To be honest, I’ve struggled to get this next blog post out.  It’s not because I don’t have a good story to tell, it’s just that… because after that story… not a lot has happened. A spiritual dry spell, if you will. It’s like this pit of fear in my stomach that once I tell this last story, that I might not get another. “Will it all shut down again?  Will I go another 15 years of silence ? Will I not have any more contact with the spirit world until I get there myself?”

I decided, then, I need to be a little more proactive if I want the stories to continue. I knew a good place to start would be meditation.  But how?  I mean, the more you read about it, the more you know you don’t know, you know?  I ended up going with the first thing that popped up in my Sonos search; A whole series of podcasts about starting to meditate.

The first was an 18 minute episode that ended in unguided meditation. When it was over – I sat there for a few more minutes – staring at the candle flame it had instructed me to light (uh oh, The “woo woo” is starting!) when all of a sudden it just hit me.  I needed to go talk to the lady at the store down the street.

Now – a little back story on the “lady at the store down the street.”  Every so often, I go get my pool water checked at a pool store a couple of miles away. And every time I have gone there, the little “mystical charms” store next-door has been closed. (Not that I really had any interest in it at all; it’s in a gnarly little strip mall and a sign in her cluttered/dusty window says “psychic readings available.” I always figured it was the ugly stepsister to a gaudy neon “Palm Readings” sign.

This time, it was open.

I walked in and a cute blond cherubic woman with a New York affected Scottish accent welcomes me.  “Hi I’m just finishing up my lunch, my husband can help you find what you need.”

“Actually, I think I need to talk to you.”

With that, I started giving her the fastest version of my story I’ve ever given.  Although, I don’t think I got much past “some lady’s son took over my body” and she guided me behind some curtains to her special seating area for readings. She looked relaxed and casual and finished her soup as I told her the major details of my situation.   (It’s always such an odd thing to repeat my experiences to someone of… like mind. You don’t get any of the “holy crap!” reactions with these kinds of people. Instead, they just nod their heads knowingly because they’ve seen it all before.)

Initially, this woman kept repeating the point that I need to know how to protect myself.  Not just from spirits with less than good intent, but sometimes, from everything.  She talked about how important it was to be able to shut them out entirely, if only to protect ones sanity.   She echoed what the Houston medium had told me before, that it’s usually wiser just to “ask them what they want to communicate versus letting them jump into your body.” But she also added that if you were okay with the latter, that it’s OK to say, “alright.  But you’ve only got five minutes, buddy.”

I asked her about her craft, and she told me that she does energy and medium work.  (Still don’t know what “energy” work is exactly… I guess that will be a future post.) “So how do you choose how to read a person when they come in?” I wondered.

“Sometimes, you’ll have the person they want to connect with just standing there staring at you not saying anything. And I have to tell this person that their loved one is here- but silent. So, that’s when I turn to the energy work -tarot cards and reading palms- to get the message.”   It was then that I noticed the deck of tarot cards in front of me.   (I guess I’ve finally resigned myself to look into the “woo woo” stuff. Yes, including crystals.)

She also told me that I needed to ask myself, “What do I want to do with this gift?” and then glanced over to a paper she had pinned up on a back wall that I could faintly make out through the sheer curtain. It was about her- a full-page glowing article from a newspaper in Scotland from years ago. She told me she was fairly famous back then, and could have commanded outrageous fees for her readings. When this didn’t sit well with her, she walked away. She explained, “it’s not a gift you can abuse, because those who get greedy with it will lose it.”  She said she finally learned later it was OK to charge for her services, as long as she needed the money to keep going. So now, she charges $30 for a reading, however long it takes.  (I’m not planning on posting  a Paypal button on my blog, don’t worry.  I told her that I already had thought this over: I have no desire for a TV show, no desire to charge $500 for a reading. I just want this magical thing to continue, and hopefully I can share it and help people in the process.)   The reason I mention the fee, though, is because she had also commented to me that she was not in a position to be a teacher for me… that she just couldn’t take that on right now. (Initially I was a bit heartbroken. I can’t tell you how many times I tried to get my soul to just twist her soul’s arm into wanting to be my mentor.)  But now I was devising a plan… You’re telling me I can get a master class for $120 month?  “So, I could just book you for a ‘reading” every week and pick your brain?!”   SIGN ME UP! haha!

(Oh! I almost forgot to mention- she didn’t just blow me off. She DID have an alternate plan for me… apparently there is a SPIRITUALIST church not far from here.  WAIT, WHAT?!?!  And it’s… like, CLOSE.  How did I not know about this place?! Why didn’t anyone tell me this before?!  And then I remember, I live in small town-ish Texas. The people who DO know aren’t probably talking about it much with the normal folk. 😉 So Sunday, I’m going. And I expect to have full details to you quickly thereafter!)

Anyway- by then her soup was finished, and she was giving me a look like she had other things to do.  I thanked her profusely and proceeded to look around her shop. The amount of supplies was endless: A gazillion different crystals, incense out the wazoo, 50 decks of tarot cards (all different), and this:

Tada! Finally got one of these Tibetan singing bowls I’ve been coveting.  I wish I could tell you more about them, but I don’t know much yet. I just think they are NEATO. 🙂

As I was finishing up the transaction, the husband says, “Isn’t it nice to know you aren’t crazy?”  I sighed,

“I’m not worried about crazy anymore, I’m worried about lonely.”

My new mentor (Shhh! she doesn’t know that yet) then chimed in- “There are many places you can find people who are like us.” She listed off a few events in Houston, and an upcoming psychic fair.. but also added, “But even then, you still might feel out of place. This IS lonely and you ARE going to have to do a lot of it by yourself. Read books, practice, ask for help from your guides… ultimately everyone’s journey is different.”

I thanked her and walked out, finally pretty confident that I’ll have some more stories to tell.