124 Days of Hope and Healing

By Tereasa Chatham

This book is aimed at giving people HOPE, even in the most challenging of circumstances.

YOU NEED BALANCE!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: Apr 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9781504321266

Tereasa Chatham

Tereasa always felt there was ‘more” and always felt a bit of a loner. Her thoughts didn’t always sit well with family and friends and they often called her ’Crazy’ as it didn’t always align with what was said to be ‘Normal’. Little did they release these thoughts were what would get her through the toughest time in her life and give her the strength and HOPE to fight the biggest challenge in her life… the fight to keep her husband alive! With her strong belief in Tantra and the need to remain “Balanced” she knew she had the ability to remain steady in her journey and fight for what she intuitively believed. With an open mind and ability to think outside the square, along with her knowledge in crystals, aromatherapy and the metaphysical, she knew she had the tools despite all challenges thrown at her. She found her balance in medical and metaphysical and proudly shares her journey of “124 Days of HOPE and Healing!”

Book preview

Copyright © 2020 Tereasa Chatham.

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.

Interior Graphics/Art Credit: All photos were taken by the author.

Balboa Press

A Division of Hay House

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.balboapress.com.au

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

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-5043-2127-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-2126-6 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date:  04/07/2020

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Foundations

The Calm before the Storm

Batten Down the Hatches: The Storm Hits

Recovery after a Storm with the Help of an Angel

Summary

124 Days of Poetry

Acknowledgements

Without the following people, I would not have found the balance to think both logically and emotionally on this journey.

27961.png  A huge heartfelt thank you goes to Uncle Petie and Aunty Lee Lee. Your unconditional love and support for me both spiritually and emotionally has me truly grateful to Dad for bringing you into my life twenty-five years ago, before he passed. You were a channel for his guidance that I hadn’t yet opened to listening to. I enjoyed our Sunday night bus stop catch up to grab a homemade dinner for the kids and myself, a cuddle, and always a good laugh. You listened to my way out there comments and always gave valued opinions. You never made me feel like I was crazy or misunderstood. I love you both. You are earth angels sent to me from the heavens above!

28346.png  To Leon,

I will never again underestimate the universal push/pull. There are no coincidences.

I met you late last year, after offering to help your son sew. My guides told me at the time, You are getting more than you could ever imagine with this family. Brace yourself! When my husband went down, and I called you to cancel my sewing lesson with your son and the reason, you never stepped back but checked in on my hubby, the kids, and me daily.

Your emotional support and your advice, based on your life experiences, helped me stay grounded. You always played the devil’s advocate and helped me see the logic when I ran on too much emotion. You never verbalised how crazy you thought my comments may have been, but I do feel that your eyes rolled a lot. Even I was surprised at some of the things that came out of my mouth.

Thank you for always listening and just being you!

28376.png  To our amazing, self-appointed project manager, Andrew,

Thank you for stepping up from the very first day and taking charge of the logistics of this journey. We have never asked for help throughout our thirty years, and when you took control in the background without hesitation, it was very much appreciated. You stated from the very get-go, You only did what Chatham would have done in this situation. I have often said Conrad hand-selected his team, and I am very grateful to you being one of his best choices. You organised a huge cookout, a boot camp fundraiser, and a Go Fund Me campaign. You finished off projects at home without hesitation, along with turning up weekly to support Conrad, the kids, and I at the hospital. You are good people.

Thank you.

28378.png  To our three amazing young adults,

I always tried to protect you by hiding the real world from you. And in doing that, I also hid my true self. I felt I wasn’t normal and didn’t want to burden you with a weird, crazy mum. Or should I say crazier than you already thought.

I thank you all for sitting and listening to me on the very first day of this journey and trusting me enough to step outside society expectations and medical logic to explore alternative options for your dad. You opened your hearts to trust me, and in doing so, it opened up my trust in myself. I am so grateful for this learning and how we have become closer as a family. In times like this you realise who is there for the tough times and who is on your team. Dad and I are very proud of the three beautiful adults we have raised. You all amaze me with your strength, compassion, support, and so much more.

I love you all to the moon and back!

28380.png  To my soul mate,

Where do I start?

Thank you for letting go but also for fighting. Thank you for showing vulnerability and emotion but also strength and logic.

Your soul chose your team members for this journey before you actually knew it. I thank you for choosing me to be the captain of your team.

I’ve often said, The bigger the hurt, the bigger the heal, and, The bigger the lesson, the bigger the learning. Well the hurt we experienced when you went down fades in comparison to the healing you did on this journey. And the lessons I have taken from this experience have changed my life for the better.

I found strength in your weakness, and I found laughter amongst our tears. As sad and hard as this journey has been, I found happiness, peace, and understanding. But most of all, I found myself!

I wholeheartedly thank you for your willingness to open up and let your team find the right tools for you to fight. Whether it be medical or metaphysical, you had a tool box as big as a Bunnings store (as Aunty Lee Lee used to say), and you showed our kids what it takes to rise above. Anything is possible!

28382.png  Last but not least,

Thank you to my angels, my guides (in particular, Dad and Nanna Chatham), my higher self, and the universe. I am finally listening and now writing.

Introduction

Empathy—the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Narcissist—self-important, inability to show compassion and empathy.

Empaths—highly sensitive individuals who have a keen ability to sense what people around them are thinking and feeling. They have the ability to physically feel and experience what another person is going through.

