soul
Transitioning With Grace
Autumn always awakens my awareness of transitions. Not only does the entire scenery change color, but each individual leaf on every tree is in a constant shift of shades of greens, golds, yellows, oranges, and reds. With every shifting shade and combination of them, the pattern of the palette continuously alters too.
Then, of course, there is the falling of the leaves – the gradual transition from tree to ground, from full foliage to bareness in various new measures day by day. The rise and set of the sun, and the length of the night and light incrementally inch through their own thresholds as well.
Like the changing season, life is full of transitions. From the moment the soul enters the womb, an endless sequence of them begins. The body develops in a rapid succession of changes, then carries the soul from womb to world.
In the world, the embodied soul then undergoes transition through various ages and stages, growing from infant to toddler to child to adolescent to adult, until gradually winding down to leave the body behind and proceed to the next one or world.
In between, you and I – the embodied souls – may face a multitude of additional transitions in relationships, careers, residences, levels of consciousness, and more. Such transitions – even the best of them – are not easy. They naturally incorporate intervals of instability in the liminal spaces between here and there. Transitions entail shedding, releasing, letting go of the old that was, and then birthing and rebirthing the next and new phase that will be. They empty us out and fill us up, again and again. Transitions are not easy; they may even make us feel queasy!
So, how can we move through the endless array of life’s transitions gracefully? As with all things, there are probably as many ways as there is individuality among people. What I share are simply some of the ones I have found especially helpful.
We Choose How We Wish To Cross Over
Death and crossing over is a unique process for each individual. At the time of passing, the soul may leave the body in a variety of ways. Sometimes the soul will even leave before the body fully ‘shuts down,’ eager to transition to the bliss, peace and harmony that awaits on the other side. And sometimes the human ego is not ready to embrace the transition and resists the departure. When we do not want to leave our physical body, we cause ourselves more anxiety and frustration and simply make it harder for our soul to pass into spirit. But there is no reason to resist or fear our passing. I know this for personal experience.
Some of us will also choose to pass quietly into spirit, when our loved ones are not around. My husband chose to pass this way, as I was not in the room when he secretly went. He wanted to spare me the trauma of that decisive moment and did not want me to suffer his loss any more than I needed to.
So, he went quietly to God, and I know that he is in the most beautiful place now that one could ever imagine. I know this because I have seen it myself in a near-death experience, but it wasn’t my time to go back then, and therefore I chose to come back.
But what I saw, I will never forget. Imagine a perfectly beautiful spring day, the sun shining so warmly on the most beautiful flowers that you have ever seen. We also return to spirit in a younger state, with no more aches and pains, and we always return home at the age we feel the best. Seeing my departed loved ones again was so amazing and surreal, but as much as I wanted to stay with them, I knew I had to come back to my loved ones here.
Discover Your True Strength And Inner Beauty
When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Are you looking at only the outer appearance, or are you looking at the soul behind the flesh? Are you seeing the spirit within you?
Take a few minutes today to shut out the noise of the world, as well as any negative self-talk you may tend to indulge in. Then be still, take a few deep breaths and go within to explore who you really are on the inside.
Shift your awareness out of your mind and into your heart and gut. Uncover the inner strength that lies beneath the tears and hurt. See the love that longs to come to the surface and be shared with others. Find your inner spiritual truth.
So often we tend to see only our defects and not the good that lies underneath. It is time to see yourself as the best possible version of yourself. Begin to realign the way you see yourself and make it positive, confident, and powerful.
Trust me, I have been there too. I used to be always looking for affirmation from others that I am worthy, beautiful and worth being in their life.
Then one day, Spirit woke me up. Spirit spoke clearly and said, “Sheri, close your eyes and see the real you within. Feel your true power. Feel the essence of goodness that you are and what you can give to others. Help others to also see their perfection within themselves and guide them to not give their power away to others who cause them pain and hurt.”
It was a powerful moment of enlightenment for me and the message from Spirit has stuck with me for decades since.
Now, you may think that you have nothing to offer. Maybe you feel old, or unattractive, or not smart enough, or successful and talented enough. Maybe you believe your partner left you for another because you were not good enough, and so on. But none of these ideas you have about yourself are true.
You are a spiritual being in human form. You were created in the divine image of God. There is an inner beauty, a goodness, an infinite intelligence that lies beneath your physical exterior, no matter who you are or what you look like.
Love, Joy And The Pursuit Of Happiness
According to the United States Declaration of Independence “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are the inalienable birthrights of every human being given to us by our Creator, God, Source, the Divine.
