Spirit Guidance

BOOKING A READING

Please note: all sessions are full. The banking details have been removed from this site. Please do not make a deposit for a reading. Call in July 2010 to book.

Shannon will be on maternity leave until July.

Previous information:

Spirit Guide interpreter Shannon Walbran does readings telephonically and on the radio.

Tune in to Radio Today on 1485 AM in Johannesburg or DSTV 169 on Tuesday mornings from 11:30 a.m. til 12 noon and call in with your question on 011-880-5839.

Shannon can also do readings by phone. Call 072 488 1810 to book.

Scroll down to find answers to these Frequently Asked Questions about readings.

1. What is a reading like?
2. What should I ask?
3. What CAN'T I ask?
4. Why can't I ask about someone else, like my husband?
5. Do you do phone readings? (yes!)
6. How many questions? How long does it take?
7. Can I tape-record the session?
8. Can my friend or spouse sit in with me?
9. How much does a reading cost?
10. How can I book a reading?
11. Can I book a reading in a city that is not yet listed?
12. What are cancellation, late-coming, and re-scheduling policies?

1. What is a reading like?

A Spirit Guide reading is an opportunity for you to ask questions of your Guides, the angelic beings who watch over you and help you on your path.

Each reading is unique and personalised to your needs. You will need to write up a list of specific questions and bring the written list with you to the session.

2. What should I ask?

In these questions, you are asking for advice, so your questions could be phrased as, "Should I ....?" or "Would it be best for me to do X or Y?" You will receive much more than a yes or no answer.

Your Guides want to tell you how to receive spirit guidance on your own, and this often comes through as a topic in the readings.

3. What CAN'T I ask?

Almost never do messages come through from clients' relatives who have died.

Spirit Guide messages are meant to help your soul's growth. These messages almost never include information about what a third party is thinking or feeling (for example, "does Person X love me?" is usually not answered).

You can't ask about what another person should do, even if he or she is a member of your family (for example, "should my son move to Johannesburg?" is usually not answered).

Another limitation is about the future: you have free will, and you can make your own decisions. The Guides will point you in certain directions and show you open doors, but you must choose where to go, and then consequences will happen.

Last, you have complete control over what you do with the advice you receive. People say that when they follow The Guides' advice to the letter, the results are always incredibly positive. Your results may differ, but in a Spirit Guide reading, you will hear precisely the messages you are meant to hear.

4. Why can't I ask about someone else, like my husband?

You can ask questions about things that are in your hands, that you have the opportunity to change. His karma is his karma.

5. Could I ask just one question? What about on the phone?

Yes, telephone readings are possible.

Please make your deposit and then sms or phone to book a day & time to have a reading with Shannon. Please prepare your written list of clear questions to make the most of your session!

Shannon is doing phone readings. Call 072 488 1810 to book. If you only have a cell, you'll have to call her for your session, but if you have a South African landline, she can call you.

6. How many questions? How long does it take?

We can schedule half hour phone sessions. Write a list of specific questions, not topics like "house" or "career". However, don't give any background information, JUST ASK THE QUESTION.

Specific, detailed questions: "Should I take on this new project, and what should I look out for?" and "How can I improve my relationship with my manager?"

Only written questions can be answered. Don't come with questions "in your head." Write them down.

7. Can I tape-record the session?

No, but you should take written notes.

8. Can my friend or spouse sit in with me?

No, a reading is for one person at a time.

9. How much does a reading cost?

Shannon's sessions cost R450 for a half an hour reading. Make your deposit using your first name as a reference, and then book by phoning 072 488 1810. No need to fax, just sms.

10. How can I book a reading?

All sessions are full at this time. Shannon will be available after her maternity leave. Please call in July 2010 to book.

11. Can I book a reading in a city or country that is not yet listed?

Currently, Shannon is practicing only from Johannesburg, but if there are enough clients to justify it, she will travel to another city. She also helps large groups of people as an inspirational speaker.

