Laura Bruno on Instagram!

I decided to join the 21st century and have finally opened one, yes, one (!) social media account. My blog is running low on photo space, and I’m actually in the early stages of creating a whole new site. In the meantime, I opened an Instagram account for those of you who prefer more photos and less text. If you’d like more garden and lifestyle photos, tips, and inspiration, follow me @TheLauraPortal. I’d love to see you there.

UPDATE 12/16/16: Well, that was a short-lived experiment. I have temporarily disabled my account, as I found I really do prefer a life apart from social media. At some future point, I might re-activate the account, but for now, it’s offline. I’ll be focusing more on creating some videos, a new site and eventually, some online classes, all of which seem more in alignment with what I have to offer. 🙂

Jaime Meyer ~ Advice for Survival in These Wild Times

Jaime Meyer of Drumming the Soul Awake was kind enough to give me permission to publish his excellent “Advice for Survival in These Wild Times.” If you’re still reeling from any of the many shockers, chaotic energies and/or collective suffering and revelations, Jaime offers some corrective perspective: if you’re too zoomed in, zoom out!

Advice for Survival in These Wild Times

By Jaime Meyer

Dear Aghast Humans,

 

Whether you find yourself wanting to hide or wanting to fight, whether you feel enraged and engaged, or stunned and paralyzed, there is a single thing you need in this wild time: power from a source deeper and broader than the energies of fear that are whipping around so virulently.

Zoom Out.

To be effective agents of compassion, to be spiritual warriors, we need to be able to zoom in – see the specific kinds of suffering caused by systems. People inside the power structure, the beneficiaries of the system, often do not zoom in (because they really do not have to) and they literally do not see the suffering, and it seems “made up” to them. Their privileged position allows them to be zoomed slightly out all the time. So zooming in breaks through that layer of resistance. Sometimes we zoom in out of choice, but more often we are made to zoom in through a crisis that cracks our world open. So much of what is happening right now is that so many people are being forced to zoom in.

But we also must be able to zoom out – to see longer historical arcs, and see the even longer and less tangible arc of Spirit. Remember that our political system is designed to change every few years – that is part of its brilliance. Remember that freedom of speech really does apply to all – even assholes who are so goddamned wrong. Remember we survived Nixon and G.W. Bush, and McCarthy, and J. Edgar Hoover. Remember that the mid-term election process has already begun.

And remember the arc of Spirit: remember that human consciousness is developing- more slowly than we wish, but it is inexorable. It’s a big planet made up of people at all levels of spiritual development. Like it or not, we are experiencing this thing we call life together. And the earth, too, is on her own soul’s journey, and each of us are participating in her journey. There are many more unseen layers of reality than there are visible ones. Remember the shamanic motto: things are never just what they appear to be- Spirit is always at work initiating us into the next place. Try this truly challenging shamanic mantra: Fear is never the appropriate response. Really- try meditating with that phrase for 20 minutes. Even though it’s very difficult, try to remember that the power of Love outlasts all, and binds all together.

Staying zoomed in all the time to the unceasing flow of specifics delivered by Facebook and Twitter is inviting yourself to be devoured by anger and grief, and that makes you ineffective as a warrior, change agent, lover, parent, artist – on and on. I can convince myself that staying zoomed in, staying in a state of rage and fear, proves I am committed to a cause. I can believe that others who aren’t as angry as me are less committed. But anger is not commitment, its just anger. Zooming out – coming into contact with powers greater than Trump, greater than the immediate, greater than the human – this is how you cleanse yourself and re-fill your powers. Its not just a good thing to do – it’s life saving.

So make room in your life for a spiritual discipline – any discipline that truly helps you zoom out. Make room in your life to be with your spiritual tribe to do spiritual work together.

I was in the Amazon jungle on election night, actually in a deep ceremony. The next day I began an eight-day period of fasting and prayer and ingesting the next in a series of plants that help me hold more power, to be more effective as a healer and teacher. In a half-dreamy state one day, here is what the plant spirit said to me:

What did Trump promise? To bring the wrecking ball to structures that need to come down. What is the message that resonated? No more business as usual. What does he display? Confidence without shame. These are the energies, these are the messages of this time. Putting aside politics, demagoguery, personality and fear, what would happen if you applied the positive aspects of this message to your own life? What would your life be like if you said, “No more poisonous business as usual – no more tolerating powers that poison me. I’m inviting the wrecking ball to take out that structure that I hate, that encases me in smallness. Without shame, I step into a new structure.

 

What then? 

Only Three More Days

I can’t believe we’re almost at the end of November, but here we are with only three days left for November 2016 Specials. For those who’ve wondered, I will not be repeating these specials in December, so if you’d like a Sacred Soul Session and/or the 45-Minute option on Medical Intuitive readings, please contact me to sign up.

