Walking With Spirit

I was brought up on a farm in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. It was there I first became aware of the importance Mother Nature plays in our existence. It was also there I first became aware of my gift as a psychic medium. But at that time, sadly, psychic ability was treated with great suspicion, condemned as being the workings of dark forces, or totally disbelieved. For my parents, it was a mixture of disbelief and fear of the darkness.

I quickly learned not to speak of the beautiful beings I was seeing. They popped in on a daily basis to say hello, my lovely ones, my guides, keeping the communication between us intact. I, at that stage, had no understanding why they were with me; no understanding that these beings of light were assigned to this less than perfect individual to help me on my life's journey. For me, they were just my mates with whom I held important conversations (out of earshot of my mother).

As the teen years filled my head with ideas of romance, how to overcome pimples, and how to get out of study but still pass school exams, the unseen ones gracefully and quietly waited for me to grow up and evolve into womanhood.

At seventeen, I began training to become a nurse. Throughout my years as a nurse, I began to realise there was a lot more to my guides' presence in my life than just good mates. It was not only a time of training in becoming a healer; it was also a time of discovery in psychic phenomena. I had many strange experiences during that time.

Then I married and had two children. My first marriage was eight years of struggle; it ended in divorce. But the one thing my husband and I had in common was the ability to see UFOs and to experience the paranormal. It was the first time I had been able to speak openly of some of the experiences I was having. Apart from the precious gift of two children, I now know it was a time of validation for me, something for me to hold on to as the years ahead brought many challenges. During this time, I trained as a Lifeline counsellor, Australia's national phone counselling service.

Lifeline was begun to help those in need of instant counselling, such as people who were suicidal. Later it expanded to include people isolated by distance, such as in the outback parts of Australia, for those who are struggling financially, and for those with issues that arise in the middle of the night when all other help organizations are closed.

My second marriage was a happy one, but my husband, Jeff, did not believe in my gift as a psychic medium or share my beliefs about the afterlife. His objections were so strong that I could not talk to him about my experiences. We lived on seven acres of isolated land, surrounded by thousands of acres of eucalyptus forest. A gentle stream ran through our property just fifty metres from our house. It was here I first discovered my ability to see the energy of wildlife. Communication with birds and animals led to a powerful period of awakening and growth in my abilities. But it was in some ways a lonely journey; there was no one I could fully trust to share my insights and experiences.

When Jeff died in 2002, I had no one left to appease or answer to. I decided the time had come for me to take the risk and allow the gifts with which I was born to fully develop. I came out of the proverbial closet and fully stepped into my truth. It was a scary journey, requiring a lot of strength and courage (at a time when grief filled my heart), but through it all my lovely ones in spirit held me in their love. Friends turned away from me. But in return I gained a sense of peace and stillness that, at long last, I could be truly me! Many beautiful friends have since replaced the ones who no longer have contact with me.

Since that time, I have completed many courses that allow me to work with people, helping them to heal, to find direction in life, to discover their own beautiful selves, and to awaken them to the help they have from the realm of spirit through their guides and loved ones who have died. It is wonderfully rewarding work, and there have been many occasions when I have felt deeply humbled to be part of the intimate world of my fellow human beings. I am now doing what I came here to do, and I will not leave until my work has been completed.

Sometimes it takes strength and courage to stand in our truth and to walk our own path. Others may not understand. Life can deal us challenges that are difficult. But always, when we are true to ourselves there comes a sense of peace and stillness. We will find that strength and courage to do what we know is right for us to do, and then we realise that life is a marvellous journey!

Religion Or Spirituality?

Is there a difference between religion and spirituality? And if so, what is that difference?

For me, there is no right or wrong way to deal with these questions. No doubt there will be those who will disagree with me, and they have the right to do so. I am not concerned with agreement or disagreement; my only concern is for individuals to find the path that is right for them. What I share with you are my own personal beliefs. All I ask is for you to have an open mind and to explore what feels right for you.

I perceive the difference between religion and spirituality to be this:

Religion is a coming together of a group of people with the same beliefs to worship the same deity, such as Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, followers of the Hindu gods or goddess, or any other form of organised worship. Usually there are guidelines for people to follow, and they adhere to sacred ceremonies. Within most religions there is a hierarchy of the learned ones, the teachers or the leaders, down to the common worshipper.

