Mirror Synchronicity: Love from Above

As Thanksgiving draws near, my mom and her side of the family have been on my mind a lot.  Every day.  After my parents divorced, my Thanksgiving was spent with my cousins, my mom, her sister Joyce, my aunt Alice, my great Uncle Tom and my great Aunt Stelma.  I've been feeling sad because besides my two cousins, all the other relatives have died.  I even sent my cousins an email this week to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving.
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I still have my memories though.  My mom and her aunt Alice would argue in the kitchen how how to properly time everything.  I just laughed because it was funny to me to see my mom regress to acting like a 17 year old.  When my Aunt Joyce hosted them, everything looked like it came out of a Martha Stewart magazine.  She had the full fancy table and feast.  Even when my mom was in an Assisted Living, my husband and I would go eat there with the elders and the food was pretty good still!

Yesterday I was looking through a box of my spiral bound notebooks, trying to find a small one that would fit in my purse.  I am a bit of a notebook collector and I have several that are half-written.  As I picked up one notebook, a photograph of my mom and my aunt fell out.  On the back of the photograph it said it was taken at My aunt Stelma and Uncle Tom's 50th wedding anniversary.  It would be very uncharacteristic for me to use a photo as a bookmark, so it was quite a surprise.

I felt like it was a little wink from heaven that they knew I was thinking of them.  I also know that my mom would be mad at me for posting this version of her online because it's not the most flattering, but she also had a sense of humor so I'm sure she'll forgive me.

Happy Thanksgiving folks... don't be afraid to talk about the ones you're missing.  How can you have lost them if you know where they are?  We will all be reunited again someday.

Here's the picture:

Directional Synchronicity: Gen Silent Day of Synchronicities

Do you ever have one of those days where everything seems to be synchronous?  Yesterday was one of those days for me.  I went to attend a film screening and panel discussion of the movie Gen Silent.

As a side-bar, the movie is a powerful story about LGBT elders and how historical LGBT discrimination leads many elders to go back into the closet (or never come out.)  I would highly recommend viewing this film.  If you don't know any elders who are gay, that could be because they haven't felt comfortable enough sharing.

The Student
My former supervisor told me her current student Stephanie was going to be at the movie.  She wanted me to meet Stephanie, because Stephanie has the role that I used to have when I was a student.  I asked what Stephanie looked like and she told me Stephanie had slightly red hair and glasses.  That's it.

When I saw how crowded the the theater was, I though there was no way I would ever find her as there were over one hundred people.  Then it occurred to me to just take a seat and Stephanie would come to me.  Now Stephanie did not know her supervisor wanted us to meet, so she was not on the lookout for me.
Yet, lo and behold, a young woman with red hair and glasses sat down diagonally in front of me.

I asked her if she was Stephanie S. and she said, "Yes?!" and was quite confused because she did not know me.  I told her who I was and immediately she was shocked.  How did you know it was me?  I grinned and told her I was psychic.  We got to chat about her internship and I gave her some advice from my experience there.  Later on, she was still shaking her head.  I told her that is how synchronicity works.

The Phone Call
I had been told I would be receiving a phone call from a human resources person to set up an interview for next week.  Since the movie and panel discussion was set to go until after 5:00 p.m. I was worried that I would miss the call.  I had my phone volume turned off.  Luckily, the call come in during the only ten minute break, so I did not miss it.  Perhaps just a coincidence, but I felt that it was synchronous.

The Introduction
After the movie screening and panel discussion there was a 'resource exchange' meeting where social workers could share ideas.  It was crowded, and the person I wanted to talk to was busy,  So it happened that I ended up next to my former professor who was talking to a student who has many of the same interests as I do.  The student is very passionate about hospice and end-of-life issues, and I just happened to be in need of someone to co-facilitate my next Death Cafe event.  She is available and was so grateful for the opportunity.  As another synchronicity, her mother was standing next to her and we knew each other from somewhere but I got called away before I could figure it out.

Mirror Synchronicity: Let's Talk about Death

Tonight on ABC World News, Diane Sawyer introduced The Conversation Project, an initiative to get families talking about end-of-life choices.  A family was chosen for the story to have the discussion in front of the cameras.  In the interviews, and in the subsequent article, the father can be seen multiple times wearing clothes with an Ohio State logo.

Ohio State is located in Columbus, OH, which was the home of the first Death Cafe in the United States.  It appears Columbus folks are ready to have the conversation.

Life and Death Questions

Here's a summary from the Columbus, Ohio Death Café #3 September 24, 2012

I am continually amazed at the diversity of conversations that arise from the Death Café events.  Each event is unique and the variety stems from the topics brought up by the participants.  While Maria and I call ourselves facilitators, we are more like hosts that start the conversation.  Where the conversation goes is entirely up to the attendees.

