A Wonderful Animated Trailer!

You must stop by the youtube link below and see this wonderful trailer my colleague, Theresa Chaze produced! It is absolutely delightful and will enlighten the spirit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oHfXQ1YTRc

Starting Over

In my book, HER GODMOTHER, Allie is on a journey to starting over. Everyone finds themselves in the position of having to start over at some point in their life. It could be starting over from a divorce, starting over after the death of a spouse or relocating. Starting over is never easy and often painful. Yet, it is sometimes necessary to start over and all we can do is go about it as graciously as we can.

How can we ease our transition in starting over? Sometimes it is the little things that can help. Light a candle for yourself for a change. Pick a color that reflects your area of need: blue for mental tranquility, white for purpose, yellow for courage and so on. Pray for yourself and ask others to pray for you. Prayers work and a little prayer in the morning and one at night can go a long way and the benefits can be immediate. You can immediately feel more in control of your circumstances by doing just a couple supplications a day.

Pamper yourself. When life is challenging it becomes very easy to let ourselves fall by the wayside. Don't become an unwise spendthrift but buy something you really want or save for it but do treat yourself to something special. Don't isolate yourself. This also can become an easy thing to do as we muddle through uncomfortable changes. Call a good friend and simply tell them what you are going through. I have called my best friend and honestly shared that I was in a bad space and was self isolating and that I called to snap out of it. There is nothing wrong with getting some help or a good laugh from a friend. I was faced with starting over when, at the age of thirty-two, I was widowed with a five year old daughter. I often called a close cousin who had an outrageous sense of humor and who could make me laugh no matter what. You see sometimes we simply have to want out of the discomfort or pain instead of chaining ourselves to it. Develop your spirituality. It can be a security blanket during uncertain times. Spirituality cannot be defined as religion for it also encompasses acquiring valid coping skills that can include meditation and emotional time outs.

Starting over is not always adventurous and fun. If faced with it later in life it can be extremely unsettling. Sometimes starting over as a result of painful life experiences can leave us feeling lost and unable to gain our equilibrium. This can result in times feeling hellish but remember that whereas "religion is for those that believe in Hell spirituality is for those that have been there." (Author unknown)

HER GODMOTHER BOOK TRAILER, Produced by Valkyrie Publishing, thresachaze.com

The Magic I couldn't Feel today

Today was one of "those" days-still not quite over my bout with bronchitis and the effect of strong antibiotics left me hung over with a blue kind of feeling. The sun was shining, it was a perfect day but the only thing that gave me heart was that I was at least up to my morning cleaning routine which was a major sign that indeed I was getting better!

Still I felt out of sync with myself and my surroundings. I have had some unpleasantness the last several weeks. I am hypoglycemic and on occasion prone to weird acute attacks of low glucose drops that seem incapable of stabilizing. I went through this for several weeks and all my activities simply stopped as I fought waking myself up from horrible stupors and in general feeling dizzy, weak and tired when I was awake. My routines of getting up early, cleaning, romping with the dogs, doing stalls and riding my horse suddenly stopped. Then I contracted bronchitis which sidelined me even longer. Between cabin fever and a sudden decrease in what are usually physically active days frankly just got to me. And today, I felt as if the magic around me was simply gone. I didn't even have the desire to jump start myself.

Usually I ride my mare in the mornings but today at about 2pm I decided that since I was feeling better a nice bareback in the woods might make me feel better. I went out to the field and asked Sassy if she wanted to go out. She lifted her head and perked up her ears. She waited as I approached with her bridle.

Sassy has a story of her own. She is twenty eight and I got her when she was four years old and totally, as we call them, green broke. In other words she was just this side of wild! It took time but ultimately I worked with her and we became great partners and friends. In recent years she had some really serious health problems. She had bouts of pneumonia, went blind in one eye, got Lyme disease which affected her immune system, had become horribly epileptic, foundered (a horrible acute crippling ailment) and was lame from arthritis in her knees. Some years back I called in a vet to put her down and thankfully this old timer said "not today." She began to come back but I retired her.

