tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85838488385242806702023-11-16T02:48:38.562-08:00Inside Voice- Whispers from the Spirit WorldCollected stories and experiences of Angelique X, an artist whose life adventures have taken on the road less traveled by the Living. An inside voice is often one of a Spirit Guide, one who helps others. These are some of the experiences of the Paranormal that I was lucky enough to experience.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-35344833258921327172013-05-27T08:43:00.003-07:002013-05-27T08:43:53.726-07:00Lost Friends...This was a tough weekend. Sorry if this post is a little convoluted. I had a goal to speak about my recent trip to Waverly Hills Sanitorium, which I will do in a following post this one I would like to dedicate to lost friends...of which I am sad to say are gaining in number.<br />
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I thought about writing the Waverly post yesterday, but I couldn't bring myself to open the computer at all, which is strange, this is my lifeline to my friends and family back home. I had a bad feeling all day Sun. I called and texted and left messages with various family members, talked to others on the phone cross country. They were ok or getting check ups. Still the feeling didn't go away and honestly I was afraid to open a tab for facebook.<br />
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I had a dream Sat nigh,t I was running around with San Francisco Bay Area with friends. I was dreaming of a blonde, screwball and funny,and a red head egging us on in our antics. We were goofing off pretending to be up to no good when our hubbies caught up to us. I remember it being a dream full of fun and laughter and left me with a homesick feeling.<br />
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I thought since I was doing some reading about Old Hollywood that I was crossing over some things in my brain from my reading and that folks I knew in this day and time were the stand ins. Sarah aka <a href="http://www.sparklydevil.com/">Sparkly Devil</a>, a performer I knew from San Francisco was Carole Lombard, my friend Elissa was Tallulah Bankhead and myself, hopefully as Dolores Del Rio. These folks I was dreaming about I haven't seen since my move to Kentucky but through the wonders of the internet, we kept up with each others lives sharing photos on Instagram of Sarah's athletic feats in weightlifting and marathon running , Elissa and I starting an online group for handmade curios. I'd been so enraptured with learning and posting about my new home that to be homesick for San Francisco doesn't happen to often.<br />
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This morning I went to find my phone which after I returned from the store left in my bag, its battery dead. It was with some trepidation I plugged it in, having a feeling there was bad news in there. I listened to my messages returned from my family members that have had health issues and relieved that they were visiting a doctor. But another call from a fellow performer friend, asking if I had seen the announcement on facebook.<br />
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The very girl I had been dreaming about had passed in a car accident that very night, her husband Bones in critical condition in a coma. Upon hearing the news I cried thinking of her co-producer of their World Famous Burlesque Show, Jim Sweeney, must have a hole the size of the San Francisco Bay in his heart. After all, we all had just lost his co-host and my old friend and co worker, Eric, just a a couple years before. I cried for all my city friends and the pain they must feel , losing such a dynamic personality and inspiring friend. I remembered all our moments backstage, the jokes we shared and the costume and choreography tips.<br />
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I had been having talks with my husband about the amount of friends in our artistic and creative community that we have lost in the last few years on Sat. afternoon. He met me when I was recovering when I lost my best friend Heather Oswald, my brother Rory a year later, and held me when I lost my roommate Sunny Perkins aka Mia More in another car crash a couple years after that. We all had plans to move into together, cut short by death. All these car crashes... He reminded me just this Sat. about how important it is to remember the friends we do have left.<br />
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Take care of your loved ones and friends. Stay safe and hugs and blessing to all of you.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-79980746862224570192013-03-11T07:28:00.003-07:002013-03-11T07:28:56.228-07:00Artist Spotlight: Ugly Shyla: Dark Beauty with a Message<br />
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"Mother of Sorrows", my ultimate favourite piece so far!</div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I met Ugly Shyla over the internet some years ago through
mySpace. I had seen her pictures of her & her work featured in photos in a
Gallery Showing by Artist John Santerineross at Stormy Leather Store in the
Soma District of San Francisco when I was Art Gallery Curator and he had a
showing. Being a model myself that didn’t fit the modeling mold, it was
exciting to see other people who also looked “outside the norm” being photographed
and a new movement of Alternative models was born in the late 90’s early ‘00’s.
What attracted me to her was that she, like me started modeling to bring
attention to her Art, much as I was doing with my music. When I found out more
about her inspirations and what she was expressing, I felt a kindred spirit in
her. We were both not afraid to be characters of ourselves, or “ugly”. That
being said this Cajun girl from the swamps is one of the most beautiful people I
know, inside and out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3FARCbNOYMi-LkgWIX_zfGVoLNnTosX2UpyglHvOABnMigiQTJQO1F7cg-otlNs2pPC2OR1bTbMC9g2_bhz3WtV5RzD9snbETke6UDt1FI8XvFyZCnQE5995HubKz4u3rENE5Msb1tyQ/s1600/eyeus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3FARCbNOYMi-LkgWIX_zfGVoLNnTosX2UpyglHvOABnMigiQTJQO1F7cg-otlNs2pPC2OR1bTbMC9g2_bhz3WtV5RzD9snbETke6UDt1FI8XvFyZCnQE5995HubKz4u3rENE5Msb1tyQ/s320/eyeus.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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real blood tears</div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A long time ago I had this Misfits Doll from Jem and the
Holograms that had long blue hair that I put Barbie hair straightener in. When
I met Shyla it was like that Doll came to life, a Doll Maker whose art
addresses the things about children that need attention, such as child abuse
and mortality. It is often through these people that I see the Justice of the
Universe working. Often the people you would be afraid of because of their
looks are actually doing Sacred work. They are calling attention to things we
should be preventing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI79HJwYy1nRc3raFuAbPoP63e11rj3h1l-7Psyq767NxkoIRtbWJq0rMEFTz5u0WVE6DdRew0cg0mW3eJrQj611V3u8sOMLi-HpC3k4NzX1Gkzh38tA_nFsdIsZsJppDMM7hDrK2m7WY/s1600/usplushy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI79HJwYy1nRc3raFuAbPoP63e11rj3h1l-7Psyq767NxkoIRtbWJq0rMEFTz5u0WVE6DdRew0cg0mW3eJrQj611V3u8sOMLi-HpC3k4NzX1Gkzh38tA_nFsdIsZsJppDMM7hDrK2m7WY/s320/usplushy.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Ugly Shyla Plushy commissioned by fan</div>
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A champion of the welfare of children, her art calls attention to their mistreatment.</div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our work continues often through our progeny and Shyla is no
exception, although her protégé is a most unique student/child that is because
she is a handicapped Squirrel rescued from her other pet cats mouth. Wink the
squirrel, inherited the big heart of her human mommy and has grown quite famous
of her own accord by donating proceeds from her art work to help other animals
in need. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="http://youtu.be/J0rKrjoDtBY">Wink the Squirrel , On the News!</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Personally, they both came to my aid when my own progeny, my
daughter, had to undergo rounds of testing for a birth defect of which the
costs cut into our ability to pay rent. Through the kindness of Shyla, Wink and
my Musician community lead by Wire Graffiti’s Katherine Sawyer and Castles In
Spain’s Biachi , their networking through the internet and call outs to
friends, we were able to survive the ordeal and have peace of mind while
undergoing the testing knowing we would not lose our home. My heart is forever
grateful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Often replicated, Ugly Shyla was one of the innovators of techniques of doll work that some find totally terrifying & fascinating.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiev3c7SyGBhr6-JTWYouL2se7xo42FysnNe8W6B6ZpiBmWIcxh-EHNKbB_ByaYCsOSbq78Ior-P8cIPN9UeLMVOPiJ6KgqWLYBZJaScrZ0qwFDzTAXqv3vj2u4bN-zlx4ROsxAYkomR5g/s1600/uswitches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiev3c7SyGBhr6-JTWYouL2se7xo42FysnNe8W6B6ZpiBmWIcxh-EHNKbB_ByaYCsOSbq78Ior-P8cIPN9UeLMVOPiJ6KgqWLYBZJaScrZ0qwFDzTAXqv3vj2u4bN-zlx4ROsxAYkomR5g/s320/uswitches.jpg" width="281" /></a></div>
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All of them Witches!</div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ugly Shyla<br />
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</span><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How would you describe what you do?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> I make morbid fine art
dolls and also dabble in other artistic mediums from jewelry to tattoos.<br />
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</span><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How do you receive your inspirations</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Usually from my dreams and sometimes I get sort of flashes of
visions in my head.<br />
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</span><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When did you first notice your connection to the Spirit World? </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I'm from southern Louisiana so there is really nothing for us to
"notice", because you grow up with it ingrained in your culture. I
saw, hear, and felt spirits constantly as a child. I had to learn how to block
some of it out because it was so overwhelming. Thankfully as I got older I got
it more under control.<br />
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</span><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you feel comfortable, can you share your faith or path with
us? </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I'm a voodoo practitioner I also mix Santeria in my practices.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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How does this faith/path express itself through your art?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I think all of my art is related to my faith
even if I don't realize it. And some of it is obviously voodoo related like the
doll I did of The Baron.</span><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #500050; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How can you be contacted about your work from interested
collectors?<br />
(Website or contact info)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/uglyartdotnet" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.etsy.com/shop/uglyartdotnet</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> *My
new work goes up on my etsy first.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<span style="background: white;">My website </span></span><a href="http://www.uglyart.net/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">www.uglyart.net</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
</span><a href="http://twitter.com/uglyshyla" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Http://twitter.com/uglyshyla</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Facebook for my dolls </span></span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/uglyartdoll?ref=ts&fref=ts" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.facebook.com/uglyartdoll?ref=ts&fref=ts</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
</span><a href="http://uglyartdolls.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://uglyartdolls.wordpress.com/</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My email is </span><a href="mailto:uglyshyla@gmail.com" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">uglyshyla@gmail.com</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
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</span><span style="color: #500050; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anything you would like to add that perhaps I forgot?</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You KNOW I'm going to have to talk about the squirrel. LOL.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have a little gift the Gods gave me. I
rescued a little squirrel from a cat's mouth. They say sometimes the God's send
you a animal to see how you treat it and will bless you if you right by the
little animal. So I must have done something right because my squirrel
Winkelhimer Smith taught herself to paint and became famous for it, she was all
over the all the major news stations ect. We auction her art off and give the
profits to animals or people in need. Her website is </span><a href="http://www.paintingsquirrel.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">www.paintingsquirrel.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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This is but a small sampling of her work! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrquPjAryrgLf4qSyr9IK26B9Oqn-_jcCIKtrtTCOpVVCiArStLUCI9jyGK-O_hqjEvFx35gOBXh-SC8cu6bBi6eRvOb5KLloYvi7Rr-B-6AsxpchqrH-XVb_3GZ1le5CkK9w1RulR5U/s1600/ma's+phone+pic+2.13+257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrquPjAryrgLf4qSyr9IK26B9Oqn-_jcCIKtrtTCOpVVCiArStLUCI9jyGK-O_hqjEvFx35gOBXh-SC8cu6bBi6eRvOb5KLloYvi7Rr-B-6AsxpchqrH-XVb_3GZ1le5CkK9w1RulR5U/s320/ma's+phone+pic+2.13+257.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Modeling one of her porcelain doll heads necklaces featured in my music video called "The Doll Dance" by The Wazzoo Sound. On the inside is inscribed: "Undertaker, Please Drive Slow" </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-46397421202514468742013-01-14T13:45:00.000-08:002013-01-14T13:45:39.545-08:00Dream a Little Dream of Haunted Houses?So my dear friends, while I wait on other Artists to get back to me , I will take a breather from the Artist Spotlights to talk about dreams and dream work. I actually started this posting some time ago and saved it as a draft and it got lost during the frantic holiday season. I started a couple personal posts and wanted to insert a little of my self back in my blog and a little bit of the supernatural happenings that despite me writing about others, has not slowed down an iota!<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 17px;">My dreams have been off the hook lately! Even more so since moving. So vivid and clear and clearly helping me work out something. Sometimes they involved other people or online friends who I hope don't mind that I have to plug up their inbox with my latest cooky night-time adventure.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"> I have reoccurring dreams of clearing haunted houses, motels and theatres, and I mean like the Amityville bleeding walls type, with doors a banging and windows flying open. Haunted hotels with screechy demons and things flying about. I am never scared but uncomfortable, I have a job to do, I have to clear this house. Over and over I recite the Lord's prayer , even when they try to trip me up and make me forget it. I think that it is really helpful they had us do the rosary in school so much, it actually helped me feel safer in the dream world. And even when I was feeling doubtful or skeptical the entitystill seem to respond to the prayer. (Perhaps next time to test my lucid dreaming , I will bring a rosary just to help with the remembering of the prayer in case they try to throw me off again)</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Most recently in a dream I was in a beautiful home , with winding stair cases (as an aside the friend of mine who has the dream page posted a photo of a stair case that looked very much like the one in my dream-I haven't told her the weird connection yet but she will trip when she reads this!) and that I was there to clear the house. My sister friend Tsering (my aforementioned Buddhist best friend/Sister )was there and we were in a dorm all there for our powers I guess..I went to do a clearing and a huge ball of energy , like an orb, flew into the room, it was beautiful, opalescent lavender and pink and it flew to me and landed in my hand lighting up my wedding ring and making the stone it is glow like it did. I then knew that my job was done and that I wasn't supposed to clear what was there. It had somehow blessed me and I remember gathering my stuff and leaving.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">The next morning Tsering called me and I told her about the dream of the beautiful house. She then related </span><i style="line-height: 17px;">her </i><span style="line-height: 17px;">dream of a Buddhist Monastery where she was a Nun taking refuge till she healed and told me about the Orb she saw that visited which was the Dalai Lama and described what she saw was so similar to my own dream! I was happy to share a healing moment with her and we often have dreams for each other.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">She had a recent dream that had me as a Voodou healer where I cleansed her and channeled the colour pink and blue and she heard the name Ochun. Ochun is the Yorubian goddess of love and beauty and Ezurlie Freda is the Vodou counterpart, some would say. Although I study and have been initiated into the Yorubian traditions of Lukumi or Ocha de Regala (Santeria to some) I often have Voodou dreams for reasons I am still trying to learn, perhaps this is my Astral self's work. She, not having much focused knowledge of the Vodou traditions, which Lwa prefers which colour,I was excited about the her recall of the dream as I could , in my limited knowledge know what she was dreaming about. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">She had another Voodoo dream and in this one she was undergoing a healing, and I was present. She said we were working in a secretive place where some Priestess was buried who was helping with the healing. She described the Ancestor as having lighter toned caramel skin and longer hair. I jolted knowing that I had just learned that Voodoo Queen Marie Laveaux was actually buried in a secret location and not the tomb that most folks visit her at just the day before she related this dream and her description matched Madame Laveau.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"> Now mind you, my friend describes these rituals in great detail not knowing what it is she describing and hoping it makes sense to me. She describes places I know of, such as an island that a friend of mine had invited us for an Oggun ritual near NOLA a few years back. I mention that and she says "that is the name I heard, Oggun. There was use of quartz crystal points in which a priestess blew breath into them and thus rang the bells of Native American traditions and Medicine in my mind.Historically these traditions had been known to have enfolded and enhanced one another and became the practical basis of the practices known hoodoo. She then describes people who are friends of a friend, that I know I haven't discussed with her or spoke of since the trip fell through. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">We , as a group and this Ancestor pulled at areas of her body and removed a "demon" or something residing in her that made her ill, removing it and some of the damage it has caused. I find this all so fascinating, this is the second dream where I participated or worked on healing her in this fashion. Also interesting is the areas we are working on are the area's "governed" so to speak by my ruling Orisha Ochun. For some reason in the dreams these energies overlap and names are used for one another. Something that we wouldn't do in the waking world. Perhaps it is a way for giving us clues? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">There was also a message from these Lwa on being more vegetarian and them being so as well, as a part of this healing, which is something she and I discuss at length in our personal journeys as Spiritual workers with each other in our different paths.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">If you would like more info on I highly suggest Louis Martinie's Book "</span><u style="line-height: 17px;">Talking to God with Food-Questioning Animal Sacrifice" </u><span style="line-height: 17px;">which is has been a great comfort to me for many reasons. I do not have the initiation of the knife, which is needed for properly feeding the Orisha's these types of ebbo's or offerings (usually only needed for dire cases) and my own personal feeling that I have taken part in enough animal death. I understand its purpose and that the meat feed the congregation, something in Haiti or Africa is much harder to come by then in America, and a boon for a congregation needing the sustenance . I personally have taken many containers of well cooked and seasoned Blessed food and fed many homeless in San Francisco in the past in Dolores Park after our Ocha ceremonies (where someone becomes a Santero or Santera, a priest) but because of circumstance of moving far away from my Ile (place of congregation) and the diet my body feels happiest at , we my Orisha's and I had to make some changes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Something in my heart and soul is evolving and I have had talk with my Orisha's that the ebbos and offerings for their help and guidance in my life will be different then before, that is for this time being, no blood for them and things have been going smoother and better with them then previously. This has been accepted so far.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 17px;">She and I figure these shared dreams is our close connection or some sort of Astral work. We have a strong feeling that these dreams are very important, but not being formally initiated into Voodou, I can only look through the lens of what my initiated Mambo friend's have shared and my own initiations in Ocha. What do they mean? Could an Elder enlighten us? </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 17px;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 17px;">In any case I am glad to be a part of healing a friend! </span></div>
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-25775767808198108252013-01-07T07:23:00.001-08:002013-01-07T07:23:08.812-08:00Artist Spotlight: Whitney Hall Rawls: Explorer of the Subconcious!<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif";">The
internet can be a magical doorway to communion with like souls that otherwise
you may have never met. For some of us now in new towns it is a godsend for
meeting like minds. Such is the case with this installment of Artist Spotlight.
Whitney Hall Rawls is a self- employed
artist out of Georgia. Her jewelry pieces I had drooled over on posts I got on
the internet before finding out who made the fanciful Day of the Dead frames
and my personal fave, a skull necklace with garnet and blue goldstone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif";"> Not only
does she craft beautiful jewelry pieces and frames you can grace your Ancestor
altar with but also rarer and practical: tobacciana pipes. I am a long ceased
smoker but I can sure appreciate the uses of a beautifully crafted piece of
practical art. I deem things that you can use in everyday situations as “practical”.
It reminds me of being a teen when I would put together and decorate ceremonial
and decorative Native American pipes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif";">Besides
working with some of my favourite motifs like skulls and bones, Whitney’s etsy
page is a feast for the eyes of a rock n mineral lover. Today being “Old Rock
Day” this is the perfect day to post where you can find a wonderfully crafted
quartz point collar or bracelet. Her use of garnet and coral, two great blood
enhancers and love drawer the spiritual and magical possibilities of her pieces
should be noted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif";">Without
further ado, let us get to the words of our subject,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif";">Introducing
Whitney Hall Rawls:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif";">“My
art is inspired by whimsy, folk culture, and the illusive muse. As art is a
passion that has many forms of expression, I find myself driven to try every
form and mode of artistic endeavor, whether it be in the form of handcrafted
gemstone jewelry, tobacciana, or three dimensional nichos and figures. I want
to try everything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif";">How
do I receive my inspirations? Well, I have always been stimulated by the
unfamiliar. I need as much scope for the imagination as possible. I crave it;
the exploration of sub cultures, ancient art, and the subconscious desire to
breathe life into seemingly inanimate materials.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif";">I
come from a long line of sturdy Irish stock. It seems as though the women in my
family are extraordinarily sensitive to the supernatural. We hear things no one
else hears, and we see thing that no one else sees. The concept of the
existence of a veil that separates the physical world and the spirit world
seems more probable when I recount a lifetime of bizarre experiences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif";">When
I create a piece of art, in whatever form I choose, I literally feel as though
I am putting part of myself in the object. Whomever purchases my creations,
will carry a little piece of me with them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif";">At
the present time I have an Etsy page I named Moontang13. I can be contacted
through that site, or by email at Mrspoodle78@aol.com”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-83467313248481181342012-12-27T08:38:00.002-08:002012-12-27T08:38:49.891-08:00Artist Spotlight- Witchdoctor Utu from the Dragon Ritual Drummers<br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hello Dear Readers!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> I
hope you are having a wonderful holiday season! I am continuing on with my
Artist Spotlight series, in which I get a chance to introduce you to folks who
took the time out to answer my query’s about how they are inspired to do their
art! There is more to come after this as I meet more folks and get contacts of
more amazing people! Not to lose the regular focus of this blog, I am currently
working on a personal post that will showcase a happening in the nieghbourhood
of Old Louisville during Halloween time! Stay tuned!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The beauty of the
internet and connectivity is meeting people from all over the world you may
never had gotten a chance too, especially if like myself, have spent the last
20 years doing constant gigging. Because of this one doesn’t often get the time
to experience other Musicians (unless you are on the same bill at the venue!)
but in my time off from the stage, I have managed to get artwork done and
research into other Artists and musicians. Previously, my artists have
primarily focused on the visual arts, and this entry will be a treat for your
ears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Getting to “chat” with
Witchdoctor Utu was a real treat. His world renowned Drumming group The Dragon
Ritual Drummers is coming together of different faiths to honour many Spirits
from different Tribes from all over the world. Utu himself is from Scotland,
where a bulk of my family is from and honours and drums for African and Native American
Deities, something that makes my very own Ancestors proud. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I hope to be able to
catch one of their ritual drumming performances just for the sheer joy of being
able to express my connection to all my Ancestors. Coming from a Dance
Background and as a drummer myself, I couldn’t think of a better way to honour
them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Many thanks
Witchdoctor Utu!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Utu from the Dragon Ritual Drummers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How
do you describe what you do? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our shows are
interactive ritual performances, honoring spirits, deities and cultures that we
either serve, or have manifested with in our troupe and its magiks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How
do you receive your inspirations?</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our drum troupe is composed of members from
the Niagara Pagan men’s Circle, and many of the members are also part of the
Niagara Voodoo Shrine, as well we are the honorary drum guard for the New
Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple, and also serve as Egungun drummers for the
Yoruba Royal House of Rebuja and Prince Bamidele. With a fabric like that to
draw from, inspiration is a constant flow here; at times we can barely keep up.
