The Good Old Days Of Tribal Service
Someone once asked me the question: why do you do what you do? Most psychics might say that they do it because they love helping people. I gave it careful some thought and realized my answer would be the same, but under different terms. That isn’t to say that I don’t love helping others, but there would be different boundaries, if I was free to choose.
I work in the New Age ways, as well as in the indigenous traditions, and I pride myself on the knowledge I have gained in order to truly blend the East with the West. If I had a choice, I would work in the indigenous tradition of my ancestors, especially regarding how one is remunerated for your service.
In the indigenous way, each village had a spiritual person that they called by various names, including Medicine Man, Shaman, Healer, Guru, Oracle, Soothsayer. It was the way in those cultures to take care of the spiritual leaders of the tribe, in terms of their material needs. They shared equally whatever they had with their spiritual leader.
As a result, the spiritual leader didn’t have to focus any of his time on meeting his material needs, such as keeping a roof over his head, or thinking in terms of where his next meal would come from. Instead, he could devote all of his time and energy to spiritual matters.
His payment for his gifts didn’t include whatever the tribe used for money or barter, or if it did, it was not thought of in the same context. In other words, anyone in his tribe could come to him at anytime, with any kind of spiritual issue, and he could address it however he deemed necessary, according to his own sense of direction and spirit guidance. He didn’t have to consider time, energy, and money. He didn’t have to require payment in terms of the time he spent or what was required, because he was so esteemed by his people that they took care of his worldly needs, so he could devote himself to their spiritual needs completely. What a concept! Right?
Conscious Living In A Fear-Based Culture
There are five basic emotions: fear, anger, grief, love and joy; in this order, because this is the order in which most humans experience these emotions.
I am sure you know many people who are fear-based. Perhaps you are fear-based yourself? Fear-based people have allowed our culture to blackmail them into believing that they must live up to certain standards to be acceptable.
For example, many people are dealing with this uncertain economy through the lens of “Oh, we must maintain the status quo, no matter what!”
Try to see this imagined burden for what it is: a mirage, not to mention an energy leak. This mirage stems from the fear that we won’t be able to keep up appearances; in other words not be able to afford the items that our fear-based culture with its lack consciousness and scarcity mentality decrees makes us acceptable to the status quo.
In fact, we could all do just as well with much less, and feel good about ourselves and our efforts; maybe even better because there would be more integrity in our energy, because we would be living in truth!
There are countless other ways our culture perpetuates this hoax. Think about it. I am sure you can think of many more examples. One way to break the chain of this mindless brainwashing is to realize it is really none of our business what others think of us, and vice versa.
Now, think of a squirrel. A squirrel just goes about his business of doing what squirrels do. If he stumbles upon a big, fat, juicy acorn, that is good. But if he doesn’t, he continues to go about his business just the same, and either way life is good, whether his fare is meager, robust or in-between. And, he isn’t concerned about what the other squirrels think about him either way.
The True Role Of The Spiritual Healer
Spiritual healing is the healing of the human body through spirit power by means of mediumship. Healing comes under both the mental and physical phases of mediumship. The sending of healing vibrations mentally, and the healing forces applied without the laying on of hands, all come under the heading of mental mediumship.
Some marvelous things have been accomplished by the sending of healing vibrations through the power of thought. As you know, prayer is the sending of thought vibrations to a Higher Source. So, we can easily understand how one might be healed this way.
Faith enters largely into a demonstration of mental healing, and it is almost impossible for a healer to accomplish much, unless the patient works with the healer in faith. Thoughts of hatred and jealousy are most destructive, and a body poisoned with thoughts of this nature cannot be healed until this destructive force is overcome.
Vibration always plays an important part in all healing, both mental and physical. All matter is spiritual energy at different rates of vibration, an emanation from Divine Mind. The lowest vibration of color of what we are conscious of comes to us in the shades of red and the highest in the violet and purple shades.
The spirit healer use knowledge of the laws of vibration. Mental disturbances are caused by too rapid a vibration and physical disturbances are caused by too low a vibration. The one must be lowered, and the other raised, in order to effect a cure.
For the sake of convenience, I sometimes refer to myself simply as a ‘healer.’ However, I do not heal others myself. My task is to listen, and open myself up to receive the energy, the light, and the information that allows me to become the catalyst for the healing and transformation of my client. I am simply a conduit. The healing is not performed by me, it merely comes through me. Healing is a decision between my client and Spirit, God, Source, the Universe.
Jimmy – A True Ghost Story
When I first moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, I lived in one of the three old stage coach depots located here. The two others were owned by Burl Ives and the French Consulate, respectively. I can’t speak for those, but I can tell you about my experiences in the one where I lived.
I lived there for five years and it was totally charming. It had been designated as a guest house on the property, next to the main house. It was built with grey native stone and it looked like a painting by Currier and Ives. The perfect Santa Fe retreat, right? Or, anywhere, for that matter!
But a ‘caretaker’ came along with the place, although I did not know that until after I moved in.
