Episode 2: Sound and the Unseen

Mystical Musings: Exploring Reiki, Witchcraft, and the Power of Sound

In episode two of the Mystical Musings podcast, hosts Tava Baird and Jennifer Taylor dive into the interconnected practices of Reiki and Witchcraft. The episode begins with an invocation led by Jennifer to set the mood, followed by a deep discussion on what Reiki is, its origins, and how it functions. Tava shares her personal journey away from traditional religious practices towards finding daily spiritual peace through Witchcraft. They both emphasize the importance of recognizing and interacting with the energy around us and challenging societal norms that dismiss the unseen. The conversation also highlights the power and impact of sound, music, and natural elements on our well-being. Listeners are encouraged to explore the energy of music, invoke natural elements, and understand the intertwined nature of science and spirituality. The episode concludes with Jennifer inviting Goddess Yemaya to sing through her for clearing and integration and a divine message is channeled by Tava from the seraphim, Samael.

Thank you joining us today, remember to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to keep up to date with your tribe.

Connect with your Hosts!

Tava Baird: tavabaird.com or https://darkflowerbooks.etsy.com.

Jennifer Taylor: Willow Ridge Reiki and Healing Arts https://www.willowridgereiki.com/

Transcript

Tava Baird: Hello everybody and welcome to episode two of the Mystical Musings podcast. I'm Tava Baird. I'm Jennifer Taylor. And today we'll be continuing our discussion that stems from the root of Reiki and witchcraft practice, but who knows where it will go, uh, something different to talk about. But before we begin and get into the meat of things, I would like to invite.

Jenn to start us off with an invocation to set the mood for our discussion today.

Hello, everybody, and welcome to the second Mystical Musings podcast. I am Tava Baird 

Jennifer Taylor: I am Jennifer Taylor. 

Tava Baird: And we are here today to spend a little bit of time with you And today we'll be continuing our discussion that stems from the root of Reiki and witchcraft practice, but who knows where it will go first, we're going to get an invocation to set the mood for us. So I'm going to turn it over to Jennifer for that.

Jennifer Taylor: Thank you. So I invite you if you are not driving and you're in a safe place to close your eyes and take three slow, deep breaths.

And if you have Reiki, you can activate that for yourself as well. And throughout this invocation, I will also be sending you Reiki and calling light to you. I invite the divine light of Holy Fire Reiki to fill this space, this space that includes Tava and I, and all of those listening on all time frames.

Fill our hearts and minds and spirits, our spaces. I call light to lift and clear all of our energies and the spaces that we're in right now.

I invite all of the divine guides of this work, angels, goddesses, the divine in all its beautiful, magnificent aspects to be here and support us in this time together. We open our hearts and connect in a great circle of love. And respect and appreciation. I invite the divine to speak through me and through Tava to speak to your hearts and provide exactly that which you are seeking and in need of.

In this moment in time,

I invite the divine to come through my voice and deliver exactly the healing and the energy that is in all of our highest good as we come into this sacred space together. 

Om Namo Ajayi Ajayi Om Namo Ajayi Ajayi Om Namo Ajayi Ajayi

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,

oh

Amen. And so it is.

Tava Baird: Thank you so much. That was really lovely. Now I'm in such a good space and I'm ready to talk daily spirituality. Um, I don't know about you, but one of the reasons why I think I left, um, a lot of like traditional Practices of religion is my favorite moment in church when I was a kid was the moment of peace when you would turn to a stranger near you and shake their hand.

Then a lot of times when we were in the parking lot afterwards. I went to a lot of churches on large military bases where it's like 500 people all trying to get out of one parking lot entrance and go to the commissary after church. Um, you know, people were like cutting each other off and I'm like, wait, where did the piece we just had go?

And so I think there's been on. Going quest in my life to find a way to walk through my days with a greater sense of peace and movement of the spirit. And that led me down the paths that I'm currently following. , I'm wondering if you'll go first, but one of the things that I've also would love, um, that people might not know is in the, at the beginning of your invocation, you said, I'm going to send you Reiki.

And I remember the first time you said that to me, I thought, am I getting something in the mail? Like what's, how, how does that work? Because when we first met, I didn't know anything at all about Reiki. And so, you know, The idea of distance was, was an unusual one, um, with that, but I would, if you wouldn't mind, I would love to hear a little bit about that.

Jennifer Taylor: Oh, absolutely. And I'm so glad that you point out things like that because it's such second nature to me at this point that I don't even think about, Oh my goodness. Yeah. People may have no idea what I'm talking about. So to start at the very beginning. So Reiki is spiritually guided life force energy.

The word Reiki is Japanese Kanji and it actually Re is the spiritually guided and Ki is the life force energy. So the word Ki is similar to like Chi that you may have heard a lot more, uh, frequently used. So spiritually guided life force energy, and it is something that you are attuned to by. Another person who has that energy, a process has been received by one of the original kind of Reiki masters, Mikau Usui in Japan had this major enlightenment moment on the top of Mount Kurama where he was asking for enlightenment and It's been described as kind of like being hit by lightning and receiving all this energy.

And when that moment was over, he discovered that he also had this healing energy, this healing light that would just flow through his body., as he was running down the mountain, you know, he tripped over these big tree roots and injured his toe and instantly as anybody would put their hands on their toe, and this healing energy just flowed through and , healed it.

And so he started recognizing, this is an additional gift that I received. And. Without going into the history of Reiki too much, essentially there was a major earthquake and many, many people were in need of healing. And he was healing as many people as he could.

He had this light flowing through him, this spiritually guided life force energy. And he would actually lay down and had someone at each hand, at each foot and above the crown, or some people say he was treating with his breath or his eyes. So, He recognized there are too many people for me to treat this way.

And he started praying for a way of passing it on. And how can I give this gift to others? And through much prayer and meditation and practice, he developed a method of being able to pass that on. And we call that an attunement. And so anyone then that has received this attunement can have this Reiki energy flowing through them , and so Reiki, , it's energy, it's a form of energy healing, and because Everything is energy.

