Curt Remington’s Blog

Thank You For Your Service 

This article is for you soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. You’ve endured harsh and stressful conditions, risked your life and spent time away from your families. Some or you have seen the trauma of battle, experienced war related crime, come home seriously wounded or having lost friends. I’m sorry for any loss you’ve suffered, and I thank you for what you have done.

 Along with saying thanks, I’d like to share some meditation exercises that may help in dealing with the stress and the transition back to life here. These techniques would benefit anyone and might be especially beneficial to those suffering from depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder. This is not intended to be a replacement for professional counseling or therapy, so if you feel that you should have help, please do what you can to get it.

 Inspiration for Writing This

I’m a part-time psychic, having taken a clairvoyant training program, performed many readings and received ideas and suggestions from the spirit world. You may want to read my “Psychic Experiences” article. The idea to help returning soldiers first came through a dream. The suggestion to write this article, and some specific techniques, came through helpful spirits, including one of my guardian angels/guides. Why me? First off, because I’m psychic. It would be pretty hard for spirits to give these suggestions to someone that can’t hear them. Second, I have a warrior background, which I learned about performing psychic readings on past lives. Now I do believe in reincarnation. If you don’t, you can still get plenty of benefit out of this articles.

 In this life, faulty eyesight resulted in a quick discharge from the navy’s pilot program and a basically peaceful life. In many past lives, I did experience the hardship and trauma of battle, ending my most recent life at Omaha Beach, during during the WW II Normandy Invasion. In other lives I fought in the Civil War, French Revolution, as an indian, three lives in the Roman army, at least one in the Greek, fighting the Mongols during the13^th century invasion of Europe and in many others lives that I’m barely aware of. Most of you reading this have undoubtedly spent other lives in battle too. Like me, you’ve probably also spent many peaceful lives farming, baking, fishing, nursing, raising a family, running a business or in countless other occupations.

 Broader Spiritual Perspective

 By becoming aware of my past lives, I’ve adopted a different perspective that focuses on my whole spiritual existence, not just this one life. In the broader spiritual perspective, I’ve found that horrible experiences seem not quite so intense, when they are a small part of a much bigger picture. A great deal of what we learn on our spiritual path is through hardship, so virtually all souls that are reincarnating on earth have been through some horrible experiences.

 In psychically speaking to a murder victim, I better came to understand this. The murder was a number of years earlier, but after hearing the violent details, I expected my encounter with the victim to be emotional and spooky. Upon asking how the murder affected her, she calmly reported that she was upset, just after it happened. Rejoining the spirit world, she came to realize that tragic things happen to everyone, in the course of their lives and learning. As far as I could tell, she had let go of her pain and anger.

Warrior’s Meditation

 Meditation can help release your pain, stress, anger or guilt. It can help you relax and can help clear blocks to your health and happiness. Some techniques I’ll describe may be especially beneficial to those that have been through traumatic experiences like combat or witnessing deaths, rape and torture.

 Before you start meditating, I suggest reading my “Science and Heaven” article to help make sense of this spiritual and energy stuff. Then please read two articles on meditation. First, one on Grounding, followed by “Running Your Energies.” This may sound like a lot, but they’re all short and fascinating. Yes, I may be biased.

 The meditations in those two articles would be beneficial to anyone. The more you practice them, the more sensitive you will become to feeling your own energy flow. While running your energies, try to be aware of any blocks, especially ones related to pain, sorrow or guilt. Imagine energy flow melting those blocks and carrying them down your grounding cord.

 Those first exercises may be worth practicing regularly on their own for some time. I suggest doing that, until you get comfortable with reaching a relaxed meditative state, grounding and running your energies. This could take a few weeks or so.

 As you feel up to it, you can try adding some more advanced “warrior meditation” techniques. One technique is to take one of your battle memories and see it as if it were in a picture frame in front of you. Connect a grounding cord to the picture, like when you grounded yourself. Let any negative energy drain off and go deep into the ground. This could be the energy from your own grief, fear, guilt or other people’s energy. As much as you comfortably can, look at your worst memories this way, draining the energy from the picture. With less energy, those painful memories won’t be so likely to haunt you.

 Another technique you can try is to imagine creating an object in front of you. For some reason, psychics alway seem to use roses. You could probably just as well create a tree, garbage can, phone or you can use your imagination. Once the object’s there, imagine the energy from any negative emotions going from your aura into the object. Once all the energy is there, destroy it. You can just watch the item pop and disappear, you can erase it or you can even blow it up. By doing this, you are actually neutralizing the energy. This is intended as a gentle exercise for releasing negative energy. If you find yourself violently blowing up cars and buildings, please reground yourself, relax and start over.

