This post
is not about me or my experience.And
yet it is just that.This week I choose to step
aside and shine the spotlight on another very Sacred Communicator.Months ago, my dear friend Heather Krulewski
sent me this poem she wrote.I wasted no
time in printing it out and putting it into my binder of inspiration.Today the poem wished to be heard by you.
Heather is a true being of Love.Her Light shines brightly and is felt by all
who are blessed with her presence.Even
by those, I suspect, who merely pass her in the street.I am grateful for my connection with
Heather.Without further gushing, here
is her poetry, a gift, for you to experience.May it inspire you!
Doreen Virtue stayed in my peripheral for years
before I ever read any of her work.I’d
always see her on the backs of books and oracle card decks in the New Age shops
I’ve frequented since I was a teenager.I’ll admit I had my doubts.Doreen Virtue.Is that name for
real?And what about that PhD?Just a marketing ploy?Did she claim to have her Doctorate in Angels
or something?
I quickly
learned this wasn’t the case.Virtue has
a legitimate background in Psychology.The first book I read by her was Goddesses
and Angels, which I bought on a whim after it showed up on the list of
books Amazon thought I might like.I
read it at the beginning of my personal spiritual revolution.Wait.No.Scratch that.This book was an important catalyst for my
personal spiritual revolution.As I read
it, I outwardly joked about some of the ideas with my husband.Mer-angels?Haha.What lunacy!
But I
couldn’t put the book down.I was drawn
to Virtue and her writing style.It was
so infused with love.She wasn’t trying
to sell me something.She was
humble.She was special but she wasn’t.It was clear that she encouraged all of us to
do exactly what she does in communicating with Angels, spirits, and the
Divine.It was clear that this was
something we could all do.And though I
found some of her ideas radical and hard to swallow at the time, it sparked my
curiosity and desire to learn more.So I
did.And that’s when I started having
experiences of my own.
Since then
I’ve read many of Virtue’s books.I’ve
listened to her Hay House radio show.I
even got through as a caller once!I’ve
seen her at spiritual expos.In that
first book I read, Virtue told her story.However, in recent years, she’s used her voice, which now has many
listeners, to tell OUR stories.That’s
precisely what she does in one of her most recent books Mary, Queen of Angels.
Mary, Queen of Angels follows the same format as
some of her more recent books where Virtue acts less as “author” and more as “editor”
and “collector.”Or, to put it more
poetically, she is a weaver of anecdotes which she collected from believers all
over the world.At first, I wasn’t sure
I wanted to read what “Ros Booth’s” or “Danielle Smutek’s” connection with Mary
was.No, I wanted to read this book to
learn about Doreen Virtue’s connection of course!But as I kept on reading, I began to
understand the value in connecting with and being validated by people just like
me.
Before this
book was compiled, Virtue put out a call for Mary experiences. If I had seen
it, I’m sure I would have felt I had nothing to contribute.But after reading this book, I realize just
how strong my connection with Mother Mary is.For example, while I was pregnant I had a dream of a statue of Mary who
opened her eyes and looked at me as I prayed to her.Little did I know that dreaming of a Mary
statue coming to life is a common experience!
Although
those who come from Christian backgrounds (as Virtue does herself) may have an
easier time feeling a communion with Mary, the book includes stories from
people of all sorts of religious backgrounds.I’m a firm believer, and always have been, that anybody can experience
Mary as the Divine Mother, no matter what Path they walk.The book even includes an appendix chock
full of useful information such as prayers you can use to work with Mary.If you feel drawn to Mary for healing,
protection, mothering, working with children, or a myriad of other reasons,
this is a wonderful place to start!
You can
purchase Mary, Queen of Angels here:
*FTC
Disclosure: I was not financially compensated for this post. I received the
book from Hay House for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own
based on my experience.*
Have you recently asked your Angels, Guides, Higher Self, the
Universe to give you a sign?Did you
receive it or do you seem to still be waiting for a response?You’ve asked for a sign, now make sure you
don’t miss it.The results could be
disastrous.Or humorous, as seen in this
clip from Bruce Almighty:
All kidding aside, when you’re waiting for a Divine message, it
helps to know what you’re looking for.There are endless ways the Divine can communicate with you, here is just
a short list to get you going.
7) Overheard
Conversations: To be clear, I am not suggesting you eavesdrop.But it has happened to all of us: two people
have been conversing and we couldn’t help but overhear.Something stuck out to get our
attention.I’m not necessarily talking
about those people who feel the need to practically shout when engaged in
public conversations on private matters.I’m
speaking about when you’re out somewhere, going merrily about your business,
but then a sound catches your ear.It
could be a name, a word, a phrase, a title, something familiar, something
intriguing.There’s a reason why you
noticed it.Now find out why.
6) Pop Culture Trends: These
can be easy to dismiss because there is usually a clearreason why trends happen.Take fantasy characters for example.There was a big surge of pirates being
awesome due to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Then Twilight hit (along
with True Blood) and behold, vampires everywhere.Zombies are in vogue now.While
there are clear paths that explain how trends come into being, it does not
dismiss their usefulness as a form of inspired guidance.It’s not so important how the sign presents
itself, but why you noticed it.Why did
it catch your attention?