12. What are cancellation, late-coming, and re-scheduling policies?

These policies are strict. Re-scheduling is NOT recommended, so make sure you will be able to come when you make your booking and your deposit. You must make the schedule change at least 24 hours before your appointment in order to get another one. You must speak with Shannon directly to do that; sending an SMS to cancel does NOT count. Deposits are not returned in case of cancellations or late-coming. If you phone more than 10 minutes late for your appointment, it is automatically cancelled and you cannot re-schedule.

13. What are your banking details?

The banking details have been removed because Shannon is on maternity leave until July 2010. Please call then to book.

Spirit Guide interpreter Shannon Walbran has done readings for thousands of people from countries worldwide.

From www.southafricalogue.com:

"Ms. Walbran is a aurally-triggered medium (that is, when she hears your voice, another voice is instantly channeled to her, giving advice about your situation) of growing renown in South Africa.

As anyone who has heard her give readings over the radio will know, she’s even quicker on the draw than John Edward (of Crossing Over fame): she blurts out the things she hears without even a second’s hesitation, and with the same force of conviction of a Republican telling you the Earth’s not getting warmer. She’s a natural."

Here are a few excerpts from what Spirit Guide message recipients have said or emailed after their readings.

I just wanted to say a heartfelt thankyou for your consultation with me yesterday. I have already thanked my angels (I hope they heard). I know you say that you are only the translator - but your assistance is instrumental & has been invaluable to me. I feel more inspired, directed & at peace than I have felt for a very long time. The work you do has had a really meaningful influence on me - thankyou...

- * -

Thank you so much for the really helpful message from the guides.
This morning was a low period, and I really needed this to set me straight again!

- * -

just to say thank you so much. am in tears at mo. but will revert with proper thanks: its a bit much to take in. shame am in web cafe in public so cant let it all out!!

- * -

It was so lovely hearing you speak last night on the radio. When I heard you, it gave me hope that there might be some help.

- * -

I just wanted to thank you for your wonderful wonderful work. I love your website. I am so thankful for the spirits and the people who help me to become more aware of them.

- * -

I just received the guides' message on support and it is a wonderful piece of information for a talk I am preparing at the moment for my yoga teacher training.

- * -

Thank you once again for the wonderful sitting. My life has changed completely, and I always use the protective measures that you taught me, with great success. As my guides say, I have a lot to start learning now. I feel very blessed and am even starting to feel special!

- * -

Wow! I've never had a reading like that before! So clear!

- * -

I 'discovered' your website earlier this year and access it daily, and also
browse the various subjects available on it. The simple and profound wisdom
have made me take a step back and live my life from a different
perspective...

What I have come to be humbly grateful for, is that the daily reading
sometimes seems to address my inner questions - and I have the feeling that
once you start interacting with the site, your guides start working with
you more closely. I try to follow their instructions and I know it is a one
step forward two steps back, but my focus is now firmly on my spiritual
growth and succeeding in completing my 'life blueprint' which I undertook
before taking form.

- * -

Getting a reading was definitely one of the most memorable and affirming experiences in my life. I learned a lot and feel very reassured and cared for.

- * -

Thanks for being on the Web. Somehow knowing that you are around and doing such important work gives my faith a much needed boost.

- * -

thank you all - I think this is the best advice I've been given.
...it was head on! thank you.

- * -

I just wanted to let you know that after my reading a month ago I did everything my Guides told me to do, and I'm so happy about it! I even quit smoking, finally. Thank you.

- * -

Deeply, I get a sense and understanding that OF COURSE I am getting messages, and it is like learning a new language, and actually my subconscious has a wealth of info at its disposal- fully connected to the other dimensions. If I send messages of trust to the subconsious, it will respond. Somehow, I know and trust that there is intelligence being sent to me.

- * -

excitement and opportunity abound allround with some acompanying trepidations forsure, but an underlying sense of ok'ness and trust in The Force-Source energy pulsings.

indeed i do feel protected along the spinning paths life's taking me, working overtime my protectors must be at times. will take heed to start taking some better care of myself to lessen the load a bit, but thanks meanwhile ;-p

- * -

Thank you- it really is funny... I HAVE had a bad week but am coming out of it so the message was certainly apt...

