Wednesday, September 17, 2014

A New Divination Procedure Inspires Love


As most of us realize, having somebody to love is a precious commodity, especially in today’s world which so resembles the Matrix.  And, as we also know, finding that special someone is no easy task…unless perhaps, you have the help of Spirit.  Recently, Spirit helped me find Love via a new divination procedure I discovered, involving, of all things, an iPod.

It was the Spring of 2014, and softball season had just begun.  I was feeling like I did not belong on the field anymore.  For years I had been competing against players half my age, and most recently the competition had all too often seemed to be about a third of my age, which was bothersome conceptually.  Had I retained my abilities to pitch, field, hit, and/or run, this would hot have been such an issue.  But my skills were fading, and aching parts of my body were telling me to hang up my spikes, and save myself for other activities, Argentine tango primarily.

I was resisting the messages from my body.  I knew deep down that I…was still the best third-base coach the team had, could deliver a hit in the clutch, could cash in on intangibles, and was quite adept at helping Dave—the manager of the team and a close friend—do his job.  Thus, my logic continued to prevail.   But my spirit helpers, and/or guides, and/or higher self (collectively and individually, “Spirit” herein) were joined in disagreement with my conscious self.

I had gone to the first (and only) softball team practice and did very well.  On opening day, I did alright as a designated hitter, while not hitting with any authority, but netting one gift-hit in three at bats, ably running the bases, and scoring a run. 

A key personal moment in that opening-day contest occurred when a fellow teammate chided me (not the first time) over how I had circled the bases, station to station—right after I had scored a run!  His “good-natured teasing” brought out in me feelings that I thought I had left behind after abandoning the dubious goal of becoming a street fighting man, so many years before. I literally had an urge to punch him in the mouth.  Fortunately, the urge was easy to resist.  Nevertheless, there was no denying that the urge was there, serving as another prompt to leave the team (who wants/needs those impulses?).  

Still, in true baseball fashion, I was “hanging in there.”

Then came the moment on the job when Spirit really began to go to work, apparently because I wasn’t getting the message. I had an interaction with Dave that, long story short, became the impetus for me to quit the team.  A couple of days later, I walked into Dave’s office, handed in my uniform, and told him that I was resigning from the Pubs.  I offered no explanation and he, in shock, didn’t ask for one, until at the end of the day when he came into my office and asked, “Is everything alright? You quit the team so suddenly.”  I didn’t want to get into the specifics and so I replied, “Yeah, everything is fine.”

Problem was, Dave is a great friend, and it was gnawing at me that I had not been completely forthright with him.  And so a couple of days later, I went into his office and offered him an explanation of my take on what had occurred. Dave responded with an apology for words and an attitude he never meant to (and likely didn’t) convey.  A long discussion followed, and we ended up telling each other “I love you,” something I have never before said to a man who wasn’t my father or brother. 

During that conversation with Dave came a key moment of Truth.  I was mentioning to him how Spirit had used him to bring me to two key facets of my life—my connection to, and relationship with, world-class medium Suzane Northrop; and my delving into 9/11 Truth, the specifics of which I have written about in my book Into the Mystic… and here on this blog, respectively).  What I got during that discussion with Dave was that Spirit had (in a decidedly unique but highly effective and personalized way (they know me too well)) used Dave by getting me to wrongly perceive what he was conveying, and do what my path demanded:  quit the team.  When I stated as much to Dave, a powerful wave of emotion overcame me, and brought me to tears.  In that moment, I knew I had nailed it (tears, in certain contexts, as here, often serve as a validation)—Spirit wanted me to leave the team.  But why?  I went on alert to watch for the reason.

The answer came a few weeks later.  As part of my usual morning exercise routine, I was riding my stationary recumbent exercise bike and about to listen to my iPod on shuffle play.  I had some time ago discovered a personal divination procedure involving the iPod: I would (1) mentally focus on a question or topic, (2) ask Spirit to come and provide some guidance, (3) hit “Shuffle Songs” on the iPod, (4) see and hear what songs came up, and (5) receive whatever message was attached to the songs.  I would often gain insight using this procedure, and used it that Friday morning. 

Had I remained on the softball team, there would have been a game to attend that Friday night.  But since I had left the team, the only activity options were the usual tango parties, and the monthly journeying event at the New York Shamanic Circle (NYSC).  I hadn’t been to the Circle in some time, I knew, and was wondering if I should go.  That was the issue I had in mind when I asked for an answer to come from Spirit, via my iPod.

After I hit “Shuffle Songs,” the first two songs to play on the iPod were Cherokee Nation (by Paul Revere and the Raiders) and Indian Giver (by the 1910 Fruitgum company). Both songs are American Indian based.  Of course, American Indians are associated with shamanism, and so I easily got that I was to attend the NYSC that evening. I checked the NYSC website for their (then-current) location, where I had never been.  The Circle was to be held at the American Indian Community House.  A spirituality trifecta!  No doubt about it, I was being prompted to attend the Circle, and would do so—despite the fact that I would have to take a strange elevator for the first time (usually a deterrent. I’m elevator-shy, to put it kindly).

{Note: I have over 2,200 songs on my iPods.   Only four songs involve Indians: the two mentioned above and two others.  The odds of one Indian song playing at any given moment are 4 in 2,200.  The odds of two Indian songs playing back-to-back are (4 in 2,200) x (3 in 2,200) =  12/4,840,000 = or about 2.4 chances in a million.}

To the Circle I went, after a stop-off at a nearby wine bar for a glass of cabernet sauvignon. (It’s not really advisable to drink alcohol when you are about to embark on a shamanic journey, but old and new habits die hard, and it worked out great here, as indicated below.) 

