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Showing posts from 2009

Once in a Blue Moon - New Year

I just found out that New Year's Eve is on a "Blue Moon"! A blue moon is the second full moon in any month. According to a friend, it doesn't happen too often. And the second full moon in December is the 31st! Not only that, but it is a lunar eclipse day too. AND it is the beginning of a new decade. I'm not sure how often a blue moon with an eclipse would occur on New Year's eve, but I'm sure it most likely won't happen again in our lifetime. Seems very, very special to me. So I was thinking... let's embrace the 'once in a blue moon' opportunity, using Spiritual Natural Law and positive affirmations! For many people, the beginning of a new year is traditionally a time of taking stock of life and committing to a lifestyle change in the form of a New Year's resolution. These resolutions usually are a topic of great interest and declaration on New Year's Eve and normally go into effect on New Year's Day. A resolution is basically a

Blessings of the Holiday Season

Just a quick blog to wish you all a wonderful holiday season! This is a busy time of year for most people. And like many other bloggers, I won't be blogging for a week or so. I hope that you are: sharing moments of glee with your nearest and dearest feeling your loved ones in Spirit around you giving thanks for the lessons and the love and experiencing peace that passes understanding Enjoy the spirit of the season!

Lessons from a Child: Glee

Laughter in large quantities is good for you. Everyone knows this. But children seem to know it best. As my son explores the world , he is discovering joy in all the pockets, folds, and ripples of life. Each new object and place is fascinating. When he is especially delighted, he gets this extra special tone in his laugh that I love hearing. I call it GLEE. The glee burbles up from inside of his soul and spills like sunshine into the room. I can't help smiling when I hear it and laughing with glee myself. His eyes meet mine and we feel the connection. We witness each other's joy and our joy doubles exponentially. He is beyond excited to be in this moment with me. And I with him. I feel so very blessed to have this experience with my son. And I am fortunate to have felt this kind of shared glee with many others. It's wonderful and special and a flash of beauty in the day. I believe that when we recognize shared glee moments with others we are expressing Divine consciousness.

Lessons from a Child: Climbing

My little boy is going through the CLIMBING phase. Many of you may know what this means, but let me tell you what it means to me --- constant fear for his life and limbs . We've done our best to babyproof the house, but he still manages to find ways to put himself into peril. He is climbing onto chairs and standing precariously on their edge to reach for tabletop contents, light switches, and the computer. Like a curious monkey, he wants food, salt shakers, napkins, pencils, envelopes, the computer mouse, the candle, and my water glass. And he will reach for them with no thought to physics, gravity, or support. He is climbling on bookshelves. [Mostly his favorite bookshelf that has (thankfully) only two shelves, three if you count the very top.] As he scales the shelves, he clears away any books or toys in his path with quick pushes of his feet and hands. He wants to reach the top of his Everest and survey the landscape below and NOTHING and NO ONE will stop him. Obviously, he does

Weather prediction 2

At this time of year, weather is the hot topic (um, COLD topic). We're talking snow, sleet, rain, and the many other weather conditions that Old Man Winter can pile upon us poor souls in western New York State. Throw extremely high winds into the mix and you've got yourself one heck of a storm. And now, a 'Big Storm' has been making it way across the country, hitting people from Arizona, the Mid-West and others, and heading to my place in the world. Friends and family kept calling and giving weather updates. "Over two feet of snow coming our way starting Wednesday night into Thursday morning." [Yes, I wrote two feet.] I had somewhere to go first thing yesterday morning, so I was being extra vigilant about the weather. As my husband kissed me goodbye, he cautioned me to drive carefully. As I drove, I kept thinking, "what a beautiful day!" The roads were clear and sunshine was beaming all around me. I started allowing my imagination to play and I began

Intense prolonged grief

In my profession, I see a lot of grieving people. Not everyone is in a state of intense grief, but many clients are dealing with the loss of a spouse, parent, child, sibling, pet, and/or friend. Mourning for loved ones is a normal process, but occasionally I meet clients that are in a state of intense prolonged grief . For instance, with one client, it had been two years since her husband died and she was barely leaving the house. She was: feeling emotionally numb feeling that life was meaningless bitter/angry over the loss experiencing difficulty moving on with life feeling that a part of her had died too She was in deep and paralyzing grief. She was severely depressed and she kept saying "I want to be with him." During our session, she was so grateful to be connecting with him. For the first time in over two years, she was hopeful and excited. Many of her questions and concerns were answered and addressed. She felt uplifted by the experience. In fact, she said that even tho

