Navigating Life with Spirit

By Cher-yl Gander-Spagnolo

Have you ever been aware of Spirit communication? Do you ever feel as if an inanimate object can communicate with you? Cher-yl has, and here she shares personal experiences that have provided her with guidance throughout her life. Although unusual, she feels that many others have had similar experiences and do not share them because of their fear of being misunderstood. Although many of her experiences started when she was quite young, she was reluctant to share them until she was an adult. Her experiences show how she perceives the energy within aspects of the physical world and how one can open to the connection that is always there for us. Not only that, her experiences weave a thread of awareness that has proven useful in guiding her in many situations in her life, from marring her husband and choosing to have children to moving from Long Island, New York, to Sedona, Arizona. Cher-yl welcomes you to join her as she shares how she navigates through her life with the awareness of Spirit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Dec 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781982218454

Cher-yl Gander-Spagnolo

Born and raised on Long Island, New York, Cher-yl would spend many hours alone connecting with the energy of Nature. After receiving her Masters in Education, she was trained in many Energy Healing Modalities. Here she shares lessons learned from Spirit awareness that provided guidance throughout her life. And shares some Energy Healing techniques that you can use daily.

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 Cher-yl Gander-Spagnolo.

Editors: Carla Riedel, Gabrielle Ogilvie

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.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Balboa Press

A Division of Hay House

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.balboapress.com

1 [phone]

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 Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-9822-1842-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-1841-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-1845-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018914730

Balboa Press rev. date: 12/14/2018

Foreword

Forgetting is an incredibly easy thing to do. In the midst of our busy lives, at one point or another, we have all forgotten our car keys, our cellphone, birthdays or anniversaries. With even more ease, and often, at the most inopportune moments, we forget about who we really are and why we’re here in the first place. We forget about God and that unseen sacred world that sits side by side with our busy realities here on earth.

It’s so easy to do.

Which is why this book is such a helpful little nudge back to the world that you and I both know is there. A reality that provided us just the amount of grace, just the right amount of knowing and just the right amount of comfort during the difficult times when we needed it the most.

As I assisted Cheryl with her book, we would long debate just what we should call that world and how to best explain the road back to that reality in her book. What we discovered, was that when distilled, the path to Source finds us - and all we can do is practice to reach for it every day.

I encourage you to suspend any bias or disbelief that you may carry as you read this book. Your soul deserves it, even if, at times, our mind cannot accept the medicine within these pages.

Enjoy your journey home,

Gabrielle Ogilvie

Dedication

To all those who have felt different in the way they perceive the world.

Now is the time to share your knowledge!

Contents

Introduction

1     Childhood is a Place of Wonder

2     Kids will be Kids

3     Experiences of Our Past

4     Beings of Light

5     Answering Spirit’s Call

6     Animals Communicate

7     A Mother’s Last Calling

8     Sacred Awakenings

9     The Masters Visit Us

10   Dear Ones Passing

11   Gifts from Beyond

12   Guidance Received

13   Bringing Past Lives

14   Medicine Appears

15   Nature Speaking

16   Aliveness of Matter

17   Mountain Offerings

18   The Shaman Within

19   To Ancient Places

20   Energy Sessions

21   Physical Spaces

22   Sacred Space

23   Energy Residing

24   In Understanding

To What a Place

Some Recommended Authors

Introduction

Where to start? My life has been guided by my spiritual experiences ever since I can remember. When I would read the Bible, as a child, the stories of spirit communication and awareness were there. And yet, no one I knew spoke about it in their lives or seemed to communicate with this energy that I knew as Spirit. For many times, I have been taken to a state of consciousness where everything flows smoothly, even in the mist of chaos. It was right there within the physical world that I perceived in front of me. Scientist know of this, for everything is energy vibrating at a different rate in this physical world. And this energy is alive, and we can communicate with it and it with us. I refer to it as Spirit because it is alive and within all forms in this Universe.

