Jessica Shepherd's Blog, page 7

I’d like to share a video of me and my best friend, Claire (from 7th grade!), as we unbox the Intuitive Energy Divination Deck, do an energy practice, and draw some cards for her question.

I had been feeling beleaguered, listening to way too many external ideas from “out there,” about how to market the deck.

So, when Claire excitedly texted me to say her deck had arrived, I recognized I’d been wanting to have a shared experience around the deck, and suggested we Zoom and record an unboxing and card draw.

It was so much fun! It reminded me of the power of *only* doing what I enjoy. I want to have as much fun sharing my work as I do creating it. Which means, for me: not engaging in the Influencer mentality. There is nothing inherently wrong with social media; it works for some. But, for me, when I get on social media or try to follow the marketing formula, I feel so badly… I know it’s not in alignment.

Last week, I spoke to a Millennial who said she thinks her generation is hooked on being instant experts, influencers, and popularity, and she doesn’t think much of it has any substance. She sagely said, to paraphrase, there’s nothing wrong with taking your sweet time to integrate into who you are (she actually said this… which gives me such hope for future generations…YES!).

What blissful release, then, to let all that stuff go… and simply relax into what you enjoy.

The root of en-joy comes from Latin word gaudere meaning: to delight, take pleasure in, rejoice. Doesn’t this make EN-JOY sound just heavenly? 

What if your JOY & your PLEASURE is all you ever need to focus on?

What if JOY is the highest vibration you can add to the planet right now?

If so, then:

What would it feel, and look, like: if you made YOUR JOY central — allowing it to be the template for everything that matters to you?

…Would the conflicts you agonize over suddenly become crystal clear?

…Would hard decisions be easier to make — like, in a snap? 

…Would you finally allow yourself to relax into doing what you love?

…Would you finally let go of other people’s opinions, consensus reality, and would you stop making comparisons?

…Would you allow yourself to be more inward…feel free, blissful, Light and “on path”?

If you feel guilt around, or any objection, to this:

…Can you understand the principle of ONENESS: What is good for you is also good for all?

…Because you can’t do something that feels inauthentic, bad, out of alignment for you -and also- benefit others. Ever. No more martyrdom, self-sacrifice, care-taking other people’s feelings and experiences, catering to their wounds, etc. Nope. That will only bring ALL of us down.

(It just doesn’t work in that way. Mayyybeee that used to work, but in this new dimension of consciousness we are in, it does not.)

Friends, feeling good is my barometer for EVERYTHING. If I don’t feel good, I know: I’m either telling myself an untruth, or I’m in an energy that is dis-resonant, or out of alignment for me. I’ve come to recognize, feeling good is synonymous with: I’m in my Light.

Right now, there is nothing more important and vitalizing, for One and All, than to be in your LIGHT. This is how to add LIGHT to the planet.

And this always exponentially grows. The lighter I become, the more I am able to receive my Divine Self, my guidance, awareness, gifts.

I have a story within a story about this (which I relayed to Claire in the video). The day I went to the post office to mail the pre-order Intuitive Energy Decks to you, my first supporters, there was a new postmistress who I’d never seen before. Guess what her name was? JOY.

When I read her name, I just had to laugh. She affirmed the feelings I’d had about this work offering JOY to all who receive it.

Of course, my experience of mailing the decks to you, which I had been a bit nervous about (I’d never done a mass mailing like this, before, and to different countries), was A PLEASURE. So EASY. I experienced no lines or obstacles. I say this because I know this is how it all works: When you allow your joy to lead, life gets so much easier. Not only is it a pleasure for you, things just tend to work out in your favor. 

Just for a day or two, try placing your pleasure and your JOY as the North Star of your compass; allow ONLY what feels good and right to you to guide your every decision. Then, watch what happens. Real Magic can occur when you finally allow JOY to be your guide.

Here’s to an enjoyable week for each and All!

The post Intuitive Deck Unboxing (video) & Joy! appeared first on Jessica Shepherd.

You can’t solve a problem with the same mindset in which it was created. -Spirit, to me, this morning

The perception of a problem is the problem – Rescue card, from the Intuitive Energy Divination Deck

We are definitely living in odd times, right? We have been in constant change for so long. With things moving so slowly and strangely, sometimes it’s hard to know where to put our intentionality and dedication, and what area to focus our magnificent ability to co-Create towards.

Here are some messages I received about this:

…Sometimes the Work is becoming completely aware, and then letting go, of old conditioning. Conditioning that caused, or still causes, us to veer left when a right would’ve felt better for our Soul, so we can move unencumbered and free into the next phase of our evolution. The Work is seeing where we are in judgment, shame, guilt, inauthenticity, doubt, self-criticism — to develop awareness around where we are stuck in untrue assessments of self, others, life.

…Sometimes the Work is remembering and integrating our Divinity, aka our Authentic True Self, into our daily self-awareness. The eternal Light aspect of us who lives in solution, who is unencumbered and free, always. The playful one who remembers her identity as Love and knows that when she is in alignment with her Soul, she can and will create, and solve, anything. This Divine True Self IS rooted in Abundance. She knows lack, of any form, is not a creative force for change. If we are in a mindset of lack, judgment, or anything other than the Light and Peace that we are, we are not creating; we are only replicating old/untrue conditioning– that same stuff keeping us squarely where we are.

