Love, Life, and the Spirit Within

By Ashley Marsillas

After her mother dies from colon cancer, Ashley Marsillas begins to receive messages and signs from the spirit world during her grieving process. She contacts a medium, who confirms that the author is receiving messages from her mother, who is continuing to watch over her daughter. Ashley studies many types of metaphysical systems and people, including psychics, mediums, spirituality, channeling, and anything to do with connecting to spirit.

From her experiences with her own grieving, the author has crafted a book designed to help others who have lost a loved one. She includes meditation techniques and many stories about her connection with the spirit world. Love, Life, and the Spirit Within is a motivational book that demonstrates how an individual can achieve anything they set their mind to.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jun 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781532023064

Ashley Marsillas

Ashley Marsillas was born and raised in Chicago. She grew up in a real estate family where she learned about business and ethics at a very young age. She has extensively studied martial arts and the healing arts, including meditation practices, in both the United States and Southeast Asia. She currently resides in Wisconsin with her husband and two loving dogs.

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Copyright © 2017 Lorre Deppe.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-2307-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-2306-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017908191

iUniverse rev. date: 06/21/2017

CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part 1—My Mother’s Passing And My Experiences

Chapter 1—How We Got Here

Chapter 2—Mom’s Passing

Chapter 3—Signs From The Animal World

Chapter 4—Meeting With A Medium

Chapter 5—A Positive Outlook

Chapter 6—Animal Connections And Another Medium Visit

Chapter 7—Messages And Signs

Chapter 8—Clear Signs From Mom

Chapter 9—Another Session With The Medium And My Sister

Chapter 10—More Spirit Connections

Chapter 11—Christmastime

Chapter 12—More Spirit Connections And Experiences

Chapter 13—My Husband’s Dreams

Chapter 14—My Husband’s Medium Experiences And His Thoughts On The Subject

Chapter 15—My Thoughts On Grieving And How To Heal

Part 2—Mom’s Life History

Chapter 16—Mom’s Birth And Early Childhood

Chapter 17—Chicago And The Big City Life

Chapter 18—Martine Meets Her True Love

Chapter 19—Martine Has Children

Chapter 20—The Business Years

Momisms—Sayings from My Mom

Part 3—Meditations And More

Chapter 21—Meditations And Connections

Conclusion

About The Author

To my mom, who taught me that anything is possible if you have a goal and plan on achieving that goal! Thank you for your love and your life lessons and for pushing me to achieve my dreams. Until we meet on the other side, I love you.

PREFACE

This book is a gift from spirit. My mom told me to write this book and to make others believe. This would not seem out of the ordinary for her, because she was such an amazing person. What is phenomenal is that she told me this after her death. This book is a story of how my mom helped me overcome grief from the other side. It is meant to help you become aware of the spirits that are helping you and guiding you every day.

This book also tells the incredible life story of my mom, who grew up in extreme poverty and suffered many hardships to become a self-made millionaire. Her story hopefully will inspire you to go for your dreams, whatever they may be.

I have written this book to help heal grief from losing a loved one. My mom’s story should inspire and motivate you. I have also included a section on meditation and basic practices on connecting with spirits and spirit guides.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you, Andrew, my husband, for inspiring me and helping me with the extreme grief I experienced when I lost my mom. I love you. You’re a kind and loving soul.

Thank you, Tina, my sister, who always supports me. Even when we disagree, you still stand by me and support my goals. I love you.

Thank you to all my friends who helped me get through the hardest experience of my life. You know who you are, and I love you for it.

Thank you to the mediums I was honored to meet during the first year after my mom’s passing. You helped me on my spiritual journey and let me know that death is not the end but a new beginning.

INTRODUCTION

I have written this book to help those who grieve from losing a loved one. Also, it is a motivational book to show you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it and work for that goal! I hope this book gives you some comfort and/or motivates you to be better in your life’s journey.

Remember life is about lessons and opportunities. No matter what is going on, life is what you make of it. No matter where you are, life can get better. Never give up hope, because you are in control of your future.

