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SITE DEDICATION
This web site is dedicated to
my "Guardian
Angel" and constant companion along the way,
whose Spiritual name is Shamus-I-Tabriz. He is also known by several nicknames, one
of them being "Joe."
My life would have been very different
without his
love and support.
He always stands behind me with his love and encouragement...
and sometimes gives me a "push" when I need it!
You know... for an "imaginary
playmate," he sure has had a lot to say!
<G> *SMILES*
About Sherry's "Guardian Angel"
I call my Angel Companion "Joe",
although this is not his real spiritual name. He has been with me since I can
remember. I was about eight months old when I began talking. Sometimes I talked
about other places, times and my "imaginary" friend. I called
him "Yes" when I was very small, because that was my favorite word!
My mother wasn't upset or alarmed by this, she
just told me that I was remembering back to when I was with Jesus in Heaven.
This didn't quite sound right to either of us, but she really had no idea what I
was babbling about. When I was a little older, I called him "Shamran",
or Sham for short. He always told me that names weren't important and that I
could call him anything. "A rose by any other name is still a
rose..."
As a child, I loved to look at his shining light.
He was my special, mostly secret, lovely friend. He was very tall and he almost
always wore a turban and a white robe when I was young. He was playful with me.
Sometimes I would ask him to grow antenna like a Martian and turn green. I liked
the effect! Of course, he doesn't look like this, he is really a Being of Light
that uses another form so that I can look at him easier.
As I grew older, I became uncomfortable with how
he looked with his robe and turban. I didn't know anyone else who wore clothes
like that. So when I was a teenager, I asked him to change into something
a little less obvious. I didn't like his name anymore, and I guess it was
like when kids get to a certain age and are embarrassed by everything their
parents do!
Anyhow, in his love for me, he changed. His
robe became a pair of blue overalls, and he wore a battered old cap.
Ever since he has been "Joe" to me. A simple name, that I felt
comfortable with. It wasn't part of my reality that very, very few other
people could also see him. That just didn't enter my mind at the
time. I was just concerned with myself.
Why is it so difficult for to accept others
for who they are? Too often, we need to change them into something
"more acceptable..." Out of his love for me, he
"re-invented" himself for me. Yes, it comes down to
acceptance. I could accept him as a plain "Joe" easier
than I could the incredible Being that he is.
I had a profound mystical experience, after
having a heart attack several years ago. As a result, I took a new look at my
old friend, in all of his light and glory. After all of those years,
realized how little I really accepted my friend. I'd expected him to love me,
unconditionally. In return, I demanded that he conform or I wouldn't let
him stay with me. I wept as I realized how selfishly and unkindly I had
behaved. I had stuck him "into a little box," for my own
comfort. I wouldn't allow him to be himself.
Most of us do this to some degree or another,
with just about everyone we meet. It is hard not to put our needs and
expectations first when we deal with others. But we miss out on the richness of
life, and the diversity of personalities, if we do this. After my experience
with Joe, I vowed that I would redouble my efforts to honor and respect others'
needs and accept and allow them to be whoever they really are, at the
moment.
A few years ago, I discovered that at least two
organizations recognize Joe as a Master teacher, under his true name of
Shamus-I-Tabris! That really surprised me and even upset me. I had not expected or
wanted Joe to be a "Master." It goes back to my lack of
acceptance of him and of myself. I know it probably sounds silly, but that is
how I felt. When I found out that others knew of him and respected him I
was shocked and upset. It took several days to begin to deal with the
idea. I came to realize that I didn't want a guardian angel who was thought of as a
spiritual teacher... I had to admit to and confront my fears of expectations
that I thought would now be on me... and then take a look at the fact that I didn't want to try and live
up to them.
Getting to know a little more about Joe didn't change him at all. But it did
change me. At least for awhile.
Luckily, I worked through these silly fears fairly quickly and got to the point
where I could laugh at
myself. <G>
Looking back on that time, I think that I also
had the feeling that he was "my Joe" and that I had lost something by
others knowing of him. This is childish and selfish, and of course is not true.
Obviously, one can have many friends. Jealousy never does any relationship
good. I always tell my kids that you can't run out of love like you run
out of milk...
One of my other companions when I was a child was
a white German Shepherd dog. For much of my daughter Jaimee's childhood, he was
with her. At one point, she decided that she didn't want him to look like
a dog anymore, instead, she wanted him to be a horse or a unicorn. Some things
never change!
GO TO A STORY about
Sherry's Angel, 'Joe' and her Grama
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NO
JOY... NO GAIN!
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