Growing up with this awareness has confused me at times, yet when I listen and connect with it, the flow of life becomes easier. It is the world that makes sense to me more so than the physical world that most people think is the true reality. When I connect with it I find myself in a place between the worlds, where gifts are offered. These gifts are felt within my energy field and when I connect with them I am usually in awe of what I find there. For there is a language that lies within the physical world, buried beneath the physical happenings in front of me. When I become still and listen, with my energy sensors, I enter a knowing place that lies somewhere between words and knowing without words. I feel this place as an energy that fills my being inside and out. It is boundless, expansive and when questions are asked here, the answers come in waves of knowingness beyond understanding. This knowingness is clear and transcends all cognitive learning. It is in a space of its own, beautiful, and alive with energy and light.

As a child, I had an awareness that there was energy within everything that I encountered in my life. Everything was alive. Everything seemed to speak to me, from plants, to water, to situations. I never heard anybody else talk about these experiences, so I kept these experiences to myself. I was a very shy child. I lived my life, one might say, walking between two worlds, that of energy and that of the physical world. All throughout my life, glimpses of this unseen world were experienced alongside the reality that most people were experiencing or speaking about. This made for a very confused childhood. I was always looking to find the balance between the two. Sometimes getting lost in one world or the other in the process. When I was older, at times I would wonder, ‘Where did my dreams go? How did I not hold on to what I knew to be true?".

I know now that these two worlds are inseparable and that the spirit or energy world is always communicating with us. Becoming aware of that communication and making use of it in our lives is one of the reasons we are here on this planet. This constant communication is there. To recognize it is the first step. The next is to respond and make use of this communication in our personal lives. For everything we do vibrates out and affects the world.

After seeing the film August Rush, I sat there overwhelmed with feelings. I turned to my friend and said with deep emotions, That’s the way the world really is. I knew this as a child and at times, have felt so alone, as if I saw things incorrectly. Frustrated at times, I tried to conform, which never really worked. To this day I feel what people do not express or rather the meaning behind their words, which can still confuse me at times.

So now I share some of the experiences that have shaped my life. Why? So that others can open their eyes, and their hearts and accept their experiences as real. For many have had these experiences, yet, have disconnected from them, put them aside as not valuable in their lives.

I hope to inspire others to share their experiences, thus validating other’s experiences, so we may not feel so different, or isolated in our walk upon this earth. So that together we may live in the true connection of spirit and the physical and reap the benefits for all beings. Perhaps others who have not had these experiences will become more aware of their personal spirit connection as well.

Enjoy the stories and insights that I share within this book. Some of the names and locations have been changed for privacy reasons. Every experience is personal and sacred to me and I know its time to share them with everyone. My life is rich and exciting, and when I consciously connect energetically with it, I never feel alone. There is always that energy stirring around me from the spirit world and I am grateful for it.

Continue to enjoy your journey and share your light and insights with those you meet along the way.

Namaste, Om,

Cher-yl

Chapter 1

Childhood is a Place of Wonder

Worlds Open up Anew

Trees and Wagons and Bugs to Explore

New Doorways of Perception for Sure

Through the Eyes of a Child

When I was five years old a door opened to a profound awareness. As a child, I grew up near a lake. As kids we were always at the beach in the summertime. We would take swimming lessons in the morning and return to the shore to play after lunch in the afternoon. Our community even offered different activities for kids at the beach in the evenings. That strand of sand was the center of our community life. Yet there was a standing rule that all the kids of this budding neighborhood understood: after the season closed, no children were allowed near the water without an adult. If there were no life guards on duty, the beach was off limits, and it was understood to be a serious breach if any of us went there unaccompanied by an adult.

