Finding Spirit

I'm lovin' the workshops and super-enthusiastic study groups that are springing up from the public presentations of "Rainbow Rising", the book you asked for, following "By Morning's Light", which answers many of your questions about finding spirit.

Actually, spirit is looking for you. Not only your own spirit which is alive and well within, but all of those souls you loved so much when they were here on earth, and thought were lost, are doing everything they can to let you know they're still alive, living in another dimension, in another form.

I know this because I, and many, many others, have seen them, heard them and felt them.

This is where, if you come from a traditional religious background, you may begin to get twitchy. Don't. If you've ever thought or wondered if you felt a disincarnate soul around you - you probably have. It's the most natural thing on earth. Your sixth sense and intuition are part of who you are and when glimpses like this occur, it's just them kicking in and asking to be acknowledged. They are the way your own eternal spirit talks to you. Don't ever be afraid of acknowledging those tweaks of intuition, sensing another presence or listening to that inner voice. It's that eternal spirit you, (that organized religion has tried so hard to convince you of!) It wants you to know it's there ... but if you're like me, you probably won't believe all that until you can experience it for yourself.

And that takes an open mind, and a willingness to experience it. It also takes acknowledging the possibility that so many people can't be wrong, and allowing yourself to wonder, 'What if ...'  What if I can talk to my own spirit - or people who have passed on and are now in spirit?

You begin by reaching for something you cannot feel or sense with your physical senses. Impossible? Sounds like it, but it's not. To reach that something, you have to forcefully push those powerful physical senses out of the way to allow that extraordinarily powerful sixth sense to come forward.

It's done in many different ways: meditation is the most compelling way to get there, but, fear not, meditation comes in many forms. It doesn't necessarily mean forcing yourself not to think, to unclutter your mind, and go blank, which is very hard to do. To move those stubborn physical senses and brain clutter out of the way, try listening to soft music or go for a long walk and let yourself be acutely aware of every note, every step you take. That too is meditation. Sit beside the ocean and Listen. Or paddle a kayak.

There are plenty of people who get to a zone of altered consciousness with the use of drugs - not recommended by me. With natural meditation, you are in complete control. With drugs, maybe not so much. And you don't have to climb a distant mountain, scout out a rain forest or look for forgotten tribes or a hippie compound. You already have everything you need to make it happen.

Whatever you pick up in this zoned-out state, sounds, swirls  of color, maybe a sentence, maybe a laugh, maybe a face - or nothing at all at first, acknowledge it, discern it and keep practicing.  Keep going, knowing that spirit is high-fiving you all the way, loving your desire to make contact. Be aware that every step you take towards developing those 'super-natural' senses, makes it easier for them to contact you.

In a purely earthly sense, isn't it easier to communicate with someone who acknowledges your presence, than someone who ignores you or brushes you off?

If you're lucky, you'll find you're very sensitive to the energy around you and  you'll quickly get the hang of it. But usually it takes practice. Don't get discouraged, because one day, before long, it will pop right in, usually when you're least expecting it. Remember that road accident you missed by changing routes on your way to work one morning? How did you know you should go a different way that day?

Sitting at your computer one day you may hear a voice, sense a smile, a touch and have the feeling that that person you loved so much when you were together on earth, is right beside you. And then one night perhaps, in a dream during those wee, small hours, that same person will be sitting on the veranda with you holding a conversation, taking your hand, letting you know he or she is more alive than ever before.

Ahhh ... When that happens, the study and the journey will have been so worthwhile. You'll know. You'll just know. And with that knowledge, you can move into a completely different sort of relationship with yourself, or those you still love who have moved on.

You can even let that knowledge transfer to the people around you, people who are making this same earth journey with you. Knowing that there is nothing to fear, that we go on, that this is just one stage of the evolution of our souls, makes it so much easier to finish the race.

Keep on truckin!  

 

Early Morning Geese

Room To Breathe

It's been a busy time, forcing the blog into a distant second place as I work hard to introduce the new book, "Rainbow Rising". We've been racing from engagement to engagement; sedate library settings, hot and noisy street fairs, book fairs and cozy book clubs. And more recently, the workshops that are proving to be popular, interactive, hands-on and lots of fun.