PS I like the part about my hair-I did cut it recently and people say I look completely different!

- * -

Thank you very much for this! There's a lot here for me to mull over.

My feelings about this are: some things that ring very true for me, and good reminders of things I often feel are true. Things like detaching from distractions, worrying less about time, connecting with wider and more peaceful energetic forces. Walking and spending time in nature are two things I rarely do, and often remind myself to do more.

- * -

wowwow thanks much

in terms of feedback, for now i can perhaps just mention that what's said about art as medium, wowwow indeed...

have in fact stuck all the stuff i've drawn on my bedroom wall, initially not even particularly thinking about how they fitted together or whatever and the next moment it all just leapt out and spoke, virtually shouted out with meaning

so, yeah... art... been thinking about it much indeed of late... indeed will take up the advice to use it more often in similar ways to get more clues of how and where things are going etc.

Shannon was interviewed by SAfm presenter John Richards for the radio program "Insights," broadcast on Tuesday evening, June 29th. Thanks to John Richards for his thoughtful interviewing and opening up his program to the topic of spirit guidance.

Transcripts
Entertaining Angels Unawares.
Broadcast Date: 2004-06-29
Programme: Insights
Presenter: John Richards
Producer: John Richards
Guests: Shannon Walbran.

JR:

Hello, I'm John Richards, and this is "Insights" on SAfm, South Africa's news and information leader. She's done many things in a short life so far and she hails from the United States of America. And she has a message based on wisdom and intuition which may provide guidance for us in this busy and fragmented life. She's Shannon Walbran. I don't know how South Africans come across to Americans, Shannon, politeness-wise, but I always feel we have some rough edges. What are your impressions?

SW:

Very friendly and warm. In fact, I've had people walk me to places when I've gotten lost. I've always felt very well taken care of here.

JR:

I know you come from Minneapolis. I don't think I've met anyone from there before - or if I have it was quite unawares. I have a hazy idea of it being somewhere in the Midwest...

SW:

In the Great North, actually. Did you see the movie "Fargo"? It's the land of sky-coloured water. That's what "Minnesota" means. Minneapolis is in the state of Minnesota, on the border of Canada. People here think I'm Canadian.

JR:

But it's really not so much the border as the region that gives you the accent.

SW:

The European heritage that came through there - the Norwegians and the Germans. Like Bob Dylan's accent, for example. He came from that part of the country.

JR:

And "Shannon" would argue that there's some Irish ancestry?

SW:

That's right. Shannon was a goddess who became that river when she ate the magic salmon in the magic well at the bottom of the river.

JR:

Ah, well, that's a new one for me.

SW:

Yes, my ancestors came over in the 1850s, during the famine.

JR:

Yes, Irish immigrants established themselves. But Shannon is here with me not to talk about her life - although we're doing a bit of that - but really to talk about your experience in, well, I don't know what word to use... Other than what you see before your eyes - the spiritual sector or the thought, the non-visible, the numenal, whatever.

SW:

It's a calling.

JR:

Well, what are you called to do?

SW:

I'm called to tell people, first of all, that they're loved and guided, and that they can get in touch with their intuition, and that's where wisdom lies. You know how it is when you follow your intuition. How does it feel to you when you make a big life decision and whatever happens you've said, "Yes, I know this is right for me for right now, because I really feel it in my gut."

JR:

People say, "It feels right to me" - then they go off and make a big mistake!

SW:

Well, it could be that they're making a mistake, but when they look back they could say, "I gave it my all. I followed my dream. I made happen what I needed to make happen at that time".

JR:

Yes. I hesitate to use the word "spirituality" because it's an overworked word. It comes up a lot. But it seems to me that we've got this great dualism, and there's a lot of lack of dialogue between the two parties. I don't want to put you in one party and have another party around - you know what I mean?

SW:

That's funny, because I call myself an interpreter, and I believe that I'm working with helping people interpret some messages that they're getting, but it's up to them to decide where those messages are exactly coming from.