…Sometimes the Work is calling forth whatever is needed in THIS moment, like: Patience, Curiosity, Creativity. I was talking with a healer-friend about the changes we’ve all been experiencing over the years. I said, “It’s difficult to know how to move forward when the old structures and ways we used to do things just aren’t in place anymore.” She agreed, adding: “Everything is moving more slowly now than it used to.” We both spoke to one another about how the varied healing practices we’ve learned and practiced over the years have evolved as we have; now, we are in this place of being open and curious about how all we already know will re-form and reintegrate. We also noticed that throughout this time it’s been pivotal to do creative things- to keep revitalizing and recreating our 2nd chakra energies with fun & play. This Work is being grounded, rooted and centered in the Present –in touch with the Divine Next Step.

…Sometimes the Work is Radical Self-Care. This is often the case for healers and sensitives. We are givers, and over-givers. We are so aware of everything that it is hard to turn it all off. We get depleted, tired and burnt out from always being “on.” We must refill the well more frequently than the average bear and offer ourself next level radical self-care that may sound outrageous even to our own minds. Good self-care is the Work we do on ourself to stay clear, well-rested, nourished and feeling good.

In a nutshell: The Work is always only about undoing what’s keeping you from feeling good and okay. It is: Getting out of your own way.

And, all this can only happen in the smallest moments of our days; the way we notice our internal dialogue, or don’t.  The way we attend to an ache or symptom, or ignore it. The way we shine light on our subconscious, habits, projections. The Work is Awareness.

~The Work of Awareness is worthy in and of itself. It is not beside the point; it is THE entire point. Of everything.~

It is not a hurry up and get there so you can get over there and finally have that type of thing.

You don’t get “there” any faster by allowing your Ego conditioning to tell you that you are not where you want to be (that slows you).

The Work takes a level of focus and dedication that will likely require most if not ALL of your extra energies. So be good to you!

And yet it’s easy to ride roughshod over the necessity of this Work, to tell yourself it is secondary to a more *important* goal or desire.

I remember when I began working with my Teacher in 2016. At the start of every session, for years, my burning question was always, “what should I do about my calling in the world?” – which felt very much up in the air. I was changing, and this made me feel insecure, and the calling was the “problem” my Ego identified. Yet despite wanting to talk about it, we never got around to it. For years, we sort of circumnavigated it, walked around it like the perimeter of a big mountain. And guess what? By getting to know everything else that was around and beneath this mountain – it’s landscape, the conditions it was exposed to while growing, current conditions, what grew underneath, what made it what it was, what moved the mountain, what flowers and weather it enjoyed, who and what it loved… what began to happen instead was this deeper Inner Work surfaced, and revealed itself to be vital—everything I’ve been sharing with you.

That was a (massive!) lesson for me in letting go of the Ego driven goal-orientated striving we are culturally taught, and instead allowing a bigger perspective to organically emerge over time. In fact, living in Hawaii has similarly taught the value of slow meandering.

The next time you have a hurry-up thought like: “why am I not there yet?” or “why am I not having the life/answers/experiences I want to have yet?”, I invite you to consider any or all of the above. Instead of reverting to old mental conditioning revolving around lack, or anything else you’ve been telling yourself about yourself or your life, how would it feel to simply allow the above to be True for you? Would you feel better? Peaceful? Okay? Good, even? Could you actually be okay with being exactly where you are, right now?

When I allow myself to fully be in the Work of Awareness, everything else falls away. The “thing” I think I’m so hungry for, the thing I think I’m pursuing? I forget about it. Doesn’t matter when I’ve peeled back another layer keeping me from Peace -or- I’m now even more aligned with my Divinity -or- I’m giving myself blissful permission to do something yummy, fun or soul-nourishing.

I know the answers my Soul seeks will eventually arrive from clearing all the obstacles and untruths to receiving those Answers.

Remember:

You are a magnificent being who is remembering her True Identity as Light, Love, Peace, Acceptance, Ease and Grace.

You are living within a larger Consciousness that absolutely requires ever more patience, curiosity and Grace With What Is.

It isn’t easy to investigate limiting habits of relating to your Self, your Divinity, but it is worthwhile, meaningful, rewarding Work.

Only by re-centering in Light and letting go of old conditioning –all that is untrue– will the new answers you are looking for emerge.

P.S.: I created the Intuitive Energy Divination Deck to offer myself more Ease, Peace, Permission, Support and Grace within my own True Self unfolding. If you resonate with what I’ve shared here, you, too, will certainly feel supported by this magical deck!

The post What Now? appeared first on Jessica Shepherd.

There are so many ways to get distracted by our daily struggles
To give in…to frustration and emotion
To the energy in motion we, or others, generate
To capsize, just when we finally get our boat to float
When, after days of going nowhere fast, we finally catch wind
Only to wobble, then topple over
Because we found another hole or tear in our tattered sail

There will always be another inconvenience
Another limitation
Not enough time, energy, money
Another shortcoming or shortfall
A feeling of falling short
There will always be another personal weakness to address
Another symptom
Another misperception to correct in our Self
This ALL holds true

This doesn’t have to create a full stop
The journey can continue
perhaps this time, though, with less perfectionism

This, then, is permission to not be perfect
And to move forward anyways
When you are tired, bleary-eyed and not at all your best
When the wind is not at your back
When things are seemingly working against you

At that moment when you begin to question your abilities,
when you are taking inventory of all you feel you cannot be, or do
or all you have not yet been,
because…because…because…it has happened in this way so. many. times. before.

Stop.
Give yourself a break.
This is not your Identity. The suffering is real enough but it is not the Truth.
It is this difficult…somedays…yes, it is
Yet you can feel the struggle when you are in it, and then you can let it go when you are not.
You have this power: You can set it down.
You can move forward, unencumbered in yourself, without the albatross of perfectionism weighing you down,
that dark shadow causing you to believe that because you are not, right now,
or because you couldn’t, yesterday, you cannot ever. No, not ever.