Homemade bread

Sometimes in life I set myself a challenge for fun. Sometimes it includes the process of making food from scratch. And recently, I've been learning the art of good bread making. I LOVE BREAD! Fresh homemade bread, that is. Call me the carbohydrate queen, I don't care. The taste and smell of fresh baked bread are mouthwatering. Add some real butter and I'm in bread heaven. In my efforts to master the art of good bread making, I have experienced frustrations and joys. And along the way, I've studied the bread. It's a process of balance --- you must have just the right amount of movement, heat, and ingredients. Or else you end up with: messing up the chemistry experiment of yeast multiplication (sugar is your friend, salt kills the process) too much/too little flour overworking the bread bread not rising bread sticking to the pan Who knew there was so much that could go wrong with bread? I sure didn't. As you 've no doubt noticed from some of my other blogposts

The Porcupine Effect (Poll Answer: Happy or Sad)

Recently, I posted a Poll Question and asked you to submit your answer and a few of you did. I also told you that I would be submitting my answer in about a week. As promised, here it is! *smile* Q: Regarding spirit contact, are spirits more likely have effective and evidential communication with happy-joyful people or sad-depressed people? (Bonus question: And why?) My answer: In my experience, spirits are more likely to have effective and evidential communication with happy-joyful people than with sad-depressed people. Based on spiritual natural law and especially on vibrational frequency , JOY is the clear winner. When we raise our vibration and experience happiness and joy we are resonating in closer frequency to those in Spirit. Typically, the aura of a sad-depressed person is closed off to energy (including love). Sometimes people are angry and this produces what I call the Porcupine Effect . Jagged spikes surround the person like a fortress. This keeps out energy and inform

Sunday speaker at UU church service

I am the Guest Speaker at the Unitarian Universalist Church tomorrow morning. My lecture topic is Transcending Mystery thru Spiritual Connection . And I will be sharing my thoughts on the Web of Existence and ultimately the direct experience of transcending mystery through spiritual connection. For more info, visit www.willawhite.com

Giving thanks

As we gather with family and friends today, many of us will say a prayer of thanks. For some of us, it will be the only time all year that we recognize our blessings in a big way. For some of us, it will be a continuation of thankfulness we have felt for Life, Love, Family, and more. I believe that giving thanks is healthy, not just today but EVERY day. Gratitude is a healthy expression of positive emotions. And by giving thanks each day, we are positively affirming the blessings in our lives and the blessings yet to come. This is a natural and regular way to work with Spiritual Natural Laws --- the Law of Attraction , the Law of Personal Responsibility, the Law of Abundance --- to name a few. When we give and receive, there is an energy exchange. It reminds me of the energy exchange we have with Trees. As we breath out carbon dioxide, the trees take it in and in return supply us with the oxygen we need for life. If at any point the cycle of energy exchange is interrupted, we become o

It's all fun & games

It's all fun and games until someone gets their eye poked! Well, a funny thing happened on the way to the Blog . . . Three days ago, I was telling my family that I need to schedule my annual eye checkup. Two days ago, I was inspired to write my most recent blogpost Seeing Spirit with Clairvoyance . And that night as I was responding to my son's cries at 4:00 a.m. it happened. In the near pitch darkness, I was bending down to pick my baby boy up when he put his hand up and his finger poked my eye. It was excruciatingly painful!!! And it still hurts! [I've had my eye poked before, but those were just glancing blows.] I commandeered my son's Frosty Bear ice pack that I reserve for his bumps and bruises from walking and other adventures. And I stationed myself on the couch for a good couple of hours as I joined the League of the Temporarily Blind. That was yesterday. My eye is recovering, but my point (ha ha) is that themes happen. I am noticing the pattern (eye doctor, spi

Seeing Spirit with Clairvoyance

Clairvoyance is the mediumship term used for "seeing spirit" and is typically experienced in the mind's eye and rarely with the physical eye. Clairvoyance is one of the 5 Cs. Read more about the 5 Cs in this blogpost . Sometimes when I 'see' spirit in readings, I get a quick glance at the spirit's face and/or body. I may see one or more of the following: facial hair (mustache, beard, bushy eyebrows) nose (big, small, average) hair style hair color eye color gender smile cheeks body build height mobility issues Usually, I notice the most prominent feature, but occasionally I notice a group of minor details that add up to the whole person. This helps with physical identification of the spirit loved one. When I describe what I see, clients often happily report, "that's my Mom" or "that's my son" and so on. [Sometimes I feel like a witness trying to give a description to a police officer. I admit I don't always notice everything, bu

Poll: Happy or Sad?

