Tag Archive | spirituality

What Are Soul Steps?

Aug3

“What exactly are Soul Steps?” asked the reporter, as I struggled to put it into an easy to understand context.

“I guess you could call them life lessons,” I replied, “like when life throws you a curveball but you come out of it with wisdom that can only be gained through life experience.”

I then went on to tell him the story of how my son’s diagnosis of autism gave me one of those hard earned life lessons, which is Soul Step 42 in my new book,

Here is a sneak peek into the book:

Excerpt from Soul Step 42: Acceptance

When my youngest son was diagnosed with autism at the age of three, I suffered a loss. While Ben was still physically with me, the hopes and dreams I had for his future were suddenly taken from me. Although I did not realize it at the time, in retrospect I can see how I went through a text book case of the stages of grieving.

Finally, after months of intense sadness and feelings of loss, came acceptance. It came to me one night as I was praying my nightly prayer for my three children to be safe, healthy, and happy. It suddenly dawned on me that God was still answering my prayers. Ben was safe, he was healthy, and he was happy. Being given the label of autism did not make him cold or unloving. Ben was still the same sweet, kind, loving, smart, adorable little boy that he was before his diagnosis. I knew that there would be challenges ahead for both of us, but we would face these challenges together. I finally accepted his autism and only then was I at peace.

Natalie, Veronica, and I are three “ordinary” women who have lived through extraordinary life experiences which we share with you in our new book, Collectively, we have lived through cancer, death of loved ones, depression, anxiety, divorce, betrayal, suffering and loss. But we came through it stronger and wiser than we ever imagined we could, and now we want to share our stories with YOU. In Soul Steps, you will read our personal life stories, but the real beauty of this book is that it is not really about us, it is about YOU! At the end of each chapter you, the reader, are guided to uncover the soul lessons of your life as you put each soul step into action.

to learn more about the book that has been ranked one of the top 3 “Hot new releases” for spiritual books on Amazon.ca!

My Very Own Little Christmas Miracle!

Jan5

In a recent post, I made reference to my own little Christmas miracle, and with the permission of my friends, Natalie and Veronica, I would like to share this story with you.

FullSizeRender

L to R: Veronica, Natalie and Flo, circa 1998

I have been blessed throughout my lifetime with wonderful friends, too numerous to mention. Natalie, Veronica and I share a friendship that spans nearly two decades. Over that time, we have supported each other through sickness and health; births and deaths; marriage and divorce. While we have been geographically separated for most of our friendship, we kept in touch through frequent emails, phone calls and about twice a year, we would come together to meet. In our younger years, these meetings were about eating junk food, drinking wine and dancing till the wee hours of the morning. However these days, we would be more likely to offer one another energy healing, as opposed to tequila shots.  Like me, these ladies can be described as spiritual seekers, meaning that we actively focus on our spiritual development by reading books, doing courses, and maintaining a spiritual practice of prayer, meditation and reiki, among other things. We can also be described as healers, not in the physical sense of the word, but rather healers of the emotional and spiritual bodies. Because of our shared love of spirituality and healing, I believe that we are connected on a soul level. Natalie and Veronica are my soul sisters.

Several years ago, we decided to embark on a magnificent project; we would write a book together about our individual spiritual journeys and the life lessons learned along the way. In this book, Soul Steps, I poured out my heart and bared my soul about my many life challenges: a nervous breakdown, my divorce, my son Ben’s diagnosis of autism and my own diagnosis of cancer, and how each of these challenges helped me to grow as a spiritual being. Then, during the time that I was battling cancer, just when Soul Steps was about to be published, I was confronted with yet another heart-breaking challenge: the loss of this precious friendship. In retrospect, I can see the warning signs, but at that time it seemed to me that our friendship came to an abrupt end overnight. It does not matter who said what, or who did what, but each of us caused hurt to the others, which was never in any way malicious or intentional. Sadly, for nearly four years we lost our connection. These women disappeared from my life, and our book, while ready for publication, never made it to the press.

Just prior to Christmas, I was pleasantly surprised by an email from Veronica, inviting myself and Natalie to meet on December 23 at a central location, to reconcile our friendship and resurrect Soul Steps. I leaped at the opportunity to reconnect with my soul sisters! One might think that I felt nervous making the four hour drive to central Newfoundland to see these women after such a long time had passed. But all I felt was a sense of calm and peace. It just felt right to me. We cried when we embraced for the first time, and I felt nothing but pure, unconditional love. Instantly, the time separating us just seemed to dissolve, and we laughed and cried while sharing stories and catching up on each other’s lives.

Veronica shared with us the story of how she felt guided to reconnect by finding a picture of the three of us in an old book of hers. Even though she does not recall moving the picture, it just seemed to show up in different books over the following weeks, reminding her of the love we shared. She knew that this was a sign that it was time for us to reconcile our friendship. While I did not know about Veronica’s experience, “coincidently”, around the same time, I too stumbled upon a picture of the three of us in one of my old spiritual books that I felt guided to re-read. I was not surprised then, when Natalie shared with us that she too had come across a picture of the three of us in a book that she felt guided to open. What are the chances that each of us would have the same experience at around the same time?

I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as coincidence, rather these signs are messages from the universe to guide us on our life paths. I also believe that the disruption in our friendship happened for a reason. In Soul Steps we talk about some deep topics, such as acceptance, unconditional love and forgiveness. We could talk that talk, but when it came right down to it, could we walk the walk? Could we allow ourselves to be vulnerable? It takes courage to let go of your story, to let go of the past, and to take a chance on healing. Unless we could put these ideals into practice, Soul Steps would lose its integrity. I am happy to say that we were successful! By letting go of the hurt, embracing forgiveness and feeling the love, we passed the test.  I look forward to the spring of 2016, when Soul Steps will come into the world in authenticity and I  look forward to sharing it with YOU!