Alchemist by the Sea

Writer's Block

As a Medium I am in touch with my guides in Spirit often...meditation...visions at 3-4 AM, you know the drill. I have been winding down my day job as an accountant and beginning to gather research on 16th century Scotland to write my next book with Spirit, FLAMES OF MY TRUTH.

Cover of my next book written with Spirit, FLAMES OF MY TRUTH, the Tragic Execution of Janet Douglas

But for some reason I was having trouble starting to put down that first word in docs. I had wondered if I should really begin yet another book with Spirit. The expense meant a lot.  But I reasoned, the book will be a great tribute to the women of Clan Douglas. Yet I just could not begin. It has been about three years since I completed PASSAGE and I knew it was time. And I was getting prodded from Spirit. 3AM visions, messages  during Meditations...the ever present "ringing in my ears" that means that my group was around me. Spirit was working hard to get my attention.

Then I received a notification from TISBA that I received an award for RIGHT OF PASSAGE. Sometimes I wonder how Spirit "knows" so much about what is going to happen. Afterall we have free will so how does it all work?  I think that is a question for the ages.

Suddenly things began to flow again...I was getting messages in  meditation and even during movies and British murder mysteries as I watched them on ACORN. It was almost comical.  Yew seeds for poison...a medieval specialty was introduced during a "Miss Marple" story.How did they get me to find that Agatha Christie episode that day? I am still amazed.

Here is how it works for me:  As I wastching a scene, I suddenly saw three sisters in the great hall at a castle I believe was Drummond in Perthshire. A jar of honey was left open and three young ladies were dead or dying as they sat around the trestle table. Suddenly I knew, clair-knowing as they say.  Janet Douglas' mother had three sisters who died suspiciously, all at once. I felt one of them was with child. Then I researched the history and realized that the one with child was likely the object of the poisoning as she had been the latest love interest of the Scottish king. James IV of Scotland was married and had decided that the relationship with the Drummond lass should end. No Royal commands, just a few yew seeds would likely have done the trick.

Drummond Castle from Wikipedia site, an ancient image from 1804 that is listed on the National Library of Scotland

As the research begins to mingle with the words of Spirit the ideas easily flow to the keyboard. Spirit used the excitement and satisfaction I felt in winning an award for PASSAGE to start me on the path of discovery for our next book, uncovering the real story about Janet Douglas.

Was Lady Glamis' story one of a tragic lifetime or a successful incarnation to achieve martyrdom?

I don't have all the answers yet.  The writing of this book will unfold as a personal journey of disovery for soul growth and development...healing from a past life... for I was Janet Douglas who died on the wooden fire platform at Edinburgh Castle, 17 July in 1537.  I have relived that scene so many times....

Past Lives...My Guide in Spirit Speaks of Many Incarnations in Egypt

In a reading with International Medium Robert Brown in 2000 I was told about my guide in Spirit. Robert described him as a man of great height; an Egyptian with the same characteristics that I had seen in my meditations, visualizing him as the Tarot image of the man in THE CHARIOT. Robert told me that this guide was a healer and his work was with the lungs, specifically referencing my lifelong disease of asthma. The appearance of this guide was exactly as I saw him during meditation. I was thrilled for the validation. Being new to Spirit Communication I doubted what I had been shown so Robert's information provided the perfect remedy for my lack of trust.

In early 2001 I had another reading; this time with Spirit Artist Rita Berkowitz. She began by giving me evidence of my prior lives in Egypt shared with my guide in Spirit. By this time I had a name of William that this guide used to identify himself to me but the incarnation he revealed to Rita was from an ancient time in Khem,without a specific name associated with that life. She drew his image below right and I was especially pleased as the portrait face resembled the way he was showing himself to me; the eyes and expression were mirror images of what I visualized in mediation. I realized that I was being given evidence to trust my own messages.

Later that year I had sitting with another Boston medium John Holland. He described the same image that Rita drew and provided the identical information about my guide's healing abilities. Now I had three well respected mediums telling me that this same Spirit had lived at least one lifetime as an Egyptian and was a healer for the lungs. I came to understand that Spirit could present their image at any age.  And they could portray their appearance relative  to any of their incarnations. William had come to me by then as a medieval Crusader Knight in his early forties but the Egyptian lifetime was how he presented himself in communications to these mediums.