Let's take a poll . . . Regarding spirit contact, are spirits more likely to have effective and evidential communication with happy-joyful people or sad-depressed people? ( Bonus question: And why?) Please submit your answer in the comment section. I will respond in about one week with my own answer.

Flashes of light

I am a medium , so I 'see' things. *smile* Well, every now and then, I see a small light. (And I don't mean an orb or a light flying around the room like Tinkerbell.) I am talking about a small pinprick of light that remains stationary and lasts for 2-3 seconds. It resembles a star from the night sky, albeit a very miniature one. This little 'flash of light' is a spirit. Sometimes I see a 'flash of light' (or a miniature star) around clients during readings --- either near the client's chair or in another part of the room. Also, I remember seeing them in a museum, on the trail in the woods, here at home, and at church. When I see that pinprick of light, I focus on asking the spirit to provide me with more information and to share their essence . Much like seeing spirit in side vision , it's a way that we can perceive those in spirit. These flashes of light are just another way for spirit loved ones to communicate that they are with us. In fact, some

Lessons from a Child: Stumbling

Because of his new found mobility, it is necessary for my toddler son to wear shoes occasionally. I prefer him to be barefoot, but if shoes must happen that he at least wear soft shoes that do not inhibit his foot growth, so he mainly wears moccasins. However, due to the recent wet weather and resulting big puddles, I put thick-soled shoes on his feet. I might as well have hobbled him. It was worse than watching someone trying to walk in high heels for the first time. Because he enjoys the momentum and the journey of walking so much, he keeps trying. And today I am proud to tell you that he exhibits ever-increasing dexterity, balance, and confidence when he walks in the thick-soled shoes. He stills trips up from time to time as he toddles along, but he doesn't let his stumbles dampen his adventuring spirit. Somehow he knows that minor spills are no big deal and any major spills [complete with heartbreaking *gulp* tears and ice when necessary] are temporary as well. And while he app

Walking in autumn leaves

Walking in the autumn time is a wonderful opportunity to watch the trees don their brilliant colors of red, orange, and yellow. Like peacocks on display, the trees celebrate in fine style with dancing and chatting. Yes, I said chatting. As the leaves on the trees dry, they rustle in the wind, commenting on the glorious sky, the birds on the fly, and the passerby. In a few short weeks, the leaves fall and the splendor begins to carpet the ground. Depending on the strength of the wind at a given moment, the leaves can swirl and dance outrageously or softly float downward like exhausted dancers. As I shuffle through the ankle deep leaves, I savor the swooshing sound around my shoes. For me, the crunchy remnants of the glories of autumn create the perfect opportunity for white noise, facilitating a light meditative state. I am in the moment of Now. I feel the hum in my body as I resonate with the sounds and feel of Mother Nature. The autumn leaves whisper their secrets.

Growing our children

Right now, because I am busy growing up this child of mine, I am fascinated by the shaping of young minds/bodies/souls. I look at my one-year-old son and other children and wonder who they will be as adults. Will they be strong, loyal, compassionate, and adaptable people? Will they feel wounded by life events, especially social interactions, and stagnant in misery? Or will they feel grateful for the lessons, courageously become their own person, and give thanks for this Divine experience? Because of my young son, I have the opportunity to interact with various children's groups. And I have the opportunity to observe the budding social behavior of children ages 6 months to 4 years. It would seem that there are four main kinds of behavior exhibited: the child who sits quietly in his mother's lap, shyly taking in the world, rarely smiling, and stiffly going through the motions the child who jumps or climbs off out of his mother's arms to explore the room, interact with people,

