Official blog for the book "Just Behind the Door"

Positive Thinking is a Work in Progress

May 20, 2012

Everything in the Universe is energy. We are each an individual universe of energy. You know certain people who make you feel energized and others who seem to drain your energy. Well, emotions, experiences, even colors and words also have energy. When you are positive, upbeat, and happy you DRAW even more positive energy from people and events INTO your life. Sadly, the reverse is also true. When you are negative, whining or blaming others about your life circumstances, you will experience even more negative energy coming back to you. It’s like a boomerang – you get back what you throw out. Remember the phrase, ‘Like attracts like?” Well, it really does. Right now, you may be experiencing loss, grief, hurt, rejection, lack of funds or any one of a million other life challenges. You don’t have to like them but remember you signed up for this curriculum in this huge classroom called, ‘Life on Planet Earth.’ Have you ever stopped to ask yourself what lessons you are learning from the circumstance you are in? Once you learn the lessons – really learn them, the circumstances resolve themselves.

An important question to think about is, what are you saying to yourself and others about your situation? Remember, the more you repeat the thought or voice the negative emotion, the more negatives will be drawn into your environment. Recently, I heard someone say, negatives are like being unplugged from the Universal Energy source/God. Think of an electrical appliance in your home. If it is unplugged it simply won’t work. Well, when we allow ourselves to get unplugged through negative thinking we stop fully functioning and life looses its luster. Everything seems to be a greater chore than usual. The burdens keep adding up until you can’t see, much less think about, the possibilities of tomorrow.

The beauty of all this is that you can recharge – replug yourself into the energy source many different ways. A few examples are: meditation, prayer, listing all of the things for which you are grateful, exercise, doing something to help others (even a phone call or email) to brighten their day. Basically, any activity that gets you back into a positive energy flow will stop the negativity from magnifying itself and its’ effect on you.

The challenge to you is to recognize that YOU are responsible and in control of how you feel, act and respond. The second challenge is to realize that, as humans, we need to WORK at staying positive, it is a constant, perpetual ‘work in progress.’ No one can do it for you, but I promise you, it is worth the effort.

Let me know if this makes sense to you! I would love to hear your thoughts.

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Synchronicity – God/Universal Energy is at Work!

May 16, 2012

Today is the 13th anniversary of my son, Ronnie’s death. So many friends and family remembered (including my grandboys) that caused me to feel both grateful and overwhelmed. If you have gotten the chance to read the book, Just Behind the Door, you won’t be surprised by the next few sentences. The publishing house emailed me and verified that my copies (40 softcover and 20 hardcovers) would be delivered soon for upcoming book talks. Synchronicity, as defined by Carl Jung means the simultaneous occurrence of events that are meaningfully related. In other words, things happening that seem rather coincidental but have a certain common theme or effect and time. Well, once again, the synchronicity in my life continues. The books were delivered to my door TODAY, on the anniversary of his death. Thank you to God/Universal Energy and Ronnie for reiterating to me the message that unconditional love is forever.

For those of you who remember the artist, Carly Simon, she produced a song in the ’70’s entitled, “Haven’t Got Time For the Pain.” Although we would all like to believe it to be true, the reality is that certain days trigger memories of unconditional love and unconditional loss. The pain, once again, comes flooding into our consciousness. It is important to honor and hold both the pain and love in our hearts during these times. Denial of the feelings involved in loss or grief forces the hurt to bury itself deeper into our psyche. It is both mentally and physically unhealthy to keep it buried. A loss, as painful as it is, can be an opportunity for us to connect to the real truth in our lives. Our loved ones are always around us and ready to help and offer encouragement from the other side. Just remember they have 20/20 hindsight and foresight. The lyrics of Carly’s song, “I haven’t got time… room.. or need for the pain” sounds rather cold. But if you listen further to the song, it is a confirmation of everything I write about in the book. “You showed me how.. to leave myself behind …and turn down the noise in my mind… Suffering was the only thing that made me feel I was alive…’Til you showed me how, to fill my heart with love and to open up and drink in all that white love pouring down from heaven.” When you hear songs that resonate with you, there is a reason.

