Posted in change, faith, growth, hope, Inspire, light, passion, soul, spirituality, universe

Freeing post

It feels like eternity since I wrote my last post. I’ve been in an interesting place. I’ve been quarantined with anxiety, writer’s block, and lack of inspiration. I have been sitting wondering when I’d get rid of my funk but I had not realized that this entire time has been full of inspiring lessons. I have decided to use my truth as inspiration.

 I had always felt wise beyond my time. Like I had been here time and time again. I truly never felt in-tune with my peers as a child. I fed off solitude where I could think freely and be me freely. I hadn’t found like-minded souls, at the time I wasn’t fully aware that was what I needed. As a child, I knew I had been here many times before. None of it had felt “new.” I knew I had a big role here in this lifetime. The idea of souls caught my interest at a very young age. I am not sure actually how old I was when I began my fixation on the concept of souls. My curiosity grew much thicker as I got older. I would spend time researching past lives and souls and writing poetry. I was a natural poet from about 4th grade. What I had not known then was all the poems I had written was my soul talking on paper. I thought to search for answers meant researching. When in reality the answers have always been inside of me. I had all I needed. 

As a child, I spent a lot of my childhood scared of the shallows that lurked in the corner of my eye. I would see and feel the presence of things beyond this realm in my childhood apartment. I would always see a man wearing a top hat standing in the foyer of my home. He didn’t have much of a face. He revealed himself as a shadowy figure. I had always thought I had imagined him and quite frankly I thought I was exaggerating the fact that he was would wear his top hat every time I saw him. It had become apparent that there was more than one spirit in my home. I remember crying one day as I sorted my laundry. I kept going through the laundry but kept my eyes on the door; I could feel the presence of something watching me. I unconsciously shut the door to the other side out of fear. I stopped paying attention and went on with life. 

Until I was a freshman in college and I had recently lost a maternal cousin. I couldn’t attend his burial due to my school obligations, I had a big exam around the time of his death. A few weeks after his burial, I remember so vividly spending time with some of my family members. We had been drinking and as I realized I had reached my limit… I laid back in bed and closed my eyes; my head was spinning like a carousel. Then, an image of my cousin wearing a navy blue suit appeared in my line of sight. He was simply standing in front of a larger than life dark wooden door. He was simply standing in front of the door just looking at me. I opened my eyes in confusion and shared with my family what I had just experienced. I left out the tiny detail of the color of his suit. The memory of that sighting became a thing of the past until years later in the midst of a conversation I had asked my mom what he had been buried in out of curiosity and she said in a Navy blue suit. I couldn’t believe it; I hadn’t attended his service. I had no way of knowing what he had been wearing. He appeared to me in a navy blue suit years before. Many years have passed since that evening and I can still imagine the image of him in my head. 

Within the last four years, I had begun to experience things more frequently, seeing and hearing things beyond this realm. I normally, toss and turn through the night as a result of the chatter and feeling a presence in my bedroom. A few years ago, I woke up in the middle of the night and glanced in the direction of my bedroom door, and I witnessed the shadow of a small angelic like figure staring at me from the edge of my bedroom door. I remember the white dress and wings sticking out beside her as she looked into my room. Since that evening, I have tried to avoid looking at the entryway of my room out of fear. 

I have been spooked many nights which have caused me to jump in my mom’s bed. In my head, I feel safer sleeping with someone else on those difficult nights. One night, in particular, I had run away from my room and found refugee in my mom’s room. Just my luck… As I dozed off and had finally gotten comfortable enough to fall in a deep sleep. I heard a “shhh.” I woke up instantly, looked over at my mom, and saw that she was out cold. That night I realized it didn’t matter where I slept and with whom. Now, it’s so “normal” but still fills me with so much fear. 

A few months ago, while at work. I had been trying to channel my sister’s energy from a distance. I closed my eyes and tried to relax and imagine her. In the midst of trying to do so, the date January 2nd popped into my head. I immediately knew my sister’s friend who had passed away just a year before due to diabetic complications. I responded quickly and said his name. He said yes and as we began to talk briefly, he wanted to apologize to my sister for hurting her as she had taken his death pretty hard. I asked him if he had anything else to tell her. He replied.“window.” I replied.“window?”. He replied, “she’ll know what I mean.” I quickly grabbed my phone and texted my sister to ask what was her relation to a window and her friend. She couldn’t what he had meant. As the day had come to a close, I sat with her and we spoke our day and I shared with her my experience earlier in the day. She still hadn’t pieced together the message. A few minutes later, she storms into my room to share what he might have meant. On the anniversary of his death, she sat in front of her bedroom window and read him a letter she had written him, where she wrote I wonder if you’re ok and she had wondered if he had been there with her. In excitement, I told her that was the message, he was there. We went on with the evening and went to bed. The very next evening, My sister and I sat with our mom and told her about the message I had received. She was stunned! We ended the conversation, and my sister began to shuffle music on her phone. We often listen to 80s music and sing hopelessly. Time after Time by Cyndi Lauper, came on which is one of our favorites. I laid on my mom’s bed and began singing as usual. I normally sing the song without really paying attention. I sang “Watching through windows, you’re wondering if I am okay.” It took me a few seconds to catch that verse after singing the words. We were floored at what we had just heard. He used the song to confirm that he was there with her that night as she read the letter to him. That was such a magical moment for not only her but for myself. It was such a great feeling to have been able to share that message with her.

