A Free Spirit

INTRODUCTION

The contents of all the chapters in this book have been chosen to enlighten and give hope to all who read them. At the very least, I hope they will encourage people in the very stressful society in which we now live to put aside a little time to think about the subjects that have been chosen.

I have always been able to communicate with creatures of all kinds. The natural environment is my real home, and my spirit returns there whenever I need to replenish my energies. If I am not in a place where I can see the sky and the horizon, I feel trapped.

As a child, I spent hours sitting at the top of an old cedar tree, gazing between the branches into space. Even then, I was aware of a presence that filled my body with a sense of peace. Intuitively, I felt that I should be ‘out there’, and not living on this planet. I know now that the links between myself and other dimensions were created and woven into the tapestry of my life, even before my birth.

That is why the spirit world made itself known to me at an early age. From just two years old, I could see and hear spirits: figures walking through my bedroom at night forced me to spend more time hiding under the sheets than I did lying between them.

My love of nature came from the hours I spent lying on the grass during the summer months, listening to the mysterious sounds I could hear emanating from the centre of the earth. I remember the bewilderment on my mother’s face when I told her that I could hear the grass growing. When she questioned me further, I became excited, and told her that I could also hear the trees talking to each other. She just smiled, and patted me on the head. I am not sure why this particular incident should have had such an impact on me. Perhaps even at that young age I detected the disbelief I was later to accept as the norm whenever I spoke about these things to people who were ignorant of any other kind of world but the visible one – the world they could see and touch.

But communing with nature in all its forms – animal, vegetable and mineral – was a natural gift for me, and doubt in the reality of my own experiences, which can be a major factor in closing down a person’s senses, was absent from my mind. The invisible world played an important part in my development, and the love and knowledge that were passed on to me were more important than academic qualifications. I used my intuition as a tool, and as a result I have been able to open doors that remain closed to others.

I have always accepted the natural gifts I was born with as my birthright. But who am I? Where did it all begin?

My paternal grandmother was a talented medium and dedicated Spiritualist. She was certainly different from other grandparents I knew. Tiny, with black curly hair, piercing eyes and little gold earrings that she wore constantly, she was a formidable figure. Nobody ever questioned her decisions – they wouldn’t dare! I was always in awe of her, even though I was born under her roof and was part of her family.

Although she had given birth to thirteen children, only seven survived. But this was not unusual in the early 1900s. I think her suffering was eased by the fact that she was able to communicate with those she lost through her abilities as a medium.

I know nothing about my grandmother’s background. But it was obvious to me that, somewhere down the line, she had come from gypsy stock. It was from this source that I inherited my talents: first the music, and then the mediumship and healing.

If my grandmother had not been such a strict disciplinarian, it might have been a typical Bohemian household. Her children were all talented artists, musicians and singers, and nearly every room in her large Victorian house contained a piano. This early introduction into the world of music, and talented musicians, has never lost its magic for me. Throughout my life, music has been my inspiration and has empowered me when I needed it most. It is a constant companion, which has helped me to reach for the moon when all other avenues have seemed to be closed. It has been my lifeline.

From the time of my birth I have never lived a normal life. I grew up listening to my grandmother talking to her dead children, to relatives and friends. There was no ridicule, just an acceptance in the family of the afterlife.

My paternal grandfather had a book which proved that his lineage went right back to the Hebrews. I was too young to understand the significance of this book, but I remember that he guarded it with his life. None of us could touch it, but I did catch a glimpse of it once. The cover was old, and the pages were brown around the edges, but it had an aura about it, and even at that young age I could feel the power that emanated from its pages.

It is only during the last twenty years of my life that I have given this book, and its significance, any thought. This is because of the amazing affinity there has always been between me and my Jewish friends. I have also had the privilege of healing Jews who were incarcerated in concentration camps, and through their stories I know that the world lost not only the innocents, but also great and good men and women of wisdom whose words were lost for ever – wise and gifted people the world could not afford to lose. The impact of this loss is still with us today, while an ever-increasing circle of violence still threatens to destroy the planet on which we live.

My mother’s family were active members of the Church of England, and had very little to do with my Spiritualist paternal grandmother. Silent religious wars raged at the very core of our family life. This was very good training for a medium, because people are constantly trying to goad me into arguments of a religious nature. Many seem frustrated that I recommend that we all ‘live and let live’ rather than taking sides. If people are happy with the religion of their choice, that is all that matters. If for any reason their religion threatens to spoil their lives, they should leave it and seek a different path – one that gives them peace.

