CURRENT MOON
CURRENT MOON
 

Home
Products
Reiki
News Letter
About Me
Contact Us
Ordering Info
Guestbook
Safety Tips
Links
Mystic Library


6/9/2015

Well, it has been a long time since I updated the new letter.

The brick and mortar store officially opened June 18, 2010. Since that time it has steadily grown. Our mailing list is up to 500 people. We currently have nearly 5000 different products.

Online ordering is still not up and running. I must confess that running a store is taking more time than I thought.

This is been a very steep learning curve. Currently, there are a couple of major projects taking precedence over online ordering.


As I sit here typing this, I cannot believe that in nine days we will finish our fifth year in business as a physical store.

The coffee and tea shop never materialized. I do carry canned soft drinks and I sell k-cups. We have a Keurig style machine available if you wish to use it.

We do not have a massage therapist available so we do not offer massage. I had hoped to find an independent massage therapist would be interesting in doing sessions at the store. So far, that has not happened.

Please like us on Facebook. The link is on the main page. This is where I am posting our current updates, new items, etc.

I sincerely hope that you are all well.

Blessed be

Phil

3/8/2010

Dear Customers and Friends,

For the immediate future, orders are not being accepted.

On March 3, 2010 I signed the lease on the building that will become the home of the physical location of Mystical Treasures Emporium.

At the moment I am in the process of getting the building ready for the grand opening, getting all the permits, etc.

The physical store will have four main sections

  • The Black Cat Coffee, Tea and Beverage House
  • Mystical Treasures Emporium Retail and Mail order store
  • Services - Tarot reading, rune reading, Reiki, massage offered by an independent contractor, and more
  • Classes - Witchcraft, Wicca, Magickal Herbalism, Reiki 1, Reiki 2, Reiki ART, Reiki Master, Karuna Reiki ® and Rainbow Reiki Body of Light Practitioner

Until the store is opened, I will not be able to process orders - there is simply too much to do to get the physical store open. I know that you will be understanding.


1/12/2010

Happy New Year to all. May 2010 be filled with wonder, peace, prosperity and all things good for everyone.

I am still adjusting to life with my mother. I find myself thinking of her multiple times a day, wanting to pick up the telephone and call, wanting to hear her voice. But of course I cannot do that any more.

Remember to cherish your parents, friends and loved ones because one they pass all you will have are the memories you built. I know that what happened was for their best good but it doesn't help the selfish part of me that wishes they were still alive ... that my mother was still here - and HEALTHY!

I am still looking for a storefront. I realize that I will most likely not find the "perfect place" for the store but any place I consider must meet some basic requirements:

  • 1200 sq feet or more
  • Cheap ... would love rent under $800 a month
  • Decent neighborhood that is safe
  • Reasonable amount of parking
  • Areas that can be sectioned off for:
    • Coffee, Tea and Soft drinks
    • Merchandise
    • Reiki and Massage room
    • Reading room
    • Meeting area
  • Enough space for indoor ritual
  • Enough space for outdoor ritual
  • Fairly easy to access

I have looked at several places ... they were either too small, no parking, BAD section of town that I wouldn't really want to go in during the day let alone at night, in poor repair, etc.

I visited Bean, Book and Candle this morning in Birmingham, AL. That store is approximately 100 miles away from me. It is a very nice store and the owner is very nice. If I do not carry something that someone wants, cannot get an item or they have a better price (that I cannot match or beat) I will direct people up there. Hopefully they would do the same.

Since I last updated this News Letter I have completed my Karuna Reiki ® Master Teacher training. Karuna Reiki ® was developed by William Lee Rand and others of the International Center for Reiki Training. The system is not a replacement for Reiki but an extension of extension. In some ways you might consider it more powerful. I think it would be accurate to say more precise. This system gives the practitioner an additional 8 symbols that are very specific. I am hoping to teach my first Karuna Reiki ® class within the next few weeks.

I have also registered for the Body of Light Master Teacher training from Rainbow Reiki class that my ART, Master and Karuna Reiki ® RMT is offering at the end of February. It is another healing system with additional tools that I can use to help people.

During the past two months I have purchased a good number of items to carry in the store. I am in the process of getting the website update. Last week I got in a shipment of 60 cauldrons of various sizes. I have already sold two unexpectedly. I also have materials coming in to restart my magickal bath salt line. A new item that I will be carrying is Himalayan Pink Salk as well as Dead Sea Salt. I have a lot of work to do on the website with regards to new products.

I hope that everyone is staying warm. Alabama has seen some of the coldest temperatures I can remember and the longest cold spell in many, many years. The lows for the past week in Montgomery Alabama have been below freezing, multiple days reaching into the teens. For those up North this will sound rather warm ... however, for this area the worst we usually get in the winter is a few days dipping to lows in the mid 20s.

