Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Strange History

         I first began keeping a journal in 1975—a lifetime ago, it seems. This written record of my life has allowed me to see the pattern of events that comprise this strange history of mine. There were the big events—like the poltergeist phenomena I witnessed, or the extraordinary people I met. But there were also so many small, uncanny occurrences that would have been unrecognized or forgotten if I hadn’t kept a journal.
         The thing that amazes me most is just how often my dreams, hunches and feelings turned out to be precognitive (predictive of future events). There were numerous instances when I would get the feeling that someone was going to call or write or visit soon, and they would. There were also a number of occasions when I would have an intense dream of my ex-boyfriend—only to run into him within the next day or two. This didn’t happen every time I dreamed about him, but most of the time, I could feel when the dreams would be precognitive.
         Once, during one of my meditations, I “saw” an image of a group of people in wheelchairs. Little did I know that I would later get a job in a nursing home, something I never expected to do. I became quite close with the residents of that home, many of whom were in wheelchairs. Another amazing incident: a full 6 years before I met my husband, I made a note of his name in my journal and wrote, “He’s coming! Yes!” Imagine his astonishment when, after we’d been married for a while, I showed him that old entry with his name in it!
         Sometimes my precognitions could be a bit chilling, too. The ones that stand out most involve my father. For a couple of weeks before his death at the age of 53, I felt a distinct sense of his energy ebbing away—even though his health didn’t appear to be worsening. On the night before he died, I found myself lying in bed wondering what our family would do if we lost him. Then, on the day he passed away, I began to have a cold, pervasive feeling of something being terribly wrong. At 4 PM, the time he died, I felt a strange, disorienting jolt, like time going awry—and the van I was traveling in with a group of nursing-home residents nearly crashed into the vehicle in front of us. To make the story even stranger, I found out later that, around the time of my father’s death, a close friend of mine also had a premonition. She was napping, and she dreamed about a man who was cut down in the street by a speeding car. He resembled my father, and she woke up with the horrible feeling that something might have happened to him.
         With all this strange history behind me, how could I not believe in a sixth sense? I’m not sure where psychic ability comes from, but I think all we humans have it, to some degree; it’s part of the great, complex mystery of who we are. Maybe that’s why writing about things psychic—in my novels, journals, and blog entries—is such a passion of mine. It’s the mysteries in life that really fascinate me and ignite my imagination. How about you?

Friday, July 8, 2011

Extraordinary Psychics

         During my years of exploring the paranormal, I’ve met psychics, mediums, healers, and more. There were a few who truly amazed me with their gift—and with their capacity to guide and inspire through using that gift.
         The first one that comes to mind is a psychic named Michael Sullivan. In my early days as an explorer of the mysterious, I went to a weekend gathering where I met quite a few unusual people. Michael was there, and I decided to consult him for a psychic reading. Without any information from me, he proceeded to give me a lengthy reading on my health, personality traits, talents, needs, and more. The amount of accurate detail he provided was astounding, including some truths about myself that I probably wouldn’t have wanted to talk about—and some unrecognized strengths I sorely needed to hear about. He seemed to sense exactly what I needed to know in order to create some constructive change in my life. The insight I gained from that reading turned out to be just the beginning of my seeing myself in a different way.
         Over the next several years, I shed a substantial amount of weight, met my husband, and moved to a different part of the country to start a new life. I’m not implying, of course, that a single psychic reading solved all my problems. But it did prove to be a catalyst for positive change, a little nudge up to the next level in my personal evolution. For that reason, as much as for Michael’s amazing talent, I’ll always think of him as extraordinary.
         Another person who impressed me deeply was the trance medium June Burke, who dedicated over 35 years of her life to channeling “Julian”, a being who identified himself as an angel of the order Seraphim. I’ve never thought of myself as a believer in angels, but I do think we humans are not the only kind of being in the Universe—and I believe that there really are some highly evolved essences who have a desire to help and guide us.
         I once had the privilege of attending one of June Burke’s channeling sessions, and I felt something extraordinary when Julian began to speak through her. June’s own personality was appealing and warm, but when Julian came through, I distinctly felt something radiant and powerful descending into the room. The entire atmosphere changed, and an utterly different intelligence began to speak. The message that came through was about our own radiance, our amazing minds, and our capacity to bring light to the world. The experience left a deep impression that is still with me to this day. The spiritual philosophy I’ve come to embrace in recent years bears many similarities to the Julian Teachings. And the spiritual leaders I admire most, and most want to learn from, are the ones who carry the kind of radiance Julian described.
         Recently I was pleased to discover that the legacy of June Burke and Julian still carries on, through the Julian Teachings Organization (
www.julianteachings.com). June passed away in 2005, but she left explicit instructions for the preservation of Julian’s teachings. Under the leadership of Saul Srour, (who was trained and groomed for years by June and Julian) the organization is continuing their work—through the classes and workshops June and Julian created; through her books; through yearly Gatherings, a website, and an e-newsletter. The website contains some of the fascinating details of June and Julian’s story, and also features “Affirmations from Julian”—pieces of his inspirational, yet very pertinent and practical guidance. Something we could all use a little of, it seems …
         Sometimes I feel so grateful for the burning curiosity that first impelled me to explore the supernormal. It led me to some extraordinary people, who influenced my life in potent and unexpected ways. How could I not be grateful for that?

        

Ann Young
Author—Fantasy, Mysticism, Paranormal Fiction…and Fact