grief
Everyone Is An Artist
Art is a powerful form of self-expression. It allows us to communicate complex emotions and spiritual concepts through various mediums such as the visual and fine arts, music, dance, acting, creative writing, and so on.
When we are being creative we connect with the subconscious part of ourselves. This can be a powerfully healing experience to help us process and integrate our thoughts, feelings, beliefs and life experiences on a deep level.
When we are children, we don’t have any preconceived ideas about art. If you observe young children, you’ll see this very clearly. They don’t worry about how ‘good’ an artist they are. Most kids just see art as a form of play. They love to draw, or paint, or color, and are typically pretty thrilled with their creations.
So, what happens along the way that we become so self-conscious about our artistic endeavors? It seems to me that at some point most people have had ‘the artist’ within subtly discouraged or silenced. Whatever the case may be,suffice it to say that life takes over at some point and being creative artistically takes a back seat.
“I was never very good at it anyway,” or “I just did it for fun,” are common remarks I’ve heard from people. But what’s wrong with not being very good at something? Especially if it’s fun? Moreover, the benefits of spending time being creative are vast! Art Therapy is growing in popularity and more studies are being done around this modality.
One particular study focused on people with chronic illness or cancer. The researchers looked at the impact visual art activities such as painting, drawing, and pottery had on patients and found that art helped to distract them from thoughts of illness.
Art therapy improved their well-being by decreasing negative emotions and improving positive ones. Depression levels were also reduced, and medical outcomes improved overall. There were also reductions in stress, anxiety, and distress. Further there were improvements in the patients’s spontaneity, expression of their grief, positive identity and social interactions.
Talk To Your Pets Using Telepathy
So many beloved pets cross over the ‘rainbow bridge’ leaving their owners with unbearable grief. I’ve found myself consoling several clients over the years, as well as focusing on connecting them with their furry ‘children’ on the other side.Doing these pet psychic readings often remind me of my own pain when my two Rottweilers, sisters Sophie and Jasmin, passed within months of each other.
Unless one has loved and lost a pet yourself, it is hard to understand the awful sense of loss one experiences. It also takes a considerable amount of time to come to terms with the fact that they are no longer in the physical. The grief is at times unbearable, despite the inner knowing that they have gone ‘home’ to spirit, on the other side of the veil.
In hindsight, several days before their death, both Sophie and Jasmin were constantly staring at me, as if they were looking right through me. I recall saying to each of them, “You’re not leaving me yet, surely?” They were eight and a half and nine years old respectively, and both in relatively good health.
But, ‘the look’ was the same my boxer dog, Major, had given me 40 years ago. Only hours after he gave me that intense look, Major’s already deceased mother, Trudy, appeared outside the kitchen window and communicated to me, “I’ve come to take him.” The memory of that communication from Trudy – a particularly sensitive dog – is as vivid as if it happened yesterday.
Animals communicate by sending images, thoughts and feelings using telepathy. We can all master telepathic communication and often do it without even realizing. A course in animal communication made me realize that I’d been using this psychic technique all along.
I started helping people to communicate with their lost pets many years ago. It began when a lady was referred to me by a friend, who had been to me for a psychic reading. She asked if I could help locate her Siamese cat. I had never done this kind of work before, but being an animal lover I was willing to try. I managed to find the cat for her, but she only phoned to confirm this a year later!
A Missed Call From Heaven
Did you know a deceased loved one can contact you from the other side using a telephone? I know this from firsthand experience. This happened to me twice, 35 years apart.
In 1976, after coming home from church one day, I received a phone call from my grandfather, who had passed away earlier that day. When I answered the phone I had no clue that my grandfather had died. It was a silent phone call from the afterlife to say his goodbyes.
Recently, 35 years later, I have had a repeat experience of this exact same experience. This time it was on my cell phone. I was on the Interstate 70 highway, driving back from Indiana to Ohio. It was an exhausting and stressful journey. On the way, I noticed that my phone showed that I had missed a call. It was kind of weird, because the phone never rang. I did not give it a second thought and rather concentrated on my driving.
When I finally did get to Ohio, I was relieved that the long drive was finally over – until my gas light came on. I really didn’t want to stop at that point in time, but I had no choice. So, I figured I might as well get something to drink.
When I walked in the store to get my drink, I smelled a familiar odor of cigar smoke that I have not smelled since the 70’s. It was the distinctive smell of the cigars that my grandfather used to smoke. And it was very, very strong. It was so intense that I had to stop what I was doing. To be honest, it gave me a cold chill down my back – to such an extent that I even turned around to see who was there. But there was no one else around.
When I got back to my car, I noticed that the battery on my cell phone was blinking. I knew for a fact, when I left the car, that my battery was almost fully charged. I picked up the phone and it showed that I had two missed calls from a person called Perry Anderson. My grandfather’s name was Perry Anderson, but his contact details are not stored on my phone…because he died decades ago in 1976!
The Soul Future Of Past Relationships
To outward appearances, endings are a structural matter – now there is a relationship, now there is no relationship. From the soul point of view, ending is a different experience of the relationship.
Ending is not literal at all, but rather a radical shift in imagination. For example, a woman’s father passes on. In her soul the relationship may now intensify and may become the dominant myth shaping her other relationships, her career, and every other aspect of her life.
Memories of her father may now become more vivid than ever, and new feelings may surface. He may be more influential in her life now than when he was alive.
Another example might be a man who divorces his wife, thinking that now his thoughts will turn toward a new life. With the struggle of decision and separation now passed, feelings formerly nudged out of awareness now come to the forefront.
