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by Laura Scott

During a deep discussion someone close to me revealed that they were unable to forgive themselves for some things they had done. They knew it was preventing them from moving forward with their dreams, but they had absolutely no idea how to get past it. Watching someone you love suffer is awful, and worse if you are witnessing needless suffering. It got me to thinking about the purpose of guilt and how to help someone, even myself, to move into a place of forgiveness.

All of us have something to forgive.
We each have something or someone to forgive...I hear it all the time in my work. Whether it's small stuff like a thoughtless comment, or a pet who got sick on the rug, or following a slow car that made you late (the nerve!)...to the colossal things like a trusted friend who lied to you and hurt you, or the mother who refuses to let you live your own life, or the driver who fell asleep and cost you something precious. Maybe it's wishing you hadn't lost your temper, or your self control, or a time you regret being spiteful or impatient. Perhaps it's wishing you had been somewhere one minute earlier, or had listened to that advice.

Life happens.
But truth be told, we all have something to forgive because life is always happening - especially when we're not ready. There will always be opportunities to deal with situations that test us. In each event, we bring our humanness to the table and do the best we can in that moment. Ready or not, the sun will rise today, and ready or not, it will set today. In between, the wind may blow, the rain may fall, and the light may shine...all simultaneously, depending on where you are. Stuff happens.

Guilt makes martyrs.
A wise woman healer I know said that "the only function of guilt is to prevent you from taking action." Simply put: Guilt makes martyrs. It takes away your power and makes you a victim. Guilt and shame are thieves stealing the life you were born to live. It's misdirected energy aimed at keeping you weak.

Are you a victim or a victor?Choosing to keep yourself in the suffering and tormented place means you remain a victim. No bravery is required. This is actually not a hard choice for anyone already used to pain, because if you don't know what it's like to live without pain - be it physical, emotional, mental or spiritual, then on some level you are always seeking to recreate it. Victims and martyrs love pain. Victors choose peace.

Guilt exposed!
Lets be clear here. I am NOT saying that we shouldn't feel responsible for our actions or become heartless. I am talking about using regret in a proactive way to navigate to a healing place. Guilt's chief function is to create immobilization, inaction, pain, suffering, and martyrdom. I am saying that if you are letting personal guilt drive the vehicle of your life then you are not allowing yourself to take action and responsibility. This is about learning new tools and using the actions of the past to create a better now and a better future.

Action is courage.
Real bravery is going back to face the thing (either literally or in your heart) that you have previously done and being wiling to do it better than before. So whenever it's possible, make amendments to those you may have hurt - including yourself! Living with an attitude that you are going to do better every day from here forward takes real courage. Action is courage!

How do you forgive yourself?
You make a choice to, no different than an alcoholic or addict chooses sobriety. You do it one day at a time, one moment at a time. You choose to take action every day and live your life up to the standards of what you now know you want. Face your fears head-on by taking positive action for a new outcome. Give yourself your FULL blessing to do better in each new moment and to stop suffering about things you did in the past. If you really want to feel better, than use your energy for doing what you can right now to show your positive changes in thinking. If you were previously unkind, then be kind now, previously thoughtless, be thoughtful now and so on. Walk your talk. That's how living in 'The Light' works!

The truth will set you free.
This is how alcoholics and addicts go back to reclaim their kids, their jobs, their wives and their lives successfully every single day. They do a fearless moral inventory, go to those they have hurt or wronged when possible and give a sincere apology or amendment as an act of acknowledgement and a step of forgiveness for themselves. Guilt is no different. If you can make a heartfelt apology, do it. Take action and don't delay. If you cannot because the person/situation isn't available, then try writing a ceremonial letter of truth, or making a symbolic donation as acts of release and self healing. Promise to do better. Set it free.

Forgiving is not the same as forgetting.
Remember forgiveness is a gift you give yourself. Part of taking care of yourself is knowing how to forgive and make discerning choices. A discerning choice means that you remember the past enough to adjust your course and avoid any 'holes in the sidewalk' if you see them again. If you have hurt someone they may need evidence that the 'holes in your sidewalk' have been patched. Your evidence is your commitment to do better each time that you realize you can, and to promptly act on it.

As you know better, you do better.
If you still can't get beyond your past choices or behaviors, ask yourself to honestly answer this: At the time which that event(s) took place, given the information, attitude, climate, environment, precipitating factors, and everything else...did you at that time do the best you could given what you were working with? Chances are, in all honesty, the answer is 'yes.'

What did I learn and how can I grow from this?
Answer these questions from the highest place of love. If you are STILL feeling hard on yourself, then ask what you would say to a child who had made a mistake. Would you continue to abuse them, punish them, embarrass them, berate them, belittle them, withhold love and joy from them, or make them feel awful because of their past choice? Of course not! You would forgive them and then take them by the hand and help them by asking about what other choices they might choose if something like this ever came up again. You would leave them in a state of love, action and empowerment. You would help inspire them to feel like they are learning positive things (not guilt and shame) and growing and becoming stronger because of it.

News flash!
Regardless of your age, you are that child! And you deserve to be treated the same!

Hindsight is always 20-20.
We've heard the expression countless times, but think about it. Looking back in the benefit of hindsight, without duress, and with the light of illumination, anyone could create a list of 'shoulda, woulda, coulda's'...but the only point that would serve is to help you adjust how you behave right NOW. The past is gone. The only place your power ever exists is in this moment, and if you spend all your present moments punishing yourself about the past then you are inactive (guilt driven), and continuing to steal power from yourself and hurt yourself. Use your hindsight to empower you. Make choices in the present moment that honor you, love you and respect you and those you love. Remember you did then what you knew then. As you know better now, you do better now. Period.

Suffering in your suffering.
Stop wounding yourself further. Get a grip. Once you start to punish yourself sometimes you can't stop. Then suffering begets more suffering. It's like sleep walking....WAKE UP! Your life is wasting!

Quit stealing from yourself.
A person who can't forgive also can't dream, because that person is busy looking at the past rather than at their future. If you are busy looking in your rear view mirror all the time, you can't see where you want to go. Remember that great old adage: 'the wake is not what drives the boat, the wake is what is left behind the boat.' Don't let the guilt, shame and pain of your past rob you of the opportunity you have in every moment to do it better, to do it differently. Be the captain of your boat and the good driver of your life.

Focus.
The very thing that you seek to not have (pain) is the thing you keep having! Which makes perfect sense when we apply the laws of both metaphysics and quantum physics, because The Universe will say 'yes' to whatever it is we focus on the most. Focus on can't, and you can't. Focus on will, and you shall.

Decide. Act. Leap.
Decide to live in the present moment each day and do your best to monitor your actions and choices so that you don't slip back into an old pattern and cause pain to yourself or others. The moment you realize you just made a bad choice, stop what you are doing and correct course. It's simple. That's what people of character do. They continuously learn and adjust (they weren't just born that way you know!). Whenever you realize you are off course, speak up and correct it. The quicker you do it, the quicker the peace comes. Every day that you complete using this is a day filled with empowerment. Let who you are in the 'now' say more about anything that can ever said about you in the past.

Can't I just learn to live with my guilt and hope to become okay with never having what I want or risk hurting anyone again?Sure, if you want to live the life of a martyr in a pain-filled existence never knowing healing, love, joy or peace. But no matter how long, or what you try to medicate yourself with...like distractions of work, addictions, avoidance, etc., you will never really be able to numb out far enough. So love yourself enough not to sign up for such a hellish existence - where you are essentially frozen in the time of your tragedy.

Is it really this easy?
Yes. It IS if a person is WILLING to live in a state of peace instead of pain. Some people prefer the familiarity of pain and suffering because they fear the unknowns of peace and forgiveness. Maybe they have never had real forgiveness before...but that doesn't mean that they can't claim it now! God gives it freely to all of us. In my 40 plus years on the planet, I've never heard of anyone who let go of all their guilt, found the peace of forgiveness, and then said that they regretted it. Not one single person!

Find the blessing and embrace it!
What if the very thing that you are having trouble forgiving is actually a HUGE blessing in disguise? Like when being fired actually gave you a chance to relocate and meet your spouse. Or how in losing your own self control you found new respect and compassion for someone you formerly judged for doing the same thing. What if the 'tragedy' of your actions has somehow helped to save the lives of others? Look hard, look deep, and find what you can honestly say is a POSITIVE lesson that you are grateful that this situation has taught you. There is always at least one. Find it and feel truly grateful!

The future is created now.
Remember, being unforgiving of something or someone, even ourselves, is a form of self abuse. It's like saying that you want to keep replaying the pain of that experience over and over and over again. It's stealing from yourself. No new and good thing can come in because there isn't any room for it until you let it go. You don't have to know 'how,' you don't even have to 'get it.' You simply have to be in a place where you are willing to allow some new thinking in. And when you do so, there is room for God's grace to enter, room for healing, peace, love, joy, and freedom.

