When I was in my thirties, I lost a good friend. When I say I lost them, they didn't die or move away. They misused our friendship and I was left totally devastated. Not only did they hurt me irrevocably, they then lied to me, telling me that my extended family believed there was something wrong with me. We had been best friends for many years, and I was absolutely sure we would be lifelong friends. However, she had a perception of me that wasn't true to who I am. I may have once been that way, but we all grow and evolve. That's what life is all about. I embraced and accepted the changes in her, but she was unwilling to do the same.
Just lately (over twenty years later), she has been 'popping into' my head. In the last month or so, I have been wondering how she is, not to reclaim our friendship, but perhaps because there was a piece of me that wanted to heal the pain from our parting.
I was out shopping the other day and, while waiting at the bookstore checkout, I became 'present in the moment' and realised I was standing next to this friend of my past. As we chatted, I realised I had almost bumped into her about ten minutes prior. As I had come out of the post office, I almost tripped over a woman who had bent over to pick up her car keys. I had, on some level, noticed her necklace, but, because I was so lost in my thoughts and what I needed to do, I hadn't really taken any notice of who she was.
After we had finished speaking, we both separated a little to go to our respective cars. The third coincidence was when we discovered that we had parked right next to each other. Now, as you know, three is always a charm for me, and a sign that the Universe was assisting me in some way.
Although we didn't 'kiss and make up' and we didn't speak of the past, there was a sense of peace and closure when we parted.
As I drove away, I thanked my guides for allowing me to release the old emotions and pain from the past. It was interesting to note that the old anger I had thought I had forgiven and resolved came through as I drove home. I was surprised that they came from a place deep deep down, hidden away from my conscious thought. I listened to these feelings. I honoured them and then I released them.
Sometimes, when we see someone who has hurt us in the past, and allow those little knots to loosen up, we can move forward a lot lighter and freer. We don't forgive so the other person feels better. We forgive for our sake, because we don't need that extra weight within our energy field.

With love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx

There are times when I get interminably and totally exhausted. I feel as if I am dragging myself through waist high mud, and getting nowhere at all. My brain feels fogged and my eyes are heavy. When this happens I know that one of these things is happening:
1. I am tired (obviously)
2. I am about to receive a download of information, wisdom or perhaps important knowledge that will prove useful in the future
3. My body is asking me to stop making demands so it can do some intensive repair work or
4. There is a message or visual that I need to hear or see.

More often than not, it is a combination of all these things...and sometimes I ignore it. If I carry on doing what I am doing for a further ten minutes, the feeling disappears, the 'moment' or 'opportunity' passes and I return to my original energy flow. I assume we all do this. We feel exhausted or overwhelmed, but instead of taking time out to put up our feet or just 'be', we keep on racing around the place trying to get things done.

It took me many years to discover that some of my best messages and visuals happened when this feeling of tiredness came. It took me even longer to say: 'Here it comes. Everything else can wait. I want to be present for this.' And this is what I now do. Within 15 - 30 minutes, I feel invigorated and, if I had been suffering from any aches and pains, they are often not as strong as they were prior to this 'tiredness'.

In a world where resting is not encouraged and production is, we sometimes need to remember that our body needs rest to maintain good health; our guides and angels need us to stop thinking for a little while, so they can infuse us with healing, messages and love; our body is an amazing self repairing mechanism that does its best work while we are on 'pause' and that some of that divine wisdom we are a part of needs to download into our consciousness for later use.

Lets remember to be more aware of why our body is asking us to press 'pause', and remember that we deserve a 'power recharge' every now and then.
with love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx

Sometimes our negative thoughts can get in the way of enjoying life. As we allow our minds to dictate our energy, we can spiral into negativity, not realising that we are the ones creating everything that is happening around us. We begin to attract more and more experiences that confirm that life is not working for us and that we don't deserve to be happy.
A great way to help change our negative behaviours, words or thoughts is to have a stress-less box.
Now I find the best way to feel as if you are really investing in creating positive change, is to create a box. Decorate it in any way that you like, and as you do so, consciously think about how this box is going to change your life and the energy around us. The intent as well as the way you have decorated the box will help. Write a name on it, eg. 'Stress-less Box'. After you have finished, either cut a slot in the top, or ensure that you can take the lid off. I prefer to have mine tied with a ribbon, so that I am in the present moment as I untie it, open the box and retie it again. You will have your own way that works for you, so be sure to spend some times making sure your box resonates with you.
Start carrying around a small notebook and pen or ensuring they are in convenient places arond your home, in the car or at work.
Each time you feel a negative thought coming through. Write it down and put it in your Stress-less Box. (If you can't get to it until later, don't worry about it too much. The writing is just as important as putting it in the box.
While you are doing this, you are not just giving your worry away to your worry box, you are also living in the present moment; the place where you are creating your reality. You are distancing yourself from those thoughts, enough to acknowledge them and see them for what they are.
The important thing is not to define them, pull them apart or judge them. When we focus on the why and what, of our negative thoughts, we give them power. By writing them down and putting them in our box, we remove the power that they have over us.
It doesn't matter how many times we write the same thought down, or how many different ways we express it. Some thoughts will try to fight to survive, and this isn't about fighting them off. This is about allowing them to 'be', acknowledging them and then releasing them.
A stress-less box can take a few days or may months to help us let go of a limiting thought - the time is relative to the focused intent we have towards it, our motivation to change and how long we have been 'carrying it around with us'.
*Don't give up if you don't feel a change straight away - anything that is for our highest good is worth waiting for! You may not notice as your energy shifts, but, believe me, it will be!
When you feel ready, take that box , or its contents, if your box is wooden, metal or plastic, and bury it in the garden under a plant. This will show you that something good and positive can grow from those thoughts. Or you can burn it in a safe controlled place. If you choose to burn it, you can scatter the ashes somewhere that is relevant or important for you. You are not limited to how you dispose of your notes or box. You will know what works for you; what symbolises completion and what will give you an enormous sense of satisfaction.
*Burning it during a full moon is a great way to add emphasis to your release.
**There is no limit to how many Stress-less Boxes you have. If you feel the need to start another at any time, then repeat the process.

with love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx

I have been talking to a couple of people tonight about spirits, astral travel and crossing over. I am surprised at the amount of fear that was generated in the room about 'evil spirits' and hell

On a positive note, there was a consensus that ‘we have the gift of choice’ in our life journey while we are here on the earthly plane. However, I hasten to add that we also have the gift of life!

Coming to the earthly plane IS a gift – not everyone comes back when and if they want to. During our time here, we always have a gift of choice. We will have chosen specific lessons to learn within this lifetime, but we choose whether to do this functionally or dysfunctionally, living within our light or hiding within the shadow of who we are.

There are 7 levels of hell and 7 levels of hell: I personally don’t believe in heaven and hell. It is all about choice. We can make life here on the earthly plane as positive or as negative as we like – it is us that choose whether this life is hell or heaven on earth. I believe we go back to source when we pass, going back to the etheric, where all things are possible and we live in love and light.

