miracles
Bittersweet Is The Fall
Bittersweet is the fall in Maine. Literally. We have a vine here known as the ‘asiatic bittersweet’ (celastrus orbiculatus) that produces attractive red berries. They are yellow at first, but as they mature the outer shell cracks open to expose a magnificent crimson berry with a yellow coat.
Crafters here in New England traditionally use this vine to make holiday wreaths and decorate their homes. It also adorns the roads of Maine with the combination of fall leaves and green of pine trees.
But the bittersweet vine does its name justice in both sweet beauty and bitterness, life and death, because it is not only adored for its versatility as autumn décor this time of year, but it is also widespread, severely invasive and destructive. It suffocatingly twines high up around trees and sprawls over lower plants and vegetation.
It is not a native plant to the region and was originally brought here as an ornamental plant. As the vine begins to spread and grow to the top of trees it becomes the vine of death for the tree as it covers it completely. A bitter vine.
The fall is indeed a bittersweet time of the year. The natural cycle of life and death. The bittersweet time of year is the time to harvest food for the long winter ahead. Get our homes ready for the snow, darkness, and ice of winter.
In Maine the old timers say ‘button up the house’ for winter. The sweet part is people are thinking of the holidays ahead and gatherings with family and friends. There are traditional recipes. Who will make the best pie? Everyone has a favorite. Whose gravy is the most delicious? It’s a time of gratitude for everything that is good in life.
Have you been asking Spirit, God, the Universe for the same thing for years? Has true love been on your manifesting to-do list for as long as you can remember? Are you constantly struggling with your finances? Are you still looking for that dream job?
It is not as if you have done nothing to make miracles happen for you. You have been working faithfully with your guides and the angels. You have studied the Universal Law of Attraction and the art of manifesting. You have consulted psychics, mediums, healers, diviners and astrologers, and all of them have been telling you ‘it’s coming.’
But still, nothing.
So, what gives? Why has your heart’s desire not arrived yet? I hear this question time and again from clients and I have even dealt with it myself in my own life. So, if this is happening to you, you are certainly not alone.
And no, your intuition is not ‘broken’ and your guides are not ignoring you! The Universe is not too busy making other people’s dreams come true. There are many factors involved in successful manifestation and various possible reasons for the lack of results in your life. Often all you need is a few simple adjustments to create the perfect climate for receiving divine guidance and many blessings.
Firstly, there is the aspect of divine timing. It is often true that we must first work through some very important life lessons and do some personal work, before you can receive what it is we truly desire.
If you truly feel you’ve done all your work, but your desires still are not manifesting, then ask your guides if there is something you are missing, or have possibly been unwilling to see, that is still holding you back. This is also a great time to get a second set of eyes on the situation.
It may also be that those involved in the fulfillment of your desire have not completed their work. In that case, either resign yourself to be patient while setting an intention for them to make rapid progress, or ask your guides if a suitable replacement can be found that is willing to step up now and step into the role.
The Power Of Prayer
I recently took part in a mediation and prayer group for the benefit of a country facing extreme turmoil. People from all over the world joined the event online via Zoom. It was a truly memorable experience that reminded me once again of the true power of prayer.
I have participated in prayer groups and intention-setting events for individual people and animals before, but never anything on such a global scale. The energy I felt being generated from so many participants from all over the world was truly phenomenal!
Later that evening, I was watching a YouTube clip about a lady who had been in a coma for some weeks and her family had been informed that it was unlikely to survive. She had suffered severe trauma to her internal organs in a terrible accident. A prayer link had been circulated on her behalf all over the world on social media, requesting prayers for her healing and recovery.
In the video clip, she tells the story of her out-of-body experience whilst she was in a coma. She describes the beauty of the Other Side and meeting her deceased loved ones and spirit helpers. She also mentions how she was fully aware of the energy vibration of so many prayers reaching and enveloping her from all corners of the earth. So powerful were these prayers that it brought her back to this world and set the scene for her ultimate recovery and healing.
A prayer is a plea requesting intervention and help from a higher source or greater power. Prayer is a significant aspect in most, if not all religions and spiritual traditions. Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” In Buddhism it is believed that prayer is the way to destroy fear and banish sorrow and replace it with hope and healing. Sadly, I find many spiritually aware people do not always make use of this wonderful spiritual resource on a regular basis.
The Extraordinary Treasure Of The Ordinary
It is unfortunate that so often tend to take the ordinary for granted. Ordinary things that we do not consider unusual or special is seldom something we excited about. But the very things that one person might consider ordinary, is a magical treasure to another.
When I was about six years old, I remember being at the ocean looking at some beach roses, when a butterfly landed on one of the roses right in front of me. Even at that age, I intuitively knew this was somehow a special and significant sign. My dearly departed grandmother used to love beach roses and butterflies. I did not know it at the time, but right then and there these two things became my future mediumship symbols for someone’s grandmother in spirit.
I thought it was the most beautiful butterfly I had seen in my young life! I was excited to have my sister see and experience the beauty of it, so I called her over. To my surprise she shrugged and said, “No big deal. I see butterflies like that all the time.”
Her cynical reaction took some of the joy out of the experience for me at the time. At that young age, my older sister’s opinion on things mattered a great deal to me. But I have grown wiser over the years.
Later in life, I could not help but wonder why my sister did not see the world as I did in those days? The answer that eventually came to me was that it is all in the timing. It is about what is going on in our life at a given moment in time. One day we may look at things a certain way and not really see them as beautiful or anything special, while on another day we might be thrilled and amazed by the exact same things.
For example, we frequently travel the coastal road in my area. One day last summer, at the height of the pandemic, we were slowly driving along this road. with no rush to be anywhere at a designated time. Normally we would be in a hurry to get somewhere, but due to Covid-19 there was nowhere urgent where we needed to be.
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.