Continuing Education Indeed!

Last weekend, I attended the Conscious Life Expo. I went to the expo specifically to see Susan Miller and Lisa Williams, but also to attend lectures and seminars that might help me to become more familiar and confident with my gifts. Because the expo happened over multiple days, I thought it would be a good idea to get a hotel room in the hotel where the expo was being held. So, myself and two friends did just that!

I arrived at the expo late on Friday night and cruised into the "Ancient Aliens" panel, to see my favorite giant-haired ancient alien theorist, Georgio Tsukalos. It was actually a decent panel, and I was so excited to be a part of it.

On Saturday, we attended a fantastic lecture on harnessing our intuition. After this, we took our aura photos and then took a walk around the exhibit hall. We met a fantastic psychic and medium, K, whose book we bought: "Dating the Messenger." With the purchase of the book, we got a psychic reading from her and she was just LOVELY....and she loved the three of us. In fact, no matter where we went in the expo, we tended to attract attention. You see, I am a medium, my friend Lydia is a healer, and Amanda is a psychic....so we had a lot of complimentary energy and people just kept telling us "have we met before?" Anyway, K was amazing! I am adding the link to her page on the right!

After K, we went to see Susan Miller, who told us about the year to come. If you're wondering, Aries and Libra have it the hardest right now, Taurus and Gemini's hard time will be coming as the year closes out, but overall, everyone is peachy! Susan was a joy to watch - she's just an adorable person. She caught a cold on the plane into LA, so she was coughing a lot, but she did an amazing job just the same! To top off seeing her speak, she actually came into the hotel restaurant when we were eating dinner and sat at a table right next to us! We didn't pass up the opportunity to tell her how amazing her talk was. She asked if she could have time to talk to her friend, but told us she wanted to catch up with us afterward. Unfortunately, we were done eating and it would have been weird to wait for her, so we didn't get to chat. We thought we'd see her later in the conference and have a chance then, and while we DID see her later, the opportunity to talk never arose again. Still, I was glad to be able to tell her how awesome she is!

Now...all this said...Saturday night was where the magic began (prepare for the longest post of your life!). The last seminar of the day was a group healing meditation. We were led through a visualization of clearing each of our chakras, and letting certain mindsets and negative thought patterns to go. Now, as the meditation went on, I found myself entering a state of super heightened awareness. I realized that I was entering that place I go to when I'm connecting deeply with spirit. So, independent thinker that I am, I decided to stop following the instructions for the meditation, and to use the time to connect to my spirit guide. I called him and he surprised my by "stepping aside" and introducing me to my new guide, Michael. Now, Michael is a guide I've met once before. It was in a dream where I was having a hard time with an evil spirit. He was there to tell me that I already knew what I needed to do to handle it. So, I was aware that I had a spirit guide who would help me with these types of things, but he was never really "active."

When he stepped forward, he asked me "are you ready to accept the guidance I'm about to give you? I am here because you are ready to take your spirituality to a place you didn't even know existed. If you accept my guidance, then you accept that there is no turning back." Um....curiosity killed the cat? Of course I said YES! He immediately enrolled me in "Mediumship Grad School" (his words) or "Spiritual Bootcamp" (my words). He told me that he was going to teach me to connect with spirit stronger than I have ever done in the past, and that by accepting his learning, I am also accepting my spiritual life path. Um. Wow. Talk about HUGE!

Long story short (and it is a long one!), he has closed off all my spiritual receptors and is only opening them back up one at a time. As soon as he feels I've mastered one, then he will let me dabble in the next. The first thing he did was teach me to recognize the spirit world better. Hey kids, guess what? The spirit world is infinite, and it exists right here. You've just got to learn to recognize it. For me, it has a very specific look and feel (it makes my head tingle!). The next thing he did was he opened up my auditory sensors - so that I could only hear spirit. It's been weird walking around every day feeling like I'm half in the spirit world, half in the physical world, but not seeing any ghosties! I'm not used to it!

Alright...so I know you want to know more about his lessons and what the heck is going on, but I need to finish this story. His lessons can come in a future post!

On Sunday, we each woke up feeling like completely different people. The healing meditation and the realizations we each found during the healing changed us profoundly. So...we decided to take new aura pictures! Check out the difference between my Saturday and my Sunday Aura:

We ran into K again, who is a lovely angel, and she helped Lydia out ( some gypsy woman passing herself off as a psychic told Lyd her family was cursed and put some bad juju in her head). After this, it was off to see Lisa Williams!

