Doug Dillon's Blog, page 24
September 10, 2016
At-Risk Teens and Reading
Retired teacher pens YA trilogy that captivates high school reluctant readers. See additional links at the end of this post for further exploration.
———————————————————————————————-
What an amazing journey I’m on. Never in a million years would I have guessed how my young adult series, The St. Augustine Trilogy, would be used to teach students in high school reading classes. But that has happened and continues to happen, allowing me to help kids enjoy the written word, learn some valuable life lessons and develop some critical skills.
The St. Augustine Trilogy
Book 1: Sliding Beneath the Surface
Book 3: Targeting Orion’s Children
This phenomenon with my books has given me the delightful opportunity to once again work with some exceptional teachers who are doing wonderful things for young people. They are an inspiration and deserve all the support I can give them.
The first step on this path came when I decided to write fiction after having published nonfiction for adults as well as young people. To do this, I decided to use my background in working with at-risk youth, a love of history, and an extensive knowledge of the paranormal as the foundation for my efforts.
The result was a young adult paranormal/historical series set in America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. The St. Augustine Trilogy features these main character as seen below and offers a premise that says, “You Create Your Own Reality.”
Lyle, the Homeless Guy
Jeff Golden: A rebellious fifteen-year-old while kid from a very dysfunctional family who hates school, reading and most teachers.
Carla Rodriguez: Jeff’s strong, no-nonsense and academically talented Black Hispanic girlfriend.
Lobo: The old, mysterious Native American shaman who guides Jeff and Carla on their perilous travels into the unknown.
Lyle: The Homeless Guy. An aging, alcoholic recluse who is afraid of his own shadow, often for very good reason.
Kathy Snyder
Now, in creating the trilogy, I thought I would just be selling books individually online to young people who enjoyed reading. But no, fate had other ideas that crystalized in the form of a high school intensive reading teacher named Kathy Snyder. After posting a nice review of Book 1 of the trilogy on Amazon.com, she contacted me wanting to use Sliding Beneath the Surface with all of her students for motivational and skill building purposes.
I was both flabbergasted and delighted at the prospect. It didn’t seem to me that my writing would work effectively with struggling readers, even though I had written it at a seventh grade reading level, but if Kathy could make it work, why not? And so, she and I set about collaborating on how to actually make a success of this experiment. We communicated extensively, sharing thoughts, ideas and strategies.
The Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine
In order to help her bring the book, the plot, and the city of St. Augustine alive for her students, I created a photo disk. It contained well over 100 pictures, shots I had taken of St. Augustine and at historical reenactments during my research for the books. In there, I also inserted trilogy graphics, book covers and even photos of me. Click here for the Teacher Resources section of this website.
Oh, and I sent Kathy my large listing of online links that I collected so her students could use those in doing their own initial research on St. Augustine and related topics before actually reading the book.
The final result was incredible. As time went on, I kept hearing from Kathy that her kids were loving the book and things were going beautifully. And at the end the project, she invited me to her school where I spent the day speaking to all of her classes. I’m telling you, those kids were so attentive and knowledgeable about the book that I was truly astounded. In fact, that was the best day I had ever had in a classroom.
Well, with the success of those efforts, Kathy and I decided to collect all we had done together, add to it, and create a teacher guide for Sliding Beneath the Surface. In that way, we figured, we could pass on to other teachers the benefit of our experiences. So that guide, and the photo disk I gave to Kathy, I make available free of charge to any teacher who uses one or more of the trilogy books in the classroom.
Kathy has now retired from teaching, but I have created a teacher guide for Book 2 of the trilogy, Stepping Off a Cliff, using the one we created for Book II as a template. Together with a new photo disk created just for Book 2, both these items are also now available to teachers free of charge. And once I publish Book 3, hopefully in late 2017, I will create similar materials.
Today, more and more reading teachers are using books from The St. Augustine Trilogy in their classrooms and that thrills me no end. And to any teachers who are reading this and considering such a move, I offer any assistance that I am able to provide. In the meantime, see the links I have provided below for more detailed information.
Reading Motivation That Worked. The original article I published about my efforts with Kathy Snyder.
Reading Teacher Sparks Student Interest An article from teacher Kathy Snyder about her experience.
A book Series for the Reading Classroom The multiple themes and threads that make the series of value.
Main Characters in the St. Augustine Trilogy
The St. Augustine Trilogy and America’s Oldest City The setting for the series in St. Augustine, Florida and how that provides a fascinating backdrop for action.
The St. Augustine Trilogy & Historic Events Specifies the actual historic events that happened in America’s oldest city that are woven into the series.
Teaching History Through Young Adult Novels
Teaching Resilience Through Young Adult Novels
Click the following in order to see the two trilogy novels, and their reviews, currently listed on amazon.com:
Florida Reading Program for At-Risk Kids
Retired teacher pens YA trilogy that captivates high school reluctant readers. See additional links at the end of this post for further exploration.
———————————————————————————————-What an amazing journey I’m on. Never in a million years would I have guessed how my young adult series, The St. Augustine Trilogy, would be used to teach students in high school reading classes. But that has happened and continues to happen, allowing me to help kids enjoy the written word, learn some valuable life lessons and develop some critical skills.
The St. Augustine Trilogy
Book 1: Sliding Beneath the Surface
Book 3: Targeting Orion’s Children
This phenomenon with my books has given me the delightful opportunity to once again work with some exceptional teachers who are doing wonderful things for young people. They are an inspiration and deserve all the support I can give them.
The first step on this path came when I decided to write fiction after having published nonfiction for adults as well as young people. To do this, I decided to use my background in working with at-risk youth, a love of history, and an extensive knowledge of the paranormal as the foundation for my efforts.
The result was a young adult paranormal/historical series set in America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. The St. Augustine Trilogy features these main character as seen below and offers a premise that says, “You Create Your Own Reality.”
Lyle, the Homeless Guy
Jeff Golden: A rebellious fifteen-year-old while kid from a very dysfunctional family who hates school, reading and most teachers.
Carla Rodriguez: Jeff’s strong, no-nonsense and academically talented Black Hispanic girlfriend.
Lobo: The old, mysterious Native American shaman who guides Jeff and Carla on their perilous travels into the unknown.
Lyle: The Homeless Guy. An aging, alcoholic recluse who is afraid of his own shadow, often for very good reason.
Kathy Snyder
Now, in creating the trilogy, I thought I would just be selling books individually online to young people who enjoyed reading. But no, fate had other ideas that crystalized in the form of a high school intensive reading teacher named Kathy Snyder. After posting a nice review of Book 1 of the trilogy on Amazon.com, she contacted me wanting to use Sliding Beneath the Surface with all of her students for motivational and skill building purposes.