November always feels like a good time to offer support for the soul, so this month’s offerings reflect this energy of tending our inside in the midst of holidays, election results, worldly demands, and whatever those mean for each person.

Sacred Soul Session

This half hour session helps you to reclaim and nurture a sense of the sacred in ways that foster your soul’s deepest longings. For some people, this might be a look into your soul’s reason for showing up at this time and place — the perennial “Why am I here?” topic. For others, it might offer a uniquely designed ceremony to release a past grief or regret. It might offer a list of resources specifically tailored to you at this point on your path. For some people, it might mean helping you to utilize skills you already have in new ways that deepen your experience. For still others, a Sacred Soul Session might include general instructions about how to design meaningful rituals and select proper timing, so that you can incorporate ritual as a regular means of empowerment and healing.

Without performing the reading, I don’t know exactly what you’ll receive, but the reading will focus on bringing your outer life much more into alignment with your inner being.

So called “primitive” societies value the importance and power of ritual. As we shift through so many changes, both outward and inward, collective and individual, effective ritual moves energy in ways the rational mind, affirmations, and emotions can only approximate. The Sacred Soul Session arises from my recognition of the deeply compassionate and aligned Wisdom of the Soul, and how small, symbolic acts can effect enormous change.

$77 for this half hour session. Special must be purchased on or before November 30, 2016, although sessions can be scheduled after that time. Please contact me to schedule.

45-Minute Medical Intuitive Readings for $133

I usually only offer hour or half-hour sessions, because they make for much simpler scheduling on my end; however, sometimes people have more than a half-hour’s worth of topics to discuss yet not quite an hour. This special is for anyone who would like more support and insights than we can cover in a half-hour but who doesn’t want to commit to an entire hour. (Save $42.) Offer valid if prepaid on or before November 30, 2016. Please contact me to sign up.

Timothy Glenn on A Fireside Chat with Zany Mystic

I’ve been so busy with the holiday and its associated visitors that I have still not had a chance to listen to more than the first 20 minutes of this November 19, 2016 Fireside Chat between Timothy Glenn and Lance White, the Zany Mystic. From what I’ve heard so far, this particular archived chat will appeal to anyone interested in Planet X/Nibiru/Nemesis/Hercolubos/you-name-the-fly-by, as Tim begins by discussing anomalies that seem to point towards an encounter between two different solar systems.

Where these friends take the conversation from there, I have no idea, but I wanted to put up the link for those folks who eagerly follow Tim’s articles on my blog. Sorry for the delay! I was too busy doing marathon sessions early last week so that I could have five days of fun with my mom while she visited — and it was so worth it! We had a great time. 🙂 Anyway, you can hear the archived chat by clicking here.

Where the Buffalo Roam…

This is a beautiful post!

Ethereal Nature

This post is dedicated to my beloved sister Julie, a visionary artist who is transforming the cityscape of her adopted, but beloved, home of Mankato, Minnesota.

To Give Thanks to the spirit of an animal which gave its life to support one’s own,  this sacred act practiced by indigenous peoples around the globe, perhaps once practiced even by my ancestors, the indigenous Europeans –  perhaps we can add this to our Thanksgiving rituals and traditions?  Perhaps, one might speculate, this lesson was imparted to those beleaguered pilgrims on the first Thanksgiving? We can Give Thanks to both the Creator and the Creation.

For the Dakota people, whose ancestors called home the land of my homestead for millennia before my ancestors claimed it as their homestead, how elevated must have been their Thanks Giving to the spirit of the Buffalo?  It is so well-known that Tatanka supplied them their food, their clothing, and their shelter.   To consume…

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a Happy Gratitude Day! Blessings and abundance to you and yours…

Gratitude, Flow and a Water Prayer

In these days leading up to Thanksgiving, I just want to take a few moments to express gratitude for my amazing readers, clients, friends and family who engage with me in life, sessions and through this blog. I lead a truly blessed life that at the end of a back-to-back session day, I feel so privileged to know so many incredibly sensitive, powerful, magical, loving and astute people out there.

Thank you from the depths of my overflowing heart for being here now.

Thank you for showing up, and thank you for putting your own love and energy back into the world, even when — especially when — that world seems topsy turvy, scary, wild and unpredictable. And thank you for having the courage to withdraw back into your Self, to fill your own well, allowing your own healing through the waters to and from their Source.

And now, a prayer:

 

May we each flow with the Mighty Element of Water.

May the Undines, Mer People, Dolphins and the Swimming Ones

Join with us as we join and flow with them.

 

May the Mighty Element of Water protect and honor

The Water Protectors at Standing Rock.

May the Mighty Element of Water reclaim Her Sovereignty:

Never again allowing Herself to be forced into abuse.

 

May water cannons reverse upon those intending harm,

Blast away the corporate fascism

And generational brainwashing.

