the other side
Animal Spirits
Earlier this year my cat, Tigger, passed away after reaching the advanced age of 21. I had Tigger in my life since 1993 and he was more than a pet. He was like my son who was always there when I came home from work.
In the month leading up to his death I kept seeing his spirit leaving his body. What was weird is that I also kept seeing shadows of two cats that looked a lot like him.
Over the years I have seen several animal spirits of family pets that I grew up with. In these moments I could sometimes also hear different family members calling for the animals by name. I heard my parents call my childhood animals, and I even heard my grandparents, aunts and uncles who had passed away. 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
The Mysterious Lady In The Hallway
Dreams have also been a big part of my life since a very young age. No matter how long ago I had them, I still remember some of them as if it were yesterday.
I had a vivid, recurring dream starting about five years ago. There was this lady, I guess she was in her early 60’s, and she was standing in a hallway. She was looking at me very peacefully. It was a little weird, because it was not my mother or grandmother or someone I knew.
For many years I wondered who this lady might be. Eventually it stopped, I guess for about a year, but all of a sudden she was back in my dreams and this time she began to talk to me. She would ask if had seen her brother, John? Very odd indeed, since I have a brother named John. It made no sense.
Time went on and the dream grew more intense, until finally in the last dream I saw the back of a man, his hair was silver and he was kind of short. The mystery lady walked up to him and said: “John! I have missed you since I had passed.” Continue reading
The Powerful Bond Of A Love Connection
I think we can really feel the intensity of true love the most when we are young and experience falling in love for the first time. The feeling is so strong and all encompassing.
When love takes over everything in the world just feels so much better. The grass is greener and everything is perfect and good, in a way that words simply cannot express. If you fall madly in love with someone, and you are really lucky and get to have and hold that love, it is even more profound and deep-seated.
I was fortunate to experience this once. It happened while I was working as a bagger at a local grocery store. I stood up, after stocking the paper bags, and suddenly locked eyes with a wonderful soul. He obviously felt the same way, because he returned with his phone number that he had written on a small piece of paper for me. Continue reading
Life After Death
I remember going to my first funeral. We traveled a few states away to attend this. My mother’s uncle had passed and they felt it was okay I attend. I was pretty upset only a few years before, because I didn’t get to go to my grandpa’s funeral. I was in kindergarten and remember feeling left out in that I couldn’t say goodbye.
I remember it like it was yesterday, looking at the casket as he lay there, and his wife crying over him and his sisters, all aged of course, they must have been in their 60’s. Being a typical Italian family, they were in the back talking about his life and trying to make things right, and going over past negative arguments and trying to make sense of his passing, and trying to find peace in it.
I remember, while observing all of this chaos, thinking to myself that he is here; he is observing us and watching his funeral. I felt he was at the foot of his coffin. I could see a figure once I focused my eyes, and I realized he was in fact not dead – his energy was alive! Continue reading
The Abused Often Becomes The Abuser
I am still not sure why I tend to attract challenging, and sometimes negative personalities into my private space. Am I truly enabling others to give me this lesson over and over again?
I know that having the very experience of these negative souls in my space enables me to identify with the customers I read for. Many of my clients find themselves either in a similar situation, or in a situation whereby they love someone who doesn’t reciprocate their kind or encouraging ways.
Not a day goes by that I will not come across instances where one of my callers is subject to abusive, manipulative or controlling behavior, be it from a spouse, child, neighbor, colleague, or friend. Continue reading
Helping A Young Psychic Develop
A young person with a psychic gift must be recognized early on, and nurtured in their development. If not, they may experience a lot of confusion and even trauma. Their gift must be seen and experienced as a blessing, not a curse.
My niece Rachel was one of the more fortunate. She clearly had a gift from a very tender age. When she was a little girl I would give my brother and sister in-law some time off by babysitting Rachel and her older sister. Every time I would go over to their house to watch the kids, Rachel didn’t want me to read her normal children books. She would grab the family photo album and look specifically at old pictures of deceased family members. She would look at these photos with much interest and talk to the people in them as if they were sitting right in front of her. Continue reading