I was both flabbergasted and delighted at the prospect. It didn’t seem to me that my writing would work effectively with struggling readers, even though I had written it at a seventh grade reading level, but if Kathy could make it work, why not? And so, she and I set about collaborating on how to actually make a success of this experiment. We communicated extensively, sharing thoughts, ideas and strategies.
The Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine
In order to help her bring the book, the plot, and the city of St. Augustine alive for her students, I created a photo disk. It contained well over 100 pictures, shots I had taken of St. Augustine and at historical reenactments during my research for the books. In there, I also inserted trilogy graphics, book covers and even photos of me. Click here for the Teacher Resources section of this website.
Oh, and I sent Kathy my large listing of online links that I collected so her students could use those in doing their own initial research on St. Augustine and related topics before actually reading the book.
The final result was incredible. As time went on, I kept hearing from Kathy that her kids were loving the book and things were going beautifully. And at the end the project, she invited me to her school where I spent the day speaking to all of her classes. I’m telling you, those kids were so attentive and knowledgeable about the book that I was truly astounded. In fact, that was the best day I had ever had in a classroom.
Well, with the success of those efforts, Kathy and I decided to collect all we had done together, add to it, and create a teacher guide for Sliding Beneath the Surface. In that way, we figured, we could pass on to other teachers the benefit of our experiences. So that guide, and the photo disk I gave to Kathy, I make available free of charge to any teacher who uses one or more of the trilogy books in the classroom.
Kathy has now retired from teaching, but I have created a teacher guide for Book 2 of the trilogy, Stepping Off a Cliff, using the one we created for Book II as a template. Together with a new photo disk created just for Book 2, both these items are also now available to teachers free of charge. And once I publish Book 3, hopefully in late 2017, I will create similar materials.
Today, more and more reading teachers are using books from The St. Augustine Trilogy in their classrooms and that thrills me no end. And to any teachers who are reading this and considering such a move, I offer any assistance that I am able to provide. In the meantime, see the links I have provided below for more detailed information.
Reading Motivation That Worked. The original article I published about my efforts with Kathy Snyder.
Reading Teacher Sparks Student Interest An article from teacher Kathy Snyder about her experience.
A book Series for the Reading Classroom The multiple themes and threads that make the series of value.
Main Characters in the St. Augustine Trilogy
The St. Augustine Trilogy and America’s Oldest City The setting for the series in St. Augustine, Florida and how that provides a fascinating backdrop for action.
The St. Augustine Trilogy & Historic Events Specifies the actual historic events that happened in America’s oldest city that are woven into the series.
Teaching History Through Young Adult Novels
Teaching Resilience Through Young Adult Novels
Click the following in order to see the two trilogy novels, and their reviews, currently listed on amazon.com:
Making Reading Accessible for At-Risk Kids
Retired teacher pens YA trilogy that captivates high school reluctant readers. See additional links at the end of this post for further exploration.
———————————————————————————————-What an amazing journey I’m on. Never in a million years would I have guessed how my young adult series, The St. Augustine Trilogy, would be used to teach students in high school reading classes. But that has happened and continues to happen, allowing me to help kids enjoy the written word, learn some valuable life lessons and develop some critical skills.
The St. Augustine Trilogy
Book 1: Sliding Beneath the Surface
Book 3: Targeting Orion’s Children
This phenomenon with my books has given me the delightful opportunity to once again work with some exceptional teachers who are doing wonderful things for young people. They are an inspiration and deserve all the support I can give them.
The first step on this path came when I decided to write fiction after having published nonfiction for adults as well as young people. To do this, I decided to use my background in working with at-risk youth, a love of history, and an extensive knowledge of the paranormal as the foundation for my efforts.
The result was a young adult paranormal/historical series set in America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. The St. Augustine Trilogy features these main character as seen below and offers a premise that says, “You Create Your Own Reality.”
Lyle, the Homeless Guy
Jeff Golden: A rebellious fifteen-year-old while kid from a very dysfunctional family who hates school, reading and most teachers.
Carla Rodriguez: Jeff’s strong, no-nonsense and academically talented Black Hispanic girlfriend.
Lobo: The old, mysterious Native American shaman who guides Jeff and Carla on their perilous travels into the unknown.
Lyle: The Homeless Guy. An aging, alcoholic recluse who is afraid of his own shadow, often for very good reason.
Kathy Snyder
Now, in creating the trilogy, I thought I would just be selling books individually online to young people who enjoyed reading. But no, fate had other ideas that crystalized in the form of a high school intensive reading teacher named Kathy Snyder. After posting a nice review of Book 1 of the trilogy on Amazon.com, she contacted me wanting to use Sliding Beneath the Surface with all of her students for motivational and skill building purposes.
I was both flabbergasted and delighted at the prospect. It didn’t seem to me that my writing would work effectively with struggling readers, even though I had written it at a seventh grade reading level, but if Kathy could make it work, why not? And so, she and I set about collaborating on how to actually make a success of this experiment. We communicated extensively, sharing thoughts, ideas and strategies.
The Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine
In order to help her bring the book, the plot, and the city of St. Augustine alive for her students, I created a photo disk. It contained well over 100 pictures, shots I had taken of St. Augustine and at historical reenactments during my research for the books. In there, I also inserted trilogy graphics, book covers and even photos of me. Click here for the Teacher Resources section of this website.
Oh, and I sent Kathy my large listing of online links that I collected so her students could use those in doing their own initial research on St. Augustine and related topics before actually reading the book.
The final result was incredible. As time went on, I kept hearing from Kathy that her kids were loving the book and things were going beautifully. And at the end the project, she invited me to her school where I spent the day speaking to all of her classes. I’m telling you, those kids were so attentive and knowledgeable about the book that I was truly astounded. In fact, that was the best day I had ever had in a classroom.
Well, with the success of those efforts, Kathy and I decided to collect all we had done together, add to it, and create a teacher guide for Sliding Beneath the Surface. In that way, we figured, we could pass on to other teachers the benefit of our experiences. So that guide, and the photo disk I gave to Kathy, I make available free of charge to any teacher who uses one or more of the trilogy books in the classroom.
Kathy has now retired from teaching, but I have created a teacher guide for Book 2 of the trilogy, Stepping Off a Cliff, using the one we created for Book II as a template. Together with a new photo disk created just for Book 2, both these items are also now available to teachers free of charge. And once I publish Book 3, hopefully in late 2017, I will create similar materials.
Today, more and more reading teachers are using books from The St. Augustine Trilogy in their classrooms and that thrills me no end. And to any teachers who are reading this and considering such a move, I offer any assistance that I am able to provide. In the meantime, see the links I have provided below for more detailed information.
Reading Motivation That Worked. The original article I published about my efforts with Kathy Snyder.
Reading Teacher Sparks Student Interest An article from teacher Kathy Snyder about her experience.
A book Series for the Reading Classroom The multiple themes and threads that make the series of value.