Lisa gave a great seminar. Half of it was spent telling us about how she found her calling as a medium, how mediumship works for her personally, and the negative side of choosing to be a medium for a living. The second half was spent doing spirit readings for the audience. Honestly, I have never seen a medium who is more gifted than Lisa - her accuracy amazes me. And she's so no-nonsense in her delivery too! In case you wonder how she works, this is a clip of Lisa in action.

After the seminar, we got in line to meet Lisa. When we walked up she goes "Oh! I recognize you three from the front row! You have fabulous energy and it's so nice when people like you come right up front because it really helps me out as well!" She gave us each a hug and, just like so many people before, looked at Lydia and said "have we met before?" (I'm telling you, like recognizes like). So we joked a bit about how we'd been hearing that all weekend; we told her how much we appreciated her lecture, and then she went to sign Lydia's CD and take pictures. After all this, Amanda kept nudging me to speak. You see, a couple of weeks ago, I decided to apply for an Advanced Mediumship course that Lisa is hosting. You must fill in a 4-page application (complete with questions like "what would you say to a grieving mother who just lost her only child?" and "In your own words, describe the difference between a medium, a psychic, and an intuitive") and send it in with a photo. Lisa will read the application and use her psychic receptors while looking at the photo to determine if you can take her class. Her first requirement is that you have taken a class on mediumship before. As she continues to remind people on her weekly radio show "this is an ADVANCED class - no beginners!".

So anyway, I didn't want to tell her I was filling out this application because, 1. I didn't want to put her on the spot about deciding if I was "worthy", and 2. I wanted to change almost all my answers because my experience with Michael on Saturday night really did change my whole perspective on what I do and my life's purpose. But...Amanda kept pushing. So Lisa looks at Amanda, and looks at me and says "what aren't you saying?" And Amanda bursts out "She's applying for your Advanced Mediumship class!"

Lisa looks at me and goes "oh! Well, I have to ask first off, have you taken any classes before?" And I look at her sheepishly and I say "well, not exactly, but my spirit guides did just put me into spiritual bootcamp." Lisa kind of gives me a semi-assessing look and says "I tell you what...mention on your application that you met me this weekend. " and then says "oh, you have to submit a photo anyway, so I will for sure remember you." No guarantee I would get in, but at least it meant she would really take a look at my application!

Lydia went to pay for her CD (which Lisa actually couldn't sign because she needed a sharpie and only had a ballpoint) and Amanda bought a t-shirt. After the transactions were done, Lisa's assistant (whose name is also Lisa but she goes by Kay) said "She's got a sharpie now if you want her to sign it." soooo....back in line we went. While in line, we got to talking to Lisa's partner, Holly Riddel, who is also lovely. (BTW - I've added Lisa's and Holly's links to the right as well). When we jumped back in to see Lisa, she signed the CD and then it was adorable because the three of us waved goodbye, and the three of them (Lisa, Lisa and Holly) waved back with equal happiness. Apparently we make an impression!

Alright...so...I left the expo. Lisa gave us a challenge to spend 7 days without TV, without Facebook and Twitter, without reading any books, without music and the radio, without texting or phone calls! Basically....once the work day is over, your connection to the outside distractions ends. And you spend time with yourself. The point of the exercise is to bring you closer to spirit. By spending time with just you, you start to recognize all the 'clutter' and distractions in life. By removing those, you can get close to spirit and you - yes YOU - can start to see and sense them too!

Michael basically told me that we're using these 7 days to really work on my spiritual connection. Every night, I have a "lesson" with him that lasts from 20 minutes to an hour. (in fact, he just told me "7PM", so I guess that's the time for tonight's lesson!) and it's been amazing AND difficult.

Ok, ok ok...I said more on the lessons later.

So, I got home from the expo on Sunday and started to rework my application to Lisa's class. I sent it to them on Tuesday night at 5PM. At 4PM on Wednesday, I got this in my email:

Hi Aimee,

Thank you for your application for the Advanced Mediumship course with Lisa Williams. I am delighted to confirm that you have been accepted onto the course and will be taking part in the four-week online lessons followed by the two and half day weekend workshop.

AAAAHHHH!!!!! I screamed. Michael screamed. I am SO EXCITED. This is like a dream come true!! I will literally be learning how to improve my gift from the expert herself! This is too much...too, too much! I had literally just finished listening to her radio show where she said "I've had to turn a lot of applicants away" and was worried that I was one of them - when this email came in. I cannot believe it!!

