By The Finger Nails

by Cate Cavanagh

So many people I speak to are going extremely difficult times. This is not happenstance. This is all cosmic. A cleansing of the old is usually very painful and manifests in hardship, illness and desperation.

Many are so overwhelmed the mental capacity to cope has been impaired. Often when it seems we cannot take one more thing something happens. In short, many of us have not had a break from worry or sadness in a very long time. At times like these we are challenged to trust the Universe. More than this every day gets more and painful to endure. Our nerves become frazzled, our despair looms over us and we wait for the third shoe to drop. Whereas we talk about working at eliminating negative thoughts the cosmic truth is sometimes we must experience upsetting things so new, positive energies can come in. Many people say "When God closes the door, He opens a window" but waiting for that window to open can be horribly stressful at times.

Difficult times may come in cycles for you. Try to think about when your challenges began and try to figure out how long the onslaught lasts. Does it last days? Weeks? Months? In my case challenges have happened in five month cycles and have lasted for three months. Do the math. I have known challenging times a lot. So, how do you handle your harsh experiences? Are you emotionally white knuckling your days? Are you handling your life "One day at a time?" I have often had to handle days one second at a time, holding on by my finger tips. The main thing is to get through your upset as graciously as possible.

When white knuckling your life, try to keep in mind that a lull must happen. The Universe works this way. Try to discover what the lessons are for your life. This can help you not only understand what is happening but how to avoid a repetition of the problem. If you are having financial difficulty, for example, accept that perhaps poor judgement on your part created the problem. Get all your information together and go to a credit counseling agency that can manage your bills, your bill payments and actually leave you with more money in your pocket a month. Take action and the Universe will respond.

The difficult truth is we can make changes but may have to take drastic action especially when it comes to painful and toxic relationships and recurring upsets. On any real spiritual journey accountability for how we may have encouraged our problems is called for. Once we do this the Universe will open new pathways and bring positivity into our lives.



First it is a call to shed the old to make room for the new. We may need to shed old ideas, unrealistic goals and modify dreams. Modifying or redefining our dreams is the second message, for Lizard is the totem of dreams. Lizard medicine can take dreams and make them reality. We may need to look behind us to determine what "shadows" are holding us back and how we can use the realm of shadows to create a positive reality beginning with dreams. It also lets us know if we are not getting enough sleep or dreamtime. Dreamtime is the realm in which we problem solve and rest the mind as well as the body. The mind needs dreamtime to work through issues whether we remember them or not so dreamtime is also a shadow realm. The body needs dreamtime to rest as well so we can be better equipped to meet the following day.

Above all else, Lizard is a call to allow our imaginations to take hold. Imagination is the mother of dreams, daydreams, goals, hopes and wishes and if we do not wish or daydream we cannot hope that our dreams can come true.