Haunted Skies: Ghosts Of The Eastern 401 Disaster

By: Bill Knell

My experience with the story of Eastern Flight 401 began early in 1973. I flew from Tampa, Florida, to New York City and back several times that year. Most of my close relatives lived in the New York City area. During school breaks, I took the opportunity to combine visits with them with opportunities to attend various paranormal seminars scheduled for that year.

At sixteen, I was an experienced traveler and made most of my own airline reservations and arrangements. I hated crowds and loved red eye flights. Traveling at odd hours was no big deal for me. During the middle of Summer Break 1973, I was aboard a Sunday afternoon EAL flight that seemed almost empty. In those days there were always more flight attendants than needed on the off peak hours flights. The younger, less experienced crew members tended to hob knob with passengers. That’s how I met Susan. (I am being polite: Flight Attendants were called Stewardesses if they were women and Stewards if they were men in those days)

Her attention was drawn to a book I was reading about Flying Saucers. Like most of the flight attendants that I met during the 1970s, Susan was from the South. She seemed about twenty years old and had a pleasant personality. We talked on and off as her free time allowed. I had enough time in the air to know that there were several topics that you never brought up on a plane. These included UFOs and Airline Crashes, but both subjects came up anyway.

Susan was obviously well read on the UFO subject. Like me, she had relatives in the Air Force. She also knew people that had personally seen UFOs while on commercial flights. Most were not spectacular sightings, but strange enough to cause concern. What really got her started were some of the ghost stories I told. It turned out that hers was much better than mine.

I didn’t know much about the Flight 401 Air Disaster except that it involved an Eastern Airlines Passenger Jet which went down in the Florida Everglades about six months before. Personally, I was more concerned about airline hijackers in those days than crashes. Susan asked if I had heard any of the stories about ghosts from that flight appearing to people. I hadn’t. Before she could utter another word, a male flight attendant walking by grabbed her by the arm. Both vanished into the First Class section.

After a few minutes the male flight attendant reappeared. Although he worked in First Class, he came up to my seat and asked how I was doing? I said I was fine and didn’t need anything. He introduced himself as Bobby and asked if I wanted to move up to First Class. I accepted the invitation. While walking through the curtain that separated the sections, Susan whizzed by me with just a quick smile and stuffed some folded mimeographed papers into my hand. I shoved them into my pocket.

The five folded pages that Susan stuffed into my hand looked like some kind of insider’s newsletter. Something a Flight Attendant had put together for other Flight Attendants. It made reference to the 401 crash and how that some flight crews were seeing ghosts from the 401 crash. The pages were badly worn and had obviously been passed around and handled a lot. Although names and specifics were left out, it was obvious that this was a how-to sheet for crew members that wanted to avoid being on planes known for the 401 ghost appearances.

After we landed, I told Bobby that I left something in my seat back in coach. Before he could say anything, I headed back to speak to Susan. She was putting away pillows, so I thanked her for being so nice, pulled the mimeographed sheets out of my pocket and asked her, “Did you see any of the ghosts?” She looked down and thanked me for flying Eastern. Cold! I felt as if I had been dumped by a prom date! I mean, it wasn’t like I expected her to give me her telephone number. I just wanted to talk Airline spooks.

While in New York, I went to a library and looked up more information about the crash. It seems that the whole thing began when Flight 401 left Tampa for New York on December 29, 1972. The flight crew was Pilot Bob Loft, First Officer Albert Stockstill and Flight Engineer Don Repo. On the return leg to Miami, a problem developed. While on approach to Miami International at 11:30pm, a landing gear light failed to come on. As a result, the crew attempted to be sure the gear was down.

While trying to remedy the landing gear light issue, it’s likely that someone bumped the aircraft control column and deactivated the auto pilot. This caused a slow decent that wasn’t noticed by the flight crew until it was too late. Loft and Stockstill perished in the cockpit, although Loft hung on for a while after the crash. Stockstill was thirty-nine and Loft was fifty-five years old. Don Repo, fifty-one years old, initially survived the crash and died a day later in the hospital. In the end, ninety-six of one hundred and sixty-three passengers died.

Two weeks later I flew back to Tampa, Florida. I wondered if it had been sheer luck that caused me to learn about the 401 ghost stories on a flight from Tampa and to New York. Maybe, but I wasn’t lucky enough to end up on a flight with Susan again. My off peak flight took off on a late Sunday afternoon with a completely different crew. There were maybe thirty people on board and we ended up with an experienced Flight Attendant. She was kind of bossy, so I sat and read quietly.

At some point, I took out the folded pages that Susan gave me. I tucked them into a notebook I purchased at the airport and had been trying to decode the worn mimeo sheets for days. It proved difficult and was very frustrating, but I thought I would use the flight time back to Florida to try again. While I was using a magnifying glass to try and make out the words and letters, a member of the flight crew passed by. It was the First Officer headed to the back of the aircraft.

I probably wouldn’t have noticed him, but he stopped at my seat and looked at the sheets. He asked, “Pardon me, did someone on this flight or at the airport give that to you?” I told him no and made the mistake of saying that I found it in one of the magazines on board. I didn’t want to get Susan in trouble. He reached over and grabbed it out of my hands saying it was a scandal sheet passed around by ill-informed employees.

I had no way of knowing that I was flying Eastern at a time when the Flight 401 ghost sightings were at their high point. The sightings began in January of 1973 and continued in earnest until the summer of 1974. These events were exposed to the world in The Ghost of Flight 401, a book written by John G. Fuller. Fuller is one of my favorite authors. His book, Interrupted Journey chronicled the famous Betty and Barney Hill UFO Abduction Case and there were others like Incident at Exeter that I enjoyed as well.

Fuller’s book came out a couple of years after the ghost sightings ended. His wife, Elizabeth, was an Eastern Flight Attendant that helped him get the goods on the 401 ghost sightings. Her book, My Search for the Ghost of Flight 401, was just as good as his and I read both with equal enthusiasm. Anyone interested the paranormal should dig up copies of these and read them cover to cover.

The film, The Ghost of Flight 401, starred Ernest Borgnine and was a part of a one-two punch delivered by Hollywood. The second was the release of Crash, another film about the 401 disaster. This one starred William Shatner. Both films were shown on Broadcast Television in the USA and released in theaters in some other Countries. All told, the films were well received and probably gave Frank Borman more sleepless nights than the ghosts themselves.

In The Ghost of Flight 401, the ghosts appear as any human would. For example, during a 1973 flight from Newark to Miami, A Flight Attendant was doing a head count when she noticed a man in an Eastern Airlines Pilot uniform seated with the passengers. He refused to acknowledge her, so she contacted the flight crew. The Captain of that flight came back to see what was going on and recognized the man as Bob Loft. He cried out, “Oh my God, that’s Bob Loft!” At that point Loft vanished. Everyone present saw it happen.

