Gifts from my Father

I miss my dad’s physical presence in my life greatly. My dad stood just shy of 6’4” tall and felt larger than life to me especially when I was a child. His smile lit up the room and opened my heart. He was imperfectly perfect. Today as I feel into his presence, knowing I will connect with him directly in spirit, I now feel moved to share some of the gifts received from my dad:


• Never give up. He used to say “knock on the door, if no one opens, go through it anyway. If it’s locked, find a window. If there isn’t a window build your own doorway. But never let anyone stop you from living your dreams”


• Reach out and connect to others. I was quite shy as a kid. One evening at a dinner party he and mom were having, he encouraged me to greet his guests and shake their hands.  I was petrified.  "Look them in the eye. See who is standing before you." he said warmly as he helped me move to each adult around the dining room table one by one.  Take no interaction for granted was his message.
 • Laugh out loud. He used to tell jokes and funny stories at the dinner table and I would laugh until my tummy hurt. When I was older he told me that he stood outside the den, listening to me laugh at comedians on television admiring that I laughed aloud even when no one else was around. He told me to never lose that quality to laugh boldly. One father’s day I bought him a book on Yiddish Humor. He loved it so, he called me weekly to read the funniest joke for the week. In honor of his brilliant sense of humor, I told one of his favorite Yiddish jokes from that book at his funeral.


• See the World! All of it. He loved to travel and believed it was as important as providing his children with a great education. He took us to almost every state in the nation when we were kids and had us meet the people, see the places we were in from the local’s perspective. He and my mom took it all in. He was fascinated with unique cultures, customs, and cuisines. He made friends where ever he went. My dad (and mom) had been to every continent and visited every major culture of the world before he died.


• Love with your whole being. He was head over heels in love with my mother for 55 years until his last breath of life. He spoke the words often and more significantly, he demonstrated his love and devotion to my mom and his family on a daily basis.


• Treat your family reverently. To my dad, family was the foundation of his strength and good fortune. He was loving and generous with his family including his parents and siblings; my husband, daughter and my husband’s family. He always spoke of his family with an open heart.


• Work hard and Play passionately. He came from a financially impoverished background and valued hard but meaningful work. He created a highly successful company and developed systems that promoted clean emissions for power plants, long before the EPA required it. And he played sports actively; danced and dined on the weekends; traveled the world and indulged in the theatre, opera and symphony.


• Stand by your convictions. My father was a die-hard liberal who believed that those with a lot of resources had a responsibility to share the wealth and opportunity with those who do not have so much. When he grew into financial affluence many of his friends chastised his political persuasions urging him to vote for the protection of his earnings rather than remain a “bleeding heart”. He said “I worked hard to be in a position to give back and believe it is my duty to do so.” He often claimed that the integrity of a government standing for liberty and justice for all is reflected in the willingness for it to compassionately care for those citizens who are in need. He also proudly served in WWII and was devastated that citizens of Germany would not stand against an unconscionable regime on behalf of the persecuted. He stood for civil rights and women’s rights before it was popular.


• Taste everything. He used to say that most people make up their minds before they even know what is before them. Taste the unusual food. Experience different customs. Learn what is there before your reject it out of fear. He and my mom exposed us to every kind of cuisine and culture and the rule in our home was “taste it first and then decide”.


• Take responsibility for your choices. My father was a humanist. He did not feel connected to a G-d and it concerned him that humanity often gave away its power and responsibility for the world it created by claiming it was all in the hands of the divine. He believed that if humans choose to live from love, kindness, generosity, compassion and peace, they will create a world that reflects something far greater than one they hope will be created by a power outside of themselves.

 • When you’re wrong, apologize. He was never afraid to admit when he was flat out wrong.


• Live each day like it might be your last. My dad seemed to pack a week into a day. He worked hard, played hard and appreciated the fullness of his life. He seemed to have more stamina than anyone I knew. I intuitively felt he was preparing to leave the earth plane about 5 years prior to his actual death. The very last time I saw my father he had come over for dinner to celebrate Hanukah and to see us before flying to Florida for the winter. I’ll never forget that final goodbye as I held my beautiful newborn Samantha in my arms. Before walking out the door, he stopped and looked me in the eye and I could feel him taking us in, glowing with love. “I love you dad.” I choked out the words, “Call me when you guys get settled” I said. “I love you too” he offered through his heartwarming smile. He walked out the door, flew to Florida the next day and died 2 days later in his sleep. I never saw my father alive again. But I am forever grateful that our last interaction was an exchange of mutual respect and love.


I have been visited by my father since he passed into spirit 11 ½ years ago. The humanist who was not so sure G-d existed and the scientist who did not believe in psychic phenomena came to visit me from the world of spirit telling me “I had no idea who you were when I was alive; but you need to step up and offer your intuitive abilities to others Lori”.  Like I said, he was always willing to admit when he erred, even in death. And while I am profoundly grateful to connect with him as a spirit, I still miss his bold physical presence in my life. I miss his powerful voice, bear hugs, big laugh, and dynamic discussions about the book he was reading, about politics, the arts and of course, sports. I miss him for my mom, who knew and loved him since she was 17. I miss him for my sister who resembles him physically and in mannerisms and attitudes. And I miss him for my daughter who could benefit from a papa who would dote on her (as he declared upon her birth: I will be taking her to the zoo, circus, museums, to Israel and Greece; to dance lessons and piano lessons. I will help her ride a two wheeler, tie her shoes and climb trees just like I did with you. And of course, I’ll teach her baseball and golf. She has to play golf. And if you don’t mind, I won’t be calling her Sam…I will always call her Samantha)


Last Friday night my dad in spirit sat next to me watching his granddaughter play softball. That was a sweet comfort for my soul.


His passing opened a doorway for many changes, including an unfolding healing between my mother and me. It meant my brother had his father greet him when he too left this physical world and passed into spirit a few short years after our father’s death. My dad left a legacy of kindness, a willingness to understand and a child-like passion for life. I am glad he was my dad and I his daughter. I am grateful to feel his presence living through my daily life. And I am honored to share a small glimpse into the gifts he gave to me when he was here.