The local church played a major role in my mother’s life. Although I hated it, it was a place where I was allowed to sing, and I looked upon that as some kind of compensation. Although I didn’t know it at the time, it was to prepare me for my singing career later.

I know so little about my family because we lost contact with each other during the Second World War. I am obviously not a thoroughbred of noble stock, and I am truly grateful for this, because the road I was destined to walk has been long and hard. It also opened the doors of compassion and understanding and has enabled me to teach through the written word.

My ability to bypass the physical and link into the mind has also opened many other doors. My spiritual teachers taught me not to judge by appearance, because this life is only a coat that we wear for a short space of time, but to pay attention to the mind, which will continue to exist long after our physical presence is dead.

People who have communicated with me in order to give survival evidence have told me about their ‘life after death’ experiences and their surprise when they were asked by a ‘Being of Light’ what they had learned. Without exception, they have told me that this was the last question they’d expected to be asked, because they had thought that the afterlife was about the consequences of good and evil. As a result, they had all been afraid of the aftermath of things they had done that had had an undesirable effect upon those who were close to them. However, the question they were posed is proof indeed that life is about seeking knowledge if we wish to progress.

I hope that this account will have given you some insight into why I care so much for every living thing on this planet, and why we all have a part to play in resurrecting a healthy environment. This book will take you further along the road of understanding, and I hope that that it will be a valuable addition to your library of knowledge.

PART ONE

How to Communicate With All Life-Forms and Interact with the Environment

CHAPTER 1

Animal Cruelty and My First Patient

I live not in myself, but I become

Portion of that around me; and to me

High mountains are a feeling, but the hum

Of human cities torture.

Childe Harold

Lord Byron 1788–1824

I visited the circus for the first time when I was four years old – and I hated it. When the animals performed, I felt physically sick, and my heart filled with sadness at the sight of elephants, bears, lions and tigers performing tricks to entertain the public. I remember crying all the way home.

It was the same when I visited London Zoo. The sight of such majestic creatures pacing up and down on a concrete base, surrounded by iron bars, again tore at my heart. Their humiliation and pain became mine.

My family were mystified by my apparent distress. Although I was too young to understand or explain, I clearly remember that feeling of isolation and of being different. And so it has been all my life.

I spent many years wondering why I felt such intense pain on these occasions. And it was only from my study of the mind that I realised I had the ability to tune into the wavelength of every living thing.

To this day, humiliation and cruelty towards animals (and all other life forms) continues. Time and money are now being spent on trying to eliminate cruelty and extinction, and on improving living conditions in wildlife parks and modern zoos. However, in premises outside these establishments, there is still terrible suffering. In so-called civilised countries such as our own, cruelty towards animals who cannot defend themselves takes place on a minute-to-minute basis. Animal rescue centres are full of pathetic cases, and although television documentaries and series like Animal Hospital and Pet Rescue try to educate the public, there is still a long way to go.

Every single human being guilty of cruel behaviour demeans us all. I believe that the perpetrators of these horrors are mentally maladjusted people, social misfits whose numbers are unfortunately growing. It is tempting to presume that the abusers are all alcoholics and drug users, but I believe that the majority are people who want to take out their anguish on someone or something for a life that has gone wrong, and animals are an easy target. This will not stop until the laws are changed – it is still far too easy to maim and kill animals without having to face the consequences. Although these people may be banned from having an animal of their own for many years, it cannot compensate for the terrible death of even one such creature.

This could change tomorrow if everyone was vigilant and had the courage to speak out if at all worried about a possible case of cruelty or ignorance in the way a pet is being treated. I have heard about animals who have been left out during the winter, without any cover and with only soaking rags to lie on. Although Animal Rescue is notified, stupid laws often prevent them from helping, and the wretched animals continued to suffer.

Similarly, thousands of dogs are tied up in gardens. They howl all day, which is the only way they can ask for help – and they usually get a beating for it.

Mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters, rabbits and guinea pigs are bought to entertain children who quickly become bored with the effort of looking after them. As a result, these little creatures can be left imprisoned in small cages day after day. Unable to move freely, they show their deep psychological distress by going round and round in circles. These pets usually belong to families who show love for each other but who do not give a single thought to the torment that is going on within the mind and soul of the animal in their care. People should know better.

