The Five Year Journey of Celestial Sisters
Photo by Malia Cedar of M. Harmony Studios, 2021
I muse a lot about change.
How people change, how the weather changes, how our bodies change.
Each and every moment is precious, never to be seen again. And yet, there are certain moments we live over and over again in our minds, colored by our changing perspectives.
I myself have changed immensely, in ways I never could have imagined beyond my wildest dreams. On the week of Celestial Sisters’ five year anniversary, I am confronted by my own transformations since its inception. Maybe I thought I would be somewhere different by now, but I hold a deep inner peace that I am exactly where I am needed most, serving in the way that is of highest benefit.
Five years ago in 2016, on the last day of completing my Embody Shakti Yoga Teacher Training in Boulder, Colorado under the mentorship of two prominent and auspicious teachers Alison Litchfield and Dayna Seraye, I sat in deep meditation and was struck by an overwhelming sensation of Unconditional Love. Moments later, as clearly as if someone was speaking in my ear, I heard, “Jaelyn, we are ready to deliver you your next step,”
I nearly jolted myself out of my meditation, startled by the clarity of this voice. They announced themselves as Michael, a group of souls I have come to know as a constant presence throughout my life, under the leadership of Archangel Michael. I couldn’t believe it at first, thinking, “That was strange. Is this real?”
Again, just as clearly as before, I heard, “Yes, we are here,” But this time, I could feel a smile and a sense of light amusement.
I could feel tears welling in my eyes, though I was not fully in my body. Entertaining this telepathic conversation, I asked, “And what’s that?”
“We would like you to take Julie’s class. From there, we will offer you your next step. We will be guiding you along the way, never forget that.”
I barely had time to form another question when, similar to watching someone walk down a long hallway, their presence became distanced. I hurriedly thought, “But wait! I have so much to ask you, don’t go!”
Again, I felt a loving smile and the same sense of joyful amusement, like that of a benevolent parent when a child has an endearing question. “It is time,” was the only response I received. I felt their presence disconnect, but in a way that felt like they hung up the phone or walked out the door. I knew they were still out there, somewhere, wherever that was. At the exact moment I felt their energy completely rescind, my teacher rang the bell to end the meditation. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I blinked back into reality.
I went inside with the rest of my group in silence, as was requested by my teachers. I didn’t know what to make of the experience I had just had, so I was grateful I didn’t have to immediately share. Our next exercise was called “I See You”, in which each student allowed a natural magnetic pull to guide us to a classmate, and without words, gaze into each others’ eyes until we felt we could truly see their soul essence. At which point, whoever felt called first, would say, “I see you.” The participant that was ‘seen’ then expressed, “Thank you,” and the two of us would move on. I was guided to my classmate Julie, and breaking the rules of silence besides the two aforementioned phrases, she blurted, “I can see Archangel Michael over your right shoulder.” I did one of those puffs in which my heart and lungs expelled everything I was holding in through my mouth, and I half-cried, half-laughed, nodding my head eagerly, “You’re right. They want me to take your class.” We were shushed, so we embraced and moved on to our next classmates. But this time, my eyes had nothing to hide; I was completely cracked open.
…...
In 2017, I went through my first ThetaHealing training, and then my second, becoming an Advanced ThetaHealing practitioner in under a year. Additionally, I was working full-time at several part-time jobs & gigs, teaching yoga wherever I could fit it in, and dreaming up the future of my business as a healer and teacher. I was immersed in a world of hustling hard, hastily navigating what I thought I needed to do in order to be successful. I was twenty years old and my path was clear, or so I assumed I had it all figured out, as most twenty-somethings do.
I was led into a full-time job at a cannabis dispensary, where I educated others and myself about cannabis medicine for two years. I kept teaching yoga, pouring myself into each class, even when just a handful of students would show up. I took up as many ThetaHealing clients as I could, eager to share this dynamic and exciting energy healing method. I held workshops, such as my Yoga For Change events to push forward my yearning to be of service. I set up a booth at festivals with my friend and fellow healer Dawn Hehr, reaching hundreds of people a day to share ThetaHealing and to assist in their healing so they may get closer to leading a fulfilling life, free of their wounds. I opened a small shop inside the yoga studio I was teaching at, with the faith and trust of my mentor and studio owner. I was trying really hard to build a following, make a name for myself, and grow my clientele. In fact, I wasn’t just trying, I was doing.
But when I really dug in and dedicated myself to being of benefit, some things had to shift. The Work I started doing on myself, starting working.
In early 2018, The Universe started speaking to me, softly at first and then much louder. I attended another ThetaHealing training, focused on learning how to dig into the subconscious mind to identify, clear, and resolve outdated belief systems. As a result of this work, I left a four and a half year partnership by mid-summer. I closed that little shop in the yoga studio, before it really actually manifested into anything - trying to remind myself it wasn’t a failure, just not right for me at the time. Just a few months later, the sacred lands of India called to me, and though I had no idea of how I would pay for the trip, I found that every last dollar I needed (and more) came to me from mysterious and gleefully surprising places. So I went, knowing in my heart there was a magnet pulling my soul towards this propitious land that had boons to bestow beyond what I could mentally prepare for. I left my well-paying, fulfilling job to pursue my wellness business full-time when I arrived home in November. By March of 2019, I moved away from my hometown of Steamboat Springs, Colorado to Salt Lake City, Utah on a pretty hasty whim and powerful intuitive nudge.
