Higher Journeys

Talking To The Dead

2012-02-28T14:42:00.000-08:00

Imagine one day, being able to take a small device about the size of an iPod out of your pocket or purse, pressing a button and connecting with your dear aunt Sarah in the “afterlife.”

According to paranormal researcher Rosemary Ellen Guiley who co-authored the book, Talking to the Dead, we may be on the edge of a breakthrough in technological advancements in spirit communication that could yield regular exchanges with the other side.

The book, which debuted late last year by Coast to Coast AM’s George Noory and Guiley describe a spectrum of technological developments in talking to the departed. Those in the field of paranormal research have a working knowledge of some of the more cutting edge spirit communication devices since the advent of EVP or electronic voice phenomena; a process by which inexplicable voices are heard during the playback of a tape recorder, although not heard initially at the time of the recording. But in recent years, a phenomenon called “Real-Time EVP” which as the name implies, allows the experimenter or “operator” to speak to the dead - live - has reached many in the larger community of people interested in making contact, often for their own personal reasons.

Margaret Downey, an LA based spirit communications researcher works with the bereaved to help them have their own communications via real time EVP or as she calls it “simulated real time” – a delayed conversation in which she periodically stops to review the recordings as they go along. Downey also works in collaboration with intuitive channel and film producer Lisa Winther-Huston to conduct sessions for the bereaved. The pair was featured on an episode of the Biography Channel’s My Ghost Story. Like many who actively work in this area of the paranormal, Downey and Winther-Huston claim to have assistance from discarnate entities vis-a-vis the devices they use, to help them perfect the process of communication. Some of these associates even describe themselves as never incarnating in human form. Names such as ethereals have been used to describe entities who exist in higher realms or parallel worlds and have pronounced themselves as helpers to those wishing to hone their skills in using technology for spirit communication.

Consciousness Plays a Major Role

Despite the advancements in technological spirit communication over the last 100 or so years including Thomas Edison’s purported interest in possibly dialing up the dead, there appears to be a consistent theme occurring among practitioners who receive a good measure of success. Natural mediumistic ability appears to be a common denominator in effective spirit communication. When psychic ability is active within the practitioner, the device used becomes a tool or perhaps an amplifier but not the actual source of the connection that’s being made. The consciousness of both the operator and the spirit communicator, along with pure desire and intent become the dominant ingredients for the intersection of energy and the resulting communication to take place.

Mark Macy, a practitioner and researcher of EVP and ITC or instrumental transcommunication, was told during a series of dreams and out of body experiences that “too much emphasis just on the technology would not produce success.” The consciousness of the practitioner is of utmost importance in achieving a connection.

Martha Pierce Copeland of Atlanta is one who used EVP in hopes of easing the burden of losing her daughter, but became so convinced of its efficacy she later went on to found one of the most well known spirit communication support groups for the grief stricken. However, one poignant message which came from her daughter during her early experiments using a computer made her realize the necessity for our own internal mechanism for contact. Awakened in the middle of the night Copeland heard the voice of her daughter in her mind saying, “You do not need to use the computer. You can hear me in your mind.”

Could it be that those in the afterlife, higher dimensions and parallel worlds understand something that we can’t fully assimilate as yet? Whether it be divining practical wisdom about our daily lives or dialoguing with the departed, we are the source of the results we seek; it is consciousness creating the connection.

Spirit Communication and Electromagnetic Energy

Rosemary Ellen Guiley even acknowledges that the devices may be tapping into levels of consciousness and processes we don’t yet understand. That said, apparently EVP does have an important role to play. This raises the question as to whether there is some sort of intersection of energy that occurs when an electromagnetic resonance is achieved between the operator, the device and the discarnate communicator.

Guiley who has been a regular experimenter of several real-time EVP devices including one called the “minibox” did an in-studio demonstration prior to going on-air with George Noory for his popular Coast to Coast AM broadcast. During the demonstration Noory asked why there was a need for a lot of background noise. “In order to talk to us, those in another dimension seem to do best when we give them a background of sounds. They’re not using the vocal cords of the living,” states Guiley. The communicators have said that “they manipulate energy on their side and sound on ours.”

As is well known, everything in our known universe including our selves operates within an electromagnetic spectrum. Ultrasonic sound frequencies occur well above 20 KHz, typically outside the range the human ear can pick up. However with the aid of certain background sounds, such as radio static coupled with the frequencies of the human electromagnetic energy field, the device may build a bridge where the EM frequencies can begin a resonance with each other and communication then ensues.

In fact, it has been recently discovered that the human heart actually emits much more energy both electrically and magnetically than that of the brain, making it a powerful conduit for connecting with energy sources well outside of our typical sensory system. This information would support the idea that an emotional connection, pure intent and love play a vital role in making a successful connection with loved ones in spirit.

Clearly, Talking to the Dead is a book whose focus is squarely on the history and advancements in technological spirit communication, however its consistent intimations of the vital role that psychic ability, consciousness and even alchemy play as necessary elements in bridging dimensional realms does not go unnoticed.

The book achieves balance by nicely weaving in correlations with experiments throughout the history of spirit communication, including the common theme that the discarnate communicators often play a support role in helping humans to develop such feats of technological expertise.

Rounding out its offering, the book also covers such elusive aspects as spirit forensics, the dark side in the lower astral realms and even sex in the afterlife.

Talking to the Dead gives readers a breadth and scope of resources for further investigation and also offers suggestions in its appendix for experimenting on your own with EVP.

One question that emerged both at the book’s beginning and end: what will be the societal implications once irrefutable proof of an afterlife is revealed, perhaps through the advancement of technology? Certainly our beliefs will be challenged; perhaps our entire worldview will need to be re-examined. We appear to be on the threshold of a paradigm shift for the entire planet, the information this book offers couldn’t be timelier!

As stated in its final pages: “Proof of the afterlife and communication with the Other Side will give us new knowledge of the process of dying and the transition to a new state of being. Redefining death will lead to a redefining of life. We will alter choices we make about how we live life.”

Give Talking to the Dead a read and contemplate the possibilities of life and beyond.

Book Publisher's Site - Talking to the Dead
Visionary Living – The Web Site of Rosemary Ellen Guiley
Coast to Coast AM’s Web Site with Host George Noory

Whitney’s Home-Going, Cissy’s Signal and the Omniscience of Spirit

2012-02-21T14:20:00.000-08:00

“Death is not the end, it is simply walking out of the physical form and into the spirit realm, which is our true home. It’s going back home.” – Stephen Christopher

The sudden passing of Whitney Houston left an indelible mark on millions of people who adored and cherished her vocal prowess, gleaming good looks and super iconic image. The timing could not have been more poignant – on the eve of music’s biggest night – The Grammy Awards. The news soared through the airwaves - seemingly faster than the speed of light. One of those moments where many will never forget where they were when they heard of the tragedy. As for me, I happened to be on a plane en route to Los Angeles to celebrate the 75th birthday of my own Grammy award winning cousin, jazz legend Nancy Wilson. My husband and I were so looking forward to spending a couple days in L.A. and then a drive to my family's 2,000 acre ranch near Palm Springs and a relaxing few days celebrating Nancy’s birthday. Nonetheless the news which conveniently carried on the TV screens of our jet heading west quickly eclipsed any chance of settling in comfortably for a long flight across the country. We virtually spent the entire 6 hour flight watching as the news unfolded with all its layers of so called “information” about what happened to Whitney.

Just one week later however what I, and many others at this point, have now read – a moving and frankly stunning letter to Whitney from her Mom which splashed the back page of her memorial program, amazed me even more – Cissy Houston’s revelation that she had been told by the Holy Spirit at Whitney’s birth that her daughter would not be with her long. Further Cissy recounted in the letter how she had been depressed, sad and crying for the last two months although she did not understand why this was so. In what was perhaps the most stunning of the confessions, she tells of the day Whitney would die, although not aware of it at the time, how the doorbell of her residence kept ringing, but when she went to answer it – no one was there. In hindsight Cissy believed this to be the spirit of her daughter coming to see her.

These are absolutely amazing scenarios that Cissy felt she needed to share with Whitney and ultimately, the world. Amazing at first glance, but the themes articulated in this poignant letter are not unfamiliar to many - both personally and in the field of “psi” and “survival of consciousness” research.

The data about such phenomena as premonitions or “presentiment,” a term used by psi researcher Dean Radin of which he defines as “a vague, non cognitive sense that something good or bad will occur,” suggests that our central nervous system has the capacity to respond to events and activities that have not yet played out in linear time. Cissy’s sense of foreboding, expressed by an insistent depression and sadness some two months prior to her daughter’s passing seems to indicate some aspect of presentiment taking place.

We’ve no doubt heard these sorts of accounts before. The literature is replete with instances, in particular of a loving parent receiving a nudge – a dream, a sense of something serious that is about to or has already happened to their child. This was no exception.

