bill:
Sheila Applegate, I have been looking forward to “turning the tables” on you since our conversation, a few months ago, on your radio program, “Enchanted One,” which can be heard on Wednesdays from 1:30 – 2 PM CST on the Co-Creator Radio Network (www.co-creatornetwork.com). [Did you like that promo? lol] You are an accomplished therapist, author, spiritual seer, and dear friend though that loving friend status will not protect you from any probing or critical questions! Let’s get started…describe your childhood, and what major events influenced where you steered your life as a high school and/or college student?
Sheila:
Thank you Bill~ It was so much fun to have you as a guest on my radio show and I am looking forward to this chance to have you take the lead … so bring it on!
As you know, everything in life unfolds perfectly which means my childhood was a weaving together of all the experiences that I would need to become the Spiritual Teacher and Author that I am today.
I would say that the most defining event in my early years was the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. I was a SU [Syracuse University] exchange Student in London the semester leading up to that tragedy. Many of my friends and most of my fellow students were on the plane that went down just before Christmas.
My first experience in England had been several years earlier through a High School exchange program. I now understand that the family I stayed with in High School is part of my soul family. As a result, we experienced an instant recognition, love and sisterhood. Because the Browns felt like family to me, I decided to stay through the holiday and spend Christmas with them. This choice in essence saved my life as it kept me from being on the flight home with the other SU students.
I can still vividly recall the moment I heard about the bombing of Flight 103. Then later, when my family from the states called to read me the list that named the people who had gone down with the flight ... as I heard name after name … face after face flashed through my memory as my brain tried to fathom the depth of loss. This was the breaking open of my heart and a journey into grief that would, with time, act as a gateway to my understanding of Spirit, Life After Death and My Oneness with All That Is.
I was the only Social Work Student to return from England and with that, I felt an added sense of responsibility. Why had my life been spared? I said earlier that this was a defining moment for me on many levels. On the most basic, I understood the value of the moment and the uncertainty of life. I committed both to living life to its fullest and to serving others.
A few weeks later, while attending a memorial service for my friend Lindsey in Baltimore I had my first experience of communicating with Spirit. I was staying with Lindsey's family. They of course were anxious to hear about the last six months of her life as back then overseas communication was limited so they knew very little about her last moments on earth. After an evening of sharing memories with them... being in a sense the voice of their daughter/sister, I said good night. Shortly after sliding into the bed, in that dreamy state just before sleep, I was startled by a vision of Lindsey sitting on the bed with me. This was my first experience seeing and hearing a loved one after death. I was of course a bit uneasy at first but her love and friendship soothed me. She shared with me a message she needed her family to hear and in the morning I told her family about the experience. They were both open and grateful to hear of her peace. This pivotal moment sent me on a journey of exploration and mastery that led to my life as a Spiritual Seer, and Teacher and Author.
bill:
I suspect the emotional toll was quite significant during this time and family and friends rallied to support you. However, did these early experiences of “cheating death” and being in the presence of an apparition frighten you and cause you to worry about your mental health? You re-tell these stories with a serenity and acceptance, and if you were at that psychological level then, what inner reserves did you draw on? In addition, how did these events and your spirit of responsibility move you into your early career choices?
Sheila:
That is an interesting question; actually, it is interesting to think of my answer. I never did question my mental health after seeing the vision of Lindsey. I think on some level I entered this lifetime with such a strong connection to spirit that I had an innate ability to process the experience. When I spoke with Lindsey's mother the next morning she accepted the vision as a gift and also felt her daughter's spirit around her. Perhaps that is in part why I am so passionate about normalizing communication with the spirit world now. I saw from that early age what a powerful gift it was to help people process the loss of their loved ones, resolve unfinished issues and begin new relationships in spirit. I believe that the ability to see, hear and feel beyond the physical is normal and that all humans have this ability. Often fear and misinformation keep people from opening to their own innate gifts and abilities. This is where I come in, I love to teach people how to both normalize and master the process of communicating with Spirit.