Forgiveness is an act of faith and self love. And, yes, an act of Divine calling on the Divinity inside each one of us...that we absolutely deserve the chance to do better.

Namaste.




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By Laura Scott

I believe in real butter
and a big country kitchen where your friends can watch as you cook or help you,
laugh and cry with you as we figure out the world, our children, each other,
all the while cooking up life, nourishment and love.
I believe in old fashioned things, like manners, and love notes
and swinging on big long rope swings.
I believe in the power of being present.

I believe in love.
Universal Love uniting us, unifying us, underwriting us.
I believe in Grace.

I believe in two ply and good plumbing.
I believe in fresh cut lawns, a perfect peach, and juicy watermelon.
I believe in hanging out on blankets and watching the sky swim by with someone you love.
The fresh taste of spring water.
I believe in silence.

I believe in dancing, skipping, singing, synchronicities and surrendering.
I believe in surprises, sunrises and life's ability to flip a situation around in our favor faster than we can say, 'Abracadabra.'
Because I believe in Magic.

I believe in Angels, Spirit Guides, Messengers, Ascended Masters, and more,
all in regular constant communication with us.
I believe in their power, love, and support.
I believe in the power of laughter...
Of a good belch, and fresh sheets...
I believe in making intimacy and living love.

I believe in meditation and reflective thought.
I believe in freedom, Oprah, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Bono, Nelson Mandela, Immaculee Ilibigaza, Dr. Masaru Emoto, Martin Luther King, Buddha, Jesus, Einstein, ET, the tooth fairy, the Grinch, Charlie Brown, and children in no order of preference.
I believe in the unmistakable power of a smile
to heal, unite, lessen, increase, provide, invite.

I believe in real love, destiny, free will and the power of our choices and our attitude.
I believe in soft passionate kisses that last for hours and fall into days...
gentle caresses, tenderness.
I believe everything is possible.

I believe in the power of a buy one get one free sale,
in the 20 percent tip and in tipping points.
I believe in the first snow fall of a season,
and the smell of a fireplace burning.
I believe in the Faeries playing in my flower beds
and the crickets that sing beneath my window through the summer night.
I believe in Heaven. Here, there, everywhere.

I believe in the quiet that comes after the storm.
I believe in the space between the spaces.
I believe that out of our suffering comes much good fortune.
And that Life is always in Divine Order, even when we can't see it.
I believe there is always a Higher Plan.

I believe we are all one,
And in our oneness lies our greatest strengths.
I believe that when one of us is doing better, all of us are.

I believe in invisible things, forces not seen, unexplained and yet to be defined.
I believe in a Mother/Father God.
I believe in the Church of Nature.
And the power of miracles.
Like falling in love again after many years of being on your own,
and instantly feeling reborn.

I believe in a good moisturizer, comfortable clothes
and laugh lines.
I believe in aging and it's place in our humanity.
I believe if we weren't conscious of time's perpetual passage we'd never push ourselves
or pace ourselves.
I believe in faith.

I believe in skinny dipping,
laughing under the full moon
and throwing up your arms to the sky with complete abandon and shouting , "YES!!!"

I believe in the sun,
in the stars,
in the sea,
and in the cool, quiet, secret places in the woods.
I believe in peace.

I believe in all of us, even the forgotten.
I believe in our intrinsic goodness.
I believe we can, we will, we must stay connected.
I believe we are only as strong as our weakest spot.
I believe in sleep overs,
a good cup of tea,
waking up to the sounds of wild song birds singing.
Laughter.

I believe in you.
And I believe in me.
I believe in our power as individuals.
I believe in our collective power.
And the power of our evolving consciousness.
I believe in the power of all possibilities.
I believe in us.

I believe in love.

I believe.




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By Laura Scott

I had no idea what I was getting into last summer when I figured that the best way to 'beat the raccoons' at their game of raiding my bird feeders was to start leaving them an alternative source of food. My motives weren't altruistic, they were practical; I didn't want to have to keep replacing expensive bird feeders when the big raccoons were pulling them to the ground to get to their tasty food treasures inside.

The "if you can't beat 'em join 'em" theory worked. The raccoons gave up the hanging stuff for the puzzles I would leave them on the ground. I'd watch them come in shifts from my perch inside and it sure beat summer television! Before you know it, you grow attached! One particular adult female caught my eye because of her impressive nursing teats and I dubbed her "Big Mama."

Raccoons, it turns out, are smarter than cats on the evolution scale and very clean. In the wild they will use a common latrine. They are fun and fascinating to watch because of their fastidiousness for hand washing, manual dexterity, puzzle solving abilities, and their larger sense that life is indeed a great big adventure. Raccoons can live up to sixteen years but don't often make it to five. Man is the greatest threat to them (hunting, automobiles, trapping, dogs, encroaching on habitat) and the number of raccoon deaths associated with humans far outweighs other death causes like disease, malnutrition and natural predators.

Based on Big Mama's tummy, I figured in about eight weeks she would be bringing her babies by to add my food station to the list of 'things to cruise for when on the adult raccoon dining tour.' Sure enough, somewhere in middle of last summer, Big Mama showed up with her cubs and I quickly dubbed three of them "Curly", "Larry" and "Mo," for obvious reasons.

Their antics on the deck were often hysterically funny: One swinging from the hummingbird feeder as the sticky sweet juice inside it poured all over him while his siblings tried to climb his precariously hanging body just to lick the sticky sweet juice from wherever it had poured on him. They toddled about and sprinted with amazing agility for such small bodies. They could vanish with one barely audible sound from Big Mama to up high into the crook of a nearby tree.

They began to get accustomed to my voice (giggling and laughing) and would run up to the screen door to investigate me. The smallest would put her hands up to touch mine, palm to palm; separated by only a screen - our own ET moments. They were adorable even when they plopped down and sat on the petunias in my flower boxes. As they grew Big Mama would leave them here to play and eat while she went ahead scouting other sites.

One day Big Mama disappeared; it could have been a car, a hunter, a coyote, or another predator. The babies were growing, but not full grown. They began to show up erratically and then not at all. "Part of a Divine Plan" I consoled myself, but inside I missed them and prayed they were okay.

Months passed and fall turned into winter and winter into early spring. The sound of a raccoon raiding my bird feeder one night caught my attention. I jumped out of bed in one motion and was at the window with the flashlight before you could say 'Jack Robinson!'

She looked up at me and I knew her immediately. Downstairs I went and opened the door, she slowly climbed down from the feeder, came right over to the screen door and put her hands up to mine-palm to palm- same as before. She was grown but young and small, and as she climbed down from the railing, I saw a glimpse of her underside - nursing teats! Little "Mama" and I became regular nighttime pals as I put out the recommended cat food and crunchies. She often looked tired, always came with the utmost manners and despite all I fed her she never could put on an ounce. I worried about her.

The weeks passed and July began to approach. By now little Mama took food directly from my hand and nodded back at my cat watching from beside me at the door. I let her lead, never forgot she was wild, and for those of you germa-phobes, washed my hands more times than I can count. "How are the babies?" I asked her. "Are the many? Two? Three, four?"

Her reply was simple. "Many." "Okay," I thought. My friends began to ask, "any news yet?" Like expecting aunties and uncles. "Nope, no visuals." I knew that she'd likely have the cubs follow her over at about eight weeks age, and tree themselves nearby while she ate and got them used to the flow here before inviting them to partake-the same way her own mother did.

Raccoons have a strong sense of community, and a mother raccoon with cubs is given celebrity red carpet deference at food sites for as longs as cubs are with her. By now, young little "Mama" and I were exclusive. On occasion she'd take a treat item (a whole egg or a piece of pizza crust) 'to go' and carefully bring it back to her cubs somewhere in the woods, returning back a half hour or so later to the deck to continue eating her supper in peace.

The other night before bed a particular set of noises on the deck caught my ear. I grabbed the flashlight, opened the second floor window and eagerly looked down. Crawling all over my deck were little Mama and not one, not two, not three not four, but SIX babies! SIX! Nearly too many to count!

I flew downstairs and opened the door an inch or two and waited. Mama came right over and licked my hand. I gave her some raisins and put more dry food out. The babies scattered in a zillion directions and were out of sight before I could track any of them. Mama stayed. I praised her for her beauties and told her no wonder why she has been so tired and slim no matter how much she ate. She visited for a while and then walked into the woods.

An hour or so later something told me to look out again and when I did I saw Mama over two stories up in the crook of a nearby tree helping her group climb down. I shined the flashlight and upteen pairs of eyes shined back. I went to bed with a huge smile and an utter sense of joy. Later that night I was awakened quite a few times as rambunctious raccoon cubs scoured my yard and deck and ate their first crunchies. Each time I heard them crunch it brought an even bigger smile to my sleepy position in bed. The best highs in life are always the natural ones.

