Accompany Psychic, Medium, Metaphysician Shawn M. Cohen as she travails the Spiritual Path which is not always easy! Much information and some damn fine Music to accompany your journey. Pathwork is always interesting! 35 years later she is still writing about it.
"I awoke this morning, Love laid me down by the river,
drifting I turned on upstream bound for my forgiver.
In the giving of my eyes to see your face.
Sound did silence me leaving no trace.
I beg to leave, to hear your wonderous stories.
Beg to hear your wonderous stories.
He spoke of lands not far or lands they were in his mind.
Of fusion captured high where reason captured his time.
In no time at all he took me to the gate.
In haste I quickly check the time. If I was late,
I had to leave to hear your wonderous stories.
Had to leave to hear your wonderous stories.
Hearing, Hearing, Hearing your wonderous stories.
Hearing your wonderous stories.
It is no lie I can see deeply into the future. Imagine everything. You're close and were you there to stand so
Cautiously at first and then so high.
As he spoke my spirit climbed into the sky. I bid it to return, to hear your wonderous stories.
Return to hear your wonderous stories...hearing, hearing, hearing, hearing, hearing...."
(c) Jon Anderson of YES.
I felt so compelled by hearing this song again, which I first encountered in 1970 with my then first love, Glen. He was 16 and I was 14. He turned me on to many things back then. The world was all topsy turvy, the Vietnam war was still raging, the Beatles had just broke up, which was like a death to us all! But there were so many great bands like YES, The Moody Blues, The Who, Led Zeppelin and all the Soul around too, not to mention Joni Mitchell and soft rock. Inside all these lyrics were wonderous stories. One lesson after another in life from these songsters, lyricists, folklore spreaders. It was the hippie times, we wore bell bottom jeans and tied dyed t shirts...we flashed the peace sign a lot, then and we protested on everything from the War in Vietnam, "Make Love Not War!" Human Rights, Women's Lib, Black Rights, Gay Rights...we protested, the youth of America and we gathered together in our communities, slowly releasing the nest of home and becoming a citizen of the world. We tuned in, dropped out, skipped school, smoked tons of pot and hitchhiked wherever we needed to go!
Fear was a "negative, a downer" and we were into the Brotherhood of Mankind. So we panhandled when we needed money, even if our parents had money! They were the "Establishment" and we did not want to be like THEM!
We did what we wanted, we helped each other, we "hung out" usually in the local parks or me on the back of my boyfriend's motorcycle! My long straight hair blowing out of the helmet as we ducked and dived the cars on his Kawasaki. No one would draft him, he would go to Canada if it came to it! We went to see concerts, endless concerts from OUR Leaders like Dylan or Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. "Teach your children well" we laughed, no, we were teaching our parents. "What if they gave a war and nobody came?" was a favorite motto. Or "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle!"
It was all changing. Demonstrations on Washington, D.C. against War, against racism, for Women's abortion rights, and we did it, we made it all happen! We took responsibility for our own lives and told the world we want PEACE....and John Lennon stepped up to the post, and not even American...but we loved his bravery and his clarity. He knew we were living in a land of lies...and he walked with us, "Power to the People, Right ON!"
I grew up in all of this...there were more changes in this time to ideas, inventions, human rights, medicine, healing, and esoteric knowledge became a thing, a thing to seek! Astrology, "When the Moon is in the 7th house and Jupiter aligns with Mars" sang the 5th Dimention and the nothing-like-it-before-play "HAIR"!
Timothy Leary said, "Drop out, tune in" we did. We went into Earth shoes, Herbalism, Spiritual awakening, Yoga brought to the West. IN a nutshell, we all collectively birthed a New World.
These are my actual memories. I am not quoting news reels or Google Archives! lol I have the memory in my mind as a teenager of watching this incredible world be born. It was then that I decided to become someone who helps the world. I did not know how then, but I was already reading "Linda Goodman's Sun Signs" at age 13.
It took the shock of Glen's death, his spirit coming to me to show me, as I did not know he died in 1979 for me to realize who I was and what I came here to do!
The details I did not know, but I did know he was speaking to me, sharing his mind with me, coming into my dreams every night telling me, "I'm not really dead, you know..." and I would wake up and wonder, what does he mean? I was 23 years old. I was so wounded by this lost opportunity I did not think I could come back from it. We were not together when he died, being hit by a car in California...we had lived there together 3 years before and then broke up. In an era of peace, freedom and love...somehow making that work in reality was not always easy. But we were Babes in the Woods...
eventually I understood what he kept telling me...he kept telling me that there was "life after death"! He was Jewish like me, but my mother was Catholic...and he read so many great and deep books. His letters to me from Los Angeles to me in Pittsburgh, where he went out there and waited for me to finish high school, as I was 2 years younger...he wrote me loads of letters. All of them were filled with spiritual content I did not know, or understand! I used to sit in a diner in Pittsburgh with my best girlfriends and ask them, "Do you understand what he is saying?" and the giggles would go around the endless coffee and cigarette smoke and they would all shake their heads..."he's deep, Shawn!" as if being deep was a terrible thing! I saw his heart, his wanting me to "get something", his choices in reading like Martin Bubar, was so advanced and Sidhartha. I was a child compared but I was growing up. When we were together in Pittsburgh, he went to a different high school then me, across town, in the more Jewish section of town, Squirrel Hill...he would come to pick me up from high school on his Kawasaki, always bring an extra helmet for me. Sometimes he would bring his friend Serge, aka Paul also on his motorcycle. Glen wore a fringed suede jacket and I would hold on for life when we took off. He was handsome with jet black hair and cystal blue eyes, tall too.
There were so many parties, so many times we were together, so many memories that when he died, even though we had broken up 3 years before, I was just devastated. No one understood, just my mother. Her mother was psychic, from Ireland and she knew I had the same gifts. I would cry to my mother, "Why does he keep telling me he is not dead in my dreams?" and my mother would hug me and brush back my long hair and say, "He is coming to you because he loves you."
In time, I walked forward again. In time, with the help of my friends, my therapist (yes, I went to one and it helped) I began to get that he was there with me and this was how it was going to be. I wanted to go back to California again, eventually I did. By 1981 I found a school (or was led to it) The American National Institute for Psychical Research and Development in Westlake, California. I was in school again at L.A. City College, still pursuing my degree in Psychology, when my friend where I waitressed during the day, Debbie, I finally shared what had happened to me with Glen and how I wanted to find someway, a school if there was one, to learn more...what did she tell me? About the school she was in, American National Institute for Psychical Research and Development up the 405 freeway to Westlake! Unreal, there it was, she took me there herself and I immediately dropped out of L.A. College and enrolled for a Degree in Metaphysics! That was 1981, graduated in 1983 and the last year I also enrolled in their Nursing program with a Holistic idea in mind. Yes, I had found my path. I was taught absolutely everything I needed to know, from the Astrology I had self taught myself coming into a Professional Level, to The Tarot, Astral Projection, Holistic Healing, Laying on the Hands, Angelology, Candle Magic, Numerology, Past Life Regression, Working with Guides, Chakras, Meditation, seeing the Aura, opening up my 3rd eye and truly seeing the future and the past. I was transformed, transfixed and transmogafied into the spiritual and psychic Lightworker person I am today! That was 35 years ago. I got lucky, or maybe I was guided by an Angel on a Kawasaki...I like to think I was. He is still guiding me... and I have just published my latest Metaphysical workbook for my current Metaphysical Students. I recently was contacted by Paul, (Serge) Glen's friend from decades before on Facebook. He and I shared some "Wonderous Stories" about Glen and their motorcycle trips together. It was great to speak to someone who knew him, still had his fringe vest! I have come full circle, at age 62. I am sure there is much more ahead but without Glen's "wonderous stories", taking me to see YES at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa. when we were in High School in the early 1970's, would I be here today? No, I don't think so... someone, a Soul Mate, a Twin Flame, a Kindred Spirit, a passed on family member, a Guardian Angel or even a beloved passed on pet, is always watching over us from Heaven...who is it for you? What are your wonderous stories?
