ancestors
The Mysterious Man In The Back Yard
I remember coming out the back door, with a Kellogg’s Pop-Tart in one hand and a seven ounces bottle of 7Up in the other. It was July 13th. It was dad’s birthday and I had to be about nine years old at the time.
The family spent the day at my grandparents’ house to celebrate. More and more guests were showing up, until all the aunts, uncles and cousins were crowding together in the very small back yard.
I then noticed this mysterious man who I had never seen before. He was wearing a trench coat and he had a long beard. I remember thinking that he looked funny to me. I asked my mother who the man was, but when she turned around he was gone.
Later that night, I saw the same apparition again. It happened twice, and every time I saw him he was looking at me in a strange way. My grandparents became curious and asked me about this man I kept seeing. I described him and they seemed shocked.
My grandmother went to get a photo album and showed me an old picture. She asked me if that was the man I had seen and I immediately recognized him. My grandfather then told me that it was his uncle and that he died by falling off a cliff. Foul play was suspected, but nobody knew who might have pushed him or caused his accident.
Later that week, we took our bikes to cycle around a nearby hill. My older brother Mike was riding his bicycle down the hill and he suddenly hit a loose rock really hard. It blew out his front tire and was going very fast, but he was not seriously injured.
The Karmic Fruit Of Our Past Life Seeds
To be the architect of our own destiny is a spiritual concept that has been spoken of for thousands of years. The Vedas call it Karma. The Bible refers to it as ‘reaping what you sow.’
Karma is a Sanskrit word that means action, as well as reaction. It has made its way into our everyday language to represent the good or bad we create in life that will eventually come back to us.
However, the true meaning of karma goes much deeper than that. In this life it does refer to ‘sowing and reaping’ in the short-term, but it also extends into the long-term, over thousands of years and many lifetimes.
The Padma Purana, an ancient Hindu encyclopedic text of spiritual truths, compares karma to seeds that are sown and harvested in due course of time. It explains that every activity we perform bears four kinds of effects. The first is merely a seed, the second is not yet fructified, the third is in the process of being fructified, and the fourth has blossomed and is already mature.
The karma we are experiencing today, are the sweet and sour fruits of the past seeds we have planted, – not only in this lifetime, but also from thousands of years and lifetimes before this life.
Therefore, we may not be able to recognize why certain things are happening that seem out of sync with the efforts and energies we are extending in the now. Similarly, it may sometimes be disheartening and difficult to understand why the desired results of our best endeavors do not appear to be coming to fruition.
To thoroughly resolve these misgivings, a broader scope of our soul’s journey before and beyond this one body and lifespan must be considered. Clarity can come with spiritual vision and higher consciousness.
The Pagan Origins Of Valentine’s Day
Did you know that the Valentine’s Day that many people all over the world will be celebrating today, has its origins in pagan rituals of the past? This is in fact true of many of our modern holidays. But how did we get our modern day cards, cupids, and hearts?
In ancient Rome, the Festival of Lupercalia was annually celebrated on February 15th. As with similar Roman holidays, such as Ostara (Easter), this was a time to celebrate fertility and love. The deities honored were Lupercus, Patron of Shepherds; Juno, Goddess of Marriage; as well as Pan, a pastoral god who came to be regarded in Roman times as the representative of paganism and the personification of all nature.
In a festival custom that survives to this day in the form of valentine’s cards, young men would randomly draw the names of eligible women from a jar or urn. In the Middle Ages, Emperor Claudius II believed single men made better soldiers so he declared marriage illegal. As a concession, he encouraged temporary romances.
Drawing the name of a lady during the festival determined who a soldier’s partner would be for that coming year. He would then wear her name on his sleeve for the rest of the festival. This gave rise to the saying “wearing your heart on your sleeve.” Whether or not they also exchanged flowers, candy or gifts is uncertain.
It is also interesting to note that Cupid, the son of the love goddess Venus, was not originally linked specifically with this festival, even though he is associated with it today.Venus, it turns out, was particularly fond of red roses and this custom still survives after 2,000 years. As for the symbolism of the heart, this is also an ancient image found across many cultures, including Greco-Roman, Indian, and Meso-American. Instead of romantic love, it was often used to represent rebirth, purity, and spiritual love.
Yoga And The Tarot Archetypes
When I’m not doing psychic readings, I enjoy engaging in activities that support a healthy lifestyle, such as Yoga and Herbalism. Although I spent many years training with Yoga masters from around the world and I am a certified Yoga instructor, I continue to learn more each time I get onto the mat.
While practicing the other day, I found myself thinking about the Tarot cards while in a particular yoga posture. It was the asana known as the Hero’s pose, or Virasana. The pose involves kneeling or sitting in between your bent legs.
As I was sitting in this stretch, I was wondering how the posture got its name, which comes from the Sanskrit word vira meaning ‘hero.’ It occurred to me that a hero was someone who had to think of someone else or others in that moment more than themselves. When we are pushed to our edge, in that moment of vulnerability, it makes us stronger. The same humility can be found in certain Yoga postures.
