An Interview With Yitzi Weiner
If we want love to grow in our world, we must start with the love we feel for ourselves.
As a part of this series, we had the pleasure to interview Jill Amy Sager.
Jill Amy Sager is the author of the multi-award-winning book “Guidance from the Universe: Hopeful Messages for Everyday Challenges.” She is a public speaker, former percussionist, and highly sought after Tarot reader, who channels intuitive guidance for an international clientele. Her writing has appeared in Women Writers Women’s Books, Awakened Magazine, The Story Network, The Power of Each Breath: A Disabled Women’s Anthology, and other notable publications.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
Before I could walk, my dad discovered that my left leg was shorter than the right, but otherwise the leg functioned normally. At age nine the surgery to correct the leg length discrepancy failed. I spent the next four years in and out of hospitals as doctors tried to reverse the damage, which also proved unsuccessful. To this day I have limited foot and knee mobility, I walk with a permanent limp, and I still have to wear a pronounced lift on my shoe.
Despite my formative years in and out of hospitals without the “normal” social and peer interactions most children experience, I remained the inquisitive, creative, and rebellious child I’d always been, who felt out of step with society’s expectations. My physical disability added to the feeling that I was “different,” an outsider. My inclination toward unconventional ways of moving through the world came naturally to me. One example is how I took so readily to Tarot cards in the late 1970s, when there was little support for this esoteric art, and about ten years later, I began channeling messages from the universe with an acceptance I never thought to question.
When you were younger, was there a book that you read that inspired you to take action or changed your life? Can you share a story about that?
I read Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren when I was in elementary school. The story is about a nine-year-old “wild” girl who doesn’t live with parents. Her alternative lifestyle, free of parental supervision, felt liberating. Pippi’s power to fully express herself without apology inspired me at a time when I felt trapped by my circumstances. As I read, I latched onto the freedom she experienced with jealousy but also with hope.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I’d been channeling information from the universe, receiving messages for myself and clients for years without question, when I began to worry that whatever I’d tapped into might be dangerous. I remember sitting at my kitchen table expecting a client when, in a moment of panic, I had doubts about whether I should continue to converse with this invisible entity on the other side of the veil. What if it was some terrible troubled force that I shouldn’t trust? What if it could bring harm? At that moment the universe responded, “You’ve been doing this work (they meant Tarot and receiving ‘their’ guidance) for twenty years. Has it ever been negative? Hasn’t it always been love? What made you think that would change?”
My experience with fear is that it often leads to imagining worst-case scenarios. Faced with the reality of my actual experience, I felt as if I’d been slapped awake. I had to admit that Tarot and the information from the universe had improved my life and the lives of all my clients. To this day, all that nourishing goodness of help, support, and love continues.
Can you describe how you aim to make a significant social impact with your book?
What I learned from “Guidance,” the loving source of wisdom I channel, is what I wanted to share with readers. My life changed for the better when I realized that I was responsible for my happiness. That I do have a choice about how long I will allow myself to suffer and feel poorly. The book offers insights about how important it is to love ourselves and offers inspiration and tools to show how self-love is attainable. The overall message in the book points to an important observation: if we want love to grow in our world, we must start with the love we feel for ourselves. There is hope in this book. I wish to inspire the reader by reminding them that they matter in this lifetime. Therefore, the choice to treat themselves, with the same compassion and kindness they offer others, is essential.
Can you share with us the most interesting story that you shared in your book?
The first chapter, “Awareness is All,” provides a foundation for understanding the communication style of “Guidance” and provides a glimpse into how I utilized the information to enhance my life. I wrote about talking with my father on the telephone (we lived on opposite coasts) and how on one particular afternoon, I realized that every time I hung up from a call with him, I felt depressed. This new awareness enabled me to cast off the lethargy that hadn’t been there before our conversation. I chose to leave the house determined to enjoy all the plans I’d made for that afternoon instead of numbing out in front of the television, which is what I wanted to do the moment the call with my dad ended. From that day forward I felt more in control. I still succumbed to sadness after he and I spoke, but knowing this low mental state would probably happen gave me the power to make a different choice each time. What this chapter demonstrates is how a shift in perspective is possible that enables us to flourish. It is possible to transform our challenges into grace. Being mindful and more aware has helped me to confront and accept the challenges I face, while I take better care of myself as I face those challenges.
What was the “aha moment” or series of events that made you decide to bring your message to the greater world? Can you share a story about that?
