Spirituality | Michelle Cromer

The Traditions from Samhain

Michelle Cromer October 26, 2020 Leave a Comment

Samhain When my great-great-grandfather came from Ireland, he like other Irish immigrants brought with them the custom of jack-o’-lanterns. Their origin comes from an Irish myth about Stingy Jack, who tricked the Devil for his own monetary gain. When Jack died, God didn’t allow him into heaven, and the Devil didn’t let him into hell, so Jack was sentenced to roam the earth for eternity.

In Ireland, people started to carve demonic faces out of turnips to frighten away Jack’s wandering soul. When Irish immigrants moved to the U.S., they began carving jack-o’-lanterns from pumpkins, as these were native to the region.

Halloween is based on the Celtic festival Samhain, a celebration in ancient Ireland that marked the end of summer and the beginning of the new year on November 1. It was believed that during Samhain the souls of those who had died that year traveled to the otherworld and that other souls would return to visit their homes. Traditions from Samhain remain, such as wearing disguises to hide yourself from the souls wandering around your home.

Day of the Dead

Just another reason why October is my favorite month of the year!

Happy Halloween!

Have any Feng Shui questions? Feel free to contact me at michelle@michellecromer.com and sign up for your Power Color or visit me on Facebook at Michelle Cromer Feng Shui.

Discovering the Joy in Healing- My Four-Year Cancer-Free Anniversary

Michelle Cromer August 10, 2020 Leave a Comment

“At first I was afraid, I was petrified,” sings Gloria Gaynor in her huge hit “I Will Survive.” This is the song I was listening to when I received the phone call from my doctor. I don’t remember much of what he said, all I remember were those three devastating words, “You have cancer.” The opening line summed up my exact feeling. Petrified.

After I hung up the phone I made a choice. I knew the opposite of fear is courage and I realized to get through this adventure I would need to surround myself with family and friends who would not only support and encourage me but would help me stay in my joy.

The deep sorrow of any illness carves a hole into our being, but the hole leaves space for joy. Sorrow and joy are a package deal. When one in your kitchen the other is asleep on the couch.

I learned that joy is everyday magic. It grounds me. It lifts me. It expands my mind and spirit. And I learned that a daily affirmation helped me to stay in my joy. I would look in the mirror at the scars on my face that six surgeries and 64 stitches left and I would say out loud:
“My scars are only skin deep. Cancer cannot break my heart, it cannot rob my spirit, and it cannot touch my soul. Today I choose to stay in my joy.”

Today I joyfully celebrate my four-year cancer-free anniversary. I was told I most likely wouldn’t be here on this day. And here I am! I know how impossible it can be to beat the odds, but healing is always tethered to the mystery of the impossible, which, in every instance, requires the animation of the spirit, the capacity to let go and allow the impossible to take flight — giving form and vision to endless possibilities.

I will forever be grateful for my reconstruction plastic surgeon Dr. David Hecht, in Scottsdale. He not only saved my life by doing a biopsy on my “freckle” when THREE doctors said it was nothing, he used his talent and artistic genius to put my face back together after I had five procedures to cut out the cancer. As my scars continue to fade my admiration, respect, and gratitude for Dr. Hecht never will.

Surviving cancer didn’t give me a fresh start on life; it gave me a chance to understand what it means to live. It isn’t a challenge to be dealt with, conquered, or overcome. I realized a complex view of myself was required to work through my fears and having cancer has provided me a level of maturity I have never before experienced. I am now weathered, solid, shaped by my sorrow and pain as well as by my success and joys. Cancer is a process that allowed me to open doorways and turn the lights on to the inner rooms of my soul. The gratitude I feel will be burned into my consciousness forever. I will never forget because I will never be the same.

And now the darkness is over. And in its place is the illumination of a bright new path that lights the way for the rest of my life and for the joy that surrounds me. Always.