Day of the Dead

On this day, family and friends gather to pray for and remember loved ones in Spirit. Even though this holiday is celebrated in many countries of the world (including the United States and Mexico), it is not a holiday that I am familiar with personally. I am very interested in what I have read about this holiday, especially because it revolves around one of my favorite topics: Spirit Communication. This holiday actually takes place on two days. On November 1, deceased children and infants are honored on what is called the "Day of the Innocents" (or Day of the Little Angels). And on November 2, the adults are honored on the "Day of the Dead". What I find most interesting about this holiday is that many people believe that during the Day of the Dead it is easier for the souls of the departed to visit with the living. People actually flock to cemetaries to communicate with their Spirit loved ones. [Spirit communication on a grand scale - awesome!] On this one day

Costumes, shapeshifting, and the truth

My mother stopped by to visit with us today. While we were talking, my little boy walked over to me and handed me his Halloween costume. As I accepted it, I said in that sweet-but-condescending-tone-that adults-use-on-children-they-love, "oooohhhh, yes you're going to be Tigger for Halloween." Then, I turned to my mother and said, "look Grandma, he's going to be a little tiger." My son gently tugged the costume from my hands and deposited it on the floor. Then, he stepped on top of it and stood there patiently waiting for the costume to magically *pop* onto his little baby body. (I guess my little guy believes that things manifest because we wish them to be.) It was sooooooo cute! Because it wasn't working, he looked down at the costume, then walked off of it. Convinced in the clothing's ability to jump onto his body, he picked it up again, repositioned it on the floor, and stepped onto the orange fabric for another try. At this point, I assisted him

Suicide

Q: What happens to people who pass by suicide? I have read your blog and I am really interested in your thoughts. What is your opinion on suicide? What happens to individuals who commit suicide? A: I shall share some of my understanding regarding those in Spirit who have committed suicide. Everyone at sometime in their life experiences anxiety, pain, loss, and sadness. That’s normal for human beings. Life can be bitter-sweet, but the darkness that can lead to suicide is much deeper. It is a profound dark night of the soul --- an all-encompassing hopelessness. Many of the suiciders I have connected with explain their circumstances (ranging from chemical imbalances to hypersensitivity to depression to drastic life changes and so on) with depression being the more common reason. They think they will escape their problems by ending their life, but they are wrong. As I explained in my Where are they blogpost, every soul has to learn from, grow from, and overcome their issues. In fact, suic

Barbershop quartets

I love music! Pretty much all types of music speak to me. And I recently went to a concert of a local chapter of Barbershoppers. This particular group has almost 40 members so it is essentially a men's choir with some highlights on quartets. They sing acapella (without musical instruments) and create a unique sound of vocal harmony. It was impressive to see the range of voices in complete harmony --- the high, the low, the in-between. Each individual voice is important because it adds a special quality to the group dynamic. Singing in a quartet or a choir offers the opportunity to flow with the energy of a group, to feel in harmony with a team, and still take responsibility for your individual part. In a standard barbershop quartet, there are four essential roles: the lead guy sings the melody the tenor harmonizes above the melody the bass sings the lowest harmonizing notes the baritone completes the chord Somehow along the way in the history of music-making, people discovered this

Q: Are my loved ones in Spirit at peace?

Q: Are my loved ones in Spirit at peace? A: This is a frequent question from clients. They are asking in order to make sure their loved ones are finding some happiness in the next life, and also probably checking on whether they might have Peace as an option when it is their turn to cross over. In fact, one of the most common phrases that appears on headstones is "RIP" or "R.I.P.", an abbreviation of the Latin phrase "Requiescat in pace". In English, this translates into "Rest in Peace". Through my work as a medium and as a human-being sharing this plane of existence with a vast multitude of people and their personalities, I have found that Peace is a subjective term. After all, peace is different for different people. For some, peace means being quiet and restful. The image of an angel floating on a cloud, having the occasional harp concert, and basically enjoying oblivion comes to mind. A little cliched, if you ask me. But let's not underes

Life Review

During a lifetime, we may go through periodic reviews of our life. We may take stock our progress, witnessing where we need to course correct to be more in harmony with Spiritual Natural Law and thereby the Divine. When so-called death occurs, we are given opportunities for further soul growth and reflection. After crossing over, the soul goes through Life Review. This is when the soul takes an extensive look at his/her life from birth to death --- the good, the bad, and the otherwise. We're talking extreme detail. Some common themes during life review are: How did I treat my family, friends, and other people? What did I learn from these interactions? Understanding the roles of archetypes in our life and soul contracts with other souls Forgiveness of self and others What can I learn now from my spiritual lessons while on Earth plane that I did not see/accept/process when I was there? Each soul progresses through Life Review at their own rate. Some progress rapidly, others take a w