If a raccoon shows up in your life consider its' wisdom. In animal totemry raccoons and their beautiful mask markings represent the magical and often supernatural symbolism of masks. Masks allow us to be something other than who we thought. They can be transformational, magical, liberating, empowering, playful, mysterious, stoic and more. Zorro wore a mask (along with all the other cool super heroes and even several famous villains); Cinderella wore one at the ball; and every Halloween folks don them and let them selves go.

In life we all wear masks for an assortment of reasons. I have been wearing a healing mask for a few months (since right about the time little Mama showed up), tracking down the source of some symptoms and honing in on diagnosis. It has meant bravery, adaptation, perseverance, and dexterity in new ways. I have looked forward to the magical and transformative energy Mama raccoon brought me with each daily visit and the lifting of masks it provided. Some also feel that raccoon energy suggests the presence of longer cycles and transformation.

Along with her gentle presence and personality I love the overlay of energy and opportunity for further reflection her totemry brings to my life. By noticing the natural symbols that life delivers around us and by being willing to look deeper, we have one infinite opportunity after another to learn and to grow.

Important things to remember:

*If you find a liter of raccoon cubs and think they are orphans, leave them be. Wait and see! Most cubs are not orphans but kidnap victims from overzealous interventions.

*Remember not to touch or pet raccoons. If on the off chance you are bitten, it will be fatal for the raccoonŠthey'll trap it, cut off its' head and send the head to a lab for tests.

*Always use caution when a raccoon looks sick or acts strangely, but overreaction against all raccoons is unwarranted.

*Although raccoons are considered the primary rabies carrier in the mid-Atlantic, the Wildlife Rescue League's Rescue Report states that: "a raccoon has never in medical history been implicated in a human case."

*Never attempt to catch a raccoon since it may bite you in self-defense, which will guarantee its' own death for rabies testing.

*Contrary to urban legends, healthy raccoons DO venture out in the daytime in search of food and also habitat if their home has been destroyed.

*Feeding raccoons is appreciated since their habitats are shrinking and they are being forced to adapt. Raccoons have amazing manual dexterity and can open jars, door knobs and more, so if you do choose to feed, plan it away from your house and make arrangements for someone to keep feeding them if you are going to be away.

*Watching raccoons can provide you and your family with hours of fun since everything is a new adventure to a raccoon.

If a raccoon shows up in your world, how lucky for you! Do some reflecting and consider the role of masks and their transformative qualities. Journal away!

Namaste.



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by Laura Scott

Can a pet be psychic? Yes! For a variety of reasons. Animals live in a different energy frequency than we do and they aren't as mentally cluttered as we are. They have terrific 'antennas' to the spirit world and can regularly 'see things' most humans can't. Just notice how your pets behavior changes and at times seems to be responding to things you can't see - whether jumping over something in your empty hallway, or taking great pains to walk around it, or looking up excitedly as if responding to someone who's not visibly there. One of my pets was extremely vocal whenever my great grandmother was visiting from The Other Side...playing a game of "MEOW" exchange that my granny and I played when I was just a small kid. Indeed, animals are closely connected to the spirit realm, and they can also be highly intuitive and perceptive to our emotional states and bodily changes as well.

Remember that animals live in the present moment: there is only 'now' in their world. And they are not as encumbered with ego as us humans are. When information comes to them they receive it as a matter of fact, without deep analysis or doubts. When humans receive intuitive information we commonly struggle with understanding how it could be that we know something. But remember, the very definition of intuition is knowing something without knowing how we know it. Animals are not concerned about how they know something, they simply accept it as fact and move on.

When animals have intuition they take in the information as is and respond accordingly if necessary. They don't call up the other dogs in town and debate the possibility of whether what they saw was real or not - to animals, it's all equally real. Nor would most animals waste time second guessing themselves. If they see something in their way, they move around it. If they are being invited to play by either a spirit or a human and it feels like a good idea to them, they indulge. If they sense something that stresses them, they react. They are in the moment.

Animals are also extremely good at sensing things. Their hearing, sight and sense of smell is more acute than ours. They have sensors in their feet, whiskers and mouths. When they smell the breeze they are able to pick up on far more things than the human body is able to detect through our olfactory system. Animals are also very perceptive on picking up on people's energy or auras. When they come in contact with a new human they react on several levels...from the sensory to extrasensory perception (ESP).

Animals use their ESP quite regularly. This is how your pet knows when you are having a down day and comes to help comfort you. Your aura changes with your emotional energy and pets can pick up on these changes in our auric field. When your heart is breaking over a relationship gone south, your animal patiently allows you to cry and wipe your tears on their fur. When you feel alone your pet shows up and drops it's favorite toy in front of you. They know. When you need a break from your computer, they put themselves in your path and convince you that you need some fresh air....NOW...and they are right!

As if all that wasn't enough, animals also communicate telepathically. Any pet owner who's watched their pets interact with each other knows this. Telepathy is wordless communication. And since they can communicate with each other telepathically, it would stand to reason that if we tuned in they would with us as well. The first time one of my cats, Xavier, spoke to me telepathically it shocked the heck out of me. Clear as a bell his words shouted in my head as I carried him up a steep hill while he was convalescing. "Put me down!" he shouted telepathically to me. And out of total shock I dropped him. He turned and looked over he shoulder at me with a disgusted look and said, "THAT was embarrassing!" It was a moment that forever changed the way I dealt with my pets. Silly me, I always had a sense of them, but this was a whole new level. Xavier's telepathic words were heard clear as a bell inside my head. And from that moment on Xavier and I regularly 'spoke' with each other telepathically and my other pets began to join in as well.

Want to try it on your animals? It's not hard. Think of your message. Keep it simple. Relax and say your message to them inside your head. You'll know they are 'listening' because often dogs and cats will often look slightly away and hold very still when they are communicating telepathically with each other. Your pets may even have a little shock of their own when you start telepathically connecting with them - the same way I did when Xavier broke through to me. After you send your message, sit still, breath, and relax. If they are going to respond, it will come swiftly into your mind, almost immediately. At first you may simply see a change in their physical body language or they may come over to you and affectionately respond. Telepathic messages are very fast. It's much quicker than DSL. Remember, most animals are not verbose. They say things very simply and as a matter of fact. Their communications are direct and short.

Another way to communicate with your pets using telepathy is to send them the mental picture of what it is you want them to know or do. If you want to send them love, send them the image of you hugging them, praising them. Watch how they smile at you when they get it. A couple things to remember...it doesn't work if your pet is asleep. Keep it simple. Start by sending messages while you are with them in the same room and watch for 'acknowledgements' in their body language. If you are leaving the house, send simple telepathic images to your pet. Start with the image of you leaving, smiling, your pet relaxing. Then follow it immediately with the image of yourself returning. If you will be back at night, include that information in your image of when you return by showing darkness outside.

If you will be gone several nights send the image of your pet sitter arriving, happy to see them, helping them, and you can also send them the number of how many 'nighttimes' it will be before you return. Keep it simple. Animals don't know days of the week. They know now. They know to measure days by nightfalls and sunrises. If it's three nights, show three sunsets and sunrises. If you will be back before the full moon, send them that image.

While you are away from home, you can send your animals the telepathic image of when you are on your way home. A fascinating study in the UK showed that many animals 'knew' when their owners were leaving work and heading home for the day. Even if the owner varied the time they left work, at precisely the same window of time their dog would get up and adjust their position to one of anticipation and greeting near the door or window. So how did these dogs know that their owner would soon return? Telepathy. It's believed that as the owner began to get ready to leave work for the day they began to shift their thoughts to returning home-in essence, sending their thoughts ahead. Like a good radio signal, their animal's 'antennae receiver' then picks up that signal and presto, the animal 'knows' that their owner will soon return home and they assume the waiting position.

So, is every pet a gifted psychic? No, although on a bad day most are still ahead of us since they aren't caught up in self analysis or ego. Some are better at it than others, some more open to it than others, and others are too tense, just like us humans. Practice and experiment with your pets and see how they respond. Some may begin to telepathically respond with words. Others may appreciate your images or pictures and respond to you with affection and behavioral changes. Practice, be relaxed and remain patient. Let the animals show you how they like to connect with you, you can't force them to talk telepathically. One of mine sends words only rarely. Usually in short sentences with a lot of meaning: "This is welcome." "Most enjoyable." "You help." "You are kind."

And one last thing, always tell your pets what's going on in your household. If company is coming over, tell them ahead of time. If you are going to have small children coming, tell your pets. Send them the imagery. Show everyone looking calm and happy. If a contractor is coming to make loud noises, show your pet the image of being safe and undisturbed in another room. Remember that your pets have feelings just like we do and they appreciate knowing what's up. A few moments of your time will help your relationship with your pets grow to a beautiful new level.


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by Laura Scott


"Where are you?" I asked my niece Shayna on the phone.

"You aren't gonna believe this, I am sitting parked on the side of the highway, my mom's behind me and a trooper is parked behind her," she replied. "I can't believe this, I just picked up my second 'new' used car in a week and we aren't even 3 miles from the dealership and the car died on me."