You know, everything. The sound that we hear it's because we're receiving sound waves in the form of energy and our ears are interpreting that and giving us a signal from that. Our eyes are receiving. Energy in the form of light that is coming in and being interpreted and creating a picture , . So the energetic field that is created by our hearts can actually be measured up to 15 feet away from our bodies. So our, our brain Is giving off energy and has its own energy field.

So Reiki, flows through us.

It flows through my hands. It can flow through my eyes, my feet, my breath. And so as I'm singing, I activate my Reiki. I ask that to flow. And so it's essentially divine energy that is coming in through my crown and flowing through my body in whatever way I direct it. And In doing so 

it provides access to exactly the healing vibrations that you need in order to take those in and come more into balance with yourself. So if you're not really sensitive to the feeling of energy flowing in your body, some people are, it's like, oh, I can instantly, I feel that it's flowing to my hip and it's unraveling something there.

And I feel this happening and that happening. But if that's not something that you're already really used to, if you're receiving Reiki, you may just feel. Much more peaceful or sometimes people say . I feel like I just woke up from a really long nap and I feel really rejuvenated after a Reiki treatment.

But essentially what I'm doing is simply being as a hollow reed. I'm opening myself and getting out of the way and allowing this divine spiritually guided life force energy to flow through me to you. And in doing so, it just provides you access in your whole energy field, which is intelligent and it knows what it needs.

It knows how to best utilize this. So I'm really just the connector. I just allow that to flow through me to you. And then you receive exactly what is in your highest good in the moment. So a lot of times people say, you're kind of healing somebody, or you're healing this, or will you heal that for me?

And it's, it really doesn't quite work that way. It's more that I will connect you to the source of all of this. All healing, all all healing in every kind of way without deciding this is what it's supposed to do, or this is how it's supposed to work, but rather surrendering to your highest guidance and your higher good and allowing whatever that is to flow through.

Tava Baird: You're like opening up the blocked pipes so snuff can come through. 

Jennifer Taylor: Yes. 

Tava Baird: You are a spiritual plumber. 

Jennifer Taylor: Yeah. And I think of it too, as like watering a garden, , I'm like the hose , and the gardener walking around, but the water that flows through me, the water that flows through that hose, you know, I may direct it to this flower over here or this plant over there, But that, that Reiki flows in and just nourishes and provides all that is needed to really take it in and grow, or like a combination of water and fertilizer, maybe,, it's just exactly what it needs.

And then the plant knows how to take that up, how to take that in, where to direct that for its highest good. 

Tava Baird: But you can also do it from far away because it's energy. 

Jennifer Taylor: Exactly. Yes. And energy, you know, it's, Everywhere. We are just in a sea of energy and everything is completely connected. You know, I can have a thought about someone on the other side of the planet and, you know, Reiki or not,.

There will be some kind of connection because there is this uninterrupted sea of energy that we are all in and everything is connected. And because of that, when I send Reiki, I really just intentionally tap into the knowledge that there is no such thing as space and time and separation, and we are all one.

So when I'm connected to that, the Reiki just flows to whomever, whatever, wherever it happens to be. And that even includes forward in time and backwards in time, which is another thing that kind of makes our minds explode a little bit. Cause we're so used to the idea of everything as being linear, but, you know, even the scientists say that really ultimately everything is happening.

Yeah. In that one moment, everything's happening at the same time. And it's really just our brains way of thinking of it in order for us to have some kind of framework. We've kind of created the idea of yesterday and tomorrow, but ultimately everything is really in the present. And so that's part of how we can send Reiki ahead and. It will be there for us, or we can send it back in time to a moment that was really traumatic, that really needs healing. And the ripple effects of that will follow and flow into our present and the way that we are reacting and responding to life. in the present. 

Tava Baird: It's so funny because, you know, I was a teacher of young children for, two decades or ever how long.

And, young children don't really have a concept of time either. I used to teach this little girl who would say is it yesterday, tomorrow yet? And I would try to explain to her, okay, yesterday is the past, tomorrow hasn't happened yet, you're in, you know, today, like, you know, but it's just so interesting.

It definitely is a, brain construct that we do to be able to, feel like we know where we are. And I think that's one of the other things when, you and I were speaking. Gosh, it must have been last October because it was when Samiel first started showing up and one of the things I kept saying was, you know, why, why would, by the way, for those of you who didn't hear our last episode, um, if you're starting off with episode two, because to You know, you're funky that way.

Samael is , a seraphim that I channel. And when he first showed up, I had all of these feelings of, why would he be talking to me, when he is so powerful, and I am so not? , I thought, , why would he spend time talking to me when he has so many other places to be?

Tava Baird: And the Reiki view that you just talked about, Jen, is you said, well, he could be in all of those places at once. It's not that he's talking to you, the exclusion of doing something else that he's supposed to be doing. That's how us, that's how humans operate on earth, but that's not how the divine operates.

And I remember thinking, oh, okay, well, you know, I'm not. It made me feel a little bit better that way. And, uh, so this has been a new concept for me that I've been getting used to over, the last nine months or so of the idea that, the divine can be in more than one place at a time, a divine consciousness can.

And so I'm, I'm actually really, really grateful for that, explanation. 

Jennifer Taylor: Yeah. And , I guess to be really clear, Reiki doesn't necessarily have a doctrine that says, this is how the divine works, or this is, , how divine beings are able to be here and there.

But that's more my understanding from broader, , Studies and things like that in, you know, shamanism and ancient wisdom teachings and, you know, things from Peru and Tibet and different kinds of esoteric studies and things like that as well. Reiki really. Is really a method for transferring divine light to others, you know, that spiritually guided life force energy.

But because of that, and there's actually, there's a wonderful podcast called beyond the Reiki gateway, and I love the title because. Reiki is so much of a gateway to other things, you know, for, for so many people, it's your first, like dipping your toe in the water of energy work and what's possible. And once you do, and once you start connecting with that energy on a daily basis and allowing it to flow through you, you start recognizing.

The world of energy that lives around you, the, the sea of possibilities, the sea of divine and all of the different aspects of that spiritual world that live around you. And from there, so many people keep going and learning different types of things. You know, they may go into sound healing or shamanism or.

