spiritualism
Your Spirit Animals
Many wisdom traditions and cultures features some form of animal symbolism. Animals are thought to be guides, teachers, messengers, or protectors for a person as they journey through life. They are referred to as spirit animals, familiars, animal guides, power animals, or totems.
Our spirit animals provide guidance or insight when we most need it, if we are paying attention. These animal guides can appear in our lives in many unexpected or interesting ways. Typically, an animal that appears over and over, or that one feels a special affinity to, should be considered a possible spirit animal.
There are animals that are life-long guides, which are typically more reflective of our own personality and unique gifts. Those animals that show up briefly, or only at certain times, are thought of as messengers or wayshowers to help us along our path. They often provide comfort, or convey an important message.
We can also call on animals to empower us in times of need, when we need a particular quality or inspirational or healing energy in our life, such as strength (lion), joy or playfulness (dolphin), vision (hawk), awareness (eagle), or peace (dove).
To discover your totem animals, think about animals you have always been drawn to, especially as a child, and consider the qualities of these animals. Then consider how these might apply to you, or how they have played out in your life.
Frankie, My Furry Protector In Spirit
I often say, if there is a cat in your house, you are never alone. And this reassuring notion not only applies to cats that are in this life, but also those who have passed on to the next. Just recently, I have received another wonderful visitation from a dear furry friend of mine who passed 25 years ago!
Frankie, a beautiful Blue Point Siamese, was my fur friend and my only ‘sister.’ Growing up she was always there. I picked her out of a litter when I was only two years old. Frankie lived a long, happy life, and in her final days her meowing sounded to me like she was saying, “Maryella.” So, that is what I named my next kitty: Maryella.
So, Frankie came to me the other night and told me that she is friends with the four cats that I own now, and that she is still around after all these years. She even showed me where she hangs out these days. It is a colorful place with a bridge. I will leave it at that.
Frankie told me that she has been my spirit animal for a very long time. I was not surprised, as I have seen her from time to time over the years. She always seems to show up during times when life seems to not be going so well for me. I have certainly felt her warmth and her compassionate, loving energy around me when times are tough.
I have also dreamt of her many times, but the other night was not a visitation dream. It was a full-on apparition. I was looking out the large picture window in my living room, and there she was… walking casually across the deck outside. Then she stopped, sat down, and looked directly at me. She stared right at me.
How To Gain Confidence
Confidence isn’t about feeling superior to others. Confidence simply means feeling sure of yourself and your abilities, but not in an arrogant way. It’s the quiet, inner knowledge that you are capable. Confident people feel ready for everyday challenges.
For some of us it takes years of trial and error to gain self-confidence. Most people are their own worst critic. They judge themselves much harder than others would. And some will never feel good enough, or worthy of all the good things life has to offer.
Confidence really isn’t something that anyone else can give you. If you are not feeling confident, no matter how much praise and affirmation others may offer you, it will just fall on deaf ears. If you don’t believe it yourself, you simply will not hear it, or feel it.
As a psychic medium, it took me a few times of demonstrating for large groups to feel confident in myself and my mediumship. I have always trusted the spirit world to provide validation for the continuity of consciousness. The spirit world always brings forth messages and advice for clients without judgment. Spirit is consistently loving and kind, bringing forth messages for the highest good of my clients.
One of the biggest challenges for most, if not all psychic mediums, is the fear of ‘getting it wrong.’ Well, spirit never gives incorrect information. As humans we may interpret what we are seeing, hearing, and feeling incorrectly, but the original message is never inaccurate. The medium is just the messenger in the middle – and we are human and fallible. Therefore, in a mediumship session with me, I always try not to interpret too much of what I’m hearing, seeing and feeling. I just give the information with a basic sense of trust.
The Alcohol Demon
The physical damage caused by alcohol abuse is common knowledge. The long-term effects of alcohol consumption on the liver, pancreas, kidneys, heart, esophagus, and the lining of the stomach can be devastating. And those of us who have shared our lives with alcoholics, know of the damage it can do to relationships, children, families and careers.
But how often do we consider the spiritual implications of alcohol abuse? What really happens to the soul or spirit when we consume alcohol?
