Pneumatised!

No way! I must have done this quiz in my “grumpy because of lack of sleep” mood. Apparently, I’m Glorificus when I’m having a bad day. But hey, I’m still kick-ass (even with lack of sleep)!

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local black belt

Glorificus 54% amorality, 63% passion, 72% spirituality, 18% selflessness

You probably have a complicated, multi-faceted personality. Kind of like Glory-Ben-Glorificus. Passionate and driven with a spiritual side that comes out at times, a healthy taste for the finer things in life and a willingness to do what’s necessary to achieve your ends. You’re assertive and have no problems standing up for yourself. And, push come to shove, you’re the closest anyone’s ever come to straight-up beating the Slayer and her gang. Congratulations! If you enjoyed this test, I would love the feedback! Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you’re interested in the following: Nerds, Geeks & Dorks Professional Wrestling Love & Sexuality America/Politics Thanks Again! — THE 4-VARIABLE BUFFY PERSONALITY TEST

MM,

This is too cute – watch the monkey taunt the tiger cubs. Reminds me of my cats. Aren’t all felines the same – big or small?

(If the video doesn’t work, check out the link Monkey with a Death Wish.)

Enjoy. Smile.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local feline owner

MM,

I missed gumdo class, but made it in time for taekwondo class. I can’t believe there is now only nine weeks two days left until the 10k run and the black belt test. Eek! I really need to get some more training time in. Official black belt test training starts on Saturday. Every weekend from then on is booked with training time. During the week, I’m going to try to get some running and gym time in on top of the taekwondo training. I expect I will be very busy soon. Since I needed a break from writing so much, I decided to finish reading that Robert Jordan book I put aside while I was absorbed with writing those reiki manuals. It will be hard for me to write while in the middle of the crazy training coming up, so I figured I’ll be reading more in the next little while.

After taekwondo class, I went to the gym to get in some weight training. Below is a list of my exercises:

Leg lifts
Pull-ups (aka chin-ups, military and parallel)
Dips
Leg press
Hamstring flexor (called seated leg curls)
Hip adductors
Hip abductors
Chest press
Seated row
Bar pulls (I think this is called the lateral pull-downs; it works the muscles next to the scapulae on the back)
Shoulder fly
Shoulder lift (this is called the shoulder press)
Back extensor
Stomach flexor

Free weights:
Pectoral fly (lie down with weight in each hand, arms extended; pull hands together at arm’s length in front of chest)
Two shoulder exercises (no idea what they are called; someone showed them to me)
Situps (on a incline bench; worked out the obliques as well by doing double punches during the situp)
Bicep curls
Squats with weights

I was suitable tired after all the exercise and headed home.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local black belt
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

I bought a new TV on Thursday and spent most of the weekend enjoying the LCD screen – TV just looks much more pretty, even the boring shows. Ah, well, wasted no time in renting some good movies to watch on it – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and King Kong.

So, I took some days off of training and just relaxed a bit – also did a little bit of cleaning up. Would you believe it took me nearly half a day to copy some files from about a hundred 3.5 inch diskettes? Damn! Anyway, that is done and now I have about a hundred old, but usable diskettes to give away to Goodwill or anyone who wants them.

After the weekend, I was itching for a run. I ended up running a good mile and a half yesterday (Monday, May 1). My time was 12 minutes 33 seconds.

Today, I making myself go to gumdo and taekwondo class. Need to get out of the apartment today.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local black belt
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

This is probably going to be a very boring blog entry, but because this blog is here as a way for people to get to know me better, I thought I should note down what my goals are in relation to this blog and my website, Brigid’s Flame.

First and foremost, as mentioned on the main page, Brigid’s Flame is a healing path. The information and the services provided are to help others heal their lives. This healing path includes physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual realms. This leaves the website open to a wide variety of different topics and services, such as spiritual development, martial arts, and healing modalities. Every section on Brigid’s Flame is important to me personally and has its purpose in this healing path. Brigid’s Flame is based on my own personal experience of healing, and consequently, represents the best of me and what I have to offer. What I have to offer comes from deep within my heart with a true desire to help others.

Below is a list of goals that I have for myself and for Brigid’s Flame:

