Cyndi Smith on Toward The Light

On 19 August, I had the honour of interviewing Cyndi Smith on Toward The Light. Cyndi was one of those special 'California Girls', as she was very pretty and lovely on the outside as well as the inside. She admittedly had the vanity to go with it and lived a rather 'shallow' life — to use her words — until the age of 18 when everything changed for her. At that time she was involved in a serious car accident; breaking her neck in three places, her lower back in two, her pelvis and femur. She was told the dreaded words that she may 'never walk again', but she was determined to disprove that prognosis from the get-go.

However, whilst she was initially in hospital, she had no idea of the severity of her condition or even what had happened to her; she recalled no details of her accident at all. It was the first time she actually started 'waking up' and realising the extent of her injuries. During the first fortnight in hospital, everything seemed so surreal and it wasn't until a friend visited her and gasped, and then started crying ... that she realised how damaged and broken her body was. She was in traction and in a striker frame.

Finally, a friend visiting her in hospital, informed her that her friend, Linda, had been killed in the accident. Just prior to the accident, Cyndi and Linda had swapped places in the vehicle, which caused Cyndi to feel pangs of guilt for Linda's death, but it was obviously Linda's time to go... The sacred contract that Linda's soul had for being on this plane was only meant to be brief this time. We discussed the importance of not feeling guilty for the death of a friend or loved one and to realise that it was simply meant to be.

Then I suddenly could feel the happy presence of Linda's spirit and I mentioned it to Cyndi on the show. I also started describing Linda — with her long flowing dark hair — holding her hands on Cyndi's shoulders and guiding her and also seeing Linda being very grateful to Cyndi. She indicated that a psychic in London also told her the same thing — as did other psychics she had spoken with. This has provided a great sense of relief and joy for Cyndi.

Realising the reality of her friend's being killed ... and her own state, Cyndi said, "God, I need you now!" and she suddenly felt some hands underneath her that started lifting her up. In the depths of her solar plexus, she felt a warm light growing and it kept expanding until it penetrated her entire being. She suddenly felt all light, love, peace and perfection. She saw spirit beings surrounding her. Four, in particular, were very connected to her. She suddenly had all of this knowledge — a deep knowing — and everything being so beautiful, peaceful and loving. She was in a true state of bliss and experienced, first hand, the unconditional love ... that can never truly be described. One must experience it directly to have any semblance of understanding as to what it really is.

Next, she saw a huge light being that she perceived as 'Jesus' and there was a powerful telepathic dialogue between them. She asked "What am I to make of this?" — referring to her injury — and he said "Whatever you want to make of it." Then the dialogue continued when he further asked:

"What do you want?"

"To walk without a cane"

"So be it" he responded.

Cyndi had no religious influences as she was growing up. Consequently, having an NDE at a rather early age in life, coupled with the lack of religious influences, meant that her NDE was basically void of religious content; although she did default to interpreting the being of light as 'Jesus', since, after all, there are still strong Christian archetypes in western society that can and do influence one's interpretation and perception of one's experiences, etc.

Cyndi did have a very loving, healthy and supportive family life with her parents and brother. Thus, she was able to talk about her NDE to her mum and dad, but spoke to very few others about it — for fear of being thought of as 'crazy'. An experience in the light, as a result of an NDE, was her saving grace and literally changed her entire view on life.

She also acknowledged her life as being very fated and this incident led to a powerful opening up of a profound new chapter in her life.

She learned from her NDE that God is within ALL of us. When asking what's the best thing to do, she feels that it's important to go within — whether through prayer, meditation, etc. — and commune with Source. She also learned that she had to love herself first and that it was not contingent on someone else's love or appreciation of her, but, rather, finding the God within and generating a true and deep sense of self love. This is very important for everyone to understand and realise.

Cyndi is the proud mother of twin sons — ironically who were born on the same day as her accident, 2 July! One of her sons, Garrett, is also an NDEr — having witnessed a medical procedure whilst floating above his body at age three. Somehow, Cyndi mentioned the procedure to Garrett and he said, "Is that when they stuck the needle in my back?" Surprised, because Cyndi hadn't said a work about this, she asked, "Did you feel it, Honey?" "No, I saw it!", he said, then he described this in detail to his mum and she encouraged him on.

Another interesting development was that she encountered people who kept telling her that she could be healed if she wanted to — which she knew was true — but it's her calling to actually be disabled of body and do this special work to educate people and set a good example. She found out that she's got a special mission to help others. Her being disabled was the gift that enabled her to know herself, love herself and serve others in a very significant way.

