“Listen here; this is what I've been trying to tell you! I know you're feeling frustrated but you can't just stand in line, waiting for your turn to love life. Success doesn't run on queue. You gotta get out there! Get shit done! Get yourself seen! Nobody is gonna craft your life for you. Your childhood story, your parent's story, their parent's story, none of it matters unless you're asking it to. I mean, yeah, sure, you're influenced by it, but in the end, it's not really what's running the show: you are. There’s plenty of people out there who grew into something from nothin’, but there's a helluva lot more who fell from having it all.

The way I see it, you're either clinging to a voucher you think the universe is gonna make good on, or you're out in the world with your heart in your hands, spillin' your guts from your mouth as you live through all things pleasure and pain. Don't get stuck in a rut thinking that a good life is just gonna happen, man. You gotta chase it! Live it. Try for it every damn day. And when you screw up—laugh at yourself! Give yourself some breathing room. Damn, you guys are way too serious all. the. time. Lighten that load! Make time for your friends! Celebrate the small stuff. 'Oh, you cleaned the house today?' Hell yeah! Drink to that!

Listen, when it's all said and done and you're where I'm at, on the outside looking in, you'll get a real clear view of exactly who you were and who you made time for. It's all over in an instant—trust me—you don't wanna come here with regrets.”

Stories from the Dead
Mediumship channels through Jamie Homeister
 

“Sometimes you don't see it coming—BAM!— The magic of life hits you. One minute, you're wallowing around and can't get out of bed and the next, you're so hyped on life that you're out there doing things you'd never thought you'd do. Claiming things you'd never thought that'd be yours. Smilin' at people (random people!) just because it feels so damn good to be alive!

Life is so much more fun when the magic hits you. I wish I would have recognized it sooner. I would get so locked into a survival-pity-searching-wandering-asking cycle that I rarely ever spent time in one of the most important ones: the receiving cycle.

It's easy to step into. You just take notice of what you like around you and speak it aloud. Do you love the smell of your coffee in the morning? Great! Say it. "I love the way this coffee smells this morning." Do your sheets feel soft and welcoming after a long day? Say it.
"My sheets feel amazing to be on." Did you enjoy the meal you've made? Are you happy your favorite song came on the radio? Did someone give you exceptional service? Say it! It doesn't matter if anyone else is around to hear it. All that matters is you give that happiness a voice.

You'll notice when you're locked in it. Things change. The world changes. Suddenly, things don't look as bleak. You don't feel like you're sinking into oblivion. Something inside you shifts and you begin to appreciate the box just as much as the gift it holds inside. The more you give voice to the good things, the more good things you notice. The receiving cycle... it's powerful. Life-changing powerful.

And yeah, you'll dip out of it from time to time and go back into the survival-pity-searching-wandering-asking cycles again, but it's easier to come back to the receiving cycle because you never forget how you were moved in those moments. You don't forget when you experience the real magic of the world.

People work too hard to get in the receiving cycle. They use it to invite the big things in life: Money. Houses. Jobs. Cars. There are thousands of books and manuals written on it, but that's not the true receiving cycle, that's the asking cycle. When you're too busy focused on bringing in the big things you miss all the little things. You miss what's really important. Once you start taking notice of the little things, you realize you don't need any of the big things anymore. Crazy how that works, right? That's it's magic though, and it will always take you by surprise.”

Stories from the Dead
Mediumship channels through Jamie Homeister

Imagine a plant in front of you. It's just a little seeding, its stalk barely strong enough to support itself without bend. You unwrap its roots from its burlap binding and gently shake the loose soil away. The roots dangle; stretching, searching, breathing.

This little seedling has unlimited potential. It can grow to be as big as it wants, living for hundreds of years and come to house an entire ecosystem within its lifetime. This one seedling can easily affect, and change the lives of millions.

You want this seedling to grow. You want it to be whatever it wants to be. So you give it water and food, you give it sunlight and the space to spread its roots. You wouldn't ever think to look at this seedling and say, 'I know you're supposed to grow into an Oak, but I just don't think you're capable.' You wouldn't dream of telling it that it's too small, puny, or too insignificant to ever be what it was born to be. That its leaves will never reach beyond the canopy, and its roots would never split the earth... would you?

We carry seedlings like this in our hearts every day. They are our dreams and aspirations and help us reach the heights we were born to achieve. Fear only paralyzes the potential. I have planted so many new opportunities in poison, yet wondered why they never grew.

To water the seedling is to dream with it, not against it.
To feed it, offer kind words. Give it something good to grow on.
Sunshine beckons for opportunities—take action!
And most importantly, pick your soil carefully. Cultivate the ground with skills, experience, and education.

Remember, everything good takes time to grow. Seeing positive changes within your life and yourself are no different. May we all be so fortunate as to grow into our dreams.

-Jamie Homeister

Marriage, partnerships and the trouble with both. It’s a topic I'm seeing over and over again. When someone's heart isn't being respected in their home, there isn't a thing in this world that they will experience that feels right or feels good. Call me progressive, but I believe when we say "I do", it really means, "I choose."

I choose to be a part of your challenges.
I choose to make an effort to see things for you from your perspective.
I choose to be a part of your journey however that takes form.
I choose to believe in the goodness you've shown me will continue.
I choose to give you the opportunity to right your wrongs.
I choose to help you when you fall; to be available and accessible when you need me (and even in all those times when you don't.)
I choose to be responsible about how I speak to you, and of you.
I choose to be a participant in your life and do my best to respect your growth, even if I don't understand it.
I choose to see this as a partnership, an honorable agreement between two who decide to try to learn all the hard stuff together.
And, I choose to retain the right to retract this agreement should you ever decide to stop choosing us and stop choosing me.

-Jamie Homeister