"Is the vein in your forehead pulsing?" I asked.

"You got that right!" she replied. "This is the second time that I've tried to get a car this week and everything has fallen apart again! First one lemon, now this one! I don't know what I am gonna do!" her voice trailed off into tears of frustration.

"Shayna, take a deep breath. Be still. God is trying to tell you something."

My niece Shayna is my spiritual daughter. I've known her since she was less than two. She's now twenty. Along the way we lost touch for a bit in her teen years due to circumstances beyond our control. When Shayna resurfaced in my life she was a strong 17-year old with a plan for her education and future. And she had a son. She's now a sophomore in college studying nursing, working full time as a certified nurse’s aide and is the head of household for herself and her 5-year old child. It's a mighty tall order for someone who isn't even 21.

Having a spiritual daughter is a lot like having a biological daughter except you don't push the child out of your womb. You still get stretch marks but they are on the inside, not on the outside. You are still there emotionally, spiritually, maternally, and physically as situations arise.

A few weeks ago I got the phone call no one ever wants to get - "...there's been a bad accident." Shayna had fallen asleep at the wheel of her car and had a terrible car wreck. The car rolled several times and slid on its roof before hitting a utility pole. The force of the impact snapped the pole in half leaving live wires all around the scene. Shayna partially ejected through the windshield. She doesn't know "who" or "what" helped her get out of the car as the live wires crackled and popped around her. She was found 10 feet from the crash, confused, bloody and semi-conscious. The miracle of her even being alive still makes me weep.

The list of miracles around her physical condition continued...no broken bones, no paralysis, no nerve damage, no internal bleeding. A big chunk of tissue missing from the top of her head, bruises, broken blood vessels in her eyes, she didn't even resemble herself. But she was alive! Alive to face another day and live with the enormous blessing of surviving. Surviving an accident like this is a genuine miracle.

But Shayna didn't see it that way. When the initial shock of the accident lessened she became frustrated with herself for falling asleep at the wheel, for messing up her plans and the rhythm of her life. She was angry for totaling her car, for being unable to work, for having to miss a semester of college...it was a lot for her to take in.

"But you are here!" I said.

"And my life is a mess now" she replied.

"But you are here! And the plans can be changed, the car replaced. YOU can not be replaced."

"Big deal" she grunted.

In the days and weeks after the accident Shayna's 'healing' began to take some interesting turns. For starters, she was forced to move back in with her mom, a relationship that's been difficult and strained by the disease of addiction. For over 20 years her mother has struggled with being an addict and at the time of Shayna's accident she was barely 30 days sober. Her history for staying clean was pretty much non-existent. Shayna moved back home with her 5-year old son feeling frustrated and like a failure.

She was angry that after all her hard work she had somehow arrived back right at square one: Living at home, dependent on her mom to drive her everywhere, no car, no insurance, out of work, and overwhelmed with bills and life. More than anything she wanted to get back on track. Yet try after try her efforts seemed thwarted. It was almost comical how God needed her to be still and listen yet over and over Shayna fought it.

"I just want to get back on track!" she cried.

"Maybe God is asking you to try another track honey. Maybe this is The Universe's way of showing you there are other tracks. Maybe Shayna's way isn't the best way. Maybe God has another way." I could hear her begin to soak that in. The lessons in this 'accident' have been nothing short of Divinely Orchestrated from where I was sitting. I prayed Shayna would be open to seeing that.

And slowly, bit by bit, the 'healing' of Shayna began to creep in. Miraculously, her physical wounds are healing. Her emotional pain is being replaced with patience, peace even. She is finding new ways. Her tenuous relationship with her mother has grown stronger through this. Her mother is now almost 60 days clean. There has been acceptance and healing between them one day at a time. Her new housing options are coming through. Her mechanic is looking out for her and working on finding her a reliable used car. Shayna is learning that more people care about her than she realized. I keep reminding her she is a miracle and to consciously look for and find the positive in this situation. To count the blessings. Savor the victories. She is starting to feel more comfortable with asking for help from life and we've been working on finding options for grants, scholarships, and loans that would lessen her burden.

"I never knew there was so much help out there" she said sounding amazed as we tackled the scholarship list I pulled off the Internet. "I always believed that if I wanted something I'd have to do it all by myself, so that's just what I've done: I worked hard, so so hard and I counted only on me. You mean all this time there was other help out there for me?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes honey, that's what I've been trying to tell you. There are other ways to do this."

The solution to struggling isn't to just keep working harder doing the same thing. Sometimes the solution to struggling is to be pulled out of the game for a while. Just like coaches do when their players seem to be faltering—forcing them to ride the bench and view the game from a different perspective. It's a chance for the athlete to catch their breath and adjust their attitude if necessary. Human nature often has us struggling on the sidelines wanting to get back in the game before the coach feels we are ready.

So many times in life, God (our ultimate coach), tries to help redirect us and we miss it. First, God whispers... then God speaks... until ultimately God shouts to us, and if need be moves us out of the game completely - literally parking us on the sidelines like a Masterful Coach forcing us to regroup, reexamine and reassess.

When it happens to you, be still. Breathe. Be patient. Focus on the positive. God is trying to tell you something. Listen.


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by Laura Scott

"Who do you think you are?!" I was asked this provocative question recently, in an somewhat hostile way. People often lash out with words towards what they don't understand or feel threatened by. It's primal, more of a defense mechanism really. An attempted act at leveling a perceived playing field.

Fortunately, sigh...my answer comes from a similar place regardless of how the question is posed. Years of searching, reflecting, contemplating, processing, (breathe), learning, struggling, (breathe again) understanding, realizing, succeeding, and repeating - are all based on asking myself the same important question (albeit from a much calmer, kinder, more spiritually intended place).

Nelson Mandela addressed the concept of this pointed question 'Who do you think you are?' in his 1994 inaugural speech. He said "...it is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God."

Indeed. Miraculous, unique creations! Children of God. It is impossibly perfect that with millions of us humans inhabiting the planet, no two of us are the same. We are each Divine! Different DNA, different fingerprints. It's a miracle of the truest proportions. So one possible answer offered to the sometimes daunting 'Who do you think you are?' question is relatively simple. You are a miracle. I am a miracle. We are each a child of God. We each have a right to be here, breathing, Divining, discerning, doing our best at showing up every day.

Mandela goes on to say in that speech that when we let our own inner lights shine, it will ultimately effect those around us and inspire them to give themselves permission to do the same in their own life. I have drawn much strength from Mandela's life and words, a man politically imprisoned for 27 years for his beliefs in freedom and equality. A man whose life symbolizes the triumph of the human spirit over man's inhumanity to man. I trust his essence. I know that the person who angrily aims a "Who do you think you are?!" question my way is threatened in some way by what I represent. I just secretly wish I could 'inspire them' to 'get with their own program' a wee bit faster...

A few years ago, a wise mentor helped to guide me through the mechanics of answering this soulful question of 'Who do I think I am?' It was during one of our regular mind walks that I still cherish. "So who do you think you are?" she put to me gently. "Really, from your heart...be unflinching." Mentors are really great at challenging you and not letting you shrink away or be afraid. They don't let you get in the way of you.

I remember pausing for several seconds while collecting myself. "Okay," I began tentatively, "I know I'm a spiritual being on a human journey."
"That's true, " she said, "but tell me your truths, what would you want to say without holding back if you were owning your power? Aren't you always saying what a unique miracle we all are? Tell me about who you are uniquely."

"I am a student. A teacher. A seeker of truths, a spotlight shiner."

"Yes," she said, "All true. Go on."

"I am a sister, a daughter, a survivor. A woman, a lover, a surrogate mother. A mentor, a healer. I am a contributor, a listener, a compassionate, a sensitive. I am a participator. A visionary, a thinker, an admirer, a releaser, a searcher, a collector of ideas. A care giver, a cherished friend. An advocate, a metaphysician, an anchor point. A creative, a humanitarian, a writer, a channel, a light. I'm a worrier and a free thinker. Respectful and respectable. An optimist and a realist. A comforter, a loner, a romantic. A thoughtful, overly generous, compassionate, empath.

I am a business owner, a colleague, a leader. I am daring, conservative, forceful, gentle, inspirational, and quiet all at once. I am an ally, a beloved confidante, imaginative, contemplative, funny, kind, simple and complicated. I am dedicated, sincere, hardworking, inquisitive. I am a driving force and a force that is driven. I am ageless, and aging. Studying, learning, integrating. Asking, always asking. I am a world citizen and a global family member...

" There!" I exclaimed, " Now THAT is who I think I am!"

"Exactly!" said my mentor. "Well done."