This moved her to want to develop a television programme that would educate people about what it means to be disabled. Her idea is to help people learn about specific disabilities, how people work with their and adapt with their disabilities and finding special places for them to travel that provide proper accessibility in different parts of the world — not to mention the realisation of a dream! This can also serve to help remove the stigma associated with people with disabilities. Thus she created a 23-minute-long pilot for a TV show entitled, Freedom to Travel Show. What an exciting and wonderful idea this is ... and Cyndi's got the warm and outgoing personality to carry this off. Each episode will cost roughly $30-60K to produce and she is looking for sponsors to help make this wonderful dream a reality. And she also wants to find disabled people to feature on the show.

Being disabled myself, I could really empathise with everything Cyndi was saying during the show. I've been legally blind my entire life ... but I also experienced paralysis for 1.5 years — also from a spinal injury as a result of a serious fall — being totally bedridden and unable to walk. At one point I even forgot what it felt like to walk and that was quite scary; so I walk with gratitude with every step I take now, you can be sure!

Cyndi is such a warm and bubbly spirit. You can't help but feel such joy and inspiration in her presence or after hearing her speak. She is teaching us that we needn't be thwarted by our disabilities and, also, that disabled people are just as intelligent, creative, full of vision, wisdom, curiosity, and love as anyone else. We're not 'weird' or 'freaks'; our bodies simply function differently, that's all ... and it causes us to greatly appreciate things on a deep level — not being so inclined to take things for granted.

Having these discussions with Cyndi — both on the air and during telephone conversations — has left me deeply inspired ... and I've offered to avail myself to help her with her projects, because it is an endeavour whose time has come. It's time to remove the stigma associated with both NDEs and disabilities. Having an NDE and/or being disabled are gifts that can truly enrich our lives and cause us to grow closer to our divine essence and not be so caught up in the things of the world — dealing with compounding distractions that tend to pull us away from our true and authentic selves as divine expressions of the LightSource.

Anyone who is interested in participating in this magnificent project — whether as a sponsor and/or a subject for the TV show, please contact Cyndi or Toward The Light.

Click image FMI

A Question About 'Hell'

I receive eMails from countless individuals who are earnestly seeking understanding and truth regarding NDEs, the Afterlife, 'Heaven', judgement, 'hell', suicide, God, religion and so on. These are so worth noting — especially in light of the fact that they're so universal in scope. Therefore, I've opted to share some of these questions along with my responses to them. Here's one of them:

Q: Hi, I've recently quit my religion and began a spiritual search, didn't mean to, it just happened one day. I'm 29, I have a question for you... I believe everything I've read about NDEs... It's like the questions in my life and the missing links are being presented to me, and I am ready for it. I am accepting these things as knowledge. It's like I've always known these things; they were just not brought to the surface until now, so last night I watched a Christian reverend's video about his 23 minutes of HELL, his trip with the 10 feet tall beasts ripping his flesh and it growing back again, the agonizing thirst, the screaming and moaning of the people he heard who he knew were NEVER going to get out of hell, the stone walls and he being trapped 4000 miles beneath the earth's crust.... This afternoon, I read your approach, that everyone will eventually make it to the LIGHT and become one with God (you know which passage I am referring to? I have been studying the www.near-death.com website). Of course I want to believe what you are saying, but where then did this other man's real HELL experience come from? Please help me understand. I thought I was on the right path, then last night when I saw that video, I slept horribly, my fire alarm sounded at 4 in the morning and I was sure my house had some bad things dwelling here for the night.... Not feeling right, Sarah

A: Hello Sarah,

I certainly do understand your feeling confused and uncomfortable with the differing experiences from various NDErs. I will say that, according to my experiences, research and understanding, many people see/experience what they expect to see and experience and/or what is familiar to them; e.g. if one is expecting to see 'Jesus', then it's likely that one will do so during a near-death episode.

This is true especially with adult experiencers, because of their cultural and religious influences, biases, etc. Child experiencers, on the other hand, have not got this conditioning to affect their thinking during, or their interpretation of, their near-death episodes; they're much more 'organic' if you will. They're not so 'coloured' by culture, religion, society, family/teachers, etc., so I view a child's NDE as being more straightforward and authentic.

Furthermore, 'hell' is mainly just a state of mind as a result of compounded fear. However, there are some areas in the lower astral world that can definitely be 'hellish', but, again, this is a temporary state — one that is due to become 'obsolete' as soon as we all transcend the fear that currently keeps us captive in slavery and servitude. Malevolent entities (such as the reptilians, who do live on the lower fourth dimension of the astral world), can and do torment and harm people, and are the 'demons' that people sometimes see and experience. However, once the fear (that they thrive on) is dissolved once and for all, they will no longer have any power over us. There is no 'Satan' or 'he-devil' — only the above-mentioned collective negative entities that have been controlling this planet and reeking havoc for thousands of years. They are also the ones who developed religion!

Another NDEr (who's now deceased) viewed 'hell' as the fear of the unknown. Think about that for a moment and you can figure out that it's universally one of the most frightening states for the human ego to endure!

