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While I wine, my sister writes

Just a quickie update before I turn this space over to a guest poster.

I’m reporting now from Oregon’s wine country because I’m on a Girls Weekend with Lucy and Cheryl, two women I met the year we all lived in Japan. Thursday I also got to visit with my cousin and explore themes in our unfolding lives as children, women and parents. It’s been a weekend of reflection and rejuvenation, and I am having a marvelous time.

In my last post, I invited my sisters to share the path they took for their spiritual development. I’ve found it interesting that we three were raised the same way (in the Lutheran church) and ended up at the same place (what some would call New-Agey mysticism) but we took different paths to get there.

From my sister, Sheri:

I spent the first 30+ years of my life creating and living a life of illusion. I was following the path that had been laid out for me: college education, professional job, getting married, and having kids. As I took each step, it seemed like I was moving ahead, but in looking back, I realize that each step took me into a deeper trance-like state. It took the very emotional crises of divorce (which shattered the illusion) to get me to “wake up.”

This is when I discovered that I was very intuitive. This was the beginning of my “New Age” journey. Here’s how it happened:

The divorce left me feeling lost and alone. How could I be leaving my marriage? This wasn’t part of the story/illusion that I believed and yet it was happening to me. Out of desperation and curiosity, I heard about a woman who read tarot cards and scheduled an appointment. As she laid these foreign-looking cards on the table, she accurately explained what was going on in my life and how I was feeling. Through the reading, I found clarity and felt as though someone finally understood.

Although I didn’t know her before the reading, we became good friends – even though we are polar opposites. She later told me that I had a gift of intuition and could read tarot cards. At first I didn’t believe her, but we went to buy some cards for me. I hesitated, thinking that I would probably use them for a while and then they would sit in a box somewhere.

I found that I could read tarot cards and it helped me to get in touch with my intuition and my emotions. I wrote in my journal and noted what questions I had, what cards I pulled, etc. and I got pretty good at it.

One day I remember trying to communicate with a friend of mine. He couldn’t put into words what he wanted to say, so I summed up what I thought he felt. I was right on…and both of us were amazed. I asked him, “Can’t you tell what others are feeling?” He said he couldn’t. I realized I had been doing this my whole life. I could somehow feel other people’s feelings and identify/describe them – some times better than they could themselves. It’s called being empathic.

I started reading tarot cards for other people. In the beginning, I didn’t charge because I thought it was no big deal. It was a cool “party trick.” I was amazed at how accurate the cards were and how much people got out of a reading. Three years later I started getting paid to read cards. I did it on the side and didn’t talk about my hobby very much for fear that it would not be accepted.

My business cards for tarot readings now hang in several locations and I read cards as part of my life coaching business. I have even started a class on how to read tarot cards. People want to get in touch with their intuitive voice and the tarot cards provide a great tool in which to do so.

Tarot cards and life coaching go hand in hand. Tarot helps people discover what’s going on emotionally; life coaching takes their progress to the next level. As a life coach, I help clients move forward and keep them accountable and supported as they make changes in their lives. Life coaching is a bit more “main stream” and more generally accepted than tarot cards. Some of my clients prefer a mainstream approach, and with some clients, I use tarot cards as a tool. It just depends what feels right.

Before I “woke up,” I depended on my left brain to help me navigate through life. This would amount to listing pros and cons and trying to intellectually analyze what the right answer was in making a life decision. With the tarot cards and through my intuition, I have added my right brain into the equation. When there is a decision to be made, I pull out my tarot cards long before I even think about creating a spreadsheet to analyze the pros and the cons. I have found that my intuitive voice is much stronger and more accurate than my analytical, left-brained, logical side. Plus, it’s more fun to play with my intuition!

I guess the shock of the divorce, meeting my friend the tarot reader, and the emotional growth that came from the crisis of divorce opened my eyes to all of the possibilities. My empathic abilities and my tarot cards were the first steps on my intuitive, New Age journey.

Sheri writes a weekly column for her local newspaper, and I keep trying to get her to blog. If you think she should, shout it at her in the comments below.

Now, back to my regularly scheduled wine tastings…

12 Responses

  1. What a nice guest post! And such sweet comments from your mom! Oh, and yes to the blogging!We are considering OR wine country for our future home. Tell me that it CAN be sunny there?!

  2. I love reading the postings my daughters put out there for all to see. It gives me insight into their feelings, and makes me love and understand them even more than I always have. Although I don’t think I possess any of their amazing talents, I am intrigued by their abilities and find them fascinating women. And though I do not understand Tarot and therefore am pretty skeptical, I must admit I have seen Sheri in action and she’s right on. Is that Tarot or just good old-fashioned genetics and heredity, in particular great mothering? (That’s meant to be funny!) I know I had very little to do with this side of their personalities but all three daughters are awesome and I couldn’t be more proud! Keep searching, but most of all, keep sharing your insights with others. You all have so much to offer.LOVE

  3. great guest column, sheri. maybe that blog thing is right up your alley? I love the oregon wine country. drink some pinot for me!! mmm… ~luna

  4. You’re in Oregon and you didn’t email me! I so could have been your designated driver. Hope you are enjoying the vineyards and the past 2 days have been absolutely divine weather-wise! All for you 🙂

  5. Ooh! I love hearing from your sister and mom. What a fantastic family you all are. I’d read Sheri’s blog if she started one.

  6. Sheri! Wonderful guest post! Just think, if you started a blog, you could entertain comments from us hooligans all the time. Doesn’t that entice you? 🙂 Seriously, I really enjoyed the post and as someone who is a little lost on their own spiritual path right now, the insight.

  7. Luna — we’ll share one together in July!Mom! There was DEFINITELY a lot of great mothering involved. (But you also get the blame for all our shortcomings!)Amy — I did see about 13 minutes of sun…Mel, Gabrielle and Anna — thanks for helping me push Sheri toward blogging. Good ammo.

  8. Well done, Sheri. You’ve got me wanting to read more and the only way I can do that is for you to start your own blog. Wouldn’t it be great to know you could share your insights and experiences with Canadian strangers like me?I’ve gone through a similar experience over the past few years, although I’ve always known I am intuitive. But the crumbling of the life of illusion and needing something very painful to wake you up – I can so relate to this. For me, it was my job falling apart and my coming to terms with what infertility means for me and my husband. But I think these experiences, at their core, are the same. It’s great to read about others who’ve come through it all and who are thriving. So thanks for this post, and I’d love to know if you ever do start blogging in your own space.

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