christmas wishes

Hello, I've not been posting so regularly because of the busy festive season but come the new year there will be more postings and interesting topics as well as exercises to help you to develop your spiritual gifts. In the meantime I wish you all a peaceful christmas and prosperous new year wherever you are or whatever you are doing. Love and light - Avril Green

what does a spirit look like?

If you're lucky you may see a spirit in a form you can recognise, such as a person wearing clothes from a particular era which enables you to date when the person was in existence upon earth. Quite often though, spirit don't present that way. If they want to communicate with a medium and to pass a message on to someone they know, then they are likely to do so in order that the client will recognise who they are.
If a spirit is just passing through or visiting a location however, you would be more likely to see them in orb form. There are many pictures of orbs on the internet, many of which are not the real thing but also many that are. I usually see them with my eyes and then photograph them.
A common way to see a spirit is to see their chakra system as a heat haze effect. When they try to manifest and want to be seen, which is a difficult thing to achieve for a person who has passed over - it takes an immense amount of energy, the chakras can be visible rather than the physical projection of a body they are trying to create because the chakras store the power needed to manifest. The solar plexus being the power centre or battery pack of the energy system for all of us and therefore the easiest to see as it is larger.
A manifestation is usually a team effort and requires power and knowledge. For a spirit who is earthbound and has not crossed over to their spiritual home, harnessing available energy and holding it is easier and they are able, with practise, to manifest and sometimes very solidly.
It is possible for you to see an earthbound spirit and not realise it because they will look as solid as you or I. You may have walked by someone, sat by someone or even spoken to someone who is not in their physical body. Check back through your photos, you may have captured one.
An earthbound spirit can exist for many hundreds of years, trapped by their own emotion and never show themselves to anyone or they can learn to mimic the appearance of the spirit who visit them to try to get them to cross over. They can copy and learn to manipulate energy over time but a good medium will be able to see the difference immediately between the two energy systems because the earthbound spirit will be more dense in composition and will have little light, there will be no joy in their emotional state and there will be an underlying fear that can be sensed.
Earthbound spirit who become noisy are often ready to be noticed and to be rescued and therefore are trying to get your attention, but not always. A medium would be able to speak with the spirit to find out its intentions. Some spirit become noisy to get the household occupants to leave or to cause the energy of fear within them so that it can feed and grow stronger on the negative energy being produced.
I am always perturbed when people tell me that they have a spirit living in their house and they are happy to share their space with it and they live harmoniously together. This is not right.
Someone who has died needs to go home, to be with their soul group and to progress through the levels of development and understanding that exists in the higher realms. When just one soul from a group is missing then the whole group is held back, they cannot progress as a whole if they are not whole, that is their agreement.
It is not right to share your life with an earthbound spirit either. It can have consequences to you such as the spirit influencing your decisions, your health, finances and them trying to exist through you and then becoming attached to your energy, your personality can change as you become more in tune with the emotions of the spirit. This is not right either, you are an individual with your own path to follow and opportunities to take. Such a cohabitation holds you back too. You need privacy, you have intimate moments and you don't want a spirit watching you all the time, which it will do if it lives in your house or environment. They don't belong in this world anymore and need to go home - a good medium will take a spirit home even if it resists, they do not have choice when it is time to go - they pollute the atmosphere with their thoughts and fears, they clutter the airways of thought transmission and ultimately have their own agenda and become more selfish the longer they are in the astral body state. The majority do not do this on purpose or malevolently but because of the process of becoming an emotional representation of yourself rather than a physical one, it can't be helped. That's why they need to cross over and receive healing and guidance from the light angels. Your energy is being misused by a cohabiting spirit and the situation should not continue. Any medium that tells you that the spirit is happy living with you and does not need to go home is mistaken. There are ways to convince them to leave or at worst take them over without their consent. It comes down to a matter of knowing what's best for the stuck spirit and because the intention to help them is so high in comparison to the fleeting anger they may feel it is regarded by the light beings as being in the spirit's best interests and for the highest good, so the medium (aka me) is excused the interference.
Spirit who are living in the light and wish to let you know that they are alright tend to do so through the dreamstate. They choose this method because it is gentle and you are on the astral plain during this time anyway and so you are easier to access. Their intention is not to frighten you, manifesting before whilst you watch tv would probably be a shock! So they use a gentler method.
For mediums who work clairvoyantly spirit show themselves more subliminally or subjectively. They are given an impression within the mind of their appearance which they then translate. Objective manifestation is when it is seen with the physical eyes and perhaps by more than one person. A medium will know the difference between seeing subjectively and objectively, there is a definate difference in the type of energy and emotion felt during the encounter.
Spirit can also show themselves to you through thoughts. If you have a loud thought that doesn't seem to fit with the way you usually think or the way you structure a sentence and your words, question where that came from - it could be a loved one trying to get a message through, but if the message is hateful, spiteful or negative in any way send it away if you know it doesn't come from you. It may be from an earthbound spirit who is trying to latch on to you and if you tell it to go it will move on, but you must mean it.
Always work with love and never fear and if you are lucky enough to encounter spirit it will be a moment you wont forget.
Tomorrow on the blog cutting the chords - when a relationship ends

tarot cards and crystal balls

Does a medium or psychic reader need tools such as tarot cards or crystal balls? No - not really. Sometimes when reading for a client it's useful to have a fallback. Some clients are more difficult to read than others. If a person is particularly negative or closed minded their energy is dense and the aura sits close to their physical body, this makes it harder for the medium or psychic to penetrate and to make a link to the client's chakra system, which is where information is stored and energy connections made.
In such cases when the medium/psychic is fighting for information instead of it flowing naturally a prop can be a useful distraction for the client to focus upon and therefore alleviating their fears of the process of being read. Also a prop gives the medium/psychic a positive point of focus and leads to the flow of energy and information rather than a mental block which causes the information to cease.
When reading for someone and the medium/psychic has some information that they decide not to pass on to the client because for example it seems harsh or the medium/psychic is uncomfortable with the subject given, the flow of information will pause. Until the statement is made to the client little or no further detail will be given and it becomes a block. The medium/psychic is not the person who can decide what information can be passed to the client, they are an intermediary only, a voice for those with no voice box or a conduit through which information is passed. Using the thought process interferes with the benign condition that the medium/psychic needs to adopt. They should not have an opinion or judge you in any way if a successful reading is to be achieved.
A spirit medium who has a good connection with the spirit world does not need to use props at all but there are times when it helps the client to relax and to calm their nerves during the sitting. Cards and crystal balls and similar tools allow the reader to tune in to psychic energy, a good medium will know the difference between psychic energy or if they are in connection with a spirit person.
The client can tell the difference in the following way; a message from spirit will include a description of the spirit person. It will not necessarily be a physical description of how they looked on earth and how you would recognise them, it can instead be a description of their character and their behaviour and opinions whilst you knew them. That depends on whether the medium is clairvoyant or clairsentient. Some mediums are both but not all mediums can do both, some never see a spirit person and always sense them and the reverse is also true.
Also a message from a spirit person will include evidential details of their existence and will contain memories that you can identify with. It will also contain advice for the future and regarding a current situation. You are able to ask a question of the medium and spirit usually answer in a way you can understand.
When psychic information is being drawn by the psychic the above descriptions are missing, instead you will receive information about a current situation, health issues, and more random details that are not always connected. A psychic reading doesn't hang together the same as a mediumship reading because of the way information is gathered by the psychic from the clients aura.
More usually during a reading there is a mixture of the two techniques which leads to a more rounded and useful reading.
Ultimately it is the mediums job to give reassurance and solid advice to the client, any medium who claims to solve your problems, heal your life or illnesses is breaking UK law. A medium that delivers a string of bad news is not working properly either. Spirit who live in the light do not often give a passing, especially if it will cause distress. It is true that they may give it but it is usually to someone of deeper understanding or if softening the blow is the best thing to do. A medium may pick it up psychically but a reading is supposed to be a positive event. If you have a reading with someone and you come out of it drained, despondent and worried for the future then don't see that medium again, find someone who is registered with the SNU or a registered psychical society where they receive training and guidance and development throughout.
However, don't blame the medium/psychic if they get everything wrong about you and fail to read you. Sometimes this happens to the best mediums. It may be that you are not supposed to have the information. Some of you are here on earth to be a grounding agent, be pragmatic and practical during your life time. You will be connected to earthly and material issues and it's not necessary for you to have esoteric input for a good reason that you may or may not be aware of. Accept it for what it is - not for you. Personally, on the rare occasions that this has happened to me during a sitting, I don't charge a fee. Some mediums do but I am not happy about taking something for nothing. That's not to say that I take responsibility for not being able to retrieve any information for the client, I merely accept that it's not meant to be. If you are going to visit a medium or psychic make sure you go with an open mind, just see what comes and what happens, that's all the medium needs in order to connect with spirit and it makes their job much easier, do not expect or wish for certain things to happen during the reading or for certain people to come through, you may be disappointed, instead trust that what you need and is for your highest good will come.