Now let's look at 'God' (LightSource, All that IS, GodSource, the One — whatever you choose to call it). If God is Love, then what God of Love would truly 'condemn' it's own creation? Think about this for a moment. We are each a part of Source — manifesting as individual rays of light and creative expressions of Source. Would God condemn itself? I hardly think so! Only the human ego judges and condemns (as was pointed out in the section of my NDE account where I address the life review), but Love never condemns. It only heals and perpetrates growth and renewal — never the opposite. Love is a creative force — not a destructive one!

Now, let's get back to the issues of religion. Religion is all about fear and total mind-control — a mind prison, to be sure. That's not about spirituality, however, or endeavouring to experience communion with Source and your divine self — to be aware and on a spiritual path. Mainly, what I want to say about this is that anything that would induce or encourage fear is a lie!!! If anyone or thing encourages fear, please dismiss it straight away! It's simply not real.

Here is a link to a two-hour-long video/film that will shed great light about the fear-based manipulations of religion and the shadow governments that perpetuate this mass fear at ZeitgeistMovie. Ideally, it will help bring you much peace of mind...

I sincerely hope that I've answered your questions in a way that will truly help you feel more peace of mind. Also, there are tons of resources available on TowardTheLight.org ... so feel free to probe therein and you'll likely uncover some treasures that will help ease your mind.

Gale Albury on Toward The Light

On 12 August, I had the honour of interviewing Gale Albury on Toward The Light. Gale is an NDEr and one who's had strong connections with the spirit and angelic realms ever since being very small.

Some of the first experiences she recalls, for example, are having a gruesome dream about being on an upside down cross in a cave. Then she has another dream that takes place in a cave where she's with a little boy who's very ill and she wants to help him. A figure came into the cave whom she perceived as 'Jesus'. A dark figure also appeared who was demonic, but 'Jesus' encouraged Gale not to be afraid and they both proceed to take care of the child. Gale was a little child in these dreams as well.

She also kept having experiences of a beautiful red-haired young woman appearing at different times. One such incident occurs when, as a wee tot, she was trying to get out of her crib and the lady kept saying, "No, no, no, you can't do that. Call your mum!"

She saw this angel for three years and thought that everyone saw her. When she realised that no one else could see this lovely young lady, it became clear that this entity was an angel — whom she later perceived as a feminine version of the archangel Gabriel. She never talked about it to her mum, however.

Another incident occurred when, one evening the angel appeared when Gale was home alone without realising that her mum had gone out. She became horribly frightened, but then saw the appearance of a male angel with reddish-brown hair and looking in four directions simultaneously. At that very moment, her mum was returning home and drove into the driveway and all was well at last.

Gale had an NDE at age four when she had surgery for tonsil removal. She rose above her body and then into the clouds where she encountered two angels. She then saw a beautiful green pasture with a village to one side that resembled an English village. She wanted to go in to the village, but the angels stopped her and told her that she had to return.

Gale was an only child with a divorced mother and she had to 'raise herself' in a big way and she spent a lot of time alone, walking through the woods with her dog and talking to God. She assumed that everyone did this ... then discovered that she was different from the 'norm'. She felt that her solitude enabled her to freely listen to and commune with God and the angels who were speaking to her. She played with elves and fairies and other nature spirits — all of which was very natural and real for her.

I found myself nodding and smiling as I listened to her describing all this, because it was like listening to my own childhood story — my living in solitude, being very ill (in my case) most of the time and also constantly in heavy communion with God, angels, nature spirits and others in the spirit world — some who were very loving and positive and some who were dark and mean-spirited.

Another good example of why people need to listen to the voice within is when Gale was in her early 20s, she lived in Georgia and was preparing to head to the petrol station and the store — the petrol station being up and hill and the store being down. However a voice told her not to go — for which she argued and reasoned that it was just a small little errand. So she went ahead and drove out anyway. She want up the road for the petrol and as she started heading back down the hill, her brakes gave out. She finally realised that she was going down the road full speed ahead without brakes ... but divine intervention guided her and saved her from harm. This is a good lesson to never ignore our intuition or divine guidance!

When the above-mentioned red-haired angel later appeared as a man with reddish-brown hair, Gale was in her 20s. When she moved up to Maine from Georgia, she started to have these experiences on a regular basis. She claims that God stated that she'd be doing work with Gabriel. She questioned this and felt awkward with the notion of being in contact with an actual 'archangel', but then finally gave in to the calling. She had powerful STEs (spiritually transformative experiences) that left her feeling blissful and at peace ... so she knew that she was being propelled in the right direction.

Gale started channelling this angel and working on her book as a young adult. Meanwhile, one of her twin daughters was having a serious surgical procedure done on her back. She was worried about her daughter, then she saw an orderly suddenly appear in the hospital corridor and recognised him as Gabriel, but no one else saw him. When she said, "Look! There he is!", he disappeared.