Among the 17 attendees, we had multiple groups of people who came to the event together.  We had three siblings, a mother and daughter, and multiple sets of friends.  People are sometimes surprised when I ask them to sit apart from their friend or family.  The reason I do this is because the greatest enjoyment of the event comes from hearing multiple perspectives and sharing one’s own story.

We started out the evening in small groups.  The intimacy of the small group structure allows for everyone to have a chance to speak, and it is less intimidating.  As I moved from group to group, I was touched by the openness and empathy expressed in such a short period of time.

As with every Death Café, last night we talked about a wide range of topics.  There were a lot of questions pondered.  Is it normal to think about dying every day?  Which is worse to experience – the sudden death of a loved one, or watching them suffer for a prolonged period of time?  Is a viewing necessary?  What if I don’t agree with my family on how a funeral should be put together?  How do you define quality of life?  Why can’t I chose when I will die?  What happens after we die?

There is something special about the Death Café.  It creates that space to have the conversations that we can’t seem to have anywhere else.  My interest in the Death Café was sparked from my experience as a hospice worker.  I found that wherever I went, once I mentioned hospice, strangers would immediately share their stories with me.  I realized that these people needed to share their stories and there really was nowhere safe for them to do so.  There is now.

The beauty of the Death Café is that it brings people together who want to talk about the “taboo” topic of death (and all that it entails).  Many of the attendees reported in their surveys that in addition to telling their own story, they found comfort in hearing the stories of others.  The participants who have come to the Death Café events have a wide variety of backgrounds.  The diversity of experiences, beliefs and opinions contributes to the in-depth discussions that we have.

Many of the participants intend to return for more Death Café discussions.

There will be more Death Cafe events in Columbus.  For updates, follow _Lizzy_ on Twitter,  circle Lizzy Miles on Google+, or visit deathcafe.com

Silver Sparks

It's no secret that I am a third generation metaphysical believer. I started this blog eight years ago after my mother died and I started to note what I considered to be synchronicities and signs from the universe that those on the other side were trying to communicate with us.  The volume of experiences has taught me that the signs are more than just coincidences.

My own abilities to directly communicate with the other side have been slow to develop but they have been evolving.  When my cat, Kitty, died in July of 2009, I felt her presence via vibration (purring).  I blogged about it here.

Then in May of 2010 when my aunt died, I had a Shared Death Experience (SDE).  I blogged about some of it and eventually I ended up putting together a book about the experiences.

Since then, my abilities have subsided somewhat, but I do still frequently see spirit activity in the form of sparks.

This past weekend, I had a new experience.  I was at a metaphysical party. I started going to this gathering two years ago after my experiences with my aunt happened because it was the one place I could go where people wouldn't look at me like I was crazy when I shared what had happened to me.

Usually I will get a reading or two from one of the psychics or mediums who attend the party. This weekend, however, I was the one who gave the reading!  This is an entirely new experience to me.

There were six of us sitting in the basement. I was talking to a new guest who is 14 and an old soul. When I was focused on her, there were sparks to my left were quite active. Most of the time when I see sparks, I ignore them, assuming that it's just a bug or dust flying around. This time, however, the sparks were quite frequent and hard for me to miss.

I asked if anyone else noticed anything over in that side of the room and they said no.  I said, "someone is trying to get my attention."  After that I continued talking but the sparks became more intense and shifted to a bright silver color, like tinfoil. This is new for me.

Once again, I acknowledged the sparks and that they were silver now. The others in the group asked me if I knew gender or who it was. I closed my eyes, and nothing. I didn't have any idea. The only thing I could say for sure was that they were concentrated near one person. I will call her Fiona.

Fiona said it could be her grandfather or ... (I didn't hear the other person she said).  Then within a matter of a few minutes I had an extreme cold sensation as if I was standing in a walk-in freezer. I was wearing a wool sweater and there was no reason for my teeth to be chattering. I laughed at the sensation and told the group what I was experiencing. This spirit was NOT going to leave me alone.

The old soul handed me a device that works as a divining rod and I used it to ask the spirit questions. I asked who it was connected to and it pointed to Fiona. I asked if it was her grandfather and it said no. Every question I asked multiple times just to make sure. Then I confirmed with Fiona that she had not told me the other one who had died. She was about to tell me and I said, "don't." I asked, "Are you family?" and the rod stuck in the middle between yes and no. I asked two more times and the same thing happened.

