It was bright and early when several friends and I started
off yesterday on a day trip to Lily Dale, NY to go to the community there for
the Lily Dale Assembly.
If you ever get some time...and are interested in things Spiritual and of Life after Death...and miss any of your loved ones...
You should GO.
First a little background information if you have never
heard of it:
Lily Dale is the “World’s Largest Center for the Science Philosophy and Religion of Spiritualism” and it is right here in New York State. Lily Dale was incorporated in 1879 as Cassadaga Lake Free Association, a camp and meeting place for Spiritualists and Freethinkers.The name was changed to The City of Light in 1903 and finally to Lily Dale Assembly in 1906. The purpose of Lily Dale is to further the science, philosophy, & religion of Spiritualism.
Spiritualism was very popular back in the late 1800's. Mrs. Lincoln was very interested in Spiritualism after the death of Abraham and also the death of her son. As a matter of fact, it sort of started right here in Central New York in the Moravia area with the Fox Sisters way back when....
But surely I digress.
Lily Dale is a hamlet located in the Town of Pomfret on the east side of Cassadaga Lake, next to the Village of Cassadaga, Located in southwestern New York State, it is one hour southwest of Buffalo, halfway to the Pennsylvania border. Lily Dale's year-round population is estimated to be 275. Each year approximately 22,000 visitors come for classes, workshops, public church services and mediumship demonstrations, lectures, and private appointments with mediums.
The
Definition of A Spiritualist
“One who believes, as the basis of
his or her religion, in the continuity of life and in individual
responsibility. Some, but not all, Spiritualists are Mediums and/or Healers.
Spiritualists endeavor to find the truth in all things and to live their lives
in accordance therewith.”
Here are their Beliefs:
(the last one says: "Prophecy and Healing are expressions of God.")
I can get behind these tenets. I have no problem with these beliefs.
This was a first time visit for
myself, and friends Terri & Gwen. We were accompanied by friends Sean &
Liz who love this place and were our tour guides.
First off the place is CALM, cute,
quaint and warm.
You can just go up and sit on a lot of the porches there.
Here we all are relaxing on the porch of the Angel House B & B
Many of the
registered Mediums have appointments in their homes and you are welcome to sign
up for readings if you like. There are shops for Alternative reading, crystals,
incense and the like. There are places for food and drink and the whole place
has the feeling of FAMILY.
When we arrived there was the threat
of a storm coming in, and the place took on an Otherworldly sort of feel. We
walked in the woods and saw the Pet Cemetery which was beautiful, sensitive,
and filled with poignant longing and love for the departed animals celebrated
there.
From there we wandered to
“Inspiration Stump” a very historical and magickal place! Set in the woods,
Mediums have been gathering here since 1898 to give spontaneous readings to the
audience that may gather there. On this day, we got to the stump early, before
it rained and reveled in the quiet.
As we were walking quietly in the woods,
someone said, “Is that a bird?? It’s HUGE.”
We all turned to squint, and sure
enough, close by us was a large turkey in the woods along with two babies. Turkeys are
symbols for “Gifts” and Spiritual Enlightenment, in particular, FORETELLING. I
found it quite a wondrous SIGN.
When we got to the actual stump, a
place where spiritual energy had been flowing for over a 115 years….
The stump had a slab of rock placed on top years ago, because it was starting to decay. Nowadays, it is gated off to protect it from the public, as it is no longer stood upon, due to its age. There was a feeling of tremendous
age and history there for me. I heard and
felt a “buzz” coming from the stump, like conversations buzzing....I walked round the stump in a clockwise circle to
bless it. We all chatted here for quite some time before moving on.
We ducked into a store when it began
to pour. The rain that followed made the daily religious services thusly, all go
indoors at the Auditorium and we found that space to also to be quite
comfortable.
When we sat down, I just knew that
the experience would be amazing and I felt that I would indeed receive a
message. I have wanted to hear from my parents for a long time. I have dreams
about them and have had a lot of intuitive feelings about them while writing my
book, and nearly daily I feel their presence. But I wanted to get a definitive message from them and hoped that they were
OK with everything, with me, and that they were alright.
In my heart of hearts, I knew they were….but ….
I really
wanted to get a direct message from them, ya know?
Yes, we all doubt our psychic abilities. Even us psychics, sometimes :)
There I sat before the service, with
my friends,
Previously, when I first arrived
here at Lily Dale, I got out of the car, and I purposely shielded myself with
my imagined “energy condom of white opaque light.” This shield of mine was
porous enough for love to come in and out of, and yet would protect me from
anything harmful, in my mind, body and spirit. I didn’t want to pick up any
“extraneous” energies, but only messages of love from those who cared about me.