During a 1974 flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Newark, NJ, the Pilot sees Don Repo sitting in the Flight Engineer’s seat. Repo says, "There will never be another crash of an L-1011, we will not allow it.” Repo vanishes after speaking. During another sighting, Repo appeared to a Flight Crew member and said he had completed the preflight check.

On another occasion, a Flight Attendant saw a man in a Flight Engineer uniform fixing a microwave oven. Thinking nothing of it, she went about her business. Later she asked the Flight Engineer what was wrong with the microwave. He had no idea what she was talking about. Repo also appeared several times in the Hell Hole (electronics room) beneath the cockpit after crew members heard knocking in that area and went to investigate.

While boarding a flight that would take him from JFK in New York to Miami International in 1973, a Vice President of Eastern Airlines entered the First Class Cabin and saw an Eastern Pilot sitting there. When he got close enough to see his face, it was Bob Loft. Loft vanished before his eyes. Loft was seen by a number of flight crews and spoke occasionally warning about problems or potential problems on board an aircraft.

There were some other types of appearances as well. Flight Attendant Faye Merryweather saw the face of Don Repo staring at her from an oven in the galley of Tri-Star 318. The galley was salvaged from the wreckage of 401. Merryweather summoned two other Flight Attendants. One was a friend of Repo and recognized his face. Repo spoke and said, “Watch out for fire on this airplane." The airliner ended up having engine trouble a short time later on route to Acapulco. After landing, the rest of its flight was cancelled.
And it wasn’t just flight crews that saw the deceased crew members.

Several Marriott Food Service workers saw a Flight Engineer vanish in the galley of an airliner being stocked for the next flight and refused to continue their work. That flight was delayed for over an hour. Airline cleaners and mechanics began to find reasons to avoid working on or in Ship #318 where most of the sightings took place. Some believe that’s because parts were salvaged from the aircraft involved in the 401 crash and transplanted into #318. It’s as good as explanation as any.

Although the details remain sketchy and there’s a great deal of disagreement about it, the end of the ghost sightings may have had something to do with a psychic intervention of sorts. It’s been reported that one or more people who knew Loft and Repo managed to contact them through the help of a psychic medium who persuaded them to move on. The ghost sightings ended about a year and a half after the crash.

A haunting of this intensity and frequency reveals how woefully inadequate our attempts to understand or investigate the paranormal have been. This is especially true of those who do not care to acknowledge paranormal events in the first place. Rather than believe their own people, Eastern chose to ignore the ghost reports and recommend mental health evaluations and treatment for those who saw them. If the ghosts that appeared after the 401 crash have taught us anything, I would hope it is that simply ignoring paranormal events will not make them vanish into thin air.

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About the Author: Author: Bill Knell Author's Website: http://www.ufoguy.com/

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The Ouija Board - A Metaphysical View

By: H.P. Thomas Moore

Simply saying the name ‘Ouija Board’ brings up a variety of mixed emotions in people. Many have had experiences with this talking board in their juvenile years, and many more refuse to even acknowledge the experiences that they had. In the metaphysical world, a world filled with future psychics and spirit mediums where does the Ouija Board stand?

The Ouija Board, as I have come to understand it is a tool much like any other. The Tarot Cards, Pendulum and Crystal Ball all have their purpose in the metaphysical world, so too does the Ouija Board. Before looking into the metaphysical of this fascinating board, we need to understand where it came from.
In the 1800’s the world saw a rise in the Metaphysical and Spiritual realm. People would gather for Séances and Table Tipping in order to once again contact those that had passed from this life.

During the 19th century psychics and mediums alike began to invent different ways to communicate with the dead. Some of these were rather long and tedious like table tipping, while others bean to shape the instrument we know as the talking board. One of the first was an intricate pulley system that held a pendulum. The pendulum would hang over a paper with the letters of the alphabet on it and move in accordance to questions asked by the medium. The pendulum would then point to the letters and spell out its answer. Before long this instrument began to take further shape, and a moving planchette was created in order to hover over the letters of the board.

This form of communication with the dead was one of the clearest yet, and the form of the Ouija Board took shape. In 1892 a man named William Fuld took over a toy and novelty company. Seeing the popularity of the board the mediums were using he decided to create and patent it as a toy, a product that everyone could have access to. Fuld named it the Ouija Board and sold millions of the toys dominating the competition. After Fuld’s death in 1927 the family sold the patent to Parker Brothers, who still hold it and produce this talking board today.

From device to toy the Ouija Board has been around us for years. With its background and superstition it is no wonder why those in the metaphysical world feel strongly about it. The original purpose of the board was to communicate with the dead, and it seems that it has fulfilled its purpose of that even after being packaged as a novelty toy. In fact many people have their first psychic experiences linked to the use of the Ouija Board, though not all of them are pleasant. The metaphysical world sees this talking board as a gateway to communicate with the other side, just like any other tool or ability used within the psychic realm. As they say “With great power, comes great responsibility” and the Ouija Board is not left out of the equation.

One of the things that many psychics speak of when it comes to receiving future oriented information or communicating with the dead is the idea of psychic protections. So what is a psychic protection going to do for you and why is it needed to use the Ouija Board? Before we can understand the use of protections, we need to understand energy. Energy is around us all of the time and is neither positive nor negative. The actions that a person takes with the energy give it a positive or negative charge, forcing the energy to act in a specific way. That being said, it is important to understand that there are spirits that are both positive and negative.

The idea of psychic protection is to create a sacred space. This space allows all energy and spirits that are positive to enter and pushes away the spirits and energy that are negative. From a spiritual standpoint this is one of the major faults of the Ouija Board. The board does not come with a protection to use; in fact it doesn’t even mention it. Without the psychic protection, the users are allowing any entity to communicate with them whether it is positive or negative.

If you talk to some of your friends and ask them if they have used a Ouija Board, most of them will tell you the strange and sometimes frightening experiences that they had. It is due to the fact that no protections are used that the negative energies are allowed in. These types of energies ‘feed’ on the emotion of fear and so cause fear in us in order to survive. On the spirit realm a medium or even a person using the Ouija Board look like a bright shining light. The positive spirits see this as a doorway to communicate and possibly re-connect with loved ones and pass along messages, the negative spirits see this as well.

Any entity that is positive does not seek out to hurt, harm or scare anyone, they simply seek to communicate and pass along messages to their loved ones. However the problem arises when the negative entities get there first. When you use the Ouija Board, the planchette moves around and spells out the answers to your questions. Often times when a negative energy is attached it will start off by being kind, maybe even telling you the truth. Then it begins to scare you in order to gain energy from your fear based reactions. The psychic protection prevents this from happening, think of it like a bouncer at the door to a club, if your not on the guest list your not getting in…period!