How are you celebrating, honoring or connecting with the gifts from your father or divine masculine influences in your life today?

Sweating It Out in the Dark

Living as an intuitive requires the willingness to surrender to a higher source for actions large and small. And while I've been practicing listening to my intuition and taking divinely guided action for a couple of decades, I still have attachments filtered through my ever present emotionally charged mind. Yep, sometimes I resist.  What can I say, I am a work in process.


So when my guides suggested that attending a Sweat Lodge might be a great thing for me to offer my students and to do with them, I repeatedly questioned the guidance.  You know the same guides who saved my life, led me to my healing, appeared in full form before my eyes and enhanced my life in every meaningful way...this time though, they could be wrong.  Right?  I mean, did they know that my body has begun to experience its very own hormonally induced personal version of a sweat lodge daily? I don't exactly pray while in that kind of a sweat...but did I really need more heat?

They must know too, that I do not like to sit in humid, enclosed spaces? With lots of people?  That I feared sitting in intense heat knowing that I was hosting the ceremony for shamanic students and friends? I wondered if my spiritual guides remembered that I might actually be phobic about spiders?  And don't they like enclosed dark spaces?  Not to mention mosquitoes. I wondered if my beloved guides had lost touch with my latent neurosis that only surfaced once I finally committed to engaging in a Lakota Ceremonial Sweat Lodge.


And once I agreed, I breathed into the process only to be informed that women were expected to wear skirts.  Seriously?  In keeping with Lakota Tradition, this was the request.  I know my guides were with me in the sixties when us girls were forced to wear dresses above the knees even in the dead of winter.  And surely knew that wearing a skirt had nothing then or now to do with my femininity or reverence for spirit.  Naturally my loving spirit guides were aware that when I was promoted into senior management in the corporate world, my first ruling was to award all the women in our company the right to wear pants to work.  And that was in 1994!


So to be sure my guides were actually speaking to me, I journeyed into the divine realms, to seek support for going into the sweat lodge and facing these surfacing fears.  If this is what was showing up at the moment., I wondered what would arise in the hot dark setting?  Once again, the ruminations of my mind were quieted in shamanic journey as my guides revealed the deep healing that I would experience and how truly protected and loved I was in every moment.  Whew! My spirit always remembers what my mind easily forgets.


The morning of the sweat I was actually giddy with wonderment.  I had attended sweat lodges before but they were always led by a harsh guide that was not nourishing to my thirsty soul.  This time, I was in the hands of a competent and compassionate shamanic water pourer who listened to all my concerns with a reverent heart.  18 women and 3 men participated that evening. We sat in the circle of an energetic womb, singing in Lakota, honoring the great ancestors and the spiritual helpers who served our evolution.  We prayed, shared deeply, cried and laughed in the lavender and cedar aromas permeating the dark air.  As I felt the beauty of my fellow travelers, my heart expanded into a thousand unnamed places and my soul opened into boundless space.  Whatever fears had stood fiercely with me prior to entering the door of the sacred haven had floated into the stars of a universe that effortlessly shifted them back into truth. I felt in complete unity with all that was. 


I crawled into the sweat in one form and stepped out as another. It seems my guides may know a thing or two about who I am, what I need and how to shift from the darkness of my mind into the vastness of my soul. Go figure.

Responding to Earthquakes, Tsunamis

We now know the 5th strongest earthquake in recorded history has hit Japan giving rise to tsunamis.   What do we do from here?

Now is the time to meditate and radiate positive energy toward Mother Earth and all life on Earth. 

Find a comfortable position where you will not be interrupted.  Allow your back to be open and upright.  Let your hands be supported in your lap with your hands facing upward.  Roll back your shoulders and relax your jaw.  Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth.  Now breathe in through your nose and fill your lower abdomen and then your chest with air and slowly elongate your exhale.  Do this several times and gently close your eyes.  

Call divine light to yourself.  Envision the top of your head opening and allowing this divine light to flow through your head and slowly flow into every cell of your head, then your neck and shoulders, into your heart and lungs, filling your chest, feel it flowing into your arms and hands...let the light wash through your body downward into your abdomen, pelvis, groin, legs and feet.  Let the light soothe and calm you.  Feel its healing presence within your cells.  Let it saturate every aspect of your being and then expand the light to fill your skin and hair.  Now envision this light radiating into sphere of healing light surrounding you.  Bask in this sensation of divine light enfolding you. 

As you sit in the light of divinity, breathing peaceful, conjure an image of someone or something you love unconditionally and see and/or feel this clearly within your mind. Notice the sensations of expansive unconditional love flowing throughout your heart and let that sensation permeate every aspect of your being.  As you continue to feel this love flowing through your heart and being, begin to envision the Earth and the impacted areas from the quakes and tsunamis in your mind.  See and/or feel these areas in your mind's eye. With your intention, radiate the love and light from within your heart and being to these impacted areas.  Saturate these areas with divine love and light through your intention.  See light enfolding Japan, Hawaii and all impacted areas.  Feel the light saturating the earth, the people, the animals and all life.  See it saturating the waters and every aspect of creation.  Radiate this divine light into this area allowing the channel of light flowing from Source in through your head, into your heart and whole body to radiate through you.  You are a channel of light radiating healing love and light to the region.  Continue to radiate your light for as long as you are comfortable doing so.  

Radiate the divine light into Mother Earth.  Fill her with peaceful light.  Radiate your divine light into the waters.  Fill the waters with divine light.  Radiate your divine light to all the people.  Fill the people with divine light.  Radiate your divine light to all the creatures.  Fill all the creatures with divine light.  Radiate your light to all the plants.  Fill all the plant with divine light.  Radiate your light to all life on Earth.  Fill all life on Earth with divine light.  

