My Sacred Lover: A true story of love, synchronicities, and grief

By Lidia Peñalver

My Sacred Lover is the story of two souls, Chester and Lidia, quest in search of unconditional love that is their heart’s deepest desire. Even though they were born in two different continents, an arrangement of synchronicities perfectly orchestrated guided them to finally meet. Once they found each other, the wings of love embraced and guided them during the best time of their lives.
Their avid interest in the spirit world will help them to soar into a higher level of consciousness. It is a joyful, loving enlightening life adventure that will present to Lidia through dreams, signs, and messages the biggest challenge of her life that she will overcome with the help of her inner guidance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Nov 16, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504369411

Lidia Peñalver

Lidia Peñalver was born and raised in Spain. She is a Licensed Massage Therapist, Reiki Master Teacher, and a Yoga Teacher. Her interest in the esoteric healing arts at an early age has helped to further develop a keener intuition that has rendered the opportunity to assist others to improve their lives and her own, as well. Her creative nature has always sought for an outlet to express herself. Painting and pottery have been her primary choices. However, writing has become the new canvas lately to paint on. Lidia Peñalver currently lives in Fort Lauderdale and loves traveling, hiking, cooking, gardening, and stroking Julie, her neighbor’s cat.

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MY SACRED

Lover

A TRUE STORY OF LOVE, SYNCHRONICITIES, AND GRIEF

LIDIA PEÑALVER

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Copyright © 2016 Lidia Peñalver.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Balboa Press

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5043-6940-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-6942-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-6941-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016918527

Balboa Press rev. date: 11/16/2016

Contents

Introduction

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 A Little Bit About Me

Chapter 2 The Beginning Of My Journey

Chapter 3 Chester’s Personal Story

Chapter 4 Our First Hello

Chapter 5 Our First Date

Chapter 6 Two Weeks Before The Workshop

Chapter 7 Synchronicities

Chapter 8 The Engagement Ring

Chapter 9 House Hunting

Chapter 10 Our Wedding

Chapter 11 Loving The Life We Were Living

Chapter 12 Signs, Messages, And Dreams From Above

Chapter 13 The First Sign Of Loss

Chapter 14 A Week Before His Transition

Chapter 15 Last Sunday Bliss

Chapter 16 Taking Off From Physical Form

Chapter 17 The Freedom Walk

Chapter 18 Feeling Loved And Blessed

Chapter 19 Ask And You Shall See

Chapter 20 Perfect Timing

Chapter 21 Living In The Love Vibration

Chapter 22 Love, The Power Within

I dedicate this book to my husband,

Chester David Freels Jr.,

July 18, 1955,

to

October 30, 2014

To my love.

You came to me upon my call,

like a drop of sun you showed up next to my shore.

We laughed and cherished each other’s soul,

and the ocean was the witness of our love.

We laughed and cherished each other’s lives,

and we found divine unconditional love in our hearts.

We laughed and cherished our love,

for it is the most precious reward we were given from above.

Eternally Yours,

Lidia Peñalver

INTRODUCTION

It was two months after Chester made his transition that I felt inspired and guided to write about our story. The instant this idea entered my mind, and before I had the chance to ponder on the book’s theme, it showed itself to me within the chambers of my mind. The chapters seemed to be already determined and organized, as if they were downloaded to the hard drive of my soul from a higher plane and were waiting for me to be acknowledged. As each chapter was effortlessly unfolding, I felt Chester’s presence helping with the process. He wanted to write a book about our spiritual experiences and especially about the unconditional love we shared. He never began to write it. However, it seems that I have become the physical tool for his desire to come to fruition. And this task has proved to be a helping hand for me to cope with his sudden death.

This story is about how I found my way to true love. It is a journey that guided me to my inner heart and opened the porthole to unconditional love that ultimately led to him, my sacred lover, who is my beloved husband, Chester.

When I made up my mind about what I wanted in life, the events that were happening at that time started to cause a rippling effect. I was beginning a journey that upon its completion would bring me to my destination. Being surrounded by the right people made me feel safe and inspired, reassuring me to continue my search. A higher knowledge was confirming I was on the right track.

It is certainly a journey of self-realization and spiritual growth. My intention is to share my experience of finding true unconditional love and how that very same love has helped me grieve. This experience has changed my life and my perspective forever.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my brother, Pablo Peñalver Garro, and my sisters, María Jesús Peñalver Garro, Inés Peñalver Garro, and Eva Peñalver Garro, for their loving support and encouragement to write this book. I am thankful for my parents, Antonio Peñalver Blázquez and Manuela Garro Gómez, because of the person I grew up to be.

I am grateful to my brother and sister in law, Michael and Linda Freels, for their emotional support and assistance when I needed them the most. To my parents in law, Barbara Freels and Chester A. Freels, who reunited his son Chester in January 2016, and brother-in-law, Steven Freels, for their love.

My appreciation goes to Stephanie Pavelic and Andrea Barshay Williams for taking the time and effort to help me making this book readable.

I am thankful for all the love and support I have received from my friends Corinne Galeni Shafie and Darius Shafie, Pablo González and Luisa Cabanas de González, Dawn Pappous, Michael Kourjakian and Jennifer Pacheco, and Pam Moran McCord.

I give many thanks for the guidance I have received from above to be able to write this story.

CHAPTER 1

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME

I was born in Candeleda, a small village in the Valle del Tietar, province of Avila in Spain. I am the fourth of five children raised by a family of farmers and shepherds. I was always surrounded by nature and all kinds of animals.