Um, any of so many different even types of Reiki. There are so many different types of Reiki now. I think there are over 200 different types. There's like, oh my gosh, I think like butterfly Reiki and um, Egyptian Reiki, like there's so many different branches, but Reiki is just sort of that. Foundational thing.

I think for a lot of people, the thing that first helps you to recognize, I can bring through divine energy through my body and direct it. And from doing that, the more you do it, the more you do it, the more you are connected. And it's not that you can't do that in other ways. You certainly know that because you do it in other ways all the time, but it's more, I kind of think of it as a quick and easy.

like big, powerful cable hookup to that energy to where you don't have to spend so long, you know, meditating or kind of really working to connect, but you literally have an attunement and You are instantly able to bring that energy through. And so it's just, it's such an easy way to connect up. And then , the world is your oyster.

You're just starting to explore all kinds of things before you know it. 

Tava Baird: And I think that, just being able to be sensitive to energies, you have to get over. Yeah. A mental hurdle in our society a lot of times to start opening yourself up to that. I was on You know an entertainment. I think it was like a political entertainment website the other day and the comment section was going nuts because someone was talking about, you know, their weird friend who was all hippie dippy and All the comment section was basically all of these people going, well, you know, if you can't see it, it's not real and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

And first off, I thought, wow, these people sound really jaded. And second, um, you know, this woman is complaining about a lovely friend of hers who is having an experience she hasn't had, but is immediately discounting it. Right. And there's so much in our Western society that says, if you can't see it, it's not there.

The thing is, you can't see the wind and the wind is definitely there. Okay. Like we can see the effects of it. Right. And you can't see song and voice flowing, but we definitely feel the effects if someone is singing a lullaby or shouting at us. Right. That changes the structure of how we function. And, so I think one of the things when people, you know, they see Reiki or they see witchcraft and, you know, witchcraft has all of its own historical stigmas on it, which a lot of times make it even more intimidating to people, um, is that you have to get over this, this fear.

Well, it's sort of two things. Number one, what are people going to say about me? And number two, Am I really experiencing what I think I'm experiencing but once you start to open yourself up to it and seek out experiences that have an energetic impact on you, you end up with so much evidence that this is happening.

That doubt that you that's been sort of trained into you by our society is always there. It's like. So what's Uncle Herman gonna say at Thanksgiving when I tell him I took a Reiki course? Or, you know, what is my significant other gonna say if I tell him I want to work a spell? You know, like all, to sift sort of into witchcraft a little bit, all the energy that Jen was talking about in Reiki, that, that feeling of things moving through you, And that you can direct in the witchcraft world that's magic, right? That's that's our term for it is it's this life force and now Magic users can pivot it towards good or otherwise. I'm always a proponent of good. But, you know, that feeling that there is this underlying energy that moves through everything. And if we all go back In time or in our human concept of time, um, based on our previous conversation to look at, um, you know, when people lived close to the earth, this idea of moving energy through all of us.

And the concept that we are all one is very much there in. Everything, um, you know, whether you're looking at Native American, uh, spiritual practices or you're looking at, you know, Reiki or you're looking at European or African or Australian, we all came from a place where we would feel this energy. And utilize it.

And the witchcraft standpoint, or specifically also the Wiccan standpoint, and I'll get into the difference between those two words in a second, is that as we have moved farther away from nature and our connection with nature, we've lost the ability to feel and work with these energies.

And so a main connection. Practice in a lot of witchcraft and definitely in Wicca is this reconnection and to nature and being able to feel the magic and the energy moving through you and once you feel it and you start to learn how to direct it. Then you start seeing these incredible things happening.

Um, I run into so many people who show up at, you know, a booth I have or in a class that I'm teaching and say, you know, I want to learn magic and I give them something to do. And I think they expected me to like take out a staff and like part the clouds and instead of give them something simple, fairly simple to do.

And then I see them the next time and they're always, it worked, maybe not in exactly the way I thought it would, but oh my gosh, did it work? And there's this amazement and one of the things that's really interesting is the amazement never really goes away. You know, I've been practicing Wicca for, you know, we're coming up on four decades now and I'm still amazed every time something happens.

I think I was just really was really trained into me that this was something that wasn't accessible to me, and that this had to be something my brain was making up. Well, your brain can only make things up so many times before you look at the evidence and say, This is, this is really happening.

Um, so you know, if you're sitting out there listening to this and thinking, I would really like to try Reiki or I would like to know more about working with the energies of nature, I would like to know more about magic, but you know, I'm, um, you know, an office worker. Driving a 18 year old Datsun to work, this is accessible to everyone, it is your birthright, it is who you were meant to be, and it's not that you're going to be getting it for the first time, it's something that's going to be given back to you.

I will, give you another example, so I write a fantasy series, and for those of you who like a little spice in your day, yes it is high heat. Uh, I write a fantasy series called The Spiral Pathways, and one of the reasons I wrote this series is that the main character, Saorsa, is a practicing witch, and I wanted, there are lots and lots of metaphysical and witchcraft books out there.

There's almost no pagan fiction. And for a lot of people who are interested in these things, but if you go into, you know, Barnes and Noble, or you go on Amazon, or you go to a metaphysical bookstore, there are so many titles that it can be really overwhelming. When you, what you really wanted was to just kind of dip your toe in and see If it might be interesting to you, and so one of the reasons I wrote the series is so that , you're reading fiction, but you're also getting the foundational practices of witchcraft at the same time, because you're watching characters teach other characters with authentic practice, or you're watching them set up a magic circle, or you're watching them celebrate the holidays in a pagan way, and so it was, it's a lot less intimidating that way.

And so when I started doing book clubs, when the first book came out, I would be in book clubs with all of these people and, you know, they'd be asking questions about the plot or saying that they really liked the story. But then when the book club was over and I was out in the parking lot, I would always get people like running after me as I was going to my car and they're trying to pull me aside in the parking lot where nobody could hear and they'd go, is the witchcraft real?

