Author: Gretchen Mickelson

Stop Hoping and Start Trusting

In meditation yesterday I was guided to stop hoping and start trusting. This lead me to really start thinking of the two words/concepts. In Merriam Webster’s dictionary hope and trust are synonyms of each other and are often used interchangeably. So, what is the difference? Here is what I discovered:

First for me there is a difference in the energy of the two words.

Let’s look at hope first. There is an expectation that something will happen, or a wish for it to be. For me there is an uncertainty with hope though. Doubt has somehow crept into it. This was a sad realization for me. In my daily life I often rely on hope that things will get better or that I will get a good parking spot at the grocery store. It seems like wishful thinking…almost.

Don’t get me wrong I still feel like there’s a place for hope. You must always have hope in your heart for the things you desire. There is a light hearted and playful nature to hope that trust doesn’t have, and I believe that is important too.

For the big things like believing in yourself, manifesting, and choosing the right path for your life, that should be the job of trust.

Trust implies there is a force or person responsible. There is no doubt involved with trust. It is proven and experienced. An example is that I know that my sister will take good care of my babies, like there were her own. I trust her.

When I got the message yesterday that I needed to stop hoping and start trusting. I realized that I wasn’t trusting myself, or God. I was hoping that things would work out for me. I was putting out expectations, but not really trusting that they would be fulfilled. There has been an element of doubt all along.

Trust has always been a hard thing for me from a very early age. Many of us have come from broken homes and bad situations that have broken our trust. It requires a leap of faith, sometimes quite literally. Trusting yourself would be the best place to start. After that consider trusting the source of all things. I call him God, but he goes by many names. That is where I have decided to start!

Thank you for coming along on this journey with me.

-Gretchen

Synchronicities – Numbers

Today, I was going along my merry way, running errands and every single place I went I saw a license plate in the parking lot with the numbers 777.

I see repeating numbers quiet a bit. The universe is always sending me messages this way. Most people throughout their day see numbers everywhere: License plates, odometers, receipts, digital clocks, timers, addresses etc.

At one point I was going to go get myself a coffee at a place near to one of my stops. When I got there I discovered it wasn’t there anymore. Lucky for me, I knew there was another one close by and I felt the urge to take the extra few minutes to go there. When I got there, another 777. I am so grateful that for these messages. They are simple really, and something I would have chalked up to coincidence five years ago.

If you wonder what 777 means for me, and why it was such and impactful message let me explain. To me 777 is like a hug from the universe, and confirmation that I am on the right path. It means that the changes I have been making in my life through healing and personal growth, are soon to be rewarded in a grand way. That day, it was exactly what I had been questioning, and the universe provided me the answer in a fun way.

If you’re interested to find out what repeating numbers or angel numbers could mean to you, you can google it, there are many sites out there that explain. Once you do, I encourage you to meditate on it as there are lots of different ideas about what they mean and they can get confusing and convoluted. If that happens, like it did for me, let your own intuition be your guide.

When I first started looking at angel numbers, 777 always had a lucky connotation. I mean we’ve all seen slot machines with 777 across them at least in movies…However, it’s changed over the years to what I believe now.

Allowing messages from the universe to come through number synchronicities is one of the easiest ways to let the universe guide you. It doesn’t have to stop at seeing consecutive numbers either. You might see your birthdate or someone else’s, or some other numbers repeating a lot. If it means something to you and is associated with a feeling, then the message is for you.

The Fear of Missing Out

I had to make a difficult decision this weekend. I had a trip planned with my sister to visit my other sister that I have not seen in a year. She lives 10 hours away and we usually drive there together. It’s so much fun, and much needed time with my sisters.

Unfortunately, one of my dogs had an emergency vet visit last week that cost me quite a bit. In the past, I would just take the hit on my credit card for the vet visit and boarding the dogs over the weekend, and still go on the trip. This time I did the more responsible thing; I stayed home.

I felt good about not overcommitting my resources and my sisters understood even if they were disappointed. However, I woke up today, knowing my sisters are sharing the day together without me, and I got stuck in my disappointment.

Then something happened. I was laying down for a nap this afternoon, since I did still have the day off, when I realized, I am meant to have the experiences that I am meant to have. The only person that is going to look out for me, is me. Even if it was so disappointing not being there… Comparing myself to other people, and basing my value on what I see other people have or what they are doing, is not doing me any favors.

It’s okay to say No, to not give more than you can emotionally or materially. It’s okay to appreciate the things in your life that you do have. You might not get to go on that vacation, but maybe the universe has something more important planned for you.

Finding joy and gratitude for what you do have, instead of worrying about what you are missing, would be a far better use of the time, than being sad and sulking over the missed opportunity.

Identify Your Patterns

One of the Universal Laws is that cycles are a natural part of the universe.

Cycles can be seen outwardly, like in nature, but we can also see them in our own lives. We have them in relationships, in work, and in our behaviors.

Yesterday before bed I was getting a nudge from my intuition to read a journal entry from the same day 2 years ago. I was surprised by what I read and a little sad.

In this entry from a couple of years ago I was writing about a situation that I am going through right now with the same people! I’ve been working through some really hard things these last few months, and having some really tough realizations about my behavior patterns.

The most interesting thing about this is that I was getting the same advice from my intuition. I think the reason I was guided to this entry was to show me, this is a pattern and it’s time to change it. What I chose the last time, brought me right back to the same place. It’s time to break that cycle, learn the lesson, start a new way of living, and a heathy behavior pattern.