This last year I decided to begin walking her as she was not really active in the pasture anymore and as we walked, over time, her gait got faster and strong. Out of retirement, I decided and since she had not had a seizure for a long time I decided it was worth the risk of riding her. Of course she cannot trot and run like she used to in her day but to just be able to ride her through the woods, which she always enjoyed is a miracle to me.

Now don't think that because she is a senior citizen with some leg problems that she hasn't given me flack and "argued" with me on the rides at times. I have to admit I just love it when she is cranky enough to speak her mind. So, today, wondering if I were well enough to keep my balance on her bareback I decided we both needed to see the woods. The ride could not have been more perfect. I talked to her and cooed her the whole time and she decided it was nice being out and did not debate what turns to take when as she sometimes does.

After a bit we came back and we both felt happier. My funk of the morning had lifted and I realized that when I decided to ride her today, I touched magic. She was my magic. In everyday life we can never know where the magic comes from....

Of Course Allie learns all about everyday magic in my book, Her Godmother-



See the trailer:




Available at fine bookstores, including Barnes and Noble, barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com and other online stores.

A Pocket Full Of Miracles

Are you in a dark place? Are you feeling like a victim to your circumstances? Are you emotionally fumbling? Do you feel your life has nothing miraculous in it? Everyone goes through rough times and everyone has times where they feel abandoned spiritually, losing hope through times of lacking faith. None of us are alone when it comes to experiencing the despair of darkness. Finding hope and faith can be difficult at these times but not impossible to obtain or regain.

I have found counting blessings not at night (as the song goes) but in the morning helps me frame my mental attitude for the day. Another is my mantra "I am blessed." You see over time you will feel blessed. Wish someone a blessed day and you will get a smile. Blessings are easy to give so why not give yourself as many as you can? Before we can see our blessings however, we may have to do some math.

There are 186,000 seconds in a day. This means on a given day if we have food on the table, no matter how meager, we have 186,000 blessings or miracles. Now if you add having a roof over your head your miracles for that day have now doubled to 372,000 miracles. It is all a matter of perspective. If you have active children add 186,000 miracles to each one. Is at least one parent alive? If so add another 186,000 miracles to your day. If you recovering from illness you are fortunate to be around to do so. True there may be really serious problems you are facing but if you are not consumed today by them, you have just found more moments of miracles.

The power to undergo our hardships gracefully is a matter of perspective and having faith and spirituality basically in tact. The next time you feel overwhelmed by your situation stop and do the math. Cate

Please take a moment to watch my book trailer. As Allie begins her journey of healing she encounters miracles of her own...

Mirror, Mirror

We in spiritual circles sometimes talk about "mirroring". What we mean by this is that someone or circumstances reflect who we really are by how we react to these situations. If, for example, we are impatient with someone who has a short temper there is a strong possibility that we, ourselves, may tend to have short fuses. In other words we experience irritation at the very trait we have in which case this "mirror" enables us to look at ourselves.

Mirrors such as these take all forms. This past 4th of July weekend I became really angry at a neighbor across the road. Mind you in all the years that we have been neighbors we have only ever exchanged a hello when we see each other. I am a funny person this way. If I feel cool toward someone when I meet them I listen to my intuition. My choosing not be friendly is usually just a preference to not allow someone in to my personal space and life. But I wander...

In actuality I have never been annoyed with these neighbors until this past 4th. I happened to look across my driveway to see that there, in view of the road was the Confederate flag. I became furious! How dare they put up that flag instead of the US flag! I know my history and intellectually know that today, many New Southerners consider this flag a symbol of a failed attempted to become their own nation. Sound familiar? But to me this more prominently represents a time in which people were considered property with no rights and who often suffered horrible abuses. I am of mixed heritage. My father was Irish-English but my mother was Puerto Rican of Taino, Spanish and African heritage. In fact, my own great grandmother had been taken from her African homeland by a Spaniard and brought to Puerto Rico against her will so the issue of slavery is one that is in my family history.