I again say thank you to all of you who have been emailing and calling me after reading the book. Some of you have even written while you were still in the middle of reading it! I am humbled and thankful that it is helping so many people think about the loss of a loved in a larger context. One of the quotes from Ronnie in the book is so fitting, “Everyone needs to know that nothing dies. The spirit, the soul lives on. Love and communication continues, forever, if people will open themselves up to it.”

Let that last sentence roll around in your mind for awhile. The truth will present itself to you.

Until next time, have a loving and joyful week.

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A Mother’s Love

May 12, 2012

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you! To some, this gift has been cut short and it makes this holiday, in particular, a difficult one to get through. If you know of someone who has lost a child regardless of their age, or how long ago it was, please take a moment to call, email or simply say a little prayer for them. Healing takes time – sometimes an entire lifetime.

In my blog last Wednesday I thanked President Obama for taking the stand he did on same sex marriage. I want to thank you for your PHENOMENAL response! Your emails and calls saying, “I agree with you” were appreciated. I would encourage you to make your own voice known on the topic to someone. It is both important and courageous to speak from your heart. It gives others ideas that may differ from their own. The world is changed for the better – often, one person at a time.

It is hard to understand a different perspective when you are surrounded with thinking that simply reflects your own opinion. When we seek diverse material, books, and people it gives us food for thought and expands our understanding of the world. Who have you listened to this week that gave you a different perspective to consider?

We will know we have become the great county we have the potential to be when we move from tolerance and acceptance to recognition, honor and love for all of our fellow human beings, regardless of their skin color, cultural background, sexual orientation or belief system.

My son, from the other side, has told me in my book, Just Behind the Door, “Life can be its own gift or its own undoing. It all revolves around developing one’s consciousness about ourselves and how unconditional love allows the communication from our loved ones to continue forever.” There is that thought again, unconditional love, it is what we are all here to learn.

The current events in our world can be mind-boggling . The lessons I have learned in my 40 plus years of study on spiritualism helps me peal away the layers of misunderstanding and judgment to reveal their significance and truth. We are all part of God/Universal Energy. We all deserve to be recognized as such.

It is said that there is no greater love than the love a mother has for her child. Let’s try to tap into that love this week and practice acceptance of all people who are working to develop their own expanded consciousness in this classroom called life.

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Love Conquers All

May 9, 2012

Today is an historic day. Hearing the announcement, by President Obama, of his support of same sex marriage, I felt the blog I had previously prepared needed to wait for another day.

Why would a president, who is obviously running for reelection, make this announcement? Especially at this time. Simply and profoundly because it is the right thing to do. He was speaking from his heart and doing so at a pivotal time in our history. There will be some who will say that they don’t agree with his position. They have the right to their own opinion. I do agree with his position for many reasons. The most important ones come from my spiritual learning and awakening. “Judge not least ye be judged.” As I recall that passage, it was not situational, it was absolute. In my book, I talk about not judging others because we have not a walked a mile in their shoes. The Universal Energy/God is a part of ALL of us. Our world will continue to evolve through love of self and love of ALL others. Hate, fear or rejection are not a part of my life. When you experience the loss of a child and other family members you realize the importance of love for all and in all.

I applaud the bravery President Obama exhibited. He chose to explain that his position evolved, partially, as he worked shoulder to shoulder with his staff members who are in same sex relationships. He saw the love and guidance they exhibited toward their children and saw that love conquers all. It eliminates the fear of any differences that may exist.

My book, Just Behind the Door, is about loss and spiritualism. However, it is more than that really. It is about how unconditional love is the Alpha and Omega of the Universe. That love is in all, for all and through all. I know this in my heart.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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Death is Simply Moving to a New Location!

May 6, 2012

My son was killed in a tragic accident on May 16, 1999. He has been communicating with me for over a decade since then. In fact, his messages began 3 months after his death. His bigger than life personality refused to allow me to become stuck in the stages of grief and the endless ‘why’ that can consume all of us when we lose someone we love. The feelings of loss can render us both hopeless and helpless.