We ask the Divine Source of All-that-is to enfold the Earth in divine light, love and peace.  May all beings and all life be restored to perfect balance, peace and health now.  May all life be thriving and uplifted in every holy way now.  May all beings be free from suffering in every manner now.  May all life be radiant with divine love, light and grace now.  And so it is. Aho.  Amen. 

When you feel ready to do so, bring your attention back to your body, feel the blessings of your current life.  Connect with gratitude for your health and safety now and feel the bliss of knowing you are serving others in this moment.  Listen to your intuitive impulses to act in ways that support thriving for the Earth and all life today.  Act upon those impulses as they arise.  When you are moved to do so, go back and radiate light from a meditative place today.  Please do this for the remainder of the week. 

May you be enfolded in divine love, light and peace now and always.  Namaste. 

Intuitive Living Is a Conscious Choice

Listening to the divine flow of your intuition is a practiced art.  Though intuition is a natural process that aligns you with your soul destiny, we have all learned at early ages to cut ourselves off from our soulful truth and listen instead to the beliefs formed in our mind.  Our beliefs were the seed thoughts that shaped our ancestors ‘experiences and are often passed down through the generations to energize historical patterns of experience.   Beliefs may be well packaged because they often seem to make sense of a seemingly harsh reality.  But beliefs are not founded in spiritual realities no matter how polished they may appear. 

Intuitive living is a call to live beyond the limits of belief into a flow of spiritual truth.  As an adult, to live intuitively will feel like a profound act of courage.  Beliefs about who we are, what we can experience, create and have dominate our thoughts, emotions and choices.  We often feel a deep nudging from our soul into a direction or simple action that does not support our pervasive belief system.  Our soul’s call will never waver.  We can numb it, avoid it, deny it or criticize it.  God knows, our culture does this regularly.  Nonetheless, your soul is not identified with your mind’s ego and will therefore never sacrifice your truth for your belief system.  

The mind is a fascinating creation. Because it exists to give your soul the full immersion into a human experience, it fully buys into your limitations and finite resources for living.  The ego-mind will present  myriad examples of why taking intuitive action is frivolous and how it cannot be trusted.  The genius of this human machinery is that the mind is always capable of proving itself right.   If you believe you will always have to choose the safe path, I assure you that your reality will reinforce that perception.

To live intuitively means one knows that the ego-mind will battle against all intuitive impulses.  To live intuitively means you are fully conscious of your ego and its purpose to create a full human immersion experience including an identity and belief system through which you can experience spirit in human form.  But your soul is infinitely more powerful, wise and resourceful than your ego-mind can ever perceive.  Therefore, intuitive living is the art of choosing to tune into spirit, align with the divine and allow your spiritual truth to emerge through your senses into your words, thoughts, actions and ultimately your entire life.  

Often people ask me if I was intuitive as a child.  And yes, I saw energies and multiple dimensions, felt the soulful essence and suffering of others; I had precognitive and telepathic experiences and have had past life recall for as far back as I can remember.   Though I had overt interactions with spirit as a teen and even a young adult, it was not until the persistent throbbing of unhealed traumas pulling me out of my slumber and into a union with my soul-self that I began to surrender into a new way of being. 

Intuitive living was not an all or nothing experience for me.  I had experienced so many traumas from childhood into my early adult life that I developed a dependency on alcohol to sooth the deep ache inside my heart.  But reaching outside my soul for comfort proved only to deepen a dependency that could not bring me emotional relief.  Over time, I felt more shame, powerlessness and became increasingly isolated from friends and family. 

One cold December evening I decided to drink myself into peacefully numb state. As I tossed back one shot of schnapps after another, I realized that alcohol could not do for me what I needed.  I dropped my head to my hands and shouted to the elusive source of all-that-is “God, please help me!”  It was in that moment that a swirling vortex of golden light appeared in my living room.  I rubbed my eyes and stared deeply into the brilliant golden light before me.  My whole body became engulfed with a peace that seemed to saturate every cell of my being.  And then I heard a soothing voice flowing into my right ear: “We are here for you little one.  You are not alone.”  Angels were speaking to me and I could hear and see them with perfect clarity. As I peered into the vortex the details sharpened and the Golden Angels inhabiting this energy field made their presence known to me. They were flowing like the shimmering notes of love sung from a God I thought had forsaken me.   “Put down the drink,” they said,  “You have a disease and it is not your fault.  Let us help you now.  Do as we suggest and you will be free”.   I could feel their love permeating every aspect of my essence.  My heart filled with a sensation no drink or earthly experience alone could provide. I placed the drink on the table, dropped my head in tearful awe and thanked them for coming.  

These angels led me into a 12-step recovery program through consistent intuitive messages.   As I became willing to listen, my angels began providing insight and guidance to help me release my dependency on alcohol by engaging in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous for supportive tools and wisdom. Then they led me to a sensitive and life changing therapist.  They guided me to work opportunities and prosperity.  They even helped me with simple daily choices as I navigated a whole new experience of living.  And though I had to make each choice, one present moment at a time, they held my heart and my hand as I moved from a life of suffering into a loving journey of awakening. 

That was more than twenty years ago.  And to this day, I begin each morning with a sacred ritual of gratitude for my sobriety and health.  Then I tune up, tune in and allow the divine to lead my life. 

Through daily practice, my intuition sharpened, my faith in divine presence deepened and I began to heal.  I began to hear, see, feel and know the divine helpers who assisted my every step with ever expansive ease.  They did not take away any of my life lessons; they only showed me how to move through life aligned with my soul.  

I did not and still do not live a perfect intuitive life.  I have an ego that still likes to have its way.  While resistance may be futile, I have learned that my human evolution and intuitive process is an unfolding, dynamic experience.  I have to make a choice each day to attune, align and allow the divine into my life.  I engage in practices that support this intention and heal through habits that do not.  And even with all the years of living an intuitive life that include angelic sightings, spiritual interventions and mediumship encounters with loved ones – at times I find myself perceiving divine guidance with doubt.  Sometimes I still believe that I am being asked to jump off a cliff with no promise of delivery to safety (let alone abundant blessings). 

