When Spirit Comes To Say Goodbye
Many people assume that their loved ones will say goodbye to them before they leave this earth plane. I beg to differ. In my experience this is not always the case. I know this without a doubt from personal experience.
In 2010, for example, my favorite sister became very ill. She was taken to the emergency room with kidney and liver failure in early August. She was admitted on a Monday, and by the Wednesday around dinner time, I received a phone call from her husband telling me that she had passed away.
Seconds after receiving this awful news, as I turned to my left, I saw her sitting next to me. Her apparition was looking at me, as if to say, “Are you okay? How are you taking this?”
Indeed, she appeared to be more concerned for me than herself. After all, where she was going now, she wasn’t going to have any more health problems or human suffering. Once her spirit saw that I had regained my composure, she left my side and continued her spiritual journey to Heaven.
My dearest sister had merely come to say goodbye, until we meet again. Rather than despair about her passing, I was suddenly relieved her soul was heading to God’s Holy Kingdom. There is after all no finer a place in the entire Universe!
In the summer of 2012, my other sister informed me that she was having difficulty breathing and was seeking medical advice about it. Sadly, at the same time, my mother was also having medical issues. Soon after, my phone rang very early one morning. My heart raced as I ran to answer the call, fearing that my mom had taken ill.
Instead, a man’s voice was saying, “Where is your mother? I need to speak to her urgently!”
The Benefits Of Daily Journaling
I have always loved writing, since I was a little girl. However, as I grew older and became a wife, mother and business owner, I found I no longer didn’t have enough time to follow my passion for putting pen to paper. During the pandemic I suddenly had more time on my hands. Not only did I discover the art of journaling during this time, but I also learned a lot about myself in the process.
I am now the proud owner of a fitness journal, a gratitude journal and a well-being journal. No, I do not write in each of them every day, but I do journal at least once every day, usually before bedtime. I have found that the benefits of journaling to be manifold.
First and foremost, I find journaling to be a form of meditation. Let’s face it, traditional meditation, as empowering as it can be for some, is not for everyone.
Journaling, on the other hand, is not only a form of self-expression (which can be very stress-relieving, to say the least), but it also connects you to the deepest parts of your inner being that may otherwise be drowned out by daily life. Journaling allows you the quiet time to reflect, truly express yourself, and look within – where the answers to life’s problems can often be found when one is in a calm state.
Journaling also trains the brain, because you use both hemispheres of your brain simultaneously. Journaling employs the right brain, by expressing our creativity and feelings, as well as a left brain use of analysis and critical thinking. Journaling also helps to improve one’s memory.
Have you ever heard of RAS, otherwise known as the Reticular Activating System? Apparently, when we write by hand, this stimulates RAS cells and whatever we are focusing on at the forefront of our minds becomes processed into its deeper recesses. Therefore, it is imperative that when writing, we remind ourselves of how important the words are that we are writing – even if they are to ourselves!
Journaling can help us learn from past mistakes. When we record a past experience and reflect on the lessons we have learned from it, it moves us forward. Drawing upon these new insights, we can then approach similar issues or problems more effectively and secure a better end result.
Discovering The Power Of Intuitive Guidance
I always smile when I think back to the time I discovered the true power of intuition and the inner guidance of Spirit.
I recall that Thursday afternoon as if it were yesterday. There I was, sitting on the couch in the living room. I was totally fed up and impatiently debating whether I should go and get the evening newspaper, so that I could scour the vacancies page for any job offerings.
It was September 1978 and I was only 18 years old. Unemployment was high in the United Kingdom at the time. Sadly, I was one of those jobless young people, desperate to find work.
“Relax,” said my mind, “it’s too early to go for the evening paper now. You can get a newspaper anytime until 6pm.” ”
“You must go now,” said my heart and gut, “there may just be a job offer in the paper, and it may be exactly the kind of a job you are looking for!”
I continued with this inner battle for a while, until my heart and gut finally won, and off I went. As I stepped out onto the street, I noticed that the bus was approaching at great speed. Then saw, right in front of me a baker’s van parked outside the nearby grocers and then, to my horror, a little baby boy in a buggy outside the shop. The baby’s buggy was slowly being carried by a strong wind, taking it directly towards that oncoming bus!
My heart pounded, my mouth went dry, everyone around me gasped, and time literally felt like it was standing still. All I could think of was to run. And run I did, like an Olympic athlete. Then I pushed the buggy back onto the pavement and out of the way of the oncoming bus.
Was all this a coincidence? I think not, as I was being urged by my intuition to be in a particular place, at a specific time, to stop something potentially horrible happening. Some people whom I have told this story to have just put it down to luck. All I can say is that I am glad I listened to my heart and gut, and not my head. I do not want to imagine what might have happened, had I gone a minute later for that evening paper.
Connecting With Your Inner Wisdom
In a world rife with uncertainty and daily challenges, most of us are bound to turn to other people in our life to help us deal with our problems or regain a sense of direction. While this is perfectly normal and human to do, spirit teaches that it is best we also connect with our higher self to find the answers we are seeking.
Unfortunately, trauma and stress can significantly block the clarity of our intuition, prevent us from gaining access to our inner wisdom and divine guidance. The following strategies can help us reconnect with our inner being and build a stronger connection with our inner guidance system.