Mandela continues in that famous speech to say, "There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you." He says each of us are "born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us." So go ahead... Ask and answer this all important spiritual question for yourself: Who do you think you are? Ask it with love and sincerity; with kindness. Answer it and learn. Embrace it and live. Your spiritual truths will help protect you from angry attacks and prepare you to live your best life. What we are always speaks louder than any words that may be said about us. So be who you are. Discover it...own it...claim it!

And the next time someone asks you the million dollar question, whether out of confrontation or inspiration or idle curiosity - you will get to smile and calmly respond:
"This is who I think I am."

Namaste


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by Laura Scott

As a teenager back in the seventies, amongst all the lime green paint and flowers in my bedroom I had a poster hanging on the wall of a large thumbprint. Some marketing genius had blown it up to nearly 2 feet in height, printed a happy face, arms, and legs on it and at the bottom was written in big letters: "I'm Thumbody!" Not exactly the stuff of museums, but like I said it was the seventies...

I didn't know then how prophetic and powerful it was, that simplistic neon poster with the enlarged swirls of a fingerprint. I remember staring at it and using a magnifying glass to see if any of my own fingerprints had something in common with that hanging, self-assured one. I was from a mixed up middle class home in suburbia and that's what kids did alone in their rooms after contemplating the cosmos. At least that's what this one did. "I'm Thumbody." I used to think a lot about that. Am I really? I didn't feel like somebody. I felt lost between the worlds of childhood and adulthood: misunderstood, without a voice, frustrated and confused a lot of the time. Didn't we all.

Flash forward to the present: fall 2004. The world is immersed in complexities: war, fears, illusions, elections - all sharply contrasted by a spiritual renaissance that is simultaneously taking place. As part of that spiritual renaissance, there is a shifting of consciousness and a reexamining of the self. Many are seeking answers to the same questions I pondered while staring at that poster as a teenager back in the seventies. People want to feel heard. They are searching for their identities in both the physical and spiritual worlds. There is frustration, confusion, and even apathy.

I now work as a leader in the field of metaphysics inspiring people to understand new truths about themselves. Indeed, just like that poster asserted decades ago, I am somebody. We are all somebody. I teach this everyday to spiritually seeking folks just like your self. I help people to understand the choices we are faced with now, and to close-up the gaps of contrast between them. Being a spiritual person does not mean that we must drop out of society and quit participating in its systems. Each of us is playing an important role during this historic time on earth every single one of us!

Each one of us is still as Divinely Unique as our own DNA and our own fingerprints. Each one of us IS somebody. Each one of us is valued as precious by Divine and each one of us matters. If we didn't matter, why would such intimate detail be given to every single person alive on the planet today so that no two of us are exactly alike? If your opinion doesn't matter, why would The Universe give you one?

The answer is very simple. You are somebody and you matter! You can honor your spiritual renaissance by paying attention to your choices each day. Choices either celebrate our spirits or they do not. Choices move us into the driver's seat or into the back seat. Our choices either help us feel to feel empowered or dis-empowered. They can help us feel connected with ourselves, with others, and with a bigger picture. We choose to either be part of a problem, or part of a solution. Each and every choice we make either validates us as unique, beautiful spiritual beings or it does not. It is quite simply a matter of consciousness. Either we understand our power, or we don't.

Are you one of 50% of the population in the United States who didn't bother to participate in the presidential voting process four years ago? Do you still believe that your vote doesn't matter? Or that as one person, you don't make any difference to the outcome or to the world? Choosing to exercise your God given right to vote is an important step towards validating your spiritual worth. Voting is both an affirmation and a celebration of your spirit. It says you believe your voice matters, your participation is important, and that as a spiritual being, you acknowledge your roll. It connects you back to the larger plan. AND it can profoundly impact the bigger plan. It says you believe you are somebody worth being counted.

There are many highly educated people on 'the spiritual path' who don't participate in the process of elections. As a leader in metaphysics I question that logic. If you are happy with the state of your life, your country, or your world, then choosing to participate in voting to maintain the status quo makes good sense. If you see things that can be improved, are questioning choices and directions, then making a conscious choice to vote for change makes sense. It shows intelligent consideration.

But if you believe that your voice doesn't matter, or that the process is too flawed to bother with, then you are also saying that you don't matter, and no matter what you do, you won't ever matter. Being willing to go on record is to participate in a validation of your spirit. If you believe you are thumbody, then you will understand how much the world needs every single person to participate. Please vote. Everybody counts and we need you.


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by Laura Scott

In one of my last articles I wrote on the subject of grief and loss. I was preparing myself, as if one ever could, for the loss of my beloved friend. Miraculously, unbelievably, joyously, I was blessed that he stayed on the earth plane enjoying life through summer and fall. He left his frail body very recently and made his transition home to The Other Side. It was a very beautiful and moving journey, including his transition day when time seemed frozen still. I was so very blessed to be right by his side for it. I am still in the process of grieving and acknowledging all the wondrous gifts of shared moments and lessons that his life brought me. Although a part of me would like to curl up and take many weeks and months to heal and be still - life just isn't prepared to let me do that.

So, I am doing my best at gently folding my grieving into the batter of daily life, and easing myself back into what is undeniably a full time. I'm not alone in having to do this. Grieving parents face it, so do widows, widowers, adult children and many more. It has me thinking quite a lot about how our society has a very skewed perception on grief and healing. Companies offer policies proclaiming, one, two, and three day leaves for family deaths and funerals. Few offer decent time or compensation for grieving. I began to wonder what the hurry is? Perhaps somewhere along the way, someone got scared that if we let people actually take as long as they need to take to go through a life change, a loss, or grieving, that they might wind up never coming back to their 'old' way of being. So rather than embrace that change as something positive, policies were designed to contain or deny grief's very existence.

What those policies fail to comprehend is that despite our best efforts at 'normalcy' and routines, the truth is that once we have lost someone we've loved, we are never the same. A bit of our innocence is lost, and the tapestry of 'us' is permanently altered whether we like it or not. Some of us will fold our grieving in, buck up, and move forward, quickly gathering up speed again. If we could press a fast forward button, we'd hasten through the uncomfortable parts completely. Those that do not or cannot choose the hastening model are sometimes viewed as 'a wreck', 'a mess' or worse. So for all our evolution, we are not exactly swimming in a plethora of choices when it comes to grief. And the process of grief can be extremely challenging, whether we ourselves are suffering, or we are standing by feeling helpless, watching those we love suffer.

Other cultures, species, and indigenous peoples embrace grief differently. Many consider grief a sacred phase of healing. Buddhists teach this as part of their lessons in impermanence. African cultures have grief and death rituals that can take weeks and months. Even wild elephants take time to stop and grieve when they come upon the bones of a long since deceased loved one in the wild. They stand around for hours, days, even weeks with visible tears falling from their eyes, as their trunks deeply breath in the smell of their dearly departed. And who amongst us hasn't buried our faces in the clothing object of our beloved departed, hoping against all hope to smell their familiar 'smell' just one more time?

For all of our Western advances, grief is something a lot of folks don't feel they have a handle on. Nor do they want to. After the services have been paid for and the out of town company has gone home we careen about our lives, rushing back to this and that - meeting obligations, and packing some of that understanding and compassion away until next time. We may even be frightened or frustrated by the grieving amongst us, as it brings up a level of discomfort we'd just as soon not slow down and face. It's like we are superstitious in thinking it's contagious: "hey, don't 'go there' or you, too, may get some of what they've 'got'."

It's time to encourage a new perspective--one that embraces grief with understanding and compassion. Let's start by re-framing the concept of grief into something bigger and more important. Let's embrace the concept of seeing grief as a sacred space... because out of it something really powerful and good does eventually come. Maybe in doing this we won't continue missing where all the sacred synthesis happens. Grief is a journey. A very private and personal journey that takes as long as it takes. No two grief experiences are exactly the same. That's because sacred synthesis is a God-made phenomenon, not a man made one. It won't 'just happen' during that 2-3 day leave your company provides. It will in all likelihood take a whole lot longer. Synthesis means allowing ourselves (or our grieving loved ones) to go through the stages of grief, the self-realizations, the reordering of our lives, the remeasuring of time (before X. was here, after X. was gone) and learning to understand the 'empty spaces between the spaces' that you somehow never noticed before.

Sacred space is a time when our guides, God, deceased loved ones, and angels draw in even closer and do their best to comfort and console us. For some, it can be a precious opportunity to grow spiritually, and to strengthen their bond with The Source, God. It takes time for the natural stages of earthly grief, be it the emotional toll, the physical loss, or just waiting for Life, in It's Infinite Wisdom, to reorganize the vibrational shift so that the loss of a loved one is not so acutely sharp. It takes time to adjust to the communication shift, and for the physical loss to heal. Yet ironically, as an' advanced' Western society, time is something we seem to have very little of. Patience is not something that is understood or embraced. We hurry about our days, beeping our horns, impatiently waiting our turn on hold, and wishing the microwave didn't take so darn long... but if we can't even sit through a commercial, how will we ever tolerate 'sitting' through grief? The simple answer remains: compassion.