Main Characters in the St. Augustine Trilogy
The St. Augustine Trilogy and America’s Oldest City The setting for the series in St. Augustine, Florida and how that provides a fascinating backdrop for action.
The St. Augustine Trilogy & Historic Events Specifies the actual historic events that happened in America’s oldest city that are woven into the series.
Teaching History Through Young Adult Novels
Teaching Resilience Through Young Adult Novels
Click the following in order to see the two trilogy novels, and their reviews, currently listed on amazon.com:
September 9, 2016
Paranormal Coincidences in a Spiritualist Community
In our investigations into the paranormal, my wife Barbara and have come to the conclusion that no events are truly coincidental. Having that belief is one thing but seeing it demonstrated in a highly dramatic way tends to really grab your attention. This is the recent story about such a happening.
The book Barb and I wrote about the paranormal was originally published by an imprint of Prentice Hall back in 1984. When we brought An Explosion of Being back to life through Old St. Augustine Publications in the fall of 2011, I began to wonder about the people who read that first edition. Did the book have any lasting effect on them? Did anyone actually keep a copy or did they just give it away? Questions like that.
Two days later, the phone rang. The caller ID said, “Cassadaga Camp.” Cassadaga? Barb and I hadn’t had any actual connection with that Spiritualist town just north of us since we went there for a psychic reading in 1979. In our book, we wrote about our visit to Cassadaga and the medium, Mae Graves Ward, but I couldn’t see how this phone call could relate to that in any way. Much to my amazement, I soon discovered how wrong I was.
It turned out that the caller, was Selene Green, the manager for the Cassadaga Camp Bookstore and Information Center. This is what she said: “You probably don’t remember me but I was the manager of the B. Dalton’s bookstore in Gainesville, Florida when you and your wife did a book signing there back in 1985.” She went on to say that she still had her copy of our book we signed for her at the time and she believed that it led her to her present position in Cassadaga.
Spirit Pond in Cassadaga, FL. Photo by Marla Chirnside
To say I was astounded doesn’t begin to explain how I felt. Before I had time to recover, Selene put another woman on the phone. “Hi Doug, I’m Marla Chirnside and I hired your wife to work in the Seminole County Chamber of Commerce back in 1985.”
My phone connection with Cassadaga was getting weirder by the moment. Marla’s name rang a bell in my startled brain and Barb had indeed worked at the Seminole County Chamber.
Left-Marla Chirnside, Right-Selene Green
“I know you won’t believe this,” Marla went on to say, “but I’m living in Mae Graves Ward’s house here in Cassadaga, the medium you and Barb visited. I’m also a healer and serve on the Board of Trustees for the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp.”
What a double-barelled surprise! Talk about getting your questions answered and making a point about there being no coincidences! A few weeks after that phone conversation, Barb and I went to Cassadaga and had dinner with both Selene and Marla. We had a wonderful time catching up on the intervening years, talking about what brought us all together again, and discussing the paranormal.
Enough said about that experience. I think it speaks for itself. If you want to know more about Cassadaga, see my two previous posts, one of which is a photo gallery. My next post will highlight the Cassadaga Bookstore and Information Center.
For more information on Cassadaga, click on any of the following links:
Cassadaga, A Spiritualist Community
Cassadaga Bookstore and Information Center
If you are truly interested in all kinds of strange phenomena, you also might be like to take a look at my book, Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences. You can find it in most online bookstores. Listed below, however, are direct book links to some of the larger retail outlets in the English speaking world:
Amazon.com, Amazon Canada, Amazon UK, Amazon India, Amazon Australia, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository
September 8, 2016
Ghost Face Photo – Queen Mary
Photographic evidence of a ghostly being aboard ship by my friend Peaches Veach from California Paranormal Private Investigations (CPPI).
Of all the locations I’ve visited and/or investigated, The Queen Mary in Long Beach, California is one of the most interesting. Back in the day, it was a luxury liner that was then converted into a troop transport ship during WWII. Thousands of people are believed to have perished on or around the ship over the years. World renowned psychic Peter James believed there are close to 600 spirits wandering the ship.
The Queen Mary was bought by the City of Long Beach and turned into a floating hotel in 1967. It serves not only as a hotel, but also has restaurants, exhibits, and convention facilities. There are also a number of tours available to visitors. On one of those tours is where I had a paranormal encounter. Multiple parts of the ship are haunted.
We had taken one tour earlier in the day and it took us into the changing rooms of the first class swimming pool. Several spirits are said to haunt this area. We had told the guide before the tour started that we were paranormal investigators so that he would understand why we’d have some pieces of equipment with us. There were almost enough of us to have our own private tour.
This little excursion was done in the dark and towards the end of it, we turned off our flashlights. That’s when the tour guide started talking about a possible male spirit being in that area, who he might be and why he might be there. When we talked about it later, a few of us agreed we felt the energy change all around us right at that moment. It’s hard to describe if you’ve never felt energy shift in such a way, but it’s much like how it feels when people have an argument in a room and you’re just standing there observing and feeling the tension.
For whatever reason, the tour guide sounded uncomfortable talking about this spirit. When he finished speaking, all was quiet for a while. Finally, someone asked a question but there was no response. Turning our flashlights back on, we realized the guide had left. We never did see him again.
We all decided to leave the room and I was the last one out. As we started moving, I felt a pressure on my back that was similar to having someone pushing me. I told my friends, “Move! Go! Go! Go! We’re being pushed out!” Another friend who has an intuitive “gift” also felt that the male spirit was upset and wanted us out.
Later in the day, we took another tour that’s really a “smoke and mirrors” event where they use all kinds of special effects. We had been told not to take flash photos since that would disorient everyone. As I snapped a photo without flash, I realized that I would have a blurry result due to camera shake. So I just dismissed what I had done and moved along with the group.
Original blurry photo of 3 people in the dark. Bright light at top is a bulb hanging from the ceiling. The white streak of light in the middle of the picture going across the woman is unidentified. Just above that streak, and below the woman’s head, is the small oval of a face that you can barely see.
A few days later, I was looking at my photos and came across a blurry picture. At first, I thought that I should just delete it. Then I noticed something strange. I showed my coworker, and she and I both gasped when we looked at it closer. To us, it looked like a head showing only one side of the face. This was the picture I had taken in the dark.
A closer, cropped view of the face.
We speculated as to what it might really be, but I knew exactly who could check it out for me. I have a friend by the name of Tony who is a retired mortician. He specializes in facial reconstruction. Tony has some forensic software that analyzes photos, including pixel count, color temp, etc. He can tell if a photo has been altered in any way. I’ve gotten to know Tony over the years, with all of the interesting photos I’ve sent him.
Tony’s enhancement of the previous photo to bring out the opposite side of the face. In this version of the picture, a shoulder below the face is clearly visible on the left.
