In case you missed it, time stopped briefly on April 7th of this year. You may not have noticed, or it may have only happened to me, but I know for sure that it happened. I had just gotten into my car after buying some last minute Easter supplies at the pharmacy. I glanced at the digital clock in my car – it was 5:55 p.m. I then backed out, and continued to drive away from the parking lot. Glancing down, I noticed that the time had not changed yet. It was beginning to seem like a very long minute. I then went even further and stopped at a nearby red light. The time? 5:55 p.m.
I should mention here that I have learned over time to pay close attention when numbers repeat themselves in my life. It most often happens with clocks, but occasionally the phenomena will occur with dates or various amounts of money. I then went home and began Easter preparations with my family. While we were coloring eggs at the table a picture frame with a musical box attached to it began playing in our living room. We had not wound it up in months. It played “You light up my life,” as the four of us stared at each other at the table. Freaky, right? Soon after that the lights in the chandelier began to randomly dim and brighten on their own. You would think that these things might cause us all to lose some sleep if not to consider moving from our house completely. But they do not. We are quite used to it all by now.
In fact, this series of events was explained on April 9th when our dear friend and psychic medium called me shortly after I had dropped my wife and girls off at the airport. My wife’s parents had called that very morning with a highly generous and completely spontaneous offer to fly us all down to their place in Florida to spend the week. I was not able to go, but my wife and kids prepared themselves in a frenzy of packing that was quite impressive to observe. So when our friend Angela called and I informed her of my families’ spur of the moment departure she seemed relieved.
“O.K..” she said. “Well that explains it. Bill is here and he keeps telling me that he really wanted them to go somewhere, but I wasn’t sure what he meant. Well, that’s good – now I know. Oh, and can you write this down? He is saying something about a lollipop. It looks like the old fashioned style ones – those big, all day suckers with swirls in it. And he is telling me that someone has been hurt or is going to hurt a leg, or a knee, but that it will be O.K. Oh, and he also keeps mentioning this song about making lemonade when you get lemons.”
“Anything else?” I ask. I am writing down “song about making lemonade with lemons,” directly under where I wrote “big style swirly lollipop.”
“No. I don’t think so.” She replies. If anything else comes through I’ll give you a call. “When did their flight leave?” she asks.
I look down at the itinerary I have printed out on my desk and answer “It flew out of Albany at 5:55 today.”
“Well that is great! When you speak to her and the kids, tell them I hope they have a great time!”
I thank her and hang up. It has been another typical conversation with Angela. I now look down at the departure time of my families’ flight and the words Angela has given me from my wife’s deceased grandfather Bill about the unexpected trip and the lemonade and the lollipop and once more I am faced with the reality that there is much more going on in our lives and our world and our universe than my feeble mind can possibly comprehend.
If you are continuing to read this, I will assume that you might feel the same way. So permit me to continue down a road of thought and experience that some may consider complete hogwash, tomfoolery, or pure charlatanism. I have become convinced that each of us is able to feel and comprehend the actions and energies around us at various levels – on what you might consider a “spectrum of intuition”. If you are someone who can pick up on the feelings and overall energy in a room full of people, you might be at the higher end of this spectrum. If you consistently are surprised by what people who are close to you tell you they have been thinking and feeling, you would be at the lower end. These are not meant to be judgments or criticisms of people, they are simply observations about differences in what appear to me to be innate abilities within us all.
Through my own experiences and in working with other people in recovery from addictions, I have found over and over that higher degrees of intuitive ability seems to be quite common. I believe that many people who turn to addictive substances and behaviors feel the world around them at a deeper, more intense level on this spectrum. And that can be hard to deal with. I think that they turn to addictions for one of two reasons: it is either an attempt to heighten this cosmic, spiritual connection, or to “tone down” the overwhelming messages a bit so that they can get some peace from their own busy minds and the constant energies they are receiving. For me, writing helps to vent these energies and to release some of the constant bombardment of stimuli I experience. I know of many others in recovery who have similar, often artistic outlets for these excess intuitive messages as well.
But Angela is at a higher level than I could ever hope to be – think psychic Olympic abilities here. She was always the type of person to “feel” like she should call or reach out to my wife or other friends and family at just the time when it was most needed. A few years ago, after being encouraged by others to try making the leap into official “psychic” territory, Angela decided to give it a try. She dedicated herself to increasing her intuitive nature and to better understanding what the energies she was receiving, especially those energies around other people, really meant. Her training and efforts worked. The things she picks up on now are amazing, and accurate, and do not leave much room for naysaying or dispute. I know this because I tried. In fact, the whole idea of having a Cyclops “this is the term that my children mistakenly used when we first told them she was a psychic and it kind of stuck,” as a family friend initially made me uneasy. Because I have known her for so long, I knew that she was not trying to run a scam or to be deceitful with others, or to exploit her gifts, I was just afraid that as she began to send messages to my wife and I from people who have died, that some of the people on the other side might have some harsh words and dark forebodings for me. Part of this whole “recovery thing” is trying to make amends for past harms with the living, and, at the risk of sounding lazy or obstinate, I did not really embrace the idea of doing this work with all the deceased people in my life at well. I figured that could come later – like when I join them on the other side. I mean, we’ll have lots of time to chat then, right? So why clutter up my living time now with work that can be done later – in eternity.