In Dr. Larry Dossey’s book The Power of Premonitions, he discusses research that was produced by the Institute of HeartMath, out of Boulder Creek, California, in which there is evidence showing “that the heart may register future events before the brain does,” thereby suggesting that the heart is a stronger conduit for events that may happen outside of our space-time continuum, and moreover that it is our link to receiving this information into conscious awareness. Given the emotional bond that can exist between a parent and child, incidents of premonition or presentiment occurring with the parent lend due credence to this theory, and that the heart’s emotional resonance may act as a doorway to be able to see, hear and moreover feel “future” events.

But what about the incident where Cissy laments about how the doorbell continuously rang, but no one was at the door? She even goes farther to say that she checked with her building’s concierge to find out whether they had seen anyone enter the building and go toward Cissy’s residence. They saw no one!

It is ironic that this month at Higher Journeys we are covering such issues as life after death and the evidence for such a phenomenon. After Death Communication or ADC’s of which I covered at some length in my review of the book Hello from Heaven discusses the myriad ways a person can be contacted by their deceased loved one. Although you could roughly put the “doorbell” experience in one of several categories, including: auditory ADC’s (which is typically hearing a voice), ADC’s of physical phenomena or material ADC’s seem to be quite a common occurrence among experiencers. Material ADC’s cover a range of physical phenomena that can occur either at or just after the death of someone, often a loved one. Accounts of lights turning on and off, doors opening and closing and even objects moving and levitating have been reported. I personally have experienced such phenomena of which I would put in this category. On the day my father-in-law passed away, we had just left the hospital and returned to the family home in New Jersey. After a short while, we began to witness one of the living room lamps turn on and off at least three times by itself. The lamp did not have a short and never displayed such behavior prior to. On another occasion, another family member recounted an incident on the day of his mother’s funeral. Mourners had gathered at the home of the loved one for a reception. While sitting at the dining room table, several witnessed a glass inexplicably lift slightly and sweep across to the other end of the table. This family member is convinced that it was the spirit of his deceased mother.

These phenomena are thousands, perhaps millions in number and have occurred throughout human history. Cissy Houston apparently witnessed first-hand the miracle of her daughter’s spirit coming to signal her transition. Although the data alone could make a plausible case for life after death, I think what will carry as absolute validation of such a phenomenon is the anecdotes that persist in our own experience both individually and universally. For as Albert Einstein once said, “The only source of knowledge is experience.”

On another sad and ironic note, on the day of Whitney’s service, my husband and I - still out in California amid the quiet mountains of the high desert, received a call that our cat Paws, who had been ill, was dying. Invariably, while we both sat on the phone with the doctor in tears, Paws took his last breath lying in the arms of a loving caretaker at the hospital. The night before he passed, I dreamt that we were at home and I kept hearing his meowing, loud and distinct but I could not find him. Fate it is said is not without a sense of irony – My love for this angelic animal triggered what I will call a presentiment that I shall never forget.

Rest in peace, Whitney and Paws. Much love and eternal life to you both!

Footnote: The author has decided to not quote directly from the “letter” described herein due to the nebulous nature of whether its dissemination was intended by the family of Whitney Houston. If you are interested in seeing the program and the letter, you will find many copies of it available online, although I urge you to use constraint in its further dissemination out of respect for the family and the fact that legally, this may not be public domain.

Further Reading:
The Power of Premonitions – How Knowing the Future Can Shape Our Lives, Larry Dossey, M.D.
(Click on the book image below to purchase from Amazon)

Investigating Life Beyond Death

2012-02-06T11:38:00.000-08:00

The prospect of the afterlife has both eluded and intrigued mankind since the beginning. The “survival of consciousness” theory has been studied, scrubbed, and hypothesized from virtually every conceivable angle and still, no one knows for sure just what, if, or how it exists. I covered the “survival” issue in two of my previously published articles: Hello from Heaven as well as my interview with psychic medium John Edward in an effort to glean some insight as to what this is all about. Still, I can only wonder and no doubt continue to be amazed!

To kick off our February Afterlife series, it is my pleasure to welcome New York Times bestselling author, Eldon Taylor as a guest blogger to Higher Journeys. Eldon is an award winning author of over 300 books, and audio and video programs. He is the inventor of the patented InnerTalk technology and the founder and President of Progressive Awareness Research. He has been called a “master of the mind” and has appeared as an expert witness on both hypnosis and subliminal communication.

Eldon does an incredible job of investigating this highly provocative subject, maintaining neutrality throughout and inviting the reader to explore along with him as he presents a well rounded and multifaceted approach to his research. I encourage you to take a listen to the interviews he conducted, which boasts incredible depth and perspective and from a broad range of sources on a subject that continues to gain interest and momentum among the masses – life after death!

Enjoy!

Investigating Life Beyond Death by Eldon Taylor

The idea of life after death is a subject that cynics often debase by using that old Freudian logic, “Religion is a sugar-coated neurotic crutch.” They may continue by drawing on the words of the philosopher, John Wisdom, pointing out that it’s a bit like having Daddy at the end of the hall when you have a nightmare or become afraid.

The Creator by whatever name is of course responsible for providing an after-life. As such, it doesn’t matter if you’re a deist or theist or even an agnostic, proof of the after life does not necessarily imply the living existence of the Creator. After all, as some have insisted, God may have created everything but then he must have died or there would be no evil in the world, and so forth.

Personal Consciousness Surviving the Grave?

Now this article is not intended to investigate the various philosophies behind the notion of a Divine creator, but rather to tackle the idea of personal consciousness surviving the grave. For in the great grand scheme of it all, it is the next step from this earth plane that should be of our utmost interest.

Thirty years ago I gave little thought to the after-life, if any. Few of us actually turn our thoughts to dying when we’re young, vital and exploring the cornucopia of life. Then one day, in what seems as the blink of an eye, we are looking back on fifty, sixty and even more years and our interest in life after death takes on a new role. At least it did for myself and those around me.

My Research

I decided to investigate the matter and see just what evidence I could find. I was aware of the many stories regarding reincarnation but as a skeptic by nature, I was also aware of the frauds. I knew of the famous case of Bridey Murphy, by way of example, and how this story that grabbed the imagination of the world turned out to be easily dismissed as false.
I had seen specials on television and read books on electronic voice phenomena or ghost recordings. I purchased expensive special equipment and failed to capture any of my own. Still, I met a neurosurgeon who had the voice of his best friend on tape and the recording was made months after the friend had passed over. Could this be true?

I spoke with mediums and researched the history of their dialogues, séances and what not, all calling upon the deceased to share information about the other side. I even found a research study that purported to verify the veracity of certain claims made by some mediums. Still, I knew all about the skeptics opinion on matters of this nature and I had seen Professor Ray Hyman dupe an audience into believing he was psychic when in fact he employed only the skills and tools of a good psychologist. I had also read the papers of famous debunkers like Michael Shermer and as a result I knew all about cold readings, warm readings and the like. Indeed, as a former criminalist who specialized in lie detection and interrogation, I knew all about the information our faces and body give away without us ever speaking a word. So could I trust the medium?

I created a reconnoiter and systematically included all of the possible areas from which a good case might be built that would either prove or disprove life after death. My list included everything from near death experiences to animal psychics who allegedly speak with our deceased pets. I read the books, searched out the research papers, investigated both sides of the aisle, interviewed the experts, and when I was done I reached my verdict. To that end I have compiled seventeen interviews with experts from every area of enquiry and I would like your verdict. Did I prepare a case that either proves or disproves life beyond death to a standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt?”

What Do You Think?

Listen to all seventeen interviews absolutely free by going to this link today: Beyond A Reasonable Doubt

Visit Eldon's web site at: www.eldontaylor.com

Navigate the Shift with Behavior Modification

2012-01-31T16:21:00.000-08:00

American inventor and philosopher R. Buckminster Fuller once said, “If humanity does not opt for integrity we are through completely. It is absolutely touch and go. Each one of us could make the difference.”

Of course one might consider this a dire prophecy or a unique opportunity. Many have agreed that we are at a fork in the road of our evolution. This “shift” of consciousness both planetary and even universally is no-doubt affecting us individually as well. While some are experiencing awakening and expansion, others are existing within ultimate repression, conflict and fear. But are these effects subjective? Moreover, can each one of us make the difference and in so doing experience a reversal of fortune?

There is a statistic that has been postulated, most famously by author and speaker Gregg Braden in which he calculates that if only the square root of 1 percent of the population made a conscious decision to change (in whatever direction it chose), that would be enough to shift the entire human paradigm. Given that we have nearly 7 billion people on the planet, that means it would take less than 9,000 people to modify an entire planet, hopefully for the better, kinder and more loving - and catapult us into a burgeoning new age. This would indeed lift the quarantine of repression, whether self inflicted or super imposed and we would then flourish individually and en masse.