JR:

It may be, taking strictly the phenomenologist's (SIC) point of view, that what you see is what you get, and if you can examine it with a microscope and measure it, that's what's there. It could be coming from within your nervous system or from within all the complex mechanisms that go to make up the human body, and that there's nothing more than that: that's actually what does it. It's still a great mystery, and it's still an incredible mechanism, the most complex structure in the universe as far as we know, the human brain. But that's what it is.

SW:

Even if you had just your five senses, do you think that you use all five of your senses to their greatest capacity?

JR:

No, I'm sure I don't.

SW:

Not you personally, of course, but do you think humans do?

JR:

I somehow doubt it.

SW:

If we could imagine that there's no more... Let's say, from a purely rationalist level, a materialist level, that there's more to at least our five senses then we can get more information from that, but one of the dualities that I'd like to discuss is the difference between information - that I think we're overloaded with - and knowledge and wisdom. That's what people are really hungry for. They want to know how to do things. They want to know how to make their life right. They want to do well. But they also want to do good. There's a calling from within. I think of it kind of as a foundation of physical health and material comfort, and then the next storey of the house would be emotional well-being, and then the next one would be spiritual progress or maybe spiritual awareness at least.

JR:

Right, we'll keep that in mind. We're going to come back to it but back to the life story of Shannon again for now. How does an American girl from Minneapolis wind up in South Africa?

SW:

You know, I've had a really wonderful career path. I'm 35 now. I've been working with NGOs as a writer for quite a while, for about 7 years, and before that in education. So I think there's an arc to that story that has to do with telling one world about another. The country that I lived in just before I came here was Brazil. I was working for an organisation that was finding social entrepreneurs and supporting them - marvellous people, changing the world.

JR:

This is "Ashoka"?

SW:

Right.

JR:

Yes, we talked to the South African director in a programme here some months ago. I know about Ashoka. Let's just quickly define it for those listeners who don't know about it.

SW:

Okay, here's the one-minute summary of Ashoka. It's an organisation based in the States but located now in more than 48 countries that identifies individuals who are reaching in and making a paradigm shift with an innovative idea, and helping people in education, human rights, the environment, economic development - as many areas as you can think of. So Ashoka rewards those people by supporting them with a grant for up to three years - individuals, that is.

JR:

Yes, we've talked to some of these Ashoka Fellows. The wonderful thing about it is they get the money with no strings attached. There are no conditions. They simply have earned it through their incredible entrepreneurship and social initiative, whatever you want to call it. They get that grant and they can really live their dream, do what they want with it.

SW:

So you've met some of those Fellows?

JR:

Yes.

SW:

And you were inspired by them?

JR:

I was certainly inspired, yes. So this was the kind of milieu you were working in, Shannon?

SW:

That was my job.

JR:

You're not an Ashoka Fellow, though? You were working for the organisation...

SW:

No, I was finding them, identifying them, and then writing about them. Not only in Brazil. I got sent on a round-the-world trip where I was interviewing all these folks and I have to say it really changed my life.

JR:

And that brought you to South Africa.

SW:

It did. That's why I came here, to do that work here as well. But when I got here I found myself called in a different direction.

JR:

So that's Ashoka, the reason for you being here. And also exposed to these leaders of whatever kind.

SW:

Yes. In fact, I would interview them at length to determine whether they would meet Ashoka's criteria. But over and over again they told me that they had each had a moment of change, or you might say getting hit by lightning, or some sort of epiphany.

JR:

The one we always think of is Saul and the road to Damascus. It's now become a sort of cliché - a "Damascus experience" or "Damascus Road experience". But that cropped up?

SW:

Yes. It never made it into the official books. It didn't have to do with whether they were elected or not. But just meeting these people and asking them, "How did you get to where you are now?" Each of them did go through some sort of...

JR:

Yes, so that would argue some kind of experience of that nature.

SW:

Yes, what made someone change from being selfish or self-centred to being altruistic in such a deep way.

JR:

Did you always have this urge to move outwards, to leave the Northwest and get out of the great United States and see the world?

SW:

Yes, I'd always wanted to travel, since I was a kid.

JR:

Not a very American activity.

