Tag: mental-health

Unnamed Worries/Hidden Limitations

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Yesterday, a friend and I gave each other spiritual readings. A few things stood out from hers about me, especially the message from my divine advisors and guide that I’d become was caught up in various worries and stresses. When she mentioned that, I was surprised. Was I really worrying?

At first, I couldn’t identify anything big. Then I realized that they weren’t big worries but small. Some of them included not getting the bookmark I was designing to align correctly for my newly released book, Where the Heart Leads: Journeys of a Spirit Healer. Despite repeated adjustments, it wasn’t perfect, and this led to worry and stress. Another was about losing weight prior to a vacation. I’d increased my exercise routine significantly, severely restricted sweets, and reduced portion size. Even with that effort, there were times I gained weight rather than losing it. I also noted other small worries as well.

I’m still surprised by how unconscious I was of them.

This morning, during meditation, as I asked Archangel Michael to help me release those worries. As I did, an image and song popped into my head. The image was a river with rocks scattered throughout which impeded the flow. My worries were the rocks, and I realized they limited the possibilities that might come to me.

The companion song to the image was “Let the River Run” by Carly Simon. Its lyrics have always inspired me. I wrote a homily about it when I was a priest. One line still jumps out: “Let the river run. Let all the dreamers wake the nation.” This conveys power and intention that encourages me to go forward and remove the obstacles to enable dreams to become reality.

May your river flow freely, unblocked by worry, so that you can see your possibilities and manifest your dreams.

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A New Way to Learn That Isn’t Learning

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As I sat down to write this blog, this phrase came to me. But how can that be? Let me back up a bit.

I’m taking a Soul Coaching course with Denise Linn and, in yesterday’s session, she reminded us to pay attention to dreams. Last night, I had a doozy.

I found myself in a school that didn’t use books or classrooms. While the students all had heads and arms, they came in every shape and color. Some had fins; some with rounded bodies ten feet wide; others were quite small. I went up to one teacher and asked:

“How can I learn without books or memorization?”

“You will,” he answered.

“But how can I figure it all out if my mind doesn’t have something to latch on to?”

“Your learning won’t be with your mind.”

When I woke this morning, I wondered if this meant learning through experience. My divine advisors chimed in:

“Not quite.”

“Would I learn via spirit?”

Their puzzling reply: “Yes, and possibly.”

I’ve valued my logical mind for most of my life. Yet I know it has limits, especially when questions arise about how to live out my calling in the world. Sometimes, I need to let understanding come in its own time.

I forgot to mention that when I woke, lyrics from a Patricia Costa song popped into my head: “Sleeper, wake up to new life…” and “come out of the depth of your dreams, [God] is calling you.”

So, the dream was important. To clear my head, I decided to walk through my neighborhood, taking in the beauty of nature. Knowing my mind would still try to figure things out, my advisors sent more messages along the way, using other Patricia Costa songs:

  • “Things we see are not as they appear to be. A door was closed; another opens.” From this, I understood I’d be encountering something different, and encouraged to step through an open door into the unfamiliar.
  • “Beside restful waters, [God] is leading.” As I step through that door, my advisors alerted me that this new learning won’t come through effort or striving.

Once again, I’m being asked to have faith in whatever’s presented to me, trust that my spirit/my soul will recognize it, and not try to figure it out.

Have you ever been in this situation? When intuition tells you something new is about to unfold, and you’re asked to let go of your mind’s need to know or do and just be with it.

I guess we’ll see what comes of that.

Peace to you all. And thanks, Patricia.

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Adventures and Opportunities

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A few days ago, I pulled cards from Denise Linn’s oracle deck, Sacred Destiny, seeking guidance about my path as a spirit-healer, and about my spiritual fantasy series. As you recall, my first book, Shadows and Light: Journeys of a Spirit Healer, was released a year ago. I’m now working on the second edit of book two, Where the Heart Leads: Journeys of a Spirit Healer.

The cards I drew were Adventures and Opportunities.

Great, I thought. I just need to stay open and attentive.

During meditation this morning, I was reminded that they don’t have to be earthshaking. They can arrive quietly in small everyday moments—easy to miss if we’re expecting something big. That insight brought two such experiences to mind.

The first came after food shopping. A man down on his luck asked for change. I don’t always give in those situations, as I donate elsewhere. But as I walked away, I felt pulled to give. It was an opportunity.

The second was an adventure. On a morning walk, my husband heard about an eagle’s nest nearby. We drove there and were delighted to find a huge nest with the adults tending their young. With binoculars, we saw the eaglets’ small heads poking up, One adult flew off, soaring in a circle above us, majestic and free. We stayed there for a while, sharing the experience with others who had gathered.

It wasn’t a grand or life-changing adventure, but it was a blessed one. And how fitting that the eagle, the national bird, appeared days before we celebrate Independence Day.

The message for me and perhaps for you is this: keep your eyes and ears open. Adventures and opportunities might be small, but they’re no less significant. And when they do come, be grateful, as I am.

And if you’re feeling called to deepen your connection with your own path, I invite you to explore the world in my book, Shadows and Light: Journeys of a Spirit Healer. It’s more than a story—it’s an adventure, opportunity, and spiritual journey in disguise.