 Spiritual Questions Related to War

 You may have spiritual questions related to the war, and things you did there. You may have killed. Maybe you feel that something you did cost a fellow soldier their life. My answers are based on what knowledge I have from books, intuition and my communication with spirits and other psychics. It may be skewed by my opinion, so only believe what rings true for you. You have a right to your opinion too.

 Does God, and my spirit guides/angels, still love me?   Yes. They are very caring and forgiving, wanting you to learn from mistakes. Here, and in the spirit world, we tend to be our own harshest judges.

 Is killing in war the same thing as murder?   I believe that the spirit world views it differently, depending on the circumstances and the intention. Looking at world history, there has been an enormous amount of killing in the name of war. Many of those warriors have gone on to do wonderful things in that life or in later lives.

 Will there be consequences for what I did?   Maybe. There is such a thing as karma, which is viewed as an opportunity to learn from our behavior. If you have been extremely cruel in this life, you may be subjected to similar treatment in the next. Or, you might spend a life as a doctor, or helping people in other ways, to repay battlefield karma. This is part of the learning and growth process for all souls. Maybe writing this article is part of my karma.

 Getting On With Life

 It will no doubt be a difficult transition, going from the stress of war and active duty to civilian life, with a whole new set of issues. Routines at home have changed. Your children are older and at different place in life. Civilian conversations and situations may seem trivial, unorganized and frustrating. Spouses or partners may have had to move on in making household decisions or new realms of their lives. They may react to situations more independently, and it may be hard to “fit” in and feel like a natural part of your family and friends network and your community at large. Even if you didn’t face combat, the disruption to your life may be enormous. Here are some suggestions, that I hope will help.

• Talk to other soldiers. Work things out with your unit and buddies. Rely on each other
• Forgive yourself, if you feel you did something wrong. Holding onto guilt does no one good, and it makes it difficult to move on.
• Don’t expect to be perfect. No one is. So, if you need help with any problems, do your best to get it.
• If you’re not in counseling, find someone to talk to, possibly a friend or family member. God and your spirit guides or guardian angels are always caring and ready to listen.
• Use the meditation exercises to help let go of sorrow, guilt, anger, stress or whatever else you may be experiencing. They may also make you more psychic.
• Get out and enjoy nature, skiing or snowboarding, hiking, kayaking, fishing or biking. Work on being in the moment, enjoying, and paying attention to, the sights and sounds around you.
• Like you did in nature, try to stay in the moment at work and with family and friends.
• Exercise will keep you in shape, release stress and get your energy flowing.
• Avoid using drugs or alcohol to deal with the pain. They make matters worse in the long run.

 If you made it this far, thank you for reading this article. Any comments or experiences you want to post here would be greatly appreciated. You have to sign in, so I can avoid getting spam, but your information is strictly confidential. You don’t even have to use your real name. Feel free to write me directly, if you prefer, at curtremington@comcast.net.

Spirit Guides & Guardian Angels

Throughout your lives, and between them, spirit guides and guardian angels are with you, teaching, caring and helping in countless ways.  By becoming aware of them, you can ask for things and they can help you in ways that you wouldn’t have thought of, like providing words of wisdom regarding your important decision.  

Some people make a distinction between guardian angels and spirit guides.  In performing clairvoyant readings, I have seen some spirit guides that look like angels, with wings and all.  Without getting their full history, I’m not sure if they are from a different plane or if they just choose to look like traditional angels to convey a spiritual message.  In my psychic work, and in the rest of this article, I just refer to your caring and protective beings as “spirit guides.”  If you happen to have a definitive answer to this, please add a comment at the bottom of this article.

What Do Spirit Guides Look Like?

A guide’s appearance usually is related to their purpose in your life.  There are guides that are protective and may look like a Roman soldier or an ancient Arabian bodyguard.  Some have a spiritual purpose and may look like a monk, nun or wise man.  Many guide’s I’ve encountered had a past life with the person they’re watching over.  They may look like they did in that life.  If they had a number of lives with that person, the guide may choose an appearance that gets the most important message across. 

The spirit guide that I communicate with most appears as a Sioux indian, although we had a number of lives together.  His appearance conveys spiritual wisdom, bravery and an appreciation for nature, all characteristics that I value greatly.  In that life, he was my older brother, serving a role similar to his current, one as my spirit guide. 

