Tag: Debra Basham

  • Tornado!

    Sacred Stories

    He was driving down the interstate when he saw a tornado approaching. He pulled under an overpass, jumped out of his vehicle, and scrambled up under the overpass.

    A man was there, seated on a blanket.

    As debris began to swirl, and the roar became deafening, the man sat calmly.

    The devastation of mere minutes was horrific: vehicles turned over, people injured, his own truck totally twisted into an unrecognizable mass of rubble. Emergency crews were there already, an he saw them searching through the rubble of his vehicle for him.

    He called out, “I am up here with this other fellow!”

    Then he turned to look.

    No man. No blanket.

    He believes an angel was sent to be with him during the ordeal.

    These are sacred stories. What does this all mean to you? Do you have as story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.

  • Property Virgins

    First times are memorable just because they are first. This has certainly been true for me this summer with the selling of our home.

    Here is a handout left on our kitchen table next to the plate of cookies just-out-of-the-oven:

    This was our first home, purchased 40 years ago this past April.

    Our next home is in Glen-Aire, just around the corner.

    Here are a few of the things to love about this home:

      Location, location, location!
      The beautiful hardwood floors.
      The family room.
      Looking out on the back yard.
      The laundry chute.
      The kitchen layout, including the pantry, the pull-out shelves, and the 36 inch drawers.
      The dimmer switches.
      The built-ins (master bedroom, master bathroom, garage).
      The lighted closets.
      Instant hot water in all locations.
      The gas fire place.
      The sunrises and sunsets.
      The basement shelves.
      Did I mention the location and the lot?

    If you decide this is to be your next home, you will love it.

    This is the first home we have ever sold, and it is also the first home the buyer has ever bought. We are both well past our teenage years but we are property virgins.

    The selling and buying of this home will be memorable, as will this morning’s sunrise….

  • A Beautiful Meeting

    I was awake st 3:00 am and purged the roll-top desk in the living room before heading over to meet Kathy Zerler at the new house to paint the master bedroom. We are so happy with how it turned out, and I now have a freshly-made up air mattress so we can rest as we are there working!

    John and I went to a restaurant in Stevensville for All-You-Can-Eat fish fry. We spontaneously joined friends, Sue Tracey and her husband Al Lutz. We had not been together for a long while, but had earlier in the week had some email contact about our downsizing adventure. It was such a lovely surprise to dine with them and catch up a bit.

    As we were getting ready to leave Sue was telling us about our server, telling us what an ambitious young woman she is at age 23 owning your own home, working two jobs! Sue said the young woman’s name, a very unusual name. My heart skipped a beat. Could it be?

    When our server came back to bring our checks, I asked if she was the person by that name who had a grandpa that had passed a couple weeks before she was born, and what his name was, and what her birthday is.

    I choked back tears of joy and amazement! It took my breath away to realize this lovely young woman was the little girl whose mother I coached to do spirit release work I wrote about in my book of Stories.

    Her grandpa had been a professional boxer for the Navy and he had been so excited about the coming birth of his first grandchild. His sweet spirit had become attached to her and that was the source of the difficulties.

    Physically tired from my full day, I left that restaurant with a full belly and an even more full heart. I have been profoundly affected by the serendipities of this meeting and the confirmation of what is possible with Spirit at the helm….

    From Falling Together in Love: Stories From My Heart for and about YOU, , pg. 34-35:

    The area of spirit release work (clinical depossession) is written about some, but many of the stories sound so odd that sometimes you have to be ready to step way beyond your own beliefs to notice. Once you step beyond your beliefs, then because you are willing to pay attention to the language a person uses, some very interesting situations show up. Often times a person’s life can be improved in very dramatic ways you don’t even necessarily believe in.

    One day I received a call at the wellness clinic where I was working. A mother reported having had severe behavior problems with her five-year-old daughter. The girl would fly into such rages that it would take three or four adults to hold her down. The behavior was creating major problems for her family, and huge issues at school.

    After asking some basic questions about general health, including allergy testing, I asked if the mom had ever considered whether this problem was spiritual in nature.

    The mom said it was as if her daughter was possessed, and she had gone to a priest., “And I am not even Catholic!” she added. The priest told her that Catholics don’t do exorcisms any more.