When I was in meditation one evening not long ago, William told me about one of his first incarnations in Egypt. He said his name out loud as Hapy. My guide then validated to me that for that incarnation he was the guardian of the lungs; standing in the tombs of kings. He also said that later in time his soul split into male and female and that we were twin souls. I do not understand the concept of twin souls but in my research I found a son of Horus named Hapy who fit that description: he was known as the guardian of the lungs. There is another Hapi mentioned in Egyptian history; spelling is not important as I heard the name but he was shown as a man with a belly and breasts of a woman. But this Hapi is not associated with the lungs and healing. More information and research will be required to sort through the messages from Spirit but it is an interesting start. This image to below left represents the four sons of Horus of which one is Hapy.

When I visited the site of the Sphinx in Cairo my guide in Spirit informed me that he had been involved with the building designs near that location. The Sphinx is believed by some to be 10,000 years old and built by Isis. William told me that the lost Hall of Records was housed in a room protected by a five layer labyrinth directly in front of the right paw of the Sphinx. The Cayce readings speak of three levels and others mention just two but William was adamant that there were five and he was one of four priests who devised the maze that prevented discovery of the secret room. Further scientific study confirms some of these claims. William also revealed that he was sealed in the anteroom of the Hall of Records to die with his knowledge of the construction of the labyrinth.

William explained it this way: "I was one of four to so design the labyrinth of five layers. On the final day of its construction we four dined on a fabulous feast and drank of intoxicating beverage. The chamber was lighted by lamps that had no flame and we fell asleep to wake no more in that lifetime. The secrets will be discovered when civilization is ready to receive the knowledge; likely not for 200 years or more." Note: Spirit's understanding of time is not exact to our interpretation

Dr. Zahi Hawass generously allowed our ARE tour group to go down into the excavated area around the Sphinx. It was quite an honor to be granted such access and a delight to photograph as well. The experience of being able to actually touch the right paw; to envision the presence of a great door that is possibly hidden by the enormous wall-tablet seen bottom center on the image...and to be able to run a line of vision from the paw to where the Hall of Records might reside...that experience was both exciting and overwhelming.

Soul of the Warriors

My next book has already been named by Spirit...My Truth...Soul of the Warriors. The title was specific; created by a friend in Spirit known to me first as Archie Douglas. The story of this ancient warrior's life, his enduring personality that prevails even to his most recent lifetime as a Marine in Vietnam, will prove reincarnation to the acceptance of Spiritualists. Past Lives will be documented through Mediumship and validated to the National Association of Spiritualist Churches the same way proof of the continuity of life was verified through the work of the Fox Sisters back in 1848.

My Truth...Soul of the Warriors is also USMC David Lee's personal tribute to his fellow combat vets; fighting an unpopular war under horrific, grotesquely despicable conditions in the jungles of Vietnam. Our book will provide a window into the hearts and minds of those warrior souls and the people they left behind  to remember and honor them; questioning their own destiny and purpose here as well.

Archibald Douglas was the younger brother of the Black Douglas, the Good Sir James, Scotland's most beloved knight. Archie let it be known that he watched James' back; the knight surviving every battle when his younger brother was in his retinue. Then on 25th August in 1330 James Douglas was drawn into a conflict designed by Queen Isabella, mother of Edward III, to be his last.  Lord Douglas was dispatched to Teba Spain; 'burning in his heart to do battle for the Crucified' as the Medieval warriors framed their fight with the infidels. With the embalmed heart of his hero and friend Robert the Brus carried around his neck, James faced an army of thousands, on a foreign battlefield in the shadow of the Castle of the Stars. Alfonso de Castille, cousin of the Douglas enemy Edward III looked on; holding back his forces until the brave knight and his wee army were engulfed by the Saracens and destroyed.

Archibald became the head of the Douglas Clan at that moment; Regent of Scotland at the helm of the Scottish Army by 1333. At the fateful battle at Halidon Hill, the Eve of St. Margaret 19th July 1333, this brave warrior, Sir Archibald of Douglas was cut down by a stout arrow: a small canon-propelled shaft carrying a lead ball to pierce the armor of the brave warrior; penetrating through the mail hauberk, ripping deep within  the quilted gambeson, to burrow inside the surcote, exploding in the chest of the knight. "I will not be the victim of artillery fire in my next life," he vowed defiantly as he returned to Spirit, the 'Otherworld' of the ancient Celts. "I will command the big guns," Archie promised himself centuries later. These were the words he shared with me as he helped me write four books on medieval Scotland in the 13th and 14th centuries; a time period that covered his lifetime as Sir Archibald of Douglas. The photo above was taken in West Calder, Scotland. I was trying to locate Archie's manor house there from 1320 and he assured me that I was in the correct location. I was losing patience and demanded that he prove it to me. "Ma, we will be in the picture; me, James, Pops and Ana," he promised.

