LISA KAY’S
MILKY WAY BLOG
Lisa Kay's Milky Way Blog will dive into the deep end of one soul's journey to heal a chronic illness diagnosis by following the breadcrumbs from spirit through chakra balancing, crystal dreaming, breathwork, QHHT, reiki, and so much more. Follow along on this spiritual journey in the Milky Way Collective!
Long story short, I’ve been putting this off.
The world is calling for me to start sharing my voice in a really big way and I thought what better time to birth this new era than on the spring equinox?
If you followed along on my soul journey in 2021, you would know that I’ve been spiritual my whole life, but like most people in my metaphysical shoes, I shut down my gifts. Looking back now, I can see I was built for a world that didn’t yet exist. I felt out of place, alone, longed to go back home, and tried my best to just be “normal.”
I suffered with depression most of my life and although I don’t think back on any one time as being a “spiritual awakening,” I had many on-the-bathroom-floor dark nights of the soul. The thing that continued to get me through the most challenging times in my life was this deep knowing that I was here for a reason.
Last Night in Lexington
Over a month ago now, I woke up to my last full day in Lexington, VA on August 8th. My host prepared a delicious omelet to start the day with a healthy dose of hazelnut coffee on the side. We enjoyed a leisurely start to the day with everyone at home that morning.
I noticed a giant bush of rosemary alongside the house, so when my host recommended he grill chicken with a firehouse marinade for dinner, I offered to make my now famous rosemary potato salad. My hostess agreed to prepare collard greens, a treat I had not enjoyed since my previous trip to Lexington, VA several years ago.
Honoring Your Energy
While my physical Soul Journey has come to an end, there are definitely still stories to be shared. I've been experiencing a slowing down of pace and I am definitely still processing all that I experienced this summer. I have been feeling guilty for leaving you hanging and I swear I've sat down to blog and journal several times without producing any results.
This weekend I'm back in Manitowoc, WI visiting my brother's family and I had a few hours to myself this morning. I got out my laptop and journals and when I opened the bag, I found my deck of Shamanic Healing Oracle Cards, so I pulled a card for my blog and #15 Honoring Your Energy popped out. Well this says it all, so I decided I could at least share this with you. I'm sure you've been in the same boat once or twice yourself and might find this advice helpful on your own journey!
Reunited in Lexington
My Saturday in Lexington, began with the smell of bacon followed by another steaming hot mug of the house blend coffee. Eventually I'd scramble up a few eggs and make myself some skillet toast to go with the tasty bacon.
While my hostess worked, my host busied himself with usual Saturday morning tasks and I headed out to reunite with Lexington. While my host humored me on my last visit and accompanied me to Duke's Lexington Antique Center, this time he let me go off to explore it on my own. The Lexington visitor's website says that Dukes houses 20,000 square feet of antiques and 200+ dealers. I can confirm, that it is the best antique store I've visited on my travels this summer! I found several milk glass treasures along with a couple National Geographic magazines with Coca-Cola ads on the back (four for a dollar!), and a new old Pyrex butter dish with yellow flowers and butterflies on it. They even packed up everything in a box for me to get it back home to Wisconsin safely.
Expectations
My second day in Lexington (Friday, August 6th) began on my own as my host and hostess went off to work for the day. I slept in and enjoyed three cups (!!!) of the Hazelnut coffee my host brewed before leaving that morning. I couldn't let it go to waste after all. I started the day with a breakfast sandwich before retiring to the front porch with my cup of coffee for a little journaling.
My load of laundry called me in to make a switch and the host’s bulldog, Walter, called me to go out to the backyard, so I picked up my journal and my cup and moved the operation to the porch overlooking a fenced-in back yard. A bright blue bee encouraged me to go inside to check on my laundry at just the right moment, so I folded my dry clothes before pulling on my swimming suit and packing a swim bag.
Flow
I arrived downtown Lexington, VA, shortly before my scheduled meeting time with my Lexington host, so I sat in my car while I continued to listen to The Worthy Project on Audible. By the time I made my way up the block to Southern Inn Restaurant, I walked in about 30 seconds behind my host. I surprised him with a big hug and exclaimed "I'm a hugger now!"
We were meeting there because they were hosting a guest bartender to benefit the local Habitat for Humanity organization. The two people with name tags started up a conversation with my host, which transferred to me. They both used to live in Wisconsin and know where my home town is. What are the chances?!
Stories of the Road
The day I departed Surfside Beach, SC for Lexington, VA, I had only 358 miles on my agenda that would take six hours and twenty-four minutes without stops. I hit the road with nothing on my playlist, but found The Year of Magical Thinking, a 90-minute free story on Audible. It slowly unfolded to reveal and older woman whose husband passes away and daughter struggles with her health at the same time.