Leave the past where it belongs: Back there
You do not have to bring it into this moment, or the next
Just because it happened once, or a hundred times, before doesn’t mean it will happen, again, today
You get to be right here, right now, fresh and new

And you get to be you: Perfect You
With your questions and unsolved mysteries
With all of your: weaknesses and struggles and oh my god the inescapable stories your mind generates
You get to be tired, make mistakes, be unpolished, incorrect, and messy
You get to be the student, the one who is making it up as she goes along

You also get to be Wise One, the True Self, who surprises you now and again
You get to be the playful Sprite who springs to life when the Inner Critic silences
You get to discover new ways to play, relax and nurture your Spirit
And when you discover a Grace you hadn’t known existed within you, Yes, YOU…

You get to be a Goddess

Without dark clouds of perfectionism overshadowing, you get to receive your own Light

Your struggles do not diminish your Light
They allow You to shine in that certain pattern and way
You are the potter who learns to work with the clay it’s been given,
and what ails you, plagues you, refuses to leave you alone… gives your life its specific work, shape, focus

Your struggles give rise to the kind of Art that only you can make

So be messy
Speak aloud
Stumble over your words
Take the risk
Then, change your mind: If you don’t like what you’ve created, do it over again

This, then, is permission to not be perfect
Decide to do that thing that you’ve been wanting to do
In spite of not being …rested/clear/ready/perfect/… enough
(YOU are enough)
Do it anyway

Artwork: Card from the Intuitive Energy Divination Deck: SHIPPING NOW! Click here to order.

The post Permission To Be Imperfect appeared first on Jessica Shepherd.

When culture does not nourish you
the Soul’s food can only be gotten by standing apart
away from
at the edge of the forest, solitary

when the sense of Belonging,
that arises from kinship with the world around you,
crumbles
when the places and faces you find yourself in, around
cannot see or hear you
because they cannot reflect what they don’t see in themselves
you feel adrift
estranged from
a stranger in a world of strangers

slowly, then, now
it is necessary to re-member yourself
back into the fabric of Existence,
for which you are so required
so needed and wanted

it is time to re-member who you are,
to whom, to what, you truly belong

you belong to the words, the images,
the flowers and trees
you belong to the waters of whatever moves you,
whatever needs you
what calls your heart closer
what draws you toward it, in joy
you belong to the riverbeds and forests
and volcanos of your imagination

you belong to what calls your Soul onward

your Calling is tied to your sense of Belonging in the World
You Belong to what Calls Your Soul
and, if you do not follow what truly calls you, you will not feel you belong

take your time with this precious self re-member-ing

because this is not what you have been taught
purpose and meaning measured by how you fit into what’s already here
a master template created for only a small few
this is why you feel so alone, so sad, lost

your purpose, your Calling, is to bring water
to whatever is dry, parched, dying
to give eyes to those who cannot see what you do
to give ears to those who cannot hear what you can
when so many do not notice: “I notice” is manna
when so many do not see: “I see” is visionary
when so many are distracted: “I am here” is angelic
to offer yourself, then,
-as a Soul Poet, Healer, Artist, Writer, Mother, Lover, Feel-er-
to the Beauty of the World
and to Recognize Your Self as necessary to it’s very Being

Stop waiting for the Invitation.
It will not come. It will never arrive.

You are not Cinderella

This, then, is how to Belong to the World again:
You must claim your place in it.

So.
You don’t chop off your legs to fit into a round hole that has been ready-dug for you to whither and die into
instead, you bend your body with the riverbed
because this is what fits You
You say, over and over: NO. I will do it like this…
You lay with the Stars
You practice Night Vision
and when you do, you give water to the parched and starving
to those who Soul re-member through you
most vitally, you choose to serve your Soul
you make your Divinity –your Truth– your Master

Claim it now: I am a Poet of the Soul
I am a Lover of Beauty
I am essential to the Soul of a World so thirsty
for what I have:
gifts that hard edges and forests and night terrors and wounded creatures and salty tears have given me

Your Place in the True World- the Real World- requires you to claim it

it is not given, a reward for obedience and acquiescence and dis-member-ment
(you do not want that world)
it is born of making friends with that particular Darkness of yours,
of rejection, abandonment, different-ness, and pain
all that is unwanted and unloved
all the untrue world refuses to acknowledge as valuable and True
and letting it breathe and move through you, as your very lifeblood
allowing it to create… nourish…enrich…take you to new places

to break from the untrue world that forgets anything it cannot use and then discard
you must decide to stop doing to yourself what the world does to you
-de-value your: pain, seeing, knowing, feeling-
you must decide to stop criticizing, holding back,
stopping yourself right when you are on the brink of genius adventures and discovery
You must decide to stop gaslighting your own sensitive Awareness
Your deeply feeling, knowing, Nature
You must decide that you will not be used, and that you will not go away

say this instead, know it in your viscera, feel it in your bones:
Darkness has given me Everything that Matters 
gifts, abilities, perceptive insight, knowing, a certain gentleness, compassion
ability to behold Everything in Truth
this leaving nothing out, nothing in the shadows,
this embracing of what’s strange
Darkness has given you this

stop cursing the Blessing
honor. the. gifts.