    I asked if there had been a death in their family soon after her daughter was born. No death after, but two weeks before the child’s birth, her paternal grandfather had died. This was the first grandchild, and the grandpa was thrilled about the expected baby.

    I asked the mother if she thought his spirit might be attached to the little girl. The grandpa had been a professional boxer, and when the child would fly into the rages, family members would often say, “There is her grandpa coming out in her!”

    Because all language is essentially metaphorical, it is usually easiest to work with the person’s metaphor, his or her model of the world. It is easier to work with what is there, because what is in the way is the way.

    It helps to have an understanding of beliefs from lots of different cultures and religions. For some people, a belief in reincarnation is just as natural as a belief in gravity or the sun or the moon. Others may have different ways of understanding what is often called eternal life, or life after death. You can borrow beliefs that seem to make sense in a specific situation, and it is probably pretty easy to see how your ability to believe in spirit possession by a loved-one made good since in this situation.

    I told the mom a clinical psychologist (Edith Fiore) had written a book on this sort of thing, and I gave her the simple steps taken right from the book. A few weeks later I gave a call back, just to check how things were going. The mother answered the phone, and I said, “This is Debra Basham. I am just checking to see how things are going with your daughter.” The mother seemed a bit confused, as though she did not remember me. She said that her daughter was doing just fine, and asked why I thought she might not be! I replied, “A few weeks ago we spoke on the phone and you told me how your daughter had been flying into rages and was about to be kicked out of school.”

    “Oh, she doesn’t do that anymore.”

    “That is wonderful. I am curious how the improvement came about.”

    “That night after we talked I just did exactly what you told me, and she is fine now.”

    This mother is just one more person whose problem disappeared so well she did not even remember it. I love it when your problems are so far gone you don’t even recall having had them. Nice. Very nice.

  • Dune Buggy

    Sacred Stories

    She had given her teenage daughter permission to go with friends to the beach for dune buggy rides but woke up with a knowing she should not allow her to go. Her daughter was upset.

    Later that day they both understood.

    The friend her daughter was to have been riding with in the dune buggy was killed when his buggy rolled over!

    These are sacred stories. What does this all mean to you? Do you have as story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.

  • Option B

    Sacred Stories

    She was listening to an interview with Sheryl Sandberg and Robin Roberts on Good Morning America, when an email message popped in:

    What a poignant article about the aftermath of Sheryl Sandberg’s husband’s death…

    http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sheryl-sandberg-on-living-option-b/

    These are sacred stories. What does this all mean to you? Do you have as story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.

  • A New Home

    This morning as I am so grateful for making time to get my fingers on the keyboard as my “to-do-list” grows longer and my time-table grows shorter. I notice how relevant that is to all those who are in their later years. I have lived 67 years, and in this body probably do not have 67 more. We have our home of 40 years scheduled to go onto the market today and have purchased an 1120 square foot home in a 55 and over park literally right around the corner. The simultaneity of the sacred and the mundane dancing across the moments we call time have my eyes leaking and my heart aching in its perfection….

    As we paint, clean, pack, (See Garage Floor!) we witness miracle upon miracle in the journey of John’s brother, Jim, who is journeying through metastatic cancer. From the ease and timing of finding of our new home to a vivid pray without ceasing demonstration the lines blur between now and then, here and there, alive and dead, mortal and immortal.

    We are living Harry Chapin’s Circle song. I hope you will take time to listen.

    As I have said before, we are living a charmed life. Last evening we said goodbye to an antique china cabinet that had sat in our kitchen for 25 years. It belongs to a friend, Doris. We kept it for her when she went through a divorce and had no place for it. That cabinet had belonged to her grandmother. There is now floor space in my kitchen, and I can feel my mother smiling to see her carnival glass gleaming in the light of our new home.

    Yesterday afternoon my yoga teacher and another friend met me at the new house for yoga. We offered gratitude for Ursel, the woman who had made that house her home for 31 years. We reminded ourselves we were on holy ground. After I packed each piece of glassware carefully in washcloths (no need to wash the dishes like you have to if you pack them in newspaper) John brought his guitar and played and sang as they were moved into the built-in china cabinet at the new house. Every action is intimate with thoughts and prayers regarding Jim and the unfolding of our shared destiny. The best way to share this holy thought is to let you read a journal entry by Krista Meyer, Jim’s daughter, posted about 7:00 pm Saturday, the 4th of July, 2017.

