Dear Friends,

This year we had a double start to the new year - - on January 1st and 2nd!  It's almost as though the new year itself didn't want to get started!

Having an extra day off at the start of 2017 provided an even greater opportunity for reflection.  At the start of every new year, I consider my responses to events of the previous year (emotional and physical) and ascertain the best way to move forward. 

While sitting with the feelings of success and failure, happiness and loss, I ask the spirits to help expand my vision for an improved, and less personal, perspective.   Almost everything, especially the death of a loved one, can feel very personal.  During the past couple of years, 7 people close to me have passed, some deaths expected, others not. 

These experiences of loss have reawakened my commitment to include loved ones in spirit in my daily life - - and have inspired me to share steps for you to do the same.  To learn more, read this month’s article How to be Guided by Spirits in your Life.

During the final months of 2016, Claire (my assistant) and I were well into planning 2017.  Following events and privates in Los Angeles, I’ll be heading to Anaheim and San Diego in February.  In May I will be visiting Maryland, and in June I’ll be in Portland speaking at The Afterlife Conference.  Travel in 2017 will also include Las Vegas, San Francisco, Florida and New York.  Whew!  I’m already exhausted and it is only the first week of January!  

The response to online and in person workshops has been encouraging, so I will continue teaching in the new year.  It is my heartfelt desire to not only provide messages from loved ones in spirit, but to support others in their quest to do so.  

As we face a new year, know that the spirits of our ancestors walk before us and our loved ones in spirit stand beside us.  

Hollister Rand

Invite Loving Spirits to Guide You

Our spirit support system is larger than we can imagine.  By making a dedicated effort to include loving spirits into our lives, we are allowing them to act on behalf of our greatest good. 

Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed and invite your special spirits to be present in your life at the frequency of love.  

Begin by breathing naturally and pay attention to the breath.  If thoughts or a “to do” list begin to intrude, bring your attention back to your breathing.  

To help calm your nervous system and activate feelings of love, rest your hand on your heart and think of someone you love, a human or a pet or a being who offers unconditional love.

Allow and intend for your love to radiate from the center of your being, Feel and experience your love building and expanding through the room and beyond the walls, offering this love as an invitation to the spirits.

Invite your loved ones in spirit, your dear ones with whom you have an eternal bond.

Invite your ancestors, those who have gone before you and who have made your life possible. 

Invite the exalted ones, the teachers who have endured throughout time because of their great love.   (This invitation may include guides, angels, ascended masters and deities.)

With deep love and appreciation, invite and request divine guidance in all aspects of work and life.  

Once you’ve made the invitation, there are practices that you can adopt which will help activate your awareness of the spirits’ efforts in your life.  As many of you already know, I’ve created hour long (affordable) online courses to help support an ongoing relationship with loved ones in spirit.   

Commit to Living in the Present Moment

  To connect with loved ones in spirit and receive their guidance, being grounded in the present moment is the best (and, in fact, the only) place to meet the spirits effectively.  The past, present and future exist at the same time for the spirits (mind- bending, I know) so when we connect with them in the here and now, the healing which takes place echoes throughout time.  To learn how to be present and ready to hear from the spirits, please CLICK HERE.   

Move from Grievance to Gratitude

  It might seem impossible to consider being grateful for anything in the wake of losing someone we love.  However, the spirits have let me in on a BIG secret:  by practicing gratitude we will be more connected to them!  As an added bonus, practicing gratitude can help to alleviate dissatisfaction with life in general.  For an easy, step by step tutorial please CLICK HERE.

Listen

  The spirits rarely complain, but when they do, it is often because they’re receiving requests for help and connection - - but aren’t given the opportunity for their responses to be heard.  During 2017, adding quiet time and/or meditation to your schedule each day, allow information from the spirits to break through the walls of your own thought patterns.  For a tutorial on deep listening which helps with relationships to loved ones in spirit - - and on earth, please CLICK HERE.     

Recognize Unlikely Allies

  We have more spirits helping us than we know!  During a recent session, an aunt in spirit, named Roslinda, mentioned the sitter’s impending divorce.  “I haven’t thought of Roslinda in years!” my client exclaimed.  “She died when I was 10 years old - - of a broken heart.”  As the session continued, it was interesting that Roslinda, who had suffered and died after her own marriage collapsed, provided supportive suggestions to help her niece move through her own challenging time in healthy and positive ways.  Support and guidance may come from unexpected spirits.  To learn more about how to recognize messages from the spirits - - and not miss any of them, please CLICK HERE and HERE.