If anyone knows of place where I can get ROUND, METAL, twelve in taper molds, preferably ones that pour 6 or more at a time, please let me know. Right now I am limited to one twelve inch taper at a time.

Again, I want to wish everyone a very happy new year. May it be filled with prosperity for all.


11/20/2009

My grandmother, thankfully, passed away on October 17th after not eating for 2 weeks. Really this is a good thing. Her breast cancer had moved into the body and was spreading. Her passing was peaceful. Her first sitter had dropped by. She, one of my grandmother's current sitters and I were back in her room talking. One moment my grandmother was breathing and the next she was not. There was no horrible death rattle or gasp of pain. I do not think she had recognized anyone for at least a year. She was bed bound for the past 4 years and unable to communicate the last year in any form. She never wanted to live in that condition.

It is just me and my sister now. I am the last of this Marsh line and after me there will not be any more. I do not intend to have children or adopt. I do not feel that I would be a good parent. There are other people much better suited to being a parent and having a kid just to carry on a family name is not reason enough.

Now that my care giving duties are over I am taking a little time off for myself. I am also in the process of trying to locate a reasonably priced store front to open a physical version of the web store.

I am rather disgusted by the idea that some property owners have that the tenant will have to go in and make repairs to their building before moving in. If I tear up something or break something then of course I should be responsible for fixing it. However, if the roof leaks, the door won't close or some other problem exists before I move in it should be taken care of by the landlord and the rent should not be increased because THEY did not perform the necessary maintenance to THEIR building!

Over the past few days I have been working with several sources to expand the items carried by the store. I have a whole host of new crystals on the way and I am about to start carrying herbs.

Also, expect a new look to the online store soon. A few friends are going to help me revamp the site's appearance.

For those reading this, I hope that you are doing well and all your endeavors are succeeding.


10/16/2009

It has been a long times since I made an update to the newsletter. My mother passed away on August 15, 2009. As I sit here typing this my grandmother is close to death. It is for the best though.

Mom never got a kidney. I could not be a donor - high blood pressure and weight. She had run out of dialysis access points and after some work and luck she got a new type of dialysis access called a HeRO.

The HeRO (Hemodialysis Reliable Output device) is a cross between a permacath (line to the heart) and a graft (subdural dialysis access). The graft did work for a while and mom was the first patient to ever have 24 hour dialysis using this type of access.

Since the last update I have been doing Reiki on mom and a few clients. I have also taught and attuned a few people to Reiki. But as anyone who has been a care giver know most of your time is spent in care.

I hope that everyone is doing well that reads this.


7/21/2008

My schedule is off at the moment and night has turned into day. I have been back in Montgomery for over a week now, the longest that I have been home since last Christmas.

We had some terrific news, mom got called by the kidney transplant team back in June that she was on the stand-by list for a kidney. This means that she is near the top of the list. The call came in at 6:15 am on Saturday, June 7, 2008. At first we were afraid it was a joke and then we ecstatic and then the waiting to see if the kidney was viable for transplant. Well, at 12:30 pm we got the call that the kidney was not transplanted. So, we went from anxious to slightly depressed but relieved because it means that the end is in sight.

On July 8, 2007, mom had her permanent dialysis access surgery. She had the access installed in her left thigh. Yes, this was NOT the first choice. Her right arm cannot be used for an access because of the infected permacath from May 2007. The left arm is out because it is the only one that can be used for PICC lines and other stuff. The right leg is out because of varicose vein surgery and that is where the took the veins for the heart surgery.

She goes to UAB for re-evaluation for a kidney transplant on July 22. Lets hope that her status doesn't get messed up. Physically, she is better than the she has been in years.

I fear that this Newsletter is becoming more of a blog.

Since receiving my Reiki Master training in April of this year I have been practicing and trying to become a better conduit for the Reiki source to work through. Yes, as some of you know, I would love to be able to send Reiki to a person and heal them of any disease or make their transition peaceful and painless. I am very tired of seeing people suffer.

I have attuned a few people through Master level. My mother, my hubby, and a close friend of mine. I was told by me Reiki guides to attune my mother through master level in as short a time as possible to help them be better able to work on her. There is more to it than that but I am unable to find the correct words at this time and I am still not allowed to know the full reasoning behind their decision. On my way back from Reiki Master training I asked what was the best way to help my mother and did what I was told.

The attunements raised her vibrational rate and as I understand it, her increased vibrational rate made it easier for her guides (and mine) to work deeper healing on her.

And no, this is NOT normal progression. I do not use a fixed time interval between Reiki attunements for all individuals. I trust my instinct and my Reiki guides to let me know when it is time to move to the next attunement.

I will be adding Reiki sections to the website as well as offering my services as a Reiki practitioner ...