New families were moving into the neighborhood all the time, and we all found it easy to become friends. We would all get together and play, and of course we included all the new neighborhood children in whatever we were doing. School had just begun in the autumn of that year and I was attending kindergarten. One day one of the new neighbors had come home from work to find two of her children gone. She had combed the neighborhood to no avail. So, on this day, there I stood looking up at the police officers who had come to our door asking if anyone had seen the two children. They asked my sister and me questions, yet neither of us had seen them that day. Later the older child was found hiding and would not tell where the sibling was. After some time, she shared the story of how she and her sister had gone down to the beach and climbed into one of the boats on the shore. They were playing in it when they suddenly realized that the boat had drifted out into the water. In their panic, they both jumped from the boat. The older child was just able to make it to shore, and there she found herself alone, her sister nowhere in sight. As soon as she told the police offers what had happened, they started their search in the water around the area she and her sister, Nancy had been playing. They found the child’s body shortly after.

A few days later, I lay in bed knowing that my friend was gone. I would never see her again. I also knew that her family was not Catholic, and that this child had not been baptized.

My family had always included their children in their world, even when death was present. I had many great aunts and uncles. My family was always going to wakes and funerals ever since I can remember. Death was a normal process of life, and my parents and extended family would discuss any aspects of it openly. I remember being at funeral parlors with my cousins. We would pass the time exploring the rooms and visiting with relatives. Also, I was taught by the church that if one was not baptized, he or she would forever be in a place called limbo, never to see God. As I lay in bed taking all of this in, something opened up within me, something I can only describe as awareness. In that moment, I knew that this was not true; I knew that my friend was not in limbo. I knew that she was with God. I had a sense of God awareness. God was love, and love denies no one its presence. I knew this child, my friend, to be one of light, and therefore I knew she was with God. How this awareness came to me I am not sure. Yet it was strong and clear, and I knew it to be true beyond any doubt. And I knew that my friend was safe and happy with God and that I would miss her.

This experience had such a profound effect on me that it would forever shift the way I perceived what others told me. It was when I began to rely on my inner wisdom. And yet there would be times to come when I would doubt myself and what I knew from within. Perhaps this was the start of me sensing the splitting of the worlds. One of the worlds was that which others lived in, seeing only the physical, listening to the teachings of others and not thinking for themselves or feeling for themselves. Then there was this other world, the one that presented itself outside of time and space, in a place of pure love and knowing, beyond anything linear. This was the gift that my friend offered to me. The gift of a new awareness, one that would set me on a path that has gifted me many realizations that I now share with others. In doing so, I share the gift that my friend, Nancy offered me.

There will be times in our lives when we experience the opening of awareness. Most times, it follows a traumatic experience or rather is initiated by one, as mine was. The way I see it, this experience was destined to be there for me in this life, a kind of contract, if you will, that both souls had made prior to descending into this lifetime. My reawakening, as I recall in this life, was when I was an inquisitive five-year-old girl, this being one of them.

Nature’s Offering of Awareness

As a young child I would feel the energy or essence of trees and bushes, seemingly beckoning me to share energy with them. Somewhere around the age of five, I remember crawling into a forsythia bush one day. It was like a tunnel, and I sat there cross-legged on the soft ground. Not long after I closed my eyes, I felt myself melting into the space around me as a stillness washed over and through me. This stillness was very much alive. I didn’t know what it was at the time, but it was aliveness in the air, in me, and all around me. The boundary of my physical body had disappeared, and I was a flow of energy connected with the energy of the bush that surrounded me. This then extended out to everything beyond. Everything was me and I was everything. After a while, though I am not sure how long, I regained my physical awareness within my body and opened my eyes.

What a wonderful world I had been introduced to. I knew it was real. I felt the awesomeness of this total connection with everything in the physical form from that place underneath or within, where the real-life force dwelled. It activated something within my physical existence that lay deep within my core. All I knew at the time was that this felt wonderful. This experience awakened me to something more within this physical world.

I didn’t question this experience, as I feel most children don’t. Children are simply in the moment and then move on to the next. My experience in the forsythia bush just happened. Why? I did not know. Yet many times, I sought out that forsythia bush and would hang out with it, so to speak.

I felt supported by these experiences in that world of the unknown that I knew existed and that nobody talked about. This was my childhood, my awareness weaving in and out of two different realities, each just as real as the other. Of course, I did not know what this meant in that way. I just knew what I felt, and it was something more alive within the physical world than