COMING SOON

FICTIONAL TRUTH: THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF UNBRIDLED SOULS

 RED WINGS

On Sunday, January 17th, 2016 my mother crossed over. She was 93 years old and her body was ready for this metamorphosis. Her mother lived until she was 96 years old. We sometimes focus on what a person dies from as if the scientific method on discomfort, disease, disability, and death have an original theme. More on that later.

What is that again? Metamorphosis? Was she a caterpillar then transitioned into butterfly? No, not exactly. But somehow my iWatch was suddenly reprogrammed to include a picture of a butterfly from the basic text that it ships with. What is that again? Another story for another time.

It was Sunday, June 12th, 10:30 a.m. I had just returned home the day before from a business trip in Las Vegas, NV. I was watching CNN and my wife came downstairs and told me she thought that it was time that we got divorced. She was going to begin the process with this attorney that was recommended to her by a mutual attorney who she met in 2011 and whom I had known for about 15 years. The marriage was in dire straits for a number of years.

There is an end to everything and this had been coming for a long time. I wasn’t shocked and I agreed that it was forthcoming and necessary. Dissolution of Marriage due to irrecoverable differences is how it is all played out in the legal industry. Or is it irreconcilable differences by people destined to find something else, their own path?

My day was planned with or without the sudden shift in consciousness. I had gotten into my 2013 Nissan Rogue and took off to visit Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve in DuPage County to walk the usual 5.5- mile distance.

I arrived at the Forest Preserve within an hour after that discourse, equipped with my water bottle, iPhone, Trident sugarless gum, wireless headset and audible book collection of spirituality, mediumship, and metaphysical stories.

Not sure of what I was going to play and I can’t quite remember what I had selected. I can’t remember if I had already purchased tickets for the James Van Praagh Weekend Retreat at the Q Center in St. Charles, June 24th – June 26th, 2016, but since I anticipated going, I thought that his 2011 Growing Up In Heaven audiobook was appropriate listening. This audiobook follows the path of a child’s soul – their time in Heaven and their connection with the living. It is one of the best books/audiobooks on the market.

Children who enter this world and exit quickly either through still birth, abortion, childhood cancer, heart, lung disease and periodically some strange infectious disease have made a contract with their mothers, fathers with their council and existed to provide “lessons” for us all. This is difficult for people to want to believe and worst yet, hear. They don’t have to incarnate for a long time. This is a perplexing issue and will make sense if you begin to understand spiritual development.

So, let’s move on.

My head was still processing the information about the divorce. As a catholic I already knew that I was not going to be the party as a petitioner. When your hear that someone close to you has died like a parent, child or spouse, which I always refer to as “crossing over”, you enter a sort of mental spiral. Grief is a process and arrives in a variety of stages. Only the psychopath and sociopath can escape some of this emotional trauma. But that is not the feature of this story, so as my mother Johnnie (and she spelled it with an “ie”) would often say, moving right along.

There is a shift in consciousness that I am sure of, yet the soul, the mind, and body are trapped and must return to a “steady state” to remain in balance. I didn’t reach out to my friend Jack for assistance, this can often complicate matters. And since I don’t have the desire to self-medicate, walking was a solution.

As I began the walk, and within the first half mile, I heard what I thought was my mother telling me that this was the best thing. It was in the works and what regret should I have.

While she was alive, we talked at length about relationships, love/hate, the bonds of marriage and the cause of all disagreements, unhappiness, and lessons that we are here to learn, and karma. I guess that we all must find something to blame and karma seems to be the unconditional barrier of all bad news.

I could feel my mind was slowly going into a depressed state. I have felt this come on before, and it usually dissipates within the hour. But, the voice continued in my head. My mother was simply telling me that this was great news, and that soon I could be in an emotional place where it would be void from any pain. Freedom comes with a price.

I had crossed the street at Book Road and was well within the first 5 minutes of the walk. There were people running, biking and walking the same path. Crushed limestone and a mixture of dirt, grass, gravel and surface (cat litter like substance) were beneath my feet.

