Changes in relationships when you open to Spirit

When I first began receiving messages from Spirit and sharing them, I had a mixed bag of reactions from my close friends and family. Some people were eager to hear all about it and even more. Some cautiously opened up to it and then became enthusiastic and others...not so much.

One of the most challenging lessons I have learned as I embraced my Spirituality was that not everyone was going to like it, and I had two choices: I could go back on myself and hide or I could just own it, step up and brush off the negative vibes and disapproval.

One particular instance stands out for me as a challenging one, but one that ultimately helped me to see both my friend and myself in a new light. One of my very dear and long time friends had lost her mom a few years ago. Since then she and I discussed my work as a medium, and she was fine with it in principal. Our friendship pretty much stayed as it always had. Then, it happened. Her mom came to me with beautiful messages for my friend. I received them and held on to them for a little while before saying anything. I knew this was delicate and I really pondered whether it was a good idea to tell my friend about it. I wasn’t sure if she would be receptive. I also understand that it is one thing to know someone’s a medium, but it’s another to personally receive messages from a Loved One you said a long and painful goodbye to years before. But ultimately I felt responsible as the holder of sensitive information, I trusted that the messages had come for a reason and I felt my friend should at least have the opportunity to decide whether or not she wanted to hear them.

So, I broached the subject with my friend and asked her if she wanted to hear what I received. I told her it was fine with me if she did hear them and fine with me if she didn’t. Either way no matter what, it was OK. She said OK, why not? So I gave them.

Well, her reaction was not what I had hoped. She turned on me and attacked me personally. She wanted me to apologize for giving them to her, that the messages didn’t do anything for her and that I forced myself on her. I was really hurt by her reaction and I immediately felt what we all feel in those situations – a desire to instantly react and give my side of the story. But, I asked my Guides and Angels what the best course of action would be. They told me to wait. To not rush into action – to give myself time to process the information and then decide how I wanted to respond.

This was the best guidance I could possibly have gotten. It was so counter to my natural inclination and my habit of behavior that it was actually really difficult for me to follow, but I did. I waited. I let my emotions run their course. I talked it out with my husband and with another trusted friend and medium who had been through a very similar situation.

What I realized by taking some time to process this situation was that my friend was reacting to the messages, not to me. Her emotions were stirred up and she was having a lot of feelings about what was in those messages and the only way she knew how to process them was to lash out at the messenger. This realization gave me the understanding I needed to respond to her compassionately and not to react in anger.

As you begin your path and eventually tell others in your life about your belief system and experiences, you too may experience different reactions. Understand that this is to be expected and try to keep in mind that this is not only and all about you. Remember that other people’s reactions are usually a reflection of their own ability or inability to accept something new to them. They may have a belief system that simply cannot entertain yours. You know what? That’s OK – respect them for where they are on their life path, open your heart to forgiveness and compassion and try to see that maybe their reaction is telling you about them, not so much about you.

When you feel personally attacked it can be hard to take a breath, step back and not react. But Spirit consistently guides us to see the larger picture and to give others room to be themselves. This doesn’t mean you tolerate abuse, but it does mean you can give others the space for their beliefs and ask them to do the same for yours.

Cultivate some new friendships. Ask your Angels and Guides to lead you to new to like-minded people, and they will!

With love,

Ashley