Sadly, I find very few people to be successful in their pursuit of happiness. The same is true for finding love and joy. It seems many are merely stumbling through life trying to find it.
A teacher once told me life is like school. For some of us it’s like kindergarten – easy, uncomplicated, and lots of fun. For others it’s like graduate school with lots of difficulties and challenges to overcome.
Searching for joy, love and happiness does seem to be a ‘wild goose chase’ for many people. It truly is like chasing wild animals. The faster we run after it, the more it seems to flee. I don’t believe joy, love and happiness can be found. Well, at least not in the ways that many of us are hoping to find it.
Like happiness, the right to love is also the natural inheritance of every person. The well-known channeled text, A Course in Miracles, delves into the idea of love from a spiritual perspective. It states that it is impossible to teach love. Instead, the goal should be to remove the blockages or obstacles we have to allowing love’s presence in our lives.
I have seen repeated evidence of this in doing readings for many years now. Certain reading themes are repetitive and common themes are ‘finding love,’ or the ‘lack of love,’ or ‘loss of love.’ In all these readings one thing always becomes very clear: love itself is not an ‘out there’ thing. It is also not something that can be received from another person or thing.
In readings, Spirit will often say, “Love is not a feeling.” This one initially took me a while to understand myself, until I realized that love is in fact an intrinsic quality of being. It is already within each of us. We refer to it as the Higher Self, the Soul, or the Spirit. No one is ever separated from this innate love because it is an intrinsic aspect of our very being.
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!”
Enlightenment Is For Everyone
The term ‘enlightened’ seems to be everywhere these days. But what does it really mean? From a spiritual or metaphysical perspective enlightenment simple means refers to our level of awareness. Enlightened people are deeply aware – of themselves, the world around them, of the realm of Spirit
In a world of increasingly empty noise and superficial values, true awareness has become a rare commodity. It’s easy to immerse ourselves in all the empty noise and meaningless materialism. It’s much more challenging to look at the things of this world with greater depth and see these things (and yourself) for what they really are.
When we begin to see more clearly and authentically we become more enlightened. We begin to see the light of truth. And when we do, we become more aware how our beliefs, choices, and actions all have consequences.
For example, you might be tempted to answer with harsh words to someone who has wronged you, or to swat a spider in the sink rather than take it outside. Each one of these actions, no matter how small, radiates outward and impacts the world around you.
Choosing peaceful or harmonious action is a vital step on the road towards enlightenment. Stop to think, before you act.
Another common thread in the fabric of enlightenment is lack of attachment. In many spiritual traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, unhealthy attachment is seen as the root of all human suffering. This could be an attachment to material wealth and possessions, to beliefs and ideas, to people and animals, or to our memories and our ego.
Enlightened people are able to release attachments that are not serving their best interest and highest good by letting it go gracefully. If you spend less time worrying about these earthly fixations and obsessions, your spiritual inner being will naturally start to flourish. And once it does, you’ll become more aware of the signs, synchronicities, and subtle messages the Universe sends us all the time.
Spirit Messages Of The Red Cardinal
If you live in North America, you’re probably familiar with the northern cardinal bird, also known as the redbird or red cardinal, commonly found across the continent. These bright red songbirds traditionally feature in the folklore, legends, and spiritual beliefs of various cultures.
The blood red coloring of this little bird’s plumage fascinated our ancestors and it is considered to be symbolic of life and vitality. Interestingly, in the Christian tradition the blood of Christ is a central religious symbol and the red-robed senior clergy of the Catholic Church are also knows as Cardinals.
In indigenous cultures, the cardinal traditionally also represents ongoing life, as well as a strong, lasting relationship because cardinals are a monogamous bird species. The appearance of a red cardinal in your life may indicate a need to start something new or examine existing loyalties and obligations.
Their red feathers certainly stand out amid the more common brown and green found in most of nature. The female cardinal is a lighter shade of pink than the bright red male, which is less easy to see. When you do notice her on your path, she is reminding you to look closer – chances are positive developments are on the horizon.
In native lore they are also associated with the direction of true North, symbolizing the guiding, unchanging Spirit. Folk tradition tells us that to see a cardinal means a departed loved one’s spirit is near, or an angelic guide is trying to send an important message.
Cardinals are also associated with the number 12, representing the annual cycle of months, as red cardinals are a year-round species. In addition, red is the color of the root (first) chakra in Eastern wisdom tradition, and also the Astrological sign of Aries, first in the Zodiac.