I turned to Fiona and told her what I felt. This spirit was confused by the question because they felt like family but were not "technically" family.  That is when Fiona told me that she had lost her four year old step-daughter.  The little girl had died nine years ago in an accidental Jacuzzi drowning, while in the babysitters care.

For the next half hour, Fiona shared stories about the little girl, and I could feel the emotions the girl felt as she heard stories about herself. At one point Fiona talked about what a rascal she was and how she played pranks. I found myself giggling hysterically and feeling a deep sense of pride for "myself" on the craftiness of the prank. Embarrassed that I was laughing so hard, I covered my mouth with my left hand. Fiona looked at me and said, "she was left-handed too."

My lesson from this experience is that spirit likes to be acknowledged. Even though this little girl died nine years ago, she was still visiting with her loved one.  What a great feeling that our loved ones are still with us. I slept well that night.

Directional Synchronicity: The Long Island Medium

I am a big fan of Theresa Caputo, known as the Long Island Medium on TLC. If you have never seen the show, I would highly recommend it.  You can watch full episodes here. I like her because she has a spitfire personality. I like her because she is amazingly detailed in her readings, and I like her because she is still in awe of her own gift.

Recently I went on vacation and took a break from the online world. I didn't tweet. I didn't Facebook. I didn't get on Google+. I didn't blog. I didn't read the news.

As you can imagine, over a week, my emails had piled up. I don't usually read the theater and arts email, but I subscribe. For some reason though, this was the second email I saw and this time, I opened it up. There was a huge picture of Theresa Caputo advertising that she was coming to my hometown.

Was it a sign? Whether it was or not, I took it as one.  I HAVE to go to this. I called my friend Dawn and asked if she wanted to go. She said yes. We went back and forth on which tickets to buy but finally settled on the 'good ones.'  Go big or go home.

Will I get a reading? If past actions are any indication, the answer is no. I've been given the message from spirit that I need to stop seeking external answers.  After several faulty medium readings, the message came through. So I don't have my hopes up for that.  But I do think it will be a good show. Theresa has an inner light that shines so brightly, you just have to love her.

NOW here is where the synchronicity comes in. I mentioned casually to my friend Ross that Theresa was coming to town. He said he wouldn't go because he thought it was too expensive.  I never told him where my seats were or what section I was sitting in.

The next thing I know, I get an email from another friend Tom that he and Ross were going to see Theresa.  He mentioned his seat location, and in a theater full of hundreds of seats, my friends Tom and Ross are now sitting directly behind me.

I guess we were meant to sit together.

Directional Synchronicity: The accident that was meant to happen

Last week my step mom backed into a brick mailbox in my parent's Pontiac Grand Prix. It caused significant damage to the rear end of the car. My dad was not happy at the unexpected expense.

However, when they took the car in to the body shop, the mechanics found another problem.  In the inspection, they discovered the sway bar was broken.  The sway bar holds the car together and serves the purpose to keep the car from flipping over when you make turns.

There was no indication to my parents that anything was wrong with the suspension.  Had they not had this "accident," they would have continued to drive the car, unknowingly risking their lives every time they made a sharp turn.

So, the accidental collision with a mailbox was a blessing in disguise.

Synchronicity in Fiction: 11/22/1963

I have not read a fiction book in quite a while. It is probably because I believe in the saying, "truth is stranger than fiction." Nevertheless, when my husband went to download a movie on his IPad, he had trouble with the download and ultimately chose to download a book instead. My husband rarely reads except when he travels, and then he will take on a monster of a book, such as Atlas Shrugged.

This time, however, he chose 11/22/63, a novel by Stephen King.  This one was "only" 866 pages. On the flight while he was waiting for permission to turn on his electronic device, he told me about the book.

If you could go back in time to change an event in history, would you do it?  What if it meant that you would have to wait four years in the past for the event to happen? The premise of the book is that the main character has been given the "opportunity" to potentially stop the Kennedy assassination, but he has to hang out in the past for several years first.

I was intrigued by the description of the book and I began to read over my husband's shoulder as he read. (He did not like that very much). When we got home, I started the book from scratch and as he watched football, I read.  While he was golfing, I read. While he was at work, I read.

I cannot tell you the last time I read a Stephen King book.  I think it was Misery in the early 1990's, but I could not put this book down. The reason? Well, because it was really about synchronicities of course. The character experienced them frequently.

"The past harmonizes."

The other compelling component of the book was the concept of the butterfly effect. This is the concept that a tiny change can have great consequences. The concept was originally conceived in a Ray Bradbury science fiction story titled, "A Sound of Thunder."  That story was also about time travel.

So last night I finally finished the book. Today, I've been seeing butterflies everywhere.

