When we look at the great Saint Francis of Assisi,
Look at the connection he had with all of the animals,
With how he loved his animals and how they loved him.
And it's so beautiful even today when you see the blessings of the animals.
It's just so humbling and beautiful when you see that pure love and the blessings of the animals that happen in honor of Saint Francis at many Catholic churches once a year.
So let's just take a few moments in recognition of our spirit guides and take some time.
We're going to breathe in deeply and clear our mind.
Breathing in deeply,
Holding our breath,
Breathing out,
Being very,
Very still and going to our sacred place within.
Breathing in,
Holding our breath and pause and slowly breathing out,
Relaxing our body,
Being aware of every single breath coming in and watching the air flowing slowly out.
Breathing quietly in and holding our breath and pausing for a moment,
Sensing our body as we breathe out.
How is your head to your neck?
Any tightness in your jaw and your eyes?
Sending love to your ears,
Your eyes,
Your nose,
All the way down into your throat,
Sending loving energy and light to your throat and your throat chakra and letting your energy move on down to your shoulders and releasing any tension in your back and your shoulders and sending love to your heart deep,
Deep,
Deep into the heart of your heart.
Your spirit guides know your heart and soul.
Let's dwell there in that place,
That perch in your heart that connects you to that beautiful energy where you can commune with the energy there within.
Breathing into the heart,
Sensing the love and the light and breathing out,
Breathing out,
Relaxing and being in tune with your body and your mind and your soul,
Being surrounded by the light of your body,
Mind and soul,
Relaxing and releasing any tension in the lower back now,
In the lower chakras,
In the hips and into the root chakra and the thighs,
The knees,
The calves,
The feet.
See yourself in perfect harmony and surrounded by this beautiful,
Beautiful light,
A white light that surrounds out over six feet.
Sense how beautifully aligned you are.
Have you ever noticed how animals are attracted by your energy?
Certain animals are very sensitive to you,
Whether it be a cat,
A bird,
A horse.
What energy do you feel you carry?
What energy do you feel aligned with?
Let's be quiet for a moment.
And let your soul speak to you.
Let your spirit guide speak to your soul.
Be still.
Be still in the quiet sacred space here within.
And just breathe and listen for any messages from your spirit guide.
Notice any change of color.
Breathing deeply in and listening.
And now send love to your spirit guides.
Send love to the animals you are aligned with.
Whether here in body or ones you've had that have gone.
Send them deep,
Deep love and appreciation for how they loved you and watched out over you or how they are watching out over you right now.
Feel the love that you had for that special being in your life.
It gives you unconditional love that understands your mind and your heart and your soul so beautifully.
How do you feel when you send that special being your light and love?
I'm sensing two of my spirit guides right now that have moved on.
My lovely horse Lumiere and a favorite parrot I had named Junior.
Sometimes I see them in dreams and sometimes you will see your beloved guardians in your dreams.
Send them your love right now and your appreciation and allow them to send their love back to you,
Their healing energy,
Their knowingness of your soul.
Ah,
Embrace that love,
That unconditional love.
That beautiful love and allow yourself now to come into alignment with that perfect sense of knowingness that your guardians have for you.
Feel it.
Feel it.
Know that these are the energies that help you in times of need.
I'm going to close with the beautiful St.
Francis prayer.
Lord,
Make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred,
Let me sow love.
Where there is injury,
Pardon.
Where there is doubt,
Faith.
Where there is despair,
Hope.
And where there is sadness,
Joy.
Oh divine master,
Grant that I may be,
Not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive and it's in pardoning that we are pardoned.
And it's in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Thank you so much for spending time here with the energy of the Spirit Guides.
And may they always be there to protect and guide you.
God bless you always and thank you for being there.
