Paying tribute to two incredible mothers whose remarkable stories have inspired and touched me.
Jean was 36 years old with two beautiful children; a fourteen month old boy and a three and a half year old girl. Jean had cancer. When she was told she only had six more months, she decided to spend that time giving great memories to the children. They went to the circus, Disney, and did something special every day. As pain tore through her body she worked every night on two scrap books for the children. Books filled with pictures, letters, thoughts, dreams and wishes for them. Two weeks before her passing, and in a wheel chair, she took the children to the zoo. She wrote in their scrap books that the joy of that day, and the smiles on their faces, and the sound of their laughter, would linger with her throughout eternity. As I read the ending line in those scrap books, at her funeral, I could not help but cry. She wrote, “God is making me one of your guardian angels for the rest of your wonderful life on earth. I am only a whisper away. I will see you in heaven one day, I love you, mommy!”
I also salute Betty. When Betty delivered a baby girl with severe birth defects, her husband of two years, went home, packed his belongings, took money from their joint bank account, and took off, never to be heard from again. Betty’s life was turned upside down. At first she was devastated then angry. She decided she was going to do all that she could for her daughter, and let nothing stand in her way. With little support, she got a job, had to vacate the house, got herself a small apartment, and give special care, day and night to a special child. She kept on keeping on with great strength and faith for about eight years when her precious daughter passed. What an amazing mother.
We all have stories about mothers who have touched our lives in some way. To these, to my late mom, and to all the mothers of the world, Happy Mother’s Day! Mothers Are the Light of the World!
joeana
ps. Special Mothers Day Rate this weekend!
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“Every word we ever speak and every thought we ever think remains in the ethers, and returns to us at some point in life.” This profound statement was made by a doctor I was speaking with not long ago. He reiterated how most people do not realize that their lives reflect what they think and what they say. This made me realize how important it is for those living in unhappy surroundings to adjust their thoughts. This same doctor once worked with Wernher Von Braun the German rocket physicist and astronautics engineer, who said, “What your mind can conceive and BELIEVE it will achieve.” What a powerful statement to mentally digest. If we can only grasp the concept how important our thoughts are and that we can have the power to transform our lives, think how different our world would be. Think how different your life would be. By replacing every adverse thought with a higher thought - of peace, love and understanding we would find our environment transformed.
By un-thinking negative thoughts, negativity would begin to disappear out of our lives.
Of course we have to be ready to accept the good in our lives. Many people are in a comfort zone of drama and daily hum-drum difficulties. They are not ready to step outside the box and elevate their levels of thought. For them life will continue on with little change, for those who take a look at their thoughts, words and actions and raise the bar, I believe there would be no limit to achieving their hearts desire.
My thoughts for you this day are for true love, peace, prosperity, perfect health and the wisdom to come to know that you have the power to change your life!
Have a beautiful day
joeana
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This amazing reader had an amazing message!
A number of years ago, after waiting almost a year for an appointment, my cousin and I had the opportunity to have a one hour reading with a well known New York psychic- clairvoyant with extraordinary powers. Many accurate and wonderful things were conveyed during the session. One thing she said left my cousin quite puzzled and confused. She told her that her oldest brother with the initial R, was very ill and dying in another country. My cousin did not have an older brother and could not think of anyone she was close with, who might be considered like a brother, with the initial R, certainly not out of the country. She was confused about this reading since everything else the sensitive shared was so accurate.
A few years ago, when her dad passed, I went with my cousin to close a safe deposit box her father had for many years. Among the personal papers was a letter from Argentina. The contents made the hair on my arms stand up and sent a chill through my body. It immediately jarred the memory of the psychic reading we had together a few years before. In the letter was written the words, “Our son R after being ill for several months died in March.” We could not believe what we were reading. The psychic’s reading was confirmed.
If information in a reading does not seem to accurately connect at that moment, don’t draw a negative conclusion about the advisor, don’t dismiss it. Keep an open mind always. There is something important in the message being shared with you, even though you may not fully understand it at the time it is given. This same psychic, who has since passed over, told me that in the future I would be giving advice over telephone lines. That was in the early 1980’s when advisors had not hit the phone lines yet. She was right again.
Love begins by doing something for yourself. Arrange for a personal reading now! Wishing you a magnificent May!
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Do you find yourself unable to break away from memories of disappointment, rejection and failure? It is time to stop giving importance to that which you call the past. Forgetting the past does not seem easy for some people. Wounded pride, hurt feelings and rebellion again defeat, are matter that many hug to themselves stubbornly until the Light of truth is turned on. Spring is here and it is time for a good mental housecleaning.