I fumed! I was trying to think of something I could put up on my lawn to infuriate him in return. As a Pagan, I know the inequities suffered for these beliefs as well. But, the truth of the matter is I, as a Pagan, am judged by people of extreme persuasions and the violent hatred expressed towards Pagans is documented historically and still happens today. But, I am out of the broom closet so to speak and have blatant and ornate altars on my front porch which is visible to the road all year around. I am sure this irritates and even infuriates some people but I am expressing myself on my private property and this "self" expression is a right.

As a writer, no matter how loathsome someone may be, such as a Clan leader, I must respect his right to his opinion and to state it. For if one person loses the right of freedom of expression it is only a matter of time before we all do. So, here I was flaming mad about my neighbor forgetting at the time that he was expressing himself just as much as I do by my front porch altar displays.

My anger was my mirror in that I became acutely aware that weekend of exactly how sensitive I really am about certain philosophies, about the suffering the ancestor I never knew went through as a Black and as a woman. All of this came ripping up to the surface the moment I saw that flag. So, the real issue here is not political from a spiritual point of view although it certainly was part of it. The real issue is what I am angry about.

The purpose of a mirror is not to so much outwardly act as much as it is to become inwardly aware of powerful reactions and examine the usefulness of the emotions. The anger I felt was useless. It was not going to change his hanging his flag. As an artist I cannot refute his right to freedom of expression for here, at least for the time being, we are free to express ourselves as we please. The useful thing to do was the simplest of outcomes: realize there is anger under my cool surface and to work it out in time. Realization is the first step for if we are honest with ourselves, we are probably angry about a lot of things we simply have not looked at for a long,long time.

So, my "reflection" was of a side of my persona I needed to rediscover and come to terms with.

As for my neighbor--may he live in peace--until Halloween when my displays will be grander than ever before!!!!!



How about taking a journey where enchantment balms a hurting soul? Her Godmother is rich with everyday enchantments that heals the heart....

Click here to see the book trailer:

Am I Really Here?

Okay. I have determined that I am a fluke of the Universe. I am a specter with some kind of supernatural yearning to be real. I do not exist. The Cyber universe tells me so. Please bear with me as this evidently nonexistent person, author, daughter, wife, and mother comes to this conclusion. Everything and everyone is on the web. Cate Cavanagh is all over web, all over google and just about every search engine there is. Cate Cavanagh has been an NPR radio affiliate broadcaster and podcaster. Cate Cavanagh is listed on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com as well as other online book stores. Cate Cavanagh has books in bookstores, including Barnes and Noble. Cate Cavanagh has a laudable professional and creative resume but, am I really here or a spectral- lurker who is simply just too stupid to know that I am not her or she is not me?

During the last several years I have had three myspace pages. They have all been lost. When "I" inquired myspace told me I did not exist. I have in the last week rejoined and did three more pages only to have them blip off. Once again myspace told me I do not exist.

I began this blog and, low and behold, my "appearance" here seems like something out of the Twilight Zone where a specter fades in and then out...Will I be here when I complete this blog? My blog is here one minute and then gone the next. I do not know but then I do not really know if I exist anyway.

I have had websites-zip-gone-never was.

So, I decided not to be deterred and go the new big connection website-facebook. Well, I have signed on twice as I write this and my password is said to be wrong. I reset the password and although I get signed in, it is not the "right" password for going further than that.

So, I have this little dilemma that vexes me greatly- Do I really know we exist? It seems I don't. I find myself having bizarre musings. For example, in science it is said that something blue is not blue at all. It's just everything else that is not blue. An orange is not orange but rather every other color is absorbed EXCEPT orange which is what we see. I look in the mirror and therefore must conclude that the image I see is merely a rejected range of colors that make up my green eyes, freckled face and red hair so, with scientific fact in hand I look at myself and realize that who I see is not really there at all so the me I see simply does not exist.

Apparently cyperspace has come to the same conclusion so the question becomes if I am not Cate, then who am I am? Will the real Cate please stand up and finish rewriting the books I still have lurking in the back of my mind? Will the real Cate clean my house and do the luandry and cooking for me? I am apparently living your life...enough already! Live Your own.

But, if you must insist I live your life will you please take over my life and replace it with heavenly spas, swimming pool, a huge boat, an estate stable, landscapers and room service?

Do this person-whose existence is questionable- a favor. Please go to you tube and view the book trailer for the book some other Cate wrote. Thanks.