So, my class with her starts on March 19. Until then, I am studying like crazy with Michael! So, I will begin to post some of the messages that I've gotten from spirit, and some details from my lessons in a future post. Also, as part of my training, if YOU would like me to contact anyone on the other side, please contact me! I need practice, so for now, I will do a reading for you for FREE! Call my cell phone 323-810-4373 or email me at aimeechaouch@gmail.com and we'll set something up!

It's all relative?

I think that tonight has to be the most bizarre spirit encounter I've ever had (yes, even more strange than channeling haitian ancestors...)

I was putting the finishing touches on my bedroom upgrade and was just hanging the last pieces of clothes in the closet.  As I turned from my bed to the closet, my eyes slid past my bedroom door and into my living room.  Standing there, I saw a man who I thought was my ex-boyfriend.  After a split second of fearing the worst (see this post about people I know dying), I took a closer look and saw that it was not my ex, but a man who looked very much like him.  And that's when I realized that it was his grandfather.  My next thought was, "what the hell is HE doing here?"

For those readers not in the know, last Halloween, the man I had been dating for some years broke up with me, stating that he didn't know when or if he would ever be ready to be the man he knew "I deserved." I don't really understand what his real reasons were, but I've been trying very hard to accept what happened, and to respect his need to be free of me.

Ok, so back in the living room.  I look at gramps (Walter), and I ask him "what are you doing here?"  He just looked at me, studied me almost, to see what kind of a girl I was, and then shook his head, as if to say "I can't believe my grandson is such an idiot."  Well, I was flattered that he "approved" of me, but I still didn't understand why he was here.  So I asked "what do you want?" He said that this was all wrong, and that his grandson didn't know what he was doing.  That he didn't know how he really felt, and that he didn't know how much he needed me.  He said "If only you could do something..."  I replied "What am I supposed to do?  He's the one who walked away from me?"  Again, he shook his head with disappointment at the situation.  Then he thought a moment and said "Maybe you could write something to him?"  I said "No, I already did that once and it didn't change anything.  I'm pretty sure that anything I did now would either be as useless, or make things worth."  "Yes, I can see that you're right in that." he replied.

He then showed me the image of a card that I had written to my ex several months ago.  It accompanied a gift I gave him when he became a Master Mason.  I don't know if he showed it to me so I would write something similar, or if he showed it to me because my ex still has it...I really don't know.  But I said to him "If you can think of something you can do, please do so.  He's your grandson."

I didn't really get the sense that he would try very hard - mostly because he didn't think his grandson would notice him.  Actually, I got the sense that he's been with his grandson a lot lately, and that he knows that his grandson hasn't noticed his presence.  He thought that maybe he could speak to him in his dreams of in meditation, and that he would try that. I told him I wasn't going to be holding my breath, but that I appreciated the effort just the same.  His energy faded then a little bit.  I walked into my living room to grab my phone  and when I did, I felt his energy surge again and sort of blend with mine - as if he was giving me a giant hug.  It was so sweet, and so comforting, but at the same time filled with such sorrow and compassion.  He told me that I really was a very strong woman, kissed my cheek, and then was gone.

Is Disneyland Haunted?

This morning at work, a conversation was started about how many people have died at Disneyland. My coworker, Naomi, was educating some other members of the team as to all the various ways people have perished at Disneyland, and reminded me that we talked about this once before (when that last person got killed on Big Thunder Mountain). So then, Eric (one of the pupils), jokingly asked "I wonder if Disneyland is haunted?" I quickly interjected to say, "It's totally haunted." But they brushed my comment off and continued to speculate on what it must be like for people who work overnight at the park, or if people who work there have ever seen/noticed anything paranormal.

So how do I know it's haunted? Well, because I've seen the ghosts. But besides that, there are any number of reasons that Disneyland would be a place frequented by the dead. Based on what is "known" of the paranormal (because really, how do any of us know with out absolute proof - yes, even I'm a skeptic), here are some of the top reasons I can think of that a ghost would hang out at the Happiest Place on Earth:

1. It's the Happiest Place on Earth. Who WOULDN'T want to spend their afterlife there?! But seriously....people after death are much as they are when they're alive. They have the same likes, interests, and joys. So if someone loved Disneyland when they were alive, then they may make the choice to hang out their in their death. In fact, that's one of the main reasons that ghosts will choose to haunt any place: they had a strong connection to it in life and don't want to leave.