If you have read 11/22/63 - I'm curious what your thoughts are.

Mirror Synchronicity: Bigfoot is Dead

There was a news article today on the CNN website about a man who dressed in one of this military camouflage outfits and walked along a road in the dark with attempts to incite people to think they had seen Bigfoot.  Unfortunately, he was walking in the road and was hit by one car and run over by another.

The synchronicity for me was that today when my husband came home from work, he suggested that we cancel our trip to Portland, Maine - the home of the Bigfoot museum.  We cancelled because it looks like Hurricane Isaac will be coming through our town just in time to mess up flights.  On top of that, it also looks like the hurricane might head east.  Lighthouses would not be as much fun to photograph in the rain.  So I won't get to check out the Bigfoot museum after all.

Note that this continues with the Bigfoot synchronicities I posted here and here.  Now that Bigfoot is dead, I suppose the synchronicities will stop.

Mirror Synchronicity: The Big Bluff

In THREE different television shows I watched in two days, the same 'trick' was used to convince someone to confess to something.  In each show, it was the climax of the storyline. (Warning, this does contain "spoilers" for the shows.)

Show 1:  Suits Episode "High Noon" (#S210)

Harvey and Mike found out that the head of their law firm, Hardman, had planted evidence. They found someone else to admit it, but he wouldn't put it in writing. They walked in the room and told the story as if they had the person's signature in the folder. Hardman gave in without ever looking in the folder. Harvey admonished Mike for forgery, but Mike said he had signed his own name. "No one looks at a man's shoes."

Show 2:  Drop Dead Diva Episode "Pick's and Pakes" Season 4 Episode 12

The lead character Jane is co-counsel with another lawyer on a pharmaceutical case. The other lawyer made a statement without evidence to back it up and Jane panicked that they were going to lose the case. Then she remembered that he had previously won a trial by just suggesting that they had evidence so she tried the same trick. She had a folder in her hand and was questioning a witness. The witness panicked and pleaded the 5th and Jane won the case. She then looked inside the folder at a blank piece of paper.

Show 3:  Newsroom Episode 10 "The Greater Fool"
Excerpted from the episode guide "In a meeting with Reese and Leona, Will cops to being high on the air. Leona immediately fires him, but Charlie and Mac reveal that Reese only knows about this because he's been hacking phones. Charlie produces an envelope he received from Hancock to prove it. Leona looks to her son incredulously, and Reese admits he's been committing a felony, if only to stay afloat in a competitive market. After producing a tape recorder, Charlie agrees not to bring forth the evidence in exchange for TMI killing the story about Will, and AWM killing TMI. And they're going after the Tea Party-hard. When Leona tells Charlie she doesn't negotiate this way, Charlie assures her it's no negotiation. Before he leaves, Leona shares some advice for Will, "Don't shoot and miss." She opens the envelope from Hancock and finds a recipe for beef stew."

Note this is the second time I have had a synchronicity with Newsroom and also the second time for a synchronicity with Drop Dead Diva.

Mirror Synchronicity: Bigfoot is still out there

My first post on Bigfoot synchronicities was just over two weeks ago. Strangely, the Bigfoot references keep coming. I am not seeking them out!

The character on Newsroom who is obsessed with Bigfoot brought him up in a 2nd episode.

Last night I watched a true crime television show that was set in Murphysboro, Illinois.  They apparently have a mud monster that they explained to be "like Bigfoot".

Then today I was watching an Ellen rerun. She interviewd Matt LeBlanc, and on the show he revealed he was a big fan of Finding Bigfoot.  As a surprise, Ellen gave him a Bigfoot statue.

Mirror Synchronicity: Body Disposition Court Cases in Pop Culture

(yes, I watch too much television, probably.)

There were two different television shows within a few weeks of each other that depicted court cases where two different parties were fighting over rights to the body of a loved one. 

Curious - does anyone know if this happens often? It's weird that two different writers would have the idea of dispute of body disposition. Was there something in real life that inspired these?

Franklin & Bash - Season 2, Episode 8 (on TNT) Last Dance
Peter and Jared help a widow (Anne Ramsay) retain the body of her esteemed late husband from being awkwardly immortalized as a dancer in a human body exhibit.

Drop Dead Diva (Lifetime) Season 4, Episode 9 : Ashes to Ashes

Airs Sunday, August 5, 2012: Jane is ready to put Owen behind her when she takes on a case with Grayson defending a woman who is addicted to eating her dead husband's ashes.

Mirror Synchronicity: Bigfoot

It all started when I was planning my 10th anniversary honeymoon. I was looking at places in New England and when I discovered that Portland Maine had a Bigfoot museum, I was hooked.