Heavy, dark clouds overshadowed my journey as I listened to this dark tale, but pockets of brilliant blue sky kept peeking out, offering hope of a brighter future. By 11:30am, the sun had begun to dominate the sky and the clouds were fewer and farther between, leaving plenty of blue sky. I picked up my next free 90-minute Audible called Stories of a Lifetime with Dan Rather.
Spidey-Senses
My last morning in Surfside Beach with my travel companion began just as the rest... she was already up for the day when my first alarm went off and I started my meditation. My second meditation is an exercise in visualization for your day. As I finished that up I had this thought that I had no impulse about what to do for breakfast on this day. Moments later, my companion returned and let me know we had been gifted breakfast at the hotel.
We readied for the day and headed down to the beautiful, ocean-front restaurant. Upon seating, I picked out a tasty breakfast bowl including roasted potatoes, eggs, spinach, mushrooms, peppers, and cheese along with coffee and orange juice. The breakfast of champions! (Or at least those who plan to spend the rest of the day playing in the ocean.)
Step In Time
On Tuesday, I was researching our options for the day and located the blog with Shag movie locations, thinking we could make a tour to explore the different filming sites. I clicked through on several of the links and wasn't finding actual addresses. We had seen The Diplomat hotel already and two of the sites were a good hour drive away.
Although it appears the actual filming site for the Shag competition in the movie had burned down, the blog recommended Fat Harold's Beach Club. It said they had free shag lessons on Tuesday nights. I said to my friend, "Guess what we're doing tonight?!"
Signs
My friend began her day bright and early (4:30 am I believe) on this day, but I wasn't ready to face the day until after 8am and a couple meditations under my belt. By 10:30, it was shaping up to be a rainy day already and after waffling about where to go for breakfast and getting ready, we decided on Tupelo Honey for lunch because it would be opening at 11am.
It was sprinkling by the time we arrived at the restaurant, so we waited in the car until after 11am before skipping quickly in to be greeted as one of their first customers of the day. As a matter of fact, they didn't even turn the booth lights on until after we were seated. Our waiter was an older, serious gentleman who was all business. Even my friend couldn't coax him out of his shell.
Fish in the Sea
The two of us used to have this saying that we were like two fish in the sea, going where the tides took us. It was those types of nights out where we found the most sparkly magic and loads of fun along the way. Maybe all the time in the ocean prepped us for the task of being two fish in the sea on this night out, because things were definitely working out for us in a magical way.
We headed out to Broadway at the Beach to find Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville restaurant and luckily my friend's eyes spied the sign from the parking lot. I dropped her off to head in to check on seating availability while I circled back and found a parking spot. By the time I joined her, she mentioned it would be a three and a half hour wait for a table, so I suggested we stop in at a fair trade store across from the restaurant first and I found a lovely piece of citrine that I had to pick up.
Stripping Illusions
On our first morning together, my host woke early and headed to the beach to do a little journaling and I slept in until eight and began my day with my traditional Abraham Hicks Process 21 Wellness Meditation and then a 10-minute morning meditation with Jason Stephenson where I set the intention to have the most fun together in Myrtle Beach!
Once we reunited, we prepared for breakfast out on the town and ended up at Blueberry Cafe in North Myrtle Beach, quite a drive, but filled with our usual soul talk. We have always been deep thinkers and although I can't tell you exactly what the subject of this soul talk on this day was (or for much of our time together), I can assure you it was during that drive that I came to the realization that we were together at this stage of my trip to help me talk out some of the things I have been experiencing along the way.
Fresh Possibility
A fresh new day in a new town! Nothing but possibility lay ahead, but I enjoyed sleeping in. The day of driving really takes it out of me. Because it was the first of the month, I took advantage of the alone time to update my social media sites with the fresh new Pampered Chef specials for the month. I headed out to pick up some supplies for the room and that discount store was bananas busy! Then I spent a few hours catching up on a few blogs.
I wrapped up my writing just in time to jet off to the airport to pick up my travel companion from the airport. Considering I was staying at a hotel, she turned out to be my host for this leg and was an integral part of my trip. More on that later. For this moment, I was just so glad she was there with me in Myrtle Beach! We both really enjoyed the movie "Shag" from the 80's and I always dreamed of making a girlfriends trip to Myrtle Beach. While our whole group of girls couldn't be there, I was thrilled to be able to share the experience with one of them.
New Adventure
On Saturday, July 31st, I made the long haul from Boynton Beach, FL to Surfside Beach, SC, a 629-mile drive, what should be a nine hour, 23 minute drive through Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. The night before this trip I started looking for a stopover location to break the trip into two days, but I decided to bite the bullet and get the drive over with in one day.
