Spirit Speaks. Are You Listening?: The Transformative Journey & Teachings of Spiritual Intuitive Valerie Croce Stiehl

By Vera Haldy-Regier and Valerie Croce Stiehl

Spirit Speaks. Are You Listening? follows the remarkable spiritual journey of a woman who knew from early childhood that she had a wise and true voice within that spoke to her from realms beyond.

Valerie Croce Stiehl outlines a life path every one of us can take if we long for inner peace and fulfillment. Hers are words to live by, road signs that can be followed readily no matter where you are on your path.

She tells of her early years as the suddenly single mother of five children; years of deprivation as she worked and went to school and struggled to put food on the table for her family; a later executive career in Manhattan; a transforming Near Death Experience as a result of a devastating car crash; and a decade living on an Indian reservation in South Dakota.

Those experiences forged a woman of towering strength, love and purposeguided surely by Spirit. It has been said of her by a spiritual teacher that she lives in a state of grace. This book confirms the fact.

Enlightened, deeply spiritual, and most welcome, Spirit Speaks fulfills the seekers quest for truths both mundane and ethereal.
Swami Bhimasen - Sivanda Ashram, India

Valerie shares with us connectedness to the universe, not unlike Nicholas Black Elk, who, like her, left behind a comfortable world to seek truth and beauty in the natural spiritualism of Native American culture.
Don Wigal, Ph.D. - Experiences in Faith (1970)

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 15, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462049950

Vera Haldy-Regier

Vera Haldy-Regier is a longtime student of spirituality. Her career as a magazine editor, freelance writer, and marketing executive spans forty years. She is the author of the memoir An Irregular Girlhood in Hitler’s Shadow. Vera currently lives in Hastings-on-Hudson and Woodstock, New York, where she writes poetry in her spare time.

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Copyright © 2011 by Vera Haldy-Regier, Valerie Croce Stiehl.

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ISBN: 978-1-4620-4993-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4620-4994-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4620-4995-0 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011915130

iUniverse rev. date: 09/06/2012

Contents

Prologue

Early March To A Different Drummer

Illuminating the Great Divide of Consciousness

Traveling the Red Road of Native Americans

The Work, The Journey

In the Words of Spirit

The Mortality Clock Ticks; Are You Listening?

The Ultimate Transformation: Death

My Wish for You

Author’s Afterword

Acknowledgements

Further Reading

Prologue

I have always had faith in the wisdom of the universe and in its timing. Things happen as they should even if some events are initially unwelcome. Time inevitably unfurls the meanings of these, their purposes or the lessons inherent in them.

This book began rather unexpectedly, but it immediately felt very right to tell my story at this point in time. Moreover, a happy confluence of events made the book a reality; I was distributing leaflets announcing an upcoming spiritual workshop I was conducting and gave some to a friend. She, in turn, passed them on to her friend, a writer, who then attended my workshop. The writer, Vera Haldy-Regier and I got to know each other and the idea for this book was born between us.

I feel certain that this synchronicity of events inevitably opened the path to what was destined to be. Paying attention to such road signs is the way I have always lived my life and it has served me well.

In addition to the aforementioned dialogue I had with the universe, in my years of conducting workshops and individual spiritual counseling, I saw the pervasive need for guidance sought by many. I saw their pain and felt how lost they were and how desperately they wanted to trust in a Higher Power that would light their way. At the same time, I came to recognize who was ready for that path, hungry enough for it, and who would live their pain yet longer before they would discover how to embrace the peace that is there for us all because it is our essence, the stillness at our center. Call it grace, the blessing that frees us from the demands of our egos and reveals our true essence.

What guided me spiritually had always been more real than anything the physical world had to teach me. I looked inward, followed the voice that whispered to me from there and forged ahead to find that the path thus chosen was always the right one.

That voice came in several forms: as clairvoyant visions, prophetic dreams, and even as automatic writing—mysterious sentences that I felt compelled to record and then examine for their meaning. Inevitably, they were rife with meaning, gilded in wisdom that I did not know myself to possess.

All the while, I have never seen myself as extraordinary and certainly not worthy of being celebrated in any way. I marveled only at the fact that I accepted the validity of my inner voice so unconditionally and that I followed its guidance with deep confidence.

And that brings me to the idea of this book. It occurred to me that those ready to move ahead on their path would pick up this book, while those not yet receptive would simply let their eyes wander to other titles. It would constitute the kind of natural selectivity that would help those who could learn from my path and not squander the time of the others.