Has it kind of felt real? And I would say, yeah, it's absolutely real. I mean, I am writing a fantasy series. So there are sometimes they're, you know, flipping opening portals. We're not, I don't do that on a daily basis. You know, I'm not saying it can't be done. I'm not saying things won't come through to you, but I generally don't take my physical body other places, mostly because I'm a scaredy cat.

Um, um, and my spiritual body can go other places, but, um, but I'm also a scaredy cat about that. So I don't do that often, but. What people didn't want to ask in front of other people because they were afraid people would think they were strange was, is the witchcraft real? But it was the part of the book that they were the most attracted to.

And I would explain to them, you are all, and they would say, you know, how do you become a witch? And I would say, you are all. Already one, if you want to be one, when you, , arrived in this world, you are, a divine soul with access to nature and access to all of the power of nature. You've just forgotten it.

It's been taken away from you. And you've been told that you are a social security number. And that this is somehow not for you, it absolutely is for you. And I think that's one of the main reasons why Jen and I are doing this podcast is to say this is for you and you can access it. And not only that, there is an enormous community of energy workers and healers and witches of all different stripes out there who are willing to help and happy to talk about it.

So there we go. There's my soapbox. Now I'll stop. Absolutely. 

Jennifer Taylor: No, I, 

Tava Baird: I 

Jennifer Taylor: love that because you're absolutely right. And I have a lot of the same thing, even though I talked about how, you know, as soon as you have a Reiki attunement, that energy flows through you. The biggest obstacle for people is accepting that that's true, you know, accepting that it.

I really can't do this. This really, does have an effect. And I really can access this healing energy for myself and for others. And it is always so beautiful. And I love what you said about how, you know, that awe doesn't go away. The, oh my goodness, that really worked. You're, it doesn't, it doesn't go away.

And I think that's such a beautiful thing because it means that we're still living in that, that sense of awe and wonder and gratitude. And my life has definitely become so much more magical. The more I've given into that and accepted, it really is real. You really can, , put our hands on someone and have their pain reduced or lift their spirits.

And, you really can talk to nature and you can really have a conversation with the tree. I feel like at the beginning, um, you know, my husband and I talk a lot about how, everybody has their comfort zone. You know, we, all have, like a mental governor, like , in a vehicle, for example, like school buses, they'll put this like governor thing in there.

And basically it won't allow it to go above a certain speed. Because it's like, okay, below that speed, the county's decided, you know, everyone's safe. And so it won't allow the bus to go any faster than that. And I feel like we have that in our brains, you know, where there's in our energy field, the sense of this is safe and known.

And when something kind of pushes me a little bit beyond that, it feels like, whoa, okay, I don't know. Is this okay? Is this my imagination? Is this, um, is this good? Is, is this something that is okay? Or am I going crazy? And so we always joked about that. Like there's always a line, and we would be like, okay, well I've accepted this.

Okay. Reiki is a real thing. Yes. Energy work is real. But then there was this sense of. And angels talk through us and work through us. And you know, years ago, that was like, angels aren't really real. Like, they showed up in the Bible. They did some things, maybe that's how it happened.

Maybe it was sort of another one of those stories. That's just meant to teach you something, but it wasn't like. I can call on an angel and have them actually affect things in my life and help to heal something or bring an opportunity or heal a relationship. And then all of a sudden we started having these experiences that we could not deny after, connecting with angels.

And then it was like, okay, so angels are real. Reiki's real, but you know, and then, then there's the next little baby step and the next thing, and we would experience it and go, okay. You kind of can't deny that that just happened. I mean, you know, there's only so, like you said, there's only so many things that you can go, okay, clearly my just made that up.

And then you start accepting, okay, so now that's real. And , we joke, we're like, Is there even a line at this point? Because every time we'll decide, okay, I'm comfortable with this, but that seems a little far fetched and then we'll have an experience. 

Tava Baird: Yeah. I mean, like when Sam, I all showed up last October, I mean, I have a fricking angel writing books through me.

Right. Like, and, you know, Every single time he shows up, every single time, I go through an entire process of this isn't really happening, this can't be happening, this is, I can see him, I can hear him, he gives me things to write to other people, he answers questions, like, and it's only gotten more intense, it was really funny, you were telling me the other day, Jen, you were having a really difficult day, and you know, he's given me information to tell you.

And, you know, and then you said, and I could hear him. And it was funny when you told me that I was like, well, of course she could hear him. He can go wherever he wants. It's so funny. Like now I'm like, Oh my God. Like, you know, Lots of people hear him and but every single time it happens, I go, I have to sit down and like, examine my own beliefs on reality again.

I'm literally like, he's writing for me and I'm still doubting it, you know, like, it's, it's insane. And the other thing was, you know, a lot of people Our first experience with the concept of energy is, is spirits and ghosts. You know, I have lots of people who come up and say, I moved into this old house and things are happening.

The archeology site that I'm working on, when I first went to that inn, I had only had two experiences pretty much in my entire life where I thought, Okay, there's definitely something here. And, you know, a couple of weeks ago, I was sitting in this house. This is the Blue Ball Inn, and we'll talk more about this on other episodes.

And I literally saw my phone jump off a table and slam onto the floor. And someone sitting across from me, who had a better vantage point than I did, saw it too. And someone that I trust that, like, you know, person who is one of the last people prone to whimsy she went, that moved on its own.

Tava Baird: And then we started hearing sounds, not even faint sounds, loud sounds and movement. Fitting on the floor above us. And we knew for a fact, we were alone in the house, your brain. It's so funny. I always thought, you know, from watching Scooby doo cartoons that you'd yell Zoinks and run with like whirlwind legs out of a thing.

The first time you ran into the spirit, um, you know, and I've had things touch me in that house that I can't see, but I can't deny are there. And it's happened to all of us. Many, many, many people. It's, it's so funny because I always thought I would just, you know, scream and run, but instead what actually happens is you see this thing happening in front of you, or you feel this thing on you and your brain, you know, your brain, my brain goes through the system that goes, I have a science degree.