Do you find yourself repeating old patterns in relationships, at work, or in your behaviors? You will probably continue to live out these cycles again and again until you take the time to dig in there and do the healing work. If you want something different, you have to do something different.

Universal Wisdom – Feeling “Stuck” in Relationships

A Channeled Message from my spirit guide, called Teefa. He’s with me to impart universal wisdom.

Timing is important for all things. As the universe works with you to impact the lives of other people. There will always be delays and lessons along your path that keep you “stuck” for moments. These will be times of inaction, reflection, or sometimes they will feel like waiting, boredom and stagnation.

This allows the universe to align what is meant for you. It’s all orchestrated to perfection and there are so many variables it’s mind blowing for your logical minds. However, it’s a daily occurrence for the divine source. That is why willingness to believe and trust in the divine and go with the flow is so important.

Divine timing can feel restrictive and frustrating, but it has its purpose and we must understand this, and surrender to it completely. If the answers or movement is not coming for you, then perhaps you are trying to control an outcome. The more you try, the more miserable you will become. You must realize that the only one that can move the situation is the divine.

Channeled Message – What does the collective need to know to move us to the best possible outcome for all.

This is a message that I channeled this morning during meditation. I was preparing for a collective tarot reading on my youtube channel. If you want to check that out, the link is below my picture on the right.

The topic was, What does the collective need to know to move us to the best possible outcome for all. Here’s the message.

Teach your children how to cope with changes. Show them by your own actions how to ground their energy; to get out of their own mind and act in a loving and self empowered way. Teach them how to be kind to themselves. If you have not done this work yourself, then you must learn it, so that you can teach the next generation. This is imperative.

Hurt people who have not healed will hurt the people that they love. This is not because they are doing so intentionally, but because they are disconnected from themselves.

To find God you must go through yourself for God resides inside of you. You and I are connected through the heart. We are all one. The logical mind likes to keep you separate from the whole because it only knows your experience, but your heart has the knowledge of universal wisdom.

Teach your children to tap into this source so that they can make the highest and best choices for themselves and the whole of humanity. That is how we heal the planet. This comes from love and connectedness, not through division.

We all play a part, and that is where you will find your own uniqueness, your specialty if you will.

Teach your children to follow that inner compass and they will have fulfilling and abundant lives. Show them that love is found within and their hearts will always be full, and they will give of themselves freely.

Just Start Walking

Just a bit of advice from my spirit guides this morning in meditation that I thought would be good to share. I have heard this message so many times and in so many ways, but today, it just clicked for me.

Side note, we will keep getting the same message over and over until we are ready to receive it and incorporate it into our lives. The universe is amazing in that way. It’s really beautiful. When your confused, you can trust that the clarity will come when you’re in the right vibration to hear it.

Okay, onto the advice of today.

Often, people become overwhelmed by a dream because they think they need to have it all figured out before they start. The universe is not asking you to have it all figured out, all you need to do is have a destination and start walking in that direction with intent. Then, trust that the universe will provide you with the opportunities to make your dream a reality.

Sometimes we don’t know what we want, and in those moments, just start walking towards things that bring you fulfillment and joy. Things that brought you happiness as a child, that still bring you happiness as an adult is a good place to start. When you get into the flow, the clarity will come.

Just start and you will be met with the opportunities to get you there.

Personal Boundaries

Piggy backing on my last post, I want to talk about healthy boundaries. The concept of personal boundaries is very important for healthy relationships. We have to be careful when we have unhealed wounds and try to set boundaries as we can place boundaries up around ourselves that are unhealthy and toxic. They can come from a place of trying to control someone else’s behavior towards you, because of your own fears and insecurities.

For example, If I am in a relationship with someone and I know that I am triggered by the topic of money, so I place a boundary up, that I will just not discuss this topic with my partner. This is a toxic boundary. You are putting it in place because you are triggered by it. It is put up to avoid your feelings. Instead of doing the hard work of really trying to understand what is behind that issue, healing the underlying cause for that trigger, and allowing yourself and your partner to be heard and understood, you remove that trigger being presented to you.

This will not solve the underlying issue, and you will find yourself faced with more and more topics/things that are off the table until there is nothing left to discuss. Healthy relationships thrive on communication and a good understanding of yourself. If there are emotions stirred around certain topics, it’s important to discover why. What are you telling yourself in that moment, that isn’t actually true. What negative self talk is going on when that topic comes up?

Take a look at the boundaries that you have in your relationships. Are they based in self love, protection, and a good understanding of your needs, or are you trying to control and avoid?

Heart in a Glass Case or Healthy Boundaries

This morning during meditation I was given some guidance that I felt it was important to share.

Spirt showed me a heart glowing in a glass case. The only way to get to this heart was a key, which I wore on a chain around my neck.

It’s okay to offer and show my love to the world in my actions and words, but I don’t have to offer everyone the key to my heart.

In order to do this you have to have healthy boundaries.

I have people in my life who have shut their heart away because that is what safe. If nothing can pernitrate their heart then it won’t hurt again. I have done this too. I grew up believing that love always hurt, and that I had to earn it. I learned that from people that had poor boundaries that I loved. I wasn’t taught how to protect myself, so I allowed everything, and thought that it was what I deserved.

Then, something amazing happened. I learned to meditate. I learned to tap into my higher guidance system, and I asked for help to remove the blockages and bring me clarity. I asked to be shown what I needed to heal, and what self limiting beliefs were keeping me stuck. You can do this too! You must! Love is the highest vibration there is, and that is what the human race needs. More love!!!

Instead of hiding your love away, do the work to set the healthy boundaries with the people you feel connected to. Express your love to the world! Do this through your words, actions!