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You are Innately Good

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Your spirit or soul is a piece of the divine incarnated in your human body. As such, you are holy. During Pride Month, that includes everyone in the LGBTQ+ community. It also includes our persecutors, even those who are power-hungry, greedy, and deceitful. I believe these folks have forgotten who they are at their core. Otherwise, they wouldn’t act as they do.

Still, I don’t want to focus on them here. I want to focus on you, those who are loving, kind, and act justly. To you, I ask a question: What does it feel like to be innately good?

Two days ago, I attended an Akashic meditation session. During the meditation, Jane, who led the session, shared the message that reminded us of our goodness. I found myself wondering what that felt like in my body.

I asked my divine advisors, hoping my body would provide their answer. Nothing came. Since then, I asked again, continuing to imagine what it might feel like.

My first thought was that it might simply be the tingling I experience when connected to the divine. While the sensation was pleasant and reassuring, my intuition said that wasn’t it. That experience seemed more about my place in the divine realm, not how goodness is embodied.

Next, I wondered if it felt like confidence or contentment. But that would imply that I wasn’t innately good when I felt insecure or upset. And my intuition tells me that feeling my goodness is more fundamental.

What else might it feel like? Relaxed? Happy? Grounded? Again, they may be an outcome of our goodness, but they don’t adequately describe how it feels in the body.

So, I ask you: How might you describe the feeling of innate goodness? You’re welcome to share your answer in the comments.

Until then, may your innate goodness bless you and guide you in your life, helping you discover and live your passion for the good of all.

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Celebrate Diversity

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June is known as Pride Month—a time to honor and celebrate LGBTQ+ lives. In the years I’ve written this blog, I haven’t directly addressed my community, since my messages have been for everyone. But this month, I want to speak more personally.

LGBTQ+ people have faced discrimination, judgment, and rejection, especially from many religions. It made life difficult. The hardest part isn’t only enduring that, but the process of coming out to yourself and others. Through this, we develop powerful gifts, and that’s this blog’s focus. I also hope this speaks to anyone who’s felt different from the so-called norm.

Feeling different can be gutting, especially when confronted with images that remind us we don’t belong. We’re not enough and not good enough. Some try to fit in by hiding, adopting behaviors and interests far from our true selves. It’s a sad way to live. And even sadder when they convince themselves it’s their true self.

But this journey isn’t only about struggle. In the process, we discover gifts at a depth uncommon to those who haven’t walked our path. Here are a few:

Self-reflection: Our journey requires that we look within, exploring who we are at the core. We search books, attend workshops, and explore spiritualities to help us figure out who we are. We repeatedly ask, Does this resonate? Does it reflect who I am? We yearn to feel seen. Even after we’ve come out, this self-reflection continues, shaping how we live, love, and choose.

Courage: We may not always feel brave, but it’s present in every step. It rings out when we choose to stand tall, even on days we want to hide. No one else has had our individual experience, though we share commonalities with others like us. It takes courage to celebrate what we bring into the world just for being the person we are, our truest and holiest self.

Compassion: Our experiences of anger, fear, and loneliness enable us to recognize the same struggles in others. Because of it, we can offer love and understanding to those beginning the journey, caught in the thick of it, or simply living their truth now.

Self-reflection, courage, and compassion are only three gifts. Others include creativity, flexibility, sensitivity… I’m sure you can name your own.

This month, I encourage you to celebrate your uniqueness. You are a blessed and holy gift this world desperately needs. Amen. And so it is.

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From Imposter to Intuitive

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For spiritual teachers, the imposter syndrome centers on the belief that she or he doesn’t know enough to be a teacher and the fear that someone will find out. I admit that I’ve struggled with that.

For much of my early life, I relied on logic. I believed there were answers for everything, and each question had only one answer. When I went to the seminary and began studying the scriptures, I faced a dilemma. After reading one theologian’s interpretation of a Biblical passage, I concluded he was correct until I read another’s. Who was right? Which one was lying?

Fast-forward 12 years. After leaving the priesthood, I continued my search for the truth about God, myself, and life. Without realizing it, I continued searching for the one spiritual teacher with all the answers. When I found one with whom I resonated, I became excited. Here was someone who had similar experiences. Providentially, that lasted until I heard a teaching that didn’t match my beliefs. I must admit that I felt a little betrayed. That was a good thing. The last thing I needed was to rely on one person.

Years passed, and I continued seeking out teachers, eventually learning that one person doesn’t have all the answers and to rely on what resonated with me. But I was still driven to learn. Last year, I overextended myself, attending so many workshops and seminars that some conflicted. In one of them, a teacher brought up the imposter syndrome. I realized my drive was based on that syndrome and my underlying fear. Furthermore, my divine advisors challenged me to believe in myself.

While I’ll continue to sign up for workshops that interest me, a key resolution this year is to release my lingering fear of not being good enough, trusting that I have something unique to offer. What about you? Have you struggled with the imposter syndrome? Are you signing up for endless workshops, leaving you little free time? Consider reflecting on whether you do so because you don’t believe you know or are good enough. Through our intuition and divine soul, we have access to knowledge and wisdom. It’s up to us to listen and discover a path unique to our experience that serves the highest good.

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