14 Aug 1996
Your web site

I spent most of the afternoon reading your web pages. I want you to know, I despaired of ever finding anybody who believed in Christ and communication with spirits and reincarnation, all at the same time, who did not sound like some kind of New-Age junkie or a bona-fide nut! Sir, I do not know who you are, but I have now read enough of your writing to know that your theology is sound and your scientific approach to spirituality is refreshing!

To tell you a little about myself: I recently left the Navy after 13 years, and live with my husband and 15 year old son. I have had more psychic experiences than I can count, most of which, in fear, I ignored and pushed away for years. (Navy Officers absolutely do NOT talk about psychic occurrences! :-) ) I have tried, from time to time, to talk with a minister (and once I tried talking with a nun) about this. At worst, I was admonished for "responding to the Devil's temptations." At best I was ignored, the individual continuing on with the conversation as if I didn't mention ghosts or psychic phenomena, but just burped or something. I've also run into a fair number of psychic charlatans, read a great deal of "junk" on the internet from people who are into channeling, who mix Hindu and Christian theology and pass it off as something "received from their spirit guides." I could go on, but I think you know what I mean.

Then I hit upon your web pages, and here I was reading stuff I've learned the hard way (over the years)..."passiveness, eagerness to receive, and indiscriminate acceptance are especially dangerous, because they are open invitations to every spirit that has an agenda." "Love is a matter of choice... an action, not a reaction."

Also interesting, what you wrote about parousia -- presence. I learned this after years of study and reading, but have never seen it written quite as succinctly and as well as you put it.

And most of all, I appreciate what you said about "give" vs "get." A few months ago I got into a discussion with my son about our communication. In the middle of the conversation I said to him, "I will talk with you about any subject we can think of. But do you realize, other than video games and comic books, you refuse to participate in other topics of conversation. Everything else you say to me is 'Mom, can I have...? Mom, will you give me...? Mom, why can't I do this? Mom, why won't you do that?'"

Suddenly I stopped dead in my tracks. That 'still, small voice' in the middle of my existence was raising an eyebrow.

Now, I know that's a mixed metaphor. But how else do I explain a definite raised eyebrow from a "feeling" that comes from inside of me that I really, really try to listen to (at least most of the time.) I was suddenly hearing my prayers of "God, please... please... please..." And I realized that, after all the books and lectures I've studied about prayer, after all the meditation and quiet "listening" (where, much to my chagrin, I frequently fall asleep), the majority of time I was still saying "give me" prayers.

So today I had to think about whether my recent attempts (over the last couple of years) to finally open myself to these psychic experiences were in the form of "give me." And I hate to confess, for the most part I think they were. I do, sincerely, want to use these experiences as God wills. But I do not know what God's will is in this respect, nor do I know how to proceed from here.

Thus, my excitement over finding your web pages, and my eagerness to know who you are and what you do.

I do hope you respond.

Most sincerely,

Trudy


Home | Listing | Next