Evil spirits goad us into behaving badly: I don’t like this idea at all. I feel it gives us an excuse, someone else to blame if we misbehave – and if this is true, where is our gift of choice that we first spoke about? I also struggle with the idea of ‘evil spirits’. Spirits are made up of energy, so whatever energy we project is what they absorb and reflect back. If we are in fear or another negative emotion, then it stands to reason that our energy is ‘spread around’ to other energetic forms. Have you ever walked into a room after there has been an argument and felt uncomfortable about the energy in there? Back to the point in question – we decide what we do, we have free choice, free mind…only we decide what to do, not some mysterious mini devil sitting on our shoulder.

Spirits will come and watch you in the bathroom/toilet: Now I found this amusing. If a person isn’t allowed to come in and watch you having a shower while they are alive, the chances are they won’t do it when they have passed over. What possible gratification would you get as a spirit, in seeing a naked body?

Most spirits are stuck: This is sooo not true. Most spirits have a choice. Some prefer to stay here for a variety of reasons, and that is their decision. We, as lightworkers should not feel obliged to help them cross over – after all, who are we to decide who should stay or go…its not about OUR choice, is it? Just for the record, when someone commits suicide doesn’t always get stuck either. The main thing that creates ‘stuck-ness’ for a spirit is a belief that they are not worthy, that they don’t deserve to go back ‘home’. The only person that judges us when we pass is US. It is not a jury, a judge or an all powerful and cranky entity. We decide whether we lived the life we chose and we know all the reasons why we and others acted as they did. It opens us up to see the many lessons we learnt or taught. However, if we feel we didn’t live true to our purpose, we can decide to stay…and that is when we light-workers can help them to ‘see the light’ and go home.

Spirits can go through your stuff: Why would they? Really, what have we got that they could possibly want to take? What would it achieve? When we are over on the etheric, we can have anything we want, because we merely have to visualise what we want, whether it’s a new outfit, hairdo, place we used to visit or food we enjoyed while we were on the physical plane.

Spirits are scared of wooden crosses and if you have one over your bed, they will stay away: We don’t need to scare spirits off to make them stay away. They have every right to be here - just like us. What we do need to do is to speak from our heart-space and ask them, with love, to leave.
Does someone screaming, yelling and swearing at you make you want to leave? Not me…I dig my toes in and stay just to irritate the person who is being rude to me! Why should a spirit be any different?!
 And really, what about a wooden cross is scary to anyone? Intent is everything. This person believed the cross would protect her and that’s exactly what happened. She could have put a glass of water beside her bed and said ‘This will protect me and keep them away’. Spirit hears, understands and listens and responds to our requests. It is as simple as that!

with love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx

For a long time now Karen and I have noticed that when we are together, I have felt a sharp pain in my neck, almost as if I have had a cut to the back of my head. We have often joked about how she probably chopped my head off in a past life. It never seems to happen when we aren't together. Yesterday it happened while we were having morning tea with a friend. I had a severe jolt to the back of my neck as we chatted. Karen and I laughed, as we usually did, and then she apologised. We explained to our perplexed friend what we thought was the issue and she asked if I had ever done a past life reading on Karen. Sometimes we get so busy doing for other people that we forget to see what could be happening right in front of our nose - obviously a past life issue that needed addressing.
Today it happened again, but this one was slightly different. As Karen said the word 'pain' and clapped her hands, I felt a sharp pain and then a strange sensation as if my head was going to fall off. This was accompanied with a visual of where the axe had separated my head from my body.
Karen and I got my pendulum and decided to explore it further. Amidst much laughing and irreverent comments and questions, we established that Karen had indeed, been my executioner in a past life. I was a young girl of around 14-16 years old. I was executed as a way for the 'powers that be' of that time to be able to control my parents, who were drowned not long after they had witnessed my demise. I could see my parents, the same ones I have in this lifetime, watching in horror, as the axe was raised, and fell, ending my young life.
Of course Karen was horrified that she had killed a friend (that would be me ☺) that she had from this lifetime.
We discussed whether I would stop getting this sensation now that we had discovered the cause and released the past life issue that we had been making fun of for months. However, I could still feel a tightening around the place where the axe had hit...so we decided we needed to venture further into the story with my pendulum.
We discovered that I had not committed an actual crime, apart from being the daughter of my parents, who obviously weren't behaving in the way the 'Magistrate' wanted them to.
After a little more probing, we discovered that in that lifetime, the executioner had loved me (well, what can I say? I am definitely a loveable type!) and had been forced to execute me on the orders of the town's Chancellor, who then arranged for my executioner to be killed afterwards. (this made Karen feel a little better knowing she played a reluctant part in my death). Apparently he had resigned his axe sometime earlier, but the Chancellor insisted that he wield the axe one last time, no doubt for obscure reasons of his own.
This event happened in Russia during the seventeenth century.
The ache disappeared after we had learned this, so we felt we had learned all we needed to know about that particular lifetime. We discussed, and joked, about the event, taking away the power it once held, and integrated it into our 'knowing'.
Had we not explored it fully, we may have only got half the story and not recognised that Karen wasn't an active participant in my execution. We may have missed a vital piece of information that could have affected our soulular memory of that time.
Working with pendulums can be so much fun, especially when you are able to isolate an issue and work out what is causing it; the thought patterns and beliefs we have brought in with us. Looking back, I can see that on a personal level, I have always been waiting for Karen to 'stop being my friend' or to 'cut me off', without really understanding why. I wonder if I knew in that lifetime my executioner/love had no other option but to play the role he did. I am assuming not, given this irrational thought I have carried with me about expecting Karen to turn away.
I wonder how often we carry about perceptions and beliefs we have brought in from other lifetimes that affect how we view our lives and relationships in this one.
with love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx

I never felt that I fit in as a child. I always hoped to reach that beautiful space in my life as an adult where everyone would realise that I actually did. It never really happened. As a young child, other children teased me because I was 'different'. The things that they believed were important just didn't interest me. The teachers didn't like the way I asked questions, or corrected their spelling - apparently children aren't meant to want to seek more information, or know more than an adult.
I found it difficult to conform. I liked to do things in a way that suited me, and although we all ended up in the same place whether it was a project, assignment or just normal classwork, it simply wasn't allowed. My teachers liked to make me 'undo' what I had achieved on my own, so that I could work at the same pace as everyone else. I was made fun of by the adults who were meant to be guiding me, so it inevitably followed that the other children picked up on the vibe and began harassing me.
I was a good student, but that didn't count for much with my teachers. Being an A student didn't make up for the fact that they couldn't relate to me or force me to conform to the sheep mentality everyone else was happy to follow.
I buried myself in my school work and pretended I didn't care....but I did!
I felt I couldn't tell anyone, because who would believe a kid who says their teacher is bullying them, making them look foolish in front of other children and generally making their life a misery. Nothing I did was right or good enough. I hated school and I hated my life.
Every time I was called up to the front of the class, I would feel physically ill, the room would spin and I would  be so scared I would be engulfed in this horrible black energy that surrounded me.All that suppressing of emotion made me feel ill. I made excuses to stay home. I would put my fingers down my throat and make myself sick, so I wouldn't have to go in and face those horrible bullies, both in and out of the classroom.
I became withdrawn. I had no friends, but instead of telling my parents, I would pretend I was meeting them down at their place...and I would sit in the strawberry patch over the road until I felt enough time had gone by for me to say I had been sent home as they were going out.
This went on for years. I began to develop physical symptoms. I had headaches, my stomach ached and churned, and my hair even began to fall out. I felt depressed, even though I had no idea what that meant in those days. I can remember one day after school feeling very much alone and thinking I should just 'stop the pain' of my life....until I looked at all the things I would miss if I did that. I thought about my parents and grandparents, who all loved me. I wondered how they would feel if I wasn't here anymore. I cried as I realised how sad they would be, especially because they didn't know why I felt this way or what was making me so sad.
That was a turning point for me. I realised I didn't need to do this alone, that I could talk to someone and I could ask others for help. Just because I was a child didn't mean that no one would listen to me. That night I talked to my parents and explained what was happening at school and how alone I felt.
Sharing felt good...and it did good. Not only was I able to see that my parents believed in me, but also that they were prepared to fight for me. That night I learned that bullying only continues if no one knows about it.
And so it is with life. We all run into bullies of some kind, no matter what we do. We believe they have the power to make us feel small or insignificant, when really, they only have that power because we 'give' it to them. For some the power of being able to make others feel small is how they begin to feel strong and powerful. Bullies are a lot like balloons. If we refuse to give them that 'power', they lose all that hot air that resides within, that same hot air that feeds off our fear, and they deflate. The more we speak of bullying and bullies, the less they can comfortably exist. No matter what stage of life we are at, we need to say 'NO' to bullying and allow others to see what is happening, so changes can be made.
with love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx

As some of you know I am a house-sitter. Sometimes the houses I sit have extra special things 'going on' while I am there. It is not uncommon for me to have serious issues with my phone or laptop as the house spirits let me know they are around. Sometimes its amusing, sometimes frustrating but always unique!The house I have been sitting in for the last ten days is 110 years old so I knew I was in for an interesting time....and I have not been disappointed. When I first visited the house to meet the owners, I could sense a few friendly spirits. I went to my friends afterwards and as I was sleeping that night a young girl in period dress, around 8 years old, came to 'visit' me. She told me that she had lost her parents and didn't know where to find them. Given the style of her dress, I assumed they had probably passed over and told her as gently as I could. I fully expected to be asked to help her cross over when I arrived at her old home four weeks later, but she had already gone. Perhaps 'knowing' where they were had been enough?! It turns out that the house was brought into this area and cut in half, with one half being placed on the other side of town. Interesting stuff. My first night there I had serious trouble with my phone. It kept disappearing. I got pretty tired of this after the first four times, knowing exactly where I had left it. I gave the spirits a piece of my mind, telling them I was there for the next ten days and they had better get used to it. (I admit I did use a few expletives and stamped my feet as well!) That night I was woken three times with different faces appearing over me. I didn't feel threatened at all, they were obviously 'checking me out'. I told them to go away as I was trying to sleep...or words to that effect. The first week was full of bumps and things, internet issues, lost 'stuff' - that appeared as soon as I got cranky and told them to stop playing games. The lights flashed, the doors opened and closed by themselves and. I swear I could hear them talking about me...in not so hushed tones. I'm okay with all that. Its one of the 'benefits' to being psychic and spirits knowing I can see/hear/sense them. And don't you worry I gave them a rev up whenever the situation called for it.  Last week I went out for tea, returning around 11pm. I had complained to my friend that I had forgotten to leave a light on in my haste to leave.
As I pulled up I found I could see my way quite clearly and thanked the Universe for the light in the fishtank. However, when I got inside, I found the TV on with no sound. I had been busy with clients and studying all day and knew the TV hadn't been turned on at all. Funny, I mused. I went to get ready for my shower and heard a noise, similar to someone getting off a chair. As I headed back through the lounge to get some clothes, I noticed the TV was now switched off.
I laughed, wishing them a good night and thanked them for waiting up for me.
The last morning, I was 'dreaming', even though I could hear/sense what was going on around me, like the birds singing and the cat meowing...I was taken on a guided tour of the house from when it was 'complete'. It wasn't until later I realised that I had seen parts of the house that were not there...
One day I had a busy day with clients and they fooled me again. The electric clock gained an hour...but I didn't realise this until I arrived at my appointment way too early! Gotta love sassy spirits with a sense of hunour! They are so gonna miss me when I leave!

Remember to look and listen for signs from your loved ones. There is nothing to be fearful about, they are just letting you know they think about you just as much as you think of them. ...and if the spirits that 'reach out to you' aren't yours, you can be sure they are just letting you know they are there and saying 'Hi!'

With love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx

I would like to share a dream I had the other night. I dreamed I was in my car traveling to an unknown destination. The road was steep and curving around a mountain. I was happy as I travel led along, singing along to the music playing in my car. Suddenly someone stepped out in front of my car with their right arm outstretched. 'You cannot go this way. It is too dangerous and your car is not sturdy enough to make it.'
'But this is the direction I need to go', I replied. 
'There is another way and I can show you how to get there,' the person said as she got into my passenger seat.
The road up was only one way, so I had to reverse my car back through the curves and potholes i had already come through. Even in a dream my reversing skills were sadly lacking. I was scared and i couldn't always see where I was going. My passenger kept insisting I carry on, insisting on pointing out the mistakes I made along the way. 
Suddenly the road fell away and my car fell horizontally into a swimming pool. I got out and looked despairingly at my beautiful car submerged in the water. My husband and I had purchased this car before he passed and there was a fear that I didn't have the skill to buy another car that would be anywhere near as good without him running through my mind. How could I be able to keep going without his expertise in that area? I asked myself.
All seemed lost and I felt sad and powerless. 
Some friends came to my aid, using a crane to hoist it out of the pool and onto dry land. 
A little while later, I got back in my car, and although it looked a little worse for wear, it still went well. In fact it seemed to be going a lot better than it had before, I mused, as I continued on my journey. I carried on my way, up the road I had previously been on. All of a sudden I realized that I wasn't as worried and scared as I had been before. I knew I was heading in the right direction and that everything was going to be alright.
When I woke up that morning I thought about my dream and the implications it had had, with regard to my current life situation.
When we dream about a car it is usually significant to our journey in life, the road is the path we have chosen and water is repressed or unresolved information. 
I had had a rough month where the path I had chosen had been fraught with difficulty. Others had been trying to tell me that what I was doing was wrong and I needed to 'back up'. Reversing my journey had been hard to do, because it meant going back to a way of living or being that wasn't being true to who I was, or my journey. I felt alone and abandoned by those who had tried to 'turn me back', the road seemed unclear, and fraught with danger, resulting in burying myself within the emotion of other people's wishes and opinions, as well as my own, of not being able to 'go on'.
However, when friends had helped me to retrieve myself and enable me to go on my journey there was a sense of peace and fulfillment as I resumed my journey. I knew that 'carrying on' was being true to me and what I needed/wanted to do.
And so it is with life. Often we 'reverse', our intent to try and please others, when essentially, we are here to travel our own path, regardless of what others perceive or believe to be our truth.
This dream highlighted this aspect of my life for me and enabled me to see that I am not alone. I can ask for help and assistance if I need to, but most importantly I am able to move forward in a way the resonates with me and my purpose.
Remember to be true to you, who you are and your chosen path - after all this is what you were born to do and what you chose to do in this lifetime.
With love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx 