I don’t share with people this part of myself. I act as if it doesn’t exist. Lately, I have had the nudging feeling to finally let it out. To tell my truth. I had been avoiding it for months, out of fear of judgment. I knew deep down my spirit guides had been guiding me down this path. I still have so much work to do spiritually. In the last few months, I have read several books in hopes of helping me navigate my ability. Every day I learn more and more. This is not to say that I longer get startled when they come by at night. Last night was a pretty difficult night; I had to ask my little sister to sleep with me.

 This is me. This is my truth!

Polish The Soul

Posted in selflove

Adjusting your identity

I’ve been a student for about 19 years, pretty much my whole life. Now that I’ve finished my undergrad degree, I feel as though I am going through withdrawal symptoms. It’s been about a 1 1/2 year since graduation. I often feel lost without the idea of being a student. I could always find comfort in being a student because that was all I knew. I started college the summer after High School. I did not have a chance to digest what it would be like without the obligation of having to attend school. I was Sasha, the student for a very long time. Now that I have lost that part of my identity it feels strange and unfamiliar. I took a year off from school to focus and center myself before pursuing graduate school. I had a hard time deciding what my next steps would be but luckily I came to my senses.I enjoy all the free time of not having to worry about assignments and studying but I miss school so much.

I recently took a leap of faith and put my creative work to the test. I applied to several Fine Arts graduate programs. I cannot stop thinking about going back! The idea of going back to school gives me a feeling of being home. Eventually, I will have to learn how to live without the identity of being a student and adapt to another but in the meantime, I am set on going back to school and finishing up with my goal of becoming a graduate student. A part of me wonders if I am just going back to feel that sense of comfort again or if I am really going because I want to learn more. My relationship with school is very similar to that of Stockholm syndrome. The concept of school has a tendency of holding me hostage and stressing me out but I love it so much I cannot be without it, no how matter how hard it beats me down.

In this last year, I have gotten cozy with anxiety and stress. We’ve cuddled nonstop all day and night. I’ve felt defeated, angry, frustrated and even hopeless. In the midst of these emotions, I forgot to let go of the steering wheel and allow the universe to guide me freely. I was so fixed on the outcome of the situation that I forgot to be mindful of the journey. I was deaf and blind to the lessons in between the setbacks. Don’t get me wrong… I still wig out and want to pull out all my hair from the frustration but I’m slowly learning how to surrender to situations that aren’t in my control.

As a young student, I had always believed I would be a college graduate and I had always imagined continuing on to receive a graduate degree. I had always dreamt of the day that I could walk across the stage and where a fancy graduate gown. Just to think back to then, I am so proud of how far I have come. Although college degrees shouldn’t define you and still come with headaches and struggles, I am still humbled by my path. I would have never expected the struggles I would face after graduating, I thought finding my place in life would be easier. I always knew getting a “good job” straight after college would be a challenging road but I didn’t think it would take such a toll on my sanity. I currently work for the Department of Education, I was hired 6 months after graduation. Most people would say that I have a pretty good job but in my heart, I don’t feel content. I know my heart is searching for where I belong and I don’t belong here. I am grateful for the experience I have been exposed to thus far but I have a sense that my time here will be ending soon. As this chapter closes a new one will begin with many more lessons. I am ready to continue my journey elsewhere with a heart full of gratitude.

Polish The Soul xx

Posted in change, growth, Inspire, light, selflove, soul, women

Magical Woman

Being a writer is pretty tricky. I’d like to think of us as magicians. We magically turn letters to words and words to poems. We make words come to life while giving the reader some sense of emotions. Anything can trigger inspiration while on the other hand, anything can trigger writers’ block. I find when I am doing the most thinking, I can write more without even pausing to think about what to write next. It just flows like a river.

Before creating this blog, I used to post my random thoughts, quotes, and poems on Tumblr account for years but I had forgotten my password. Last night, I was finally able to sign in. As I began reading my work, I couldn’t help but feel stunned. All the lost memories and lost words flashed back as i had never left them behind.
Ironically, I had named my Tumblr account ‘Soulless in the city’. I say ironically because I’ve been obsessed with souls since before I can remember and if anyone is soulful it’s me. The concept of souls had always appealed to me. The mystery of it all captivated my curious mind. Back then during my Tumblr era, I had still been in hiding even though my content was accessible for people to read. The fact that I didn’t have many followers gave me a sense of comfort to release my rigid thoughts. At the time I had been going through a period of sadness where I then thought I had identified with the phrase soulless in the city. Looking back at the evolution of my soul growth I was far from soulless. It was so much easier for me to write freely than as my emotions were explosive. I couldn’t manage my emotions without putting them on paper. In the years that followed, I stopped writing for a very long time as I hadn’t known how to right sappy lines without feeling sappy. I had found myself in a place of peace and happiness which made it hard to write anything. I went through a drought for a few years then one day it all came back to me. I soon learned that I hadn’t lost my touch, I just needed time to channel this sense of emotion to write. Like a fire pit, just a little bit of fire to light the pit.

When I decided on the name of this blog I contemplated flipping my Tumblr name which would have been ‘Soul in the city’. I felt something was missing and I wasn’t sold on the idea. I am so glad I didn’t follow through with that name for my blog. It wouldn’t have captured the essence of what I wanted to create. Soulless was a phase I had gone through that allowed me to spill my bits of darkness. On the flip side Polish the Soul has allowed me to spill bits of light. The light I hadn’t thought much about until I began researching the universe. The girl I was then and the woman I am today, worlds apart. She slept in darkness and this woman sleeps in light. Trust me, I am a mix of light and dark but my light outweighs my darkness. I’m a magical woman!

Polish The Soul xx