October 14, 2011, I found myself as a single mother with a six-week-old and a 21-month old. I had been in a toxic relationship on and off for three years. Sadly, toxic relationships were nothing new to me. I had been in a few. This relationship, however, topped them all. Intuitively, I knew I had to change if I ever wanted to experience a healthy relationship. I felt so broken and knew it was up to me to make changes. I wanted to feel happy. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt happiness, then something inside of me said, “It all begins with you.” And so, my spiritual and transformational journey began.
I had a close friend I had known for about 10 years. He had seen the relationships I’d been in over that time and knew I was the common denominator. He suggested that I listen to Anthony Robbins’ Unleash the Power Within audiobook. He said listen to it over and over every chance you get. I was ready to make the changes, and once the clarity came, a few weeks later, I was gifted over $200 in vouchers, so I bought an iPod and listened to Anthony every chance I got.
At the time, I had a gambling problem. It started when I was 19 years old and got worse over the years. I didn’t want to continue down this road. I had two babies that had to come first, and I was determined to become the best version of myself for them. Anthony shared a technique to overcome bad habits. I implemented it, and it worked. I no longer felt the urge to gamble. As each day passed, I began to feel happier. I started liking many spiritual pages on Facebook. My newsfeed was now filled with positivity.
In February 2012, I attended my first Spiritual Event. The event was like nothing I had participated in before. It was called Scents from Heaven facilitated by David Laws and Leonie Featherstone. It was themed around flower readings and essential oils. Everyone brought a flower from their garden and placed it in a paper bag writing a number, name, or symbol we would recognise when David read our flower.
I remember thinking, wow, this man is amazing, as he delivered all these positive messages from Spirit. It was more than a psychic reading; it was spiritual teaching. I started following David on social media so I could continue to soak up his wisdom. Over the years, David has been an inspiration, sharing many real-life stories on the Universal Laws. I now call David Laws, the famous flower man, a close friend.
Leonie spoke about doTERRA essential oils and how we can use them for healing, empowerment, spiritual development, and more. She is so passionate about essential oils and has a wealth of knowledge. I gave Leonie my phone number, and over the years, we would catch up for a coffee and a chat. She would share information on the oils. Although at the time I never joined doTERRA, Leonie and I developed a lovely connection, and I looked forward to our meet-ups. Leonie is a regular columnist in Rebirth Vade Mecum Magazine and has a weekly show on Spiritual Events Directory Facebook page sharing her wisdom on the oils. Leonie is a Blue Diamond in doTERRA. Not that she cares for labels. She’s passionate about helping others and has definitely shown that to be true over the years.
In March 2012, I started to attend Coomera, Qld Spiritualist Church, which I loved. Each week, they would have a new person sharing their spiritual gifts. I especially loved the sessions with Sarah Neil, who ran the church. She would teach us how to connect to the Angels and manifest. OMG, I had never heard the word manifesting before. What a life-changing concept that we manifest everything in our lives. We can have, be, do anything and all we need to do is ask the Angels. We are the creators of our reality through our thoughts, words, and actions… WOW…What was I going to do with this newfound wisdom?
Every night, I talked to the Angels and told them how I wanted my life to look. Firstly, I never wanted to rely on out of bed to look out the window to see my ex getting put into the back of a police car. That night he got charged with DUI and lost his licence for 12 months. He never entered my house again after that night. Without a licence, he could no longer turn up to my home unannounced and uninvited. He moved away not long after that for a few years. That was my turning point for massive growth.
By April 2012, my spiritual and transformational journey was in full swing. Life was so exciting, and I was happy. I had less stress from my ex because he had moved away. Even though I was a full-time single mum to an eight-month-old and almost three-year-old, life was great. I started a business with a friend of mine. I had an idea to create a Spiritual Directory so I could help millions of people spiritually. I knew I wasn’t the only one in the world “waking up.” My vision was to create a community for people seeking spiritual and inspirational events, services and products.
