courage
Find The Eye Of The Storm
Your relationship is falling apart, you have lost your job, your finances are in a shambles, you suffer an unexpected loss due to a global pandemic. Chaos comes in many forms and at times it touches multiple areas of our lives at once.
The ripple effect starts in one area and then spreads insidiously, until every aspect of your life begins to look very bleak. Your emotional reserves are drained, confusion sets in and you feel stuck, powerless…reeling from the shock.
When things turn bad in your life this way it can have the force and power of a hurricane or tornado. It can be devastating.
Perhaps you sensed it coming. Your intuitive radar was ‘pinging’, sensing imminent danger, or maybe it caught you completely off-guard. Either way, the results are the same.
Now what? How do you get your bearings, recover your sense of direction, recharge your battery and get the inner strength to move forward?
All tropical storms have a center, or an eye. The stronger the storm the calmer the eye, which is characterized by lighter winds and a clearer sky. So, take a breath – a deep breath – and find your center. Find the eye of your storm.
Making decisions from fear or chaos always increases the strength and ferocity of the storm. Remember, all storms do pass. The beauty of life lies in the newness and change each moment offers us.
The Spiritual Life Lessons Of The Spider
I recently saw with my own eyes a burly, grown man run screaming from his garage because he saw a spider! I could not help but wonder what he thought might happen to him? Was the tiny spider going to pounce on him and consume him entirely?
Of course, in some places in the world there are indeed deadly little creatures that could cause irreparable harm, or even death. However, in the area where we live there is really not much chance of this ever happening. Instead of running away screaming, the arachnophobic lumberjack should have appreciated instead the spiritual wisdom and life lessons his petite visitor embodies.
When we look closely at the life of a spider, we must recognize and respect its truth. It operates in a world that is dictated only by nature and honest survival. It makes its living by adhering to the laws of nature.
The spider creates creates a home for itself where it can be safe and comfortable by applying formidable patience and diligence. It takes infinite care in this process with extreme precision.
The spider does not have a strict deadline as to when it’s home must be complete. The web is carefully spun after a perfect spot is chosen that will be most advantageous. This miraculous, fragile home must be able to withstand rain, sleet, snow, extreme winds and any other element that nature sees fit to throw it’s way.
Once this arduous and time-consuming task is completed, the next phase is just as critical. The spider will then take on the task that all creatures, man and beast, must comply with and that is securing a source of nourishment.
Release Then, Embrace Now
I did the most interesting and heartfelt psychic reading the other day. Once it was over, I thought about my responses as a reader for this particular subject matter and how we live and, hopefully, learn. This was a case of lost love come back around again, after many decades of separation and years of wondering ‘what if?’ My client had loved and lost her soulmate when they were mere teenagers, many moons ago.
The parting had not been easy or a willing one for either of them, but our parents’ opinions when we are a certain age often tend to determine our decisions and choices. The two lovers parted ways and went on to lead their separate lives with other people, but in their hearts they never forgot each other. It took a long time, but their paths did cross again – this time with life at the helm, instead of their parents’ wishes and decrees.
Their original parting was so painful for the woman that, although she was so happy to see him again, she could not help but react from a perspective of fear and panic. She approached their reconciliation from the then place, which was one of loss, confusion and grief.
During a reading on this matter, it was immediately apparent that there still were many rivers to cross. The first words from me were: “There is so much love here waiting to happen!” Little else seemed to matter much at all. But the client was still stuck in the past.
Then a pearl of wisdom came from Spirit. “Right now is right now,” the Angels confirmed. “We would not have brought the two together were there not unfinished business and love here to attend to. Tell her to release the past and take the leap of faith. Once she releases it, she will be able to see the now. Then she can proceed from an open heart, not from the fear of loss. She won’t experience the same scenario again, or have it re-enact itself, because she will have released the past. It will literally be a new lease on life.”
The Daily Protection Of Your Guardian Angels
Our guardian angels are always around. I have witnessed their work and protection many times throughout my adult life. Earlier tonight, I had a sobering reminder of this.
The miracle of divine intervention often is all about divine timing. If we had been a mere 60 seconds further down the road on our drive home today, we may have become another tragic statistic. Instead, we witnessed a horrific accident scene this evening that happened about a minute before we arrived on the scene!
What kept us from being the vehicle hit? What kept us back, just far enough to not be in that accident? Our guardian angels, of course! This is why I offer gratitude daily to the angels for keeping me and my family safe.
We were the first to arrive at the accident scene, and while I was calling the emergency services, I silently said a prayer for those involved. I also gave thanks to Archangel Michael for the protection he has always provided me since I started to work with him.
To process my shock I even jokingly said, “You know, Archangel Michael, sixty seconds is maybe still too close for comfort, wouldn’t you say?” The message I got in return was more serious: “Sheri, I don’t want you to be complacent and too self-satisfied in life. These moments teach appreciation and faith.”
