Homegrown: The Journey Home

© Copyright 2012 Gena Macoretta.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

Printed in the United States of America.

isbn: 978-1-4669-4540-1 (sc)

isbn: 978-1-4669-4541-8 (e)

Trafford rev. 11/27/2012

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CONTENTS

Introduction: The Journey into Awareness

Chapter 1 Awareness

Chapter 2 Self-Development

Chapter 3 Self-Discovery and Self-Knowing

Chapter 4 Truth

Chapter 5 Fear

Chapter 6 Sadness

Chapter 7 Problems and Shadowland

Chapter 8 Addiction

Chapter 9 Anger and Trauma

Chapter 10 Harmony

Chapter 11 Expand Your Understanding

Conclusion: Our Call to Adventure

Acknowledgements

Bibliography

Credits

About The Author

Dedicated to Vera, Vincent and John, Amiel, Magic Cat and all those wonderful enlightened beings that help me through this journey.

My life is enriched by your love.

There is no place like home…

—L. Frank Baum,

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Introduction: The Journey into Awareness

"If enjoying yourself was a sin, there wouldn’t be much worry of people going to hell because of it.

So few do enjoy life, so few do enjoy being alive."

—John, spiritual teacher

How should I begin, or rather where should I begin? Isn’t that often the question when addressing life-changing circumstances, personal issues or a new life journey? It is my hope to guide you through an unusual journey, one that is enlightening, transforming, unique and worthwhile. That’s not to say you won’t have to work at it—we all do, but I can guide you through the process.

How many people have you heard ask Jesus or God to do everything for them? Unfortunately, we know that is not how life works; we are the ones who have to do the legwork. And in knowing so, we are responsible for any changes that need doing in our life, which includes our participation and attention.

You have come upon this book for a reason: perhaps it is because you know deep down in your heart you may have realized that there is more to life than exists at this present moment, but then again it may be fate. Whatever the reason, I’m glad you found my book. The material you will receive while reading this book will help you make positive, elevated and dimensional changes that will reflect the real you, the part of yourself that is connected to God, your soul. It is my wish that you find yourself in the midst of fulfilling goals, activities, actions and aspirations. And may you experience abundance as often as possible.

You have the ability to create appealing results in every realm of your being; my job is to steer you in the right direction. My plan is to help you develop a strong, communicative, loving and intimate relationship with not only the Infinite Spirit but with your own divine self. You are taking the first step towards your spiritual awakening. The first step in this case is acknowledging the fact that you are a spiritual being first and foremost.

Every human, whether he or she is aware of it or not, is a spiritual being, is a perfect being.

—John, spiritual teacher

I have been working on the development and completion of this book for approximately twenty years. Included in it are many truths, suggestions, tools and guidance to help you live a richer and more connected spiritual existence. There are many of my personal experiences that explain my own journey into enlightenment. I have researched spirituality extensively over the years, and the Infinite Spirit, my soul and enlightened beings, who are not in physical form but in spiritual form, have personally guided me. We are so lucky because these elevated beings give us free, unique, informative, personal, worldly and universal truths.

There are many books that deal with spirituality, but I don’t know of many that encourage the interaction between our spiritual teachers and us. And I haven’t personally met many individuals who interact with their spiritual teachers, guides or angels on an ongoing basis. And some only pray to God in times of need or at bedtime; they don’t interact with God on a daily basis. They send a message out but don’t welcome or receive the incoming messages. Here is a little story of a young woman whom I worked with. She believes in God and reads her bible every day. One time when I was standing in front of her chatting away, I could see a little spirit off to the side of us. I hesitated before mentioning this to her. I asked her if her mother had lost a young child. At first she stared at me, then she said No. I asked her again and she said that yes, her mother had lost a young child. So I proceeded to tell her about the little one being there next to her, sending her love. And she said the bible said she wasn’t allowed to communicate with spirits. And I said that that was so sad, especially when they go through a great deal to be there for us and only wish that we would acknowledge them. Our loved ones who have crossed over always try to reach us in some way and want to be noticed, acknowledged, loved and remembered.

As I have mentioned, I not only communicate with spirit, I can see spirit, can feel spirit’s presence, and I interact with spirit both by way of channeling and mental telepathy, and you can too. And, no, I don’t hear voices in my head; it doesn’t work that way, as they communicate with us through the solar plexus. Their messages come through like an idea would. I use clairvoyance to envision, clairaudience to receive messages in thought form, and clairsentience to feel, or to sense energy when I do medium work. I communicate with different spirits in different dimensions. I feel it is very important to communicate with spirits who have passed; they have more experience than we do and they have a special knack for understanding the living.

It is my goal to reach all those who are open to truth and to help them recognize their own spiritual abilities and hopefully change a few beliefs along the way. There are those who tell me I am gifted, but that isn’t so: what God gives to one, he gives to the many. You have spiritual gifts and know-how, you just have to practice and get comfortable with your spiritual capability. Your spirit is energy, and energy cannot die. Only the physical essence can die, but the soul continues on.

Be mindful of the difference between your physical body and your spirit/soul essence. John, my spiritual teacher, had this to say, For the body mind is very much rooted in the activity of the body and the soul mind is very much rooted in the activity of the spirit. And the two function in quite a different way and have quite a different objective. Change your objectives and you change your perceptions, achievements and your understanding of life and how you experience it.

Early on, I experienced a couple of sightings involving spirits, but my true journey into the spiritual side of self began when I was thirty-one years of age. A big part of my life adventure has involved seeking out and researching matters related to spirituality. I have read many books, attended spiritual schools and churches and met many people practicing and participating in a spiritual existence. I also had the opportunity to be an Event Coordinator at The Learning Annex in Toronto. There, I had the opportunity to attend so many seminars and workshops and I also got to meet numerous authors such as Wayne Dyer, Marianne Williamson, Oriah Mountain Dreamer and Sylvia Browne, to name a few. I have meditated, contemplated, prayed and have done mental telepathy with my spiritual teachers and other spirits that have crossed over. I have also attended yoga classes and meditation circles of all kinds. All of this was done to better myself spiritually. I have been involved with Native Americans in healing circles, in friendships and have attended traditional teachings. But perhaps one of the biggest blessings bestowed on me was when a friend from a spiritual church invited me to a channeling session, where I was introduced to my spiritual teachers through Reverend Gordon Stonehouse, who did all the channelings. The channelings I am referring to involve the person’s spirit leaving his or her body to encounter other spirits for a time, while a teacher or guiding spirit comes into the body to use the person’s vocal chords, which enables them to communicate life truths and spiritual truths to us. I had been aware of spirits before making contact via channeling because I could see and feel their essences so I know they existed, and I knew they communicated with us. Wherever I am, they are: at home, at work or even when I am just out and about doing things. I’ll get into more detail as we move along and as the story begins to shape itself.

This book has many goals: the first—and one of the most important ones—is awareness. Homegrown: The Journey Home goes into great detail of the importance of awareness in our lives. The second important goal is self-development, in which you will need to bring in tools to help you expand and grow in consciousness. However, we must not forget the power of self-discovery and self-knowing, the two go hand in hand. Then there is the matter of a very touchy subject at times, Shadowland. In Chapter 7, we will discuss how you can deal with your Shadowland and things in the past that may be holding you back from moving forward in your life. And perhaps one of the most difficult goals to achieve is that of change. In Homegrown: The Journey Home I discuss the importance of change in our lives. We must change our ways of thinking as well as our feelings about life and how we should live it. When we indulge ourselves in these areas and go into the mystery of life, the path that will take us there is that of the truth seeker. It will take a great deal of determination and perseverance to pull it all together. So you will have to ask your soul, spiritual teachers, guides, angels or the Creator for assistance. The reason why I mention the different names is because some people call these helpers angels, guides, teachers or the Creator himself. It may take you attending certain seminars, meeting particular individuals, reading specific materials, or spending many private hours in meditation or contemplation. All of these areas of inquiry will contribute to your advancement spiritually in many different ways. These are all wise investments to make in your self. As for meditation, well, it is important to us in the same way food is nutritious for the body and we should meditate daily. Because when we meditate our mind goes into an Alpha state, our brain waves change, and these changes in brain activity have been known to put us into a state of calm, heighten our state of consciousness and improve cardiovascular health and lower blood pressure.

If you do the necessary work to become a seeker of truth, the doors of enlightenment will open to you. As Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life (John14:6). Just pay attention to the signs or hints you will be given and follow that path. With awareness, self-development, self-discovery, self-knowing and truth comes transformation, and this type of transformation should be done on a gradual basis. Slow and steady. The main goal and priority in your life should be truth, and once you make this decision and are on the path to truth, you are on a never-ending journey of new discovery. You feel connected to the universe, you handle things in a spiritual way because of the essence you have become, and you will experience your soul at the conscious level, as you expand in awareness and understanding.