But autumn is creeping in. Our trees in Virginia are beginning to show a rosy blush as they shed their emerald colors, and leaves flutter gently to the ground.
It's a time to dream, a time to remember, and a time fall back into a place of peace.
This Sunday afternoon I'll take a walk through the woods and give my soul room to breathe. We'll suck in the freshening breezes of summer's wake, my soul and I,  as they usher in the crispness of the changing season. We'll feel the dampness rising from mossy woodland floor, that carries the scent of peat moss, that mingles with smell of wood smoke curling from a bonfire in the distance. And I'll listen to the sound of wild birds as they gather in my cove for night to rest before their long flight south.
The mushrooms and toadstools are abundant this year. The ground looks as though a box of brightly colored marbles has been scattered among the fallen leaves.
This evening I may share a glass of wine from this year's harvest with friends and think of other lovely times with people I love, and with whom I shared the waning days of summer.
And early tomorrow morning, as the first glitter of sunlight filters through the trees that crowd the lake, with the scent of wild apples on the wind, I'll hear the noisy chatter of Canada Geese, as they shake themselves awake, spread their wings, crane their long necks, and rise as one with a rush of air and ruffled water as they take to the air, fall into formation and disappear into the sky.  And my soul and I will breathe. 

The Days of Hot and Humid Summer

Hi Everyone,
I've been away too long but I'm coming back as summer begins to wilt around the edges, showing a few yellow Poplar leaves scattered on the grass.
It's been a busy summer with lots of push in the publicity department in the launching of "Rainbow Rising." There've been many book signings and presentations, in fact, the interest has been so great that we did a workshop on Spiritual and Psychic Awareness early this month. A wonder group of people came, so many that we overflowed into a second workshop on September 6th.
It was a lot of fun and I expect the second one to be even more fun wit lots of hands on demos.
So, if you couldn't make it to the first one, or you know someone who would like to come in September, please let them know. 2:00 p.m. in Westlake at the Vita Zen Shop in Hardy VA.
In the meantime, as the preparation continues for that and a couple more presentations, rest assured, the regular blog will be picking up and getting on track as soon as the activity subsides. So many 'happenings' to tell you about.
But enjoy the rest of summer, let your skin soak up the almost tropical moisture,  let you spirits breath in the sunshine and the sweet scents of August; full of late blooming flowers, the smell of damp earth before the summer showers and the warm moist breezes.
Have fun, I'll see you soon right here.

Have You Lived Before?

Reincarnation. What do you think? Have you ever had the feeling that "Gosh, this place feels familiar!" This is so weird! I know that if I turn that corner I'm going to see an old pharmacy with a red awning and an ice cream cone painted on the window. . . Helloo!

Einstein once remarked that Reincarnation was the only thing that made any sense to him. What did he know! Who knows. But I feel the same way, and I'm not Einstein. I've sometimes met somebody who I think I ought to know, and yet I can't place that person. Or an event feels familiar. As a child I once stood there watching a carousel turn, with scores of waving kids aboard, and I suddenly thought, "I'd like to do that - but I'm scared of that red horse . . . " Because it felt as though the last time I'd ridden a carousel I'd fallen off the horse I was riding. Trouble is, when I had that feeling, I was only three and had never before been to the fairgrounds.

And then there's Deja vu? Which of course means, 'Seen before'. Perhaps you're sitting around a camp fire with a group of friends and suddenly someone says, "Wait! I've seen this exact scene before - we were all sitting around this fire and talking about this very thing!" It happens to most of us. What do you think? Think you've done this scene before? But when? It could be a past life memory - but notice the clothing. In Victorian times we wouldn't be sitting around in short shorts and tank tops. Now, would we? So what's going on? Could it be that we've had the same conversation before in a similar setting with these same people? And perhaps when we had the first conversation we were all Victorians, but we wouldn't recognize us in that scenario. So did your spirit decide to change things up to make us all more recognizable? Maybe it's the conversation with all the same people that's important - not the 'look'. Or could it be your Higher Self/Spirit/Soul jumping ahead of you and saying, "I know what we're going to say next!" Smarty. Or, a scientist might say, "Brain glitch!" I've had a couple of those. Interesting isn't it. The whole idea of Reincarnation is interesting to me.

It makes perfect sense to me, who was taught that there is a loving father, God, who made us and is looking out for us. Why would He give us only one  chance to get things right?  What parent pulls the rug out from under a child saying, " That's it! You blew it. No more chances for you!" We are much more likely to say, "Okay, so that didn't work - why don't you try it again?
I also think that if we do reincarnate, it's a choice we make. I don't believe anyone is sitting there with a cattle prod saying "Get back down there! (loser)." No way. I think that with the help and guidance of spiritual beings on the other side - Angels, Guides, trusted friends who've been down here too, we make that decision to come back or not. Because free will exists in all dimensions.
It makes perfect sense to me that if, for instance, we messed up a relationship with someone who really mattered, we'd want to come back to earth and try to make it right the next time. Hopefully that person will be generous and come back in with us.

