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June 30, 2005
Keep on Growing
After nearly 50 years of working in the spirit realms you would think that I would have a pretty good understanding of this field. And I have gained a great deal of knowledge, however…there is always more to learn. And although we may have a firm grasp on some of the basic concepts, we are always students, always in a position to learn more.
Over this past weekend I took another class from Tracy Parker. This class dealt with working with spirit in both worlds. Right up my alley. I work with spirit all of the time, whether seeking guidance while counseling or seeking information from actual spirits while looking for missing people.
But Tracy’s class, as always, brought much more depth to the subject matter. By looking at spirit as a resource to help us on our chosen life path, we realize that we are never alone and never without guidance when we need it most. As in most things in life, all we have to do is ask. We might not always be prepared for the answers or even willing to follow the advice offered, but that knowledge is there for us whenever we are ready to try to comprehend.
Posted by Linda Dalton at 08:44 PM | Comments (0)
June 24, 2005
Joy
I am the luckiest of women. I have the most incredible, loving, husband in the world, two wonderful, intelligent children, and a terrific ex-husband and his fantastic wife with whom we share these kids. I enjoy the work I do, I enjoy my time with my family and I enjoy the great friends we have…and it only took me 50 years to achieve all of this!!
If you have read some of my previous blog entries, you know that I have had my share of difficulties and sorrows. This is something that all of us have in common; everyone has points in their lives where nothing seems to go right and you feel as if the universe was plotting against you.
But these difficulties do not need to define us as human beings. We are who we choose to be. If we choose to overcome adversity and find peace and happiness in our lives, then that is what we will have. If we choose to become victims of our misfortunes, then we will remain victims. The energy we give out is the energy we attract back to us.
So go forth and be joyful!
Posted by Linda Dalton at 06:52 PM | Comments (6)
June 16, 2005
The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost is my favorite poet. His words evoke the rural beauty of New England while looking at life through the practical eyes of a “down easterner”. In his poem, The Road Not Taken, he talks about choices that we all make throughout our lives. Inspired by his writing, I have always tried to take the road less traveled by…and that has made all the difference.
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Posted by Linda Dalton at 09:38 PM | Comments (0)
June 09, 2005
Ghosts of the Underground Railroad
The town where I grew up, Manchester, Connecticut, was settled at the end of the seventeenth century. By the mid 1800's the Cheney family had established a silk milling industry in the town that still defines Manchester to this day. Of their many properties, several are still standing and are lovingly cared for by the Manchester Historical Society.
When I was in high school I had a friend, Leslie, who lived in an old Cheney carriage house that had been converted into a family home. One afternoon Leslie asked if Vanessa and I could come out to look at her home as she had noticed some odd noises coming from her cellar.
When we got to the house she took us into the cellar where we walked until we came to a small, almost hidden room off to one side that had been rumored to have been used as an underground railroad stop during the Civil War. That was where the noises were coming from. They weren't loud or even distinguishable, almost as if the air pressure was so heavy that it made you think you were hearing things. Vanessa and I entered the cramped space and were nearly overwhelmed by a sense of abject fear, mixed in with anger and suffering. As we began to work with the energy there, a small orb of dark smoke appeared over our heads. The more we did, the bigger the ball got, and the thicker the air pressure until we couldn't take it anymore and had to leave the room.
We went upstairs and outside into the garden to get some fresh air. The ball followed us all of the way out of the house. And then the energy just dissipated into the beautiful evening sky. From then on Leslie never heard anything from the cellar again.
After experiencing those powerful emotions encased in that room, still present a century after the event, I cannot begin to imagine what the people themselves must have endured in their struggle toward freedom. God bless them and their families.
Posted by Linda Dalton at 11:21 PM | Comments (1)
June 03, 2005
Death
How do we let go when someone we love dies? It's one of the most difficult passages we face as human beings. Many of us rely on the concept of an "afterlife" to help us through this transition. And even though our loved one has passed away, we want to keep our connection to them open.
My mother had a degenerative disease that took ten years to take her; I was 11 years old when the process started. Hers was one of those cases that when the end approached, we all said things like, "It's a blessing" or "It will end her suffering." But such platitudes did nothing to ease the sadness and pain we felt at her passing.
Losing her under those conditions was very difficult for me. I became depressed, crying all of the time and cursing life for such unfairness. This went on for many months. During that time I kept having dreams about her where she appeared whole and healthy. Those dreams only made it worse for me. Why couldn't she have been healthy for real? Why did she have to leave us?
As the months progressed, the dreams became more frequent and she began talking to me in my dreams. At first she said things like, "I'm fine, don't worry about me." Then she would say things like, "I'm happy, you don't have to cry over me." Finally, several months after she died, I had a dream where she came to me and she was almost angry with me. She said, "Linda, you have to let me go!” My sorrow was tying her to me, preventing her from going on.
Grief is a process that we need to get through, not live in for the rest of our lives. Our loved ones have places to go to and people to see – if we love them we have to let them go.
Posted by Linda Dalton at 05:46 PM | Comments (1)