Some alcohol-related statistics are quite alarming. For example, it is said that some 700,000 people are in treatment for alcohol abuse every day. And did you know that about 40% of all auto accidents are alcohol-related? It is also estimated that 18 million Americans deal with alcohol-related health problems, and there are an estimated 10 million alcoholics just in this country.
Doing some research, I found an article in the The Costa Rica News titled, The Spiritual Consequences of Alcohol Consumption. The article explains that the English word alcohol originates from the Arabic al-kuhl, which means “body eating spirit.” It is also the origin for the English word ghoul. According to Middle Eastern folklore, a ghoul is an evil demon believed to eat human bodies.
In his book, The Mystery of the Golden Flower, the Gnostic author, Samael Aun Weor writes that alcohol “is in fact a demon or a malefic spirit when it possesses a human being; it is clear and easily demonstrable in its effects from drunkenness, to delirium tremors and madness with forms of paralysis and other hereditary defects passed down through descendants.”
A Message Of Love From The Rainbow Bridge
Recently, my beloved 18-year-old dog needed to be put down. I asked her, and her sister, to hold on until we moved out of state. For some reason, I just felt the need for them to make one more move with me. They had relocated with me wherever I went for the past 18 years, but this was a big one. They were both amazingly healthy, I was just nervous and concerned for their well-being.
Unfortunately, we were scammed in the real estate deal linked to this move, having been told the heater in our new home had been serviced and was in working order. Arriving there, we found out it was actually a very old oil heater. It was cracked, toxic and not working at all.
Keeping my dogs warm, which is essential for old dogs, was near impossible. The house only allowed for one space heater, or the electricity would go out. The dogs wandered around, and we struggled to keep a blanket or heater on them consistently. Soon one of my dogs stopped walking.
My dog was so loved. The pain was intense when she passed. However, she came to me in a dream soon after. In this vision she was young, beautiful, with a clean, shiny coat. She was also warm and comfortable, lying in the sun. There was a glimmering rainbow on her body – a symbol of the Rainbow Bridge that leads to the Other Side. I knew she was telling me she was doing okay now. She was in the light.
Our Loved Ones In The Realm Next Door
Someone very close to me recently had an unusual near-death experience. It was a profound event she says she will never forget, and it reminded me of the fact that our loved ones are always around us, whether we believe it, or not.
My dear friend had to go into the hospital for an iron infusion. She was severely deficient and the iron supplements she had been taking, weren’t doing the trick. Not looking forward to the procedure, and having been told that she could have an adverse reaction to the infusion, she was not at all excited to go to the emergency room.
Soon after they started the infusion, she passed out! But this was more than just her fainting. While she was in this altered state of consciousness, she had repeated encounters with both her deceased parents. She felt their warm embrace comforting her and telling her all was going to be okay, and not to worry.
“We are both with you, we love you and we are here protecting you,” they told her. “It is not your time, you still have things you have to do and people around you who love you, and care a lot about you, and need you.”
The experience was quite traumatic for my friend. She came to twice, and then passed out again. Three times in total. Being that she is over 70, and considered very weak for her age, the medical staff were concerned for her safety. Thankfully, all went well in the end. Today she feels much stronger and has more energy, as her blood was build back up thanks to the iron infusion. But she says she doesn’t think she will be getting such an infusion again anytime soon!
Developing The Gift Of Mediumship
To work as a psychic medium is a wonderful and gratifying profession that should be more widely respected by society. Anyone seeking to work as a medium should understand that mediumship is, and will always be, a spiritually enlightening experience and privilege. Mediumship brings peace of mind and joy to the heart.
Those who seek spirit communication vary greatly in needs, hopes and beliefs. Many people accept spirit contact wholeheartedly. Most often these are people who have had profound experiences, or have lived with their beliefs most of their life, often from families of believers.
Many people who consult psychic mediums want to know about the future. Will they find happiness? A mediumship reading can be very healing for them, making their lives less stressful and overwhelming.
Many also seek to repair relationships with loved ones who have passed to spirit, often to be forgiven, or to forgive. Healing the past allows people to move forward, and to recognize their own love. Mediumship enables us to release grief with afterlife validations, reassurance and resolution of unfinished issues. Some people just need confirmation of what they already know, or suspect. They seek the truth.
The medium or channeler is not only a healer. The medium also receives healing through the love of spirit and the work that they perform. This is a byproduct of the process. Mediumship is a healing modality, and as you give, so you receive.