But somehow, we ended up doing astrology reports. Astrology was her passion. She would create the reports and I would run the Facebook page and bring in the business. I started to feel down. This wasn’t part of my vision. That night I said to the Angels, “I still really want to do the Spiritual Directory. I know it will be amazing and help so many people.”
A week later, my sister-in-law sent me a message on Facebook. She said, “Do you still want to do the Spiritual Directory?”
“Yes,” I replied.
She said, “Go check out this page. It’s called Spiritual Events Directory. There is a post on the page saying they are selling the business.”
I contacted the owner and within a few days, I had purchased the business. I only paid $400 for my dream business. And it was EXACTLY what I was manifesting. Since purchasing Spiritual Events Directory (SED), we are the number one Spiritual Directory in Australia. We have a community of over 120K through our social media and databases. I am constantly amazed at the miracles we can create in our lives when we commit to spiritual and personal growth. I always believed you had to be intelligent to succeed in life. Now I know it’s so much more than that. If you have a clear intention, take focused action, and believe in yourself, anything is possible.
Before I manifested SED, I worked in customer service and over-the-phone sales. I never had much confidence or self-belief. I believed I was not intelligent. I never strived for much. I just went to work every day, did my job and came home. No desire to climb the ladder. Running Spiritual Events Directory has been a massive learning curve for me. My big vision has come with big lessons to grow me into who I need to become to fulfil my destiny.
May 2017 – My biggest lesson for transformational growth. A few years prior, my ex moved back to Brisbane and started dating. Things quickly became serious with his new partner, and he moved in with her. He started asking for more time with the children. I was happy he was showing more consistency with them, and I liked his partner. I felt she was good for him and would keep him in check. (I had asked the Angels to bring him someone who could help him and keep him away from me.) She had an HR and mediation background, so she communicated very well. I always knew exactly what was happening with regard to his time with the children. Previously, my ex always ignored my emails, texts and wanted to argue if I spoke to him on the phone. She was a welcoming relief.
Not long after he started seeing the kids more consistently, there was an incident over the phone where he abused me. I emailed him to say I was not tolerating his abuse any longer. If it continued, I would seek a DVO. I also told him I had sought legal advice because I was sick of his threats with regard to the children. Not long after that I received a lengthy well-written email apologising for his behaviour and suggesting we only communicate via email. So for approximately 12 months, we did just that. If there were ever any issues or concerns, it was all documented via email. His emails were now extremely child-focused and to the point, and best of all, he would reply. I knew it was his partner writing the emails, but I didn’t mind because now there was effective communication regarding the children.
Then something happened that I couldn’t ignore. I stopped contact between the children and their father. I put the children into counselling and told my ex that he could come over and visit them at my house until we could work out what was happening. He refused. Not long after that I received an email from his lawyer, and we went to mediation with no resolution. One afternoon, I was at home when I heard a knock at the door. My heart stopped. I knew who it was. I ran into the bathroom and closed the door. Then something inside of me said, “Sarah, you have to face this, otherwise you will be hiding forever.”
I went to the front door, and a man was standing there. He said, “Are you Sarah Jayd?”
I answered, “Yes.”
He handed me an envelope and said, “These are court papers.”
June 2017 – Our first court hearing. I was so nervous. I had no idea how I was going to stand up in front of the judge and speak. I was now facing my two biggest fears – public speaking and my ex. I knew this time I couldn’t run away and hide or make an excuse like I would have in the past. It was time to stand up. I needed to be the voice for my children. In the lead-up to court I had been reading a book called The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. There was a line in the book that stood out. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
I am not religious at all, but this really resonated with me. As I sat in the foyer of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia at Brisbane waiting for my name to be called, I closed my eyes and said the words, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” over and over. When my name was called, I stood up in front of the judge and spoke my truth. The mention was adjourned for six weeks to give me time to respond to his application. I hired a lawyer to support me which didn’t last very long; $5K later I knew I was supposed to be self-representing. No one knows your story like you do. I also knew it was Spirit’s way of pushing me out of my comfort zone and giving me some lessons around self-belief, intuition, and trust.