Glen Miles Ponitzman born Feb 25, 1954- July 25, 1979
still watching over me. Still telling me his "Wonderous Stories". This picture he sent to me when he was in L.A. (this is Ventura County) at age 20, in 1974 waiting for me to finish High School and come out to be with him. I did and we "lived in sin", as they used to call it. We were always the rebels, always ahead of the frey and we always will be! 💖💕 Thank you, Babe, for all your help over the years! xoxo Here is what all that help manifested:
If you would like to buy any of my Metaphysics books which are all aimed with the student in mind but anyone can benefit from the beautiful esoteric and divination tools within them each, they are: "The Tarot, The Tarot Workbook" by Shawn M. Cohen, "Metaphysical 1 Workbook", by Shawn M. Cohen and recently published "Metaphysical 2 Workbook" by, Shawn M. Cohen all available in hardcover, softcover Ebook format and PDR, here: http://www.Blurb.co.uk
If you would like a Psychic, Medium Tarot Reading or an Astological Consultation or a Past Life Regression with me or perhaps take a Metaphysics 1 & 2, Astrology 1&2, or Tarot course with me online on Zoom, please get in touch. My email is: psychicshawncohen@gmail.com
(c) All content copyright to Shawn M. Cohen, Bsc. Metaphysics, L.V.N., June 29, 2018 except the lyrics to "Wonderous Stories" by Jon Anderson of the rock group YES and the video, for fair usage only. No copyright infringement intended.
"Now I know I'm just another step along the way...." by Justin Hayward, Mike Pinter, John Lodge, Graham Edge, Ray Thomas also known as THE MOODY BLUES.
It has been a while since I wrote here. It has been a very busy year, 2015.
First of all my daughter would be applying for University. This meant finishing up "High School" but in England we say "A" levels from "College". Her absent father wanted to connect with her again, after another long absence, as she was coming up to age 19 which means the end of his small forced by law, child support.
We both had qualms about that. But in the end, he put his money where his mouth was and gave her some money.
The first thing she said to me was, "Mum, let's go back to Pittsburgh and see Grandma!" And so we did....but before we left there were a few things to consider. One, who would watch the cat? And could I get all my old girlfriends from Pittsburgh who I had grown up with to connect again and meet in The Burgh! I started a group Facebook Page and invited them all in. One was in Florida, another in Ohio and the other in California. I, now 30 years living in London England, knew it would take some time, effort and organization to get us all there at the same time and co-ordinate dates. My other friends who still lived in Pittsburgh of course, had their lives, families and even grandchildren at this stage of the game! So we began the, "YES, I am coming HOME" story and when and where we would stay and so on. I was very happy to be able to do this at the ripe age of 59. I was sure it was all planned from above on some level. As a Psychic Medium I could just hear the many deceased parents of this group who all knew each other or most of them saying, "Great, Girls, Go for It!" And so we did.
Getting to Pgh was easy. I got to work in a Metaphysical shop doing what I do best, giving readings and the owner was so gracious to me as she once was 9 years before when I was last there. She offered us her home to stay in too. I am not speaking to my siblings for various reasons so there was no way I was staying with any of them. It is what it is but we got a place to stay and we were able to be in the neighborhood I loved so much, Shadyside. Where my story with Art unfolded, I got to see the brick I had put in Shadyside, which I had done, ordered over the phone from London, 9 years before but had not seen, that says, "Art Swiden, Champ 4 Ever!" and that made me happy. Another friend of mine took me to see his grave site, as the last time I saw it, it was not even marked! So now it was marked...and not as I had hoped but ok, it is, what it is. She asked me while we were there, "Don't you want to spend some time here?" I said, "What for? He isn't in there, just his carcass, his body." She has known me since I was 16. But she still can not believe that I became a Psychic Medium....even though she knew my story, witnessed my changes when my first boyfriend died and I saw his spirit and told her...told most of them too and to this day only a couple of them actually believe I am in touch with passed on people! I gave readings to some while I was there and this was clear that they loved it, their dead relatives came through and spoke words that I could never have known, especially since some I had not seen in 30 years! But others just pretended it was not so, not interested because it took them out of their comfort zone! And what happens when you go home is this...some people who knew you growing up can not see you as anything other then the picture in their mind of you at whatever age they met you or knew you!
So even though I had saved all their letters to me, their notes from high school which we used to write to each other back and forth, it was the highlight of our day to get these notes and letters. I had kept them even in my many travels. Why? Why had I not done what they had all done and thrown them out after a while? Perhaps they were just too precious to me. They were filled with great stories, of love gained, love lost, adventures, inside jokes between us and remembrance and all from high school and some who I was friends with even longer still wrote to me and I had those great letters as well. And then they went into details of their marriages of which I was at many and even in the bridal party, even maid of honor at one. I made many new friends along the way of my life, considering I have lived outside the USA longer now then inside. But they were my gang and I loved them all.
Now the one I was maid of honor to...her story and mine is all about how two friends grow apart because one marries and goes off into the suburbs to live a very traditional life (even if said friend did loads of exciting adventures with me before hand and well, I was a bit surprised when it was her choice to be Mother/Wife no career, that was her choice and of course I was happy for her!) Now her older sister invited me to London in 1985...this was because she was running a work shop and needed people for it. It was not, as I realized later, a special invitation for me, but she sweetened the pot by saying "if you come to this workshop in Italy, you can do some metaphysics there." I did come, paid my way, did the metaphysics which wowed the group ((I read Auras) and then when I came back to London and her flat, was inundated with invitations from the group's participants. So within a week of this I was now sought out to live and work in London. I was asked to move out and get my own place,by her sister and I suspected then there was some jealousy but I got a place. And the rest is history. I had a falling out over a business deal with this same person in 1991. It was clear I would have been the 3rd wheel on a business which I had brought forth and the talent as well. So I left. I made the right choice too. Her sister went back and said a pack of lies about me to cover up her own selfish behavior. So that friend was now not speaking to me! And of course she believed her sister! I was never in any running for the truth! So now here we are, her sister passed away, 30 years later, we were all meeting up and we finally did meet up. She came in from Ohio. She wanted to meet me for coffees even before the group met. We had been emailing all along, even as she slammed me plenty of times in those emails. I tried to send her sister pictures and wrote a poem as she was dying and all I got back was, "SHE has nothing to say to you!" It was really ridiculous and sad. I had helped her sister in the past with things she did not even know about but clearly on her death bed she was not about to come clean! Ok, then. Your karma!
So imagine my surprise when we are all gathered together, for our second gathering as one of my friends from California who grew up with us and I had also shared an apartment with for two years as we went to College together and were best friends then, she came in, which was great! So casually my other friend starts saying things which blew my mind! I was hearing it as she was talking out loud to our gathered group of people there. It was all about how her sisters did not like her husband! Wow...who knew? I was actually accused of saying something against her husband and the other sister used it to destroy my friendship with the other sister! It was a case of me being blamed once again for not only what I did not do or say but how what I said was twisted into some kind of "bad" person story! Me being the "bad person"! I was shocked to say the least.
I have spent my life telling the truth, seeking and searching for it. I don't tell lies! But when confronting her once the gatherings were over...she freaked out, froze and not only tried to cover her words up but then called me a "LIAR" to all the other girls on the group...who sadly....not all of them....but some of them clearly decided I was not a nice person because my words to her after she was nasty to me in emails and sniping and insidious comments I just wrote back for her to go **** OFF!" Well, "Hurtful words" was what I got for my efforts! "Don't send me an email with 'hurtful words' on it!" I was shocked! NOT ONE FRIEND asked what happened and why it was going on, even though they all knew that we had not been friends for a long time! This "friend" showed me from the beginning when she came in and was so nervous at the restaurant. She was not sincere. She brought pictures of us all when we were teens which I asked her to bring. It was great to see them as mine were all lost in a move in L.A. But the minute she put them down, she picked them back up a couple seconds later! It was as if she was not going to "share" them. I could not see why this was except "control"!
