Monthly Archives: September 2014
Do We Choose Our Parents Before Birth?
I am often asked if I believe in reincarnation and clients sometimes want to know about their past lives. I was not always sure until I had a very vivid dream one night. I often receive answers in this way.
In this dream I felt like I was floating and searching. It seemed like I was hitting many areas of the world. I was looking for someone. But for who, or what? How could this make any sense?
I even heard my name, Raymond, in this dream. I recognized my mom’s voice. I also heard someone talking to me as if to guide me, but the voice sounded like I was under water and I could not follow the language. Continue reading
The Secret To Smudging Is In The Smoke
“The secret to smudging is in the smoke.” These were the words of my mentor when I undertook my Ukuthwasa as a shaman initiate many years ago in Southern Africa. I have also come to know that the true intention behind any smudging ceremony is a very significant part of its success.
An initial part of my rigorous training as a Sangoma, or traditional healer, was a self-cleansing ritual using Mphepo, made up of herbs indigenous to Southern Africa.
“Smudging,” simply put, is the burning of certain herbs to create a cleansing smoke bath. The smoke is used to cleanse areas used for rituals and ceremonies, as well as any tools or objects used for such cleansing, as well as to cleanse people. Continue reading
Not A People Person Or Pleaser, And It’s Okay!
I have had clients tell me that they feel something is wrong with them, because they don’t like to be around people. They prefer solitude. Others feel disconnected when around people, or it makes them feel smothered. People make them feel drained, or they feel out of their element.
If you are someone that does not like to be around people, or feels a sense of disconnect when in large groups, or even just engaging with others, fear not! I have some very good news to share with you.
It is my hope and prayer that this information will help you to stop being so hard on yourself when it comes to your social preferences. You do not need to feel guilty for not wanting to slap on a “happy face” and pretend to be someone you are not. Continue reading
The Mysterious Lady In The Hallway
Dreams have also been a big part of my life since a very young age. No matter how long ago I had them, I still remember some of them as if it were yesterday.
I had a vivid, recurring dream starting about five years ago. There was this lady, I guess she was in her early 60’s, and she was standing in a hallway. She was looking at me very peacefully. It was a little weird, because it was not my mother or grandmother or someone I knew.
For many years I wondered who this lady might be. Eventually it stopped, I guess for about a year, but all of a sudden she was back in my dreams and this time she began to talk to me. She would ask if had seen her brother, John? Very odd indeed, since I have a brother named John. It made no sense.
Time went on and the dream grew more intense, until finally in the last dream I saw the back of a man, his hair was silver and he was kind of short. The mystery lady walked up to him and said: “John! I have missed you since I had passed.” Continue reading
The Power of Love Must Prevail
From a very young age I remember questioning why we are here. I would lie in my bed thinking of the concept of ‘forever’ with great concentration and intensity, trying to wrap my young mind around the concept until I would fall asleep.
Forever is a long time. I understand that our energy never dies and in turn we never die, but what is the purpose of life? What are we supposed to do here on planet Earth? Is there a reason why we are here?
Have you heard the analogy of the bicycle wheel? According to this we are all connected like the spokes of the wheel and that all religions that teach love go the center core, namely God or the Divine. We are all part of this magnificent Flame, this Light that is everywhere. It is Spirit that keeps us feeling connected.
I asked my guides early on what my purpose was and to help me rise above my mundane daily thinking, to reach the consciousness within, so that the doors will open and I may see my true life purpose. And my eyes were indeed opened. Continue reading
The Powerful Bond Of A Love Connection
I think we can really feel the intensity of true love the most when we are young and experience falling in love for the first time. The feeling is so strong and all encompassing.
When love takes over everything in the world just feels so much better. The grass is greener and everything is perfect and good, in a way that words simply cannot express. If you fall madly in love with someone, and you are really lucky and get to have and hold that love, it is even more profound and deep-seated.
I was fortunate to experience this once. It happened while I was working as a bagger at a local grocery store. I stood up, after stocking the paper bags, and suddenly locked eyes with a wonderful soul. He obviously felt the same way, because he returned with his phone number that he had written on a small piece of paper for me. Continue reading
Life After Death
I remember going to my first funeral. We traveled a few states away to attend this. My mother’s uncle had passed and they felt it was okay I attend. I was pretty upset only a few years before, because I didn’t get to go to my grandpa’s funeral. I was in kindergarten and remember feeling left out in that I couldn’t say goodbye.
I remember it like it was yesterday, looking at the casket as he lay there, and his wife crying over him and his sisters, all aged of course, they must have been in their 60’s. Being a typical Italian family, they were in the back talking about his life and trying to make things right, and going over past negative arguments and trying to make sense of his passing, and trying to find peace in it.
I remember, while observing all of this chaos, thinking to myself that he is here; he is observing us and watching his funeral. I felt he was at the foot of his coffin. I could see a figure once I focused my eyes, and I realized he was in fact not dead – his energy was alive! Continue reading