prophet
Throwing The Bones
Before studying various Western disciplines of healing and divination, I trained to become a sangoma some 30 years ago, on the borders of Mozambique and Kwazulu-Natal in Southern Africa, where I learned among other things the divination method known as ‘throwing the bones.’
A ‘sangoma’ casting the bones is the African equivalent of the Native American shaman, the Old Norse rune reader, or the European Tarot reader. To uninformed Westerners, indigenous African methods of divination are often thought of as ‘witchcraft,’ but just like there is good and bad in all cultures and professions, the true calling of the African diviner or shaman is a spiritual one of seeking advice through the wise ancestors. In the same way modern Western diviners rely on spirit guides, angels or the ascended masters for divine guidance, so the African diviner relies upon the ancestors.
My training came about after I consulted another sangoma and was told it was my calling to become sangoma myself. She also cautioned me that until I took up this calling, I would repetitively become ill – and how right she was!
Eventually I heeded the ‘calling’, as unusual as it was at the time for a young English woman to enter the mysterious realm of African mysticism in the country in those days. Training was harsh and intense with my mentor and included coaching in various disciplines, such as divination, dream interpretation, ritual, indigenous medicines, and herbalism over a two and a half year period.
One of the divination methods I was taught is known as ‘throwing the bones’. Since the beginning of recorded history the notion of throwing tokens, casting the dice or drawing lots to interpret the divine will of spirit and the ancestors has been viewed as symbolically linking the diviner to his or her mission. Casting or throwing the bones is an ancient practice native to many regions of the world, including Africa, Asia, and North America. In Southern Africa it is a long-standing ritual among the sangomas of the Zulu, Swazi, Xhosa and Ndebele tribes.
Each bone or token used for casting is part of a kit the sangoma carefully selects with the guidance of spirit, initially with the help of a mentor. Spirit and the ancestors instruct the seeker as to the symbolism and meaning of each sacred item in the collection, and precisely shows the student where to find it and which one to use in a divination. In Southern Africa, a mentor assists the thwasa (trainee sangoma) in the process of learning to receive information from the bones, and in reading the patterns in which the bones are likely to fall.
My Near-Death Experience
About 12 years ago, right before Christmas, I had a lot going on in my life. I was taking care of my two kids and my brother. My cousin had a three-month-old baby, whose mother was in the hospital with complications due to diabetes. He brought me his new baby and asked if they could stay with us, and if I could care for his son while he worked. He was working the night shift, from around 7pm till 4am. Of course, I said I would help in any way I could.
Between my kids’ and my brother’s schedules, and now this new baby who was colicy, I was exhausted at the end of the second week. Somehow, I also got food poisoning. Never having had food poisoning before, I didn’t know the symptoms and thought I had a touch of stomach flu. Being so tired, I hadn’t realized how sick I actually was. After about 18 hours of fluid loss, I become so dehydrated that I had a seizure. My eyes rolled into the back of my head and I fell down. Apparently, I was clinically dead for around 1½ minutes.
I did not experience all of the typical near-death phenomena. There was not any floating over my body; there was no white light, no tunnel. I was simply here and then I was there. The first thing I remember is walking along a sort of grassy path. I don’t remember turning around to look behind me, but, I just knew that there was a darkness from which I came, back there.
There were two people there to greet me. A woman and a man, the woman spoke to me first, and the man was a little ways behind her. Today, I could not tell you who these people were. But, when I was there, I was so glad to see them. It was like when I had sent my kids to summer camp, and they were gone for all those summer months, and I missed them terribly. It was the same feeling I got when seeing my children for the first time returning home. I had a deep love and bond with these two people.
The next thing I remember is that I was taken to the top of a mountain. There was no journey to get there, I was just there. The only way to describe the mountain is that it was like standing on top of Pikes Peak and looking out. I was so high up that the only thing I could see was blue sky.
The Novel Coronavirus And The New Earth
We have all been going through a very difficult time, dealing with the new coronavirus disease, lockdowns and loss of livelihoods. We have heard many people complain about everyday inconveniences, discomfort, the lack of normality, and even seen some acting nasty towards others in the supermarket.
We have also had many reports of celebrities and public figures safely recovering from Covid-19. But what is seldom acknowledged is the actual suffering and deaths of people who have contracted the virus. I have personally had people around me become sick, and I feel it may promote greater awareness and compassion by bringing some attention to it. Many people are bereaved and currently in mourning, and their grief is not sufficiently respected and acknowledged.
One thing I can assure you from personal experience is that this new disease is no hoax, and certainly no joke either. My own son contracted the virus a while ago. He works as a seafood chef. His restaurant had been crazy busy with all of the take-out orders they have been delivering. A fellow chef, who works the evening shift, came down with this virus, and sadly he passed away due to complications. He was only 37 years old.