The first fine morning at 4:00 a.m. he announced his presence, although I would soon learn that his appearances were anything but rare. This particular morning, I noticed that the lamp in the living room was flickering a bit. As I had been traveling extensively, I was on Australian time and, fortunately, felt quite alert at 4:00 a.m.
I, promptly, began to investigate. Wondering about the condition of the electrical current, since the house was such an old structure. I turned on other lights to see if they would also flicker. They didn’t, so I checked the relatively new lamp.
Jiggling it, shaking it and using various, and assorted other manipulations, to make it flicker, didn’t do the trick. Hmmm, I thought. Is this possibly an otherworldly entity? I was soon to find out that, indeed, it was not of this dimension, when for several consecutive mornings at the same time, 4:00 a.m., the same lamp would flicker a few times.
Finally, I introduced myself, and the lamp flickered! The lamp was in the front window next to my wingback chair. And, then, I was having a conversation with my chair. It went something like this, “Well, you seem quite benevolent, but what are you doing here?” The lamp flickered again. Although I could feel a presence, I had no fear. So, I became bolder. I asked, “Do you live here?” Again the lamp flickered. Finally, in exasperation, I said “Well, for now I guess you can stay, but you eventually need to move on. Oh, and don’t bring any of your friends here.”
The Universe Knows If You Just Need Your Hair Brushed
A spiritual teacher and metaphysical writer was waiting to board a plane. She had a spiritual book in her lap and was very intent upon what she was reading, until she felt summoned by Spirit to look up. When she did, she saw such a strange sight she had to try to keep from staring.
Humped over in a wheelchair she saw an elderly man. He was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier. His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones.
The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy, gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long and clean, but strangely out of place on an old man.
Beth looked down at her book as fast as she could, discomfort burning in her face, and tried to imagine what his story might be. She found herself wondering if she had just had a Howard Hughes sighting, but then she remembered that he is dead.
So, who was this man in the airport…an impersonator maybe? Was a camera on them somewhere, she wondered. There she sat; trying to concentrate on her book, to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served on a wheelchair only a few seats from her. All the while, her heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling of concern for him. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern, but suddenly Beth was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre looking man.
She had worked with Spirit long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. Beth had learned that when she began to feel what the universe feels, something contrary to her natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen…and it may be embarrassing. She immediately began to resist and started arguing with Spirit in her mind. “Oh, no, Spirit, please no,” she thought, but asked, “What are you calling me to do?”
It’s Always Darkest Before The Dawn
Concepts of the Divine, with an ever-changing definition, have been part of the human experience since the beginning of time. Most of the world’s people throughout history continue to recognize a place for divinity in life.
Our spiritual journey, throughout the ages, has been steeped in mystery and often, superstition and dogma. Organized religions have historically attempted to answer deep questions, and have sometimes provided comfort and solace to people during times of upheaval.
However, the most important questions have been left unanswered. For example, we know precious little about ancient, prehistoric cultures that worshiped the Sacred Feminine. Earliest recorded myths and legends have been lost or destroyed, and most stories that remain portray not only a divine battle of the sexes, but a difficult, contentious relationship between the divine and human beings.
The Greek gods, for example, were capricious and mean-spirited. They plotted all sorts of obstacles that humans either did, or did not overcome in order to survive. Guile and trickery also set the stage for many myths from various indigenous cultures, in early human-god myth making.
With the rise of monotheistic religions, mankind was taught to blindly accept whatever lot the almighty doled out, fairly or unfairly. Emphasis was placed on omnipotent power, absolute authority and greatness, beyond any human capacity to comprehend, much less participate in.
These attitudes toward humans’ relationship with God have been echoed in authoritarian family and community practices, and even the military forces of nations. God became the ‘Almighty Father in the Sky’ issuing strict orders. There was no room for questioning in an authoritarian family or society. “Because I said so,” was reason enough to blindly obey. Punishment for infractions or disobedience was swift and sure.
The True Tale Of The Praying Hands
Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with 18 children. Yes, eighteen! In order to keep food on the table for this mob, the father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost 18 hours a day at his trade, as well as any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood.
Despite their seemingly hopeless condition Albrecht and Albert, two of the older children, had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they were fully aware of the fact that their father would never be financially able to send either of them to the art academy.
After many long discussions at night, in their crowded bed, the two boys finally worked out a pact. They would toss a coin. The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother who would attended the academy.
Then, after four years, when the brother who won the coin toss completed his studies, he would in turn support the mining brother to also attend the academy – either with sales of his artwork or, if necessary, also by laboring in the mines.
They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning. Albrecht Durer won the toss and went off to Nuremberg to study art. Albert went down into the dangerous mines, and for the next four years financed his brother whose creative work at the academy was an almost immediate sensation. Albrecht’s etchings, his woodcuts, and his oils were far better than those of most of his fellow students and even those of his professors, and by the time he graduated, he was beginning to earn considerable fees for his commissioned works.
When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner on their lawn to celebrate Albrecht’s triumphant homecoming. After a long and memorable meal, punctuated with music and laughter, Albrecht rose from his honored position at the head of the table to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled him to fulfill his ambition. His closing words were: “And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn. Now you can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream, and I will take care of you.”