There are times when I am shown a past life through a vision and other times it is within a dream. This morning I was shown a past life as a Jewish woman in Auschwitz. When I learned about Hitler in my teens, I was fixated on that period of time in Germany. I read everything I could about it, exhausting first the school library and then the town one. I had such an urge to know everything about it. I was sickened, sad and frantic without ever knowing why. Now it all makes sense.
I was with my mother (father from this lifetime) at some kind of doctors surgery. I was in my late 20's, around 26 I believe. I feel this started as a 'normal check up and I fit the bill for some kind of research they needed to do. My mother was led out of the room, helpless to do anything and I was left there, absolutely terrified. I was examined and even at that age, in those times, I had never shown my body to a man before and here I was being inspected by a small group of them!
At the beginning I cried and I screamed. I begged for mercy, but by the end of my time there I was disconnected and devoid of all feeling.
Memories of those I loved were running through my mind. My best friend (mother this lifetime), my sister and older brother (daughter and son this lifetime).
One of the older uniformed men tried to get through to me and be friendly. He had such soft sad eyes. 'We are not all bad you know,' he said as I cowered in the corner. He reached into his pocket and gave me a heart shaped stone of some kind. As he did so, I saw a flash of him as a younger man and recognised him as my husband from this lifetime.
I was then shown an experience from my current lifetime where I was out exploring with a group of cousins and friends. We visited an aunty I didn't know. I had never liked her and although she was sweet and kind, I was cross with her and scared of her at the same time. I was shown that she was one of the men who had 'operated' on me. It is important that I share this story with you to remind you that we are continually surrounded by our soul family. Sometimes they get the 'shit' assignments, where they are cruel to us. Sometimes they only play a bit part, but often, they are the nucleus we find within each lifetime. Its harder to love them when they are bad or mean, and they knew that when they 'agreed to their assignment'. Our soul mate can be anyone within our life, a good friend, a lover, a sibling, a parent, or maybe someone who helps us to believe that there is good in our life. Sometimes our 'gut feeling' of someone isn't because they are bad or wrong in this lifetime, but because they left a huge impression in another.
For me, this has opened my eyes to my fixation with Hitler as a teen, my fear of hospitals, drugs and needles, the cancer I developed at around 26, where it was and how panicked I was, until they explained what would happen and why (I refused to allow them to anesthetise me until it was explained in full - much to their frustration of those in theater!). Even hearing about nazi Germany makes me feel physically sick to my stomach, but I know that they were all a symptom of their times, just as we are of ours.
As I lay there, afterwards, I sent healing to my past lifetime and all concerned. I asked for healing to myself, to remove the physical, emotional and soul-ular scars that I have brought in with me. I asked for integration of that lifetime into my present one. Healing a past life isn't about deleting it or fixing it. It is about accepting it and knowing it is a part if who you are, regardless of the person you were at that time. Healing a past life isn't about judgement. It is about acceptance and love. 
with love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx

I'd like to tell you the story of two clients of mine, Pamela and Janine. They were roughly the same age and had similar life stories.
Both of these ladies were in their second marriage and had been in a relationship with their current husband for 15 plus years.
Both had had unhappy first marriages, but it appeared to be an incompatibility problem. Both of their ex husbands had also moved on and were in happy relationships.
When they came to me for their first visit, they both had much angst and anger directed to their respective exes, as well as a lot of pain attached to these past relationships.
It was strange to be seeing two women with exactly the same issue. Although they were happy in their current relationships, they resented the fact that their ex husbands were also happy. They had a lot of 'unfinished business' between them and it was affecting their health and their weight.
Over a period of six months, we talked about their expectations, their hopes, their dreams, their pain and how they could move on from the situation in a positive and uplifting manner.
I used reiki healing, sound fork therapy and crystal healing, as well as 'love yourself' boot camp, Numerology and Psychic insight.
Pamela was keen to create change in her life. She was tired of being angry. She wasn't happy with her weight, which had eventuated into Type 2 diabetes. She worked really hard at forgiving everyone involved, including herself. She did regular release rituals as well as abundance rituals (in fact I think she still does).
Janine was not so eager. She believed everything was everyone else's fault and there was no way she needed to release anything or forgive anyone, including herself. As far as she was concerned she was blameless and she wasn't going to let anyone get away with what they had done to her. They owed her!
After 6 months, they both decided they were ready to 'go it alone'. Surprisingly, I have heard from them both recently.
Pamela has lost weight, is happier and more at peace with herself, her past and her future. She has reversed her diabetes and life is great. Her current marriage has gone from strength to strength and they have even been in a social environment with her ex and his partner, which has resulted in a friendlier atmosphere around them.
Janine has doubled her weight, is still surly, awaiting apologies from everyone she ever knew, especially her ex husband. She is bloated, has blood pressure problems and tells me that I didn't 'heal her'. I explained that healing has to come from within, but she doesn't see it that way.
All too often we have traumatic, sad or aggravating events in our lives, but we choose what happens next. We can choose to heal, or we can choose to hold on to that pain.
When I look at Pamela and Janine, I know which path I want to choose. How about you?
with love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx

I have just completed a challenge that involved taking 'selfies' for 30 days.
This is how it began. I was giving a client a treatment and they had a photographer present. When they asked if they could get a photo of me as I was working, I said 'Yes, but only my hands. I take an awful photo.'
Afterwards the photographer took me to one side and told me that the problem is that a lot of people are so hung up on how bad they look in a photo, they 'create their reality'. Hmmmm, food for thought.
She challenged me to take 30 days of selfies to see if it change the way I felt about my photos and getting my picture taken. I laughed it off, but continued to think about it for several days. I remember overhearing some older relatives once, talking about what a shame it was that my brother had 'got all the good looks'. I would have been about 7 at that stage, but I adopted that belief system quite easily. I would only pose for photos while dressed up or horsing around. If I didn't 'try' to make it a good photo and it failed, I didn't need to be disappointed. Now, don't get me wrong, I had had some wonderful photos taken of me through the years, but I considered them a fluke or a trick of the light. I rarely posed for photos, in fact I avoided it like the plague...and I was oh! so impatient! The amount of photos that were taken while I was mouthing 'For goodness sakes, hurry up!' far outweighed any other photos. Each time I looked at a photo I would see my faults and remember those wise old relatives and know they spoke my truth.
I wasn't conscious that this was why taking photos had always been such a chore for me. It has been during my 30 day challenge that I started scratching below the surface of this particular belief system.
I decided that I needed to change the way I felt about getting my photo taken, so a few days later, I accepted the challenge. I decided it needed to be a facebook challenge, to force me to comply and ensure I followed it through to the end. For 30 days I took photos. After 4 days, I wasn't enjoying it and wanted it to be over. I tried cheating by adding 10 days to my daily count. Unfortunately I have good friends who won't let me get away with that...damn it all!
In the beginning it was difficult. I felt I had to have a reason to pose. I needed to be dressed, sometimes made up, or at least presentable. As time went by, these rules floated away as I began to relax into the challenge. I admit it sometimes took 20 photos before I found one that I could live with and post up on facebook. After a while I noticed that I stopped looking for my faults, instead looking for the sense of fun that is a part of who I am. I stopped looking at my triple chins, my wrinkles and grey hairs. Instead I focused on my smile, my laugh lines and the energy I brought into each picture. I became 'real' and 'present' in my photos.
I began to see what I liked about my face, and even my hair... I looked for opportunities to take my selfie, seeing plants that looked great as background, wonderful views, or family shots. Instead of seeing what was wrong with the photos, I began feeling gratitude for who I am and what I look like. I've always loved who I am, but a part of me always felt cheated that my looks didn't match my personality... (lol. Remember when people told you that your awesome personality was way more important than looks... maybe not...? but I do!)
I loved the way a photo 'felt' when I posed with my family. At the end of the 30 days I felt a freedom that I cannot explain. I worked out which photos made the most of what I had. I also worked out that is I have a bit of mischief or devilment in my eyes/on my mind, the real me shone through!
Comments from those who followed my challenge was uplifting too - not that this was the reason why I did it, but they also made me look at myself differently, to see what others saw when they looked at me.
I nailed this challenge! And  I am so proud that I did. It was difficult about a third of the way through but I gritted my teeth and carried on. Now its done, I am very much aware of the change that has taken place.
I would definitely recommend this challenge to everyone. Its the perfect way to rediscover yourself and remember how awesome you are! There is a huge element of empowerment in it as well. This challenge also helps you tap into your creative side...you can go as wild or as subdued as you like. After all you are the photographer, director and editor
Go on, give it a go....you might be surprised where it leads you...
with love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx

The past two weeks, actually the last two months have been a build up to a past life healing for me. Around about two months ago, I had a slight tickly cough and felt an immense heaviness in my chest. I assumed this was mostly due to the way the holiday season brings my grief to the surface as I consider another Christmas or new year beginning with Butch....and in truth, some of it was. However, this became all consuming, I struggled to breathe, as it caught in my throat and forced me to cough to create air intake.
As you know, I believe that whatever we are feeling or emoting at any given time is relative to the symptoms and signals we are receiving from our bodies. I knew the lungs was where my grief and heartache were centred, my frustration at life and feeling constricted or bound by the life I had, instead of the one I had planned. The throat is where we speak our truth, are heard or release our grief, so at the time it made perfect sense....until about two weeks ago!
Karen was doing an acutonics treatment on my back (which is relative to not feeling supported by the Universe - just saying!) one day and this awesome healing chant came on her ipod.
I had a sense of many people in the room, and later we discussed various things that had happened during the treatment - the blockages I was experiencing, where and why; the extra pair of hands on my forehead; the music that totally resonated with me and how I hadn't coughed once during the treatment (and many others that I can't remember).
I asked Karen if I might borrow the CD with the healing chant on it, and I felt there was some kind of urgency attached to it. Of course she agreed - thats what good friends do! ☺
I took it back with me and as soon as I was in the door, I had it playing in my laptop. I became quite fixated with this hour long chanting, playing it over and over, wondering why I felt as if I should know the words, as I could certainly feel the emotion behind it. I even played it before I went to sleep, hoping my guides would give me some insight or advice. Nothing.
Two days later, I was having breakfast, with my feet dangling in my current house-sits pool, listening to the the chant. Water is a great conductor for emotion. Next thing I was given a visual of a group of people standing on a hill, chanting, while their assailants rode around them, killing them as they stood. I felt that these were a peaceful people and they had chosen not to war with them, instead singing in unison to prove that they would not be changed by those that were around them. I also had the impression it was in 1890, and happened around Christmas time, hence the extra emphasis on my grief this time.
(If you are wondering why I never noticed it in other Christmases, I believe it is because I wasn't ready for it or open to it until this year....and possibly I would have struggled to differentiate between the grief I already felt with Butch's passing)
I could see the chief/leader, and he was only wearing a single feather or headdress, which I felt was strange given that I would have thought he would have had the big regal one - but then, would that have been tantamount to a challenge in a very aggressive way - who knows? He was very tall, almost freakishly tall.
I sat there crying my heart out as I saw those I once loved fall around me...and then the vision stopped. I wanted more! I tried everything, but nope, apparently I wasn't ready for the rest of this story yet.
I kept listening to the healing chant continuously, feeling a sense of peace that I couldn't explain. However, my breathing and heaviness got worse. I had various excuses for it, cutting back on various types of foods, concentrating on my vege juice and immunity supplements. When I coughed I felt like I was turning inside out! I made my never fail cough mix to help prevent the coughing which had made my throat raw and sore. It eased the throat, but the cough just got worse.
Christmas night onwards, I felt like I was truly dying. I know that sounds dramatic, but the coughing was leaving me light-headed, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk, I couldn't sleep, and I felt like there was an elephant sitting on my chest, who only moved when I doubled up in pain.
Finally the 27th came and I could get a doctors appointment... As I spoke about my symptoms and the lead up (without explaining the spiritual side of it, of course) to that day, he smiled and nodded. I had asthma! I have never had asthma, so I found that quite interesting...and annoying.
All day I thought about what asthma meant to me. I had established the sore throat was merely an on going effect of the asthma - coughing to produce air obviously inflamed my throat.
Asthma tells me I don't want to be here, that I am done. I feel suffocated, angry, unable to vent my emotions, deeply depressed and grief devastated. I pulled faces at this thought, as it didn't quite fit how I believed I felt.
This morning, as I was pondering this and listening to the chant. I was given the final part of the vision. I was a young girl of around 10 or 12 when this massacre had happened. As my people were falling around me, my brother had thrown me on the ground to protect me, landing on top of me when he was killed. I was SO angry. I wanted my chance to die with pride and he had cheated me out of that! I fought against the dead weight of his body until I was so exhausted, I could move no more. Our 'enemies' left, not realising I was still alive.
I wasn't shown what happened after that, but I get a huge sense of displacement, intense anger, feeling cheated out of a glorious death, losing everyone I loved and forced to live a life I would never have chosen. I wanted to scream at my brother for what he did, but that would have disrespected his spirit and the love he had shown.
A couple of days ago I went on facebook to ask if anyone knew of a massacre that took place in 1890, without the group fighting back, and was told of the Massacre at Broken Knee (my knee just happened to be one of the blockages I had when Karen did the treatment - a hint perhaps?!). It took place on the 29th December!
Now I can't say unequivocally that this is where it took place, because my inner skeptic refuses to take anything at face value without heaps of  evidence. (and skepticism is healthy!) The chief was tall and although it doesn't appear he was wearing a single feather on that day, here is a picture I found. His name was
Miniconjou Chief Big Foot, meaning 'Touch the Clouds'.
Perhaps this needed to be healed before the actual date, or maybe there is more to the story, who knows?!
Today I feel peaceful, at peace and grateful for the ability to breathe once again.
...and it all started with a cough and a healing chant....
Who knows what past lives we carry within us that can be healed and accepted? We have all been here many times before, it makes sense we carry soulular and cellular memories. After all, can you remember something from Christmas Day that touched or upset you? Memories are powerful things.
with love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx
PS. As a by the by, I have established who my brother was in that lifetime, and now understand why every time I see him, I feel an irrational sense of betrayal, anger and sadness.
This also explains why I have taken to plaiting my hair a lot more and in a different way in the past two months. I have always loved all things from this culture, but have felt myself strongly drawn to clothing, etc that pertained to this lifetime in a way I couldn't explain before.... Interesting stuff, hey?

