life challenges
A Miracle Horse Named Jake
My passion for animals is far-reaching and horses are a definite favorite. They are amazing creatures that have been roaming the planet since the beginning of time. They started out humbly, but worked their way up the evolutionary ladder.
There is one particular horse that I will never forget. He entered my world about 6 months after my beloved American Quarter Horse, Luke, had passed away at the age of 22. I yearned for a new four-legged friend and found Jake for sale on a nearby farm.
I wanted a horse that would be good on trails, like Luke used to be. As I looked at the herd, one horse stood out instantly, staring at me with eyes that touched my soul. Jake wasn’t the prettiest horse there; he had lots of nicks and bite scars on his body. He was a white horse with a black mane and tail, with black varnish markings on his legs and face.
The owner told me that Jake was unfortunately not the most willing horse on trails, but I still had my sights set on him. He also mentioned that a thorn from a tree had broken off in the horse’s eye, several months back, but it seemed to be fine now.
As the man brought him out, I noticed he was heavy-handed with him and used force when not needed. The horse looked at me intently. I could clearly sense his sadness. He was not happy there.
The owner then saddled him up for me to ride, and he cut a branch from a nearby tree to use as a switch. “You’ll need this on the trails,” he said. I politely took the makeshift riding crop (with no intention of using it) and headed off to the wooded trails nearby.
Jake was quiet and we were feeling each other out. It was soon evident that he was a caring horse that aimed to please. I enjoyed the ride, and tossed that stick on the first turn. That was the day I started the love affair with my new Colorado Ranger horse. Only 5,000 of Colorado Ranger breed were registered at the time. The man could not recall how old Jake was, but when I got his papers I found he was 22 years old.
Do You Follow Your Head, Or Your Heart?
As a practicing astrologer, I often assist clients who are facing the head versus heart dilemma. Should they go with what their head is telling them, or should they follow their heart?
“My head tells me he’s so perfect for me. He is my dream guy on paper, ticks every box. He has a successful career, earns a solid income. He is someone my kids would love, the male role-model they so desperately need,” a client recently explained.
“But my heart feels so hesitant, like its beating for someone else I haven’t met yet. He is a great guy, but there no butterflies. It doesn’t make sense. I don’t understand why my heart is yearning for someone different?” she lamented.
“I can’t afford to be picky and my friends and family tell me I’m crazy to even question this incredible guy who seems to tick all the right boxes, but doesn’t put a flutter in my heart!”
The question is indeed, why would one trust an illogical feeling that can’t be quantified and measured using the neat little pros and cons list of the mind? In my Astrology practice, I have see this conundrum play out many times.
Interestingly, I find this vexing situation is often related to a Mercury Square Moon aspect in someone’s chart. Such a person will often take one side over the other, usually the head over the heart, and this habitual battle can result in a lifelong pattern of bad choices.
Culturally we’ve also been conditioned to always choose reason over feelings. And what others think often also factors too highly in a personal choice that’s best made selfishly. In my opinion, relationships are one of the few areas in life where we get to be selfish, because if we choose someone who will not make us happy, everyone will suffer in the end.
We are often told ‘trust our gut’ for good reason. Your intuition or inner guidance system knows far more than you do! But like a muscle, we must build it up, we must work it, flex it, to clearly register the signals it’s sending us.
The Eternal Love Of A Mother
The nurturing energy of a mother is usually the emotional glue that keeps many families together. Whether it is their kindness, generosity, unconditional love or simply their joy and laughter, the mother-figures in our lives are often fundamental in helping us grow, expand, love and learn.
Many mothers must transcend what is possible to achieve the near impossible on an ongoing basis. Regardless of their circumstances, the impact of our mothers is deep and everlasting.
Perhaps it was your mother’s triumph over adversity that instilled a deep-rooted sense of perseverance in you. Perhaps it was by observing your grandmother’s social interactions that you learned how to function well in your community. There are many examples of how the mother-figures in our lives have nurtured and inspired us.
A mother’s unconditional love for her children is the most beautiful bond of love we may ever know. For this most of us should be eternally grateful. We are indeed privileged to have felt such loving care and protection.
For those of us who have lost our mothers, it is comforting to know that they continue to guide, guard and protect us in spirit, as we make our way through this life on Earth. Regardless of the turmoil we might endure, most of our mothers always come through with an amazing amount of love and care, both in this life and the next.
Our mothers can often also do more for us from the spirit realm, than they might have been able to do for us while they were here in this life. It is comforting to know that our mothers and grandmothers, including the mother-figures and nurturers in our extended family, are with us always, combining their earthly experience and newfound wisdom in spirit to impart to us even more than we could imagine while they were on the earth plane. Continue reading
The Divine Justice Of Karmic Lessons
We sometimes feel we have been wronged by others in some awful way, and then we wonder if the perpetrators will get their ‘come uppance’ or ‘just deserts.’ We wish to know if divine justice will be served upon them.
Sometimes we are so upset or angry that we would like to see this retribution happen immediately and right before our very eyes. In these emotional moments we are out for revenge and want to see the other person reap what they’ve sown. We believe it may bring us some peace that justice has finally been done.
As a youngster, I often heard my mother refer to it as “The Law of Return,” suggesting that whatever we put out there, both good and bad, will always come back to us. She would say that it always comes back to us tenfold!