Later, whilst in bed at night, Gale saw a glowing blue cart wheel with twelve spokes and her husband saw the blue light, but no specific image. Gale then saw golden glowing lines that transform into the face of the angel. She was face to face with this angel and perceived it as Gabriel.

Gale points out that we're taught that if we believe in these things, that we're considered as 'crazy' ... so people close down and refuse to allow themselves to experience anything that seems 'intangible'. It is a shame, because what we perceive as 'real' on the physical plane is actually just a hologram and that life exists on many, many dimensions and different frequencies simultaneously — most of which is invisible to the human eye.

Further, she discusses the messages from her book, Messages from the Archangel Gabriel. There are two ways to respond to things: to respond out of love or to react out of fear. We need to monitor our actions. Are we acting out of love or out of fear? Whatever the response, this is going to have either a positive or negative impact.

The true teacher or 'guru' for each human being is your heart ... your inner being ... your higher self. People keep looking outwards for the truth, but the truth exists within the heart centre — the higher self that's always in touch with divine Source. We need to go into our inward journey to listen to our higher selves. We need to eliminate the fear that keeps us from listening to our higher selves and trusting in the messages ... and we must have courage in doing so — not being concerned with what others may think or say.

We discussed the 'Fool' in the Tarot — who's willing to let go and take chances — knowing full well that everything is in divine order. Unlike the Fool, people become frightened and upset when they can't manipulate things, and their free will is taken away — which is all about losing control. People don't want to believe in ETs, for example, because of the fact that it implies losing or not being in control. There's something more powerful than we are ... and the human ego cannot handle this. We're afraid of different cultures, people and anything that potentially translates to our not being in control. Yet the truth is that we're not in control ever and we've got to trust and be 'in the flow' — knowing that there's still a larger protective force that is guiding and helping us along the way.

There is God; there is creator; there is creation, Gale points out. That is our connection to GodSource. It takes both negative and positive polarities to create matter. She learns from the angel that 'good' and 'bad' are all human thoughts, but nothing is really good or bad; it's just a polarity and different energies. These opposing forces actually balance each other and create matter. If we didn't have fear, we couldn't understand love; if we didn't have darkness, we couldn't understand light.

We talk about what works vs. what doesn't work. We can only know love and light by first understanding and experiencing their opposites. That's the reason why we experience life on the physical plane.

We discuss the different extraterrestrial entities — some of which are parasitic (reptilians) and how they control the world governments, religion, money and banking, the military, etc.

Anything that comes from fear does NOT come from divine consciousness, but from the reptilians, etc. Religion teaches fear, so it's important to realise the source of religion. (See the 'Zeitgeist Movie'). If anyone, thought or thing induces fear, it is not coming from truth and is to be avoided altogether!

Now we're talking about the reptilians and how they use fear to keep people 'in line' and the fact that they've got a hive consciousness and use fear on themselves and the human species to keep them under control. That's why religion is such an important tool for them, as it's the number one producer of fear! Think about it. It is a known fact that the reptilians actually feast on our fear (!) and how important it is to keep our energy frequencies in love, as that will dispel the dark forces altogether. We need to stop feeding these malevolent entities and allowing them to keep us hypnotised and locked in fear and servitude as slaves.

Gale shares a beautiful biblical quote: "Greater is that being that is within you than that which is within the world" — referring to our divine essence (within) ... and that, again, it is essential that we turn within for divine guidance. Whether being aware of it or not, we are always in communion with Source and it is important to honour this fact. We can never truly be separate from Source or from one another...

Some people believe that it is blasphemous to believe that we are divine. The fact is that it is blasphemous to not believe it! By denying our own divine heritage, we're denying the LightSource itself and the creative force that put us here in the first place.

Gale states that it's very important to believe in your higher self — to reach out your hand and ask for help from the divine and to believe. You align yourself with that higher self and then listen to it and act on it. If you're getting chills of joy, you know that you're responding to high consciousness and to love.

TTL Media & Info Site Launched!

Exciting news! We've launched the all new Toward The Light Media & Information website (also located in the 'TTL & Related Links' section at the right) that features the radio show, weekly guest profile, images and hot-links to guests' websites, the official TTL forum, links & resources and a whole lot more. Enjoy the site, feel free to sign the guestbook, become a member and let us know what you think!

Click image to go there now!

Peggy Kane on Toward The Light

On 29 July and 5 August, I had the honour of interviewing Peggy Kane on Toward The Light. To say that these interviews were most informative and fascinating would be an understatement. It was both thought-provoking and enlightening and oh, so in earnest!