I remember as a child being fascinated by different creatures, in particular by ants and spiders. I would spend hours looking at the entrance of the ants’ nest observing how they worked. I admired their tenacity and their well-organized team effort. Other times, I would watch how a spider made her web and how it was precisely mended. Their focus on what they were doing was such that they did not seem to be bothered by my presence. After spending some time looking at them, I could sense their unity and love for what they were doing.

Living in a farmhouse gave me the chance to interact closely with domestic animals. I loved brushing the cows and took naps with them. Our house had three floors. The bottom floor was the stable, where our two cows, Marquesa and Cigüeña, and a horse stayed overnight. I was four years old when my mother thought I got lost. She was busy doing house chores when she realized I was not in the house. She had spent an hour looking for me everywhere in the village. Everybody she asked had not seen me around. Suddenly, she remembered me grabbing a big square brush as I was heading to the stable. She went downstairs, opened the door, and there I was peacefully sleeping in the lap of one of the cows. It never dawned on her I was in the house all along. She had a big smile when she saw me, and she was very thankful that the cow never moved while I was sleeping. The interaction with animals had helped me to develop a sense of gratitude and respect for all of nature’s creations. Everything seemed to be magical. Even the different smells of various plants and herbs that grew wild in the area are still transporting me today to where I smelled them for the first time. It is a warm sensation of well-being and contentment. It is the love for those moments that was stored within that always brings a smile to my face.

My paternal grandparents had a business selling paprika and dried oregano. Oregano is a herb that grows wild all over the valley and mountains where we lived. You could smell it in summer when it was in bloom. Paprika is the dried grounded powder of a kind of bell pepper originating from these parts of Spain. In fact, the region of La Vera is famous for its exquisite paprika. It is used for seasoning meats and soups. It has a deep, bright red color and a very distinctive sweet yet peppery smell. It comes in three flavors if you will: one is naturally sweet; the second kind is smoked; and the third one is spicy hot when mixed with cayenne pepper to intensify the taste buds.

My grandparents had a big one-floor house and an attic where various vegetables, herbs, and farming apparel were stored during winter. It was a perfect playground for me; I loved hiding behind old wicker baskets and wooden trunks for hours when they would let me. My imagination soared in my secret hideout. One of the rooms on the first floor was used to store and weigh the paprika and oregano. It was a huge room with a ten-foot ceiling. The cemented floor was very smooth and had a shiny finish. It kept the room at a perfect temperature to store the herbs and peppers during the hot summer days. Toward one of the corners, there was an old-fashioned scale hanging from the ceiling with a strong, thick chain and two big hooks with a metal bar at the end. From one end of the metal bar, there was one plate in the shape of a frying pan. The other end had several smaller chains with hooks where the goods were hung and weighed. It was big and sturdy enough to hoist a whole pig. That room had the most amazing odor. It was the oregano fragrance that flooded every inch of those walls that created a beautiful and peaceful energy. It was one of my most favorite smells in the whole world and still is.

My sister Inés and her daughter Claudia came to visit us one Christmas and brought the precious oregano and paprika that my father, who still lives in those mountains, got for her and me. I was so excited when I saw it. I immediately opened the bag with the oregano, and right away I got transported to the valley where I was born. I saw with my mind’s eye the room with a large amount of dried oregano piled up almost to the ceiling. I felt very elevated to a place of joy, happiness, and well-being. I still have the jar where I kept my precious herb. Once in a while, when I want to feel that exhilarating and peaceful sensation, all I have to do is open the jar and sniff it. It always works. Even my husband, Chester, noticed how much joy I felt when smelling it. My whole face changes into a more serene look; even my attitude relaxed, particularly if it had been acting up.

This memory is perhaps one of my most precious. It is a memory that reminds me of how such a small pleasure can bring so much joy and harmony no matter how many times I recall it. It is the pleasure of knowing that something bigger than me is always there, and I can connect to it; certainly, this oregano fragrance has that effect on me. I love its smell and how it makes me feel.

My parents did what they believed was best for me, and I thank them for the person I grew up to be. I listened to them when they told me how I had to act and behave. They told me what was right and wrong according to what their parents taught them, trying to pass that onto me. Many times I did not agree with their ideas and had to adjust regardless of what I thought or wanted.

Those were the times when I noticed the different emotions appearing within. The emotions were clashing with one another because what I thought was right for me was not compatible with what they were telling me. It did not feel right to me at that moment. I felt my emotions having a discussion among themselves, provoking different thoughts that created solutions for the event at hand. This internal dialogue helped to remove the emotional confusion in my mind. As soon as I eliminated it, I was able to get back to my happy self. Those situations helped me discern what I wanted from what I did not want. This laid a path for spiritual growth, and at the same time, ignited my inner power to create what I most desired in my life, to be happy.

There were moments during my childhood of intense contrast, which I understood later, it was necessary for my spiritual growth. Those times fueled me to seek happiness again and again. Happiness was my secret weapon to restore peace and serenity to my life. I don’t know how I learned to do that, but I do know everything became easier with practice, and happiness was my primary target for a peaceful space within. I kept recreating in my mind a harmonious world of my own where happiness was the primary emergency tool. As I grew older, I started noticing how people handled their life’s challenges and how they allowed themselves to become distracted from their true selves. I often wondered if they might have a secret place where they could peacefully retreat. Over and over again I practiced bringing myself back to where I felt nurtured and safe. I used my imagination to create a serene space and stayed there till I felt good again.

At the age of fifteen, I was terrified of becoming an adult. It wasn’t that I did not want to grow up,