Category: Your Own Spirit

Some of you may be familiar with applied kinesiology or muscle testing, as used by many alternative practitioners to get therapeutic answers on their patients.  But did you know that there are easy methods you can learn to do muscle testing on yourself – your higher self – to get yes/no answers to questions in your life?

If you already know about muscle testing and use it for self-testing kudos to you! – read no further.  But if you haven’t stumbled on this tool yet I strongly encourage you to take a little time to find and learn a technique you are comfortable with.  To do this, simply do a Google search or refer to Dr. Bradley Nelson’s book, The Emotion Code.

The technique I found extremely easy and objective right from my first use is called the sway test.  For this, all you have to do is stand in a relaxed stance with your hands at your sides, then ask yourself a straight-forward* and clearly-worded† Yes/No question.  If the answer from your higher self is a Yes you will sway forward slightly; if the answer is No you will sway subtly backward.  You can test this by stating ‘My name is ___________’ and inserting your real name which should make you sway forward.  Then make the statement using another name and feel the sway of ‘No’.

At this point I need to explain * and †.  Straight-forward means a question directly related to you and within your control, not an outcome involving other people.  For example, you might ask ‘Is it for my highest and best that I apply for the manager opening at work’ rather than ‘Will I get the job?’ which relates to the free-will choices of a number of individuals who have not yet made those decisions.  Clearly worded means being very specific.  You might say, ‘Did the softshell crab I ate yesterday cause the rash I have on my arms today?’ rather than saying ‘Do I have a problem with seafood?’

Muscle testing is a great way to inform your choices related to understanding and improving your health and well-being.  I know people who self-test in the store to determine if a product will be a problem for or helpful to them.  Unsure about why you had a certain emotional reaction to a situation?  Do some soul-searching and muscle test.  What about a book or course you feel guided to read or take?  Why not muscle test these to back up the intuitive insight you may be getting, which will also help you learn to trust your intuition.

It’s really one of the easiest and most versatile ways to tap into your higher guidance.  How can you incorporate muscle testing to better shape your life?

Life can be a real trial to navigate some days, even for the most spiritual person. When the world throws us a challenge, who among us does not feel a moment of inner panic, perhaps a racing heart or troubling thoughts, and mounting tension in our bodies? It doesn’t matter how spiritual we are; we are human, and human reactions will continue to be part of our experience. Granted, the person on the spiritual path has a foundation of serenity, connectedness and understanding of the bigger picture. But tools to regain our inner poise are important for everyone. Keeping our thoughts and emotions in a positive place is crucial to our mental and physical health, and to keep us moving forward and manifesting the life we desire. How then, do we regain our balance when life threatens to derail us?

What I would like to share with you are a few of the tools I use to shift my outlook when I recognize that I am emotionally off-balance.

• Deep breaths. Have you ever noticed that it is hard to remain anxious once you consciously take deep cleansing breaths and stop breathing shallowly? Build on this by adding a visualization of seeing calming blue energy enter your lungs with each inhalation.
• Stretching exercises such as Pilates or yoga. I cannot emphasize enough how effective a few key stretching exercises can be for releasing tension and getting your energy flowing. Stretching is my go-to for reducing stress; particularly holding a forward waist-bend (to reach for your toes) or downward dog, both of which relax the neck and shoulders. Stretches can be done anywhere, anytime and take only a few minutes.
• Cardio exercise. Getting the blood pumping using your chosen means of cardiovascular exercise can be just the thing to work out anxious feelings or restlessness.
• Music – one of the best mood lifters I know. Sing along to your favourite tunes in the car or while doing other tasks.
• Meditation. When I can find a quiet place and half an hour to spare, sitting in meditation with soft background music can do wonders, especially when I also call upon my Guides for assistance. They are always happy to help us with problems big or small.
• Phone a friend. Sharing a trouble to get some perspective is helpful, as long as you aren’t continually rehashing the situation and giving it energy.
• Enjoy a pet. Play or cuddle with the pet that is a member of your family.
• Get outdoors in nature. For me, walking in the forest is a sacred experience, and when sunlight is on me I can intuitively perceive my batteries being re-charged.
• Help another person. All of us have had the experience of feeling better when we put aside our own worries to assist another individual. Often the experience also puts our own concern in perspective.
• Use flower essences, as outlined by Machaelle Small Wright in her books, especially MAP (see Resources page) – I will speak more about this in a coming blog.

I hope you find some of these tools useful but as we are all unique it is important to learn the strategies that work best for you. What experiences put you more at ease or bring a smile to your heart and peace to your soul? Seek these those and have them at the ready the next time life throws you a curve ball.

I am not one to know and quote the Bible but one particular passage is very dear to my heart and resonates so strongly that I want to discuss it with you.  It is Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV version):

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

From the past seven plus years on this spiritual journey this verse is one of the most important truths I have learned, and one I wish everyone could fully appreciate and believe.  How many times have we desperately sought an answer in our life?  How often have you ached to really understand why something happened?  The societal view is that we may never know or we won’t have the answer until we get to the other side.  But what if I told you that any answer you seek with an open and pure heart will be brought to you? Any answer!

