With Spirited Living as my business name, I tend to spend a good amount of time playing with what I call the “S-words” — spirit, soul, and sacred. I’ve been thinking even more about the Soul lately, but in a much more personal way than usual. If we’re connected on social media, you know that my dear friend and beloved college roommate, Okhee, died in mid-August.
We’ve known each other more than 50 years, starting with letters to get to know each other before we even arrived on campus (long-distant calls cost too much back then!). We discovered that she sewed all of her own clothes because she was so short, and I did because I’m so tall. That was a running joke for the rest of our lives.
Five years ago, she was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and navigated her journey since then with such grace and resilience and optimism. You can get a sense of her bright spirit in that photo, taken at our 45th reunion in 2022.
The morning after I heard of her death, I was on a bi-monthly call with my two dear, longtime coach-sisters, Minx and Drazia. They held me so closely while I grieved, and when I said “she was such an extraordinary soul“ they stopped me and said “no, her soul is still present and always will be”. And that’s when the phrase celebrating the “forever-ness of the soul“ opened up in my heart. Maybe that’s a cliche, but it’s stayed with me.
Lovely synchronicities
Shortly after we talked, a book arrived in the mail that I hadn’t ordered — “The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief ” by Francis Weller. I hadn’t yet posted my tribute to Okhee on Facebook and there was no indication who it was from. I found out later that my wonderful friend Hope (I’ll tell you more about her in the Picks below) had spontaneously sent it to me a few days before and it just “happened“ to arrive the day after Okhee died.
And the synchronicities continued to happen. The next morning I had already scheduled a call with another soul-sister, Tabor, so we could plan a meeting we were co-facilitating the following week. She was another source of wise counsel and comfort… she’s also a powerful healer and intuitive. Among other things, she invited me to “talk” with Okhee. I thought I’d call on Peter to do that since he’s connected with other people who’ve recently passed that way (more about him below, too).
But Tabor gently insisted that Okhee wanted to hear from me directly. So over the next several days, I had two beautiful “conversations“ with Okhee and transcribed my questions and her answers. When I suggested this was probably just my imagination, I “heard” her respond, “well, excuse me — I am NOT a figment of your imagination!” Whether it was or not, it was still such a powerful, comforting experience.
There have been several other examples of this notion of “soul forever-ness“ that have continued to bubble up and I’ve shared a few of them in the Picks below.
How about you? When have you connected to the souls of those much loved people who have passed over and felt their presence?
Pisces/Virgo Full Moon energy
So what does all this have to do with the Pisces/VIrgo Full Moon coming up on September 7th? A short and sweet definition of the soul is that it is “the immaterial or spiritual essence of a living being, often considered immortal and existing apart from the body”. I also believe that a powerful place to ground our soul-searching and to create a deep, soul-full connection with others is in the sacred space of ritual. That belief has been reinforced eloquently as I’ve been making my way through the book I mentioned earlier, “The Wild Edge of Sorrow“.
The upcoming Pisces/Virgo Full Moon embodies these concepts of soul-connection and grounded ritual beautifully. In fact, Full Moons in general are always a powerful time to bring together two different energies since the Sun and Moon are in opposite zodiac signs.
When the Moon is in Pisces, it’s a powerful time for tapping into our intuition and imagination, for feeling “at one with the universe”, and for holding compassion and empathy for ourselves and indeed, for all of humanity. And during this Virgo season (from August 22 — September 22) we may be drawn to create practical, healthy self care routines as well.
(Remember, New Moons are when the Sun and Moon are in the same sign – you can read my Virgo New Moon blog from a few years ago to get some ideas about how you can tap into that energy right now, or listen to the recording of the Virgo New Moon SisterCircle I facilitated on August 22nd).
And of course, be sure to join us for my Pisces/Taurus Full Moon TeleMeditation this Friday, September 5th at Noon ET — click HERE for details on how to participate. Hope to “hear” you then! (And if you miss it, contact me and I’ll send you the recording, or look for it on Facebook & Instagram)
I hope some of my Deb’s Picks below will resonate with you on your own soul-journey!
MANY LIVES, MANY MASTERS by Brian Weiss
There are many books out there describing experiences of past life regression which is essentially the process of exploring your soul’s journey through hypnotherapy. I read this book in the mid-90’s… it was my first introduction to this idea and it blew me away. Brian Weiss was a traditional psychotherapist and was astonished when, under hypnosis, one of his patients began recalling past-life traumas that seemed to hold the key to her recurring nightmares and anxiety attacks. Since then, I’ve read accounts of the thousands of people who have reconnected with past life experiences and how it has helped them understand why particular places or people feel familiar, as well as explaining physical and/or emotional challenges they’ve experienced. If you’re as fascinated by this as I am, click on the link above and check it out. Definitely an affirmation of the forever-ness of the soul.
SIGNS: THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF THE UNIVERSE by Laura Lynne Jackson
I had this in my “to read” book pile and when two different friends recommended it at the beginning of the summer, I knew it was time to start. It turns out, it’s been my comfort-reading since Okhee died, along with Francis Weller’s book. The author is a psychic medium who has the ability to connect with those who have passed over to the “Other Side” and she teaches others to ask for “signs” from them as well. I had my own experience with that the weekend after Okhee passed over… I was walking down Riverside Dr with my grandson and noticed a woman coming toward me with her dog. As she got closer, I saw she was wearing a Mt. Holyoke College t-shirt! Now, I have to tell you, in the almost 50 years I’ve lived in New York City, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve randomly seen a t-shirt from my alma mater on the street. We talked for a little bit and I loved that sweet, visceral connection to Okhee in that moment. Since then, I’ve been reaching out to my Dad who died almost 30 years ago… I actually gave him a copy of Many Lives, Many Masters and it was on his bedside table when he died. We’ll see what signs I get from him!
PAST LIFE REGRESSION with PETER ROTH
I’ve offered an introduction to my husband Peter’s services for many years in my New Year’s GIfts newsletter. He’s a gifted intuitive healer & counselor and offers a wide range of classes through his Heart River Center for Soul Growth. He’s also been able to tap into his students’ and clients’ past lives using his intuition, but more recently, was trained in guiding people through their own past life journeys to gain insight into their current lives. Both experiences (hearing what’s he’s getting and experiencing it yourself) are so powerful and illuminating. Reach out to him if you’re curious.
THE INFINITY WAVE COURSE w/HOPE FITZGERALD thru the SHIFT NETWORK, starting 9/18
I’ve highlighted Hope’s profound work in my Deb’s Picks many times, most recently HERE. In addtion to being a wonderful spiritual teacher, author, and intuitive dowser, she’s also an end-of-life midwife… perfect for our theme this month. Not to mention, she’s at top of my gratitude list right now for sending that perfectly-timed book! So I’m thrilled she’s able to bring her powerful work with the Infinity Wave to the huge Shift Network Community. In her 7-session course, you’ll learn how to integrate this intelligent, high-frequency, energetic force into your life to accelerate your spiritual evolution and deepen your connection to others. Click on the link to register and make that commitment to your Soul’s journey.
I hope some of these Picks have inspired you to dive deeper in your own soul’s eternal journey, whatever that means to you. And as always, if you’ve got any other Soul-full events or resources to share, I’d love to hear them!
With mellow late summer blessings,
Deborah