While you might think this is a weird way to spend a honeymoon, my husband and I both enjoy random campy museums and tourist spots. I might enjoy them more than he does, but he enjoys my happiness. We have been to the alien museum in Roswell, New Mexico. We've been through the Winchester Mystery House tour. He even tolerated my ghost-hunting at the Whaley House in San Diego.  So why not Bigfoot?

It was not long after I booked the trip that the Bigfoot synchronicities started happening. At first I ignored them because I thought I was just paying attention more, but then when I got to 4 different "Bigfoot" sightings then I decided there was definitely something synchronous going on.

The first reference didn't happen until 2 weeks after I booked my trip. I had been thinking about the trip, but at this point the Bigfoot reference was not a synchronicity to me. Here is the Bigfoot scene in the HBO series Newsroom.  This was a huge reference.


Then in a matter of a day, another show I watch had two characters in conversation about Bigfoot. I can't remember which show it was (either Suits or Franklin and Bash). Then I was flipping through the channels and came across a Bigfoot hunting show. Then the final synchronicity was when a former professor posted this cartoon on his Facebook page and it came through my news feed. This was the final synchronicity that made me laugh out loud.

Mirror Synchronicity: Death Cafe & Death By Gun

When I was putting together my Kickstarter campaign for the Death Cafe, I needed to come up with images for the t-shirts that we were going to offer as rewards.  I called my artist friend Jay Schuh and asked him if he could create ironic images of the worst ways to die.  At first he was a little shocked, but then he said, "Oh what the heck, it might be fun."  (That might have come after I told him he could make some serious money.)
It was meant to be a statement piece of this is my worst fear.  For me, it was Death By Crocodile, and that was the first piece that I asked Jay to design.  It was the first one that he created and I used it as the cornerstone of my campaign.  I made a t-shirt, and I talk about it in my Kickstarter video.

Well, I think Jay liked doing the Death By art, because he then gave me a couple more.




I loved the Death By Shark and the Death By Poison, but then Jay created the Death By Gun.  It was my least favorite because I felt it was a bit more serious and less campy.  Perhaps I sensed it was more likely to happen and thus less ironic.  Yet, I included it in the campaign anyway, because it was another striking example of his art and he had already created it.

Death By Gun art is now the thorn in my side. I should have trusted my instincts. Only one person ordered the t-shirt, but there was a minimum order of 12 per image. My vendor suggested that maybe I might want to ask the donor if they would be willing to switch to another shirt. I said I didn't want to ask that because they donated the money already and I did not want to put them on the spot. I also happen to know the person who requested the shirt and I know that he really likes video games. Other than that he is a liberal. So I resigned myself to buying 11 extra Death By Gun t-shirts, thinking that I'd have to figure out a way to sell them.



Here's where I see the synchronicity with the shirt. Our first Death Cafe in the U.S. was July 19. We talked about all sorts of subjects related to death, dying and living. Then later that evening, after midnight, the Aurora shootings happened. Sadly, this event re-focused America on the subject of death.  It also re-opened the whole gun debate in America.

Overnight, the Death By Gun t-shirt suddenly makes a statement, but I'm not quite sure what it says.

Mirror Synchronicity: Penn State Sanctions

A post in the LA Times indicates that the last official game that counts for Penn State after the NCAA sanctions is one where Mike McQueary was quarterback.

McQueary was a key witness in the recent trial that led to sanctions against Penn State.

Mirror Synchronicity: The Cat who Likes to Meditate

Karma

This is Karma.  Apparently, she likes to meditate.  On my IPad I have downloaded several relaxation and meditation apps with Glenn Harrold.  At first his accent was a bit distracting, but now I think it is relaxing and the recordings are amazing!  One of my favorite ones is the "Chakra Cleansing."

Three times in a row, Karma jumped up on me and started kneading my chest while I was listening to the meditation.  What was even more amusing, is that each time it happened during the same part in the recording that clears the third chakra, which is the Solar Plexus.

Usually by the time I got to the fourth chakra in the meditation, she has settled down, laying right on my chest, purring loudly and sending me her healing energy.

She must like his voice because if I turn on the "instant sleep" meditation to help me fall asleep, she comes running into the bedroom and jumps up and settles down parallel to me.  Strangely, during that meditation, she does not jump onto my chest - it is only when I'm clearing my chakras.

Synchronicity in the Movies: Jeff Who Lives at Home

Jeff Who Lives at Home is the worst marketed movie ever.  It just seems like a movie about a guy who can't grow up.  I avoided it at the theaters, but I would have gone to see it, had I known the true plot.  I LOVED it.  I rented it at Redbox because the movie I wanted was not available.  Before the opening credit, there is a quote about following the signs.  My husband looked at me and said, "Uh oh, I can tell you're going to love this movie."

