Dunthor.com - Leo 2001

Inga's Celebration Calendar

July 20^th New Moon in Cancer

The Moon and Sun are conjunct in the sky. The moon is dark and gradually increases to a crescent. This is the time to begin a ritual involving a new project, to ask for new vision. A new moon in Cancer would be appropriate for house projects and house protection rituals and new real-estate ventures. It is also perfect for shadow-work, hypnosis or meditation involving the unconscious mind.

July 22^nd The Sun Enters Leo

Leo is the hottest and driest, as well as the most playful and creative time of year. The top cat takes his responsibilities seriously. Our task, during its season, is to balance hedonism with duty. You know...hang out at Alki all day and enjoy these glorious long, warm evenings but remember to water the garden when you come home. Responsibility is good for you but so is taking time to play in the sun.

July 28^th and 29^th is the Highland Games

Always the hottest weekend of the year at the King County Fairgrounds in Enumclaw WA. For more information call 206-522-2541 or click here to visit the Seattle Scottish Highland Games Association's website.

Here is a Scottish joke in honor of the games:

A young Scottish lad and lassie were sitting on a low stone wall, holding hands, and just gazing out over the loch. For several minutes they sat silently, then finally the girl looked at the boy and said, "A penny for your thoughts, Angus."

"Well, uh, I was thinkin'. . .perhaps it's aboot time for a wee kiss."

The girl blushed, then leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Then he blushed. Then the two turned once again to gaze out over the loch. After a while the girl spoke again. "Another penny for your thoughts, Angus."

"Well, uh I was thinkin.......perhaps its noo aboot time for a wee cuddle."

The girl blushed, then leaned over and cuddled him for a few seconds. Then he blushed. Then the two turned once again to gaze out over the loch. After a while the girl spoke again. "Another penny for your thoughts, Angus."

"Well, uh I was thinkin...perhaps its aboot time you let me poot ma hand on your leg."

The girl blushed, then took his hand and put it on her knee. Then he blushed. Then the two turned once again to gaze out over the loch. After a while the girl spoke again. "Another penny for your thoughts, Angus."

The young man knit his brow. "Well, now," he said, "My thoughts are a bit more serious this time."

"Really?" said the girl in a whisper, filled with anticipation.

"Aye," said the lad. The girl looked away in shyness, began to blush, and bit her lip in anticipation of the ultimate request.

"Din'na ye think it's aboot time ye paid me the first three pennies?"

August 1^st is Lammas, Midsummer, also called Lughnasad

A grain offering or newly baked loaves are burned upon the altar in celebration of the first harvest. Lammas honors the Grain Harvests and the Gods and Goddesses of Death and Resurrection by marking the time when the days begin to shorten.

Visit Tarna’s Mystic Realms for a nice Lammas ritual.

For more about the traditional Greek Holidays check out Bruce McLennan’s text.

August 3^rd Full Moon in Aquarius and The IEM Get Together!

The Moon and Sun are opposite each other in the sky. The Moon reflects all of the Sun's light. This is the time to perform rituals for protection, clarity of vision and consecration. A full moon in Aquarius would be appropriate for charitable events and completing humanitarian projects. Join us in figuring out how to save the planet!

August 18^th is a New Moon in Leo

The Moon and Sun are conjunct in the sky. The moon is dark and gradually increases to a crescent. This is the time to begin a ritual involving a new project, to ask for new vision. A new moon in Leo is an appropriate time for rituals to improve your self image, or standing, and to take on new responsibilities.

August 22^nd Sun Enters Virgo

Keep an eye out for the new IEM Newsletter – maybe it will be on time! You never know.