Right here and now, make the ground on which you stand
Sacred and True
“I Belong because I Exist”
I Am called to creatures, tress, moonlight, Truth, and All of Beauty
because
my very noticing
my very seeing
is necessary for All of Existence

Do this, and you will see that you are
and have always been
held,
connected with,
apart of,
and necessary to
beautifully woven into the fabric of the Universal pattern Itself

Do this, and you will stop looking for water where there is none
Be determined:
You will find your own water
You will know exactly where to find it exactly when you need it

Do this, and you have finally stopped hesitating and waiting… for validation, recognition, belonging
you have simply stopped. waiting.
for you have deemed your Soul’s work Necessary and True
and you have firmly, decidedly, claimed your Sacred Place in the World

Right now: Call yourself back into your Calling,
into loving all that you Love, with reverent abandonment
bless Darkness as Teacher, gift-giver, Awareness
bless your Self
and allow Conscious Universe to welcome you into the greatest sense of Belonging you will ever know

The post Your Place in the World appeared first on Jessica Shepherd.

This week, I was prompted to share a message from Spirit in a new medium – as a recording. On a personal level, even though over the years I’ve recorded hundreds of tracks for clients, lectures, and audio books, audio often feels less smooth for me than writing, and I feel more inclined for my conditioning to kick up. Yet I was encouraged to do it anyhow. So, if you are empathic and pick up on any of my insecurities, say “this is not mine” to release them. 

That said, please enjoy this 21 minute audio message. The first 11 mins. is a leisurely guided reconnection exercise for tuning into your Awareness, followed by a Spirit message for us about how to feel more actively supported by Divine Consciousness right now.

 

https://www.moonkissd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/We-Are-Here.mp3

The post “We Are Here” appeared first on Jessica Shepherd.

This week, I was prompted to share a message from Spirit in a new medium – as a recording. On a personal level, about the audio recording, even though over the years I’ve recorded hundreds of tracks for clients, lectures, and audio books, audio often feels less smooth for me than writing, a little more wobbly, and I feel more inclined for my conditioning to kick up. Yet I was encouraged to do it anyhow! So, if you are empathic and pick up on any of my insecurities, say “this is not mine” to release them. 

That said, please enjoy this 21 minute message. The first 11 mins. is a leisurely guided reconnection exercise for tuning into your Awareness, followed by a Spirit message for us, right now, about how to feel more actively supported by Divine Consciousness.

 

https://www.moonkissd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/We-Are-Here.mp3

The post We Are Here appeared first on Jessica Shepherd.

When my 8-year-old niece came to visit last month, we took her to one of Oahu’s top snorkel spots; the ocean life is magnificent there (we had even heard several people talking about seeing an octopus). A natural mermaid, she had just seen the movie My Octopus Teacher and so was beyond excited. Yet when it was time to get in, she became extremely frustrated at being unable to put on her snorkel mask.  She wanted so desperately to get underneath, and breathe.

(Don’t we all?!)

Bless her, she was trying so hard, but something wasn’t working for her. Meanwhile, an upset catch in her throat, she began saying “I can’t. I can’t. I can’t do it.” She was crying now. Her little body sitting on the shore, miserably struggling with the contraption.

I felt so much compassion for her. I well-knew that angst. The feeling of futility, desperation, that arises when you are deeply suffering from the belief that what you want and need is out of reach.

Have you ever had moments days, weeks, or years of feeling forgotten by Source/Spirit/God/Divine Aid/Protection/Help?

…felt like no one is listening — no one is hearing your prayers?

…that answered prayers are as rare as receiving a message in a bottle?

One of my Ego’s wounds (to my Spirituality) is believing Spirit isn’t here for me. Even though I’ve made leaps and bounds of progress here, it can creep back in when I feel overwhelmed by a potent cocktail of intense energies and bodily pain. It creeps in when I’m at my most vulnerable. The feeling is: I need help! True enough, yet it comes out like I’m pleading with Something/Someone for relief, relief that feels outside of reach. I feel abandoned, alone, scared that no one hears my call.

And when I believe this is true: All bets are off. I cannot clear energy, I cannot relax back into my Awareness, which always allows me to find the answers to my own questions. Everything I don’t want becomes magnified, and therefore much more uncomfortable. Most importantly, I realize, in these moments I deny myself my own co-creative powers to shift, release, change, transform.

This week, it crept back in. When I finally asked Spirit, through the cards: What’s going on here?! I pulled the Divine Intervention card. I’ve noticed, when I pull the Divine Intervention card, my relationship to my Divinity is up for re-examination; when I pull the Divine Intervention card, reversed, my relationship to my Divinity is up for re-examination -AND- I’m leaking energy around it. In my card deck, a reverse card is the equivalent of trying to ride a bike with a flat tire… which is no fun and really frustrating.

Then it began to slowly unravel and become clear… Oh, I’m in the unconscious conditioning of believing that I’m being denied Divine help, aid, relief.  I’m believing that God/Spirit/Source is outside of me. I have forgotten who I AM.

What a blessing it was to receive this reminder! It took a few days to recenter my energies. As I began to reframe that help I sought as my own Divine Awareness, I did a spontaneous energy practice. To really feel the I AM in myself, I said “I AM here,” at each body part, head to toe. I felt the energetic difference between the pleading Ego; that part of me that was hurt & believing herself to be alone, abandoned by God, essentially -AND- that of my own Divine Presence & Awareness which, Spirit reminded me, “doesn’t your Divinity feel a lot like the Presence of the sweet dog Magnus sleeping next to you?”—quiet, peaceful, just here. I sank into it and realized I could hold both comfortably. The combination of doing these two things: making the cognitive shift -AND- doing the energy practice, along with time, patience, self-compassion and grace, finally shifted me back to GOOD.