Soon after that chef became ill, about 10 days later, my son suddenly also had symptoms, including troubled breathing and a fever. He was home for three weeks. Happy to say, he did recover, but I was a wreck. Before he went back to work, he had to be cleared by the Department of Health.
Love Is The Healing Force
I grew up in a Christian family. In fact, it was going to seminary, and exploring world religions, that eventually led me to practice metaphysics and intuitive consulting as a full-time profession. Being trained and ordained in a Christian organization has also given me a unique perspective on alternative spirituality and metaphysics.
Jesus is, in fact, one of the spiritual guides I connect with when I work with people. This has made me realize that Jesus, the central figure in Christianity, is often misunderstood by many people. In the many years of connecting with Jesus, I am confident that he never had the intention to create a formal, organized religion. In fact, often the religious attributes attached to Jesus are far more complex than his original core message.
Jesus taught very simple strategies for life. I think sometimes these strategies are considered too simple by some people. When asked, Jesus was able to sum up his teachings in three simple statements. Someone inquired about an authentic spiritual path and Jesus gave two commandments and then gave a third statement, “In these two commandments rest all of the law and the prophets.”
This third statement is quite profound. He was stating that every spiritual text that had ever been written, or would ever be written, could be summed up in two commandments. This means that in Jesus’ perspective, if a person simply abided by these two commandments, they would be fulfilling the fundamental guidelines associated with religious and spiritual practice.
If you are interested in Jesus’ teachings, or interested in following the path he taught, then the good news is that you are already following the second ‘commandment.’ I have been living on this planet long enough to recognize that every person is already following this second commandment, which says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Prophecy, Free Will And The Laws Of Probability
Psychics, mediums, intuitives and diviners all have their own abilities, talents, skills and unique style in which they work. Be that as it may, we are all still working within the parameters of Quantum Physics and the Laws of Probability. That means the spiritual or metaphysical answers we seek for our physical existence all exist within a tight, coupled framework of probabilities. And it is neither prophetic, nor deterministic in nature.
As a former microchip designer, I was taught if you cannot see it, measure it, and repeat it, then it cannot exist. As an intuitive reader, I know from personal experience this is not entirely true. The unseen realm is an incredible resource with a wealth of information, which we can access to support us. And things are never as they seem.
So, why should we be cognizant of the influence of probabilities, or free will? Well, because they determine the important outcomes in our lives. Probabilities, in my view, is the basic mechanics of the Universe. I toss a coin. Probability of it landing heads is 50%, and landing tails is 50%. As we increase the number of factors (or possibilities) the probability may reduce. For example, winning the typical lottery jackpot has a probability of one in millions. Mathematics provides that figure.
On top of this, the probability result is not reached until we observe (or witness) the event. What we witness can also, in effect ‘change’ the outcome. This is a difficult thing to comprehend for the layman. For example, a psychic reader’s client wishes to understand if they should leave their job. Maybe they are fighting with their boss, feeling undervalued, or feeling bored. The initial response is no, and yet Spirit offers more detail around the work environment.
Connecting With Archangels Sandalphon And Metatron
Did you know two angels, Sandalphon and Metatron, lived as humans? Both of these fabulous workers of miracles eventually departed from Mother Earth and went to live with God in his Holy Kingdom. Apparently, Metatron left only some clothes behind, whereas Sandalphon was gathered up by a whirlwind. You can directly meet with them and tap into their amazing energies.
Archangel Sandalphon
In the angelic realm, Archangel Sandalphon is said to be the tallest angel and twin of Metatron. While on earth, Sandalphon lived as Elijah The Prophet. He was a virtuous and wondrous man who performed many miracles during his lifetime. Prophet Elijah lived in Northern Israel, during the reign of King Ahab in the 9th Century BC.
According to Kabbalah, Sandalphon’s divine presence can be found at the base of the Tree of Life. Interestingly, he is believed to appear in human form, in nature, to remind man of his planetary responsibilities. He is guardian of the material world, including the Earth and all the plants and animals that live upon it.
Another of his many roles is to convey our prayers to the Cosmos (often through song) by weaving our requests into many different colored garlands. How beautiful is that!
Trance, Transfiguration And Channeling
When an authentic psychic medium is doing a reading, they are entering into varying levels of trance, or altered states of consciousness, to access information from the Spirit realm. The Collins dictionary defines this as “a state of mind in which someone seems to be asleep and to have no conscious control over their thoughts or actions, but in which they can see and hear things and respond to commands given by other people.”
Each reader has their own process of making the connection and style of disseminating the information. Not only are psychic readers ‘seeing’ and ‘hearing’ things, and responding to commands from the Spirit side of life, but they are simultaneously also energetically connected with the client and walking between the two realms, namely that of the Spirit realm and the present moment.
