Wow! When you make an instant and deep connection with someone, it lights you up. It’s expansive.
Chatting with Julie was not only fascinating and enjoyable but energising as well. Even after our call had finished the feeling of being connected remained.
No doubt the pleasure came partly from finding a kindred spirit who’d arrived at the same magical place via a different road. And all the more thrilling to discover they understand the quality of the treasure to be found there. I imagine it must be like that when collectors and enthusiasts arrive at a convention to share their passion. Like a murmuration of starlings relishing the moment and the spontaneous exploration of what they love.
As a child being an empath is difficult - most of us feel misunderstood - but when you’re picking up information that no one around you is getting, and can’t possibly relate to, it’s hard not to feel in a minority of one. Julie described her parents as wonderful but, as a girl, even they didn’t know quite what to do with her!
Your Unique Compelling Quality (UCQ) is the energetic expression of your gifts. I feel it as clear as day and as a three-dimensional presence. Julie helps people activate gifts that haven’t yet been unlocked, but they’re revealed to her differently. More of that in a moment.
Now I would suggest that many people consider that a gift not used is a waste, which of course is correct. However, it’s actually far more than that.
Our gifts are a divine expression of our authentic self and to bury and deny them is to bury and deny who we are. As we discussed this, I could feel how the heart shuts down when we become disconnected from what we are born to express. And with that comes a cost. We lose some of our capacity to connect - not just with each other or ourselves but with everything.
It’s a huge price we pay.
Denial of our gifts is to disconnect from who we are and the byproduct of that is to be strangers to ourselves. That way lies frustration and discontent. The problem is when you cut yourself off from something it’s a two-way street.
It’s isolating.
It was poignant when we spoke of so many people who don’t like what they think they are and, worse still, are downright mean to themselves. This is the ultimate denial of the gifts that are our birthright and all the potential that can come from that.
I was keen to know how Julie picks up the blockages that hold us back. She explained that she sees people’s energy as a grid, from the top of their heads down to their feet. And observes where it's not lit up. Blockages “appear in a kind of grey lump.”
And what's behind that is usually an unused gift and in front typically fear. That’s no surprise, because why else would we deny a gift but for fear? Fear of rejection, fear of success or fear of change.
I recalled a superbly talented artist who’d never made anything of her skills. When exploring her past a memory revealed to her, as a little girl, showing a painting she’d done for her father, wide-eyed and full of the excitement of sharing her masterpiece. Only her father misread the situation and instead of praising her decided to critique her effort and highlight all the things she could have done better.
She felt crushed.
Her logic was that her art was not good enough and that memory, which subsequently became buried in her psyche and long forgotten, remained there into her adulthood, sabotaging her creative journey until it was cleared. One small moment in time had created a crosswind to her extraordinary natural gift and imprisoned it until it was spotted and cleared. Such is the human condition but what a waste.
Of course, the flip side is that when we own our gifts and express them, which Julie poetically described as shining our light on the world, it opens up our hearts. It makes us whole. It connects us to Life.
It makes us feel more alive.
I picked up in Julie this deep-set strength that is part of her UCQ. When I mentioned that, she said she was a very strong-willed person and I could see how that had powered her through her career, first as a paralegal and then selling technology. But our qualities need to be pointed in the right direction to deliver the happiness and fulfilment we yearn for. It’s like setting a ladder against the right wall. When, some years ago, Julie was told by her employer that all they wanted from her was for her to do what they asked, like a robot, the penny dropped and she grabbed her chance.
All change! She felt the fear but did it anyway.
Different climate. A new role in life. Time to start helping others with her God-given gifts. And at the end of the call, I had a better sense of at least part of what those were. I’ll try to put it into words because I like a challenge, but words have limits that feelings don’t.
We’re all a much bigger version of ourselves than most of us believe. We operate at many different levels. Many are ignorant of this, some know it conceptually, others touch it fleetingly. Blessed are those who experience it. It’s something that usually takes a lot of self-exploration to live consistently. For Julie this bigger version of herself felt three-dimensional and physical (which indeed it is!), like ripples on a pond emanating from a dropped pebble, but all coexisting at the same time, floating in space. A beautiful reflection of the power and impact of the moment of impact. And when you come into contact with it, it’s a reminder of who you are. A homecoming.
If you’d like to know more about Julie you can find her at: https://www.juliesaillant.com
Comments