Falling

A year ago, I fell. It was a simple matter of a misstep. Long story short, I was going down a three-step stair and I stumbled a bit, tensed up and tried to catch myself, and ended up pulling a muscle. Funny how in one moment the way you feel can change. My back was tight for many days and weeks and months after. In fact, if I think about it, I can almost feel where it hurt. [gosh, I sound like a big baby pointing out my boo-boo.] And exactly one year later to the very day, I found myself up on a ladder outside painting the second story of the house. As I carefully manuvered my way up with a paint brush and can of paint, I was VERY aware of gravity and I kept thinking ... "I don't like heights, I fell one year ago today, ugh, this is high, the ladder is shaking, yikes!" Fear, fear, fear. In between the fear thoughts, I also kept thinking ... "this needs to get done, the house needs to be painted, I'm going to be fine, so what if I fell one year ago today." St

Many lives, many masters - Synchronicity

I was speaking with a friend yesterday and he mentioned a certain book to me: Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss [which I read four years ago]. We discussed some of the topics of the book and then our conversation progressed to other things. When I got home, I saw a book on the floor. Imagine my surprise when I bent down to pick it up and saw the exact book mentioned earlier. My little boy strikes again! While I was away, he had extracted this one book from the bookshelf and left it conspiciously in my path. He usually goes for other books. See my blogpost My baby can read for more info. Pair that with the fact that I didn't even think this book was on that particular bookshelf and it's even more synchronistic. I decided to flip the book open to whatever page would present itself. Imagine my non-surprise when I found myself on the page where Dr. Weiss describes doing regression work with a patient who began channeling specific information from Weiss' father in Spirit

Lessons from a Child: Dancing the S-pirit Way

My little boy is dancing! Not long ago, my baby son started walking and now he has progressed to dancing. [soooo cute!] He has always expressed a strong affinity for music. Keeping the beat with his hand, banging pots and pans and any other objects he can find, happy smiles when he listens and creates music, and singing "ba-ba-ba" with songs are great evidence of his love of music. But seriously, a dancing one year old? For the past few days, when he hears music he stomps his feet in a quick clogging style reminiscent of tap dancing or perhaps a flamenco style. Then he spins in a slow circle. His body masterfully completes the circle and returns to clogging. And then he sways. Although his movements are slower and more deliberate, my husband and I almost miss it because we're busy chuckling about our "riverdancing" son. When I watch my son, I see some of the activities of indigenous cultures. And his dancing cements it for me. So natural and freeing, dancing is

Where are they?

"When people die, where do their souls go?" This is a frequent question from clients. Over the years, I have developed a sense of this from my conversations with those in Spirit and from my own spiritual unfoldment. Here are some of my thoughts about it. As a person's soul releases from the physical body, it continues existence in the next spiritual plane. Rather than Heaven and Hell being physical places with exact physical locations (such as up & down), I believe these are states of consciousness. Whatever state of spiritual consciousness a person had when they were on the earth plane, they take with them. And they learn and grow from that consciousness. I also believe that the door to reformation is never closed. Spiritual progression is eternal and infinite, so it takes however long it needs to take. [It's not as if they only have six months to graduate or they get kicked out. *smile*] They go through life review and they take a good look at what they did whe

The Roof of the Mind

If you live in a Northern clime like I do, autumn is the time to shore up the shelter and batten down the hatches before the snow arrives. Similar to squirrels selecting, collecting, and storing nuts for the winter months, my husband and I are rushing to accomplish a long list of outdoor home renovation projects. Roofing is a top priority. Last winter we endured ice jams on the roof that caused leaks in one section. [It's funny before this I thought of a "leak" as a small drip drip of water, perhaps a small trickle, and very minor. I have since learned that a "leak" can involve a steady rush of water, a vertical stream that might be able to sustain aquatic life. Quite alarming!] So roofing repairs are a must. To prepare that small section of roof for the brutal onslaught of ice and snow of winter, it was necessary to start from scratch. This involved removing the existing roof of shingles, a large quantity of stubborn nails, and plywood. Ah, the wonderful feelin