2. Look at all the people!! It's a strong held belief by those who dabble in the paranormal that spirits need energy in order to manifest. And just like the Matrix, experts believe that we - the living - are the best kind of battery! Many paranormal researchers quote the First Law of Thermodynamics:

The First Law of Thermodynamics says that energy under normal conditions cannot be created or destroyed, simply transformed from one type of energy to another.

If applied to the paranormal, then in order for a spirit to manifest, they would need to transfer energy from around them. With the sheer number of men, women and children (oh the children!) at Disneyland - all laughing, running, and enjoying themselves - think of the energy potential! Spirits would be dumb not to go to Disneyland to "top up" on their energy tanks.

3. Aw, look at little Ned! This theory is tied into my own personal experience with spirits at Disneyland. Mom and dad take little Ned to Disneyland for the first time, and Grandpa wants to go along. Only Grandpa died 2 years ago. Well, so what?! That's not stopping Gramps! Now, I normally don't see spirits at Disneyland unless I'm specifically looking (there is just too much going on for me to want or need to tap into my ghostie sensors). But on one trip to Disneyland with my mom, we were walking across the plaza in front of the castle and I distinctly saw a spirit that was walking along with a family. The family had no idea that this loved one was enjoying their vacation with them.

4. I'm not dead yet! Or rather, you are. There is always the distinct possibility that the people who have died at Disneyland don't really know they are dead. So they could be stuck there. PS - if you want to know about all the Disneyland deaths, click here.

5. That stuff belongs to me! Yes, just like I mentioned in #1, spirits can not only attach themselves to places, they can also attach themselves to things. Have you ever walked through the Tower of Terror and looked around at all of the stuff they use to decorate the place? Where does it come from? Who knows where...and who knows who might be attached to those things. My favorite Disneyland ghost is attached to a carriage back near the Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue and the petting zoo. They have about 3 carriages there that the decorate differently throughout the year. Attached to one of these carriages is the most adorable little woman. She's dressed in late-Victorian/turn of the century style dress and she just LOVES her carriage. Sits there proudly with a big old grin on her face! And she loves how nicely they decorate it. Just LOVES showing it off! I giggle every time I walk past her...

And that's really all I can think of right now. But I hope you learned something. And I hope you enjoyed it. And I hope that the next time you go to Disneyland, you take a look around and try to notice if you notice anything, or anyone, that may be coming from somewhere beyond!

Magda

I was on my way to work the other morning and I saw the spirit of an older woman. She was walking on the ground next to my stairwell.  She turned to me and smiled.  She looked like she was pruning flowers or something of the sort.  The name "Magda" popped into my head, and so whether that was her name or not, that's what I decided to call her.  I think she lived in the property next door to me (before they built condos there).  She seemed sweet and was just going about her business, content in her afterlife.

Continuing Education

In the past few years, I've attended a conference called the Conscious Life Expo. This year, three of my "favorites" will be there: Susan Miller (astrologer), Georgio Tsoukalos (Ancient Aliens crazy-haired dude) and Lisa Williams (Psychic/Medium). This is a great 3-day conference where people are exposed to so many different aspects of "the other." I always try to attend a few of their free lectures and wander through the various booths to get my metaphysical groove on.

This year, I'm so excited that Lisa Williams will be there. I've seen her do live readings twice in the past, and I hope that she will be as amazing this time around. If ever there was a person I looked up to and said "I want to grow up to be her someday," it would be Lisa.

I once read her autobiography and was surprised to find that she had a similar experience in coming to terms with her gift as I have. She spent many years ignoring it, or pretending it didn't exist and she was just imagining things. However, I think she's progressed much quicker than I have and definitely seems much more connected than I ever could be.

Still, I hope that by watching her do what she does, I can learn a little something so that I can become better at what I do too! So, Conscious Life Expo, here I come!

Kul 'am wa antum bikhair!!

That's arabic for HAPPY NEW YEAR!  I'm hoping that I can spend more time on this blog this year, but I make no promises.  With the glimmer of grad school on the horizon, I'm not sure how much time I'll have for ANYTHING!  That said, I wanted to share this little story with you.

My friend, Amanda, and I were in my living room working on our Jane Austen gowns tonight, when I looked toward my bedroom door.  I thought I saw someone appear there, so I wanted to check it out.  My grandma has been known to show up there every now and then.  Imagine my surprise when I saw my grandma...but not the one I expected!

