I grew up in Grand Rapids, a small town in Northern Minnesota. You know one of those places where everyone pretty much knows everyone else. The oldest of four siblings, I wore a ‘different’ hat as my mother would often remind me.
My father was known as The Taxidermist and people came from all over the surrounding states to have their prize trophies mounted or stuffed as we called it, by my dad. This in and of its self was an interesting up bringing. Just imagine my brown paper bag every Friday morning at ‘show and tell’ in grade school. What does she have today? My dad saved the day every time.
Being from the North Country, I was exposed to nature as a way of life. We had a cabin that we went to every weekend and as a young girl I would find my way in and out of the woods while spending hours exploring and day dreaming. When I went to a place of peace, I would have visions and see angels and talk to spirit guides. I always had a sense of my spirituality as a young child and thought that everyone did. I came to find out that this was not the truth and it was a lonely place to be sometimes. However, I still preferred it. But when I was there I was really a part of all that was surrounding me and it wasn’t until later in my life that I would truly come to understand the fullness of that feeling, the soulfulness of that knowing.
Yes, I was a country girl at my core. We had horses and I was a bit of a cowgirl. Now there’s a phrase you don’t hear anymore. Every year preparing for the county fair was a huge event for us. My dad always had something going on at the fair and I rode competitively in the horsemanship ring. It was an amazing time to be a kid. There was such a great energy around this week and it always went by so fast.
We also had a coop garden that produced incredible vegetables. In fact, my dad was in the local paper for the largest Sweet Spanish Onion weighing in at two and a half pounds. In the fall we would spend Saturdays weeding by hand acres of gardens. I can’t say I enjoyed that but I do so appreciate the experience of being a part of that and being able to share this with my own children.
When I was fifteen, my parents divorced and we moved to Duluth MN. My mom was born and raised there and all her family must have decided long ago that this was the place to live and die as they were all still living in this unusual town. This was quite an event for me as I had to leave my life long friends and enter high school alone. I believe that this was one of the most frightening times in my life and yet one of the top three life changing and shaping experiences that my life would gift me.
I was a somewhat quiet young woman and this transition could have been very traumatic for me not to mention for my mother. We lived behind the zoo and once again an opportunity to commune with nature, I would take long ‘thinking walks’ as I would call them. It occurred to me that I could be whom ever I wanted to be. Was this just a cliché? I thought here I am. No one in this place knows who I am so how can I use that to my advantage? Now I began to see this move as an opportunity to create myself anew. I became involved in everything I could and made a mound of friends. I found myself in a way I had not expected. Listening to your truth is so freeing. I chose what I felt resonating from within and recognized this at a youthful age. This I believe created a solid foundation for my future choices and the way I would come to perceive my world.
I had my first mind blowing spiritual experience at seventeen. I was working as a nursing assistant in a nursing home and I was visited by my half sister in spirit. Now this would not have been so confusing had I not just been at her home with her family a few days earlier. She smiled at me and in the most serene voice said, “Never forsake your gifts again.” To know Charlene, was to know she was funny, loud and energetic. This conversation as it was, sang to me as angelic. I sat in a state of peaceful shock as I realized in this moment she had passed from this world. There was an amazing calm that washed over me and I knew she was gone, yet still here. Minutes after this experience, I received a call at work from my family telling me that she had been in a serious car accident and had not survived.
There was a sadness of course but coupled with a great sense of relief that I would begin to explore with comfort and joy these intuitive gifts that my soul no longer wanted me to suppress. I felt Charlene close by with gentle nudges from behind and when I was truly open, her hand was held out in front of me as if to say, “See what is yours to See.” The circle of life brings about amazing leaps of faith so I began to dive deeper into myself.
So this being my foundation, life takes it course and shows up for us in many similar and familiar ways just at different addresses.
I went to college and worked in the nursing field of Obstetrics and Gynecology. I got married and had three sons. They are all amazing and if I didn’t know better, I would say that they are all from different gene pools. I so believe that they chose me and came here to evolve and teach me something profound about my own self. They most certainly have done that. My youngest son Devonn has had a very full life in his short time here on this planet. Born seriously ill, he has had over thirty surgeries, one of them being a liver transplant at age five. Now trust me, there is a book to be written on this story and it is in the works, but I just want to share the impact spiritually that this major life changing event has had on my movement through this life.