I took several photos with each of my four cameras. The digital photos I checked right away and was immediately disappointed; there were no signs of Spirit energy on any of the images. By the time I got home a week later in Boston I had forgotten the promise; dropping off the 35 mm film at the local CVS. An hour later I picked up the newly developed pictures and there in hands was another gift from my friends in Spirit...ectoplasm reflecting the images of these long departed, medieval knights and their lady: Sir Archibald Douglas, Sir James Douglas, Sir William le Hardi and (Ana)Lady Elizabeth Steward.

Halfway through the writing of my second book Archie told me about another life, one that he lived during the 1960's becoming a United States Marine. He gave me his first name, his middle name and when I asked his rank he paused and said "Captain". Well that last response proved to be Archie's wee joke; he was only a Second Lieutenant when he passed in 1968. I asked him why he gave that answer. "All my buddies are captains now so it's only fair," he said; the little boy, the infectious personality of the wee Archie that I knew and loved so well had surfaced once again. Over the next several years and more recently in the last three months he has shared details of his passing  in August 1968; research has proved the accuracy of those accounts. The attributes of his personality both as the Marine hero and as the brave Scottish knight are not just similar but true mirror images of each other; David and Archibald are the same soul; proved by the messages of mediumship.

 

What We Can Learn From Past Lives

Why study past lives...what can we learn from the experience? Who was King Tut and what about Cleopatra? Are these ancient souls living among us today? Were we powerful nobility from another era? I have studied past lives through the insights of Spirit Communication and have come to believe that by looking at other lifetimes we can heal from traumas experienced during past incarnations, using cognitive recall of situations recorded in our cell memory. What does this mean for a regular person experiencing painful, physical symptoms without a corresponding medical diagnosis of trauma or disease? I will share my personal experiences where I achieved a healing; mitigating the symptoms of a prolonged, forty year condition of acute asthma through the Alchemical, Spiritual approach.

First, what is the Alchemical, Spiritual approach? To me this healing modality is a natural combination of two distinct but similar ideas. The Alchemical approach is to understand the metaphor of the Alchemist. We look to the land of Khem for answers. Egypt is the source of the concept of Alchemy; a civilization that believed in the afterlife. These ancient people believed that we came here from Spirit to perfect the soul and return to Spirit when we have run our course for growth and discovery in our life. The Alchemist speaks of taking matter; turning it into vapor, then transforming it back to a formed matter substance. The process is repeated over and over to bring the substance closer to perfection; changing it to gold. The Spiritual approach involves the work of Spirit Communication to lead us to an understanding of our past lives; healing from the traumas recorded in our cell memories. Combined as one healing modality these two concepts become a powerful tool for perfecting our physical forms for the next incarnation as well as the one we are in now.

In 2002 I was suffering from acute asthma; taking over 17 different medications daily, usually at the highest recommended dosages. For all the drugs I was not showing signs of improvement. My guides in Spirit led me to take Reiki and become a Reiki Master. My first journey to the home of my Douglas ancestors took place right after the Reiki attunement. Here I am in the ruins of their castle in Lanarkshire giving healing to this ancient fortress. Little did I know but my guide appeared during the healing session visible on the far right of the image wearing a Celtic Bishop's hat and the robes of an ancient priest. (see image below) Within six months of the attunement I was feeling the effects of the healing; taking only 3 prescription drugs daily for my asthma. I was also experiencing improvement for the first time in over forty years. During this six month period I also attended the Arthur Findlay College in Stansted, Essex in England for mediumship development. I asked for and received healing from my guide in Spirit William. With the assistance of my great, great grandmother Elizabeth Foster in Spirit I began a journey that included messages and information about a past life. In the middle of the night I received a Spiritual Vision that was confirmed the next day during a sitting with Trance Medium Muriel Tennant. William stood in my room and started to remove a wedding ring from his left hand; returning it to his ring finger. I heard him say, "You were my wife". He identified himself as a Crusader knight from the 13th century in Scotland.

That dramatic revelation was the beginning of a significant healing for me; coupled with the Reiki I was able to recover from my asthma and remain symptom free to this day. How did this healing come about? It was a process; a series of Spiritual Visits and other experiences coupled with research that verified the information of a past life. My health has improved so significantly that in 2006 I was able to visit Japan; climbing Mt. Kurama in 1.5 hours in 110 degree heat and humidity with little effort. That journey was a tribute to Reiki and all the healing extended to me so far in this lifetime. Here is a picture of Mt. Kurama...from the top!