 

As my mind dances with resistance to new guidance, it conjures images to provide proof of why the next divinely guided step would be a disaster.  Practice has helped me know that the ego loves to make its case, no matter how developed one’s soul-self may be.  It has helped me navigate the terrain of my ego and compassionately free myself from the clutches of my ego-mind. Each moment I have a choice to listen to the sound arguments presented by my ego and live on the edge of an unfulfilled destiny or step boldly into the seemingly unknown exploration of a spirit-led adventure.  I have learned through trial, error and fulfillment that following divine guidance is never really a risk.  But life lived through my ego-mind is fraught with limitations, fear and struggle. 

Recently a friend shared about a dilemma he was contemplating stating: “I am holding onto a branch, knowing I need to let go.  Slowly I move my hand down the branch. I feel fear, knowing all I need to do is release.  My hand clings and I cannot let go.”   I understood his meaning intimately and offered “the fear is great but if you consider that you are holding onto a branch while being pulled by a river and that the  river is the divine itself – then consider what  you  are releasing yourself into.”  Only then can we truly know we are letting go of something that cannot save us for how can anyone go wrong when they flow into the stream of divine consciousness?  But the ego-mind will never trust this reality and cling it will to the immeasurable suffering that it perceives as a safety net.   

Intuitive living is not a fix for life but it does provide a limitless tool-kit.  It allows me to experience life without the struggle against it knowing all the while I have the full power and presence to respond soulfully.  At times I still cling to the proverbial branch believing in its power before I then notice my ego, tend to my fearful emotions compassionately and remember that I am ever flowing in the divine when I simply let go. It is a practice; not an event and living this way is the one sure thing that has saved my life both literally and metaphorically.

I now surrender into the intuitive flow of this imperfect journey into conscious presence.  I listen, feel, see, notice with the senses of my body and my soul.  This processing reaches beyond the comprehension of my mind, far beyond my ancestral inheritance and takes me into the place of transcendent discovery one breath at a time. 

Do Spirits Have Egos?

Yesterday I was with a friend when I heard a renowned medium state that “All spirits still have their egos on the other side”.  She elaborated: “Your deceased relatives are exactly the same as they were when you knew them”.  And I have heard other highly regarded mediums make this same claim. 

As I listened to her words, my stomach tightened and I became nauseated.  Have you ever had that feeling?  That feeling is my intuition telling me that something I am hearing is not resonating with my soul.  It is not the same as hearing a lie; for me, it means there is more to the story.

My discomfort was compounded because I hold this particular medium in high regard. But I have had different experience as a medium.  

For the sake of this discussion, I am not referring to spirits who have not crossed into the light of divinity.  Those spirits remain attached to the ego so strongly, that they move about the physical world hoping to avoid life review or desiring only to experience physical sensations.  Those spirits do have egos and may not evolve, but will change over time and become more dense.

The spirits I am discussing in this article are those who have crossed into the light of divinity.  These spirit do bring forth their identities and specific details that help clients identify their loved one – but they are not the same as when they were alive.  

A few years back, a renowned atheist and intellectual teacher died from a terrible car accident.  Hours after his passing he stood right in front of me while in spirit and said “Well, there is a God.  Not quite like people say but it is different than I ever believed”.  Was he the same as he was when alive?  

So what is true?

I decided to examine the question in meditation and seek guidance from my divine helping spirits.  They were eager to help me understand and asked me to share the following:

·   Most spirits in after life do not maintain their egos as humans understand the ego on earth.  In other words – the ego and our relationship to it differs greatly once in spirit.  

·   After physical death, spirits are invited into an exploration and integration of their most recent life.  This process is known as “Life Review”.

·   Life Review is a non-linear compassionate exploration of one’s entire life.

·   Benevolent spirits assist the soul through the Life Review process.  Angels, guides and loved ones all come to the soul’s aid during this time.  The Life Review crew also consists of spiritual helpers who hold a neutral witnessing while the soul integrates the experiences of life into his/her higher self before reconnecting with his/her over soul (over-soul is the unification of souls into a spiritual essence larger than the individuals and not yet fully integrated into Source)

·   During Life Review that soul experiences the emotions associated with everything he/she created in his/her lifetime.   This is not a judgment; rather it is an opportunity to experience the profound understanding of how each action impacts others and how all actions impact the self.  No action happens in isolation or solely to the one it is directed.    

·   The ego begins to loosen.  It is at this time that a soul may recognize that he/she is fully connected to all life. The soul in this state of Life Review feels less identified with his/her physical self and opens to deeper understanding of spiritual evolution.

·   Some individual souls will continue to remain attached to their identities and the ego that formed that identity. This is not viewed as bad or good.  This is simply a facet of evolution. These souls may spend some time shifting into states that they fully enjoyed experiencing while alive.  Many will choose to look like they did at their favorite time of life and create experiences that reflect joyful memories of life.  Some reconnect with family and reengage in activities that bring mutual joy to those involved. These experiences are still part of the Life Review process.  Remember, Life Review is non-linear.  Many times this is the stage of after-life when spirits reconcile with other spirits.  The healing manifesting through this phase of afterlife also loosens the identification with ego. 

·   Every time the soul deepens his or her understanding, perceptions shift and the ego lessens its hold on the soul. Because time is non-existent within the divine realms of reality, there is no urgency to shift.  Souls move at the exact right pace. The Source of All That Is knows that every human soul will evolve to the point of full realization, illumination and enlightenment.  At every point in the non-linear process of Life Review, each soul is being helped by divine and familiar spiritual guides to integrate life lessons and evolve.  

·   During Life Review, souls are permitted to connect with the living only to serve the evolutionary process.  Spirits during this process, may come through dreams, leave signs, give the living feelings of comfort or peace; communicate messages through repetitive thoughts or a communication through a friend or even a stranger.  If a grieving individual is feeling lost, sometimes the spirit will flash lights in the house to get the attention of the living to say: "life is eternal; I am here and with you.  We are loving you and helping!  There is far more available to you than your physical senses alone can appreciate".   

