Date: April 3, 2021
My Positive Pocket
Episode 2: Follow Your Intuition: It Will Bring Magic into Your Life!
Summary: This is my wild story of how my intuition guided me to a magical place beyond my wildest dreams! I had to put my trust in the universe to guide me through a crazy plot twist! Enjoy my journey along the Bermuda triangle around the United States!
Notes:
Let's be friends!
Date: April 3, 2021
My Positive Pocket
Episode 2: Follow Your Intuition: It Will Bring Magic into Your Life!
Summary: This is my wild story of how my intuition guided me to a magical place beyond my wildest dreams! I had to put my trust in the universe to guide me through a crazy plot twist! Enjoy my journey along the Bermuda triangle around the United States!
Notes:
Let's be friends!
Safa Qureshi:
Hello, welcome to my positive pocket! My name is Safa and this is the sparkly little pocket where I will share the stories of my life and the lessons I've learned along the way! And of course, this little pocket of yours is going to be filled with positivity! I seem to be always overflowing with positivity sparkles. So this the little pocket where I can share those sparkles with you, straight through your earbuds! So thank you for joining me, and thank you for seeing what's in your little pocket today!
Today, I want to tell you a little story from my past, about following your intuition. And staying true to your heart, even if it doesn't seem like the logical thing to do.
Stay true to your intuition, because it might be trying to tell you something. And it might be trying to tell you something that can change your life.
Right now I'm painting in my art studio, And if you hear a little bird chirping in the background, that is Kiwi. She is my studio assistant. But let's get into the story, shall we?
Firstly, what is intuition? Do you follow yours? Your intuition is that little voice inside that sort of just knows that seems to whisper in your head. And it's something that comes from the heart, it's not necessarily the mind. And when it comes, it's important to listen, Because what it's saying can be ground breaking for your life and can change your life. And ignoring your intuition can take away so many beautiful experiences. So stay in tune with that tiny little voice that tells you things, even when you're not really sure what they mean. The intuition is sort of a place of knowing. And I feel like knowledge, true knowledge can come from two places. There is in the mind, something that comes with logic, as you learn. And it's something that resides in the mind. And you know a lot of things because you've learned them. But there's another kind of knowing that comes from not learning, but something that's just within you. And that's sort of what the intuition is because I feel the intuition doesn't really come from the mind. It comes from the heart. And the heart is a very powerful place, a very emotional place with a lot of depth. And therefore these intuition little whispers, can just be groundbreaking.
So let's talk about a little story that happened to me about a year and a half ago or two years ago. Now, I guess I lost track of time. But it starts in Texas. You see I was born in Texas. I didn't like Texas very much. It was sort of a very hot, humid pancake without delicious toppings. You see, I've always had a longing for living in a valley surrounded by mountains because the mountains just really ground me and there's something so magical about them. And well in Texas, there's no mountains and it's tragic. So I never felt very home there.
I felt like there was always an unsettling feeling of homesickness my entire childhood. And it's not just Texas, but I don't know, just an uncomfortable family dynamic that ended up developing in the later years. And I just never felt at home. And when I would, you know, think to myself at night, I would imagine a beautiful valleys surrounded by mountains. And when things would get hard in my life, I would just imagine to myself that, well, one day, it's going to be all okay, and I'm going to live in a valley surrounded by mountains. And that little sweet spot is what would give me sweet dreams. Even when you know, there were scary times during my childhood or times when they were very uncomfortable or just, you know, difficult. And it was always that little dream of mine, that inner knowing that one day, it'll come and it'll come just when it's supposed to come. And I never needed to feel like I was wasting way until it came. But it did come. And today I do live in a valley surrounded by mountains. But the journey here was a very interesting one. And it was a journey in which I followed my heart. And it took me many places. In fact, this story takes me all over the United States.
I actually traveled the Bermuda Triangle of the United States of America. I started in Texas, and then I moved to Connecticut, and from Connecticut, I moved to Oregon. And Oregon is where I am now, it is my home, I feel truly at home, and I'm not going to move ever. So I'll still be here and you know, 50 or 70 years from now, most likely, unless I have another Pocahontas moment. But let's get into the story, shall we?
So, as a high schooler in Texas, I decided that I wanted to go to Lyme Academy of Fine Art for my university experience to get my degree and satisfy my parents dream of having their first child walk down stage with a diploma. And so I pursued an art degree because that's what made most sense to me. I am an artist by heart it just comes naturally to me. So naturally, I followed my artistic passion.