Book Review

Hypnotherapy by Dave Elman

All I’ve been reading this month is textbooks required by my Hypnotherapy course! This particular book was originally published in 1964 and is one of the classics of modern hypnotherapy. The 50s and 60s saw a rush of interest in hypnotism the USA and Soviet Union. It was proven effective for anesthesia, sports performance and psychoanalysis. The military also experimented with hypnotism for “mind control” or “brainwashing.” The mainstream press equally sang hypnosis’ praises and vilified it. Hypnosis figures into a lot of movies of the era including The Manchurian Candidate with Frank Sinatra and Angela Lansbury from 1962.

Dave Elman was a writer, director and producer of network radio programs. At 49 years of age, he decided to change careers and return to hypnotism, something he had studied in his youth. He restricted the enrollment in his Course in Clinical Hypnosis to physicians and dentists, teaching them induction techniques and demonstrating, what he called, hypnoanalysis. I remember my mom using the inductions right out of this book on her friends when I was a little kid.

This book is full of anecdotes and case studies. He really shows what can be done with this remarkable tool. I was shocked by the doctors in the book cavalierly tossing out diagnostic labels such as psychosomatic, neurotic, frigid, etc. as if anything they couldn’t prescribe a drug for is a neurosis shocked me. It helped me to realize how far modern physicians have come in the understanding of compassionate and holistic medicine since 1964. Dave Elman’s approach with these same neurotic and frigid patients shows a much more “modern” understanding than their own doctors. He tells them all “everything that ever happened to you is stored in your unconscious mind and can be freed or at least understood through hypnosis.” Then he goes on to hypnotize the patient and find perfectly logical causes for their “neurotic aberrations” thereby allowing them to reframe the precipitating event and release the problem. -- Inga Duncan Thornell >^..^<

Click here to learn more about purchasing this book from Amazon.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

This month’s most frequently asked question is “Well, how was the Hypnotherapy Seminar, Inga?”

I had a wonderful time at the Institute for Therapeutic Learning’s Comprehensive Hypnotherapy/NLP Certification Training Program. I missed you all but it was really beneficial for me to spend this much time with someone who is a real master of this material. Jack Elias, a certified hypnotherapist (CHT), teaches classes several times a year, including the Summer Intensive, that I took. I met some great people and learned a lot, Including: hypnotherapy for anesthesia, resolving conflicts between aspects of the sub-personality and removing phobias and compulsions.

Hypnotherapy combined with regression is a dramatic way to become aware of your unconsciously programmed, forgotten prime directives. Most of what we think we know about ourselves is based on the faulty remembrances of our child-self, which can be corrected through hypnotherapy. I am really interested in working with midwives to use hypnotherapy for painless, drug-free childbirths. How about a session before getting a tattoo both to decide what symbols are most meaningful to you and to make your tattoo session painless? I’m going to make myself a tape to listen to prior to going to the dentist.

To learn more, visit The Institute for Therapeutic Learning's website. By successfully passing this class, I'm now recognized by the National Guild of Hypnotists, Inc.

Letters from our Readers

We think of this newsletter as a community forum. You, our friends and clients, are welcome to participate. We celebrate diversity and we'll print whatever you send in be it Wiccan, Christian, Pagan, New Age, etc., as long as it reflects Love. You may choose a one-time holiday to write about or have a regular column. We'll give you space and a byline! Please send in your own book reviews, ideas for rituals, ideas about stones, your journal excerpts, your experiences and most of all, ask us questions. We love answering questions!

From Donald Neel:

