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Dr. Lauren has published her newsletter since 2000. Here's a back issue.

Dr. Lauren's eNews 8
Leading you toward Knowing your way in the world.
©2000-2004

IN THIS ISSUE

1. Welcome
2. Wise Words & Sage Sayings
3. Living Peacefully with Uncertainty
4. Mediums Get Messages, Too: An Account of a Memorial
5. Intuition News You Can Use - (articles, classes, and web sites)
 

1. WELCOME

Dear Friends,

Upon hearing about the World Trade Center attack last month, the next thing I "heard" was an inner voice advising me to offer "prayer unceasing" for the individuals directly affected, as well as for all of us who are forever changed. 

Many counselors, myself included, have been out there working directly with survivors and their families in crisis counseling and bereavement support teams. Many more of you have offered of yourselves in some other way, whether through prayer, blood donation, or by material aid through financial or other gifts to charities. Please continue to give of yourself: offer up your prayers. 

Whenever you feel overwhelmed by the nonstop news updates and the seemingly unending aftereffects, when you don't know what else to do, when you're too tired to respond, when you're feeling numbed by it all--pray. Just send a thought. Or send your fear, your worry, your unsettledness and ask that they be removed. Prayer for healing--emotional, spiritual, and physical, for all humankind. Ask that you and your loved ones be kept safe from harm, and extend that prayer to our entire, connected human family. 

Ask that the highest and best wisdom from the highest and best source be heard by our world leaders. Ask the same for yourself. 

Change the world. Pray unceasing.

Wishing you well on this spiritual journey,

Dr. Lauren Thibodeau
 

2. WISE WORDS & SAGE SAYINGS

As most of you know by now, I'm a huge fan of quotations, and own at least 30 books of quotes. (One of my dreams this year is to find room for all my books!) For this newsletter, I found some intriguing quotes for your reflection from The Last Word: A Treasury of Women's Quotes compiled by Carolyn Warner. The following seemed particularly pertinent now.

Courage is fear that has said its prayers.
                                                         --Dorothy Bernard
In our constant search for security we can never gain any peace of mind until we secure our own soul.
                                                          --Margaret Chase Smith

Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.
                                                          --Marie Curie

So many gods, so many creeds,
So many paths that wind and wind,
When just the art of being kind
Is all this sad world needs.                    --Ella Wheeler Wilcox
 

3. LIVING PEACEFULLY WITH UNCERTAINTY

Not knowing what will come next is an essential feature of human life. Pretty funny that a psychic medium would write this! But it's true: while I can assist people with being aware of the probable trends, patterns and possibilities they face, no one can know with absolute certainty what will happen next. In challenging times, it's hard to remember that among the greatest gifts we have as humans is the gift of free will. That means we all can choose, in any moment, to change our lives. Often that begins with a change in attitude.

Viktor Frankl, who survived the horrors of concentration camps during World War II and went on to develop the psychology of logotherapy and write the much-loved Man's Search for Meaning, reminds us of this critical freedom quite eloquently:

"Whenever one is confronted with an inescapable, unavoidable situation, whenever one has to face a fate that cannot be changed, e.g., an incurable disease, such as an inoperable cancer, just then is one given a last chance to actualize the highest value, to fulfill the deepest meaning, the meaning of suffering. For what matters above all is the attitude we take toward suffering, the attitude in which we take our suffering upon ourselves.

We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked throughout the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

Given the forever-changed landscape of life in modern times in the United States following the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, it's important to remember we still have choices to make. In any moment, we can choose to give of ourselves. In any moment, we can choose to live fully, right then, right there. We CAN learn to live peacefully with uncertainty, if we remember to take it moment by moment. 

In these uncertain times, I wish you the ability to choose your way, moment by moment, with peacefulness in your heart and all your fears allayed. 

Best & blessings,

Dr. Lauren Thibodeau
 

4. MEDIUMS GET MESSAGES, TOO

Recently my sister and I traveled to North Carolina to spread our sister's ashes where my brother's were scattered. We weren't expecting quite the journey we shared, but we found it so perfectly reminiscent of our sister Pamela, who died last September, that I decided to share with you how subtle the signs of our loved ones can be--and also how obvious! Hopefully you'll see that our loved ones stay connected in our lives--it's all a matter of learning to read the signs. In any case, it's a funny story I hope you'll enjoy.

