i named myself Skye. with an E.

you can rename yourself, too

Hello lovelies, welcome!

I’m Soul Surgeon, Dr. Tamy, inviting you into a weekly contemplation to unlock the freedom and peace within, one Permission Slip at a time.

Today’s Permission Slip : I give myself permission to re-name myself✨

My Story✨

My kids call me Ma, Mom, Mommy, Ima.

My parents and friends call me Tamy.

My surgical patients call me Dr. F.

My Soul Surgery clients call me Dr. Tamy.

And in the silence of my mind, I call myself Skye.

“The name we give to something shapes our attitude toward it.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Decaf nonfat oat milk latte for Skye. Skye, latte. Oat milk latte, Skye?”

“Oh, sorry, didn’t hear you, thank you,” I said as she handed me my warm latte. I was still getting used to being called Skye.

“Love your name, by the way,” Crystal, the barista, said.

“Thanks, Crystal, it’s Skye, with an E, don’t forget the E,” I said over my shoulder as I walked away smiling to myself.

* * *

The first time I dared to use my new self-given name was at Starbucks. I figured that Crystal, the barista, wouldn’t know the difference regardless which name I gave her. I felt like I was putting on a new pair of shoes that felt effortlessly right — not too tight, not too loose — as if they were an extension of my essence, a homecoming.

Let’s start at the beginning.

My parents named me Tamy. Not Tammy. Not Tami. Not Tammie, but Tamy. My mother heard the name from the popular 1960s song Tammy’s In Love, and loved it. But being immigrants in New York in the 1970s , she had no idea how Americans spelled it and so they bypassed the double ‘m’, ‘i’, and ‘e’, and chose Tamy. My mother actually chose it because my father didn’t speak English. Neither did I. So I couldn’t protest. Throughout my entire life no one knew how to spell it. I corrected friends at school, at work, other doctors, and anyone I met. There wasn’t one person that spelled it correctly, ever. As my friends, Jennifer and Carol, bought their pre-printed monogrammed magnets at the gas stations on I-95, on school trips, I couldn’t pick one out. There were no pre-labeled anything with my name on it.

Not only was the spelling a problem for me, but the pronunciation had the bigger impact. In my native language, Hebrew, my name sounds more like Tommy, or Tahmee. The American pronunciation draws the name out on the letter ‘a’ and sounds like Taaaaamy. Despite arriving in New York at the age of eight, I never got used to it. Even though our names are simply sounds that come through our vocal chords, they do carry an energy, vibration, and resonance.

When I put down my scalpel and retired from my surgical career three years ago I attended my first silent meditation retreat. It was a whopping five days! I don’t necessarily recommend that as a first retreat, unless you have a bit of masochism built in. That said, the experience blew my mind! I had been meditating for years but meeting the stillness and silence that lives at the core of me was life changing. I immediately knew this was the truth of who I am (more on this experience in future publications).

Between long sits on the cushion, we participated in walking meditations in the retreat center’s heavenly zen garden. I sat on a large smooth rock by the koi pond, watching the orange-white fish swim around long stems of white lotus flowers. Their tails whisked by creating undulating movements that made the flowers appear to be dancing to some silent song, only they heard. The January sky was clear and studded by a few amorphous, fluffy white clouds. Its blueness was reflected in the pond making the koi and lotuses appear to be swimming in the sky. I looked up to the sky. Looked back at the pond. And up again.

Sky, I whispered aloud. Open, vast, expansive sky. I turned my face upwards to the sky, closed my eyes, and let the blueness bathe me. Then I spoke to it : Sky, you’re so fluid. You hold all the weather that shows up, offer rainbows, and even make room for the stars and the moon at night. You’re limitless and transparent, sky, all encompassing infinite potential – please teach me to be you.

That’s when it came to me. I put together the stillness and silence that I discovered in my meditations, and added them to the vastness of the sky, and realized that I was that too. Yes, I am the sky. I began thinking about how can I bring more of this sky-ness into my day-to-day life? I know — I’ll take on its name. In its honor. With its grace. I rolled it between my tongue, one sound at a time — sss—kkk—yyy. Sky. But I felt something was missing. With eyes closed, in a meditative space of nothingness, an E floated into my thoughts, yes E. Sky + e = Skye. I needed the E for Earth. I needed to ground myself as the sky, yet live in my physical body on this Earth.