SW:

Well, they say a very small percentage of Americans actually hold passports, and so they don't leave the country very much. But there's so much more out there. And, as I said, that was kind of my idea of telling one world about the other. So I did end up telling a lot of Americans about what was going on in other countries.

JR:

So it's almost as if it were planned. Here you are, and other things are happening. So if you remember the original thread it is the non-evident, the spiritual element, the intuitive that we're talking about, and how you intuit this.

SW:

The actual process of how one intuits...

JR:

Do we need to?

SW:

Oh, well, people who feel stuck, people who are trying to make a decision, people who feel lost... Nowadays also people who feel depressed, people who feel anxious... Those people want to know which way to go. And they take advice from all different kinds of people - their relatives, their friends, their doctor, their psychologist - and it often works: it's often very good advice. But there's something inside them that knows when that advice is better or worse; there's a certain kind of confirmation, a reaching out, a link between you and the person who's giving you that advice. And without that mirroring or that "Yes" then how do you know what to do?

JR:

Seeking confirmation, talking to your shrink. If you're a middle-class kind of person you go off to the shrink, don't you?

SW:

Or if you're of a different background you could go and see a sangoma and talk to your ancestors. Your ancestors are telling you the same things that your guardian angel might be, or your intuition. It's how we frame it. It's what we're comfortable with as far as picturing it or imaging it is concerned.

JR:

Has this to do with mediums and dark rooms and séances, and rapping on tables?

SW:

Interesting that. There is quite a background to that, the mesmerising background of it, or nowadays there are the "Crossing Over" type television programmes.

JR:

Yes, very popular. Where do you stand?

SW:

I think that... Okay, well, I'd like to tell you about what I do.

JR:

Yes, maybe it will emerge that way, but before you do that please let's have an identification at this point. This is a girl from Minneapolis by the name of Shannon Walbran. One always needs to name some sort of occupation. What is your occupation, Shannon? A channeler?

SW:

Interpreter.

JR:

All right.

SW:

I see clients and I also do workshops with groups. I also do business consultancies. Also I do publications and I have a website. And all the things I do are about bringing one world into contact with another. That makes it sound like I'm a medium but when people hear the advice what they say back to me is, "You know, that's exactly what I was thinking of anyway", so it's not as if I didn't make any difference but they feel confirmed and like they know which path to follow - but it's as if it emerged from themselves.

JR:

Did you have any experiences to assist you in this journey? Is there anything specific that you feel you became aware of in your life?

SW:

I have a very strong religious background and I think my faith kept me going through times of turmoil in my own life, and I really always believed that I was being taken care of. I've done a lot of travelling, and I've been in some hectic situations, but I always felt as though I would make it. I knew I was going to get through it. Sometimes I would call on what I call my angels, and I would say, "Please help me out of this, please get me through this," and I would make it.

JR:

Could we have an anecdote? What happened to you? What was the worst time?

SW:

In Bolivia the buses are notorious for careening down these ravines, and in every newspaper you open up there's a story like "72 Plunge To Their Deaths". Even the llamas look scared when the buses come toward them on the hills. There were times when I had to go from one place to another, from a high altitude down to the countryside, and I remember pulling in to the seat ahead of me and just praying with all my might. Now, did my prayer make a difference? I don't know. But I survived. And that somehow confirmed my faith. How much of that is my own projection and how much is whether I had some sort of effect... When I'm in an airplane does my faith keep the airplane up? And if you're asleep, seated across the aisle, does it make any difference?

JR:

I have great faith in the navigation systems and radar. But that's all part of it. Just checking, that's all! (A LAUGH FROM SHANNON) You didn't see visions or anything like that? No. But an awareness is what comes?

SW:

Yes. And my real underlying mission is to say that people can do this for themselves. It's a funny sort of Protestantism that I have that says everyone should be able to have direct contact and not depend on a psychic or a medium. Perhaps only if they get really stuck, or if they're blocking their own messages. Because we all have blind spots - about relationships, or about problems that we don't tend to solve right away.

JR:

In the industrialised Western world from which you originally came... Obviously you've gone a long way from that... But in the everyday urban struggle - the rat race - this spiritual dimension seems to be very small. It doesn't seem to be acknowledged too much.