Standing in all her not-quite-five-foot-tall frame was my Tunisian grandma, Aouisha.  Now, I have only "met" her once before, and it was in a dream where she didn't speak.  So I did a bit of a double take when I saw her, needing to confirm that it was her.  She beckoned me over, like she had something to tell me.  I was a bit nervous, because I know she didn't speak English when she was alive, so I didn't know how I could possibly get a message from her.

But, the spirit world does interesting things.  It removes language barriers as necessary, and can put them up just as easily.  In this case, there was a little of both.  She gave me a big hug and whispered to me "Chin up."  (I'd been having a rough "break-ups suck" night) And then she looked at me and said "Trust me, it gets better in the end."  Then she showed me that my Tunisian grandfather and she have been watching over the family and that they are happy together.  She then asked me to pass a message on to my dad.  Of course, THAT was in arabic.  I didn't get all the sounds, but it was something like "so-lo-co-meesh" (um...yeah...that's phonetic!).  My mom said she'd ask my dad what she could have trying to say.

So, HAPPY NEW YEAR (kul 'am wa antum bikhair!) and here's to hoping your family is watching over you like mine is! Much love!

September 11 - Remembered

I found myself, tonight, watching documentaries on 9/11.  One was about the last contact people had with the loved ones - including answering machine messages and 911 calls.  The second was called "Beyond: Messages from 9/11."  It was about contact people have had from loved ones....since their death.

One story in particular made me smile.  A woman lost her husband in the collapse of the towers that day.  When they first met, the had a joke between them about the exchange of quarters.  After her husband's death, she would find quarters throughout her house in the strangest places - - tucked into the back of picture frames, inside the refrigerator....you get the idea.

While equally depressing and heartwarming (okay, mostly depressing), these shows about remembrance got me thinking back to my experience on 9/11. And honestly, I can't believe I haven't written about it on the blog before.

On the morning of September 11, 2001 (which I distinctly remember was a Tuesday....), I had planned to wake up around 6AM to do my morning jog before getting ready for work.  I had set the alarm on my clock for 6 and knew I'd be hitting snooze at least once...maybe twice...before getting up. Little did I know...

I'm sure I was dreaming something great before I woke up.  But at 5:46AM, I woke up with a start - and was completely awake.  And a little bit nervous.  When I woke up, I saw the spirits of 50-100 people standing in my bedroom, all looking at me. For an instant, I thought I was still dreaming. Nothing like this had happened before.

There were two people in particular that I remember focusing on.  One was a tall, thin female.  She looked like she was a flight attendant - wearing a skirted uniform.  The other was a man standing next to her.  He was shorter, a little older, and looked Japanese.  He was wearing a navy blue business suit with a yellow and blue striped tie.  The woman looked frightened.  The man looked like he was trying to say something to me.  But I couldn't hear anything.

As I scanned the crowd, I noticed a mix of emotions - fear, pleading, determination...but overwhelmingly, I felt like they all wanted to tell me something urgently.  As if they were all shouting "Help Us!"  I stared at them for maybe a minute and remember saying "I don't know what you want."  And just as quickly as they appeared, they were gone.

Since this shocked me a little bit, I wasn't tired anymore.  I was annoyed that I woke up before my alarm, but figured I'd best get my day started.  Normally, I'd throw on my running gear and head out the door.  But for whatever reason, on this day, I went straight out to the living room before dressing and turned on the TV.  That's when I saw that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center.

I stood there in shock for a few minutes while I watched. Then I saw the second plane hit.  I went into my roommate's room.  I knew she was a heavy sleeper and got cranky if she woke up earlier than she intended. But I felt like she needed to see this.  I walked into her room and said "Carrie, you need to wake up.  We're under attack." She groggily said "What?" and I said "come see the TV.  Two planes just flew into the World Trade Center in New York."  She jumped out of bed and we stood watching the TV going "Oh my God. Is this really happening?"

I didn't really know what to do with myself, so after watching the TV for about two hours, I decided I should go to work.  It was only on the bus ride to the office that I started to put two and two together as to who the people in my bedroom were; and the significance of the hour that they showed up.

I still have some regret that I couldn't do anything more for these spirits.  I don't know why they came to me, but I suspect that on that day, they were visiting anyone and everyone who could still see them - to try to express their urgency and the need for us to take action.

But I can tell you - I will remember that day until my last!