Peggy Kane and her work were brought to my attention as a result of an urgent eMail that was forwarded to me several weeks back when there was a serious concern expressed regarding the pending event, Fire The Grid. (See my blog on 'Fire The Grid' FMI.) The eMail contained information disclosed by Peggy Kane as a result of her work with something called 'electronic voice phenomena' (EVP) and 'reverse speaking' (RS) where a recorded statement is played backwards and a startling 'inner message of truth' is heard.

EVP occurs where a voice from the Other Side is captured on a recording—usually via a digital recorder—where one is able to hear clear statements being made.

I was very much aware of EVP and have experienced it directly myself; however, I had admittedly never heard of the RS. Peggy became aware of 'reverse speech' through David Oates (a pioneer of RS) and then proceeded to research it in depth for herself—using her own equipment and software to listen to reverse speaking. (Apparently, David Oates uses 'reverse speech' as a trademark, so Peggy uses the term 'reverse speaking'.)

Oates views 'reverse speaking' as coming from the unconscious; whereas 'forward' is the conscious mind speaking. Peggy, on the other hand, regards RS as tapping into the universal mind (or higher consciousness) and that it is a 'truth serum' that exposes lies or disinformation being told in forward speech.

On the show I asked her how she knows that RS reveals truth and that one 'cannot lie' in RS ... and she acknowledged the consistencies in all of the reversals she heard. This fact alone has held great weight in bringing her to this conclusion. She's listened to literally thousands of reversals over a period of five years and has come up with some pretty amazing data as a result.

Her understanding of this mainly occurred when Peggy was listening to politicians in reverse. Now that, in itself, had to be most interesting and revealing. Perhaps this one thing alone has given her the conviction that RS reveals truth—even unbeknownst to the one 'speaking through the side off his mouth'!

She also had experiences with EVPs being reversed and finding that entities who had been speaking to her were lying to and deceiving her—causing her to believe one thing ... when the opposite was true. Sadly, many of the messages she was receiving were misleading and untrue.

Peggy's work with RS also opened up another whole 'tin of worms'—the fact that this planet is manipulated and controlled by a reptilian race that resides on the lower fourth dimension. This isn't new. Having my own personal experience with these malevolent entities—not to mention the fact that I've done extensive research myself and have spoken with and had guests on my show such as David Icke, Matthew Delooze, Stewart Swerdlow, etc. who are very much regarded as 'experts' in this field—I knew for certain that this was no 'off-the-wall sci-fi' theory. As the saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction and, indeed, this is so.

Once again, taking EVP recordings that Peggy had done, (that of entities from the Other Side), and then reversing them, she found the presence of the reptilians whilst she was listening to these EVP recordings! Again, she concludes something as a result of personal experience. She describes hearing the reversals in real time. This was something she was not prepared for—especially when she wanted so much to believe in the 'love' and 'positive messages' coming from the Other Side. They were merely manipulations and tricks being played on a naive and well-meaning soul.

Peggy states: "If you are listening to EVP without reversing, the chances of being lied to and/or conned is almost 100%. If you are listening to reverse speaking without understanding the nature of life on the other side, the chances of being misled are also very great. The two go hand in hand.

If you think that reverse speaking is coming from the subconscious mind, I will challenge that assumption. It is my contention that it is coming from a part of the mind that is far beyond anything we can imagine." Well, in light of the fact that we use only 10% of our brain, it makes you stop and ponder the remaining 90%, doesn't it? Also, think about the 95% of so-called 'junk DNA' and what all this adds up to—literally!

She also made some claims that were most unsettling; e.g. that what mediums (like myself) experience or receive from the Other Side are likely deceptive messages coming from the reptilians posing as a loved one, friend, angel or spirit guide, etc. She'd also claimed that what NDErs experience is confined to still being caught or trapped within the 'net' (or what is also referred to as the 'matrix grid' that is controlled by the reptilian race) ... so I posed these questions to her on the show, because I was clearly disturbed by these claims. Mind you, I wasn't out to 'counter' her in any way. Quite the contrary, as I perceived a loving and earnest person in Peggy and I was striving to learn and understand more about this information she was sharing and to maintain an open mind. Although she has found, what she stated to be the case, from her own research and experiences, she would not make this as a blanket statement, because she honestly didn't know. It would appear that she does regard perhaps most of the messages coming from the Other Side as suspect...

I would share titbits of my NDEs with Peggy, for example, and ask for her input ... and she would regard them with respect and a genuine interest and openness. We'd continue comparing notes and striving for the right understanding and conclusion about all this—something so deep and complex where the answers don't come easy.

Our dialogue was very heartfelt and in earnest—both of us clearly wanting to know the truth—come what may. It flowed so easily and I felt very comfortable with Peggy. It was apparent that I was speaking with a kindred spirit and, with every little bit of information that was shared, I somehow felt a great sense of relief. I was comforted in knowing that our goals are the same: to find the truth and to return to Love—to the One.