Maybe your question relates to a path for your life that has not transpired.  Perhaps you or someone you know has a health issue or serious disease or recently passed away.  And what about the meaning of life, and specifically the meaning of your life?  There are answers to all of these questions because the world is not random and chaotic but governed by Natural Law.  Once those laws are understood and you use your intuition and link with Spirit, the answers that come forth are astounding and yet somehow feel familiar and right (for more on Natural Law I refer you to Sandra Anne Taylor’s book Truth, Triumph and Transformation).

In my own life I have sought answers to big and small questions, and never been disappointed. Some of the big questions I have received clarity on include:

• Why did my husband pass away?
• What did I plan for this life (before I incarnated)?
• Who am I, on a soul level?
• What is my life’s mission?

Not insignificant questions!  Do you have clarity on similar aspects of your life?  I submit to you that such truths are entirely within your reach.  These big picture realities often reveal themselves to you slowly over months, as your knowingness and understanding grow.

Even easier to tap into are answers to the smaller questions of everyday living.  I might be searching to understand more about a particular subject, then find that a friend tells me about an experience, a book or a website that provides my answer.  I have struggled with a minor wellness issue, wondering what I should do about it, only to have a solution come forward in my thoughts in the following days which turns out to solve the problem.  I have even pondered where I would find an uncommon type of service, then had a van advertising this sort of service show up directly in front of me in traffic days later.

If you have been struggling with an important question I encourage you to seek, and to take heart and trust that the answer will be revealed to you.  But don’t forget to do your part.  Phrase a very clear question to your higher self and your Guides.  Keep your eyes, ears and mind open to the experiences that come to you, and weigh them with your heart (not just your logical mind) and perhaps in meditation.  And always recognize and express your gratitude to the Universe for the guidance you receive.  It really is that simple.

Ever since I began this journey I have wondered how I might simply summarize for another person how I have gotten from ‘A’ to ‘B’ these past years. How would I explain how drastically my beliefs, understanding and approach to life has shifted, in order for other people to potentially benefit from my experience?

First I need to define what ‘A’ and ‘B’ are in terms who I was and who I now am – let’s call them ‘Person A’ (the previous Sandra) and ‘Person B’ (the current Sandra).

Person A:

• Had no awareness of the spiritual side of life and was focused on the tangible world
• Made decisions based on reason without any understanding of intuition
• Was task-oriented and busy accomplishing, and so was uneasy if idle too long
• Could not seem to meditate despite several attempts because she wouldn’t wait for her mind to slow down…sound familiar?
• Thought that life was random and scary
• Didn’t believe there was any particular purpose to life
• Believed in some form of Higher Power, but
• Figured we could never really know the answers from this side of life

Then, unexpectedly, my husband passed to Spirit and in the devastation that was my life, I said to The Powers That Be:

1. I have nothing left so if you want me, please use me, and
2. Show me truth in EVERYTHING…about myself, about my life, about the world.

Little did I know that in that one moment I changed my entire life and destiny.  So began the most incredible transformation which I am only appreciating years later.  Fast-forward to today and let me describe Person B.

Person B

• Endeavors to look at every aspect of life from the spiritual perspective – my own soul growth and spiritually assisting those around me
• Makes decisions largely from intuition and Spirit guidance
• Realizes that ‘tasks’ aren’t that important and enjoys the quiet as times to refresh her own spirit and connect with the Spirit World
• Meditates or otherwise connects with Spirit every day
• Recognizes that nothing happens by chance; life unfolds based on natural law and we create our own future with our choices and if we allow it, in partnership with Spirit
• Knows that she came here for a specific purpose (so did you!) and is finally on that path
• Feels that she has unearthed answers to the many questions of life she had before her ‘awakening’ and is now in touch with that Higher Power

If any of this appeals to/resonates with you, I encourage you to make the same commitment to learning the truth about yourself and life, and working for a higher purpose.  Where does one start you may ask?

• Begin a regular practice of meditating or in some way consciously connecting with Spirit. Meditation brings peace, insights, and often experiences with Spirit. Going into that peaceful space regularly brings about the most amazing changes over time and is the key to your unfoldment.
• Perform a personal self-inspection and confront your less appealing qualities and actions (Caroline Myss, in her book Entering the Castle, calls these the reptiles) in order to put them behind you. This is not an easy or uplifting process – no wonder so few people embrace the spiritual path and look truthfully at themselves!
• Read about spiritual topics; whatever speaks to you at that particular moment in time. Reading is also a relaxing endeavor that takes you into that peaceful space.
• Grow your self-awareness and monitor your thoughts.  Thoughts are energy and are powerful so focus on the thoughts that make you and others strong.
• As much as possible try to remain in the moment, not the past or the future. Focus consciously on the experiences you enjoy and savour each moment.
• Ask Spirit to bring you like-minded individuals and look for opportunities to find new friends with whom you can discuss your spiritual journey.  Meetup Groups are an excellent way to find those in your community who are interested in the same things. Spiritual conferences such as I Can Do It and Celebrate Your Life are wonderful ways to expand your horizons.
• Build your connection to Your Guides and your intuition or higher self.  Talk to Your Guides and be open to the different ways in which They may answer you.  Ask yourself how you truly feel about a situation and feel out the answer.
• “Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone.” As you step outside your comfort zone, amazing things happen, and you will become more confident and comfortable with the new and uncertain.
• Allow Spirit to help you begin to see the world in new ways.