And that's another thing. I believe that we choose the people we want to spend lifetimes with, and we pick the people who can teach us the most. If we're going to make this difficult journey, we may as well make it worthwhile by learning our lessons from the best teachers we can find. Parents, siblings, friends . . .  everyone. Ever wonder why that sister of yours is the most aggravating person you've ever met? You chose her. Either to get the relationship right this time or around, to learn from her or to teach her a thing or two! Yup! That's it! I'm going to show her! Or maybe not - You're here to get it right, remember? And if you don't, think you might have to come back and do it again?

Makes you think.

I think I've lived before. And I'll probably be back to mop up a few messes I've made. And maybe we'll be back to continue a lifelong love affair with a person, an animal or a place we're very attached to. Maybe we'll come back just to enjoy this beautiful planet one more time.

This human state is so hard to get perfectly right, isn't it? But we can give it our best shot.
So, jump in, everyone and let's see what happens this time around!

I hope it's a great day for you, and that tomorrow will be even better.

Cindy!

Stripping the Phantom of it's Mask

A Person of Beauty left our world last week and ever since Maya Angelo passed on, I've been thinking of Strong Women. Oprah and the other Great and Famous People come to mind, but I was thinking of people like you and I. Ordinary people, men and women, who rise above and beyond the bar when the situation calls for it. A well-loved friend wrote this letter last week, and I want to share it with all of you. She titled it "I can Smell the Barn!!" and addressed it to her friends. She began by thanking them for their kindness and encouragement,as she found herself quite unexpectedly, on a road that is all too familiar to too many. "This is not something you want to do alone," she said. Yesterday, I had my third round of Chemo ... One more to go and we can close the book on that giant CLEANSE portion of the treatment (for breast cancer). Am pleased to say that I passed with flying colors! Amazingly enough, I still have hair - if you've ever seen what the Phantom looks like when he removes his mask in Phantom f the Opera - you've got the picture. Not my best, but still there! I am now seen most often sporting a baseball cap or wearing my new cranial prosthesis named Gladys! The Wig. I'm doing just great. Cancer has given me a new lease on life. I'm taking time to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us and am especially taking time to think about a lot of things - the love of family; the importance of friends; those less fortunate. I believe that when it's all over and done, I'm going to say that this was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I'm sure the second half of my life will be filed with new pleasures and joys. I hope I can help other women facing this scary disease to realize that it's not the end of the world - it's really just beginning. In the meantime, just wanted to say I'm doing great ... and I trust that the lessons I'm learning will mark my path in my journey going forward. Thanks for walking it with me. Cindy. What a tribute to the Human Spirit. I've known Cindy for a long time, you met her in "By Morning's Light". She inspired me then, all through the worst journey of my life, making me laugh when I could barely smile; picking me up when I was down, moving me forward on her magic carpet of laughs, encouragement, and her zest for life. Her spirit touches everyone she meets, and now it's our turn to be strong for her. Everyone she knows, will walk this journey with her; we won't be afraid of the road ahead, and we'll all cross the finish line together, in a shower of balloons, streamers and a riot of drum-beating silly clowns! Walk on, everyone who's reading this, with the people you know who may be victims of this and other horrors. With anyone you can help, encourage and inspire. Be there for each other, because we know how close to home this scourge can hit ... And if, God forbid, this, or something like it, charges at any one of us - we'll all be there, six-shooters at the ready, On Guard! Because we're strong. Even though we don't always feel strong, even though we may feel helpless at times ... Shoulders back! Tummies in, Chins up and Forward March! It's a choice ladies and gentlemen. Sometimes the only viable choice we have. Take it and thrive. In the words of the poetess, Maya Angelo, "If you have it, give it; if you learn it teach it." Thanks for teaching the lessons you've learned, Cindy. See you at the checkered flag! Tally HO!