So, after all that was said, the beautiful boxes of their saved letters wrapped in ribbons and given to each one with a personal note from me, the meeting of our kids to each others, being in their homes, some even meeting for separate dinners and lunches and brunches...I am truly sorry to report most of them, no really all of them hardly even write or communicate to me and that started not long after I came back to London, And when I came back home the pet sitter made a mess of my flat so that was another insult to injury story! WHAT is wrong with people!??
I spent time with my 90 year old mother in the nursing home...for the first couple of times she remembered me, the rest of the time, she called me by her sister's name, "Betty"! I know she has Dementia but it hurt. I am not even close to my Aunt anymore, as I once was...her choice not mine. I was losing my mother even though she was still alive...just. That was the hardest part of all of this and also the fact that I had no idea when or if I would get back here again. It took me 9 years just to get back to Pgh again. I felt like people were looking at me as someone else but could not see me for who I now was, not even my own mother! In the end, one wonders what you have to do to WAKE UP the people you grew up with and the answer is pretty clear, especially on this Easter Monday Morning as I write this, And I quote from the New Testament: Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” And Nathanael said unto him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip saith unto him, “Come and see” (John 1:45-46).
what they meant by that was what Justin Hayward and the Moody Blues sang which I first heard when I was age 14, in 1970 with my boyfriend Glen at the time who turned me on to all their music and here it is: { If you become more then you were when you were little, or when people dump their own poor opinions of themselves on you or how they perceived you when you were a teenager and refuse to see you for who you have become, when all their own insecurities are delivered to your doorstep and you are asking yourself, "what does this have to do with ME?" and finally being accused of things you not only did not DO or SAY because your own searching for TRUTH and being a PERSON WHO VALUES TRUTH ABOVE AND BEYOND ANYTHING ELSE means your "friends" find that weird and therefore are not interested in your ideas, philosophies...or you are not "ONE OF THEM" because they can not see you for what you do and who you are today! After all, what GOOD can come out of PITTSBURGH???}
I was impressed with their beautiful homes, their nice husbands and children and their big American cars but why then was it so hard to be impressed with what I had to say or share? They saw the weight gain I had from my thyroid disease. They saw me sweat in the sticky heat of summertime Pittsburgh, they saw me as a person who clearly is not rich, not married and therefore not the same as them, perhaps. Was I not one of them? Did I not grow up with them? Go to school with them? Attend their birthday parties, even have them with my own, and have so many experiences and adventures with them?? Then WHAT GIVES? Oh, my, whatever they saw in me for not wanting to be real friends after this huge effort to get together was just sad, like a missed opportunity.
The minute I had a fight with the other one, only defending myself the rest of them basically backed off. And you can bet your bottom dollar she is doing exactly what her sister did to me, lying about me through her teeth to cover up her own bad behavior! Coming to meet with them even though she doesn't live there and believe it or not, she was not even good friends with them, we were friends.
I am not Jesus, not even close, not Catholic or Christian nor do I want to be! But I can not help feeling that because I grew up with them, because I do something they don't really understand or perhaps see as weird, then this was just enough. Or is it as simple as "not interested in you!"
"Forgive them Father, for they know not what they have done"! Sounds corny to say that but I cant help feeling like the "mob" has turned against me! After all, how hard it is to send an email? Write something in the group I keep open for them? I mean really...!
Yes, it hurt me. Yes, it felt like a stab in my heart. Yes, I tried and tried to keep the conversation going with sending them each cards and emails and of course constant comments and content on our Facebook Group but I see that I am just kicking a dead horse. I am asking to be friends with my old best girlfriends who don't really want to know. Convinced that either I did something wrong as of our other friend (which I did not!) or that my weight was an issue or was it my daughter was too pretty? Or perhaps I was too pretty when I was younger?? Or maybe the Moon is made of cheese??!!!! WHAT THE?? For decades I have been an advocate of Natural Medicine and of course I use and believe in it. One of my friends, who is now a professor of biology at a college is sure as shit that everything that Natural Medicine does or claims it does, is "not evidence based!" and guess what folks??...I finally could not take the insults anymore! So ignorant and so sure she was right! Brainwashed by mainstream medicine! I was a NURSE but she believes her education because it behooves Big Pharma to try and belittle any other way. She also thought GMO's were ok too which in the end, I just had to say to her, "FFS, Grow UP, you are not the be all and end all of all knowledge because you studied Biology!" I studied it too in Nursing School but that point never came up, or when I would bring it up she would act like it was not important! Excuse me?? And our other friend with all her health problems and her kid's health problems for years and years I have tried to get her to go to a Naturopathic doctor. I can not tell you the TON of information I researched and sent to her over and over again! She could not be bothered to read it. She also made plenty of reasons/excuses as to why not to take her seriously overweight daughter to a Holistic Doctor. In the end, as I was finally getting somewhere with her, I realized something. The other one who fancies herself a DR. even though she is not...was telling her to do the opposite from me. That is why her child is still morbidly obese and with so many pills and health issues in her. No, she could not trust me. I was her oldest friend but since my father was not a DR. (but out other friend's was!)even though I was a trained NURSE...she could not trust me and my information which would have very much healed and helped her and her family. She told me way down the line that she met a HARVARD Graduate who told her something exactly as I had told her years ago! Then, she realized and only then that I might have been telling her the truth all along! But she would listen to the Harvard graduate, not me! The other one made some rude comment to me about the party I made for our first gathering which I had arranged all the way from London! It was at the place where the Encore once stood in Shadyside, Pittsburgh on Walnut Street and I had invited as a surprise guest Pat DiCesare who was the Rock Promoter of Pittsburgh so when we were all ushers at a venue called The Syria Mosque (not a mosque but a music venue named this) and all those years later he walked in with his new book about his 50 plus years in the business, my friend's mouths truly fell open in surprise!! It was a delight to meet Pat and his lovely wife Kathy. And what did my friend say, "Wow, who knew you could throw a party like that?? I mean...YOU??!" As, you can only imagine, that was like a jealous infantile slap in the face to me! I mean, I only waitressed and bartended for 10 years to get through all my college/University degrees! Are you kidding me? I have served some of the most professional people in Pgh, N.Y. Florida and California, and she could not "imagine" I could throw a party like this! What closet have YOU been hiding in!? THAT was the first bitch slap of many to come. Although it was truly a glorious evening even if my other friend (the one with the sister issues) RUDELY got up as soon as Pat started speaking (This man brought the Beatles and every rock group who was worth anything to Pgh) and she turns her back and starts to walk away! As she was sitting next to me, and always needed to sit next to me it seems, I could not believe what she was about to say, "Well, I never was an usher." and I stopped her and said, "How many rock concerts did you go to with me alone let alone other people in Pgh??" It was then I realized not all from this gathering was what it seemed. It was not about "her" so she was not interested! Meanwhile the rest of us were very interested. And Pat was a delight to speak to and signed books which I bought for everyone. Yes, I did that for my friends. They had other gatherings and we all met up. Some came in twice and some lived there so it was a month long story. At the time, I was thrilled with it all. Everyone brought something as presents for us all and everyone picked up tabs along the way so they were all generous and it seemed really wanted this meet up. Which is why it is all so confusing to me.
But that was then and this is now...
Soon I will be 60, and one of my friends from this group was born 3 days before me in the same hospital. I was so happy to be with her, meet her family again and we spent some lovely time together but for some reason she just was not interested in speaking to me when I came back to London! My daughter told me about "What's App" and it is a free app on the phone which allows you to call anyone in the world for free or text them. I put it in our group and a few of them did take me up on it. There was a minimum of hellos...only one of this whole group sent me a beautiful card and a gift to say thanks and lovely to be your friend again. She wrote me the most on What's App. None of them wanted to Skype, except the two I was already Skyping with and the one in California who I was so close to when we were young I wanted so much to renew our friendship. Unfortunately her beloved older brother passed away not long after the group meet ups. I know she was hurting and therefore one can only hope in time she will want to really connect again, especially when she said she could count the friends she had left after she got her son, on one hand! (I had the same experience when I had my daughter!)
