memories
Healing The Pain Of Losing Your Beloved
Understanding the true nature of our soul journey, how does one cope with the pain of physical separation when our loved ones leave the physical form? There is no easy way to cope with the grief of separation from a beloved. It opens the water ways of deep emotion that rise and fall like the waves on the sea.
Even in the super-excellent times of Radha and Krishna, the supreme divine feminine and masculine described in the ancient spiritual texts of Srimad-Bhagavatam, waves of love in separation were displayed and described to the ultimate pure degree. These transcendental writings identifies the eternal realm of divine love as the original clear source of all that we experience here in a dimly reflected form, including the pain of being parted from the physical presence of a dear soulmate.
So, what can we learn from this source that we can mirror in undergoing this heart aching distress in our own lives?
The first lesson we can take away from the transcendental example is that pain in separation is a gift of love. It arises in direct proportion to the depth of the soul-to-soul connection shared between two people. Thus, every pang, however painful, is like an ornament decorating the heart with the truth of that blessed union. It embodies a reminder not only of the person, but of the great treasure we were fortunate to hold in our arms…and still in our hearts. It invites us to feel grateful for the rare opportunity we had received to experience such deep love in this world. Continue reading
My Great Grandmother’s Mysterious ‘Sugar Cookies’
My great grandmother made incredible cookies. She called them “sugar cookies,” but perhaps a more appropriate name for them might have been mysterious mystical magic cookies! Everyone loved them – youngsters like myself, as well as our family’s elders, and every age in-between.
Those cookies still bring back so many wonderful memories. They had a special aroma of freshly-baked delight that wafted all the way outside her kitchen window and down the lane beside her charming little home, where she lived with my great grandfather. As a child I couldn’t wait to get to their house, so that I could partake of those delectable sweet treats.
They were round, but not perfectly round. They had that authentic homemade look, which made them even more exquisite to my childlike enthusiasm. And, there was a rather unique spiciness among the ingredients; it was a spice that I had never tasted before in anything else. Oh, my! I especially loved the barely charred edges they usually had, as a result of leaving them in the oven a bit longer than necessary. Those crisp little edges made them all the tastier to me.
I remember sitting at her kitchen table, watching her scoop up the ingredients, one by one, and adding them to her mixing bowl. I didn’t know how much of each ingredient she was using, because she never used a measuring cup. She just knew how much to add of everything. I believe this style of instinctively cooking from scratch is practically becoming a lost art, with all the digital recipes and modern utensils we use nowadays to cook even the simplest of things. And perhaps some of the true character and originality has also been lost in many of our ancestors’ recipes.
Our Loved Ones Are Always With Us
Several months ago, I found myself traveling near the city in which my grandparents bodies were laid to rest. I decided to drive the few extra miles out of my way, to visit their gravesite.
Pulling up to the cemetery, I realized I hadn’t been there in so long that I couldn’t remember where the grave was. Finally, I located it. I grabbed a folding chair from the back of my car and sat down under a tree close to their tombstone.
Immediately my awareness was overflowing with the presence of their voices. I could hear both of them talking to me, just like when I would go to visit them during the school holidays. It felt like they were alive again, and right there with me. I was literally hearing grandma talking to me. Just the way she did in life. It as if she was right there! I could hear my grandpa as well. It was very comforting.
They were very pleased that I took the time to come visit them. They are very much together now and happy in their new existence, after they had been separated between this life and the next for well over 15 years.
They are still with us, just in a different dimension. If you listen carefully, you may just hear them talking to you. Our loved ones, who have crossed over, continue to be with us. They love it when we take the time to communicate with them, or honor them time in some way. It shows that we love them, and still value and appreciate them.
Leaving Your Spiritual Footprint
A footprint is an impression left behind by a human foot or shoe on the ground or some other surface. If you have ever been at the beach, you have probably noticed that this is the one place where a footprint is so easily and readily left behind. It I also not too difficult to determine if the impression was left by a an adult, or a small child. But have you gone any further than merely noticing those footprints? Have you ever wondered where does the person live who left that footprint? What is their education and career? What is their current relationship status? What is the life and legacy embedded in each of those imprints?