I know my husband was also rattled by what he saw – he was the one that went to the hit vehicle. I just could not do it. However, I held him in Archangel Michael’s cloak until we were released from the scene.
As I watched the earth angels from the fire department cut the people out of their vehicle, and witnessed the kindness of the police that came to close the roads, direct the traffic and check on everyone involved in the accident, I had a sense of calm come over me. I felt a ‘knowing’ that I was there for a reason.
Yoga And The Tarot Archetypes
When I’m not doing psychic readings, I enjoy engaging in activities that support a healthy lifestyle, such as Yoga and Herbalism. Although I spent many years training with Yoga masters from around the world and I am a certified Yoga instructor, I continue to learn more each time I get onto the mat.
While practicing the other day, I found myself thinking about the Tarot cards while in a particular yoga posture. It was the asana known as the Hero’s pose, or Virasana. The pose involves kneeling or sitting in between your bent legs.
As I was sitting in this stretch, I was wondering how the posture got its name, which comes from the Sanskrit word vira meaning ‘hero.’ It occurred to me that a hero was someone who had to think of someone else or others in that moment more than themselves. When we are pushed to our edge, in that moment of vulnerability, it makes us stronger. The same humility can be found in certain Yoga postures.
Then the Emperor card from the Tarot deck came to mind. The Emperor in a reading can show a ruler or leader who is strong, confident, and who guides others. Might there be an ancient connection with Yoga and the Tarot?
I then began to think of other Yoga postures and how they might correlate with the other Major Arcana cards in the Tarot.
The first that came up for me was The Hanged Man. This iconic card features a figure hanging upside down from a tree. Hanging from a tree in this way would certainly make one see the world from a different perspective. Interestingly, the headstand pose in Yoga, Sirsanasa, aims to create mental balance and physical poise. Continue reading
Now Is A Hopeful Time For Your Future Happiness
When 2021 finally rolled around a month ago, many of us expressed a great feeling of relief and welcomed the New Year with open arms. The year 2020 was extremely challenging, to say the least. But now we are already one month into a hopeful new year. At last, with some light appearing at the end of the tunnel, we can begin to feel a renewed sense of hope and optimism.
However, we will have to muster some more patience and courage. We can still not let down our guard for the foreseeable future. For the sake of our loved ones and our communities, we must continue to follow the latest health and safety protocols for just a while longer.
In addition, we should continue to give what we can from where we are and with what we have, whether this is in the form of financial donations, personal support for those who are still struggling, or healing thoughts for our family, friends, neighbours, colleagues and, indeed, the entire planet. We must also empathize with those who have climbed steep mountains over the past year and see how we might help them with their journeys.
For the wise and sensible the coming months can be a time of great personal growth and inner reflection. We can pat ourselves on the back for what we have accomplished thus far and have overcome under great duress. We can now look forward with more confidence. We have, after all, come this far!
We must now gather our thoughts and feelings and focus on what we can do to generate genuine happiness, well-being and fulfillment for ourselves and others in the future. It is okay if others do not yet share the same optimism and positive outlook for the future. They must walk their own path. Their negativity must not stop us from learning, growing, expanding and loving life.
Embracing The Shadow
When I first began to intentionally and consciously walk a spiritual path, I remember doing so because it just felt so right. Every step I took toward ‘enlightenment’ in this lifetime seemed to bring more brightness into my life, and so many more blessings.
In those early days I was really rolling! I was expecting this to be an easy ride – all joy and light and love. It was wonderful.
What I hadn’t expected was the inevitable emergence of my shadow through as a result of all my spiritual work. And it was not something I was going to be comfortable with – admitting I had places of darkness within me, unloved aspects of myself, disowned pieces of my soul which had been abandoned and in such pain.
Through a series of, what seemed like, unfortunate events, I was given opportunities to face my shadow side. Challenges in relationships with friends and loved ones arose. I couldn’t understand it at first, and felt very alone and misunderstood. I was shifting the blame for this onto the people around me, instead of going inward.
Going inward, into the light, was totally okay, but going inward into the darkness was terrifying. My ego-self raised every defense to keep me from going there. Eventually, I could avoid it no longer.
My life at this point had endured tremendous change in the course of only a few years- so much so, that the entire landscape of my existence and the people in it were now different. While many of the changes were positive, the magnitude of the differences between my ‘old life’ and my ‘new life’ forced me into robust self-reflection.
Where did I want to go with my life? What did I want to do? And who was I going to be? I must admit, these were heavy questions, and I absolutely felt the weight of them. In addition, I was healing from a personal loss, and that was taking more time than I wanted it to.
My ‘aha moment’ came when I was lamenting one day about my relationship with my partner. I had identified that I wanted a deeper level of connection, but felt that he was unwilling to meet me there.