So, in rounding up this rather long and rather sad rant.... I am sure there is a level where we all love each other. That the back biting, the jealousy, the insecurity and competitiveness and the shame of being overweight, (or some with their own grown up children have this issue!) even a little or a lot does not matter one iota! What size you are is meaningless, who you are and how you love is much more important! That our love and memories of being kids, then getting Bas-Mitzvahed and going to each others, growing into teens who smoked cigarettes, cut school and smoked pot, watched soap operas together, flashed peace signs and marched against the Vietnam War and for Women's Lib, were "peace and freedom" Hippies, ushered rock concerts, danced to soul music and slow danced with boys to " A Whiter Shade of Pale", passed out at a Jethro Tull concert, hung out in Frick Park, Highland Park and Schenley Park in Pgh, loved bell bottomed jeans, and had one lay on the ground while the other said, "ok, now suck it in!" while she zipped up the new jeans, hitch hiked through Pittsburgh, had endless sleepovers, our own inside jokes,constantly wrote notes during class and passed them along in the hallway between classes, made each other laugh until we cried, and laugh and laugh again, graduated from driver's ed (just!) and attended as little as possible Peabody High School, went to the free breakfasts across the street put on by the seminary and saw it as our personal hang out spot with donuts and coffee, some traveled and vacationed to other states together and even some of us hitch hiked through Europe together! And then came Junior Colleges, Universities, who went, who dropped out, who graduated and who did not and who got married instead, our first cars...and all the many, many lucky boyfriends we all went through until the right husband came along. (And not all of us married!) Bridesmaid dresses, Maid of Honor dresses, catching the bouquets! I caught 3 myself! And after all the babies, the kids growing up, loving them like your own and seeing in them what was once your best friend's youthful beautiful face in their children's looks, and now the grandchildren and again what delight to see again this face which comes again in their descendants...so much joy to witness these experiences and be a part of them, even a small part. And finally, deaths, attending funerals too... we were there for each other as our parents, one by one, died, not all of us, not all the time and not all are passed but some, providing comfort, crying as if it were your own parents. I have seen it all, witnessed their lives like technicolor on film. Not every moment, nor every story but the whole magilla in upshot, in glory and in outcome. They called me the "Historian of the Group" and I wore that label proudly. I remember so much and even I don't know why. I told them I was working on a book and I was looking for the "Happy Ending" and that meeting up with them was so great, it would be my happy ending! I cried when I said good bye to them all at our last meeting...perhaps because I loved them all so much, for me they were my real family and even their families, who I grew up with, were also that for me.Seeing some of their siblings too, what a treat! I suspect, that is it. I would have loved it if they could have got past their own reasons for not wanting to really and honestly connect with me again after the meet ups. I would have loved it if we could be real friends again, actually communicating on What's App, Skype, Viper and all the FREE ways we can all speak to each other now with modern technology. There isn't a poor one amongst them so they really could also pay to call me in London but I made it simple and free and still no communication so alas... here came the excuses....they "are too busy", they "are grandmothers", they have "no time", they "work", the truth is... they just don't want to. Period. It is simple, if you care you make the effort. A conversation is free, no one is that busy. I know that some of them do meet up in Pgh so if I brought some of them back together then that is something, I guess. I was there in Pgh, June to July 2015, so it is now 8 months later, enough time to know that they are just not that into me or believe whatever heinous lies the other insecure ex friend is spewing. It is a true shame as we come upon our collective 60th year on the planet. You would think my loyalty was proved by saving all their letters to me and presenting them as the beautiful gift they were...but apparently not. I am sure not one of them will be reading this and since I have mentioned no names I can safely say my book's ending has changed.
Perhaps Justin Hayward and the Moodies were right...
YOU CAN NEVER GO HOME
By The Moody Blues (c) The Moody Blues.
I don't know what I'm searching for
I never have opened the door,
Tomorrow might find me at last,
Turning my back on the past,
But, time will tell, of stars that fell,
A million years ago.
Memories can never take you back, home, sweet home.
You can never go home anymore.
All my life I never really knew me till today,
Now I know why, I'm just another step along the way,
I lie awake for hours, I'm just waiting for the sun.
When the journey we are making has begun,
Don't deny the feeling that is stealing through your heart,
Every happy ending needs to have a start.
All my life I never really knew me till today,
Now I know why, I'm just another step along the way,
Weep no more for treasures you've been searching for in vain.
'Cos the truth is gently falling with the rain,
High above the forest lie the pastures of the sun,
Where the two that learned the secret are now one.
I don't know what I'm searching for
I never have opened the door,
Tomorrow might find me at last,
Turning my back on the past,
But, time will tell, of stars that fell,
A million years ago.
Memories can never take you back, home, sweet home.
You can never go home anymore.
By, Shawn M. Cohen
Shelter From the Storm, You Can Never Go Home Again
Copyright 2016 (c)
March 28, 2016
Moody Blues song lyrics and video above not infringing on copyright. They belong to the Moody Blues only and Dans Blue, thanks Dan for allowing me to use this on my blog.
my daughter and I our first day back in Shadyside.
My dear friends whom I love so much meeting at the house of where they grew up and we all hung out.
Kindergarden at Sunnyside Elementary School in Stanton Heights, where some of my friends were also in my class and when we met, age 5!
The gathering at where the Encore used to be, with Pat DiCesare and my beautiful childhood girlfriends.
A picture of Shadyside to prove I was there!
Art Swiden, see the Pittsburgh Phantom and Me, my other blog. Here is the brick in Shadyside at the Parklet near where the Encore used to be where I honored my wonderful boyfriend who passed in 2004.
And finally, my mother in the home in Pgh, age 90 and me, she barely knows who I am to her. Imagine that? Who am I if you do not remember me? Who are you if I do not hold some of you in my heart? We must be kind and loving to each other, we must love one another no matter what.
And so, here's to friendship, old and new, it is a precious gift, one where the other person knows all your flaws but still loves you anyway! That my life has never run the "straight and narrow" path of conventional ways continues to show me again and again how much we all need to be our own best friend. I continue to open minds and hearts with my blogs, my psychic medium readings and all my Metaphysical work. If you were touched by this latest entry to "Shelter from the Storm" please do comment below. I respond to all comments. Thank you and cherish your friends and find the ones who cherish you back!
It has been a long time since I have come to write upon this page and this blog.
It has been a long journey and so much happens that it seems almost impossible to document it all, nor would I want to.
Just the highlights, just my thoughts, experiences or what I have felt were, are important to say.
The video above sets the theme of this long coming blog entry: Maturity.
I look around me at the ripe age of 58, soon to be 59 in 4 months and I see I have come upon the stage of my own life where words like, "retirement" and "Second Saturn Return" light up my Metaphysical and Astrological mind.
I came all the way from America to the UK in my first Saturn Return, age 29, which was in 1985. Now, almost 30 years later and a full Saturn cycle later, I am once again hearing the bells ringing of Saturn, the Old and Wise Taskmaster, who says, "It's Time" (which Saturn rules) as he makes me aware of the next leg of both journeys, human and divine.
Who amongst us can remain a Puer *? (*A person who can never mature and will always act Forever Young)... For does it not set the stage for extreme disaster to not grow, mature and allow the world to spin, not to see it, perceive it and actually acknowledge it for what it truly is? Puers and other immature people keep the fantasy of the young, youthful wish-fullness; themed with endless fairy tales that MUST come true and Handsome Princes and Beautiful Princesses who always live happily ever after? Does the world play fair, give us what we desire, meet us as equals and provide us what we want/wish it to be? NO. The Mature person understands this, having lived it out and seen and experienced it for themselves. The Puer says "I won't grow up, I don't want to be an adult!" As in the song, from Peter Pan, declares! (Peter was the ultimate Puer, also played by the late, great Robin Williams, who had just hit his 63rd birthday and could take it no more, killed himself to all our shocked disbelief...he was also a true comic genius whose childhood was lost and could not find it except in acting/comedy even serious dramas as the " Puer".) As science has it's breakthroughs, there are no reasons to look old, with make-up, Botox, plastic surgery, you can look any age, reverse the clock, bring yourself back for a second, maybe even a third chance of what you missed when you were younger and too immature to make the correct decisions for your life. Men are having plastic surgery now as much as women and this really tells just how sick and sad a society of babies/lost in our delusions, we really are!