I have a hard science degree. This cannot be happening and must have an explanation. And then your brain tries to go through the explanations. And can't find them. And then it validates that other people are seeing and experiencing this too. And then your brain starts to panic. And you just kind of freeze for a minute, where you're there going, Oh, okay.

My reality is, needs adjustments to be able to process this. And sometimes it takes a really long time to process, but then after it does process, it has become a part of your fact base. And it's, it's really strange when I run into people and I talk to them and I say, I'm an archeologist at a At a house that is extremely embodied by the disembodied and, and people go, you do science and I go, yeah, and the science has actually the spiritual aspect has actually led us towards discoveries in the scientific aspect that.

I would otherwise have not made as quickly, and then I find the paperwork that backs up what people are experiencing in the house. Um, one of the, the, the ideas that I subscribe to, and I actually have a character in the book series that talks about this. Um, there's a character I have named Thomas, and he's called the Magician after the Magician from the hard one of the Tarot.

And he says, and he's a scientist, but he's also a magician. And he points out that many, many things in history we thought were magic until we had the scientific background to, to prove them. And so that what magic is, is literally just undiscovered science. It's something we don't yet have the proof for, but that they're not two separate things.

You don't have to have a scientific mind or a magical mind. They are the same thing. You just have a mind, but some things we don't have all of the data on yet. And so they still fall into the realm of magic. I was a Montessori teacher for a very long time. When Maria Montessori first started teaching, they did not have You know, cat scans and MRIs or ways to measure brainwaves and she observed, she sat and observed young humans and how they learned and out of it came up with this entire philosophy of how she thought the human mind worked.

And everybody thought she was crazy, and she then put it in, put this idea into practice in, um, in those days, what was called an insane asylum, and everybody started getting better, and then the society around her kept saying, it's a miracle, it's a miracle, right? She's working miracles. But what she actually was doing was scientific observation.

And then putting a theory into practice, and we know now, a hundred years later, now that we have all of these machines that can look into parts of the brain and see the way that they work, that her theories were correct, but what was a miracle a hundred years ago is now science. So all of these things that we're talking about that, you know, if you're in your car right now, or if you're, you know, sitting at home listening or you're making dinner or whatever, and you're thinking, Ooh, what are people going to think if I dive into magic or I dive into energy work, you're just ahead of the curve kid.

Right, because eventually these things as our science improves will be proved and already are. I mean, if you, if you look at, um, I'll give you another example. So when you think of Pythagoras, right? So those of you who struggled through geometry, like I did, a squared plus b squared equals c squared.

There's the Pythagorean theorem, right? Pythagoras was the father of geometry. But in his day, that's not what he was not known as a mathematician, he was known as a mystic and an expert on the soul. And he was, first off, his father went to the oracle at Delphi before Pythagoras was born and the oracle told his father, your child is going to make a huge impact on mankind.

So then little Pythagoras comes out. Uh, he, you know, is growing up in this very, uh, busy merchant city. He's seeing people from all over the world. And they believe that when he was about 18, he left Greece and he went to Egypt to study with the priests there. And the Egyptian priests at the time were not only spiritual, Leaders, but they were working on astronomy and mathematics and all of these other things that we now consider hard science.

And he stayed there with them for decades. And they also believe he traveled to the Middle East and learned there. And then eventually when he did return back home. And started his, uh, started his school. He basically had what we would call a cult today. He had a group of people, um, they gave up their possessions.

He would give it back. If it turned out that the group wasn't working for them, they studied together. They ate together. He was a vegetarian and everybody thought that was really weird. He, one of, he allowed women. to study in the group, which was also unheard of at the time. As a matter of fact, the first Western female mathematician studied with Pythagoras.

But so you have him doing this, but at the same time, he's also advancing the concept of the, the music of the spheres, the idea that the planets and everything around them vibrate to energy. And all of this was seen as mystical, magical stuff in his day and age. That's what he was known for. And now we know, you know, if we look at string theory and a lot of these other things that we consider hard science, they all got their start with Pythagoras.

You know, we would not have geometry if it wasn't for this mystic. So this concept that magic is one thing and that it's superfluous is absolutely, in my opinion, incorrect. Magic is the basis for scientific advancement. And what we're trying to help everybody do here is start to be brave enough to have these experiences that who knows may not only pull you towards advancement, but all of us collectively as well.

The next Pythagoras could literally be sitting there listening to this podcast right now. 

Jennifer Taylor: I love everything that you said and it's, it is so right. And I was listening to you talk about how he was talking about the, um, you know, the sounds or the songs of the, the spheres. And we took a class with John Stewart Reed, who is the preeminent scientist in terms of sound made visible.

And so much of what he talks about is, you know, all of the science that has been received really by completely other scientists and astrologers and astronomers who have received the, literally this songs, And recorded that they can now hear the songs of the planet and the songs of all of these different things and that every everything has its own song and that he can listen to the song of the cell now and have the actual the song of a healthy like liver cell, for example.

and compare it to the song of an unhealthy disease liver cell and that you can play the healthy song, the song of a healthy liver cell to that unhealthy one. And it will start to regenerate and start to come into resonance and match. That healthy one, and there is so much science. It's so exciting really to live in this time because so many of the things that have been entirely in the realm of magic are starting to be discovered by science and, you know, things like that, that there is an actual song of everything.

You know, every, every cell is singing its own song. And when those songs come into resonance with each other, that's when we have health. And one of the things that's absolutely beautiful that he has just, , created this machine that allows you to see that sound is actually three dimensional and that the songs of different things, all sounds end up making something that looks like a mandala.

And that they have gone back to these like ancient temples and places in like Tibet and places where these monks for hundreds of years have been drawing these mandalas. And seeing that they were actually drawing exactly what the image, what different sounds that they were making, like different things they were chanting, exactly what that looks like.

And only they were taking it from a 3d image and putting it on a 2d image. And you can actually play these things. And they've been talking about that. These were sacred seed sounds. You know, this was the mantra. This is the, Um, the artwork version of a mantra, and I'm sure people, you know, outside of that tradition would have been like, yeah, I'm sure it is like this is somehow representative or something, but it's now being shown that no, that's exactly what that sound looks like when you can make it visible through a simuscope.