As I pulled onto I95 North from Boynton Beach, I began listening to the second half of Untamed by Glennon Doyle. For as much hype as this book got, I was unimpressed. I actually started it in mid-June as I began packing up my house in Illinois and I just never wanted to even finish it. Facing the long drive, I thought ... what the heck?! Why not.
I think maybe if you've never thought about your place in the world as a woman, or about your spirituality, or belief systems, maybe her content might be eye-opening for you. But it seemed pretentious to me. Perhaps even more so because she was reading her own book. I felt like her inflection was trying to make things sounds revelatory, but they just were not. Enough said.
Rounding out the rest of my day, I pulled up Caroline Myss' Anatomy of the Spirit.
Soaking Up The Sun
On my last day in Boynton Beach, I had a long to-do list to prep for my next day of travel. I began with a cup of Cold Brew of course so I could clean out my pitcher and pack it up for the trip. I spent some time repacking my suitcase and organizing for my travel day. I have a large suitcase filled with clothes and then a smaller suitcase that I pack for the next leg of the journey. My spacious empty townhouse digs gave me plenty of room to spread out and repack for my next trip before I began loading bags back into the car.
I had a lunch date with my host who was experiencing life as a normal Friday workday. We met at a chain fast food place called Pollo Tropical that was near her office building. It seems this restaurant is only located in Florida at this time, but I highly recommend it if you pass one by! I ordered a Tropichop - a bowl with rice, black beans, fajita veggies, tomatoes, and corn as well as their chopped up grilled chicken and a delicious Cilantro Lime sauce. Yum! Definitely more than I could eat for lunch. As a bonus, they had free wi-fi, so I was able to stay longer to upload a few blogs.
Tourist in Boynton Beach
As the week was rolling on, I decided it was time I actually went to the beach! I was getting the hang of this ignoring the weather app thing (it always says it's going to storm!). So I loaded up with all my supplies and headed to Oceanfront Park.
I figured out the parking system and hauled my chair and beach bag down the winding boardwalk to the sand and found a spot a good distance from others already camped out there. I immediately stripped down to my swimming suit because it was so hot. I doused with sunscreen and broke out my journal to catch up on writing.
Parlour Talk
On pedicure day, my host picked me up from my place and we walked into the salon right before our scheduled appointments. I was waffling on color choice when we were called back and perhaps made a rash decision.
My attendant brought me a bottle of water and started the massage chair for me and we were off. My host's attendant worked quickly as my lady struggled with each step. She was clearly still learning, but I didn't mind the extra relation time.
A Message
Day two in Boynton Beach began by checking the weather. It seemed there was a high chance of storms all day, so I ditched the idea of finding a kayak excursion and looked for indoor activities. I reheated my leftover breakfast while enjoying a cup of cold brew coffee I had set brewing the day before. I found a spiritual shop called Guides and Angels located in the Boynton Beach Mall and as it turns out, the mall had wi-fi access, so I was sold.
Upon arrival, the lady behind the counter was assisting another customer, so I perused the wares in the shop. When Carolina, as I would learn she was called, was available, I approached her to ask if she did walk-in readings. She said a 10-minute tarot reading right in the store would be just $15 as she was the reader and tending to the store sales.
A Squatter’s Life
After a quick tour of my new squatter’s paradise in Boynton Beach, my host took me over to her home for a charcuterie board night. Everything was amazing and I definitely over indulged on cheese. I love eating real food after a day on the road!
After dinner, my host convinced her other house guest to play a little piano. The two of them ended up sitting down together and playing through a whole book of duet music including The Christmas Song (Chestnut’s Roasting on an Open Fire). It was the perfect entertainment for the evening.
Make It Happen
So I can now say that I’ve seen the Everglades, but it was pretty boring from the highway. Lots of trees and nothingness until a strong downpour slowed traffic to a crawl. As I escaped out of the darkness and emerged on the east coast of Florida, gray skies cleared up in favor of blue skies.
As I approached Boynton Beach, Flash Dance began playing on the radio. I can’t say I’d paid much attention to the lyrics prior to this moment, but I was in awe of the symbolism my clairaudience had delivered to me. I absolutely love this message! It’s the perfect start to the next leg of my journey.
Experiences Unfolding
Driving down highway 75 after a short drive around Anna Maria Island, I jumped back on YouTube and was delivered more messages from Michael Singer’s podcast. The two podcasts that I heard really spoke to some of the things I had been discussing the night before. One was Giving Meaning to the Time Between Your Birth and Death and the other was Doing the Real Work to Free Yourself.