demons

Yes, they exist. It's surprising where you can see them if you know what to look for. Their favourite place is inside a host - a person - but anywhere will do whilst they are waiting for the next host to come along.
They do not have to hide from daylight, do not have ultimate power, do not respond to religious chantings - until the name of Christ is uttered and even then you must believe to have any effect. They do not make themselves obvious by levitating their host or throwing things around, they are far too crafty for that.
Their purpose is to cause chaos, disruption, damage, fear and grief. All negativity is like nectar to them, so the more they create, the more well fed they are. They operate in the ether of the earth, they are attached to the earth and survive on man's fear. The earth is polluted with man's fear and thought forms making the astral plain a nightmare to navigate.
Demons look for the weak. Drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, addictions, violence and fear are all signs of weakness. Not in the sense that you and I understand weakness but the weakness of the aura - the protective shield around each and every one of us. The aura is weakened by such activity and becomes holed, such holes are easy for the negativity or demonic entity to slip into. Once a demon is inside an aura they become attached to the host and the problems really start.
But, don't become scared to have a drink, smoke a cigarette, have sex. It doesn't work like that, it happens over time, the thoughts of the victim causing the damage more than the activity they partake in. Don't become fearful of the fear. Sounds easy doesn't it?
Having a normal social life and balancing it with good habits of cleanliness, exercise and healthy thoughts will keep the aura whole and repair it when it does wear thin. Laughing a lot and loving yourself and others is the best protection you can have.
If you know yourself well enough you can recognise when you have an attachment or an unwanted entity whispering in your ear and we have experienced it at some time or other in our lives. Your thoughts can take a downward turn, leading you to think more negatively. You become jealous of other's success, you find people more sexually attractive but you lust after them rather than want to get to know them. You may throw your money around more, drive too fast, swear too much, have sex too vigorously, drink too much, eat less, sleep less, try to manipulate others, steal, develop bad habits, nail biting, spitting etc., change your appearance, bitch more, try to belittle others, boast, want to be the centre of attention, be rude, be lewd, be afraid, turn up late for work, miss work, let people down, make sick jokes, be aggressive and lie.
All the above can happen at varying degrees from just having a couple of off days and shaking off the demon to being in full possession and acting drastically out of character.
Some of you will be able to see the demon. It's not as scary as it sounds. A possessed person will display behaviour that you will find unsettling as above and sometimes you may catch a look that crosses their face that you can't identify but which sets you on edge. I usually see black blobs, like ink, moving across and within the eyes, it's unmistakeable to me.
Above all use your instinct, out instincts are rarely wrong and serve as our protection, we should listen to it more than we do. Trust yourself.
If you think that you have a problem with an attachment, stop your vices for at least 3 weeks, live cleanly, be boring, that way the attachment has no hold over you and you are no fun for them. Say a prayer of protection, if you don't believe in the power of the Christ, ask whoever you do believe in to help you instead. See a healer if you want but only one that can deal in such infections because one that doesn't can cause deeper damage. Go to church and ask to be blessed. Finally demons are not all powerful - but you are - take control and tell it to go away.
Some people will never experience anything like the above symptoms and will say that demons and spirits do not exist - they are wrong. I have witnessed too much to think otherwise as have many exorcists, priests, mediums, therapists. In the past I conducted a workshop for a practising psychiatrist and a practising psychologist who both worked intensly with mentally ill and psychotic patients and prisoners. They had seen things that they could not understand nor reconcile with their medical knowledge. We had a meeting of minds and with my input of the spiritual realm managed to explain and solve many of their puzzling cases. Medicine is moving forward and becoming more open towards the mind/body link.

nobody's perfect

We can all get low, we look at other people and their lives and they often seem much better, more organised than our own. We never have enough money, always seem to be catching the others up, never quite making it to our peak. Our problems grow legs as they say.
In my experience, whenever I have met the perfect people with the perfect lives, perfect children, perfect bank balance, they have been far from it.
We all have lessons to learn, we all have experiences that are unpleasant, horrible, hard to deal with and challenging. Having money does not exempt anyone from spiritual law.
Other people have their issues, family problems, relationships that fail, illness, worry and so on. Their finances may help to alleviate stress in some areas but not all. The wealthy mother with the sick son would give it all away in a heart beat to have her son healthy. The rich man in the wheelchair would pay anything for new legs. Health is more important than wealth they say, that's a reasonable statement if you have the wealth. What we need to aim for is balance. Money should bring freedom and yet many people I know who have money have allowed it to create a prison for themselves. They surround themselves with a large house, buy extra cars, find false friends and live to the extent of their means. Money should allow choices - live modestly and more choices will be revealed.
Money often brings nothing but misery for some, they don't like the changes in a partner or the attitude of friends to their wealth, their whole lives change and for what, some paper and discs of metal? for that is how spirit see money.
Perfection has nothing to do with wealth - it is to do with the heart. When the heart is open and in balance all good things flow freely to and from the person. It is true that the universe will provide what you need but not always in a way that you expect or understand.
Perfection is what you perceive it to be and everyone has a different idea of what that is and of course there are different kinds of perfection and your ideals will change with age and maturity. Spiritual perfection is balance of the mind and body, then all good things will follow, but it is a difficult state to achieve and one that requires input from others, be they friends, family, therapists or healers. We need others to highlight our failings and congratulate our strong points, then we, in turn, help them.
I look at young girls striving for physical perfection and I worry for them, will anything ever be good enough for them? Girls as young as 15 are wanting lip implants, botox and treatments that will change their bodies and facial features. They can't see that they are perfect already. Does lack of love cause this reaction? I don't think it does, it stems from insecurity but not from their parents. All teens want to fit in, they don't want to look different, it used to be fashion they followed and they would all dress the same way, the current fashion is for the face to look a certain way - so that's what they strive for. I cringe when I think of some of the outfits I wore in the 80's but I have been able to throw them in the bin, these girls and boys can't run away from their faces and the permanent changes they are making.
The media needs to recognise that every individual is perfect in their own way, unique, as they should be, and should push that instead of cloned, plasticised models. You are perfect in the eyes of the universe and those who love you.

questions welcome

To those of you enjoying reading my blog I say thank you. Comments and questions are welcome.

negativity - the virus

Negativity breeds - fast. You only need one moaner to start complaining about the world, the weather, the traffic, the cost of fuel, the cost of food etc., and soon everyone's at it. The world is ever changing and we don't like change, we like to know where we're at. We have to accept the changes we can do nothing about. Some people are better placed than us to make a stand, to protest or complain, so let them do it, it may not be your job. Some of us are here to help others along, to encourage and teach, to guide or to lead. We are not all cut out for standing up to be counted.
Violence also breeds fast, it runs in families quite often or areas. Take the football match where one person strikes the first blow or throws something onto the pitch - it's not long before many follow. It takes a stronger soul to break the pattern.
Only when faced with true adversity or illness do we often appreciate the wonder of the world we live in. The impending loss of someone loved can make you look at life differently, even the rain becomes a source of beauty, every snowflake a miracle. The fact that we have food easily obtainable amazing and clean running water from our taps within easy reach a godsend. It brings us a more spiritually based form of perspective. Parents with a sick child do not really care about fuel prices - they care about their child more and their energies go into that - they have none left for worldy matters.
We might feel negative, grumpy and low but we can still spread positivity and light which in turn brings about a change of energy and improvement in circumstances eventually.
Try to recognise when you are being a pessimist or negative and target it for change. Smile instead of frown. Start your day off on a positive note and the rest of the day will take care of itself. We all know negative people, for some it has become habit to be miserable, don't let them take you down the same path. Be the stronger soul and change the pattern.