You are not to be burdened or limited today by what you or anyone else thought, said or did yesterday or five years ago. Your world is not of the past nor is it one of limitations.
Forget the past cease to think of it as something. In your world of today the past has neither reality nor power. There is absolutely no place in the present moment, with its joys and possibilities, for the unpleasant haunting memories of yesterday. If someone hurt your feels or spoke unkindly to you, that was yesterday. Today is a new day. You can live this day to the fullest by refusing to let the unhappy events and memories of yesterday rule over your today.
The person who has caused you the heartache, the event that has caused you sadness and sorrow, and all the foolish little personal situations must be forgiven and forgotten now. They have served their time. You have learned the lesson.
Live in the glorious today. Rise out of the valley of despondency and ascend to new heights where the sun is shining. Put the past behind you. Accept this new day with the realization that it is filled with love, peace, harmony, good health and prosperity. Today is your perfect new day, enjoy it!
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Positive Reactions
Every situation in life brings some form of mental and emotional reaction. These reactions can make us healthy or unhealthy; happy or unhappy, successful or un-successful
Each time we resist and fight in mind the situation we have to meet, we find that we set up a state of tension and stress in the body. If you are frustrated, angry or unfriendly toward someone, your mental attitude causes an adverse state in your physical condition. If you are calm and loving in your reactions, your physical body receives a certain loving reaction.
Everyone alive was born with the gift of free will – the ability to make personal choices. No person or external power can decide for us what our reaction will be. We can approach our work in a happy or unhappy spirit. We can be optimistic or pessimistic - responsive or unresponsive in our relationships with others. We have the freedom to think what we want to think at all times. We can think love when the whole world may want us to think in terms of anger, fear and hatred. We can train ourselves to have a positive reaction in all situations. A peaceful, healthy and loving reaction to things does have their rewards. Such a state of mind will eventually and continually draw to us congenial and positive situations.
If you are mentally fighting something today, change your attitude. Rest the overworked negative cells of the brain and think in terms of peace, love and harmony for awhile. Your resistance has been a barrier to the good awaiting to come to you. Your positive reaction to the events of this day will prove to be the power that will transform the conditions of your experiences and bring forth a victorious day filled with harmony and joy. Wishing you a positive day!
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Shared in part for this blog
Written for and with permission from the publisher
Fate Magazine
Nyack, New York is a sleepy little community of some 6,400 people, located on the west side of the Hudson River, about 45 minutes north of New York City. It’s an area steeped in American heritage and Revolutionary War history. Less than 100 feet from the river, located in one of the oldest sections of town, is a splendid 18 room Victorian mansion built in 1900.
Residing in this mansion for more than 24 years were three loving, giving ghosts who made their presents known to the fourth owners of the house, Helen and George Ackley and their family. The Ackley’s purchased the dwelling after it had been vacant for seven years. An article published in readers Digest gave this house and these ghosts national acclaim in 1977.
I drove up to see the house in February, 1994. As I looked at the stately old mansion, I thought, “If a ghost alone in such a house became aware that it was suddenly sharing its quarters with strangers, would it not endeavor to make its presence known?” The ghosts on the Hudson did exactly this by creating a variety of rappings, tappings, thump, and unusual odors.
These phantom inhabitants, contrary to most ghosts, are said to have given gifts on special occasions. The story is like a love story between a warm and caring family, and their three loyal, unseen friends.
One of the first indications that the house may have been haunted happened during some early renovations. The local plumber was recreating the water system when he heard footsteps overhead. He looked around upstairs several times but could not find anybody.
George and Helen were not in the slightest way perturbed by the ghostly intruders. In fact, they welcomed their presence. As time when on, the family became use to the unexplained happening in the house – things like lights going out a few minutes after they were turned on, and ghostly rappings on the doors and walls. There were also the footsteps. Every morning between 8:30 and 9:15, the unseen visitors were heard walking from the third to the second level. Were these ghosts arising in the morning and retiring at night as they did during their earthly existence. Each morning at exactly the same time, Cynthia, one of the children, was awakened by someone shaking her bed. If Cynthia did not get up right away, the bed would shake harder. When Cynthia, before going to bed at night, explained to her invisible roommate her desire to sleep a little late in the morning, the shaking stopped.
Cynthia, who was in her teens at the time, was in bed one warm summer night when an apparition entered her room. The air suddenly chilled. There, in the glimmer of light, was a young woman in front of the bedroom mirror, brushing her long hair. The misty figure was wearing a long, white lace gown with a high neckline. Her sweet, gentle face was smiling at Cindy in a friendly way. At first Cindy was frightened. Her heart was thumping so loudly that she was sure it could be heard. She lay perfectly still, hoping the image would disappear, but it came nearer. It came so near that she could almost touch it. When Cindy called out to her family, the young woman vanished. The young woman appeared in Cindy’s room a number of times after that. Cindy eventually became use to the appearances and disappearances of the young woman.