But while serving in our various guises, we will as a unit realizes that there
is a spirit realm or entity that has manifested or favored us, or needs to be
honored. Once we see that happen, we try to then compose something in their
honor. At times too one of the members could be sharing their personal magik or
workings and a light goes off, and again its clear to us all that we need to go
in that direction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When
did you first notice your connection to the Spirit World? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Me personally since childhood. I was raised
very eclectic by my mother, and we traveled much when I was a child to exotic
locations, and saw early how different tribal peoples viewed religion and their
practices. I was always involved in their ceremonies...that and being from
Scotland, the spirit world and ancestors are a big part of our culture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> As for
the Dragon Ritual Drummers, the troupe started by workings that the men’s
circle was doing, connecting to an indigenous serpent power that was once
placated here in Niagara by the mound builders that once inhabited the region.
When they were routed by the Iroquois nation, their water serpent of thunder
was cast into a negative light by the conquering Iroquois (something they did throughout
the Ohio River valley and the north east, their sky god hero would slay a
horned serpent and free a maiden). We were connecting with it the horned water
dragon, whose mystical lair is beneath Niagara Falls, and discovered how
attainable it was, and decided to create some music in his honor, with no real
plans other than one offering. It’s been 12 years and we have never looked
back. Despite all the other nations of spirits we drum for, the local horned
water serpent is our totem, and the deity we take our name from, and all our
music and power comes first and foremost from him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If
you feel comfortable, can you share your faith or path with us?</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Half
the Dragon Ritual Drummers are members of the Niagara Voodoo Shrine and our
home temple in the New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple. The other half are
occultists with many paths behind them (none of us are young..anymore :))...But
as a collective, we serve the local water serpent and his consort; The Maid of
the Mist. That’s the foundation that all our spirituality as a collective rests
upon. As half our troupe is also born in Europe, we have such a huge eclectic
fabric that would be almost hard to define. We discover new spirit worlds all
the time based on who are drumming for, whether that be an elder or temple. We
serve with our hearts, make the necessary offerings to appease the spirits we
are serving, and then ride that relationship as long as we can or has been
ordained.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How
does this faith/path express itself through your art?</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Every one of our drum songs is an expression of our faith, everyone one of them
is homage to a deity or spirit world. Every member of the Dragon Ritual
Drummers, past and present, has a custom tattoo in the likeness of our horned
serpent. Our way to dedicate ourselves to the entity that made all this
possible, a dedication in blood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How
can you be contacted about your work from interested collectors?</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Our web
site is the hub for us, with links to all our social media, CDs, itunes and the
likes.<br />
</span><span style="color: #3b5998; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.dragonritualdrummers.com/" target="_blank">www.dragonritualdrummers.com</a></span><b><u><span style="color: #3b5998; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.dragonritualdrummers.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10.0pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #3b5998; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.dragonritualdrummers.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b5998;">Dragon Ritual Drummers Home Page</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></u></b></div>
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<u><span style="color: grey; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.dragonritualdrummers.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: grey;">www.dragonritualdrummers.com<o:p></o:p></span></a></span></u></div>
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<u><span style="color: grey; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.dragonritualdrummers.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: grey;">The Dragon Ritual Drummers are the #1 new age/pagan drum and
performance troupe on the planet. They have a global fan base, and have been
featured in countless mainstream and pagan media world wide, from international
magazines to north America.<o:p></o:p></span></a></span></u></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://www.facebook.com/witchdoctor.utu"><span style="color: #3b5998; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/witchdoctor.utu"><b><span style="color: #3b5998; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Witchdoctor Utu</span></b></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is our facebook
page too...</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dragon-Ritual-Drummers/18136761075?fref=ts" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b5998; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dragon-Ritual-Drummers/18136761075?fref=ts</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-43260254893533725372012-12-19T08:11:00.001-08:002012-12-19T08:11:37.767-08:00Artist Spotlight: Madrina Angelique : Crossroads Mamma!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgiEaVdYd6sM9E3ButAtClBZr84IQW6bL0KzJ7zDTKwbqm9q46TM9iYnhnQmcz1xPaYozZgm2a_vvSdWV4yJC-yuB6F9pd4TnzECtY4HIESGevTOdM2bX12FrJ93X3ZcXd7jKLc40mUFQ/s1600/angelique.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgiEaVdYd6sM9E3ButAtClBZr84IQW6bL0KzJ7zDTKwbqm9q46TM9iYnhnQmcz1xPaYozZgm2a_vvSdWV4yJC-yuB6F9pd4TnzECtY4HIESGevTOdM2bX12FrJ93X3ZcXd7jKLc40mUFQ/s1600/angelique.jpg" /></a></div>
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Madrina Angelique (along with the very talented Denise Alvarado) are one of my teachers for the online school I attend called Crossroads University. (www.crossroadsuniversity.com ) This is where I and other students learn all about Hoodoo, which is to say a working with the roots & herbs, as well as a good dose of history in the American Indian and African American Traditions. With classes that offer caveats such as kits and online chats to go with these classes such as "Indian Spirit Hoodoo-Working with Black Hawk", "The Spiritual Traditions of Marie Laveaux", "Foundations of Southern Rootwork 1-3", Foundation in New Orleans Voodoo 1-3" and "Doll Baby Conjure" one can get their fill and then find some more to study. Being in a new town and state and away from all that I know I found this community a fulfilling one in continuing my Spiritual Education. (Stay tuned to that website if interested I saw that they are also adding more classes in the future as well!) I found a home in their online community.<br />
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I was lucky to win a beautiful raffle created by Madrina of a portable altar for La Santisma Muerte or Holy Death. She is what some call a "Folk Saint" that is a Saint that people recognize and asked for help and prayers, but is not recognized by the Official Catholic Church.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3AjAtBdbUxcBeJpdpdJlw4mzdM1QRJ5HZ37F4BeRGXilMtDcHNwCHNarxs6-1H7hnDhnsnA40Fb2NFnmHi6g_b5nr_QMZS1m_zp5N03EZbaGD-AfU2YZ70CMx8ozDD8qC9f0zO0Sgg4/s1600/madrinaamuerte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3AjAtBdbUxcBeJpdpdJlw4mzdM1QRJ5HZ37F4BeRGXilMtDcHNwCHNarxs6-1H7hnDhnsnA40Fb2NFnmHi6g_b5nr_QMZS1m_zp5N03EZbaGD-AfU2YZ70CMx8ozDD8qC9f0zO0Sgg4/s320/madrinaamuerte.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Madrina Angelique's etsy page is also a great place where I have purchase great quality Red Palm Oil ( a must for folks with Elegua or Eshu residing in their homes) as well as handcrafted Florida Water that smells so amazing (without that alcohol chemical smell some commercial products have), along with the La Santisma Muerte Oil and Water. I have also taken advantage of various specials in readings when I need some outside advice. I found that by doing these by email is especially helpful as I have the reading to refer back to when I need to and it isn't coloured by my own note taking. If you are interested, her contact information is below.<br />
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She also makes custom handcrafted Spirit dolls as well as charged Eleguas' that I know he is proud of!<br />
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Devotional Doll</div>
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Copper Elegua</div>
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Madrina Angelique also teams up with Denise Alvarado to write affordable books in which I highly recommend : <u>Crossroads Mamas' 105 Spiritual Baths for Every Occasion </u> and <u>Workin' in Da Boneyard.</u> both are available on website below. You can find them on Amazon of course but I suggest going to the source or joining the Creole Moon Book club where you get these in downloadable form (a book a month plus weekly exclusive articles for a $6 subscription!)</div>
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<span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">
Madrina Angelique</span></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><b><i>
How do you describe what you do?</i></b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">
I am an initiated Santera and Palera but I think of myself as a
Rootwoman. </span></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><b><i>
How do you receive your inspirations?</i></b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">
I receive many inspirations from nature, the spirit world and people. </span></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><b><i>
When did you first notice your connection to the Spirit World?</i></b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">
When I was 2 years old. I saw a </span><span style="font-size: 21px;">skeleton</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> dancing back and forth across my
doorway with a top hat and cane. I remember getting a spanking for lying when I
told everyone about it. It wasn't until years later that I saw Baron Samedi in
a book and knew that was who I saw. </span></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><b><i>
If you feel comfortable, can you share your faith or path with us?</i></b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">
I see myself as eclectic with some tradition. Spirit is always with us, not
matter where it comes from. </span></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><b><i>
How does this faith/path express itself through your art?</i></b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">
It's all I do. I craft for the spirits. I try and let the world see through
their eyes. </span></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><b><i>
How can you be contacted about your work from interested collectors? </i></b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">
www.rootmamaconjure.com and </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.crossroadsmojo.com/" target="_blank">www.crossroadsmojo.com</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee', serif; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-65178090284095726582012-12-11T14:56:00.001-08:002012-12-11T15:38:23.535-08:00Artist Spotlight: Nik Seizure: Cute n' Creepy Success!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I met Nik at a Tower Records in the mid 1990’s, the go to
place for a job for musicians, artists and those who loved the freedom of the
relaxed dress code. Tower was one of my all-time favourite places to work, a
haven or an enabler to those of us who collecting toys, magazines and obscure
music were a part of our daily life. He was a coworker of my best friend and
spiritual muse Heather Oswald in which the 3 of us had many fun adventures. Foggy beaches and cemeteries come to mind. I remember visiting Nik when he lived in Colma, a city just north of San Francisco, that was literally a city of Dead. It boasted more graves then living people and in fact is where most of San Francisco was re-buried when developers moved many of the original cemeteries in the city itself. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">He
is funny and fascinating and I am so excited that he took me up on offering his
works and words for my blog. I still have all the little wacky and weird gifts
he would always bring me when we’d hang out, lunch boxes full of spooky
ephemera and vintage findings that still make it into my pieces today. I am
over the moon at his success which I find most inspiring, a true story of
artistic success that is so rare these days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>How do you describe what you do?</b></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm a fulltime artist and illustrator; I've done over 250 shows
and have sold over 3,000 pieces of art. My web comic Mosquito and Spider (<a href="http://www.scary-art.com/Mosquitoandspider.htm" target="_blank">http://www.scary-art.com/Mosquitoandspider.htm</a>)
was featured in the Cartoon Museum's Monsters of Webcomics show. I also work on
movies, I won an audition to be Milla Jovovich's sketch artist for a film
called Clocktower and you can see my Scream Serpent in Scream 4. I produce art
books, zines and graphic novels (<a href="http://www.scary-art.com/scaryartpublishing.htm" target="_blank">http://www.scary-art.com/scaryartpublishing.htm</a>)
and am a regular contributor to WordPlayThursday, Save the Bedbugs and
Shlocksuckers. I've shown my work everywhere from adult boutiques to the Moss
Library in Norway to The Mutter Museum and you can catch me regularly every 3rd
Tuesday at Kaleid Gallery's Two Buck Tuesday in Downtown San Jose. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>How do you receive your inspirations?</b></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">When I was growing up in the Bay Area I watched a TV show
called Creature Features with Bob Wilkins religiously. I was always interested
in monsters, dragons and haunted houses and the movies screened on Creature
Features only cemented that there was something else. Monsters existed in a
broken reality. They were the things that shouldn't be there but they were. And
so my inspiration comes from speculating what could be there in the dark. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>When did you first notice your connection to the Spirit
World?</b></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">My family was never religious so I sought out spirituality,
even joined a punk rock church. I knew there was something out there, something
undefined but I could never put my finger on it. I was even a tour guide at the
Winchester Mystery House just trying to get close to them. There were little
omens that came out of gumball machine prizes, there was always a safety net
under me in life. There have been so many times I could have been homeless or
dead yet after losing everything again and again somehow everything became
right. I was very good about making bad decisions but in the end there was
always an invisible wall to myself destruction. I studied the new age, quantum
physics, and philosophies only to come to the conclusion that I'm no closer to
understanding it than anyone else. There are spirits and they speak in
subtlety. I've accepted that they're never going to pop out and go "Booga
booga!" but I know they're there every time I have a thought hammering at
me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>If you feel comfortable, can you share your faith or path
with us?</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I think we exist so that god is consciously aware of itself.
Imagine if god was glass and we shattered it into a million pieces, each piece
is a part of god and the physical world. One of the reasons we're always aware
of a spiritual side is because we're enveloped in it. And it's legion. It's
peace. It's unfathomable filled with spirits both holding on and letting go of
their egos. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>How does this faith/path express itself through your art?</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">You know those movies about the psychic shouting at the
dead, telling them one at a time? In my head, in my soul they're all talking at
once and they don't shut up unless I push them all out in canvas, even
cartoonish. It's kind of a reluctant symbiotic relationship. I think creativity
is the other side trying to get through, even just to say "It's going to
be ok" <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>How can you be contacted about your work from interested
collectors? </i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.scary-art.com/nicolascaesarshop.htm" target="_blank">http://www.scary-art.com/nicolascaesarshop.htm</a><br />
<a href="http://www.hyaenagallery.com/scaryart.html" target="_blank">http://www.hyaenagallery.com/scaryart.htm</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Anything you would like to add that perhaps I forgot?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><br />
nope :> </i></b><br />
--<br />
<br />
Nicolas Caesar was the curator and one of the artists for Scream 4. His
webcomic Mosquito and Spider was a selection for the Cartoon Art Museum in San
Francisco. His work is collected internationally.<br />
<br />
Shop now!<br />
<a href="http://www.scary-art.com/nicolascaesarshop.htm" target="_blank">http://www.scary-art.com/nicolascaesarshop.htm</a><br />
<a href="http://www.hyaenagallery.com/scaryart.html" target="_blank">http://www.hyaenagallery.com/scaryart.htm</a><br />
<br />
Mosquito and Spider - Daily<br />
<a href="http://www.scary-art.com/Mosquitoandspider.htm" target="_blank">http://www.scary-art.com/Mosquitoandspider.htm</a><br />
Danson with Wolves every Friday!<br />
<a href="http://iwasmadeinkorea.com/danson-with-wolves/" target="_blank">http://iwasmadeinkorea.com/danson-with-wolves/</a><br />
<br />
Other places you can get my work:<br />
<a href="http://scaryart.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">http://scaryart.tumblr.com/</a><br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/scaryart1973" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/scaryart1973</a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/scaryart1973" target="_blank">http://www.zazzle.com/scaryart1973</a></span><o:p></o:p><br />
http://www.gallerysevven.com<br />
https://www.facebook.com/psychodonuts<br />
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Funhouse-Gallery-Detroit/119535524795776</div>
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I thought that painting looked familiar!! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-89966639974344237312012-12-03T12:00:00.002-08:002012-12-03T12:00:59.722-08:00Artist Spotlight: Evelyn Abston- Modern Day Renaissance Woman<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif";">I
met Evelyn, through my old job and come to think of it, I wrote about her for
our company newspaper as well! I remember when I took her photo, she wore my
hat and a long appreciation of her positive nature started that day. We showed
our artwork together and recognized a kindred soul in the retail world that
often lacks it, a beacon of light for those seeking help AND understanding. One
of my favourite days at work is when she told me she could see that I was part
Fae. I knew then she could see through all the layers of worldliness I had
wrapped like a cloak for my own protection and see the bit of my feral soul
peeking out. I found out, that like me
she was more of a Da Vinci type. Some folks may know her for one thing, but
crack open that notebook and there are 50 other inventions she is working on
and will complete. Instead of lamenting about being a super focus Mozart type,
she embraces the ability to multitask her artistic expression whether she is
putting out a new cd or a series of mixed media artwork. Below our interview, she included the inspirations behind some of her hand chosen pieces. I love to hear the "behind the artwork" stories of the artwork. Thank you Evelyn for sharing your healing light!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Evelyn Abston, Modern Day Renaissance Woman<br />
<br />
How do you describe what you do?<br />
<b><i>I
see myself as a modern day Renaissance Woman. I sing, I play the Guitar,
Keyboard and the Bowed Psaltery. I paint with watercolor and acrylics. I create
3D multi-media pieces with Rhinestones, glitter, metallic paints; I am a TV
producer that focuses on topics of the care and wellbeing of animals. I also
work with Reiki energy and acupressure and I like to utilize all the gifts that
God gave to me. I like to create my art with the assistance of my animal and
spiritual guides. They always inspire me helped direct me in my art.</i></b> <br />
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How do you receive
your inspirations?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>My inspiration comes in different forms. Sometimes I will see a shape
or a picture that urges me to work with that image as a starting point. For
instance, one of the works I have included is titled “Alchemy Woman”. It is a
3D art piece. The female figure is from an actual marketing postcard I liked.
When it is time to do another piece, I will feel a tingling sensation on the
top of my head and the current runs through my arms. This is the moment I know
my guides are gently telling me “it’s time to work”. Actually I can also phrase it “it’s time to
play”. On a side note many times when I am writing the word job, I have a
tendency to spell it joy first. I see anything I do as joy. So it is not really
a job, it is a joy.</i></b><br />
<br />
When did you first notice your connection
to the Spirit World?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>My family always had experiences with spirits. I would hear stories
from my uncle about his visits with friends who made their transition. My
Grandmother on my Mother’s side shared with me a story that her father was
visited by his friend who came back so he could tell his friend’s son where
there was some money hidden. His friend said that his son would have been
afraid if he tried to visit him. When I was 8 years old, I was playing outside
and happened to see the neighbor’s wife working in her garden. She was
perfectly solid. When I relayed that to my Mother, she said I couldn’t have
seen her because she had died 2 weeks prior. I had a brother who had died when
I was 5 years old. Until the time I was 30 he would visit me in my dreams to
see how I was doing. One time when my husband David and I had taken his
Grandmother to visit my Grandfather at the cemetery, Laura couldn’t remember
where he was buried. I asked Giovanni, David’s Grandfather to help us and he
told me telepathically where he was. I know spirits are all around me and it is
comforting. I always feel safe. </i></b><br />
<br />
If you feel comfortable, can you share
your faith or path with us?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>My personal cosmology is that we are all connected to each other
whether we are in a human body or a spirit body. There is no separation. We may
not always be able to hear as clearly to spirit but that is because we have
more dense energy that may filter out our communication. I also believe that
what thoughts we focus on is what we create in our world. I was having a
conversation with a friend at lunch the other day and said that the more we
focus on how we want the world to change you will start seeing the changes. If
we aren’t seeing the changes as quickly as we would like, it could be because
other things still have to take place before the change is here. The spiritual
philosophy I follow is called the Science of Mind. This philosophy was founded
by Dr. Ernest Holmes. He wanted this philosophy to be offered in the colleges
for people to improve our lives. The basic foundation for this philosophy is “Whatever
you think about in your mind is what you will produce in your physical life. I
know what I am focusing on by what shows up in my life. If I am having
challenging experiences I will take a deep breath in then put my hand over my
heart and the first question I ask myself, what am I thinking? Then the second
question I ask is how do I want my life to feel like? The answer is usually
“Joy”, then I will ask myself what does this Joy look like? And my life becomes
joyful again</i></b>. <br />
<br />
How does this faith/path express itself
through your art?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>When I start visualizing the idea of what I want to create, then I will
meditate and see how the stream of thought manifests. If I can visualize it, I
can create it.</i></b> <br />
<br />
How can you be contacted about your work
from interested collectors?<br />
<b><i>I
do have a website and it is </i></b><a href="http://www.visions-alchemy.com/"><b><i>www.visions-alchemy.com</i></b></a><b><i> <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b><i>People can also contact me by email because I don’t have all my art on
my website.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b><i>Visionsalchemy@gmail.com</i></b><br />
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<b><u>Alchemy Woman:<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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I got the design of the woman from a marketing postcard.