In fact, at one point while sitting in this dichotomy, my Ego, not entirely convinced that Spirit is always working on my behalf even when I am distracted by mental conditioning and cannot see it, sort of complained “but how can I be sure I will KNOW?” The phone rang at that moment. I “just knew” (a) it was my husband and (b) his call was to remind me it was time to get up and go to the pool, lest I miss my moment of opportunity (the window for my hobby, swimming, during pandemic times, is fairly limited and tricky). When I answered the phone, John said: “I don’t know why I called… I just had the urge to say hello.” I replied, “I know why.” When I showed up at the pool, and the lifeguard said to me, “Lane two just now opened up for you…” I thought, well, yes, of course it did.

This is how INTUITIVE KNOWING is actually our Divinity, and how, when we get distracted, the world chimes in to help (Oneness).

It’s true, often, in the moments we need help we forget to actually Ask for help. Articulate the specifics. Ask ourselves “What do I most need right now?” and put it out there to Spirit. Instead of fretting and angst-ing about, get a little more determined about having an answer. That’s one message of the Divine Intervention card. But, turned another way, this prism-like card shows multiple facets.

…because sometimes we can “plea” and not really believe anything is going to change, right?

…because sometimes we can think we’re asking for help, but we’re really complaining – stuck in an old wound, right?

…Sometimes it’s about the relationship we have with Spirit,True Self, our very Divinity, and Oneness — All are One and the Same. 

When the above statement becomes shaky for me, when I don’t feel in my Knowing & Power – when I don’t trust in my own ability to move mountains, answer my own questions & problems, in my ability to KNOW what I need to KNOW, and -given patience, time and a little grace- to feel at Peace … it’s always about my relationship to my Divinity. I need to realign into the Truth of who I am.

My niece figured it out. Her mom and I soothed and sat with her, until, after some long minutes, she came up with the answer, “Maybe I will just use the goggles, like I do when I’m swimming.” And voila! We went from being on the precipice of a ruined beach day, to swimming into the deeps and seeing some beautiful fish. She loved being out there so much she didn’t want to leave.

I was so inspired by her. We didn’t figure it out for her; she figured it out on her own. With patience, time, compassion and levity (honestly, a few poop jokes!), she solved her own problem. From the mouths of babes, as they say. THIS is how we do it: We ask our Soul to sit with us – our wounded Ego, our misperceptions, our angst- to hold our own little hand, until we figure this s*** out.

—And guess what? I figured it out this week, too.—

This is WHY I created this deck: to call forth my own Divinity, my own power, ability, awareness, knowing…

And why I wanted to send this to you, in case you need it. Are you feeling like: No one is hearing your prayers? You can’t get ahold of the soothing and relief you need? That help, or anything you want and need, is outside of your power?

If so, this is your reminder: Help is here and available for the asking.

 

 

 

Card 43: Divine Intervention

Help is here and available for the asking.

When we are afraid or hurting, it is easy to think we are alone in this life. In Divine reality, which is the True reality, we are in eternal connection, so intervention from the Spirit world is occurring constantly and is always available to us. Are you feeling afraid, alone, disconnected from the experiential knowing and total trust in the Divine Plan for you, and for everyone? Are your human troubles and fears understandably distracting you from placing your trust in the perfection of life and Source? Did you temporarily forget that everything is unfolding in perfection and love? Is fear obscuring your connection, making it hard for you to know “what to do”?

The appearance of this card suggests it is time to align with your Divinity, Spirit/God/Goddess, All That Is, and to call on helpers, or the spiritual help you need, like: Grace, Trust, Faith, Peace. All are available to you for the asking. Get grounded, rooted, and centered. Sincerely ask to experience and deeply know perfect Faith, Trust, Peace, and Grace in this situation. Call it forth. Then wait. All emotions are temporary energies, but just like strong weather, intense emotion can distract us from our inner listening and knowing. We can forget our own wisdom and find it difficult to listen inward. However, even amidst the strongest of distracting emotions, if you can locate just a thimble full of trust, one iota of Light, you will energetically be back online and able to access your intuitive guidance. Decide, right now, that you are back online, that you are Peace, and you will begin to feel the Peace that is yours. Then, your next step will become intuitively obvious, without any hesitation or doubt. Call it prayer, aligning with All That Is, or remembering the I AM, it is time to re-center into this Truth: you are Love. All is perfection. And Spirit has got your back.

Symbol: Message in a bottle on a beach. Sometimes it feels like no one hears us or is listening. That answered prayers are as rare as receiving a message in a bottle. Divine Spirit, no matter how far away you perceive it to be, is right here and now, and your acknowledgement of this allows your concerns, worries, and hopes to be gently carried on the sea of Love directly to your Source Self. Sand symbolizes broken down barriers and obstacles; allow your fears to melt, give them over to Source. You are both message and bottle, the questioner and the answer to your own prayers. Re-center your faith on this: what your Soul most desires is about to happen for you. A solution will arrive soon, perhaps on a beach near you!

…This deck is so *magical*! I’d love for you to have this magic on hand, for yourself. Preorder your copy of the Intuitive Energy Divination Deck right here (linked).

The post Divine Intervention, Reversed appeared first on Jessica Shepherd.

I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by an online site called MysticMag.com based in South Africa. While it primarily advises users on psychic services, something I typically don’t resonate with, they also do a great service by introducing their audience to a variety of healers and healing modalities on their blog website. The questions asked were personal and conversational, so answering them was really fun for me. If you’d like to get to know me a little better: What has, and continues to shape my perspective; the health practices that keep me feeling good and okay; learn more about my latest creation, the Intuitive Energy Deck; and my love for writing — please read on. Enjoy! You can also find this interview posted at their website linked right here: https://www.mysticmag.com/psychic-reading/jessica-shepherd-interview/

 

Where did your spiritual journey begin?