Scientists have been studying grief and have recently reached two distinct conclusions: First, that the emotional effects of grief cause actual physical pain in the body that can be both measured and seen; Second, that the loss of anyone we've loved is equally significant, whether it had two legs or four - the effects of grief are exactly the same. This is something new to our 'civilized' society, and it means expanding our already inadequate grief model. It means, you guessed it, more compassion.

My own best advice for dealing with a sacred time of grief is this: Focus on staying present, and relishing this sacred space for what it is. Get outside each day and breath in the fresh air. Don't overwhelm yourself. Spend a few moments watching the clouds or the stars. Don't rush the people you love who are grieving through their sacred process. Respect it. Have compassion for it. Try to understand it. Don't quantify it (remember the scientist's conclusions), encourage those in grief not to censor themselves. Just be. The sky won't fall open and swallow you up. Offer to listen. Cry with them if you like. Don't take offense at their process. Just because there appear to be some 'good' days, doesn't mean there won't be any more challenging moments or rough days. Grief is a lot like the stock market, it is not a linear thing. It's a lot more like the graphs of the stock market (yikes), spiking up and down with every breeze. Those who are able to be present, be it physically, emotionally, spiritually, or psychically--despite their fears- do bring comfort. They do help to expand our inadequate grief model. And they become part of the sacred journey of healing and help God to spread grace around all of our hearts.


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by Laura Scott

One of my beloved friends is getting ready to leave his body, and transition to The Other Side. It is a sacred time that permeates the rest of 'daily life ', and creates a natural space for reflection and sharing. You see, folks often forget that no psychic or medium is exempt from the challenges of living life. We don't get a 'pass' card when it comes to dealing with the tough stuff. Just like your car mechanic can still have car trouble, your plumber can have bad pipes in their house, or for that matter, your Doctor—who is neither exempt, nor excused, from any of life's illnesses or dis-eases. Like all of you, that means when someone I love prepares to leave the earth plane, I grieve.

Knowing that life exists after death and being able to communicate with those on The Other Side is a wonderful gift! But in no way does it exempt me from dealing with the natural stages of earthly grief, be it the emotional toll, the physical loss, or just coping with the understanding that it takes time for Life, in It's Infinite Wisdom, to reorganize the vibrational shift so that the loss of a loved one is not so acutely sharp. It takes time to adjust to the communication shift, and for the physical loss to heal. And even for the 'enlightened,' there are 'growing pains.'

I have found in times like these, where I am fortunate enough to see this as the sacred time it is, that rituals can play a big factor in coping with the upcoming changes life has in store. I clear my schedule of unnecessary stuff. It's amazing what's non-essential when you are down to slivers of time with someone you love. I take extra care of myself by staying hydrated, eating healthy, and getting lots of extra rest whenever possible. I make an added effort to be kind, gentle and understanding with myself. I allow extra time for meditation and prayer, so that Grace can come in when I am not looking. I do these things because they are an important part of the process of how I cope and heal in sacred times. So that when I look at my friend, dreaming often of The Other Side, I don't twist and cajole Life into granting them a physical extension that would only serve me.

Even with the gift of insight, I can't know the precise number of seconds, minutes or hours my friend and I have left together. And, in truth, I wouldn't want to. I liken this time to being an experienced cook: I know by the smells in the air, and by looking through the window on the oven door when something appears to be almost done. None of us really controls how fast the yeast rises, or the bread browns. We anticipate, and make ready the kitchen by locating potholders and putting out the cooling rack; tidying up the dishes. Sometimes, things are just done early, and other times, we patiently, knowingly, gratefully, adjust the timer for an additional 15 minutes.

With the extra time, I am planning a celebration ceremony for my friend's transition. So that we can affirm what a great life he had, and honor our understanding that he has gone on to a wonderful, exquisite place. We will meet again. He is just taking an earlier train, to a place we are all going, that's all. And when my time comes, he will be standing at the platform to welcome me there.

So that's my best advice for dealing with a time like this: Focus on staying present, and relishing this sacred space for what it is. Don't waste the sunny days complaining about the rainy ones. Ultimately, we will all make the same transition. And we will appreciate those around us in that sacred time who are calm, gentle, and understanding of the process of it all. Those who are able to be present, be it physically, emotionally, spiritually, or psychically—despite their fears—can bring comfort. They help to make the natural bodily transition a time of peace and grace.


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by Laura Scott

Every day, countless people around the globe seek out guidance and information from professional psychics, mediums and the intuitive arts. And why not? It's a great way to gain additional support and confidence in your life journey. Today's internet and phone technology afford us an overwhelming number of choices and accessibility when it comes to information--like we've never before seen. A real sea of choices! But for some people, choosing the right practitioner can be downright stressful.

Believe it or not, when selecting an intuitive arts professional it's important that you listen to your own intuition and take the time to become aware of what you feel. Pay attention to the clues your own body is regularly ticking off as you go through the research process to making your decision.

What can you do to make choosing a professional less stressful and help ensure a good reading?

1. Do your homework. Research, read articles, attend lectures, ask questions to those who have used professionals to have readings. Be sure to ask them what their expectations were, and how their practitioner met them. Ask yourself how your own expectations may be similar or different. Pay attention to how you feel about a practitioner's references, their on-line presentation, their voice, their office, their appearance, their ability to interact with you, and more.

2. Choose a practitioner that you feel drawn to. Remember, the intuitive arts are not a one size fits all. And one bad reading does not mean the whole thing is bunk--just like one bad dentist does not make them all quacks, or one bad romance mean that all romances are worthless. And likewise, what your friend may see as the perfect meal may be the complete opposite from you'd choose for yourself.

3. Use your intuition to be guided to the right practitioner at the right time. We are all different, some specializing in different things than others. Find the right professional to match your particular needs. Remember that as your needs change, so too can your practitioners.

4. Examine your expectations. Make sure that you are keeping it reasonable. Remember, you are an integral part of the process. Are you looking for miracles and cures? Do you want someone who speaks directly or metaphorically? Are you just looking to know that Aunt Jane is okay on the other side? Or will you need hard proof? Do you need a coach more than a psychic? All these things can affect who you select and how you will feel about the outcome.

5. Plan your session for when you have time to slow down and relax, doing some breathing or meditating on your intentions and expectations beforehand. Avoid scheduling something so that you are rushed for time, either before or after the appointment. Always be sober.

6. Remember that you have the power. No one can control you without your permission. Postpone, cancel or end a session if you are uncomfortable. Remember that ultimately, you are always responsible for you. When in doubt-don't.

7. If you have a less than successful encounter, be willing to look at the many possible reasons why. Revisit your expectations. Be willing to take responsibility for your role. Although professionals are human and do have bad days, most reputable ones are open to hearing from you and talking with you about your concerns. Use this experience as a way to learn and to grow.

Whether you plan your session six months in advance, or six seconds after you turn the corner and see a sign for tea leaves being read, paying attention to all or part of these steps can help make the process more fulfilling and meaningful.


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by Laura Scott

I wasn't always a dolphin enthusiast. In fact, almost 10 years ago, I confess to rarely giving them a thought. I had other more primal and pressing hurdles to navigate, including going through a painful divorce. But Life, in It's Infinite Wisdom, always has a larger plan for us than we can see for ourselves. I was leafing through a magazine a decade ago, when I saw a tiny black and white drawing of a dolphin and a goddess connecting in the sea. Something about it caught my eye. I called the number and before I had time to talk myself out of it, I was signing myself up to go swimming with some wild dolphins.

I had no idea.

We first saw the pod of large bottle nose dolphins approaching from the boat. Several of my fellow travelers and I slipped into the water, and before I knew it I was surrounded by dolphins making eye contact with me, and pinging me with their sonar. I felt their waves of energy move through the entire essence of my being. With stunning efficiently, they spun around me checking me out...huge gray dolphins, dwarfing me in surreal streams of bubbles with a power that left me feeling staggered, exhilarated, and full of life. I felt their souls - joyous, inquisitive, patient, humorous, and a million things more. I had no time to wonder what they thought of me. I could barely remember my name when it was all over. Their exquisite bodies efficiently pumping once before they disappeared off in the turquoise distance. I was hooked. My heart raced, my awareness distracted, I realized I needed to clear my snorkel and mask. When I emerged from the sea, dragged myself back aboard the boat, I could hardly speak. What does one say when they have come face to face with a being clearly more powerful than themselves?

Back home, when friends asked me how my adventure week was and why I looked so different, my only response was an incredulous, "this is what someone looks like when they forget their whole life!"

