The spiritual path is not a walk in the park. Yes, you are advised to get close to Nature to be in tune with the Universe, so you may indeed be walking in the park – or on the beach, or in the woods, or the mountains. You get the picture I’m sure. What I mean is, it’s only through facing life’s challenges head on that you can learn and grow.
Wednesday, 13th March 2019 was the challenge to top all challenges, after two years of constant physical, emotional and spiritual obstacles. Each time, my faith was tested, and each time, I meditated, asked for help from the Upstairs Team and acted with love and a desire for the highest good for all concerned. However, for a short time on that Wednesday evening, I really felt as if the Universe was just laughing at me, rather than having my back.
On that day, my beautiful friend and constant companion – my 5 year old Spanish rescue dog Paddy – was killed in front of me, as he protected me from a traumatic, ongoing situation. This is not the place to go into more detail, but Paddy’s story will be told when I am ready to fully honour my four-legged hero – who died so that I might live my best life.
I was also injured during the events of that fateful night, and two months on, I am still recovering, mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. But I now feel that I am finally turning the corner, and it all began 10 days ago. I am guided to tell you what has been happening to me, and it’s not so that you will all say ‘Ah, poor Sandra, we must send her lots of love and healing.’ Don’t get me wrong – all love and healing is always gratefully received, but the point of this article is to demonstrate that, even in the darkest of times, the love and support of the Universe is there for every one of us.
Most Mondays, I attend a Development Circle with the fabulously spiritual Pam Goodall, of Ki Changes. Pam is really big on forgiveness – as we all must be if we wish to grow and move on from the past. Forgiveness is difficult at the best of times, but I was finding it really impossible to forgive myself, for unwittingly placing Paddy in danger, or the person who killed him. So I followed Pam’s advice, and sent love, healing and forgiveness to the whole situation during my daily meditation.
I was on the bus doing this, and then I heard a loud voice saying, ‘And remember, Paddy needs forgiving, for putting himself at risk.’ It was so loud, I looked around the bus, startled, to see who knew so much about a situation I had only talked about with close friends and family members.
Everyone was just chatting or looking at their phones, and I realised the voice was actually one of my spiritual guides, showing me the way to move on. It was obviously not a subconscious thought of my own, as to me, as I said a couple of paragraphs ago, Paddy is a hero who needs no forgiveness as far as I am concerned. Clearly, the Universe knows better, and sees the bigger picture, so I did as I was told.
Just a small detour from the story here – it just struck me as funny, so I have to share. How is it that we will argue with friends and family members we have known and trusted for years if they suggest we do something we’re not happy about, or does not sit right with us? Yet a strange, disembodied voice from we know not where says ‘Jump,’ and we ask ‘How high?’ but I digress …
The next day, I was looking for something to read, and I decided on The Universe Has Your Back by Gabrielle Bernstein. Why this particular book? I really don’t know. But I am so glad I did. As I started to read this accessible book, and work on the exercises in there, I literally felt lighter. Gabby is a no-nonsense kinda girl – she doesn’t muck around. You can implement the prayers and feel the energy shifting as soon as you open the book.
When I arrived at Circle last week, everyone saw and felt the difference in me, and I have worked on forgiveness and surrendering the outcome to the Universe every single day since I picked up the book. Thank you Gabby, and thank you Universe for being there when I needed you most, because what has happened in the last couple of days is nothing short of miraculous.
Regular readers have noticed I haven’t been writing much for some time. It’s been all I could do to keep my various Facebook pages going, as the events of the last couple of years have really stifled my creativity. Yet here I am, writing an article now, because Spirit asked me to. I had no idea what I was going to write when I started, but the words have just flowed.
A new friend on Facebook contacted me to say she dreamed we had met, so would I please do a reading for her? I’ve avoided doing too much stuff for other people, in case my energy is not up to the task, but it turns out she lives locally, so I am obviously meant to get on with helping others.
The same day, I found a new outlet for my writing. It’s well paid, and I can choose my own topics, so it will help me get back in the writing groove. And after years of fruitless endeavour, I finally have a promising contact at a major national newspaper. I haven’t been commissioned yet, but it’s on the way – I know it.
Finally, this morning, I was asked to serve Spirit at a church near me. It’s an honour, as I am very much a fledgeling medium, and it may not happen immediately, but it really seems that the Universe Has My Back, well and truly. It’s all about the energy!
Image credit: Photo from my own deck, The Universe Has Your Back, by Gabrielle Bernstein.