Metaphysical Feng Shui and the Power of You

Michelle Cromer July 20, 2020 2 Comments

After having a Feng Shui practice for over 15 years I have discovered that most people want to make a quick and simple surface lifestyle change. Most are not willing to look at their own self and make real change, they want to move some furniture around and make the house do the work. That is not how Feng Shui works. At least not to me. At least not to the ancient Chinese. The success stories I have experienced always start with the intention of the person and the power they have within.

Metaphysical Feng Shui requires a change in attitude and a self-analyst. It takes the power out of the hands of external circumstances and delivers it where it belongs -within each of us. . You can’t change what’s going on around you until you start changing what’s going on within you.

There are many ways to understand life, the universe, and you: through superstition, religion, philosophy, science, etc. While each approach has its own experts – scientists, priests, philosophers, doctors, poets – all are simply blind people receiving different impressions from touching an elephant. A priest may feel its legs and life is a tree trunk; a scientist holding its tail may find that life is ropelike; a poet feeling an ear may proclaim life is like a lotus leaf, and so on. From each of their perspectives, their expert conclusion makes sense and is based on knowledge. As we all know, their theories are merely parts of the whole picture.

I too am one of the blind. And because I touch a different part of the elephant, I have developed my own theory about the relationship of the universe to human life and the relationship we each have with ourselves. My insights come from spending time in Peru, Spain, Israel, two trips to Tibet, and studying in China-, which during 5000 years of civilization has spawned many diverse and meaningful concepts. Among the most arcane yet practical of these concepts is Feng Shui.

You are far more than your personality, more than your habits, more than your achievements. You are an infinitely complex human being with stories, myths, and dreams, and ambitions of cosmic proportions. Remember, no one is you and that will always be your greatest power.

Watch the video for some ways to personally bring the five elements into your life each day for lasting change.

Have any Feng Shui questions? Feel free to contact me at michelle@michellecromer.com and sign up for your Power Color or visit me on Facebook at Michelle Cromer Feng Shui.

Can You Co-Create Your Reality?

Michelle Cromer June 22, 2020 Leave a Comment

For decades I thought the phrase, “you create your own reality” was ridiculous and bordered on egotistical. What if I wanted to be a NASA astronaut? Could I snap my fingers and create that? How about a new red Audi? Could I create that? As a religious studies student in college, I felt this concept was disrespectful to God because I felt it put me on the same level as the higher power. Who was I to say I can create anything? Obviously I didn’t understand the complexity of this idea.

After my formal studies in comparative religions, I realized that this is not just another new age statement. The Buddha said, “What you dwell upon you become.” Jesus said, “It is done unto you as you believe.” Hindu mysticism from Shankaracharya says, “Whatever a person’s mind dwells on intensely and with firm resolve, that is exactly what he becomes.” It says in the Talmud, “We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are.”

As my studies expanded so did my mind. I learned that the deeper message of this belief is one of empowerment, where I am always the creator of my thoughts and actions. More importantly, this message points out that we don’t need a powerful career or more things to collect, the point is to experience meaning, purpose, and well-being in our lives. Fortunately, with the proper focus, that is within our ability to create.

Learning to participate in the co-creative process is like learning to play chess. You can learn the rules of the game in a few hours, but it takes weeks if not months to truly understand the game and it may take years to master. Learning to intentionally create is no different. There are, however, some simple, yet powerful steps to becoming a co-creator, such as managing your thoughts, creating a powerful mantra to keep you in the present moment, and developing spiritual disciplines like prayer and meditation. I do not know of any magic pill that can create change overnight, but I do know these steps are like a magic formula that will create permanent transformation if vigorously applied.

I now believe that the real meaning behind “you create our own reality” is that it is meant to liberate us. Its primary purpose is to make us start focusing on what our lives can be if we live courageously, honestly, and truthfully. Now I ask myself questions like, “How am I creating my reality? From what level? Am I using it to access the bigger part of me or the smaller, vain shallow part of me?”

