Ducks in a Row

July 5 to 11, 2026

Every time I sit down to write about my week, I have a hard time remembering what happened at the start.  It’s not that I’m incredibly busy, but that each day feels full of either lessons, activities, or both, while at the same time not feeling particularly stressful.  This week did start out with a trip to the city for groceries, which is something I prefer to save for weekdays.  I was in a great mood despite the busyness and energy of the city and received a lot of angel numbers along the way.  Monday brought visitors I wasn’t expecting, a trip to my parents to help with computer issues, and more contact with people in one day than I’ve had the whole month so far.  We were gifted three baby ducks, so now have some more bird juggling to do as we are putting finishing touches on the chicken coop and the expanded run for them.  I connected with two new clients for free consults and completed a session at the end of the week. 

The weather has been hot!  The humidity has been nearly unbearable.  Dogs have been taking cool nap breaks in the basement during afternoons and getting hosed down in the evenings.  Chickens have fans and soon a new coop and fenced green grass to roam around in.  Ducks get daily trips to their tiny makeshift pond in the form of a paddling pool.  Cats pretty much take care of themselves, napping wherever they can find some shade or a soft pillow or a cool floor.  The garden is thriving and I’ve currently got more lettuce than I know what to do with, but thankfully, there are birds to take care of any excess.

Despite slow growth with my business, this week has felt the most abundant with my new life so far.  I never know if a post on social media will amount to anything, but it regularly has in the small communities surrounding me and I’m so grateful for that.  One of the limiting beliefs I’ve had to overcome with the help of hypnosis is that no one around me wants what I’m offering.  I’ve realized that this isn’t the case.  People are curious and open and generous and that makes me so happy.  So, I’ll continue putting myself out there and offering my services and hope that the people who I need also need me.

I spent most of one day this week thinking about money.  I’ve already done a lot of work on my money beliefs and uncovered some interesting correlations between things I never would have considered linked to money at all.  It has never been a motivating factor for me.  I was never tempted to climb the corporate ladder and get to the highest paying job because I knew it wasn’t what provided fulfillment and happiness.  I knew this because of the house that I grew up in.  We didn’t have a lot of money and we weren’t destitute, but there was an abundance of love and support.  I also saw how those who climbed to the top in any industry still had stress and problems, just different ones and ones that appeared more intense to me. 

I generally have a belief that I will be ok no matter what.  I have a strong work ethic, but I know that money and work are not everything.  I’ve always valued my personal time away from work and never felt that my work defined me.  Even now, with my own business and a vocation I feel is more of a calling, I don’t intend to spend all of my time working.  And that’s not the norm in our world.  It’s not what we’ve been taught.  But I also don’t think I need to make millions of dollars because I don’t feel that I need a lot.  Yes, I understand that money makes life easier and creates freedom, so I started questioning my money beliefs.  I questioned where they came from, who held them before me, if they felt true for me now, what those closest to me believe, and how their beliefs affect me.

I did realize that I might be scared of having too much money.  And when I looked into this fear, it wasn’t because I was worried about someone coming in and taking it from me, or friends who were only there for my wealth and didn’t really care about me, or anything outside of myself.  I somehow developed a fear of having a lot of money because it didn’t feel safe.  So, I questioned this.  Why doesn’t having money feel safe?  For me, having more money means having more say in how it is spent and what happens with it.  So, most people would think that’s a good thing.  But if you’re the one making money decisions that affect others, they may not be happy about the decisions you make.  This can cause strife and arguments and that’s uncomfortable for someone who’s always trying to keep the peace.  So, I associated having more money with having more say in how it is spent, resulting in disruption of an ecosystem that I’m constantly trying to balance.  So, if I hold less money, I hold less say, and things remain somewhat peaceful. 