I wanted to depict a realistic journey, one that is often rough and painful as we let go of the familiar old ways of viewing the world and leap with faith into the world of Spirit that lives within us all, there for the taking. The journey to our spirit will reward us lavishly.

I should also add that a considerable number of those I have helped have encouraged me to describe my journey so that others might find the courage to venture forth as well.

Writing of my experiences and perceptions became my way of coming out, of emerging from a closet that hid my true self from even some members of my family. However, that is merely a happy, unintended consequence.

Yet one more happy consequence was that the many probing and insightful questions Vera Haldy-Regier asked me in the course of our months of work together, helped unearth long-forgotten memories. They also helped give a voice to those beliefs and teachings that I had not formulated consciously and that were just below the surface, yet actively working as I counseled. Full consciousness is always one’s strongest ally.

A notable part of this book is devoted to the ten years I spent living with the Lakota Sioux in South Dakota. However, the one thing it does not purport to be is a history of Indian culture or even of Indian spirituality. The book is strictly speaking about my personal journey, one which was given wings and substance in large part through the teachings, by example and otherwise, of those wise and generous people. I shall always be deeply grateful to them for having helped move me to a higher plane than one mired largely in earthly matters and concerns.

In thinking about the purpose of this book, I realized that it was inextricably linked to what I perceive as my purpose in this life.

Fortunately, the purposefulness of my life, or at least the importance of life purpose, came to me at an early age. I became the defender and advocate of the kids that were bullied, and, increasingly, the pain of others seeped into my being as though I was its recipient; a sense of unity with others was there without my needing or being able to put a name on it. I only knew that I had a very clear mandate to help whoever crossed my path, no matter what their age, gender, race, creed or culture. I placed no moral value on that mandate, rather, just accepting it as a fact of my life not requiring recognition, much like a gazelle does not need to be seen as swift. It just is.

In this world of so much separation from one another as we sit in front of our computers and speak with each other largely via Facebook or Twitter, the need to acknowledge and validate one another is greater than ever. A warm smile, a small kindness, and a hug don’t transmit electronically and somehow we have replaced them with exchanges of brief news bytes. Can anyone feel she matters if she has become a cipher? Can anyone heal if he does not feel acknowledged or accepted for who he is?

In later years, my purpose has been revealed to me most wondrously through the quiet inner voice of Spirit. I am meant to teach and guide seekers towards who they are spiritually and who they are destined to become. That destiny may be lofty or it may be simple and humble.

A person may be on a path to a deeper realization of the gift she has to bring to others, perhaps as a musician, writer, social worker, chef, weaver, road builder, or car mechanic. Not everyone is destined, empowered or endowed to lead others to their inner bliss. However, if they can find what makes them happy and fulfilled, they will quite naturally make a valuable contribution to the world, for they will do their work well.

That being said, I believe with firm conviction that we all have the potential and destiny to realize our spiritual selves, the part of ourselves that transcends earthly preoccupations. It may not happen in our present incarnation, but it will happen in a future one to which we will have graduated through introspective effort.

Thus, this book traces my journey to a higher purpose and, in so doing, hopes to deliver road signs for you to follow. Pursue your goals with the courage and confidence that the universe wishes fulfillment for you and that the universe itself will be there as your facilitator.

On your path, you will need to be brutally honest with yourself in order to be true to your authentic nature, not to the sanitized face you wish to show the world, not the face that reflects your ego or your vanity. That face is not your true nature.

Be a fearless warrior and believe in yourself and the boundless potential you possess. The only thing that holds you back is the unwarranted doubt in your worth.

You will see that I have drawn on many disciplines in the belief that many diverse spiritual roads lead to the same end-effect of self-realization. Open your mind and heart to every teaching that resonates with you. Do not feel that you must commit to one alone. Be the mystic who stirs the pot of many ingredients, inhales its many fragrances and then distills from them the essence that nourishes you most satisfyingly.

I have studied Vedantic teachings, Native American spirituality, A Course in Miracles, the beliefs of interfaith ministers, Buddhism, Christianity, the Kabbalah and Urantia, the teachings inspired by angels, ascended masters, spirits and souls who have spoken from past lives.

What is interesting is that these paths were ultimately not disparate in their goals. They all taught me that love, compassion and kindness are the powerful winds that lift our wings and help us soar; they heal us while they heal others.

Sounds easy, but of course it is not. It requires that you send your ego out to pasture for good. A true teacher is but a vessel through which truth and wisdom course as the lifeblood for all who have ears to listen and a mind and heart that are open.