Living in a small, rural, Christian community, my [very few] Pagan friends and I never get to celebrate any Pagan holidays, or conduct rituals. Recently, though, a close friend and myself decided to, in celebration of her birthday, throw a party. But this party would be different than most. We started by cleaning-out a small clearing in the woods behind her house. Next, we hung a few oil lanterns in the trees, along with a couple windchimes, then did a small windchime protection rite to help cleanse and protect the area. We also found some large stones and made a fireplace with seats. Next, we bought a couple of really long, green, grounded extension cords, and ran them all the way from her garage to our little abode. (After all, we are a couple of "TECHNO-PAGANS!" *WINK!*) We also had bought two yard floodlight fixtures, with blue lamps to go in them. We positioned the blue lights behind an old tree so the actual light source couldn't be seen. We set them up to where they would spray light out and up across the trees giving the woods a mystic blue look. (It also looked neat, because it appeared as if the blue light was emitting from the tree they were hidden behind!) To add an even more MAGICKAL effect, we took my fog machine, and attached to it's nozzle a ten foot pipe. Inside the pipe, we inserted large amounts of [regular] ice. I read on the 'net that by doing this, the fog would be chilled, and would lay low to the ground instead of dissipating up into the air like smoke. It worked better than we had expected! The fog hugged the ground and creeped around the trees and leaves just as we had hoped it would do! We held the party at night. There were only four of us, but we had a blast! Ame and I wore our new, green, hooded
robes, (thank you Inga and Scott!!), along with some magickal jewelry, and our two guests just wore their most "magickal" things they had. We had a small table with various foods, including grapes, grape juice, breads, and cheeses. We even had Ame's CD player plugged-in too, and had wonderful MAGICKAL music echoing through the hollow! Although we weren't allowed to start a fire, we were allowed to have incense, and candles. We did the Welcoming the Elementals rite using Inga's incense and Ame says that she felt the presence of the two that are living in a particular tree. The party was quite a magickal success and we look forward to putting our robes to use again real soon!!*~ :)

Susan sent me this very interesting website:

The Great Illusion, the unlocking of the secret path. Jim Warren, the author, states that this site contains the secret knowledge of the ages and he warns you to not click on the "Doors of Perception" if you are comfortable in your present state of consciousness....

Here is a good laugh from Eileen:

One day in the Garden of Eden, Eve calls out to God. "Lord, I have a problem!"

"What's the problem, Eve?"

"Lord, I know you created me and provided this beautiful garden and all of these wonderful animals and that hilarious comedic snake, but I'm just not happy."

"Why is that, Eve?" came the reply from above.

"Lord, I am lonely, and I'm sick to death of apples."

"Well Eve, in that case, I have a solution. I shall create a man for you."

"What's a man, Lord?"

"This man will be a flawed creature, with many bad traits. He'll lie, cheat and be vainglorious; all in all, he'll give you a hard time. But, he'll be bigger, faster, and will like to hunt and kill things. He will look silly when he's aroused, but since you've been complaining, I'll create him in such a way that he will satisfy your physical needs. He will be witless and will revel in childish things like fighting and kicking a ball about. He won't be too smart, so he'll also need your advice to think properly."

"Sounds great." says Eve, with an ironically raised eyebrow. "What's the catch, Lord?"

"Well... you can have him on one condition."

"What's that, Lord?"

"As I said, he'll be proud, arrogant, and self-admiring... So you'll have to let him believe that I made him first. Just remember, it's our little secret... You know, woman to woman."

And another from Eric:

An old country doctor went way out to the boondocks to deliver a baby. It was so far out, there was no electricity. When the doctor arrived, no one was home except for the laboring mother and her 5-year-old child. The doctor instructed the child to hold a lantern high so he could see, while he helped the woman deliver the baby. The child did so.

The mother pushed; and after a little while, the doctor lifted the newborn baby by the feet and spanked him on the bottom to get him to take his first breath.

The doctor then asked the 5-year-old what he thought of the baby.

The little boy responded: "He shouldn't have crawled in there in the first place. Spank him again."

The Duncan Domain

A couple of years ago, I heard an interview with a Tibetan monk on the radio where he stated his complete lack of comprehension of the widespread state of depression and anger in Western society. He stated that Tibetans are taught that they are not only responsible for their emotional state at all times but that they have the power to alter it at will. Being someone who has struggled with depression my whole life and with all the violence that permeates our American culture, I had come to accept it all as quite normal. So I was bewildered by his description of the Tibetan worldview. Due to my inability to explain it, I probably wrote it off by thinking that they must spend 8 hours a day doing yoga, meditating and eating granola. I’d be a happy camper, too, if that were all I had to do. At least that’s what I believed at the time.

