Navigating the Thin White Veil
A thin white veil covered the window looking out over the garden. Just past this colorful section of the estate was the stream that ran the length of the property and winded down and around the path leading directly to the ocean.
A thin white veil can be described as a metaphorical or literal barrier… fragile yet seemingly impenetrable… that obscures clarity, separates worlds, or symbolizes a transition or transformation. It represents something that is not entirely opaque but still conceals what lies on the other side. I’m using it here to share my origin story with you. And while this could be interpreted as being sad or demoralizing, please know that my story is truly one of joy, personal growth, and abundance…
A thin white veil symbolizes the divide between two states of being… poverty and prosperity, despair and hope, ignorance and understanding, or past and future. While it appears delicate and easily torn, it often feels like an insurmountable obstacle, representing fear, uncertainty, or self-doubt. But that is just part of the story I’m sharing here with you.
The Thin White Veil Appears
Poverty isn’t pretty. If you’re a child being raised by a single mother, it can be downright sad, at least at times. Not having enough to eat, or clothes and shoes that fit, or a dollar to go on the school field trip, or even a quarter for the school lunch during the 1960s was a daily challenge. But I chose to view it as an adventure on most days.
I’m using “The Thin White Veil” as a metaphor for the barrier separating where I came from to where I dreamed of being while I was a child. This metaphor materialized while I was at the 11th birthday party of a classmate at the end of 5th grade. That birthday party was a glimpse into a world I wanted to inhabit.
Death interrupted that dream for me, but I held on to its tail as tight as I could so I could be sure of revisiting it in the future. I did, and this is the story of what happened that shifted my mindset and my actions.
The thin white veil was like a curtain of mist, shrouding the future I could only imagine but not yet touch. It wasn’t thick, but it was enough to distort my view of what was possible. It felt as if I stood on one side of a gauzy, translucent fabric—my dreams visible yet unreachable, teasing me with their proximity.
The Struggles of Childhood
No one knows they’re growing up in poverty until they observe others who do not live with the financial hardships, lack of resources, and emotional struggles that are almost always a part of it. My mother did her best to provide for me, but it was never enough. During elementary school I stayed angry at her much of the time. But by the time I entered 6th grade I had reframed my life circumstances to include being more empathetic to her and to others.
I was smart, and that made a difference in terms of my standing at school. This had come to light at the end of the previous school year, when I had won the 5th Grade Spelling Bee. Being one of the smart kids gave me an edge, ever so small but valuable as I navigated each day. I also loved to read and that made a huge difference in my grades. If only I had been willing to focus more on my writing, perhaps my life would have shaped up differently, but I have no regrets.
Emotionally, I was a mess. As I was about to enter junior high school, we had to move yet again. Even though I had saved all of the nickels and dimes I had begged for from my mother, that money could pay for some food but never for a month’s rent. We found a place that was different from anything we had done before to have a roof over our heads.
Someone my mother was friendly with at church had invited her to lunch at the Miami Shores Country Club to discuss a business opportunity. She had initially declined, feeling like she wouldn’t fit in and didn’t have the proper clothes for this occasion. But I had convinced her to go. I told her she would have a delicious lunch and could tell me all about it after school. She relented and I fixed her hair in a stylish ponytail that hung to one side, knowing she would be the prettiest lady there.
She was smiling when she met me after school and I insisted she tell me everything as we walked home that afternoon. It had gone well… very well. At the Country Club, she had been offered a job as the caretaker of a large estate not far from the apartment we lived in then, at least until the end of the month. We wouldn’t pay any rent or for the utilities, and she would also be paid seventy-five dollars a month, and a bonus of one hundred dollars the day we moved in!
This was better than anything I could have dreamed up on my own. We were practically rich and we walked over to see the house on Saturday. It was amazing.
We moved in the following day and I never looked back. I knew that my desire for a better life for myself and my mother was somehow connected with this move to the largest house and yard in our new neighborhood. I started school at Horace Mann Junior High the day after Labor Day in 1967, on September 5th.
The veil was my fear of failure, my doubt about being worthy, and the voices of those who told me to stay where I belonged. It was fragile but powerful, holding me back more than chains ever could. It wasn’t a wall of bricks; it was a whisper of ‘you can’t,’ lingering in the air between where I stood and where I wanted to be.”
Between our world and the spirit world, there is something known as liminal space. The word liminal stems from the Latin “limen,” meaning “threshold.” Liminal space denotes a time and space between the physical world and the spirit world, interpreted by the reader or person going through the experience in real time. This new home for my mother and I was the liminal space I didn’t even know I had been praying for all along.
Discovering the Power of Words
My mother always told me that I could be a writer. But I didn’t believe her and my writing didn’t seem to stand out to anyone but her. I had written poetry as a younger child but the last time was when I was asked by my 6th grade teacher to write a poem to recite at our Culimation Ceremony at the end of that school year. It would be a full year before I learned how to find solace, escape, and empowerment in my writing and storytelling.
When I finally realized that my words could inspire, influence, or create change, I was awestruck at the power that came along with writing. My 8th grade English teacher, Mrs. Kranick was the person who made me love words and writing. She became a mentor to me and helped shape my belief in myself as a writer and creator and for that I will always be grateful.