  • In person Reiki sessions at my location - fee based
  • In person Reiki sessions at your location - fee based + extra
  • Remote Reiki sessions - fee based
  • Reiki Attunements, in person only - fee based
  • Reiki Healing Requests via my Reiki Grid - free Reiki Requests (ReikiRequests@mysticaltreasuresemporium.net)

At the moment I am working in both Montgomery and Tuscaloosa depending on where I am.

I will travel to you if you are in the same city but there is an additional charge.

I will also be doing offering Remote Reiki services. Between my 20+ years of auric healing, my magickal training and my Reiki I am pretty decent at remote work. Contact me for more details.

Reiki attunements will only be done in person, no remote attunements. The attunement is more than an energy process, it is also instruction. Dr. Usui, to the best of our knowledge did not do remote Reiki attunements.

Further, there is a good deal of debate as to whether remote attunements work correctly. The International Center for Reiki Training does not do remote attunements and for the time being I do not do them either.

You may email me a request for Reiki energy to be added to my Reiki grid. A Reiki grid is a crystal grid that is charged by a Reiki master to send Reiki to all those who have requested it. It is sort of like an amped up prayer list.

Well folks, the sun will be coming up shortly as it is past 5:00 am now. Honestly, I am a little scared to go to sleep. I attuned two people to Reiki Master last night - that isn't the problem.

I have been having some very upsetting dreams in the past few days. I am not sure if they are of things to come, if they are issues I am dealing with on a subconscious level or if it is something else.

No, being a Reiki Master does not mean that you can heal yourself of all problems - physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. It does not mean that you will stop having bad dreams or night mares.

Being a Reiki Master means that you have answered a higher calling to help those in need, to try to become as effective conduit for the Reiki energy as you can be.

And this leads to one last answer - why do I charge for Reiki? Well, I am not charging for the Reiki. I am charging for my time, my experience and knowledge.

This is the year 2008. Unless you are fortunate enough to be born super wealthy and not have to worry about money then you must somehow earn the money to pay the rent, the utilities, the car payment, buy food and other items.

I was not one of those few born to extremely wealthy families and I am not independently wealthy. I am not part of a commune or group that pays all of my expenses.

So, I offer my various skills and services in exchange for monetary compensation.

For those familiar with Dr. Usui's life you will recall that there usually was some type of exchange for his services or his teaching ... be it a meal, money, time, equivalent exchange, etc.

I hope that anyone reading this Newsletter is in good health and spirits. Remember that you may email Reiki requests to be added to my Reiki grid.

Reiki Requests (ReikiRequests@mysticaltreasuresemporium.net)

At the moment, I am still trying to work out how to do an automated form that cannot be spammed by bots. If you will recall I had to disable the automatic posting to my guest book because it was being overrun by spam bots and some of the links lead to virus ridden sites. I try to treat everyone who visits my website as a guest and a friend as such, I will not put either at risk in my own house or on my website.

Blessed Be and Nameste.

5/8/2008

Well, anyone who has been looking at the newsletter has noticed that nothing has been written for a long time.


I haven't done much on the website in over a year – I have been taking care of my mother.


March 8, 2007 my mother had a heart attack. On March 12, 2007 a heart catheterization revealed that the front two blood vessels were 95%+ blocked and they rushed her in for immediate surgery. She was recovering fairly well considering she was in frail condition, got home and in the middle of April switched from hemodialysis to peritoneal dialysis. The hemo port was left in place while they made sure the peritoneal port still worked. Unfortunately the kidney doctor’s didn't think the hemo port needed periodic flushing and barely 2 weeks later it was infected, the infection spread to the blood and on May 3rd my mother went into septic shock.


Her blood pressure dropped to 30/11 and stayed there for nearly 36 hours. She was in ICU for 11 days and then released to the dialysis wing. She was there for 3 weeks barely moving and then got to where she wouldn't wake up and was put back in ICU, this time for 22 days. She spent 3 months (May, June, July) in the hospital and then 3 more weeks in a rehabilitation hospital.


When she went to rehab she couldn't sit up on the edge of the bed by herself and after 3 weeks of real physical and occupational therapy she was walking about 150 yards at a time.


In September she had lots of problems with her blood thinner medication and at the end of October she had a minor stroke, pinpoint blood clot and sub-dural hematoma on the back of the brain – all the right side of the brain so it messed up the left side of her body.


During this time she was on hemodialysis. In mid November she went back on peritoneal dialysis. One of her kidney doctors just loves peritoneal dialysis. By the end of December she had gotten a bacterial and yeast infection INSIDE the peritoneal cavity and at the beginning of January 2008 she had to have the peritoneal port removed.


Since January she has been fighting dehydration because of running to the bathroom 20 to 25 times a day. During the 3rd week of April 2008 the doctors started her on TPN solution – a liquid nutrient pumped directly into the blood stream.