These protections are done in many different ways, from white light to calling forth the Archangels every religion or spiritual path has a protective method with it. Some of the newer talking boards out there do come with a protection. The Psychic Circle for example is a board that in it’s instructions tell you to say a prayer of protection before playing. The metaphysical view on the Ouija Board and talking boards in general is a mixed one. Many feel that the board can be an important tool in connecting with the other side; however it should be done in a way that is spiritually safe for the players.

Next time your at a party or a friends house and they want to play with the Ouija Board or talking board, remember to protect your area. Allow only positive spirits to enter and give their messages and you will surely have a good experience with this psychic tool.

H.P. Thomas Moore is High Priest of The Coven of L.I.G.H.T in South West Florida, as well as a professional Psychic. He teaches a variety of classes in the metaphysical field as well as Wicca and can be contacted through his site at inperfectloveinperfecttrust.webs.com

Releasing Fear and Changing it through Meditation

By: H.P. Thomas Moore

 

What exactly is Fear? Do any of us really know? The Dictionary describes Fear as:

“distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid”

Though that is an accurate definition by standards there is still so much about it that we do not understand how to explain or even react to. Many of us have had times where a situation or event has caused Fear to rule our lives for either a short period of time or even longer. This can certainly be distressing especially if the fear is rooted in something that we are consciously unaware of. In this manner it becomes difficult for us to recognize the fear for exactly what it is so that we can learn to either control it or attack it head on. Once we learn that we can face the fears that we have and augment them in order to release them from our lives, there is a release that occurs that helps to free the mind and allow the living of life more easily.

Far be it from me to tell anyone what they should or should not do in life that is obviously what we have free will for. I do suggest that everyone at some point try to find the base of their fears and change that base so that the fear no longer affects them. There are certainly many different ways that this can be done, many that are tried and true like hypnotism, and others that are newly created like meditation. I would like to talk a bit about the latter and about using meditation and self awareness in order to release ourselves from our fears.

Through most of our lives we live with fear and in a world of fear. We are taught very early that there are things to be afraid of, and instead of using that to empower ourselves we choose to allow it to consume us when it comes. Fear can come quickly, almost instantaneous in situations. It can also be built over years and years that fear becoming stronger and stronger as it grows. The problem is that when we have a moment of fear, we don’t have rational thought through that moment. When fear arrives our fight or flight reflexes kick in and we work purely on instinct. Instinct is a good thing, as any of us surely know, but when the conscious mind takes a break from its chore and allows instinct to take over completely, you can run into some problems. My belief is that the more self aware that you are, the easier it is to keep that conscious frame of mind through the intensity of the fear and then uses that energy to empower yourself, and release a stronger emotional reaction in order to free yourself from the bindings of fear. The key in my opinion to releasing ourselves from fear is by the use of meditation and self awareness.

Meditation is the art of stilling the mind so that you become aware of what is self and what is not self. Fear, I believe is a reaction that is not caused by self per say, but caused by emotional reactions that are not controlled reactions. If we were more in tune with our entire self then we would be more easily able to recognize when an emotion is occurring and react to it accordingly in a conscious way. This can be more beneficial to us than reacting in an uncontrolled way that relies on intuition. By being able to control the emotion better we are then able to continue to look at things from an objective point of view and not allow ourselves to get swept away by that emotion. Seeing things objectively can allow us to make better decisions in the face of fear and control it so that it does not or cannot affect us in the future. This can also work to release us from past fears that we have held on to for so long and have little control over.

By now you are asking yourself just how it is that we go about this in order to release ourselves from fear and become self aware. As said before I believe that meditation is the key in doing this, but the type of meditation is very important, depending on what you are using it for. Are you going to use meditation in order to help aid you in gaining better control over your emotional reaction to fear, or are you going to relive a past experience in order to get to the root cause of a fear that you have currently? Personally I suggest that both are done, though it can be a difficult road to travel, and an emotional one at that especially in the beginning. For now I suggest that you choose one to travel and when you feel comfortable with your improvement, travel the other.

Let’s first talk about using meditation and self awareness in order to release ourselves from a fear rooted in the past. This can be a difficult one especially if you are one to believe in past lives and reincarnation. It is very possible that the soul collects the fears that it has learned and takes them onto its next incarnation. This could explain why we have so many fears that we cannot pin point the origins of in the lives that we are living currently. These past fears can also be based from a childhood trauma or experience that we have chosen to forget in order to make an attempt to put it behind us. In that case it becomes more difficult because you are not looking at it from a third party type view, it was actually something that you lived recently and have blocked it from memory. Though you may have blocked the memory from resurfacing on a conscious level, you cannot block the emotion of the fear that is related to it. That is of course unless you use meditation to travel back to the origins of the incident that caused the reaction of fear and work through it on a different level in order to replace the fear with empowerment. Then, when you find yourself in that situation again in a future time you can relay back to the empowerment that you created to replace the feeling of fear and move forward through the situation rather then allow it to make you revert backward. Many time people think that this is in regard to major fears or disorders, and while this will also work to benefit those as well it works for the little fears that we deal with everyday. These can run as deep as possible or be so far on the surface that they seem to wipe off, the point is though to release them from you in order to live life completely and fully without the fear of fear.

In this paragraph I am going to explain the guided meditation that I use to travel to the past of a situation and change the fear into empowerment.
First you will want to get in a meditative position in a place that you will not be bothered by phones children or pets. You may sit, stand or lie down (so long as you don’t fall asleep) as long as you are sure to keep nothing crossed. Crossing of the arms, legs or other parts interrupt the flow of energy in the body and put a clamp on the circuit. If you choose to sit Indian style or in a Yoga position this is acceptable as the energy in those positions is allowed to flow freely. Now what we want to do is to relax our entire body and keep our mind awake and alert.

Begin by taking 3 deep breaths in through the nose and out of the mouth. This will align the energy in the body.

Begin with your brain. Visualize your brain becoming smooth and soft, glowing with white light. As you do any worries anxieties or pains release from the brain and allow you to achieve complete relaxation. Say to yourself “Brain you are relaxed and you release all tension”. Now when you feel that relaxation breathe it in and as you exhale send that relaxation and light shooting down your entire body, through your feet and into the ground below. This cleanses the body of all negative vibration and grounds it out into the earth so that it may be recycled by nature into positive vibration.

Now focus on your feet, seeing them surrounded by the white light. Feel them stretch and contract and drop down into full relaxation. Say to yourself “Feet you are relaxed and you release all tension”. Now move that light up to your legs from ankle to hip. Feel the legs fall into relaxation same as the feet. Say to yourself “Legs you are relaxed and you release all tension.”

