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Samuel
Gladys herself was a channel for a spirit guide before she learned how her gift would develop and allow her to get her own information. She channeled for the spirit called Samuel. Unlike Gladys, Samuel was not a human being before becoming a spirit guide.


Self
This is a shortcut to saying any of the following: oneself, herself, himself, yourself, or themselves. It also puts the emphasis where it belongs.


Self applause
Self applause is meant to be extended to self every time you have a reason to be happy or proud of the way you have acted or responded to a situation. Self applause is saying “well done!” We usually don’t realize the value of self applause until we become aware of how many times we criticize ourselves. When our mind contains fear, we often put ourselves down because we are very unhappy with what we’ve done, how we look, or what we’ve said.

The opposite of this is self applause. We should give ourselves a compliment when we deserve it. This form of compliment—that of self applause—may be even more valuable to receive than a compliment from others.

Self nurtured
One who is free of fear is capable of nurturing self and is responsible for doing so. This means that we recognize when we need exercise, rest, relaxation, some time to ourselves, a warm bath, a nutritious meal, or any number of things. In our busy lives this can be difficult to do because we have so many obligations and responsibilities, but the value of nurturing self is that we keep ourselves healthy and strong, and we don’t build up resentment towards others (whom we might otherwise assume should be seeing to our needs). Also, with peace of mind and a body that is well cared for, we are more capable of extending ourselves to others who may need us.


Self fulfilled
To be self fulfilled is a result of taking the steps to release fear, instate peace of mind, and use our minds in the most effective way possible. By taking these steps, we find greater value in our every day lives, and we find joy in our accomplishments—even if those accomplishments are related only to having released our fear and regained our peace of mind. Most of us find that living free of fear and with peace of mind is a whole new experience—one that allows us to reinstate our hopes and dreams, and our belief that they can indeed come true.


Spirit
When Gladys uses the term spirit, she is referring to a being that is not of the human dimension in living. A spirit may or may not have lived as a human being at one time. In her case, she did live a human life, and although she no longer has the personality or appearance she did in living, she does have the same energy as before, except that it has been greatly expanded since her time on earth.

Spirits do not all exist at the same level of development or in the same dimension. They may be found at many different levels and in many different dimensions. If you seek a communication with a spirit, it would be wise to ask that the spirit only communicate with you if it intends to benefit your higher self. If it does not, then demand that you not be bothered. You will always be the one to accept or reject any spirit communication. Nothing can ever be imposed on you without your permission.


Survival patterns
When a person is born with fear or has learned to live with fear for an extended period of time, the person develops a survival pattern in order to cope with the fear that is being experienced. Each survival pattern is unique to the person using it, but there are patterns that are common among people who experience fear. Some examples are the following: the bully, the martyr, the victim, the manipulator, the guilt collector, and many more. For a description of several known survival patterns, please refer to the section of this website entitled, Understanding Fear.

Although there are as many survival patterns as there are people using them, a common denominator is that they are created to deal with fear, and thus they are all self-defeating behaviors. Because they become a habit after years and years of use, they can be difficult to eliminate. Still, if one is persistent in releasing fear at the first sign of a self-defeating behavior, one will begin to see the survival pattern diminish and eventually disappear altogether. Of course, for one to become aware of a survival pattern in the first place, it’s necessary to be willing to look at self more objectively. This objectivity is one of the first and most valuable benefits of releasing fear.


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Tools
Gladys often told us to use the tools she gave us, and we would then experience great benefit in our lives. Those tools are the following:

1. Ask or demand that your fear be released.

2. Demand peace of mind when beginning to worry about some future event or something that might happen. Demand peace of mind even if you have only a vague feeling that all is not well. Then pay attention if your mind suggests what you should do next.

3. Ask that your needs be filled, even if you’re not sure what exactly you need.

4. If you have a specific problem that requires a solution, assert that a solution is in-the-making or a solution is being found.

5. If you notice yourself using the words, but, what if, or maybe, know that these are often indicators of a survival pattern in use; therefore, you need to release your fear.

6. If you have done all of the above, and you still don’t know what to do, accept that there is nothing for you to do at this time. (Something may need to happen, or someone else might need to take some action before you will know what to do.) So, you simply wait until a clear direction or action is indicated.


Trust
All of us would like to be able to trust self and others. Yet, how many people do we really trust? Our inability to trust others begins with our inability to trust self. How do we learn to trust self? This happens when we have belief in self, based on the knowledge that we can handle the challenges and difficulties that present themselves. How do we know we can handle them? When we learn to release our fear and live with peace of mind, we find ourselves making better decisions and choices. From this experience we then are able to trust ourselves to make good decisions and choices in the future. This foundation of trust in self then allows us to trust others, because we believe that if we can do it, so can they.

Without trust, we live desperate lives, perhaps hoping for the best, but not really believing good things will happen to us. We expect the worst and hope to be pleasantly surprised. Rather than leaving things to chance or simply indulging in wishful thinking, a better approach is to take the steps to achieve true belief in and trust of self, using the Gladys tools as explained above. Then as life presents its challenges, we are prepared and assured of being able to respond with creativity and confidence in our abilities.