He was right.  The main character Jeff believes in signs.  In fact he is fixated with them.  From the movie descriptions on IMDB, you would never know that the movie was practically all about synchronicities and kismet. It is heartwarming and sweet.

I don't want to spoil the plot for you, so I'll just tell you:  if you are into synchricities and signs, you will love this movie.

I will leave you with a quote from the movie, 

"What if there's no wrong numbers?

Maybe it's always the right number."

Mirror Synchronicity: The numbers and The Death Cafe

Seriously today I had both 11:11 and just now 3:33.  Media coverage for the Death Cafe just started and already my first event is full.  The stories that people are telling me about needing to talk are just incredible.  I feel like we are on the edge of a big shift. Here's the first bit of coverage for the Death Cafe:

Mirror Synchronicity: Girls and what to write about?

I had just finished writing a guest blog piece about Dreamy Smurf's bucket list.  In the Smurf's Village game on the IPad, Dreamy Smurf teaches another smurf that a bucket list is a list of things you want to do before you die.  I was particularly proud of the essay because I wrote about death, but in a "fun" way.

If reading about death can ever be fun.

My husband tried to level-set with me.  "You're the only one who is interested in this.  No one wants to read about death."  Hurt, I stomped upstairs to go watch television in bed.

I turned to Girls, one of my new favorite HBO shows, written by Lena Dunham.  Her character is a writer who feels that no one "gets" her.

In episode 9, the character Hannah (played by Lena) is explaining her latest essay to her co-worker about an ex boyfriend who was a hoarder.  Then her co-worker starts to give her a hard time about her writing.

Imagine my surprise when I was watching episode 9 and this dialogue occurs:

Ray:  What in the world could be more trivial than intimacy?  Hmmm? Is there anything real you can write about?


Hannah:  What do you think would be a real thing to write about?


Ray:  I don't know, lot's of things.  Cultural criticism.  How about years of neglected abuse?  How about acid rain? How about the plight of the giant Panda Bear.  How about racial profiling?  How about urban sprawl?  How about divorce?  How about DEATH?  How about death?  Death is the most fucking real.  You should write about death.  That's what you should write about, explore that.  Death.

Of course I started screaming for my husband to come upstairs to watch the clip as if it were some validation that I was right.

19 examples of the magic age of 91

Think you are too old to be adventurous?  To try something new?  To be physically fit?  Think again.

These 91 year olds are testimony to the adage by Mark Twain, "Age is an issue of mind over matter.  If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

1.  91 year old hospice patient goes skiing

(this is the woman who inspired me with the idea of the magic age of 91- I kept seeing news articles about people who were 91 and doing fabulous things)

Photo: Liz Miles/ Source:  Columbus Dispatch

2.  91 year old goes skydiving

Source:  WDRB.com

3.  91 year old yoga instructor

Source: Matt May / Guinness World Records via Today

4.  91 year old ping pong champion

Source:  The Guardian

5.  91 year old exhibits her art at a gallery for the first time

Source: Times Union

6.  91 year old chases down and catches thief who stole her laptop

Source:  Calgary Herald

7.  91 year old strongman can pull a car with his teeth!

Source:  Fox news via Mail Online

8.  91 year old grandma catches foul ball at baseball game

Source:  Mercury News

9.  91 year old triathlete is world's oldest

Source:  The Telegraph

10.  91 year old farmer still drives tractor and works on the farm

Source:  Enterprise News

11.  91 year old artist publishes his autobiography

Source:  Washington Times

12.  91 year old went on a solo road trip to Alaska

Source:  Bangor Daily News

13.  91 year old coordinated and modeled in a fashion show

Source:  Sunpress news

14.  91 year old became a body builder at 85

Source:  Believe it or not blogspot

15.  91 year old goes on Indy race car ride (source Aol online)

16.  91 year old rides in stunt plane for the first time

Source:  Temecula Patch

17.  91 year old still can jam on the drums (You gotta see it to believe it)

18.  91 year old mariachi singer still performing despite cancer

Source Latino Fox News

19.  91 year old grandma poses as a superhero for photographer

Photos are by her grandson, French photographer Sasha Goldberger... what a fun idea!  

Check out Comics Alliance to see more photos

Source:   Comics Alliance

Directional Synchronicity: I thought of you

A year or so ago a friend of mine named Jenn who lives in Massachusetts forwarded on a call for submissions for Chicken Soup for the Soul:  Messages from Heaven.