    Often the communication is accomplished through a selected clear conduit for spirit usually known as a medium.  These messages are not casual as they are specifically focused on the evolution for the souls involved.  These communications will include important validations to verify the identity and relationship of the spirit to the living so as to create a grounded appreciation for the purpose of the encounter.

o  For example, if a soul realizes during life review that his actions in life created suffering for his child, he may choose to enter into a mediumship session to make amends and offer encouragement to support the realignment his daughter’s soul to a higher pathway. A neutral medium is selected to facilitate accuracy in the message so that the living can trust that spirit is real, the communication is accurate and the message is therefore truthful.

o  This kind of message will offer enough detail about the identity of the spirit to allow the client and the medium to appreciate the validity of the message.  The spirit determines what details to provide.  I tend to connect with the nuances of that spirit - behaviors, significant memories, unique mannerisms; the language, unique phrases and intonations of speech; beliefs and values; how he/she related to the family; cause and experience of death; happy memories tend to come through me during a reading. When these important details are communicated and the spirit knows that the recipient truly recognizes him or her, the purpose for the visit will be communicated.  Once the entirety of message is received by the living, both souls shift.  This type of life review message uplifts, empowers and inspires the highest good in all. 

o  When the ego loosens for the spirit because of a direct encounter it is often called a karmic correction.  When this happens, the spirit is then able to ascend through his evolutionary process more readily.  The spirit receives a healing and the ego loosens. The individual on earth is also healing and is therefore able to shift into a new creative direction in life.  Ancestral patterns of dysfunction can be freed during this type of encounter.  Imprints within the living person's energy field can be dissolved and potential soul destinies can be more easily realized.  As the living individual moves forward, the soul in afterlife does too.  

·   Within the context of Life Review, the soul appreciates the meaning of his/her life journey and how every aspect of life was designed to support evolution.   As experiences are understood to serve the soul's evolution, again the ego shifts its hold and the soul grows. 

·   A spirit may choose to enhance aspects of the soul during this phase of Life Review.  He/she may participate in dimensions of divinity to enrich, refresh and heal. There are dimensions to accelerate intellectual evolution; sensual fulfillment and emotional enrichment.  Though we do not have a sensual body, there are realms where sensual experiences can happen in the divine realms - that is smells, colors, textures, sounds of magnificently soul enhancing qualities can be experienced. 

    One spirit I encountered during a reading informed his partner that he was studying in the “halls of knowledge” in after-life.  He added that he was also working with a team of other helping spirits to assist the new president in supporting global peace.  Another spirit I encountered told her daughter that she had been asked to help the victims of 9/11 cross into the light.   Most do not serve on global committees, instead they connect with loved ones in spirit or life. These encounters prove enriching to the soul, allowing the soul to appreciate what was missed in physical life, further evolve and loosen the attachment to ego. 

·   When a spirit communicates with the living, he or she will reconnect with aspects of the ego that identify that individual to the living recipient of his/her message.  If the spirit did not do that, the client/living individual would not know who was speaking.  How the spirit communicates this identity often reveals the stage in Life Review.  During an encounter, a spirit may appear quite different than when they died. That spirit can appear younger, healthier, thinner.   The first reading I offered as a medium revealed the spirit of a young boy at the height of this health; he was not at all identified with the suffering he experienced from his illness in physical life.  That soul had already fully learned from the experience and released that aspect of his persona completely.  The next reading I offered however, revealed that the spirit was fully attached to his cause of death and it was through the communication to his loved one that he was able to break free and move forward in spirit. 

·   If a medium connects with a spirit only once he or she may not realize that the soul will continue to evolve after the connection.  For example; the medium who was speaking about spirits being exactly the same in after life mostly offers audience readings.  She encounters a spirit once - usually at a pivotal time in Life Review.  Audience Readers are meant to help the entire audience release their belief in the physical world as the only reality that exists and help each member know that life is eternal and spirit is present, thriving and helpful.  But someone with this purpose may not often reconnect with spirits other than in a short encounter through an audience reading.  The purpose is profoundly significant but the effect may be that the medium is not recognizing that the soul is continuing to evolve and will appear different over time. 

    If the medium re-encounters the same spirit a year or so later, she/he may notice that the spirit has changed.  That change will typically reflect the ego has loosened significantly or may have vanquished altogether.  I usually notice this at first by the feel of the spirit as they feel significantly lighter. The spirit may no longer be carrying the burden associated with cause of death; the grief of the living; the fears he or she had when alive. If a spirit has evolved, he or she will want me to know this and will want to communicate this to the living.  This is when they will still reveal all kinds of validations about their identities but will also demonstrate changes that have occurred in after life. 

·   Physical life is not the only method for releasing the identification with the ego.  Souls evolve through numerous dimensions and experiences, not physical life alone.  No soul has to return to physical life to evolve. Coming to earth is a choice made by the soul and his or her spiritual guidance team in after life. 

    Yes, spirits still have helpers in after life.  Divine guides who assist the soul through the process of evolution while in spirit. Angels are ego-less beings.  Ascended Masters are also ego-less beings. Power animals are ego-less spiritual helpers.  But not all teachers in spirit are ego-less and they will tell you outright about their status when asked.

·   Spirits of loved ones do not automatically become all knowing and powerful.  Often the living want spirits to do things for them and fix their lives! But this is not possible.  Spirits can and do help us all to make better choices and connect with people, places and resources we would not ordinarily consider.  We do have infinite resources available to us and spirit will always reveal how to access this when we are willing to do so.  But we are meant to live through our free will and choose our destiny.

So is my dad who died 11 years ago exactly the same as he was before he died? When he shows up to me, he comes through in the same form that I knew him but significantly younger and he looks at his peak health.  He is usually in one of the outfits I bought him for father’s day and is often very happy and peaceful.  When he communicates, he is focused on a specific issue that means a great deal to me or someone in my family.  He only comes to support my growth and deeper understanding of my purpose and never to fix my life.  His personality appears as jolly as it was when he was living. 