what the medium feels when spirit touch them

For a medium to communicate with spirit people there has to be an overlap of energies. When the energies merge and overlap there is a sharing of information, not just of the mind and thought, but of physical senses too.
For example, if a spirit person wishes to let the medium know that they passed over with a heart attack, they will send the signal to the medium's nervous system and adrenal glands (with help from the spirit guides) the medium's body then manufactures the sense of the heart attack. The medium will feel the heart beat change, thump more heavily in their chest, become quickened or slowed. They will also feel the pins and needles that are often present during an attack and they will feel the pain in the chest and the dizziness associated with it. Although those symptoms sound distressing the medium will not feel them to a degree that is incapacitating and will sense a milder form of the attack. However, when working with guides and spirit communicators there is alot of learning to do on both sides, so it's important for the medium to take control and know their own limits. If for example, the sensation of a heart attack was becoming strong and overwhelming the medium must tell the guides to stop transmitting the information. They have no desire to harm the medium but neither do they know how sensitive the medium is to their frequencies, communication is an ongoing experiment as everyone has different levels of toleration.
The medium must practise regularly for communication with spirit in order to interpret the signals that their body receives. The medium must study the symptoms of illness too so that sensations are correctly interpreted along with a basic understanding of anatomy.
When a spirit wishes to communicate sadness the medium will feel the sadness, the energy will remain strong and it feels like a strong downward pull within the heart chakra, a sinking feeling and the energy will feel flat. When a spirit communicates happiness and a bubbly personality the solar plexus is used and it feels like a tickle, the medium can't help but smile, the energy is lifted and becomes vibrant and is usually clearly transmitted. When a spirit wishes to convey a stroke the medium will feel a pain in the head, loss of sensation in the affected limbs and a dizzy feeling. If the medium is unfortunate enough to feel the energy of a suicide victim the appropriate parts of the medium's body will be affected, a hanging will be felt as a tightening around the throat, sometimes the object used for suicide or murder is felt within or around the body too.
Sharp pain felt by the spirit will be felt as sharp pain by the medium but will be weaker so as not to cause distress to the nervous system. Someone who was blind will affect the medium by blurring or obscuring the vision, the medium is often left in no doubt about symptoms and conditions felt by the spirit during their life.
This type of mediumship is called physical. Many mediums who work clairvoyantly or clairsentiently don't acknowledge that this part of their mediumship belongs in the physical category but when the body and adrenal glands are being used in this way it is using more of the physical components within the body of the medium than the mental.
For usual communication with the spirit world the adrenal glands are used but not as fully as they are for physical evidence. The guides use the brain, the pituitary gland, the thalamus and the hypothalamus for mental mediumship. The medium will sense this information often as pictures in the mind, or an urge to speak. They will give information to the sitter that they could not possibly know. This type of communication is usually quite smooth but the main stumbling block is the medium's own thought process. It is habit and human nature to try to work things out that don't make sense. We have to understand puzzles and the human brain is programmed to solve problems. In order to be a good medium it is necessary for the medium to hand over the use of their brain to the guides, therefore being passive and quieting their own mind. The medium is the bearer of the message, the middle person and should never change or influence the content of the message although sadly this does happen. Either through lack of development and training, lack of understanding or sometimes the medium just keeps talking and passing information to a sitter in order not to appear incapable. These readings are usually meaningless to the sitter and a good medium will tell the sitter that they are not getting anything for them, you can't force mediumship. If you are seeking a medium always ask what training they have had and if they belong to a recognised governing body.
It is true that a medium will sense and feel all that a spirit wishes to convey via the guides and also true that sometimes the symptoms stay with the medium for a while afterwards as the energy takes some time to dissipate from the nervous system. A trance medium suffers greatly for their service. After just a twenty minute trance session a medium will need five days to a week to recover, every muscle hurts, there is a soreness in the body similar to that felt when you get the flu, the fatigue is great and the brain fogged. The wear and tear on the body is huge, but many trance mediums feel it is worth it for the results of spirit evidence. I have witnessed transfiguration and it is an amazing thing to see demonstrated but it is rare because it takes a certain kind of person to be able to give themselves over to spirit completely. If you get the chance to see it - take the opportunity to see the rare phenomenon.
It's very difficult for a medium to hand over control to spirit, the human spirit is programmed to stay in the heart chakra until the point of death, so to leave before that time is unnatural. The medium has to force their body and mind into a relaxed state and push their consciousness from their body to a place of rest while the body is used by spirit beings. The medium's spirit has a strong desire to re-enter its bodily vehicle so many hours of practise are needed to maintain the trance state for any length of time.
When the trance state begins the medium is often in a sitting position, they may feel tipped in any direction, they may spin and feel pulled from their body. A cobweb sensation can be felt over the face and numbness of limbs and extreme cold may or may not occur. The ears buzz and ring and there is deafness and the eyes often burn. Nausea is felt and at the last second a burst of fear. It is hard to relax in such conditions but there are trance mediums whose dedication brings clear evidence time and time again.

meditation - sitting in the silence

How important is meditation for contacting the spirit world?
It's vital. If we are going to become aware of senses outside of ourselves we have to sit in silence and get to know the rhythm of our own bodies before we can begin to understand external energies. You don't have to be training to be a medium to want to receive answers to your deepest questions or to sense the higher world. Some people meditate for peace, to combat stress and to find an inner stillness. Others meditate for decision making, to contact spirit guides and for personal spiritual development. It's your choice, but it's a good idea to set the intention before you start, that way the mind is clearer.
People have a misconception about meditation in that they believe that the mind should have no thoughts during the silence. Of course this is practically impossible. The mind is complicated, thoughts come and go all the time, it is unrealistic to expect the thought process to halt just because you expect it to. The trick to quieting the mind is to ignore its ramblings. With practise it becomes easier to allow thoughts to come to you, but not to acknowledge them. To let them flow over you and away without following the train of thought they tempt you with. You can imagine them flowing gently away down a stream if it helps you to visualise.
Meditation is a healthy practise and can help in times of stress to give perspective and balance. Meditiaion for spirit contact is different however. To sit in the silence for spirit contact you must meditate regularly and at the same hour each time for the best results. You need the discipline and regular sitting means that the energy builds up within you gently and steadily.
A little tip if you are meditating with spirit and think that you have made a connection is to get a confirmation from the guide or spirit. You can ask for a confirmation or affirmation to be made in your aura, if positive you will feel the aura shudder from top to bottom and may feel emotion too. Also when you ask a question you often receive the answer before you have finished asking and before your thinking brain has had time to work out any logical answer. You learn with practise to recognise the signs that are personal to you. You can, if you like, write as you meditate. Just let the words flow without thinking too much about the content until you read it back afterwards.
You can meditate with a candle, or card or any object you like to focus on. You can play soft music or use a singing bowl or similar to set the tone. It's up to you. Just remember that when you bring yourself back into your wakeful state to ground yourself, drink some water and eat something. Meditation can bring altered states of consciousness so it's important that you are sensible and don't do it after drinking alcohol - as for drugs - the two things don't go together and can be dangerous. As long as you work safely you should enjoy your time of peace and self indulgence.

how to cleanse an energy field

We all have an energy field - an aura. Some people are lucky enough to be able to see the energy in the form of colour and movement and some can sense it.
Most of us have sensed the aura without even realising. You know the feeling - you walk into a room and you can cut the atmosphere with a knife. Or we don't like being around a certain person or group of people, somehow they make you feel uncomfortable or unsafe. These are times when your energy field is communicating to you and really we should all take more notice of the signs we receive. You should always trust your gut instinct.
If we have spent some time in an environment that we find unpleasant or unfriendly with people that are the same then we carry some of that energy within our aura. Think of the aura as an antenna that receives information, in order to process that information it must absorb some of the energy.
The aura is naturally able to cleanse itself to some degree and often when we leave a destructive or negative place or person the aura will shiver the contamination from it. We recognise it as a shiver down our spine and shoulders.
There is always a chance though that the absorbed part of the contamination will remain or if the energy has made you feel angry, tired or depressed it may be that you have allowed it to reach as far as the chakra system and affect your emotions. If that is the case a cleansing exercise is needed. Ideally you should cleanse your energy as regularly as you wash physically in order to stay clean and clear. That way you know that if you are feeling emotions they are your own and don't belong to someone else. We are sensitive beings, some more sensitive that others, but we all have the same physiology both physically and energetically.
The following exercise can be performed quickly or you can take your time. It can be used individually or for groups, buildings, cars or wherever energy needs to be purified. There are many ways to cleanse an atmosphere or person but this I have found to be the most effective. No tools are needed, it is free and easy to remember. It was taught to me by a spirit guide and there are clear reasons for each of the colours used.
Imagine before you what or whoever needs to be cleansed, if it is you then put the light into yourself at the appropriate points.
At the crown of the head imagine pure white light entering the body/house/car etc. Allow the light to fill the body completely, next allow green light to enter the soles of the feet/ground floor of the house etc. Green light belongs to the earth and everything with earth energy - that is to say everything physical - contains this energy therefore it must be renewed and replaced.
When a person performs a cleansing exercise and only brings in divine light through the crown they are ignoring their physical self and will find that they live in their head too much, they are too dreamy and lose focus on their lives. They think too much and do not have the balance of the spiritual/physical life as it should be. Bringing in the physical energy of the earth allows healing to take place, renewal of the cellular structure and grounding.
Then add golden light through the crown, this is the angelic ray and will bring guidance and peace into your aura enabling you to cope with situations and to see things in a more philosophical way. Blend these coloured lights together. Then cease the flow of light from the crown and feet until it is just a thin strand, do not cut off altogether.
Next in the heart imagine the pink light of love. Allow the light to grow and fill your aura with it. This is the protection of love. It will help to absorb negativity that comes to you and dissolves negativity within you. It will help to attract love to you.
Then put a thin bubble shell around your aura to lock all your good work in. You will still send and receive information via your aura, it will not be cut off from the outside influences, it will just be able to handle them better.
Finally centre your Hara line, there should be a solid white line that runs from the top of your head down to the root chakra. Then imagine small roots growing from the soles of your feet and into the earth to ground you so that you can function in the world.
Try the exercise, if you use it as a spiritual technique then that's good, if  you use it as a mental technique to bring peace into your busy schedule then that's even better because you are taking time out for yourself and acknowledging your body and spirituality which in turn will make you feel better and more balanced. You can't lose.

