Discover THE LOST Energies: Oozing Sexiness

How many times have you seen or met someone and thought, “They just ooze sexiness.” Have you ever heard someone say that a person has “animal magnetism”?

Does that possibly mean that an individual has more sexual energy than those around her? Does it mean that when two people are “attracted” to each other, they are literally drawn together because they possess complementary energies, kind of like the positive and negative ends of a magnet?

It’s kind of fun thinking about sex and attraction in terms of energy and it definitely would explain myths like those of the succubi who drain people of their life forces through sexual activity.

In THE LOST and then in THE CLAIMED (May 2012), you’re going to meet a Shadow Hunter whose affinity is sexual energy. Maya, a villain in the books, feeds off the arousal of others and can also create intense need in those around her because of the force of her sexual energy.

Today’s Guilty Pleasure could probably play a very sexy Maya because she’s totally hot. If you saw her in the first UNDERWORLD, I’m sure you would agree that Kate Beckinsale is a great choice for today’s Guilty Pleasure/Discover THE LOST energies discussion.

Have you ever met anyone who possesses that kind of sexiness/magnetism? What about movie stars? Many think Johnny Depp has that kind of sexiness. Who are some of your sexy favorites?

Speaking of sexy heroes, come hear about CIA Agent Bill from THE FIFTH KINGDOM at this wonderful book club blog!

Photo Credit: Mario Antonio Pena Zapaterí[email protected]

Discover THE LOST Energies: Seeking Your Balance

Yesterday we started talking about the energies within us which most of us just don’t tap for a variety of reasons. Probably one of the first reasons is stress. We are always on the go, hung up on things in the past or worrying about things that might happen in the future. We are sometimes so worried about the past and the future that we forget about the most important thing: the NOW.

So today’s talk is about seeking balance in order to restore some of THE LOST energies within us. It’s about stopping to smell the roses.

Just one thing before you start: Make sure that you check with a physician before engaging in any form of activity or exercise and make sure that you undertake this balancing activity in a safe environment.

The first step involves a concept known as “Earthing”.

Go outside (somewhere safe) and take off your shoes and socks. Grass, earth, sand or the ocean are perfect places, but standing on concrete will work as well. Wood, not so much since it’s such a poor conductor. You can walk around or just stand there, but the important thing is to allow your naked feet to keep contact with the Earth. Those who practice Earthing believe it will help transfer natural electrical energies that have been lost back to your body.

Take it a step further. Stand there, legs slightly apart. Try to clear your mind of all thoughts about the past and future and just think of the NOW. The cold, crinkly feel of the grass beneath your feet. The slight damp. The grittiness of sand sifting between your toes. The screech of a seagull. The NOW.

Then take a slow deep breath while raising your hands above your head gently. This is not a stretch, just a simple raise your hands on the deep inhale. Then drop your hands and bend at the waist (until comfortable) while you exhale. Do this by bending toward your right leg, then the middle, then the left leg, then the middle, etc. Inhale/Raise, Exhale/Lower. Slowly and without pushing your physical boundaries. Not too long since this isn’t about endurance or exercise, it’s about finding balance.

If you can’t do the arm raise/bend, just do the deep breathing, slow and simple for a minute or two.

I actually do this bending/inhaling exercise during long stretches of writing. Why may you ask? Well first of all, sitting too long is never good.

Second, this Sympathetic Breathing exercise taps into your Autonomic Nervous System which in stressful lives is sometimes stuck in a “fight or flight” response to the detriment of the “rest and digest” portion of the system. Sympathetic breathing exercises help restore the balance to your ANS.

So on this Fun Friday, see if you can do these exercises and if you feel more peaceful, more in the NOW and more energized. If you do, you’ve taken the first step toward find THE LOST energies within you (or maybe join the ranks of the SIN HUNTERS by finding your natural affinity!).

Discover THE LOST Energies: Reike

Over the past few days, we’ve talked about ancient relics that have mystical powers, but how did the relics get those powers? Did they come from the materials with which they were made or from an external force, possibly the person or people who made it?