Then the Emperor card from the Tarot deck came to mind. The Emperor in a reading can show a ruler or leader who is strong, confident, and who guides others. Might there be an ancient connection with Yoga and the Tarot?
I then began to think of other Yoga postures and how they might correlate with the other Major Arcana cards in the Tarot.
The first that came up for me was The Hanged Man. This iconic card features a figure hanging upside down from a tree. Hanging from a tree in this way would certainly make one see the world from a different perspective. Interestingly, the headstand pose in Yoga, Sirsanasa, aims to create mental balance and physical poise. Continue reading
A Morning Visitation From My Ancestors
Some of the best times I had growing up was visiting my great grandparents during the summer holidays. It was not only fun, but also spiritual and magical. It really helped me to connect with the higher powers that be.
My great grandma was a very magical woman. Her mother was a psychic who would dream the winning lottery numbers for people. She was known as a wise intuitive and many people were jealous of her for many reasons. Legend has it that she used to make wine for Italian mobsters and even had the infamous Al Capone visit her home a few times. She was a happy little Italian lady, who always did everything and everything she could for her kids.
My great grandfather came over from Italy and he was a very stern, powerful man who only spoke Italian. He also made wine and he was much older than my grandma. I think there was a 20-year age difference.
Often, while talking to my great grandma, the lights would begin to flicker in the house and my grandpa, who was an electrician by trade, would then tell me that spirit connects with us through electricity. I thought it was cool and would try to make contact with my ancestors when I was alone.
Grandpa also promised me that when he died, he would come back to visit me. And he did. I shared that whole experience in a previous blog.
Earlier today, during my daily spiritual practice my great grandparents, as well as my grandparents all came to visit me again. We remain interconnected to this day. It is so great to be able to have these mediumship experiences. I saw their faces, surrounded by a pure white light. I could feel the blissful warmth of their love.
Connecting With Your Team Of Spirit Guardians
You have a ‘squad’ of spirit friends you can count on and talk to when you need support. Our spirit helpers, be they guardian angels, guides, animal spirits, ancestors, or departed family members, are there to look out for us. They want to make our lives better.
So, how can you get to know them better? Because these beings are of the spirit realms, it’s not quite as simple as calling a human friend or sending a text, but the channels of communication are definitely open.
The first thing you need to do is get to know their names. If they are the spirits of loved ones or pets, of course, they already have a name you know them by. Use your intuition to receive the names of your guides and angels. All you need to do is ask. They will reveal their name to you when you are ready to receive it.
It is also important to understand that our spirit guardians communicate through various unspoken messages and signs, such as patterns of recurring numbers, lyrics of a favorite song, or seeing the same patterns in nature, such as cloud formations or a particular animal. Pay attention to these special signs. In our world, it’s easy to become distracted and overstimulated, but our guardians are always sending these subtle messages if we pay attention.
Engaging in your daily spiritual practices is necessary to connect with your spirit guides. When getting to know angels, for example, an angel card oracle deck is a useful tool, or a Tarot deck to link archetypes to individual guardians.
For animal spirits there are also lovely card decks, which can be very useful in identifying your totem of guardian animals. You can also keep your departed pet’s favorite items after they’re gone.
To The Beat Of My Own Drum
I am in the process of moving home. While going through years of stored stuff in the attic of my old home, I found a Christmas gift that my parents gave me around the age of four. It was a little drum, intact, with sticks to play to the beat of my young heart. I am sure there were many times my parents thoroughly regretted buying a four-year-old a drum to bang on!
To my surprise, throughout the house, I also found a total of eleven more drums. All different sizes and kinds. And it is safe to say I can still make a joyful noise with each one (although my family might consider this debatable).
In the summer we spend a lot of time at Camp Etna, one of the spiritualist camps here in Maine. We have two small cottages here – one that we live in, and another I use as my office. Some of the drums I found are kept in the office cottage, for my clients to enjoy.
Why the obsession with drums, you may ask? Well, drumming has always been a form of great stress relief for me. You can release pent up emotions, by beating the drum as hard or soft as you wish. It feels good to express yourself through the primal beat. Moving to the sound of the beat seems to make doing most tasks easier. Drumming is just plain old-fashioned fun, and people around the world have been moving to the sound of drums since the beginning of time.
Drums are also a very useful spiritual tool. In energy work, for example, I use drums to get in touch with the heartbeat. We also host a drumming circle here, at least once a week. Young and old come out to participate, and everyone in the area is invited. It is a spiritual activity that helps to unite the community. One person sets the intention, and the beat for the circle, and then all join in. It is wonderful to see the smiles and joy the drumbeat brings to faces.
Anyone can learn to play the drum. With people being at home much more these days, if you have always had the desire to learn to play and instrument, it is a good time to try the drums. With all the information technology we have these days, there are many courses and tutorials available online for one to learn drumming techniques in the comfort of your home.