Spirit works in the most profound ways to open our hearts first so that we recognize the doors that are opened to us to follow our bliss. When Devonn was diagnosed with post transplant lymphoma at the ripe old age of eight, we discussed the treatment or healing options as we referred to it on that unforgettable afternoon. We chose to use the power of our love, our minds and healing light to walk through this. As you can imagine, few had the faith that Devonn and I did to make this so. You would have to know Devonn and the strength of our love to know that this could just be.
That autumn afternoon I sat on the floor in the living room looking up at his beautiful brown round face as he sat on the couch. The sun rays showed golden and intense through the window as they held us in the light. I will never forget the warmth and calm that came to this moment. As I spoke to what we were going to do he looked at me and smiled. He said, “It’s alright mom, I came here sick so I didn’t have to be here long. I’m waiting for you to be who you really are.” I don’t know how long, but I swear my breath was gone for an indefinite period of time. The room was still with a warmth and a comfort like I had never felt before. He told me that he was going to take his T-cells and put them in bubbles of light with periwinkle and fuchsia and send them out into the universe as love for someone else to catch. The tears of a silent weeping profusely flowed down my face. I was motionless and yet full.
For the first time I wasn’t afraid anymore and my outer confusion became clear to me. I had been here before and right here with him absorbing this wisdom. There was no time, no space just a profound sense of truth. I had all the answer to every question from every lifetime within me.
In that moment, we both came home. It was soft and fluid and so natural that I knew it was simply because I remembered who I really was in that and said yes. He did choose to come here and have this experience with me, no matter how painful or joyful we were choosing to be inside of it.
Devonn is now sixteen and as you can gather from the this brief accounting of his life experience, he has had an enormous impact on my life and the lives of many others as well. I share this story because it has given me pivotal moments in the transformation of my own experience, my purpose and my work.
Of course life was happening around us as these events continued to revolve around Devonn. Our family seemed to move with an ebb and flow through our daily existence.
I worked in the clinic and I was an instructor in the evening at a school of Vocational Medicine. I found that I loved to teach and it brought out my passion and enthusiasm. I stepped it up and became involved in training and motivational speaking to entrepreneurs as I helped grow large groups of networkers around the United States and Canada. As I cultivated this path, I decided to leave the medical profession and pursue my true passion. I began to facilitate Master Mind groups, a process I adopted from Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”. It was most fulfilling and the reward that came from inspiring individuals to move forward toward their own passion, was something I wanted to experience all the time.
This led me to an understanding of my Coaching gifts and abilities. I saw myself as a Visionary and became excited that I could hold a vision for another even when they thought that they couldn’t hold it for themselves. I became very passionate about coaching and teaching. It was clearly about creating a space for my clients to get clarity on their own vision as surprising as it may be. I could then hold that vision for them through thick and thin. I love the idea of helping someone get from where they are to where they desire to be and show them how to do it with great feeling and excitement.
Serving others from the heart space becomes an awakening of self. Truly the spiritual experience I believe that we all seek. It is addicting and it really feeds my soul. It’s like dessert, so I’m keeping my fork because I know the best is yet to come.
I continue to walk through my life on purpose. I am passionate about many things and that is something that you will see in me. I am a professional speaker, author, visionary facilitator and an Ordained Freelance Minister.
I find my spiritual home in Unity of the Valley and serve on the Board of Trustees there. It excites me to guide others to a transformational place. This place that allows them to see their own brightness and therefore shine their light out into the world. I am here to teach, encourage and inspire others to be more of themselves in every moment.
I believe at the core of my being that we are all here to evolve to a higher state of consciousness and therein we will perceive the world from a new view and a new vantage point. I am so excited about the future for I see the vision of a new world through a shift in consciousness. It is happening as we are in this very moment. It is happening now. Some things are just plain true.
Namaste