So today’s discussion is about human sources of energy and how you can access them. It’s what inspired the SIN HUNTERS who are an ancient race that have learned to tap the potential of their particular affinities as well as the energies of the people, things and nature around them.

But to start that discussion I guess that means that one has to believe that people inherently possess some kind of life energy – a ch’i (or chi or qi) as the Chinese would call the energy flow within us.

I believe in that and if you think about it, how many people do you know that are the “life of the party” and just full of energy. How many others are perpetually downers, that can drain the life from you by their very presence? (I based the SHADOW HUNTER faction of the SIN HUNTERS on such energy vampires!)

But what do you do about that energy and how do you tap into it? One way that some claim to do so is through the spiritual practice of Reike. Reike was first practiced in the 1920s by Buddhist monks and involves the laying on of hands to transfer healing power. A first level Reike practictioner can heal herself and others while a second level can even do so at a distance. Reike masters are able to teach others the skill.

The word Reike in Japanese comes from a combination of the words Rei meaning “soul or spirit” and Qi meaning “life.”

Now I’ve not had the opportunity to try out Reike, but I definitely think there are things that can “lift my spirit.” The ocean for example, is one thing that makes me feel peace and somehow makes me feel stronger. Maybe it’s because I’m a Pisces. Who knows. But it’s why I love spending time at the beach and also why my SIN HUNTERS are so connected to the elements of nature along the shore.

How about you? Do you believe in those life energies within us? Do you believe you can grow them, move them around or drain them?

Also, just a quick reminder that tonight is the night! I’ve got Jeaniene Frost visiting with me live on camera for some sexy fun, romance talk and prizes. If you can’t see the widget below, just use this link to access the live event tonight at 9 pm EST: http://t.wbx.me/fbam1

Reike Photo Credit: [email protected]

Discover THE LOST Energies: The Shroud of Turin

Continuing with our discussion of all things magical and mystical, today’s entry is a sacred relic about which there has been much talk and controversy: The Shroud of Turin.

The Shroud is a piece of linen bearing the likeness of a man who has suffered physical injuries that bear likeness to those which would occur from a crucifixion.

Over the years tests have been performed on small bits of the Shroud for purposes of carbon-dating it and analyzing the various blood stains, pollen, textiles, etc. which made up the shroud.

In 1988, tests to date the Shroud indicated that it likely came from the Middle Ages, possibly from around 1260 and 1390. Additional tests show the presence of iron commonly used in pigments, and yet pigments do not form the image. Although there is blood, DNA testing was not possible and so no one knows if the blood belongs to the man covered by the Shroud or to someone handling the Shroud. Images of flowers pressed onto the Shroud as well as the pollens suggests that the shroud does come from Jerusalem and/or the Middle East. Analysis of the man confirm injuries consistent with crucifixion, but some question the proportions of the forehead, arms and legs as being out-of-sync.

But here’s the thing about the Shroud. No one, and I mean no one, can explain how the image got there.

The image has 3-D qualities that cannot be explained by saying that somehow someone in the Middle Ages was able to create a photograph on the linen. Tests have shown that the image does not contain any pigments and so it cannot be attributed to a painting. Various scientists have tried to recreate the image on similar textiles, but have not been able to do so and match the known physical properties of the image.

Many surmise that it took a great deal of energy, a source which is too high to reproduce in a laboratory, to create the image.

Energy. It’s all around us and in us. Is it possible that the person in the shroud possessed incredible energy that was released at death or as some Christians believe, at the moment of resurrection?

What’s your take on this? Have you been to Turin to see the Shroud?

Discover THE LOST Energies

By now you know that I’ve got two releases coming up, THE FIFTH KINGDOM a romantic suspense, and THE LOST, a paranormal romance.

Now I don’t want to give too much away about either of them, but after considering it for some time, it occurred to me that they have something in common that has really grabbed my attention: Magical and mystical energies.