I have seen snakes who have never been out of the confines of their glass prisons, for that is all these containers are. They are often bought as a novelty – but novelties eventually lose their charm, and that is when the fate of the snakes is sealed. Never to be fed, cleaned or handled in a proper manner, or to experience any positive vibrations, they surely must embrace death as a loving friend.

I wanted to be a vet but it was not to be. However, through the medium of healing I have been able to use my gifts in a more subtle way. Human beings are not superior, they are simply different. It is essential that we show some humility by meeting other species half-way. Only then will we be able to share their lives.

Animals do not understand our language, and for communication to improve we must learn to improve our telepathic abilities. Telepathy is simply an extension of intuition, that gut feeling which everyone has experienced.

Of course, it helps if you have been born with telepathic ability, but even psychics have to learn to adapt to things that are strange and difficult. Lessons have to be learnt, but once you have achieved your objective you will never lose the gift, it will be with you for ever. Individual effort helps make the world a better place for everyone.

If you are capable of compassion, then there is no reason why you should not be able to heal. Healing is a natural ability, born out of love for every living thing.

I was about eight years old when I practised healing for the first time. Walking to school one day, I saw a cat which was obviously in distress. I stopped and stroked it, and then held it in my arms. It just seemed the right thing to do. Then, in my head, I heard the cat speak to me, and I responded in the same way. I was too young to realise that I was having a telepathic conversation, and because of my religious upbringing I asked God to make the cat better. I stroked it for about ten minutes, and then hurried off to school.

The cat was still sitting in the same place at the end of the day, so I cuddled it again for a while before making my way home. As the cat had looked so thin and ill, the following morning I asked my mother to give me some scraps, but when I reached the spot where I had left it, it had disappeared, so I left the food on the ground. As I went home that afternoon it jumped out of a bush, climbed on to my shoulder and began to purr – a totally different disposition from the one I had left it in the previous day. I was delighted.

Some friends told me later that they had seen the cat being stoned by a gang of boys, but by the time they had returned with an adult it had been carried off in a sack. The youths must have dumped it on their way home.

Although still very young, I vowed then that I would try to make the world a better place for any animal that crossed my path. At that time I could not have foreseen just how involved I would become through the power of healing.

Most children are natural healers and have no problem communicating telepathically with their pets. But they become uneasy if adults don’t understand, and they gradually lose the ability. If you watch a young child talking to a pet, you can sometimes see that the child is answering apparently inaudible questions. But if an adult is near, they will lose their spontaneity and reply in the spoken word. It is fascinating to study children in these circumstances, and we could learn a lot from them.

It is important that we do not lose the child within us, for it is only with the mind of a child that we can achieve the impossible. Why is this? It is because children simply do not know that they are not supposed to be able to achieve the impossible. Once doubt arrives, we can no longer work our magic, because the secret of life itself is steeped in magic.

And what can be more magical than the ability to connect with all the other species who share our planet? In the following chapters I will teach you how this can be done. Don’t worry if you feel that you are not psychic and therefore will not succeed. All you have to do is to rid yourself of doubt – it is a negative companion, and if you allow it to enter into the equation you will fail. It is only ‘knowing’ that will unlock the doors of your mind and take you into realms of understanding that would otherwise be closed to you.

Remember, we are all born psychic, but if you neglect any part of your wholeness, then you will lose that talent. Finding the keys once they have been lost can be difficult – but not impossible.

Share your soul with the animals and they will teach you everything they know.

CHAPTER 2

Communication With Our Pets

I shall light a candle of understanding in thine heart,

which shall not be put out.

The Bible

2 Esdras

Before any kind of communication with wild animals can take place, it is first necessary to understand the domesticated pet. Most people believe they know what is going on in the mind of their pet, but unless they have a relationship where they are ‘as one’ with them, they are probably wrong.

All life forms have the ability to react emotionally to any given situation. Unfortunately, because animals do not speak our language, they can only respond to vibrations and sound. That is why pets in the home invariably show a lot of affection to their adopted families. Their ability to show this love may seem quite extreme at times, but that’s because it’s the only way they can communicate their feelings.

But it is the territory