a teenager's energy

A teenager has so much going on their body. Chemicals and hormones flying about all over the place. It's no wonder that they can be challenging to live with. They are impressionable, it is easy for energy to stick to them and for them to bring it into the home upsetting the balance. They are able to throw their energy around, scattering themselves in the process which leads to irrational behaviour, extra fatigue and aggression.
Keeping cool and always sending them the vibration of love is so important at this time in their lives when they are learning to be responsible adults. We are their example.
It is okay to be human, to have disagreements, to argue, to discuss and challenge, but it must be dissolved afterwards with the energy of love and peace. Never go to bed on an argument my Nan used to say - and she was right. The ill feeling and negative energy fester and only serve to make you ill and stressed. Diffuse the situation with apologies and talking, keep the lines of communication open. Never judge, always guide. Our children are not truly ours, we do not own them. We merely have them in our guardianship and it is our job to guide, nurture and give them the life experiences that their soul desires.
Having children in our care is an opportunity for us to soar up the spiritual ladder through our behaviour, kindness and love.
Teenagers may not be cute babies anymore but they need love more than ever. They suffer huge insecurities, have lessons of life thrust upon them when they least expect it. They try to fit into society. They have pressures to perform and achieve. Youth has so many blessings and so many pitfalls.
Teenagers need their space. They need to be alone sometimes. If your teen is having a bad time send them the energy of love and take note of the difference in their behaviour.
Imagine your teen standing before you, imagine that they are surrounded by pink light, the pink light becomes a bubble, the light travels through your teen, it swirls in their aura, it is locked in around them by the bubble. Do the same to yourself and the members of your household, then your house, then your vehicles. Ask for the angels to keep you all safe and guide you.
When you are shouting at your teen or arguing, question if you would speak to or behave in such a way with anyone else's child, or any adult. If the answer is no, then you are disrespecting your child - the most precious person in your life - the person with the most potential to make you proud - the person who is capable of giving you the deepest connection to your heart you will ever experience - the person you made a spiritual promise to of love and raising. Don't fail your children. A teen is not an adult and not a young child. They are in a transitional stage of development and need to have allowances made for the difficulties this can bring. Love and light are the way.
Tomorrow - how to cleanse a teens energy field

grief - here and there

When we lose someone close to us, through natural means or through tragedy, it is painful in the extreme. It is difficult to understand death; why someone loved would leave us, especially when they are young and full of life.
Feeling bereft, lonely and sad is natural. The energy of grief has its stages, it is a process that must be gone through and can't be ignored. Anger too is a natural stage of grief and understandable in situations where people have unresolved issues, unsaid words or have left problems and debt behind them.
Grief brings questions not just about life but the purpose of death. For some the questioning of God and His existence are to the fore - afterall why let someone love another only to be broken by their loss? Who could be so cruel - surely not a loving God?
Deep inside most of us there is a desire to believe that there is a God, that we are cared for, loved and watched over and indeed we are, but not in the way that some think.
Higher power is a benign source. It learns via us and our experiences, it will not interfere with our free will and therefore change our fortunes - our soul would not want that. All experience when seen at soul level is valued, however traumatic it may seem at the time.
For those who are grieving a sense of perspective of the overall picture can be helpful, but some are not ready for philosophy - their pain is still too raw. Understanding of the grieving process and the reasons for someones death can help the bereaved to heal, but what about those people that lose someone in extraordinary circumstances or the missing? Where questions are left unanswered? How do those people continue to live in despair?
Could you deny such a person some solace whatever the means? Mediumship can provide that solace. It can answer questions that no-one else can even guess at.
I have given messages to the grieving many times. I have sat with the mother whose son died riding his motorbike. I have held the hand of the father whose son hung himself. I have cried with the sister of a murder victim.
I have also described the appearance and character of the motorbike son and reunited him with his mother when no-one else could. I gave the father of the son a message containing intimate information only they could know. The murdered sister brought love and peace to her distraught sibling via mediumship. All of these meetings were possible through the power of love which cancels out all negative or harmful emotions.
I have many examples of profound experiences that have brought nothing but peace and understanding to my clients. Some I have charged a fee for, but many I have not, especially the more heart-breaking situations - how could I? Could you?
Through the wonderful people I have met I have gained understanding and compassion but also gratitude for the simplicity of my own life in contrast. Grief is helped to heal by understanding the process of death and its meaning for the person who has made the transition to spirit.
A person does not feel pain at the point of death - the spirit will be released before unbearable pain can be experienced. It will decide when enough is enough.
If you have a loved one in the spirit world who you are grieving for remember this:- think of them with love, remember the happy times for they receive the energy of the thoughts you send them. If the thoughts are of love then they will be able to come closer to you and your healing will be quicker. If you send grief and anger, your loved one will receive that energy too. The negative or heavier thoughts will cloud your aura and they will not be able to come close and give you comforting thoughts. If you love them, send them love so that you both heal together. They miss you too. They grieve too but they come to understanding faster than we do here on earth because of the healing and counselling they receive in the afterlife.
Grief is cruel, but is also a fact of life. Our hearts will break time and time again but in the end we will all be together in the light.

spirituality V spiritualist

Spirituality is not the same as being a spiritualist. People do get the two things mixed up but there are differences.
A person who is a spiritualist believes in the existence of the human soul after the death of the physical body. They often believe in reincarnation but not always. Some believe in Jesus Christ as a power and protection source, but not all. Some have a Christian faith and some do not and instead believe that there is a source of power and creation and that it is not for us to name.
Spiritualists who are practising their beliefs do not do anything special in their lives to set them apart from anyone else. They celebrate Christmas and birthdays, they have parties, they drink and eat a normal diet. They attend their church when they can, some prefer the divine service when prayers will be said and others feel more at home with the clairvoyant service where some philosophy will be given prior to messages from spirit via the attending medium. These services offer a means of comfort to the bereaved and bring people together. It would be unfair to criticise the practise without attending for yourself.
A person who has a spiritual outlook on life is not saying that they believe in anything other than being a good person and demonstrating love. Some people are more spiritual than others and that may come about through experiences during their life or simply their upbringing. They are often open minded and accept new experiences easily. They are philosophical about life and the challenges it brings and they value the people in their lives enormously. They are often generous and forgiving but not perfect - none of us are.
A spiritualist medium is someone who has reason to believe in the spirit world because of evidence given to them and their own direct experience of spirit, either sensing or seeing. When such a profound event happens in their lives they are drawn to research more deeply the hidden world. They then may choose to dedicate their lives to providing evidence to others, to training, to teaching and to furthering their own mediumship to a high standard. A spiritualist can be a spiritual person but a spiritual person is not necessarily involved in the belief of the spirit world.
Not everyone who lives under the label of spiritual has the same outlook, we are all different with our own ways of looking at life. Our experiences make us unique. There are good mediums and there are bad, there are wonderful people in the world and some you would rather not get to know. You can't like everyone and it's alright to be choosy who you allow to get close to you but not everyone should be thought of as the same just because they profess an interest in a certain way of life. There are many arms to spirituality and we can all find our place. Live well and harm no-one.

A noisy spirit - the poltergeist

If I was being ignored I reckon I would chuck a few things around and get a little noisy after a while don't you?
People fear the noisy spirit, the ghost but it is just a person. Just. A. Person.
A person who is frustrated, stuck between here and there, feared and ignored. Misunderstood and desperate for help.
When a spirit is trapped or earth-bound, they haven't crossed over to the spirit world properly and have hung back for any number of reasons. Their guides and loved ones that come to collect them cannot force them to cross over, they have to be willing and ready.
People can become trapped for a long, long time, hundreds of years. During that time the spirit person's awareness shrinks and they become the sum of their emotions. They can be sad, angry, confused, hateful, afraid or any combination of those feelings.
When we sense a ghost or earthbound spirit we pick up on their emotion and may feel their fear or anger which in turn frightens us as we can mistakenly think it is directed at us.
Knowledge is power. Understanding their predicament and being able to talk to them and using techniques to hold their attention whilst you speak to them all help to rescue them. That's all spirit rescue is - showing a lost soul the way home. It is a very humble form of mediumship as is healing and is undervalued by today's attention seeking celebrity mediums in my opinion. It is the backbone of mediumship and by contrast is highly valued in the higher realms of our existence and by those who reside there.
No medium can do it alone, there is usually someone on the other side to meet the spirit and failing that an angel will greet them. No-one is abandoned, no-one is unloved.
It is a sorry day when a ghost hunting party, complete with resident medium, try to track a spirit, speak to it, ask it to make a noise, in some cases goad it, then leave the ghost in situ for the next event. Do they forget that it is a person? A soul just like themselves? Someone's child or parent, someone lost?
If we are to believe that we are all one then it becomes easier to extend our love to others for they are the part of ourselves that needs healing.