Thus the first show was centred on the background of EVP/RS and Peggy's work in it and in the second interview we discussed The Secret. I was struck when I saw 'The Secret' as a topic on Peggy's blog, as she'd done reversals on the audio recording—not only of different people speaking, but of the music used as well. Straight away, I had to read this and listen, as I've had issues with this new gimmick ever since I saw the original film at a Noetic Sciences meeting a few years ago. It just didn't ring true to me, somehow, nor did I feel love coming from most of the speakers. It was too flashy and dramatic and too ... Hollywood.

It seems that the 'law of attraction' has become the latest new-age fad, the big 'buzz word' ... and people are parroting phrases from The Secret everywhere you turn. A negative by-product of this is that I've seen people passing judgements on others for 'not applying the LOA in their lives and that's why they're so miserable...' kind of projection that's very mean-spirited, unkind, and simply inaccurate—not to mention, very damaging. It's no different than the attitude or behaviour of fundamentalist religionists, but with a different bent or jargon, that's all. It's a new 'club' that has emerged that is casting a hypnotic spell over the masses and actually hurting many people.

So Peggy and I talked about these things, as well as the fact that the Secret is loaded with disinformation. She did reversals—not only on statements being made by the speakers in the film—but also of the opening music that was chock-full of subliminals! In our observation, the whole notion of the LOA cannot really work in our current world—not as long as it's controlled by a dark and sinister group that have got us locked in lives of servitude—literally as slaves! And the sad thing is, most of us aren't even aware of it! Thank goodness, that is starting to change now ... as more and more people are waking up, by and by.

The Secret is also too simplistic and its main emphasis seems to be on the acquisition of material goods and power, and the quest for more... "You can have and be anything you want to!"—is the anthem of The Secret, but it's just not that simple. Perhaps, once the dark ones have been driven out ... and the serpent spell finally broken once and for all ... and love has replaced fear ... then we can, indeed, have and be anything we want. But meantime, the real Secret is going to remain just that: a secret.

A Sweet Triumph

From January 1999 through August of 2006, I lived in Nashville, Tennessee — 'Music City', USA. It was a series of profound events that led me there — a place I never would have imagined living in a million years! Yet, I was there and embraced by some truly wonderful and warm-hearted people who became dear and special friends — friends that I'm still in contact with on a regular basis.

Think about the kind of person I am (and many of you are very well familiar with me now ... and the way I think, etc.) and the fact that I was living and working in the centre of the 'Bible Belt' in America! Of course I had no 'day job' and, instead, was running my own business giving readings as a psychic and medium, doing energy healing work with Reiki ... plus doing the support work centred on near-death experiences and more! Gratefully, I was never a victim of any 'hate crimes', nor was I threatened in any way.

It was here that I ended up on radio and television because of the work that I do ... and it was all very positive. I was blown away by that fact. So many doors opened up for me in Nashville.

Furthermore, in the different places I lived, most of my landlords were gay or lesbian — as it turned out — and we all were as family to one another. It was magical and so uplifting. I seemed to attract people from the GLBT community to me — perhaps because I, too, am 'different' and it was within the realm of this particular group of people where I was the most naturally embraced just the way I am. They were very kind and caring souls and I always felt loved and looked after.

Is it any wonder, then, that I discovered and joined a city chorus that was centred on GLBT individuals and their friends and supporters? I joined Nashville In Harmony in August 2005 and reporting to rehearsal every Sunday from 4-6P was the absolute highlight of my week! To be with such a special group of souls with voices raised in song and hearts connected to one another was something I came to treasure very deeply.

Alas, on 9^th July 2006, we performed at the historic Ryman Auditorium — the most coveted stage in all of Nashville!

NIH at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee USA

Being a member of NIH made me aware of a lot of things — not only in the GLBT community — but with regards the human condition in general. Being in the centre of the Bible Belt made it very clear to me just how deep the issues and struggles go — especially when it comes to religious intolerance of homosexuality. I had had an acquaintance (who actually was a catalyst for getting me to Nashville in the first place, since she ran a music company) who kept telling me that being gay was 'wrong' and 'a sin' when we were talking about someone we knew who was gay. I was gob-smacked. She meant it and she was taking herself very seriously! How can you be so mean and intolerant of someone strictly on the basis of one's sexual orientation? — I wanted to ask her. I also wanted her to provide me with where she got the notion that she was at liberty to judge someone in the first place!

How is it that, when you find people who are so kind, intelligent, talented, hard-working, having integrity and strong ethics, being devoted to their loved ones and friends and who wouldn't hesitate to help you if you were in some kind of a crisis, they could be regarded as 'wrong' or 'sinful' strictly on the basis of their sexual orientation? Something about this has never sat right with me.