But, as with anything, more say means more responsibility.  So, more money, means more say, means more responsibility and likely more stress.  Have I just been protecting my peace from more responsibility and stress?  Maybe a little.  And that’s ok.  I realized there were times in my adult life where I was taking on all the stress of everyone all the time.  I was mothering full time, working full time, friending full time, partnering full time and really left very little space for me, what I wanted, and what I needed.  The past two years have been a reprieve from this and a transformational phase where I resigned some of these roles and made myself a priority.  To some, this looks selfish, especially if they benefitted from me doing all the things.  But for me, it was vital.  I learned how to create boundaries, take care of my body and my energy, process my emotions, find my calling, and build my business.  I did this using savings, gifted funds, and investments.  Now that I’m coming to the end of those finances, I want to build my money foundations up in a better and more aligned way.  I’m not buying into what society tells me I should do – the endless hours of grind, the hustle, the pushing and clawing over others.  That’s the old world and there’s no place for that where we are headed. 

Recently, I’ve been led to see money as a source of flow, similar to water.  If I allow the flow of money to me and through me, I can be a vessel that is capable of holding it, managing it, and distributing it.  My lesson here is about capacity and because I’ve been experiencing lessons in capacity – typically emotional capacity – I know that I am capable of expanding it.  Money is just a thing that we’ve agreed has value.  Money itself has no intrinsic value, but because we attach emotion to it, it can be very difficult to look at dispassionately and objectively.  So, if you can remove the emotional attachment to money and objectively look at why you believe what you do about it, you can start to feel if those beliefs are true.  And if you’re willing to look at and change your beliefs, you will also likely be able to expand and change your capacity for holding abundance.  This lesson is still a work in progress and things aren’t quite figured out yet, but while I’m in the least optimal financial state of my entire life, I’m not stressed.  I’m calm and I trust that I am building something that holds value and will support me and my family.  Only time will tell if I’m right or delusional!

On to the messages for this week.  They are tiny spiders, unhinged, babies born with heart defects, lions, squirrels, phoenix, situationship, ducks, and butter churn.

Tiny spiders – Tiny spiders were showing up everywhere this week.  They were crawling on me in the car repeatedly, camping out at the light switch by the sink, crawling on my partner, biting a main character in a tv show, and looking at me through the garage window during a morning workout.  I used to be very afraid of spiders and recall one incredibly dramatic incident with my siblings as my audience.  A daddy long legs was across the room from me and I was screaming and in tears because it merely existed.  That was a long time ago.  Now, I don’t mind them when I find them because I understand they are just existing in this world as I am and have just as much right to be here as I do.  I just don’t love being surprised by them, feeling them before seeing them, or if they are too big or too many in number, especially in my living space.  I think the message here is that things that used to instill fear in me aren’t really as scary as they first seem, especially if I try to see them from a different perspective.

Unhinged – This message came in the form of an idea for an ad that I’m working on, a joke I made while buying hinges for the chicken coop door, a game suggestion that popped up on Netflix, and a card reading message encouraging me to be more unhinged.  Last year I made a wall hanging that I named “The Fall”.  I think I posted a picture of it on a previous blog post, but I used a branch that had fallen from a dead tree.  I hung it at an angle so that the piece looks like it is falling.  I used a number of different colours and knots, including some spray painted hinges that I worked into the piece.  It represented my fall from the persona and identity I’d been trying to fit into.  The hinges represented being “unhinged” and the idea that falling apart can look messy and a little crazy at times, but in the end, there is beauty in the transformation into the new and more authentic me.  I think I used to equate being unhinged with being a little crazy and a little out there, but now, unhinged feels dangerously fun at times.  I’m definitely not a reckless person, but if people think I’m calm, safe, and predictable and would never expect me to do something unexpected, it could definitely be fun to switch things up and surprise them.  Of course, this would be just for fun and no one would get hurt.  So, with this message, I think I’m being encouraged to go off script and be little more whimsical and weird than I usually am.

Babies born with heart defects – This message appeared in a tv show where a character’s new boyfriend ended up being a criminal.  He was blackmailing a drug company’s CEO because of neglect that led to his child’s death.  It also turned up in a podcast in which a young girl made a connection with a young mom and predicted that one of her twins would have a heart defect.  I do know of someone who experienced this in real life and ended up losing the baby as well. I’m trying to interpret how this could be a message for me.  Sometimes when you dream about a birth or receive a card reading about a birth, it is metaphorical and not literal.  A baby being born can represent a new life or way of being or something new coming into your life.  So, it could mean birthing a new idea or identity, but with the heart defect, I’m guessing it points to underlying issues.