Over the years, as the Ackleys restored the old mansion, with much love, and I am sure, much expense, odd things continued to happen. While painting her living room Helen, perched atop an eight foot ladder, felt someone watching her. Since George was at work, and the children at school, Helen felt a bit anxious. As she continued to pain, she felt the presence of someone come even closer. As she looked over her shoulder, there he was, a cheerful little man with a ruddy round face, white hair and piercing blue eyes.
Helen spoke to him. “I hope you like color,” she said. He nodded and smiled. “I hope you’re pleased with what we are doing in the house.” Again he smiled and slowly faded out of sight. Helen was certain he approved of the renovations. She told me, “He seemed happy, and I was proud to have met him.”
When I asked Helen how he was dressed, she described him in an immaculate light blue suit, with a short, unbuttoned jacket turned back over white shirt ruffles at his wrists. Below his knee length breeches were white hose and black, shiny pumps with buckles. Helen did not know why she saw him then, and she never saw him again. Unafraid, believing that good outweighs the forces of evil, the Ackleys filled their home with peace, contentment, love and happiness. Many curious incidents convinced them that their ghosts were just like family. Through the years a bond between the family and the ghosts continued to grow.
When Cynthia was to be married she cut short a college semester and came home to Nyack. Just before her wedding day, she awoke to find a dainty silver sugar tong on her dresser. Since no one in the house knew how the sugar tong found its place on the empty dresser, the family assumed that it was left as a wedding gift for Cindy by the family ghosts. It has been over 20 years now, and, amazingly, Cindy's tiny silver tong has never tarnished.
Two years after her marriage, Cindy again came home to Nyack, to have her baby. After the birth of the baby, the family tried to purchase a baby ring small enough to fit the infant. No ring seemed to fit. On the morning Cindy was leaving Nyack to join her husband who was serving in the military, she awoke to find a tiny baby ring on her bed stand, a ring that fit the baby’s finger perfectly. A ring was also left in the front vestibule for the Ackley’s younger daughter, Cara Lee.
When Helen and George arrived home from being out of town, Helen noticed the small ring on Cara Lee’s finger. “Who gave you the ring?” Helen asked. Cara Lee answered, “It was left for me.” When asked how she knew it was for her, she answered, “Because it fits me.”
There were many observations of the ghosts in Cindy's room and on the second level. Once, when a relative was an overnight guest, she was astounded to see a young man enter her room, wearing a white wig and early American clothing. The entity walked toward the bed, sat down, and opened a book in mid air; he slowly turned the pages, as if he were looking for something. He then closed the book, stood up, and vanished from sight. It was assumed that this was the same young military man seeing previously by the Ackley’s oldest son. Later the family identified the uniform as that of a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy.
Unlike the disturbances of poltergeist, little is known about apparitions, phantoms, and spirits that can be seen. They are far less common than poltergeist cases. When seen by other observers, apparitions are usually wispy and witnessed only briefly, with little observation of detail. Furthermore, it is quite unusual for observers to field the emotions of an entity.
Throughout the years, the three spirit beings that were very much a part of the Hudson River mansion continued to convey emotion and companionship to the family. One winter evening, as Helen stood at the dining room window, she could see the view of the Hudson clearly. The trees were bare, and the shore lights were visible across the water.
As she stood there, basking in the magnificent view of the Tappan Zee Bridge in the distance, feeling perhaps a little lonely, wondering when her husband would return from his trip, a chill engulfed her left side. Every hair on her neck stood up. As she slowly turned her head she saw nothing, but felt a presence right next to her, making her aware she was not alone. “It’s beautiful on the river isn't it?” Helen asked aloud. As she spoke a sense of calm came over her. She stood for a few more minutes and then turned to leave. She felt the presence of the entity walked right beside her. Helen hesitated at the door, and so did the spirit. “Thank you for sharing the view with me. I am going to bed now,” Helen said as she walked down the hall to her bedroom. Her invisible companion remained behind.
How three separate entities arrived at this house on the Hudson can only be speculated. In our research of the house we learned that the first owners were a family named Perry. Prior to the construction of the house around 1900, the property was an Apple and possibly a cherry orchard. A psychic friend was invited to view the exterior of the house. She sensed that the spirits there had perished in a boat fire.