SW:

You know what? You'd be surprised. I don't know. Maybe it's just the kind of conversations that I have, from taxi drivers to business executives. When I ask, "Has anything magic ever happened in your life?" they'll say, "Well, let me tell you that I had a dream, and then I woke up, and then on that day this happened..." It's really surprising how much people really will admit when they're in a comfortable and relaxed setting, and they don't think they're going to be judged or fired or looked down upon for it - how much they'll see that there are other things happening in their lives.

JR:

You talked about the ancestors and sangomas. Obviously you've seen a lot of interesting stuff in Africa, and the African way of looking at the spiritual, at the non-material.

SW:

When I first started to hear voices, which was a specific incident that happened last year after I'd already come to Africa, I was wondering what was happening, and so I promised myself - and my friends - that I would go see a Western psychologist, like a Jungian psychologist, a medical doctor, a kinesiologist and a sangoma, just to cover all of my bases. And then I promised my sister I would see a priest.

JR:

Wow, yes, that is being careful!

SW:

And I went and had an appointment with each of them, and told them what was going on, and told them about this calling that I felt, that I was meant to share messages with people that were for their own good, and to help them out. And each one of them said, "Right on! Go for it! Yes, you're on the right track. Your ancestors are confirming it. Your blood pressure is confirming it. It's okay."

JR:

They didn't say you were on the verge of having a sort of schizophrenic experience?

SW:

A breakdown? No.

JR:

But there was some concern... I mean, these voices are very real, aren't they?

SW:

Yes, it's almost like that dream voice, or that memory voice. You know, like when someone in your family says, "Remember to let the dog out," and just as you're about to leave the house you say, "I must remember to let the dog out".
It's something urgent.

JR:

And that's one way of getting in touch with this realm, or whatever you want to call it: through voice, through hearing.

SW:

Clairaudience, yes.

JR:

Right. Your influences in reading: Jung seems to be the great leader in this area.

SW:

I also have favourite saints. For example, my patron saint is Joan of Arc, who did hear voices, and that led her to save France.

JR:

How do we use these tools, this amazing equipment? How do we enrich our lives?

SW:

I think that's an excellent question, and that's the main question that people eventually get to after they ask, "Is my business going to be okay? Is my marriage going to be okay? Are my children going to be okay?" And then we sort all those things out. But the real answers to that question are that you must listen to your body, because your body is one of the main communicators with you. Why do we get sick? It's not necessarily "What did we get sick from?" but it's "What are we getting ill for?" You know, what does it tell you? For example, if you've recently had a cold, and had to stay home for a day, maybe you were working too hard and you really needed to take a break.

JR:

Yes, a lot of people say that. They say, "Oh, dear, my resistance is low. I really just needed to have a day in bed."

SW:

It's funny but actually it's your body talking to you.

JR:

Yes, your body knows. So there's that dimension.

SW:

That's a very practical dimension. But let's take an example one step further... Have you seen something beautiful recently - a sunset or a bird flying in the air - and felt a chill or a shiver? Have you ever felt that? It's kind of an appreciation of the aesthetic that leads you almost to see other energies. I know I'm mixing things up here but there's something about the way our senses react to great beauty that is beyond the real.

JR:

The aesthetic experience, yes. All is well with the world - harmony, great music. There are thousands of examples.

SW:

Exactly. Now, what if we were able to tune in to that? It happens more frequently than we notice. But if we were able to notice that every time: a bad taste in the back of our mouth, in the throat; a quick stomach cramp; a sense of unease. What if we followed through on those?

JR:

Alternative medicine obviously has highlighted many of these experiences and incorporated them, and I think anybody in rational scientific-type medicine today would acknowledge the importance of the subconscious and the unseen, and all these elements you've been talking about. Certainly that clicks with what you've said. But what about death? We're all bound for the eternal situation, after all.