So I was accepted into a school called Lyme Academy of Fine Art, which is in Lyme or Old Lyme, Connecticut. And if Lyme doesn't ring a bell to you, it is a disease that is a it's a tick borne illness that can be devastating and cause a lot of pain to people. But L Lyme, old Lyme, is where Lyme disease started. You see, I wasn't just moving alone there, I have a horse. And we're a package deal. So I moved my horse to Connecticut from Texas. My poor horse endedup getting Lyme disease. Yeah, it's apparently very common there, and animals get it too. But anyway, I was going to Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, and the place where Lyme disease started.
It was a beautiful place. It was a little little town that was very cute. And there was forest everywhere! On the drive to my barn, I would go through this big tunnel. The seasons would change it... and the beautiful fall colors and the beautiful winter scenery... It was a beautiful place. I remember going down that road. There was that one tree that had a very awkward branch that would just kind of jut out. And every day I would see that branch and think to myself how life has changed since the last time I saw it. But anyway, I'm getting carried away, we have to get to the story!
So I went to Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, and it was a lovely school. It was my dream school but I can't paint it in sunshine and unicorns in all aspects. It was a very difficult school. We would get there very early in the morning and we would leave very late at night. We had very little break times because, well, as a fine artist, when you go to art school, a majority of what you do if you go to a traditional school, like Lyme Academy, is paint naked people, boxes, and skeletons. So whenever you're painting, you know, skeletons are already dead so they say still and it's all good. But models are live people, and so our break times would be when the model was on break. And that's kind of how it works. It's like we'd have a session and there's a 15 minute break or so and then another session, and then we had like, an hour break for, you know, the lunchtime, and then we'd come back, and then we had a dinner break. And then you know, we paint some more! We painted like little soldiers. But yeah, the teachers would always tell us to be productive, and paint, like the room is on fire, which never made any sense to me, because if the room was on fire, I wouldn't be painting at all because... Priorities!
Anyway, let's get back to the story. So Lyme Academy of Fine Art, my dream school, I went back to Texas for the summer break. And two days before I was going to travel back, for my second year at Lyme Academy, I received a text message. And the text message was an emergency text message from my institution. And they said, check your email right away. It's important,it might change your life. And so I checked my email kind of frightened to see what I was going to see. I thought maybe I'd lost my scholarship or who knows. And it was much more groundbreaking than that. I could say that!
The email told us that they had lost funding, due to just lost funds. It's happening to a lot of the schools, the art schools in the United States, and it happened to Lyme Academy, and they lost accreditation. They would no longer be able to give out degrees!
And so they were just going to continue... I mean, they didn't know exactly what they were going to do! At that point, everyone was scrambling. But eventually they decided they're going to keep the school but just, there's just not going to be a degree! So it's just going to be a purely recreational art experienc. Which was not going to work for me because the whole reason I was there was to satisfy my parents desire for a degree. And if the school wasn't going to give me a degree, well, then I don't have an airplane ticket, do I! That's my ticket there.
I'm supposed to be pursuing a degree, like a normal person. I had to scramble, and my parents just kind of threw their hands up in the air. And they're like, I really don't know, figure it out, Safa. And all of a sudden, I found myself applying to universities all over again. And it was simply too late to come up with another university in two days. And so I went back to Lyme Academy, and I was going to go there for a semester. And during the semester, I was gonna have to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and I was terrified.
It was a horrible experience, going back to the school that you knew was going down. And so it was like stepping foot onto the Titanic after you knew its tragic fate, and that it was just going to sink. And everybody knew, it was in the air. It was such a toxic environment to be in. Everyone was so anxiety prone, not just students, but the professors. The professors were losing their jobs, and they were taking it out on the students. And everyone was just on pins and needles. And it was a very, very emotional time. Even the models seemed to be going through things.
I remember there was a time when I was in the bathroom and I was crying because of another thing. And I heard another girl in the bathroom stall crying. And I told her, or asked her, Are you crying? And she's like, yes, I'm crying. I was like, why are you crying?I'm crying too, you can come out... And she ended up coming out. And I actually made a friend. But yeah, that's another thing. I mean, to just really be kind and reach out and be loving to people who need it. And even though I was not in a, you know, fabulous state, I was with tears, tears streaming down my face, and I looked like a mess. But I still reached out and I ended up making a friend. Just, it's really important to care for others, and be the lovely guiding human being that you would need if you were in that position. But anyway, that's just a side note. The point is, everyone was emotionally unstable. And it was a very difficult place. Because you know, when you have professors that are very unstable, and they're taking it out on students.