Tony’s answer to this particular photo? “I don’t believe in ghosts, but you have something there. I just don’t know what it is.” He verified the photo had not been altered (I had taken it, so of course, I already knew that), and he took it a step further enhancing and removing certain color tones. He was able to digitally shift things around in order to show the other side of what we all believe is a face in the photo. To me, it looked like someone wearing an Elizabethan collar from the 16th Century, which would be extremely weird to find here in the States.
Tony’ second enhancement, no color, cropped and enlarged. Look carefully.
Tony’s official opinion in the end was that what we were seeing was a woman he believed to be between 40 and 60 years of age with her hair in an updo. This, he thinks, meant that in a different era, she was probably financially well off. The last thing he added was that she was staring right at me!
Tony and I have both studied this picture over the years and continue trying to figure out exactly whose face it is. After comparing it to many other photos, we have yet to find the answer. We’ve gone back to the Queen Mary several times since that original experience to try and find an answer but with no luck. One of my more intuitive friends said that whoever the person is in that picture, she will not appear again. She got my attention the first time and is glad that I know she’s there. Even so, my quest to discover the identity of our mystery woman continues.
Fascinating, Peaches. Thanks so much.
Click here for the CPPI website.
Click here for the Queen Mary Website.
Click here for a video on the Queen Mary.
###
If you would like to read more great stories about paranormal phenomena, you might be interested in checking out my book, Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences. You can find it in most online bookstores. Listed below, however, are direct book links to some of the larger retail outlets in the English-speaking world:
Amazon.com, Amazon Canada, Amazon UK, Amazon India, Amazon Australia, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
September 5, 2016
A Multicultural Novel Series for Reading Classes
Florida teacher pens diverse, paranormal/historical novels now being used in high school classrooms.
The St. Augustine Trilogy
Book 1: Sliding Beneath the Surface 154 reviews on Amazon.com and reviewed by the St. Augustine Herald.
Book 3: Targeting Orion’s Children
After retiring from teaching in Florida schools, I decided to start writing novels in addition to publishing nonfiction books and articles. And since I had spent so many years working with teens, YA fiction was a very natural and fun path to take.
The Castillo de San Marcos
In the selection of a setting, I immediately chose nearby St. Augustine, America’s oldest city, one of my favorite places to visit. Having been a history teacher, I couldn’t resist inserting my characters into an environment with such a rich past.
And, of course, that would also allow me to once again slip a little history education into the minds of my young adult readers. The characters would exist in the present day but would then be thrown back in time to actual historical events.
St. Augustine, 1902
But in thinking about the bygone days of St. Augustine, and who my characters should be, the issues of race and diversity popped into the forefront of my mind. I very consciously wanted to write for a diverse population, and also address the multicultural aspects of the Oldest City’s past. But how to effectively combine those two goals was the question.
Plains Indians jailed at the Castillo de San Marcos in 1879.
To come up with a solution, I looked carefully at St. Augustine’s background and decided that I should do my best to have characters who represented the city’s main founding groups. Not only that, but to really make it work, those characters should also have roots going way back into the history of that region of Florida.
So, the three main groups in the founding and building of St. Augustine were as follows:
Native Americans, who lived in that location before the arrival of Europeans and who were brought to the city to work on the building of the Castillo de San Marcos (the stone Spanish fort, completed in 1695 and still part of the city), bring to the city needed supplies, work for the local population, or who were imprisoned by the U.S. Government there at the Castillo.
African Slaves and Free Blacks, who were brought to that location to serve the local population, work on the building of the Castillo de San Marcos, or to protect the city.
The Europeans. Specifically, the Spanish, but later the English and then the white Americans.
Jeff
And now, let me introduce you to the trilogy’s four main characters who represent the above groups in various ways:
Jeff Golden: (Leading character). Jeff is fifteen and white with an American/English heritage. His five times great-grandfather fought in the initial battle that began the Second Seminole War in Florida. Even though he is smart, Jeff is also an angry, rebellious, at-risk kid from a very dysfunctional family. He attends St. Augustine High School. Jeff hates school and teachers, reads very little and takes pride in manipulating adults.
Carla
Carla Rodriquez: Carla, Jeff’s girlfriend is also fifteen. She is a Black Hispanic whose ancestor was Luis Pacheco, an African Slave. Pacheco was forced to serve the U.S. Army as a scout and interpreter for the very military unit Jeff’s five times great-grandfather served in at the start of the Second Seminole War (Pacheco’s story is true). Carla is very smart, takes only AP classes and is very level-headed.
Lobo
Lobo: This gentleman is a mysterious and powerful Native American shaman who guides Jeff and Carla through their dangerous paranormal journeys. He is big, old, brilliant, tough and doesn’t put up with nonsense.
Lobo’s linkages to St. Augustine’s past go back in time in ways that astound Jeff and Carla. His part in the diversity picture expands book by book in the trilogy until it explodes in the most unexpected way at its end.
Lyle
Lyle the Homeless Guy: Lyle is a contemporary of Lobo’s. But at some point in the very distant past, he had a terrible accident that left him somewhat mentally unstable, an alcoholic and often afraid of his own shadow. Lyle is white, his original heritage is English, and his St. Augustine background almost rivals that of Lobo.
Now, to be honest, I toyed with the idea of making the lead character African-American, but then I backed away from that idea. Why? Well, as an old white guy, I just didn’t know if I was up to it in first person, to be blunt. On the other hand, I thought I had a much better chance of making the secondary character, Carla, a Black Hispanic and doing justice to her as an individual and to the role she pays in the books.
At this point, I hope you can see the blending I mentioned before of the characters’ backgrounds with the history of St. Augustine. BUT, embarking on such a journey can be perilous because if you don’t do it properly, the writing comes across as heavy-handed and didactic. And if young people feel they are being set up and preached to, the result often isn’t pretty.
So with that caution in mind, I have tried diligently to gently insert multicultural aspects into these novels simply as a natural flow from who these characters are and how their backgrounds add to the stories. Put another way, my intention has been to build organically from the needs of the plot and through the interpersonal communications between the characters.
Apparently, from the input I’ve gotten, my approached has worked. So what is that input? First of all, the reviews I’ve gotten is my initial feedback and second of all, the reactions I’ve gotten in speaking to very diverse groups of high school students who have read the book tell me what I need to know.
In fact, while visiting students at the first school to use Book 1 of the trilogy, I got hugs, smiles and handshakes from students entering that classroom all day, well before we had any interaction. Very gratifying, especially when I never thought my novels would be used in schools. My original intent was just to write some good books, have fun doing it, sell them online and hopefully make a difference in at least a few lives.
And at this point, I am so delighted to see my work being used, or soon will be used, by fellow educators that I have made the following no cost commitments to them as follows:
Consultations about the books and their use by simply using by communications with me through the Contact Form on this website. From that point on by email and phone.
Sending out a detailed online Teacher Guide via email.