It has butterflies, gold hearts, 3D flowers. I love changing the elements from
paper, beads, glitter and metal into something new. We can all change our environment’s,
lifestyles into what we wish to create; All we have to do is visualized and
focus. It manifests.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>Moon:<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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Moon is one of our 4-legged kids we adopted when we
thought she was 2 years old. The Vet said she older than that. We think she is
probably about 13 years now. She has the most amazingly, expression olive
colored eyes. When we first adopted her, she did not feel comfortable being
held or picked up. She was a rescue who stayed in a cage most of her life when
we adopted her. We knew that it may take some time to know she was safe with
us. We let her find that out for herself. 3 years ago while I was watching TV
she jumped on the couch and for as long as she was living with us I said if she
wanted to sit on my lap to take a nap that would be fine with me. I had been
saying this since she started living with us. This time she moved her head to
one side like she was thinking and then started to get on my lap! Since then
she will get on my lap and go to sleep. I can also pick her up now and kiss her
on the head and I hear her purr.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<strong><u><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Nicki:</span></u></strong><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">My 17 year old
passed in 2007; His name was Nicholas, but we all called him Nicki. He was
special to me because of how he came into my life. I was in my second marriage
and we were contemplating adoption. One of the names I picked out if we adopted
a boy was Nicholas. I happened to meet Nicholas when I was looking at the cats
up for adoption; his name was Nicholas. I didn't see his face because he was
huddled in the back of the kennel. When I told my ex about the cat he said,
maybe you need to adopt him. I thought that was strange because he didn't
really want us to adopt any more cats we already had 2 cats. But I contacted
the rescue group and we picked him up a week later. When the lady presented him
to me, I was startled. His eyes looked exactly like my other beloved tabby that
died of feline aids. I missed my Oscar. He was my buddy, my pal, my quiet
counselor. When he died at 5 years old, I never really stopped missing him I
remember saying to him. I know you are still here but I’m still seeing you
physically. When I saw Nicholas, I knew this was Oscar. He was my gift.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Woman
Buddah</span></u></strong><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">This painting
came to me when I was visualizing colors. I love the oranges and reds they
denote Creativity and the spark of life. I added rhinestones to bring out the
radiance. She holds the key to abundance and wisdom. When I need inspiration I
can look at her and the stream of creative consciousness starts flowing.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><u>The Multi-Colored SunFlower:</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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A wonderful friend was having a health challenge with the
cells in his body changing. I designed the Sunflower with healing colors. I
always see the sunflower as a symbol of wholeness. Later I found out this was
his favorite flower and he hung it over his bed. In the painting I had added
black tourmaline, selenite and blue kyanite. To activate the healing energies,
I performed a healing ceremony with my guides and my friend’s guides. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>The Pink Sun:<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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I had a business acquaintance that was having a heart
challenge. I created this 3D wellness card and blessed it with the healing
energy of joy and love. The sun was a watercolor design I layers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<strong><u><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The
Blue Cup:</span></u></strong><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">I love creating
coffee cups whether I am doodling, painting or putting them into my 3D art
projects. Coffee to me is a symbol of creative stimulation, abundance, warmth,
coziness. I have to admit when i was younger I didn't like the taste of coffee.
When I turned 20 I thought drinking coffee would denote adulthood so I learned
to like it. My favorite coffee is Peets Major Dickason.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-20844242479908841592012-11-27T07:12:00.001-08:002012-11-27T07:12:38.832-08:00Artist Spotlight: Johnny Hellion, Facing the Darkside<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Introducing : Johnny Hellion<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I met Johnny through a mutual friend and artist, Ugly
Shyla, online. We often have conversations about the current state of the art
world and the frustrations thereof, which led to some very fascinating
conversations including one where Johnny explained that he donated some of his
uncle ashes to the Museum of Death in Los Angeles, California. His uncle being
a cohort of Charles Manson, his notoriety lives on in a glass urn that you too
can gander at when you visit a most famous and popular Los Angeles attraction in California. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In a previous blog I introduced my scariest
paranormal experience ever having to do with one of my closest friends
was the nephew of Charles Starkweather, and that he took his life when we were
just young adults. I often wondered what my friend Chris would be like today if
he could accept and perhaps embrace the dark nature and continue to funnel it
through art as he was an accomplished musician. I was lucky to work with him,
and he composed music for my only solo work in my dance company performances.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Johnny is living proof that one can bring light
to the darkness so we can consider what is there and work with it. Is it just
the dark side of our nature that we push away and not accept that causes it to
funnel out in avenues such as addictions, bad habits, and negativity? What if
we faced it explored it and exorcised it through an art medium?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYkDONJTf9jAup_p9phuxheqn73oPxwKNQMYKM3DokMFIlcRBhVHaLtdkf5YZeTbwLS3kNFrHxzMqBS3mgELRywHA92lSVY5v23tnaWeW17wyPUEKS0s-vZqtL5o97LcCCVxPXPPrkGw/s1600/johnny+hellion77.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYkDONJTf9jAup_p9phuxheqn73oPxwKNQMYKM3DokMFIlcRBhVHaLtdkf5YZeTbwLS3kNFrHxzMqBS3mgELRywHA92lSVY5v23tnaWeW17wyPUEKS0s-vZqtL5o97LcCCVxPXPPrkGw/s320/johnny+hellion77.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">It was his 3-D sculpture of Captain Howdy
coming out of an Ouija board that literally scared me. I shared the picture
with friends, as I knew they would also appreciate the nod to the demon star of
the movie “The Exorcist”. A movie that totally terrified me, not so much for
the demonic possession that starts with a “harmless” Ouija board, but for the
archaic tests for Epilepsy that I turned my toes of my own personal fears of
just being diagnosed. His art scares me on many levels and I being that type
who likes to face things head on, his art speaks to me in that way that art
does when it heals through obsession, repeating something so that it no longer
has a hold on you and desensitizes you from the fearful image. I find it healing, like my </span><span style="font-size: 21px; line-height: 24px;">seizures, when at first glance can be something terrifying but in another view can be seen as a release of energy. Perhaps when trapped, can </span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p>cause a shakeup of earthquake proportions. When let out little by little and shared in these smaller dosages we face our own darkness on level ground. </o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In his own words, Johnny describes his work
thusly: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“My name is Johnny Hellion. I paint
in different mediums, mixed media and also make art pieces such as wall masks
from plaster. I’m inspired by horror, serial killers, death and the macabre.
Some of what I do come from known horror icons or characters but I also have a lot
of original pieces that just come from the imagination. At times I feel in
trance when I work on my artwork. It’s like a meditation at times, most of the
time I don’t even know what I’m doing till I’m done and have to sit back and
figure out what it is or the meaning. I think people enjoy it and it’s what
matters. It’s all an expression of myself and my influences or inspirations.
Anyone can reach me at </span><a href="mailto:johnnyhell666@yahoo.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">johnnyhell666@yahoo.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> or
check out my artwork from the links at </span><a href="http://about.me/johnnyhell666" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://about.me/johnnyhell666</span></a><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
“<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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A watercolour by Johnny Hell , all rights reserved by Artist, used with permission.</div>
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Assemblage in a silver frame<br />
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Examples of mask work</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCrII7t4c-LoZDJjieJPjrkLstFoG2FFr8AUS4V2ZA4juKJalKl9XoDYWpCFA3hGanJjMRH29pZkGfOIrowcMUfFArArZhPJlX8JHRksLggYM1O9t8RcxBt3qHNRX8A-kLcQ3__8VTAFs/s1600/johnny+hellion222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCrII7t4c-LoZDJjieJPjrkLstFoG2FFr8AUS4V2ZA4juKJalKl9XoDYWpCFA3hGanJjMRH29pZkGfOIrowcMUfFArArZhPJlX8JHRksLggYM1O9t8RcxBt3qHNRX8A-kLcQ3__8VTAFs/s320/johnny+hellion222.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-61752617902975168112012-11-21T06:42:00.001-08:002012-11-21T06:42:12.499-08:00Artist Spotlight: Jamey Stevenson- For the love of Animals<br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">On the day my day my inspiration
Heather Dawn Oswald, for my Santo Paintings: Memento Mori, passed away, 11
years ago on November 5<sup>th</sup>, I started compiling Artists who are also
inspired by something outside of themselves that drives them to create …in between regular blogs, I would
like to dedicate some space for the next couple months to Artist Spotlights. Artists
like myself whose touch with the Spiritual or Supernatural influenced a life of
art making. Stay tuned as every few days I will be rolling out a new Spotlight
complete with pictures and an address where you can see more of the Artist’s
work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> Introducing Jamey Stevenson:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">I was lucky enough to meet Artist
Jamey Stevenson in an online community. She fancied my leather book cover I
made for school and she commissioned one for herself. It was then that she
explained the art that she does. A very humble person, Jamey is not one to
boast or speak much of the dedication it takes to complete a piece. She is the
ultimate recycler , collecting the unfortunate animal casualties of the
Oklahoma roadways, cleaning and decorating them with a mosaic of sparkling
crystals. When she posted a female lynx skull she had just finished I was
hoping that she would be open for barter, perhaps we could trade? I ventured
and she was excited to. As the last coat of finish dries on the leather, I
would like to introduce you to my first Artist Spotlight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">How do you describe what you do?<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<b>I take beautiful animals that have
passed away naturally, and celebrate their life by making them beautiful again
with crystals and jewels.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">How do you receive your inspirations?<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<b>I have always loved animals and tried to
do whatever I can to help them. I am a certified wildlife rehabilitator and
went to school for veterinary technology. There are an abundance of animals
that are killed here in Oklahoma, most people don't care to stop or even take a
second look after they have hit something. I always try to stop and see if
maybe the animal is still alive, if it is I try to help it or take it somewhere
it can be helped. If it has passed away, I get it off the road and take it home
to decorate at a much later time.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1C7p1_30n6TJ-YV2ETK568mZosnX1XLoZd7CkN0YnZbyCXdhaY9vVYyqksMSknoF8j-rPgIbz090EQu8R02rBTaT_rsumh2L_xuBgw7LDQgO-1U1kthWwvCQTIa4kYOT-6qc_d1zBTuQ/s1600/jsleft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1C7p1_30n6TJ-YV2ETK568mZosnX1XLoZd7CkN0YnZbyCXdhaY9vVYyqksMSknoF8j-rPgIbz090EQu8R02rBTaT_rsumh2L_xuBgw7LDQgO-1U1kthWwvCQTIa4kYOT-6qc_d1zBTuQ/s320/jsleft.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">When did you first notice your connection to the Spirit
World?<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<b>I really don't know.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
I do know I started having empathic abilities around 9. It has caused me to be
kind of a hermit and stay to myself in "real life". I have finally
started to embrace myself over the past few years. I am now in my learning
phase.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">If you feel comfortable, can you share your faith or path
with us?<br />
<b>I am what some people call a Hedgewitch
connected to the Goddess.<br />
I am a lifelong learner and will continue to be open minded to everyone and
their beliefs.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0DCyD2IgH0vTCS8jH9eVUNaq-kVT3KBPeAYKIjDasposXPsY1H5XpxZC_XRS7WklcJv8EKYRJHLfi5ar2ColImw4HIAO9ZtABOPmntHGvOyZP-Ro9C1m5U0ntCb1z1zqMFTZ-yuv4gKU/s1600/jsclawtop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0DCyD2IgH0vTCS8jH9eVUNaq-kVT3KBPeAYKIjDasposXPsY1H5XpxZC_XRS7WklcJv8EKYRJHLfi5ar2ColImw4HIAO9ZtABOPmntHGvOyZP-Ro9C1m5U0ntCb1z1zqMFTZ-yuv4gKU/s320/jsclawtop.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">How does this faith/path express itself through your art?<br />
<b>I am not sure my skull art expresses my
path directly, but I do believe it shows my love for animals, their life, and
the importance of celebrating life after death.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">How can you be contacted about your work from interested
collectors?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/MysticHearth">http://www.etsy.com/shop/MysticHearth</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxmFq2pFQUVxzJjCyt7bEisDN2GXId8Kwp2xjwOODfT1m8MPYxZufnF5Xpov89Ya4fejIXiJZ60j1G7guKcczirWUHY-YjlKATvVe9RqKMhUmPEygjgiT08UESG9W3hE2ka172V8oL5s/s1600/jsclawback.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxmFq2pFQUVxzJjCyt7bEisDN2GXId8Kwp2xjwOODfT1m8MPYxZufnF5Xpov89Ya4fejIXiJZ60j1G7guKcczirWUHY-YjlKATvVe9RqKMhUmPEygjgiT08UESG9W3hE2ka172V8oL5s/s320/jsclawback.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">In Southern tradition, many artists add small tokens of appreciation, called a Lagniappe- along with the piece purchased, or in my case traded for. Jamey created this beautiful red Swaroski Lynx claw which will have an honoured space in my Medicine Bag.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;">I'd also like to take this time to make the suggestion that the supporting the local American Artist is a great way to help the Economy as a whole, by supporting an artists they in turn take that money to purchase more supplies which keeps folks at the local arts and crafts shops in business. Instead of visiting big box stores that sale cheaply made product , why not give something truly original and made with love?</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-8512149474586922592012-10-25T10:40:00.003-07:002012-10-26T09:25:35.951-07:00Update! Remembering in November: Artist Spotlights to come..<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A funny thing happened upon needing and leaving
the restroom…And a recent brush with the other side of the veil, a reminder
that it is coming soon the time to give thanks, to think about loved ones that
have gone before in the wilderness of the unknown. In honour of the holidays of
remembrance this November, I present my featured Artist profiles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There are fantastic people I have met on my
journey, intuitive, empathic hardworking people that give a genuine care about
the world they live in, enough to be inspired to comment in the direction of
the happenstance in the form of artistic output, calling attention, not so much
to themselves for personal glory or popularity… but to the causes they take to
heart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">An idea that has bounced around in my head for the
last few months got the kick to the forefront by a visit from a group of Civil
War Soldiers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Soldiers
too, in common with these Artists that I know, know all too well the idea of
sacrifice for the good of people they do not know. Maybe perhaps they hold the
memories of loved ones they wish to protect in their hearts much like inspiration
of an Artist that feels so strongly the need of a message that has to be shared
with the world. In their own ways they give their life for the betterment of
their fellow man: Soldiers quite literally and Artists figuratively. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now this comparison is not to negate the huge sacrifices
of life that Soldiers give, and especially their families when their loved one
dies a hero’s death, perhaps you are very curious as to why I would make such an
unusual comparison? I will get into
that. But to digress a little:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">As a child, like any child, I had ideas of what
I wanted to be when I grew up, of course they changed over time as life’s
happenstances adjusted my path and nudged me in way I </span><span style="font-size: 21px; line-height: 24px;">couldn't</span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"> have guessed. I
was naturally artistic kid and love to draw, sing and dance, but had no idea
that it would be my professions. I wanted to be a Nun or a Soldier, a Marine in
particular, and since I was no longer at Catholic School, I sent off a form to
join the Marines at the tender pre-teen age of 11. Well, needless to say they
thanked me and said they would get back to me in a few years which they held to
their promise. Life, by then had taken one of those turns and I saw first-hand
what happened to someone I love returning from war and not being the same. He
was a great Marine and the adjustment to civilian life proved to be difficult,
I contemplated this as I held the ID of an Iraq Soldier who had surrendered to my
Brother in Law during Operation Desert Storm. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Perhaps it was something I did in a past life?
Being a Soldier, dedicated clergy? I was drawn to the discipline and the relief
of having someone dictates your path. It seemed having someone telling you
right from wrong rather than deciding and making mistakes and learning
experiences on your own would be such a relief then to overthink each
experience wondering if I am doing the right thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> It was
not to be for me. I was not to be the hero or saviour but more of a
commentator. A demotion that I am making the best of and perhaps I had already
done my turn at that and now it is time for my soul to learn something new. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Perhaps the Universe has other ideas for my
talents that it nudges gently for me to learn and apply that I need to listen
for in the stillness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On Tuesday, I had errands to run and they took
me all over town, before going to get milk for the household, I was on the South
East part of town and thought it would be neat to see the outside of Waverly Sanatorium
, one the most famous and haunted places in Louisville and take some pictures. I was chilled by the communications I saw on
the Season 7 part 2 of Ghost Hunters where the Nurses who fell ill during their
tenure communicated to the investigators by rapping on the walls. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Since the street leading to the Sanatorium is
not loudly marked, I blew past it when I discovered a sign for Union Fort
Duffield, a Civil War fort which construction started on Nov. 1<sup>st</sup>,
1861 in West Point, Kentucky just shy south of Louisville on the Dixie Highway.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Intrigued, I decided to go check it out
instead. By this time I really needed to relieve my bladder, it is a well-tended
attraction, so I gathered there might be a latrine or at the very least a
private bush I may relieve myself in the wilderness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There was signage and a place for brochures; I
hadn’t brought a larger stroller for the little one but an Ergo baby carrier
that I strapped my toddler in whilst we pursued the map of the area. Happy for
the adventure in nature, she was excited by the prospect of exploration and
eager for a hike. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A hike it was! There was a toilet but it was
located on the top of the fort some 300 feet above where I was standing.
Looking around there wasn’t a private place in which to take a my little one
and relieve myself, not to mention disturbing bugs and snakes. The area felt a
little sacred to conduct such mundane business on. I saw the path and the
incline and started up the hill. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Not many people had traversed what once a road
that tourists, were at one time, allow to drive up. After a steep incline where
my shuffling of the fall leaves startled some sunning snakes, I turned the
corner where cleverly painted benches assured climbing folks that they could
rest and the assent would be worth it in the end. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7VlVxLTmRkoDZF-BHB2NEJPvlTgmSKlHV1iT3ufGyuw47o2vEQi2dJ_nOCSBp37AmWaibrcaVHFH9z-NauujHQY1v2QDygAbOUV3_DcLn5njSusfNzCmWy-CyYrsDW0dSjmzW2_PJ4c/s1600/ft+duffield1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7VlVxLTmRkoDZF-BHB2NEJPvlTgmSKlHV1iT3ufGyuw47o2vEQi2dJ_nOCSBp37AmWaibrcaVHFH9z-NauujHQY1v2QDygAbOUV3_DcLn5njSusfNzCmWy-CyYrsDW0dSjmzW2_PJ4c/s320/ft+duffield1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thinking it would be harder to keep going if
I rested the 25 or so lbs Toddler & backpack weight on my already sturdy
dense frame, I kept trudging up the hill. Honestly it was steep but the air
fresh and the view of the Ohio awe inspiring. A mountain biker was doing the
same, a full forward lean to get his bike up the incline so he could deflate
his tires some and take the fast track back down. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As I made it to the top I was rewarded with the
restroom building and made haste to relieve myself. As I exited, a gentleman making the same trek
asked if I had also climbed the hill carrying my little one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Yes”, I panted, happy and proud I made it to
the bathroom with no accidents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Good on you!” he complimented and I thanked him,
happy I had a witness as I was a little worried about my flagging cell battery
and the possibilities of falling down the mountain, understanding now the
service of GPS on my phone to find me if such a thing should happen. My brain
often works out worst case scenarios, just in case. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We were rewarded for our efforts by a huge
earthen fort with a fantastic view. There were informative signs, cabin and a
left over cannon which I photographed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sitting down by the cabin and giving my
daughter a chance to stretch her legs we settled to have some water and inspect
the dirt which I collected a little in a Ziploc baggie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I collect different dirt. I have since I was a
kid when my father brought me back a small block of a “witchdoctors hut” (his
Native guide’s words) from an Anasazi ruin that I knew I was probably facing
some curse for having. When it later vanished I imagined it went back home
where it belonged. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This hand full of dirt I collected from under a
shade tree would fulfill a collection I was making for a bucket I was creating
for the Spirit Black Hawk, where dirt from a Mountain is required. I thought it
was a bonus that the dirt from an impregnable fort on a mountain would be even
much more a boon for an offering for this great warrior and after looking about
to see I was not observed went about my giving thanks to the land & Spirits
for the dirt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhjxA7hp539yiPDHO_hT1yi0cRyxV4ZGArz4V_vajM98GfoFbNu3OC_dxDWj1VvwPCejdZGWO4xMgL7qDX7kK-1zI0riDOaxzdukI1sIs5Lm_6ikcTsk9t2ehwv5qnQw0-8C05fuKFzSQ/s1600/ft+duff2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhjxA7hp539yiPDHO_hT1yi0cRyxV4ZGArz4V_vajM98GfoFbNu3OC_dxDWj1VvwPCejdZGWO4xMgL7qDX7kK-1zI0riDOaxzdukI1sIs5Lm_6ikcTsk9t2ehwv5qnQw0-8C05fuKFzSQ/s320/ft+duff2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On my way out I noticed another sign, for the
Fort Duffield Memorial Cemetery. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Many of the original resting places of the
Soldiers had been moved to other cemeteries but I could still feel that perhaps
some of their remains stayed at the fort. Looking up at yet other climb and
vista, I contemplated not climbing another 100 or so feet. I realized I may
never have a chance to see this again, as we will be returning the borrowed car
and soon my adventuring would be relegated to what I could reach on foot and
bus. So I resolved myself to climb up the mountain and thought perhaps if it
felt right collect some of that dirt as well. Soldier’s grave dirt is good for
protection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDcf9QlXQ12BoWCAeCchG0vTCnF88yOmWND-i_1MtsECwX5DbJniSq5b2iimX3xm6GTfLmtCORrprigHZHEunQGiJBwcx-UL4PKTEDCVj3bFbzQx0Db9SVcGItO2364Q2LXD1BPl3lFkk/s1600/lookout2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDcf9QlXQ12BoWCAeCchG0vTCnF88yOmWND-i_1MtsECwX5DbJniSq5b2iimX3xm6GTfLmtCORrprigHZHEunQGiJBwcx-UL4PKTEDCVj3bFbzQx0Db9SVcGItO2364Q2LXD1BPl3lFkk/s320/lookout2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The road had not been walked upon since the
leaves of the season begun to carpet the path. I shuffled up the hill taking
small breaks to take in the quiet, catch my breath and take in the reverence around
me. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My little one reached her arms out to touch the light rain of goldenrod
leaves that floated down upon us. We finally reached the Apex and upon reading
the sign proceeded to the memorial. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTouOxAzR5kO6amB7r5APyk0Q3n9yski12a5wOlFJdaFjFbHZ1hUebOrL_ngPo51YR1y_-u8a9r7gQLd9XSVu9k0sxJmZcboQ54y8gqPgkSLn71FLAdX-5LCLSWrLIaRlYvkwO92Pcwcw/s1600/ftduffmem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTouOxAzR5kO6amB7r5APyk0Q3n9yski12a5wOlFJdaFjFbHZ1hUebOrL_ngPo51YR1y_-u8a9r7gQLd9XSVu9k0sxJmZcboQ54y8gqPgkSLn71FLAdX-5LCLSWrLIaRlYvkwO92Pcwcw/s320/ftduffmem.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVxJbiNsowqU5zts65YsVFoPJ_UJX6XV1dWcWUzsAlv8eJZckUNy3KP_Q-UV9AM9SJjwB2eIAvt7fH9zqg-hQkCFCOise5-CSDN8tOUxK8aAoUiwLwyoBlRN8F-D3olpBkInSnmULa5BA/s1600/ftduffmem2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVxJbiNsowqU5zts65YsVFoPJ_UJX6XV1dWcWUzsAlv8eJZckUNy3KP_Q-UV9AM9SJjwB2eIAvt7fH9zqg-hQkCFCOise5-CSDN8tOUxK8aAoUiwLwyoBlRN8F-D3olpBkInSnmULa5BA/s320/ftduffmem2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">I could feel the presence of the 61 men who had
not seen battle in the Fort but lived in constant awareness of it possibility.