By doing this, we lose so much! Society loses so much! We, who are over 50, even 40, tell ourselves we don't have to be like our Grandparents and yes, we do not. We are the Baby Boomers, The Beatniks, The Hippies, Peace, Love and Freedom! Uranus is in Aries (the sign of the baby, the child) as it was in the 1960's and we see this again. The need to rebel, to create chaos, to demonstrate against the "Establishment"! And I was there the first time around, so I know, it can make changes happen, good and much needed changes which society needs in order to grow, and work for all, not just the rich or the powerful.
I have seen both sides of this. The need to be rebellious, create change and bring in new ideas and information first hand. Now I am of Saturn's age, where I can reflect back on what works and what did not....where change can come through hard work and discipline...two words no one seems to like or admire anymore.
The society Puer wants everything for nothing and in an instant (gratification)! The children of today push a button, click on a link and all knowledge is theirs, all homework answers available in a nanosecond. We had our fingers to count on and if we were lucky a calculator but we were not allowed to use it in class.
I look around me at many of my friends I grew up with and many are becoming Grandparents or are already. I wonder if they even understand how their sacred knowledge and time is so important to their offspring's generations. James Hillman is a Jungian Analyst and Author and he wrote a book cheering on and showing why older people's lives can be and should be cherished and embraced, not just by society but also by ourselves, for those of us looking into that last 3rd of our lives. His book is called, "The Force of Character and the Lasting Life". Here is a video of James Hillman explaining this.
As you can see by this video, when we do not embrace maturity and all the benefits and purpose of it, we lose. We lose the dignity and grace which follows a long life, where the experiences are many and the opportunities to be remembered and even valued for our contributions, love and wisdom are available. If you leave behind childish things, when you become an adult, you allow your children the insight as to how to grow up, mature and deal with life's many responsibilities, choices, career and health issues as well as their own happiness and love. As you see, a baby can not lead, it takes a mature person to lead, to show by example. Where there is a whiner and a complainer and a person who looks to be saved, rescued and constantly reassured there is a broken inner child who refuses to grow up and mature, always looking for Mommy or Daddy because they do not want to be responsible for their own life!
How can a child lead or a baby or an infant who has so many unmet needs, looking to plug into the next bottle, tit, nurturer, sugar daddy, and refuses to see they themselves are refusing the correct path which is always self responsibility and maturity.
Stay immature at your own peril. Stay in the delusion that Superman, Angels, God, Jesus, The Prince on the White Horse and any other manor of energy we can't see or hear, even our Dead Relatives and Loved Ones in Heaven who do NOT have THE Power to LIVE your LIFE for YOU. Nor can they make you grow up! They can only ever offer some sort of encouragement. This has been my experience as a Human Being, a Psychic Medium and Metaphysician for over 32 years professionally. No, they can not bring down the Moon for you, nor can they magic up the next boyfriend or job or cure your disease! Only YOU can do that. That is called, "Responsibility" and it goes hand in hand skipping down the lane with "Integrity"!
Remain creative and come again to the inner child for inspiration, love unabashed from the inner child but before you do either, consult the inner Adult for whether it is realistic and viable. They are two beautiful words when you are a mature adult, they just save you so much Hell, if you listen.
In conclusion, when a women has a face lift she may get away with lying to the public or even lying to herself but her body never lies. Instead of being ashamed of being older, why not embrace it as the rich and truly rewarding time it should and is suppose to be, one filled with dignity and self worth and truth and the substance of a life well lived? It matters not, in the end, how many cars, houses and phony friends you have who think you are "something" or "nothing" but what YOU think of yourself and your own achievements both internally (emotionally, mentally and spiritually as well as the knowledge you have gained) and physically (did you travel, see the world, help others, make new friends, become part of a community, enjoy your work, contribute to the world, help animals and the environment and love, did you love and were you loved in return??) These will be the only things that matter when you are finished with this life on this planet and in Heaven in a life review. This, then, will be the summation of your life. So make it count, live it fully and not just a repeat of when you were young, which you can do by growing up and taking responsibility for all you are. If you do not like who you are, or what your life looks like then have the courage and the insight to change it, it is that simple.
The rest will follow sure as night follows day. "Crones" are wise older women who have embraced their wisdom, experiences and use them well to teach the youth. The cycle of Saturn is complete and all is as it should be.
This Metaphysical Blog called, "Shelter From the Storm" is written by Ms. Shawn M . Cohen (c) latest entry called, "MATURITY, using for fair use policy, The Moody Blues song "I Never Thought I'd Live to Be 100" written by the Moody Blues and the interview with Jungian Author and Psychotherapist, James Hillman. No copyright infringement is intended.
London, Dec. 28, 2014
please comment below and share your own experiences or comments.
If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you. If the mountain crumbled to the sea, it would still be you and me.
Led Zeppelin wrote those words 4 decades ago now. And the title of this song is, Thank You. It speaks of a great love and that one is grateful for it. Both my great loves in my own life were born in February, both are passed on, so this song is dedicated to them. However, it is a great song for being grateful for being loved in any way. I believe it speaks of eternal love and that means all of us as we are all eternal beings. So here is my take on being grateful and saying Thank You!
Since I have been busy and not able to write my usual monthly entry last month, here are some thoughts on why being "grateful" or "an attitude of gratitude" can heal so much in not only a spiritual seeker's life but in any life.
Valentine's Day with all its furore is usually a day of expressing love and thanks to our partners or people we love. That is a lovely idea and it works for those who have someone to express love to. But what if we sat down and made a list of all the really painful experiences we had in our lives and expressed gratitude for them? What do you think would happen if you did this? Why would you do it?
Well, let me demonstrate, as in my own painful life experiences here:
Thank you to my Father, for being so hard on our family, for telling me I was not worth much to you because I was not a son. Thank you for telling me I was not intelligent enough for you to want to pay for my college education, even though you had the money because girls just grow up to "get married". Thank you for teaching me women were inferior and only good for cooking, cleaning, looking "pretty" for men and being subservient. You taught me so much in these lessons of pain, exclusion, humiliation, suffering and abandonment. You taught me to be STRONG though you did not realize this at the time. You taught me COMPASSION for all the women and females in the world who, like me, were told they were not worth much. I CHAMPION their causes and work to heal these patriarchal issues which have harmed their self worth and value.And I work with men too who have also been victimized by them. I chose to become a HEALER from the pain you inflicted, perhaps through ignorance or ancestral inheritance or your own need to control. When you left my mother for another woman and abandoned us, leaving her with not a dime, I went to work in a Jazz night club as a waitress, which I did not want to do but felt forced to do. Not only did I learn a trade to make money,(and eventually used this to pay MY OWN WAY through the many colleges and universities I eventually went to) but also helped my mother who was devastated and helped her to find her worth, thanks to you. Even with the weight of the world on my back and at the tender young age of 19 going on 20, I also met my SOUL MATE there at the very job I would not have chosen to do! If you had not left, that would have never happened. (See my other blog; and The Pittsburgh Phantom and Me which tells this story in much detail and beautiful music. Here is the link: http://pittsburghphantomandme.blogspot.co.uk ).