As I was walking, I noticed a bird with a red wing flying toward this branch. As it landed I looked over at it and said to it, calling out my mothers’ name, “Johnnie, if you are going to appear to me today, then you need to have two red wings and not one”. As I continued to walk down the path towards the first mile, I said this telepathically which is how all of us pray, telepathically and not out loud.

This is also how those on the other side communicate with each other. In the psychic and mediumship world communication is varied. The Holy Spirit appeared before Mary and Joseph. Although there are several cases where spirits, ghosts and other entities appear in our present-day lives. Some mediums are empaths and can hear, see, smell and encounter these beings through their senses. I have experienced two or three of these encounters and do so often, so it is not strange that it happens to me, but on this day, it was off the chain.

About 5 minutes after that exchange I was struck on the head by the bird. It flew from behind and struck my headphones, rattled my hat, after which I ducked and looked back at the two women who were walking about 25 feet behind me and said, “Did you see that, the bird that hit my head?”

They both replied “yes”. I said, “That was my mother, Johnnie!”

I don’t recall what or if they even responded back. I was awe struck and emotional, requesting that something is done, and then it happens. While lightning didn’t strike the pine, it may as well have. My god-mother Mary H. and Johnnie would often use the expression of lightning strike something if it was remotely unusual. Call my mother! Call my sister! Call my doctor! Call the lawyer, because lightning has struck the pine!

The bird flew to the nearest tree on my right, and it now had two red wings. While I was astonished, I wasn’t surprised.

I had run, biked and walked this same forest preserve path since the fall of 2001 and never had this happened.

I had asked her to show me a sign when she crossed over. And that she did.

She had shown me other signs beforehand after her death on January 17th. And because we had both read some of the same books on mediumship and the afterlife, I think that she knew how to reach me, deliberately. She followed Edgar Cayce, known in most metaphysical circles as the Sleeping Prophet. I had been exposed to his teaching since the age of 10. My brother and sisters had the insurrection of knowing his medical treatment, core philosophy, and most of all dietary considerations. Perhaps, insurrection is not the correct word; however, Edgar Cayce became the law in the Johnnie Evans household.

The bird continued to follow me all the way around the forest preserve for another 5 miles. I acknowledged the bird and spoke with my mother for the remainder of the walk.

The bird would fly from behind to ahead of me and land on branches and limbs on both the right and left side of me.

The truth of the matters is that “energy” of the soul of your loved one can direct objects and things; however, they are not the things themselves. We are all energy, all things have energy, your thoughts are conduits of energy, and even a rock has energy.

I did begin to take photos of the bird-in-flight and on the tree limbs.

When I returned to my car at the end of the walk, the bird was at a distance of about 40 feet. I took a few pictures and thanked my mother for her words of comfort and joy.

I was in quite a different state at the end of the walk then I was at the beginning.

SHANNA T. & RED WINGS, REVISITED

On Friday, June 24th, Internationally Famous Psychic Medium James Van Praagh appeared at the Circle Q in St. Charles, IL., in a program titled: An Evening with Spirit. Nearly 400 individuals attended this presentation and, perhaps most of them came with the hope that James would bring through their loved ones from the other side.

I was scheduled to attend a unique hands-on workshop on Developing Your Spiritual Intuition & Psychic Connection, Saturday, June 25th and Tune in to Your Spirit Guides, Sunday, June 26th. These workshops followed the Evening with Spirit on Friday, June 24th, where he carried out his overall introduction of mediumship.

The focus of the workshop was to help the attendees:

•  Learn how to blend and communicate with the spirit world around
•  Use visualizations, soul regressions, and sacred meditations to bring your soul to a state of
•  Connect and set up an ongoing working relationship with your spirit
•  Explore various levels of awareness, including “overshadowing” to bring about the spirit world in a more physical
•  Heal past traumas and create forgiveness within you and your “soul group,” and
•  Learn to receive spiritual messages and inspirations to live

I was quite familiar with James Van Praagh’s work and had attended his workshops in the past; however, this time, it was different.

