I had big feet, skinny legs and nagging low self-esteem.
And I was weird.
I barely spoke.
I saw things it seemed like other people couldn’t (or didn’t) see, people from the other side and spirits. I felt things I couldn’t explain. I knew things without knowing how I knew them.
Since my mom was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, all that was taboo. The party line was that if you see anything, it has to be demonic because Angels don’t show themselves anymore after the Bible was finished being written.
That story didn’t settle well in my spirit. Even when I was little.
I grew up not celebrating birthdays or holidays (from the age of 4) and sitting outside my classrooms while kids inside ate cake and ice cream.
To this day, I consciously choose to check my tendency to think I’m on the outside and everybody else is on the inside having fun.
At 30 I had a debilitating depression.
My life was falling apart.
Everything in it was caving in on me.
I had gotten married at 23 and had my first baby at 26 and my second child when I was 29. Part of the depression could have been post-partum. I think the only reason that baby survived was because I was breast-feeding. There was no way I could’ve made bottles.
So there I lay, in the bed, with the baby, day after day, night after night, doing almost nothing. My house looked a wreck and so did I. My husband must have wondered what in hell was wrong with me.
One day, I heard The Voice say “GET UP”.
I did.
I shot straight up in bed and got up.
Then The Voice said “GO OUTSIDE”.
What?!?!? You gotta be kiddin’ me! I can barely get in the shower and dressed, how am I supposed to go outside?!?!?!?
I did it anyway.
I got up, got dressed, went downstairs and swung the front door open.
It was like Count Dracula popping out the coffin. I thought the sun was going to toast my butt.
The Voice said “BREATHE”.
I thought I was already breathing. Apparently I was not.
I breathed deeper. Something in me woke up.
The Voice said “WALK”.
I put one foot in front of the other and started walking.
The Voice said “LOOK UP”.
I looked up at the big bright beautiful blue sky. This was what I had been missing. Later I found out that looking up while walking outside can lift depression.
I felt better. I was coming alive again.
That was 20 years ago as of this writing. I still walk outside almost every day.
The Voice knew what to do to save my life, because a few days before I had eyed a bottle of 800 mg pain killers they had given me after having the baby and wondered how many it would take for me to take a nap and never wake up.
The depression came from not living my authentic life. I was slowly dying under the weight of doing what everybody else told me to do.
I was a nice girl.
I did what my mother told me to do.
I did what my religion told me to do.
I did what the elders of my religion told me to do.
And when it was all said and done, I looked up and had a life of unconscious creation.
Whose life is this?!?!? I kept asking. It was mine, but it wasn’t mine by design because hardly any of it was what I wanted.
So I made the decision to let go of what didn’t fit any more. The husband. The house. The religion. I changed almost everything in my life. I went on a furious search for truth. I ditched everything I had been taught and started from scratch, with ONE tender morsel from my deconstructed house of beliefs:
God is love.
That’s it.
That’s all I had to go on. And it was more than enough. I let that simple little Truth carry me through the next few years on a trek to slowly find myself.
I’m not saying the journey is over. Nope. It’s in full swing.
As I write this, I’m 50 years young, doing what I love, in a life I mostly love, with people I love.
Most of all, my knowing that God is love expresses in my life every day. YUM!
Along the way I discovered, no, I remembered I am a Witch. I was born a Witch, so it wasn’t actually so much a discovery as it was a remembrance. It took me decades to make peace with myself.
I’m writing this to share my story with the intention and prayer that it will inspire you… to LIVE, to LOVE to make a difference and to share your unique journey so the rest of us can learn and grow.
I love you.
Namaste,
Rev. Valerie Shona Ife Love
In case you’d like the ‘formal’ bio, here it is:
Rev. Valerie Love is an ordained interfaith minister of spiritual consciousness, on a Soul mission as a catalyst for transformation through the power of love.
She is an Intuitive Advisor, Inspirational Speaker, Author of 5 books and the founding minister of Boost Worldwide Love, a community in the New Thought/Ancient Wisdom tradition.
As a seeker and teacher of Truth, Rev. Valerie teaches spiritual law and principle as reflected in the life and teachings of the Christ, a metaphysical understanding of the Bible and the wisdom of A Course In Miracles. Affectionately known as the Divine Midwife, Valerie Love is here to support the birth of a new consciousness on the planet.
As a Destiny Coach & Abundant Living Enthusiast, she is passionate about supporting clients in living the God Brilliance & Greatness each one is. Her path of discovery has led her from 26 years as a Jehovah’s Witness to the study of Kabbalah, Magick and Spiritism with a focus on the Tarot as a tool for transformation, contemplation, meditation, inspiration and personal and spiritual development.
With an intention to live and teach the magickal life of conscious oneness with Spirit, she is a founding member of Destiny Diva’s, a membership organization of women helping women live on PURPOSE, with PASSION, POWER and in PROSPERITY through COACHING, COMMUNITY & CAMRADERIE.
Valerie Love’s specialty is teaching how to apply universal law and principle to money matters to create and manifest a rich life of abundant prosperity. Her background in the financial services industry, her 20 plus years as an entrepreneur and her love of learning and exploring the deeper mysteries of life and love integrate into a holistic and practical approach to money and wealth.
After 7 years of advising clients as a financial planner with American Express, Valerie Love sold her financial planning practice in August of 2004 to pursue her dream and passion of writing and being an inspirational speaker.
Since then, she’s completed the writing of five books — the first was published in November 2007, the inspirational, non-fiction, best-selling book titled: God Speaks to Me — Stories of Triumph Over Tragedy from Women Who Listened to God. Her second book, Pray — 30 Prayers For The Universal Soul was published in October, 2008 and her third work, God Is In Love With You, was published in August 2009. Her fourth book Arcturus — Messages From B.E.Y.O.N.D. is a channeled work on life and love, and her latest creation, released in August, 2011, is titled Soulgasm — Daily Meditations to Co-create & Manifest a Bliss-filled Life!
Valerie’s riveting speaking style captivates audiences while conveying her empowering story of personal unfolding victory and the ultimate truth that each Soul is on a journey, a journey of love.
Rev. Val loves to bellydance, travel, spend hours reading books on Tarot and spiritual development, practice hot yoga, walk in the park and make frequent trips to the beach to hear from the heart and soul of the ocean.
She has 3 children and lives in the Maryland/DC metro area.
To contact Valerie Love for speaking engagements, media appearances, workshops, retreats or coaching:
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