It just became a very difficult dynamic. There were multiple times when I was scared, eating my dinner in the bathroom because the break was over and I was starving. And then I had my male art professor would be banging on the woman's bathroom doors, screaming at me to get back to the easel. It was not a very grounding environment, to say the least. But it was going to be over soon. Everybody wanted to talk about it. Everyone was asking all the other people, you know, where are you going? Because we all had to scramble somewhere. So everyone wanted to get ideas and feedback off of eachother. Like, where are you going? Oh, should I apply there? Oh, what's it like there? And I was, you know, I just have no filter. I was just going to strangers and asking, Hey, what are you gonna do? What are gonna do? And it's like, everybody wanted to talk about it. But at the same time, nobody wanted to talk about it. And the people who didn't know what they're going to do, we'rejust kind of
like, I don't know! I don't want to talk about it. I haven't figured that part out. I haven't gotten there yet. And it was just a very uncomfortable time. It was just so anxiety provoking. And I just felt like I had no guidance.
I had to really figure it out on my own. And as I kept researching out to these universities, and trying so hard to find something that I liked, it just wasn't happening. And I was applying to universities, hoping that I wouldn't get in because I didn't want to go there anyway. And, you know, I had applied to all the art schools in the country in the beginning when I was in high school, and I had gotten into all of them with scholarships. And so now these arts you know, why these art universities were coming back to me and saying, well, we still have the scholarship. Please come here, please come here! You know, like, we want your money and were just trying to convince me to go to their school. And then of course, I didn't want to go to those schools. And they were just flashing bigger and bigger scholarships in my face. Which was only tempting my parents, which was an unhealthy dynamic, because I knew that I had to go somewhere where I approved and I wanted to go to not just somewhere to please my parents. And so I continued searching on for this, this dream school of mine that didn't seem to be existing. And it was very, very trialing and, Oh, goodness. I just can't explain what a difficult time it was. And goodness, I mean, that aside, there was so many family issues going on at same time, which I will not get into because this episode is just going to get to all over the place because my brain is a bit of like a spaghetti loop and just kind of spits out random things. And I'm trying to keep it on a roll here. But here we go. So you understand the environment I was in. But I just had to think to myself, because time was running out. And I had to trust myself that I feel like everything happens for a reason, when it's supposed to happen, and not a minute before.
You can't force knowledge to come before it is ready to come. Because you may not be ready to learn what it is that you're about to find out. You see, everything happens in the moment that you're truly ready in the time that is right, for that new element in your life to guide you. And so I waited. And I waited for that little intuition moment, I waited for that, you know, Disney Princess Pocahontas moment where my heart would just know and everything would make sense. And this horrible, horrible nightmare would be over.
But it just didn't seemed like it was going to come but I had to have faith in it. Because all you got to do is put a little faith and trust that pixie dust and well, life will take care of the rest, or at least your heart will. And so I just kind of stopped looking at universities, because I was putting so much effort in time and pouring myself into something that was just making me feel worse. And you should always be very mindful of the things are just making you feel worse, because it is your energy it is your mental state that dictates how energy can flow through you. And if there's energy blockages, because you're just you know, stuck in a cycle of doing things that make you feel bad. Well, then that intuition can get trapped in the process. And you may not receive that little snippet, that little golden nugget of knowledge.
Well, you're just so busy feeling awful. And so I stopped looking into universities and applying to universities. I stopped opening the acceptance letters, and I just, you know, took a step back and thought to myself It's going to be okay because my Pocahontas moment is going to come. And even though time is running out and it's the last week before I have to move somewhere. It's going to be okay. And even if it's on the last day, my intuition will speak to me and I just knew it would. And so it did.
And then it happened one morning, during ballet.You see I'm a ballerina. I do ballet every morning for three hours, nonstop. It is my meditation of sorts, it is my morning practice. And I wouldn't miss it for anything. If I have something I'm supposed to do or somewhere I'm supposed to be. I just wake up earlier and make it happen. Now I'm at the point where I'm waking up at 4:30am it might get to the point where I just wake up at 12:00am and don't go to sleep at all. That would be horrible. I'm very sleep deprived, but I just have too much energy. But anyway, my Pocahontas moment, I'll tell you! I'll tell you what happened! And so I was doing the splits. You see I am very flexible. I'm not just a ballerina, but I have hypermobility syndrome basically means I can do things from your worst nightmare. And, you know if my artistic entrepreneurial journey comes to an end, well, I can always join the circus and I'll be solid. But a circus without animals because animals in circuses is animal abuse and we treat animals with kindness and respect, because that's how they treat us. But anyway, I'm get caring I'm getting carried away, I'm going to tell you my Pocahontas moment was and what my intuition told me.