The Colors of the Rainbow

When I think of the Colors of the Rainbow, I think of freshly-washed skies, and crystalline air reflecting the sun, changing and casting its light in an arc of color. On Thursday afternoon, I hope you'll join me at the Westlake library at 4.00,for a colorful and entertaining presentation of "Rainbow Rising". The book was written in answer to the many questions you asked during a multitude of presentations I made across this state and others; questions you had following the publication of "By Morning's Light". In "Rainbow Rising" I've done my best to answer every one of them. One of those questions was, "How old were you when you first knew you could feel and see spirits?" Well, come with me on Thursday on a fascinating trip through the gold savanna grasses of Africa, to the crater where the old Sangoma lives; a medicine woman with "so many years in her skin that no one can count them." I met her once with Lizzie, my Zulu nanny, who introduced me to the ancient spirits of Africa. That may have been the beginning, but somehow I don't think so. You see, as a very young child, I could remember the essence of another place - the place before this place called earth. I remember it's colors, it's sounds and air that sparkled. Somehow I knew that there was so much more to me than skin and bones. You asked me, "How can Isee spirits? Where can I find them? How can I speak to them?" And then, "I don't think I can do that ..." The simple answer is, "Yes you can." We all can. So, follow my yellow brick road and I'll show you how I did it. The journey was FUN. Intriguing, fascinating - visiting another dimension always is, I imagine - and it involved getting to know people who were far more savvy than me, more fun and totally awesome in their teaching of something this amazing. This was the Metaphysical Study Group I belonged to, who my sweet husband Walter referred to playfully,as "The Spook Group." After a bout of his teasing one afternoon, I asked him how he would like to wake up in the morning, green and croaking and warty... But I'm not a sorceress. You will however meet a real witch in the book - A Good Witch, bouncy, charming, and one whose lineage contains at least one true witch. Who knew they were hereditary? You wanted to know, was I ever afraid of opening myself up to evil spirits? No. Dark Energy (read evil) cannot survive in light. Only Spirits of Light, God, his Holy Spirit, my own angels and guides, and sometimes yours,are ever invited into my circle. Do you believe in fairies? Maybe you will one day. Where was God? Where were his Angels on September 11th? Didn't you see them? What happened to Buck when the spook group practiced their levitation skills on him at a New Year's Eve party? Tune in on Thursday for the thrilling conclusion...as the Universe turns. :) Ever wondered if you may have lived before? Met a battlefield ghost from Manassas? Or another from a wagon train trying to cross the Rockies. I can't wait to see you on Thursday! It's going to be so much fun - and more than that, I look forward to hearing from you. Your stories, Your impressions, Your questions. Help me to color your world, fill it with hope and, of course, Rainbows. See you there - Thursday at the library at Westlake. And bring your friends and high spirits. Until then!

Just Waiting . . .

Have you ever had the feeling that you're just waiting for something to happen? You know deep down that there's something, right around the corner, just waiting to burst into your life, bringing changes with it. It's a feeling of anticipation, hope, mild excitement and curiosity. You're not even sure what it really is - but SOMETHING is going to happen. You can feel the energy moving into the spaces around you. Sometimes you're mildly impatient waiting for things to pop. Sometimes you're downright anxious waiting for 'something to happen'. More and more, I'm realizing the truth in the thought that Timing is Everything and, for me, patience may be the hardest lesson to learn. A friend of mine called last week mildly frustrated (which usually means anxious) that her husband's beautiful art work was taking so long to really catch hold and start selling like hot cakes. "But I just know something's going to happen soon, and when it does, it'll be big", she said. It's almost as though someone's hit a delay switch and is holding everything up. They've done everything they can. The work is unique and lovely, they've done all the promoting, it's in a gallery in Manhattan - but the Universe is still at work. Teaching. Another friend emailed me that after months of frustration with a project involving photography, after months of wondering where this was going, and even if it had hit a stone wall - something stirred - and the right people showed up, with all the know-how she was lacking, and the project began moving forward. Timing. When the pupil is ready, the teacher will come. For weeks and then months, I worried, freaked out about the publishing of the second book and all the things I didn't know. All the frustrations built up, then came a few successes when I thought, AHA! Success is just around the corner! And then got slammed down to earth again when everything went wrong. But when the timing was right, everything fell into place and the book was done. It was only then that I could look back at the whole experience and realize I'd just been coached through a powerful learning experience. What I've learned is that no matter how hard we try we can't hurry Perfect Timing. No matter what it is - whether it's something you're working on, or just a feeling that something's going to happen, it happens in it's own time. And if we try to rush it, we'll probably fall short, or maybe even flat on our faces. There are steps to be taken, small steps that we may not even be aware of at the time. Invisible forces propelling us towards a goal even though we don't know what they are or where they come from. It's part of paving the way to the next event. The way must be clear, the road signs must be in place and only then can we begin to move forward. There are universal building blocks that have to fall into place. Often involving other people and their life paths. Universal blocks that are similar to those brightly colored children's blocks with ABC's printed on them. The ABC's of teaching and learning. Funny that we call them 'blocks'. Running into road blocks. My mind is blocked. Something's blocking the course ... Not so. They seem more like delay switches to me, to give us time to smooth the way, negotiate the obstacles, work with the universe o many levels and set the wheels in motion. And when the timing is right, the brightly colored, clearly sign-posted blocks will tumble into place, almost miraculously, and everything will begin to move forward - maybe in the way you expected, and maybe not. But it is moving at last. And remember this: "Nothing is either good or bad - only thinking makes it so." That was Will Shakespeare. Another great teacher. I wish for you and me; Patience, Hope and Fun today!