How empowering it is to contemplate the innate wonders we all possess, but even more empowering it is to know that just a tiny fraction of the population can “bootstrap” the rest for the betterment of the whole. That is utterly amazing!

It Starts With Behavior Modification

We have heard it many times, we are the change we’ve been waiting for, but what does that really mean? Do we have the capacity to change? Of course we do. If we make an agreement and commitment with ourselves to take even baby steps in the direction of modifying behaviors that no longer serve us and embrace and act on new ones that do, we will no doubt begin to go with the shift, and not against it.

Here are a few things that can move us in that direction…

Kindness – It cannot be said enough, even the smallest acts of kindness can shift an entire mood for the one you’ve been kind to and to yourself. But there may even be greater implications. Many have heard of The Butterfly Effect - the process by which a small change occurring in “non-linear time” can affect great changes across vast distances. Make a decision to initiate a small act of kindness on a regular basis, say, leaving a quarter in a parking meter for the next car or holding the door open for the person behind you and watch (or trust) that wonders will unfold!

Pray for a Stranger – I’ve found this incredibly powerful. When I converse with the Creator, often with a list of requests, I’ll ask that a blessing be granted to someone I do not know. “Give someone good news today – something that could change their life for the better…” Understanding that indeed we are all part of one grand creation and are thus connected, by expressing good intentions for a “stranger” we are fortifying ourselves with blessings as well!

Compassion and Empathy – Sometimes, we are confronted with a person (a colleague, family member or stranger) who will exhibit behavior that is say, less than desirable. They may be mean and bossy, tricky and not trustworthy, jealous and competitive. Chances are, people who behave in this manner are conflicted in some way and for some reason. Rather than lash out in a knee jerk response, find a way, even if in silence, to feel love and empathy for that person and if possible, share a kind word to defuse their typical behavior. Both of you will have the opportunity to feel and be the better for it.

Laugh Out Loud – Laughter is well noted to fire up endorphins that fill the body with life giving properties. Make a commitment to have at least one good laugh a day (and not at somebody else’s expense, BTW). Laughter is also contagious!! How can we go wrong there?

Honor Your Self – We live in a world of hierarchical systems. Somehow man became habituated toward process and protocol, class and status. These have no doubt degraded the quality of the ultimate creation – you! No matter what and no matter when external messages may intimate otherwise, you must step out of this and honor yourself. Get quiet and contemplate who and what you are. Thank the Creator for you, even with all of your perceived flaws and mistakes. Cherish your creativity and own your dreams. Absolutely no system can take that away from you!

Make Conscious Choices – You’ve heard the dictum, “don’t believe the hype.” The “hype” is escalating in subtle and profound ways: chiefly, through our media. With all of the conveniences and technologies we have to follow, conform and react to “information,” we still have a choice - especially if the information is not serving us. Make a choice, to tune out what doesn’t serve you. Take a “nightly news diet.” Instead, read a book, watch a lecture, listen to music. Bring yourself back to equilibrium by not allowing mass messages to interrupt or co-opt your flow. You have the choice. Take it.

Give Thanks for the Experience – As hard a pill as this reality (as many are experiencing it) may be to swallow, there is still something beautifully exquisite, grand and creative about all of its nuances. Perhaps we all agreed to be here at this pivotal time to witness it, with all of its gradations, first hand. We have the opportunity to give thanks for being an integral part of this wonderful “project” and perhaps by the simple act of giving thanks we will usher in an even greater spectacle than we could ever imagine!

These are but a few conscious steps each of us can take. No doubt, you have heard some semblance of these before, but I think it bears repeating and now more than ever! There is indeed an urgency of now! For as Buckminster Fuller repeatedly indicated: “We are facing our final evolutionary exam. Is the human species fit to survive? Can we wake up sufficiently so that we can use our prodigious powers for the good of all, and for the many generations to come?”

Perhaps a modification in behavior beholds the correct answers for the evolutionary exam we are inevitably facing. Indeed we are the change we have been waiting for!

2012 and the Dichotomy of Consciousness

2012-01-20T15:23:00.000-08:00

I recall waxing philosophical many years ago with a friend about the prospect of one day seeing a world where extreme opposites will co-exist - where humans will engage in the worst of behavior and the best; apathy will sit side by side with empathy, greed with giving and so on. But then we reasoned, just as the darkest times are usually an indicator of the birth of a brighter day, such will be the case when the dichotomy of consciousness reaches its peak.

This seems to be the climate in which we are currently immersed. From my own purview, as both a businesswoman and a writer within the alternative/consciousness genre, I have seen a steady escalation of cognitive dissonance, ignorance and apathy and yet within the same framework, a movement of awakening, freedom, generosity and love have also tipped the scale.

Take the proliferation of the various occupy movements; groups of fiercely committed citizens, who have roused to the idea that our freedoms have been hijacked and the behavior of our financial institutions will no longer be tolerated. Initially this was seen as a protest in a vacuum, but then it quickly spread, dotting the land, gaining momentum with emotional equity and commitment to the point where it could no longer be ignored. Concurrently, there seems to be an epidemic of people wallowing in the coma of complacency, disconnected from their surroundings, cocooned in a comfort zone of day-to-day life and oblivious to any prospect of anything beyond what they can see and do.

Shortly after the 9/11 events, I published an article called Victims of the Attack – Martyrs for Meaning in which I quoted noted author PMH Atwater. In it she said: "(This event represented) a wake-up call (that) was needed - one horrendous enough to reverberate across our country and the globe, affecting every man, woman, and child and in every nation. Many are those who have grown complacent in life - sloppy of dress, rigid in beliefs, uncaring in the consequences of personal activities, ever needful of another addiction convincing enough to prove we are alive…The people who died sacrificed their lives to make the statement that none of us can continue to live the way we have. It is time to awaken…Our complacency comes from putting 'things' ahead of service and investment; a consumerism gone mad, a spirituality deemed little more than new age nonsense."

It is time to awaken, and perhaps this dichotomy of consciousness is a litmus test to see who will do just that. Within this matrix of messages, it cannot be stated enough: WE HAVE CHOICE - Choice to not conform to status quo ideologies. Choice to see and experience the wonder of life and human potential. Choice to educate ourselves beyond the systematic framework. Choice to question and most importantly, choice to change.

2012, I sense is part of a collection of years, both pre and post, that is nudging us to realize that we are indeed on the precipice of such wonders, but is beckoning our participation with firm conviction. Will you expand or repress consciousness? By committing to divorcing from the cacophony of the current world and joining the new, we will become the change we’ve been so longing to see. Which side of the dichotomy are you going to occupy?

2012: A Year of Fire & Change - By Guest Blogger Rosemary Ellen Guiley

2012-01-13T10:09:00.000-08:00

It is my absolute pleasure to introduce prolific author, researcher and speaker (and old friend) Rosemary Ellen Guiley!

In keeping with this month's "2012" theme, Rosemary gives us a snapshot of what 2012 could represent for many of us on the planet - swift and sweeping changes, evolution, risk, reward. It's all packed in what many have deemed a turning point in our existence...

Strap yourself in: 2012 is going to be a fast and sometimes rough ride – but not without reward. In Chinese astrology, we are entering the year of the dragon, and those who know how to master the beast will achieve what they want. Precision thinking and action are emphasized this year, and the adage “be careful what you wish for” takes on new importance. The dragon is all about swift transformation.

The dragon embodies knowledge, wisdom and power, and the ability to both destroy and create. Dragons breathe fire, ice and poison, all fearsome means of destruction. The fire energy is especially potent, and dragon energy can lay waste to a landscape in life in nothing flat. The destruction, however, is a fast track to change. The ashes fertilize new growth.

This energy of dramatic destruction followed by creation will characterize the year. To benefit from dragon energy, it is important to be clear and focused about what needs to go and what needs to come in. Let go of whatever you no longer need and pursue the things you want to manifest in your life. Spend time daily in meditation to set and visualize goals, then follow through with action. Fire energy is intense, so persevere, even when the going gets tough.

Above all, apply your knowledge, wisdom and power with discretion. Dragon energy will ultimately destroy blind and misplaced ambition, but it serves those who choose the high road.

The illustration shown above is taken from the King of Staffs card in The Alchemical Tarot, a book and deck set co-created by me and artist Robert Michael Place, who designed all of the cards and holds the copyright to them. Staffs represents getting things done in the material world, and the dragon king and his fiery energy represent inspired choices and decision-making, authority, power, and mastery over one's domain. My thanks to Bob for permission to use his work.