Move that light upward again to your lower torso are from hips to chest. Breathe in the light and allow it to drop your lower torso into full relaxation. Say to yourself “Torso you are relaxed and you release all tension.”

Moving up still focus on your upper torso from your chest to your neck. Allow the light to penetrate your body and drop it into complete relaxation. Say to yourself “Upper torso you are relaxed and release all tension.”

Now move to your head from your neck up to your head and face. Allow that light to penetrate you once again and fall deep into relaxation. Say to yourself “Head, Neck and Face. You are relaxed and release all tension.”

Move that light back around you and focus on your back. See the light rubbing your back releasing tension and dropping you into relaxation. Say to yourself “Back you are relaxed and you release all tension”.

Now bring that feeling to your arms and hands. Allowing them to relax as well. Say to yourself “Hands and Arms, you are relaxed and you release all tension".

Now that your body is completely relaxed and has released all of its tension allow yourself to sit for a moment your mind still active but focused on relaxation. Sit in this meditative spot for a few minutes and allow your body to fully sink into a relaxed state. Always remembering that your mind is fully awake and alert.

Now you are going to open your inner eyes and see yourself sitting in a field midday. The summer air smells sweet around you, as a cool breeze rushes past your face. You look to your front and see that there is a thick forest of trees off somewhat in the distance. As you peer into the forest you see a small path appear to lead you. You walk toward the path and travel down into the woods. As you walk you see the flora and fauna on either side of you change color. First Red then Orange, to Yellow, Green, Blue changing still to Indigo, Violet and finally White. As the white flora fade you end up by a river. On the river bed is a basket with a lid. You reach for the basket and open it. You release all of your worries and anxieties into the basket, and close the lid. You place it in the water and let the current take it far away from you.

You kneel beside the river and peer deep into the water. As you look focus on a fear that you have that stems from a past situation. Focus on that fear and put it into the water. Tell the water that you want to see the root cause of that fear. Don’t worry, you are completely protected and will be watching the events take place much like a movie. Only this time you will be able to change the occurrences.

See the water ripple and spread until it is completely still. As you look into the river you see a scene begin to appear. This is the situation that you were in when your fear first arose. Watch the scene play out and see where the fear took place. Realize the root cause of that fear.

Now play the scene once again, only now see yourself as you are now in the scene still watching from a 3rd part perspective. When you come to the part where your fear takes place I want you to do the following:

Lean in to your past self and whisper into its ear. “This fear cannot harm you; you are strong, courageous and loved. This emotion has lost its control over you. You will change your reaction and in doing so empower yourself!”

Now pull back and watch the scene play out once more. This time seeing your past self changing the fear into empowerment and not letting it take control. You have now released yourself from that fear. In no way or circumstance will it be able to affect you as it once did. You will instead feel strong and empowered by similar situations instead of feeling fear. This fear is now gone from your life, and will never again return.

Wipe your hand through the image in the water and disturb the surface as the picture fades away. Turn from the river and travel back down the forest path, this time seeing the flowers change in reverse order White, Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red. Come back to the field that you began in. Relax into the place you started.

Wiggle your fingers and toes to begin to come back into your body. Stretch your body in its place. And finally when you feel comfortable open your eyes.
As you can see from this meditation we used the images that we saw in the river to change the past event from creating the fear based emotion and created instead a powerful and positive emotion to take its place. For very simple fears this meditation done once would be sufficient. For fears that are slightly more extreme, you may find yourself doing this meditation a few times, each time changing the emotional reaction to empowerment. The more it is done, the better and stronger you will become when faced with a similar situation. It is important to know that this is not a quick fix by any means. In fact in some cases this can take more work than that of seeing a hypnotherapist or psychologist. The important factor here is that you are using your own energy, your own voice to lead yourself through the meditation, and take control of your own emotional reactions by replacing it with positive influence from yourself. This is part of self empowerment and self awareness. You are the only one that can decide whether or not to change the situation to an empowering outcome or not.

Now we begin to work on something different. Meditation for self awareness is the next step. This will aid us so that when we come across situations that cause us fear we can remain self aware and take an objective standpoint in order to gauge our emotional reaction and change fear to courage. This too is going to take time to master so to speak. Why is this? Fear is something that we have known since our very first incarnation into this world. We know that it exists. We were unaware however that we could control that reaction to be something more beneficial to us. The next guided meditation will bring you through an exercise built to help you realize your self awareness, and be able to better control your emotional reactions. When we realize what is truly us and what is causing an effect from outside of us we have an easier time with telling that emotional reaction to back off and to replace it with something different. As I said before these will certainly work on fears that are strong within the person. Fears that we know that we have but do not know where they stem from. The best result that you will get from practicing these techniques is that you will be able to disperse fears that you were unaware that you had. Fear of success for example is something that most of us deal with, but are unaware that we have. Because of this we self sabotage our situations so that we cannot achieve what it is we think we want because of the fear. By using the self awareness techniques we can better realize when our unconscious mind is out to get us so to speak, and correct it in order to work for us instead of against us. There are so many different fears that are built inside of us that we cannot even think about living without them. To do so seems impossible to the mind. That itself is a fear, the fear of living freely and easily without fears. A word is to be said here as well about the releasing of fears along with the law of attraction. It is said that what we think we create. All of this is done subconsciously without our knowing. The best way to gauge this is to be aware of your emotions through that self awareness. If we are aware of our emotional reactions and we can change the emotion of fear to something that is beneficial, then it will become easier for us to attract positive influences in our lives, doing that will then make us emotionally happy, and allow us to continue to attract that happiness. So you see, by releasing our fears not only are we allowing ourselves to reprogram our emotional influences, but we are also allowing the flow of positive energy for manifestation.

Close your eyes as before and start with the 3 deep breaths to ground and center yourself. Then move onto the relaxation from the first exercise to relax the body and keep the mind awake and alert.
Now open your inner eyes and see yourself at the base of a waterfall.
As you look around you see that there is a crystal clear river in front of you and you are surrounded by a thick tropical forest. In the center of the river is a large flat stone.

Wade across the river and make your way to the stone. Sit down Indian style on the stone and face the waterfall.

Close your eyes and focus on the breath as you listen to the white noise of the waterfall crashing down.