Many died in the elements while stationed there in the 4 years of the Civil War
that it was active. I felt them as sentinels as I gazed on their raised flag
and gleaming white stones </span><span style="font-size: 21px; line-height: 24px;">re-positioned</span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"> in a circle around the flag they
defended. I felt very strongly I would not gather dirt here, it did not feel
right. I instead read out each of their names aloud and took a couple
photographs instead.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"> I saw their faces in life, in my mind’s eye, proud and
tired soldiers in uniform, 61 of the 1000 that were station there to protect
General William Tecumseh Sherman’s supply base in West Point, Ky.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAe0kPD6ytY9pSZFA1rdptdphn5E1ZqdeDvHRK1CNA_m2ci7wRXZm_0X4JpfOiYpgaIt1aDeskqQILFSBmJGaFUqCmJrO947GveTsdFXjEvr5leZGfQORQtNd1ttMh9RP8zIDCvG_cxPc/s1600/ftduffmem3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAe0kPD6ytY9pSZFA1rdptdphn5E1ZqdeDvHRK1CNA_m2ci7wRXZm_0X4JpfOiYpgaIt1aDeskqQILFSBmJGaFUqCmJrO947GveTsdFXjEvr5leZGfQORQtNd1ttMh9RP8zIDCvG_cxPc/s320/ftduffmem3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Plantagenet Cherokee, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I thanked them for their time and I felt lightness
as I left the cemetery by a different path. This is a precaution taken by many
who visit cemeteries so that they less likely to be followed home by other
worldly visitors and ghosts. This path was much more of a downhill hike to be
taken very slowly and carefully, especially with my precious cargo. It was with
relief when I finally found the road and could see the car in the distance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After finishing my errands and a good nap to be
had for the little one, I made it back home
and shared my photos of our recent adventure with a little history
lesson for the folks back in my hometown. I was grateful for the exercise and
that our adventure’s outcome was a safe one when I exited the bathroom after
placing the bag of dirt in our art/altar room where my Ancestors & Orisha’s
reside. Standing in the Nursery playroom
I had a strong sense that the room was very crowded with unseen visitors,
surprisingly I was not at all scared when a loud and strong voice spoke to me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“You have done much to give voice to us; you do
much to insure we are remembered. This does not go unnoticed. For this we want
to provide for you, and protect you” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I started to cry, a sign that something
supernatural was indeed occurring at that point. The voice came from the shapes
that had formed in my mind’s eye. Shapes of these men that crowded the room,
the men whose names I had read on the tombstones just hours before. I had never
in my experiences with the other world heard a voice so strong and clear, and
swooned before I regained composure to answer a simple “thank you, for that I
am very grateful”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With that, they vanished, the room lightened
and I walked bac</span><span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">k to the living room where I contemplated how I could insure I
do right by this acknowledgment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">An idea had been brewing for some time, of
giving voice to other folks who straddle these worlds, inspired by their
touches with the Spirit world that they expressed in healing, artistic
expression and act of compassion. A lot of these folks came forward to help my
family and I when we faced very difficult times in the previous year. Some I
only knew through the internet but had spread the message amongst their friends,
of when we needed assistance. Their acts of charity helped keep the roof over
our heads, food in our bellies and their prayers & well wishes for trips to
the Doctor for our little one for testing for Spina Bifida Occulta which thankfully
came back as negative, her signs being only topical. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These folks, struggling as we do, to make a living
at and providing for their families whilst communing, giving reverence with
their passed on family and Ancestors; who in turn give them guidance and
inspiration for art they sell. I want to dedicate this virtual space this
November to these folks that dedicate their time and life to those that have
gone before and theirs who come back to ours to help guide and inspire. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When you think of gifts this season for
yourself and others please consider taking a look and or sharing with friends
the links from the folks I will be gathering here. Not only does this benefit
the immediate needs of the families they support but the Spiritual family
beyond they also support with offerings and prayers. Our families are not just
the ones we see, hug and spend time with but all that grace our walls and
altars, family Bibles and photos walls, remembered in our hearts and songs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Cold touches on the arms and voices calling our
names from the beyond will happen with more frequency this month so leave out a
class of water and a candle for those that are still looking out for you from
the other side of the Veil. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif";"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">***I have decided to update this post with feedback that I have received from other folks in concern to my impressions...reliable and trusted sources put forth the idea that perhaps the Soldiers I had felt came with an Native Spirit voice as they let me know that Ghosts often are not as strong or as focused (they are working out their own things here) to offer what I had heard and that perhaps it had to do with more the Native dwellers of the land I was exploring. I was </span><span style="font-size: 21px; line-height: 24px;">retrieving dirt for Father Black Hawk after all. However, something else may have piggy backed on my way home, something that showed up in a photograph that was taken of me during rehearsal for the Victorian Ghost Walk in Old Louisville. Stay tuned as I hope to receive this photo and report back this cautionary tale in the next blog! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif";"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee","serif";"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Up your protection and prayers folks! </span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-35199004420461923402012-10-08T05:32:00.002-07:002012-10-08T05:32:57.323-07:00My date with Elizabeth....<br />
<div class="Standard">
<span style="font-family: "Poor Richard","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I
started this particular blog sometime back, during the time of Mercury
Retrograde. Not the best time to start new projects, or for electronic devices
either, we lost 2 phones and retired ye old computer for its years of good
service.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="font-family: "Poor Richard","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Mercury
Retrograde is often a great time for review, a great time to take stock and see
where you are at. Now as the fall chill
is in the air and the Halloween, All Saints Day, Samhain and Dios de la Muertos
is coming, I thought this would be an interesting time, when our internet is up
and running to post this story. It is spooky, and like a scar this one sticks
with me. It can be considered a cautionary tale for the knowledge seeker and it
one of those rare occasions that I have actually used an Ouija Board and it
actually worked. Another time was short
and sweet and didn't scare me. A spirit came back to tell me my boyfriend
sucked and to ditch him, while I hardly think that the poster child of so
called romantically bad ending relationships would have time in purgatory to
warn me about my teenage jerky boy, whatever or whomever spoke through that
board had a point. I didn't value myself enough and I picked a jerk for a
boyfriend. And I am no authority; it
could have been him hoping to burn off some bad karma built up in his life. Or
perhaps a spirit who cared enough to use a name that I would find interesting,
whatever the case, I should have headed the spirits warning a little better. But
I learn most lessons the hard way, especially then.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="font-family: "Poor Richard","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Fast
forward to about 2005, I and a group of my Occult interested friends formed a
fun little group where we would go on Ghost Tours, explore points of interest
in spooky San Francisco and hang around as my hubby cooked us delicious meals
as while we watch movies and discussed magic, ghosts, religions and the etc. We
came from all different walks of life and interests. One of us (and it wasn't
me at the time ) was an initiate of Santeria, another couple of Wiccans, La Vey
Satanists, Chaos Magicians, and just Peaceful nondenominational folk.. a catch all if you will.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="font-family: "Poor Richard","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Two
of our group were older Gentleman, both very knowledgeable and a total hoot to
be around, and in one such field trip, they suggested that we would go visit
and attempt to communicate with Elizabeth Short better known as The Black Dahlia.
She was a beautiful movie starlet hopeful better known for her untimely demise
and her unfortunate, ghastly and horrific murder. The Elder who was just shy of
being a Santero, hoped to perform a ceremony where her soul would be at peace. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="font-family: "Poor Richard","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Her
final resting place happens to be in Oakland, California, a far cry from the
bright light of Hollywood, and a somewhat quick Bart and Bus ride from San
Francisco.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="font-family: "Poor Richard","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I
had heard that camps of Goths would picnic near her grave. She was known for her raven tresses and love of
wearing black, complete with a huge Dahlia in her hair as she was for the
mystery surrounding her death. In Jan. 15<sup>th, </sup>1947, her nude body was dropped in a
field, dissected, to be discovered by a passerby a woman taking her baby out
for an early morning stroll. Her story has been made into countless true crime
dramas and Hollywood movies. While she never made it as a star in life, she
would haunt Hollywood forever as a reminder of the dark side of fame seeking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="font-family: "Poor Richard","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">My
Elder recognized in my mediumistic ability that at the time I was pretty
reluctant about. They had a fun time dragging this reluctant Medium around and
saying “sit here, what do you feel?” in all sort of haunted hotels, theaters
and the like. Knowing that natural gifts should be appreciated, it actually
really helped me to see my abilities in a new light as well as test them in
places I hadn't been before that they had.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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our field trip to Oakland we brought cameras, paper and crayons (for my
collection of grave rubbings) as well as spiritual items to perform a ritual to
help her spirit if it was not at rest, prayers, rum and a gourd rattle. Another
item they brought was an Ouija Board.
There were so many beautiful monuments to take pictures at and we tried
to snap a plenty while we made our way around to locate Ms. Short's resting place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I cannot remember what order each of these occurred in, I know I politely asked
her if I could make a rubbing of her marker in my sketch book. We had also
brought her flowers, it just seemed right that we should gift her with lovely
things if she was going to speak with us and let us hang out with her so to
speak. Though this cemetery is a very well cared for and maintained place, I
took a moment to clean up her monument, brushing the dust and leaves off and
after addressing her and letting her know what we brought her, laid my paper
torn from a handmade sketch book my coworker had made and gifted me and set to
complete my rubbing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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First test rubbing.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Poor Richard","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Before
cameras, grave rubbings were actually a quite popular pastime. You take a piece
of paper, though wax paper works best, and a crayon of a sort: could be a
regular colour crayon or fancy art school conte crayon and after placing the
paper on the headstone you rub the crayon across it and it will leave the impression
of the raised or engraved monument on the paper. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Poor Richard","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">One
great book I picked up at Aardvark’s Bookstore in the Castro of San Francisco
for $6.00 is called “<u>Early New England Gravestone Rubbings</u>” by Edmund
Vincent Gillon, Jr. it is put out by the
fabulous Dover Books. It is a great way to be able to see these older
tombstones as many are in such a state over time that to even do a rubbing can compromise
them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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My test rubbings. Best to use wax paper as images will show up better.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Poor Richard","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Next
up they recruited my other friend to sit with me and use the Ouija Board. I
elected to keep my eyes closed so that I could not influence the outcome of
what was said or rather spelt out. Other friends observing took note of what
was the outcome of our questions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Poor Richard","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Perhaps
keeping my eyes closed was the reasons that I had such vivid visions, the like
which I had never experienced except for perhaps dreams! Her spirit, I was
surprised to note did not feel in peril but more at peace and acceptance, something
that quite surprised me given her untimely and horrible death. She answered our questions and I heard my
friend relaying what was spelled out as the images flooded me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Poor Richard","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I
saw the horizontal slats of a shed like place and heard a group of men’s
voices, discussing the deployment of her organs and the draining of her blood
and she walked me through these steps of her final hours, when the question was
asked how many persons were involved in her death, the number 8 was chosen on
the board. I shuddered thinking that there is just no “why” answer that would
make sense to me as to why this happened to her. I grew nauseous as the images
grew progressively gorier as the men took turns with various tools, carving and
cleaving hurriedly to imply there was more to the significance of the motive of
deploying remains in such a fashion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Poor Richard","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">When
she had finished showing the sequence of events, I made a note to read what I
could about her since all I had heard in the past were asides from old
coworkers that were into true crime stories. I am not a huge follower of serial
killers and the like so other than some very basic knowledge, I was unaware of
any details surrounding her case.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Poor Richard","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">It
was after we thanked her for her time that our other friend stepped forward to
offer prayers, libations and should she need them help in moving on. What I
learned is while she has moved on in her acceptance of her fate as a cautionary
tale; others have not as the Black Dahlia case has gone down in infamy as one
of the unfathomable cold cases in America. Sometimes some folks find themselves
in situations, being the right or wrong time and place; privy to information
that can come back to haunt or some cases hurt us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Poor Richard","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Photo courtesy of : </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.movietone-news.com/2009_03_01_archive.html">http://www.movietone-news.com/2009_03_01_archive.html</a></div>
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A great blog I found whilst doing an image search.Please read!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Where to find Elizabeth and other folks you may be looking for:</div>
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<a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=4490">http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=4490</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Poor Richard","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">After
the ceremony we took more pictures of the surrounding area which strangely none
of which came out. I thought I had remember seeing them in the camera but
something happened after transferring them to the computer, given my track
record with electronics it doesn’t surprise me but this was one of the rare occasions
where my computer didn’t crash. The pictures simply just …vanished. All I have left are the gruesome visions in
my head and the grave rubbings. I sent the best one cross country to a friend
and kept my trial ones I scanned here. I thought I would never be far from
Oakland but I realize how life has amazing twists and turns you can never anticipate,
as I am writing this in Kentucky! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Poor Richard","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I
later found out my own great grandmother is buried in the same cemetery and I
hope next time I make it back to California that I can visit her. Of course I’ll
bring a Dahlia for Elizabeth too. I’ll
never forget what she shared with me and what I learned about some Spirits, not all haunt, not all are trapped some simply
move on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-67857556984508156712012-10-04T08:51:00.000-07:002012-10-04T08:51:45.321-07:00October! Where have I been?? Here's where I'll be:Hello my dear folks! It seems like I have been gone forever! Now that I have a moment to breathe , it is time to catch you up on the happenings of your Guide of the Blog-o-sphere!<br />
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Our lil family was able to save up and get a new computer for all Borg needs (that's what my hubby calls my connection to the internets) alas we have had connectivity issues for the last couple months. Our apartment comes with free WiFi but somehow spooky old limestone and brick mansions do not make the best for those wayward signals. We finally adjusted our budget and got a mobile hotspot from our phone service and here I am! I have a spooky Ouija story I had been working and reworking on for you dear readers. One of maybe a handful of times I have ever used one. It needed a little further working on from one computer to the next, so I hope to get that out in the next couple days.<br />
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Speaking of signals, I turned the Wifi on my phone and opened a maps app. The signal actually showed the blue dot wandering in the walking court just outside my house. The Walking path of a certain nieghbourhood ghost.. coincidence or ???<br />
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Which leads me to other app I found for my phone through the Google Play feature (I am sure they must have it for you Apple folks in your iTunes market) It is called "The Ghost Speaker" (c) by Krugism. The Ghost Speaker works like Ovilus , which you may have seen on some Ghost Hunting type shows where it take the EMF reading of your environment and turns it into words. I like to just turn it on and see what comes up. Sometimes it isn't so random and that's the fun part. It's quite inspiring and a lot of the reviews by actual ghost hunters using it on investigations seems very promising. I have other plans for this app actually that are inspired by it but not necessarily it's intended purpose. I think it could be more of a inspiration for the writing of stories and songs...<br />
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Which leads into my next topic of catch up..music! For those who may just know this blogger as a writer of "spooky things that happened to me" may not know that for the last 20 years or so I have spent a bulk of time as a professional musician, namely a singer. I have been lucky enough to get to create and craft great music with really talented folks. In the last several months I have been afforded a nice break from the constant gigging that I have been doing since my teen years! Wow , being almost 40 and realizing that I have spent all that time on a stage somewhere singing my heart out is something that makes my head spin a little bit. The only other break I took was for 1 month in 2008 when I got my tonsils removed and had to be silent to heal. This current break is more a scheduling challenge. My husband and I have played music together in bands since our re-meeting at a band rehearsal in 2004, we had our first child in 2011 and living in an new town where we don't know anyone makes gigging together a little hard with a now mobile toddler. Previously we took shows where we could take her along, either strapped to my chest where she could be sung to sleep with a full band (with proper ear protection, of course) or sitting in the lap of a family member watching Mum sing or play Theremin or Flute.<br />
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Sketch of my band & I (and baby!) by Suzanne Forbes</div>
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http://www.suzanneforbes.com/</div>
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So what pray tell does Music have to do with Spooky Ghost stories? Well the Beyond is the inspiration for a long underground music project of mine which technically for the next scheduled performance is a "solo" project. Not that there isn't room for other folks, especially my multi talented family, should my toddler like to join at some point and my hubby is a much more prolific and talented songwriter then myself. </div>
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This project is called "The Wazzoo Sound" (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheWazzooSound">https://www.facebook.com/TheWazzooSound</a> ) which includes myself and my crafted just for me Theremin and a various Spiritual Mediums in the form of Antique phonographs. I figured since you can put on a disk, preferably at 78 rpm and through a needle and reproducer, hear the words from the dead: Cole Porter for example, then technically my phonographs can be Mediums. I play a long dead tune and write a part for it on my Theremin and I have connected with the past. Here is a pic of me dresses as a phantom Hitchhiker (a ghost!) playing my Theremin for the rock opera by the Slow Poisoner called "Lost Hills" you can get the record here :<a href="http://www.theslowpoisoner.com/">http://www.theslowpoisoner.com/</a></div>
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photo by Shannon Friend</div>
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Now if you are in the Midwest on Nov. 17th I will be performing this at the Time Travelers Ball in Ohio. More info here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/137397289699539/?fref=ts">https://www.facebook.com/events/137397289699539/?fref=ts</a></div>
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Now unto local to Louisville Ghostly happenings:</div>
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I have written about my spooky neighbourhood before and how we celebrate the fact we are one of America's most haunted 'Hoods and cities. With Louisville's history alone spawning book after book by our beloved and talented local Authour's, come October we gather together for a little street theatre and retelling the tales of our beloved passed on residents. David Domine, whom I have mentioned previously as my fave Authour on the subject (as well as yummy cookbooks!) along with director Ron Harris have created a seriously fun, informative and spooky good time. Ron ,who you might has spied in Law and Order along with his actress wife Jane, are the creators of the Old Louisville Candy Company. They make those delicious bourbon "Happy Balls" given out to our guests on our on regular Ghost Walks , which are oh so very yummy, they are truly haunting..(oh yes I just went there didn't I?)</div>
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For 3 days around Halloween Oct. 26th, 27th & 28th from 7-9 pm you can go on the tour and see live actors portray the bygone (or is it really?) era and get a taste of what makes our 'Hood so special. Then for those with a real taste for the supernatural there is a special fund raiser for our beloved Congrad-Caldwell House (it really is more of a Castle!) for its upkeep on Sat. Oct 27th. The Spirit Ball! There will be Victorian Seances! Card readers, music and food. In a haunted Castle! Here are some links:</div>
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Victorian Ghost Walk Tickets: <a href="http://www.oldlouisville.org/index.php/ghost">http://www.oldlouisville.org/index.php/ghost</a></div>
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Oh did I mention "yours truly" will be performing the role of a famous resident Mystic Romany, Madame Zanskaya? </div>
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The Spirit Ball: <a href="http://www.thespiritball.com/home/">http://www.thespiritball.com/home/</a></div>
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There is no lack of fun stuff in my 'Hood, currently they are setting up tables outside my door for the most famous St. James Art Show which is happening this weekend: </div>
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My losing entry for the Poster Contest. The woodwork on the top is from the inside of the Congrad-Calwell House. I probably blinded my nieghbour judges!</div>
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Artists from all over the country come to sell their wares and I heard local Brewery Against The Grain will be there! Cool, since it is literally in our front yard we will be there. </div>
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For folks that feel that locals are not as represented these days since the clotheslines of the yesteryear's there is the Mag Bar's Unfair Faire which is just outside the faire where you can find more what "Keeps Louisville Weird" <a href="https://www.facebook.com/unfairlouisville?sk=app_2309869772">https://www.facebook.com/unfairlouisville?sk=app_2309869772</a> I certainly want to hit up both events!</div>
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I hoped to have some goodies to sell but honestly, I am trying to pair down my workaholic nature and concentrate on the aforementioned performances.</div>
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Last but not least, this little lady went back to school! I am attending Crossroad's University: <a href="http://www.crossroadsuniversity.com/">http://www.crossroadsuniversity.com/</a> where I am learning : Foundations in Southern Rootwork, Foundations in New Orleans Voodoo, Indian Spirit Hoodoo, The Spiritual Traditions Of Marie Laveaux,</div>
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and Doll Baby Conjure. I have been having so much fun learning how to make Dolls in the traditional way, including scouring Central Park in the night for sticks (which is getting me an interesting reputation in my nieghbourhood btw) and telling people that I am studying African American and Native American History. Which is not a fib but an easier way of trying to explain to folks what I am studying. The cool thing is that folks will often remark that they have heard of the school, which is pretty nifty, is there a lot more folks like myself out here then I know? Maybe we'll see each other in the cemeteries putting out our coin offerings to the dirt we are collecting?</div>