SW:

But is it really going so far away and being unreachable or is it just going through a door that most of us can't see through or hear beyond? I think of death as just going into another room of the same house. And we're just walking through room after room after room. Our guides - our spirit guides - are beings who no longer incarnate. That's how they identify themselves - beings who want to take care of us and lead us on our path, mostly towards spiritual enlightenment. But our ancestors or our loved ones are also, once they get past a certain point, interested in helping us out and looking after us. I think we can have contact.

JR:

For the scientific mind it's hard to get your head around it. However, one doesn't want to be a militant atheist or a rationalist who says there's nothing there, that if it can't be proved scientifically it doesn't exist. These are hard things to come to terms with. And there seems to be a lot of emphasis in the popular media about this. Does the cosmologist believe that the universe was created? Do we need to have a Creator? Do we need to have a personal God? That kind of thing.

SW:

Yes. First cause.

JR:

Do you get involved in these kinds of debates?

SW:

I do think about them often. I try to ask questions with different clients, and different wisdom comes through. I wanted to address those. Everyone knows the difference between a cat that's asleep and a cat that's dead. You can see the difference. There is something that animates. There is some energy there. Or food, for example: food that's completely packaged like that popcorn that's coloured pink. Or corn on the cob that you just picked and then roasted yourself. You can feel there is a difference. You know there's a qualitative difference in that food. There's more of what the Chinese would call "chi". There's more life energy. That life energy... We have a hard time measuring it. But just because we can't measure it doesn't mean it's not there.

JR:

We know from people who can see or read auras... We know from electromagnetic, very subtle imaging things, that these energies exist. Sure.

SW:

It's almost as if we keep learning it and keep forgetting it. Remember that book "The Secret Life of Plants"? It was published in 1971. Well, why are we forgetting that somebody already figured all of this stuff out? And what about the mystery schools of Egypt and...?

JR:

I don't want to be boring here and push you into all these explanations but...

SW:

No, I think it's wonderful! I don't feel I'm having to justify it at all. I'm excited to share that I want us to remember these things, and I want us each to feel we do have access.

JR:

Time is flashing by, as it always does, and I really want to talk about this question of the busy life, the bits and pieces, the ten thousand things that distract us all the time, and about which so many philosophers and divines have said, "You've got to have a space for yourself." Whatever you call it - prayer, meditation, a room of your own - it's terribly, terribly important.

SW:

Well, the more we distract ourselves from the underlying fears and pain that we really do need to confront in this life, I think at the end we won't have anything to hide behind any more. We won't have any shell of authority or status or whatever we were clinging to. It'll all peel away pretty quickly. So it would be much better if we could deal with these things now. And you know what? Let's talk about the here and now. It'll make our relationships so much more authentic.

JR:

Do you meditate? How do you meditate?

SW:

I do. I've taken a few silent courses. And I also meditate in a Catholic way, which is through prayer. And I attend Mass.

JR:

And how much of the daily round does that take?

SW:

It's funny. Some people meditate for an hour in the morning and an hour at night but I tend to meditate between sessions. I tend to meditate... I'll be writing for a while and then I'll meditate, and then I'll see a client and then I'll meditate. Because for me it works better to weave it into my day rather than setting time aside. But it's up to each individual as to how they want to do it.

JR:

And how do you feel at the end of a meditation?

SW:

Not necessarily blissful. I don't think that's the point. The point is to have had... The thoughts come up, and as much as I can let them go and not get caught up in them, get stuck with them, then the cleaner I feel and the more I'm able to deal with something like someone knocking on the door and saying that there's been a car accident outside: then I react with the calmness and the ability to address problems, even if they're very serious, even if they come right up into your face.

JR:

I've been thinking of that passage - I don't know where it comes from, I think somewhere from The New Testament - about entertaining angels unawares.

SW:

Yes.

JR:

Do we do that?

SW:

Yes. Think about the people who drop into your life, and maybe you'll only see them for five minutes. Maybe it was a taxi driver or maybe it was someone you just spoke to on the street. The wisdom that they can share with you is incredible. And also the generosity that you extend to them can change their lives, whether they are humans or whether they're angels putting you through a little bit of a test. We never know. I think we have to make the best of every interaction.

JR:

Shannon, I hope you stay in South Africa a long time and that if you travel away you'll come back again, and I hope you come and talk to us again.