    Blessings

    Sometimes God just surprises you with an unexpected miracle.

    After nearly 48 hours of not being able to speak or communicate with anyone, Dad suddenly started talking this afternoon! Kurt and Heather and Sam and Ben were here, along with Uncle Jerry and Aunt Jeanne, Uncle John, and some of our kids. We had an amazing time of talking and laughing and visiting! I’ve attached one of the videos I took of Dad talking to our nephew, Craig, and Hannah and Jonny.

    I sent this message to my cousin:

    Everyone else left and I was sitting in the room with mom and dad. Mom went over to Dad’s bed and said, “I’m so proud of you! Are you proud of me too?” Dad replied, “Yeah!” Mom asked why he was proud of her and he said, “Because you’re the best wife in the world!”

    I can’t get over what a huge miracle this is. Over the past couple of days, my heart was hurting for him because I wondered if he had things he wanted to say to mom, especially, but hadn’t said them before he lost the chance. And mom said this morning when she went home for a bit, she had a meltdown and was telling God she missed hearing Dad’s voice and wished she could hear him talk again. She came back an hour later and he was talking!

    However long it lasts, whatever lies ahead, we are thanking God for this amazingly wonderful gift. Trying to remember to carve our blessings in marble and write our trials in sand. ❤️

    Once in a while, we witness what has been there all along. The blessings we carve in stone today are of a new home and moments of life spent with those we love. Rabbits hop in my backyard now. May rabbits hop in the yard at the new house, too.

    Here are the lyrics to Harry Chapin’s Circle:
    All my life’s a circle;
    Sunrise and sundown;
    Moon rolls through the nighttime;
    ‘Til the daybreak comes around.
    All my life’s a circle;
    But I can’t tell you why;
    Season’s spinning round again;
    The years keep rollin’ by.
    It seems like I’ve been here before;
    I can’t remember when;
    But I have this funny feeling;
    That we’ll all be together again.
    No straight lines make up my life;
    And all my roads have bends;
    There’s no clear-cut beginnings;
    And so far no dead-ends.
    I found you a thousand times;
    I guess you done the same;
    But then we lose each other;
    It’s like a children’s game;
    As I find you here again;
    A thought runs through my mind;
    Our love is like a circle;
    Let’s go ’round one more time.
    I found you a thousand times;
    I guess you done the same;
    But then we lose each other;
    It’s like a children’s game;
    Songwriters: Harry Chapin
    Circle lyrics © Harry Chapin Foundation

  • Visit from Lora

    Sacred Stories

    Her professional colleague and friend, Lora, had recently passed.

    Lora got my attention in a big way this morning! I had just walked into my office and was standing inside the doorway talking to the person across the hall from me, when I suddenly heard and felt something drop by my feet. I thought I dropped something I was carrying but it turns out that one of the angel figurines I have on a high shelf fell off the shelf and on to the floor in front of me –right by my feet. There was no way for it to fall – no one was close to the shelf.

    I knew immediately it was Lora. A message followed:

    “Please give this angel to my angel of a sister who was one of those that cared for me so unconditionally. Everyone needs to know that I am an angel that is present and helping all of you. I picked this angel to depict me because of the pink flowers on the apron and in the basket. I am absolutely wonderful in my spiritual state without a body – and I am so grateful for all of you that I shared life with when I was in body. My dad helped me when I died and he said that’s why he had to go first. We both love you all so much.

    Pay attention when you see things out of place in your homes – that is me letting you know I’m still around. Pay attention to butterflies when you are outside – that is another way I will let you know that I’m present. Also, tell Jim and Caroline they should get a hummingbird feeder because it will be a reminder of the joy and sweetness of life – something I am helping you find again at a level much deeper than you’ve ever felt before.

    Grieve but do it with gratitude and joy. Grieve but know that I am still with you – only my body is gone. Grieve but also be hopeful and excited about the future. Grieve and trust the process – you have all the help you need – including help from me. I am one of your angels and so is my dad.

    All is well. God is good. I love you all.”

    These are sacred stories. What does this all mean to you? Do you have as story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.