About Rosemary Ellen Guiley
Rosemary Ellen Guiley is one of the leading experts on the paranormal with more than 47 books published by major houses on a wide range of paranormal, spiritual, and mystical topics, including nine single-volume encyclopedias. Her work is translated into 14 languages. She has worked full-time in the paranormal since 1983, researching, investigating, writing, and presenting, and teaching. Her present work focuses interdimensional entity contact experiences of all kinds, technological and mediumistic spirit communications, spiritual growth and development, problem hauntings, and “portals,” or geographic areas of intense paranormal activity. She spends a great deal of her time out in the field conducting investigations and research.
Be sure to visit her site at: www.visionaryliving.com

2012: Trepidation or Transformation?

2012-01-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

We have every indication that we are on the precipice of an apocalypse: drastic climate change, economic meltdown, the gradual but certain crumbling of nearly every system we’ve held near and dear to us for generations. Seemingly insurmountable challenges are duking it out with larger than life opportunities – and the challenges appear to be going the full distance: repeatedly getting up with inexhaustible energy. The trajectory seems obvious. Or does it?

First off, when we use the term apocalypse, many assume that to mean: disaster, destruction, the end. Not true. Apocalypse actually means, the revealing; the uncovering. But uncovering of what?

The supposed ending of the Mayan calendar, December 21, 2012 is the impetus for what has become nothing short of widespread chatter and often deleterious influences led by Hollywood, the media, and the Internet - somehow deciding that the consequence of this rare galactic alignment which is set to happen on 12/21/2012, equals catastrophe. When a message and its inferences become redundant and in an age where news travels in a nanosecond, belief is apt to be adopted as consensus - and quickly. Couple that with the absolute insanity we are seeing around us: the steady escalation of “junk news and views,” the hyper activity of consumerism and the growing polarity, pitting people against people on every conceivable subject and it seems as though something absolutely horrible is all but certain.

Let’s consider that if indeed we are on the edge of an uncovering – a revealing of some sort, what’s to be revealed may very well transform human kind in ways that were heretofore unimaginable. Maybe we are about to experience the tipping point of a collective shift that will allow man to finally be who and what he was truly meant to be – and maybe there are some that just do not want to see this happen, hence the desperate attempt to keep us deaf, dumb and distracted with “their” version of what 2012 has in store for us.

I for one have always been a proponent of consciousness creating reality as opposed to reality creating us; ergo, if we decide that what we’re tuning into; the white noise jumping out of the media machine and into our heads, is real – certainly we are adding fuel to the fire that “they” want us to believe – we are helping to set up the template for creating that reality. The emotional result will no doubt be absolute trepidation and the opportunity to transform, greatly diminished.

Many have confused this information with wisdom, never considering that the “information” may belie the truth. If we are to properly navigate this shift - responsibility, discernment and independent thinking must take precedence!

In The Mystery of 2012 – Predictions, Prophecies and Possibilities, acclaimed author and contributor Peter Russell writes, “At this point, the growth rate of human knowledge will be reaching its own maximum…knowledge is not the end point of the evolution of intelligence. Many have pointed to a hierarchy of data, information, knowledge and wisdom. Information can be defined as the patterns extracted from raw data. Knowledge is the generalization of information to other situations. Wisdom determines how that knowledge is used. It involves discernment and evaluation…At present, humanity has vast amounts of knowledge, but still very little wisdom. Without developing wisdom, it is most unlikely that we will avoid catastrophe.”

We are being presented with the opportunity to transform, but with this one obvious caveat as Russell so succinctly articulates.

Free will is the ability to make choices without any intervention or any pre-set belief system imposing its paradigm on us. Appearances can be deceiving. Let us go beyond the appearances of what seems to be and commit to choosing from a point of discernment, love and wisdom and the revealing of something grand is sure to meet us half way.

I absolutely recommend the book mentioned, herein: The Mystery of 2012 - Predictions, Prophecies & Possibilities. This is an intelligent collection of essays and approaches to the "2012" phenomenon by some of the best thinkers, philosophers and researchers of today. Included are essays by:
Jose Arguelles, Ph.D., Gregg Braden, John Major Jenkins, Peter Russell, Jay Weidner and others. I consider this to be a well rounded, comprehensive and diverse volume on a subject that we've yet to see fully unfold!

Click on the image below to buy it from Amazon.

What On (This) Earth Does "11" Mean?

2011-12-29T16:11:00.000-08:00

You're hearing about it more and more; this perplexing and increasingly ubiquitous phenomenon of people looking at clocks, receipts, signs - and the number 11 is staring back at them. Of course the most frequently talked about is 11:11 (The official make a wish time), but my surmise is that it goes much deeper than that.

It happened to both me and my husband in 2005 during an extraordinarily emotional time in our lives. We were renovating our home. Stress and anxiety was at peak levels for both of us. We had also experienced some curious shift of energy in our home; nothing of the negative sort but certainly a recognizable and all-encompassing change of atmosphere, well beyond whatever aesthetic changes we were making. I found myself glimpsing at the clock - any clock - all clocks, and there it was: 3:11, 1:11, 8:11, 12:11, and yes, 11:11. This was occurring far beyond the probability of "chance." Initially I would just smile when it would show up. After a few serendipitous occurrences I took notice of it a bit more. When the majority of the time I glanced up to see the time and invariably it would be 11 after the hour, I thought "okay, what on God's Green Earth is happening here?"

As a metaphysical researcher, I had been somewhat familiar with some of the more elusive aspects of numbers and symbols as they relate to dimensional reality. I was aware that numbers are a language of sorts, they interact with our planet; our solar system; the galaxy. They map the constellations, and our DNA! But this intrusion of 11 and further why it seemed to be showing up with such tenacity and why now, I did not know.

I scoured the Internet, doing key word searches like, "seeing 11 on the clock" "11 after the hour" and "people seeing 11" to learn whether I was just losing my sense of reality or whether I had company! Only a few obscure references came up, but certainly enough to suggest that something was going on.

Finally I couldn't hold it back any longer. I decided to confide in my husband: "Honey, I'm seeing 11 on the clock all the time...". No sooner did I get the phrase out of my mouth when my husband glanced at me with the most perplexing look. "Me too!" I didn't know whether to jump for joy that I was not alone in this odyssey or shutter with fear that this was some menacing omen.

This all began for us six years ago, and it has not relented since. And apparently, neither for the increasing numbers of us who are somehow privy to something that means something VERY timely and relevant. Today (as of the date of this writing), if you search "11:11" on Google, you will get approximately 1,700,000,000 (that's 1.7 billion!) results. If you search "people seeing 11 all of the time", you'll get 944,000,000 (close to 1 billion)! Talk about the significance of numbers!

What is Going On?

Theories abound, we are now seeing every conceivable explanation, from every aspect of the new age, the occult, and numerology circles.

From the 1111spiritguardians.com website, it says:
These 11:11 Wake-Up Calls on your digital clocks, mobile phones, VCR’s and microwaves are the "trademark" prompts of a group of just 1,111 fun-loving Spirit Guardians, or Angels, and the 11:11 prompt is their way of using our innate ability for pattern recognition to let us know that they are here. Once they have your attention, they will use other digits, like 12:34, or 2:22 to remind you of their presence. Invisible to our eyes, they are very real.

From the crystalinks.com website, it states:
Seeing 11:11 frequently creates synchronicities and changes in one's life to understand reality and where consciousness is going.

In Numerology 11 represents impractical idealism, visionary, refinement of ideals, intuition, revelation, artistic and inventive genius, avant-garde, androgynous, film, fame, refinement fulfilled when working with a practical partner. Eleven is a higher octave of the number two. It carries psychic vibrations and has an equal balance of masculine and feminine properties. 11 represents balance.

Then of course there are those prophetic associations one cannot resist tethering to the “11” anomaly:

September 11, 2001 (aka, 9:11)
December 21, 2012, which of course is said to be the end of the Mayan Calendar. (if you add up 1,2,2,1,2,0,1,2 you get 11)
And so on...

Now publishers from both New Age and even more mainstream genres are seeing fit to release a whole lot of books on the subject (I will reference a few at the end of this article). YouTube has no shortage of videos on the subject as well. At last check when I searched “11:11” within YT, I got 16,600,000 (that’s 16.6 million videos). Of course, not all videos are directly related to the phenomenon that we are speaking of, but a staggering amount were!

I found this short video to be somewhat objective in its approach to the subject, while not backing away from the "11" significance...

Note that this video has received almost half a million views!

What I find the most intriguing are the myriad anecdotes that just keep pouring in; the online threads, twitter chats, etc where people tell their 11 stories, initially with a sense of trepidation and more recently with a sense of purpose.

I was chatting with my dear friend's nephew maybe a couple of years ago. He was around 8 or 9 at the time. Nothing in particular would lead him to talk about "11", but all of a sudden, in a childlike way he uttered, "every time I look at the clock it says 11 and it's really weird!" That was it for me. I called it to my husband's attention; and told the little boy to tell my husband what he had just said, just to make sure I was hearing it correctly. All my husband could do was shake his head in disbelief.