I am not personally an enlightened soul but merely one through whom enlightenment travels like a strong, invigorating current. If anything, that is profoundly humbling, for how can the glass celebrate itself when the wine that flows from it to your lips is the true gift?

As the years wind down, I have become keenly aware of a smaller window of time through which I can project my life purpose and fulfill my calling to help and heal the wounded. But, that makes me no less grateful for the shape that my work has given my life. It is a fulfilled and happy one.

Now, it is my fervent hope that this book will serve you well and inspire you to reach your full potential, for that is all that matters.

Early March

To A Different Drummer

Is it possible to be born autonomous—to know from the start that you are fine on your own, just as you are? It’s not very likely, but there are exceptions.

I was no older than three when I had a strong sense that just because my parents were adults or at least bigger than I, it did not mean they knew any more about parenting than I did. Preposterous, you say. But, it becomes yet stranger; I had a startling vision of pushing them in a gigantic stroller in a reversal of roles that seemed completely natural. They needed my directives, a guidance that was mine from a source other than theirs… and I was very confident of my source.

If you are still reading, and I can understand that you might have decided that I lost all reason a very long time ago, you might still remain with me for a short while more to confirm your initial response. However, I must assure you that I lead a normal life, pay my bills, take joy in a glorious sunset, cherish my family, which includes five children, three grandchildren and one great granddaughter and do what I can to nourish even their adult needs. I go to the grocery store, service my little car regularly, clean my house, write thank you notes for the kindnesses shown me, and am grouchy when the line I am on at the Motor Vehicle Bureau is long.

I live in free-spirited, peace-embracing Woodstock, New York, but I was born in the gritty New York borough of the Bronx and later worked as an executive for a large insurance company in Manhattan for a dozen years. I was a success by conventional standards and by dint of hard work, but I remained an outsider, a square peg in a round hole, not unlike the way I felt as a child. I followed my own inner guides and acted on their advice, never thinking for one moment that there was anything unusual about their constant, nurturing presence. They were trustworthy, of that I was certain, more trustworthy than any other source, including my well-meaning, caring parents. They were just fine as far as that went. It was no fault of theirs that they didn’t know what was best for me… but I knew.

Can you remain with me for just a bit longer while I return to the oversized stroller? As I imagined pushing them along the busy sidewalks of the East Bronx where we first lived on Orchard Avenue, they looked small but companionable in their comfortable, soft double stroller that might have accommodated twins or medium sized, pampered dogs. My parents were well meaning but clueless about me and what was best for me, nothing to hold against them.

Having determined early that I was headstrong, intractable and bent upon total independence, they decided that I would not be sent to parochial school like my sister and brother as I was certain to irritate the nuns and embarrass the family, so off I went to Public School 21. That was fine with me. My inner guides approved. Theirs were not so much voices as simple certainties conveyed in the form of an ineffable energy. They knew what I must do at every turn in the road and I benefited from their knowledge at the very moment that they received it, or so it seemed. I never thought about where it came from. After all, why would I question certainties?

Our next home was a comfortable two-bedroom flat in an old four-family building on East 230th Street near White Plains Avenue. I shared a bedroom with my sister and brother and we used a pay phone down the hall, but there was no sense of lack in my life.

The building was also home to my grandparents, uncles and numerous cousins. It was a lower middle-income neighborhood with a vibrant mix of Irish, Italians, Blacks and Hispanics, which provided an environment that was exciting and closely knit. We supplied all the adventure any kid needed and I confess to contributing a healthy share of mischief and oppositional spirit to the games we played. I was never very good at following rules and knuckling under because there was also a voice within me to which I listened above all others.

On Sundays I was encouraged to go to Mass with my cousins and whichever sibling could be persuaded to join me. Of course I was told to be respectful, well behaved and properly pious in my demeanor. Generally I was hungry by then and so I would sneak a sandwich into church and munch it unabashedly and in full view of anyone who was not too embarrassed to acknowledge my presence. My inner voice usually overrode that of my parents. They were not pleased over the inevitable reports of my mid-morning meals in the pew.

Mine was a happy, secure childhood embedded in a large, boisterous family. Christmas and all other

Reviews for Spirit Speaks. Are You Listening?

[verahaldy4regier · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The spiritual journey and teachings of an inspired clairvoyant, destined to connect you to Spirit. Valerie Croce Stiehl’s ten years of life on an Indian reservation offer a unique and deep insight into a spiritual wisdom essential to navigate our troubled times.