Completely unexpectedly, he now has dreams of her seducing him, suggesting that in some way ‘she’ now has renewed desired for him. Years later, he says what many people say: “I didn’t have to go through that divorce. If only I had known then what I know now…”
Apparently there is something in every relationship that is eternal, that goes on forever, and that wants to be exempted from the life-decision to cut ties. If you are experiencing this, it is not your imagination. You are simply being quite human.
Obviously, our relationships are not as simple or as limited in scope as we sometimes like to think them to be. There are only so many people we come to know in a lifetime, and an even smaller number with whom we live intimately. Continue reading
Asking ‘Why’ When A Loved One Is Lost
When you lose someone you love in a sudden, unexpected way, such as suicide, a car accident, murder, or domestic violence, it always seems so unfair and tragic. It is usually so difficult to understand why this had to happen?
The truth is that we will never truly know the ‘why’ of things. The biggest regret that I hear from so many bereaved people is that they never had a chance to say goodbye.
Someone passing due to old age or illness usually affords us the time to prepare for the loss and to say our goodbyes. Typically, you will haves some time with the person, to be kinder, to be compassionate and to let them know how much they are loved. A sudden passing robs us of all of this.
I am personally very aware of the emotions, feelings and experiences that come after a loved one’s life is lost so suddenly and unexpectedly. More than a decade ago, I lost my stepson to suicide. He was only 32 years old. Within 2 days of this tragedy, a another local young man also took his life. He was only 22.
The widespread trauma of the pandemic over this past year has brought back many of these feelings for me. Many people I know, all men, have taken their own lives because they have lost their jobs, businesses or life partners. Some of these men were successful business owners, but the lockdowns triggered something inside of them that led them to think suicide was a better way, or the only way out.
I talk to an abuse counselor at least two to three times a month and we discuss the unavailability of abused women to get help, because the shelters that are there to protect them are usually full to capacity. I personally know two women whose lives were tragically ended by an abusive partner or ex-partner who they just could not get away from. You read about these cases almost every day. It makes zero sense if you try to find the logic in it.
And accidents happen in the blink of an eye. Yesterday, it was two locals snowmobiling in our area, who hit each other head on. One passed instantly, the other suffered only minor injuries. The week before it was a tractor trailer hitting a car that pulled out in front of it. The truck driver is fine, but the car and passenger is no longer with us. Continue reading
A Mediumship Experience Unlike Any Other
A few nights ago I could not sleep. When I go full speed into doing readings I hold nothing back, and very often long after I am done reading for the day, Spirit often has other plans.
So it was on this night in particular, as it had been for the past several days. I tried in vain to go to sleep and I was bone-tired, but it was not to be. I drank hot milk. I took a bath, followed by a nice cool shower to bring my body into balance. I went outside, to see if I could fall asleep under the starry night. Nothing worked. No matter how much I may have wanted to fall asleep, I was wide awake!
I pondered the computer, and whether or not to log on for readings at PsychicAccess.com. I decided against it, because I was concerned that as tired as I was I may not be at my best. So, I decided instead to browse a popular social networking site and see what was going on… if anything. Maybe an old friend might be online for me to chat with. Maybe I could just browse. Anything to divert my mind from the 100 mile an hour warped speed it seemed to be on!
I was not online for ten minutes, when I received a message from a woman I did not know. She wrote, “You had recently posted on a mutual friend’s page. I am so sorry, I would normally never do this, but I sensed that you have a message for me. Your name just leaped out at me from the page and I just had to contact you.”
I had no idea what she was talking about, and even less of an idea who she was. But then, all of a sudden, the floodgates opened and my hands starting typing, almost faster than I could keep up. Someone desperately wanted to communicate with this woman through me.
The more I typed, and the more I made statements that I had no idea what I was referring to, the more this woman became emotional. Our conversation lasted maybe 20 minutes, with me telling her various things and asking questions about things that I had no clue about, nor the people involved. I didn’t know what all this information was, or where it came from.
Keeping My Promise To A Departed Loved One
Sometimes we become so busy and preoccupied in our daily lives that we forget the commitments we made to loved ones, relatives and friends. But this does not only apply to the living. Some of us also forget the promises we make to those that are no longer with us.
Too often we hold the hand of a loved one on their deathbed and promise to look after those they will be leaving behind. They wish for us to look after those they will no longer be able to care for and love in this life. And we promise wholeheartedly to do whatever it is they ask of us in their final moments.
But once they have departed and life returns to normal, we soon forget these promises and serious conversations. Our memories become conveniently selective. We usually don’t mean for this to happen, but life does have a way getting in the way.
I had a shocking reminder recently of my own selective memory in this regard. Several years ago, I got into the habit of journaling about issues in my life that deeply matter to me. Recently, I was not able to sleep and was encouraged by spirit to go through my journal.
So, I sat up at about four o’clock in the morning and randomly opened my journal on the very page where I had written about a promise that I had made to a loved about another person, whom I had a strong dispute with in the past. Being only human, I had some seriously negative feelings towards that individual.
However, I had promised to check in and be supportive to this person, whom I did not like very much at all, on behalf of the person who was in their final hours. At the time, I remember saying that I would “do my best” and that “if I could, I would.”
The promise was much more than just checking in on the relative. It went as far as the very items I was meant to get at the grocery store, as well as things to say to this person when I delivered it. I had however conveniently forgotten about it since, until I discovered the entry in my journal.