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Well that's all for catch up! Please take a look see at all those links and come hang out if you are in the area, now onto rehearsing and homework and getting that blog done. Thanks for reading! </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-16872381063587841802012-09-02T09:52:00.001-07:002012-09-02T09:52:40.964-07:00Catch up!Hello my dear folks!!<br />
Mercury Retrograde hit our house hard! Is it cause I am a Gemini? Perhaps. But equipment is replaced and Internet service overhauled and the catch up begans!<br />
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Not that I wanna leave you hanging but I have been writing the next post for you'all and it was one of those things where you are looking for something to scan and you end up with an entire new rearranged room. So next on the list is a story of one of the few times I used an Ouija Board in contacting a murder victim in a ceremony to release her soul from pain and what of it? I got mental pictures I will never forget and a soul that was already at peace with where she is at thankyouverymuch. Just as this life, we can't make assumptions about the Afterlife and those that are there. Everything happens for a reason right? Even full on computer meltdowns and internet blowups.<br />
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See ya'all soon!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-64679463411148482862012-07-26T12:21:00.000-07:002012-07-26T12:21:02.942-07:00Yesterday was one of those days..and today is too!It was one of those days I seriously felt like I should be wearing special robes, seated over a pit of noxious gases predicting the fate of the Classical Universe.<br />
In astro terms Saturn sextile Mercury so it made for an interesting punch through the Mercury Retrograde blahs...everywhere I turn insight was in my face and it made for some very interesting paranormal action around the homestead.<br />
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I am taking an online course and one of our teachers had to step out for a moment and we got to chatting about the synchronistic (is that even a word? Well it is today!) events, that keep happening around us. In a group of talented sensitive folks what is really great is for folks like myself that spend a lot of time helping others with Spiritual challenges is that when I have them myself, I am at a loss for words! Putting it out there, whether in a funny posts on facebook, a but tamer because I do consider the audience, then I would write here, I received a bevy of really helpful replies concerning whether I had considered this or that. I find it is really helpful because my varied reader base can chime in and point out things I hadn't considered.<br />
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I couldn't help but to give out "readings" all yesterday, hence feeling like the oracle of Delphi. Even my horoscope alerted me to that it would be a day of intense spiritual insight and my head would be in the clouds. They weren't kidding! I take a lot of horoscopes with a grain of salt, just because we are made of so much more then just our sun sign and there is a lot more to go into that (rising and moon sign for example) that can have more of an effect on our day. It also said to "write things down" as I am attempting now. I know I will sound a little nutty, but we all have our days!<br />
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My eyes feel a little more strained and yes I will see an eye doctor , I am due..but strained in a way , that funny way you do when you look at those pixilated pictures and a 3-D image pops out. My ears are ringing, I'm a little light headed and the Universe is throwing these things out left and right. If my grammar and usage and spelling is wack, I plead this. Forgive me, this will pass.<br />
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Last night I was answering a message from a friend who was feeling the need to send some encouragement my way and bless him for that. He too is familiar with the fish out of water of moving to , back too and away from all you know and he is making headway on some new music. That invigorated me as I was just think this is the longest performing break I have ever had in my life and that includes being pregnant and birthing a baby! It is needed, however, I have had a serious backlog of ideas of creative things to get out, paintings to finish, jewelry made for sale that needs to be listed, the aforementioned online courses. You will be better then ever, he told me and I thought, what an awesome vote of encouragement. If he can do it in his new town, I am sure I can do something in the Bluegrass state!<br />
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In spite of all the fuzzy kismet going on there was something else a brewing..I was at the time looking away from the computer when my facebook page decides on its own to go to my "Ancestors" photo album and got to my Aunt Pat's picture and opened up into viewer. There she was at our old kitchen table with a big smile on her face.<span style="background-color: white;"> My Aunt Pat is the topic of one of my first blogs on her as she is the one who first contacted me after her passing. She is the the first person I had the idea of painting her portrait with her ashes, the inspiration for looking into the unseen world. </span><br />
<a href="http://angelxstacy.blogspot.com/2012/05/first-contact.html">http://angelxstacy.blogspot.com/2012/05/first-contact.html</a>
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I hit "print" and printed out the picture. All this time I kept wondering what would be the right picture and I felt like I hadn't found it yet. It was there all along. "Git on withet Lassie!" I could imagine her saying in her Scottish brogue.<br />
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Thankfully this was par for my course today, I had a bit of a forewarning when my Teacher said that in Native American culture Dragonflys can be the dead and warn you of danger. It seems in this last week everywhere I went, I was bumping into large Dragonflys. Another student was having similar experiences that when I felt the fog roll over and I got out my books and started looking up info on Dragonfly medicine and what it can teach us "get near some water, a river" and other lessons. Her partner just like my husband had been talking about spending some time in the outdoors. There are so many amazing rivers and lakes here..."hello!! Ohio river!" Yes, we need to get out in nature, that will help us feel more connected! There is always something to be said for fresh air too.<br />
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I have been upping the discipline these days concerning spiritual practice.After the spookiness of recent events of my house (the last few blogs!) it has really reminded me of the responsibilities of taking the utmost care of our Ancestors and Guardians. Food offerings, water and incense have all been freshened with more regularity and dressed candles , more frequent "sage-ing" and boy can I tell you my house smells nice? Wow it feels much better around here!<br />
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My hubby got up early for work today and was getting his coffee ready when he heard the door down the hall squeak. He looked down and saw the art room/ Spiritual room was open and figured I was in there getting something before the baby woke up. This is the baby off limits room where we keep our music,books and breakables, as well as my Ancestor & Orisha Altars etc.<br />
He then jumped into the shower, when he got out the door was closed and got a sense of Deja Vu, and then stopped by the bedroom to kiss us good bye before he left. Later I received a text asking if I had been up and went into the room in the morning, I wrote him back "no, I hadn't" and didn't get up till after he left. I had noticed that Calliope this morning woke up giggling as if someone was tickling her. She has been spending the last couple days looking up towards no one in particular , well that we can see,and laughing, playing a bit of chase.<br />
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How interesting , I thought! There is another unexplained thing, Well considering where we live , this is hardly unusual for this neighbourhood!<br />
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I got my "answer" when this very morning on the couch I heard "She looks just like you when you were little" and without thinking I said aloud " I know , right?" and then realized I was talking out loud to my Aunt Pat.<br />
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Now its time to get off the box and into the paintbrushes, I have Ancestors and Angels to paint and Doll Baby Guardian Juju's to finish!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-50079271538897817082012-07-16T17:25:00.002-07:002012-07-16T17:25:08.669-07:00What's your spooky kid talent ?Perhaps I watched too many spooky movies before bed? Or was it that it the reading I did before bed, the last thing I remember is responding to a post on a page where the poster asked :<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">"So question, does any one else have Inherited spiritual Gifts that Surprised you as a Young Child did it Scare you or did it not?" (thanks Chris R. for the inspiration!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">I posted about my connection with Death and how as I child I started to get this feelings in my tummy and in my gut about when someone was going to leave this mortal plane. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">It started in 1982 or 1983 when I went to the hospital as my Mother's mother was ailing. My Grandfather had taken care of her until he died (she had a stroke) and she was put into a care home. We stayed overnight with her and I couldn't sleep. I walked the halls where I heard the voices of the lonely calling me in the middle of the night, "Little girl, come here , little girl" and understandably I was quite scared. It was really late at night when my Mum gave me a little herbal remedy pill to help me sleep. The next day was a cloudy day, we sat with Grandma as we waited for our other Aunts and Uncles to get there. I really loved how our family was big and how we would come together to support each other. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">We had a family joke "We have to stop meeting like this and have real family reunions instead of meeting up at funerals!" As a way to lighten the burden of grief we shared.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">I went to my Grandma and watched her labouriously breath in and out. I felt something was happening so I went to cuddle her, hold her hands, wrap my little arms around her just as she used to do with me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">As long as I knew my Grandma Ray , she was dealing with the after effects of a stroke she suffered. As a little one I had no idea and thought that Grandma's just had a special language all their own and all needed a little help getting into wheel chairs and getting dressed. She talked and talked to me and though I couldn't understand the world I could get her meaning. She missed me, she wanted to hold me and how! She was so strong for someone weighed around 85-90 lbs. She could pull me into her lap and squeeze me till I couldn't breathe and that was ok cause I missed her too.When we would sit outside I was wander her acre with her namesake goat Alice. Such a sweet and lovely goat. Perhaps that is why,even though I have cleaned , prepared and helped cook many a goat in the past , I could never quite eat them. I just want to take them all home and love them. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">As I was with my Grandma and holding her in the rest home, my family milling about behind me, my Grandma took her last breath. Then it seemed she got lighter somehow. I got up and turned around and went to my Mother.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">"Mommy, your Mom, Grandma is dead" and then the crying began. I often wished I wasn't the bearer of that news and from then on I would find a much nicer way , then bluntly, to deliver that news. I guess that is hard to a 9 year old to vocalize sensitively when in shock.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Not much later my Auntie Marion and Uncle Ned arrived. Aunt Marion knew, she said as they were driving trying not to speed, they saw the sky open up and a ray of sunlight cut through the cloudy day and touch the ground . She knew then that her Mother had passed. Her story stuck with me because since then I have had that same experience when they my other Grandma and my dear friends and Brothers have all passed.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">I had one Uncle , Uncle Charles who I could swear could shake his first at Death and say "Ah no, not yet!" I'd gotten the feeling a couple times to rush home and ask my Mum about him and hear he was in the hospital. I have such great memories of my Uncle , he was a Navy Man , both he and my Auntie worked in San Francisco for the Police Dept. He was so strong and could knock the wind out of me picking me up and swinging me around. Must have run in that side of the family , like my Grandma, his Mum! Even though he had some health issues it never seemed to slow him down, that I could tell. He seemed to do everything with a zest for life and the only time I'd see him get very serious is when I would bug him with my questions about the Masons. I knew he was high up there and I was so fascinated that my Uncle was apart of a "Secret Society" I have been collecting Masonic and Eastern Star stuff , mostly gifts from friends : "This looks spooky and weird, give it to Angelique" and I hoped in vain he would share the secrets. There were a couple time he would go into the hospital and wake up and pull his tubes out and walk out. I was happy that someone could do that for as long as he did.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">For his 80th birthday I painted him a portrait of him just becoming an adult in his Navy Uniform and presented it to him at his surprise party. I was excited to paint a painting that the subject would get to see while they were with us, instead of my usual Memento Mori portraits. It is one of the few that actually don't have a halo, not that he didn't deserve it , but that he was not a Guardian Angel yet. I took the day at work at the tattoo shop to paint it , I like to think I impressed my co workers.Portraits are kinda considered very difficult in the tattoo world, but they can be a wee bit easier if you train your brain right. Kinda the same way I tattoo the front of my legs and feet, upside down. For the interested I suggest the book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. It is the most useful book I have ever read in regards to my work as a professional Artist.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Later months down the road, I got the call that he had passed. I still feel bad to this day I had to call my Mum at work with the news. I sure wish I'd handled it more sensitively. Perhaps waited till she got home or went to pick her up somehow, rather then telling her on the phone at work. I should have known better. Knowing our history , sometimes people can fear what comes out of my mouth, especially when you have a history of blurting out what people are thinking without even knowing it. Or the time I described how her Eldest Brother was really sick with Cancer and had taken his own life when he had gone terminal and described how it happened with no one telling me. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">As a Kid it is hard to separate what you hear out loud to what you hear when people are thinking. I hope my Mum can forgive my forwardness. Sometimes I can feel it on the phone, she won't keep me on the line long, I think she knows I can hear her thoughts sometimes, I finish her sentences. But as a kid I remember she never finished them out loud. I didn't really realize that till my sisters pointed it out and I heard them being finished in my head. I knew just what to get for her. When I was pregnant , and now as a Mum, you get even more sensitive. I would go into the drug store to grab some things while my Mum would wait in the car so she could smoke a cigarillo without setting off my gag reflex. I would come out with some nail polish for her saying "that's what you wanted , right? I thought you would like some red nail polish, we can paint your nails" and she would say, "I was thinking about that! I thought about asking you, but you already went in, your doing that thing again, I swear you are psychic!" I would tell her, "Naw Mum, you just think really loud!, haha". </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 17px;">I think I get my bluntness from my Dad and empathy from my Mum. She still is afraid of me ,but I learned and am much more careful about what I say.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 17px;">So..my answer to the post was a much shorter version, think the Tweet version.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 17px;">I thought I caught a break when my friend Christopher Starkweather died:</span><br />
<a href="http://angelxstacy.blogspot.com/2012/04/scariest-ghost-experience.html">http://angelxstacy.blogspot.com/2012/04/scariest-ghost-experience.html</a>
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He was young , not someone you would expect to go like an elderly family member.<br />
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After that , I hadn't felt anything in a while. It must have been saving up? I was actually hoping it was just a kid thing..<br />
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In Mid Oct. of 2001 I was driving across the San Francisco Bay Bridge on the way to the city. It was an overcast day and no sun in sight, all of the sudden the sun broke through and a hard shaft of light hit the water and then that feeling hit my gut with a vengeance. "Oh no , I thought, this is gonna hurt" , I knew that who ever it was it was going to be a doozy and I had an idea whom but I just didn't want to face the fact that I would lose my closest friend in the whole world, Heather Oswald, two weeks later. Or maybe in hindsight it was a few dear friends all at once, but mercy didn't let me know what happened all at once.<br />
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I recently shared this story with her sister, who also had a similar premonition and begged her sister to not go to Oakland just before her fatal accident there. Another conclusion her sis and I surmised , is that Heather also knew and often remarked about it.<br />
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It was a really tough year 2001, the night before Heather died, my friend from Modesto, Marian Anderson,lead singer for The Insaints, my punk rock older sis full of knowledge passed on.Right after that we lost our advocate for music , room mate and former booker for the Berkeley Square AJ Cardinal and other room mate and Poet/writer/Musician John Sinistere.<br />
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I am not sure if I was standing in the wrong line when the Universe handed out its gifts to people but I got a hard one to deal with. Perhaps I got distracted from the knowing the winning lottery numbers line?<br />
What it has fostered in me in a sense of importance of loving people when they are around and appreciating how precious and short our time is here. Also I can be a resource to others who are going through grieving as well. In any case friends are precious to me and it is hard to let go.<br />
<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-12550685387681668652012-07-16T09:22:00.000-07:002012-07-16T09:22:47.585-07:00Part 2 : My own "Psychic Emergency"Part 2<br />
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I broke this into two parts as it is a current happening and things are still unfolding. As I was writing the first part, I seemed to get a little light headed then normal and have to go over and re read my writing and make sure it was all there. Not a bad idea anyway, I can't expect to get all my typos or grammatical errors and I hope, Dear Readers, you will forgive me on that one. What can I say...I left college to pursue a professional singing career and writing song lyrics does not entail the laws of grammar, or spelling.<br />
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But I digress and the Grammar Police hasn't fined me yet, so let's move on shall we? If this story wasn't weird enough, or able to be passed off as hysteria or , hallucinations or anything else I could think of to explain away the unknown to make it more palatable for that rational side of my brain. What my friend's experienced kinda through that out the window.<br />
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I woke up after the night of seeing the image of Red Tara turning beneath my closed eyes, hearing her Mantra being spoken and feeling better. I consulted my best friend Tsering and let her know what I saw and when. Since it was something I don't normal see when I close my eyes, I made mental notes of it as it was unusual for me. Other then my friend's involvement, I do not have my own experiences with Buddhism, and I certainly appreciate all their help as they have much experience with dealing with the unseen world. 6000+ years experience!<br />
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She remarked to me that it was really good I saw the Mantra and that seeing it turning was a very good sign, she remarked that it was something that folks strive for when doing these practices and that it was really good that I saw that. I have to admit that made me feel very special I was able tap in and experience something that I knew so little about, it had given me comfort and I knew it was working. The brownish -black mass I had seen had recoiled into the upper corner of my room when it was happening and I knew it was working and my child slept through the night.<br />
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It turned out a good thing I made note of the time, at the time I heard and saw the practice, our other co-admin Alastair was doing the Red Tara protection on our behalf. The fact , I saw it and heard him was remarkable. Alastair and I have a very similar life experience, at least in our youth. We both had things happen in our upbringing that were hard and most notably a seizure disorder that went into remission when we had children. I feel like we are related somehow. In their practice they can find out such things, where a soul has been reborn and how folks have been related in previous lifetimes. I have a great respect, appreciation and am in awe of their practices. Especially now that I have experienced some of it first hand!<br />
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I communicated to Alastair via message that I had felt the practice and what transpired and how our house felt. They were in agreement with Tsering's idea that this was some sort of Scottish type elemental and that it was very attracted to my daughter. What had I been doing in the past weeks where attention was drawn to her , had we visited anywhere had strangers remark on her appearance?<br />
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As a matter of fact we had. We had our first weekend outing to the Ren Faire in Eminence , Ky. Many folks had remarked about "our beautiful little Royal " in her stroller. Could we have gotten the attention of something else beside the faire workers that decided to follow us home? This was reported to be the first year that their was a enclave of Fairy folk there as well. In Scottish and Welsh lore I have heard it is "back luck" to remark on the beauty of a child.<br />
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In many cultures there are beliefs and superstitions that one should protect their baby from too much praise. This can get the attention of certain beings who , as many folks may have read in fairy tales of changeling children and the creatures that like to swap out said beautiful children for one of their own. It ranges anywhere from Lilith , the basis for Lullaby song, which was" Lilith go away" at one time, to Boogeymen, elves and Fairys.<br />
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Adam's 1st wife Lilith was purported to be accused of stealing babies. In some interpretations of ancient Hebrew texts that expand on the stories of Genesis (The Zohar ) God had worked for some time creating a wife for Adam. God put him to sleep and split his feminine nature into wife Lilith , his equal. Head strong and preferring the superior position during sex, she was outcast, but not without learning God's sacred name and getting some wings in the bargain. She flew out to the Red Sea and bearing many of her own children from visitations from Adam (basis for the Succubi stories) or in some stories Samael (basis for Satan) and alienating him from his 3rd and well known wife Eve, who had some run-in herself with Samael bearing Cain. It is said Lilith is pretty sore for just being a smart woman and is the inspiration for strong woman everywhere.<br />
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For many years and well into the middle ages amulets were made bearing the names of 3 Angels that could scare Lilith off and protect children.<br />
For more information on Lilith's story visit :<br />
<a href="http://www.themystica.org/mystica/articles/l/lilith.html">http://www.themystica.org/mystica/articles/l/lilith.html</a> <br />
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In Scottish /Welsh culture there are different child stealer beings , like the Water Kelpie , I talked about in a previous blog:<br />
<a href="http://angelxstacy.blogspot.com/2012/05/first-contact.html">http://angelxstacy.blogspot.com/2012/05/first-contact.html</a> <br />
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and my current suspect , who I called "Mr. Grunty" seems to come from Scottish and or Welsh Lore. That have many descriptions that fit down to the brown cloak. In researching the different names of such beings, I would find a website only to not be able to find it again after putting in the same information in Google.<br />
Who knew they could be elusive , even on the internet!<br />
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In any case I did find a catch all on the subject on the the ever popular Wikipedia:<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changeling">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changeling</a>
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Apparently every culture has a changeling story and unfortunately they all don't end well. Some have used it as a defense for hurting others or as an explanation for deformities. Perhaps back in the day it was a popular explanation for Colic or the "Terrible Two's"?<br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">After I posted "Part 1" to our Psychic Emergency page, Alasdair who did the practice for us sent this in response. In his own words he describes that our unwelcome guest made itself at home all the way in Oregon. (For those that may not know, I live in Kentucky!) </span></div>
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"Cool
Angelique! This is Alasdair and it has been a strange couple of weeks. I think
it was really interesting that you could pick up on the mantra visualization
from the Red Tara practice I did for your family. There is a whole section of
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practice during which the mantra revolves and emits light. The entity in your
house was very strong and it is was easy to see why your family was so
frightened. The day after I focused energy on your house and did this practice
and suggested you leave out plastic king cake babies as an appeasement offering,
I noticed money missing from a closed box in my home. Next to the box were two
of the plastic king cake babies that I was planning on sending you along and
other objects near the box had been pushed over and messed up. The king cake
babies were previously in a silver dish on a shelf with some ghost money on top.