There are also spiritual teachings and wisdom traditions that suggest if we don’t learn our lessons and correct our mistakes in this lifetime, it will become karmic in the next. It further suggests that we eventually will experience whatever harm or wrongdoing we have imposed upon others in our own life, sometimes for several lifetimes, until we’ve truly learned our lesson.
So, will others get what’s coming to them for the pain and suffering they have caused us? It’s my experience that this is rarely the case, but from evidential mediumship messages, I am convinced that a life review, when we reach the other side, is inevitable. The soul who has hurt someone else, will be held accountable and will feel what the other person felt very intensely.
I do know from spirit messages that have come through from certain relatives and family members on the other side, that they have relived what I had felt when they were harsh towards in this life. Spirit often comes through with messages of guilt, remorse and regret. The aim is usually to seek healing and forgiveness.
Tune Into The Guidance Of Your Emotions
I believe our emotions are an additional ‘sense’ we use as a means of interpreting our life experiences, in the same way the normal five senses enable us to perceive and understand the world around us. Our ‘emotional sense’ help us make decisions about our preferences all the time.
For example, I love chocolate. My sense of taste tells me that chocolate is for me! It’s a very clear and obvious signal from my taste buds to my brain. We receive and process stimuli all the time and our senses help us to ‘make sense’ of that input.
Your emotions are also giving you information about your preferences and if we listen and pay attention, we can gain a lot of guidance from it. Our emotions don’t just come from nowhere. They arise in direct response to stimuli or input, just like our senses do.
I have also heard emotions described as an internal guidance system, or our inner compass, which helps us decide what we want to create more of, and less of, in our life. We sometimes get confused though, because just like the other senses, we have different preferences.
For example, some people love coconut desserts, but I detest then. Not thanks, keep your coconut out of my chocolate! The thing is, I’m not confused about the fact that I don’t like coconut. I also don’t feel I have to change my preference because other people love coconut. And I also don’t force myself to eat it, just to make other people happy.
When one of our five physical senses tells us something we tend to listen, because it’s visceral. We feel it undeniably in the body. Emotions are no different!
When you are heartbroken, do you not feel it in your chest as a physical pain? When you are embarrassed, do your cheeks or ears not become flushed? Or how about when someone you love hugs you so warm and deliciously, all your muscles just ‘melt’ into that person? These are all physical responses the accompany our emotions.
We Are Here To Witness The World Change
We have all had to make extreme changes and compromises in the way we were accustomed to living this past year. While I enjoy traveling, another person may enjoy attending larger gatherings and events, while someone else might love dining out. Whatever it is that we used to love doing, most of us had to make major concessions and sacrifices and give it all up.
Now our world is slowly, but surely, beginning to recover. We have all been eagerly watching medical science progress and research findings unfold, while we are gradually finding our way back to some sort of normalcy.
Many of us will, however, continue to take extra health and safety precautions. Participating in social events and public gatherings will be something not everyone will feel entirely comfortable with anytime soon. It will be ‘baby steps’ as we increasingly return to everyday life.
It has indeed been an unusual time in our lives. Many of us have changed our outlook on life, our way of thinking, our priorities. And our world has seen some significant changes. It has been a challenging, transformative time. I believe we are here to witness one of the biggest shifts or changes in world history. We are literally a part of history in the making.
There are great changes happening on the fourth and higher-level dimensions with regards a ‘grander plan’ for this earth dimension. The world of spirit continually impacts the earth plane in profound ways. Alchemists and metaphysicians have always believed ‘what happens above, also happens below.’
In other words, things are currently changing or shifting in the spirit realm, so life on earth is changing along with it. The trauma, upheaval and chaos we have been experiencing in recent times is therefore fueled or driven by a Universal change in the Cosmos.
We are sentient beings who come to the earth plan to evolve and expand. We evolve more quickly and powerfully while we are incarnated in a physical body. Our body is our vehicle here on the earth plane and we must always take good care of it.
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel
As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer in the Northern Hemisphere, there is a feeling of lightness that permeates everything. The saying “April showers bring May flowers,” is especially true this year, with wet weather helping the grass to turn green and the perennials to bloom.
Around the world, hope currently springs eternal, as more vaccines are being administered and COVID-19 statistics are starting to improve. We are all ready to get back to a semblance of normalcy, after more than a year of our lives being turned upside down and families separated.
Some of us are still in lockdown or subject to various restrictions. Some days are better than others. We are not entirely out of the woods yet, but at least it seems we are getting there, slowly but surely.
This past year of social restriction and isolation has however been an opportunity to reflect and make some needed changes to our lives. Although most people did not anticipate such an upheaval for so long, the additional time in isolation has allowed many of us to re-evaluate our life choices and really focus on what we want to accomplish in future.
Some of us have concentrated on charity. Some have turned to activism. Some have focused on self-care and self-healing. Regardless of our choice of focus, many of us have become more determined to make a difference in the world. This truly is one of the many blessings that has come from all the chaos.
It is important, however, that when we set these new intentions for our future, not to overreach with impossible goals or temporary plans. If feasible, choose a course of action that will be sustainable long after the immediate pressure of the pandemic has dissipated.