What if creating our reality is about trusting that we can be happy and at peace with the uncertainty of life no matter what occurs? Maybe it’s less to do with making sure everything works perfectly in our favor, to instead seeing everything as it unfolds as already perfect. Chances are good we are alive and present at this time for much more than playing it safe and getting everything we ever thought we wanted.

In this video, I give you four things you can do to co-create your reality.

Have any Feng Shui questions? Feel free to contact me at michelle@michellecromer.com and sign up for your Power Color or visit me on Facebook at Michelle Cromer Feng Shui.

Spiritual Balance

Michelle Cromer March 14, 2020 Leave a Comment

Most of my life has been spent divided from my spiritual self, until one day, feeling hollow and adrift, I began my spiritual search. My search began obsessively, expensively, and I treated this sacred event like I was going after a new client. Like most of us, I was used to immediate answers in our fast-paced world of eating and running and instant computer search engine information. I calculated this spiritual search would take me less than six months.

Almost three years later I had trekked Tibet, run from rabid dogs in Kathmandu, had an audience with a Curandera in Peru who spit in my hair three times, had a vision quest with a Native American Indian in Sedona, saw dead people in Lily Dale, NY, had my palms interpreted by a former nun in Chicago, had life-altering visions with a shaman in Mexico. I had a past life regression, my aura tuned, my chakras aligned, my spirit guides channeled, my Kundalini awakened. I prayed in churches, temples, cathedrals, mosques, Mayan festivals, and l always, always on rickety buses, especially in India.

I made my spiritual quest my absolute focus and in doing so, ignored my friends, family, and husband, and almost lost my marriage. I was completely obsessed and spun out of spiritual control.

In a society engaged toward overindulgence, it can be difficult to attain balance in our spiritual lives – let alone the rest of our lives. An unbalanced spiritual life has the potential to spread disharmony into the remaining areas of our lives, no matter how governed they might be.

Just as our health and well-being hinge upon balanced nutritional habits, our spiritual patterns must be in balance to boost complete harmony through every area of our lives. Harmony is about finding our sweet spot and being okay with it. Anyone who has ever achieved true harmony can attest to how incredible it feels. One feels on purpose. Time stops. Brilliance surfaces. One thrives. Maintaining harmony is the guide for helping us make choices that will bring the highest levels of fulfillment.

How do spiritual practices get unbalanced? When we spend either insufficient or immoderate time involved in spiritual quests as I did.

Today I find spiritual balance attainable when I follow some simple suggestions.

Be content to be on a journey. One of the reasons people get swept off by their spiritual practices is because they experience an imperative motive to “arrive there” – the place where they will find content and sated spiritually. An authentic spiritual seeker will not arrive anywhere. The point is to enlist in a lifelong process of development and growth. Keeping this in mind may help us feel better about decompressing because there is nothing to rush towards – we are already at that place, smack-dab in the middle of the formula, which is precisely where we want to be.

Spiritual knowledge solely is not sufficient. As beneficial as it can feel to at last be engaged in our spiritual self, we also need to fortify and systematically reinforce the other connections in our lives.

Maintain spiritual balance by spending time with the ones we love, and build friendships outside of our spiritual circle. Don’t worry if your friends and family don’t share the same spiritual beliefs, most of mine don’t and we still manage to have zany and meaningful times.

Less is more. Instead of trying to absorb heavy quantities of spiritual knowledge in a brief time period, make it a target, to begin with, bite-sized pieces.

Relish spiritual wisdom and insights like they were made up of pieces of delicious chocolate. Allow them to hang around on the tongue (in our mind and spirit). Take your time absorbing them. Just like consuming a meal, we will savor the knowledge we acquire much more whenever time is spent absorbing it instead of gobbling it down so quickly that it cannot be tasted or enjoyed.

The longer we continue on a spiritual path, the more at ease and balanced we will become. Try something different this year and keep the balance between the spiritual self and the rest of our life.

Have any Feng Shui questions? Feel free to contact me at michelle@michellecromer.com and sign up for your Power Color. Visit me on Facebook at Michelle Cromer Feng Shui.

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