Intuition—the ability to acquire knowledge without proof, evidence, or conscious reasoning, or without understanding how the knowledge was acquired.

Intuitive empath—a person with an unusual capacity for sensing and understanding the feelings of others. They have the ability to know what others feel without needing to be told.

• 5 per cent of people are narcissists, lack compassion and empathy, and don’t show emotion.

• 80 per cent to 90 per cent of people have compassion and empathy and feel their own emotions.

• 10 per cent to 15 per cent of people are empaths. They feel their own and others’ emotions.

The above is based on my research and understanding.

Hi.

My name is Tereasa Chatham.

I am an intuitive empath. I feel the feel!

I have a gift!

My role is currently that of a forty-seven-year-old mum of three young amazing adults and a wife to Conrad. I have been with my husband for thirty-one years and married twenty-five years as of August 2019.

I have spent almost thirty years learning about essential oils and crystals and their healing properties. More recently, I have been learning about metaphysics and quantum. I had not fully shared this passion with my family or others for fear of criticism.

On January 17, 2019, my husband had a cardiac arrest, and our whole world changed. This story is my journey and my perception of events over the 124 days that my husband was in hospital.

I have always had a positive attitude no matter what gets thrown at me. And one of my biggest assets is my sense of humour—as bad as some feel it may be. I am grateful of the lessons that I have taken away from this journey. I’ve often used the quote, Every cloud has a silver lining. I feel you just need to find the positive in any situation, no matter how negative the event at the time.

I feel every single thing is a foundation for something, whether it be a word to make a sentence, chapters to make a book, people we meet, or situations we are in. There are no coincidences in life. Everything is a foundation for something. We just may not realise it at the time.

This book is raw and may not sit well with everyone. I am very out there from the normal and often boring way of thinking. And I am unapologetically me. This is what gets me through life. So in advance, I will not apologise for who I am. I swear, and I laugh—often at the most inappropriate times. I will do my best to not step over offensive lines, but my line may not necessarily be sitting at the same place as yours. And that’s okay. You don’t have to keep reading.

My reason for writing this book? To give people hope.

Never give up without being fully comfortable with your decision, and always trust your inner guidance.

Foundations

June 2017

Finally, after twenty-five years, I decided I was going to do a course I have wanted to do since my late teens: tantra!

It popped up at me as a point of interest for years, but when I approached my husband about doing the course when I was twenty, his determined reply had been, No, you just don’t want to have sex with me. I didn’t know what tantra was at that time, but maybe he did, so I let it go.

It popped up again through the years, and I started to do a little more research about the topic. Most avenues lead to sex, but they did not resonate with me. There had to be more.

In January 2017, it hit me again in a Facebook post. This time, the person running the education course on tantra captured my interest. I felt she was the right person to guide me on my path. I did further research on the Sanctuary of Ananda and found her principles and gentleness resonated with me. After months of conversation with Catherine Wood, the founder, I made the decision to go to Bali and find out more about this subject.

When I again approached Conrad on this, he was adamant that I was not going. He expressed all his concerns about why I shouldn’t attend: It was a foreign country, it was tantra, I was going to put our family at risk if I left the country. The list went on and on. But not once did he ask why I wanted to do it. For thirty years, I had been the dutiful wife and mother and always put my family first. The time had come to finally step into my own. I was tired of doing as I was told and complying to the rules at work, at home, and with family. Don’t get me wrong. I loved my family and what we had accomplished. And we never argued. I always bit my tongue and just went with the flow.

As the time came closer to locking in my tickets, Conrad got angrier. I didn’t understand what his reservations were as he still didn’t know what I wanted to do. He just thought I was being defiant and, God forbid, leaving the country and, therefore, taking a risk!

The more he disagreed, the more determined I was to finally do something for myself. I arranged my birth certificate and passport, and again tried to get his approval. In March, and after several approaches on the subject, I had enough. So the five-day course that I had advised I was attending became a day longer every time he said I couldn’t go.

I said, I’m going for five days.

No, you are not.

It’s now six days.

No, you are not.

Seven.

No.

Eight.

The very next day, flights were booked for ten days in Bali.

I was determined to make this happen, so I worked extra hours to pay for flights, accommodation, and spending money. I didn’t want to put extra financial pressure on the family or fuel the fire that was already burning in the background. I enlisted a girlfriend to try and plead my case to Conrad. (Thanks, Tania.)

After several weeks, he finally accepted the decision and became more agreeable. So much so that for my birthday the week before I flew out, he actually gave me a million dollars in Bali money. He boasted at the fact he gave me a million dollars. It equated to $100 AUD, but it certainly made me feel that he had finally accepted my decision.

I stepped off the plane on June 10, 2017, and burst into tears. This was an amazingly overwhelming experience for me in several ways. I had landed in a foreign country, I knew nobody, and I had defied my husband. This was huge!

Over the next five days, Catherine shared her understanding of tantra based on Tao Buddhism and showed us meditations, massages, and practices to raise our vibrational frequencies to a higher conscious awareness. I took away the following: Tantra is a way of life and a discipline. It is about universal balance, and everyone’s journey is different. I was excited to grow in this space. The more time has gone by, the more I feel that tantra is just that—a way of life. And everyone’s journey is different. So when I read a book or see an article, I know what I am reading is someone’s perception and understanding of tantra, and no individual’s way is right or wrong. It is that