However, my father did not believe in spirits when he was alive. He NEVER believed in mediumship or psychics.  He did not even believe in a Supreme Consciousness or in an after-life.  He believed that religion was an opiate seducing the masses into conformity and disconnection from wisdom.  He was a proud cultural Jew but he was in no way religious. My father was a physics major in college; a scientist and eventually an engineer and entrepreneur.  Though he valued my intuition - he did not value my psychic abilities whatsoever.  Indeed, he was extremely judgmental of my connection to the divine and spirit.

Before he died, he was also very frustrated with me when I announced that I was leaving a lucrative career to remain home with my daughter and possibly return to graduate school.  He did not want me to forgo the security he saw me work so hard to create for something so "unsatisfying and mundane".  He did not want me to go to graduate school to become a psychologist.  He feared that my decision would adversely impact my families financial status.  He said all this to me two months before he died.

My grief over his passing was too intense for me to accurately connect with my father for what seemed a long time.  His first appearance to me included him saying: "Lori, we need to talk!” His first interactions with me were all about inspiring me to attend graduate school. 

As I enacted the guidance he and my divine spirits offered, he came through more clearly.  He confessed to me that he had no idea that souls continue to live on after physical death.  He was astonished by this realization.  He was excited to also learn that I could see and hear him.  He made amends to me for how he reacted to my decision about quitting my corporate career to serve as a mother.  He explained how he had experienced his own mother and the pain he saw my mother suffer because of the pressure she had received to forgo higher education and "fall in love with being a stay at home mom".  He did not want that same suffering for me.  

My father believed in science and found no credible evidence for psychic phenomenon when he was alive and that man in said to me from spirit: “Lori, you are able to help others by providing guidance from spirit.  I did not know who you were when I was alive, but now I know. Please honor this calling. I will help!” My father told me to continue with graduate school but to form a practice and suggested calling it: Sacred Balance. He told me to teach others to listen to their intuition and to help them discover a world he did not know existed while he was alive.

Had my father clung to his ego in after life, he would never have been able to shift his perceptions and offer that kind of message.  His physical death and Life Review allowed him an opportunity to grow.  From spirit he made amends for many mistakes he had made as a father; he offered encouragement in ways he could not when alive; and more significantly I saw my beautiful father experience the divine in after life in ways he did not know were possible while living. 

This awareness does not make the other mediums I mentioned above wrong.  It reveals that there is more to the experience that one may fully appreciate.  Egos are not the same in spirit as they are in afterlife.  Souls evolve, egos shift and life continues to expand. 

Do you have a different understanding? Or an experience you want to share?  Please share your questions and comments below.

Realizing Your Destiny: Set Your Intention

Want to have an amazing fulfilling day? Set your Intention!

When you’re driving to a new location you usually plan to get there via the safest, easiest route.  You put the destination in your GPS or look on a map and follow the instructions one step at a time.  

Imagine if you just got in your car, started driving and hoped your car would take you where you needed to go.  You would never reach your intended destination. 

 

We are no different. Your daily experiences are accomplished through presence and intention. It is just like setting your location in your internal GPS and then allowing each direction to unfold as it comes.  

Otherwise the energy of each days events will dictate your experience. And your life!

Begin your day with a morning intention.  I engage in a ritual each day to attune my energy, align with my intention and then allow my intuition to guide me through that flow.  

Do you want to feel rushed, anxious and off kilter today?  Or would you prefer to experience peace, joy and the rhythm of your soul throughout the day?  By setting your intention first thing in the morning, you set the tone for the quality of your day. 

You would not think of going to work or engaging in your daily routine without first brushing your teeth. A morning intention setting ritual can be as fundamental to your thriving as basic hygiene. 

My routine begins with stretching exercises, clearing and centering my mind, emotions and body and then feeling into the stillness of my spirit.  After sitting in the silence of my cleared being, I set my intention for the day. 

Now, I am a real life person, with a child to attend to first thing in the morning.  Though I always work my meditation ritual into my day, it sometimes doesn’t flow perfectly.  On those days, I may be brushing my teeth or standing in the shower tuning into the divine and stating my intention for the day.  Sometimes it is as simple as “Thank you God for making me an instrument of your love, light and truth today.”  I will then envision my day unfolding within my mind and see my self operating throughout the day as a clear channel, flowing with the rhythm of the divine in all circumstances.  As I see that movie unfold inside, gratitude radiates throughout my heart and being. 

Setting my intention is not an attempt to control the day’s outcomes.  Rather, I am aligning with my soul-self – the eternal, divine essence that exists within a state of peace, joy and infinite resources.  By deliberately tuning into and aligning with my soul self, I am able to then flow with life’s ups and downs more peacefully.  Life becomes a heart-centered, soulful flow of divine opportunities to experience richly rather than a series of problems to reactively solve. 

Morning Intention Setting Ritual Suggestions:

Stretch

Stretching your body first thing in the morning increases the range of motion in your muscles and joints.  It enhances your muscular coordination, increases blood flow and improves your energy level. Stretching is a metaphor for moving beyond your habit postures, thoughts and emotions into new horizons of experience.  So begin your day by stretching into the more flexible, open and expectant you!

Move

We all know the health benefits of exercise by now. Your body, mind, emotions and spirit thrive on healthy movement.  The best form of exercise is done outside, near trees or large body of water.  But even ten minutes of healthy indoor movement will clear your mental and emotional bodies, uplift your physical body and connect you to your spirit!  

Breathe Deeply

Deep breathing oxygenates your blood and stops the reactive mind from controlling your experiences.  Breathe deeply into your lower abdomen, filling your lungs with air and slowly exhale.  There are many helpful breathing exercises to support full presence in the body, clear thinking and emotional stability.  Deep breathing connects you to your soul self.  

