spiritualism
Modern Misunderstanding Of The Occult
I recently had an interesting conversation with a casual acquaintance about spirituality and the occult. She is new to metaphysics and mysticism, but since these topics are of great interest and intrigue to me, I needed no convincing to dive into it with her.
It soon became obvious that she had some misunderstandings, and even a few misgivings regarding these matters. For example, she believes a ‘spiritual person’ is someone who engages in some form of religion or spiritual practice, such as meditation or prayer. She also believes spirituality is the exclusive domain of humans, as animals do not practice any religion or spirituality – they merely exist in nature.
Many people confuse ‘being religious’ with ‘being spiritual’ – one does not necessarily imply the other. Living a spiritually aware or conscious life simply means ‘living in the truth’ of who you are – a spirit being in human form. One can be religious, but it is not a prerequisite to living your true spiritual identity.
I also explained to her that the creatures of this earth may appear to be ‘soulless,’ but all living, sentient beings, as well as nature at large, are all expression of Spirit, God, Source, Universe, the Divine. How the animals operate and survive in this world is what is inherently true of the inner being of who they truly are. The entire universe is an expression of its sacred origins. In fact, in my opinion animals live with much greater alignment to higher consciousness than most modern humans do!
It took her some time to evaluate these concepts, but she did eventually come to a conclusion that there must be some truth to it. However, the real fun began when I mentioned my life-long interest in the occult. She vehemently protested that everything relating to the occult is “evil and demonic.” I asked her what facts or personal experience she based this opinion on, but her only justification was that this is “what most people believe.”
Unconditional Love From The Rainbow Bridge
Sometimes pet owners connect with the souls of their animals on a very deep level. We love them so much that when they finally depart from this life the grief and sadness can be just as agonizing as losing a human loved one. This was the case recently for me when we lost our beloved family cat.
I had to finally make the difficult decision to release him from his pain and suffering. And thus our ‘little black panther,’ as we call him, departed this world to cross the Rainbow Bridge.
He had been suffering with a malignant tumor under his tongue. Bone cancer we were told. Earlier this year, I knew there was something more going on after a dental appointment to have an infected tooth removed. His little chin continued to swell up and the antibiotics were not working.
We did all we could. We made sure he had the best, soft food, and lots of love. The faucet in the tub was left slightly open to drip, so he could have water from his favorite place to get it fresh and cold.
On the day he was to be euthanized, the Moon was in Capricorn. A Capricorn Moon is a time of seriousness, when duty calls. It is a lunar influence that requires us to make difficult, yet responsible decisions, and to remain steadfast and determined in doing what we know is best and necessary.
Our little black panther seemed carefree and at peace. He had been lying next to me all night on a nearby bookshelf. It was a very sunny day and the breeze felt nice to him as he sat up and looked out the open window. He was free of pain, as we had been giving him medication to make him more comfortable.
Two of his brothers took turns sitting next to him. We took our time to say our final goodbyes. We also prayed and even put some holy water on him. Did everything we could. Cried lots of tears. It was very difficult. So awfully hard.
Then the time came for us to take our boy in to the clinic. He sensed it was time and seemed relieved. Even his brother, who was born in the same batch of kittens a minute before him, seemed to understand it was time, as snuck out the door hoping to come with us. We had to unlock the door and put him back inside. I telepathically explained to him that this brother loves him and so do we, but he could not go with us…we would be back shortly.
Mediums To The Rescue
When some people pass away, they are taken by surprise and in shock. These souls aren’t sure what is going on, where they are now, and how they got there, while wondering where everyone else has gone. These individuals find themselves stuck in a physical, human mindset and unable to progress in the spirit realm.
How can such a confused soul energy become unstuck and cross over into the light? Well, that’s where spirit rescue work comes in! Some of the most rewarding spiritual experiences in my own mediumship career have been during rescue sessions that I used to attend. Once every month, a group of mediums would gather in a séance circle and with the aid of a facilitator we would engage in the rescue process. In the trance state, one of us would then begin to channel the energy of someone who needed assistance to cross over and reach the Other Side.
There are several rescue sessions that particularly stand out in my memory, even after all these years. The first was the spirit of a young woman about 35 years of age. She had been sitting on her kitchen counter in Indiana for months, wondering where the rest of her family had gone? We soon discovered that they had all been killed in a car accident and only she had returned home to search for everyone. The facilitator encouraged her to look to the light, reach for their outstretched hands and join her husband and two children.
Another time, I channeled the energy of a little boy about six years old. He was hiding under one end of his bed, which was on an angle forming a tent over him. He had perished in a house fire in Nebraska and couldn’t find his parents. We encouraged him to look towards the light and reach for his waiting mother’s hand.
Another unusual case was a patriotic young WWII soldier who had been killed in combat, but refused to abandon his post. Our facilitator had to give him a direct order to look to the light and immediately report to his commanding officer!
Some Days Are Diamonds
Some days in life stand out as exceptional, memorable and even magical. Personally, I have experienced several such days to date. I can recall each of these enchanted days vividly, because of the way everything seemed to fall into place perfectly, from start to finish. On these days there were amazing synchronicities with people, places, events and circumstances that all came together to create the perfect moment in time. In these moments I felt completely aligned within myself, everyone else around me, as well as the entire Universe.