Breathe in through the nose for a count of 4. 1……2……3……4……now hold that breathe for a count of 2 1……2……now release for a count of 4 1……2……3……4……
Repeat this breathing until you feel your body rhythmically breathing on its own. Focus on the breath, and allow the sound of the waterfall to bring you deeper into meditation. Focus only on the breath and allow your mind to clear.
Your body is now breathing rhythmically on its own following the same 4…2…4 pattern. Now that we have achieved a state of meditation we are going to work on our self awareness by expanding our aura and programming our 8th chakra.
First, focus on the aura around you. Feel the energy shell that surrounds your body. Visualize the colors that swirl inside your aura. See them brighter than they ever were before. Now breathe in and as you exhale expand that aura outward see it as it expands and grows larger. Do this again, expanding the aura out and growing it larger and larger. See you aura reach all the way to the waterfall and down the river, and through the forest in both directions.
Now that your aura is expanded you are able to realize the energy of animals, plants, and other living things that are close to your energy field. You are able to feel the emotions that they produce without allowing yourself to be encumbered by them.

This is the first step to self awareness. The realization of the energies that move around you and the feeling of that energy without physical or emotional effect to you.

You can expand your aura at any time and with it will come the ability to understand the emotional states around you without them affecting you.
Now see a golden, white light surround you. It reaches from high into the sky to far below the earth. Sit in this light and allow it to penetrate your body, mind, and soul. This is the universal light of energy, protection and power.
This column of light now sends a ray to your Root Center, at the base of your spine. As the light touches it you see that it begins to spin and become a bright red color. Allow the feeling of warmth that may accompany it. Now focus on that red light and allow it to grow bright. Watch as it moves itself upward and activates your next chakra.

This is your Sacral Center, near your navel. As it is activated it begins to glow a bright orange. Getting stronger and stronger, you can feel its warmth as well. Soon this chakra rises to activate the next.

This is your Solar Plexus Center, at the base of your breast bone. It begins to spin and glow a brilliant yellow color. As it gent brighter it too moves itself upward quite naturally and activates the next center.

This is your Heart Center, located in the center of your chest. When activated it spins a deep green color. Feel its warmth as well as it spins and grows, until it flows upward.

It now activates the Throat Center in the middle of the neck. This glows a true blue color. And fills your neck with warmth, as it spins. This light too reaches up and moves to the next Chakra Center.

This is your Third Eye Center located in between your eyes at the bridge of your nose. As it activates it begins to spin and color appears as a deep indigo. This too rises fluidly to the next center.

Your Crown Center now activates, located at the top of your head it glows a brilliant violet color and fills your head with warmth. This light rises as a brilliant gold beam and activated the 8th Chakra one foot above your head.

As the 8th Chakra is activated it begins to glow white, silver and gold. It gets brighter and brighter as it is charged with all of the colors of your 7 Chakras. Now we must program this Chakra to allow us to gain self awareness.

Say to yourself:
“8th body Chakra, I charge you to allow me self awareness in all that I do. I ask that you allow that awareness especially in times of fear so that I may use that energy to replace fear with empowerment. 8th Chakra replaces my fears with empowerment as you allow me to gain self awareness. Self awareness is empowerment!”

Now see that chakra turn from white, silver and gold, to a solid gold as it is charged with your request. This chakra will now allow you self awareness through times of fear. This will work on its own without any physical effort from you.

Now focus on the breath once again repeating that 4…2…4 pattern. Find yourself slowly coming back to physical awareness as you see yourself on the rock in the river and begin to hear the waterfall once again.

Stretch in your seat and move your body slowly coming back to physical awareness. Then when you are comfortable open your eyes and return to this room.

In this last meditation we used the chakras as well as rhythmic breathing to center and charge our 8th chakra center. The chakras are spinning wheels of energy that align the center of the body. There are 7 main chakras that are habitually focused on in the metaphysical field, but the body has many more energy centers throughout it as well. The 8th chakra is also sometimes referred to as the Cone of Power. This chakra can be programmed to work for you in any way that you would like. Here we charged it with allowing us self awareness through fear situations.

Be aware that you may find in the beginning that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. This is ok and very common. It does take time for a complete reprogramming of the body reactions through meditation and self awareness, however doing this meditation over and over will energize that 8th chakra more and more so that when situations of fear arise you are more likely to retain self awareness and change the fear into empowerment. This is not a fool proof method by any means. In fact there is no fool proof method available. This takes time and dedication as well as energy from you. That is the most important part though, is that you are using your own energy to charge yourself with empowerment through fear, and in time can become the strongest reaction that you can have, with the strongest energy that can create it…your own.

Smudging - The Sacred Smoke Bowl Blessing

By: Diane Simone

Smudging is the common name given to the Sacred Smoke Bowl Blessing, a powerful Native American cleansing technique. It is a ritual to remove negativity. Smoke attaches itself to the negative energy and removes it to another space. Cleansing is the word traditionally used, but you can think of it as a shift in energy from any bits of negativity to a more positive, peaceful state. Smudging can be used to cleanse an object, a place, or your spirit, mind or body. Native Americans often use smudging in association with other ceremonies.

Smudging involves the burning of sacred herbs and grasses. Native elders teach us that, before a person can be healed or heal another, one must be cleansed of any bad feelings, negative thoughts, bad spirits or negative energy – cleansed both physically and spiritually. This helps the healing to come through in a clear way, without being distorted or sidetracked by negative “stuff”. The elders say that all ceremonies, private or tribal, must be entered into with a good heart so that we can pray, sing and walk in a sacred manner, and be helped by the spirits to enter the sacred realm.

In many traditions, smudging involves a four directions ceremony or prayer. It, thus, sends specific kinds of smoke or prayer into the four different directions. Of course, different tribes have different smudging prayers, but the smoke is typically directed or programmed to do a specific action or a specific direction, aiding in divination. However, in general smudging is used to maintain balance and shield against negative energy. As has been noted above, it is often used as a cleansing agent.

Smudging is an age-old tribal tradition which has been used for centuries to create harmony and peace. There are many different shamanic smudging ceremonies, and different tribes use a variety of herbs for smudging. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to do it.

Smudging is very effective when you’ve been feeling depressed, angry, resentful or unwell, or after you have had an argument with someone; if you’re going to have a special ritual or ceremony, as part of a general spiritual housecleaning, or to clear your crystals of any negative energy.

You can use smudge sticks (herbs that are tied into a bundle for easier handling), braided herbs and botanicals (like sweetgrass) or loose herbs like mugwort (burned on charcoal or in a firepot). Shamanic smudging releases the energy and fragrance of the herbs and botanicals so they can heal, cleanse and purify.

SMUDGING HERBS

There are many ways to smudge and a variety of different herbs may be used.
When the herbs used for smudging are tied into a bundle and allowed to dry they are called a "smudge stick". In traditional societies, the herbs used for smudging are considered sacred and the smudge stick is treated with great respect.