monsters under the bed

We have all had nightmares and those of us with children will be familiar with the screeching or crying child in the middle of the night that claims that monsters are under their bed or in the wardrobe.
So what do you do with a child that insists they are seeing things?
My advice would be not to dismiss it out of hand. Children are very perceptive and some see and sense spirit but also they can pick up on any disturbance within the household and manifest symptoms so that they get attention (not intentionally) of some kind.
For the child that tells you they can see monsters or someone in their room I would be sympathetic and gentle. Ask what the child saw, how it felt, what it said or did and how it made them feel? Where they think it is now and if it's been before or is likely to come back. Do they recognise the person or get a sense of why they have come to see them?
Such questions will reassure the child that you are interested and you will get a measure of what they may be seeing or if it was just a dream.
I would not tell a child to stop being silly or accuse them of making things up. It's important to keep communication channels open with children of all ages and supporting them is a parent's job - even if it is in the middle of the night. A good tip is to empower the child by giving them a technique to send the beasties away. You could have them spraying magic spray into the room to cleanse it, you could give them an angel doll or crystal that will guard them and so on. Protection is about belief of being safe and these mental techniques work.
Children who see spirit are not obvious as the movies depict. They are happy, lively children with friends and interests. This is what draws spirit to them.
As an adult who sees spirit people and energy it can at times be frightening, especially before you understand what you are seeing. With the knowledge and experience I have I can usually work things out quickly but for a child, seeing things that don't make sense can be terrifying. It doesn't mean that they will always see or grow up to be a medium. As we grow into adulthood our responsibilities often take the place of sensitivities we have as children and we become conditioned and numb to our extra senses, then we have to work hard to get them back again!

a simple exercise for mind expansion - symbolism

Below are some simple techniques for expanding the mind with regards to objects. We tend to take things at face value. We see something, we name it as we are conditioned to do, we move on. If we spend longer looking at something we may see more or something different than we at first realised.
There may be subtleties that are easily missed that with a closer look become the beauty of the object in hand.
Take for example a rose. Just a flower. Just a rose. You can see them all the time, they are familiar and innocuous.
To expand your mind you must examine the rose in minute detail and take your time discovering it as though for the first time. You look at the rose, you smell the rose, you notice the velvet of its petals and the way they curl so beautifully. You appreciate its perfection. Is it in full bloom or a bud? What does that signify for you?
Now you notice the colour. The next part of the exercise is to recognise what a rose means to you. Is it love, or a memory of something specific? Does it put you in mind of a relative? Could it be a name? Is a rose personal or something you associate with valentine's day or a wedding? Everyone has their own way of perceiving an object and you must recognise what things mean to you if you are to interpret spirit people successfully.
Now think of the colour of the rose. Whatever colour you have imagined your rose to be is meaningful to you. Spirit will bring their own colours to you for interpretation.
My rose is yellow. It reminds me of my grandma who grew and picked yellow roses because they were her favourite. It also takes me to the summer months when she would harvest the best ones for a vase. So a yellow rose for me means a close bond with another person and the summer months being significant in that relationship. Simple.
Your colour may remind you of a person, a time, a memory or a season. An event, a celebration or a funeral. It could symbolise romance to you. Think about all aspects of the rose and what they evoke in your mind. When you have exhausted examining the flower then you can move on to something else such as a piece of fruit, a vehicle, a tool, a book, a bird, an animal, a colour etc.
Spirit people can only work with the material that is already in your brain. It is very hard for them to plant information in your thoughts without there being something to build on unless you are in a trance state - and that is hard to achieve.
If you want to give structured, thoughtful and intelligent messages then the study of symbolism is important and practise of communication is vital. You don't have to know everything but the more you do know will make you a better and more interesting person as well as a good conduit for spirit.

symbolism

Spirit often communicate through symbolism. Imagine if the only way you could communicate was through pictures, you would have to be clever about the way you structured your message to someone so that it was received clearly and as intended. Many mediums rely on pictures received subtley through the third eye to build a structured message for a client. But what are the symbols?
Actually they're not symbols at all, they are just pictures of everyday objects that mean something to the medium. Every medium is different and it takes years of study to become quick and fluent in interpreting a message. Many times the message is misconstrued to mean something similar or not what the spirit person intended to say - often only the client/sitter can know for sure - the medium is reliant on their feed-back.
For example, if a spirit person impressed upon me the image of a daisy I would interpret that to mean summer, the month of August to be precise. My guides know that's what the daisy means to me and will help the spirit person to communicate their message through me. A daisy to another medium may mean a person, the name of a pet or a pattern on fabric. It's all down to personal experience and interpretation.
The colour pink to me means feminine love, the love of a mother or grandmother being sent to the client. To someone else it could be a colour that they can't stand or the colour of medicine or a name or even a baby girl.
It takes years of practise and giving messages, studying the craft of mediumship and communication to be able to pass on a meaningful reading with depth and accuracy. You need intelligence and empathy towards people to understand their problems and to get close to their energy so that they trust you enough to allow the message to come through naturally - without fighting for the information - which brings about a successful and healing sitting.
There is a huge responsibility on the part of the medium too and many novices and amateurs forget that. To give another person advice, that you say is from spirit (therefore passing the onus from yourself onto spirit), to have them accept that advice and perhaps act upon it is an honour and not something to be taken lightly. A medium has the ability to assist to change a person's life and that change should always be a positive one. A student of the esoteric has to have the best intentions at heart, must not cause harm and always work with love and kindness. There is no place for resentment, anger or any negative emotion when working with energy.
If you want to be a medium, healer or therapist of any kind then strive to be the best that you can be. Study your subject, immerse yourself in it, learn all there is to know. I have studied the paranormal and spirituality and religion for more than twenty years and still learn more on a daily basis. I will never be done - I will never know it all but I can be a good person, have integrity and be honest and teach what I have learned to others and so can you.
Tomorrow on this blog - a simple exercise to explore your thoughts on different objects which will expand your interpretation of symbolism ability.

How to connect to the spirit world

It's the question everyone wants the answer to. Surprisingly it's easy to connect to the spirit world, whether you should or not is your decision. There are plenty of books and websites out there that will give you methods of contact so I have no problem with giving you an easy method here on my blog. This works for me and for many other mediums, it is safe as long as your intentions are good ones and you work with love. Try and work for self gain or manipulation of others and you're on your own, I'm not coming to fetch you from where you're going. So - the connection.
First find a place to sit down. Somewhere not too comfortable that you could go to sleep and not lying down because you will definately will drop off!
Make sure you are not hungry but have not just eaten a heavy meal, have water by your side, switch the phone off.
Close the curtains if you want to, have music if you want to, surround yourself with crystals if you want to - please yourself but none of these will make any difference to your connection. If spirit want to commune with you they will come regardless.
Whether you believe in a protective higher power or not is your choice, however it is always a good idea to ask the Source for protection when you work with spirit. I say a little prayer at this point, acknowledge how cared for I am, state that I work with love and ask for protection and guidance whilst I try to evolve. (psychic protection is ultimately your own responsibility. Guides will help if you ask but the object is to get you to be responsible for your own thoughts, actions and safety.)
Next take a few deep breaths and relax. Sit upright with your palms uppermost resting on your knees and your legs uncrossed, feet planted on the floor. Eyes closed but if you prefer them open - do that. We all sense in different ways.
Next imagine before you a gate. Any kind of gate, spirit don't care. Open the gate and walk through. This is you beginning to meet the spirit world half way. Close the gate after you. Don't worry you will be able to get back through it.
Imagine a path in front of you. There is only one path, to the left is forest or whatever you like and to the right is water or forest, again whatever you like. Your job is to stay on the path and walk ahead. Notice the flowers that border the path, notice the light that surrounds you, look at things close up, examine them for detail, how do you feel?
Then imagine a park bench on the right-hand side of the path and go and sit on it. Pick a flower that grows by the bench and look at its colour, the shape of the petals, smell its perfume, feel the velvety petals. Then notice a face emerging from the centre of the flower. It will be someone you know, someone in spirit who loves you and wishes to be remembered. When the person is clear in your mind look to your right and they will be sitting beside you on the bench.
Have a chat. A laugh. Share a memory. Arrange to meet again in the same place.
To come home all you need to do is to say goodbye and walk back down the path, through the gate, and bring your awareness into your body.
Put your hands together in the prayer position and imagine locking your astral body (which looks just like your physical one) back into you. Finally imagine small roots growing from the soles of your feet into the ground - to ground you so that you are not spaced out, dreamy or unable to concentrate.
Then - you're done. You can try this two or three times a week for ten to twenty minutes but no more to begin with. Try to sit around the same time each time so that spirit know where to find you and you build some discipline. Take a note of what you see so that you can record your progress.
At the very least you will have had a few minutes meditation and at best you will make a connection that will uplift you and give you strength for the future. So there you have it; easy peazy.