It’s been a while since I had such an amazing day. The Covid-19 pandemic especially have played a role in this, causing for me a sense of disjointedness and isolation. I made a real effort to get out of the house as much as possible, even having lunch here and there by myself. I even attempted to strike up new friendships, but none of these connections quite gelled or there was a lack of follow-up on either side. I accept that those potential new friendships simply were not meant to be.
It is said that our deepest, longest-lasting friendships are formed earlier on in life. For me this is true, as I remain in touch on a daily basis with friends I left behind a few years ago when leaving South Africa. Some of those individuals have since scattered to various corners of the world, but many of us still stay in touch, even if only to touch base now and again. Then there are also those special friends that I communicate with almost every day, from Bali to South Africa, to South America, and beyond. We are blessed these days to have the internet to be able to do this.
I also formed some online friendships during the height of Covid pandemic through various spiritual and metaphysical groups online, and I have been keeping in touch with some of these acquaintances in other parts of the world.
The True Role Of The Spiritual Healer
Spiritual healing is the healing of the human body through spirit power by means of mediumship. Healing comes under both the mental and physical phases of mediumship. The sending of healing vibrations mentally, and the healing forces applied without the laying on of hands, all come under the heading of mental mediumship.
Some marvelous things have been accomplished by the sending of healing vibrations through the power of thought. As you know, prayer is the sending of thought vibrations to a Higher Source. So, we can easily understand how one might be healed this way.
Faith enters largely into a demonstration of mental healing, and it is almost impossible for a healer to accomplish much, unless the patient works with the healer in faith. Thoughts of hatred and jealousy are most destructive, and a body poisoned with thoughts of this nature cannot be healed until this destructive force is overcome.
Vibration always plays an important part in all healing, both mental and physical. All matter is spiritual energy at different rates of vibration, an emanation from Divine Mind. The lowest vibration of color of what we are conscious of comes to us in the shades of red and the highest in the violet and purple shades.
The spirit healer use knowledge of the laws of vibration. Mental disturbances are caused by too rapid a vibration and physical disturbances are caused by too low a vibration. The one must be lowered, and the other raised, in order to effect a cure.
For the sake of convenience, I sometimes refer to myself simply as a ‘healer.’ However, I do not heal others myself. My task is to listen, and open myself up to receive the energy, the light, and the information that allows me to become the catalyst for the healing and transformation of my client. I am simply a conduit. The healing is not performed by me, it merely comes through me. Healing is a decision between my client and Spirit, God, Source, the Universe.
Jimmy – A True Ghost Story
When I first moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, I lived in one of the three old stage coach depots located here. The two others were owned by Burl Ives and the French Consulate, respectively. I can’t speak for those, but I can tell you about my experiences in the one where I lived.
I lived there for five years and it was totally charming. It had been designated as a guest house on the property, next to the main house. It was built with grey native stone and it looked like a painting by Currier and Ives. The perfect Santa Fe retreat, right? Or, anywhere, for that matter!
But a ‘caretaker’ came along with the place, although I did not know that until after I moved in.
The first fine morning at 4:00 a.m. he announced his presence, although I would soon learn that his appearances were anything but rare. This particular morning, I noticed that the lamp in the living room was flickering a bit. As I had been traveling extensively, I was on Australian time and, fortunately, felt quite alert at 4:00 a.m.
I, promptly, began to investigate. Wondering about the condition of the electrical current, since the house was such an old structure. I turned on other lights to see if they would also flicker. They didn’t, so I checked the relatively new lamp.
Jiggling it, shaking it and using various, and assorted other manipulations, to make it flicker, didn’t do the trick. Hmmm, I thought. Is this possibly an otherworldly entity? I was soon to find out that, indeed, it was not of this dimension, when for several consecutive mornings at the same time, 4:00 a.m., the same lamp would flicker a few times.
Finally, I introduced myself, and the lamp flickered! The lamp was in the front window next to my wingback chair. And, then, I was having a conversation with my chair. It went something like this, “Well, you seem quite benevolent, but what are you doing here?” The lamp flickered again. Although I could feel a presence, I had no fear. So, I became bolder. I asked, “Do you live here?” Again the lamp flickered. Finally, in exasperation, I said “Well, for now I guess you can stay, but you eventually need to move on. Oh, and don’t bring any of your friends here.”
You Are Never Alone
I receive many calls from clients who are feeling terribly isolated and lonely. And ‘lonely’ does not automatically imply being alone. Even while we may be constantly surrounded by people, one can still feel extremely alone. Having lots of people around does not guarantee meaningful connection or a sense of belonging.
I always remind my clients that if they only consider how much spirit is constantly around us, they will never feel alone again. Tuning into these soul energies around us is a great comfort and can even be a life saver.
Our departed loved ones and our spirit guides are around us all the time, but especially present when we are going through a challenging or painful time. Whether we are aware of their presence, or not, they are there.
Through meditation and other spiritual practices, we can raise our vibration and make it easier for us to feel their presence, and even ‘hear’ them. All interdimensional communication is telepathic. We just need to tune in to a higher vibration to meet them halfway.
Spirit is in a different dimension. Their energy is very fast and ours are very slow. They need to slow their vibration down and we need to raise ours in order to meet in the middle and communicate.
Many years ago, a friend’s father passed. Her dad soon after came to me in a dream. He was giving me several messages he wanted me to relay to her, but I was having a very hard time understanding what he was saying. The messages were coming in too fast. To my shock and surprise her dad then became impatient with me! In fact, he was quite annoyed.