Different tribes and traditions use different herbs for shamanic smudging. Some of the most popular herbs include cedar, sage, juniper, pinion pine, sweetgrass, copal (in resin form), mugwort, lavender and sacred tobacco.
It is also not uncommon for people who are carrying out modern-day aromatic sacred smoke ceremonies - cleansing, clearing or energy healing rituals - to combine loose sage leaves with other dried loose herbs. Many believe that burning two or more of the herbs simultaneously is a powerful way to combine the energy of the different herbs in the ceremony, ritual or process they are performing. You will find people using dried White Sage leaves and Mugwort, Cedar, Sweetgrass, or Tobacco (powder or leaf form) from the Native American tradition of the Shamans and people of North and South America. And it is also common to find people combining Sage with Juniper, Lavender, Rosemary or Thyme to create modern day aromatic smoke rituals and ceremonies in accordance with the ancient religions and traditions of their forefathers from other parts of the world.

The following is some information on the most common smudging herbs.

Sage

For driving out negativity and for healing, white sage is preferred.

The botanical name for sage is Salvia (e.g. Salvia officinalis, Garden Sage, or Salvia apiana, White Sage). It is interesting to note that Salvia comes from the Latin root salvare, which means "to heal" .
There are also varieties of sage which are of a separate species. Included here are sagebrush (e.g. Artemisia californica) and mugwort – see below (Artemisia vulgaris).

Cedar

Drives out negative energy and brings in good influences.

Cedar is burned while praying either aloud or silently. The prayers rise on the cedar smoke and are carried to the Creator. Cedar branches are brushed in the air to cleanse a home during the House Blessing Ceremony of many Northwest Indian nations. In the Pacific Northwest, the people burn cedar for purification in much the same way as sage - it drives out negative energy; but it also brings in good influences. The spirit of cedar is considered very ancient and wise by Pacific Northwest tribes, and old, downed cedar trees are honored with offerings and prayers.

Cedar is primarily considered a fire element, though it is often used for general, four-element purposes. It is known for its sharp, piney scent and is believed to aid clairvoyance, revive the tired mind, body, and spirit, and stimulate contact with other worlds.

Sweetgrass

Sweetgrass is used for blessing after sage has been used. It brings in the good spirits and the good influences.

Sweetgrass is an important part of Sioux and Cherokee ceremonies. One of the most sacred plants for the Plains Indians, sweetgrass is a tall wild grass with a reddish base and perfume-like, musty odor. It grows mainly on the eastern side of the Rockies in Montana and adjacent Alberta, Canada. It also shows up in some small areas of Wyoming and South Dakota. Its botanical name is Hierochloe odorata. Some common names for it are Seneca grass, holy grass and vanilla grass.

On the Plains, sweetgrass is usually braided together in bunches as a person's hair is braided, although sometimes it is simply bunched and wrapped in cloth. Either way, it is usually burned by shaving little bits over hot coals or lighting the end and waving it around, letting the smoke spread through the air. Elders teach that it is good to burn sweetgrass after the sage or cedar has driven out the bad influences.
As with cedar, burn sweetgrass while praying sends prayers up to the Creator in the smoke. Sweetgrass is can also be put in pipe bundles and medicine bundles along with sage to purify and protect sacred objects.

Mugwort

Mugwort is a variety of Sage (Artemisia vulgaris).

Often regarded as the traveller's friend, Mugwort is used to promote physical wellbeing, endurance and protection. This ancient herb can also encourage prophetic and happy dreams and act as an aid to astral travel.
Also, when you want to cleanse the atmosphere of your space and need something super-heavy-duty, beyond normal white sage smudging, Mugwort is the herb to use.

Mugwort is perfect for anyone wishing to develop their conscious or lucid dreaming experience

HOW TO DO THE SACRED SMOKE BOWL BLESSING

Or smudge, in simpler terms.

Overview

As with any action, when done with intention and belief, smudging can become a powerful and uplifting ritual so consider your intention before you smudge and hold it clearly in your mind. You may even wish to invite the spirit of the herbs you are using to join you and assist you with your intention.

In Native societies, the herbs used for smudging are considered sacred. Treat your smudging herbs with respect, as well as being respectful about the act of smudging itself. It is particularly centering to have an intention in mind. For example, if you are feeling depressed, visualize the smoke carrying away all your feelings of depression. If there was an argument, imagine yourself and the person with whom you argued being at peace with each other.

Materials Needed

An assortment of herbs can be used for smudging. Cedar, Mugwort, Sage or Sweetgrass to name a few. They can be used loose or in bundles.

Smudge sticks and herbs are most easily lit from a candle, match or lighter flame. Long wooden matches are the best because a candle can add dripping wax to the process and a lighter, is well, kind of out of character.

If you are going to select from an assortment of "loose" herbs, you will need several additional “tools” in order to create aromatic sacred smoke. One traditional method is to use a half shell such as Abalone or a Bear Paw Clam shell as the vessel to hold the herbs you have selected to burn. Traditionally, the abalone shell shouldn’t be used for burning since the holy men have said the shell represents Grandmother Ocean and they should be used in ceremonies for water, not burning. However, there are no “right” or “wrong” tools to use. While some of the American Indian Shamans prefer not to use a shell and choose other man-made, fire-resistant vessels to use in their ceremonies, those who do prefer the shell believe that using it brings in a balance of the elements - Earth, Air, Fire and Water - to a ritual.

You may, instead of a half shell, choose to use a fireproof bowl, plate, ceramic pot, small baking dish, censer, brazier, or other vessel in which to burn your loose or crushed herbs, and you can, of course, place the dried herbs on burning logs in your fireplace. If you would like to try that, place the loose herbs on a piece of wood that is glowing (not flaming). The scent of the burning herbs will enhance the aroma of the smoke from the fire, and create a healing energy in the room.

How to Smudge

A smudging ceremony can be as simple or as involved as you want it to be. Sometimes, all that is required is a quick waft of the smudging wand to clear the energy. Other times require more time and attention. It is up to you to decide how much to devote to your ceremony.

Any action, undertaken with intention and belief can become a potent ritual so consider your intention before you smudge and hold it clearly in your mind. You may wish to invite the spirit of the herbs to join you and guide and assist with your intention.

Before you begin, be sure the area you are planning to smudge is well ventilated because the smoke, carrying the negative energy, must have an escape route. Take normal precautions to prevent an unwanted fire, such as placing your smudge pot or shell on a non-combustible surface.
Gather your smudging materials and a means to light the herbs.
Remove all jewelry and glasses.

Light the bundle or loose herbs and, when a flame appears, blow it out so it will smoulder and smoke, not burn. The idea is to get curls of smoke, not to set the smudge herbs afire. Smudge sticks are sometimes hard to keep smouldering so, when you first light it, blow out the flame after it gets going and then blow into the smouldering embers to really let take hold or else it might burn out. If it does burn out, just re-light it again and keep going. (Special note: Don’t smudge while infants, pregnant women, or people with respiratory diseases are in the room.)