Totem animals are another type of spirit guide whose appearance has an important message.  In performing readings, my experience has been that everyone has at least one totem animal.  People are sometimes subconciously aware, collecting artwork or clothing with their totem animal on it.  That was the case for my daughter (dolphin), my sister (bear) and me (wolf).  I’ve also found that although they look like animals, they can communicate in English, give good advice, and they serve purposes similar to other spirit guides. 

Purposes

I’ve mentioned the main purposes of teaching, protection and, of course, spiritual guidance.  There are also guides that may come into your life to help you learn a musical instrument or sport, remind you to have fun, help you with healing or with a specific project or problem in your life.  Some guides are with you all your life, but special purpose guides may come and go as needed. 

Before writing this, I asked my indian guide what else I should include here.  He emphasized that in times of trouble, or when someone feels very alone, their guides are always there, ready to help.  No matter what you’ve done, or didn’t do, your spirit guides are loving and are very kind in any judgment, understanding that you are here on earth learning difficult lessons.  When you’re happy, laughing and having fun your guides are there too.  And of course, they would prefer that you are happy, laughing and having fun. 

Contacting Spirit Guides and Guardian Angels

Communicating with your guides or angels can be easy, following these steps.  First, If you haven’t already done so, please read my meditation and grounding article, then my running your energies article.  Practice these techniques for two weeks, then come back to this spot.  Just kidding about the two weeks!  It would be better if you had lots of meditation practice already, but go ahead and jump right in.  Ground yourself and run your energies, following the steps in those articles.  Once your in a calm, meditative state, with your eyes closed, ask your guide to come, preferably in front of you.  Say “hello” and whatever other introduction seems appropriate. 

They will be there.  Relax, and don’t be disappointed if you don’t see or hear them.  They can see and hear you, so ask or say whatever you would like.  You can let them know what you want help with or what you would like to know.  Looking for a response, pay attention to any images or thoughts that come to you.  They can communicate in a variety of ways, sending images, thoughts or feelings.  Sometimes you may just get a sense of knowing what is meant, and sometimes they actually communicate in English.  The more you run your energies and practice this, the better your communication will become. 

Developing a closer relationship with your spirit guides is a great experience.  They are here to help us, and they have many times without us realizing it, possibly alerting us before an accident, providing comfort, helping with difficult decisions and a multitude of other ways over the years.  After all this help, I feel that they deserve a great deal of thanks.  Now that I’m more aware of them, I thank my guides regularly.  Gratitude is always appreciated.

Psychic and spiritual experiences are hard for many people to accept. Science, and our perception of reality, has been based on solid matter, made of atoms and molecules. We believe in what we can see, even though visible light is only a narrow band of the many types of energy around us.

Quantum physicists have discovered that solid matter, molecules and atoms, actually consists of much smaller particles (quarks, leptons, etc.), and that these particles are a form of energy. Not only is matter actually made of energy, but this energy/matter fills all the empty space around us. According to the Fermilab’s (part of US Department of Energy) website, astronomer’s have studied how galaxies spin and have calculated that “ordinary matter containing atoms makes up only four percent of the energy-matter content of the universe.” The rest of it is made up of other forms of energy-matter that we still know little about.

Scientists do know that this matter can behave in strange ways. Subatomic particles can be in more than one place at a time. They react to thought, acting like an energy wave most the time and like a particle when observed. In other words, the fact that someone is observing them causes a change in their structure. They seem to communicate instantaneously and are linked on some level beyond space and time. In our four-dimensional world, that would make no sense, but quantum physicists now believe there may be up to 11 dimensions, which they still know little about. Many people are still clinging to a viewpoint based on old science, consisting of a world made of solid matter with lots of empty space in between.

This old perception isn’t working. It can’t explain quantum mechanics, thousand of near-death and out-of-body experiences, miraculous healings, past life regressions, telepathy, mediums and countless other phenomena that people experience. These experiences are explained by a vast field of this mysterious energy that surrounds and connects us all. Heaven (the spirit world) is also made of this energy, on a higher vibrational energy frequency than our physical world.

Although current science can’t accurately describe heaven (the spirit world), there are other sources that can and that describe heaven very similarly, providing validation for each other. These include near-death experiences, out-of-body experiences, spiritual regressions and the work of psychics and mediums. My own experiences, communicating with spirits, talking to other psychics and my out-of-body experiences confirm a heaven very much as described in Destiny of Souls by Dr. Michael Newton. He is a psychologist and hypnotherapist that developed a technique for allowing people to vividly remember their experiences in heaven between lives and before their current life. Yes, you had a soul before you were born and you’ve probably reincarnated many times. Using this spiritual regression technique with over 7000 clients, he has learned a great deal about heaven and our purpose here.