The purpose of my book is to give others the chance to read these communications and to think about them in reference to their own lives. It will give you hope, peace and a deeper understanding that life truly does go on for our loved ones on the other side. Most importantly, it will reassure you that your loved ones are eagerly waiting to reconnect with you. We can continue to communicate with them, I am living proof of it! Ultimately, I hope it will encourage others to drop the shield of fear or disbelief and realize that their loved ones, as the title of the book implies, are Just Behind the Door. The following quote is one of hundreds over the past decade in which my son reassured me that his life continues, albeit in a different energy form, and of his ability to continue to communicate with me due to our unconditional love.

“There is a vulnerability when someone dies; it allows those who love them to grasp onto this magic moment to stay connected. You had to go to that cold, dark place when I left so that you could explain to people that you have been there too.” He added, “Death is like taking a trip. When people say, ‘See you later,’ it is true, because you will. It is not the end. It is just like moving to a new location and starting a new beginning. Everyone can experience this type of communication that we have if they want to do it. You are now doing your soul work. You had to live through so much in order to be able to understand and to write this to help others… This book is about being present, being still and letting it come. You have been preparing your whole life for this; you just didn’t know it. It is fun to talk with you through the writing. You hear me loud and clear.”

The book, Just Behind the Door, is available from AuthorHouse.com, Amazon or your local bookseller. It is in hardcover, softcover or ebook format.

I would love to hear from you after you read it!

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My book, Just Behind the Door is now available!

May 2, 2012

To all of you who have asked about the book, I can’t believe it myself, but it is now available through Authorhouse.com

This is a story about the loss of my son, Ronnie, at age 36 on the same day that two of our high school seniors in Michigan, where I was superintendent, died in an auto accident. After spending the day at the hospital, the high school and one of the parent’s home, I returned home that night and 10 minutes later received the call that my son had been killed in Colorado. Previously, I had spent years investigating the answers to the big questions in life and suddenly was facing the issues head on, not just on a knowledge level but on an application level. My world became both gut wrenching and surreal.

The book is about how my son, mother and sister have continued to communicate with me over the past decade. I had to wait until I retired to be able to share this story. Yes, this is a story about loss and grief but ultimately, will not cause you to feel sad. Most importantly, it is about hope and the ultimate discovery that unconditional love continues forever. We can communicate with our loved ones who have crossed over, once we eliminate the grief or disbelief in our lives.

I have come to understand and truly internalize that the body, the physical shell, may die but the soul, the true essence of our loved ones, remain around us. They are eagerly waiting to reconnect with us. They want you to know they are fine and totally nurtured. Our loved ones want to help us truly live all the days of our life that we have left on this earth.

My goal in writing the book was to demonstrate, by sharing the specific conversations that have continued for OVER A DECADE with my son, that ADC (after death communication) is beyond real – it is TRUTH. Ronnie’s stronger than life personality would not let me stay in the stages of grief but insisted – as early as 3 months after his death – that he was still able to communicate with me.

This book will bring tears of sadness, peals of laughter and most importantly messages of hope and love. You will have a glimpse of what reality is now like for our loved ones who have crossed over.

You may order the book through Authorhouse, Amazon or your local bookseller by simply listing the title, Just Behind the Door and/or my name as author, Mary Leiker. Hopefully, since it is in hard and soft cover as well as ebook format it will be available to anyone who is ready to read it. Please drop me a note @ maryleiker1@mac.com after reading and share your feelings and reactions. I am in the process of setting up book talks as a way to further discuss the ideas and content of my journey.

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Virtues and Reasons for Life Challenges

April 29, 2012

The 27 Divine Virtues that Robert Schwartz talked about in his lecture, is to help us to determine what particular areas we are working on in this lifetime. Usually 3-5 seem to pop out as areas that are the most difficult for us to accept, believe in or practice. Going more deeply into the why we may have chosen particular virtues to work on, he has discovered 4 main reasons. They are explained in greater depth in his book, Your Soul’s Gift.

He first talks about KARMA. He defines karma differently. He feels it is not a ‘cosmic debt’ that we are trying to repay but rather as something our soul needs to experience to more fully understand the emotional lessons involved in fully learning the virtue. He further explains that karma can be for 1 of 2 reasons. Balancing or releasing. Balancing our karma is when we have purposely designed life lessons to help us experience all emotional sides or an issue for deeper understanding. The result then, is a 360 degree view of the virtue. You really, really get it at that point. Releasing, on the other hand, is achieved when we finally understand the underlying root cause of the imbalance and can release it. For instance, if a person looks at life as if the cup is half empty, scarcity or the fear of not having enough of something, may be at the root cause. FEAR of … (you fill in the word) is usually the cause of our imbalances in life. Once we truly internalize that anything (including fear) that we give emotional energy to, we are actually drawing more of it to us, we will stop. If you don’t want scarcity in your life stop dwelling on it. Think abundance and believe that there is more than enough in this Universe for everyone. Refuse to be crippled by fear of anything!

The second reason Schwartz feels that we may have planned certain challenges in our life is for HEALING. He explains that when we have unresolved negative energy from a previous lifetime (such as anger, guilt, blame, judgment of self and/or others) we may plan specific life issues to live through that involve these exact feelings so that we can heal ourselves from inside out and achieve greater understanding and peace.

Schwartz believes the third reason we may have chosen our life challenges is for SERVICE TO OTHERS. The phrase is self explanatory. We know that what we give, we receive and what we teach, we learn. He says that this area, service to others is an ‘accelerated path’ of spiritual growth. Remember the phrase, pay it forward? It applies here, for sure. When we remember that we are all part of God/Universal energy and when we help others we are also helping ourselves, the impact becomes that much greater.

He feels a fourth reason for our challenges on this earth is for CONTRAST. My understanding is that on earth we experience an intensity of emotional experiences. No kidding! We are in a classroom of nonstop learning! So our opportunity for growth (to become a better person) is greater. It makes me think of the fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson, The Princess and the Pea. Even under 20 mattresses she was able to feel the pea. Her physical/emotional awareness was so heightened from her experience as a princess. On earth, since our challenges are so vast and difficult, our own physical and emotional growth is heightened which allows us to develop a higher level of functioning and understanding.

Have you found anything from his work that seems to speak to you? I hope so.

STAY TUNED – ON MY NEXT BLOG ON WEDNESDAY, I WILL SHARE WITH YOU ABOUT MY BOOK. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE!

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Importance of Determining What You Chose to Work On

April 25, 2012

The last two blogs explained that before birth, we decide on the life lessons we want to learn. Robert Schwartz calls these the 27 Divine Virtues.
At a recent international conference he explained that through his research he has determined that many of us are truly in search of the deeper meaning or purpose to the events in our lives. Often, we see similar challenges being presented over and over in our lives. Why? I have read that the first time a lesson is presented to us, it is, as if, God/Universal Energy is whispering to us. If we don’t learn the lesson, the next time it is presented in our life it is, as if, God/Universal Energy is speaking loudly to us. Ultimately, if the lesson is still not learned it is presented once again, but this time God/Universal Energy is shouting at us. What does this mean? Simply, that WE have chosen our life plan to learn particular virtues as Schwartz references. If we don’t learn the lesson when it is presented, each time the lesson resurfaces in our lives it becomes more difficult, more challenging, more attention getting, until we master it. After all, we have chosen to work on particular areas and consequently God/Universal Energy is simply helping us follow through with our commitment!

Schwartz, in his latest book, Your Soul’s Gift, explains that through his extensive research, he has found 4 main reasons that we may choose to learn a particular lesson. The first is karma. He believes that karma does not mean doing something to pay back someone for something previously done to them but rather to experience something our soul has not experienced previously. He feels it is about learning balance in our soul experience. He quotes in his book, “Karma is not balanced by doing good to someone… but by going through the experience oneself.” Thinking about this in reference to your life, are there any of the 27 life virtues that seem to continually surface in your life that you may be working on? It may be to balance out your karma. True, it may be hard to know – but something to ponder. He gives the example of abandonment. If you had abandoned someone in a previous life, you may have chosen to be abandoned in this lifetime to experience how it feels on a soul level and learn from it. He goes on to explain that releasing karma can happen instantly when your soul realizes that is part of the Divine energy of God/Universal energy.

