Tips for a Happier Holiday Season

December has arrived!  Though many talk about the joy that comes with the holidays (and indeed, there is), I feel it is also important to acknowledge that for many, it is also one of the most stressful times of year.   The American Psychological Association Holiday stress statistics show that up to 69 percent of people are stressed about having a “lack of time,” 69 percent also are stressed by feeling a “lack of money” and 51% are stressed out about the “pressure to give and get gifts.”  

According to allonehealth.com, the stress and anxiety of the holiday season can manifest in symptoms such as headaches, sleep disturbances, fatigue, exhaustion, difficulty concentrating, short temper, upset stomach, low job satisfaction and morale, aching muscles (including lower back pain), loss of appetite, changes in behavior while at work, and a decline in productivity and work performance.  

We are also facing the “end time” of the year – a sense of finality for which we look back on the last 12 months and critique the outcome.  Since we are usually our own worst critics, guess which way that observation goes?   It can be an incredibly “heavy” and “burdensome” time of year to many.   Also, we witness nature going into hibernation, we reference the trees and plants “dying” which can also affect us psychologically.

What can we do spiritually to help us get through?  Here’s a few simple things.  

First, try to stay grounded and remember to cleanse yourself energetically.  With all the stress, along with the hustle and bustle of holiday shoppers, our auras (as well as our minds) are being bombarded with frenetic and tense energy not normally displayed by most people at other times of the year.  We may observing with our eyes, but we typically ABSORB things into our energies and emotions, so it becomes imperative that we do things that will help cleanse ourselves of this abnormal energy we are diving into and swimming around in.  

If you shower in the morning, use the power of visualization to allow the water its energetic capacity to take hold of that unwanted energy and send it right down the drain.  Additionally, wash your hands a few more times throughout the day (this is not meant to become an OCD thing).  This will not only protect you from potential germs on your hands and keeping you from getting physically sick, when you wash your hands under the faucet for more than 45 seconds, that extra time can again help to draw out negative energy collecting within your field (which might later transmute into physical maladies).

Another way to combat stress – and this works anytime throughout the year – is to meditate.  Sit down for about 15 minutes minimum and just let go.  Focus on nothing but your breath and allow that focus to realign your system and clear you.  Release your need to do anything or be anything, and just be STILL.  Meditation will clear both your energy systems as well as your mind.  The monkey mind goes extra crazy this time of year, so it’s important to do what we can to calm it.  

Conversely, instead of calming yourself, go out and do something that makes you crazy with happiness!  Whatever the activity is – a few hours gathering with friends, solitude with a paintbrush, turning up the music full blast and dancing – whatever it is that can interrupt the state of holiday frenzies.   Call it a “time out” if you will … and schedule as many of them as you need in order to get through the season.  Heck, be an inspiration for others to create their own seasonal “time outs.”  Sweat-inducing exercise can also help here - as well as assisting in keeping off those extra pounds from the yummy holidays feasts!

Keep in mind, as energetic beings we not only absorb, we transmit.  If we can find that stillness or ability to wash ourselves clean of the holiday stress, we can then help others do the same.  How much more joyful would that make this time of year?

So know that in closing, I most sincerely wish you –

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

A Month of Thanksgiving!

The month of Thanksgiving is here!  I say “month” because there really is so much to be thankful for that not all of it can fit into a single day.  Starting right off, the month begins with All Souls Day.  Though classically this observance is tied to the religiously faithful, the meaning behind it is still beautiful and poignant even if you’re not religious.   The day was set aside to offer prayers for the deceased (In the religious context, it was intended to offer prayers for those who had died being faithful to doctrine).  To me, whether one was religious or not, All Souls Day is an opportunity to honor and give thanks to our loved ones whose spirits gave us so much while alive, and lets them know they are not forgotten while they continue their journeys in the worlds of Spirit.

Next comes Veterans Day, November 11, in honor of what our men and women in the military have endured throughout the history of our country and their work throughout the world.  How many have given the ultimate sacrifice for freedom?  I’m sure all of us would agree the death of just one person would be “too much.”  Thus, the incredible importance of this date in honoring the lives of all our military, both living and sacrificed. 

Another reason to hold this day deep within our hearts is due to its origin … November 11, 1918.  Such bloodshed and traumatic loss had not been so profoundly experienced before during World War I, at least not in the memories of those who were going through it.  Destruction and loss of life appeared on a massive scale, using technology developed during the burgeoning industrial revolution.  World War I was nicknamed “The Great War,” and for good reason … nearly 38 million casualties, ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in human history.  The war officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”   Perhaps if we could remember that point, someday it might come true.   So be sure to take time on Wednesday, November 11^th, to be thankful for everyone in our military, past, present, and future, for all they go through – the fears, the turmoil, the sacrifices.  Many of us, myself included, could never be so brave.