I've written a bit in this blog about the horrors of religion. Just a few days ago, I received this video where our music director, Don Schlosser, was interviewed and he talked about his having been fired from a job he worked at for ten years at some Christian music publishing company in Nashville, strictly because he was gay! That's it! There was absolutely no other reason for his being dismissed from the job. Don is one of the most precious friends to me. He's an amazing musician and an amazing individual with a heart as big as the sun. I worked very closely with Don, because I was on the repertoire and media committees and never failed to feel such love and admiration for this man — not to mention awe. I wrote articles about him and NIH as well. (See articles here.)

In an article I wrote specifically about Don, I noted the fact that he was fired from his job and even barred from other related institutions — only because of his being gay and for absolutely NO other reason! It made me cry; it made me livid ... but you know what? It just made it all the more clear how insidious and mean-spirited and full of lies religion and religionists are, that's what!

Don's got the 'last laugh' and I'm pleased that this little video reveals a sweet triumph for Don. He's a happy and contented man — with lots of people everywhere who love him. In fact, he was honoured as the 'Gay Nashvillian of the Year' in 2006. He's a bright and shining example of how those of us who are truly individuals who've got the audacity and heart to think for ourselves and be true to our own authentic self ... can triumph over the greatest odds.

Religion is a lie, Friends! ALL religion is a lie ... and is only here to keep us locked in a stranglehold of fear — as I've stated numerous times before. No one has got the right to judge or condemn someone because of one's sexual orientation, one's race, one's being disabled or poor or for being a female or from another country or whatever nonsensical reason some religious moron may come up with. That's strictly ego-driven and has got nothing to do with Source. And when there's a special triumph such as in Don's case, it just gives me more faith that the Light is breaking through all this insane darkness and liberating us from the lies and deceit that have held us in servitude for all these thousands of years!

The joke's on you, oh dark ones, and we're going to dance in the Light and come to realise, indeed, that only love is real.

Packaging & Pricing

When I first came to America, I was utterly blown away by all of the excessive and wasteful packaging everywhere I turned — such that I'd never seen back in England. And when I say 'excessive', I'm not at all exaggerating! For example, I've seen sealed plastic bottles of pills further packaged inside of sealed boxes! Why the extra box over and on top of a sealed bottle? It makes absolutely no sense to me at all.

I believe it was roughly ten years ago that there was a so-called bill for a proposed reduction or elimination of wasteful packaging in America — one that was ousted straight away. Why? I've got no idea. It would lead one to believe that wastefulness is considered a very important virtue in America, wouldn't it?

Well, as if that isn't bad enough, I've had the sheer displeasure of buying a box of pasta, grains or a similar product, for example, and open the box to find it barely over half full! Have you noticed this too? A lot of these boxes have windows in them and the content only reaches to the top of the window — which is located in the centre of the box — deceiving you into thinking you're getting a full box! Mind you, this has got nothing whatever to do with content 'settling' during transport. I assure you that it wouldn't settle to a mere half full container! I'm not daft enough to be fooled by that, as packages only 'settle' a little bit, not to a half-filled box or carton!

OK, so let's add insult to injury, shall we? Recently, I bought a bottle of pills that was not packaged in a box (that's an improvement); it was a nutritional supplement that was in a sealed plastic pill bottle. Good enough ... BUT ... when I opened the bottle, it was empty! Well, almost, as there were only a small amount of tablets at the very bottom of the bottle! It wasn't three-quarters full; it wasn't half full; it wasn't even one-quarter full! It was hardly full of any product at all! Why the HUGE bottle for only a titbit of tablets?!?!

This makes me absolutely livid! So I'm looking at all of the excessive and wasteful packaging — all for the sake of deceiving the public! Pray tell me: what is the point in all of this? What is it actually serving — to deceive people and create all of this waste? Is it not bad enough that the package labels are so misleading and deceptive in the first place?

Here's a good example of deceptive labelling: I see packages of biscuits (or cookies) that say 'shortbread' on them. I come from 'shortbread' country, so I know what shortbread is, right? Shortbread consists of flour, sugar, butter and water. When I look at the ingredients of any of these so-called 'shortbread' biscuits, not one of them contains butter — the one ingredient that would qualify these biscuits as shortbread! Why do they call these biscuits 'shortbread' when they are nothing of the sort? They don't even taste like shortbread! Lies, lies, lies, lies, lies are all I see!

It seems that most businesses who package products have jumped on the bandwagon of deceit — putting little bits of product in hugely oversized boxes, jars, tins, bottles, bags (oh, don't you just love those bags all full of nothing but air?), and so forth.

Let me say that I'm not in the least impressed. Quite the contrary, I'm so put off by all this! I cannot tolerate lies and deceit and anything that's so overtly and covertly misleading — all for the sake of $£. Funny how things having to do with $£ seem to, more often than not, come up dirty, corrupted and sleight of hand. What a shame, really, and it's so unnecessary! Yet people just blindly go along with all this without even noticing or having a second thought about it and they merely continue in their sleepwalking ... but I want to say WAKE UP!