Through extensive research, I learned that steam boat racing on the river was common in the mid 1800’s. Two of these boats lost over 100 passengers, who perished in their fires. Could the Ackley ghosts have been passengers on either of those boats? Did they make their way to the orchard, which later became the site of this grand home? Only the spirits know the answers to these questions.
After George's death, Helen decided to sell the house and move. In 1989 a young bond trader and his wife contracted to buy the mansion. When they heard about the haunting they changed their minds. The case went to court and, after a spirited debate; an appeals court in New York ruled this Nyack house “legally haunted.”
When another buyer surfaced, Helen knew she would be leaving behind some memories and some dear friends. When her daughters was moving a major portion of the family furnishings out, a large, three section living room mirror came crashing off the wall. Everyone ran from all directions to see what had happened. Not only was the entire mirror shattered, but the durable wires that had supported it were broken into many pieces. The Ackley’s felt that the spirits were expressing their sadness and anger because the family was moving. When moving day arrived, just before Helen closed the front door for the final time, she looked back at the empty rooms and whispered with tearful eyes, “Goodbye, I wish you could come with us.”
One might think that this story ended in 1989 when the Ackley's moved out of the house. But a bond of feeling and fond memories remains alive to this day in Helen Ackley’s heart.
A featured contributor to Fate magazine and other publications. This is one of many stories I have written and investigated regarding unexplained phenomena. If you have a ghost story to share, I would love to hear about it!
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Sometimes I wonder why so many people who call for advice seem immune to happiness. Twice this week one of my clients was in tears saying she was unhappy with her life, and sad that she can not have what she desires in her life immediately. I began to wonder why she was so unhappy. She is in a good paying profession that she loves; she is financially stable by today’s standards; she has a husband in what seems to be a seemingly workable marriage. Yet the secret of contentment seems to escape her. Maybe she enjoys being sad. Happiness is a state of mind and comes from within ourselves, but we have to work at experiencing it and practice to achieve its full measure. Happiness is highly contagious and we are the happiest when we share it with others. It is by the giving of ourselves to our work, to our relationships and to our friends that we bring happiness to ourselves and our lives.
Webster defines happiness as a quality or state of being happy, which results from possession or attainment of what one considers good. As we pass through the different portals of life happiness has different values for us. Candy or a toy brings happiness to a small child. New clothes or a car makes a teenager happy. These are temporary joys. As the years pass, the meaning of relationships, friends and home life brings happiness. In later years we find happiness in the simple things, the fresh smell of roses, the radiant sunset or the songs of a bird.
My thoughts are still on my unhappy caller. I should like to share with her this secret recipe for happiness:
Take three heaping portions of patience, one humble heartful of love, two handfuls of generosity, a cup of laughter, a dash of tranquility. Sift this with a large measure of understanding; sprinkle generously with kindness, mix well; spread it over a long period of time and share it with everyone you know. This recipe has the happiness seal of approval!
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Everyone wants to experience happiness. Not a day goes by when I don’t hear someone saying they desire more happiness in their lives.
Persons are unhappy because they have not yet learned the art of living happily in spite of the conditions and circumstances in their lives. True happiness can be attained by anyone! It’s not so much about what our experiences are, as to how we react to them. This is important if we are to truly be happy. It’s your reactions to life that counts. How do you react when something unexpected or disturbing happens? Do you dramatize the negative aspects of your experiences? Do you hold the thoughts that some people are just naturally happy, that no matter what you do you cannot seem to experience happiness? This is not true. It is our reaction to things that causes us to be happy or unhappy. What can we do about our reactions? We can change them. Thoughts are very powerful. One of the axiomatic truths of metaphysics is that “thoughts are things.” What we think with conviction comes into manifestation. Joseph Murphy said, “Change your thoughts and you change your destiny.” If you have been unhappy, depressed, hurt or disappointed, don’t wait for a certain change in events to experience happiness again. The change can come through a change in your thinking.
Even in the midst of a troubling situation, bring a thought of happiness into your mind, and you will begin at once to get a reaction of joy. When we touch the inner well of happiness, we feel the strength of it sustaining us. True happiness does not depend upon other persons or things. It derives from our attitudes of mind. Too often we associate the word happiness as dependent on one word – when. “When he tells me he loves me,” “when something changes,” “when I get more money,” then I will be happy. We must cultivate and increase our ability to be happy. Those that are happy have learned to cultivate happiness by transcending conditions.
Positive affirmations such as “All things work together for good, nothing can disturb my happiness,” can help keep your thoughts centered, help to control your mood, and your reactions to life. Happiness is yours to enjoy now!
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