One of my limiting beliefs was that I could not communicate very well. My ex often told me this. Don’t you just love it when your inner beliefs haunt you externally? And what better way to learn how to communicate than self-representing? I had to quickly learn how to communicate written and verbally with judges, lawyers, report writers, doctors, psychologists, counsellors, schools. Now everything I said or did was evidence. This whole process relied on communication. Thankfully, by the time I ended up in court I had done many years of Spiritual/Personal Development and I was in a relationship with a man who was the complete opposite of my ex. He would often tell me how much of a good communicator I was and always positively affirmed me. Without his support, I am not sure I would have lasted four years in the court system. He often reminded me that you are never given anything you cannot handle. During those times, I had lawyers and judges telling me I could lose my children if I did not come to an agreement. I constantly went within to reassure myself I was doing the right thing and to keep going.
In November 2018, the matter was adjourned to 9:30am on June 20, 2019, in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia at Brisbane for final hearing allocating two days. I had no idea how I was going to self-represent, having to cross-examine witnesses, putting a trial affidavit together so the judge could understand it. I was way out of my depth, but I kept going, trusting Spirit had my back and hearing the words, “You never get more than you can handle.” I had an inner knowing that if I couldn’t successfully self-represent at the final hearing, I wouldn’t have to do it.
“I believe part of my purpose is to guide, support and empower women who are self-represented litigants, and that is why in May 2021 I founded Harmony Rose Agape Foundation.”
Often, we have fears, and the mere fact we are willing to face them is enough for the Universe to pat you on the back and say well done. You took action; you were ready to jump; that’s all I wanted. This is what happened to me. Two days before I was due to have all the final hearing material in court, I manifested a lawyer and barrister. My lawyer went over my case and spent the next two weeks with me redoing my affidavit. On the day of the trial, I had no fear at all. This seemed like a piece of cake compared to self-representing.
There were a lot of negotiations on the day, but no final orders were made, and the trial got adjourned. After that day, I felt all the fear melt away. Court had consumed my life for so long. My business had suffered because my focus was on the court. I felt reborn. I had always wanted to start a magazine but didn’t think I was qualified enough to do so. Remember my limiting belief that I could not communicate?
In September 2019, Rebirth Vade Mecum Magazine was born. Rebirth is a premium bi-monthly lifestyle magazine combining mind, body, and soul topics. We incorporate inspirational and real-life stories, psychic and conscious advice columns, and well-being subjects.
My ex has since separated from his partner and moved to Townsville. As of June 4 (the day after my forty-fourth birthday, Angel number 444), my ex agreed for me to have the children full-time with sole parental responsibility. Miracles do happen. I have been manifesting this outcome since our first court appearance, but honestly had no idea how I would achieve it.
I am incredibly grateful for the experience. It’s been such a massive opportunity for spiritual and personal growth and healing. I believe I got the outcome I did because of all the prayers, mantras, affirmations, journalling, and inner work I did throughout the journey. Plus, the fantastic supporter I had. He was there at every court hearing, sitting with me, praying with me, holding me physically and energetically, sending out love and healing to the entire courthouse. He even surrounded the building with a crystal grid to send energy. I believe the battle is won on the 5D (spiritual plane) then shows up in the 3D (physical plane). With this wisdom and willingness to do the inner work, anyone can do anything and create the outcome they desire.
I believe part of my purpose is to guide, support and empower women who are self-represented litigants, and that is why in May 2021 I founded Harmony Rose Agape Foundation. It is a not-for-profit organisation providing educational, mentoring, personal/spiritual development and healing, so, women and children don’t feel alone on the family court journey. Our mission is to provide healing, education, and transformative resources to help create a powerful new life. Our vision is to empower through guidance and confidential support, nurturing who you are while you bravely step in as a self-representing litigant through the family court system. Please reach out if you need support or would like to donate or volunteer.
“I offer you peace, I offer you love, I offer you friendship, I see your beauty, I hear your need, I feel your feelings. My wisdom flows from the Highest Source in you. Let us work together for unity and love.” – Gandhi’s Prayer for Peace.