Meditate

I was a stay-at-home mother when I noticed that just 3 minutes of intentional silence while my daughter napped, changed the flow of my entire day! Meditation intimidated me at first but soon I craved the deep silence and calm it provided.  I did not follow a specific meditative instruction.  I sat quietly in my living room, breathing deeply into my belly, closing my eyes and feeling into my being.  I did not try to control my thoughts or make them disappear; nor did I follow them.  I simply noticed their presence while bringing my attention back to my breath and feeling into the deeper spaces that rose in between the thoughts.  With practice I am now able to sit in meditation for long periods of time.  Cultivating this practice of silence allowed me to discover my innate intuitive abilities and open to a whole new career direction that lay hidden beneath the constant chatter of my mind. 

Meditation research reveals that it boosts your immune system and improves overall health; enhances creativity and clarity of thought; reduces reactivity and supports healthy relationships.  And it nurtures your intuition and direct experience with the divine.

Set Your Intention
What do you want to create in your life this year?  What you are focusing on this morning and where you direct your energy here and now will determine that outcome.  You have to tell your internal GPS where you are headed by holding that intention steady and then allowing the intuitive directions to flow into your conscious awareness throughout the day. Set your intention and bring your creations to life!

Appreciate

As you set your intention and envision yourself moving throughout your day in effortless alignment with this purpose, notice how your heart feels.  Notice how you feel within your body.  Allow that sensation to expand by observing and appreciating your ability to create that positive flow right here and now.  This deep state of gratitude will grow and flow throughout your day by allowing it into your consciousness as part of your morning routine.  Appreciation is one of the highest frequencies on earth. Imagine what you can create by feeling a deep connection to gratefulness throughout your day. 

Re-Connect

What happens when you turn off course from your GPS’ directions? The GPS voice continually attempts to pull you back on course until you finally realign.  When you set your intention in the morning and feel it deeply within your being, you will more quickly notice when you move off course.  Your internal voice will work to bring you back into alignment with your intent. 

Have an action plan.  If you discover that your intention has been derailed, do not give up.  Stop, take 3 intentional deep breaths. Remember to breathe into your belly and elongate your exhale. Feel into your soul self.  Refocus on your intention and recommit in that moment.  You are not limited to your reactions; as you breathe deeply into your being and feel the presence of your immutable spirit coming back into view, you can choose your course.  Re-focus, realign and realize your innate power to experience and create your soulful intentions once again.

Bring your Intention Setting Ritual to Life

How many times do you read an article or take a class and tell yourself “I should do that”.   Don’t stop there.  Put this to practice right now.  After you complete reading this, stretch, drink some water, move your body, then sit in the silence of your soul-self.  Set your intention and let your day unfold in your mind.  Appreciate your innate creative power!  And then put this daily ritual onto your calendar.  You may want to tweak the steps I have suggested to fit into your busy life; but your life is yours to create.  So before you go onto the next activity bring this ritual and your intention to life!

Your destiny is a work of art that you create.  By setting your intention each day you allow your destiny to unfold deliberately with increasing effortlessness, one day at a time.

Authentic Success: Bring Your Soul Purpose to Life!

The other day a friend asked me to share how I came to work as an intuitive medium and shamanic practitioner.   He wanted to know about my encounters with spirit and how early this began. 

From an early age I knew what I was born to do.  In the third grade I told my teacher that I was here to teach the world to love more.  “That is why I am here” I announced. Speaking with spirits was not mentioned because it is a natural ability through which my purpose is able to come to life; not my singular purpose.

You also have a purpose.  Most people think of a purpose in terms of a career or some overtly tangible achievement.  Authentic Purpose has to do your soul evolution and is your reason for being here in this lifetime. Fulfilling your soul purpose gives you the deepest sense of fulfillment.  Your soul purpose helps you to grow and supports the evolution of others.  It is the easiest and most effortless path to abundance, health, self realization and bliss for you.

Success in our culture is often defined by our external achievements but authentic success manifests when you do what you were born to do. Authentic Success will empower you to the core, serve your soul’s evolution, nurture your body and emotional health and uplift and inspire you and others. 

Fulfilling your soul purpose begins with the willingness to know who you are truly.  It means moving into alignment with your soul, not your personality.  Authentic  success  comes to life when you become willing to listen to the consistent intuitive guidance offered to you and act upon it daily. 

 

You have been set up to succeed at fulfilling your soul's purpose in this lifetime.  Your natural talents, passions and core values are the foundation of your soul purpose.  

Whether you own a business, manage a family and home; serve as an educator or health care practitioner; whether you are a solider, police officer, artist, machine operator or a physician – your innate wisdom can guide you into realizing your soul’s purpose and potential.    

    Steps for Bringing Soul Purpose to Life 

Discover who you are

• You are a soul with a purpose for choosing your physical body, life circumstances, skills and talents.
• You have infinite resources beyond the physical world to support you.
• You are set up for success. 

Pay Attention

•  Your Soul Purpose comes to life through intuitive listening and action.
•  Intuition communicates through your senses.
•  Spirit also gives messages through whatever you will notice!
•  Divine guidance is uplifting, empowering & inspirational. It is never  critical, judgmental or demeaning.
• Spirit gives you present time action steps to live out your soul potential

Notice Repetition

• Divine guidance nudges you repetitively until you take action.
• You may feel called to do something; have a persistent thought; see a consistent internal image; bump into people, places and things that represent a singular message; dream the same dream; hear songs or comments that speak to the message.  
• Divine guidance will not waver.  It doesn’t get bored or give up.  You will receive the same message until you enact it in this lifetime or the next.
• Divine guidance always aligns with your soul purpose.
• Divine guidance repeats only messages that serve your highest good while revering and enhancing all life

 Listen to your body

• Your body is constantly revealing whether you are in alignment with your soul or your ego. Action on divine guidance feels positive down to your cells and has no backlash.
• Divinely guided action elicits sensations of equanimity and enthusiasm. Gently your heart and chest open; your stomach/solar plexus calms; your mind settles; your body relaxes; your health improves.
• Ego driven action creates feelings of anxiety; tightness in your heart and chest; quivering or unsettled gut; racing and unkind thoughts; desire for distraction; rigidity; disharmony and weakened immunity; depression or persistent longing and sadness. 