Alas, people will try to defend all of this in the name of marketing and 'that's just the way you're supposed to do it' kind of mentality, but that just doesn't fly with me. It's still about deception! When you've got a truly good product or service, lying and hype are completely unnecessary. Integrity and honesty are what 'sells' in my book. I know from experience, because I run a business — one that's centred in love and service to others.

The only reason why all of these deceivers get away with this nonsense is because people let them. People need to start paying attention to what's going on all round them and noting the deception, waste, manipulation and dumbing down that's going on. The joke's on us, Friends, and I hate to think that we're that daft to fall for, and not be disturbed by, such lies. I would have thought that most of us were taught that lying is not a virtue; yet we not only fall for the lies circulating all round us every single day, we allow them and go along with them! By doing this, we affirm and perpetuate the lie! Think about it!

Yesterday, I saw an advert for a place to let that said, "Pay only half a month's rent!" It sounds like a bargain, right? Then, when you read the actual advert, they tell you that the place is available in the middle of the month, so of course you're only going to pay 'half a month's rent'! Duh! A moron could have figured that one out, for goodness sake! It's all a deception ploy just to lure you in and steal your $£ or power...

Another form of deception that really bothers me is pricing. For example, I'd hear someone say, "It was $14.99" and I immediately thought, 'you mean $15'! Well, isn't that what it really is: $15? What's all this mind manipulation and deception over a flipping penny — a PENNY!? And then, in many instances, they'll print the '14' really big and the '99' will be so miniscule as to be rendered almost invisible. Blimey, they really want to hide that extra dollar or quid from you, don't they — that is, until you reach the cashier and you're flipping well expected to pay that extra dollar or quid for sure! Smokescreens are everywhere!

Why are people so stuck on this deceptive game and why are they playing into it? It takes a lot more breath to say 'four-teen-ninety-nine' than to say 'fifteen', doesn't it. Let's count the syllables: four-teen-nine-ty-nine' is five syllables and 'fif-teen' is only two ... plus '15' is a lot more honest and straight forward, isn't it? It also takes a lot more space on a page to print $14.99 than $15 — taking up three extra spaces — all for a penny! Give me a break! :(

Why does this bother me so much? Because it is a manipulative game of deception, that's why — pure and simple. What's the big deal over one silly little penny — that doesn't even buy anything anymore? Now in the UK, it's the same story in many cases, since the currency has gone into the decimal system ... but not quite as bad as in America ... yet. And it's not just in the US and UK; it's all over the place! Practically every retail outfit does it! You see $x.99 ($x.98/$x.95) or $99 or $9,999.99 and it's just the most absurd and hideous thing to me. People are mindlessly just going along with all this ... but do they not even notice this tricky mind game? I do and you better believe I do, because I see the lies and deceit all over this! It's screaming at me every time I see that $x.99 or £x.99 crap.

Alas, someone will try to defend this nonsense by claiming that, "It looks better" or "It makes you think you're paying less" and so on. Exactly! Let's make you think something that's not so! Lies, Lies, LIES! To me, that's an insult to our intelligence. It's not real; it's not honest; and it's so unnecessary ... period!

It makes me sad to realise that people are so committed to undermining one another — some very deliberately and others without even being aware of what they're actually doing, because they just mindlessly 'go along' with this insidious game like a bunch of robots.

There are two points to all this: First, people need to wake up and start actually thinking for themselves or we're going to be in loads of trouble. Second, being deceptive — either wilfully or unknowingly (because one's not thinking for one's self, taking responsibility, or paying any attention) — is simply not right. In fact, it's downright abominable, in my way of thinking. As long as we are committed to being dishonest and deceiving one another and wilfully out to undermine one another, we're never going to heal all the misery and suffering that's going on throughout our world. We need to learn to live together in harmony and start regarding one another as members of one family or community, because — like it or not — we are one family who share one planet.

Furthermore, the force that's behind all of this crazy behaviour is ... fear! It fosters thoughts like: "If I don't deceive someone over a flipping penny ... or provide an overpriced and only half full package of product, etc., I may not get mine!" That's fear talking, not love. Well, I'd rather live 'without' than to be a blithering idiot and deceive my fellow human being. I just can't do that ... nor will I.

We need to think about using integrity in our lives and being loving and supportive of one another — not trying to 'get one over on someone' kind of mindset. We better take the time to think about what we're doing to one another and to our world. And, as Mark Knopfler so rightly states in his song, One World:

If we can't find a way to be
One world in harmony
Can't get no antidote for ... blues

Fear begets lack and Love begets abundance.

Think about it...