Navigating the Turning Point
There have been pivotal moments in my transition from poverty to progress over the years. Graduating from college was the first big one for me. At that moment when I walked up on stage and accepted my diploma as a student graduating with honors from UCLA, the breakthrough was a palpable moment in my life.
Jobs were easier to obtain, but it didn’t take long for me to decide there wasn’t a job that I would enjoy. Law School in New York City came next, but that wasn’t a good fit either. I worked at a number of jobs throughout my twenties, and decided at age thirty to return to college to earn a teaching credential. I had been working in real estate for a few years already, and when the teachers went on strike during my first year I decided not to give up this additional way to earn income.
After twenty years of teaching, and more than that in real estate, I prayed for a new life. I had no idea what I would do next, but how no doubt the answer would come to me the way all of the gifts I have received have shown up throughout my lifetime.
Sure enough, I was invited to a real estate conference in April of 2005 and met my first Mentor, Raymond Aaron. This led to an evening seminar where I learned that people like me from all over the world had businesses on the internet. I was intrigued and did more research. I made a one-year plan and resigned my teaching position at the end of the school year, just one year later. I also gave away my real estate clients to others who could serve them better and were already working full time in this area.
While I did struggle with imposter syndrome and worry about not being a “real” writer or technically savvy during my first year online, I did make peace with myself in these areas. This allowed me to move forward and I had replaced my previous income within eighteen months of coming online.
Building a Legacy: The Birth of an Author and Entrepreneur
When I made the conscious decision to leave my previous life behind and come online in 2006, I was not a regular writer and never assumed this would be such an important and life-changing part of my entrepreneurial journey. I decided to challenge myself to write one hundred short blog posts/articles – about 250 to 300 words was acceptable at that time – in one hundred days. I did not achieve this goal; instead, I wrote and published – on my blog and on the article directories that were around at that time – a hundred blog posts/articles in only 78 days!
This was a huge accomplishment for me to achieve at that time, and all it took for me to be encouraged to become a published author of my own non-fiction book. This book was released in 2010 and titled Huge Profits with a Tiny List: 50 Ways to Use Relationship Marketing to Increase Your Bottom Line. While others were telling people that you had to have an email subscriber list of at least ten thousand names in order to build and grow a profitable business, I shared how I had got to six-figures a year with a list of only 651 people. Why? Because my list was responsive to me and to the message I was sharing. Very soon, I had made a name for myself and my business took off in a big way.
This was also a special moment to share with my mother. She was 92 at the time and had broken her hip. I visited her every day at the facility where she was being cared for, and when I placed my book in her hands she finally understood what I was doing on the computer each day. She died less than a month later and I thank God I had this time with her to share the next chapter of my life as an author and online entrepreneur.
My journey continues, and I was able to transition into marketing and entrepreneurship, using the skills that I was continuing to learn and perfect as my own.
This required a serious shift in my thinking and mindset, and I had to reframe and rethink what hadn’t worked well for me in the past. I also established new habits and beliefs and together everything changed in my life.
The thin white veil separated the life I was born into from the life I wanted to create. Crossing it wasn’t just about breaking through poverty—it was about shedding old beliefs and daring to see myself differently. It marked the boundary between survival and thriving, between seeing the world as it was and seeing it as it could be.
Veils are also thinnest in places where ecosystems and elements (Earth, Water, Air, or Fire) meet. This includes sites like waterfalls (Earth and Water) and volcanoes (inner Fire and outer Earth). There are places in the world where the veil is perpetually thin, making it easier to connect with the spirit world year-round. Generally speaking, the larger the space, the thinner the veil can be, but not always. Larger areas where the veil is lifted or even non-existent are known as vortices. Some of these places may sound familiar – Sedona in Arizona, Ayers Rock in Australia, and Stonehenge in England – just to name a few. Also, where ley lines (a grid of the planet’s magnetic fields) cross, it seems to denote places on earth where the veil is thinnest, Stonehenge being one of them.
The Lessons Behind the Thin White Veil
I’ve learned many lessons along the way, including ones about resilience, creativity, and the power of belief in myself and productivity. I now understand how to navigate challenges, overcome the limiting beliefs I was hanging on to, and the power of rewriting my story with each action I take along the way.
Paying It Forward
My success has enabled me to give back, inspire others, and build a life of purpose. I am active with several non-profits and service organizations and feel blessed to be a part of so much that will directly help others.
Beyond the Thin White Veil
It turns out that “the thin white veil” wasn’t as impenetrable as it seemed when I began. We can achieve any goals we set for ourselves and make all of our dreams come true. Believe in yourself and find others who will also see you as someone reaching their full potential with a work ethic and standards that are second to none.
What’s next for me? I see every day as an opportunity to reach higher and connect with the people who will resonate with my message and allow me to guide, influence, and mentor them. This is my passion and receives the best I can possibly give to them each day. I’ll leave you with the words that continue to inspire me…
“Do for a year what others won’t; live, forever the way others can’t.” ~ Connie Ragen Green
I’m bestselling USA Today and Wall Street Journal author Connie Ragen Green. My goal is to help at least a thousand people to reach six-figures and beyond with an online business. Come along with me, if you will and let us discover how we may further connect to achieve all of your dreams and goals. Perhaps my “Monthly Mentoring Program” is right for you.
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