5) Bookshelf Gazing: Here’s
a technique I’m pretty sure I invented.Go to a library or a bookstore (for bibliophiles like myself, the
library is a bit safer), get lost in the stacks, ask a question or hold an
intention, and notice what titles jump out at you.You can do it in any section so don’t limit
yourself to the more “soul-searching” genres.Fiction is a great place to start since it has a wide range of subjects
within it.You can also try this with
movies or music.Even flip through a
magazine and see what headlines grab you.Again, yes you might be attracted to a title because of the color of the
book jacket or thesize of the
book.That doesn’t lessen the value of
the sign.Also the content of the book
doesn’t necessarily hold the sign.It
could just be the title,the author’s name, or even the image on the cover.Notice what you notice.This is one occasion where I recommend
judging a book by its cover!
4) Cards: Tarot and
other oracle cards can be intimidating.You
may think you need tons ofexperience
reading or that you need to pay the big bucks to go to an experienced
reader.But you can just play!The best thing is that the more you play, the
more you learn!You will be gaining
valuable experience!It’s true that
Tarot cards are steeped in symbolism and it does take quite awhile to master
the deck.But start by pulling one card
a day and look up the meaning.Before
you know it you won’t need to check the book.Additionally, there are many types of oracle card decks.Doreen Virtue has put out countless decks
that help you work with Angels, Faeries, Mermaids, Ascended Masters, etc.Although they each include a little booklet
so you can examine each card’s meaning more in depth, the meanings are often
clear just by looking at the card itself.Start with a deck such as “Messages from your Angels.”Each card has a detailed message written
on it.Don’t forget to spend some
time gazing at the picture.What pops
out at you?Does the character on the
card resemble somebody in you life?If
you’re waiting for a sign or some Divine guidance, don’t be afraid to actively
go looking for it in a card deck!
3) Cloud Gazing: One
of the more enjoyable ways to receive messages from the Universe.There is a reason why there exists that
romantic, day-dreamy image of lying in a field picking out shapes in the
clouds.The clouds can hold powerful
messages.What do they look like?Have fun with it!
2) Pet Behavior: Notice
how your pets are behaving.Animals
often act as messengers.Has there been
a change in your pets’ behavior?As long
as it’s nothing that would be of concern (like a decrease in appetite for
example), pay attention.Is there a new
spot your furry kid likes to sleep?Do
they keep knocking the same book off your shelf?Go ahead and ask your pet directly for help
in getting the messages you’ve asked to receive.
1) Synchronicity: This
is a fancy word for coincidence.Have
there been any coincidences in your life lately?These aren’t difficult to notice.Coincidences, by nature, grab your
attention.It is when we ask, “Why?What’s the meaning?” that we can get
confused.Don’t let that discourage
you.Now that the Universe has your attention,
don’t be afraid to ask it to elaborate!
Have you noticed a common theme?Notice what you notice.It’s all
about being aware of what you are observing.What catches your attention?Take
it a step further.Ask yourself why.
Of course, you can always request the form you want the messages
to take.This can help you gain
confidence if you’re finding it hard to trust the guidance you receive or even
trusting that it is indeed guidance.However, this can also be limiting.How do you receive your guidance?
I missed a week of posting to this baby of a blog. No good reason. And it’s haunting me. Like the one or two zeros I received when I decided not to do my homework as a kid. You see, for someone who usually did her homework, that one zero would follow me throughout the marking period, inducing nightmares. If I never did my homework I wouldn’t care. Instead there are semesters in my past I vividly remember walking around under self-inflicted torture.
But I did write last week. I started 2 posts and thought about at least 3 more. Why couldn’t I just commit to a post? Was it laziness? Perhaps in part, but why then did I feel like stewing in self-loathing. Is this part of my creative process? Why does it seem that every creative endeavor requires a degree of suffering to maintain?
There are always those glorious moments of spontaneous creativity, when an idea strikes and you get so excited about it you act before your brain has a chance to naysay and slow you down. Many times this happily results in brilliance. But to do anything with any sort of regularity and routine, it takes discipline. It means working, in my case writing, though the candle may be burning low and the fire of inspiration may be reduced to just wisps.
I got to thinking, always a dangerous endeavor. There are 7 stages of grief. Are there 7 stages of the creative process? When I looked up the stages of grief, I found they are eerily similar to my process.
Shock & Denial: You mean I just have to come up with something genius? Oh yeah I can totally do that. This is also the stage at which I am in denial about having reasonable expectations of myself and suffer from delusions of grandeur.
Pain & Guilt: I should have never signed up for this. Woe is me. I don’t deserve to even have a blog even though it’s free and almost nobody reads it (yet).
Anger & Bargaining: Okay blog gods. You don’t own me. I write whenever I want to. And for my own satisfaction. I don’t need to answer to anybody! I just won’t watch TV, go on Facebook, eat dinner, or shower until I’ve written something. (5 episodes of Law and Order: SVU, 15 status updates, the most elaborate feast I’ve ever cooked, and 2 showers and a bubble bath later.....)
Depression, Reflection, Loneliness: This is where I find myself alone with my thoughts, a white screen, and a flickering cursor. I’m waiting for the sea of negative self-thoughts to part so that I can discover the substance below. I also give into my reclusive proclivity at this point.
The Upward Turn: Eureka! A coherent thought. My fingers start dancing across the keyboard.
Reconstruction & Working Through: I’m pounding out paragraphs. Sure they might not be perfect. I might spend 10 minutes on a single sentence. But it’s flowing. And even if the flow slows, I am patient enough to wait for the trickle to fill my cup.
Acceptance & Hope: Complete surrender. I’m done! There that wasn’t so bad. I can do this again. Maybe next time I can even start at #5. Yep, that’s what I’ll do. I can’t wait until next week! Now for some more Law & Order.....
So what’s you’re creative process like? Less tortured? Share and give me hope!