Jeri k Tory Conklin

I Am Just the Seed Planter

I plant seeds – seeds of hope, inspiration, motivation, praise, encouragement to do daily acts of kindness. Most times I never get to see them sprout, grow, or be harvested. I never see the fruits of my labor.

Over the years I have wondered what has happened to my seeds. Did they grow, or wither away with society’s condemnation of having a different view of your world. Your soul saw through pure eyes, why couldn’t others.

Perhaps you wanted to be an artist because you saw the world very differently than the black and white it is painted in. You wanted to add color, change the picture perhaps, add something different – create a world more pleasing, one you wanted to live in.

You Wanted to Be a Writer

You wanted to be a writer, but your teachers told you no one would want to read what you wrote. After all, who were you to think you were worthy of having something to say that could make a difference in someone else’s life.

          You knew you were different – you could hear the voices of those who had passed into the spirit world. They weren’t the only voices you heard though – everything in nature and the animals all communicated with you. Those who didn’t understand were afraid of you, even your own mother. You knew you had spiritual gifts; how could you ever use them and feel safe again?

          Or perhaps you wanted to be a dolphin trainer and your mother told you without bringing up your grades you would never make it into college. Little did your mother know that you were being bullied for your good grades by so called “friends”, so you stopped working for your dream. I am so sorry I didn’t know until it was too late. I only saw you as a brilliant student and daughter. I didn’t understand why you were failing when your dream was so strong. Forgive me please. You would have made an exceptional dolphin trainer with your own gifts of spirit.

IM JUST A SEED PLANTER BY AUTHOR JERI K TORY CONKLIN

It bothered me that I couldn’t see how my words helped others. Then one day, when I was at my lowest, God told me that I was just the “planter.” That s/he had sent others to do the watering, weeding, pruning … I felt better knowing the seeds were attended to and all my work was not in vain.

          The years went by, and I forgot about planting seeds, who was listening anyway. I moved through this black & white world, afraid to be “me.” I felt I was a failure. I had failed the seeds, failed myself, failed my daughter, failed those in the spirit world wanting me to write their stories… It would take a number of years to pass and a cancer diagnosis in 2007 to get my attention.

I Am Just the Seed Planter,You Wanted to Be a Writer,seeds of hope

As I was sitting on a beach in Cape Cod, counting the waves and seeking change and healing, I realized communicating with the world of spirit and sharing those messages (planting seeds) with others must be a way back to living the life I was meant to live. I listened.

          I painted a new world full of colors, I added daisies and cosmos, the wind flower to every street corner. I listened intently to the spirit children who had come through with their one, two, three, four, five, six … “Writer, are you there?It is then I know the spirit children have brought someone for me to write their story.

It would be through my books of those stories (and my own) that I would hear from others how my words had made a difference in their own life. I’ve written six books and it is this last book: When Spirits Speak: A Gathering of Heroes – Stories of U.S. Soldiers – the Cost of Freedom (2nd Edition – 10th Anniversary) that I have seen the fruit of my labors, getting cards and letters from people I don’t even know, seeds I planted along my way.

My mother, my teachers, those who didn’t believe in me, they didn’t have a clue about the effect my words would have on others along the way. I suspect I didn’t always recognize those who followed my planting, watering, weeding, and pruning, nor did I know what words they shared with me. Without them I would not have grown into who I am today. They would be an integral part of changing my own world, helping me to grow. Thank you to those who helped me along the way.

I may just be a seed planter, but today I received the most amazing validation of my right to be a writer – I know who I am and what I am meant to do. I guess someone must have planted me when I wasn’t looking. Plant seeds wherever you go, you never know how those words will help another person change their life.

walking through invisible doors

Walking Through Invisible Doors

I’ve walked through many doors in this lifetime. Big doors, small doors, beautiful, architecturally built, doors . . . some have led to great experiences, some not so great. However, each “door” experience offered a lesson along the way. Tonight, the quiet reflection of my inner world led me to a powerful realization, one that resonated with a concept from Richard Bach’s timeless “Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah” (1989). Just as Donald Shimoda could seemingly walk through solid walls, I found myself facing an invisible barrier, not of brick and mortar, but one constructed within the very landscape of my mind. This intangible obstacle manifested as a door, a potent metaphor for the limitations I often and unknowingly build around myself. It stood as the threshold of my deepest limiting beliefs, those ingrained ‘can’ts’ and self-doubts that whisper insidious narratives, holding me captive just as surely as any physical restraint. To move forward, I understood I had to consciously choose to perceive this door not as an unyielding obstacle, but as a construct of my own mind, a perception I held onto through habit and fear. Stepping over its invisible threshold required a shift in belief, an active argument for my potential rather than a resignation to my perceived restrictions. It was a moment of recognizing that the solidity of the door, like the wall for Shimoda, was largely an illusion, its power residing solely in my acceptance of its impenetrability. By acknowledging this barrier’s mental and emotional nature and focusing my intention on the possibility of passage, I began to understand that the true key lay not in forcing my way through but in the conscious decision to no longer believe in its reality. And what was this door? Fear of failure. If I don’t try, I can’t fail . . . or, seriously, why would anyone want to buy my books? Or, standing up in front of a crowd and seeing myself turn into my Arcturian blue-skinned self and begin channeling for the audience—“that” kind of door. The one that questioned my worth to be an author, a healer, a life coach, one who touches lives with so many of my gifts, seeking to make a difference for others. And there it was before me, standing oh so tall, that invisible wall I had put up to protect me from being a failure. My friend Meghan, the Goddess Isis, Archangels Michael and Raphael, invited me to walk through it. I have had so many changes this past week (year). When I was challenged to pitch my upcoming book to an agent and take it the traditional publishing route, which it deserved, the fear of rejection letters popped up (the reason I have self-published all my other books) . . . but I talked myself through it and reminded myself of the many kind words I’ve heard today and in this journey tonight for my medical intuitive class. Yes, I’m stepping over the threshold of that invisible door, letting go of any fears or insecurities that linger after hearing so many encouraging and supportive words. My destiny stood before me, echoing a childhood yearning. It was the beckoning glint of the golden ring on the carousel, a prize I had spent countless rides dreaming of but could never quite reach from atop the rising and falling horses. That golden ring, a symbol of wishes fulfilled, had always felt tantalizingly out of reach. But now, facing this threshold, I understood: the years had passed, I had grown, and the time had come to finally mount the flying steed of my aspirations and grasp the dream that had once seemed impossible.        I must walk through, for it is this lifetime’s journey for which I am needed to share messages from the ancestors and all those gathered around. And just like every door before it, this invisible one held a profound lesson: the limitations we face are often self-imposed, and the courage to step through them opens us to the very destiny we are meant to embrace. I walked through the door, over the threshold of my fear, and into the arms of my past self, my guides, family, friends, and you, my readers and followers. May you, too, one day, walk through your invisible doors.

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