Upon my arrival, Kathy (not her real name), a lovely member of the Circle with whom I had been acquainted intermittently since 2001, wished me a “Happy New Year.”  I thought ‘What?  Happy New Year? I was here three months ago, in February.’  Later I checked my notes.  As it turned out, I hadn’t been to the Circle since February 2013, some fifteen months before!  And so the “Happy New Year” comment from Kathy was actually appropriate.  As was the observation she made after hugging me hello: “You’re damp.”  I was indeed a tad soggy; it had been drizzling outside. 

I took off my shoes and settled in, as the actual circle of participants began to form. There were about 25 of us, most of whom were new to me.  I couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Where have all the regulars gone?

During one of the journeys (with a partner who was new to shamanism), the red wine I had consumed earlier began to make me sleepy.  As I was lying down and closing my eyes, Kathy came by, barefooted, and stepped on my feet. “No sleeping on the job,” she directed good-naturedly before quickly moving on. 

‘Hmmmm,” I thought, ‘Is she flirting?’ because that seemed a bit too familiar an act for a relationship that had been nothing more than an acquaintanceship previously.  From that moment on, Kathy was on my mind for the rest of the evening. 

The three journeys that evening were mostly mother-oriented, as Mother’s Day was approaching.  For me the journeys went well, including the partner-with-a-stranger journey which always triggers performance anxiety (needlessly, as it usually turns out). 
 
At the end of the evening, as the Circle was wrapping up, Kathy was speaking to someone nearby and I heard her mention “my fiancé.”  Reflecting on the attraction I had felt toward Kathy since 2001, I figured, ‘Oh well, strike her off the list [of potential love interests].’ I approached and teased Kathy about being “violent” in her manner of ordering me to not sleep.  She laughed, and we hugged goodbye.

On the drive home, I remained focused on Kathy and our exchanges earlier in the evening. We were distant friends on Facebook, and I decided to message her there.

I wrote: “great seeing you tonight.  i re-checked my notebook.  the last time i was at the nysc was february alright, but of 2013, not this year!  i had no idea that it had been that long.  so right... happy new year!  and thanks for all the hugs and even the step-on.  love your energy and touch.  if i don't see you before you leave, safe travels out west!”

Kathy replied the next morning: “Dennis, I was so glad to see you last night and squeeze you. You bring such a great &clean energy to the circle. I am sorry if my teasing and stepping on your toes hurt your feelings (& toes).  I know you are in your mastery and don't need to even close your eyes to journey. Most times my best info comes while sleeping through a journey. I hope it won't be so long until I see you again--at least before I leave in July. Xo”

I laughed and decided to chance bringing up Kathy’s mention of her “fiance’” in my next reply. “Thanks so much…You are a joy to hold and behold.  You did not hurt my feelings or toes, I enjoyed it!  I just turned it back into a tease of you when you brought up the violence thing. Did I hear you right when you seemingly mentioned having a fiancé?”

“A fiancé, not yet! Do you know something/someone I should know?” Kathy wrote back, while following up her reply with a picture of a joyous Snoopy simply walking and smiling.

Not really getting what the Snoopy image was all about, I thought, ‘No fiance’?  That’s good news,’ while wondering whether Spirit had been at work getting me to hear something that was not said (as had happened with Dave); and if Kathy were the reason Spirit had gotten me to give up softball and go to the Circle on a night that I would have been playing in a game had I not left the team.

Feeling my suspicions were correct, I replied to Kathy: “hmmm...i guess i mis-heard.  i do know that i would like to take you out to dinner sometime.  interested?”

“Would love that!” was Kathy’s response. 

“Great! Would this coming Friday work for you?...”

 “Friday is good…”

We made arrangements for that Friday but as fate would have it, ran into each other two nights before at a Susana Tapia Leon event at the Subud Center, one evening after the full moon.  The setting seemed so magical (as is always is the case at Susana events) with Kathy arriving late and sitting down right next to me at the only open seat left in the circle.  I flashed on the fact that  Susana had played such a pivotal role in my becoming a 9/11 Truth activist, back in September 2008 (as discussed here).  

After the Susana event, I offered Kathy a ride home, and she accepted.  We enjoyed each others company and got to know each other a little better on the ride back to Brooklyn, which made our dinner engagement two nights later go that much more smoothly.

As of this writing, four months later [but see my update in the comment below], Kathy and I are a couple.  All thanks to Spirit who, thru Dave, had gotten me to resign from the softball team at a crucial moment (by getting me to misinterpret Dave's communications), led me to the New York Shamanic Circle for the first time in 15 months (via the iPod divination process) so I could meet Kathy on a night that I would otherwise have been playing softball, got me to mis-hear Kathy say “my fiancé’” which in turn triggered a Facebook message exchange that led to a date, romance and ultimately Love.  Along the way there was the “chance encounter” of meeting Kathy at Susana’s Subud Center event (which leads me to theorize that by getting me to connect with Kathy, Spirit (here including the spirits whom I have encountered at the New York Shamanic Circle)  was rewarding me for all of the extra 9/11 Truth work I had done, with Susana’s encouragement)—all  which paved the way for a fabulous first date.

Or so it seems.

Thank you, Spirit.

And thank you, readers, for getting to THE END of this article.

Special thanks to Kathy and Dave for contributing to this article.