Thank you my Father, for making fun of my psychic abilities and telling people I was "crazy". Being born with a caul* and told from my birth that I would be "psychic" must have been quite a threat to your own lack of understanding your own intuition and your own inner female side, where all feelings and tenderness and intuition comes from. Needless to say, my journey to how I became a professional Psychic and Medium had many ups and downs and many people, both friends, family and others who did question my "sanity" BUT this made me work harder, seek MORE information, training, education, years of inner development and looking within, and I read tons of books on so many subjects, studied with so many, and finally to become the very expert in my field. THAT was fueled by my soul's need as well as your fears about my gifts. That I am a strong, self reliant, a Psychic, Medium and a obtained a degree in Metaphysics, which I have used to helped thousands of people in so many parts of this world find peace, healing, light and understanding has made this all worthwhile. To have so much inner awareness to life, the Higher Realms and as a consistent SEEKER of TRUTH is MY choice, but it is clear the adversary role plays its part.
Thank you to my Father, for taking on this "role" in my life. It made me face all the pitfalls of the path. It showed me what I could handle and what I needed to learn to face, be braver and stronger and more resilient and to know eventually that PAIN can become the greatest SOURCE for ENLIGHTENMENT as well as LOVE. In so many ways, my Father showed me the very way to grow. He was not conscious of this but his fear, insecurities, lack of compassion and even his upbringing were responsible in part to his issues. He passed away in March, 1998 but we came to some understanding right before he died with him finally accepting and even acknowledging my path. On a Higher Plane and in Spirit, he would have chosen to be the "bad guy" in my life as a soul contract. Soul Contracts are made between the lives, in Heaven or the Astral Plane, where all souls reside and all are in agreement or we do not "play". Knowing this is key to understanding why life is how it is and who is in it and why and for what purpose. There are many good books on "Soul Contracts" but I always recommend Robert Schwartz' book, "Your Soul's Plan" which can be found on Amazon or here: http://www.yoursoulsplan.com
See what I mean? No one is exempt from pain. But instead of letting pain overwhelm you, break you, cripple you, understand it on a deeper level, one should investigate it, analyse it, figure out why it is there. Pain is a path to enlightenment and it is explained well here: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-9928/yes-the-path-to-enlightenment-is-painful.html
All children love their parents. No matter what. It is a conscious choice which parents we have, even if we are adopted. All souls chose their path and in the end we can see this when we pass over. The life review each soul has shows us without a doubt, that we chose those experiences because they would in some way, allow us to become who we wanted to become, to mature, develop, evolve, share our gifts, learn and help others. Yes, be grateful for the pain. Be grateful for the love. Be grateful for all the "successes" and all the "failures" too because without them, there is no need to seek and if one does not seek, one stays small, stagnant, ignorant and life is meaningless. Shakespeare said, "All the world's a stage and we aremere actors playing our parts." How right he was!
I am so grateful for the broken path, the ups and downs, the ins and outs and all the shifts of consciousness which came with them all. If not for them, who would I be today and where would I be? If I did not rise above with sheer determination and rage against the very obstacles put in my way, I would not have the life lessons I have learned. The deeper meaning of my own life would have been obscured and my own validation for being here on Earth at this time would have eluded me. How hard it has been to come here but how happy I am for it all! Time tells the tale of our lives and eventually we see the entire plot to our play, the reason for being, the love behind it all, even with the so called bad experiences we had.
Life is meant for our growth and for developing into a Conscious Being. It has no more points to gain, no more races to win, no more competing or judging or wallowing in self pity! It is a consciousness game of evolution. Understanding this makes the journey worthwhile, for it gifts us with dignity, purpose and deep meaning. It heals the wounds of the past and past lives and allows our soul to soar with growth. This conflict of light and dark is what this whole world is based on. Without the dark would we seek the light? Without the pain would we even bother to grow? It is clear we need both to become whole, aware and know the Self.
How are you seeing your own life, the "good" and the "bad"? Will you see it now with gratitude so that you can say to yourself and all you have ever known, all the experiences you have ever had, "Thank You"? It is my wish and hope that you will.
Thank You for reading my blog. Comments are always welcome and please share your own experiences too.
* The caul is a baby born within the casing of the amniotic fluid and membrane intact, so this did not break before birth. The Old Wive's Tales are that if a baby is born this way, they will be psychic. My Irish grandmother who was not at my birth in Pittsburgh, Pa. but in New York City, was called as soon as I was born by my Father. My Mother saw I was born in the sac and was frightened and asked the doctor, what's wrong? He opened it to allow me to breath in air and said to my mother, "nothing, she is a healthy baby girl". My Father was talking to my Irish Grandmother on the phone from the hospital, assuring my Mother's Mother, saying that my mother had me. My Irish Grandmother was also psychic and said to my Father, "I know, I heard a baby crying, so I knew she has been born." (meaning she psychically picked up on my birth, clairaudiently hearing a baby cry.) My Father explained I was born with the sac still intact and my Grandmother said, "Oh she too will be psychic!" I was named after her, Margaret, my middle name. So from the moment I was born, my life's story was not only foretold but the caul intact declared my gifts! It has also been used by sailors and much sought after because it was said to keep one would prevent the sailor from drowning. Even Charles Dickens wrote about it in his book, "David Copperfield" and has been cited in much literature and poems. Were you or your child born with a caul? See this website for more info on it and what it means here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caul and also here: http://voices.yahoo.com/why-some-babies-born-caul-133065.html?cat=72 and others tell their stories of being born with a caul: http://caulbaby.com/your_stories.html
Shawn M. Cohen (c) Feb. 21, 2014 London, UK.
Fair usage act for Led Zeppelin video, and the song THANK YOU. No copyright infringement intended.
ANNOUNCEMENT: I will be a guest on Blog Talk Radio, March 13th*, 2014 talking about my Metaphysical life, Psychic work and Mediumship and taking some of your calls for Readings by me, so please join me at New Pathway to Healing with host Petey Silveira. Petey has a long list of wonderful and interesting guests on her show and I feel very grateful (Thank You, Petey!) and happy to be asked to be her guest for the entire hour, so please tune in and call in! The link is here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/peteysilveira/2014/03/13/new-pathway-to-healing-an-interview-with-shawn-m-cohen
(*March 13th (1998) was the date my Father was buried. Ironic and yet, what an amazing synchronicity. One wonders "who" chose this date! Thanks, Dad! lol )
"So this is Christmas...and what have you done? Another year older, and a new one just begun..." John and Yoko Ono Lennon.
I really wanted to put up on this blog entry for December's, Shelter From theStorm, something cheery and bright and filled with hope. But this song, John and Yoko's song from way back, when the Vietnam War was raging in the 1970's, kept playing in my head. I could not get it out and it seemed to me my Muse, my own inner Writer was asking me, above anything else. to write about this and the meaning behind it. So I looked for a video and this was the first one to come up on You Tube. It is pretty shocking, eh? I mean we here in the West, celebrate the Holidays, December 2013, in our cosy little world and then we see what in fact is really going on in many other parts of the world, way, far away from us! No, it is not pretty, and it is so crazy that we are STILL fighting, STILL killing, maiming and harming others on this blue and green planet we all share called EARTH!
Ok, I had my rant. I said my piece=PEACE! Those who even bother to read this blog are probably well aware that each action we do, creates a reaction...that is called Karma. But should someone who has never put 1+1=2 together than here is the formula and I quote,"Do Unto Others as you would have them do Unto You"!
There is no preaching here, nor is there any religious overtones because I can not do either. But there is a right and a moral wrong. What is wrong with this picture is obvious...the people who suffer while the War Machines rage are the innocent children and their families! Big Business creates War and it's reward is Profit! There are no other reasons and if you send your own grown up child to fight, and you agree with this killing of others, then you are not only part of the problem, you are ignorant of the truth! Brainwashed the West is to believe in the concept of "Enemy". Enemy is as the noted and esteemed Psychologist Carl G. Jung observed is our own "shadow side; the part of us we threw away and called "other"! Now look at this for a moment...who really IS the enemy? Is it a person who believes differently then you? Why are you SO frightened by this?? Did it ever dawn on you that God/Source created US ALL? And if that is so, as each religion believes, then WHO is the "Enemy"???????? Not only is the whole concept of "Enemy" made up nonsense but even within learned psychological associations, let alone spiritual ones, you would be shown only a hand mirror! The "enemy is truly within"!