As many of you know, during the past two years I have been deeply exploring a state of being created by the alignment of spirit, body and mind. I’ve learned that the overlap of the three realms creates a sacred space of non-ordinary reality and consciousness. Within that space, I can communicate with virtually anyone – humans, animals, spirits, archetypes, elementals, Father/Mother/God, my own sub-personalities, my past lives, etc. When I am in this state, I can also achieve a much higher level of self-integration. When that happens, I feel the magic, power and beauty of who I am come forth. My sense and understanding of my life purpose becomes clearer and I feel the joy and contentment that comes from knowing that I am here to do sacred work.

I’ve found that the healthiest methods of achieving this state of alignment for me are Hatha yoga, meditation, chakra cleansing and hypnotherapy. As I first practiced these methods and I bathed in that sacred space, soaking in that healing energy, I felt that I, like my Tibetan friend on the radio, could now successfully vanquish my depression. How? By quitting my day job and joining a monastery where I could work at staying in this enlightened state as much as possible! I felt a real disconnect between the normal waking consciousness in which we work and live and that state of sacred alignment.

With further practice, what I have found to be true is that I am a spiritual being that volunteered to inhabit a physical body, one that is designed to build and hold that state of alignment for the world. This is what I’ve come to understand as “grounding”, the act of merging my spiritual energy and creativity with that of Mother Earth within my body. So grounding becomes the foundation for the work I am here to achieve. I've also learned that if I'm feeling anything less than contentment, joy, enthusiasm, love, etc., then my state of alignment is too low. Duh! Never mind that it took me 40 + years to figure this out. Of course, this wasn’t taught in the schools or churches I attended so it’s strictly been a self-exploratory exercise.

Best of all, I’ve figured out that I don’t need to join that monastery as I don’t need to be doing yoga all day long. Non-ordinary states of consciousness are just like exercise. I get benefit from the exercise even when I am between exercise sessions and as I continue to workout, my general state of fitness increases. One of the coolest things about yoga is what it teaches us about breathing, something we do 24 hours per day. Deep, purposeful breaths through our noses signal the body, spirit and mind to achieve grounding and alignment. So right in the midst of a very hectic, seemingly insane workplace, we can remember to breathe correctly and all of a sudden, a sacred space opens up in the middle of chaos and gives all that energy a way to be expressed with enlightenment and Love. Here are the things I am utilizing during my day to remind me to be grounded and aligned:

Yogic breathing as mentioned above.
Use of triggers and anchors: objects like stones, jewelry, prayer scarves, etc. that I’ve programmed or pressing my forefinger and thumb together to take me back into that aligned state of being.
Rituals: Simple ones that use incense and candles, silent prayer, expressions of gratitude, an awareness of the Earth’s cycles and patterns combined with the timing and energy of planetary and stellar events as described in Inga’s Celebration Calendar.

During one of my guided sessions with Inga, I was led to an old Jesuit mission by my spiritual teacher, White Elk. Within I found all the trappings of the Catholic religion – artwork, incense, candles, statues, etc. Much to my surprise, Jesus appeared before me and the message he had for me was to incorporate the practice of simple sacred ritual in my daily life. As I have explored this, I’m learning that it’s nothing more than a simple and heartfelt expression of gratitude to the entities and energies that surround us, the very ones that our conscious minds tend to ignore. I've come to realize that I am never alone in this world and that as I become self-aligned, I can then proceed to align with so many others, human and non-human, to achieve the divine transformation of ourselves and this planet we call home. And that reminds me, it’s time to go light my candle! – Scott Bruce Duncan */:-)

Leo 2001 Edition

About Leo	Frequently Asked Questions
Inga's Celebration Calendar	Letters from our Readers
Stone of the Sign	The Monthly IEM Get Together
Book Review	The Duncan Domain