Weather prediction

My husband and I were out and about running errands through a good portion of a 20 mile radius of our home this morning. Weather was the hot topic of the day. All morning, most people we encountered were talking about the Big Storm that would be passing through today. "It's going to be a biggie," many warned. "60 mile per hour winds," others said in awed tones. Everywhere we went people were preparing for the Big Storm. And the weather reports on the radio were full of wind and flood advisories. My husband and I looked at the sky and felt safe. It had rained at our house earlier (and it was a good soak) and the wind was the normal blustery blow of autumn. [Our area gets a wonderful show of all four seasons (from the deep snows of winter to the lush and green summertime), and our autumn usually means some wind and rain on trees changing into vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows highlighted by beautiful moments of sunshine.] But the weather anywhere can be fickle at

EVP in readings

Electronic voice phenomena (EVP) are electronically captured sounds that resemble speech, but are not the result of intentional voice recordings. Common sources include static, stray radio transmissions and background noise. Some people claim these sounds are spirit contact. Over the years, some clients have contacted me after their reading to let me know of EVP on their recording. Sometimes clients have heard a name or words on the recording from a voice that is not mine or theirs and they often recognize the name as a family member. One client reported that during a particularly sensitive part of the reading she had been thinking that she didn't want her mother to hear that section. When she got home to listen to it, that 10 minute section (and only that section) was gone! Spirit must have helped it along. Another client told me that she didn't want her sister to hear the recording of her private reading. When they got in the car, her sister grabbed her tape and popped it in.

The Panic Tree

I have a new phrase that I would like to share with you. And who knows --- maybe it will catch on. Have you ever been so rattled and panicked that you feel like you are a cat stuck up in a tree? You climbed the tree and now you cannot even contemplate how to get down again. You are petrified. HELP! Where is the friendly neighborhood firefighter with his handy-dandy ladder when you need him? You are "up the Panic Tree". Maybe the Panic Tree happened because of financial hardship, a job issue, a strained relationship, a health scare, fear of making a mistake, or hurt feelings. However, it happens it has taken you and your happiness hostage. Temporarily. I acknowledge The Panic Tree because I've been up there a few times in my life. It's a scary place. You think that you just might be stuck in that misery of uncertainty for eternity. And then, somehow someway the phase passes and the panic fades. I met someone the other day and I recognized that she was "up the Pani

Lessons from a Child: Walking

My little boy is learning to walk. From a few hesistant steps, he has progessed to walking from one end of the room to another. He's pretty smooth, but he occasionally takes rests to hold onto a door frame, a chair, and a person's leg. Having that temporary oasis to cling to before adventuring again is crucial to his exploring. Many times, he will crouch down to rebalance or pick up a toy and then he's off again. Sometimes he returns to speed crawling when he wants to get somewhere fast. You know what this means, right? My son is not a BABY anymore --- he is officially a toddler now! He has grown from a small sleeping infant nestled in my arms, to crawling , to standing and cruising, to taking a few hesitant steps, to becoming a walker (a toddler). Perhaps you have experienced this natural and progressive force in your own life in the form of an idea, a child, or an awakening into awareness. First, we birth an idea previously only part of the ethers (cosmic consciousness)

Practice & Intention

Practice and intention --- these are the two main ingredients to developing good mediumship abilities. As I tell my clients and students frequently, without those key concepts the tires will just spin in the mud. I will explain further what practice and intention mean to me ... Intention : This means asking for the Highest and Best in your mediumship. When you are connecting with those in Spirit, you want the highest vibrational frequency possible. Purity of intention is vastly important in spirit contact. You want to receive uplifting and healing messages (and sometimes guidance) from Spirit. Raising the vibration is another way of insuring right intention. Also, recognize that it is important you are not what I call a "leaky faucet", someone who pushes your intuition expressions onto others [more about this in future blogs] Practice : This means absorbing and applying the techniques of right intention and spirit contact on a regular basis. Books and personal meditation can

Lily Dale: Off-Season

Lily Dale is now considered off-season, so there are no daily events, no gate entrance fee, and many of the public buildings are closed. Having made their happy pilgrimage to Lily Dale, many of the summer visitors have returned to their homes in other towns, other states, and other countries. But our little town is not empty. Some of the mediums and residents stay on through the winter. A few of the gift shops may be open for browsing. Many of the guest houses are still open for boarders. The churches offer their own Sunday services, workshops, and classes. The Church of the Living Spirit meets in the Assembly Hall. And the Lily Dale Spiritualist Church meets in the Healing Temple. Check their websites for more info. If you are interested in having a reading, mediums are still available for readings in the off-season . At present, there are approximately 40 Registered Mediums. They have each been tested and approved by the Lily Dale Assembly. Each medium has their own distinct personal