Lions – Lions appeared in so many card readings this week.  The lion’s breath breathing technique was something I was guided to and have yet to investigate.  The card readings spoke of lion energy.  A previous hypnosis brought up my lion’s voice.  The book I’m reading made a comparison between a lion and a squirrel.  Lions are loud and proud and the kings of the jungle.  They aren’t afraid of anything or anyone and live their lives unapologetically.  They love fiercely and are loyal to their kin, openly showing affection.  If I had to guess, I’m going to say this message is about stepping into more of a lion persona and embodying many of these aspects.

Squirrels – This message showed up in a few card readings.  One mentioned a squirrel energy that would come and speak to me, while another compared the energies of the squirrel and the lion.  A ground squirrel appeared in a dream in which it jumped on my couch as though it was a pet and I’ve been seeing a large number of ground squirrels on the gravel roads by my home.  When I think of squirrels, I think of small, cute, resourceful animals.  They are fast, playful and responsible, always working and storing away resources for future use.  Again, the message I’m taking away from this is to embody these traits in myself.

Phoenix – Phoenixes appeared in a number of card readings and also showed up as the name of a platform from which to purchase tickets.  The meaning of the phoenix is to rise up out of the ashes of the old, so it is pretty clear that this is a message of rebirth and new beginnings. 

Situationship – This isn’t a term I’ve ever used and don’t run into that often, but it did appear on a tv show and in a card reading, so it must have importance.  I was going to suggest that my current relationship might fit this, but once I looked up the meaning, it does not.  We are a committed couple but are not married and labels that are available for that type of relationship are lacking in my mind.  So, I don’t really know what this message is pointing to at the moment. 

Ducks – Ducks showed up in real life this week and now we have three.  They also were mentioned in a podcast when a host stated she calls her kids ducks.  They also came up in a card reading in which the phrase “get your ducks in a row” was mentioned.  When I think of ducks, I usually think of this phrase as it is widely used when talking about getting things organized and figured out.  When I hear ducks quacking around my home, I always laugh as they sound like an old couple bickering with each other.  The message I’ll take from this is to get my ducks in a row.  That will be harder than it sounds since the three we were gifted like to walk in circles around each other, but I’ll do my best.

Butter churn – This message appeared in the trailer of a show I thought might be interesting.  It also appeared in a movie when a character mentioned that a centrifuge used to be used for making butter.  I sadly have never used a butter churn, but understand that it takes time and effort and patience to create the end result.  There’s something about making things yourself that feels more satisfying than just buying it already processed.  I could see this message being about taking the time and putting in the effort to create something of value that lasts and is nourishing and I’m guessing it has to do with the business I’m building.

Well, once again, I don’t really see the need to decode these messages through hypnosis.  I think I can piece together a meaning myself, but I may still use it to gain some more clarity and insight.  My guess is that I am being encouraged to move beyond my fears by picking them apart and examining where they came from and how they’ve held power over me and then challenging them.  I think I’m being encouraged to go off script and be a little unpredictable with my approach.  I should watch out for any holes in my plans, especially if they are emotional issues I’ve yet to address as they could result in complications.  I should embody my inner strength and confidence, while also being resourceful, playful, and quick on my feet.  I am rising from the ashes of my old self into something new. Possibly, there is a new relationship coming in, but that feels a little strange since I’m not looking for one. So, perhaps instead, it means a new start in an existing relationship.  I am being encouraged to get things in order and continue to work with steady effort so that in time, the valuable creation I’m working on can take form.

Well, since this was a week of ducks and I’ve not returned to any artistic creations, I figured why not show you the babies.  First, in the box in which they arrived and second, in the makeshift pond (a paddling pool with a hole in it, lined with plastic). And if you're wondering, no, I have not been able to get them in a row, but I will continue working on it.