None of the remaining babies or the ghost money had moved at all. I took this as
evidence that we had got the spirit's attention (and now it had mine :) ).
Another incident might be attributable to neighborhood children or squirrels
involved an offering I left outside for the spirit on your behalf until I sent
you the plastic babies. I put a plastic baby, a piece of candy, and a coin in a
dish and left it on my porch railing. It disappeared, but I later found it on
the bottom right corner of the lowest stair leading up to my apartment.
Everything was still in the dish (although the candy had melted the coin and
baby to the metal dish). I hope things are better now."</span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show">I received the aforementioned king cake babies in the mail. For those not familiar with what a King Cake baby is , it is a tiny plastic baby that is baked into a bundt style cake made for different cultural celebrations. A cake is made and a party is given, the person who receives the slice with the baby in it is required to host a party the following year. </span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show">I then made a batch of Sour Cream Muffins and before putting the muffin pan in the oven I inserted one of the babies into the biggest muffin. After they cooled my little family got ready for a walk around our neighbourhood to a certain tree that I knew would be a perfect spot for the offering.</span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show">This tree is on the other side of Central Park from my house on 6th & Park in Old Louisville, it is actually just a few steps from "The Witch's Tree" whose story was told in David Domine's books on the ghosts of Old Louisville. I talk about his books , my house and some of the previous happenings here:</span><a href="http://angelxstacy.blogspot.com/2012/05/recent-events.html" style="background-color: white;">http://angelxstacy.blogspot.com/2012/05/recent-events.html</a><br />
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This photo was taken in the early spring, now it is almost completely covered in vegetation and an orb weaving spider has made her home right in the centre of the fairy door. Even in the day it looked spooky. My hubby had carried the muffin over and as he held it in his hand I took a look around to make sure no one could hear me. I called out to the being and plainly said:<br />
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"Mr Grunty or whomever you are, we wish to make you an offering of this special cake with a baby in it, should you wish to continue to receive offerings , you are to stay away from our home and our daughter. Thank you"<br />
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Then my husband tossed the muffin baby cake into the hole and we continued our walk.</div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show">So far so good, and we make sure to spiritually cleanse our house more often, which is just a little sweeter smelling then a regular house cleaning but a bit more thorough. Burning sage every couple days, Florida Water and Patchouli for protections and floor washes for a start. </span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show">Another friend and faculty member from my online school "Crossroad University", Madrina Angelique also sent me a recipe for child safe protective spiritual baths with lavender. With the help of my online community we were able to get Spiritual help for our night terrors.</span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show">Some links for further study , goods and readings:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.crossroadsuniversity.com/">http://www.crossroadsuniversity.com/</a>
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<a href="http://www.rootmamaconjure.com/">http://www.rootmamaconjure.com/</a>
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and our Psychic Emergency page:<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/PsychicEmergency">https://www.facebook.com/PsychicEmergency</a>
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</ul>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-63990485157122374082012-07-10T09:42:00.000-07:002012-07-10T09:58:47.198-07:00Part 1 :My own "Psychic Emergency"My best friends and I co-Admin a help page for the layperson seeking help to Spiritual problems called "Psychic Emergency".<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/PsychicEmergency">https://www.facebook.com/PsychicEmergency</a>
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On this page we post tips and articles on how folks can navigate and protect themselves in this world from the largely unseen world. My co -admin are from the Dharma tradition, (aka Buddhism), a Monk and a former Nun and I myself that is an initiate in the Afro Caribbean traditions of the Lucumi, all of which have a large background in dealing with the unseen world. It is kinda like a 101 page for folks who may be experiencing scary things they don't know how to deal with. Hence the name. Although each of us have different skills such as mediumship, ability to read objects or things like Tarot cards, we don't give readings here.There are plenty of people who do that and do it well. In short we help people who may have issues with Spirits,Ghost, Elementals, Demons, what have you that plague people. The articles we write are introductions to some of these abilities and how folks can protect themselves from such things.These services are free of charge.<br />
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Before I joined the team, my mates have helped clear haunted houses, help people with attacks and various other things. I joined and it seemed our combined efforts really seemed to increase our sight. What is really neat is how our practices compliment each other and how similar they are in dealing with things of the seeming paranormal nature. In Buddhism , as in Ocha Lucumi aka "Santeria" ,dealing with Spirits and the like is a part of the norm.<br />
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Little did I know that we would need to pool our resources to help someone close to home and that person was my family.<br />
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I had hoped that my daughter, especially being a Capricorn, would be like other Capricorn's I have met (not knowing everyone, this is a generality, I know) but would be not given to flights of fancy or even be psychic. To some degree it is said that most children do have abilities, they are not filtered like we become as adults. One of my sisters is a Capricorn and I have envied that she is has a life that is not plagued by worries of things that go bump in the night. She is a regular, funny, focused person. A person who didn't grow up seeing visions of how family members died in acute detail or see Elementals invading their room or crib. She is a great Mum and works at a school. Classic in dress she makes khaki look good with an easy effortless style. In short , she is what I call "normal", the opposite of eccentric, "wild" and flashy me. When the chips are down and in some of my darkest and happiest moments she was there for me. From unknowingly helping me get myself together and take care of my injuries after a rape, (I didn't share all those details with her, just that I was bleeding) to being my Maid of Honour at my wedding, I was excited that my Daughter would be born around her Birthday and maybe be like her.<br />
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I do appreciate my life, and feel very blessed to have experienced the things I have , even though some were very painful. I hope that it will help others know they are not alone, or not do the things I did, or at least be a cautionary tale. I am lucky to be alive. It is hard to be sensitive and I admit that I wanted the easy life for my Daughter. But this last week was a wake up call that she too can see things others can not.<br />
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I am a advocate for attachment parenting, for reasons as simple as poverty and having a small dwelling. In our new home, much larger then our last due to rent in Kentucky being cheaper then the San Francisco Bay Area, our young one has her own room, but still sleeps with us at night. It made things like night feedings a lot easier and I was able to get a little more rest. I feel so lucky to have her in my life, it is swell to be able to cuddle my little one while we sleep.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Occasionally</span><span style="background-color: white;"> , as many parents experience , Infants and Toddlers seem to go on nap strikes. Luckily this isn't the norm for my little one, we have a little ritual of being able to turn on my fave channel on Pandora and wind down with Native American Flute Music by R. Carlos Nakai .</span> Sometimes a milestone is reached and no matter what I try she won't nap. With the lack of sleep babies can be prone to having Night Terrors.<br />
If you have ever seen one, it is awful... they are not fully awake , screaming and arching their back they look like Linda Blair and you expect their heads to spin around and pea soup to projectile out of their mouths at any moment. No matter what you do it is hard to comfort them and you have to wait it out, this had happened and my I figured out what was up when she wouldn't respond to being held and bit me when I tried to nurse her, she was ravenously hungry and I picked her up to take her with me to the kitchen where I could find something a little more solid for her and let my husband know.<br />
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She had gone through this a few times before, usually around cutting a new tooth or a growth spurt. It would be scary for a little bit, but I also figured she needed a little snack before bedtime so that she had enough to carry her through the night. It would be something as simple as hunger, going to bed early then usual sometimes did it too. There was just something different about this night and I started to get scared. I called out to my hubby D to see if he could bring something back for her. He didn't respond so I figured he was on the back porch taking out the trash or in other bathroom.<br />
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The walk to the kitchen started to do the trick and she was calming down. I got a squeeze tube of food and sure enough , she was hungry, I thought maybe her stomach had woken her up. As she finished her snack and we started to walk back toward the bedroom she started to get upset again and then I saw something that was about 3 feet tall in a dark brown muslin robe walk into my bedroom. I blinked a couple times and thought it was my imagination , after all she woke me from a pretty deep sleep and it was a pretty mellow friendly dream.Nothing scary at all. Though my heart jumped I figured I was "seeing things". I kept hearing "grunty, grunty, grunty" in my head.<br />
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We walked into the bedroom and it started up again, the screaming , the arching back, but she was awake! I sat us on the bed and saw what I thought was this short dark figure dart into my bathroom, and noticed she was in fear and was reacting to what I thought was my tired eyes and imagination. She was trying to scoot as far away from that bathroom and whatever it was we saw there. Seconds later my husbands walks into the room and startles me and suddenly I start hysterically crying, both the baby and I doing that heaving sort of cry that either makes you hyperventilate or get the hiccups. He asked what is the matter and I said when I could catch my breath " I think saw something come into the room and could you burn some sage?" Which he quickly did. It seemed to calm us down to where we were all able to lay back down to sleep , well all but me, I started to go over prayers in my head. As she started to calm down and my husbands started nod off into sleep , I was finally able to catch a little myself.<br />
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The next morning my daughter was bright and awake and not scared like she was the night before. I couldn't get it out of my head and while she was eating her morning cup of O shaped cereal I decided to check my messages and see if any of my friend were awake. I had just called my friend Tsering and her boyfriend said she was still asleep, knowing sleep is hard to come by decided to distract myself with facebook. On the thread a friend had posted this picture and sans the beak it looked like a dead ringer for my late night visitor! How odd was that? Perhaps it was a Bodach? But those old Scottish boogeymen only come after bad children and this was something a little more solid then a shadow. Maybe a Bendith (a Welsh elemental) coming to swap my child for one of it's own?<br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;"> © Johann Valentin Andree</span>
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Whatever it was it was not good and I went to my friends for help. I was actually surprised at my amount of fear,honestly. I had seen spirit possession, I have heard people , in front of me speak a foreign language that they did not know, and various other amazing occurrences, all while keeping my cool. Not to mention all of my night terrors as a child. But when it is your own child, it is hard to keep your cool.<br />
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My friend called me back as soon as she awoke and I recounted my story from the night before. She knows my history and knows that I am not easily scared, like soldiers from a battle a good case of PTSD does that to you , saving the reactions till it is safe (if it ever is) and processing them later. In this case I was scared immediately and appreciated that she could go over this situation with me much like we do for the folks we help.<br />
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She mentioned different types of beings from different cultures that are attracted to kids and proceed to send me a couple amulets of the Red Tara that I could pin up in our sleeping room to combat this thing. I dutifully printed them out and was able to pin them to the wall above our bed. the image of the Red Tara gave me comfort in this form , she was sure to scare the heck out of any boogeymen!<br />
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This is the image of the Red Tara in her protector form.<br />
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The amulet which was folded and placed behind the picture.</div>
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Her Mantra written in the hand of my friend's teacher: <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">Garchen Rinpoche</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;"> </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 14px;">That evening the other Co-Admin did a practice for me to protect my family. That evening as we went to lay down, my room felt calm and Baby and Pa were able to fall asleep fairly quickly. I however kept my eye on the corner of the room where I could spy our uninvited guest scrunched in the upper corner of the room as if in recoil. It had fed off our fear and I was fighting back. I closed my eyes and behind my lids a form began to take shape it was of the amulet pictured above. It started to rotate and spin and I though I heard a human humming noise which I discerned as a Mantra being intoned. This was sometime around 1 am. I feel asleep, feeling better.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 14px;">Coming soon! Part 2:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 14px;">Mr. "Grunty" visits my friends...what about my own protectors from the Lucumi faith? ...A gift for Mr. Grunty and what he taught me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 14px;">I did this in two parts to keep the length down and to be able to give our reader's something to read while I finish part 2 as it unfolds...</span></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-14226178620224706972012-06-11T10:51:00.000-07:002012-06-11T10:51:22.391-07:00No Place Like Home!My back was out for the last two weeks and it was quite the bummer, as a person who likes to get out and about it kept me down and watching my posture unable to do the simple daily things with my Toddler. In my pain desperation whilst searching the house for any sort of pain reliever so I might walk, or be able to make it down my staircase, I actually took infant Tylenol in liquid form, yuck! I don't suggest it, but walking to the store was not an option until Sat, when I could move. In the meantime I manage to do some writing and was able to contribute a post to Dogster.com about my Memento Mori paintings of which I have mentioned here and posted a pic about in a previous post. When published I will post the article here.<br />
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So having a stiff back and a new pair of tennie's I was able to walk 4 miles with my family on our once a week we all have together. Armed with a portable heat pack and beautiful weather we were able to make it to Carmichael's book store where I found "Weird Kentucky- Travel Guide to Kentucky's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets" by Jeffery Scott Holland. Opening it gave me the instant inspiration for this blog which kinda piggy's back on some mysteries I am hoping to uncover as an Amateur Geneologist.<br />
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This is a map of Kentucky, specifically Cherokee lands created in 1900. It has been a long standing rumour in my family that my Mother's Father's Mother was a Cherokee, at least part. I was offered a scholarship for being Native American for college got me thinking. How does one prove it when so many folks hid their nationality because of Racism? I didn't end up applying for the scholarship my thinking is that there were kids on the reservations with full Native/Indian blood who needed it more and I had access to jobs to pay for myself.<br />
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Due to a mistake on my Birth Certificate I was up for a Chinese one as well. Thank you Oakland, but I am not Chinese (my Father was born in China in a British Colony so they assumed we were Chinese)and my Mum sent it in to get corrected. Hence the ethnic identity confusion (well many others were certainly confused when teasing me in the school yard when we moved from the Bay Area and I went to Public school) and looks that garner questions, I certainly have an interesting background to share (I am multi-ethnic , I guess Euro-Asian is close enough to be a catch all for the English/Scot/Welsh/French and Japanese that I know of for sure and Heinz-57 that I am still finding out on the family tree (such Cajuns that took off to Canada and came back after the Civil War).<br />
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And don't worry my dear readers , there indeed is a paranormal angle, well perhaps they could help with this? Much of my life I feel like is a game of hide and seek with my playful Ancestors. They love my quest for knowledge and my acknowledgement and we both benefit from the excitement of finding out about each other. In fact, as my Ghost tour Trainer for the Old Louisville points out, sometimes something Paranormal can help up to find out about the history of a place. Even as a skeptic, he acknowledges that sometimes these experiences can lead us to historical fact. This , I thought could be the key to finding out my past and if those Spirit Guides can help, all the better! Like my recent discovery of the real existence of the voice of Reason, my great Uncle as a Spirit Guide. I love the names on our family tree, including a "Mistory" as well!<br />
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What started out to be a search for my husband's father blossomed into tracing our family tree to see what the truth to the rumours such as being related to Jean Laffite, the Pirate, and how exactly we are related to Ernest Tubb the Texas Troubadour? Are we really Cherokee? I wanted to know where the connection to some folks started and figure out if the rumours were true or figure out how some rumours can be cover-ups for other stories that people were too ashamed to admit. (lest they experience racism back in the day... that no matter how much father we get away from the past,still manages to rear it's ugly head in one form or another.)<br />
I have the lumps on my head and shovel teeth of a "Melungeon" (tri-racial folks from the Kentucky/Tennessee area) and very much looked a different race when I was a kid and more Euro as I got older. I have been jumped and beaten for being a "Red- N-word" (sorry but my aversion to the word means I can't even type it out, even when explaining that I was called that word and beat up) and I have been mistaken for all sorts of things from Hawaiian , Mexican, Chinese, and the You- name- it -Native- American tribe etc..etc.. Of course I do have half brother and sisters that are Mexican and Hawaiian so it really isn't a stretch to assume that about me either when you see us all together.<br />
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Me first day of Kindergarten in SF Bay Area, Ca..</div>
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My full sister and me, same Mum & Da. She looks "Caucasian" ,me not as much, well not yet anyway..</div>
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While Ancestry.com had provided some surprises: directly linage to English Royalty (pre Tudors)and a Great X5 Uncle who was a Confederate General and some that fought in the Revolutionary War, some were really sad to find that need honouring, namely a Maria who was property willed to a daughter I found in a will of another Ancestor. It goes on to prove that my family came from both sides of the tracks, the Father of said human property Slaver was a Quaker (those who opposed Slavery) that relocated to the South from the North looking for work when his descendant , embraced the what his Father was against.<br />
Perhaps my being drawn to African things culture,language and Religion could be a way to honour this Ancestor.<br />
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As a Public Resource Speaker for Stanislaus County in Ca.in High School I would go to schools and explain my linage to help people understand multiculturalism. Namely the story that my Father , Grandparents and Great Grandparents were interned in Japanese Prison Camps in China during WWII, even though my Grandmother and her Parents were both Half Japanese, My Great Grandmother was descended from my great great George Lee who Great Uncle was Robert E Lee. When he left the Georgia he met a Geisha Hiroto, and she had a daughter born into the geisha house of Kyoto named Emma Lee. Confused yet? You should have met the kids at my High School. I was actually proud of the rumours and loved to keep them guessing... because I had a soulful voice, could dance and have a French same, perhaps I was a Creole, my Da overheard that one at a Dance Recital! Well ya never know..<br />
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Here is my Great Grandparent's Wedding photo, she was 14 and purchased out of her Geisha house for 10,000 dollars. Emma Lee & Fredrick L. Harrison. Both had Japanese Mum's. He was interested in the Occult. I sure wish I could have met them!<br />
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When the American's dropped the Atomic Bombs on Japan, my family was freed from the Japanese Prison Camp and went to Scotland before coming to America. My father remembers his first chocolate bar and their childhood friend went on to write a book about their experiences called "Empire of the Sun" later made into a movie. What if they moved to America say before the war? Would they put my family in Internment Camps?<br />
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So yeah, without the bomb, I wouldn't be here, how's that for Irony?<br />
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My Da's paranormal experience happened when Grandma Emma traded rooms with him for the night when they lived in Oakland back in the 1960's. He felt a cold come into the room , linger and then it left. The next day he had found his Grandmother had passed away. He always wondered if Death came looking for her, realized they had switched rooms and went on to find her. She is buried in the buried in the Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland in the beautiful Mountain View Cemetery.<br />
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*As an aside we will revisit this cemetery in a later blog, this is where Elizabeth Short the "Black Dahlia" is buried.I wish I'd known at the time that Emma Lee pictured above was buried there before I moved!*<br />
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Things are starting to cook up , now that we are in Kentucky. Not only do we feel oddly like the Ancestors have a mission for us here in Louisville, but other evidence has started to come up that means that some of us, namely my husband are actually from here! And in that "my brain just broke" way that Ancestry.com and shows like PBS's Faces of America can turn your idea of who are topsy turvy that is how my research went once I started getting hints into my husband's side of the family. Could it be that our Ancestors had a hand in our moving here to Kentucky to find out more about my hubby's side of the family?<br />
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Little is known about my hubbies family and it abounds with rumours just as anybody's family does. What were rumours of Native American in his tree are turning out to be more African American as we do searches on certain folks in his Family tree which is quite exciting. In his case there are copies of deeds within in the family for Free Persons of Colour passed from Cousin to Great -Grandmother.<br />
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And just to make sure that our rainbow family truly is even more fun stuff turned up.<br />
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Could the Stacy's descendants of the Fugate family, be related?</div>
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A recent article sent to me by a friend gives another group of folks who live in Hazard County of Kentucky with the last name Stacy, like ours. It is a rarer last name and since we don't have records of his Grandfather just yet, every lead is worth pursuing. This Article which I will link here:<br />
<a href="http://www.indiana.edu/~oso/lessons/Blues/TheBlues.htm">http://www.indiana.edu/~oso/lessons/Blues/TheBlues.htm</a>
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and this one with pictures of blue folks here:<br />
<a href="http://gothicteasociety.blogspot.com/2012/03/blue-people-of-troublesome-creek.html">http://gothicteasociety.blogspot.com/2012/03/blue-people-of-troublesome-creek.html</a>
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In these articles they detail a group of folks descended from a French Immigrant who carried a most fascinating gene which in some will manifest in blue skin. There are certain surnames that are connected with this family, namely Stacy and Richie as well as Combs and the of course the Fugates. My hubby has both Stacy (that being our last name) and Richie on his Mother's side who hails from Eastern Kentucky and settled in Louisville!<br />
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I had to say this took me by surprise, if not a connection, it is a interesting coincidence! I thought I knew all sorts of weird stuff but that there were possible connections was interesting to say the least. It later goes on to explain in the genealogy section how the trait is passed down and how it manifests to where some folks are "born blue" or have bluish nails or marks without being related to a heart condition that causes blue babies.That made me consider our own lil bundle of cuteness born on New Years Day 2011. (1/1/11)<br />
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Looking over the medical paperwork of our child's birth and medical records. She was , in fact , born blue which over the course of time she turned pink, and I had concluded this was an oxygen related condition as I was put on Oxygen during the course of her birth to make sure she had enough due to monitor readings, she also had a true knot in her cord which is extremely rare as well as wearing the rest of her cord like a feather boa for her dramatic entrance. She does have what are called "Mongolian Spots" which are are blue patches of skin, like a birthmark which remain blue.<br />