1. To offer a unique program of reiki courses. Reiki, despite how it is currently taught by most reiki teachers in Western society, is a spiritual development system as well as a healing system. (If you cannot heal yourself, how can you heal others?) This is what my reiki program will teach. The program is an attempt to reconstruct what was once taught by Usui and Hayashi. The courses will note what is found in Western versions of reiki and what is thought to be originally Usui and Hayashi versions of reiki. As part of this program, I will be providing my reiki students with comprehensive reiki manuals at each level that explain much that is not being taught by current reiki teachers. As a result, the reiki program and accompanying manuals are unique – to my knowledge not many reiki teachers have attempted to reconstruct the teachings of Usui and Hayashi from a variety of sources. As of today, I have completed the Reiki One Manual, which is exactly 60 pages not including the appendices. The Reiki Two Manual is nearly completed. I expect it will be approximately 60 pages, comparable to the Reiki One Manual. The appendices to the Reiki Two Manual contain some very useful and interesting tables of information. I expect the appendices to be at least 100 pages! I still have to start the Reiki Three Manual beyond just an outline and notes, but I expect it will be comparable to the Reiki One and Two Manuals, but with more appendices. Overall, I expect that this reiki program will have plenty of interesting and relevant information for those seriously thinking of pursuing reiki not just as a healing system, but as a personal spiritual development system. (Yes, I realize it has been taking me some time to get everything started, but sometimes the best things in life are really worth waiting for. Thus, I hope you will be patient with me.)
2. To teach martial arts as a path for spiritual development. Martial arts is a spiritual development system, though unfortunately, it is not often taught as such. Ever since Western society was exposed to Bruce Lee and other great martial artists, there has been a fascination with traditional (Oriental) martial arts. However, this fascination came with almost a blind perspective that martial arts is all about fighting. Everyone wanted to know how to hit harder, hit faster, move faster, be stronger, without understanding that what the saw physically comes from a spiritual awareness. Traditional martial arts like kung fu, karate, and taekwondo come from a rich background of spiritual teachings. Have people forgotten or ignored the fact that monks were also skilled in martial arts? (Reference: Shaolinquan) The spiritual teachings of martial arts should not be lost. Training in a martial art is a deeply rewarding experience, provided you have the right teachers. I was lucky to have some very good teachers, teachers who were not only good at the physical part of martial art, but also in understanding the spiritual basis of it. Frankly, you cannot be a good martial artist without the spiritual awareness (my instructors were good because of the spiritual awareness). Without the spirituality, a martial art diminishes into just a fighting sport (and that part of it is hard on its own). Thus, it is my goal to explore this aspect of martial arts and one day share what I learn with others.
3. To be able to help others learn and grow spiritually. In order to help others develop spiritually, I also need to maintain my spiritual development. Thus, one of my goals has been to learn as much as I can about my chosen spiritual path. For me, this is paganism and Wicca. I have been studying Wicca for just as long as I have been studying martial arts, but I have always had an interest in spirituality since adolescence. (I truly wish I could have studied martial arts as a child, but at least I get to study it now. :D) I have studied astrology off and on for over 15 years and I have studied tarot for just as long. Studying Wicca seemed to be a natural extension of my occult leanings. Since I first became interested in Wicca, I was fortunate to find a great community where I could learn more about Wicca. I am referring to the Wiccan Church of Canada (WCC). It is there that I found many who could teach me. For a while I was not sure about continuing my studies to become a member of Priesthood (I spent some time reviewing my personal reasons for wanting to be part of Priesthood), but it started to become clear to me that it was something that I was being drawn to do, whether I consciously chose to or not. Thus, I have continued with my lessons and studies in this. I should probably state that I do not teach Wicca at this time, as I am not an initiated Priestess of a Wicca tradition. I also do not know if at all I will be accepting Wicca students through my website. While I do know a bit about Wicca, the information I provide on my website is based on my own personal life and experience. Thus, I hope to be able to teach by writing about my own spiritual path.

The above three are my three main goals for myself and my website. These three things have become a part of who I am and therefore, have become a large part of what Brigid’s Flame is about. Finally and most of all, Brigid’s Flame is a journey much like my spiritual path. The journey is there for you and whatever you wish to make of it. I hope Brigid’s Flame will continue to be a part of that.

BB,
Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

You can find the new number on the main page for Brigid’s Flame. Please call if you are interested in reiki treatments (classes will be coming soon) or spiritual (tarot, runes) consultations. For more information, my email is located on every page on the website.

Blessed healing,
Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

Okay, anyone who knows me well knows I love cats. I have three adorable ones and still wish I could have more. Now, every so often, I visit www.cuteoverload.com and find something totally kittenly adorable, such as these two videos below.

First up, we have this “Catboy” Slim video of the Joker. I can’t believe anyone had time to do this video. It’s hilarious. Kittens getting all dolled up to go to a Fatboy Slim concert. The catnip scene reminds me of Puss ‘N’ Boots in the Shrek 2. If you’ve seen that, you’ll know what I mean. Now, don’t forget to watch this video right to the end with the cat on the turntable dolled up in his Fatboy Slim gear. Too cute! I want to know how they got the joker cap on the kitten!

Next up, we have the “weird friendship” of a cat and a rooster. You have to watch this to believe it, but I think the cat thinks the rooster is its “Mommy”. Watch as the kitten grows up and still cuddles up with the rooster at night! Watch the cat’s “come on, let’s play” body language. Can you say, “AaaaW!” Makes me wonder about moving out to a farm… anyway, enjoy the video.

BB,
Cassandrah
(exploring cuteness as therapy for the soul – we all know what a good laugh does for us)
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

Nathan showed this letter generator awhile back. Try it out. We all have someone in our lives or had someone in our lives (if you were lucky) who has consistently aggravated us emotionally and just plain pushed our buttons. For me, it was a family member, but let’s not get into those bad memories. Just try the letter generator. Whenever so-and-so person has bugged you out, go to the letter generator and get your stress out. It will also get you to “turn that frown upside-down”. I know it worked for me.

Whoever created this did a great service. It’s therapy sure to make you feel better.

BB,
Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

P.S. Please don’t seriously consider sending the letter to “so-and-so”. That isn’t the point. The point is to get rid of your stress without having to resort to something you may regret later on.

MM,

Okay, I don’t play games very often because when I do I get obsessed with trying to beat them. However, my boyfriend plays games every so often. One day as he was telling me about the game, Half-Life 2, and the part where people say they won’t go to Ravenhome, I came up with this little chant:

“Hell no… we won’t go…
We won’t go… to… Ravenhome”

Sung in that taughting way that only children (and I) can, but very very slowly, I spooked my boyfriend. He wouldn’t let me sing the chant while he was playing. 😉 Though, I thought it might have been cool in the game. Hehe.

BB,
Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame