Latest / Rare Medium with Deb Snyder / My Life is Magic with Shellie McLeod
Transcript
- Shellie McLeod: I started this story years ago when I'd had several things in my life just kind of land the way that they should, and it was magical to me, and I thought this needs to be written down. So I just wrote it down maybe for myself and for my children someday, and then I had some tragedy happen and eventually realized that My life is still magical. even though it doesn't always work out the way that I had hoped, it has never worked out the way I expected, right? in good ways. It's like wow, And then it's also I never expected to be here. But in all of that, I have learned that beautiful signs, beautiful synchronicities. continue to happen Deb: Rare Medium with Deb Snyder, celebrating life's rarities, the people, places, and experiences that just might be a little bit weird. This podcast explores all facets of our energetic connections to each other and beyond. We'll dive into the depths of mediumship, psychic ability, intuition, near death experiences, afterlife research, healing modalities, and more. Our focus is to bring you relevant and moving accounts with guests who share their authentic selves and their treks into the spiritual and energetic realms. We'll learn how those experiences shifted their perspective on life itself. Join us to be inspired by everyday people on their extraordinary journeys into the rare medium of the mystical world. Topics discussed on Rare Medium by the host and guests are presented for informational and entertainment purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional, legal, or medical advice. Deb Snyder: Hello everyone and welcome to Rare Medium. I'm your host, Deb Snyder. Today I am privileged to bring you author Shelly McLeod, who's going to talk about her book, My Life is Magic. I had a wonderful weekend reading Shelly's book, and although I'm not going to give you a bunch of spoilers, I'm eager to talk to her about her journey in writing it. Shelly, welcome. Shellie McLeod: Thank you for having me, Deb. Deb Snyder: Well, it is my absolute honor. let's get right into it. tell us a little bit about why your life is magic. Shellie McLeod: Well, I will say that things have always kind of lined up for me through no preparation of my own. So kind of some happy accidents have brought my life to where I am today. after I married my husband, he used to say, My wife is magic. And he would tell someone why he thinks that. So that's kind of why I titled the book that 'cause he said My wife is magic and I thought, Yeah, my whole life is magic. Deb Snyder: That's nice. I will tell everyone that this is a beautiful memoir of Shelly's journey through some amazing, beautiful things and some amazingly tough things. And how the universe has worked some magical mysteries to help her navigate the whole journey. it is a beautiful book to help you soothe your own heart. also if you know of a friend who's going through some challenging things. Shelley, tell us a little bit more about it. Shellie McLeod: Well, I started this story years ago when I'd had several things in my life just kind of land the way that they should, and it was magical to me, and I thought this needs to be written down. So I just wrote it down maybe for myself and for my children someday, then I had some tragedy happen and eventually realized that My life is still magical. even though it doesn't always work out the way that I had hoped, it has never worked out the way I expected, right? in good ways. It's like wow, I never expected to be here. And then it's also I never expected to be here. But in all of that, I have learned that beautiful signs, beautiful synchronicities. continue to happen through it all. And so that's why I wanted to continue that old story that I started talking about how my life was magical in these positive ways. even when tragedy strikes, it continues to be magical. And that was kind of a epiphany to me. Deb Snyder: I can imagine that. Now you're you talk about the tragedies that you experienced. I know you dealt with the loss of a business and also tragically with the loss of your own son. Tell us a little bit more about Derek. Shellie McLeod: Well, Derek was my firstborn, he was the kindest person from the time he was little. When he was in the first grade, his teacher would give out awards to all of the children for their uniqueness, and Derek was awarded the Tenderheart Award. And his teacher told a story about the kids all playing on the playground and one kid was sitting on the stairs and Derek kept looking over and then eventually just went and sat with them. And, he was playing and being included, but one person wasn't. he was the kid that would do things like that. and at his memorial coworkers talked about, my grandpa died and Derek Hugged me as soon as he found out and he took me out to lunch that day and asked me questions. or when he would come to town as an adult, he would go visit elderly neighbors that he had had when we when he was a child that no longer live next door to us, but he'd, go visit them. in his early twenties, he was a really kind soul who thought about other people, had a lot of empathy. Deb Snyder: he sounds absolutely darling. I love people that live fullheartedly on purpose. Shellie McLeod: Yes. Deb Snyder: I did feel reading about him and about your reflections of him and all the stages of living and loving and letting go that parenting involves. it was nice to see your children grow up through the book. Now you talk about Derek's passing on. you refer to magical things how did you hear from him from the other side? Tell me about some of those experiences. Shellie McLeod: Well, some of them were just in nature, you know. I mean, people talk about seeing hummingbirds or butterflies or different things that their parent or their loved one used to love and then all of a sudden those things are visiting them, I would see things that reminded me of Derek and just gave me comfort. I saw we were on vacation and there was a rock formation out in the water off a tip of a little peninsula and it looked like a person sitting in the water just looking out it's I was always there. It's not like Derek put that there, but it gave me this sense of peace. that's what he's doing. He's just calm and comfortable. those little signs in nature and also in music, I just felt like they were comforting to me and that he was with me, giving me comfort through those natural signs. and then eventually I just had more and when I say eventually, I just mean within a couple of months, this isn't years out, but within a couple of months. there were more synchronicities I decided I want to seek out a medium. I want to talk to him. And I, walked through a town looking for a card or a flyer or anything that would lead me to a medium. And instead I had this roundabout thing happen where I met someone else who just happened to say Would you like to meet a friend of mine? And when I said yes, I had no idea that this friend of hers was a medium. she specifically was bringing her to me because she knew I needed a connection with my son. So those kinds of things where I'm looking, but what I'm looking for shows up in a way that I did not expect. that's the magic part. Deb Snyder: Those the best days. That is the most magical part. Many years ago when my daughter was in the hospital, we lived at different hospitals off and on in her early years. it got round the nursing staff that I was a psychic medium. all of a sudden, two in the morning in a children's hospital. I would have all this attention where people would kept coming Shellie McLeod: Yeah. Deb Snyder: in to check on us because they wanted, you know, like I wonder if she has an insight. And it was so to me, it's so Shellie McLeod: Mm-hmm. Deb Snyder: great to have like science-y people like nurses and doctors and that kind Shellie McLeod: Mm-hmm. Deb Snyder: of thing. And it was doctors too, not just nurses, not just attendants, Shellie McLeod: Okay. Deb Snyder: that were really interested in this. I would certainly, do my best to be encouraging and everything, but not, break any boundaries. there was this one CNA who came in, who found out we were being discharged and popped into the room to say goodbye. And all of a sudden, her grandmother was right there with us. And I had to like deliver this message from her grandmother. And this is before I even did mediumship at all. I was exploring my own abilities, psychic abilities. I've kind of done this off and on my whole life. But it was like I'd almost didn't have any choice. this lady was move over, I gotta say this. to see this young woman's expression. you knew she was hoping that would happen. you could Shellie McLeod: Yeah. Deb Snyder: just feel her grandmother on both pushing us together. it was very transformative Shellie McLeod: I love it. Deb Snyder: for me because I realized I'm in a hospital with my daughter for her healing, but here we are, spirit is dictating. Just like they were dictating those people that you met on your trip to come together to support you. Spirit was was moving everything in us to make that happen. that's the stuff Shellie McLeod: Mm-hmm. Deb Snyder: I always find really cool and weird. I say that to people, people are joking about how the promotion for the show. I say it's a little bit weird, but it is a little bit weird. It's fun and it's weird Shellie McLeod: It is. Yeah. Deb Snyder: and it's interesting. And we can have theories sometimes on how all that stuff works, it's my opinion that energy communication and mediumship and psychism, it works differently in every single person. And that's to me what one of the wonderful things about life learning how that all unfolds Whether are we going to be doing that or are we going to be the receiving end of someone else doing that? It's just sort of a fun, like you said, magical way of doing things. I think it makes life more interesting Now I have Shellie McLeod: Yeah. Deb Snyder: to tell you, Shelley, I was really into hearing you talk about these murder mystery stuff you were a part of with your career. That was Shellie McLeod: yes. Deb Snyder: now that seems like such a blast. I just like love that part of it. So realize folks even though this is tough stuff in this book, there's really fun stuff too. Shellie McLeod: Yeah, yeah. And those were such great times. We held these meta murder mystery weekends at our inn for five years. you know, we do three of them in the fall and three of them in the spring, and they were exhausting, but so much fun. and the people that would come, of course, you know, you're doing something interactive, and the people who are drawn to that kind of thing are fun people. So we just met the greatest people during those times and and we have such wonderful memories of some of the friendships we made over those years. it was a full blown in character with assigned identities and a whole mystery to solve over a course of two days. It was just it was it was wonderful. Deb Snyder: it sounds like such a blast. And for me, as a metaphysician, I can see how that type of play raises the vibration. So, you know, from that I wanna Shellie McLeod: Mm-hmm. yeah, 'cause there's joy. Deb Snyder: absolutely I wanna encourage people to obviously some of these pursuits are serious, but take your fun seriously too. And know Shellie McLeod: Yeah. Deb Snyder: especially when you're going through tough times, to balance it out and make sure you still remember how to laugh, you still remember how to dance, you still have remember how to play. Because I think those Shellie McLeod: Yes. Deb Snyder: types of things as much set the stage for the magic as any, reading and studying and meditating and trying hard, remembering how to have the exuberance of life really helps it all fall into place. Shellie McLeod: Yeah, absolutely. And and after my son died, I did have a couple of murder mysteries that were scheduled. And I was very nervous that I wouldn't be up to the task of of facilitating that. but once the people showed up and they were in costume and they were having fun and and that joy did lift the vibration. It lifted me up and made me go. I want to continue doing these because this makes me happy. Watching the joy that comes out of this is lifting me up. So I absolutely agree with what you just said. Deb Snyder: I would imagine Derek grew up with that going on around him. So that's another activity for people is to realize when you're yearning for someone, do what they enjoy. So play their favorite song, eat their favorite food, walk their favorite beach. it really does put up an invitation Now, Shelly, you've been to mediums, you've talked about friends now that are mediums and obviously colleagues, now that you're an author out there touring and doing different things, have you experienced mediumship directly for yourself? Shellie McLeod: I saw one medium who I absolutely love this was the first time I met with her. She said, Your son is telling me you can do this, mom. You can talk to me. You don't need a medium. And she said, and here I am, a medium telling you this. But I have had wonderful communication from him. He speaks to me a lot in music. the other day I was journaling in my journaling I just said, Derek, I want to talk to you, then started writing down just the words as they were coming to me. he said, Mom, I'll talk to you through music, listen to music in the car. when I got in the car that day, because I had to drive 30 miles to go to the dentist, I Turned on the music and the first thing that played was Sweet Child of Mine. Derek was my sweet child. Deb Snyder: yes, thanks. Shellie McLeod: I have a fiery one Deb Snyder: Yeah. Shellie McLeod: and I have a sweet one, and he was my sweet one. there were several other songs Deb Snyder: Ha ha ha Shellie McLeod: right after that that were also very relevant, there were four or five songs that were very relevant. Just my morning journal time. I got mom, I'll talk to you through music. Make sure you listen to music when you drive. Deb Snyder: I think it shows to his exuberance too. that's one thing that it is good for people to know Spirit is very creative. much of the personality you know and love about Derek, that is what we strive for as mediums to bring through. you know him, you feel him already. Shellie McLeod: Yes. Deb Snyder: whether you're on a beach and you sense his essence through a rock formation or through a song on the radio, there's no denying that. You know what you feel. You know who you sense. I am of the belief anyone can do this. anyone. I do feel some are more natural to it than others. I do feel that, some amazing mediums this world. I just love them. we're all going to do it our own way. And that's what I want to encourage those listening to us right now to know. If you're on your journey somewhere, take heart, take your time, be yourself and just let let it flow through you the way it's gotta flow through you. Now Shelly Tell us where what you're doing out there promoting this book. what's going on? You said you were doing a project called the traveling magic project. Tell me about that. Shellie McLeod: when we owned a hotel, which you can read about in the book, we used to put books out with a little sticker on them that was through a project called Book Crossing. you would register the number on that book and then leave it in the hotel lobby, and then people could look it up on that website and find the travels of that book. Kind of like do you remember the Where's George on the dollar bill? where you could Deb Snyder: yeah. Shellie McLeod: look at the website and find where your dollar had gone. it was sort of that And I absolutely loved it. we had a lobby where we could just put books that people could take with them, And it occurred to me over the last few days that I could do that with my book, keep it personal to this book. what I've decided to do is I've We're built these little stickers that I'm putting on the front that says found in the wild. you found this book intentionally. It was put here for you. And I plan on releasing five books to the wild per month, sending them off to people who are with people who are going on travels. leave it in an airport, leave it in your hotel lobby, whatever. there's a QR code inside where people can scan it and track where they've picked up the book and where they plan on leaving it. And then I will add that to the map with a little pin and you can see where your book has gone and I get to see it too, which is really exciting for me as the author, Deb Snyder: Absolutely. I'm an author as well. there's nothing more rewarding than seeing your book on the other end of the world or getting an email or no a little pin from someone somewhere, knowing that they're learning about your Shellie McLeod: Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Deb Snyder: journey and your family. Shellie McLeod: this is another synchronicity that happened. when we owned the hotel we had these books in the lobby that had the book crossing stickers on them, I was so excited about it. It just I it was thrilling to me. Gary and I, my husband I went on this getaway and we stayed at this beautiful bed and breakfast in Sand Point, Idaho. I was telling the owner of that B about book crossing. And she said, I'm the founder of that. my husband and I created it. There's over a million people who follow the book crossing and check on where their books have been. I feel like, wow, that was a synchronicity for today. And I do say something in Deb Snyder: Yeah. Shellie McLeod: the book. where a friend of mine says, maybe we were so close back then because we were gonna need each other now. And I kind of feel that with this book crossing, maybe I met the founder of that back then because it was gonna inspire me now. All those little synchronicities are just great. I love it. Deb Snyder: Absolutely. Yeah, I I you want to call that a God wink Absolutely perfect. I love hearing that story. That's wonderful. Thank you for sharing that with us. Now before I let you go, Shelley, I have something that I'm having every single guest that's on. we end each section with what we call rare mediums ten QQ. these are ten quick questions. the same ten questions I'm asking every single guest for an immediate response. no explanation, just a response. So you ready? Shellie McLeod: Mm-hmm. Ready. Deb Snyder: do you believe in the afterlife? Shellie McLeod: Yes. Deb Snyder: What was your age in the best year of your life so far? Shellie McLeod: thirty three. Deb Snyder: Who is your favorite musical artist? Shellie McLeod: The Beatles. Deb Snyder: Where would you most like to travel? Shellie McLeod: I've been there before, but I love Costa Rica. Deb Snyder: what person inspired you the most? Shellie McLeod: I would say I find the most inspiring people to be the Obamas. Deb Snyder: Now if you had an entirely different profession, what would it be? Shellie McLeod: Motivational speaker. Deb Snyder: What are you most grateful for? Shellie McLeod: I'm most grateful for shifting perspective, growing perspective. Deb Snyder: Do you love yourself? Shellie McLeod: Yes. Deb Snyder: What do you most regret? Shellie McLeod: I would say signs of distress in my children or people that I love if I missed a sign of distress. Deb Snyder: In a word or two, what advice do you have for your fellow humans? Shellie McLeod: Ask questions. Deb Snyder: Wonderful. Shelly, it has been such a pleasure to have you with us. I hope you'll come back on again. Let us know where those books are traveling and keep us informed of what you're doing in the world. Shellie McLeod: Thank you so much, Deb. This has been really fun. Deb Snyder: Thank you. Welcome to the questions and shout-out portion of the show. After talking to Shelly McLeod about the loss of her son Derek, it got me thinking about what would be appropriate to share on this episode. I often get asked why I made the switch or how did I make the switch to move into mediumship from doing traditional intuitive readings for so long. I'm going to tell you a little bit of a story. of something that happened to me two years ago. I myself was going through the grieving process of losing one of my dear, mentors, my friend Psychic Sue Yarmi, who passed While I was processing that grief, I chose to go to a grief retreat in Connecticut that was sponsored by the Forever Family Foundation. I'd been aware of the Forever Family Foundation for a few years, and it just felt right for me to go to one of their grief retreats to help process my own feelings of losing such a dear friend. before I left for the trip, I called up the spirit and I said, you know, listen, if it's time for me to move into mediumship, please just call me out. Call me out there, have someone other than myself. bring a mention to it. I didn't really, care who that person would be. I just wanted to know. It was almost like a little test. I wanted something other than myself and my own thought process to let me know that that should be the direction that I'm going in. I traveled down. this happened to be in Chester, Connecticut. They actually have retreats all over the country throughout the calendar year. When I arrived at this grief retreat, it was a beautiful venue, beautiful people. I was greeted right away by many members of their team. It was very peaceful. It was very soothing. I felt like, okay, I found the right spot. And I could just be myself in this group of people. From that moment on, every person that I met was just sweet and there were synchronicities everywhere. I must have met. Every woman by the name of Sue that was in the building that whole weekend. So again, I kept kind of looking up to my friend, like, there you are. thank you very much. I did meet this one woman, we were having lunch together, and her name wasn't Sue. And I was thinking, Well, it's so interesting that she and I were drawn together, and then we discovered that she actually had my friend Sue's birthday. it's funny. So again, there was another note from Spirit. during this weekend. you're able to attend breakout sessions with different mediums They also have enrichment sessions, grief sessions for people, many different types of of classes and activities, as well as being on a very beautiful campus in which you can stroll around and we did a fire pit. We did all kinds of things. It was a really lovely, weekend that I very much enjoyed. Well during the Evening session. I'm not going to name the particular medium because I don't have his permission I was at the evening session second night, he said, Who has the daughter with seizure disorder? And of course, I do, and I raised my hand and he said, But she's living, she's not past. And I said, That's correct. So he proceeded to bring in My grandmother, he brought in my aunt. It was a very, beautiful reading. This was in front of everyone in one of the evening sessions. and then he says to me, Wait a minute, you can do what I do. Do you know that? And I smiled and I said, I do something similar. And he said, No, you can do this. He said, But you know, yeah, go back and take a couple of classes it's time. And then he stopped and said, what is this about a garden? Well, another thing that I had asked Spirit was to please mention the garden that we have here on site at the Harklow Center. We have a devotional garden that is an honor to those that have passed. And I was sort of stunned by that that he said that. And then he proceeded to bring in some of the children that are honored in our devotional garden here at the Harglow Center. Well, I was so, touched by that sometimes you don't know if the love that you're pouring out to the universe is always felt. And boy, that answered any question I had about that. my husband and I who tend to the gardens, we often talk. To the people in spirit that are honored in the garden. We'll be tending the plants or mowing the grass and we'll get by a particular marker and we'll speak to them by name. it's just something that we always do. it's part of who we are. it was very lovely and very enriching to have that validation that not only are they aware of the garden, but that they love the energy that we pour into the garden. when I was able to return home that weekend, I was able to reach out to several of the families whose loved ones are honored in the garden to let them know about this little shout-out from spirit. it was a very moving time for me. from that same weekend, from that same grief retreat at Forever Family Foundation, I actually met a teacher, Amy Utzman, who I did start studying with. Amy's a wonderful medium, so you should definitely seek her out if you're looking for services or classes. and I was also able to connect with people just one-on-one I'm still in contact with now. it was a lovely weekend and it was peaceful for me. I got the healing that I was looking for. that answers your question as to why I've sort of delved into mediumship. And it's also our shout-out for this week. my official shout out is to the Forever Family Foundation, which is a not-for-profit organization that helps families deal with grief. definitely check out their website and look at all the different offerings that they have. They are founded by a wonderful group of people. And I highly suggest if you are a family processing grief, look them up. I think you might find what you're looking for there. This has been Rare Medium with Deb Snyder. Please subscribe in your favorite channel and leave any comments you'd like us to see. To learn more, visit DebSnyder.com or Heartglow.org.