  • COIK

    I have been doing a lot of contemplation regarding the healing capability of your mind, body, and spirit. This model of medicine is overlooked by most of us in the U.S. Conversations this week have been with clients, friends, colleagues, and family. Perhaps the real challenge is the military idea of Clear Only If Known (COIK).

    Learning about the human energy field changed my life. Not only did I experience relief from chronic pain, I also stepped into my life’s work. If you are new to this blog or want to share the details of my story with someone else who is ready for relief, check out the digital copy of my Freedom from Pain

    Two techniques from Healing Touch became mainstays in my health and well-being. These are Track 3 and Track 4 on the Freedom from Pain MP3 audio. (Sample listen: Freedom from Pain.)

    You can download Freedom from Pain for $8.99.

    I’ve been reading the transcript from a talk given in May 2017 by Barbara Brodsky and Dr. Tavis Taylor. Both Barbara and Tavis are familiar with John of God’s Casa de Dom Inacio in Brazil where many people from all over the world have experienced healing outside of the current medical model. Barbara says the doctors in Ann Arbor wanted to do surgery on her back. She was in pain and was unable to walk. Her words about what she learned in Brazil are telling, “For them to be able to help me, instead of relating to the spine as damaged and something that had to be fixed, I needed to meditate and know the strong perfect spine, to visualize it; to feel places of blocked energy and invite the simultaneity of the flow of energy; to love my spine.”

    Richard Bandler says if they can’t see it, they can’t see it. I am so very grateful I was able to see the importance of knowing we are energetic beings. Painful sensations are communications from our bodies. It is possible to love our bodies and see ourselves whole and healthy….

  • Soul Friends

    Sacred Stories

    She ordered a new book entitled, Soul Friends, and was told by Amazon that it would be shipped in two weeks.

    Three days later she received a package from her terminally ill friend who was giving some of her precious belongings away, and at the very same time also received the copy of Soul Friends from Amazon.

    These are sacred stories. What does this all mean to you? Do you have as story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.

  • Garage Floor!

    Everything and everyone will teach you something.

    What did you learn yesterday?

    What will you learn today?

    Anything that angers you is teaching you FORGIVENESS and COMPASSION.

    Anything that causes you frustration or discouragement is teaching you PATIENCE and ENDURANCE.

    ~Based on the Law of Attraction

    As is so truly the case, as you go about the business/busyness of life, life is presenting you options of learning. That was certainly the case with our garage floor. I have hated our garage floor since we moved into this house in 1977. That is 40 years ago now in April. I have information saved from internet research I did on April 1, 2015: “Fix Your Garage Floor Like the Pros.” Nothing in that article came close to addressing the multiple issues with our floor, and I am very sorry I did not take a photo before DAY 1, which was installing backer core, filling cracks, and patching concrete. This first photo came 30 days later, after the concrete had been allowed to cure, and after powerwashing.

    Let me say here how much I appreciate the information people provided along the way. I had never heard of foam backer core to fill the cracks and it is so much more controllable than spray foam which has a tendency to start out like a lamb and end up like a lion. I even made a home visit to see a garage floor which had been done the way we ended up doing ours. It is encouraging to know a real human being has been successful at something you want to do. (Note, “Insert Smiley Face Here”)


    The first step (unless you count filling the cracks as number one and waiting a month before power washing number two) is to etch the floor. I am not talking about the classic Etch A Sketch where you could turn the knobs and have everything disappear, I am speaking of using citric acid and a ton of elbow-grease to remove any oil or dirt from the floor.


    The next step was to apply KILZ primer to imperfections. Our entire floor could have been considered an imperfection, but I used all I had and said, “This is good enough.” It makes sense to let yourself be content with the way things are. Best not to overthink.


    The next step was to paint the concrete block foundation. I spent a lot of time down on my knees. Each step has had its own challenges and learning but is part of the total transformation.

    Working in four-foot sections, we rolled on the epoxy coating and applied the paint flecks. Even the directions says not to try to do it alone. In addition to the two of us, I invited a host of angels.


    We have to wait a couple of days before putting stuff on the floor, but all through the process I just kept saying, “I love it!”

    How like life. Maybe my next book should be “I Learned Everything I Needed to Know in Life from my Garage Floor.”