Here is a great Wiki -Article here about them:<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_Spots">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_Spots</a>
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All of these conditions are related to blood in some way, and most are treatable.<br />
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I get a lot of questions about my daughter and her heritage just as I got as a child. After being Blue, then Pink and for a short time Yellow due to Jaundice, she settled on a Olive shade much like her Pa, surprising some folks that she is much darker then my current shade (which by this writing and the Kentucky sun is now a reddish tan.) Her Dark Pewter Blue Gray settled on a dark brown. Her father's are blue and mine are Hazel and to me I can see her Grandpa , my husband's father in those eyes , who was said to have the same colouring. Her hair is just like mine un-dyed, brown with reddish copper streaks.<br />
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I get asked " Is she mixed race?" and honestly I answer "yes" what exactly those mixtures are is our journey to find out. Until we can get her Pa a DNA test to discover the roots of his family we are going the old fashion routes of ancestry.com and following leads from friends. Only time will tell if the little one will have Shovel teeth and her blue-ness will fade by puberty but I do love the Spiritual explanation in some cultures that is her blue spot on the hiney is where "the child was 'smacked' out of the spirit world before birth" .<br />
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Perhaps our guides or family passed on can send us some hints or perhaps we can better figure out the hints we do get by looking at our Family tree as more hints turn up as more folks look into the past to discover answers.<br />
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I can't help but to wonder if perhaps things worked out in the Spirit world to help us out and to get us here to Louisville where I was able to find out very interesting facts about my Hubby's family tree! Within blocks of my home is the Filson Society (Historians of all things Kentucky and the person who lived here) , Daughters of the Revolution and beyond a mile is the Louisville Library with a floor dedicated to Kentucky genealogy.<br />
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I daresay they led to to the right place to figure out these family mysteries!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-85106385892329671712012-05-28T13:58:00.003-07:002012-05-28T13:58:53.455-07:00Recent events..Not all paranormal events are scary. In fact since it seems that everyday is Memorial Day for me I thought I would take the moment to post something a little light before I delve back into the more hair raising stories that I have experienced.<br />
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In fact this is something that happened in the last few days! A special treat, a very recent and still developing Ghost story.<br />
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First a little background: I recently moved to Louisville, Kentucky from the San Francisco Bay Area for my husband works as a Beer Brewer and they were opening a new brewery in a restaurant in the downtown area for him to run. When researching the possible places to move in Louisville I was quite drawn to the Old Louisville neighbourhood , almost 50 square blocks of old Victorian Homes from the castle-like to the more "middle-class". In fact it is one of the largest Historical Districts in the country.And since I lived in 2 other Victorian enclaves San Francisco and Alameda in California, I thought I would feel a little less homesick. Homes that in San Francisco that would go for millions but here are actually affordable and living in a Victorian is possible here. To note the motto for Louisville is "It's Possible here" which I really like, having lived at below poverty level for the last few years it was a welcome idea that we could improve our lot. The difference with these homes then in the SF Bay Area is that the neighbourhood associations have a precedent on keeping things historical so all but a couple exceptions are as they were back in the day. A truly awesome experience for those of us who like the idea of walking in the past.<br />
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Another difference that is overwhelming yet welcoming to the eye is that most of the houses are made of brick and built on limestone foundations. This is very important for it is believed or theorized that limestone and brick have this ability to hold energy and often of the Ghostly variety and are easily imprinted in the case of residual hauntings. Add the fact that they are frequent thunder and lightening storms to bring up the energy for spirits to manifest and you get the perfect recipe for hauntings!<br />
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In further research I discovered that there was a local Writer, Chef and Ghost story collector who had written quite a few books about the old neighbourhood including 3 dedicated to the hauntings in the area. I found that he, David Domine, has a couple pages on facebook as well as started a Ghost Walk of the Old Louisville 'hood. In Oct. he hosts a Victorian Ghost walk where his books come to life as actors, people who live in Old Lou , dress up and tell the stories to the folks as they follow the route in his books. What struck me as extra special and different is the respect to the neighbourhood , stories and Spirits that was evident in the books, and in attending the tours. I do have a problem with places that take advantage of tragedies that occur with in their walls, telling the story's and thoughtful re-enactment are a great way to experience history but in some cases it can go too far and actually torture the lost souls that are stuck there for eternity. Even as a skeptic David treats the subjects with respect. After all the unknown is still just that and who knows exactly what that is that goes bump in the night? I feel it is best to find the most logical explanation for things firsts so that when you have exhausted all other possibilities what's left over just might be miraculous!<br />
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I picked up a copy from the Old Louisville Visitor's Center on S. 4th St. as soon as I got here. I had devoured the other two books from the local library and was eagerly wanting to read the book that started it all and including his own account of owning a haunted house. I also wondered if the house <i>we </i>are living in happens to be included and sure enough in Chapter 11. There was the story of the Widow Hoag who haunts Fountain Court. waiting for her lost son to come home from WWII. It is said that she lived in the 3rd floor of one of the two sister mansions on the corner. Oh! I thought we live on the 3rd floor of one such mansion! I decided to keep my eyes peeled for any wandering widows.<br />
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Now really a few months have gone by without incident other then the squirrels and birds that have managed make nests inside the walls of my bedroom, sometimes we hear them scratching. Even my dog has gotten used to be woken up by the hungry young. A harsh tornado warning storm took some siding of a non brick part of the turret so they are able to hide in the cracks from the golf ball size hail that dumped itself on us one spring night. Our building is taking a kinda of Addam's Family look to it since the maintenance guy is often m.i.a. but it does add to the spook factor.<br />
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One afternoon as I was putting my Little One down for a nap on our bed, I and my Pom dog Noemi decided to rest a bit and do a little reading when I heard the floor boards creak. Huh. I thought now I have heard the house settle and all sort of other things but it actually sounded as if someone was walking towards the bedroom from the kitchen. I thought that perhaps my hubby had come up the back staircase fire escape instead of coming through the front door. I thought I'd be quiet since I didn't want to wake the baby and it sounded as if the walker was doing the same. I waited for my husband to appear but he never did. I checked the text I received on my phone and it was apparent he was still at work. We were alone.<br />
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Later that evening after the baby had awoke from her nap and my husband now home, I was searching high and low for my anti-itch cream. The mosquitoes of Kentucky had sure done a number on me and my whole upper arm was quite red and swollen and hard to keep from itching it into a raw mess. I specifically put the Cortisone on a high shelf in the bathroom to that the baby couldn't get into it. When I went back there and not found it I though perhaps it had been moved by my husband or fallen. After checking with him I started looking under the tub and under the sink. Jokingly I remarked "Hey Creaky Mc Creakerson's I <i>really</i> could use that lotion right about now can I have it back please?" and moved into the next room to continue my search. As I lowered myself down to look underneath my antique vanity I looked up back into the bathroom, Lo! There was the bottle in the centre of the bathroom floor where nothing was before!<br />
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I laughed ,"Thank you,that was fast, I appreciate it!" I called out. Either my house is host to little people or something is trying to get my attention. I ran to the kitchen to tell D all about it.<br />
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There is still a matter of some Oil of Olay lotion missing, but maybe I should take it as a compliment that I don't need anti aging cream just yet , well according to the Creakersons! I figure that it has had a much more mundane fate. That lotion was actually on the bathroom counter and I believe that perhaps my daughter has relocated it to somewhere much more convenient like the bottom of the hamper!<br />
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The following day the Babe , Dog and I were in the front room and she started to bark at towards the front door. I figured that dogs ear being much more sensitive was probably picking up some sound in the building. Perhaps a neighbour was downstairs or something was making some noise I couldn't hear, I got up and thought about checking the mail and once again shush the dog. Before I could open my mouth I heard a "Shush!" in our hallway by the water closet! I couldn't help myself but busted out laughing! "Ok , Noemi you are even bugging the ghost!" It was the best most hearty laugh I had that day.<br />
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I really don't know if it the Widow Hoag or some playful Elemental nature spirits are having a bit of fun with me but its par for the course here in the historical homes of Old Louisville.I'm not exactly ready to bust out any evp equipment to ask either just yet.<br />
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I dare say this is one super amazing neighbourhood and worth a visit if not an awesome place to live (save those dang mosquitoes). Come on over and see us sometime, we'll give you a tour!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-46261218652356009502012-05-24T10:31:00.001-07:002012-05-24T10:31:37.392-07:00Spirit Guides, Invisible friends, Teenage Hell and Death and rebirth.I was the last of 5 kids, the Cindy of the Brady Bunch so to speak, and my siblings were a bit older. They didn't have time to spend with me all the time and so I spent a lot of time alone. I actually didn't feel too lonely as I had the run of the house, yard and plenty of pets.<br />
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One day I heard a voice coming out of the vent in the bathroom. It was of a young girl, around my age ( I was probably 4 at the time) and I would spent a lot of time talking to her and telling her about my day, she would give me advice if I needed it and would answer my seemingly endless questions. Later she told me that she was coming to live with me and her Mother was going to drop her off. She said that she would be there to help me anytime I needed. I was excited. She didn't give her her name so I called her "My Ghost Friend".<br />
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The day came and I waited at the window. A dark Olive Green Monte Carlo drove up, a late 70's model. I went outside to great my friend. Her Mum gave her a hug and gave me a brief wave and got back in and drove off. Her hair was puffy and cute and had little twists with barrettes and beads in the ends that clicked when she shook her head. She had her own pillow and sleeping bag. I wondered why her Mom would let her stay so long. Doesn't she need to go home I thought. She answered that she was supposed to stay with me now, it was her purpose. She was a little taller then me but just has slender. We went into the house and I showed her my room but she already knew her way around.<br />
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Sometimes she would just disappear and I wouldn't always see her. Her voice would be inside my head. If I ever got lonely she was there. She would play with me and my collection of donated toys from the church that I adored. She didn't didn't care either that they came without heads sometimes. We could imagine the heads being there with whatever hairstyle we could imagine. Some kids probably minded hand me downs. I didn't really, I was very lucky. One of my sisters was a competing Figure Skater (as was my Mum) and even though I couldn't get the ballet lessons I dreamed of, I got the next best things , all her hand me down skate costumes, they were sparkly beaded and colourful. My Mum lent me her tiaras and 1950's costume jewelry as long as I put it back where I found it. When my Da purchased a Harley down the street from a Man whose daughter would become my first best friend, I would bring my costumes over and she would teach me what she learned in dance class. Sometimes she would sneak me into class and I was hide in the corner and practice the movements. My Ghost friend came along when her Mum took us on Bart to the San Francisco Ballet to see the Nutcracker. I loved my new best friend and she didn't tease me for having a Ghost friend. I hoped she could hear her too.I'd have to ask her, she very well could have a ghost friend of her own!<br />
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Ghost friend continued to grow as I did, older and taller, her clothes changing from the cords of the seventies to more of the ethic styles becoming to her. I like that she looked from somewhere else and not like everyone else.<br />
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Sadly I was an abused child, a friend of the family had a strong attachment to me that was not healthy. For as long as I could remember I stayed quiet out of fear, fear that somehow this was my fate since it was going on for as long as I could remember and fear of what would happen if I spoke up. The times I reached out about it, to teacher's (I was laughed at) I couldn't open up to counselors and I don't think my parents could see the signs. Believe me they had their hands full, as upsetting as it is, I had other siblings going through serious issues as well, I thought it was my cross to bear, alone. I felt guilt if I didn't want to spend time with that friend of the family, guilt that other members would unknowingly contribute too by telling me I had too. So I talked to my Ghost friend , often the only comfort was her voice, I would disassociate whenever the schools would send me to the counselors I just couldn't explain my situation or why I felt so bad. I started having blackouts, I didn't know if it was the "spells" or what. She was the voice comforting me when I was attacked at neighbour's house when I went to visit the dog and stumbled on a teenage drinking party.<br />
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After years of this happening ,we moved to a new town and I made new friends and I learned to keep my Ghost friend to myself, after all I started to get older and it wasn't so cute to talk to oneself and I started to get teased by my siblings about it. It probably was a good thing they did because I could only imagine the teasing I would get in the school yard and I had it bad enough being a new kid in town! In Jr. High I had made new friends and some my family didn't approve of. One day I opened up to a boy I had a crush on about my situation with this "friend of the family" and he said what was dawning on me: "that isn't normal, that isn't right, that's called molestation and you need to get out of that situation".<br />
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I ran alway from home. I went to a best friend's house and because her Mum was a social worker onto the halfway house I went, after all I couldn't stay at there house, this was a good thing. In the halfway house I found I lost the ability to talk. A girl named Michelle took me under her wing. Somehow she understood I couldn't speak that something so bad had happened that she told me her story to help me open up. She was an ashtray. Literally. Her arms and legs that I could see were covered with burns of all shapes and sizes. He Dad and his friends took turns putting out their cigars and cigarettes on her. I felt so sorry for her, but she saw my look and said, "Nah I am out of there and you are too" If you can't talk, I bet you can write" She gave me a coloured pencil and some paper. "They are calling your parents, write down what you can't say, you be heard now"<br />
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I didn't understand then that I had hysterical muteness that all the stress of the years of abuse and fear had taken a toll. When my parents came they listened to what I had wrote written by the counselor and with the new knowledge they took me home. It answered a lot of questions for them and thankfully the abuser was cut out of our lives.My voice eventually returned.<br />
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It goes to show you should listen to your inside voice. I probably could have avoided more pain and suffering if I had learned to listen more, avoided places when I got that "feeling" or if there were Chip Coffey and shows like Psychic Kids on the tele back then. Though my Mum showed a little fear of my abilities and my Dad was always encouraging me to learn about what inspired me, I considered myself very lucky. In Jr. High I was able to meet one of my best friend Alyssa (who Mum was the Social Worker that took me to the house where I got help) they were actually a part of a new church in town that encouraged its members to work on their gifts. It was there that I found a solid footing in a chaotic life. I started to learn some basics of grounding and healing and where I was warned that because my soul shone like a lightpost to be extra careful. Hearing on the outside what were once whispers on the inside really connected and started me on my journey to find the right types of techniques to tap into these gifts.<br />
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I didn't always deal with things so well , even with this support. There were years of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to work through. My parents have not the best view of Doctor's so I was not sent to any and in a lot of ways I am glad for it, I am glad to not have been medicated as hard as things were. I went to Planned Parenthood to take care of my physical issues that abuse has caused but my mind I tried to heal with the help of the Creative Life Center , prayer -lots and lots and lots of prayer- and self medicating.<br />
The size of my pain and the amount of self medicating spiraled out of control. It was nice to have some sort of relief but one particular day , the eve of my 15th Birthday. I had gone to far. I stole away from my so called friends and sought out one of my best tried and true friends Alyssa. Alyssa nursed me through the worst and she almost lost me. Of course I feared going to the Doctor or ER and was in no space to even know what was going on and for a while I was gone. I'd stopped breathing and turned blue.<br />
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I don't remember any tunnel or lights for sure, but I do remember seeing myself passed out on her kitchen table not breathing. I think I had a vague thought about the movie "Flatliner's" about the med students inducing death so that they could see what was beyond. I'd thought I laughed seeing that it wasn't like the movies.<br />
It was just a case of a sad wasted kid that felt special but had no one to back it up save a few friends. Bullied in school by the other kids, threatened with knives on the Jr High campus, missing out on school dance for being late by avoiding the knives. Trying to tell your Science teacher that you trusted that something bad was happening at home but you couldn't make it stop and could you help? Hearing his laughter as he didn't believe you. Reading teacher in the 4 grade trying to touch you because you were so smart and he loved the purple you wore telling you were attractive. It's not a good thing to be "attractive" , all sorts of creepy people touch you and other people hate you for being "pretty" and taunt you and call you a slut.<br />
The pain of being tore apart, punched, raped. Jumped walking to friend's house by the boy you had a crush on , while the kids you were friends with at the beginning of the school year attempting to rip the shirt of your back and steal your boots. Their punches with sand-filled riot gloves hitting your face but no tears come out. You've felt worse. Other kids lacing your cigarettes with PCP and sending you outside for whatever the hell could happen to you. Everyone having problems and not enough time for yours.<br />
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All the while my heart was racing out of control and it stopped and somewhere I can hear my one of my few real friends screaming my name over and over. I felt so bad for scaring her.<br />
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Then a male voice. Not Ghost friend's voice but a strong male voice with a Southern lilt, full of authority and caring, stern say "It is not your time. Is this how you want to spend your Birthday? Dead? Live little one, you have so much to do you need to stop doing this to yourself. You need to stop, now." It sounded like the voice of reason and for ever on I called him "Reason".<br />
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"Live" he said. and my body started to return, I could feel the tingling as sluggish anemic blood attempted to move around the poor poisoned little body. Alyssa who had been working on me was relieved when I returned, I had scared her to death, with all my ranting before hand and turning blue. I proceed to tell her all I saw.<br />
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It took me a bit of help to heed the advice of "Reason" and by a bit of synchronicity on a solo trip to the mall I met some kids in a car. How embarrassing that some of my first questions were "do I know you?" "and what drugs do you do?" They replied "we'd like to know you" and "we had to give them up" much for the same reasons as me. They were all sober punk kids! I had a new bunch of instant friends, who found other ways to deal with their lives and took me to meetings with them and I learned that by talking to other kids I could cope with my issues and learn from Elder's some new coping skills. I had found some Therapy.<br />
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It took me a long time to get straight the different voices I heard in my head. I started to get concerned as I learned more about psychology that I could have some sort of disorder, hearing voices? That is crazy! So I started integrating these voices into my consciousness and telling myself they were aspects of me, in a way I was right but I wasn't to find that out till much later. Both my theories were correct. Spirit and Psychology in a way. Being a past Science nerd and a Spiritualist I need to be able to satisfy both sides.<br />
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Fast forward to the future and how all these stories come together, because my dear few readers I have taken you on a long journey about my known Spirit Guides, and I got to get to the punchline sooner or later.<br />
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In 2005 I was "called" as they say by the Orishas. I had started a Secret Occult Society with some friends and we would go on Ghost walks together and explore places in San Francisco. It was in this group I met my friend Mickey who saw the light go on when he spoke about the Orishas and Santeria. I had learned about them from books from my friend Shannon and I was excited to hear from someone who had been initiated to the mysteries. It was through his Ile (temple) where I was able to do so myself and explore and learn more about my abilities. Some of these stories will make it on these pages later. (of course in respect certain things will be left out, to respect privacy and etc.) but it was here that I learned the most about my Spirit Guides. Here was a place that told me I wasn't crazy and then suddenly everything made sense!<br />
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In was at one such Misa (Spiritual Mass) where a Santera told me she saw my Spirit guide and she was from the Congo. She had described Ghost Friend who had been with me my whole life. I knew then that if someone I had just met could describe her, there must be some truth to my little kid Ghost Friend idea!<br />
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Now I didn't learn about Reason's truth until I started writing this very blog. His voice I confused with Ghost Friend's at times in the past and thought it was the sound of my own consciousness. Although I now had the idea he was separate from Ghost Friend (who by now has told me her African name but since it is sacred to her I will keep referring to her as "Ghost Friend" till she says ok) my best friend reminded me I had spoke about him before in the past. I thought perhaps he was a male past life come to give me advice or something. I had no idea that Ancestry.com would be confirming my Spiritual beliefs!<br />
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I had started on that journey to find out if their were truth to family rumours and to find out more about my Partner's family. Whilst I researched what I could about my Father's Ancestors I found a very curious name on my Family tree through his Mum's side.<br />
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"Reason Rutledge Born 1728 in Abbeville, South Carolina. Died 1803. He is your 5th Great Grand Uncle"<br />
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Whoa. No wonder he felt so close. Reason is the name of an actual family member. I didn't just pull that out my butt. He really existed. For whatever reason, he's come to help his Grand Niece sort out her problems so that she can fulfill her purpose. Maybe it's helping other people know they aren't alone. Maybe it's connecting people to their Ancestors and telling people some aspect of them is still around to help us out when we need. Perhaps our Guardian Angels are not someone impersonal but someone related by blood.<br />
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When I see someone who has a person hanging around them that I know isn't in the here and now, so to speak, I will trust myself. I will trust my Ancestors and my Elder's so maybe if I listen, I could avoid some more costly mistakes. Mistakes that almost kept me dead.<br />
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I will listen to Reason.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-62346323743384809832012-05-08T13:13:00.000-07:002012-05-08T13:13:40.620-07:00Earliest Memory, growing up with night terrors..I had this memory before I had words for it, as I grew, so did my vocabulary and not unfortunately not an understanding of the memory which occurred sometime in 1974 or 1975. I related this memory to my mother who told me that it was probably around 6 months of age and they were having family over for a party.<br />
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(Apparently you can purchase this (or a photo) on eBay!)</div>