Of course, like a bow to tie off a package, there’s the national holiday of Thanksgiving.  Family, friends, and lots of great FOOD --to celebrate all that we have to be thankful for throughout the year.  To me, it’s similar to All Souls Day, except that the focus for me is on living people rather than the deceased.  Why?  Because it is so important to honor all our connections.  When we pass from this life, we can’t take anything with us – all we have are the bonds of our relationships.  We take with us the love and memories of the people in our lives, and that’s it.  Yes, we’ll take with us lessons we’ve learned from our earthly journey, but it’s our bonds to others that sustain us.  In mediumship, we often deal with clients (both living and on the Other Side) who discovered those bonds were unfortunately taken for granted, in which death has forced to bring to light.  For this reason, it’s important to reflect on our bonds now – Thanksgiving for the relationships we have – so we don’t feel regret when the inevitable happens.

Ultimately, November is about LOVE.  Love for those who have gone before us; who have made the ultimate sacrifice and faced the ultimate terrors; and for those whose love continues to nurture and sustain us -- a month truly about all the lives for which there can be nothing but Thanksgiving.

So let me say, I am thankful to all of you for allowing me to be of service.  It has truly been an honor.  I look forward to being of service in the years to come.  Happy Thanksgiving!

The Season For Spirit - But Must We Be Afraid?

It’s Halloween season again... and this means people will be looking to the paranormal (and spirits in particular) as most likely something to be weary and frightened of. Naturally, Hollywood has capitalized on this dread, creating a billion dollar industry designed to scare the bejeezus out of us! Along with “ghost hunting” shows where people are running scared -- I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Please note, in writing this I am not asking anyone to go out and mingle with spirits, or leave themselves open to forces they’d rather avoid or don’t quite understand. Admittedly, spirit research is not for the timid. However, it is not something that should steadfastly be avoided.

Researching spirits isn’t so much about occultism or trying to unlock mystical forces -- it is about trying to learn more about us. You and me. And just what the possibilities are for the nature of our existence after we leave this earthly life. The only way we can do that is with an effort to reach out to those who are already there, using the methods of paranormal investigation and mediumship (controversial, yes, but valid and necessary). With modern technology and a cooperative spirit communicator willing to interact with both equipment and a medium, information can be conveyed, examined, and looked to see if they are supportive. For instance, if the medium says they are communicating with a male spirit, and that spirit is telling them they used to haul live animals on a cargo ship, making a comment that “We weren’t no Noah’s ark,” and then a voice recorder picks up a male spirit audibly imprinting his voice stating “It was insane,” one could make the argument that the EVP could be viewed as supportive of the medium’s received information. Indeed, the spirit’s voice is male. Plus, the comments appears to match the negative impression given to the medium about not being Noah’s ark (By the way, this is an actual incident that happened to me during an investigation this last summer). Moreover, if additional EVPs (electronic voice phenomena) appear where the spirit affirms the medium’s impressions by simply saying “Yes” or “Correct,” that certainly adds weight to the evidence coming in. Using this same methodology over and over at every location where phenomena is validated to exist turns it from being simply hypothetical, but corroborative and substantial.

This is when we can take it to the next level and start asking questions about the nature of consciousness. Are spirits affected by Time? If not, what does that say about us living inside physical bodies? What can spirits tell us about the nature of earthly reality, now that they are outside of it? Placed within the context of other information brought forth through the combination of equipment and mediumship, compounded by the answers from other spirits in other locations – sometimes several hundred miles apart – the possibilities for learning about the nature of our eternal beings is astounding.

With any type of research – especially with spirits – there’s potential for risk. In respect to the Halloween season, one can indeed encounter mischievous spirits whose actions may appear “wicked” or “evil.” But after doing this work for over 16 years, those types of spirits are the exception and not the rule. Intention (and thus, expectation) is key.

But to avoid spirit research out of fear of encountering such wicked or evil spirits would be like me telling you “Don’t go outside your house, you might run into an A—hole! Because A—holes exist! They are mean and will bully you!” Never mind the millions of caring, thoughtful, and compassionate people – avoid going outdoors because of the bullies. No. To avoid spirit research is to avoid unlocking some of the greatest answers to the potentials of our existence. But admittedly, it may not be for the timid.

If you want to find out what the spirits are revealing in regards to the natures of our own souls while alive on earth, and how you can bring massive change to your life through the principles of your own spirit, stay tuned. Coming in 2016, I will be presenting a seminar consolidating the years of research with those in spirit on this topic. You will never look at yourself the same way again!