Sending out a Photo Disk via snail mail with a ton of pictures showing St. Augustine, the characters, historical reenactments, trilogy graphics and more. Oh, and a printed contents guide for the disk.
Click here to see more information on teacher resources.
Well, there you have it. If you’re interested in any more details, below you will find a bunch of links that offer further insights into the trilogy:
Reading Help for At-Risk Kids. An overview of the trilogy’s use in reading classrooms.
Reading Motivation That Worked. The original article published about the author’s efforts with the original teacher who used Book 1 of the trilogy with all of her students.
Katy Snyder – the first reading teacher in Florida to use the trilogy in her reading classes.
Reading Teacher Sparks Student Interest. An article from the first teacher to use the trilogy in her classes.
A book Series for the Reading Classroom. The multiple themes and threads woven into the series.
Main Characters in the St. Augustine Trilogy. A brief introduction.
The St. Augustine Trilogy and America’s Oldest City. The setting for the series in St. Augustine, Florida and how that provides a fascinating backdrop for action.
Pirates parade in the streets of old St. Augustine
The St. Augustine Trilogy & Historic Events. Specifies the actual historic events that happened in America’s oldest city that integral parts of the series.
Teaching History Through Young Adult Novels. An analysis.
Teaching Resilience Through Young Adult Novels. Targeting at-risk kids and the teachers who work with them.
Click the following in order to see the two trilogy novels presently in print, and their reviews, as currently listed on amazon.com:
A Florida Multicultural Novel Series for Reading Classes
Classroom teacher pens diverse, paranormal/historical novels now being used in Florida high school classrooms.
The St. Augustine Trilogy
Book 1: Sliding Beneath the Surface 154 reviews on Amazon.com and reviewed by the St. Augustine Herald.
Book 3: Targeting Orion’s Children
After retiring from teaching in Florida schools, I decided to start writing novels in addition to publishing nonfiction books and articles. And since I had spent so many years working with teens, YA fiction was a very natural and fun path to take.
The Castillo de San Marcos
In the selection of a setting, I immediately chose nearby St. Augustine, America’s oldest city, one of my favorite places to visit. Having been a history teacher, I couldn’t resist inserting my characters into an environment with such a rich past.
And, of course, that would also allow me to once again slip a little history education into the minds of my young adult readers. The characters would exist in the present day but would then be thrown back in time to actual historical events.
St. Augustine, 1902
But in thinking about the bygone days of St. Augustine, and who my characters should be, the issues of race and diversity popped into the forefront of my mind. I very consciously wanted to write for a diverse population, and also address the multicultural aspects of the Oldest City’s past. But how to effectively combine those two goals was the question.
Plains Indians jailed at the Castillo de San Marcos in 1879.
To come up with a solution, I looked carefully at St. Augustine’s background and decided that I should do my best to have characters who represented the city’s main founding groups. Not only that, but to really make it work, those characters should also have roots going way back into the history of that region of Florida.
So, the three main groups in the founding and building of St. Augustine were as follows:
Native Americans, who lived in that location before the arrival of Europeans and who were brought to the city to work on the building of the Castillo de San Marcos (the stone Spanish fort, completed in 1695 and still part of the city), bring to the city needed supplies, work for the local population, or who were imprisoned by the U.S. Government there at the Castillo.
African Slaves and Free Blacks, who were brought to that location to serve the local population, work on the building of the Castillo de San Marcos, or to protect the city.
The Europeans. Specifically, the Spanish, but later the English and then the white Americans.
Jeff
And now, let me introduce you to the trilogy’s four main characters who represent the above groups in various ways:
Jeff Golden: (Leading character). Jeff is fifteen and white with an American/English heritage. His five times great-grandfather fought in the initial battle that began the Second Seminole War in Florida. Even though he is smart, Jeff is also an angry, rebellious, at-risk kid from a very dysfunctional family. He attends St. Augustine High School. Jeff hates school and teachers, reads very little and takes pride in manipulating adults.
Carla
Carla Rodriquez: Carla, Jeff’s girlfriend is also fifteen. She is a Black Hispanic whose ancestor was Luis Pacheco, an African Slave. Pacheco was forced to serve the U.S. Army as a scout and interpreter for the very military unit Jeff’s five times great-grandfather served in at the start of the Second Seminole War (Pacheco’s story is true). Carla is very smart, takes only AP classes and is very level-headed.
Lobo
Lobo: This gentleman is a mysterious and powerful Native American shaman who guides Jeff and Carla through their dangerous paranormal journeys. He is big, old, brilliant, tough and doesn’t put up with nonsense.
Lobo’s linkages to St. Augustine’s past go back in time in ways that astound Jeff and Carla. His part in the diversity picture expands book by book in the trilogy until it explodes in the most unexpected way at its end.
Lyle
Lyle the Homeless Guy: Lyle is a contemporary of Lobo’s. But at some point in the very distant past, he had a terrible accident that left him somewhat mentally unstable, an alcoholic and often afraid of his own shadow. Lyle is white, his original heritage is English, and his St. Augustine background almost rivals that of Lobo.
Now, to be honest, I toyed with the idea of making the lead character African-American, but then I backed away from that idea. Why? Well, as an old white guy, I just didn’t know if I was up to it in first person, to be blunt. On the other hand, I thought I had a much better chance of making the secondary character, Carla, a Black Hispanic and doing justice to her as an individual and to the role she pays in the books.
At this point, I hope you can see the blending I mentioned before of the characters’ backgrounds with the history of St. Augustine. BUT, embarking on such a journey can be perilous because if you don’t do it properly, the writing comes across as heavy-handed and didactic. And if young people feel they are being set up and preached to, the result often isn’t pretty.
So with that caution in mind, I have tried diligently to gently insert multicultural aspects into these novels simply as a natural flow from who these characters are and how their backgrounds add to the stories. Put another way, my intention has been to build organically from the needs of the plot and through the interpersonal communications between the characters.
Apparently, from the input I’ve gotten, my approached has worked. So what is that input? First of all, the reviews I’ve gotten is my initial feedback and second of all, the reactions I’ve gotten in speaking to very diverse groups of high school students who have read the book tell me what I need to know.
In fact, while visiting students at the first school to use Book 1 of the trilogy, I got hugs, smiles and handshakes from students entering that classroom all day, well before we had any interaction. Very gratifying, especially when I never thought my novels would be used in schools. My original intent was just to write some good books, have fun doing it, sell them online and hopefully make a difference in at least a few lives.
And at this point, I am so delighted to see my work being used, or soon will be used, by fellow educators that I have made the following no cost commitments to them as follows:
Consultations about the books and their use by simply using by communications with me through the Contact Form on this website. From that point on by email and phone.
Sending out a detailed online Teacher Guide via email.