I had recently picked up his book titled: Growing Up in Heaven (Harper One Publishing Co., 2011). It is a great read about children that cross over, and the focus of the text is how he connects the child’s soul with their parent’s that are still earthbound. This eternal connection between parent and child brings an understanding of why the child makes a brief visit, returns to their heavenly home, and grows up on the other side. I must have read 60 or so books in metaphysics, spirituality, and mediumship, but this book inspired me even more and was the reason why I signed up for the workshop.

Friday night reminded me of the network television programs where the mediums take the audience on a journey through meditation then followed by bringing forth loved ones so that they can connect to audience members. The chairs were set up seminar style and without tables. While James was far off to the right side of the room, I sat sideways and noticed a woman six rows behind me. There were a lot of people at this program. I believe that they said 400; however, about 125 would attend the two-day mediumship developmental workshop on Saturday and Sunday.

There was a 10-minute break and I could greet this woman up close. There were a lot of couples in attendance. The men were dragged by their wives and girlfriends. Well, perhaps not all of them. I have “spirit-dar” like spirit radar and can pick other intuitives out from a crowd. Is there a certain type? No, not really, but it is a consciousness that draws people together. And of course, Johnnie had a lot to do with this, so I can’t take all the credit.

As I gazed at her this mood came across me and I knew that I would have some positive interaction with her. I don’t recall asking her what she thought of me at the time, but I starred. And I asked myself questions about her; however, I can’t really remember what they were. I was hoping that I would meet her over the next few days and that we can establish a level of trust.

Nothing else was exchanged and the program continued. Johnnie and I had participated in several of these workshops throughout the years. She was always eager to see if my sister Pat would come through. She had crossed over in 1996 (48 years old) and struggled with cerebral palsy for her entire life. I never expected a reading in a general setting like that. I always understood that those in greater need would have the opportunity to hear from their relatives who crossed over.

On Saturday, we moved to another room, and it was much more dynamic, arranged in a semi-circle with seats and tables, reminding me of a freshmen lecture hall.

I noticed this woman again and knew that somehow, I would have to make a formal introduction.

Truth be told, I scanned the crowd and saw her across the room. Can we just say stalker! We had begun the practice that James has established for his mediumship developmental programs where he wants to help other psychics, mediums, and those who are interested in tapping into their intuition.

With about 10 minutes per session, you are asked to pair up with another person; one person is the recipient referred to as “the sitter”, and the other the reader/psychic/medium. This is the foundation on how you begin the practice as a medium and most of the fear of not connecting or giving wrong information to the “sitter” recipient is disclose, or not.

Although I have done this with a few people before this experience, I didn’t take them down the path of getting the information that was deeper. I could attend funerals and discuss with family members the concerns of the dearly departed but for the most part, family members are not often in shape to hear what is being channeled. I have several stories that resonant with me and more than anything else, the personality of the departed stays intact. In this series of meditations with James, the focus of this mediumship would be higher than I ever experienced.

In his program, we continued to repeat this channeling process, mediumship if you will, a few more times and in the afternoon on Saturday I was finally able to connect with the woman sitting behind me from the Friday night “Evening with the Spirit”.

You must remember that energy, and those on the other side have an influence on what we do, how we choose and provide some divine guidance on our behavior. We have free will; however, the forces beyond us and that which is unforeseen is powerful.

I had noticed her across the room. We were encouraged to mix it up, so to speak, and meet other people throughout the workshop. And then it happened. As I was approaching my third or fourth reading, I met Shanna. She was about 5’8” had blond hair was carrying around two purses, perhaps one but who’s counting.

One of James conference coordinators almost became her partner and then she told us to work together.

This was going to be one of the most intriguing readings that I ever delivered or received. We each took turns, a reader (medium) and recipient (sitter) but only had about 10 minutes for this process. So, I went first. I began to breathe deeper, closed my eyes and then opened them, “quiet the mind,” is the process. Are you serious – how does one do that at a time like this?

I extended my hands to Shanna’s and asked for placement in mind. I engaged my thoughts and released her hands, looking in her eyes all at the same time. She asked me to bring her father through. And I connected with a man who had brown-blondish hair and was about 6 feet or so. He showed me that he was trying to teach her how to ride a tricycle when she as young. He was pushing her, and she kept falling over, so he kept repeating the same thing, putting her back on the tricycle. I saw her falling off the tricycle and he would upright it again and again.