Lily Dale: The Season

"The Season". *** To those of you are not familiar with Lily Dale, this phrase may seem to indicate the time of year (winter, spring, summer, fall). But for those who know and love Lily Dale, it's so much more. And I shall attempt to describe some of "The Season" to you now. Running from usually the last weekend of June until the day before Labor Day, "The Season" takes place during the summer months in a spiritual community called Lily Dale. Whether summer visitors come for a day, a week, a month, or a season, they mention that they feel "an amazing peace when I enter the gate". For many, "The Season" has been a time for spiritual pilgrimage and renewal, education and fellowship, evidence of spirit contact, and healing. During "The Season", there is plenty to do every minute of the day. The schedule is abundant with healing services, spirit message services, thought exchanges, lectures, circles, seminars, and classes. In

Mediums Recognition Day

Today is Mediums Recognition Day. What does this mean? The Mediums League of Lily Dale is sponsoring a day to recognize the work and dedication of the Registered Mediums. This includes: a special lecture at the afternoon church service in the Auditorium educating people about mediumship expressing gratitude to the Registered Mediums of Lily Dale [I am proud to be one] spirit messages from the Executive Board of Directors of the Mediums League [I am a board member, so you will see me on the platform today!] a reception at the Mediums League Building in the evening [fellowship and fun!] I think this is a wonderful way for mediums and visitors alike to join together and acknowledge mediumship and express gratitude for the wonderful mediums at Lily Dale. I hope you can join us! [if not inperson, at least in spirit] *smile*

Lessons from a Child: 'Let me stand where you stand'

My adventurous little boy is enjoying exploring his world. He is also enjoying MY world. There I was washing dishes at the kitchen sink (minding my own business) when he decided that he wanted to know what it was like to stand exactly where I was standing. Hanging onto the kitchen cabinets for assistance, he walked his way toward the cabinet under the sink. He then squeezed his little-baby-boy body in between my legs and that cabinet door. Having gained his objective, he stood there quietly nestled in my legs. With his energy and his actions, he was saying, 'Let me stand where you stand.' I could feel his energy reaching out to me, blending with my energy. Moments passed until I looked down at him. At that same moment, he looked up me. Those adorable blue eyes scanned my face and then he smiled. 'Show me what you see,' he babbled in babyspeak. With soapy wet hands, I picked him up, helping him grow taller so he could see over the sink edge. Together we looked into the s

Q & A: Will our session be a conversation with spirit loved ones?

Q: What happens during a mediumship reading? Will it be a conversation between me and my spirit loved ones? A: Each reading is unique, so I never know what to expect during a reading. As a medium, I open myself with the highest and best intention to receive information from your spirit loved ones. Once we establish contact with a spirit loved one and have established their identity, we can engage them in conversation and ask them questions. Many times, a reading is an opportunity to chat with your family and extended family and maybe a few of your closest friends. It can be a special time for reunion and a sharing of memories. It can be a chance to say "hello" or "I'll see you again" or "I love you". Perhaps it will be a time for making amends and apologies. Or it can be an opportunity for closure and explanation. Or it can a time to receive guidance and opinions from those you trust in Spirit. Or it can be a confirmation of your own experiences with s

Lessons from a Child: Balance can be virtually effortless

My baby son is fast approaching the stage of walking. He has mastered the Speed of Crawl and now he has learned to hang onto furniture and people in order to keep his balance while walking. With this assisted form of walking, he can travel with amazing agility from the couch to the chair, from the kitchen cabinets to the refrigerator, and from the wall to the door. And I have something exciting to share with you (proud parent moment) . . . I have witnessed him standing on the strength of his own two baby legs without holding onto anything or anyone! I'm sure many of you may be thinking . . . so what? After all, babies go through this developmental stage as a precursor to walking unassisted. *yawn* What I find so fascinating about this particular moment is the following: Because he is focused on the toy, his balance is virtually effortless. Like a little yogi at peace in the Tree yoga pose, he is completely in the 'now moment'. His balance lasts for half a minute or more wh

