culture
Tree Insights
If you told me a month ago that I would have a conversation with a tree, I would most likely not have believed it. Not that I am closed off to such experiences, but rather because I have never had any kind of engagement with nature on this level.
This weekend I was hiking with some friends, and there was a moment when I was separated from them. One of my friends went ahead of me, and the other two lagged behind. We were on a train, so I was confident that we would eventually meet up. So, I appreciated this time to myself for reflection and contemplation.
I sat down and began to meditate. As I did so, I turned my attention to a very large tree that must have been there for hundreds of years. I recalled something that I had channeled in the book I was writing. I recently wrote about how everything has a spirit, including animals and plants. I had not really thought much about this in the past. Most of my spiritual insights have been associated with interactions with angels, spirit guides, and individuals who have passed on. This said, I am certainly open to interacting with the spirit’s of animals and plants. Continue reading
Dream Symbols
Our dreams have been a source of fascination since the beginning of time. Clients sometimes ask me to help them interpret a dream that’s intrigued them, or which has been of great concern to them. I feel that the best people to interpret dreams are the dreamers themselves, but I will always give my take or feeling on the deeper meaning of the dream, and suggest they take my version on board only if it truly resonates for them.
Many cultures see dreams as life lessons, as a means for our ancestors or loved ones in spirit to connect with, and to communicate with us. Amongst those cultures, much emphasis is placed on dreams as a means of prophecy. Often these dreams are meant to guide us or to warn us of impending danger, but sometimes they are meant to just to show us that we are indeed loved by those in the spirit world. Continue reading
Mediumship Is Not A Psychic Sideshow
Mediumship presented as entertainment is a double-edged sword. The media hype generated by psychic television shows, and live stage performances featuring celebrity mediums, has no doubt contributed much to an increased public awareness of mediumship. It has liberated spiritualism from the stereotype of the 19th century séance by bringing the work of the psychic medium into the public domain, and into mainstream pop culture.
But does mediumship as an entertainment genre do spiritualism and the daily work of psychics any real justice? I am certainly not a purist. Neither am I a traditionalist when it comes to spiritual matters. I tend to shy away from any form of fundamentalism or fanaticism. But having the work of talented mediums dished up as trivial amusement has certainly proven to be a mixed blessing in my own practice as psychic medium. Continue reading
Your Child Deserves To Be Creative
Part of spiritual parenting is understanding your child’s generation. This is not “The Wonder Years”. The harsh reality is that even if you are protecting your child’s innocence, chances are their friend’s parents aren’t. These days we do need to ask the parents of our child’s friend if there is unsupervised time on the computer, and is there potential access to pornography, or even guns in the home. We need to go online and see if there are any predators in that home, or in the neighborhood. We need to know that there aren’t any drugs or alcohol in the home.
I have been working with children for 30 years and times have certainly changed. Today’s generation of parents cannot afford to be distracted, detached and oblivious. Modern parents text and talk on the phone more than they look at or communicate with their own children. I often hear people talk about how this generation of children seem tuned out, detached and lack imagination and creativity, but how can we ask them to tune in when their parents are not? They learn their coping and survival skills from us. If we tune out, so will they. Continue reading
Get Yourself Connected By Reconnecting With You
Do you sometimes feel disconnected? Is the world you live in too much to handle some days? Do you have a billion things running through your mind? Do you have this voice that is telling you that you’re not smart enough, or attractive enough, or successful enough? Do you constantly compare yourself to others?
You are not alone.
Social media has certainly done a great job of not only connecting us with friends and family we haven’t seen for years, since the high school prom, college graduation or a grandparent’s funeral. But, it also has done a fine job of making us feel utterly Dis-connected. And it can sabotage our self-realization. Continue reading
The Divine Disconnect
The separation between man and his Divine origins is the genesis of all religions, cults and belief systems in our world, and it is also the primary driving force behind all science, art and philosophy.
Searching for metaphysical meaning and life purpose is a natural attribute of the human condition. Exploring the existence of God or Divine Consciousness beyond our current reality is an innate yearning we all have. No amount of scientific or technological advancement will ever extinguish this urge from human awareness. Whether we admit it to ourselves, or not, we all feel the need within to bridge our disconnection from the Divine.
We begin to separate from the Divine Self the moment we are born. At birth we have no sense of ‘self’, and we have no awareness of being separate from Spirit or Source, but in time we quickly begin to identify with our new physical environment and with the human Ego or Material Self that we choose to adopt, based on the feedback we receive from others. We gradually also adopt the social role assigned to us by our family, our peers and our community. 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