I did not have any stories that I had not already published so I forwarded the email to my friend Jan in Texas.

Jan wrote a story for the book and it was accepted and published.

Recently, Jan received an email from a woman in Saudi Arabia that described in great detail how comforting Jan's article was for her.

Jan is about to fly to Hong Kong to give a presentation about after death communication and she received permission from the Saudi Arabian woman to tell her story there.

Jan pointed out the connectedness to me and gives me credit starting it all, but I have to give Jenn credit.

Now here's the synchronicity... Jenn just recently sent me another email that said, "here's an opportunity and I thought of you."

The synchronicity of hearing back from Jan and getting another email from Jenn in a matter of two days leads me to believe that I should listen to Jenn!

Directional Synchronicity: 11:11

I looked at the clock at the 11:11 time yesterday morning, last night and this morning. I see that number a lot but three times in a row was a little unsettling.  I suppose it is good news if it means big change is coming, but for someone who believes in signs, something that frequent can be overwhelming.

Trish and Rob have a great write-up about the possible meanings of the 11:11 phenomenon here.

...and don't get me started on the number 3.  Over the past few weeks suddenly I happen to be glancing at the clock at 3:33.  That is a new number for me.

Mirror Synchronicity: Woe of the Road!

My friends Jenn and Kyle are editors of a book titled Woe of the Road: Tales to make you never want to leave your house.  The title of the book is rather self explanatory - the book is about embarrassing or woeful moments that happen while traveling.

Full disclosure - I have an article in the book.  Again, I think the title well summarizes the content:  The Impala, the Valet, and the Everlasting Fart. 

But I digress.

Woe of the Road is a great read, and I'm not just saying that because I'm in it.  It won Grand Prize for the Best Anthology in the Beach Book Festival.

The prize included cash and a trip for Jenn and Kyle to the awards ceremony in New York.

On the way to New York, to accept an award for the book on travel woes, Jenn and Kyle's bus caught on fire.

Truth is stranger than fiction.  As might be expected, this delay gave them a great anecdote for their acceptance speech.

Mirror Synchronicity: Worst Ways to Die

Those who don't believe in synchronicities will surely scoff at this one.  I have a history of being led to  books.  I have written about synchronicities more than once, here, here, and also a synchronicity story I wrote about in my book that I never posted.

I felt directed to Half Price Books, although I wasn't sure why.  There was no book I had in mind except for maybe something related to the Death Cafe.

I was just about to leave the store, figuring my hunch was wrong, when I turned around and found three copies of this book for only $3 each.

The reason I found it to be synchronous is because the Death Cafe was on my mind.  The art images that we printed on t-shirts to raise money for the Death Cafe event were all based on ideas of our worst fear of dying.  (Mine is crocodile, what's yours?)  Here are the images that we are putting on t-shirts:

I had never heard of this book before, but I thought they would be good to have on tables at the event as conversation starters.

Mirror Synchronicity: The Turkey Vulture

A few weeks ago, an animal unfortunately died in our garage. We thought we smelled something bad, but when the turkey vultures started hanging around our back deck, we knew for sure there must be a dead animal. My husband tore apart the garage, found the source of the smell, and relocated it to the woods.

Two weeks later, the smell is gone (at least to us) but the turkey vultures remain. There are two and I see them on the porch several times a day. If I think about it too much it makes me a little crazy. Is there something they know that we don't? Is it a sign that death is on the horizon? They really do feel quite ominous. (Not to mention they poop a lot on the deck and are annoying for that fact alone.)

Or is this a lighthearted synchronicity to acknowledge my work on the Death Cafe? Really the whole idea of the Death Cafe is to raise death awareness. How better to symbolically represent that than to have vultures standing around.

I took this picture of the turkey vulture today and then I got online to one of my social networks.  I had not yet posted anything about my new vulture friends, but one of my connections had linked to a blog that talked about crows and had a beautiful drawing of a turkey vulture. 

It remains to be seen whether there is more to this story regarding an actual death on the horizon.  Let's hope it is not anytime soon.

The first Death Cafe in the U.S.

Hello all!
Sadly, I have had many synchronicities that I have forgotten to blog in the past month.  I have been working on getting funding so that I could host the first Death Cafe in the United States.  A Death Cafe is a pop-up event where people get together to talk about death and have tea and yummy cake.  To learn more about my efforts, click on the image above or here.  If nothing else, I do think I made quite an amusing video about my fear of Death by Crocodile.