In my nine months in Salt Lake City, Celestial Sisters made huge leaps and bounds. I brought on my friend Dawn as a colleague, and together we held weekly healing circles & meditation instruction, as well as hosted well-attended cacao and rapeh (sacred tobacco) ceremonies. Personally, I offered manifestation workshops, locked down an in-house position as a ThetaHealer at Sacred Energy Empowerment Center, and expanded well into the spiritual community of Salt Lake City. I attended weekly traditional sweat lodge ceremonies at the VA hospital, hosted by Lakota elders, humbled and eager to learn about the ancient tradition. I involved myself in the ecstatic dance community of the Krishna Temple and I took some time off from teaching yoga to deepen my relationship with my own practice, expanding into the nurturing world of Yin & Restorative yoga. I bathed in sound baths, drank tea with other spiritual seekers, and began my writing practice more seriously than ever. I went back to school and finished my degree. I rekindled my kinship with children, being Auntie JaeJae to my two wonderful nieces. I worked diligently every day to heal the wounds that had left me with a broken heart and to reclaim my self-worth.
As I took back my power, created an abundance of self-love, and opened to possibility, the Universe again delivered “my next step”. One day in October 2019, an intense affirmative thought guided me to visit an acquaintance in Northern California. Though I trusted the man and felt confident he was a good guy, I didn’t really know what I was doing buying a plane ticket to go see him. Like magic, everything aligned seamlessly and it seemed the Universe was pushing me to go.
But as I sat in the McCarran Airport in Las Vegas after being dropped off by my brother and his wife as we parted ways from a family trip to St. George, Utah for my mother’s 60th birthday, I had one of the worst panic attacks I have ever experienced. I was sure someone would call security about an unhinged, hysterical woman at Gate 53. I was consumed by fear, anxiety, and guilt, but none of it was really logical or founded in any way. I thought about changing my flight to flee back to Salt Lake City. But a soft, stern voice in my heart said, “No.” I boarded the plane and arrived in Sacramento an hour and a half later, finally calmed down and breathing steadily once again.
The moment he stepped out of the car, all of my residual anxiety dissipated and an unexpected smile stretched across my face. It was as if my heart did a humpf, crossed its arms, and said “I told you so.” The next day as he showed me around his forested property tucked into the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, I had the same voice appear in my mind as I had heard just a few years before on that sunny spring day in Boulder. “This is your future, Jaelyn,” it said. Nothing more needed to be said. I just took it all in, gazing up at the trees that stood as sentinels, knowing in my heart I had found my new home and my new teachers. Two months later, that message became true as I moved my life, my business, and my dog to Northern California to be with my destined life partner and watch as more and more dreams come true.
……
These days, my teacher first and foremost is Mother Earth. I spend nearly all of my time outside, conversing with the plants and nurturing them as they nourish me. Rarely heard is the sound of a car passing by, but rather the breeze through the two-hundred foot trees and the birds that create their homes high in them. I listen intently to the messages carried through the natural world. Wild turkeys teach the medicine of gracious gifting. Deer teach the medicine of gentleness when faced with adversity. Squirrels do not hoard, but rather save their resources for times when resources are less abundant. I raise chickens, closing the loop of food waste and offering gratitude for this gift economy we have going. I have genuinely come to realize that all life is considered sacred, from the smallest insect to the tallest tree.
Professionally, I conduct my ThetaHealing sessions and intuitive readings remotely from my office that looks out over our garden. I am currently writing my first book, and my main source of income is from my handcrafted meditation malas, Anahata Mala. I assist my beloved partner, a master grower and farmer with over thirty years of botanical expertise, to grow acres of legal hemp flowers - a medicine we both feel is a key to solving a myriad of health crises humanity currently battles, including cancer, mental health, chronic pain, insomnia, and more. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I am not yet teaching yoga, hosting workshops, or conducting ceremonies, but I also don’t feel the call to step back into that again yet. Celestial Sisters is once again under a sole proprietorship as it became clear my business partner and I were headed down separate paths, though our work may lead us back together in the future. And though sometimes my ego-mind screams “You should be doing MORE!”, I find peace in the fact that nature never hurries, and yet everything gets accomplished. I know that in divine time, more offerings will manifest themselves through me.
Things change, and so do we. Celestial Sisters is a prime example of the maturing, growth, and expansion of my personal process. Moving forward, I am unsure of what this business will look like, but then again, if you would have outlined the transformation process it has undergone over the last five years when I first launched it, I probably would not have believed you.
At the heart of it all, the most poignant lesson of it all was to remain open. Had I ever shut myself down, closed off my heart, or denied my intuition, the magic that has unfolded would have ceased to exist. When we grant ourselves the grace and dignity of letting go of things not meant for us, we open to the Higher Plan. I believe that should we surrender all of the things we, in our human minds, think is best for us and open to the perspective of Source, true magic can happen. We just have to get out of our own way, first.
I want to thank you for being on this journey with me, whichever part you arrived at. Your presence and support of Celestial Sisters through its transformations is humbling, and offers me immeasurable blessings. I look forward to finding new ways of being of benefit to you in the future, but until then, I am here if you need me.
Mitayuke Oyasin. To all my relations.
In gratitude,
Jaelyn