SW:

John, it's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you.

JR:

That was Shannon Walbran. And if you'd like to know more - it's on the Internet - go to www.spiritguidance.net. You've been listening to "Insights" here on SAfm, South Africa's news and information leader. I'm John Richards and I do hope you'll join me at the same time next week for another "Insights" programme.

Here are a few examples taken from actual Spirit Guide Messages.

* - * - * - * - * - * - *

We see you in your moments of bewilderment, and we know how you feel about the swirling chaos - but it's all a part of Nature's plan. The tides and the storms are meant to clear away debris. So too are you cleansing and readjusting to your natural rhythms.

You might be worried about your resonance, if it seems low, but let us tell you that there is a stability in lower-pitched tones, and "frenzy" is not joy.

- * -

To answer your question, "Should I take the Assistant Director or the Executive Director position?" we believe you should take the latter. It's not as much work as it sounds. You have plenty of experience, it would give you a boost (not in an egotistical way, but a self-valuing way), and it will lead to further opportunities soon, within the same organization.

- * -

Peace be with you on your way. You have human guides and angel guides watching you as you go and grow. You are well protected, and this means it's OK to risk. Ground yourself, feel the earth flat beneath your feet and the power that rises up from the planet's core.

- * -

You'recurious about what to do next. We see more travel, but for longer stints. We do see (country) and (country). You have learned a lot in (your present country), but it's not your home. And you can't be quite as wild as you'd like to be (and need to be) here. You need a LESS restrictive environment to be your best self (I see an image of you dancing, really happy).

-*-

We are concerned about your health, though, especially its fluctuations. Do you need more rest? More quiet? Fewer interruptions?

- * -

You could eat more fish.

- * -

Turn off the distractions, especially the music that fills every empty nook in your head. Ground yourself by stretching out on the rug or at least planting your feet flat on the floor. Turn away from the computer. Listen.

Although you may feel distant from the pulses of real energy that permeate and criss-cross the Earth, they truly are there. If you quiet yourself, you can feel them surging upwards through the soles of your feet - they are there to stabilize and nourish you when you feel off-kilter, when you get irritated.

As the power comes up through the ground, let your emotions sink also and drain away. The earth is large enough to absorb and transmute any negativity. She melts all fear. That's why trees are the companions of humans - they are "factories" for changing what we expel into what we can use again.

Your fear is actually your power, blocked. You have great strength as a guardian, but you are wary of any kind of "force," having seen it used so wrongly to oppress. Perhaps you could start by accessing your strength and applying it in small situations, locally - we see you are already doing this. In championing the underserved, however, be careful not to expend too much rage directed at the oppressor. That will only suck away your strength. Concentrate on providing a cloak for the child instead of cursing the cold.

- * -

Peace be to you and to all your plans in (your new town). You are not among the right people to carry them out, you are a prophet among Pharisees, but let that not trouble you. Voice your opinions and suggestions anyway. It may be that they will register and take root although not during your tenure. And you won't get credited for them (not that you mind this too much), but they will exist, and that's what is important.

- * -

Physically, in addition to your stomach problems, we notice you have a sharp headache. This is due in part to dehydration but also to contamination by parasites. We believe that your current treatment is good for you, not only in its physical plan but in the fact that you are allowing someone to care for you. Accept that care. Cherish it. Affection goes a long way toward helping your immune system!

- * -

You also need to cry more. Lock yourself in your room and just cry. If you can't make yourself cry enough, listen to music or imagine music that makes you sad. There is more detoxifying that needs to take place, and crying will really help. Crying while meditating is good, too. Let it come.

- * -

We sense some pains in your back, in about the middle. Those pains might feel isolated, and if you have them rubbed during a massage they will subside. But they are connected, linked directly to emotions you feel and the energy you transmit and receive every day with people you love as well as friends and strangers. You are a system, you are not a set of bones and cells. And you are part of an even larger system, but not one that can be studied by breaking it down.

* - * - * - * - * - * - *

These are examples of the kinds of things the Spirit Guides say during personalized readings.