I did not want anyone or anything “attaching” to me whilst there, but for me to
remain safe and open otherwise. I felt I was there to LISTEN, to learn and to
feel.
The facilitator of the service came
up to open the meeting with words of social behavior for the gathering
assembled (shut off cell phones, no smoking or food or beverage allowed, and
please no applause for the Mediums, but to please smile and remain open if you
would like to receive a message. Also, the gathered were informed to “not walk
between the Medium and the person being given a message, so as to not break the
energy communication.”)
After all this was a religious
church service and to give it the respect it is due seemed more than fair to
inform the general population. The meeting opened with a prayer to Universal
God energy and we were all at peace and ready.
The format was for several readers
to come out to address the group, one at a time. They were given a wireless mic
because the crowd was large, even for a rainy day. Each Medium had their own
style and would usually be called to one of three individuals which would be
singled out for a message for their portion of the service. There were about 5
or 6 Mediums per service. We went to two service yesterday, and I was singled
out TWICE, once at each program! My friends, Gwen and Terri were also given
messages at each service as well! Out of all those people we felt truly
BLESSED!
It was an amazing experience.
The second reader of the service
came towards my side of the auditorium and said, “to the blond lady with
fluffy hair” and singled me out. She told me that there was a man who wanted to
give me a message and would I like to receive it?”
“Yes” was my heartfelt reply. It was
my DAD. He was here! Yes, Earl Brown, quiet man that he was, was first in line
to talk to me. Dad wanted me to know that he watches over me and is with me a
lot.” The reader continued, Also with him, another man, smaller in statue…an
“in law.” (I believed this to be my first father in-law, Jim Underwood.) He
too, had my back and supported me.
Also….(she went on and asked me…)
“Do you ever feel that someone sits on the
bed with you? Do you feel ‘hot spots” on the floor sometime?
I did. I DO. “Yes, very much so.” I
replied.
It was my dear cat, Sha-Sha, who she
said “Cuddles” with me still. This cat likes to play with your hair.” I was
amazed at the synchronicity of it all. But wait…there is MORE.
“There is a woman here too. She had
trouble breathing. ….she too, had “fluffy” hair. I see curlers in her hair…but
she never slept with them. Do you know who this is?”
“Yes. It is my mother.” (I started
to feel very emotional through all this…)
“Yes. She said that she had many
hardships in her life. She too, wants you to know that you are on the right
path, and doing what you need to do. She supports you. Something that you are
doing now is good and you will be doing very well in 6 months time and you will
be very happy then. To keep doing what you are doing. She is doing better now. She
wants you to know that her hardships are over and you can move forward now.”
I burst into tears.
I burst into tears.
The Medium continued, “You are
crying now, because she is sitting on your lap. I leave you with this and with
love and light.”
It was as if a light had gone on
inside me. Gwen and Terri also got readings and it was so fascinating to watch
the readers work. One of the Mediums channeled people. In the next session,
which we decided it would be interesting to go to another service at 5:30pm,
this different Medium, a Channel-er, sought me out once again! Out of all the people there, I
was feeling very fortunate.
“Some dead people are pretty chatty”
she said. We all laughed.
The Medium said that there was a
woman here to talk to me. It was my mother again! Mom was chatty in life too. :)
The Medium channeled her and said,
“A woman who couldn’t breathe very well. She had phlegm ….coughing….”(the Medium, sometimes would cough or say that she tasted cigarettes....)
“Yes. That is my mother. She died of Emphysema.”
The Medium went on…
““She says that you are strong…and stubborn…
and to start taking time for yourself. This woman is around you and supports
you all the time looking after you. In life, she took care of everyone and
everything… She says that you have been thinking about moving away from
something or someone….part time….It is negative energy and you need to
disconnect from the negative influences, and to go ahead and make the changes
that you need to…..I leave you with this and love and light.”
Both of these Mediums gave me a
tremendous GIFT. Just as the turkey had foretold it would be.
The rest of the day was spent
with my friends, in the woods, walking the fairy trail which was so magickal…
We talked about great things, personal things, mundane things, things of spiritual importance. We wandered the village and admired the adorable "yard-ens" full of flowers and that did not need mowing.
We meandered to a bistro and had soups and desserts (creme brulee' for me...mmmmm)...
The ride
back was long but connective with each other and chatted away the miles....
This day away was indeed one of the most interesting, spiritually, that I've had in a long time.
By the way….
as I write this…
and know what the date is this morning when I awoke....
I now
realize yet another reason that my mom was so chatty yesterday and why she cut
through the line twice to talk to me:
Today is my mother’s birthday. Bernice Brown
would’ve been 83.
Happy Birthday Mom~ So VERY nice to hear from you!