Once you begin to transform from the inside out, you will be in a position where you are acknowledging your soul’s essence, the Creator’s spark within you. You will be home. And what will you accomplish by doing so? You will gain an elevated consciousness and you will begin to see things differently, in a new light, so to speak. You won’t buy into the illusions of others as you may have in the past. And in doing so this is what spirit means by being true to yourself, by making your spiritual essence a top priority in your life. And with these changes you will advance spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically. Your physical body will vibrate differently, so you will be able to see and to relate to the spiritual realms more easily. Your spirit will become a bigger part of all phases of your life. Your spirit will become your best friend, adviser and confidant. We all have a spirit that is perfect, funny and full of wisdom. It is closely connected to the Creator and the heavens. Our spirit, our souls are designed in a way to always be there for us to help us through our journey in life, the great adventure.

Chapter 1

Awareness

We may feel as though we don’t have a great amount of potential because we are thinking singularly, only in a physical sense, not as a complete spiritual human being. We as humans tend to think only in terms of our human frailties. We need to challenge ourselves more fully to find out what kind of potential we do have. We are unlimited when it comes to developing our potential; we just have to keep going and going and going; there’s no end to our potential.

As we search, we become expanded and then all these new and endearing qualities arise. But there is a warning that comes from spirit. John, my spiritual teacher, makes this point, There is a danger in becoming committed to developing your potential that you can become so enamored of what you will be that you forget to enjoy what you already are. And much of true progress happens without any kind of conscious attention on our part, doesn’t it? You just respond to whatever life presents to you this day, and in the response you make a discovery about yourself that you are no longer afraid or no longer unsure or no longer angry or no longer this or that or whatever. And that becomes very liberating, but freedom demands quite a high price, doesn’t it? Because you can’t go back once you’ve had a taste of freedom from bondage, from slavery, from living in the old, mindless, thoughtless, feeling-less way. And it seems to you sometimes that the world around you is determined to make life difficult, and in many ways it is. Because the very existence of the world depends upon things being a particular way, the economy depends on a certain mentality, politics depends on a certain mentality, religion depends on a certain mentality, medicine depends on a certain mentality, and it can be very difficult to march to the beat of your own drum when it seems everyone around you is marching to a much different tune. But that is no reason to surrender.

Think of every day as being an opportunity to be aware, to be free to discover and to seek adventure. If we don’t include the soul in the discovery process, we aren’t including the whole team, so to speak. If you don’t play the game with all of its team members, how can you expect to be successful? Consider the wholeness of your spiritual essence. We evolve as we grow, we elevate ourselves in consciousness as we learn and understand, and when we include our whole being, all the realms of our existence, we can delight in this journey of never-ending enlightenment. Now that’s true success.

So much relies on you embracing the spiritual life. If you don’t know who you are, what you have deep inside of you, then you do what you have to do to become aware. Here’s one of John’s examples: A thing is because you are conscious of it. Without your knowledge I establish a trust fund for you. I put a million dollars into it. But as a condition of the trust, I say you must never be informed of it. Now what possible good would that trust be if you were not aware of it, if you do not know about it? But if you’re told you were left a trust, then you can begin to use the trust. I may put restrictions on it, I might say you can only use the interest generated by that trust, you can’t touch the principal for ten years. Then in ten years you may withdraw ten percent of the principal. The soul that you are is a trust account, isn’t it? If you’re not aware of what it is and what it’s producing and so forth, you’re no better off than someone who doesn’t have it.

If you reshape your life according to the goals in this book, I believe your life will change as you progress spiritually. But even though my book offers wisdom, guidance, great truths and direction, you will still face many other challenges in life. The difference now is you will be better prepared to deal with those challenges. Once you have developed your spiritual connection, it will help get you through life’s difficulties much more easily. You must also learn to give up those beliefs that are self-limiting and contradictory to your greater consciousness. Remember, those beliefs were given to you before your spiritual, emotional and mental advancement; they may not be serving your highest good.

Beliefs are like a frame, very inappropriate for the picture it surrounds. Sometimes we all need the eye of one who sees anew the landscape of self.

—Magic Cat, spiritual teacher

I don’t know if it is because of faith, society, tradition or family, or even if it is an instilled belief system that forces us