Spirituality, on the other hand, is an inner journey with self; with my heart and soul and their connection to that divine energy I call Great Spirit. It is a deeply personal, loving relationship between the realm of spirit and self. I prefer Great Spirit to God. For me the words "Great Spirit" remove the religious connotations; they therefore encompass all people, all of life upon this planet, and, indeed, of all the cosmos. I see spiritual growth as the bringing together of heart, mind, and soul, an awakening to the beauty within us and around us, the evolution into our inner divine love for self and love for all that is.

This does not mean that the two do not go hand in hand. They can and do for a great number of people. One of the most devoutly religious and deeply spiritual people I have known was my mother. My dad was a wonderful man, but he was a born-again Christian, and at times it was difficult for me to see the spirituality in amongst the religion. The difference between the two; my dad lived his Christianity through fear of judgement beyond death; my mother lived her Christianity through love. My father pushed religion onto his children; my mother showed her spirituality by simply being the quiet, gentle, and loving person she was. Poor Dad, if he only knew it, Mum had a far deeper and more sustaining effect on my spiritual development than he could ever have. But I bless him for it. Without realising what he was doing, he gave me a clear understanding of the difference between religion and spirituality.

Like me, more and more people these days are choosing to not belong to any organization that is of a religious nature. Instead, we are finding our own deep and personal inner experience with that amazing divine essence I call Great Spirit. There are many paths to the top of the same mountain. None of them are right or wrong, they just simply are!

I don't believe that a Great Spirit, capable of creating an entire cosmos, would be all that concerned as to how I, one individual, on this tiny planet, perceives my religious or spiritual experience. And I don't think that such a magnificent spirit would be all that pleased with the inhabitants of Earth using religion as an excuse to create wars. We were given a thing called free will, and therefore we can choose what is right for us as we allow ourselves to explore our spiritual and religious beliefs.

The more I work as a medium, connecting in to the realm of spirit, the more I realise how little I know. The realm of spirit is way beyond my human ability to fully comprehend how it works and what it looks like. I get glimpses into colours so amazingly beautiful there is no way to describe them. I get to hear faint strands of music more sublime than anything created by the greatest composers throughout the centuries. I get to see fabulous beings of love and light that are so magnificent I am pulled into absolute humility and tears of joyfulness. All the while, I know I am only seeing or hearing a tiny drop in an immense cosmic ocean of love. It is an incredibly privileged place to be, and yet we are all connected to that love, that beauty, that powerful energy called spirit.

Religion is about worshipping that divine energy through rites and established guidelines of behaviour. Spirituality is a personal and inner journey that directly connects us to that energy and brings us into a realisation that we are one with and a part of Great Spirit, and Great Spirit is one with and a part of us.

What Is Psychic Ability?

I am often asked how my psychic ability works; people wonder how this "stuff" happens.

Every single person on this planet has psychic ability. We are born with it, and we all use it every day of our life without being aware that we do. Many highly qualified doctors are now studying psychic ability in scientific ways including Dr Melvin Morse, author of Parting Visions ; Dr Brian Weiss, author of Many Lives, Many Masters and Messages From The Masters; and Dr Michael Newton, author of Journey Of Souls and Destiny Of Souls.

These are just three people who have been intrigued enough to delve deeper. They are concluding what psychic people have known for centuries; that we do indeed have psychic abilities, have near-death experiences, can recall past lives, can chat with beings in spirit, and have dreams that hold powerful messages for our lives.

There is a difference between psychic abilities and the abilities of a medium.

Psychic abilities are tools, no different to the screwdriver in the carpenter's hand, to be used for the betterment of ourselves and those with whom we come into contact. They are aligned to our senses:

• Sight (clairvoyance)

• Smell

• Taste

• Hearing (clairaudience)

• Feeling (clairsentience) and

• Intuition (clair cognisance)

A medium is someone who can slide into other realms and communicate with those who have died, people from other planets, the realm of fairies, the realm of the masters, and the realm of angels. As a medium, the two strongest psychic gifts are clairvoyance and clairaudience, although the other psychic senses are handy in making the connection stronger and clearer.

I have known since I was a child that I had the ability to talk to beings from other realms. However, when I decided to do this work as a medium, the old doubts and fears arose to challenge my belief in self and in the lovely ones I have around me, my guides. It was part of my learning process to realise those of us who work with our psychic abilities are human. At all times, we need to remain grounded and sensible in this work, trusting in what comes through, learning to get our ego out of the way and let spirit work through us.