Upon arrival at the little cottage in the mountains that my friend Jenn, who lives nearby, arranged we noticed immediately how much it resemble our grandmother's front porch, complete with swing. Of course, Pamela had loved it there and spent many a childhood summer hanging out at grandma's. So far, so good, we figured: this will be an interesting adventure.

The next morning we prepared the ashes, dust flying everywhere as we moved them into bags we could easily transport (I recommend ZipLoc!). There came a knock on the door, and a loud voice announced, Housekeeping! I quickly recovered to ask, "could you come back in about a half-hour?" as my sister swallowed her giggles at Jenn's stricken look. 

As we prepared to leave, I started up the rental car to get the air conditioning going to combat the sweltering North Carolina heat. The radio came on, playing the song lyric, "I'll be right there, waiting for you." Valerie and I laughed as we started on our adventure. 

For the next 15 minutes, as Valerie changed stations repeatedly, every song she stopped on had relevance. Take notes, I said--this is gonna be interesting! Pamela had loved to travel, despite her chronic mental illness, and had the habit of hopping on a Greyhound from time to time, calling us from just about anywhere. The next song was Roam, followed by Good Vibrations, then Westbound Number Nine, and finally, Don't Dream It's Over. By this time we three were laughing, near hysterics at the synchronicities. As we climbed into the mountains, the stations weren't coming in clearly anymore, so we figured that our little moment with our passed-on sister Pamela might be over. (We also felt pretty sure we were wrong about that!)

We arrived, parked and then hiked down to find the waterfall and swimming hole to disperse the ashes where my brother's were dispersed a few years ago--who needs a family plot when you can have a family national park, right? We realized that we would have to head downstream as people were enjoying the beautiful weather and weren't likely to leave us in privacy (well, this is probably illegal anyway, we reminded each other).

So downstream we went, having spotted a large, flat rocky area midstream. We clambered over, looked down, and saw a beautiful large butterfly, wings spread, just inches from the water's edge and the flowing stream. It seemed so real that it took us a moment to realize it was dead, but perfectly preserved--not unlike our sister, we joked. "Well, she did say she' be right here, waiting for us...do you think this is the place?" we wondered aloud.

More laughter and reminiscing followed as we had our private little ceremony. Jenn took a few pictures so we'd have a way to share the moment with our mother, who'd broken a hip just days before and couldn't come along. And for the next 20 minutes, we saw at least 7 different kinds of butterflies, that classic symbol of transformation, as we sat there, enjoying the day and each others' company, and our memories of Pamela. It was a joyous and memorable day.

My message with this story is a simple one: Please pay attention to they subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways your deceased loved ones come to you. I promise you--they're still a part of your life. If you'd like to learn more about after-death communication, I recommend checking out the book Hello From Heaven! by Bill Guggenheim and Judy Guggenheim. They also run a supportive website at http://www.after-death.com where you can share your own after-death communications.

5. INTUITION NEWS YOU CAN USE
NOTE: THESE MAY NOW BE INACTIVE AS THIS WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN SOME TIME AGO.

I like to share information I find along the way with others who might find it of interest. So, here are my latest "finds" for your review:

Here's a wonderful site on intuition, by one of the best-respected organizations in the field: http://www.intuition.org/welcome.htm 

If you're interested in learning more about past lives, particularly as they relate to children (who often spontaneously recall past life-on-earth experiences), you'll find this site helpful: http://www.childpastlives.org/library.htm

Many people find the tarot a useful tool for self-exploration. Here's a site by the author of several books on tarot which can help you learn to delve into its mysteries...and it's free: http://www.learntarot.com If you'd rather just get a fast, free tarot spread done to help you illuminate an issue, you'll find http://www.facade.com of interest. 

For those who'd like to request--or offer--healing prayer, here's a lovely site designed just for that purpose: http://www.angelfire.com/sc/hpt/  The site maintains a regular chat room, and also has posted a memorial site on behalf of the events of September 11, 2001.

--Dr. Lauren Thibodeau
Leading you toward Knowing your way in the world