I picture that stays with me even to this day is that while I am talking to her, she is 3-4 feet in front of me but I see her dad and their surroundings.

I saw him wearing a dark blue blazer and white pants, almost as if he was in the armed service. Big flat gold round buttons adorned his blazer and he wore a smile from ear to ear. He then showed me that he was in the garage and when she tried to come in he would refuse her visits and make her go back inside the house.

One of the ways that you want to validate some of the information as it is coming through is to ask the person if they understand this or if it makes sense to them, all or in part. At first Shanna couldn’t bring her mind to this area; however, I began to see him smoking, pretending like he was working on a car because the hood was up. He put his back to her as if he didn’t want her to see him smoke.

Finally, he showed me a gift that he gave her for Christmas a month before he passed. It was blue, red and white. That is all that I was getting color wise. Those thoughts began to linger, and we were asked to wrap up the first part and switch. I never thanked him for coming forth. I should remember to do that. There is a lot that I need to do prior to bringing a soul forth. As it ended, we were supposed to switch and were told to take a break.

At that point, Shanna grabbed her bag and went into the hallway. The space that we were using is like a mini-auditorium with different floors, circular seating, coliseum style.

5 minutes had passed, and she hadn’t returned. The conference coordinator tracked her down outside in the hall and brought her back inside the room.

We both asked if she was OK and she responded “yes”. Had she been crying?

Yes, I was right on the money. Her father’s name was Tim, and he crossed over on January 16, 2015. Lung cancer was the cause of his “termination” in the physical world and entry into the spiritual world. Shanna was a bit shaken, and I could tell that she was moved by this experience. We were given 10 minutes to conduct another reading. It was my turn to be read.

I had asked her to bring my father through because he crossed over in May 1988, on Mother’s Day, from a battle with esophageal cancer. He suffered a stroke in 1965, survived that and was later diagnosed with what we call “throat cancer”. This too was related to the use of tobacco products, and in this case, it was the El Producto Cigar. He was only 67 years old.

My parents were divorced since 1962, I was 8 years old. My father would come by and see us every day, dropping off food, candy and papers. He wasn’t absent like so many fathers are day. He was a major factor in my life. He wasn’t wealth by any imagination. But all that you must do in this life is to adhere to “right actions”, doing the right thing as Spike Lee would have it, gets you the grace from God.

So, we started the process. I had been read, at least by two other people earlier in the morning, and not sure of what they discovered, but it was more like channeling my spirit guides instead of talking to family, friends who had crossed over. There is a big difference as most mediums can explain.

Shanna began the process and told me that my father was proud of me. This was too general. I would assume that this would be the case and the rest of the reading about my father was a blur. Then Shanna looked up at me with renewed strength and said that my mother was coming through and she had entered the room.

They appear to be on different sides of me because she made a reference like they weren’t together, but you should understand that even mediums can be shocked with information that we receive.

 As Shanna explained, my mother said that she always knew that I had this gift, and she was proud of me. She showed Shanna how I was as a little boy. My mother always dreamed of me and my younger sister when we were little. We were given a minute to wrap things up as if we were speed dating. The room was filling up with noise, chatter from the other intuitives, and as we stood up Shanna asked me what my name was again. I shouted out “GREGORY”, and she came back with “RED WINGS!”.

I said “What? Where did you get RED WINGS out of that name? And I am thinking, Detroit Red Wings? What?”

I didn’t have a clue of where she got that from.

We had several breaks, and at the end of the Saturday session, she teased me in the hallway with that again, Red Wings!

There was one more day of this mediumship training, and that evening I headed home to Naperville, IL. Shanna wouldn’t be coming back on Sunday, but I wouldn’t have discovered that until the next day. Most of the people at the workshop exchanged cards, emails and telephone numbers, so that all of us had an opportunity to continue with the dialogue that we initiated.