It's been years since my first wild dolphin encounter, with many spectacular ones since. I have had the good fortune of swimming with wild dolphins along side a wonderful array of folks: elderly, international friends, generational families, children, couples, singles, folks healing from health or life challenges, autistic teens, and more. Once you have experienced wild, free dolphins in their natural elements, you are changed. They leave a message in your brain, not unlike intuitive knowing. They begin to visit you in dreams, or 'pop in' during the most mundane moments of our everyday lives. They have a knack for appearing when you least expect them, be it in cloud formations, meditation, the dream state or beyond--helping you to ground and elevate your consciousness all at once. They inspire and ignite a passion in those who are called: Whether is it to come for an occasional swim, or to renew and join with them one week each year, or to weave their energy permanently into your day-to-day living from that moment on. Swimming with wild, free dolphins IS nothing less than miraculous.

Of course, there is a plethora of ongoing research, theories and emerging evidence to support the esoteric changes dolphins create: sound, echo location, altered brain wave patterns, chakra clearing and more to list a few. It's fascinating stuff that scientists are just beginning to scratch the surface of. But from a more personal perspective, I return and explore the dolphin-human journey quite regularly. I find it an essential requirement for living my life fully. It keeps the earthly cobwebs clear, and ignites the passions within me. It cleans the pathways that I use in my daily work as an internationally renown Psychic and Channel. If I go too long between dolphin experiences, I get... cranky. Swimming with wild, free, sentient beings reminds me of the expansion between the spaces. It reminds me how beautiful Earth is, of the vastness of The Universe, how to have fun, how not to take life so seriously...plus a million things more.

I didn't know back then how much those wild dolphin adventures would change me. I couldn't. That's the way life is sometimes, you just show up, and it's not until much later when the full breadth and depth of what's happening hits you like a wave. I've been facilitating my own life changing retreats on both land and sea in the exquisite Bahamas, off the beaten path for a number of years now. The trips provide people the opportunity to rest their souls, and to learn about the expansion between the spaces that awaits us all. It's a chance to unplug, and set aside the daily lists and expectations. We laugh, we cry, we giggle together. The dolphins keep us on track. It's powerful, and miraculous.

A Wild Dolphin Energy Adventure is a chance to learn firsthand what all the fuss about dolphins is about. It's a wonderful opportunity to share the magic that happens when unfolding to a simpler space and time in the tranquil Bahamas, engaging with wild sentient beings, in a safe and eco-conscious setting. It's a chance to stir the ancient stardust we all have within.

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Wild Dolphin Energy Adventures - 4 Magical Trips for 2006!
The summer 2005 was a wonderful success! 2006 will sell out - so get your deposits in early!
* Wild Dolphin Energy Adventure Trip 1 * April 23 - 28, 2006
* Wild Dolphin Energy Adventure Trip 2 * May 28 - June 2, 2006
* Wild Dolphin Energy Adventure Trip 3 * July 23 - 28, 2006
* Wild Dolphin Energy Adventure Trip 4 * August 13 - 18, 2006


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By Laura Scott

One of the most common themes that I see my fellow path walkers struggling with these days is expectations vs. reality. You know, as in having your expectations being completely out of wack with what you are actually living? While it’s a year-round task to keep the expectation demons under control, it’s an even greater challenge as the holiday season approaches.

Why not take a few moments before the holidays are upon you and shift through your thinking about expectations? Remember, life isn’t like what we see on TV, and in Hallmark commercials. The media goes into overdrive to sell us the illusion of happy, well-adjusted families, getting along perfectly and sharing in holiday yule. But how many families are actually living that? The images we see on TV are of paid actors, working off a carefully crafted script, with the advantages of many rehearsals and retakes. If the director doesn’t like how it looks, they can yell “cut” and a rewrite or reshoot follows. When the final product reaches our view space, it has been edited, re-edited, scored, and polished. Most of us forget that this simply isn’t reality. And it leaves us with a final picture that creates a very unrealistic expectation.

So stop for a moment and catch yourself. What expectations do you have around the approaching holidays? Do you expect everyone in your life to get along? Like you see on TV? How has having these expectations effected your previous holiday experiences? Is it reasonable to continue to hold yourself invested in this outcome? Look around at the very makeup of the people involved. Do they like and appreciate each other on a year-round basis? Is respect a word they understand? Possibly yes, but more likely no. Wouldn’t it be nice if all the “players” at your holiday table were willing, rehearsed, well paid professionals like we see in the commercials portraying an ideal family? Unfortunately, they are not. And the same tensions that exist in these relationships during year long, day-to-day life continue to exist on the holidays. They may even become magnified as different sets of expectations begin to collide.

I have seen some very reasonable people set themselves up with some highly unreasonable expectations when it comes to holidays. It is an emotionally charged time to say the least. So this year, why not try something different? Move yourself from out of the passengers seat and into the drivers seat in your own ‘car of expectations.’ Make a plan to evaluate your expectations now, before the added stress of holiday pressure takes hold. Ask yourself if it is fair and reasonable to expect new behaviors from those who are not capable of demonstrating any on a daily basis all year round? See them, like yourself, as having their own unique filters and expectations. Are you a willing or unwilling participant in fulfilling anothers’ expectations? If the communication lines are open, have a discussion with them about what their expectations are, as well as yours in advance. This is not to “win” them over to your line of thinking, or vice versa. Not at all. It is more of a sharing and research mission. A chance for you to see what areas of overgrown expectations need to be scaled back, pruned and adjusted for your own personal mental health and soul growth.

Give yourself permission to try new things and grow. If your past holidays have not been joyful, than sit and examine why. Chances are your expectations were not meeting the reality of the situation. Or perhaps someone’s expectations of you were unreasonable. Remember, you can never control anyone else, souls were given the free will to control themselves. It is part of Universal Law. So make a conscious decision that the only person you can change is you and formulate a new, more realistic plan. Be in your own driver’s seat. You may even decide that what you really need and want isn’t the smell of a decorated pine tree sitting beside the glow of a warm fireplace, but rather, a suntan, a warm beach and the smell of Hawaiian Tropic. And that’s ok.

If loneliness is your chief complaint about holidays, then the fastest way to healing is to find some others who are even lonelier than you are and be with them. Adjust your expectations and embrace the idea that you are really a member of the world family, and a valuable one at that. Volunteer your time, which you likely have an abundance of, to assist with the many and varied roles needed during holiday seasons at shelters, children’s agencies, assisting the elderly and the infirmed. Consider starting your own tradition of inviting in other dangling friends. Or plan a yearly hike of introspection. Deliver homemade cookies or plants at a nearby hospital. Don’t have anyone to shop for? Contact your town’s social services department and offer to become an “angel” for someone in need. Call your far away friends and leave them happy messages of gratitude that they are a part of your life. Visit a church. Serve coffee at a rest area. Volunteer to pet sit. The possibilities are endless if you are willing to shift your focus.

Holidays can be stressful, emotionally charged events, but they are also just another day on the path of your earth mission. And that means growing and understanding. By examining and adjusting your expectations to better fit your reality, you are committing a very loving act toward yourself. There is no limit to what you can discover about yourself with this approach. And as a wise person once said, “you cannot hold water in a clenched fist.” So take a deep breath, relax, and let go. You will find that your holidays and every days are easier and enriched by becoming more aware of your expectations and how they fit the reality of where you are. It’s not only a good idea to understand and monitor your expectations, it’s a downright necessity for peace of mind. And remember folks, we don’t really need one day a year to tell those we love how we feel about them. It can be done anytime...

Namaste.

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Mysteries of life unraveled in Wild Dolphin Swim Encounters

I meet my new dolphin 'pod' adventurers at the charter airport: diverse, travel weary, filled with unknown anticipations. They don't know it yet but they are about to enter a Divine Recipe of great equalizers: the sun, the sea, a custom built tri-maran and countless numbers of wild, free dolphins. I look around at the group smiling, soaking all their innocence in.

I've been making pilgrimages to swim with wild dolphins in the Bahamas for coming up on 10 years now. Despite untold numbers of encounters with dolphins and a stream of returning guests, no two trips have been nor ever will be the same. It is the epitome of the indigenous saying, "you cannot step in the same river twice." Impossible because the water is constantly moving, shifting the sand beneath your feet, the wind and air are in permanent flux, and so too is everything that surrounds you...all along with the cells within your own bodily vessel perpetually turning and changing. So begins the first of a series of Dolphin Dancing Lessons that these guests and myself will receive: the surrendering of all expectations.

It is an adjustment to live aboard a boat at sea. It is also a great equalizer-not unlike camping. This is not a cruise ship filled with excess upon excess. There will be efficient spaces tucked inside efficient spaces tucked inside efficient spaces. Things we take for granted on land-like computerized self flushing toilets, hair dryers, unlimited amounts of ice, half hour showers, oodles and oodles of privacy-will temporarily become a distant memory. We settle in and begin to drink up the stunning views and warm Bahamian air like coal miners emerging from their missions beneath the surface. Dolphin Dancing Lesson two: we don't need nearly as much 'stuff' as we think we do.