Could the "11 experience" be some covert mind mapping program to keep the masses in servitude? Could it be a signal from "beyond" about the current and accelerating shift? Could this shift indicate a thinning of the dimensional veils and 11 be some sort of a numeric portal? Could it be the angelic realms making their presence known through the twin doorways just to give us a wink and a nod? Could it be a complex vibrational resonance preparing us for 4th density existence? Could it be all of the above? Perhaps.

As much as I would love to have some definitive answer for you (and for me): the ultimate meaning; its significance - obviously I cannot do that. What I will commit to is that some sort of phenomenon is occurring here. Its presence to more and more on this planet is burgeoning. My sense is that its proportions are big, the implications vast, and conceivably its revelations forthcoming. Will it be on December 21st 2012? Sometime beyond?

As the Anchorman behind the camera says: stay tuned! And as I will say, "stay tuned in: this channel will one day surely be revealed."

Interested in reading about the "11" phenomenon? Here are some titles you may find interesting (click on the book image to purchase from Amazon.com)

11:11 - The Time Prompt Phenomenon - Marie D. Jones and Larry Flaxman

A Search for 11:11 - A Journey Into the Spirit World (The 11:11 Documents) - George Mathieu Barnard

The 11:11 Code - Secrets of the Convent - Hilary Carter

Three Minute "Mindfulness" Meditation by Bestselling Author Sonia Choquette

2011-12-24T12:27:00.000-08:00

I have become simply enchanted by this lovely individual and spiritual teacher, Sonia Choquette; by her wisdom and by her common sense approach about the very thing that eludes the ego but imbues the spirit, and the channel that we use to access "spirit." Our intuition. I "happened" upon this interview she gave back in February of this year, where she discusses, among other things mindfulness meditation. The timing of my "stumbling upon" this interview, only several days after posting part two of How To Meditate where we highlighted "the mindfulness approach to meditative practice," serves as being nothing short of synchronistic!

In this segment of the interview, Sonia reminds us that you must frame meditation correctly. Take a temporary pause from everyday life. Yes BE in the moment. She says, "your emotional self lives in the past - your mental self lives in the future and you can't create or be intuitive in the past or the future." You can only access intuitive guidance from a position of being present.

Watch this video and get a wonderful suggestion on how we can access our unfailing intuitive aspect with this useful three minute meditation. I also urge you to watch the interview in its entirety on YouTube, and brought to you by Conversations with Robin.

In the spirit of the Holiday season, let us all be present to ourselves and to each other. May you all be blessed beyond your wildest dreams!

Happy Holidays!

Read Sonia's latest book:

How To Meditate - Part Two

2011-12-19T12:31:00.000-08:00

In part one of How to Meditate; we established that there are a range of modalities that can be utilized to achieve a meditative state. We understand that the practice of meditation generally aims to produce a peak level of awareness as the brain shifts into a slightly hypnogogic or alpha wave pattern, which sets the stage for a potentially effective and authentic meditative experience.

But why is it that we have a desire to meditate and what is it that we endeavor to obtain from the act of meditation? Again, I would venture to say that there is no singular answer to this question. Each individual has their own motivations for incorporating this practice into their lives. However, one theme that seems to be common among avid practitioners is to obtain spiritual enlightenment, through the act of "Being", ergo recognizing that we are simply and profoundly spiritual beings. In our everyday waking lives we are not generally experiencing this aspect of ourselves. Deep meditation can bring us back to that objective "being-ness."

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the late founder and leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement wrote in his book by the same name, "Experience shows that Being is bliss consciousness, the source of all thinking, of all existing creation. It lies out of relative existence where the experiencer or mind is left awake by itself in full awareness of itself without any experience of an object. The conscious mind reaches the state of pure consciousness which is the source of all thinking. ...Being is the absolute in eternal freedom." Therefore, to experience the essential nature of Being (pure consciousness) is to experience enlightenment, or Being-in-the-light.

Meditation as a Bridge to "Non Ordinary Reality"

Many have reported that their meditative experiences have sometimes yielded unexpected shifts in reality; unusual events that we might deem anomalous. Others have admitted that they have used meditation to consciously traverse these mysterious realms.

Out of body experience (OBE) or astral travel, angelic/spirit communication and even the impingement of parallel dimensions on ones awareness have oft been reported as an epiphenomenon of deep meditation. These excursions can tantalize the meditator to the extent that they subsequently become a primary aim of the practice where others may be taken so off guard by the shock of the experience that they cease meditating out of fear of the unknown, or the prospect that they may be going "insane." For some people, regularly practiced meditation can even develop one's psychic "muscle" producing occasional non-ordinary states even during everyday activity.

One example is offered by Dr. Mitchell Gibson, M.D., a former practicing board certified psychiatrist and recipient of the Albert Einstein Foundation Research Award for his work in Sleep Disorders. Through many years of conscious spiritual exploration, Gibson recognized that in spite of his medical training, which is rooted in material science leaving no room for mystical experience, he was nonetheless drawn to its foundations through a number of phenomena that he had witnessed firsthand including during his training and practice as a medical doctor. Gibson had begun meditating at the age of twelve, after a Buddhist monk had visited his grade school to teach the class about meditation. He recounts an experience where during which time he had discovered his meditations were taking on some anomalous "side effects." While in his first year of medical school during gross anatomy where students work on deceased individuals who have donated their bodies to science, Gibson tells of an encounter where he had begun making an incision on a male cadaver and upon first touching the body, he began to get energetic impressions, emotions and fleeting images from his consciousness. He then recognized that these were directly emanating from the cadaver. Frightened by the experience, he decided to cease meditating for the next two or so years or else be in a state (he feared) of mental instability. Fortunately, he ultimately did not let these experiences deter him from his quest to understand the more mystical and wider aspects of reality. As a result, Gibson has retired from the traditional practice of psychiatry and has devoted his time to writing, teaching and spiritual research. He now works full time helping hundreds of clients on a spectrum of spiritual issues.

Well known in the field of consciousness research, Dr. Stanislav Grof, M.D. discusses an incident in his book The Holotropic Mind, in which his wife Christine during her first marriage had an incredibly profound experience occur during a meditation retreat facilitated by Swami Muktananda:

"During a meditation period, he (Muktananda) first looked at me and then, with some force, slapped me several times on the forehead with his hand. The impact of that seemingly simple event blew the lid off the experiences, emotions, and energies I had been holding down since (her daughter) Sarah's birth.

Suddenly I felt as though I had been plugged into a high-voltage socket as I started to shake uncontrollably. My breathing fell into an automatic, rapid rhythm that seemed beyond my control, and a multitude of visions flooded my consciousness. I wept as I felt myself being born; I experienced death; I plunged into pain and ecstasy, strength and gentleness, love and fear, depths and heights. I was on an experiential roller coaster, and I knew I could no longer contain it. The genie was out of the bottle."
(This account quoted in The Holotropic Mind and taken from The Stormy Search For The Self, Christina Grof, Stanislav Grof, -Los Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher, 1990)

I have had my own, you might say, "curious" phenomena emerge from some of my meditative sessions. I cannot say I have consciously experienced an OBE during meditation (although I sense I've actually had many), but there have been occasions when I could feel my awareness shifting gears into a state that was far less concrete and even timeless. Some of the familiar hallmarks associated with the out of body state including, temporary paralysis, humming or vibrating sensations and a sinking feeling are all qualities I have felt at one time or another during my meditation. These are typically known as preludes to an OBE.

Focused Meditation for Specific Outcomes

Others take on meditation with more practical applications in mind.

Karen Murray, a well recognized commercial voice actress from New York City, and meditator trained in TM, had been going the traditional route to find that special someone to be a part of her life. It occurred to her however that intention based meditation; the act of mentally rehearsing a desired outcome through visualization might be an effective alternative.

She began a daily practice of listening to the guided meditation CD by Kathy Freston entitled Finding a Great Relationship which allowed her to shape in her mind's eye, a specific scenario, in which she would meet the perfect male companion.

"I had been using the meditation CD for about three months. On command, I found myself envisioning this scene of being at my local grocery store, specifically in the health food aisle. I was always looking at the same shelf. There is this man standing next to me also looking for organic food items. I could feel that he wanted to say something to me; look for a reason to approach me. Maybe make conversation around eating healthy or something." Karen said that this was a recurring scene during the meditations, as if on auto pilot, landing on her awareness without any cajoling on her part. Was Karen initiating the vision entirely herself, or was she getting a glimpse of the actual "future" that was in store for her (the grocery store, that is)?

Not too long after these series of visions, Karen indeed had been at this same market and as she approaches the check out, she notices an attractive man in front of her. When space allowed for her to unload her groceries onto the belt, the man then turns around, their eyes lock, and then he quips, "so what's the difference between organic and regular eggs? I've been trying to eat more healthy." Preceding the question Karen again felt that he would say something to her, just like in the vision.