 

It began at age seventeen when I became very ill with a condition that defied explanation or diagnosis from the medical community. I began seeking alternatives; thus began the journey. The years spent in isolation, the confusion and discomfort I experienced, introduced me to many interesting things, including astrology –which eventually became my writing muse, and I came to practice professionally for several decades. I was fortunate to encounter exceptionally brilliant healers and teachers who have been drawn to explore unusual modalities, quite different from mainstream thinking. The theme of exploring answers to perplexing questions proved lifelong.

 

Why do you think people struggle so much to trust in themselves?

 

This is an excellent question, which you have also just answered! In a nutshell, conditioning – cultural, social, familial. From an early age, we are taught to question, doubt and therefore to struggle and act against ourselves. If we learn to not trust our authentic responses – that how we really feel, like and desire, is not okay with the people, or culture, around us – we are essentially conditioned to make choices that at best resist, or at worst act against, the Truth of who we are.

You can see how problematic this becomes. As an example, imagine being told in verbal and nonverbal ways from caretakers that your way of perceiving, essentially, your way of being in the world, is different and therefore, wrong or bad. Maybe you are more: sensitive, intelligent, aware, developed, than average, and that is not allowed or honored in your environment. Maybe you are more inward, creative, intuitive, psychic… whatever it is. Then, it comes time to make a key decision in adulthood, like taking a leap into your true calling, and your conditioning tells you to not do it. Or your conditioning judges it, says you are not enough this or too much that. Or your conditioning tells you it is wrong to feel what you feel, think what you think, be who you are. Shame is crippling and so insidious. It can entirely change your relationship to your Self.

The healing then is coming back into a good relationship with the authentic self, the Self who is, on an ultimate level, unaffected by the conditioning; the Self you are and have always been. Once you do this, a spontaneous sort of self-trust, and trust in life, naturally arises. You discover that you do have the ability to know exactly what you want and what you’re all about. You discover that you have the answers to the questions that bother and cause you stress.

 

How does one reconnect to ‘Inner Guidance’?

 

It’s funny, I recently received a message from Spirit about this. Spirit said: Guidance. We’re past that word now, aren’t we? Let’s use Awareness instead. Ha! How I interpret this is: language is heavily laden with conditioning, too. The word “guidance” is often associated with seeking something outside of one’s Self, or an external role (guidance counselor, for instance). And people seek psychics and fortune tellers for all sorts of reasons, but primarily they are looking for guidance which they perceive is located somewhere outside of their own knowing.

I’m going with Spirit on this and suggest we think about guidance as awareness, because that’s all it really is. We all have it; awareness is available to any and all of us. It is ordinary and not magical – which is how we often think of people who have access to expanded awareness. It certainly can expand or contract, depending on various factors, but in those moments we most enjoy, awareness is vast and blissful, and connects us to our Self-Source of All-Knowing.

Our ability to “know” is never denied us, but as I said earlier, conditioning can interfere with reconnecting. If we think we can’t receive guidance, we won’t. If we have a sensitive awareness, due to conditioning we may interpret uncomfortable bodily symptoms, for instance, as proof we are flawed or broken. That conditioning prevents us from accessing knowing. In Truth, the body is an amazing vessel for intuitive guidance… as the saying goes “the body doesn’t lie.”

It’s vital to understand how we block our ‘Self’. It also helps to have a practice, a container for reconnecting. For me, awareness begins with slowing down, reconnecting inwardly. I do a practice called ground-root-center at least several times a day. This helps me to become present, to be here in my body. Once I’m really here, inwardly connected, I can sense into areas of congestion, tension and ask to release any external energy from my field. Since I’m empathic, much of what “I feel” is not mine, so a big part of reconnection, for me, is coming back into my own energy field. Then, I progressively become more aware of other aspects of myself: maybe something bothering me that I’d been ignoring, or something I’ve been wanting to do, or something my Soul wants me to know, surfaces in my awareness. After doing ground-root-center, if it hasn’t already been addressed at this point I might ask a question like: “What would help me with (X)?”. This is a reconnection and energy management practice that has a cumulative effect. The net result is increased embodiment and expanded awareness.

By the way, all guidance professionals – at least the good ones – have simply learned how to release their conditioning and be in a receptive state of Presence, without agenda or need to solve anything. Simple, but not easy — this is not to say it is easy to do, it usually takes great dedication. This is how true knowing, or awareness, or guidance if you will, arises from within.

 

What can you tell us about your Intuitive Energy Divination Deck?

 

Well, I love this deck! I really have fallen in love with it, throughout its creation, and that love continues to deepen and expand as I use it on a daily basis.

I created this deck primarily for myself. I was ready for more independence from my energy teacher of four years; I was ready to become my own Guide, but since my journey with her was very beautiful, but also harrowing and shattering in many ways, I was worried about my ability to offer myself everything that I would need going forward. One day around then, while walking the beach here in Oahu, Hawaii (where I live), I noticed I was symbolically interpreting what I was seeing. Debris and broken glass represented shame, the feeling of wrong-ness; a shell represented intuition, listening inward to Source. Symbolism has always inspired me. So, I decided to organize the energy practices and teachings I had been working with for these years, into cards. Once I decided to run with it, the words and their symbolic images quickly arrived. The physical production of it- the art and self-publishing it- was a bit more of a challenge.

It’s still in its preorder stage but those who have gotten to play with it have given me positive feedback. I had thought healers, intuitives, empaths, artists would most resonate with it, and I still do. However, I’ve realized it truly is for anyone who wants to have a relationship with their authenticity and Divinity, the Truth. My sister recently visited, and one morning, simply wanting to know what she might be aware of that coming day, she pulled the Commitment card. She said she didn’t understand what it meant for her at first, but because she had pulled that card, she noticed that for several days she’d been thinking about an obligation to fulfill upon returning and it cast a dark cloud over her sunny vacation. Working with the card, she said simply “I’d like for this obligation to work out in a way that is better for me” -which is the principle of invite and allow, when you truly invite Spirit to help, you allow magic to happen on your behalf… and it often does. Within hours she received a text message: Through no effort on her part this commitment had been rearranged so that it no longer negatively impacted her. The only thing she had actually “done” was open her self-awareness and invite Spirit in.