To learn about the established Death Cafe events in England, visit Deathcafe.com

As you may know, I am actively involved in hospice and palliative care advocacy and what keeps coming up is that people in general, and specifically Americans, are averse to thinking or talking about death.  We see families at end-of-life who have never had the conversations about their wishes.  Not only that, the individuals who are dying themselves have always avoided contemplating their own deaths.  Now, if you're a reader of this blog, I'm guessing you're far ahead of the general public.  Still, I bet you know people who don't ever want to talk about anything more serious than the weather or last night's game.  To clarify though, this event is free from ideology.  The attendees decide what they want to discuss related to death.  We are in no way drawing them to any kind of conclusion.  I'm looking forward to the synchronicities with the people who attend.

I first heard of the Death Cafe when someone blogged about attending one in England.  Jon Underwood runs them there and he has now had hosted many, with increasing success and attendance.  I am so grateful to him for allowing me to use the Death Cafe name and for his openness in general.  He's one of the good guys and we both passionately believe in the need to raise the roof on death awareness.  He was just contacted by someone in Australia who might host one there.  Imagine if this could be worldwide!

Now back to the synchronicities... I promise to get back to posting them.  Everything seems to have fallen in place so well with this Death Cafe program, I can't help but think that I was guided to do this.

Mirror Synchronicity: Fix the Bed

My husband and I were in bed watching Modern Family when he made a comment that we needed to fix the slats under our mattress. 

Not five minutes later, the characters in the episode have the mattress off the bed and are fixing the bed.

Here is a funny clip from the episode related to the mattress.

Directional Synchronicity: The Right Time

The more hospice experiences I have, the more sure I am that there is a significance and a plan to the timing of a patient's death.  I have written about timing before here.  Today I was on my way to sit bedside with a patient who was actively dying.  I will call him "Ed."  I was supposed to start at 8 am but I felt directed to get there a few minutes early.  Sure enough, when I walked back to the room, the whole family was there and they told me that he had just passed.

Ed's daughter, whom I will call "Melissa" apologized that I hadn't been notified in time so that I did not have to come.  I expressed my condolences and asked if she was there when he died.  She said, "Yes, and it was the strangest thing."  She pulled me out into the hallway and asked me if I had remembered the conversation we had two days prior.

Two days ago, she had asked me, "Is it true that when their feet turn blue, that is the sign that the time is near?  That is what the nurse said."  I smiled.  I know that at this time, when a loved one is dying, the words I say will be remembered.  I need to be extra thoughtful in my communication.  I also do not want to ever contradict another staff member.

I said, "Yes, it is true.  However..." and then I began to explain to her the spiritual side of things.  That the more that I have worked in hospice, the more I know that the timing is much more mysterious.  Sometimes the feet don't change.  Sometimes they do and the person doesn't die.  What I told her is that there is a plan, and it's something that we don't get to know until later.  I told her, "If you are meant to be there, you will be... but sometimes, no matter how much you love them, they would rather spare you of the moment."  I told her that it can be nearly impossible to predict which way the patient will want it, but after the fact, it will always seem clear that how it happened was the way it was supposed to happen.

Her eyes got big and she told me that her father in law had passed just minutes after they had left the room.  Her own experience confirmed for her what I was saying.  She thanked me for the conversation and went to work.

Fast forward to today.  This is what Melissa told me in the hallway.  Melissa had been thinking about what I had told her.  She decided to have a conversation with her dad, "Ed."  She told him lovingly, "Dad, you and I both know that I am the only one in the family who can handle being here when you go.  Everyone has said their goodbyes... I will look after them.  You need to go while it's on my shift."

Within just a couple of minutes, his breathing changed.  The nurse acknowledged that it would be soon.  Melissa called her family.  Knowing that they were on their way, he knew it was time.  Ed died within five minutes of his daughter telling him it was time to go.  She said he took three breaths and it was a peaceful transition.

So then after Melissa had told me the story, we both found significance in the fact that I had not been notified.   It was important to her to tell me the story, and it was helpful for me to hear it.

Mirror Synchronicity: Frozen in Carbonite

This is one of those really odd synchronicities that made me scratch my head and wonder why.  A few days ago, I came across an article about med students who put together a fun little video about advanced directives.  They referenced Star Wars, which is not uncommon, but they titled the article:  How Not to Get Frozen in Carbonite Against Your Wishes and included this picture:

Then yesterday I was watching the television show Awake, and one of the cases was a man who had been killed and disposed of in concrete.  Not only did the image seem reminiscent of the Star Wars scene, one of the characters actually referenced Han Solo being frozen in carbonite.  Here is a pic from my television screen:

For those new to my blog posts, I do need to reiterate, that I don't necessarily ascribe a deeper meaning to every synchronicity, but I do attempt to document all that stand out to me.  This one, like I said, was rather random!