So I love you. There are so many different examples of how science is now. Validating stuff that has been considered miracles and magic. Um, there, you know, Dr. Anne Baldwin, who has a PhD and is a Reiki researcher and professor of physiology at the university of Arizona's college of medicine, um, has, you know, shown, she calls it the bio field.

And a lot of times in science, they're using terms like bio field for the energy field. and she's the one who has shown that, the heart biofield extends 15 feet or more from the body that, and it also, it adjusts according to how we feel, you know, when we are really in an expanded place, we're happy, we're healthy, we're exuberant.

Our energy field, that biofield expands even further. And then when we're not, it contracts, but they're able to show that every cell in the body produces an electrical charge through positive and negative charges, which then create these magnetic fields. And she says, quote, the biofield is thought to cause dynamic changes and its vibrational qualities that alter the physiological and psychological functions of living beings.

there is so much incredible science out there. Bruce Lipton, who wrote the biology of belief has All kinds of amazing, research that shows that, pet scans. And even, we think about something like, you know, a pet scan or a cat scan, um, as being something that's really concrete and scientific.

But those are actually, when we look at those, we're actually looking at the energy profiles of our body, not the physical expression of it. And what he says is that, the significance of this and healing. Is that in quantum physics, the energy can be adjusted by other energy rather than through chemistry and he's a recent research research has now revealed that energy information signals are 100 times more efficient.

And controlling biology than our chemical signals. the net result is that we would move away from our pharmaceutical pursuit of healing and move to the energy field as a much more effective and efficient way of introducing health into our body.

So, I mean, just a hundred times. It's 100 times more powerful, you know, using energy to affect energy. And I could, boy, we could go on like that forever because there's so many, so many different ways that it's all coming together. 

Tava Baird: And you see it actually, even in traditional faiths all over the world. I mean, think about it.

When you think about what do they say in churches over and over again, the word. God. Okay. So word is speech. It's an energetic output, right? And think about how many times the angels are singing from the Bible, right? They sing constantly angel song. And I'm sorry, I have a very, I have a very naggy seraphim in the room with me right now that wanted me to bring this point up.

And one of the things when we started doing, we were talking about doing this podcast. I had said to Samuel like any advice and the only thing that he brings up that he hammers over and over and over again is that he wants Jen to sing on the podcast and that he wants us to talk about music that, you know, and, and so, I mean, the sound of our voices talking about this right now to you is energy coming to you.

You can see the evidence of it, even in your daily life. You know, when you were a teenager and, you were finding yourself, what did you want to do? most teenagers, it's headphones on and music becomes a central part Part of you forming your new identity, right? Music is everything. Music also holds memory in it.

You know, you, you're sitting out at dinner one night and suddenly you hear a song you haven't heard for 20 years and you go, Oh, man, I haven't heard this song in forever, right? There's, a definite, reaction that comes out of you with song. We all have first dance songs and, you know, first kiss songs.

We have lullabies that are passed down generation to generation. Um, if you're old enough like me to remember the song, the movie Footloose, okay, Kevin Bacon, if you are a young person and you have not seen Footloose, please see it. But here's the thing, Footloose is about this town. And the minister in the town has said there should be no singing or dancing.

Right. And it's so funny when you watch the movie, immediately you go, Oh, he's the bad guy. Like you have this reaction to it. Like, how could you take away singing and dancing, singing and dancing have been Part of the ways that people connect energetically since there were people, I mean, think about if you've ever participated in a drum circle or a campfire song or just gone to a disco, you know, or a concert, think of that group.

Feeling of moving energy. Um, you know, we've also probably heard there've been times in the past where the military had somebody surrounded and we're trying to get them to come out. And what did they do? They blast discordant music or annoying music at them. Right? So this, these are all forms of moving energy.

And so I think if, you know, if you want a homework assignment for the week, Get more music in your life. There is a really cool, free little tool online called Music Map, and I know sometimes I know I'm guilty of it, I get into a zone where there's like five bands that I listen to, and that's all that I've been listening to, and what you can do on Music Map is you can type in the name of any That's Artist and it makes like a little web and it will show you other artists that have similar music But that's slightly different And then so say for example, I were to type in well, this is going to date me You're going to know when I was in college sarah mclachlan Okay, it will immediately spit out all the ones that you would expect it to people who listen to sarah mclachlan you know, or tend to be of that particular age.

I'm 52, you know, and they went to college at a certain time and they also listened to the Indigo Girls and Katie Lang and Ani DiFranco and all of those, right? But then goes another step and by using Music Map, I was like, oh, I've got to look up Elephant Revival. Who the heck is Elephant Revival? And when I looked them up, you know, they haven't been together for years, but they still had music available and I loved them and it took me a little bit further outside of that musical rut that I get into by introducing me to new artists that are there.

And I mean, it's absolutely free. Just type in music map on any computer or on your phone, and it will, it's very simple little program, and it will simply say, you know, type in the Beastie Boys, type in whatever it is that you like to listen to, and it will start giving you more and more and more artists.

And then you can take one of those, make it the center of the web, and it will web out again. And it will expand, it's sort of like a, um, a visual Spotify that you can kind of look through everything first and, and see what you're interested in. Um, but that's been a really great resource as I try to keep myself from just being stuck in the same, uh, musical, um, group thing over and over again.

There's also, um, my massage therapist listens to, if you've never listened to the music, David Darling. He's an incredible, he's got tons of albums and she plays them during massage and they have, and he's also collaborated with other people. And there are, I think it's two albums of his that he did with somebody else.

And one of the things, so I thought this was a really interesting story. Um, I believe it's David Darling. So he, he and another friend of his were both taking care of their ailing fathers who were about to pass away. And they realized that there's lots of music out there sort of celebrating life, but that there wasn't a lot of music that was sort of soothing and preparing the soul that was getting ready to cross out of this life.

And he, and after their fathers passed on, he and this other composer, I put together these two albums that are, um, are just that, and they are some of the most soothing, grounding, relaxing music I have ever heard. If you're ever, you know, just kind of feeling like your world is in chaos, playing some of these are just, they're just wonderful, and I'm trying to remember what the actual album name is.