 

May the Mighty Element of Water cleanse all hatred, fear and greed.

May this cleansing purify and irrigate the hearts

Of any souls so parched that they only know The Wasteland.

 

May the Grail pour Awen upon the crowns of all involved.

May inspiration and understanding fill their eyes

Like Salmon of Wisdom leaping against the current

Into Destiny.

 

May the Tides of Change relieve any droughts

And nourish hill and dale, and field and tree.

May the Crystalline Grid support the rivers and streams

That lead to Great Lakes and the Pulsing Ocean.

 

May the Mighty Element of Water

Re-member Her Way as we ride Her Waves.

Empaths, Malaise, and Downward Spirals: How to Shift the Energy Now

I can’t tell you how many sessions I’ve had with people this past week for whom the election and its aftermath — regardless of their politics or disinterest in politics — has triggered massive grief, anger, shock, disbelief, confusion, feelings of fear, cognitive dissonance, betrayal, and/or the desire to give up. Most of these clients are people “who know better” than to go down such spirals, but for whatever reason, they can’t seem to pull themselves out of the whirlpool.

In most cases, their usual coping tools aren’t working, because the things bothering them aren’t really “theirs” to fix.

I’ve had an unusually high volume of calls from Water Signs this past week, especially Pisces, well known for their fluid boundaries and subconscious empathing of surrounding emotions and energies. Even if you’re not a Pisces, if you feel less than optimal right now, please consider the possibility that you might be empathing a bunch of energy from people and a culture whose carefully imprisoned Shadows just experienced a collective jailbreak and are now rioting in the streets. In some cases, quite literally.

If you continue to receive “signs” like angel number sequences, faery winks, creative ideas, and magical synchronicities but still feel awful, please prioritize what I call “good energy hygiene.”Literally brush yourself off if an interaction with someone sends you into a tailspin. Sweep down each arm from shoulder to fingertip and flick your fingers like you just washed your hands and can’t find a towel. Employ good energy filters: indoor plants, soothing music, protective crystals (especially black tourmaline, black obsidian, black jade, hematite, and onyx), use protective Runes like Algiz, and follow these guidelines below:

If you need extra support right now, please don’t feel embarrassed to reach out. I can assure you that you’re not alone. People who began our phone calls sobbing this week ended them laughing and refocused. Sometimes it just takes a little adjustment to pop back into the good reality. A little chiropractic for the soul. As the veils continue to thin, we can sense all sorts of chaos and negativity, but in the immortal words of Leonard Cohen who recently crossed the veil: “There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”

Big Love …

Preparing for Positive Timelines

This October 2014 post wants to go up again. It’s particularly relevant given the swirling chaos and opportunities for those committed to thriving no matter what.

Laura Bruno's Blog

Due to some recent questions via private email, I felt led to clarify a few points in today’s blog post. Most of the people I encounter are, in fact, experiencing evidence of positive trajectories in their lives. Clients, friends, family members … so many of them have recently broken through previous barriers or show signs of imminent release from old bonds and limitations. I see this, feel this and celebrate the shifts. Yet I also realize when talking to friends who have “regular jobs” in “the real world,” that the slice of humanity I encounter on a daily basis represents a relatively small, unusually conscious, highly creative, and determined segment of this world. I have great hope for humanity in that I see and hear — daily — evidence of people stepping into their power, growing their own organic foods, creating spaces for others to shine their creativity, finding alternatives…

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Two Grandmothers, Red and Blue

Thank you, Jamie! This one brought tears to my eyes. What a beautiful tribute to your grandmothers and a poignant commentary on today’s world!

Thank you also for the important reminder that whether or not we have children, WE are the grandmothers and great grandmothers (or grandfathers and great grandfathers) of future generations. WE are becoming the Ancestors even as we live and breathe, whether breaths of love or hatred. May we, as Jamie says, “summon the better angels of our natures and look for and affirm the good in the ‘other.'” Blessed be … and please, take a moment find the blessings. They are there, blooming like late November flowers, for anyone with eyes to see them.

Sophia's Children

As I watched, with a heavy heart, the acute and often venomous polarization leading into,  through, and following the recent presidential election here in the U.S., I found myself thinking of my two grandmothers.

Anabel, a.k.a. “Nani”

My maternal grandmother, Anabel,was what we might justifiably call a Rabid Republican. She was born before 1900 — a Scorpio Sun — and died before I started university.

She was a gifted seamstress and needle-worker who could whip up a cable-knit sweater, or any article of clothing, or a quilt or an afghan or fine needlework lace, with ease and true mastery.  She could repair a favorite blanket or sweater or, heck, even a sock, with equal skill.

She had a real Trickster wit, and a sense for sudden and unexpected outbreaks into “coloring outside of the lines” — like when she and her sisters, definitely ‘elders’ by that point, got…

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