Sending out a Photo Disk via snail mail with a ton of pictures showing St. Augustine, the characters, historical reenactments, trilogy graphics and more. Oh, and a printed contents guide for the disk.
Click here to see more information on teacher resources.
Well, there you have it. If you’re interested in any more details, below you will find a bunch of links that offer further insights into the trilogy:
Reading Help for At-Risk Kids. An overview of the trilogy’s use in reading classrooms.
Reading Motivation That Worked. The original article published about the author’s efforts with the original teacher who used Book 1 of the trilogy with all of her students.
Katy Snyder – the first reading teacher in Florida to use the trilogy in her reading classes.
Reading Teacher Sparks Student Interest. An article from the first teacher to use the trilogy in her classes.
A book Series for the Reading Classroom. The multiple themes and threads woven into the series.
Main Characters in the St. Augustine Trilogy. A brief introduction.
The St. Augustine Trilogy and America’s Oldest City. The setting for the series in St. Augustine, Florida and how that provides a fascinating backdrop for action.
Pirates parade in the streets of old St. Augustine
The St. Augustine Trilogy & Historic Events. Specifies the actual historic events that happened in America’s oldest city that integral parts of the series.
Teaching History Through Young Adult Novels. An analysis.
Teaching Resilience Through Young Adult Novels. Targeting at-risk kids and the teachers who work with them.
Click the following in order to see the two trilogy novels presently in print, and their reviews, as currently listed on amazon.com:
September 4, 2016
Free Teacher Resources for the Reading Classroom
Help for High School Reading Teachers Using Class Sets of YA trilogy in the Classroom. Basic information here with details found in the listed links.
The St. Augustine Trilogy by Doug Dillon
A paranormal/historical series.
Set in current day St. Augustine, FL with time travel to actual historic events.
Written with at-risk kids in mind.
Premise: You Create Your Own Reality.
Already being used in high school readling classrooms.
Author’s background includes 14 years in the classroom and 5 years of working fulltime with at-risk young people and their families in the state of Florida.
The author does periodic book signings in the city of St. Augustine: Barnes and Noble, Ripley’s Believe it Or Not, the St. Augustine Visitor Information Center.
Description
Told in his own words, this paranormal/historical series is a very personal account of fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden’s explosive coming of age in America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida.
Join Jeff and his girlfriend Carla as they experience mind-blowing events that threaten to destroy their very existence.
Follow the two teens as Lobo, the Native American shaman, tries to protect them from powerful forces beyond understanding. Be there when Jeff and Carla discover the depths of reality as well as their own powers to reshape what they find.
The St. Augustine Trilogy
Book 1: Sliding Beneath the Surface 154 reviews on Amazon.com and reviewed by the St. Augustine Herald.
Book 3: Targeting Orion’s Children
The Free Resources for Reading Teachers Using the Trilogy in the Classroom
Detailed online Teacher’s Guide with extensive links.
A photo disk with pictures of St. Augustine, historical reenactments, character photos, trilogy graphics, author pics., etc.
A guide to the photo disk.
Consultation with author.
Click here to see more information on these resources and other details.
The following links take you to further posts that expand on the writing of the The St. Augustine Trilogy and the author’s intent for the series:
Reading Help for At-Risk Kids. An overview of the trilogy’s use in reading classrooms.
Reading Motivation That Worked. The original article published about the author’s efforts with the original teacher who used Book 1 of the trilogy with all of her students.
Katy Snyder – the first reading teacher in Florida to use the trilogy in her reading classes.
Reading Teacher Sparks Student Interest. An article from the first teacher to use the trilogy in her classes.
A book Series for the Reading Classroom. The multiple themes and threads woven into the series.
Main Characters in the St. Augustine Trilogy. A brief introduction.
The St. Augustine Trilogy and America’s Oldest City. The setting for the series in St. Augustine, Florida and how that provides a fascinating backdrop for action.
Pirates parade in the streets of old St. Augustine
The St. Augustine Trilogy & Historic Events. Specifies the actual historic events that happened in America’s oldest city that integral parts of the series.
Teaching History Through Young Adult Novels. An analysis.
Teaching Resilience Through Young Adult Novels. Targeting at-risk kids and the teachers who work with them.
Click the following in order to see the two trilogy novels presently in print, and their reviews, as currently listed on amazon.com:
September 3, 2016
History of a Psychic Medium
Psychic readings? Mediumship? Life after death? Spirits? If you’ve ever had questions about such things, listen up.
Denise Lescano is a gifted spirit medium and psychic who lives in south Florida. Author of The Messenger, Denise is also a medical intuitive, energy healer, and certified Reiki Master. A while back, she did an interview for the Medium Channel that I thought was very instructive in a lot of ways. When I asked Denise if I could reproduce it on my blog, she readily agreed. The transcript of that entire event is reproduced below. Thanks Denise.
Oh, by the way, Denise also works directly with law enforcement, private detectives, attorneys and families on investigation and criminal cases. Enjoy.
MC: Do you remember the first time you had a valid psychic experience? Can you tell me about it?
DL: My first experiences were in my dreams as a young girl, before I had learned to “tune in to my abilities”. I remember, to this day several very vivid dreams about current and future events. I also had many, as my family referred to them, “imaginary” friends as young as 5 years old, that I now realize were spirit friends. I actually preferred playing with my spirit friends more than my people friends which worried my family a bit. As a young child, I also remember just “knowing” things about people and events. When I would tell my family about what I “knew” they would normally get rather upset by it and tell me their was no way I could know that and that I should not say such things! I had a reputation at home and in school as quite a precocious child because of that ability. I learned very early on that it made the people around me very uncomfortable!
MC: In regards to psychic abilities, is it always a guide or angel passing information, or do you have abilities of your own which are independent of your guides?
DL: Yes. I have the ability, as a Medium, to tune in to the energy (aura) of people in spirit form, and will receive info from my spirit guides & helpers, as well as, the guides and loved ones of the person that I am reading for. As a psychic, I also have the ability to tune in to the energy (aura) of the person I am reading for and gather information about that person “psychically” through their energy field. The medical information that I receive about a clients health, many times I am receiving by tuning in” psychically”.
MC: What is the difference between a psychic and a medium?
DL: All Mediums are Psychics…it is just that not all Psychics are Mediums. In the same way that all Surgeons are Doctors but not all Doctors will go on to be Surgeons. A Medium is a specialist, so to speak. A Psychic tunes into the “aura” or “energy field” of the person that they are reading for to gather information, while a Medium can also do this…
A Medium is also able to tune into the energy field of a person no longer in the physical body. This is because once the physical body drops away, the energy is much more subtle and of a much higher frequency than the physical world.
I am actually able to connect with both “spirits crossed over” and spirits still “Earthbound” or typically called Ghosts. In most cases, a Medium can usually only connect with those who have crossed over. A true Medium should be ble to communicate with your friends and loved ones who are crossed over and deliver to you very specific and detailed information from and about your loved ones and their lives, who are now crossed over.