Ignore The Noise
Stop listening to the opinions and views of others. I am not suggesting that you should never take good advice, but be selective about who you choose to listen to. And if their opinion does not resonate with your inner being, walk away.
Too much external ‘noise’ can really block your instincts if you become preoccupied with what others think. There is also the fear of upsetting others or not living up to certain social norms or family expectations. If you were to give in to this, you may very well find yourself living other people’s dreams and ambitions instead of your own.
Avoid the kind of ‘well-meant’ advice that usually only serve the needs of the one advising you. Politely thank them for their interest and concern, but disregard their opinions and simply go ahead with what your inner voice advises. The Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu said, “He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”
Making The Most Of This Life, In This World!
I remember watching with fascination Sliding Doors starring Gwyneth Paltrow. In this film she finds herself in two parallel worlds with two very different realities that result from her choices and decisions.
Seeing this film prompted me to explore the fascinating subject of parallel worlds. According to physics, the existence of parallel worlds or a multiverse is a genuine possibility.
A parallel world is believed to be another world that exists alongside this one, yet it is undetectable to and independent of this world. It has also been suggested that another version of you could exist in one of these alternate realities, while there may other parallel worlds where you do not exist at all.
Could it be that each choice or decision we make in this world creates a very different reality in another world? For example, in another world, instead of going to your high school prom back in 1980, where you fell in love with Frank and later married him; you didn’t go to the prom that night, Frank never existed, and you ended up never getting married.
There are various schools of thought that this Universe is not singular – but one of many. One theory is that the Universe in which we live is infinite. However, matter can only rearrange itself up to a finite point and then it has to start repeating itself, thus creating Universe after Universe.
Another viewpoint is that there are multiple universes that all contain a planet Earth and more doppelgänger replicas of you! Furthermore, in these other worlds, you have to make different decisions – just like Gwyneth Paltrow has to decide in Sliding Doors if she is going to get on the train, or not, leading to different outcomes in each parallel life.
Some physicists theorize that the Big Bang, which may have given rise to the birth of the Universe, was not a one-off event. It may have prompted other Big Bangs giving birth to other Universes.
The Moral Of The Story
Since childhood, I have always loved fables and allegories, as well as the parables in The Bible. Indeed, one of my favorites is The Widow’s Two Mites in Luke 21. As a little girl, I used to listen intently to the story of the poor widow who gave more generously to charity than anyone else in the temple, because she gave all that she had. The life lessons and spiritual wisdom in these stories fascinated me.
Recently, I discovered an amusing tale that deals with both the ego and the need to be pragmatic. Three monks sat on a bankside, each in deep meditation. One of the monks, however, became cold, and this interrupted his ability to meditate. He told the other two that he was heading back to their cabin to find his blanket. Off he went, crossing the stream both ways with no problem. Soon he was back, in next to no time, and as dry as he was when he had left.
A short while later, another monk remembered that he had not left his wet clothes out to dry, so he too needed to head back to the cabin to tend to his laundry. Off he also went. The third monk saw, in amazement, how he easily walked across the water back to the cabin, and when he returned, just like the other monk, he was as dry as he had set off.
Seeing his two fellow monks cross the creek without getting wet infuriated the third monk. “So, you think you are both better than me!” he yelled at them. “Well, I will show you that if you can walk on water, then so can I!”
He ran up to the stream, put his foot on the surface of the water and instantly fell in, waist-deep! As a result, the third monk became even angrier and yet more determined to walk on the water. But time and time again he attempted to cross the creek without getting wet, but to no avail.
Distraught by his many failed attempts, one of the other two monks turned around to his friend and said, “Don’t you think it is time we tell him where those stepping stones are?”
This story did not only make me smile, but it also made me reflect upon my life. Indeed, there have been times when I allowed my ego, needlessly, to stand in the way of my better judgment. Like that third monk, I have also allowed myself to become envious and upset by comparing my own achievements to that of others.
How To Practice The Art Of Gratitude
My life has not been without its challenges. Nevertheless, I love my job, have a beautiful son, an adorable husband and supportive friends and family. Therefore, irrespective of current world events, I genuinely have a lot to be grateful for!
Gratitude is beneficial for all of us, including physically, emotionally and spiritually. For one, appreciating the good things in our lives helps us to be more tolerant and forgiving, with a higher sense of life satisfaction. Grateful people also tend to have more hope and inner peace and feel less anxious and alone.
God, Spirit, the Universe loves gratitude! Those who are sincerely grateful are blessed with even more to be grateful for. Like attracts like.
How does one ensure that you practice the art of gratitude ever day? The following guidelines should help:
Seek Out The Positive
In my own personal research into positive psychology, I became aware of something referred to as negativity bias. In case you have not heard of this, it means that our negative thoughts tend to be more dominant than the positive ones.
An excellent way of counteracting this negative way of thinking is to seek out at least three things in your life every day that you are well and truly grateful for. Try to make this a daily habit. By doing so, it should have you smiling in next to no time!
I remember when I was about 26 years old and in a particularly challenging place in my life. I was advised by a psychic, whom I reached out to with my troubles, to watch the film or read the book, The Color Purple by Alice Walker. It is some of the best advice I have every received. Once I had read the last chapter, I felt so grateful for whatever I had in my life.