In THE FIFTH KINGDOM, the energy comes from an ancient relic discovered in what could be Montezuma’s tomb. The relic is a copy of the Aztec Sun Stone sitting the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. The original sun stone is about 12 feet in diameter and weighs about 24 metric tons. You can read more about the original here.

The relic in the book is similar in terms of its look, but it is small enough to hold in your hands and made of obsidian and silver on stone. It is very different in one important way: It has mystical powers which are released once it comes in contact with something very sacred.

What can be so sacred? What about blood?

Now I won’t spill about whose blood awakens the energy in the relic or what it is because I don’t want to spoil the story for you.

Those energies, whether in relics, nature or in people, are all around us I think. As I said, that’s what inspired me for the two stories.

For THE LOST it was my visits down to the shore and the power I’d feel in nature, but also in the people gathered on Sunday mornings for Pavilion Praise in Ocean Grove. The gathering of that many people focused on one thing creates almost palpable energy to me.

It made me remember that I had felt something similar on a Palm Sunday many years back when my family and I went to Rome for Holy Week. Walking into St. Peter’s Square when it was filled with thousands of people joined together was seriously an amazing experience.

Those energies in us and around us is what inspired the SIN HUNTERS, a race of people capable of harnessing and using those energies for all kinds of cool things.

In the next few weeks, I’d like to explore with you those LOST energies. Find out if you believe or not in whether such powers can exist in nature, people or things.

For today, I’ll leave you with the Aztec Sun Stone and it’s supposed abilities to predict the end of THE FIFTH KINGDOM and also, the video premiere for the novel.

I’d love to hear from you as to whether you believe in THE LOST energies as we explore some other relics, people who see auras and sense energies, and all other kinds of cool things!

Don’t forget that on Thursday I’ll be having a live video event with Jeaniene Frost where we’ll be chatting about sexy urban fantasy and its heroes and heroines. If you can’t see the widget below, you can go to this link: http://t.wbx.me/fbam1 for the live video event.


Photo Credit for Aztec Sun Stone in Blog: [email protected]

Thursday 13 – THE FIFTH KINGDOM

THE FIFTH KINGDOM Romantic Suspense from Carina PressA big thanks to Xakara for inspiring today’s Thursday 13, namely 13 (okay maybe 14) paragraphs from my upcoming Carina Press romantic suspense release, THE FIFTH KINGDOM.

Just a little setup for you. The hero, Bill Santiago, is a sexy CIA Agent who is investigating the disappearance of an archeologist and a possible connection to a Mexican terrorist group. The heroine, Deanna Vasquez, is the daughter of the missing woman, but she has a love/hate relationship with her mom, who abandoned her years earlier.

Bill and Deanna travel to Mexico together to try and put an end to the possible threat against both her mother and the United States. Along the way, Bill and Deanna find unexpected danger, namely, a threat to their hearts as love blossoms between them.

As for this short excerpt, if it isn’t hot enough where you are today, today’s Thursday 13 may change that, so you are warned that what follows is a little spicy and for a mature crowd. If you are not over 17, please do not continue. And yes, I am a tease! Please don’t be angry with me for that.
Continue reading “Thursday 13 – THE FIFTH KINGDOM”

Summer Splash Blog Hop!

With the rains over for a bit, it’s time to think about summer and what better way to get the party started than with the Summer Splash Blog Hop.

I am participating in a Splash Into Summer Blog Hop. Just leave a comment saying “I want to splash into summer with a book by (insert the name of the author)” on any blog post between today, May 25 and midnight EST on May 31 for a chance to win a $1o gift card, autographed copies of both SINS OF THE FLESH and STRONGER THAN SIN, plus a T-shirt for THE LOST and some other goodies.

Also check out all the other blogs participating for a chance to win other cool giveaways.

For those of you who are new visitors, take a moment to check out my upcoming releases: THE FIFTH KINGDOM, a romantic suspense from Carina Press; and THE LOST, a paranormal romance from Grand Central Publishing. Here are some excerpts for you to read, download, etc.

FIFTH KINGDOM Romantic Suspense by Caridad Pineiro and Carina press

The LOST Paranormal Romance by Caridad Pineiro