I’m really proud of myself – and not a little bit amazed – at how quickly my psychic powers seem to be developing. I’m also getting more and more into using crystals, for myself and for others. At times it can get a bit overwhelming – such as when Lynn James, a friend and fellow writer, asked me to give her a Skype reading, as she was facing major business and lifestyle decisions, and she wasn’t really sure which path to follow.
Lynn is the creator and owner of Mrs Mummypenny.co.uk, an award-winning personal finance and lifestyle blog she started five years ago. It’s now so big that she works on it full time, and has many corporate and personal clients. She’s also writing for newspapers and magazines and making media appearances on tv and radio, spreading the message about getting debt under control and living the life you want to live.
Lynn is also into crystals, meditation and spiritual development, and has asked me to write a guest blog post about using crystals and meditation to help clear your thought processes, reduce stress and progress your business. You may think spiritual stuff has very little to do with business and PR, but it’s surprising how many successful and aspirational people are using the power of the Universe to help and guide them in their daily life. Even Richard Branson is a keen advocate of meditation and mindfulness, and if it’s good enough for him, then it’s also good enough for the rest of us!
I was happy to advise Lynn on crystals, and suggest suitable meditation techniques, but I was rather reluctant to do a reading, especially as I’d never done one before! During my psychic development training with my friend and mentor Alison Wynne-Ryder, I’d done mini readings for fellow students and another medium, and I was pleased with the messages I was able to bring through, but a full Skype reading? That was a step too far – or so I thought!
I offered to put Lynn in touch with a more experienced psychic reader, but it was me she wanted, so I asked the audience – or rather my other psychic teachers and good friends – how to go about it. Fiona Surtees, Alison and Tricia Lee, assured me that I would know what to do, and said I should ask the Angels and my spirit guides for help, and to bring through messages to help Lynn. It all sounded so easy, but I was terrified, and it was only my strong desire to help Lynn that carried me through.
I prepared by meditating the night before the reading, and calling on Archangel Zadkiel for help. He’s the one to help with connecting to the Divine, which is what you need to do if you want to progress along your spiritual path and help others with psychic readings and messages. In case you don’t already know, you can call on the Angels and Archangels at any time and they will help you, although they won’t chip in and sort stuff without being asked, as we all have free will, and they won’t mess around with that.
As we connected on Skype, I chatted to Lynn for a few minutes to relax us both, and also to find out what she hoped to gain from the reading. The most successful readings are those where the client has a specific purpose in mind, and tells you what they want from the reading. That helps to bring the right messages through. It’s no good turning up for a reading and being vague about it. Yes, it’s fine to hope that Aunt Mabel will come through with words of wisdom, but Spirit and the Angels don’t waste their energy by just popping in for a chat and a cup of tea. They can’t have the tea anyway, and when they come to us, they come with help, advice and comfort, not just to discuss the weather or the latest football results.
I was pleased to have some messages which I instinctively knew were for Lynn, even though they came to me in my sleep, and as we talked, I got more messages coming through. I was actually doing a ‘for real’
Myself and my friend Denise receiving our Spiritual Development certificates from our tutor, mentor and friend Alison Wynne-Ryder.
psychic reading, and I was loving it. A couple of times, Lynn looked quite shocked, and I asked what was wrong. It turned out that I’d told her things that she hadn’t told anyone else, not even those closest to her. When she asked how I knew, I admitted that I didn’t, but my Upstairs Team did, and they wanted me to pass that knowledge on to help her with her decisions.
Another thing she remarked on during the reading was that at times, I looked very much like her mother, who is in Spirit. That explained a minor mystery to me, because I felt a presence, but didn’t recognise who it was. Clearly Lynn’s Mum was showing herself in a way her daughter could accept and understand, and it brought a lot of comfort to her.
By the end of the reading, Lynn looked and felt happier and more relaxed. She said she had a lot to think about, but she could now see her path more clearly. As an added bonus, she went on to have the best night’s sleep she’d had in months. Neither myself nor anyone had told her what she should do – nobody on Earth or elsewhere in the Universe can do that. However, the messages I’d channelled for her had helped to clear her thinking, so her mind was no longer whizzing around like a hamster’s wheel at top speed.
Both Lynn and I felt both relaxed and energised after our Skype session. It’s a difficult sensation to explain, but it comes from knowing for sure that the Universe has your back, and that whatever life throws at you, you can deal with it, with a little help from the Angels and Spirit. My spiritual development teachers all say the same thing – don’t just talk about it, and read about it, get on and do it. And you know what? They’re right!
Image credit: Lynn James