Thus, Skye was born.

And so Skye became an embodiment of the personal evolution I had been on for the past fifteen years. It was the next iteration of me, reflecting alignment with my true self and encapsulating the duality of my spiritual and earthly journey. It gave me ownership of how I showed up in the world. Encouraging my expansiveness and connection with the limitless sky while anchoring me with the grounding presence of the earth.

Deeper Dive✨

Using the name Skye is my daily reminder of the many attributes I carry from our earth and sky.

Here are 10 inspirations that Skye reminds me of :

• Be as ample as the sky, an embodiment of openness and freedom.

• Embrace the infinite possibilities life offers —evolve and grow.

• As the sky shifts stormy gray to serene blue and from sunlit brilliance to star-filled wonder, it reminds me to embrace the dynamic nature of life, change when needed, and adapt to its ebbs and flows while maintaining my core essence.

• Maintain an inner foundation of clear and calm, whether filled with dramatic clouds, lighting, or rainbows. It reflects my willingness to be vulnerable, authentic, and multifaceted.

• All of us look up to see the same sky above, no matter where we stand on this planet. This reminds me to be a container that connects everyone and everything.

• I’m reminded to continue being a creator of connections — seeing beyond divisions and embracing a larger perspective of unity and oneness.

• I’m reminded that the sky holds everything - birds in flight, kites, balloons, and paper airplanes; clouds, stars, storms, and sunshine. Similarly, I have the capacity to hold space for myself and others, offer support, understanding, and compassion without imposing limits or judgments.

• The sky has no boundaries, reminding me to see myself as limitless potential. I embrace opportunities to expand my mind, heart, and spirit, always seeking to grow and explore new horizons.

• Each time someone calls me Skye I’m inviting them to honor the version of me that I’m stepping into.

• * And let’s not forget the E in Skye, that stands for Earth and its anchoring presence. It grounds and stabilizes me into this body and in this physical reality.

Anecdote✨

I love to share the story of my name-choosing with others, when asked. At an October retreat in Oregon, one year ago, I walked to lunch on a sunny, cool day with the women I had just met. Patricia, from Spain, asked me how I got the name, Skye. She seemed very attentive to my open-hearted share.

When I finished, I asked her, “What about you? Do you feel connected to your name?”

She quickly answered : “Patricia? Absolutely not! I’ve never liked it. It comes from the Latin words, patricius, meaning noble lineage and pater, meaning patriarchy. That’s not who I am!”

“So why don’t you name yourself right now? What would you like me to call you?”

“Really?” She asked, like a mischievous child who’s about to take a cookie from the cookie jar, but felt they needed permission.

“Why not?” I asked. “Try it.”

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them and looked around the farmer’s market and up at the sunny , blue sky. “Celeste. I love Celeste. In Spanish it means light blue or heavenly,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.

“Perfect!” I said , smiling. “So, Celeste, where are we going for lunch?”

She smiled at me in a way that wasn’t there where we met. That was two years ago and we’re still friends. To me, she’s Celeste. I don’t know if her husband and kids call her that, but even if I’m the only one in the world that does, she smiles every time she hears it.

Closing Thought✨

Intentionally choosing to change my name brought me into connecting with my higher self. It serves as a daily reminder of my spiritual growth and alignment with both my inner and outer worlds. It perfectly reflects my journey of self-discovery and the balance I seek between transcendence and presence in this earthly form.

Now you! You can do it too.

I invite you to take a fun, little exploration in the prompts below. You might find a name you want to give on your next frappuccino order or just a name you keep in your journal as your own little secret.

Have fun with it and let me know what comes up for you!!!

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Journaling Prompts✨

1. What does my current name mean to me? What emotions, memories, or associations does it bring up? Does it align with who I am now or does it feel tied to an identity I am ready to release?

2. If my soul could whisper its true name, what would it sound like? What qualities or energies do I want my new name to embody?

3. How does this name connect me to my spiritual path? Journal about how your chosen name reflects your relationship with the divine, nature or your greater purpose.

   I invite you to write your own PS : I give myself permission to…

With gratitude, light, and a dash of humor

Dr. Tamy, Soul Surgeon ✨

TheMindFul Space/ https://www.tmfspace.com/

*p.s. i love you❣️