Shadow Work is essential for wholeness and clarity and psychological well being. This is the "gift" of going within and dealing with the unconscious and all it's depth and reservoir of memory, images and even past life issues. No one can do this for you, only you. But you have to be aware that this is the journey all souls mustfinally travail and if so, the rewards are beyond any "Gold or Silver" this planet can give you. This is the true wealth, the true inner gifts of the soul. Being with a Guide, a Psychologist, a Shaman, A Past Life Regressionist, A Wise Person or yes, even a Psychic Medium ,who has traveled here extensively can offer help and guidance while on this inner journey. Much can be gained and while it is not "fashionable" or " spoken about in most circles" it is the very best gift you can give to yourself. There is none that would top this...not a new car, a new wardrobe or even a new puppy! THIS is the Gift that never stops giving and when you leave this planet through death, you take THIS gift with you!
Your Soul came here to grow...it had a choice. It could have stayed in Heaven (or the Spirit World as it is also referred to) and it set up, long before it incarnated, the many points of how it would come in ( i.e: parents, siblings, race, religion, social-economic background, what sex it would be, sexual preference, work and career choices, gifts to work with in this lifetime, gifts to explore and develop, relationships on every level and so on)....so the SOUL says: "Let me experience life AGAIN, this time I will make my focus on: __________________! (Fill in the blank) So this says that YOU are in charge of your life, you choose it, you created it and you were the designer of it. Yes, you had help, your many Soul Group friends and your own Guides/ Masters who help you, offer advice and then off you go to become someone's baby again! We are all on this planet together, for the same reasons; ultimately to experience, to gain knowledge and become wise and grow. THAT is the ONLY reason to come back. So when we harm others, we become accountable for that. No matter what. There are no "get out" clauses...sorry, but no Celestial Lawyer is going to get you out of jail card "free"! Only YOU judge YOU when you pass over and have your "Life Review". A Guide will be there to help you, or a Master of some kind who has been there and understands. Now when you see, hear and feel every detail of the "harm and pain" your actions created...and you will...what shall you say to yourself? "I did not know any better?" If this blog can serve any purpose at all, consider yourself now "knowing better"!
I have channeled many souls from the Spirit World. This is what I do. This is also my work and my calling. I do not pretend to be better then anyone else nor can I tolerate that kind of egoistic/insecure behavior in anyone else. We are each an individual spark of the whole and we are each necessary and bright and beautiful. In all of the history of the Human Race on Planet Earth there has never been a time that war has not been here. Did you ever ask yourself "Why?" Maybe it is time we ALL did.
This then brings me to the famous quote of the great Peace Maker, John Lennon, who said, "What if they had a war and no one came!" It was just these words that brought the close of the Vietnam War to an end. People woke up, power to the people, people said, "Hell No, We Won't Go!"...." War is Over if you Want it." The question is for 2014 and all the years ahead...Do You?
"Let's hope it's a good one, without any fear"! Amen to that!
I know it is the Holidays and then a New Year (2014) begins. I want to share my gifts and help as many people as I can. I invite you to please join me on Sunday, December 22nd at 2:30 p.m. EST or 11:30 a.m or here in the UK 7:30 p.m. at Blog Talk Radio's "The Right Side of Things" where Rick Fiorio, the host has asked me, once again, to come on his live show and give Christmas Readings and Messages from Loved Ones in Spirit for the entire show! There will also be some beautiful music which I have hand picked for the occasion. You can call in for FREE on SKYPE! It is one NOT TO MISS so won't you please join me for this Holiday Extravaganza? The link is here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/therightsideofthings/2013/12/22/trsotchristmas-healing-extravaganza-with-psychic-medium-shawn-cohen
We did this show last year at Christmas and it was a huge hit, with me reading and bringing through lots of messages for callers from their loved ones in Heaven. So please call in as soon as the show starts and we will try to get to each one of you and also come into the chat room. You can chat with others and also join the chat room by opening up a free listener's account for Blog Talk Radio here: https://secure.blogtalkradio.com/register.aspx?type=listener
Thank you for reading my blog, for being a client or student of mine in the year past or all the years before! I am truly grateful! I have met so many wonderful souls on my own journey through this life and I will add many of them are aware, kind, so beautiful. Thank you for allowing me to share your journey too!
And for all the Human Race, may I say, let us bring knowledge, wisdom and joy to all this year, not just the "chosen few". Let us remember who we really are and what we came here to do; to love and be loved, to share our gifts with all and to alleviate any human suffering we see. This is the formula for bringing peace on earth. It is so simple, really...Be a Blessing to Others and Be Blessed!
(c) Shawn M. Cohen, December 2013 "Shelter From The Storm", December entry, "So This is Christmas..."
Fair usage rights for John and Yoko Lennon's song, "Happy X-mas (War is Over)" and the video from You Tube.com No copyright infringement is intended.
My website: (Should you want to book a reading with me, this is where you can find my services) http://www.tarotbyshawncohen.weebly.com New prices coming to all services for Jan. 1st, 2014 so if you want to book at the old prices you still can, even if you have the reading in the New Year but please book before Jan. 1, 2014. Check out my "offers" page on my website for more details.
There is a question.... a question which lingers unanswered...it whispers in the wind...sometimes it shouts as loud as Rodger Daltry singing in this song..........WHO ARE YOU?
It is the soul crying out, it is the un-trodden path, it is the question of all questions...
It wakes you up in the middle of the night from a dream. A wild dream, a scary dream, maybe a surreal dream and you sit up in bed, shaking, sweating, maybe even frightened. "What could havebrought on such a dream?" you ask yourself, trying to make your eyes work in the dark.
You figure it was the late night snack and go back to sleep. But it comes again, another night, when you had no snack, saw no horror movie on TV nor read something disturbing in a book before bed.
Now you think it is time to listen but your favourite show is on, maybe later...oh look, my friend has just come on Facebook, maybe later still...it's time to make dinner, go to work, do the laundry.....
Then days go by, maybe even weeks and months and finally years. It is a vacuous hole which seeks to be filled, aching inside you but you have no idea what it wants nor how to fill it. It feels so empty in there. Sometimes, when the mood hits you, you can pretend it isn't there at all. In fact, sometimes, chocolate takes it right away, or booze or a joint or maybe even those prescription pills the doctor so kindly gives you. That shopping spree did wonders for it too. So busy were you trying on all those clothes and new shoes, lovingly scanning that new I Phone, you have no idea how you can pay for all you bought but that's what credit cards are for....right? Existential angst vanished with plastic!
"The kids are alright, the husband got a promotion, my mother is out of hospital but doing well now, why do I need to worry about anything else?" you quietly tell yourself as you drink another glass of merlot. "Christmas is coming, I need to prepare for that now anyway." That thought is like the death nail to the question...at least until the New Year. You tell yourself, you tell yourself, you keep on telling yourself, year after year, time after time until the time begins to run out.
30 Years Later:
The kids are grown up, your husband has passed from a major heart attack, cracking that nut every day for years on end....but you still have your grandchildren to look forward to...you tell yourself....YOU are not on your own. REALLY?
The grandchildren come and the old hippie you once were decides to take them to a Beach Boys concerts. You feel young again, you laugh and think about when you first saw the Beach Boys, it was the summer of 1969, you must have been 14 years old. You remember hitch hiking to the concert with your girlfriends, so daring you were then. You grimace to yourself, and think, "WHAT were we thinking back then!" But you reason, everyone was doing that then. Back to the grandkids... they love it, they adore the harmonies even though Brian Wilson looks so old, not to mention the deer caught in the headlights look during the entire show. You shrug your shoulders and say to yourself..."whatever". You sing along to "wouldn't it be nice if we were married..." clapping away.
The grandkids grow up to be teenagers....they watch the Olympics live on TV and you are all together now. THE WHO come on and they sing "WHO ARE YOU?" They ask about if you ever went to a WHO concert? They like the song, "My Generation"...