So I was doing the splits. And I was in over splits with my stretching ladder. My head was back on my knee resting back in a sort of graceful arch of my back. And I just had a thought, just a little whisper. And it said, Ashland, Oregon seems like a beautiful place, and I bet they're roses there. Ashland, Oregon, just feels right... It feels just about right. And that's it. You see, the intuition will guide you through what path you're supposed to take what decision you're supposed to make, through what just feels right. It doesn't have to feel necessarily good, or feel bad, or feel like the better option or the smarter option. But it just feels right, it just feels like that's just about right. That's just about something that would happen. And then it does, and you follow it and it'll take you to the most amazing magical fairy tale experiences. And so I had that thought, Ashland, Oregon, and I followed it.
So I went to the internet. You see, I didn't even know if it existed and so I looked it up and was just hoping just praying, just kind of glancing around squinting, my eyes just didn't want to know the truth of it, and then a search result. And it did exist, Ashland, Oregon was deemed a place and I was so relieved. And then I looked up University in Ashland, Oregon, and Southern Oregon University popped up! I was baffled. And then I looked up art department in Southern Oregon University. And there was an art department. And so I was sold. And I decided to move across the country. Once again, continue my Voyage of the Bermuda Triangle of the United States, bring my horse to Oregon, and go to a state to live in a place that I had never been to and a place that I hardly knew where it was. Because I had very, you know, I had gap holes in my high school experience and geography just didn't really happen because I've moved so many schools. And well, there were gaps, and geography was one of them.
And so I was on a plane. And the next thing you knew, I was packing my house, I was packing all my belongings, like I said goodbye to my horse as he made the voyage in the horse transportation company, across the country. Once again, poor horse! He had to be in a trailer and drive across the country, and he was not happy. And I, you know, got myself a plane ticket, flew across the country once again. And when I landed, I can't even tell you how amazing it was. It was like I had finally felt at home. And I had never really noticed, that there was a constant feeling of homesickness that had just become my normal. And it was like all of a sudden, the homesickness was gone. And I was in where I was truly supposed to be.
And it felt like home, a place felt like home a place that I had never even been to, until then. As I landed in the airport, I stepped off the plane and I just took a big long breath of the beautiful fresh mountain air and it felt like home and as I do drove in the little cute town that I was going to live in, I was just baffled, because Ashland, Oregon is sort of the place that I would imagine in my mind, like, the most beautiful fairytale land in a valley surrounded by mountains. And the beauty of nature, and the people were so wonderful, and I just couldn't believe that it all existed. And it was all there before me right in front of my eyes. It was just so heartwarming. And I was so grateful that I had manifested since the very beginning, as you see, I was, you know, that little girl, and Houston, Texas dreaming at night, that one day I'd live in a valley surrounded by mountains.
And while that day had finally come, and I was in a valley surrounded by mountains. And all was beautiful and the seasons would just sing! Every season, all the beautiful fall colors in the winter that's not too cold, but just enough, and we still get snow! And of course, my favorite is the spring where all the flowers bloom and the valley comes to life. And then the summertime, which is mostly nice, unless there's forest fires. But we'll get into that in another episode. You see, I'm a forest fire survivor as well.
But it was home. And I had found my people, such kind and compassionate people such awakened such spiritually-attuned people, it's a place like none other. And it was such an artistic little town and I love it. And I'm grateful every day. And every day, I look out my window, and I look out to the mountains. Because I'm just so grateful that they exist. And I'm so grateful that I get to exist in such a beautiful place to call home. And even just driving, you know, doing, you know, what, supposedly, mundane tasks don't become mundane anymore, and my neighborhood walks are like, you know, going to a national park! And driving to the gas station suddenly becomes like going on a sightseeing journey. It's like I'm constantly in this little hyper giddy emotional space of a tourist.
Even though I've lived here for two years now. It's still just it just never really rubs in I guess, like it's just never becomes normal, and boring and ordinary, because it's so extraordinary. And it's such a beautifully unique place. And I really hope you visit it some time. You know when this whole pandemic is over, because as I am recording this, we are in lockdown. Well, we're not in lockdown, but this, you know, the planet is still dealing with a pandemic. That has changed life as we know it. But if you're listening to this in a time when that's all over, well, then it's lovely to be you, isn't it? But we're doing just fine. And so if you ever do travel again, please do visit Ashland, Oregon, and I live in talent Oregon, which is the town right next door and say hello. And I'd love to meet you. And we can do a studio visit and you could see my art studio in which I'm in right now.