For The Greater Good

“And it harm none” is the common mantra of Pagans during ritual and prayer and just as often “for the greater good” is another.
As a Witch and Pagan with a strong Wicca background philosophically, these are safety tenets that prevent all of us from manipulating circumstances, even subconsciously, that might incur a karmic debt to ourselves or inadvertently manipulate another person.

I was raised Catholic and, truth be told, I even wanted to be a nun in my youth. As a Catholic, the safeguard against to “Hell” was confession. If one died without confession or last rites then the “karmic debt” was be Purgatory-that in between place where one would remain until debts were paid after which point entrance to “Heaven” would be granted.

I bring this up because in all of the religions and nontraditional beliefs I have studied, this is a common feature: in Buddhism, “purgatory” amounts to Bordo land for example, there is the fire and brimstone teachings we are all aware of but there are also beliefs that teach the soul will “sleep” until ready to awaken and begin anew.

So what does all of this have to with work for the “greater good?” I call myself Witch but I am also (what I coined) a quantum metaphysician. On my journey of evolving into this I evaluated “and it harm none”, “for the greater good”, karmic debt and other similar beliefs extensively. (My book, GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT, studies karma in great detail. Please note this book is no longer available by my choice.

Simply put, Karma is payment for past errors or noble work. Most people have come to associate the word with bad luck. Karma, despite what many may think, is not random. Somewhere along the line we put an ‘effort’ into our own Karma. I write extensively on the topic of energy conversion, which is the foundation of my spiritual school, QUANTUM SPIRITUALITY, The Science of Change. In my work, I ask readers to look at how we affect such conversion and subsequent outcomes by our deeds, our thoughts, our words or CHOICES. Our deeds are what we actively do. Lying and then being discovered for our lies is a basic example of how karma can play out for who would trust a known liar ever again?

But, as a Quantum Metaphysician, I concluded life can be a matter of the choices we make: who did we decide to marry? Who did we decided to leave? Did we relocate? What did we choose as our livelihood? Why did we make these choices? The result of these choices is karma.

What if, when we were still spirit-fluff, we decided we needed to learn a new experience as a challenge to our soul’s muscle? What if at that time, we realized we may not have been good people in our past lives and chose to pay our debt? What if we decided to pay that debt in the NEXT LIFETIME rather than wait until further down the line? We have then selected a life theme. (We could have also chosen success because we want a ‘vacation’ from spiritual growth or a reward for much spirituality learned.) But, let’s stay with paying our painful “debt”. We may have chosen illness, poverty or an untimely death. Why would we choose this painful purpose in a next lifetime? Perhaps in our spiritual evolution we opted to learn how fixed and resolved our true souls can be in unknowing lifetimes and to determine whether or not we have learned enough over many reincarnations to master our spirit power.

Many people believe that the goal of the soul is to join the godhead (the universe, the Creator, Heaven). This theme is in Hinduism, Buddhism and others. What would be the purpose of this joining? To be part of the “Creator”, Divine healing and nurturing, the power of the divine and possibly even creation itself. If we look at the perfection of the earth, mankind’s interference aside, it is perfect. It functions on it own, heals itself and regenerates itself. Even climatic cataclysms are all part of healing. As its children, might we not also have all these inherent entitlements? The same can be said for the Universe. Therefore, must not we, as spiritual forces, aim to perfect energy management in the form of spirit power as we strive for the ultimate goal of joining The Divine to better perpetuate this power? Cannot mastering the molding of a lifetime be worth the pain in the infinite run? So, although we all may have a karmic debt, what part of our lives is truly karma?

I have seen many use karma as a “crutch”. From people believing “It is the will of God” to “For the good of all” sometimes it is overlooked that yes, we make our own karma- by our wishes, deeds and also by our lack of doing anything! We may all reach an awareness as to what our karma is supposed to be but can we know every instance? Does living in hardship mean this is our real karma for the rest of our lives? What if the real karma comes in as a result of what we choose to do about our hardships? What if, it is karmically within our power to change our lives for the better, insofar as karmic commitment is not concreted in our present existence? Don’t we, as beings with untapped spirit power, have even a responsibility for mastering whatever can be mastered in our lifetime and changing our circumstances? Is this not also a karma that can impact on the next life as well?