Although no match was made on that day, the two again ran into each other about a month later in the same grocery store. "Organic chicken?" "No, eggs," Karen reminded. This second encounter led to the two having their first date, a relationship quickly followed and they have been inseparable ever since - for over two years!

What was taking place during these guided meditations? Karen insists that the act of the repeating visualization cemented a probability of the encounter manifesting, although the actual event was slightly different than she had envisioned. But moreover, considering the hypothesis that time and space may be just a physical construct with no basis in ultimate reality, during deep meditation, one may exit the linear confines and enter the no-time zone, whereby glimpsing any one level of the continuum as the ever present now, including what we call the "future!"

Grof states, "...transpersonal consciousness allows us to experience past and future, leaping across boundaries that clocks, calendars, and the aging of our own bodies seem to make so inexorable." A multitude of findings, primarily within the quantum theoretical framework, clearly give pause for thought on the "no time" hypothesis.

As a footnote, Karen’s dear friend and neighbor Rhonda trialed another Preston guided meditation, called Abundance at the same time Karen was meditating, both beginning in September of 2008. Concurrently, the two also practiced yoga together several mornings a week in Rhonda’s apartment. Rhonda had been repeatedly unsuccessful in bringing a child into this world. She and her husband sorely wanted children. In the guided meditation, Rhonda settled into a vision of seeing she and her husband travelling around the world, with children in tow! The tenacity of that vision as well made an imprint on Rhonda’s consciousness and as a result (directly or indirectly), she became pregnant in November of that same year and now has a healthy young boy!

The implications are staggering– Not only do we create our own reality, but have far more control over the reality we create, and meditation may be a fitting channel to do just that!

One final point that is worth noting: despite the temptation to assign “power” to the things we may use in meditation whether guided meditation cds, crystals, singing bowls, whatever - they are merely tools and nothing more. YOU are the true force that’s creating the results, in whatever form they may take, from finding a mate to having a child to advancing your own psychic attunement. Never forget that and you will truly come to know that the possibilities are endless and you are in the driver’s seat!

Further Reading/References: (Note all titles are available from Amazon.com - Click on the Image below.)

Transcendental Meditation (Formerly Titled: The Science of Being and the Art of Living) - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

The Living Soul - Mitchell Earl Gibson, M.D.

The Holotropic Mind - Stanislav Grof, M.D. (with Hal Zina Bennett)

Finding A Great Relationship (CD) - Kathy Freston

Abundance (CD) - Kathy Freston

Sound Vibration Healing - Solfeggio Frequency Meditation

2011-12-15T06:27:00.000-08:00

As an addendum to our How to Meditate article, I thought you would enjoy this little gem I recently found. This video incorporates both sound and imagery to relax, heal and obtain a "liberation from fear." It is based on the Solfeggio Frequencies described as "...an ancient musical scale that was thought to be lost centuries ago and replaced with the scale that is used today (12 tone equal temperament with A=440). They are the original sound frequencies used in Ancient Gregorian chants including the great hymn to St. John the Baptist." - From the Source Vibrations web site.

See the Source Vibrations web site for more wonderful guided meditations incorporating these sacred elements!

Enjoy the Journey!

How to Meditate

2011-12-14T08:22:00.000-08:00

Upon first glance you may be thinking that this is a step by step guide on how to meditate. This is not at all a treatise about a singular approach. My sense is that there is no such thing as the way to do anything, not the least of which is this ancient practice we call meditation. And frankly, that’s great news! Rather, what we will be exploring here is the myriad ways meditation can be practiced AND be equally effective for your own personal journey. Since I began meditating, well over thirty years ago when my parents "dragged" me to a Transcendental Meditation (TM) class along with them, (and I’m thanking them to this day) I've come to the conclusion that there are probably as many approaches to meditation as there are people partaking in its practice.

What is Meditation?

To meditate: is defined as: 1. To engage in contemplation or reflection; 2. To engage in mental exercise (as concentration on one’s breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness.(Merriam-Webster, 2011)

At its most basic level and now widely accepted understanding, meditation is simply stilling the mind and settling into the ever present "now.” When we also take into consideration that past and future are simply linear constructs and the present is all that exists (and persists), the process for focusing on the now can become a lot easier to experience and the practice of meditation far more effective. Perhaps it would be helpful to meditate on that concept, in and of itself.

In Echkart Tolle’s bestseller, The Power of Now, he explains, “Just become intensely conscious of the present moment. This is a deeply satisfying thing to do. In this way, you draw consciousness away from mind activity and create a gap of no-mind in which you are highly alert and aware but not thinking. This is the essence of meditation.”

Lynne McTaggart, author of The Intention Experiment gives a curiously similar summation as it pertains to the satisfaction of fully experiencing the ever present “now” which in the book she terms mindfulness. “More than just concentration, mindfulness requires that you police the focus of your concentration and maintain that concentration in the present. With practice, you will be able to silence the constant inner chatter of your mind and concentrate on your sensory experience, no matter how mundane – whether it is eating a meal, hugging your child, noticing some pain you are experiencing, or just picking some lint off your sweater.” She goes on, “In time, mindfulness meditation will also heighten your visual perceptions and prevent you from becoming numb to your everyday experience.”

Forms of Effective Meditation

Keep in mind that the practice of meditation aims at accomplishing a deeply contemplative or reflective state, peak awareness or mindfulness, for the purpose of developing a heightened spiritual attentiveness.

Being in Nature

Activities like a walk in nature, listening to birds sing, a jog amid a bright orange sunrise/sunset backdrop or listening to some deeply satisfying music can be incredibly effective in achieving a meditative state. I recall having a discussion with a business colleague about meditation as a form of personal development and empowerment. He quickly commented that his form of meditation involved taking a mid-dawn jog where he could “contemplate and prepare for the day.” Certainly, based on the definition highlighted above, this would constitute a meditative state.

Sound Vibration

There are a number of stimuli that can trigger an alteration of consciousness to induce a meditative state. Sound vibration is one that has become well known to modern practitioners in the west, although much of this approach is rooted in eastern traditional and indigenous cultures. A repetitive sound or tone, such as rhythmic drumming or a single note played repeatedly will enter the nervous system and then be translated by the brain altering its pattern, typically into an alpha brain state; the frequency that is typically associated with meditation. You can use instruments such as Tibetan singing bowls, tincha bells, or even your own voice (i.e. chanting) to achieve this state. I find it interesting that when I use tincha bells, they produce a very high, crisp pitch that I can actually feel reverberating throughout my body (being picked up by my nervous system). If struck repeatedly, this tone will begin to alter the brain pattern and can induce a meditative state.

Physical Movement

Probably the first thing that comes to mind is yoga as a physical activity that incorporates mindfulness and focus with movement to achieve a peak state, but there are other examples of how physical movement can induce a meditative posture. I have seen individuals during ritualistic ceremonies do a variety of movements, such as rocking or swaying. If done repetitively and for prolonged periods, an alteration of consciousness can occur. There is something about repetition in each of these exercises, whether it’s reciting a mantra, chanting or physical movement, sustained for a period of time that again seems to act as a resonator with the brain – shifting it to another level of awareness.

Visual Meditation

Taking in an image and allowing one’s self to be fully engulfed or entranced by it is another effective way to enter the meditative state. Again, the goal is to pick a singular focus (that which we contemplate) at the exclusion of all possible mind intruders, to the point where that ever present now, and the object of focus within it, are all that exist.

I tried an interesting experiment some time ago where I took a photograph of a quartz crystal that I had. This crystal had many natural inclusions, rainbows and other appealing elements that I thought would be interesting to photograph. I was aware from my research that crystals carry a definitive set of frequencies that our own energetic system will vibrate with. Even when a crystal is photographed, its frequency is captured in the image and thus can have an effect on the observer. But here’s where it gets interesting. I then took the image of the crystal and put it into a kaleidoscope generator (an optical instrument that produces intricate shapes, patterns and colors), using non-other than a kaleidoscope application for my smart phone! The app generated this absolutely beautiful flowing mandala, which produced a constant motion and morphing of its design. I simply began focusing on the moving “mandala crystal,” allowing my entire being to be enveloped by its beauty and constant shifting patterns. The result was amazingly effective. I had achieved a meditative or even hypnotic state through gazing at this moving image!

There are indeed so many possibilities in the practice of meditation of which we can benefit.

In the next article, we’ll explore what we want out of our practice of meditation and how it can be beneficial to our overall well being.

References (Titles mentioned are available from Amazon.com. Click on the image below)

The Power of Now - A Guide To Spiritual Enlightenment - Eckhart Tolle

The Intention Experiment - Using Your Thoughts To Change Your Life and The World - Lynne McTaggart

The Nature of Reality, Consciousness, the Universe – Where Does Your Journey Begin?