It was about 8 p.m., and I was sitting on my couch. It all came back to me, RED WINGS! The bird at the Spring brook Forest Preserve, DuPage County. This bird is known as a Red-Winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). It is a passerine bird of the family lcteridea found in most of North and much of Central America. The Red-Winged Blackbird aggressively defends its territory from other animals. It will attack much larger birds. Males have been known to swoop at humans who encroach upon their nesting territory during breeding season. These birds can live up to 15.8 years in the wild.

While I didn’t think of the relationship with Shanna blurting out “RED WINGS” until some 8 hours later, it was truly a validation, affirmation, and confirmation that Johnnie had connected with Shanna and delivered a message from the other side.

I have stayed in contact with Shanna since that reading in June 2016. We have attended other mystical workshops in the Chicagoland area. Johnnie has delivered other messages to me from Shanna, and I have been able to connect with her Father, Tim, from time to time.

If this is not enough to make you a believer, then get this. Her father crossed over January 16th, 2015. My mother resumed her life in the spiritual realm on January 17th, 2016. Shanna is a Cosmetologist, Johnnie held a Cosmetology license for over 60 years. They both have/had daughters that suffered from Cerebral Palsy.

Johnnie and see the maladies that Shanna suffers from and told me to get her to buy Swedish Bitters. This is an Edgar Cayce elixir, not the best tasting stuff; however, neither is most oral medicine.

On some level, spirits tell me that I need to help Shanna expand her ministry in the mystical arts.

I get messages from guides, spirits, and angels about Shanna and her daughter Sky. Johnnie sends messages to Shanna about me. Shanna is very good and perhaps the best medium that I had a reading from. But it isn’t one way. I can tune into her at will. Empaths have this ability, but remember I have help, it is my mother who helps me sense what Shanna is feeling from time to time. Tim steps in time to time and tells both of us that we would have more fun just smoking wacky weed, then trying to tune into the spiritual realm. We both always laugh at that remark. There is no such thing as death, that I am quite sure. And the path that we have to follow has already been written.

ABOUT US

Like James Van Praagh, John Edwards I was raised Catholic. I spent two years at seminar in high school and then moved back to the City of Chicago for my junior year attending Fenwick and other private schools. Junior College was cheap and a great way to learn from instructors with advance knowledge in general education.

I focused on the Humanities and had a uncanny desire to understand sociology and psychology. I worked as a clerk at the West V.A. Hospital and honed my skills in science where it suited me and balanced out liberal art studies. I knew a lot about heath, not sure how. And remembered studying Krishnamurati and Chinese Philosophy the way that most people read love novels and fiction.

I worked on surgical floors as a clerk, urology and heart. One day a resident explained the Kreb’s cycle. I remembered it succinctly and got an A on Biology paper. I learned from a mentors who can best explain the method and madness of the operation. I can fill in the blanks.

As an undergraduate at Southern Illinois University, my core classes were Philosophy and Psychology. I continued to take 400-500 Level Philosophy classes when I enrolled in the Master’s Program in Community Health Education and further explored the Ph.D. program in Philosophy at DePaul University while working full time (Parks & Recreation) with a focus in Metaphysical Studies and Ethics. Member: A.R.E. Foundation, (Association of Research and Enlightenment) training and development in the study and practice of metaphysics and spirituality. I am currently a member of John Edwards, Evolve and registered for the Level I Mediumship program under James Van Praagh.

I have completed 25 college courses in Philosophy, at least 10 of these were in Metaphysics. It seems like a week ago I discovered why I was enrolled in these classes. Now I am working backwards to connect all the dots.

In 2016, I attended a variety of workshops, seminars, conferences on spirituality, mediumship and energy healing. My interest is still wide and varied from Oracle Carding Reading to the Akashic Records.

In the records, I could see what I had contracted for and will begin to pursue that multi-disciplinary study which Includes all the above plus race, politics and education.

Diversity and Race is a challenge in today’s America. So somewhere in this mirage of things planned I have to go back to the earlier studies from Junior College and build a mouse trap that can end systemic issues that divide us. All spirits that want to help, please begin with your messaging. But not at night when I am trying to sleep, or watching CNN.

######