when spirit want you

It's all very well us here trying to connect with the spirit world but what about when they want to tell you something?
When someone passes to spirit they essentially stay the same, except they don't have a physical body or needs any more. Their character and personality however, remain. They may have more understanding and be more tolerant or humorous but you will still recognise them if they come to you in a reading.
When your head is busy with modern life and its distractions we forget to access our inner selves and connect with our own spirit so what chance do our spirit friends have of contacting us?
They have numerous methods of getting our attention but they are mostly subtle and mustn't intrude on our own thoughts too much or influence our choices too strongly - they are not allowed to interfere with our free will.
The most common connection is by dreaming about someone who is in spirit or living. This possibly means that spirit are trying to connect you to someone who needs your help or support or if you dream of a dead loved one that they are trying to give you a message. Try to analyse these dreams as they are special and usually hold a symbolic message that needs a bit of thought.
Another way that spirit can connect with us is by coincidence. They give us a thought, we recieve it and think it is our own mind, then a moment later you hear the song, hear or speak the words, or see a picture that connects all the things together. Don't dismiss coincidence as nothing. The other way they reach us is via others. I don't mean just through mediums but by our friends and family. When someone is thoughtful and gives us a card or gift just because they wanted to or calls us, it is lovely and is often influenced by spirit. Those kinds of gifts often come to us when we need them the most.
A favourite song is played just as you happen to turn the radio on, you notice the flowers that someone loved, any visual reminder could be spirit giving you a nudge.
They can of course come to us in visitation too. This is when they temporarily leave their spirit home and pass through the dividing dimensions to ours. We can sense them when they are that close and it is what happens when mediums work. When they are near you it can make you feel like you're being watched, you may smell a perfume or cigarette smoke or other familiar odours that you connect to a person. You may hear their breath, hear movement or even speech. If you are lucky you may even get a glimpse of them.
The best way to connect with them though is through meditation. There are different ways to meditate and everyone does it differently. With practise it is possible to be able to tune in very quickly when sensing spirit. It is a last resort when spirit start moving things or pushing things off shelves and tables to get your attention. By this time they are becoming frustrated at your lack of awareness!
If you do decide to tune in and meditate for contact always work with love and good intention and keep your sense of humour - you'll need it.

DOES POSSESSION EXIST?

The simple answer is yes, it does. It's more common than people realise and I see it regularly, once you know the signs it's easy to spot.
Religious organisations also recognise that possession exists, the Churches don't employ exorcists for the sake of it and in recent times more exorcists have been trained to deal with demand. The Catholic church admits that it has exorcists and always has, it documents and relates stories of possession and their subsequent cleansings, there are no secrets. They have even made TV shows to demonstrate the depth of the problem.
The best tip to spotting possession is to learn to read eyes. It's said that they are the windows to the soul and in part that statement is true. We have all seen pictures of criminals or terrorists in the newspapers and we see the expressions on their faces, we see the blackness in their eyes and we say 'how could anyone not see it? it is so obvious.' It really is that clear to see, you just have to bother to look. We all see people on TV who are full of arrogance, over-confident without the talent or ability to back up their boasting. Such people are not just simple minded they are instead possessed.
There are different grades of possession. A mild case would be someone whose personality only demonstrates the lower self. Such a person may have many vices, be obsessed with sex, smoke and drink too much, be over-confident, arrogant and over-bearing, they may have little respect for others and insist that they are always right.
Someone who has a spirit or entity within their aura may have subtle personality changes and ideas that don't seem to be their own. They may withdraw from people and act out of character. They may also be more tired than usual as the attached entity draws energy from them, its aim is to get into the physical body so until then it keeps a low profile and hides in the energy of its host so as to remain undiscovered. (A note to the healers amongst you - you should always cleanse a client before giving healing energy or you will be merely feeding the entity and making it stronger.)
When the entity gets into a persons chakras more profound personality changes will take place. You may notice a definite change in behaviour with the person concerned changing almost from one minute to the next. They will be argumentative, disrespectful, full of self importance, swear, be aggressive or passive aggressive. Also they will become manipulative, crafty and lie to get their own way. They can smoke more, drink more, perhaps take drugs and be more sexually active and aggressive during sex. They are self-interested and hard faced, their character changes although the basic self remains and you will recognise them, you will feel uncomfortable around them and would rather not be with them.
A demonic possession will be all of the above incorporating childish behaviour and pettiness coupled with  violence both physical and mental. They will display loss of control, temper and anger when obstacles are put in their way and all of the above will be exaggerated. They are more ambitious, want fame and have less inhibitions. They will do everything that is bad for their health, the aim of the demon is to destroy the spirit, the light that is carried by it and to feed from the negative energy the possession creates until the ultimate destruction of the possessed person. The demon will lthen move on to the next host.
The earlier a possession is recognised and dealt with the better the chances are for a full recovery.
My tip is to look people in the eyes, get the measure of them by what you see and sense. Don't worry too much about people who can't look you in the eyes in return, some people are shy, sensitive or private, they have nothing to hide but don't have the confidence to meet you head on. A demon or bad spirit will more often look right at you to intimidate you so take the opportunity to have a good look.
Usually people who end up possessed are weak minded in some way, but all possessions can be healed by someone who knows what they are doing.
Possession is not to be confused with mental illness conditions. There is an overlap at times of the two but mental conditions also exist and have their own identity, each case must be examined individually.
To avoid possession yourself, be good, take of yourself and those you love. Don't over-indulge. Take exercise, laugh a lot, have a good work-life balance, see friends and don't brood over things that go wrong. Life throws many challenges our way and most people don't have time to worry about spiritual matters as well as physical ones but it pays to be aware of your inner self and its needs, your moods and when you're not feeling yourself. Most people can shake off a potential possession by being balanced and laughter and happiness always shake the grip of the negative forces right off.

Ego and mediumship

The ego is an intangible thing and yet we all know someone with a big opinion of themselves and we see such people on reality shows constantly. The person with the huge ego is the only one not to see that they speak utter rubbish, that no-one takes them seriously or they make idiots of themselves. Most of us can spot this person, remove ourselves from their company and avoid them but what if you are that person - even just a little?
How do you know when your ego is getting the upper hand of your personality?
When I was a developing medium this subject came up time and time again and it is important to eliminate the voice of the ego - or your lower self - in order to be successful at receiving information from spirit and higher evolved beings.
There are several reasons why the ego of another person is offensive to us but when working in the subtle realms it is dangerous. See my earlier post 'like attracts like.'
There is a wonderful book available written by Eckhart Tolle that describes the ego perfectly called The Power of Now. If you are trying to develop as a medium, a healer or as a person - this book needs to be read. Techniques in the book show you how to quieten the voice in your head - you know the one that natters all the time, it talks away and you are forced to listen. It gives you negative comments, knocks your confidence, tells you that you can't reach higher, makes you believe that you're useless and unworthy, that you'll never amount to anything. It will lie to you and tell you that your life is comfortable as it is, that you shouldn't aim higher and who are you to think that you can be a somebody.
It is a cruel voice. Everyone has one, we all have a lower self after all. We all have a higher self too, the part of us that dreams of success, of love and of wealth. The dreamer in us has it all, the recognition we deserve, the charity we would like to give, the all round good person everyone loves. We all know someone like that too, a person that we gravitate to simply because they are great to be around, they are positive and happy and an inspiration to us.
So why not access the higher self rather than the lower? It sounds simple doesn't it? Too simple to be true even. But of course it is attainable and there is plenty of information to help you achieve it too. The truth is that you have to tell the lower voice to shut up. To go away. That you will no longer listen to it. That it has no place in your life. Then - you have to ignore it - override it with thoughts of success, of change for the better. Imagine yourself being that great person we all have the potential to be, being lucky, having love, having it all. Nurture your higher self, your positive voice, don't listen to self criticism and certainly never listen to others - always follow your heart.
It takes work and a little time, but soon that old nagging voice will quieten and you will have achieved a massive step in your evolution as a person and the growth of your spirit. You will also achieve peace, I don't mean from the noise of the constant chatter - I mean an inner depth of peace that you are in control of your future and able to access the wisdom and creativity we all have within us because you can hear it at last.

a baby is born

This week a baby girl was born to our family, she is beautiful and will be much loved - but this got me thinking. When a child is born to us it is usual to celebrate, to be grateful that the baby is healthy and to welcome the much wanted newborn (in the ideal circumstances). The newborn is a soul just like the rest of us, it has a spirit and its own identity which is seperate from our own. The soul also has friends and loved ones in the spirit world - just like us - so how do the spirits and guides that love this soul feel when it leaves them for a while to come to us?
Many mediums will tell you that when one of us dies and crosses over there are great celebrations in the world of spirit, just at the time when we are mourning deeply here on earth for our partner, friend, loved one. So would it not make sense for the reverse to be true too? When a soul comes to be born to us would not those left behind mourn their loss?
The Universe has a wonderful way of achieving balance and can do so in many ways that we will never come to understand or ways that may seem cruel to us. Understanding or at least accepting the balance, the trade-off, the karma goes a long way to coping with modern demands in our lives. We have a lot to worry about and some of us become bogged down by worrying about global problems that we as individuals are powerless to influence, we cannot take on everything that is wrong, we can only heal ourselves and our immediate environment, but if everyone did that....the world would be a better place.
With rebirth comes sacrifice or loss and in turn further rebirth or renewal. Nothing ever truly ends and we never truly lose anyone, but understanding that is the key to peace.

dead or alive?