For this reason, as Angela’s predictions and messages got stronger, more focused and accurate, I tried to answer the phone less often, and would even leave the house at times when she called for the fear that some dead relative or other would see that she was on the phone with my wife and seize the opportunity to ask for an amends or just to let me know what a bum I had been while they were living. But one day I was not quick enough.
“Your father’s on the phone” my wife yelled down to me as I was painting the ceiling in the basement. This was in fact my most feared conversation since the whole business with Angela had started. Much had changed since my father’s accidental death nearly a decade ago, and I was convinced he would not be pleased with many of the decisions I had made. Selling our family business – a business that he loved and devoted much of his life to was at the top of my fear and guilt list. I wanted to ask if he could call back later, but my wife was now there – in the basement – holding out the phone for me.
If you continue to have uncertainties about mediums, or psychics, or people with high degrees of intuition, I fully understand, and will not make it my mission to convince you otherwise. But my doubts and reservations vanished after this conversation. And so did my fear of speaking with or being in contact with my dad. The information and details that Angela conveyed to me could be disputed, and pontificated upon, and possibly even explained away if one desired to do so. But I know they were true, and real, and coming from my deceased father. I will offer just two of the many things that convinced me here: the first was the reference to the cardinal. My father had supplied wild birds with food for years, and had always hoped to see a cardinal arrive at his feeders. None ever did. I now live about 15 miles away from where he fed the birds, and I see, on occasion, a cardinal at my own feeder in the back yard. I had a sense, an intuitive knowing that this was one of his signs to me long before this conversation. Angela told me that my father wanted me to know that I should look to nature because he would always be around me, in the landscape. She said that this is usually a reference to an animal and that she had the sense it was a bird this time. It might be a bird that is rarely seen around my house. As if on cue, a cardinal came and landed in the bush outside of the window I was sitting near during this conversation. The cardinal sat there – facing the window – for the rest of our conversation. I had never seem him land there before, nor had he ever stayed that long.
The second thing she mentioned was a message that my father continued to write down and hold up for her to read. It was one word – courage. The word in and of itself was highly relevant for me at that time in my life, but the fact that he wrote it down was just as significant. My father’s penmanship, especially his cursive writing, was beautiful and unique, and I had always admired it – especially in comparison to my own pathetic scribblings. It was one of those oddities about the man, who denied any kind of artistic talents and was usually in a rush to get everything done. He took time when he wrote things, and his written words were truly impressive. I loved the way he wrote. I asked her if the message was printed or in cursive. “It’s in cursive she said. He keeps writing it down, over and over – he really wants you to hear it. Have courage. Wow. His writing is really unique and fine looking.” That was it for me. The walls of doubt crumbled and I gave in to certainties that I had, in fact, known for a much longer time in the depths of my soul. Life does not end at death, and the people who love us stay with us throughout our lives. I had not mentioned anything about the cardinal to anyone before – nor had I mentioned my admiration for my father’s writing.
Angela will tell you that she is only doing something that you could do yourself if you practiced. Many other people who are considered psychics and mediums will say the same thing. I began reading various books written by mystics, psychics, and intuitives after the conversation with my father. The fact that we all can be conduits and receivers for messages and energies from deceased relatives is something all of the writers I most respected and related to mentioned in their books. I believe this as well. I have found that there are many signs and signals and messages from our loved ones on the other side if we are able to listen for them, but that we are often too busy or too distracted to realize that the messages are there – right in front of us. We go through this life focusing on the wrong things, the insignificant stuff, with our televisions and radios and computers turned up loud and taking us farther and farther away from the serenity and spirituality and sage advice of our relatives who are trying to get through the noise and distraction to guide us.
We really are more powerful than we can possibly imagine. But tapping into that power requires silence, and practice, and yes, dad, I know – courage. I’ll leave you today with Angela’s contact information – just send her an email and let her know you read this blog. I think that those of you who need it will know – intuitively – when the time is right for you. And even if you feel that time is not right, I hope that you all will take some time today to get in touch with silence and the messages within it that are meant for you…
angelablanchet@gmail.com
That is so wonderful that Brian had such a wonderful experience that helped him to understand that our soul is eternal!!! God Bless. I love you Angela. You have been a light in my life as well.
wow- beautiful story-
Angela is a psychic medium par exellence. Her readings are right on and helped me not only after my last siblings death but changed my life forever. Brian, you are so fortunate to have such a loving, caring person to call friend.
Melody
Southport, NC
Carolyn – wonderful is a good word for it! I am very glad that “The Cyclops” is in our lives! Hope all is well with you, my friend!
Diane – thank you.
Melody – I agree, we are very blessed to know Angela and her family!
As usual, I planned to scan your blog before heading to work, but once I began reading, I couldn’t leave the computer until I had read every word!
My life experiences give me no pause about the notion of our existence being on a continuum of sorts (i.e., “life” doesn’t end here). Though your stories did not surprise me, the one about the cardinal brought tears to my eyes. What a moving, powerful experience you were blessed with!
Kudos to Angela for embracing her intuition and sharing her gift with others.
XO,
Michelle
Michelle – I neglected to mention that the cardinal also showed up while I was writing the piece – outside my office window – staring in. I hope you recieve all the love and affirmations you deserve in your silent times!
I am also blessed to be able to call Angela my friend. She is one of the most talented spiritual healers I know. She truly is an Angel on earth!
Eileen – I agree!