2011-12-11T10:23:00.001-08:00

In my travels, you can only imagine how many times I get asked “where do I start my journey of exploring these subjects?” I often find that to be a loaded question, because I have spent so many years on my own journey of researching, contemplating, experiencing; asking the big questions; and the myriad approaches to so many aspects of The nature of reality and consciousness. I’ve come to one conclusion: “The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.” –Einstein, Socrates, et al.

It’s funny, because I think I resolved myself to that conclusion some years ago, during what you might call an enlightened moment – an epiphany I had that revealed “your goal in life is not to know all things (even if on some deeply unconscious level we already do) – but rather to explore possibilities! In other words, do not be so emphatic about arriving at a final conclusion about “how things work” because chances are, you will run into another experience that may demand an entire shift in paradigm and you’ll be at ground zero once again. Rather, enjoy the journey, build on the exploration and know that there are “truths” at all levels of reality.

That said; make the process fun and exciting. There are now SO many resources, especially online where you can begin your trek - and still so many books (both classics and new titles) approaching these subjects, from a multiplicity of angles. Below I have for you, what I call a “starter kit” of reading. These are some of the first books I read that I still consider “perennial classics.” I’ve recommended them and given them as gifts to many people! In later years, my area of inquiry got a little more complex and a bit more challenging, albeit, deeply fulfilling. You’ll find that as your interest begins to pick up along with some fundamental level of resonance, you’ll be guided to the resources that are best suited for you depending on where you are on your journey!

Finally, what I also tell people is, at the end of the day, no matter how many books you read or classes you take, there comes a time when you have to put down the book, shut down the “outside” and get quiet with yourself (meditate, contemplate)…just be still. The answers will begin to come. “Stop looking for the guru ‘out there.’ They are no measure to the Guru you already know.” –AB.

An interesting footnote: I’ve often found that if I spend time first in silent contemplation and then pick up a book, seemingly at random, I will find just the right phrase or piece of information that corresponds with the thought which ultimately yields “the answer.” That’s what we call synchronicity!!

Begin the Journey!

*All Titles are available on Amazon.com. Just click on the book image below.

Mind-Awareness-Ability (Easy and fluid reading, these are all classics!)

As a Man Thinketh – James Allen (Written in a poetic tone, this classic is well over a century old and still a top seller. Also,I have seen free and legal downloads for this if you want the e-book. Take a look online).

The Power of Positive Thinking – Norman Vincent Peale (Another classic. My parents had this book on their shelves as far back as I can remember.)

The Power of Your Subconscious Mind – Joseph Murphy (One of my first books on the subject that I read in the 80’s. A simple and easy to understand theory on how the subconscious mind works to form our everyday reality).

Nature of Reality-Consciousness (A bit more complex but absolutely fascinating for the “intermediate” explorer).

Seth Speaks-The Eternal Validity of the Soul – Jane Roberts (see my previously published article: You Create Your Own Reality, So Says Seth, 2001. I consider myself a “student” of Seth’s teachings. Powerful!)

The Nature of Personal Reality – Jane Roberts (I’d recommend reading Seth Speaks before you get into this one. Plus there’s a whole series of Seth books still available including the “Early Sessions.”)

The Holographic Universe – Michael Talbot (Truly comprehensive in its approach with great references for further reading. To this day, one of my favorite books on the subject of the nature of reality and how the universe “works.”)

Occupy Your Self! Personal Spiritual Development - A Powerful Presentation by Lecturer, Filmmaker & Researcher, David Wilcock

2011-12-09T12:06:00.001-08:00

This is one of the most succinct, articulate and beautifully presented summations I have ever seen or heard on personal spiritual development. Based in part on the Law of One Series, David presents a poignant synopsis on how to become, re-member and re-instate who we really are! Covering such key points as: Love, Service to Others, Forgiveness, Our Agenda as Souls, Meditation, and Accessing the Higher Self, Occupy Your Self will appeal to the academic and lay person alike. David uses compelling data, along with ancient wisdom from indigenous traditions to convey different approaches to attainment that lead to a singular and fundamental understanding of who we are from a SOUL-perspective and why now is the time to take action in transcending our reality. Moreover, he explains how to re-ignite that spark within, using practical tools to get us started…all of which I’m sure will have a ring of familiarity to it. I strongly urge you to visit David’s web site: Divine Cosmos. I have been following David’s work for several years now and am always impressed with his incredible intellect and deep wisdom as he explains otherwise elusive and complex subjects. He’s a true gem!

Reality, Self, the Universe and the Urgency of Now

2011-12-06T16:15:00.001-08:00

As some of you know, I have been on a mission to advance the premise of the Higher Journeys blog and get the momentum up quickly. The subject matters we will be exploring warrant it. And I’m happy to be contributing to what is becoming ubiquitous dialogue about spirituality, the self and all the mystery that surrounds it.

I must tell you that in the midst of doing some personal campaigning for Higher Journeys over the weekend, I received many wonderful emails about the blog, but one email that I received from a friend and associate caught my attention as one of her comments underscored a key point I had been trying to make in my previous entry, The True Nature of Reality – Should We Know More of the Story?

Her email was a pleasant one – and she admitted she finds these subjects interesting. But she quickly followed with the fact that these are the types of things you think about when you “get a free minute.” Now consider that there are still so many, that spend what little “free moments” they have doing nothing of the sort. Contemplate the mysteries of the universe, why we are here and who we are? No chance. Not when there are so many distractions to ensure we stay occupied with day-to-day “stuff.” So first, my hats off to her for taking occasional free moments to even ponder such wonders. But here’s my point: I think the time has arrived, where although taking those precious free moments to spend contemplating our spirituality and moreover our potentiality and our place in the Universe is a good start, it is now vital – absolutely vital that we take the responsibility to truly realize our potential, by first pondering, then studying and ultimately applying some of these otherwise abstract notions. We ARE powerful and spiritual beings. Every one of us – I am convinced of that. No matter your faith; no matter what religion or even no religion at all – and my sense has always been that our religions are but interpretations of a fundamental truth – there is something there for us to see and then fully incorporate and once we realize the “practical applications” – the sky is the limit (so to speak).

Recall how our paradigm quickly shifted post 9/11 – our fears, anxieties; our security or in-security as it were became blatantly magnified and still no signs of letting up – Unless….! We have now reached a crescendo - perhaps 9/11 being the impetus – such that our “normal” way of life no longer works. Might it be that in order to graduate to the next level of evolution as a species that the proactive incorporation of spiritual practices, benevolent practices, altruistic practices, all innate abilities, dormant as they may be, will help ignite our power and enable us to navigate the shift many are admitting is underway? This of course, is yours to ponder. My only plea: please consider taking more than a few minutes of your time to think on these things. For in the words of noted author Lyall Watson “Our future lies in the mind and our understanding of it…”

Relevant insight: See Victims of the Attack, Martyrs for Meaning (by Alexis Brooks, 2001).

The True Nature of Reality - Should We Know More of the Story? (Originally published, 2001)

2011-12-03T06:47:00.001-08:00

Science continues to grapple with a range of unknown and inexplicable phenomena – anomalies such as telepathy, remote viewing, psychokinesis (PK) and intuition and even the possibility of the survival of consciousness after physical death. However, many in the field, particularly within the study of quantum theory are now yielding to the possibility that there may indeed be more to the “sticks and stones” rigidity of our physical universe than what has heretofore been explained.

A broad array of books which seem to somehow reflect the public’s desire to validate unexplained personal experience have cropped up in record number within recent years. Titles such as The Celestine Prophecy, Conversations with God, The Seat of the Soul and Talking to Heaven have garnered prestigious best selling status because simply put – people want information.

These and other books, have graced the shelves of major book stores, all claiming to at least in part, explain the “unexplainable,” how and why certain things do occur and moreover that we play a major role in these experiences. The very presence of phenomena in our everyday world is more of a reflection of our true nature and process than the picture of reality that we’ve all been taught in our high school science class.

The mainstream does not readily promote metaphysical subjects and the exhaustive study of the paranormal in general, but there are some who find its mysterious and curious elements interesting for casual discussion and entertainment purposes. Those are the parameters for which the subject matter is often relegated.

This piece is written as a partial attempt to veer us away from the novelty motivation of the subject matter and get us to take an important look at the potential life changing implications in its place. For if this is the “stuff” from and for which we are made, by paying closer attention and honing our innate faculties may change our life in profound and positive ways.

In one of his last interviews, the late author of The Holographic Universe, Michael Talbot said, when being asked why he is interested in such “weird” things he responded, “…it’s not that I’m just interested in the ‘weird,’ I am interested in what these things have to teach us and the practical applications.”