Imagine you see the ghost of someone you know. It could be anyone - a relative or friend or even someone famous. Would you assume that the person concerned must have died? I expect that you would.
However, it is possible to see the ghost of a living person and it does happen. I could offer you several explanations but the most common reason you would see the ghost of a person you know to be living and well is because they are thinking of you or have something important to tell you.
When we are in the sleep state we all leave our physical bodies and travel in the astral body. The astral body is the replica of our physical body and so we look as we do now. Some practitioners can astrally project whilst still awake or using only light trance techniques but we can all do it when we sleep.
So if a familiar face wakes you in the night it does not necessarily mean that they have passed over, they could simply be visiting you, or wanting to be near you for a while. A person does not need to be dead to astrally project their image to the living.
A good example (I have many) happened just the other night. I was sleeping when I felt the bed move beside me (husband wasn't in bed at the time) I could hear steady breathing and so opened my eyes. I could plainly see my 10 year old daughter laying by me, her head on husband's pillow. She looked peaceful and asleep. She stretched her arms up and out over the pillow then put them to rest on her chest. The room was gloomy but the hallway night light provides enough light for me to see furnishings and make out the layout of the room and things in it.
I reached over to give my daughter a cuddle only to find she wasn't really there. It didn't surprise me that she evaporated in front of my eyes, it has happened before with her and with others. And before you start - yes, I get my eyes tested and no - I'm not nuts and nor was I dreaming. I just see things that you may or may not have done and I have worked to understand the mechanics of how such things occur. It is natural law and nothing to be afraid of. I do get a bit fed up with sceptics who think that they can belittle me or my intelligence and credibility by calling into question my experiences. There is so much evidence in the world if you bother to look for it and opportunities to learn how to sense and see but it takes dedication and a lack of fear to succeed. I just happen to be one of those people who can see and sense, like many before me, and who is brave enough to document it and speak of it. All I ask for is respect from others and mostly that is what I get because 9 out of 10 people I speak to have had a startling encounter or frightening experience themselves that has left them in no doubt about the spirit world. My response to sceptics is to say "When you die you will have to come back to me and say sorry for being rude, because you're going over before me." That usually shuts them up.

How do you know if you've seen a ghost?

Many times people have described their experiences of seeing a ghost to me. Then they often go on to doubt what they saw and try to find a rational explanation for it. That's fine, we should always question our experiences and try to find a scientific reason for any phenomena before coming to the conclusion that something is a paranormal event.
There is one way to tell if you are seeing or feeling a spirit or ghost and it's something we can all do and naturally have available to us.
The trick is this - if you experience an emotion at the same time as sensing or seeing something external to yourself then the chances are that it's a spirit. Spirit people are the sum of their emotions - they no longer have a voice or body to express themselves with. They use our nervous system in a very subtle way in order to communicate with us. Our aura also registers the energy of another being and can pick up information that with practise we can learn to interpret and understand.
We have a habit of brushing aside our emotions when they catch us unawares but next time it happens to you try to hang on to the feeling long enough to work out if the emotion truly belongs to you or if it is being projected to you for the purpose of communication. There is no need to hunt for these experiences - they are everywhere - even in your own home at times. Be open to new sensations, be aware of your sense of self and how your emotions work and you will be able to sense outwardly more easily.

the dead don't lie...

...or do they?
Most spirit who come during a reading to pass on love and information are very honest about all situations. They can afford to be truthful when their comment comes with love as we all can do here on earth too. Rather than lie they will answer your questions diplomatically and gently but always with your well-being in the forefront of their minds, their desire is to help - not hinder.
There are other spirits though that will lie and deceive you for their own gain. This is where the warnings come in for novices and those that dabble in contacting the dead. I have heard mediums say that protection against the spirits is unnecessary - not true in my experience. It stands to reason that if there are spirit people who pass to the higher plains and are good then there will be those who do not get home, who linger around the etheric level which is close to us and the earth, and will lie and deceive so that they can stay and draw energy from the living. There may be many reasons why a spirit does not pass over properly, fear, anger, worry, attachment to a home or person, death by violence, lack of faith in the afterlife or not ready to die.
Some people are just plain bad - they do not suddenly become good people at death. These people often linger around the living, causing depression, illness, bad luck and strange thought patterns, arguments and electrical breakdowns.
When sitting to contact the dead these are the spirits you don't want around you. You have to protect yourself against them with varied psychic techniques and this is where knowledge is power. I have spent a considerable amount of time cleansing novices of bad energy or spirit entities that they have collected through bad practice. It's true that the Ouija board is dangerous, but only in the wrong hands. It is a tool the same as cards or crystals. The problem arises with the people that use it not having any knowledge about protection and also the usual method of use which is to drink alcohol from the same glass. Alcohol and spiritism do not mix. I refuse to read for people who have had a drink. Alcohol weakens the natural aura protection which can allow entities inside it easily, but makes them hard to get rid of. If you want to work with spirit, join a circle, find out as much as you can, attend workshops and do it properly. When we do dangerous activities we wear the relative protective clothing and activities of the mental kind are no different. The mind is a wonderful tool but at the same time fragile, to do this kind of work you need to be grounded, mentally strong and determined because at times the questions that you will broach can be life changing. Be sensible and go in with your eyes open. Don't believe everything others tell you - alive or dead - ask many questions and always work with good intentions.

After some work with the higher realms of the spiritual world today I learned something. That's not unusual, but this brought me a new understanding of the survival of the human soul.
I was informed that souls that are damaged, bad, wicked do not always survive in the long run, these souls are in fact corrupt, fragmented and there are parts of their physiology absent. I thought that ALL souls were immortal, that the less developed or criminal ones would evolve over time and become purer but that is not so.
For example, if a serial killer dies and finds himself in the custody of a higher evolved being (which happens - they do not suddenly gain freedom) after rehabilitation he may be offered another chance at life to amend for his crimes in some way (karma) or at least to be a good person. If he accepts the offer and tries again he will be observed for the duration. At the end of his time on earth if he has succeeded in being good he will cross over and will go for further rehabilitation and teaching. If however the soul returns to his old ways during his incarnation at his passing he will be met and be returned to custody in the spirit realms.
The soul must then express regret, remorse and understanding for his crimes before any help is given. If the soul cannot be changed, cannot be healed then the soul will continue to fragment and eventually disintegrate. So the soul is not necessarily immortal but it does exist after death for a long, long time.
There is small comfort to be had for those who have lost loved ones to violence in that for those criminals who are uncaught here on the earth plain there is no escaping their spiritual prison.

like attracts like

Like attracts like. In spiritual circles this phrase is used alot but what does it actually mean?
Basically it tells us to be kind to everyone if you want other's to be kind to you, to laugh and be happy even when times are tough and happiness will surround you. To be a good person to attract good people to you and good events in your life.
Anger and violence will bring more of those emotions to you as will jealousy and fear. So have a good clear out. Whatever it is that you do to make yourself feel good; walking the dog, running, having a massage, watching a funny show on TV, it doesn't matter as long as it lifts your spirits.
As winter approaches and we become swathed in dark nights and gloomy days it's hard to stay cheerful when travelling to work and everything seems like a hard slog. Spending a little time on yourself can go a long way to improving your mood and keeping you bright, so indulge yourself a little and allow your other halves and loved ones the time and space to do the same because you are boosting your spiritual selves as well as the physical ones.

Sceptisism versus Spiritualism

Many men I meet are sceptics of the spirit world and afterlife as a phenomenon and one they believe to be unproven. This is natural. Men tend to want to see things with their own eyes, to touch them. They think logically, not emotionally. They like to think of themselves as scientific not intuitive. However, spiritualism is a science of discovery. It was never a religion or faith of any kind. In order for spiritualism to be recognised under UK law the term church had to be used for their meeting houses, UK law only recognises such organisations as cults or religions. Anyone who has ever sat in a spiritualist service or particularly a development circle would not be able to doubt the existence of an exterior influence that provides amazing evidence of survival after death every day of the week. I have received such information and given it to others who have often been astounded - as they were sceptics - both male and female.
I don't believe that someone can mock the existence of spirit until they know for sure. So who is the scientist here? the person who denies a phenomena without research or the person who studies and devotes time to discovering the answers for themselves? I know where I sit. I sit with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Daniel Dunglass Homes.
There is a main spiritualist teaching academy at Stansted, England, called the Arthur Findlay College. There in archives lies hundreds if not thousands of tapes, videos and transcripts of evidence of spirit and life after the death of the physical body. Manifestations have been filmed, voices recorded, witness statements gathered. Now, we're not talking about attendees who are nutty, lacking in intelligence or desperate attention seekers. We are talking about professionals, lawyers, police officers, medical staff, bankers and others with responsible jobs and lives. If you look for the evidence there is plenty of it. What most of you see is the celebrity of spiritism. You see Colin Fry, Sally Morgan, people on the road doing shows, sitting in the limelight. You don't see the many years of dedication and hard work, research and personal risk, both public and personal, that dedicated people invest in the progression of research in the spirit world. Science has many fields, just because something remains unseen and unproven doesn't make it impossible.

Wet weather and the dead

It's well known in spiritual circles that wet weather will provide better communication and results of phenomena than a warm summer evening. It is believed that the extra water allows spirit to access our energy fields more easily and connections are more readily made. (see my earlier post on synapse lapse). Electricity needs a conductor and moisture in the air is just that. Anyone who has sat in a psychic development circle will note that on dark, damp winter nights the atmosphere lends itself to medumship in contrast to warm, light and dry ones. Funny old spirit world.