I really have not thought much about these earlier days and how they affected my career path but in retrospect, I do believe that they helped to awaken within me the remembrance of my soul purpose. I was already on a career path of helping people embrace emotions and I had a deep spiritual connection and inner awareness throughout my childhood. Perhaps this incident simply fueled what was already in motion.
bill:
That forward motion eventually propelled you to work with a Native American community in central New York State. What nation did you work with? Please describe that experience and how did that career move fuel and further empower your sense of spiritual awakening and discovery?
Sheila:
Yes, during my career as a Child and Family Therapist, I worked with both the Onondaga Nation and the Oneida Nation of the Iroquois. On one level this experience opened me to a rich understanding of Spirituality and Peace. I felt like I was coming home not only to a culture that honored the Earth, Children, Woman and Creator; I also was coming home to my Soul Family. I connected with people whom my soul felt I had always known…an extension of my own being. I was welcomed into the culture and honored for my gifts of Spirit. I developed deep lifelong friendships. One of the people I connected with became my greatest teacher not only of spirituality but of unconditional love.
On another level, I witnessed some of the most severe poverty, addiction and pain. I came to understand the history of our country with new insights. There is a deep-rooted pain that has been passed down through generations. Not only did our forefathers acquire much of this land through deceit; an entire generation of children across our country was taken from their homes and placed into boarding schools where they were stripped of both their culture and their connection to family. An entire generation void of the experience of nurturing parents … who went on to raise their own children. The profound history that Native Americans faced was painfully difficult to ignore. This opened me to a deeper understanding and compassion for human struggle.
Still, beneath all of this is one of the most profound stories of peace and forgiveness. The story of the Iroquois Prophet the Peacemaker is one of the most beautiful reflections of love. It acts as a reminder that we can bury our weapons and join together in respectful union. It is this story that I hold deep in my heart. It is this ancient history that I feel within the land I live on. In Ancient times, when the people of this land were warring, the Peacemaker came to them and he brought them the message of peace. The people listened and all the warring tribes buried their weapons beneath a White Pine Tree. The Peacemaker said that the roots of the Tree would grow out in all four directions and anyone seeking peace would be able to trace these roots and find shelter in the Tree of Peace. This is the land that I live on…rich with love and infused with a message of Oneness. Now I place my own roots in this same land and I offer the same gift…that all those who seek peace within may find comfort and solace in my guidance.
bill:
Within the tradition of unconditional love and any global non-violence movement, there is a sense of oneness and peace. However, life’s realities all too often offer discord and conflict. For example, here in Central New York, Indian land claims and resistance by “landowners” is a decade old disagreement. Furthermore, within Native American tribes, there are questions pertaining to who belongs on historical rolls and is therefore, an official member of that tribal nation. How do you bring people to a place and spirit of solace, forgiveness, and reconciliation? Also, is there a communal aspect to what you do, or are your efforts individually focused?
Sheila:
That is a very interesting question, and one that I have spent many years contemplating. It is true that the Iroquois Nations are no longer living in the same peace filled harmony that followed the Peacemakers Message so many years ago. In fact, we can look across the globe and see that many cultures whose foundations include Prophets of Peace are no longer living from this state of harmony and oneness. This has made me question, what was missing in the message that the Prophets of past brought forward and how can we shift this so that we can create lasting peace on earth. My conclusion is that in history several great messengers discovered the source of internal peace and love. They shared this with others not only verbally but through their vibration. In essence they held a space of expansion that allowed others to experience momentarily the same depth of inner peace. The message of Peace and Oneness is not an intellectual concept. It must be felt, experienced and then integrated in order to be sustained. I believe that in the past the masses did not fully integrate the feeling and understanding into their own being. As a result, they could not pass that inner peace to the next generation. So with time, the outer circumstances of life lead people back to discord and conflict. This is why I choose to focus on supporting people to integrate the sense of inner peace and Oneness into their lives. I believe that lasting communal peace will occur when enough individuals fully embrace and embody internal peace. As more and more people reach this state of inner peace, a tipping point is occurring which leads to the energy of peace rippling out into the world supporting others in finding this same integration.
bill:
As a single mother of two teenage children, how did you manifest the understanding you just spoke about in your children as you went about the daily, mundane chores and responsibilities of raising a family and maintaining a household?