And you see Kiwi is looking at me and dashing back and forth and kind of like skiddeling around, saying that it's almost food time. And so I guess I must sign out soon. But I just wanted to leave you with those golden nuggets of from remembering to follow your intuition and remember to listen to the inner knowing of your heart. Even if it doesn't see like the logical way to carry out. you see this nothing very logical about moving across the country and investing at all these things to move to go to a place that I had never heard of simply because I had a lovely thought one morning of roses, and well, Ashland, Oregon.
Oh, and there's another thing about the roses. I was right. There are so many roses here. And they're so beautiful and fragrant. And you see, my stables is called Sweet rose farms. And so my forfilling little ending is that I ended up boarding my horse, you see, if you have a horse, you board, and it's like you pay a renting fee for his living expenses. And so it's 10 minutes away from my home. And I drive and see my horse nearly every day. And it's in a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains, and a stables that's called Sweet rose farms. It is this it is a rose themed horse stables in which my horse lives in the pasture among his herd of horses. And he never has to stay in the stall. Because he's a free wild horse, he gets to be in a beautiful lush green pasture with the herd he loves. And he feels at home. And I feel at home. And I'm just so grateful that we finally found this place together. And now live in the beautiful fairytale land. So yeah! And in the stables, there's actually little bunnies that hop around. And you could just see the beautiful view of the mountains. And then when it gets colder, there's that sugar coated mountain. I'm not sure what it is... Mount Shasta, I believe! We're very close to California. And it's just the most beautiful place on earth. And I just, I can't imagine what life might have been like for me, if I didn't listen to that little thought, that little whisper in the back of my mind, when I was just stretching and doing ballet, I could have just child myself and been like, Oh, it's nothing, it's just the thought I was just getting carried away. But that's the same. Sometimes your intuition might feel like you're just getting carried away. But maybe your supposed to get carried away. And by getting carried away, you can find yourself even though you never really truly knew that you were lost in the first place. It could just really change your life. So if you got anything from this episode, I hope it wasn't the least bit maybe entertaining, hopefully. But I hope you got the golden nugget of how important it is to stay true to your heart.
And stay true to your intuition. Because it might be trying to tell you something. And it might be trying to tell you something that can change your life. So if you ever feel like you're in a place that just doesn't feel right, like I felt in, you know, Houston, Texas and the environment growing up, I just didn't feel at home, but I knew that there was something coming for me. And you have to know and trust in the unknown. And just know that everything is set up for you. And you don't need to force anything. Because the intuition doesn't come with force. And the grand design is already planned out. You know, the stars are already written, the constellations are already set. And you just need to follow the constellations. And this will take you to where you're meant to be and the true journey you're exposed, you're supposed to experience in your life. So listen to your heart, listen to your intuition, even if it seems like you're just getting carried away, or just another little thought, or just a silly little dream.
Because every little thought matters. And you might just be having the thought for a reason.
But that's all for now and I better go give Kiwi her food. She is looking at me and shifting her weight and hoping that I'll just hurry up and Stop talking to myself. So I suppose I will stop talking to myself. But really, I'm talking to you. And I'm just so grateful that you took the time out of your day to listen to what I had to say. And it means the world to me. So have a lovely day, fill it with magic, and listen to those inner thoughts, tells her now I love you very much beautiful soul. And thank you for joining me. And this little positive pocket to making your life just a bit more sparkly! Bye-bye Kiwi says goodbye! So tootles for now, Ta-ta!
I have an Instagram and a Facebook page and my handle Is Silver Key Creations, that's Silver Key Creations! Take a look at what I'm currently up to and let me deliver you some visual sparkles, because the voice can only do half of the part. Right? Well, thank you so much, it means the world to me. You can see all of my artwork and what I'm currently working on at Silverkeycreations.com. You can also join my Flutter Flock. My Flutter Flock is my positivity group where I share sparkles from my heart to yours. It's just one little extra step above the podcast! If that feels right to you, be sure to join, and I'd love to have you. You can join by going to my website and signing up for my newsletter. And I would love to hear from you guys, leave a comment and I'll be sure to reply. And every little drop of support means the absolute world to me and I cherish your love and support. So thank you so much, but that's all for now! Enjoy your day, and I'll talk to you next time. Bye! Tootles for now!