Primary Spirit Communicator

During a reading, usually one of the spirits becomes what I call the Primary Spirit Communicator. This spirit loved one will be in charge of the discussion, or may help/allow other spirits to communicate, or may be the only spirit communicator. I say "only spirit communicator" because sometimes one spirit gets on their soapbox and hogs the reading. People roll their eyes or listen gratefully or interject their comments. Usually the Primary Spirit Communicator is a family member (but can sometimes be a close friend). I have noticed that they may possess one or more of the following attributes: strong desire to connect spiritual awareness a forceful personality a guiding influence great love for my client

Baby 'Mirror Neurons'

I just read a fascinating article about how babies' brains work titled Babies' brains 'reach' for toys . This is an occasion when science supports what we already know intuitively and spiritually: we are all connected. Here's the gist of the article . . . Scientists measured the brain activity of 9-month-old babies. The same area of a baby's brain lights up whether the baby reaches for a toy or watchs an adult reach for a toy. The same space. This ability is due to mirror neurons, which fire when we do an action ourselves and when we watch others do a similar action. Let me say that another way. When babies watch people reach for objects, the motor region in their brains gets activated, as if the babies were doing the reaching themselves! [But wait! It gets better.] Scientists also noticed that once babies got used to observing an adult grab the toy, their brain activity occurred prior to the action. I hope you realize why I am excited about this, but allow me

Lessons from a Child: Telephone Game

I attended a birthday party recently. The event was for a friend turning 34, but with all of the children in attendance you would have thought it was a party for a little girl. The celebration was a huge success. Children and adults fought goodnaturedly over paper plates depicting Disney princesses such as Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Jasmine, and Belle. After much consideration, I ended up with my own princess plate with a generous portion of funfetti cake. With girlie squeals and pink heart pendants containing grape flavored lip gloss, the little girls were having a blast getting the adults to play the Telephone Game. Do you remember that game? The Telephone Game is also known in various parts of the world as broken telephone, whisper down the lane, gossip, silent mail, and telephone without wires. You lean over to your neighbor and whisper a phrase such as "My purple shirt has pizza on it." Your neighbor leans over to their neighbor and passes the phrase on. The

Spirit loved ones & the future

Q: Can my spirit loved ones tell you what will happen in my future? A: Because I am a medium , the focus of a session is always on spirit contact --- connecting with a client's loved ones who have passed. A mediumship session is not for fortune telling or future telling. That said, spirit loved ones occasionally share their opinions about people and situations around a client. After all, they care about us and love does not die. Sometimes they will offer what they view as the highest probability of outcome --- the highest probability of how a person will react or how a situation will resolve. This is based on past patterns and the energy at this moment in time. Ultimately, we each have free will to manifest our own future, so nothing is ever 100% certain. Occasionally, those in Spirit can be quite verbal about what they feel is the right thing. But, remember all your dad, mom, brother, grandmother, etc can offer you is an OPINION. You are in charge of your life and your decisions

Olives

Here's a funny tid-bit for you . . . this happened during a reading recently. After I had brought thru spirit loved ones and they were talking about the people and situations around the client, I sensed and tasted olives. [More fun with clairgustance. Yay!] So I told my client of the impression and asked her, "Who is the olive fanatic?" My client looked at me quizzically for a minute, then said slowly, "I have a very good friend who loves olives." I said, "She LOVES olives and spirit is teasing about how she has to have olives. The olive bar is one of her favorite places." Then my client suddenly exclaimed, "YES! We even went on an Olive Tasting Tour together recently! And I had forgotten about this, she just got a dog and she named the dog Olive!" "Well, now you know what to get her for a gift," I joked. "Olives!" she laughed back.

States of Mental Consciousness

Speaking of vibrational frequency . . . Electrical activity emanating from the brain is displayed in the form of brainwaves. These brainwave states range from deep dreamless sleep to high mental action. The same four brainwave states are common to the human species. Men, women and children of all ages experience the same characteristic brainwaves. They are consistent across cultures and country boundaries. There are four categories of these brainwaves, ranging from the most activity to the least activity. You will probably recognize yourself in some of the examples below and how they relate to spiritual awareness. The accepted states of mental consciousness are as follows: Beta: Alert/Working --- When the brain is aroused and actively engaged in mental activities, it generates beta waves. Beta waves are characteristics of a strongly engaged mind. A person in active conversation would be in beta. A debater would be in high beta. A person making a speech, or a teacher, or a talk show h