I come from a long line of people with a connection to spirits, or some kind of 6th sense. My maternal grandmother was a shaman in the countryside of the Dominican Republic. It is hard to believe, but she took care of the health and spiritual needs of a whole village outside of Bani. Ever since she was a small child she could talk to spirits. She then went on to be able to use them for healing. My mother and her mother had a connection even though my mother did not grow up with her. I remember countless times when my mother would tell the maids to prepare the guest bedroom because she was feeling her mother closer.
I have always sought out ways to relax and work with my depression and anxiety. I have tried many different kinds of meditations, from guided meditation, to the Shivananda strict quiet meditation and lately Transcendental Meditation (TM).
I am a certified meditation teacher from the Shivananda Organization. My group spent 14 days with our teacher, Swamin Sita (Swami Sitaramananda) in Paradise Island, Bahamas. We had a rigorous schedule that included meditation twice a day. yoga twice a day, karma yoga. We spent10 of those 14 days silent. A very powerful experience. I can say, without a doubt ,that this experience changed my life. I had spent 11 days in the yoga farm in California learning yoga and the Sivananda teachings. And that was in itself a life changing experience. But learning to meditate gave me the tools to begin to heal. I was one person before this class, but another emerged from it. was more calm, secure and less anxious.