Human souls also leave behind their ‘metaphysical footprint’ by fulfilling their spiritual calling and soul purpose in their lifetime. The more exceptional or extraordinary ones are written about in our history books. They are great teachers, prophets and spiritual leaders that have left a discernible legacy behind when they departed from this world. When any person takes on a cause, with sometimes the most forceful opposition, to create an new and improved world for the common good, it is always an indicator that a spiritual footprint is being made.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta, simply known as Mother Theresa, for example, is certainly a spiritual icon that has left a well-established footprint of compassion, kindness and charity that continues to be recognized all over the world. We do not expect her to have been a perfect person, but the sincerity and love that she professed for some of the most spurned and downtrodden cannot be denied by anyone. It is to me abundantly clear that she indeed left a footprint of love, compassion and acceptance which equates at the end of the day to her being totally connected to and aligned with spirit.
Singing Raises Your Vibration
I recently had a mediumship reading that brought me great comfort and confirmation of Spirit’s presence. Especially at this point in time, getting acknowledgment of my late father being around me was very reassuring. In this particular reading, the medium told me that my father was around me and he was referring to me singing in the car! Well, that is so true. As a youngster, my father and I would sing in the car, and he would initiate the harmonies.
I have a photograph in the lounge of my dad playing the piano, singing into the microphone. It was taken many years ago, when I joined him on a cruise ship he was working on at the time as a musician. I still talk to his photograph frequently and had done so for quite a while on the day before I had the reading. So, being told by the medium of my conversation with him was beautiful confirmation that he must be there around me.
I remember doing some chanting at a psychic development workshop I attended several years ago. My mentor there was explaining the extent to which singing can raise our vibration. No wonder we get goosebumps when we hear an angelic voice on a talent show, or when we become profoundly moved to tears by a beautiful choir.
I can hold a tune, but never really developed my singing voice. I began to learn the piano at about eight years old, but we moved countries so that got shelved. Then I took up guitar lessons, and I would play and sing on the beach with the local youth club members where we lived on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria.
Finding Peace And Strength In Trying Times
The past few months has been a very trying time for all of us. It is easy to get worked up over where we are right now, and become anxious about the future.
At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, a wave of fear and worry crashed over us. We were wondering if there would be ‘enough.’ Enough food, enough hand sanitizer and disinfectant, enough hospital beds, enough money to pay the bills, and even enough toilet paper! No longer were we looking to ‘keep up with the Joneses.’ Instead we were looking to make sure our households were safe and just had the basics.
During this time, I was reminded of all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books I read as a young girl. She also lived in a time when they were not sure if they would have the necessities to live out a harsh winter. Here I was now, all these yea healthy and protected. Everyday items universe tie into all of this you may ask? Many have wondered if they were on the right path with decisions being made during this crucial time. Worrying if work will be there for you we normally would take for granted suddenly took on a new significance.
These fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, and subsequent lockdowns all over the world, have also caused many of us to wonder if we were on the right path with decisions being made during this crucial time. Many have been worrying about our jobs and businesses, and whether or not we will be able to pay our bills.
Make Precious Memories With Those You Love
I had the wonderful pleasure of recently reading for a man who had a wonderful, larger-than-life spirit, as well as a wonderful personal story to share about his experience connecting with his dearly departed mother.
He told me he is not one to share his personal beliefs or private experiences about spirituality and the paranormal. He was raised to not talk about such things. But more recently he has felt the need to talk about these things, because he is not getting any younger, and his wife of many years may not have much longer to live.
He told me how was getting ready to go to sleep one evening, and while saying his prayers, a very sweet smell of perfume entered the room. It reminded him of his mother. Then a very bright light appeared all around him. It brought with it an immense sense of joy, serenity and inner peace. Something he very much needs at this time.
He just wanted to bask in that feeling forever. Suddenly he no longer cared about anything else in the world, only for that blissful moment to continue. Before he drifted into sleep, he opened his eyes for a moment, and saw his mother standing before him.