Look at this opportunity as a chance to learn and grow. When you lose somebody you love, it often feels like the end of the world. Try to look back on that person’s life to see what lessons you learned from him or her and what lessons you continue to discover. Honor this person by remembering him or her in a positive way. Think of this individual and smile. Remember love never dies!

PART 1

My Mother’s Passing and My Experiences

CHAPTER

1

How We Got Here

This is where it all started, the last few days of my mom’s life. Here is what led up to the time of my mom’s death. Mom was diagnosed with colon cancer in August 2015. This was found through various testing from a hospital visit. We were devastated and heartbroken, but we knew we would help Mom in every way that we could.

The hardest part was knowing that without the surgery Mom could have a blockage or bleed out quickly and she would be gone instantly. We discussed what options we had and what she wanted to do. She insisted on no chemotherapy or radiation treatments. Mom was beautiful with such gorgeous hair and skin. She modeled in her twenties, and she was not going to lose her hair or looks if she had any say in the matter. She had a saying she uttered often: I’ll make a beautiful corpse.

After a few weeks of contemplating, she chose to have the surgery to remove the cyst. The operation was a success, and Mom was home in three days. She never regained her physical strength, but we knew she was out of immediate danger at this time. This was a very tough time on us all, but we pulled together as a family.

This was in early October 2015. The surgeon told us to do testing in early January to make sure all was well. Until that time, we spent many moments together and reminisced on past holidays, birthdays, and celebrations. We would talk a great deal on all the businesses we started and ran together over the years and how we made them successful. We were very close, and I cried a lot in private.

We eventually scheduled that appointment in January 2016 and did all the necessary testing needed to see how Mom was doing. After a few long days, we got the results back, and it wasn’t good news. Mom had cancer all over her, and she was given maybe three to six months to live.

I’d feared this from the beginning, but I remained hopeful all along for a miracle or something. I don’t know what I was hoping for since I knew the reality of this as we went along. Mom and I held each other and cried. We would look into each other’s eyes and feel the true love that a mother and daughter have for each other and a closeness that two soul mates would feel. We were extremely close, and I spent most of my life with Mom—running and starting new businesses and always trying new things.

Mom would often say to me, It’s not the dying I’m afraid of. It’s not seeing your face anymore that hurts the most. And then she would cry.

The next couple of months seemed to go by as normal. Mom’s symptoms didn’t seem to get worse for this short period, but we knew they would, and we were preparing for them. When March arrived, we noticed Mom was starting to show some signs of forgetfulness, confusion, and physical weakness. We decided to get a nurse to come by often and get a home health care visit a few times a week. My sister was a trauma nurse and had lots of experience in the medical field, but we realized we needed full-time care.

We also hired some friends to come in, clean, and just visit with Mom when we were both busy working. I am in real estate, and my sister is in surgery and works five to six days a week. We knew we needed help and couldn’t do this alone.

During March, we also noticed she was getting angry with the nurses and hospice that would stop by just to check on her. She wanted to be left alone, but we knew it was for her own well-being. She fell in the bathroom one night. She fell out of bed another night. The time she fell off the bottom step of the basement and bumped her head was the final straw. We knew she could not be left alone, not even for a few hours. Having a nurse, hospice, and friends coming by daily wasn’t enough. Having a full-time live-in was against her wishes, and that made all of this more difficult.

We made some tough decisions to put Mom in memory care, where she would be watched 24-7. We shared our last holiday together on Easter 2016. We took many pictures, and I am so thankful that we did. Mom didn’t want her picture taken, because she wanted to be remembered as beautiful, vivacious, and bubbly. She loved to say vivacious and bubbly for some reason. That was Mom having a unique way with words. She seemed to make up sayings and rhyme different words together so she was remembered. Anyone who got to know her knows this all too well. She was one of a kind, and it was well known to her family and friends.

April arrived, and an opening finally became available at the memory care, so we moved Mom in on April 5, 2016, at one