"Umm, Mandy? That seems a little excessive. Why were you so freaked out?"
Well, that's a little complicated. Ultimately, it's because a couple of years ago I didn't believe in spirit guides, being a channel or possessing intuitive abilities. I remember what I used to think, and didn't want others associating those kind of thoughts with me. (I mean, I still kind of cringe at the word "psychic". There's just SO much baggage with that word, which is interesting because no one I know fits the imagery of a stereotypical psychic.) So I took the trainings, participated in groups, provided readings for others and loved it, all while hiding myself -and my oracle cards, pendulums and crystals -from those who were most important to me.

Not smart, but hear me out - Spirituality is deeply personal and let's face it, lots of people aren't very understanding of those who hold beliefs different than there own. I've seen the posts on Facebook, I've heard the mocking of all things "woo". Telling people that I can read energy, that I believe in past lives, that I hear, see and sometimes just know things...it didn't feel safe. Which, in the past, was true. It wasn't safe to let people know you worked with energy and had connections to the spirit world. We were labeled witches, and we died because of the fear of who we were and what we could do. This isn't my first life doing this kind of work, and I've been put to death for it before. Our souls don't get over that kind of trauma easily, so it's no wonder so many of us are afraid to shine our light and do our work.

That being said, the calling, the inner knowing that this was something I had to share about myself was getting stronger every day. I had two choices - I could either face my fear and post on my terms, or somehow - some way - the universe was going to do it for me.

Ok, got it. So how did you get past that fear?
Honestly? I didn't, at least not completely. I'm still working on it, and I'll probably continue to work on it for awhile. When I posted, I think I made a little squeaking noise, hit post, and then immediately shut my laptop and went outside to try and forget about it. But prior to that, it started with baby steps. I'd mention things to my husband, started looking at crystals with my kids, told friends that I was learning Reiki. It was slow going, but it allowed me to build up the conversation. My husband and friends were supportive. They didn't always get it, but it's not like that's a requirement to care about me. I mean, half my friends hate being underwater but they still think it's cool that I'm an avid scuba diver.

Therapy was also huge - I went in for one thing and found out my therapist has a lot of the same beliefs and is a crazy strong energy worker (Thank you Universe! Ask and you shall receive). She's helped me to release a lot of the fear, change some old belief patterns and embrace who I am. I've also relied heavily on my mentor and a few really good friends. Last, but not least, I've had my spirit guides and guardian angels with me the entire way. They've been giving me some solid nudges lately to be more open and authentic - pressure that definitely lightened up after last week.

Let's talk about Spirit Guides and Guardian Angels - your spiritual team on the other side. We all have a team who's goal is to help us in this incarnation. They're the ones who give us the daily nudges, provide a stroke of inspiration or set up some situations causing us to have - or miss - a certain experience. They know everything about us, love us anyway, and only want to see us succeed. But for me, connecting with them was HARD. Like, stupid hard. When I started on my spiritual path, I couldn't do it. I pretty much decided that connecting to my spiritual team was one big trust exercise - I just had to trust I was, they were there, and were helping me.

I did all the things - I listened to the meditations for meeting your Spirit Guide, I set intentions, I'd have daily check-ins and conversations, I'd ask for signs. Every once in awhile I'd get a hit, but honestly, a lot of time it felt like crickets. See, my problem was that I was too invested. I wanted it soo bad and as a result, I'd get "thinky" and try to force it instead of letting it flow. Honestly, I can still struggle with it. That's probably the biggest irony about being a medium - I can provide one hell of an accurate reading for you, but for myself? MUCH harder. 

Things started to change after my mentor gave me some details about my guides. It was a lot easier to connect. It took the pressure off somehow -I didn't need to focus on if they were male or female because I already knew. It became a lot easier to let things just flow and get answers to the things that were really important. My mentor's help was invaluable - and now I'd love to give that same gift back to others. 

Enter my Spirit Guide Profile reading, although we'll cover more than your Spirit Guides. In this reading, I'll connect with your spiritual team and help gather some of those details that will make it easier for you to connect. You'll find out information about your Spirit Guides (like how many you have and what they're helping you with), your Guardian Angels (we typically have 2!), and any spiritual energies around you. What does "spiritual energies around you" look like? Great question. I've found that this is mostly Ascended Masters, gods or goddesses. For example, the energy of the goddess Lilith has been around me hardcore lately. It's been intense since she's a "Burn down that which doesn't serve you so you can grow what does" kind of energy, but it's been pretty cool. I mean, who doesn't want that, even if the process can be a little intimidating?

If a Spirit Guide Profile reading sounds interesting, you can find more details about it here. Otherwise, I'd love to know - did you have troubles connecting to your spirit guides at first? What helped you? Please share your experiences in the comments below!

Let's back up a bit and talk about what a life lesson is and how it shows up. Right before we get ready to incarnate, our soul chooses some aspect of life that we want to experience and learn about - our primary life lesson - as well as one or two secondary lessons. As we go about our life, we naturally gravitate towards situations that will help us learn these lessons. If you ever feel like you're reliving the same experience over and over again - you probably have a life lesson coming into play. Say, for example, if your best laid plans seem to continuously get derailed (*cough* flexibility! *cough, cough*).

​Sometimes life lessons can be frustrating or heart-breaking, so it's a little crazy to think that our soul chose to experience it. Spiritual growth - it's not for the faint of heart. And, like it or not, in order to truly learn a lesson we have to experience all sides of it. To understand flexibility, I need to experience situations that require me to be flexible. I need to experience rigidity, and I need to understand how going with the flow can be a positive AND how it can be negative. If I come up against a situation requiring flexibility, what happens if I go with the flow? How does that feel? What does it gain me? What happens if I'm rigid? If I fight it? How does that feel? It's all part of the spiritual growth game - we experience, we learn, we evolve. It can be hard and it can be messy - but when we work through it, oh man, we can gain so much. 

You might be thinking "That's great and all, but how can knowing our life lessons help us?" There are a couple ways, actually.

1. If the universe continues to give us the same experience over and over again, it's likely there's some aspect of it we haven't truly "gotten" yet. Take some time and think about the situation you're facing and how you've handled similar experiences in the past. My guess is you have a "normal" way of handling these situations. Think about how you can change your response - listen to your intuition - and try something different.​
2. Knowing that you're experiencing a life lessons allows you to embrace it instead of fighting it. Using myself as an example, there have been so many times that I've been knocked off balance by having to change my plans. When I fight against that, life is hard and frankly, a little depressing. But when I embrace the need for change, roll with the punches, my life instantly becomes a little easier. Knowing your life lessons can give you a tool to help you weather the storm, so to speak. 
3. Self-awareness is key with spiritual growth. Knowing your life lessons allows you to look back on your life, see the trends, and view them in a different light. If you're dealing with a challenging life lesson, it's not that the universe is out to get you - it's that your soul is trying to experience and learn something...and that is a much more reassuring thought. Even better, once you do learn the lesson, those experiences will shift and won't be as common any more.

This article has mostly looked at the challenging aspects of a life lesson, but life lessons aren't always hard or unpleasant. Remember, to truly learn a lesson, we have to experience all sides of it, and that includes the positives! 

Are you interested in learning about the life lessons you've chosen? If so, there are two ways you can find out. First, if you feel connected to your spirit guides, you can always ask them. They are there to help us, after all! Otherwise, I would be happy to help you learn about your life lessons (among other things!) in my Soul Gifts Akashic Records reading, which you can learn about here. Do you know what your life lessons are? If so, comment below! I'd love to hear how they've shaped your experiences.
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