MC: Does everyone have guides, how do you recommend people get in touch with them.
DL: Yes, everyone has guides whether they are aware of them or not. Some people/books will tell you that their is a certain number of guides for each person, in my experience I do not find that their is one set number of guides for everyone. I know that everyone has one “Life Guide” who is with us from birth to death. This soul is responsible for keeping us on task in this incarnation and in accord with our souls purpose and learning. Loved ones who cross over will also become guides and guardians to us to some extent. Then we have a multitude of other guides (different amount for everyone), who come and go at very specific points of our life, to help us with very specific things we are doing or learning.
The most important thing in connecting with your guides is to learn techniques to become more “receptive to them” like doing regular meditation and intuitive development work. I always encourage people to start a dialogue with our guide. Talk to them regularly in meditation or prayer..even if you cannot yet hear them. Keep talking, because they here you in thought and in words. Ask for their help and guidance and be open to receive it. Sooner or later with patience, practice and persistence you will become aware of them. Some people may “see” them while others will “hear” them in thought, or maybe just “sense their presence”. Be open to receive them in what ever way they express themselves to you. It is not necessary to “see” them to know them and that they are there.
MC: Why do you do this work? What motivates you?
DL: I was initially, a very “reluctant” psychic and medium. I had no desire to be either, especially as a profession. Although I was very open to my abilities and used them regularly, I had no desire to share them openly with others or make a career out of it. I came from a family of origin that was not accepting or encouraging of my talents, so unfortunately I learned very young to hide them and keep them to myself. I was afraid that people would think I was crazy or even worse a fraud. I found ways to get messages through to people “undercover” in more subtle ways then coming right out and saying how I knew the things that I knew.
I would often read for my friends and by word of mouth. However, I became increasingly aware over the years how special, unusual and important these gifts were for helping others. I had a very specific event that occurred in my life when a friends son was murdered, that changed my mind and set me on this course. It is a tremendous responsibility and sometimes can be overwhelming in many ways. It is not a path to be taken lightly or with out serious consideration of the commitment and life “in service” it requires. I am motivated now by all of the people and spirits who’s lives this work has touched in profound waves and who’s lives have touched mine. I feel honored to have shared their experiences and be a voice for the spirit world. At this point, I feel, how could I not do this??
MC: Do you believe that criminals will some day be prosecuted based on information given by psychics or mediums?
DL: No, I do not, nor do I think they ever should be. Why? For several reasons. First off, we can all makes mistakes, we are merely human, even the best of us. Second, unfortunately their are some people claiming to be psychics and mediums who are not, their are frauds. Also, as in any other profession, we all also have varying degrees of psychic talent and ability.
I have worked on many missing persons, unsolved homicides and accidental death cases extensively over the past 4 years. What I am hired to do, and the best that I can do, is to provide unknown information, validation and point detectives in the right direction…. to find the evidence they need to support prosecution. I believe any prosecution must be based on evidence. A Psychic is just a tool, a very valuable tool, to help detectives find what they are looking for and need.
MC: Besides giving psychic readings, what other work do you do in this area like seminars, radio, teaching?
DL: I do extensive work with non-profit groups. I read for Grief Support Groups who have lost loved ones by sudden death, accidental death, homicide, suicide and overdoses. Being a medical intuitive, I also read for Alcoholics Anonymous and Over Eaters antonymous Groups, for the purpose of giving the members insight in to their particular addiction issues and how to proceed to over come them. All of this work is done with group counselors present, so that
any information can be validated and assimilated in to the healing and recovery process of the member.
I also teach classes and seminars on intuitive development, personal growth and the spirit side of life all over the country. I have co- hosted a radio show “The Spirit Side of Life” and am currently co-producing a TV Show which
we hope will air in 2009. I have a DVD out with another medium, write a weekly Blog and am working on a book.
MC: Some psychics give predictions, some don’t. How do you feel about predictions, and why do you or do you not do them for people?
DL: Some of my clients are not particularly interested in communicating with spirits but are wanting clarity and insight into their lives here in the physical plane. I am able to do this and yes, to look into the future. There is also much misunderstanding about “predicting the future” People always want to know “What is going to happen” regarding some particular thing in their life. First of all NO Psychic, including myself, can for see your future 100%
set in stone with 100% accuracy…if they say that they can they are not telling you the truth or do not understand their own abilities. What we see are; probabilities, possibilities and pathways into your future; opportunities and obstacles, based on where you are at that particular moment of your life at the time of the reading, the choices available to you, and sometimes the decisions you or some one else are most likely to make. In my work, I may see
pathways that stand out very strongly to me and are most likely to manifest, and I am told that I am very accurate, however, every one of us always has free will, as do the other players in our lives, and can change everything in
an instant. There is always an unpredictable element a “Wild Card”.
Remember that you are writing your future every moment with your thoughts and actions…you can change direction at any time. Your life is the result of a series of choices presented to you, and the decisions that you make based on those choices. My work is to provide insight in to those choices that arise through the opportunities and obstacles presented to you…but the choice MUST be, and always is your to make.
MC: Have you ever been watching the news about a crime or case and known information that could break the case? Would you call authorities? If not why not?
DL: Yes, occasionally I have. No, I do not call the authorities. Contrary to what we see on TV, unfortunately my personal experience has been, that the vast majority of law enforcement is not open or enthusiastic to working with psychics and mediums.
I have had many families over the years hire me to work on a missing person or unsolved criminal case, because the police have nothing and they are at a dead end. In all of these cases I was able to bring through previously
unknown information and validation. I have been able to fill in many missing pieces, verifiable pieces of information such as; where bodies were discarded right down to street names. make/model and color of cars involved etc. It is
sad and discouraging to find that in most cases when the recording of the reading was offered to police it was not taken seriously or even considered at all! I work with several agencies now who take referrals directly form law
enforcement and I have been told by my own contacts in law enforcement that they cannot endorse or comment on my work openly. If I am contacted by a detective directly, they are not able to even say they are working with me….it
has to all be done very discretely. I am hopeful that will change in the future as more and more of us do very credible work.
MC: Life after death….. can you give me your interpretation of what it is like?
“Death is not the end of life..but merely a part of life”. There are two great books that I recommend to people who ask this question, that explain life on the spirit side very well. In my experience with the spirit world, and what the spirit world tells me about it, these books depict very accurately what life is like there. Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls, by Michael Newton PhD.
In short…It is in many ways a different experience for all souls, I will give you are very brief glimpse. I can tell you that I know…it is what ever we imagine or want it to be. You can live in the Mountains or at the beach, for example. We will be met by and reunited with all of our loved ones and pets there. We have work that we all do there. All work is based on helping others grow and learn in some way. We can create or have what ever we desire by thought. We go to school there and continue to grow and learn. We plan our next life experience there based on the lessons that we still need to learn.