Sheila:
First off, let’s drop the idea that there are mundane chores and responsibilities in maintaining a household! Every moment is a moment available for us to remember Spirit and Oneness ... nothing is separate from this. To me raising my children has been my greatest responsibility and my greatest joy. It is through instilling this knowing of inner peace into our Children that we evolve as a human race. The other day my 16-year-old daughter told me that she is writing a book on parenting based on how she has been raised. To me this is one of the greatest complements I can receive. In fact, I have developed a "Conscious Parenting" course so that I can pass this guidance on to others.
Here are three of the basic principles that I base my Conscious Parenting on...
Seeing the Spirit of the Child~ It is important to honor both the evolved soul who has incarnated as your child and the physical developmental stages of that child. I used meditation as a way to connect with my children's spiritual side during their early childhood.
Parenting in the Now~ One of the most difficult aspects of parenting is the fear that arises when we project our thoughts into future or back to the past. Staying present in the moment is essential to conscious parenting.
Get Real~ The greatest gift we can offer children is our authentic selves. Life can be messy...learning to take responsibility for our own emotions and behaviors will offer our children a mirror to do the same.
Actually even parenting comes back to the basic truth ... the more aware we are of our own inner truth, the more we embrace our own emotions, and take responsibility for our own lives, the more we can show up for the people around us.
bill:
Knowing your daughter, I am sure her book will be enlightening. Your son, what is he up to these days and from your unique perspective of Spirit and Oneness, what are the nuances inherent in raising a male child as compared to female child?
Sheila:
My son is also an amazing person. He is on high honor's role in school and he is an excellent drummer. He has been a guest on his sister's radio show a couple of times and people love to hear what he has to say. He however prefers not to be in the public eye so I respect his privacy. Just because his mother and sister are public figures does not mean he has to be.
At surface level, raising my son has been a very different experience than raising my daughter. I know there are some innate differences in males verses females and that society does impact the personalities of the genders. However, I prefer to look at an individual perspective. Regardless of gender, my children entered this world with very distinctly different Spirits and personalities. My son is extremely telepathic and was born with an understanding of Oneness that I was only beginning to grasp during those early days. I remember one time when he was about four years old he was playing with a light switch ...turning it on and off as kids often do… but as he turned it off he would say " I am turning God off" and when he turned it back on he would say " I am turning God on" (knowing that God is Light) This went on for a few minutes and then suddenly he stopped and said "wait God is in the darkness too". He proceeded with his game of turning the light on and off but this time he said "I am turning God on" each time he turned the switch to light or dark. I sat there in awe wishing I could grasp all that he already knew. I am happy to say that he continues to be my teacher as he expands my understanding beyond time and space.
The basis of my conscious parenting technique is to look at the individual soul of the child and honor that while helping to guide the child into a healthy expression of that on earth. On that level, I have raised my children exactly the same. The way that has played out has been very different. I am grateful to have two such unique and powerful Souls who chose me as their mother.
bill:
It is a testament as one looks at what you have achieved and I am grateful that you are sharing your wisdom with others. Hopefully, your words and parenting class will spark parents to look at their parenting skills and adjust them accordingly … even if one is tempted to wreck havoc on a laptop or iPad or whatever object captures the imagination of one’s child (ren).
Do you have any last words of wisdom for the Rockford Kingsley readership?
Sheila:
Ahh, yes ... I watched that YouTube clip with my children. I was dumbfounded ... none of us seemed to know how to react to that. I do know that the children of today are strong and brilliant. They have both the inner knowing and the means to speak out. They are demanding the world wake up. I for one am grateful.
Thank you, Bill for taking the time to interview me. It is an honor to share my thoughts with the Rockford Kingsley readership. I hope that the things I said here today have touched the readers’ hearts. My greatest passion is to share the message of Oneness with everyone whom is ready to receive it. If people are interested in working with me individually or in groups, they can explore my services at www.sheilaapplegate.com. My radio show and my daughter's show air on both www.co-creatornetwork.com and www.Glastonburyradio.com. I will end with a quote from my soon to be published book...
"Enchanted One~ I open my heart and expand my understanding now that I may remember everything that has ever happened in my life and in my relationships has been in perfect harmony with my journey of awakening."
bill:
Thank you, Sheila for taking the time to chat with me. It has been wonderful.