Once the herbs are smouldering, the first step is to smudge yourself.

Smudging Yourself

You may want to especially focus on areas where you feel there are blockages or where there has been or is physical, emotional, or psychic pain. Imagine the smoke lifting away all the negative thoughts, emotions and energies that have attached themselves to you as you smudge yourself. If you are feeling depressed for instance you could visualize the smoke carrying away all your feelings of depression.

Smudging yourself is easy. If you're using a smudge stick, light the smudge stick on a candle flame. Hold the stick in the flame until there is a lot of smoke and the stick is burning well (that’s why a candle is better than a match as it can take a while to get the stick really smoldering).

Using a fan, feather or your hand, gently fan the smoke onto your body, starting at the top of the body and moving downward. Bring the smoke over your head, to your heart, eyes, ears, mouth, shoulders, down your arms, around your torso to your back and legs, and last of all your feet to ensure you walk the right path. Get the back of your body as best you can (it is often easier to use a smudge pot and loose herbs for this). When you're done, inhale a little of the smoke (just a little!) to purify your insides.

If you're using a smudge pot or fire bowl and loose herbs, light the herbs (using self-lighting charcoal, not the barbeque kind) until it is smoking well. Then, put the fire bowl on the ground and stand over it with your legs spread and feet on either side. Weave back and forth in the smoke until you have been thoroughly cleansed. Clothing is optional for this approach, and smudging in the nude is recommended for a more thorough cleansing. Again, when you're done, inhale a little of the smoke to purify your insides. People often feel more relaxed, lighter and brighter after smudging.

Next, offer smoke to the four directions starting with the East. Then, turning clockwise, offer to the South, again turning, to the West and then again to the North Also offer the smoke downwards to Mother Earth, upwards to Father Sky and, most importantly, to the Creator or Great Spirit. You may also offer the smoke to the moon, sun, waters, winds and the Universe. Do whatever feels right to you and whatever your intuition tells you to.

Smudging yourself on a daily basis can be very helpful in keeping yourself balanced and maintaining a peaceful state of being. However, you should definitely use shamanic smudging techniques when you’ve been around people who are ill, depressed, fearful, angry or generally emotionally unbalanced; before meditating to create a calm state of being; when you’re feeling blue or depressed; or when you’ve been under a lot of stress.

If you're going to use the smudge smoke during meditation, use a charcoal burner or fire bowl, light the herbs and enjoy the scent and smoke as you meditate. Meditating with these herbs often produces a deeper and longer-lasting state of relaxation and contemplation.

A Personal Clearing

During a smudging ritual, you may want to include a Personal Clearing for yourself. Breathe in the essence of the sacred smoke herbs, and focus on yourself and your body for a moment, then bend and allow the wand or the feather (or fan) to move the smoke down as far as possible, to your ankles and feet. Move the smoke from that position near the floor slowly up the length of your body to the top of your head. This helps to cleanse your aura of any disturbances you may have experienced that day.

Finish your Personal Clearing, holding the wand or the feather in front of you at the level of your heart, and watch the sacred smoke rising up. Repeat any affirmations you say for your own well-being and spiritual purpose. Breathe again deeply, and then complete the ritual.

Smudging another

Before you smudge another person, an object or a place, you should make sure you smudge yourself first.

It is often appropriate to smudge guests as they enter the space at a ritual, ceremony or special event.

Smudge as if you were smudging yourself, fanning the smoke all over their body. You may want to speak an intention or a suggestion for the smudging as you do it. For example "Allow the sacred smoke to cleanse your body and spirit and bring you present and available into this moment" or “Allow the sacred smoke to cleanse your body and spirit, ridding you of all negativity and filling your heart with love and joy”.

Smudging a room or space

After smudging yourself, walk about the perimeter or the room or space, giving special attention to the corners and the places behind and around doors and windows. If you’re using tools, smudge them as well. Wave the smudge stick in slow circles or use your hands or a feather to fan the smoke throughout the room.

The most complicated and lengthy sacred smoke ritual most people will ever engage in is the Complete Clearing and Healing of their home environment. This type of Sage and Smudge ritual or ceremony is most often done around the time people move into a new home, to clear out any negative energy that may have been a part of the lives of the people who lived there previously. But it’s also a great way to enhance your spring or fall housecleaning!

There are other occasions when it is appropriate to perform a major purification for the entire residence. This type of spiritual "housecleaning" ritual is performed to acknowledge that one cycle has ended and to "announce" a new beginning - a starting point in your energetic, vibrational and spiritual connection to your world. And since your home is the center of your personal world, it is appropriate to clear the entire space and make it ready for the next cycle.

Here are some examples of times when it is appropriate to clear and cleanse the energy of your entire home:

• When someone new moves into the home to live with current members of the household, bringing their possessions (possibly their children and/or their pets) into the space
• Following the completion of a major home improvement project
• Following a Feng Shui consultation, and after any changes suggested by the Feng Shui Practitioner have been made to the interior (or exterior) of the home - changes that are meant to shift/improve the energy-flow inside the home
• Following a divorce or separation, where one party has moved all of their possessions out of the mutual home and into a new home of their own
• At the time of a major "life-change" for anyone who lives in the home (such as the birth of a child, a major career change, children leaving home for college or to live on their own, retirement, diagnosis of a chronic illness, etc.)
• Following a serious illness or death of someone (or a cherished family pet) who has lived in the home
• Following a natural disaster (like an earthquake, fire or flood)

Whether you are buying a home, renting a home or moving into a new apartment or condominium, you will want to perform a smudging ritual some time during the first month you are living in the new space - preferably around the time of the New Moon. If there is time between when you take possession of your new home, and the time your furniture and belongings are moved into the new home, you may want to do an initial smudging ritual before your furniture and possessions arrive and you start unpacking.

Smudging before healing work

Before healing work, the smoke may be fanned over the person either with your hand or with feathers. This clears out unhealthy energies and brings in the special attributes of the herbs. You may also direct smudge to each of the person's chakras and as you do so visualize each chakra coming into balance as it is purified by the smudge.

Cleansing crystals or other objects

Hold the objects to be purified in the smoke or fan the smoke over them. If you are clearing your crystals prior to programming them, thank both them and the smudge stick for helping you to realize your goals.
After smudging, it is very important to open your doors and windows for 10-15 minutes to allow the smoke and the negative energy to escape outside.

Extinguishing the smudge stick

Always have a shell, a glass, stone or ceramic dish on hand to put the smudge stick in when you’ve finished. Ideally, the stick should be pressed out in sand or earth, or just press it against the bottom of the receptacle. Always make sure that a smudge stick is completely out before leaving the room. I prefer to put the smudge stick in a mason jar, cover it with foil and allow the smudge stick to extinguish itself but be sure it is before leaving it unattended! When you are finished smudging sweetgrass, extinguish the braid by damping it against the shell.