There are many different spiritual “levels” or “neighborhoods”- Where we reside is based on our spiritual awareness, as well as, our likes and dislikes. Just as we live in different parts of the world and neighborhoods here, so do we there. People of ALL religious faiths and beliefs go there, even atheists. You do not need to believe in God or life after death to go there…all you have to do is die!
There is God…but God does not exist in the limited and linear way that we imagine him to be while we are here in human form. God is much more expansive than what we are able to imagine while here in the physical world. God is
Love. The more you live your life in the energy of love, the closer you are to God. Where you end up on the spirit side, what neighborhood and with which other souls you live, depends on how you live your life here. It has nothing to do with prestige, power, success, money, race or religion. Where you end up and with who, depends on your spiritual awareness, how you treat others, your priorities…how you “lived your life”. Did you live your life in love and compassion or anger, judgment and manipulation??
There is absolutely NO judgment, prejudice, hate, anger, illness, punishment or fear in the spirit world. There IS ONLY unconditional love, compassion and forgiveness for everyone.
MC: Do you prefer doing phone readings or in-person psychic readings, and why?
DL: I do both, but I definitely prefer to read by phone. It is easier to tune in to pure energy over the phone. Some people can be more defensive and guarded when in person. People tend to be more comfortable over the phone, which
makes them more open and easier to read.
MC: Do you have any advice for people who have the gift of sight, but don’t understand what is happening to them?
DL: Most importantly do not be afraid. Fear or misunderstanding of your own abilities can create a lot of problems, as well as, shut down the ability. Take some intuitive development classes from some one reputable, or read some books ( I have some recommendations on my web site) and learn about your abilities. EVERYONE is born with these abilities to some extent. They are as natural to us as all the other senses. Unfortunately Western Culture and religion
have demonized them out of ignorance and a desire to control and have created fear about them.
People always tell me that I have “a gift”, that they usually believe is from god. I am a bit uncomfortable with that, as it implies that I am somehow “ a chosen one” or somehow elevated above, or different from other people. I prefer to say that “I don’t have ‘a gift’, but rather I am the lucky one who gets to deliver… “The Gift’”. “The Gift” is a message or a “last word” from your loved ones and the spirit realm and is a small miracle here on earth and a brief glimpse into the heavens. I do believe that I am probably “ gifted” in the amount of natural ability that I have, but I have also worked
very hard, over many years, developing and fine tuning my abilities and talent as any professional would. I would also say that everyone possesses the same intuitive abilities that I do to some degree.
Every one of us has this innate ability. Many times we call it a “hunch” or “gut feeling” for example. Intuitive Sense is absolutely no different than the other physical senses, talents and abilities that we all posses. Take a Musical talent for example; you may be born with absolutely no musical ability what so ever, but take some piano classes and you can learn to play basic music. You probably will not go on to be a professional musician, but that is not the point. On the other hand, you may be born with a lot of natural musical ability, so you decide to train and practice and fine tune your craft and you go on to become a professional musician.
MC: Can you explain the difference between earth-bound spirits and spirits who have crossed over?
DL: “Earthbound Spirits” are spirits that may be seen or felt, and are still residing on the physical plane. They are a complicated subject. A “haunting” – as defined by Webster’s; ‘reoccurring visits from a ghost or spirit’. These are not usually the spirits that I am communicating with in a Reading with your loved ones, the majority of spirits I communicate with in a reading have already crossed over. In understanding earthbound spirits, it helps to remember that spirits who inhabit earthbound locations are basically “unstable people” who have left their physical body and are now in “spirit” form. In my experience, these spirits are never “evil”, but more than likely are
confused and existing in a state of mental, emotional and/or spiritual imbalance, and as was usually the case, also while they were here in their physical life. In my extensive experience as a professional Medium working with
families who have lost loved ones by murder, suicide, domestic violence and accidental overdoses, I have encountered a lot of unstable and distraught spirits.
Many of these “earthbound” spirits are existing in a state of fear and misunderstanding. They can be afraid to cross over in to the spirit realms for fear of judgment or that they will go to “hell” especially, if they have taken actions in their physical life that resulted in hurting others or even suicide, for example. Many of these spirits have left unfinished business with the living who they are often times desperate to communicate with and get through too. In their sometimes desperate attempts to connect with us, they may be mistakenly perceived as malevolent but in my experience have no ill will or intention to scare us. Let me be clear, that seeing a loved one around you does not necessarily mean that they are earthbound. A loved one, who has crossed over in to the spirit realm, can “visit” us at any time. The majority of spirits that I communicate with in a “Reading” have already crossed over in to the spirit
realms. I would estimate a very small amount, of maybe 3%, are actually in an earthbound state, which many times is only temporary.
Some spirits will remain earthbound for a short period of time after leaving the body, before crossing over to the spirit realms. Some spirits will cross over immediately after leaving the physical body. There are also many places, widely known to be “haunted” which are frequented by rather friendly and harmless spirits, as well, who may hang around for many years.
When people speak of a “Haunting”, they are most commonly referring to malevolent spirits of a very low vibrational energy and spiritual awareness. These spirit experiences are many times random in the fact that the spirits have
no personal connection to the people that they are “haunting”. These types of spirits may have a distinctly dark, negative or ominous “feeling” when they are around. **It is important to know that these types of spirit experiences are very rare and not as common as we or Hollywood would like to believe. Again, I must mention that these spirits are usually ‘mistaken’ to be dark or evil, but are really just existing in a very low level of spiritual awareness or are seriously unbalanced. Many psychics who are not experienced in dealing with spirits on these lower energy/spiritual levels, may often times also mistake them, for being bad or evil…which is simply not true.
To find Denise’s book, The Messenger, click here.
To visit Denise’s website, click here.
Civil Rights in St. Augustine , Florida
I spent most of last week in St. Augustine working on Book II of The St. Augustine Trilogy. During that time I wandered about the old city as I usually do, letting it speak to me and taking pictures. Thought I knew the place pretty well but I was very surprised to see a brand new monument in the central plaza. Surprised and delighted, I need to add.
This new addition is a tribute to those people who were the “foot soldiers” of the Civil Rights Movement. Besides being a beautiful piece of art, it’s a wonderful recognition of all those who risked so much for freedom and justice. These were the folks who put themselves in great danger by marching, protesting, sitting-in at lunch counters and riding freedom buses.
For a city that had its own history of racial strife, this monument is a welcome sight to behold as it shares the plaza with two others: the Spanish Constitution monument and the Confederate War Memorial.
The St Augustine Record had a nice article about the dedication ceremony. You might find it a quick and interesting read.
Congratulations to all those Foot Soldiers and to the city of St. Augustine for a job well done.
Click on any of the following for further information on the city of St. Augustine:
A Calendar of Events for St. Augustine