In the introduction to their book Miracles of Mind, renowned physicist and ESP researcher, Russell Targ and spiritual healer, Dr. Jane Katra convey, “Our psychic and spiritual capacities enable us to explore an important part of our true nature. Accepting and learning to use our non-local minds is important because it gives us direct access to the wider world in which we reside. It shows us that our consciousness knows no boundaries. We can each personally contact this expansive dimension of life, which evokes in us a greater sense of what our purpose here might be, and inspires us to reach for our highest potential as conscious beings.”

Since time immemorial, humans have been vitally interested in the questions about the self and its place in the universe; who we are; what we represent; and our purpose. And yet these very questions elude us. Invariably they get obliterated from awareness due to the everyday focus of objective action and reaction on the surface of existence.

We become so passionately focused in the world of appearances and circumstances that we simply forget to step back and take the time to contemplate the possible causation for those very appearances and circumstances.

Targ says, “…as a scientist I aim to demonstrate that we significantly misunderstand our inter-connectedness, and our place in the space-time matrix in which we appear to be embedded."

After speaking with a significant amount of individuals on a variety of personal experience which would be categorized as “paranormal” and their general feeling about the validity of the experience, my surmise is that many, if not most people know that there is more to reality than what we have been taught in formal settings.

Even those who are considered the most ardent of skeptics, if prodded enough would probably admit to having an experience that does not fit within the “normal” and familiar constructs of reality as we know it. Preferably, offering up an explanation would wipe the experience off the board of possible objectivity. In other words, the experience must be couched in some pre-set belief such as, “I was just overly tired,” or “it was just a coincidence.” This is just an example of course as to how the human mind (or brain, as it were) is so conditioned to ignore phenomena that has not as yet been objectively or scientifically supported.

Habitually, we live according to a consensus belief system, regardless of the possible cultural, religious and academic delineation, that it is only when you abstract the individual out of the conventional consensus environment that they will concede and share experiences that don’t necessarily follow the everyday construct that has been put before them by society.

Paradoxically, it is among these same individuals who have experienced phenomena on a broad and diverse scale and often on a regular basis, who are part and parcel of the consensus building to begin with and yet individually they will unequivocally and passionately convey the realness of their own experience but deem the experience as irrelevant to “everyday reality,” thereby making it unimportant.

Although these experiences, whereby anecdotal in nature may tell them otherwise, the tendency is to cling to the consensus picture. Perhaps it is out of a fear of societal ridicule that people tend to hold on tight to the fundamental sticks and stones reasoning of “reality” rather than letting experience, insight and intuition be their guide. On the other-hand, ridicule may only be a partial explanation for this vehement denial. For maybe it would be wise to contemplate the words of one of the world’s most eminent thinkers, Albert Einstein: “The only source of knowledge is experience.”

© 2001, Alexis Brooks.

Resources to Explore:
What The Bleep Do We Know!?

The Holographic Universe: Michael Talbot

Miracles of Mind - Exploring Non-Local Consciousness and Spiritual Healing: Russell Targ, Ph.D

My Book Review of Bill Guggenheim and Judy Guggenheim's "Hello From Heaven"

2011-12-01T18:24:00.001-08:00

One of the most provocative questions ever to be asked is, "Does individual consciousness continue to function after a person has physically died?" Simply put, "Do we continue to live after we've died?" At the outset the question has paradoxical implications, and yet, there are some who adamantly believe that life after death exists. Moreover, others believe they know that this is the case. Those who have undergone what are called "Near Death Experiences" (NDE's); "Out of Body Experiences" (OBE's); and yet another phenomenon, unexplained yet commonly reported, "After Death Communication" (ADC's) are among the "survival" theory's most avid supporters.

Read the full article here.

Check out the book here:
Hello From Heaven - A New Field of Research -After-Death Communication Confirms That Life and Love Are Eternal

Transcending the Rules of Reality

2011-12-01T06:37:00.001-08:00

To the mainstream, physical reality denotes the fixed variables for which we live. Circumstances and events are created out of a simple causation of action and reaction and for this, reality is largely deterministic. If you cut yourself – you bleed, if you touch a hot stove – you’ll be burned, etc.

But what if we are only experiencing part of what reality has to offer and moreover, what if the rules of reality can be bent?

Read the entire article here.

New Content from Previously Published Work

2011-11-29T19:42:00.001-08:00

Good Evening! Well, it's day two of my navigating the "blogosphere" and I'm getting acclimated relatively quick and frankly loving the process! Just wanted to announce that I've posted a few of my previously published works (listed to your right) for you to peruse and enjoy. "God Is Love Takes On A Whole New Meaning" in two parts lays out a provocative framework for a metaphor well recognized throughout major religious teaching and takes the concept to a whole new level of potential understanding. "You Create Your Own Reality - So Says 'Seth'," summarizes the teachings of what is called "an energy personality essence" who was famously "channeled" by author/poet Jane Roberts and still to this day garners significant inquiry and contemplation. Lastly, "Reality TV Takes on New Meaning with John Edward's 'Crossing Over'", invites the reader directly onto the TV production set where I interviewed John back in 2001 about his hit series "Crossing Over with John Edward."

I hope you enjoy some of the work I published back in the "good 'ole days." I think a lot of what is discussed in these essays and articles are obviously still relevant today and worth a good think (whatever conclusion you might reach).

-Bon voyage!

Welcome to Higher Journeys!

2011-11-28T18:55:00.001-08:00

Greetings and welcome to my new blog! It is my sincere intention that your visits here will help inspire your own higher journey; an exploration of life that is filled with wonder, mystery, excitement and joy. Even through the bumps and bruises of life, if one stays fervent to their path and the understanding that life is indeed one grand exploration, your journey will not be in vain.

For those of you who followed my work some years back (formerly from the AlexisBrooks.com – Metaphysical Essays and Insight Portal) I welcome you back! And for those many more who may happen upon Higher Journeys whether through mere “accident” (here, we call that synchronicity) or through a referral, I welcome you! Let me take a moment here to thank so many of you who, during my AlexisBrooks.com days, gave me so much encouragement and love. Many of you were so kind to give my work commendations, which meant more to me than you’ll ever know and I thank you dearly.

After a VERY lengthy hiatus of writing and my own wild and exciting journey with plenty of excitement, adventure, bumps, bruises et al, while helping my husband to run our communications infrastructure company (now celebrating its 10th year in operation and still journeying and growing), I have decided to partake once again in actively writing (these days: “blogging”). Wow, how things have changed since I set up AlexisBrooks.com in the late 90’s/early 2000’s! Technology has made connectivity into these and virtually every subject matter so accessible and so ubiquitous throughout our now “virtual planet”. And yes, there are many self proclaimed “experts” on an exhaustive list of topics. I do not claim to be an “expert,” just an experiencer - an explorer who admittedly has a more than passive interest on subjects that have eluded and intrigued mankind since the beginning. My mission is and always has been to discover a bit about the mystery (yet not let absolute understanding be the final and expected goal – as paradoxical as that may seem) – to just enjoy the journey and the process of discovery; to understand that these mysteries we call “anomalies” are to some extent meant to be (re)discovered and applied to one’s life, so that life itself can be a richer experience on all levels. I invite all who concur to explore with me.

After a bit of pondering on the dynamics and rhythm of this blog, I’ve for the time being decided that this will be the format: Each month I will delve into a theme; a topic of interest that warrants exploration and higher journeying. In a similar vain to my previous work some of you are familiar with, I will include book reviews, personal essays, relevant links and more that delve into these topics to give you a tantalizing look into the inner workings of a subject and impetus for further research that you can pick up on your own. Topics will range from Telepathy and ESP (Extra Sensory Perception), Energy Work and Healing, Dreams/Dreamwork, Visualization/Affirmations/Manifestation, Crystal Work, After Death/Survival of Consciousness, Reality Creation Process, Astral Projection/OBE (Out of Body Experience), as well as a host of other related topics and subtopics. However, as with all journeys, there will be periodic deviations or "side roads" off the beaten path that will be travelled and logged in the true spirit of "blogging." I will occasionally insert special stories, epiphanies, insights that may not be directly related to the monthly theme. Rest assured, however, they will be as thought provoking and interesting, as many side roads on one's journey tend to be!

Also, please look for my previously published work (some of you will be familiar with). As soon as I figure out how to navigate the blog interface comfortably, I'll get it up there for you to peruse and enjoy!

In sum - the scale is vast, but it is important to note, as I have through my own journey, that all the topics I endeavor to cover have some curiously fundamental correlation, some underlying and connecting thread. They are perhaps all puzzle pieces to an infinite and connected web of reality – and we are right in the middle of it. Why not be the “dream and the dreamer?”
So again, welcome. I am SO thrilled to be writing and blogging and look forward to meeting and sharing ideas with you!

Here’s to Higher Journeying!!

Fondly,