The Astral Attic

Our Memorial Weekend show was unusual. First, Jeffry W. Myers came into the studio with his book of gorgeous photography, Mystery and Meaning In Our Universe, and helped me do one of the most difficult things in radio: paint word pictures about pictures so that the listeners can “see” what we are talking about. The task was made easier because Jeffry’s book also includes his own and many other quotes from various luminaries about the nature of Life and the values we express in being fully alive. Jeffry is an impish fellow, with a quick wit, always impeccably dressed and perfectly groomed. And he thinks like a youngster which I admire. See www.jeffrywmyers.com for more about this exceptional man, his photographic talent and of course, the book, one that will surely grace a lot of your nicer coffee tables around town.

Faye Pietrokowsky made her first appearance on the show also. Faye is an intuitive counselor with a head for business and an ear for animal communication. I thought to split my time with her into two halves. Ironically, too since we started with a chat about the economy and how advantageous it is for people to use both sides of their brain. If only more of us would engage both mental hemispheres! The rational half is prized in the Western cultures; the intuitive side is distrusted even today, after decades of New Age/New thought infiltration or perhaps because of it. I suspect the creative power of the right mental hemisphere is always present and ready to be used to great effect. But most of us habitually try to outthink our difficulties rather than taking a wider perspective and letting our subconscious work for us. Seems rather like running a marathon on one leg when both work perfectly well in tandem. Faye then shared her experiences of communicating with pets during the other half-hour. She is convinced through belief and experience that our animals understand far more than we give them credit for. We swapped a few stories that illustrate her point and a caller related another case that reinforced it. I admit to being skeptical about the lengths to which we can go in attempting subtle communication with even cherished longtime pets. But I am determined to keep an open mind. When Faye is on the show again, I’ll devote the entire hour to this phenomenon and we will make time for callers that want to “hear” from their own pets. Yes, even those on The Other Side! Faye told me after the show that she is ready, willing and most important, able. See www.inner-design.net.

The astrology buffs in our listener base could have seen this coming: we line up two excellent guests, prep for a stellar meeting of minds and then BAM! We get benched for a pretty good UW softball playoff game that lasted a record 15 innings. During these periods when Mercury appears to be going backwards, you can make all the plans you want. Just stay flexible. Reminds me of the futility of making the bed; it gets unmade just as readily.

Paul McCormick, a kind and wealthy man with great strategies to offer those of us who hope to get to abundance someday and Alexandra Holzer, daughter of the late, great parapsychologist Hans Holzer and a ghost-hunter in her own right, accepted postponement of their appearances with more grace probably than I showed in delivering the bad news. They are fine people and I am grateful for their understanding. We will reschedule them at the earliest date possible.

Meantime, let’s see what happens with the UW playoff schedule. We may be on-air this Sunday or we may root for the Huskies. Mercury is still on the mound, facing second base. Stay tuned!

If you missed the show Sunday, I am happy to note that we do have an archive section. Not instantly, mind you but it’s there and you might want to hear the hour with Thomas and Becky Repp. They are experts on traveling the roads of America, especially the historic ones that survive in the shadow of Ike’s homogeneous Interstate. They are on intimate terms with The Mother Road, Route 66 and dozens of lesser known paths to road-trip Nirvana. I also greatly appreciate their unique contribution to travel literature: American Road magazine. It’s a quarterly masterpiece that surveys the roadside landscape of the nation as it was charted more than seventy years ago. Many of the road systems that the Repps routinely drive and champion for restoration are de-commissioned. That means they officially do not exist on maps and atlases not specifically drawn for their use. So their upkeep is a labor of love for historians and other old road enthusiasts. Be assured that, as long as Thomas and Becky are alive and motoring, the ghosts of America’s highway past are around to haunt curiosity-seekers and adventuresome drivers throughout the continent. Oh, and listen to these masters of road-trip planning tell you how to do it yourself, even on a tight budget! See www.americanroadmagazine.com

We finally got to the subject of Sasquatch aka Bigfoot in the second hour last Sunday. I had crowed about how our program covers everything from the Big Bang to Bigfoot for months; in successive weeks I at last got down to honoring my own hype (see previous post). Michael Rugg, co-founder of The Bigfoot Discovery Project in Felton, California and his fellow researcher Tom Yamarone, gave us a precise, even scholarly presentation on the elusive hairy biped of worldwide fame. The sine qua non of Bigfoot evidence continues to be the hotly debated Patterson-Gimlin film shot in 1967 down in Northern California. Both Rugg and Yamarone offer minute analysis and compelling interpretations of the footage. I’ve seen the film several times myself and I must admit, their explanation of it opened my eyes to features that totally escaped my notice. Like gender, for example! It was an amazing hour and, like all such topics, left me wanting more. That is exactly what I promised my listeners. Perhaps next time, we can have Mike and Tom tangle with skeptics that are convinced the film is nothing but a hoax with a guy in a gorilla suit. Controversy about enduring mysteries: Don’t you love it? For a web tour, go to www.bigfootdiscoveryproject.com

There are some shows that leave me with the feeling of having put in a decent night’s work. Last Sunday’s program fits that description, thanks to two very bright guests that made my job easy, Dr. Leo Kim and Astrologer Eileen Grimes.

Leo Kim has a new book out titled Healing the Rift: Bridging The Gap Between Science & Spirituality. If you like to ponder the really, really big questions, I recommend that you read it. If you are a die-hard materialist with no room for the existence of Spirit, this may not be your kind of read. That is, unless you wish to have your bias stoutly challenged by a versatile scientist with a writer’s gift for engaging prose.

Dr. Kim fulfilled my desire to do an interview with someone that could explain the Big Bang in terms a layman like me could grasp. With Healing The Rift, he reveals how recent scientific breakthroughs led him to conclude that the cosmos, whatever its spooky particulars, is a metaphysical blend of Mind and Spirit. I am very encouraged by his arguments, including for the possibility of an Afterlife, in which I’ve got an abiding and rooting interest. Dr. Kim will be at Elliot Bay Book Company this Saturday, May 9 from noon to 1:30. He will give a brief talk and then hopefully sign a lot of books. I look forward to meeting him.

Eileen Grimes made her triumphant return to our show with her customary flair and assortment of astrological terms that she is always ready to parse by request. With another Mercury Retrograde closing in, I asked her to go over the thrice-yearly slowdown to put it in a hopeful perspective. That done, we invited calls for her trademark mini-readings; we barely managed to get to everybody that took the time to call and waited their turn patiently. I love my listeners! Eileen will be back in June and next time, we might get around to her new celebrity subject (replacing O.J.), Susan Boyle of British TV and You Tube fame. We simply ran out of time so Susan had to take a back seat to our callers. I could not squeeze it all into one hour; that is the kind of problem I want to have. See Eileen’s website at www.titanicastrology.com 

10:00-12:30 Dale O’Malley, a talented psychic medium, will educate you about how she communicates with spirit on the other side. She’ll entertain you by demonstrating how she does it, with live readings from selected audience members.