As of May 8th things are improving.


I have spent over a year living with my mother and taking care of her.


My mother comes first. I am still running the business but I have not had as much time to put into it.


Now if anyone reading this has a problem with my taking care of my mother then just go one and leave my site because I do not wish to do business with you. The customer is not always right. *gasp* Yes, I said it.


Even though most of my time is spent caring for my mother I have been able to get orders out in a reasonably timely fashion. Unfortunately my last big order came in two days after she went into the hospital the last time but I still managed to get it shipped within 3 days. Not too bad if I say so myself because I was spending 15 to 24 hours a day at the hospital with her.


On May 5th, 2008 I figured out why the links on the left of the site pages would not work with Mozilla ... I had used backslashes in the URL's. Mozilla does not seem to like them. My web hosting provider tech support couldn't figure out the problem, all of my friends who know HTML couldn't help. And if you want some fun, try looking the problem up on Google or Yahoo or DogPile.


Internet Explorer and other browsers I have used in the past all used the backslash.


I have changed the URL's on the web pages so that they now work in either Internet Explorer or Mozilla.


I am sorry it took over a year to fix the problem but as I said my mother comes first and honestly when compared to trying to get my mother healthy this problem was a minor one.


Hopefully no one who reads this will have to experience caring for a parent full time. It is a very rewarding experience but I hope your parent’s don't get in the position of needing full time care.


Some might say, “Why not send her to a nursing home.” Well, if you have had anyone in the nursing home then you will know why that was not an option. First off they are expensive. If you are over 65 and are on Medicare but have any investments or property other than a house then Medicare will seize it all and use it up. But most importantly the level of care at most nursing homes is not very good – too many patients, too little staff and too few people who really care about what they are doing.


Thirty years ago the care in nursing homes was pretty good but now it is not the case. Not to mention they are EXPENSIVE … in the area where my mother lives it is around $5000 a month for a semi-private tiny room.


After this past year I can say that I have much more respect for anyone caring for their parents full (or part) time and a much deeper understanding. My other half has been absolutely wonderful about letting me stay and take care of my mom. But the strain is getting to him – I have seen him six days since Jan 4, 2008.


So there it is, a short version of what has been happening in the past year and why so very little has been done on the website.


One other bit of news; on April 13th I became a Reiki Master in the Usui and Tibetan traditions. I will be adding Reiki services to the website in the near future … both in person and remote sessions are available as well as in person attunements for Reiki 1, 2, 3 and Master level. I received by ART and Master training from Beth Simmons Stapor of The International Center for Reiki Training. But please note I am not a center certified instructor – that will take at least two years – one year of practice at Master level and then a minimum of 1 year in their training program.


And a last note, for all those who have sent in comments to be added to the guest book in the past year I ask that you bear with me while I get them added. Again, my mother comes first and it is taking a great deal of my energy (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual) and the website gets part of what is left.


Thank you for taking time to read this latest update.


Blessed Be and Nameste



12/1/2006

For the past several months I have been growing dissatisfied with the appearance of the website. It was very dark and gloomy. While Hollywood and some fiction writers may portray magickal stores to be sort of dark or dimly lit there is no reason this has to be the case. With this in mind I have been creating a brighter and lighter feeling website.


If you cant tell, three of my favorite colors are yellow, orange and purple. I decided to go with a darker yellow as the background. You will also notice that I changed the text on the pages to black to make it easier to read.


In addition in the changes of the appearance of the pages there has been a complete restructuring of the location of the files.


In non-technical terms it means that if you had bookmarks to any specific page they will no longer work. I am sorry for the inconvenience that this will cause to some people. I must admit that when I started putting this web store together three years ago I never expected to have it grow to this size. The new structure greatly reduces the amount of work required to maintain the site.


If you have visited within the last month or two you will also notice that the frames have been removed. While I like the feel of the frame version it caused major problems with linking to individual pages within the site. In the end, I decided to recombine everything into single pages.


If you would like to leave a comment for the guest book they will still need to be emailed to me directly. Back in 2004 and 2005 my site was attacked by bots. I was getting numerous entries from them for all sorts of crap and even links to external sites containing viruses that would try to load on your computer. I tried to remove the entries as soon as I found them but sometimes it could be several hours (such as when I slept) between the time they were posted and when I removed them. I am very protective of my friends as well as my visitors and customers and I refuse to risk the safety of your computer because of a bad entry in my guest book. To this end, I took off the automatic posting of guest book entries so that they must be emailed and I will add them manually.


Thank you for taking time to read the newsletter.


If you have any question please feel free to contact me.




9/15/2005

Well, the new version of the site using frames is now up and running. I hope that you enjoy the new look.