As some of you may know, I do housesitting. I love the variety that it brings into my life. I get to visit areas and places that I wouldn’t normally. If there is a dog to walk, by the time I leave, I have a reasonably good idea of where I am and how to find certain streets/places – extremely handy for someone like me who is directionally challenged.

I love the energy of other people’s homes, and I will admit, in some cases, I have cleared their homes of spirits that weren’t there for their highest good. I also let others be, because it is not up to me to decide whether they come or go. If they need help I’m sure they could get it, one way or another.

Originally, it was a great way to rediscover my gypsy roots, long forgotten under a pile of lists and forward planning. I loved the idea about learning to be spontaneous and relatively carefree. I have met some beautiful souls, spirit, human and animal.

I also learnt how to downsize and recognise what was truly important to me, and what was best released or removed from my life.

It was daunting at first and I was so stressed as I contemplated not knowing where I would be, sometimes from week to week…

Everybody is different, all housesits are unique, each animal(s) special in its own individual way. Each animal I have housesit for has held a place in my heart, and sometimes I am more than sad to say farewell to them. They all teach me a lesson of sorts. Through them, I have had lessons on stamina, trust, capability, joy, peace, tranquility and unconditional love.

Each kitchen is set up differently. Right down to the dishbrush, each person has a different view of how an efficient and happy kitchen is run….and every one of them works!

As I was doing the dishes this morning and mastering a strange shaped dishbrush, a thought struck me. Being a housesitter has encouraged me to see others as they are and to leave them that way. I don’t have to tell them which is the best implement, how to clean their home, where things should go or what they should use. Their way is perfect for them. It may not suit me, but I only have to do it their way for a brief moment in time. I don’t have to like their way and I don’t need to get my own way.

And you know what…that’s how it is with life. We don’t need to love or even like what other people do. It is not up to us to choose who is right or wrong – because we are all right. We all do what is right for us and what is perfectly normal for our ‘self’.

Sometimes it is better to take the focus off what we believe is the right and true way and accept that we will all be different. We will all approach things differently and none of us is wrong.

When we can begin to accept that this is the truth of the matter, that this is a major clincher on our life path, we are better able to accept others as they truly are, instead of who we want them to be.

…and all that from doing the dishes….!

With love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx

About 20 years ago, I developed a back injury. At the time I was unhappy in my 'going nowhere' job, but I didn't have the guts to take that leap of faith and resign.
The Universe stepped in. As I was lifting an empty box, I felt a twang in the back of my heel. Nothing painful, it felt as if someone had snapped a rubber band and flicked the back of my foot. After a couple of days of strange tingling sensations, I decided to go and see the doctor. The doctor could see nothing major wrong with me, although he did mention one leg was slightly shorter than the other. As such he couldn't refer me to a specialist, so he suggested I try a few of his 'other colleagues' to see if we could resolve the issue. First I went to a physiotherapist, who insisted I should be able to put my feet behind my ears, and did his utmost best to prove it was true. He would push my leg straight up and lean into me with all his weight. He called me a wimp as I cried tears of pain. After two visits, I had had enough of him and went back to the doctor.
Next I visited a reflexologist, who, as it turned out was much more interested in replacing his mistress, as she would be moving soon. (His wife was his receptionist and only in the next room! Tact, much?) One visit was enough to give this charlatan a wide berth...and a good thing too, now that I am older and wiser and realise that never once did he touch my feet!
By this time I was getting shooting pains down the back of my legs and experiencing alternating bouts of numbness and sharp pain in my right heel. My doctor suggested an acupuncturist. Bad idea! It turns out that needles and I didn't work so well together. I would stagger home bleeding and bruised after each appointment. In those days I didn't have the balls to say I wasn't returning, so it took five visits before I 'grew' some. On my fifth visit, he told me he was very excited because he was going to teach some new students and could he video me to demonstrate how to do the needles. He said I merely needed to agree it hurt every spot he touched. Some time later I was very much a pincushion, he packed up his video camera and took it to the other end of the office. I lay there for an interminably long time, waiting for him to return and remove the needles, my bladder sending me urgent messages. Did I call out? Not on your life! About 50 minutes later he walked past the door and said 'Are you still here? You can get dressed and leave.' I won't tell you what I said, but let me tell you, he was my first lesson in knowing what was right for me, what was wrong, and saying 'My body. My choice.' Prior to that, I had believed anyone in a white coat was an authority on my body.
As I stumbled across to the other side of the road, one of the shop owners suggested I stop going there, as I seemed to stagger over and almost crawl back. Not a good advertisement they said jokingly. There was no way I was ever going back anyway.
After that, I began having issues with my nerve endings and lower back pain. The doctor, telling me he still couldn't refer me, suggested I go to his osteopath friend. Ahhh, how naive I was in those days.... I assumed an osteopath was like a remedial massage therapist - no body cracking here!
About ten minutes into my appointment, the whole street would have heard how surprised I was when he picked me up and 'dropped me', cracking and I was almost certain, demolishing my spine. My friend kindly told me that she had heard the expletive I screamed out from the coffee shop next door! Thats what friends are for, apparently!
By the time I went to see the doctor again, I was struggling to walk. My back was aching continually and he had to prescribe me some pain killers and anti inflammatory tablets to help me get through the day.
By the time I did manage to get a referral to see a specialist, I was wearing a brace 24 hours a day, having to wear heel pads to avoid the nauseous feeling I got while walking, on extremely strong pain killers and unable to walk/stand or sit for any period of time. I couldn't wear shoes with 'backs' on them, and certainly no heels. All the 'work' everybody had done on me had exacerbated my problem. I was told I was but a fine line away from being in a wheel chair.
Now I'm not telling you all this to get sympathy, I am merely trying to set the scene for you.
Although I managed to make improvement to my lifestyle with exercise, etc, I was still in a bad way. I still wore my special heel pads, everywhere...
About ten years later, thanks to some synchronistic opportunity, I met a past life healer. I decided I would 'give it a whirl'. The first visit, she told me about a past life when I had worked in Egypt and helped to build the pyramids. A large slab had slipped and sliced off the back of my right heel. This made sense to me, when I considered the alternating pain and numbness of my heel. The healer told me I would feel a marked improvement the next day. I was skeptical to say the least and wasn't surprised when it hadn't improved as completely as she had told me it would. A week later I was looking at one of my old dream notebooks and found an entry I had written when I was in my twenties. I was a young boy in Egypt, with aspirations of being an architect. I would draw in the fading light on whatever I could. The dream confirmed other facts the healer had mentioned, which was awesome and mind boggling!
I had another past life healing and we talked about my dream and a few other pertinent details that obviously needed to address.
The next morning I woke up and bolted out of bed, remembering I had visitors coming soon and I needed to do some baking. I raced down to the supermarket, and was halfway around before I realised I could feel the sensation of my thong under my heel. Anyone watching me would have seen this woman with a dopey smile on her face, as she 'walked with intention'.
So, just in case you didn't work it out, I never wore the heel pads again. I had only been taking the medication periodically at that stage...I have never taken it again. My point is, all the medical professionals in the world couldn't fix the problem with  my heel, because it was a soulular and cellular memory. My body/soul remembered this past life injury and had replicated it around the same age that it had happened within that lifetime. I didn't need to spend masses of money, dedicate half my life meditating or be healed over a period of years. All I needed to do was acknowledge that this was my truth, to release my old way of being and thinking, to allow that past life with all its issues, to just 'be' and let them go.
We have been here many times. We have specific memories that we hold onto, that may be holding us back, whether its an injury or a vow we have taken during that lifetime. By discovering what happened in a prior lifetime, we are better able to understand why we act or feel certain ways within our present journey.
with love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx

I should warn you that this picture doesn't do my mood justice...
Just recently I have been hearing stories about people who have been ripped off by psychics, even some of them asking for ridiculous amounts of money, or they will lose contact with their loved ones in Spirit.
I have also heard stories (and been one of the people who experienced this in my early grief days) about terrible things being said to those wanting to hear from their loved ones.
I get really angry when I hear that these psychics are charging ridiculous amounts of money for their 'messages', and because we live in a world where we believe that the more we pay, the better the message will be, or the more powerful the psychic. I just want to say, and I know Brian (my guide) will back me up here...What a crock of shit!
The reason why some people will charge more is because they have huge egos, they believe they are powerful and the best reason of all, they know they can make a killing out of the customer who is on a grieving expedition.
Sure, in any type of work, we all deserve to be paid a reasonable sum of money for our services and our time. That is only fair, but really, is $300.00 for an hours work, what your loved one expects or wants you to pay to 'connect'?
I am not dissing anyone for what they do or how much they charge. I accept that some people will charge more and if thats what their clients want, then fine and good. But, I do get angry beyond belief, when I hear that that their customers are told that unless they pay lots more, they will lose contact with their loved ones in Spirit.
We are all born psychic, we all have the gift, even if most of us don't believe we do. Even a child can (and will) connect with our loved ones to tell us what they want us to know. We don't have to be all powerful, we don't even have to look any different or stand out in the crowd. Those that can connect are everywhere and anywhere we look.
AND.....but wait there's more!
Our loved ones in Spirit have no hidden agenda. They hold no grudges. They don't seek to hurt or harm us in any way...not even a teeny tiny bit. They might give us a heads up about something that is coming e.g. remember to be careful with your purse, so we can, hopefully, avoid losing it. BUT, they will NEVER NEVER EVER tell us bad shit! They will not give us really bad news. They will not tell us someone is going to die. They will not tell us if someone is cheating on us. They will not tell us how we upset them while they were alive.
They have absolutely no need to do any of that crap! (sorry, I am still angry...)
Where they are it is love. Love is the question. Love is the answer and there is nothing else.
They know the whats, whys, whos and any other answers that they didn't have while they were on this physical plane. They know why things happened the way they did. They know all the answers, while we are still struggling with the questions. They can't tell us all the answers, because that is part of our life journey and life purpose. Why would they cheat us out of a full and wonderful physical experience?
So, if you feel like you are being charged too much, the chances you are!
If you feel the messages you are receiving aren't for your highest good, then its time to find a new psychic, or just walk away from the one you have.
Don't be pressured, guilted or blackmailed into handing over all of your money. You just know that your loved one would not want to be a part of that, now would they? ....so, doesn't that make you ponder the question: 'Well, who is it that they are talking to?!' Trust in your intuition, instinct or gut.
with love, respect and integrity, but no more rage!
Cherie xx

As some of you may know, I do house-sitting. I love it because I get to experience many different places and areas I wouldn't normally get to see. I also get to meet some wonderful animals that teach me about being still or loving life out loud. I also 'meet' various spirits who are guardians of the homes I stay in, or welcome guests.
The last one I was on had an older African man, complete with long dark pointy mask, who wasn't impressed that I was there on my first night. I wasn't in the mood to ask if he was friendly or otherwise, so instead I cleared the energy in  my share of the house with my pendulum. This didn't mean he had to leave, because it is not my right to tell him whether he should stay or go. This was a way of setting boundaries between us. He was allowed a certain area of the house and I would have the best part with the lounge, my bedroom and kitchen attached! He went quietly and didn't cause any fuss. For a week we lived in harmony. He would give me little surprises every now and then by dropping or rattling things, or letting out a deep noise, that wasn't so much a moan as just reminding me he was there.
As I was cleaning and preparing to leave, I had a CD on quite loud, and I could hear he wasn't happy, as the voice I heard at one stage wasn't compatible with the song playing. It sounded like a 'Noooooo-oo!' My music obviously didn't appeal. I just smiled and carried on singing at the top of my voice. And then the fun began.... He started jumping the CD back and forth, between songs and repeating some of the lines. Each time I would get 'into' the song, dancing or singing, and the music would change or repeat. I told him that I can't do housework without loud music (because then its more like dancing than working) and he was just going to have to deal with it. He still messed around with it for a while, but he must have eventually got bored, because the rest of the CD played without incident.
This week has been a difficult week for me, I have been pondering on my life before Butch passed and how different things could have been. Despite what other people think, I don't always have it together and I certainly don't have all the answers. I wallow in self pity and wishful thinking, just like the next person.
So, the next CD I played was one that Butch and I loved. As I sang along, I could feel Butch around me...and then the CD started to do strange things. It paused and skipped to the very last track. The song was extremely relevant to my week. It spoke of things happening within our lives, and sure, we could have avoided them, but, how, if we had done that, we wouldn't have had some of the great experiences we had had. I had tears in my eyes as I sang along. The CD stopped, so I pressed play, hoping to hear the rest of the CD....but it would only play #17 (the same song). I gave in, saying 'Okay, I get the message.' The CD stopped and then went to track #7, which was a song about learning to live again. (coincidentally, that is what my grief website is called!)
I finished my cleaning and sat outside to enjoy my cup of tea.....and realised after a while that the same song had been playing over and over again. I laughed a little to myself and knew I was being told to pay attention. The song playing was our song. The one we had played at our wedding, whenever we were feeling mooshy and at Butch's funeral... *sigh* Love that man! ♥
So I encourage you to listen to the music that is around you. Be aware of the messages you are being given....and always listen to loud music when you do housework! It makes a huge difference to your attitude!
with love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx

I want to talk to you about my friend Mary. A couple of weeks ago Mary asked me to help her join Facebook. As we set it up, she told me she didn't want to use a real picture for her profile. She didn't want any contact or personal details to be entered. The idea of letting anyone know what movies, books or music she preferred.
I asked her if she wanted to search for her friends, or add anyone that she knew was already on Facebook. No, she just wanted interested in that. She just wanted to use it to 'see' what was happening in the world of facebook, without being involved, or updating her status.
A couple of days ago, I received a call from Mary. She was extremely upset, so I went around to see if I could help in any way.
When I got there, Mary was sitting in front of her computer, tapping furiously, with a huge black cloud of anger hovering over her.
Mary explained that she had forgotten her password to access her facebook account. She knew she had written it somewhere, but she couldn't find it and had absolutely no idea what it might be.
We tried using the email address and various other options to try and log in to her account with no success.
As a last resort, we tried a different way, and facebook asked us to type in a current friend's full name attached to  instead.
Unfortunately Mary didn't have any friends, as she had chosen not to add any to her facebook account. Needless to say, Mary's account is no longer accessible and she is deciding whether she wants to bother having facebook after all.
As I was driving home, I was thinking how Mary's story is one that can be related to life in general.
Life is not a spectator sport. We aren't meant to be here on our own. We are meant to connect with others, on as many levels as we are able to. We are meant to learn not just about others, their way of thinking, be-ing and do-ing, we are also meant to share, to give of ourselves as well.
For, without friends; without 'sharing' our life with others, we are actually locking ourselves out of the most amazing and fulsome experience.
There are lessons to be learned everywhere within our life - all we need to do is to be open to them and aware that we are here to learn, to share and to connect.
with love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx

I'd like to share a story with you. The plant in the bottom left hand corner of this picture has a special significance to me. When Butch and I got married, it appeared in the background of all of our ceremony photos. After Butch passed away, I took this plant with me wherever I lived. Not all these homes had the same airy semi shade area as it was used to, but I needed it to be around me, so there it was.
It was an amazing plant. It didn't matter what happened to it, it still survived. As I walked past it, I would pat or stroke its leaves. I would thank it almost daily for being there whenever I returned home, as I am well known for my 'plant cemetery' full of good intentions and dusty plant pots of years gone by. I know it sounds strange, but there were even times when I would brush against it and I could feel a dampness and see droplets, as if it grieved alongside me.
I have recently moved and couldn't take it with me, but whenever I went to stay with my daughter and her family, I would be able to visit it, so it wasn't too bad.
One day my daughter rang me, most upset and worried. She told me that the plant had snapped off the day before and they hadn't known whether to tell me, because they knew how much it meant to me.
I reassured her that it was okay, that what is meant to be is meant to be. A week later I was visiting and noticed they had stuck the broken part of it into the pot as well. I didn't hold out much hope for either piece and said so.
Each time I visited I could see the top part had deteriorated more, the leaves were collapsing and dying. Yesterday, I decided that I needed to accept the inevitable, that this plant was beyond help.
As I went to empty it out of the pot, I noticed some new growth under the original stem. How exciting!
I looked at the other section of it and resolved to throw it away later. As I was preparing to do so, I mused that the plant was teaching me a lesson - that from old and broken parts of our life, there will always be new beginnings.
Imagine my surprise when I pulled the broken stalk out and found there was a whole new root system on the end of it!
The other part of my lesson is that although something may appear broken and will never be the same again, it can still be a part of my life, it will just be altered and different.
And thats how it is with life. We hold onto some things because of how they make us feel or the emotions they invoke. We want them to stay the same because thats how we remember them and need them to be. But nothing ever stays the same, change is an integral part of our lives. And sometimes things have to break to remind us that life is worth living, that there is more to look forward to and that change isn't all bad, it's just different!
with love, respect and integrity
Cherie. xx

The other day as I was driving I saw a sign outside a church, saying 'You must be Reborn'. As I drove by, I pondered about the bible and how we all have our own perspective on what is happening around us, what we say and what it means when we do.
I started thinking about when the bible was written and how the person who wrote it wasn't the person who did the talking. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not bible bashing, I am merely pointing out a truth of life.
We could have an event happen in a room full of people and not one person will tell the story the same, because we all have our own unique view of the world. The emotions and energy around us dictates what we have to say and why. It also decides how we interpret something, whether it is a thought, a word or an event.
I also struggle with the idea that I must be 'born again' to live the 'right kind of life' that makes me a good person.
Having had a large taste of religion as I grew up, I cannot believe in a God that is vengeful, angry and thinks I am bad. The God I believe in knows that I am always thinking of others, I am almost always kind, compassionate and caring, that I will put others before me sometimes, that I never intentionally do harm of any kind and that I am doing the best with what I have, what I know and the resources I have at my disposal in this lifetime. He understands that I don't believe I should go to church to be this good. He knows that 'his church' is everywhere - in nature, in others, in situations, wherever I am standing/sitting/be-ing, right here, right now.
...anyway, back to my car musings....
As I was considering the possibility that someone may have interpreted the words in a different way to which they were intended. I pondered on the fact that I have my own beliefs on the whole 'reborn' issue, and what could possibly have been an alternate definition....and then I had an Aha! moment!
We chose to come here on the physical plane. We chose to have a human existence, to learn various lessons, but most of us 'forgot' what we had come here to achieve, thanks to natal amnesia*.
We have various ways of 'remembering', whether it is snippets of deja vu, synchronistic meetings and signs, dreams, readings, the 11:11 shout out to the lightworker and many other variations on a theme. Even books and movies can help to jog our memory about what we need to look at in this lifetime, or what we need to remember from past lifetimes.
What if the message wasn't about being 'reborn? What if it was a wake up call? What if it was a reminder to remember? What if we are meant to awaken our senses, all of them? What if we are meant to rise from our earthly slumber of constantly 'do-ing', so we could awaken and begin 'be-ing'? What if we were meant to remember the strong and powerful person we all truly are?
Wouldn't that be amazing? And wouldn't it make a lot more sense than being reborn? When you think about it, wouldn't living be more about being totally us, immersing ourselves in the total experience of our existence, not just on a physical level, but also on a spiritual level, embracing all of who we are, knowing that we are magnificent?
We don't need to be reborn...but we do need to wake up, to 'awaken' and be who we are meant to be and be sure to love the person that is us, totally and unconditionally.
Quick! Stretch! Yawn! Be Awake!
with love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx

*We each have a life plan that we created on the etheric plane. However, until more recent times, most of us 'forgot' as we came into the world. This is known as Natal Amnesia.
**If you would like to more about our Life Plans, or The Story of our Life, contact me to purchase my mini ebook 'Life Plans', or to ask about others in the series.**

I have a wonderful new part time job that ticks all my boxes. It has variety, challenge, people and appreciation. What more could I possibly ask for?
The other day I went in to see my boss, telling him that I had decided this job was way more awesome than I first thought.
He looked up and asked why.
I said 'Well, I have been working on the patient database all day and I have realised that each time I enter anything it asks me if I want to 'save patient' or 'cancel'.
He looked at me blankly for a moment, and I added, 'I can't wait to tell my family and friends that I 'save' at least 12 patients every day!'
Although I was having a laugh about the process, it reminded me that there are two things we should always consider every day. (There are actually way more than two, but for the purpose of this blog, we'll stick to two)
1. There is always something positive, uplifting and funny in every day and every activity. We just need to be on the look-out for it.
2. Everything is a matter of perspective. How we perceive ourselves and what we do is the single most important ingredient to who we are and how we travel in our life journey.
For me, when I head off each time to my awesome job, I know I am going to save a few patients each day.....
Are you seeing the blessings and positivity in your day?
with love, respect and integrity
Cherie xx