I will get it for next time. Um, then also, you know, one of the things that I think we mentioned this last time on Jen's, uh, Willow Ridge Reiki and Healing Arts website, there are free recordings on there that can really help you settle. And I recommend them to all of the people that I mentor when they come to me for their witchcraft training.

So 

Jennifer Taylor: I appreciate that. And I think one of the, I really like the point that you're making about how sound carries energy. And it is, it is a really potent mover of energy. Um, and one of the things that I've become aware of, and, my husband talks about too, we've talked about that. The more sensitive we become to energy, the more aware we are of the energy that is held within different songs and different types of music.

And, you know, there are certain, artists that we just loved, like absolutely loved. And I love, I love her voice and I love singing, you know, along with it. And yet we realized that there is so much pain. In these songs like Evanescence, I love, I love Evanescence, I love it. Um, but what I found is that unless I am really in Deep pain and I need to move it through that my Listening to and singing along with that now actually put it.

It's like it brings in pain, yes and Puts me it shifts my energy into a different place and we've recognized that there are certain things and certain artists that We've just loved we've listened to and for years and years, but that we've had to stop listening to You Because it was actually sort of opening ourselves to this well of pain that was then drawing in more of that energy that was unnecessary for us because it's not, that's not the place that we're in.

But I think it's super helpful for people that are having a hard time moving difficult emotions. You know, there was a time when , I was living with that kind of pain and turmoil and singing it and going ahead and letting myself sing it. sing that pain was really helpful, but I think it's important to recognize when you're listening to some of these things, is it, you know, some music helps you to bring out your anger and let you feel it because emotions are, you know, energy in motion.

They're meant to be in motion. And when we stuff them. Things become unhealthy, but to recognize and kind of become aware of how is the music that I'm listening to affecting my energy? And is it bringing me into more of a sense of, , harmony and resonance and balance? Is it, , raising my energy when I'm down and I need to have , a leg up, or is it continuing to keep me wallowing in a certain pain , that has run its course and it's time to move out and it's time to move and shift into something else.

, but I think it's really, Really good to just be aware because we are energy is such a huge, um, part of music. I mean, that's, that's just what's bringing everything through. That's why we're just moved to tears by certain songs, either the beauty in it or the pain in it. And you really feel what that artist is feeling, but just to remind ourselves that We might not want to feel what that artist is feeling.

It is, it was a beautiful cathartic thing for her to let that out. But is that really something that I want to be putting into me on a regular basis? You know, and the same with, you know, TV shows or things, you know, just as you become more aware of your energy field and aware of yourself. It's really good to become aware too of how you're affected by different things and make some conscious choices to include more of the music that uplifts you, that nourishes your soul, that helps you to bring you into alignment when that's what you're seeking.

Tava Baird: And I think in singing too, I mean, there are. There are gospel singers I have heard. And when you hear them really let loose, there is no doubt at all in your mind that the divine is there. Like they hear it, you know, come through and music was always my favorite part growing up of going to church or going to girl scout camp or going to whatever is when everyone was singing, there's a unity there.

When you can feel the movement in you, um, but I think what you're saying is exactly right. You know, like I love Adele. Adele has a fantastic voice, but if I sing Adele songs, or I listen to more than about three of them in a row, I feel like I just got broken up with, you know, my 

Jennifer Taylor: relationship. Good. I think it was 

Tava Baird: going well, you know, and, um, You know, there are, there are certain songs that you can't help but dance to and you will always dance to them.

Um, you know, and like one of my favorite songs ever since I was a little kid that I always feel like the energy just gets kind of frantic. Have you ever heard that song by the Charlie Daniels band, uh, devil went down to Georgia, right? Yes. Who doesn't love the devil went down to Georgia, but there's that frantic violin, that frantic It's a big fiddle going on in the middle that almost gets discordant and twisted.

And when you listen to that, you're like, holy, that really does sound like it came from hell, you know, like it's, and it's, it's just got this incredible thing. So, you know, one of the things that I've been trying to do for more self care, you know, we're in a media environment right now, especially with the news where, and unfortunately when we, we talk about, um, You know, the news we transitioned about 20 years ago to a 24 hour news cycle, which means we have to repeat things over and over and over and over again, which means we're also repeating because what what attracts attention bad news over and over and over and over again.

And so when you. Take your lunch break and the web is full of terrifying stories. And then the TV is full of terrifying stories. And then your phone is full of terrifying stories. And then you're talking to other people and what are they talking about? Terrifying stories.

Each of those has an energetic impact on you. And what I've been trying to do recently is say, say, you know what? I already have the information I need to make the decisions that I need to make to do my part in society in this realm. Instead of being bombarded by a 24 hour news cycle right now that I don't think is going to change what my action is going to be, I'm going to turn that off and I am going to listen to some music that will energetically put me in a good place so that I can do more good in my sphere around me, that I can reach out to people around me and make their days better, that I can be.

In a good and receptive headspace to hear other people's troubles and try to help them that I can be balanced as I go through my day and get the things that I need to get done for my family and for my creative soul done. Um, because each of those has an impact and I was just finding as I'm walking around through the day that I'm becoming grumpy and nasty and living in a fear based headspace for no reason other than the exact same 10 stories are being thrown at me.

I actually read there was, this was, um, this came, somebody had printed this or published it when I read it on a news site about 24 hours ago, and I'll have to see if I can find it. There was a scientific study done, and I think it was back in the 70s or 80s, that said that if you bombarded people with scary stories, Or fear based stories, no matter how ridiculous the actual facts of the story were.

It took something like only seven repetitions before they absolutely believed it. So, we have to really look at the sounds that are coming into our world. And now they might be altering our beliefs about how much power and control we have and how much power and control we don't have and the way that we feel about other people.

Are we now making up imaginary enemies in our mind that may not be there? And is it impacting our daily life simply because of the way that our current media society transmits information? You know, when I was growing up in the 1970s, there was the six o'clock news. My parents heard the news on the six o'clock news.