So, what is heaven like? It’s a place of love and learning, where souls are working to advance in their spiritual enlightenment. Since the spirit world consists of energy on a higher vibrational frequency than here, spirits and their surroundings are less solid than our physical world and more readily controlled by thought. Much of what’s been created in heaven bears a strong resemblance to life on earth, including beautiful parks, lakes, forests, mountains and a variety of buildings, including pyramids, domes, crystal cathedrals and a vast library, the Akashic Records.

Upon arrival in heaven, souls rejoin other spirits that they’ve known since long before they were born, including loved ones that have already passed over and others that they’ve known and will recognize once they get there.

There are classes and work specialties, like teaching or designing environments. Did you really think you just sat on clouds all the time? There is also fun, joking and recreation, like art, dancing, music and games. Time is spent reviewing what was learned in the last life. Spirits also look at options and prepare for their next life, reincarnating until all their lessons on earth are learned.

As a lighter form of energy, spirits can look any way they choose. I’ve seen spirits that may appear in a way most recognizable to their loved ones, then they may change to a younger, more favored appearance. They may also choose an appearance that best gets their message across, like the wisdom of an indian chief or the protective appearance of a warrior. I’ve also seen spirits that looked like traditional angels (wings and all) and some that looked like cartoon characters, temporarily taking that appearance to remind someone to have fun.

Emotionally, souls leave this world shedding much of their hate, anger and jealousy. In heaven, they experience more love, bliss and a feeling of being more alive. That is not to say that spirits are perfect, once they leave this plane. I’ve encountered a few stuck spirits that still have some of the same problems they had on Earth, and there are spirits that like to cause trouble. There are spirits at all levels of advancement, many of which never had a life on Earth. Some of these may have had lives on other planets, or they may have already been advanced before Earth became habitable. There are some that may not yet be ready for the rigors of such a life, or they may be on another spiritual path. Although spirits vary greatly, the vast majority are very kind and good.

Everyone goes to the same heaven, regardless of behavior or religious beliefs. There is no traditional hell. Criminal or bad behavior does have consequences though. The concept of karma does apply, so if you are particularly mean to someone in this life, you may be looking at a dose of your own treatment in the next. If a soul is especially cruel over a number of lives, they may face something harsher, like many years in solitaire. This is not considered a punishment, but a chance to examine their behavior and learn from it. For most souls, the worst that they will face is their own potential disappointment in any shortcomings, when reviewing their life. Most spirits find heaven to be very supportive and forgiving.

Becoming aware of heaven and our spiritual path can help enrich our lives here. Some of the day-to-day issues that we stress over seem less important. Caring for each other, and enjoying life may become more important, while material possessions become less important. Death becomes much less scary. You may feel a greater sense of spiritual connection, knowing that we truly are connected and are learning here together. It’s also nice to know where our dearly departed have gone, and that we will be going to a wonderful place filled with loving spirits that we’ve known for a very long time.

References

Arntz, William; Chasse, Betsy & Vincente, Mark. (2007) What the Bleep Do We Know!?

Buhlman, William. (1996) Adventures Beyond the Body

Fermilab, Office of Science/US Dept of Energy. (2001) The Science of Matter, Space and Time, (11/12/2003) Press Room & (4/28/200) The Search For Extra Dimensions. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from http://www.fnal.gov/

Goswami, Amit interviewed by Hamilton, Craig. (1997) Scientific Proof of the Existence of God. Retrieved April 10, 2008 from http://www.wie.org/j11/goswami.asp

Newton, Michael, PH.D. (2000) Destiny of Souls

Wolf, Fred Alan (1988) Parallel Universes

In the past few years, I’ve had life-changing spiritual or psychic experiences, convincing me to slow down, live more in the present and appreciate the people around me. One of my goals, in developing this website, was to share what I’ve learned with you.

Since a young age, I’ve had occasional psychic experiences. I’d see spirits walk through my room, or I’d dream about something, then have it happen the next day. As you may have experienced, I’d get a phone call, already knowing who’s on the phone or what the other person is about to say. For years, I accepted psychic phenomena, but didn’t give it a lot of thought.