I had been getting help from “Guidance” for myself and clients when they surprised me with this message: “Do you think we gave all this info just for you?” I answered yes without hesitation and thanked “them,” but in that moment, I also realized the enormity of the help I had received. The wisdom I’d been privy to suddenly felt too big to keep to myself. I was already a writer and author. They told me to write. The book ”Guidance from the Universe: Hopeful Messages for Everyday Challenges” is the outcome.
Without sharing specific names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
The response from readers has warmed my heart, as they share how the book is inspiring them to think about their own path toward healing and self-acceptance. This is hopeful feedback as I believe taking better care of ourselves, means we can take better care of each other and our planet. I have included a few responses from readers to demonstrate what the book meant to them.
- “I love your book! The lessons of Guidance and your personal examples are already helping me.”
- “I felt that I was being seen. This memoir was so good that I ordered a copy of it for a friend who too was having a tough year…as of now, this is my favorite self-help book. I’m going to re-read it as much as I can.”
- “Thank you for writing this book. I can’t tell you how much it has helped me with several problems in my self-discovery of myself.”
- “Out of all the self-help books I’ve read, so far this is my favorite.”
- “The book I have been keeping by my bed and reading and rereading this past year is Guidance from the Universe: Hopeful Messages for Everyday Challenges.”
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
- Words have power. The words we choose to describe ourselves and the words we speak with others has consequences that affect our self-esteem and our relationships. Being mindful about the words we use, seems important as they can either lift our spirits or cause destruction.
- Emotions are key to our humanity. Therefore, there is no reason to judge any emotion as good or bad. With that said, however, many of us need to acquire skills that allow us to express our emotions in the healthiest and most constructive way.
- Treating ourselves with love. Treating ourselves with the same love, kindness, and compassion we offer others is the first step toward the love we seek and the love we want to see in the world.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
In group situations, I have at times, been tasked with assuming the leadership role. I was always more than willing. In some of these situations, others confided that they were too afraid to speak up or believed they lacked the “goods” to be a leader, which I knew was false. These admissions saddened me, particularly when they originated from women, who have historically felt silenced and relegated to taking a back seat. Ultimately, I believe we all have knowledge to impart. Each of us has life experiences to share. We learn from one another’s stories. We benefit when we inspire, support, and encourage one another with our skills, know-how, and expertise. Therefore, can’t any of us be in a “leadership” position at any time?
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
1. Becoming a writer is an actual profession with a variety of ways to earn money.
2. Choosing a creative life, means I will fail, I will have bouts of insecurity, and I will be terrified at times. But the courage I gain by taking risks will make the challenging times worth it.
3. Do not allow other’s opinions to deter my creative vision.
4. Never give up on a dream if the desire to go after that dream persists.
5. Being kind to myself is a non-negotiable.
If anyone had told me that I shouldn’t pay attention to other people’s opinions, I might have had more confidence in my creative instincts. If I’d known that feeling fear is a given when I take risks to pursue my passion, I might have had fewer stomach aches, and if any of the teachers who praised my stories in middle school had encouraged me with information that I could obtain a degree in creative writing, I might have published a book sooner.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Here are two that keep me on track.
“If I don’t examine what’s troubling me, I’m only bringing more trouble into the world.” For example, when I’m at a stoplight fuming at the person in front of me because he drove slow, my anger hurts me and him and adds to the disharmony that already exists in the world. In that situation, I remember to take a few deep breaths to release my irritation. I instantly feel compassion. Maybe that person in front of me is a new driver being cautious.
“Trying is everything, because if I don’t try, I will never discover if I can achieve what I set out to achieve.” I tend to procrastinate when I need to make a cold call to a bookstore about a possible author event. I’m plagued with self-doubt. I often succumb to my nerves. I’m afraid to be rejected. But I know that if I don’t follow through, I’ll never know the outcome. I might still feel shaky and experience apprehension when I dial the number, but I know that I’ll feel worse if I never make the call.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
RuPaul has lived a creative life on his terms, which, considering the biases prevalent when he began his career, could not have been easy. I find him to be an inspiration to those of us who question our self-worth or are afraid to follow a creative path. I want to find out how he confronts fear and insecurity, or perhaps he is unaffected by those challenges. What are some of his core beliefs? What keeps him going? How has he been able to overcome adversity? Live authentically? Who inspired him to excel? Does he ever feel cynical? I have other questions, but bottom line, RuPaul exudes self-love, and from what I can tell, he’s been able to translate that love to care for others. I for one want to learn from his example.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Feel free to connect with me through my website https://jillamysager.com/ where you’ll also find my social sites: instagram, facebook, substack, and youtube. I look forward to being in touch with you.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Social Impact Authors: How & Why Author Jill Amy Sager Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.