For some, the first night aboard is full of identifying sounds, acclimating to this foreign and unfamiliar environment, with added study of lessons one and two. For others, it is a concert of shooting stars under the Milky Way; the sounds of waves gently lapping the shore wafting over to our anchored haven. By the time familiar smells of breakfast begin day two, hearty appetites and an assortment of rested and sleepy faces emerge, ready for whatever the day brings.

Our first visit to the dolphin 'grounds' is met with flat calm seas and perfect weather. The captain and I exchange knowing glances that 'all things are glorious.' I explain to guests that at any point we can see dolphins and encourage folks to lift their gaze up beyond their sunscreen applications and books to keep a look out. I also begin my own lookout. It doesn't take but a few minutes before the call comes, "Dolphins off the bow! 12 o'clock!" In a synchronized dance of captain, crew and facilitator, word quickly spreads to guests, "They are here! They are here!" It is a moment of release on several levels: joy, anticipation, appreciation, wonder, and delight. Dolphin Dancing Lesson three: gratitude.

The dolphins show up, first 4, then 8, then 15, then too many to keep counting. Spotted Atlantic dolphins in various sizes. They weave around the boat in seamless wonder and curiosity. The sea is a stunning turquoise with brilliant white sand below. Between the flat calm, the sun, the clarity of the sea, and the dolphins, it is frankly, 'as good as it gets.' Some of the dolphins are riding the boats' bow waves, rolling partially on their sides so they can look up at us, just 2 and 3 feet above them, enjoying the pressure that comes off the bow wake. You can feel their exuberance, curiosity and more. They linger around us for a half hour or so, weaving in and out, playing in mesmerizing groups of 2's, 3's and we watch-moving from one side of the deck platform to another so as not to miss a delicious drop.

Based on the behavior and interest of the dolphins, the human tow lines are let out behind us and the call goes out to 'don thy masks, fins and snorkels.' We step off into the open sea, grab a place hold on one of the tow ropes and are already transformed. With our masks on, 'the upper world' (aka above the surface) quickly slips away as our gaze centers and focuses onto the ocean world beneath the sea: filled with sights, textures, and yes even sounds. Our proficient captain and crew work as a team to continue to spot, observe and respectfully keep us in flow with the dolphins.

I say respectfully because despite all intentions and human enthusiasm it is imperative to remain conscious of the fact that we are indeed interlopers in this magical world. Before any wild dolphin contact or swimming is undertaken there must first be this primary understanding. If dolphins are resting, feeding or such, their space must be respected and maintained. We never chase dolphins and do not initiate touch. The dolphins may and often do initiate touch with us, but this is completely on their terms, not ours. That is why it is such an honor to have a wild dolphin experience.

In a matter of seconds, out of the haze of the brilliant blue sea the dolphins begin to emerge. All we have to do is relax and hold on. They swim with us, sometimes 10 feet below us, casually rolling over to see us above them. Other times they crisscross under and around us coming within inches. A few times they rise up and are among us. The pitch of their clicks and whistles and sonar penetrates the water and leaves our human energy fields altered. Chakras open, the senses release, and in a blur of their bubble streams, head nods and whistles the dolphins stay with us this way for over an hour. Dolphin Dancing Lesson four: when life sends you streams of bubbles, let it tickle you as you swim through them.

Later that same day, we slip off the tow lines, bobbing in the flat calm, laughing in our wonder and delight at what has just happened when unexpectedly the dolphins return for more. As if following months of rehearsal preparation and orchestration the guests and I begin to free dive straight down-an invitation to the dolphins to play some more. With complete synchronicity and perfection we participate in a rare and perfect ballet: humans, dolphins, gently free diving, as if on some synchronized team-silently, rhythmically, hypnotically. The only sound is of our own clamor for air through our snorkels after several minutes and several dives. The dolphins don't have to work so hard. They are much more efficient breathers and swimmers than us. They drift off quietly into the endless blue. But we are blissed out, too blissed out in fact to find the portion of our brains where language and those limited human vocabulary words are stored. Like ill fitting shoes after a day of barefootin', nobody wants to put them back on. Dolphin Dancing Lesson five: sometimes there are no words.

The next few days continue in magical succession. Each day our diligent captain warns us that it was a perfect day yesterday, and in the scheme of 'fairness' we may not see another dolphin all week. Each day we giggle in wonderment as we climb back aboard after yet another stream of miracles.

One afternoon was spent playing with 20-30 bottlenose dolphins-a rare occurrence since they are notoriously more shy and elusive than their smaller spotted counterparts. They greeted us underwater in a row of spectacular tail stands, like sentries. That same day we are abruptly yanked out of our now familiar dolphin energy stupor while on the tow lines to have the honor to witness and vicariously experience a dolphin healing: One dolphin went completely lifeless on it's side near the surface and suddenly, the volume of underwater communication rose up sharply and dolphins began to swarm the lifeless dolphin and push at it with their noses. The sea became fraught with the sounds of loud clicks, whistles and more as this lifeless dolphin was swarmed and pushed, (still lifeless on it's side) all the way down to the sea floor, 12-15 feet below us. It laid there, moving only when jostled from the now 20 plus dolphins all pushing at it and well, shouting. The healing went on for a few minutes against the white sandy bottom until just as suddenly as it all began, it was over and the 'lifeless' dolphin opened it's eyes, rolled over and with one tail wave darted off into the blue leaving us human travelers agape in what we had just witnessed. Dolphin Dancing Lesson six: When your friends come to help you, lie still and let them. Quit fussing.

The week continued with event after event, and concluded with a day of swimming with some baby spotteds. The babies were smooth and grey without any 'spots.' They were young, some just 1-2 months old, and played with us for over 2 hours while their ol' spotted auntie babysat and stayed just close enough in the background. The babies joined us on the tow lines-jostling us, laughing, and mimicking our formations. One of the babies had no right fin. Just a 2 inch knot of joint which the rest of his flipper should have been attached to. It was startling at first, yet he was the most gregarious and delightful of the group. Undaunted by his 'handicap' he actually used it to remain more eye to eye with us and go whizzing from side to side or our group. He was quite powerful in the water and pure fun to watch. More than adjusting to his differences, he was celebrating them. Dolphin Dancing Lesson Seven: Life is what you make it.

I emerge from my most recent wild dolphin adventures having witnessed things I've never seen before. Water is a great equalizer, magnifier, healer and illuminator. Wild dolphins adventures touch the body, the mind and the spirit. They attract folks from all walks of life. The trips leave us forever changed and connected on a stream of bubbles and ancient stardust.
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Laura Scott is an internationally renown Author, Psychic & Channel, who specializes in the work of the soul. Laura is featured on BestPsychicMediums.com, and is a regular contributor to OfSpirit.com. Her on-line column, Ask Laura, offers spiritual advice to millions around the world. She is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Divining the Future, and creator of the Ancient Stardust Directional Cards and the Ancient Stardust Tools for Change Journal and CDs.

Laura's readings, workshops, lectures, and retreats all receive wonderful reviews. Her retreat trips are designed to provide guests with the opportunity to rest their souls, recharge their spirits, and stir the ancient stardust that we all have within.



For more info about Laura, call her office toll Free at 1-866-897-1504, or visit her award winning website www.ancientstardust.com.

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Bob Olson: Today's interview is about the power of meditation to transform your life. I'm interviewing Laura Scott, psychic, spiritual teacher and channel for healing, as well as the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide To Divining The Future. Laura has developed an entire series of meditation CDs to help people master the meditation process. Her five CDs focus on: 1) Grounding & Centering, 2) Higher Purpose, 3) Healing Meditations & Affirmations, 4) Healing Meditations & Affirmations II, and 5) Intuition, Manifesting & More.

Laura, I constantly hear people touting the benefits of meditation. People are attracting abundance into their lives with meditation, healing with meditation, reducing stress with meditation, and literally transforming their lives in numerous ways with it. So my first question to you is: How can meditation affect so many different areas of our life?

Laura Scott: Hi Bob! Good question. Meditation can affect so many different areas of our lives because simply put, it involves working with a Universal power or energy that permeates everything. Our minds are made up of this energy, we are also a part of this energy and everything around us is made up of this energy. At any given moment, we have the power to tap into this Higher energy and experience a positive change.

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Bob Olson: I'm pleased to be interviewing Laura Scott today on the relationship between grief and soul work. Laura is a psychic, spiritual teacher and channel for healing, and she is going to teach us how grieving is a natural part of our growth process in this journey we call life.

Laura, I think it is safe to say that most adults will deal with grief in their lifetime. Do you believe that the grief process is part of most everyone's life purpose?

Laura Scott: Hi Bob, it's always a pleasure to connect with you! Yes, sooner or later we will all experience grief on one level or another. It is unavoidable. Grief transcends social classes, cultures, countries, education, backgrounds and more. It is a great equalizer. We grieve the physical loss of loved ones, beloved pets, family members, as well as less tangible things like losses of life roles, health, loss of status, phases of our lives, jobs, ideas, youth, freedom - you name it and someone has grieved for it intimately.

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