This encapsulates what I think is so unique about this deck. I think this deck is different from others because unlike tarot or other divination systems that can be a bit ambiguous or even silent about how to create more self-awareness on an ongoing basis. These cards are all about your relationship to your True Divine Self – how you’re relating to your awareness, how you can align with self-knowing & how to nurture this so you have the best possible experience in life.

 

When did you first start writing and how did the experience unravel for you?

 

As a teen and throughout young adulthood I was an avid diarist, journaling. I was never encouraged to write; it was a private affair for me. Then, when I began seriously falling for astrology around my Saturn return (age 28), and feeling it was part of my calling, I was so passionate about it I wanted to shout my knowledge from the rooftops. So, I boldly sent out my first lunation writings from my 9-5 job email, to unsuspecting friends and acquaintances who definitely had not opted-in! Luckily, people liked my voice, finding it lyrical, soulful, poetic… and that encouragement, and astrology, truly helped me find my more public voice. As one rebellious act begat another, around 2003 I began a blog website at www.moonkissd.com (which I’ve continued to this day). Eventually, I was hired to write astrology for various online and print publications which gave me the skills, support and ultimately the experience and confidence to write books. My writing has evolved so much over the years; as I’ve changed my writing has changed with me. For me, personally, writing is a joy and pleasure. I can lose hours, days… months to composing, editing, re-writing. At this point, I cannot imagine not writing.

 

How does (can) writing serve us?

 

There is one essential act that any of us can do to further our relationship to our own Knowing – listen inward. Writing is an awesome medium for inner listening to Truth.

You still need to sort out the mental conditioning, to understand who it is you’re having a conversation with, i.e., are you writing from guilt, shame, habit, judgment or Truth? Are you writing from your mind, and its biases and unclear perceptions? But at day’s end, writing is so good at even helping you see that in yourself… because you’re getting it out of your mind, and out of your unconscious mind, which is often hard to pinpoint, and onto a page you can look at, even touch. You can’t work with what you can’t “see” so in a very practical way writing helps us see invisible inner workings often difficult to catch. You get to see the contents of your mind, how it works, and as your most unconscious assumptions come forth you get to address them.

Writing can help you to resolve misperceptions in yourself. Writing can help you see that the story that we keep telling yourself about yourself, your life, is just a story that has no real identity beyond what you bring to it. Then, once that’s out of the way, you can write from these very beautiful places of Light and Truth. That’s what I’ve been experimenting with in my writing lately…just free falling into the Light inside myself and seeing what arises. It’s been deliciously freeing. I’m writing in ways that I don’t recall ever writing – at least not in this current incarnation! I share this on www.moonkissd.com and my newest website www.butterfliesandcoffee.com. I’ve also begun teaching how I do this, to others, so we will see where this leads as well.

 

Which healing modalities best resonate with you?

 

I manage my health mostly through a holistic lifestyle and practices; managing my energy with the practices like those above is key. I am an empath, and I’m very energy sensitive – to everything from environment to food to my relationships. I recenter and check-in continuously with myself about diet, supplementation, how the people I spend time with are affecting me energetically, as well as the small decisions I make throughout my day. I find it’s the small “ahhhh, it’s no big deal” decisions I make that most affect my wellness (actually they are a huge deal!) and most of these habits have to do with right timing, or noticing energetic boundaries. For instance, having that second cup of coffee in the right time. Or being honest with myself around whether I really want to be on a computer, go to this particular restaurant, watch that Netflix series, or talk to that friend, right now. Oh, I just got worried that if you’re reading this, and you’re my friend (!)…know it’s not personal, and it changes all the time. What doesn’t work today may (and often does) work tomorrow and vice versa. Since this affects my energetic field/health, it’s a serious wellness practice for me, lately, getting aligned with Divine Timing! Divine Timing, I’ve learned, is a reflection of where your Soul really wants to be doing and when your Soul doesn’t want to be doing something, if you’re a more aware being, you will feel badly.

With lifelong healthy practices in place, nowadays I often find that what I used to think of as a health problem, like a symptom, is actually an energetic one that can be cleared, or the result of a perception I am holding that something is a problem or issue. Sensitives, healers, empaths, we can get really worked up over our health… and my more mature perspective on health problems is that it’s normal for us humans to experience fluctuations in our bodies. There is so much change occurring in the environment, and energetically, all the time. Most often the remedy is offering our self the practical and compassionate support we need to work through it comfortably, like adjusting our diet or getting rest, excellent self-care, practices…and most of all noticing and refraining from conditioned thinking that “something must be wrong with me”.

When I have a pesky ailment that persistently bothers me, I take the question to Spirit and get an answer either immediately, or within days. I am my own Guide in this regard, too, as I haven’t visited a holistic practitioner in over seven years now, which is saying a lot since I have been actively managing several chronic health conditions since my late teens!

 

Please tell us about your books and where you found your inspiration?

