Sarah & Casey

I think it’s only right to discuss the background of me and my cousin, Casey since we are the duo that brought about the inspiration for the Sun Shadow Collective and our connection is truly one for the books. Casey and I would not be at this point if it weren’t for some divine universal intervention just pushing us closer and closer together.

Firstly, we are connected as family. My mother and Casey’s father are siblings, which makes us cousins. As an only child, all of my cousins were essentially siblings to me. They were there, they existed, and no matter the time we spent not seeing each other, all of the times we got back together it was clear that our family ties were DEEP. Some more than others, of course.

The main photo on this blog post is of me and my cousins – and more specifically, me and Casey – during a camping trip in the early 1990’s. Approximately 1991 to be somewhat exact. Casey is the obvious redhead and I’m just below her. Casey and I didn’t see each other after this until a brief family reunion in Washington around year 1999 (exact date TBD), and I honestly don’t remember hanging out with her very much. This was also around the time that some family drama was instigated… which attributes to years and years of childhood trauma by way of my mom and Casey’s dad’s childhood experiences with their mother’s death and the after-effects. The trauma still exist to this day. This is just another reason why the Sun Shadow Collective needs to exist. If your past consists of something dark, it is SO important to bring it to light. Repressed emotions and trauma need to be exposed so we can all start to heal. This past has affected generations, unless we start to share the story of why and how it all began.

Back to me and Casey.

Besides the quick family reunion around 1999, Casey and I didn’t meet again until 2018 when she moved to Los Angeles. Initially, it was a stepping stone of our relationship – getting to know each other again and learn where each of us had been all this time. If you don’t count the brief family reunion, it was basically 28 years without contact or seeing each other. That is CRAZY. But our connection didn’t take long. Casey reminds me so much of my mother (and within that, our grandmother). She has a soul that was easy for us to connect with. It’s deep, spiritual, giving and eager to keep learning about herself and others. I believe that people insert themselves into your life whether they know it or not, and while it usually just seems like a coincidence, these moments are something to be taken notice of. The universe will open itself to the souls willing to take note and become open to its signs, and Casey is just that. A sign. A spiritual muse. And that’s just for me. I think I am that for her as well.

The fact that we have connected so deeply is not just a confirmation of universal coincidence, but also as a confirmation of family ties. Those that are willing, will start to see the patterns and signs of spiritual guidance.

While I’m also somewhat hesitant to start preaching spiritual guidance, I know that I am not preaching a RELIGION. Something I need to be as specific as possible about. I have spent my life rebuking religious communities, because I have grown up in and have seen the drama, the hypocrisy and the fake commitment within religious spaces. But it was my mother who embraced me as I was, despite the religious world she lives in (she is a Lutheran pastor), and it is Casey who has embraced me as I was without hardly knowing me. This is family, but also a true soul connection. Casey and I would not be at this point if it weren’t for some divine universal intervention just pushing us closer and closer together. And I am so thankful for that.

The relationship between me and Casey should be an affirmation of faith in this blog and whatever your journey consists of. Life is a journey and at points we are literally walking through it blindly. If you take a moment to start learning about yourself, being vulnerable with others, and noticing the patterns and signs of the universe – you will ultimately connect with certain beings on a completely different level than you started with. The signs are there. We are there. I’m so excited to see this journey evolve!