On Trees

In my late twenties, I became a single mother and, choosing to stay home to look after my baby, I became a self-employed seamstress. I spent the next 25 years earning a living for us then, quite suddenly, I found it necessary to reassess my future. It was not a choice, I suffered unexplained but short-lived bouts of severe pain, I was unnerved and found it necessary to look for solutions beyond the physical. My life of chasing money and the arrival of a highly sceptical partner had made it difficult for me to accept the jargon of the New Age and, having issues with being thought to be a fool, I spent a long time 'protecting' myself from it. But, something in me was, and is, stronger than that and it is not surprising the Coyote came forward as my animal guide, because the Coyote loves a fool. Despite my prejudices, in trance states I was amazed to access experiences and solutions not from any part of my mind that I was familiar with; I could not hold on to them consciously for very long, so I began the practice of recording them as soon as I returned. The stories recounted in my books are taken from these records. I use plenty of New Age concepts to describe my experiences; I do not want to create a whole set of my own jargon! I make few attempts to describe or analyse the phenomena, I give away the stories so that others might be inspired to embark on their own exploration of the worlds beyond the everyday, or just enjoy the stories for what they are. I grew up on a farm in Suffolk where I spent my early childhood knocking about with the farm labourers, as they were called then. They were the kindest, gentlest men who loved and tolerated me, shared their food with me, wobbled their loose teeth to make me laugh, lifted me up to ride on the cows' shoulders; their working clothes were ragged, pieces of string were tied round their trousers below the knees to stop the rats and mice running up their legs, their ear lobes were shrunk by frost-bite, their hands gnarled with work; they gave me the closest thing to unconditional love and that is why the Grandfather, the messenger of love of this book, was able to be visible to me. I am the author of several books covering exceptional experiences in altered-state work, experiences which can be loosely categorized as mystical, shamanic, and spiritual, when, in fact, they are quite accessible ways for anyone to find help and healing from sources within themselves. I am indebted to Beautiful Painted Arrow, Joseph Rael, for the visions and teachings he has given to help us make sense of our Time. I support his visions for a peaceful world, and run a couple of websites: www.peacechamber.co.uk; www.somethingdoeshappen.co.uk