 

Oh, all of my books have arisen from a deep question inside of me. A Love Alchemist’s Notebook: Magical Secrets for Drawing Your True Love Into Your Life was the result of thinking I was doomed to never have a soul mate relationship, and then figuring out how to prove that wrong (which I did!). Venus Signs: Discover Your Erotic Gifts and Secret Desires Through Astrology arose from the recognition that joy/pleasure is the template for everything good, and our relationship to our pleasure-loving self exponentially enhances our lives. Karmic Dates & Momentary Mates helped me to understand how short-term relationships, relationships of the kind that we want to continue but cannot, are actually part of our Soul’s plan for us.

Follow the Moonlit Path: Come Home to Yourself in the Astrological Fourth House was a bit different from the others. For years, the questions I had been asking became less about relating to others, and more about how I relate to myself, how at home I am inside me, how I foster a good relationship with my more inward, sensitive, self, which is reflected in the personal nature of the book. The publication timing of it was interesting. I published it a few months before this pandemic began. In hindsight, how prophetic this was! Humanity is certainly getting a crash course on being “at home”, physically and psychically — in our emotions, inner worlds, spiritually – at home within one’s self. This book offers perspective; to positively regard and embrace the inward, private, solitary nature, within, so I’m really happy it came through for this strange time.

 

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Several times during this Aquarius Full Moon past weekend I found myself standing under cold water. First, in response to listening to someone recall being in a lightning storm and empathically picking up on it; suddenly I felt electricity run through my body and it was so uncomfortable that I ran to take a cold shower. This, and grounding, helped. Second, full of mysterious congestion and sneezing (which can happen to me when I’m over-stimulated and overly tired), I asked Spirit what to do. I found myself in a cold shower, again.

Water therapies are well-known in integrative healing circles. Entire books have been written on it; water remedies are prescribed to cure ailments from insomnia to pain, and more. Cold water, specifically, has both a soothing and regulating effect on the nervous system; like hitting a reset button. In Hawaii, we are lucky to have waterfalls, which I’ve had the shocking pleasure & delight of standing underneath (pic).

Waterfalls and cold water therapies often find me all over again during transits with Aquarian energies. Aquarius is the water bearer; odd since it’s an air sign. However, water is renewing, and since this sign governs progressively moving from old patterns, traditions and into breakthroughs, new freedoms, this water sympathy makes sense. The sign rules waterfalls, natural springs and floods, all of which renew life. And, in the astrological calendar, liberator Aquarius follows the oft-endless seeming winter of Capricorn — a time of year when the stagnation breaks and icy water begins to melt and flow again.

If you are looking for a way to regulate or soothe your over-stimulated nervous system, waterfalls are amazingly healing in this way. Not to worry though, if you don’t have a waterfall nearby. I’ve found that you can successfully simulate one in your own bathroom.

Even though the full moon has passed and the Sun has now moved into Virgo, in the spirit of sharing wellness tools, this is an all-purpose one for your remedy/medicine chest. It falls into the category that many simple folk remedies do: It works, but because it is simple, it is easy to pass over and not do. You can use this for body pain, fatigue, insomnia and/or symptoms of an overactive nervous system – or any ailment that has a stuck, congested, stagnant quality to it. A good friend of mine frequently took ice cold baths when suffering from severe abdominal/menstrual pain. Anyhow, if you’re experiencing any of these, try and see for yourself!

Directions:

-shake a few drops of healing oil of your choice (I like lavender or eucalyptus) into shower basin

-let the water run as cold as it can, disrobe, and stand under it

-make a cup with your hands, catching the water, like the water-bearer, allowing the scent of the oil and the cold water to invigorate and awaken your senses (benefit: you may suddenly feel like a Goddess while doing this )

-feel the water enliven your muscles; try to stay in the shower for at least five minutes

-afterwards, only lightly towel dry. Lay your towel on the bed and air dry so you can continue to feel the invigorating effect of cool water on your nervous system. Though, if you want to sleep following this, you may want to wrap/warm yourself in a sheet.

 

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stop seeking perfection; it doesn’t exist
–even the perfecting of your own understanding

there is no “better than this”
better mother, lover, partner
more successful healer, teacher, friend
there is only: What feels good now to me, right now?

there is nothing broken in your life
nothing wrong with you, or another
there is only: This isn’t working for me in the way I like; what do I want to do about it?

there is no magic pill or formula
no cure for the Mystery that ails you
no explanation for the latest calamity- at least not one that will satisfy
there is only: What would comfort me? What do I need?

there is no reason for This
no meaning nor understanding to be had
no wisdom and no sense
there is only: Can I be okay with this? And if I’m not, how?

there is no comprehending the incomprehensible
no resolution for the nightmare still haunting your dreams, leaving your eyes wet upon awakening
for the unconscious memories that persist, long after leaving it all behind, long after you’ve healed
there is only: I am here now, and I am safe

there are no more spiritual lessons to be learned from this latest anomaly, practical setback or massive inconvenience
no karma to rectify
no more personal integration or inner work at hand
there is only: Can I be at peace with myself? And if I’m not, how?

there is no thinking your way out of this energy, emotion, “problem”
there is only a gentle loosening and softening of your insides, your tense muscles
a recentering into the stillness of your Being
and the humble and heartfelt prayer: I AM. Spirit, please show me the way…

…for you have been taught that when it doesn’t work, it is your fault
…you have been taught you are not enough, and to keep searching for enough
…you have been taught there is a reason and meaning behind everything, and to never rest until you find it
…these thoughts have made you tired, tangled, and afraid to see what’s Real and True

It is not your fault. Life has taught you to think; now it is time to FEEL

Untie yourself, child, let it all become loose and simple and Light again
there is no reason for any of this, no magic wand, no karma to resolve, no answer
there is only one question to sincerely ask, of your own Spirit: Can I Be Light? And then, Spirit, show me how…

-Jessica Shepherd, healer, author of Follow the Moonlit Path

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