What if the real “test” for our souls and spirit power is whether or not we recognize the goal of mastering and creating or recreating a preferred reality? What if our karmic entitlement is actualizing a life’s potential?
Can this be done without “harming none” and “for the greater good?”

Having the eclectic background that I do, I believe firmly in maintaining a belief system. We must all have some moral compass or even the science of reinvention will fall into the realm of Chaos and that is a dangerous place. But if, as I teach, there is science in all things majickal we can begin to look at entitlements in life as a matter of quantum physics that does not have to take from someone else at all in order for us to improve ourselves and our lives.

We all know we can harm with majick but, where does it say helping others or ourselves for that matter is unethical?

For every instance that we use the karmic crutch for a reason to not act in our own best interests, or the interests of someone in need of help and healing, are we not also incurring a karmic debt for not honoring ourselves enough or for not applying the gift of healing we have been given?

How does healing come into this? As with anything karmic, death can be or not be a matter of a lifetime’s run. But, can any of us really know? I myself have had several near death experiences for example and although they were what I call optional exit points, I chose for them not to be. Working to heal someone of a terminal disease is not against the greater good for as our Deities determine we cannot work against anyway. But, what if we and the person we are working on to heal are to be messengers of hope and living proof of spirit power? Is it not also true then that by not acting to create a change, we are also toying with karma and the debt we could incur by allowing our fear to prevent us from bringing light to someone, anyone?

There are some Pagans who, because of concerns about karma, live their beliefs with as much grace as possible. Not all are meant to be “movers and shakers” and this is a blessing for those who walk the neutral, peaceful path are as important to the whole as those of us called to more dynamic forms of service. But, fear of repercussions or karma need not be part of resisting one’s potential majickally for in the end, “the will of God” and “the greater good” will win out.

You can read more about Quantum Spirituality on my website, quantumspirituality.tripod.com

Don't forget to scroll down and view the book trailer for my new book, Her Godmother!

Blessings!

It's All About The Journey!

I could not even begin to describe the life experiences my journey has sent my way. Does intensity and challenge create or trigger creativity? What role does nurturing play? Or naturing for that matter? Is it fifty/fifty?

There was a time I would have said nurturing (or environmental factors) was the main factor in life outcomes. I no longer believe that. I have come to believe that it is the person's nature that impacts on choices, successes, chaos and even "failures", what ever that means for as long as we move forward there is no such thing as failure-just growth.

This is not to say we are not affected by sorrowful or traumatic events in our lives but rather that these events may divert us off track until we come to terms or peace with how our experiences affect us.

To play with an old example that was discussed when I was in school-someone's fascination with knives could create a butcher, a surgeon or a murderer. Aside from congenital organic deficits as exemplified in the sociopath if we look at our challenges and how we have conducted ourselves chances are we will find how courageous we all really are.

What brings me to this topic today? Simple. My cup of coffee came out awful this morning. Now, since I only drink one cup a day that perfect cup of joe is REALLY IMPORTANT! Well, my mood did a light switch to the bad side of my mind which I have had to work on modifying for the last hour.

Environmentally speaking, the conviction that a horrible day will ensue would be a simple tenet for the day. But my NATURE dictates that this is a ridiculous thing to do- having my whole day be framed around a cup of coffee!

So, instead I trip my mind (not too fantastic) and allow the domino effect that is the quirkiness of the poetic to pen these free flowing mental meanderings.

Sometimes I like to imagine that there were more people just like me but on second thought--there would go the neighborhood!

Website: quantumspirituality.tripod.com

Her Godmother-A Magical Adventure for Children; Book trailer

To watch video click here:

Allie begins her magical adventure as her mother takes her to her Godmother while she works out the issues in her life. Surrounded by woods, Allie finds new adventures and a path to healing as Aunt Bridget shows her how to find the magic not only in herself but miracles in the world around her. Harry Potter was taken to a world separate from the mundane; Allie learns that magic is not only real, but is part of every day life.