What are the other little ways you begin to change once Spirit’s influence grows in your life?

• You become a kinder, gentler person – with yourself and others.
• You lose the need to be critical of people and situations and make judgements about them, because you realize everyone’s journey is different and you cannot possibly understand what they have been through.
• You become happier within yourself and others notice this and are drawn to your (spiritual) light.
• You express your love more freely, whether it is showing those around you by doing little kindnesses for them, or even the love and care you express for your pets and other living things.
• You gravitate to being in nature.
• Your mind slows down and is no longer as busy – not just in meditation but all day long.
• You flow better with the rhythm of life, meaning you adapt to changes in your plans and unexpected events.
• You are grateful for all you have been given, and humbled by the beauty and magnitude of the spiritual plan and your place in it.

I hope you are well underway in your spiritual journey.  If not, I encourage you to take that bold step to a wonderful new you.

How many times have you had what seemed like an incredible set-back happen to you?  What did you feel in that moment?  Despair?  Anger?  Frustration?  Hopelessness?  What if I told you that those ‘set backs’ were not random, not just some luck of the draw?  What if they were orchestrated for a specific purpose that you cannot recognize at that moment?

Let me give you an example.  You are at the office, working diligently on some project that feels very important and to which you devote your full attention, as usual.  And then suddenly, for no apparent reason, disaster strikes.  Perhaps a lengthy email you were about to send vanishes or the file you are working on becomes corrupt and you have no backup.  Maybe it’s worse than that; maybe errors you made on a project cost you something – a promotion or even your job.

Would it help you to know that, even though it may feel like life is out of control, there is nothing random about it?  There is a bigger picture here being played out for your highest good even when you don’t realize it.  You have heard the expression about looking for the silver lining, trying to find something good in what is seemingly ‘bad’.  What if the silver lining were not just a way to see the situation as favourable – what if it were the whole point of the occurrence, and the seeming ‘tragedy’ of the situation really isn’t that?

These sorts of ‘re-directs’ (as I like to call them) from Spirit happen every day to individuals who call it bad luck.  But an ‘unfortunate event’ is often what it takes to push us in a direction we would never otherwise have taken but are meant to.  This new direction is there to lead you to brilliant opportunities, your true potential and the fulfilment you desire.  Most times we cannot see this at the time; we only know, for example, that we are suddenly out of a job and have a mortgage to pay.  It is in hindsight that we see that losing that job was timed perfectly for a new opportunity that presents itself, or to push us to take a chance and start that business we have dreamed of.

I am sure these re-directs have happened more times than I realize.  But certainly it happened to me twenty-odd years ago when being passed up for a key promotion was the push I needed to leave that career and take a direction I might otherwise not have considered.  Was that a push from Spirit?  Absolutely.  Did it prove to be exactly the right course of action for me?  Definitely.  But it sure didn’t feel wonderful at the time.

So the next time something ‘bad’ happens I encourage you, firstly, not to be hasty in applying that label, and then to dig deeper for what larger canvass is being painted by the events in your life.  What new adventure or opportunity for growth is awaiting you?

What is belief?  You humans think that to believe is to know something for certain but we say to you that belief is much more than that.  Belief involves knowing in your heart when something is true.  This is much different than knowing with the mind.  The mind wants to question everything; wants proof.  The heart says “I do not need to be shown.  I feel the truth of the matter in my bones and that is enough for me.”

Let us give you this example.  When a young baby cries and the mother says “I know what is wrong.  My baby is hungry” you may say that this is a matter of the mind of the mother knowing the patterns of the child and this can be true also.  But more often it is a knowingness on the part of the mother or what you call mother’s intuition.  Mother’s intuition is nothing more than the soul of the mother touching the soul of the infant.  You do this with each other all the time but do not recognize it.  Here is another example.  You think of a person and then the phone rings and it is them.  These things do not equate to a knowing with the mind but to a knowing with the soul.  Your spirit is much stronger than you think; it knows things you cannot possibly know by any other means.

We tell you these things so that you begin to pay attention to the little details that come to you.  Do not dismiss them.  Encourage them.  If you find that you have an ability to sense the emotions of others you may be an empath; one who absorbs the energy of others to read their mental state.  You must be careful not to do so unawares and take on their emotions as your own.

Belief and your intuitive senses are different sides of the same coin.  If you believe, you will continue to develop your intuitive senses, and likewise, as your connection to Spirit and your intuition strengthens, so does your belief in the reality of the unseen world – what you cannot perceive with your human senses.

In this way what first seemed incredible and impossible becomes the norm.  Knowing more than what others know becomes your way of life.  Soon you find that you solve problems and plot your way forward not with the head but with the heart.  Life becomes a flow of doing what feels right in any given minute whether it is what you had planned or not.  Can you live like this?  Can you truly put yourself in the hands of your own spirit and the spirit of those around you to be guided in an unseen manner?  This is our challenge to you.