You listen to the words of the song, "WHO ARE YOU? I REALLY WANT TO KNOW..." as Rodger Daltry swings that mike around on every breath. The song...the words...the dreams.. the angst comes back...the hole in your belly feels emptier still and you ask yourself, finally...the question of all questions right there in front of the grandkids, "WHO AM I? REALLY?"
I am a mother, I was a wife, I am a grandmother, I was a student once, a young daring teen once, I cook meals, I do laundry and clean my home, I do charity work at the Church, but I have NO FREAKING IDEA WHO I AM! AND I AM NEARLY 60 YEARS OLD!
The sweat pours down your brow. You panic. You see that you have been there in a "ROLE" as one person or another but YOU as a PERSON have NO IDENTITY. Surely, you calm yourself, surely I am a GOOD person, isn't that all that counts? But if that was all, then why did this question constantly haunt me? The dreams were also so weird, waking up from them and then ignoring them. WHY was I so afraid to find out? Why did I run away from myself? Without all the added extras, who am I? Was I just put here on this earth to be these people to others? Mother, Wife, Grandmother? Shopper, Supporter of my family? Cook? Cleaner? Do I not have more to me than this inside?
Now begins the greatest journey you will ever take...the journey within. It is never too late but it would have been so different if you did this when you were younger. The Authentic Self demands truth and bravery but its rewards are so deeply fulfilling, if you go. Fill the hole within, find out the truth. There are so many ways to go within: meditation, psychotherapy, divination, holistic healing, psychic development, past life regression, hypnotherapy, each a path to wholeness and a gazillion books to read which stimulate and help you to seek the greatest question any human being can begin to answer: WHO ARE YOU?
"The unexamined life is not worth living." a quote byCarl Gustav Jung By, Shawn M. Cohen (c) Nov. 12, 2013 my website: http://www.tarotbyshawncohen.weebly.com THE WHO video and song used as fair usage and no copyright infringement is intended. I will be a guest on Wed. Nov. 13th on Blog Talk Radio, "The Nature of Reality" hosted by Andrew Fisher. The show begins at 6:00PM EST, 3:00PM PCT, and 11:00PM UK time. I will be speaking about the journey within, my psychic work and how I help people answer these questions and taking listeners calls, even offering readings so please join me. Here is the link: Nature of Reality Radio hosted by Andrew Fisher with Guest Psychic Medium Shawn M. Cohen
The Conversation, written and sung by Charlene Spiteri from the rock group Texas.
Ever have friends (well how can they really be friends??) or people in your life, or on social media or even family members (maybe especially family members!) who just call you, dump all their problems on you, tell you all about them, their life, their issues and then when it comes your turn to speak...just leave?? I refer to this as: Shoots, Dumps and Leaves syndrome! It is SO selfish, so completely humiliating for the one who has been patiently listening and even trying to provide comfort or suggestions which any good friend would do...then before you have even had a chance to open your mouth and take a breath to speak all of a sudden you hear, "Oh, so listen, I need to go now! BYE." They hang up, no chance to even say a thing...! And you are left feeling as if someone threw egg on your face or worse!! *Shit* would be an even better word, because that is exactly what they just did...they took a *shit* on your face while they were dumping on you! I know it is graphic but it proves my point well. Now how do you feel? Pretty shitty!
*Want to scream now??*
There is another term for this, in Metaphysics and somePsychic circles, we call them "Psychic Vampires". They drain the living life out of you with their sob stories, most of which they have NO intention of actually fixing, treating or rendering better but get all their rocks off on dumping their problems *shit* on you! It is another way to say..."I am SUCH a VICTIM, look at ME!" A very sad way to get attention, needless to say. But they would never (and I mean never!) actually admit that or even try to see this within their own wholly narcissistic attitude. Yes, it is extremely frustrating and especially if you are on the receiving end as a friend, spouse (God help you!) employee or even worse, relative of someone like this and haveto listen to this garbage.
And this is not the only offender to having an adult conversation which is fair and just to both parties!
How about the "COMPETITOR"?? You might easily recognize them as the one who ALWAYS has to TOP what you just said...sound familiar?? You know, you open the conversation with a little story about your child and they have to come back with a bigger and somehow more grander story about their child, or their job, or their spouse or their house or their money or worst of all, their health issue! In fact, with Competitors, any subject is up for grabs as long as they are always ending the conversation ON TOP!! It is SO annoying!! And SO childish, really. What makes a person NEED to be like this, you may ask?? Answer: THEIRinsecurity and THEIRego! Or maybe you can't get a word in edgewise because the next person on my list of the worst offenders is the "CAN'T STOP TALKING"( Not even for a second!) offender!!!
Yucky, poo, poo! This person just gabs and blabs and gasses on to the point of you wanting to kill yourself just to get away, get unconscious, tune them out and get some relief!!! Not only can they not stop talking long enough to even let you get a word in edgewise but they could care less (clearly!) about what it is you have to say! The only difference between them and the "Shoots, Dumps and Leaves" person is the length at which they will continue on....hours and hours are nothing to these conversational offenders! Known to create such angst and upset to calm equal conversation that they are often never to have the chance to converse with the same person again! Why would you? It becomes sheer self abuse just being in their presence and once their mouth opens...all hell breaks loose! RUN AWAY! Get out while you can! Before the endless droning begins!! And finally, as if all the above weren't enough to set your teeth on edge....the last one is the one I find even more distressing...the "He Said, She Said" conversationalist. This is the person who takes exacting details to the limits that even a Virgo* wouldn't go to! This person begins well enough, setting the scene of a conversation with the causal, "Hi, how are you?" question. You think you are getting the benefit of an adult and equal conversation...but soon enough, once you answered with a civilized, "Yes, fine, how are you?" back....lulled you were into a sense of "false security", to your horror, you begin to realize you are in for the 9 hour duration of every single sentence her boyfriend, ex husband, ex boss, new lover, etc., etc. said until you feel your blood sugar drop and feel faint from your weakened immune system! The carbs you used just trying to concentrate for so long have all been burned up!! Slowly you sense you need a quick bite of something sweet to revive you, hence you may pass out!! This is just an awful, deteriorating way to speak to anyone. The details of "he said, she said" is all the minutia you could most CERTAINLY doWITHOUT! You do not need to know what bra size she takes, or what shop he buys his Y fronts in, now do you? Or how he said this and she said that, then hesaid this, and she said that and then she said this and he said that....and on and on and on and on and on until you want to scream," ALRIGHT ALREADY, I GET IT! " But that would be an illusion because they don't care if you get it. THEY just want you to listen. Be there for "them" and let them talk it out, makes them feel better, so they have something from their sad and lacking lives to talk about, however b.o.r.i.n.g it is to the poor listener!
Having anadult conversationwith another person should be a joy. No matter what the subject, happy or sad, it should contain the elements of respect, just enough information to inform not interrogate, it should be an equal opportunity employer; so no competition, overtime, "one-up-man-ship" of any kind. There should be enough breath to actually breathe, listen and comment back and forth. If these basic rights of adult conversation are not adhered to then you, or I. or anyone else is actually in the wrong story listening to the wrong person's ego and monkey mind or insecurity gone off the rails! In that case, I would say...bail out!
Save yourself! No one needs to be a"verbal punching bag" for anyone!
Time to bring some civility and manners back to the gentile art of a great conversation! That is how both people get heard and how both people get to speak their mind.
By Shawn M. Cohen, Bsc. Metaphysics
Copyright (c) August,2013
Video of Charlene Spiteri singing "The Conversation" used by Fair usage and no copyright infringement is intended.
*Virgo: the 6th sign of the Zodiac, known for their love of details.
P.S. If you feel the need to blather to all and sundry, why not have a Psychic, MediumTarot Reading with me? We can look at all the issues which may be "feeding" this unresolved mental gymnastics,solved once and for all which would be not only a great relief to yourself and any anxiety but to all those Patient friends and family members in your life. See my website for how to book here: http://www.tarotbyshawncohen.weebly.com