They might hear a brief radio report in between songs when they were listening to live radio, and that was it. It wasn't there on their lunch break. It wasn't there on their Facebook feed. It wasn't there on all of these other things. We are buried under an avalanche of negative, hysterical voices and sound.

And we have to be able to counteract that one of the best things that I've been doing for myself. I, as a child of a military, uh, father, we always lived near the beach when I was growing up because he was stationed on board ships and the sound of ocean waves, that beautiful white noise of ocean waves.

And that sound of the kernel movement of water. And in witchcraft, water represents love, right? It represents creativity. I have always slept better where I could hear the ocean. And I live in the mountains now, right? Um, and a couple of weeks ago, I thought, well, I have an Alexa. You know, I can literally turn on ocean sounds and leave them running all night long while I'm sleeping.

And I am sleeping like a baby now. I fall asleep to that repetitive sound of the earth and the moon and the water moving. It's great. Yeah. And it stays on all night long. I'm starting to leave it in the background when I write, I am just playing it constantly. I've turned it off now because we're, you know, recording a podcast, but it is altering the feeling that I have of everything is okay, because instead of listening to newscasters, I'm listening to, albeit recorded, Nature.

So that's another way to sort of bring it in. There's so many beautiful recordings and actually I would mention the artist David Darling earlier. He puts a lot of bird song and nature sounds behind some of his things as well. A lot of his songs intro with the sound of a babbling brook or a bird singing or something like that.

You can get those natural sounds in or nature. Go outside. People used to sit on their front porches and watch the world go by. Take a lawn chair out there and sit and watch dusk fall. Watch the lightning bugs. Listen to the sound of the breeze in the trees. Go listen to nature. It will help to counteract all of this, uh, Programming that is being sent to us and it's called programming for a reason.

Yeah, it's start, it's, it's teaching us to listen to them. What we really need to be listening to is ourselves and our connection to the natural world. 

Jennifer Taylor: And one thing that I'll add to the sound of the ocean and just another element that you can add, literally element that you can add, this will make sense in a minute, that you can add to that is to also consciously invoke.

The energy of the ocean. So when, Tava was talking about the sound of the ocean and receiving the energy of that, in addition to just listening to and receiving that sound information, we can also call in, goddess Yamiya, the goddess of the salty waters. Who comes and clears and clarifies our energy and our spaces and our being.

And it is as simple as saying, you know, goddess Yamiya, please come in with these waves. Be with me and cleanse and clear my energy, my thoughts. My being that I may, ride the waves of life that I may be cleansed and cleared by these salty waters and your energy and my entire space. And so that can add another layer, another level to what you're doing, or, you know, if you're not comfortable with connecting with the idea of a goddess and that's.

I'm sure it's entire other podcasts in itself. You can simply invoke , the element of water and invite the element of water to come into your day to come into yourself and doing the same thing. , cleansing and clearing and washing away and nourishing your body and mind and spirit.

And it doesn't take long, you know, and it doesn't have to require a lot of belief or practice or anything else to do that. You know, you can just simply try it. You know, we know that the sound of ocean waves is soothing. We know that the sound of a babbling brook is soothing. And as you listen to it, just take a moment to say, I invite in.

The energy of water. I invite the element of water and all of the blessings that it brings. And you don't have to know, you know, what, the element of air specifically is known to bring in you know, you can sit when she was talking about you sitting on your front porch and listening to the breeze.

You can simply invite the blessings. That the element of the air, the element of the wind can bring to you in this moment. And also even just ask that blessings be sent from you out into the world along with it. It's something that simple, but it can really transform the moment into something incredibly magical and, and beautiful.

Tava Baird: I think probably, um, one of the things maybe for our next podcast, cause I'm looking at the time and I'm going. We might need to do it on the next one, um, is I would love to talk a little bit about the difference between invoking and praying, um, which I think is, is an interesting, uh, line for people to know because, um, what, you know, you just heard Jen use the word invoke and, uh, there's a difference between invoking and praying.

And so, um, I know I'm going to make a note. That's something we should do on the next one. But, um, speaking of song and beautiful song, can I talk you into doing a song for our closing too?

I would love to get some beautiful energetic sound for the rest of the day. 

Jennifer Taylor: I would be happy to do that. And if there's anything that same I all would like to say at the end or anything I'm totally open to that as well. And so I know we have talked about a lot of different things today and a lot of different topics.

And so I'm asking that the divine energy of Reiki. The energy of the divine and all of its different magical, beautiful, sacred forms comes in and wrap around us and helped us to integrate all of this information to, to integrate the healing energies that have been sent throughout this. As we were talking, I was also just sending Reiki as well to support us 

So let's just close your eyes again. If you're not driving, Draw your attention back to your breath.

We focus on the space in the center of your heart. The center of your chest is the center of your heart chakra. Just imagine breathing in and out from that space.

And as we were talking about the energy of water, I'm going to just invite the energy of the salty waters, the energy of Yamaya, to speak through my voice. to bring in cleansing and clearing and healing exactly what it is that you are needing in this moment in time to refresh and nourish your soul. 

Oh, oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh. Mm,

mm, mm, Mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm.

NnNnnNnNNneeeaaah. amigo nnNNnnNnNneaaahhh nnNnnNnNnnNneaahhhhhh nneaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Tava Baird: something interesting has happened. when you were singing just now, um, Samuel was giving me things to write, to share. And so I think I have a feeling this may become a habit that you sing and he comes through your song, definitely brings through a message. And this is what I scratched down on the first piece of paper.

I could find a lovely envelope I have sitting here. Um, so he wants to tell people who are listening, be well, children, open up your heart. We are here for you. Your ancestors are here. Understand that it is you and what you learn that moves this existence forward. Bathe and play in the waters and sing your songs.

It is the first step on your path back towards us. Raise your voice. When you do this, your divine power cannot be denied. We are all one tribe. We are all one. You are never, ever alone.

So this has been the Mystical Musings podcast with Jennifer Taylor and Tava Baird. Thank you so much for joining us today. May you spend the rest of your day walking in peace.