Spirit Rescue

I have been asked rather a lot lately for personal readings, which I have turned down, writing being my main focus just now. I have also been asked about spirit rescue and what it means.
Very simply it is when a medium visits a haunted place or person and identifies a trapped or lost spirit. This is just a person who has lost their way home and become stuck in the ether of our world. These spirits can still influence certain aspects in our physical surroundings such as electricity, water, emotions, movement of small objects and typically all of the symptoms of a haunting.
Why do they mess with our stuff? They are merely trying to get our attention. Imagine being invisible to others, being unable to communicate in your usual way. Being scared of other shadows and what you would see as ghosts but are in fact the evolved spirits trying to get your attention to move you on. How would you get yourself noticed without a voice? My guess is that you would make a noise, interfere somehow with the living so that help may come. A lost spirit is usually distressed, grieving and very confused. Remember that they belong to someone, they are loved by someone and deserve to be treated with respect and compassion. I don't like ghost hunters who don't understand the damage they do to such souls with taunts and tests for them to prove their existence. Next time you hear of a haunting think about who that person is, they are more than just a ghost they are the same as you or I.

halloween witches

Halloween again. I love it the darkness, the pumpkins, children dressed up in scary costumes and the fun that it brings. The tradition of laughing at the evil spirits thought to be in the ether is an old one. Laughter dissipates fear and what better way to take away someone's power than to laugh at them?
I expect that there will be the usual witches dancing their ceremonies at Alderley Edge, Clumber Park, The New Forest and other beauty spots of the country. Let's hope it's not too chilly for their sake. I did once see some naked witches dancing around a fire in Clumber Park one evening. It was dark, their hair long and wild swaying around their bare skins as they danced, holding hands, singing and whooping as the fire crackled and spat its way through forest branches. They scared me at first but as I drove by I watched them and saw the joy of freedom on their faces. Eight women, dancing as they wished, naked, in the night air, flames at their feet and a song on their lips. I was just curious after that, to understand their beliefs and then to learn about other faiths.

luxury health care - for dogs

I've had my dog to the vet's this week, a thorn stuck in her paw caused an infection. I can't help comparing her experience to that of my recent trips to A&E.
I made a phone call, the vet said "bring her in right away." A quick car journey.
My husband's broken collar bone took us to A&E one evening.
The vet saw my dog within 3 minutes of signing in.
He waited 4 hours on a plastic bum numbing chair, to be seen.
The dog had a private consultation room.
He was seen in a draughty cubicle with many eyes watching.
The dog was treated with shots then scheduled for surgery the very next day.
Husband had to wait a further 2 hours for an x-ray. Then a further 1 hour 30 minutes for the result.
Dog was given a drink and a couple of treats.
He had nothing, not even pain relief, unless he used the vending machine full of unhealthy snacks.
No surgery required, luckily, but I wonder how long the wait would have been for something non urgent.
Is it me or do our pets get premium medical care while we languish in waiting rooms with people who come along in their slippers, empty the vending machines of chocolate and coke and settle down to watch the telly? Apparently it saves them putting a coin in the electric meter and they don't have to have their heating on at home.
I'm told the NHS is the pride of Britain. We all know it's in severe trouble. It will go the way of America, the rot has already set in, and we will have to pay a premium for private health care. It's only a matter of time before there are ambulances for the insured as in the US. Will we then be able to opt out of paying taxes into the NHS?

Clever Creation

Despite what people may think it is hard to sit down and think of something to write about that is interesting. It pulls a writer up short when they find they have no fabulous anecdotes or weird experiences to share - 'what a boring life I must have,' they cry.
So what? I say. We all have mundane tasks to do, we all have household admin and tedium in our lives. We do not live in a soap (although if you watch Jezza Kyle some people clearly do) with dramatic twists and turns. That's why people buy and read fiction, sci fi, fantasy, horror and all the other genres - for escapism.
Without the multitude of fabulous imaginations and clever authors that bring us things that we would never have thought of, life would be dull indeed. All the films you watch, all the programs on TV, all games you play are all devised by writers and put together as a team or solely. When you think of your favourite films and books you have to admire the human capacity for fantastic thought and creation.

Psychic Wind

A psychic wind or breeze describes the rush of cold air when a spirit or ghost is present. They are a common phenomena in spiritual circles and anyone who has been on a ghost hunt will be familiar with the term. However it could apply in different circumstances such as a psychic or medium who is simply full of their own hot air. I'm not naming names but I know of several who love to blow their own trumpets about their experiences, their knowledge, how great they are, how accurate and so on.
Remember though that just because someone is in the public eye it doesn't always mean that they are a great medium or psychic, it makes them lucky or good at promoting themselves.
Some of the best mediums and psychics are still to be found in spiritualist churches the length and breadth of the UK and their messages are free of charge.

A Synapse Lapse

I have been away from my manuscript for Angelica's Promise for a few days and what a difference it makes to my progress. It brings me to a complete stop because I can't remember the details of what has gone before. I have to sit and read it all and review my notes to get back up to speed.
I'm sure when I was younger this didn't happen - don't get me wrong - I'm not old - but I don't think I'm firing on all my synapses.
I'm told by a brain expert I know that the trick to great brain function and quick wits is to drink lots of water to enable the electrical charges in the brain to jump the gap between one synapse and the next, can't be done without hydration she tells me. I wonder if vodka works in the same way....?

An Ill Wind

Today is windy and cold with the threat of rain drowning our little country. I do wish the weather people would be more cheerful because they set the day up for us all. We know the weather in our country is terrible, we know there's a high chance that we'll get wet no matter what the month and we know that in October we need to wear a coat.
Everyone I have met today is grumpy, they are unwell and know that there is a long slog of weeks at work before a christmas break. The weather people can lie to us, cheer us up a bit, do a little song and dance, tell jokes, wear their clothes back to front - but don't predict the weather - we know!!

a bit of a blockage

Does writers' block exist? For some thinking of what to write next is hard work. For others, endless scenarios jump out at them and they are able to grab them with ease and translate them into constructive sentences.
I don't suffer with writers' block because it is so simple to overcome. You can write a dozen opening lines to a novel and see which one takes you on an interesting thought process, you can read the newspapers - plenty of outrageous behaviour in their pages. You can watch (God forbid) Jezza Kyle or Big Brother or any number of low brow shows on TV. (I'm not a snob - far from it - but you have to admit that the dumbing down of TV has gone too far, even the evening news is read to me as though I am a simpleton.)
Pick up a magazine and it will give inspiration too. Talk to people, remember something from your past and take it in another direction to your own experience. Use your imagination. You see writers' block doesn't exist.

the first few lines of Angelica's Promise

The Sun's brightest rays penetrate the apple juice in my tall glass and reflect myriad patterns onto my hand. The gold light, refracted by the liquid and its container are a strange comfort to me, kind of like God's light dancing over my soul.
Everything around me has a deeper significance since my diagnosis. I notice now the beauty of life and reprimand myself for not seeing it sooner. Don't get me wrong, I always saw life as precious but I hadn't recognised the detail, precision or strength in every living thing. Even rain is beautiful and death more so, although I'm not ready for it yet.

writing and reading

One of the biggest mistakes a writer can make is not reading other authors' works. Reading is an education, we learn to spell and construct sentences from reading, we learn new words to add to our vocabulary and another way of speaking perhaps. It doesn't matter what you read, a picture book, a comic strip, a tabloid paper or literary works as long as you read something. People love to escape in fantasy, science fiction and romance and others prefer an autobiography or factual reading,  it's all out there to be enjoyed.
For the writer, reading is essential to avoid becoming stale. But what of the writers' who say "I'm too busy writing to read!?" You have to study your craft, improve all the time, stay on trend if you write commercially and the best way to do all of these things is to read varied material.

I'm in the mood...

Although I'm not a moody person by nature I notice that these days I do get grumpy if I don't get to write. I suppose that's a sign of a writer who is serious about doing something with their (hopeful) talent and someone who writes as a hobby or for pleasure.
It's as though there is creative energy inside of me and if I don't let it out it leads to constipation - you know what I mean.
You will have heard advice in the past which told you to write down things that were making you unhappy and then throw the note on the fire or write a ranting letter to your other half to vent your frustrations, but then rip it up. It's a release of pent up emotions and ideas and writing creatively is the same.
My brain is like a busy airport runway. Ideas landing and taking off at all times of the day and night. Some ideas stick around longer than others and it's these that I need to type up asap. Trouble is when you have a family and you are wanted in three places at once. I'm good but I'm not that good.....

Writers Tip

From the great George Orwell comes some solid writing advice.

1. "What am I trying to say?"
2. "What words express it?"
3. "What image or idiom will make it clearer?"
4. "Is the image fresh enough to have any effect?"
5. "Could I put it more simply?"
6. "Have I written anything unavoidably ugly?"

These questions should apply to every sentence you write to stand a chance of being published in the traditional manner. The lesson I learned during my creative writing course = writing is much harder than it looks.