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When I was little , under a year old, we lived in a house on Vegas Ave. in Castro Valley , Ca. My parents were having a gathering of family and I was put down for a nap. I remember the white basinette and quite distinctly the walls which were covered in that fake 70's wood grain paneling. I awoke and shapes coming out of the woodgrain with large insect-like eyes. I started to cry, my Cousin Sandra entered the room and tried to calm me but I was inconsolable, such was the fear of what I was seeing. The memory stops there, we moved soon after that and as memories go I was quite surprised that I could remember anything that early. My mother has taken photos of our cats that would take turns sleeping with my in my crib. Could it have been a cat and I distorted it thinking it formed from the wood grain? I have seen things form out of wood grain much later in my life due to being dosed by angel dust while in Jr High. (There were some very cruel kids in the nieghbourhood when that age.)<br />
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"A Wind in the Door" By M. Engle book cover illustration<br />
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I often saw things in the dark as a child , another time it was a floating creature with many eyes of all different types and always staring and blinking. I was relieved that I shared a room with my sister for a few years and terrified when we were older and I didn't have the "protection" of someone else in the room to distract the focus of the creatures focus on me. I would often ,quietly as I could, drag my blanket and crawl on the ground to sleep on the floor of my sister's room. She would wake up, yell at me and send me back to my room and then I would start the whole process all over again. I was getting so adept and crawling on my stomache and not making a sound that I was sure she couldn't hear me but most often she did.<br />
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I honestly could not say where these night terrors came from. Was it some movie I watched and too young to remember? Was it a bi product of a Temporal Lobe malfunction? Could there be truth in being a mystic? Boy, I sure wish Chip Coffey was around when I was a kid to explain some things to me!<br />
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There was the darkness in the closet that I am sure I saw eyes peeking at me or the space between the bed and the wall where a slimy green arm could fit to be able to grab me. I slept with a hooded sweatshirt or better yet, a hooded wool sweater that my Auntie made me in between her visits to the US from Scotland to protect me from those scary thing getting into my head. I always wore a rosary and even though at school they would tell me I was committing a Sacrilege, I needed the protection from the whatever the heck they were. My parents were much more permissive. If wearing my rosary till the Jesus fell off made me feel better and help me sleep through the night then so be it. A funny aside: in High School Freshman year I was sent home for looking like a Satanist. I have no idea what exactly they felt a Satanist was, but rest assured I was the poster child of Satanic youth in the 1980's in Modesto , Ca. where we had moved to from the Bay Area. My dad had to explain to them that it was a Catholic thing. To so other church going folk, that was the same thing. My Dad probably wondered if switching my sister and I from Public School was such a good idea. They were always bugging him about something concerning me.<br />
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Artwork by Brian Froud.<br />
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In Jr High I would wake up to a room full of a motley sort that I was sure were Demons! I guess thinking of it now, even though they certainly had an awful rotten egg smell they actually didn't do anything to hurt me as demons probably would. One small one in particular seemed to hang out when all the others have left and shared with me it's name and cause all sorts of mischief I think in some effort to befriend me. Now when I think about it. I think perhaps , if my inner skeptic doesn't discount it to a vivid imagination or side effect of Temporal Lobe Seizure Disorder, that it was some sort of Elemental Creature, like a nature spirit. It certainly looked my knarled wood and around this same time was the time that I would hear knocking in the inner corner of my room. It was always quite late at night and having been on my roof and peeked in the crawl space I knew we didn't haven't rodents or woodpeckers. I also had turned 13 so this was high time for any sort of telekinetic energy to manifest itself.<br />
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That was the time I started scaring my Mum a little more, thinking about turning a light on in the kitchen and it would go on, telling her stuff about the death of an uncle , information I was not privy too. Thankfully through all this my parents , though my Mum wasn't so keen on it , treated it as something pretty normal and I have to say how much I appreciated that. I was lucky enough to have met a friend whose mother was a honest to goodness American Witch. Since my Auntie had passed on, I had no one to talk to about these strange happenings and what they meant. They loaned me my first Tarot Deck until I could get my own and I was able to practice my skills on my Mum's friends that wanted to know questions about their business they hoped to prosper.<br />
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I found myself by luck or providence to be invite to a Psychic Science Church based on the teachings of A Course in Miracles. This Church still exists to this day and whenever I am in Modesto , Ca. I always try to make it to the Creative Life Center. They took me and gave me a focus even allowing me to become a Sunday School teacher to the younger kids of the community. When schools , deans and teachers were busy trying to keep me in detention I had a place to go where I felt like I could grow through the scary time of the treacherous teen years without being judged for my looks and celebrated for my abilities.<br />
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The main thing I learned is that the more I learned less I had to fear. As I moved backed to the Bay Area I sought out other spiritual practitioners and questioners so that I could learn more, eventually taking initiations in Santeria and learning more about my abilities with Espiritismo or Spiritualism. (which gave me some more paranormal experiences to share here forthcoming)<br />
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I learned that I wasn't crazy but had these abilities that just needed some development.. I love that I can have these experiences and still be a doubting Thomas skeptic because when something happens that I can't explain, it just makes it that much more amazing.<br />
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Now I am all the way in Kentucky and I feel like the Ancestors have me on another adventure and I am really excited to see what next to learn in this classroom and this experience we call LIFE.<br />
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So what's next?<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-19441004008581949672012-05-03T08:36:00.000-07:002012-05-03T08:36:17.214-07:00First ContactEvery kid has a favourite Aunt, and I actually had a lot of great Aunts and Uncles and I knew it wasn't fair to say one was better over another. There are some you connect with, like my Auntie whom I go over family stories with who always knows the right thing to say to keep me in line and respectful. (I have quite a wicked sense of humour and an even worse tongue so I have to keep both in check) and some you can let your freak flag fly and go to the theatre with (I am such that Aunt) and there are those that even long gone are still there for you.<div>
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I had one Auntie whom lived in Glasgow, Scotland. She was a Nurse but also had another skill that I found fascinating. She helped to find lost children using psychic skills for the Scotland Yard. As I child she was my pen pal. I wrote her for "witchy" advice and eagerly await her visits each year where she presented me with the most amazing gifts , hand-knitted hooded sweaters. I then, and now, have this thing about my head (as I later found out many belief systems do) and felt for my protection as a child, especially when sleeping, it should be covered. She never made me feel weird for always wearing a hat or hood, in fact I think my whole family humoured me on this and still joke about till this day. I thought hats and blankets were magical objects and could protect you from "cooties" and things that go bump in the night.</div>
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In 1983, I had such a vivid dream. I was walking along a beach where I met a grey horse. Being a child that loved to ride horses any possible chance I got , having a dream of one was not out of the ordinary. As I mounted the horse and begun to ride along the rocky beach I noticed that I didn't hear any hoof beats, that I was kinda sad about as hearing the horses gallop is something that is comforting to me. I figured out this wasn't a normal dream journey and in my 9 year old mind, I thought something is up.</div>
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I found myself in am amazing place full of animals , mostly in cages, some of them bamboo. It looked to be a zoo and my whole family was there. I looked up and I was sitting in the lap of my Aunt Pat. Gone were her scars of the Blitz that covered her body, and she was wearing the green dress she wore the times we went to Great America where we would ride the rides together and I would wait for her and she rode the Demon, her favourite coaster. </div>
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She told me she was happy to see me and that she loved me and she told me over and over so that I wouldn't forget. I noticed that my other family didn't seem to be talking which I thought strange since we are a loud and fairly large family. </div>
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The visit was cut short and I was riding the horse with no hoof beats again exploring the coastline of ruins and caves.</div>
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The next day upon awaking I found my father and family sitting at the kitchen table. I was excited to tell him about my dream about his sister.</div>
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"I had a dream Da, and it was really neat! I was riding this horse, near the ocean, but it wasn't the Ocean by us, it was far away! I rode this grey horse and I couldn't hear it's hooves! It took me to a place where there were lots of animals in bamboo cages and you were all there and so was Aunt Pat! She told me that she loves me and misses me" I said that I missed her and I then asked him when she was coming, she was supposed to move into our house with us in the States, very soon, and I was excited and couldn't wait. I asked " is she coming soon?"</div>
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He invited me to crawl into his lap and he looked very sad, I felt bad I thought my story had somehow did that to him.. He then told me that they had found my Aunt had passed away in her home in Glasgow and that she had died of Lung Disease. He then told me that she must have come to say goodbye and that the London Zoo was her favourite place. He also explained that in Celtic Lore there are these creatures called Water Kelpies , that often would drag children into the depths of the ocean if they went near water, in my case they took me to see my Auntie in the land of the Dead. Hence why I couldn't hear the hooves. </div>
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Not much later they sent her ashes to us since because she was a Catholic she was not allow to be buried by her Protestant husband. My parents decided they would save up and get her a little cubbie next to their resting place so that she could be here with us. </div>
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Later when I had this idea to do painting of loved ones to process grief my Dad gave me some of my Aunt Pats ashes to be able to mix in with my paints to have a painting of her that truly is actually here (or some part there of) . This started my portrait painting business where I take ashes and mix them with paint and paint a portrait in the iconic fashion, like a Saint. I am still looking for the picture of my Aunt that really clicks as "the one". Till then part of her sits on my Ancestor Altar with her lighter and the rosary she gifted me with the last time I saw her.</div>
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I done several of these paintings and recently did this one of my 16th Birthday blessing: Little Bear,for my parents. Rather then move around with nomadic me, he ran his clan of dogs at my parents house for almost 20 years:</div>
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"Little Bear Gibbons" by Angelique X Stacy</div>
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What my Aunt inspired has become my lives work, since I am a new Mum and feel this is a good time to take a break from full time tattooing , and that it is a good time to offer this service to others too. Call it a "Calling" if you will. It does help with the grief to honour those have pasted. </div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-3454152540374702102012-04-30T08:10:00.002-07:002012-04-30T08:10:57.160-07:00Scariest Ghost ExperienceWhat a silly title. Its true though, there might be other stories that I will include that will be more scary for the reader but this one is the one that , pardon the expression, haunts me. This is the one that is in some log for proof of After Life Communication and warranted a contact from the Discovery Channel to share my story. I wasn't chosen for their show and probably with good reason. For this very person of passing that I am writing about would want it that way. They don't want to be remembered they want us to move on with our lives and true to his wishes , we have , for the most part. With the exception of a few, we have all lost contact with each other. Even the magic powers of facebook have not rendered results in online searches for our friends of that time back in 1995-1996.<br />
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It was Modesto, California and Turlock too. Two towns in the central valley dessert that by the grace of man and aqueducts have turn it into fertile ground for growing many crops. There are many orchards , good for kids to run around in. I hadn't heard many ghost stories there. Not like the ones we had from the Bay Area but sometime my friend's mums would share stories of ghostly animals. All us would run around all those trees, something I could never quite get used to all that open space. Or the heat , not so great for the little death-rockers in the making , excited by a club that would play our music where we could dance in basements and waterproof eyeliner that wouldn't run.<br />
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By this time I had already graduated from High School and already knew what I wanted to do with my life. I was going to community college to further my art instruction and to be able to stay in dance class with my favourite teacher and be a part of her dance company before moving back to the Bay Area to play in my band. I was lucky that I was accepted , I turned it around in high school. During this time I had did my first solo on stage in front of the whole crowd about being a multi-cultural person in a one race world, the longing to feel roots and pay homage to them when they were being whitewashed. I was lucky enough that a friend of mine Chris, a very talented but haunted individual created 6 min of music for me to express this. I have since lost the music tape, but I still have the video somewhere.<br />
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I dated Chris's best friend, but given how things go, I felt closer to Chris. We both had horrible insomnia and manic periods. I was would often use these to my advantage and write for 3 days at a time or draw and feel like I was doing something divine straight from God or High Power or something. He was often along for these journeys , while I was planning the future or going along with some epiphany that I felt I was being contacted by the heavens. When I was diagnosed with Epilepsy, it is found that these things are common. Little did I know I would have so much in common with his favourite singer Ian Curtis of Joy Division.<br />
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Chris would tell us that he would someday be gone and that he would put on repeat Joy Division while he left this earth. Its one of those things that I think a lot of spooky kids say, "this is how I am going to go when I die", and Chris was no exception, after all Ian Curtis hung himself at 23 so we only had some much time. 23 came and went for Chris and I thought we would be safe and he would outgrow the depression like most of us had.<br />
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I saw some signs, I usually do, but I never had anyone commit suicide close to me , not yet. I had elders die of ailments and age, but never someone so young and on purpose. When we would go to cemeteries , I would often take pictures of the interesting and old head stones when I had film or do rubbings when I didn't. Chris went with me even when he heard the dead yell at him to leave. The graveyards were so peaceful, I was surprised he went places with us, even when it tortured him.<br />
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An aside: Chris had a weight on his conscience, he was plotting his death (I learned later) and was doing this behind all our backs, he was the nephew of Charles Starkweather the serial killer. He felt the evil was in his blood, it's all he could do, he would complain to me "I see cross-hairs" like the scope of a gun. He was afraid if he didn't take himself out, he would take others. He came from a nice family, a little conservative , but they loved him. They didn't so much care for us but they were nice to us. They thought we were soiling their Eagle Scout. I think now we were keeping him alive.<br />
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Then we heard he was dead. I thought of all the nights we hung out with his sister and how they would joke about who would go first in the dark humour of the damned. We found out he had been plotting everything about his death, getting a new suit from Macy's with one friend and not telling him it was for his funeral, going through each and every music mag , making notes for his bandmate/best friend to go on with their work. Making lists of everything that he wanted each of us to have and leaving notes for all of us. Letters we never got to see because his Mother wouldn't allow it. He covered the floor with plastic so that he wouldn't soil the carpet and so his nephews and nieces would never be afraid to sleep in his bed.<br />
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He didn't listen to Joy Division when he died. He listen to "Obssesion" by Clan of Xymox. Curious.<br />
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After the funeral a group of us were hanging out at the driveway of another friends house, staying together to to keep ourselves together, not knowing what to do with ourselves. We , in our grief, listened to the tape and the very song on repeat , making promises to one another we would not follow in his footsteps, each of us pleading to the Universe that we would give up most prized possession in order to have our friend back. My now ex and best friend of Chris vowed he would give up his virginity, I, my talents and so on...we cried and we talked while the music played on, blaring out of our friends car, her windows and moon roof open so we could listen..over and over..<br />
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I looked up into the sky, thinking something strange was going on with the light, I was facing my best friend who was leaning against the car. Funny I didn't remember that the moon was a harvest moon,I thought it had turned a fiery red, when I focused my eyes on it I saw I wasn't looking at the moon but a face, the face of Chris wordlessly screaming in anger and it was directed at us. I heard his anger in my head and I started to yell "turn it off!", meaning the radio, but before I could get the words out a sonic boom noise happened, the car shook and all 4 doors opened all at once, throwing my friend into me.<br />
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At that moment she looked into my eyes as I felt the most ice cold ...something..pass through every cell of my body, she watched as I , like a cartoon turned white as a sheet and my eyes opened to a full dilation. When I could get my breath I yelled "Turn it off! He wants to be forgotten , he killed himself to put himself out of pain and we are keeping him here!" Afraid to move after what we just witnessed it took a second before anyone would approach the now open car, when they did they shut the tape off.<br />
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We broke off our mourning and decided to call it a night and respect his wishes.<br />
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Year later I ran into another mutual friend of ours that we used to drive out to shows in the city. We recounted how things had been since Chris had left us and I mentioned that night, before I could tell him the crazy story he said he had had a dream that night, of Chris as an angry red face yelling at him, saying "Forget Me! Forget me!" I was chilled to the bone, he recounted he wished he was with us that night and sorry he couldn't be with the rest of us so we could grieve together. So I told him what had happened. "You were with us, in a way, you saw what I saw in the sky!"<br />
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I couldn't bring myself to visit his grave that experience so scarred me, seeing the bruises on his neck from where he tied the bag to suffocate if the pills didn't work that were so visible during his viewing , and later when I was able to help with my makeup on my best friend Heather when she passed in a car wreck I remembered those bruises and how they scarred the people left behind. When Heather's sister and mother asked that I do Heather's make up I did because the viewing is for the people left behind, to get one last look and that last look, when not done well can have lasting effects.<br />
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Since Chris many friends, amoung my best friend and roomates, brother, brother in laws and many loved ones have past. You never get used to it, but it is a fact of life that this happens. You never quite get over when someone is so young and takes their life on purpose. Such is life is death. I feel I have been "Born to Mourn."<br />
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Christopher Wayne Noble Starkweather, I sincerely hope you found the peace you never could in life. I still miss you, but I am doing as you asked and making sure to live.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8583848838524280670.post-77637123220316486742012-04-05T08:13:00.004-07:002012-04-05T08:13:56.161-07:00Inside Voice has a new Focus!Inspired by meeting new online friends in the virtual word, I have decided to change the focus of this blog.<br />
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To be honest, I should say that I have decided to give a focus to this blog. I really want to thank these folks and the direction. I have many interests and many things I like to do and able to do a few things at once. Given that is my nature , focusing is often a little hard to come by, but sometimes little things will happen, perhaps they could be called by some as omens, or synchronicity or patterns that my mind is putting to things...whatever it may be I appreciate it! It gives my brain that rush of endorphins that tells me I am on the right path. A natural high that doesn't come from a bottle or a pill. Inspired by these requests and my new home I have decided to Blog about Ghosts and my experiences of the unexplained which could also include some brushes with the Divine as well.<br />
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So ..as my Mom would say: "Consider the source". That's something she would say when someone says something mean, contrary to what you may believe, so that you can try to see where they are coming from. Humans are complicated beings and am as well. Some of my beliefs can sometime contradict one another. I don't really purport to "know" anything. I was brought up in a Catholic Family that was very open-minded and allowed me to explore other people's churches and beliefs without judging them. On that same note my Aunt was a Psychic who was paid by Scotland Yard to help find missing children with her abilities. I learned how to read Tarot as a preteen and often was found doing card readings for my Mother's friends who were interested in opening business for themselves. My earliest dream was to be a Nun , I was and am still terrified of Aliens who could come grab me in the middle of the night.<br />
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In 2003 I was diagnosed with a "slight abnormality of the left temporal lobe" aka Epilepsy. I had various symptoms of this neurological disorder since I was a kid. Missing time, nausea at the sight of emergency vehicle lights and not to mention seizures of different types. The reason I explain this is that before I think anything is Supernatural I must first address whether some of the things I could be seeing could be attributed to this. Every movie you ever see such as "The Exorcist" and "Communion" where they go to the Doctor to determine whether or not the afflicted person has Epilepsy, specifically Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. In 2010 when I found out I was pregnant I decided I wished to go off my medication in order to breastfeed my future child, and I was also nervous about the medication causing problems for my baby in utereo. I was able to visit a Neurologist who tested me and gave me assurance that I may have gotten better. Apparently the pregnancy was the best thing for me and rebooted my body, so to speak . Given this medication was extremely expensive and caused quite a bit of dept I was quite relieved. Some would say this type of medication "dulls" awareness. I could vouch for that. In my spiritual practices I could feel that it did make things harder then I remembered beforehand. When I first started the medication, I was appreciative of it taking down my sensitivity down a few notches. Now that I am a bit older and wiser I have more tools under my belt to be able to handle life and whatnot I now have practices that can help me deal with triggers.<br />
Different folks have different triggers that can set off a seizure. It can be lights, smells, music, you name it. Learning your own triggers is invaluable.<br />
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When I was a child and I would have my "spells" , I can remember one that my mother was around for. The house across the street had a chimney fire and it seemed the whole fire dept. was there. The yellow flashing lights sent me slumping to the floor. My Mum would say "it just happens to some people , go take it easy" .<br />
My mom explained to me about Mystics and how I could be one. I thought that was a pretty neat explanation and went on "making potions" to stop neighbours dogs from pooping on our lawn (which involved pepper) I am glad my parents gave me the space to be creative.<br />
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It's something I keep coming back to, the creative part of me. Though I excelled in school in Science in particular, certain life events steered me back to the uncharted and unknown. Perhaps this is a lengthy introduction but often the seed of these experiences start in youth. It is said that in some cultures it is believed that children are more pure (as if they just came from the source) and as we get older we lose some of that ability. I feel that that could be the case but experience teaches us to be able to communicate our experiences. So as I go along I will try to go a little in order of when I experienced them, just to put a little order into this chaos of my memory. Maybe I will remember something new,perhaps maybe something I "missed" the first time around. For that I am hoping for the mundane and not scary Aliens! Ha ha!<br />
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Till then....<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554412389901362572noreply@blogger.com0