A few years ago, my father passed away, after a painful battle with cancer. When he died, I suddenly sat up in bed, awakened by a vivid dream of a galloping horse. A minute later, my sister called to let me know that dad had just stopped breathing. I realized that the galloping horse represented him, letting me know that he was free of his pain-ridden body. After that, my psychic experiences and fascination with them grew stronger. I started reading lots of books on spiritual and psychic subjects, wanting to know what the spirit world was about, since I’d undoubtedly be there someday. My communication was spotty, but I’d occasionally see spirits and have garbled communication. Wanting to know more, I found Jill Miller, who’s been a psychic and teacher for over 25 years.

Her clairvoyant reading was amazingly accurate about what was going on in my life, and she effortlessly communicated with my dad, filling me in on what he had to say. Impressed by her reading, and already fascinated by spiritual/psychic subjects, I signed up for a class. Now, after more than a year of classes, I’ve recently graduated from her Advanced Clairvoyant Program.

In the course of my classes, and examining issues myself, I’ve seen and spoken to many spirits, performed psychic readings for countless people and have learned a great deal about our purpose here, about heaven and the spirit world. Along with learning, I’ve gained a much broader perspective, seeing us as souls on a long spiritual path, rather than just people with one short life on earth, followed by some sort of heaven that I hadn’t given much thought to. By sharing what I’ve learned, I hope to help others to realize that our lives here are just a brief part of our spiritual existence. The spirit world (heaven) is real, is wonderful and is a lot closer than people realize. By being more aware of our broader spiritual existence, our priorities might change, allowing us to enjoy life more, understand others better and let go of some negativity and blocks to our happiness.

I hope you’ll remain open-minded and check back, as I add more to this website. Articles you’ll find will include meditation, developing your own psychic abilities, healing with energy and descriptions of spirits and the spirit world.

Subject- By looking at nature the way a camera might, you may start to notice great subjects all around you.

Close-up, this shack doesn’t look like much, but by applying a few techniques, it became a very worthwhile subject.

Your subject’s could include close-ups of plants and animals, night shots, buildings or countless other things from new or unusual angles. Oh yeah, there’s always people too.

Composition- There are many ways you can shoot the same subject, each making a slightly different picture. Moving in on the subject usually makes for a stronger photo, leaving out distractions from your main focus. In this case, I was more interested in how the shack fits into its surroundings, so the whole scene was important.

Centering a subject can make for a static picture, but offsetting it, using the rule-of-thirds, makes for flow, causing your eye to travel around the picture. The rule of thirds suggests placing the subject a third of the way from the top or bottom of the frame and a third of the way from one side or the other.

The framing and angle I used above was in hopes of achieving balance between the shack and tree. Some pictures end up lob-sided, due to a strong subject on one side and nothing to balance it. In balancing a wildlife or people picture, consider which direction the movement or gaze is and leave some space there.

Contrast, like between the light shack and its darker surroundings, draws attention to your subject, strengthening your photo. This can also work with a subject that’s darker, more colorful or larger than its surroundings.

After shooting your picture, you may want to try a few different angles, moving closer or farther, including or removing different foreground or background elements. Be sure to leave out distractions, like the tree that seems to be growing out of Aunt Edna’s head, but including that row of daisies might really add some pizazz to your picture.

Horizontal pictures can be more dramatic and may work better, especially with a tall subject. For this shot, I moved in, focusing more on the shack and tree.

Lighting- Like many, I once believed that bright, sunny middays made for great pictures. After editing many pictures, and reading many photography books, I now realize that sunny midday light can be harsh with little color and problematic shadows.

The first or last light of the day is softer with warm, flattering or dramatic colors, great for landscapes. In the first picture above, there are pink hues in the clouds and a warm cast to the whole picture. The sunny blue skies help too, but for wildlife, people, waterfalls and many other subject’s, bright overcast lighting can be better. It’s great for color saturation, softening shadows, smoothing contrast and preventing squinting.

There are some tricky lighting situations that might require adjusting your camera’s exposure compensation setting. If you’re not familiar with this, please see your manual, or just buy my prints and forget all this monkey business. Anyway, your camera may try to balance things that shouldn’t be balanced, like making a snow scene gray or a sunset scene bright. For sunset’s, I usually start by dialing down my exposure one f-stop, then experiment some more. Never heard of an f-stop? Please see the above comment again. Otherwise, I intend to eventually add more articles describing fascinating things like f-stops, depth of field, white balance…

Most Importantly- Shooting a lot makes it far more likely that you’ll capture that great photo, especially if you experiment with different techniques and analyze what did and didn’t work. I carry my camera everywhere, just in case a bear and a mountain lion decide to wrestle at the side of the road I’m on. If you carry your camera too, maybe you’ll catch that perfect sunset or the rainbow after the storm.