"Do you listen with your HEART, or with your head?"
Words. Phrases. Language. They are powerful things, those little letters are! They help us to relate our feelings and thoughts, give commands, soothe each other, and to express ourselves both inside and out, but just how important is it that we "get the words right" anyway? Well, that depends on how we look at it! If we view the words we each use as something fully understood and agreed upon by everyone (speaking our own language, at least), instead of seeing them for what they really are - a personal interpretation of a combination of letters we have been taught to hold a specific meaning - we can find ourselves (literally) lost in translation and feeling completely unheard, or worse even, engaged in conflict! It really just comes down to semantics. We treat words and language like they are some infallible truth of expression but they are not. Words vary geographically, culturally, generationally, and even familially. They are ONLY worth the value we ascribe to them and even that is constantly changing. Think of a time in which you have attempted to relay some such experience (be it an emotional, transcendental, or personal one, etc) to another and either found yourself at a total loss for words to adequately describe what you experienced or found yourself to be completely misunderstood when you felt you had found the right words to use. I am pretty sure you can think of many examples. It's semantics. The way one of us views the meaning of a certain word or phrase might or might not hold the same meaning to someone else. When we begin to see language and words as more of a loosely interpretational tool for expression that is only one of many, rather than a hard and fast absolute, we can become BETTER listeners, and better able to more fully comprehend one another! Why wouldn't we want that? With the ability of the internet to connect us all so intimately, the responsibility to use and to interpret words carefully and thoughtfully, and at the same time to remember that they are NOT an "absolute" becomes greater than ever before. Words may reside in our heads, but their TRUE comprehension can be found in our hearts and in our gut. So, next time you find yourself listening to or reading someone's words, listen with your WHOLE BEING for the subtle meaning beneath the letters and watch an entirely new world of understanding open up for you! Imagine what the world could be like if we ALL did that for each other!? Peace, blessings, and love! Melinda Erin Whitehead - 2015.
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My sister and I are pretty close with our cousin Jimmy and we like to chat with him regularly! The part that makes it really special is that Jimmy died in 2013, but that hasn't stopped him from keeping in touch with us!! In my life I have had the great fortune to experience many extraordinary occurrences and this is my NEW favourite!! I have gotten signs from the dead from anything from lights being switched on, to hearing voices, finding objects, spirited phone calls, and many more wonderful things, but I have to admit, this is the first time I have received a ghostly TEXT!!! Trust Jimmy to do something awesome like this!
Last night my sister and I were texting back and forth about going to buy the RAW pet food we get. In the midst of the conversation, right in the middle of a text from my sister, her statement abruptly cuts off and I see "But thank you so much. I'm so glad Jimmy came threw! I didn't think he would but I was so glad he did!"!! My first reaction was "What the heck did she add THAT part for?" because we hadn't even been discussing cousin Jimmy then! As you can see from the picture, as my brain was attempting to comprehend why the heck she just sent me that, I just replied to the part we had been discussing. What struck me as odd was that I REMEMBERED the message about Jimmy!! It was an old message Myla had sent me in the Autumn of 2014 after she had attended one of the mediumship groups I ran. I specifically remembered it because it was the first time my sister had ever seen me work "officially" and I was interested to see what she had thought about it!!! I screenshotted it and sent it back to her to show her and when I asked her WTFF, she checked her phone and sent me a screenshot of what she had sent me and it wasn't in what she sent! It was incredible! Now, skeptics, I know there could be so many "logical" reasons for how this could have happened (insert random explanation here), but they do not explain why THEN, why THAT particular text and not some other random message from any other conversation we have had?? The EXACT message about when Jimmy came through to communicate!?!?! That text wasn't even in our phones anymore (I checked), and my sister upgraded her phone in the time since that message was first sent so the phone it was on is not even in use anymore either. It was of no small matter to us that after this took place, two other family members remarked on having randomly had Jimmy on their minds before the text appeared too! If some choose to consider that a coincidence, then so be it! My heart knows what it knows and my sympathies to those who are missing out on knowing the peace found within that eternal connection! I have experienced enough over the years to recognize the connection that spirit makes and the ways it chooses to express itself in our lives! Loved ones speak to us in ways that we will understand (as long as we do not overlook the message simply because it appears too "ordinary") and support us at all times! It still never ceases to blow me away! I love it!!! Life and love live on!! Jimmy's message to us? "Hey! I am here and I am coming through still!"! Thanks, cousin! We got it! Heard, Jimmy! Loud and clear! Melinda Erin Whitehead - June 23, 2015. I always get asked to share my recipes and I get busy and forget, so here I am sharing like I promised! Look at me remembering and all that! ;)
This is a delicious, tropical, satisfying, vegan treat that made us feel like we had just been sunning on the beach! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did! (Sorry! I planned to take a pic to go with the post, but we ate it all before I got to it!) Makes about a 2 litre container. INGREDIENTS: - 2 cans of FULL FAT coconut cream - 1 can of drained pineapple tidbits - 2 cups of non-dairy milk (a thicker one is better) - 1 cup of vegan sugar or equivalent amount of sugar substitute - 1 tbsp vanilla extract or scraped vanilla bean - 1 tsp sea salt - toasted coconut flakes to sprinkle over top (optional) **Note: If you wish a really thick and creamy ice cream, you can even use 3 cans of coconut cream with 1 cup of non-dairy milk instead of 2 and 2. It will be REALLY rich, but since this recipe is celebrating the coconut flavour and not attempting to disguise it, it is not a problem. If you use a thinner non-dairy milk, the texture will resemble a thinner "ice milk" texture rather than an "ice cream" like as if a sorbet and ice cream had a baby together. METHOD: 1. With a blender, immersion blender, or food processor, blend all ingredients until pineapples are evenly blended (I basically pulverized mine until smooth, but you could leave it a bit chunkier if you wish.) **Note: If your coconut cream has those little fat balls in it, just heat it up slightly until they are melted. If not, they will never go away and they are kind of gross. 2. Chill for at least 2 hours and follow your ice cream maker's instructions. If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can just freeze it in a shallow pan (it won't have the same consistency as with an ice cream maker, but I doubt you'll have it around long enough to care). 3. Scoop it, sprinkle it with the toasted coconut, enjoy, and REPEAT (well, we went back for more, anyway)!!!! P.S. I have not tried it, but I think it would well withstand a splash (or 6) of vegan booze to resemble a sort of Pina Colada slushie perfect for summery slurping! Hope you enjoy it as much as we all did! Melinda Erin - June 2015. |
AuthorThis is my Blog! I also love to share my thoughts on Facebook, so if you enjoy my ramblings, feel free to connect with me there too! Archives
December 2015
CategoriesAll Acceptance Afterlife Belief Coping Death Dying Grief Healing Intuition Manifesting Miracles Self Improvement Self-improvement Soul Spirit |