In subsequent blogs I will be talking about the three other reasons that Schwartz believes we may have chosen to learn a particular lesson: healing, service to others and a desire to experience contrast.

Stay tuned – there is much to discover about our life choices. Ultimately, it is all about Oneness and love – how great is that?

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Divine Virtues (Part 2 of 2)

April 22, 2012

In my last blog I talked about a speaker, Robert Schwartz, and his topic of life virtures, at a recent international conference I attended.  I listed the first 14 virtues on Wednesday and will complete the set today with the remaining 13 (and my interpretation of the definitions as needed).   After you have all 27 virtues I will explain an exercise he gave us that was quite enlightening in the search for our own, individual life plan or purpose.

15.  Sharing

16.  Reverence for Life (honoring the life energy in all living things)

17.  Cooperation

18.  Harmony

19.  Balance

20.  Open-heartedness (drop the armor from around your heart from previous hurts)

21.  Humility

22.  Spirituality

23.  Forgiveness

24.  Gentleness

25.  Self Control

26.  Perseverance

27.  Coming Into a Greater Knowing of Your Strength and Power (you may feel powerless or unworthy of what you really desire)

Write all 27 life virtues along the left hand side of a page of paper.  Then think about the greatest life challenges you have had and list them in chronological order from birth/childhood forward (illness, loss of siblings, moving from place to place, separations, divorces, deaths, basically anything that has been quite difficult to overcome).  Make a list of these (maybe 10-15) on a  separate sheet of paper.  Now, for each difficult challenge in your life using a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) think about EACH virtue of the 27. For instance, if one of your life challenges has been loss, rate  on a scale of 1-10 the difficulty encountered in loss in reference to faith, trust, acceptance, compassion, etc. for all 27 virtues.  This will take at least 30 minutes to complete as you really consider the challenges, rankings and divine virtues.  You might want to work on it a little and set it aside to let the ideas sort of incubate in your mind.  Ultimately, you will come up with 2-5 divine virtues that surface in your life that you have built big life challenges around to help you learn them. This can be a very humbling and enlightening experience if you take the time needed to go deep into your mind and pull out the ones that still seem to be a challenge, an irritant in your life.

One the next blog I will talk about the importance of recognizing your life challenges and accompanying divine virtues for you life. Have a great few days!

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Divine Virtues

April 18, 2012

This weekend I attended an amazing international conference and wanted to share some of the outstanding information and insights I was fortunate to experience. Robert Schwartz is a researcher and author. On Saturday afternoon he conducted a session on divine virtues and life challenges. There was standing room only for this break out session! I imagine that his next book will include these virtues with the accompanying exercise. He suggests we use this information to help us get to a deeper understanding of the lessons we have individually CHOSEN to work on in this life time. Analyzing your own life lessons just makes the learning easier. I will give you my interpretation of the definition of each of the virtues and what you can do with them. It will take two blog entries to synthesize this information. Since the exercise at the end will include doing your own individual ranking by life challenges, I would suggest you print off a copy of this blog and combine it with next Sunday’s blog so you will have a complete set. You may be as surprised as I was at what you discover about your life plan. I know you will experience some incredibly helpful insight about your life! Enjoy!

14 OF THE 27 LIFE VIRTUES

1. Faith (in a Loving Universe/God)

2. Trust (in self, others and the Universe)

3. Acceptance (being able to walk in another person’s shoes and allow them to be themselves; to accept your present/past life circumstances)

4. Compassion (for self and others)

5. Courage (to speak and live your truth; being your authentic self)

6. Kindness

7. Self Love (to accept that you are a unique individual who has the God/Universal energy within)

8. Unconditional Love (the nonphysical type of love that honors and celebrates the uniqueness of all living things)

9. Peace

10. Joy

11. Gratitude

12. Empathy

13. Patience

14. Self-referencing (realizing that your intuition/gut reaction is based on truth and following it; tapping into yourself for knowledge and wisdom)

Think about some of these virtues and how they may seem to REAPPEAR in your life – maybe as a challenge or lesson – until you have mastered them. On Sunday, I will complete the other 13 on the list and explain how you can use them to determine what you decided to work on in this particular journey. Until then – happy contemplating!

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