I am going to share a session I had with a couple who came to see me, but to allow them their privacy, I have changed their names to Bob and Betty. Their story is not uncommon. They came to see me in the earlier days when I finally came out of hiding and stepped into doing this work. I will never forget this session. It was not only about them, it was as though my guides were showing me the importance of using my gifts to help others and to trust in what comes through.

Here is their story:

Betty rang me to make an appointment to speak with her mother, who had died. For the week prior to her arrival, a rather troubled spirit of a man had been bugging me. I knew his life had not been a healthy one. I kept getting glimpses of things he had done that were not pleasant to see.

Betty arrived, accompanied by Bob, her husband. As he walked in the door, arms folded, he said, "I have come to just let you know that I think this is all bullshit!" My anger immediately bubbled to the surface. I said, "Well this is not actually about you, and I am not concerned with what you think. If you intend to stay, then you will sit down and shut up. This is for your wife and her mother, and it matters not that you don't believe in it. Everyone has the right to believe what they damn well like!" I looked quickly at his wife and saw her distress. I immediately felt remorse for having put her in that position, and I felt very unprofessional.

To try and calm the whole atmosphere down, I then apologized for my anger, asked them to be seated, and made them a cup of tea. (Don't underestimate the effects of the good old "cuppa." The mums and grans of old knew something about giving troubled people a cuppa at the kitchen table.) As I was making the tea, the man in spirit stood beside me, saying, "Tell him; tell him." Then I knew this man was Bob's father! I also knew that I was wrong; this was about Bob as well as Betty. It was actually about them as a couple. The knowledge that their marriage was in trouble because of Bob's anger toward his father was made very clear to me. Our loved ones on the other side are clever little bunnies; Betty's mum and Bob's dad had got together to try and work a miracle and save their children's marriage.

When I sat down, I looked at Bob and said, "I am ok with you not believing. You are as entitled to not believe as I am to believe. There is no right or wrong here, just experience. However, I have had a man in spirit with me all week, and I know it is your dad, and he has a hell of a lot to say to you." With that, it was like his father showed me a film of his life.

Bob's dad had been an alcoholic, wasted all of their money on gambling and beer, belted Bob's mother from time to time, had a fight with two men outside the pub where he drank (which he showed me in great detail), and had interfered sexually with Bob's two sisters. He then showed me the house where he used to live (again in great detail) and the rubbish that piled up in the back yard. The clarity with which it all came through was awesome. And then Bob's dad said, "Tell him his anger at me is sending him down the same path I went down, and it will destroy his marriage if he doesn't do something about it. Tell him I know he has not been sexually active with Betty for the past five years because his anger at me is stopping him from being a loving husband. Tell him I am so sorry and I seek his forgiveness."

This session changed the lives of these two people. Two days later, Betty rang me to say how "blown away" Bob had been by the experience. He sent her flowers to her place of work the next day, with a card that said, "Please try and get off work early today. I have arranged for the kids to be cared for by a friend overnight. I am taking you out for dinner. I love you." They had little sleep during that night as they talked through all of their issues. It was a night of intimate and sensual reunion, the reawakening of their love.

Betty did get to talk with her mother, who also relayed back to them a whole heap of stuff I could not have possibly known about. Mum and Dad on the other side did a pretty good job at bringing about healing for their children.

What was my role in all of this? Simply to show up and say yes to willingly facilitate the connection! More importantly, my role was to trust ... trust Bob's dad, trust Betty's mum, trust my guides, and trust that all was as it was meant to be. Does this stuff work? Yes! How does it work? One day, perhaps the scientists can tell us.

Cellular Memory

The term "cellular memory" has been around for quite some time. The definition seems simple enough: the storage, at a physical level, in muscle, bone, organs and tissue, of events both painful and pleasurable of our past and present lives.

But how do these memories become stored in our physical bodies? One tends to think of memory as an activity of the brain, and that in itself is an amazing occurrence. How does our brain hold in its grey matter not only the memory of this lifetime but also of past lives?

There is no doubt of the existence of cellular memory. Medical science proves such memory does exist. Patients who have received transplant organs, particularly those of the heart, have been known to suddenly desire certain foods and drinks that they were once never interested in or to do activities they have never done before. On examination, it is found that those interests were a strong part of the donor's lifestyle. And of course there are many stories told of phantom pain in limbs that have been removed. How does one feel pain where a limb no longer exists?