Honor your Soul Essence Values

• Soul purpose is founded upon your true essence values.
• Essence values reflect your soul not your beliefs. 

• Essence values support soulful action, words, thoughts & creations.    Essence values promote health, fulfillment, thriving for you and all life.  No one is short changed when you are aligned with essence values.

• Essence values are not founded on your beliefs.  Beliefs stem from paradigms through which you filter your ideas of self, life and what you can experience. Essence values transcend all learned paradigms.
• Example:  I declared my purpose at eight by saying:  “I want to be a psychologist because I am here to teach the world to love more.  When people heal what hurts their hearts, they will love more and the world will be a more peaceful place”.  My essence values are reflected in that statement: love as a healing energy, responsibility for healing; world service; integrity; sharing what I learn; understanding & being responsible for experiencing and creating love throughout my lifetime.  My beliefs are reflected in that statement too; becoming a psychologist was a paradigm through which I perceived my ability to fulfill an essence value. 

Attend to the Present Moment

• Imagine an infant who was not fully in the present? They do not exist. You were born capable of being fully present.  Feeling uncomfortable being present is a learned experience. Presence is how you connect with your soul self.
• Choose to release distracting behaviors.  Distracting ourselves from the present moment has become a cultural phenomenon.  We text, call, tweet and often do this while with others.  We believe we can multitask.  No one is born to multi-task.  Multi-tasking is a form of distraction.  Distractions keep us from feeling our intuitive truth and living our soul purpose.
• What we learn can be unlearned.  Presence requires a commitment to presence. Take a deep breath, choose to know your soul and honor your intuitive impulses one day at a time.  
• Intuitive allowing happens moment to moment. Your soul lives in the state of infinite potential that comes alive through your attentiveness. How you experience this potential in this moment is how that energy is shaped. To realize your soulful potential and experience authentic success, you tend to your essence through calm presence, compassionate witnessing of what you discover and non-resistant allowing.

 Know your limits

• Uh Oh!  What did you think that meant? You are NOT your limits.  Learned beliefs shape your limits and often define our lives.  Beliefs are rarely formed upon divine truth and therefore do not reflect your soul’s potential and purpose.  
• To thrive soulfully, you will need to challenge your beliefs.  To challenge beliefs, you have to fearlessly examine them.
• What thoughts keep you from full-on soul success? 
•  “I have children; parents; responsibilities so I can’t do that now.”
• “I don’t have the money; time; resources to make that happen"
• “Who am I to do that?”
• “If I do that and make a lot of money, I may lose it all; not know how to handle it; make more than my love/partner/parent; I may not be able to manage parenting or other responsibilities…”
•  “I’ll go broke”
• “What if I fail?”
• “There are already so many of that out there.”
• “This is so impractical!” 
•   “I’m not as good as that other”
• “Have no idea where to begin.” 
• Divine guidance moves you into alignment with your soul’s purpose by offering you sound methods for implementation. 
• Every soul inspiration that propels you toward Freedom, Joy, Peace, Prosperity, Fulfillment and Full-on Success has a friend called “Fear”.
• Fear sounds practical, logical and realistic.  It can always prove its case. 

• Fear is the foundation of your belief so it gets louder when you choose to listen to your spirit. 

• Fear can sound like a parent or an authority figure or your inner critic.
• Fear is the illusion that the rational mind or ego rests upon.
• Fear is the framework of the ego which is an impermanent aspect of you – one that forms after birth and is not a permanent part of your soul after death.    
•  The ego’s understanding of life is confined to all that it can comprehend.
•  The ego can only comprehend what it can prove through physical resources.  It is therefore limited to a scarcity framework for its perceptions.
• The ego will never become the authentic ally of your intuition and therefore, your soul purpose. It will limit you to your beliefs about you and your life.  It will keep you from experiencing full blown thriving in this lifetime, if you give it power to rule your choices and therefore your life.
• The ego has become the dominant creative force through which humanity creates.  It is the source of our suffering, alienation and struggle on the planet.
•  The ego is designed to be a useful tool, once you understand it because it allows you to experience the physical world.  You do have the power to transcend your identification with your ego and allow it to serve your spirit.

• YOU can decide whether ego or spirit will be the pilot of your life of your life.  Once you give power to your spirit and learn to master your intuition, the ego will fall into an ancillary role connecting you to the physical world while you learn to navigate both spirit & physicality successfully.     

 Acknowledge your Support Team

• You are always supported by benevolent spirit guides throughout life.
• Every divinely inspired action you take will be met with an equal amount of benevolent support
• All people within your path have a purpose for your life as you do for theirs.
• Your support team will expand as you live your soul purpose. 

Soul Purpose uses your Natural Talents, Interests and Skills

• What activities allow you to lose a sense of time?
• When you were a child what were you most passionate about?
• What can you do most easily with full engagement?
• What would you do if you won the lotto and had settled into that after a year?

 The Big Picture

• To live fully requires an awareness that life is impermanent.  You will die. Take time to actively accept this and reflect on your death.
• What do you want your legacy to be?
• When you consider dying; what will matter most to you about how you lived your life?
• What do you dream about doing before you die?
• Are your choices today supporting that legacy?
• After you die, you will  be met by benevolent spirits who will guide you through a life review.  Within that experience you will feel everything you have created in this lifetime.  What do you want to feel?  What do you not want to feel?
• You have the power to review your life now and create what matters most to your soul.  As you do that, everything in your being and life becomes peaceful.

Take time to know your soul’s purpose, listen to your intuitive guidance and bring your divine purpose to life.  A soulful life brings balance, fulfillment, health and prosperity into your experience through your natural talents, interests and skills.  You were born to succeed and are supported in every meaningful way!

You have the power to live a Soulfully Successful Life!  As you fulfill your soulful destiny, you open the door for all others to do this more easily and enhance life.  Thank you for bringing your light into our world.

Namaste, Lori