This article was written by Diane of www.naturesforyou.com Nature’s For You is a New Age on-line store featuring Products to Heal and Harmonize Mind, Body and Soul - quality products for an affordable price. All of the smudging herbs and tools mentioned in this article are available at www.naturesforyou.com.

Article Source: http://www.newagearticles.com/

Clairsentience

By: Marissa Moonwhisper
 

When it comes to various psychic abilities and powers, there are many different ways in which a person might get a reading or might get an idea of the past, present, or future. There are several ways that psychic ability manifests itself, and there are several different psychic gifts that one might possess.

One of these ways is called clairsentience. This is a complex psychic ability. One of the most interesting things about clairsentience is that it is the gift that is most often ignored, or not even noticed by those that have it.

Touch

Clairsentience involves getting a glimpse of other realities or even entities through a sense of touch. This would occur when a psychic lays their hands on someone, or when they touch something that contains a link to another world that they can see. Clairsentience can manifest itself myriad ways and it is an ability that is often hard to explain or to diagnose.

There are many different ways that clairsentience can manifest itself. This could be a tickling sensation on the body when it comes into contact with the spirit. Many people experience this when they are in contact with a spirit, and it is usually in the form of a tickling sensation on the face, hands, or the neck. It might also be the feeling of the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end when you are touched by a spirit. This too might be something that people feel when they are not aware of their psychic abilities. Often it would be written off as something else, but this is what it is. The idea of clairsentience is something that is often overlooked, even by those that have it.

Clairsentience can also be noted as a sensation the left side of your face when you are talking with a spirit. This is because the energy of the spirit is going to enter through the left side of the body and is going to exit on the right side of the body. This means that when you are in contact with a spirit you are going to have a sensation on the left side of your face.

Another way that Clairsentience might manifest itself is the feeling of pressure on the crown, or the top of their head. There are also other areas of the body where a person might feel pressure when they are talking with a spirit. In rare cases, you might actually feel a blow to somewhere on your body, and this might be a very physical blow. Clairsentience might also manifest as something that might be very subtle. It could be as mild as a cool breeze that you feel, or even as small as certain scents that you are able to smell, such as floral fragrances or other fragrances.

No matter how clairsentience manifests itself, it is a psychic ability that can be the hardest to interpret and the hardest to notice. There might be many people who have the gift of clairsentience but who have never known that they have. If you have a tendency to feel strange things, or to smell or notice things that aren’t there, you might find that you actually have the gift of clairsentience but you have never noticed it before!

There are many ways that you can see if this is a gift that you have. You should speak with someone who is a psychic, and who can provide you with more details about the various forms of the gift of Clairsentience, to see whether or not this is something that you believe you might have.

Dandelion Fritters

While others use chemicals (YUCK!) to kill the dandelions in their yards, I pick mine for use in this wonderful recipe.  The picture shown above is of dandelion flowers dipped in crushed GMO-free Uncle Sam cereal and sprinkled down with Cajun spices.  Be creative.  Enjoy!

Gather only the top of the dandelion flowers and begin to place them in a bowl or a paper bag.  Pick them in the sunshine when they are fully opened and only when you have enough time to actually make the fritters right away; otherwise the flowers will close up on you.   Of course, you can still make the fritters but the heads are much nicer opened.

Ingredients

·         30 dandelion flower heads

·         1 1/4 cup cornmeal or crushed Uncle Sam cereal  (I put about a cup in a plastic bag and use my rolling pin to bring it to a crumb consistency).

·         1 1/4 cup almond milk

·         1 egg

·         Coconut oil for frying

·         1/2 tsp sea salt 

When you have filled your bowl or bag with about 30 dandelion heads, bring them inside, wash them and pat them dry. 

Combine your almond milk, salt, egg.  

Prepare your pan by using about ¼ inch of coconut oil.  Set your heat to medium and let the oil get hot.   

Grab the dandelion head by the little green stem on the flower and dip it into the almond milk mixture and then into the crumb coating, turning to coat thoroughly.  I sometimes use a spoon to assure the entire flower is covered on both sides.

Place the flowers into the hot oil with the flower side down.  Fry them until you can easily flip them with a spatula.  They remind me of making fish filet because they can easily fall apart.  Be careful when turning them over.  Try not to force them otherwise they will fall apart. Cook to a golden brown.  Remove them from the oil and drain on a paper towel.

La Befana, The Good Witch

Many holiday traditions exist in my home; some of which have been passed down from my ancestors and others which I have created for my family. Now as my children age, it becomes more difficult to retell the fables or partake in the crafts that my sons enjoyed so much when they were younger.

So, to my surprise last evening, my younger son asked me why we kept our Christmas tree intact until January 7^th. I knew he wanted to hear the tale of La Befana and it made me smile. Just as my Sicilian grandmother told me the tale of the good witch, I would retell it to him, again. I got both us a glass of milk and a few cookies.

I watched him nibble on the cookies as he asked, “Please tell me. I have forgotten why.”

“It has to do with the Epiphany, La Befana and the Three Wise Men,” I replied.

“Ahhh,” he exclaimed, “I remember. The Epiphany is when the Wise men came to Jesus.”

I knew he had remembered since I had told the tale over and again since he was a tot. He watched with the same eyes that I remember when he was as small child. The same eyes I had as my grandmother explained why most of the people we knew had already had taken down their Christmas tree and why we still had ours intact on January 6^th.

La Befana was an elderly lady and known for being a hard-worker and an excellent housekeeper. One evening, there was a knock on her front door. When she opened it, there stood three distinguished and well-dressed gentlemen asking for directions to a star they had seen in the sky. La Befana invited them inside and they rested. They noticed her home was a clean and pleasant home. The Three Kings, called the Magi, claimed that the star would lead them to the Son of God. La Befana said she was unable to help them find their way.

The Magi asked La Befana to accompany them on their search but she claimed she was busy tending to her home and had wasted much time already by visiting with them. The Magi departed and La Befana resumed her chores.

As the star in the sky grew brighter, La Befana had a change of heart. She quickly packed a small bag with baked good and gifts for the baby Jesus and her trusty broom to help the new mother clean once she arrived. She searched for the Magi and for the newborn child, but never did find either.

To this day, La Befana can be seen flying on her trusty broom on the Eve of the Epiphany looking for the baby Jesus. She stops at all of the good children’s houses, climbs down their chimneys and leaves sweets and goodies in their stockings in hopes of finding the Christ child at last.

I like the message in which the story sends to us. That possibly, it’s good to put aside our everyday mundane tasks and take a chance in life; to seek something better than ourselves and sometimes, even, to simply look up at the sky and admire a star.