My dad was English.
My maternal grandfather was Scottish, his surname “Lockerbie”.
I grew up with a lot of British influences, which I didn’t really notice as being different from anyone else until David (husband) and I compared childhood food experiences. That was one of the first times I realised how much my British heritage coloured my formative years.
Even though my maternal grandmother was born and bred in Western Australia, I grew up with stories of Grand-dad, imagining life in Scotland as being something wild and romantic. Nanna talked about “Robbie Burns” and would cry whenever she heard Auld Lang Syne or Amazing Grace. Interestingly, my grandfather was a difficult man, according to my mother, but my grandmother talked about him as if he walked on water.
Looking back over the last couple of decades, I realise how often the British story turned up in conversations with David. Not just when Nanna visited from Perth (Western Australia), but also during conversations about childhood experiences and how our parents ‘parented’ us differently from the way that we parented our children.
My British ancestry wasn’t anything unusual … it was just always ‘there’ in the background of my own story.
Until …
We arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland, and I realised just how “British” my story has been.
I didn’t know how much impact being in this beautiful town would have on me. I felt like I’d come home, in a way I’ve never experienced the ‘sense of home’ before.
Then …
Within 24 hours, I had an overwhelming ‘past life’ experience …
Followed by ‘hit’ after ‘hit’ after ‘hit’ … of stories that were not from this lifetime.
My need to stay here, in Edinburgh, was overwhelming.
I cried. A lot. And, I cried some more. A lot more.
Eventually, I realised that I had to ‘turn off’ the emotion I was experiencing. It was making me sick.
The first two weeks in Edinburgh were definitely a baptism by fire!
We realised, very quickly, that some of what I was feeling was the world making sense. So much of my childhood home life was influenced by having an English father and paternal grandparents, and a Scottish maternal grandfather; their culture creating much of the ‘nest’ I lived in.
Then, there were the other lifetimes I had lived in Edinburgh. I was caught off guard by extreme emotion and intense JOY.
I deliberately haven’t travelled ‘far’ in Edinburgh. Walking everywhere kind of puts a distance constraint (for me!) in place. The depth and intensity of the stories and the energy, right outside our airbnb, adds another constraint. Extreme reactions to places adds another level of constraint. I have had to be Very Careful with the emotional impact of two places nearby: the Grassmarket and Candlemakers Row.
If I could live here, I would absolutely find an apartment in either place, although I feel more ‘at home’ in Candlemakers Row.
It’s like being here makes so many things from my life’s journey make sense.
Share My Journey
While I am focusing on learning “how” to live in this beautiful country and how to manage the (so much more easily accessible) energy, I am only doing Readings By Request. If you would love a personal, 1:1 session with Me, please email me: Michelle@joyexpress.com.au
I am, however, excited to be offering On Location Virtual Gatherings where a small group of people are invited to receive a Mini Reading (current or past life). So far, I have held these fabulously fun and enJOYable sessions in Sicily and Edinburgh. Everyone who feels called to attend this limited space event benefits, in some small way, from each person’s reading.
If you’d love to participate in the next On Location Mini Readings Gathering (the cost is just $40 USD), bookings are being taken now.
In Closing …
We are in Edinburgh for just a handful more days before moving to our next location, Shandwick, where we are going to explore David’s Family History. During my time in the little seaside village, I hope to be able to make a little more sense of my experiences in Edinburgh, and give a voice to my past life selves.
My biggest learning, from here, has been the importance of Being Kind to Self. And, with that thought, I wish you a Journey filled with Self-Indulgences in all the Best Ways.
Michelle x
Be kind to yourself!❤️
Even though a bunch of my ancestors came from Scotland in the 1840’s and 50’s, my family story was never Scottish. But it wasn’t English either. Just Australian. Hmmmm. Differences.